Guilford Courthouse.

Lately Ben has been dragging me (and some friends) to a couple of local reenactments.  On the 13th, we saw the Guilford Courthouse reenactment.  The details are sketchy for me (I'm terrible at history, even after Ben explained it to me), but I know it was the Revolutionary War. 

Look!  The redcoats are coming!

I actually liked it.  Who knew I was such a nerd?  Wait, nobody answer that.

Circus.

A little while ago, we went to the circus with our friends, the Jacksons.  I had never been to the circus and I was SO excited!  And it was fantastic!  Loved it!

The elephants were my favorite.

Now all I want is to do is find a nice, calm elephant and ride it.

10-Mile Hike.

A couple weeks ago, we went on a 10-mile hike with the scouts.  It was a chillly morning and rain threatened, but we stayed dry and endured to the end.  This was definitely the longest hike I've ever done and my legs were NOT happy for about a week.  But it was so much fun, getting out there and enjoying the North Carolina woods.

This is us before the big hike.  Wish we'd have gotten one of the after.  I'm sure we looked a little worn out.

I probably won't be doing that again for a while.  But Ben is doing another 10-miler tomorrow morning.  Silly Ben!

Now THATS snow!

After the wimpy snowstorm a couple weeks ago, I didn't believe the weatherman when he said 3-4 inches this weekend.  But, look what happened!

Look!  Real snow!  Well, kinda... 

vicksburg.

On our drive home from Texas (after our Christmastime visit), we stopped at the Vicksburg battlefield in Mississippi.  The monument to Illinois was beautiful.

The rest of the battlefield was nice, of course.  But a lot of battlefields are very similar.  I love the architecture of the monuments...

Popcorn.

Ben found this little popcorn machine in a warehouse.  He brought it home last night, fixed it up, and got it working.  He was so proud!  He took it back to work this morning and is sure to be the most popular guy in the office.

Quigleys in Texas.

Last week, we headed down to Ben's sister's place near Austin, Texas.  We had so much fun, hanging out and celebrating the holidays with the Quigleys. 

Getting ready to open presents.

Playing with our new toys.

Relaxing with the dogs...

Ashton and Landon loved climbing all over Uncle Ben.  They did their best to keep him from doing pushups.

... and succeeded.

It was like a fun ride!

They loved the foam swords we got them for Christmas.

We had such a fun time!  Thanks again Paula for hosting us!

Little Benny got a bike - Part Two!

So you know how Ben got a bike?  Well, here it is!

He looks so cute on his new bike, I just HAD to smooch him!

Ben gave Steff a ride and then gave her a quick lesson.

And Ashton got a ride...

And Grey got a lesson too!

I think everyone has enjoyed Ben's new bike!  Especially Ben!