A lot has happened since I last blogged, mostly involving EmeryBodie LLC orders, snow and holiday shenanigans. More stockings, more sherpas (these Wal Mart sherpas are the best!), more elf plates, more pencil boxes, a Yeti, duck boots and the coolest beach towels EVER. See below for more on that.
My sister and her children are as obsessed with sharks as my children and me. One of our favorite brands, Southern Tide, partnered with Ocearch to create these beautiful, plush navy beach towels with both brands’ logos. My sister had me add her kids’ names to the towels and these will be under their tree next Tuesday. I wish I’d ordered some of these for us! Not only do they look amazing, but it’s for a good cause. 
The colors in this picture above make me so happy. I think these personalized pencil boxes make excellent stocking stuffers for little ones. The Yeti is for our favorite babysitter. I mean, who wouldn’t want a big, PINK, monogrammed Yeti?!?!? I stuck a gift certificate for a manicure in the cup.
Last Saturday the “s” word was mentioned on the news and my weather app showed a snowflake for Sunday and Monday. As is usually the case, I did not give this a second thought, although in hindsight I should have. My children took this forecast very seriously and were up and dressed HOURS before the snow was even supposed to happen.
They even got Gipper to join them. I love how bright and colorful their snow gear is. Gipper’s puffer works perfectly with their color scheme. After a few hours of rain and no snow, my husband caught wind of the fact that the western North Carolina mountains were getting dumped on. He loaded up the kids and their new skis and headed an hour and forty five minutes north to Cataloochee Ski Area. They definitely found snow! 
Cataloochee seldom sees snow like this. My kids are used to skiing in Steamboat every year, so they’re kind of spoiled when it comes to ski conditions. So is Ben. However, the snow was great and the kids were able to ski on their own all they wanted! They can handle all of the terrain on this mountain. Their buddy, D, and his dad ended up joining them as well. Now that the kids have their own skis, we’re going to try to get them on the slopes more frequently. Hopefully Cataloochee continues to get a lot of snow. Their helmets are still in Steamboat. Oops. I’ll be sure to bring those home with me after our next trip.
The little skiers came home in time for a fun dinner at the club, but still just rain in Greenville. However, the next morning we woke up to this:
Yes, our boogie boards doubled as sleds. 
Unfortunately, our snow was pretty icy and caused some problems. Thanks to all of the rain, the ground was super soft and once the trees were coated with ice and/or weighted down with snow, they tumbled over. This resulted in widespread power outages. We were without power for about twelve hours, which was annoying, but we made do with fires and candles. Some friends were not so lucky and their power was out until the next day. So, we had some snow day house guests. School had already been cancelled (and would be the next day as well, plus a two hour delay the following day. Oy.) and the kids, especially Emery, were thrilled to have buddies stay with us. 
Our elves have also been busy lately…. 
One night Olivia and Chippy tried to help with some laundry, but they got stuck in the dryer sheet jar.
The next day they had some tummy trouble issues. Poor things. Too much sugar, I guess.
After all of the excitement of the snow, I was ready for a few uneventful days so I could get caught up on life. We’ve had non-stop holiday happenings and I am terrified I’m letting things slip through the cracks. We found ourselves blissfully free Friday evening and here’s what transpired:
Emery, Bodie and Gipper played in this empty box for hours while I made peppermint fudge. Then I took them to the YMCA for some swimming. We stopped for pizza on the way home and ate it in front of the television while watching Christmas Vacation. Can’t beat that with a stick. Also, the YMCA is dead on Friday nights. The kids had the pool to themselves. It was heavenly. Seriously, I might have a new Friday night plan.
Good night!
