Our Visit to See Santa

December...that wonderful time of the year when we decorate our houses for Christmas, bake cookies and other goodies, drive around looking at all the beautiful displays of Christmas lights, send out Christmas cards to friends and family, and of course torture your young children by making them sit on Santa's lap!!

Last year's Santa visit was a disaster, but in an attempt to have a picture of Callen sitting on Santa's lap every year, we made our way to the Shops at Greenridge once again to see Santa. Several weeks ago I started talking to Cal about Santa and going to see him. At first I got the 'nooooo' response with a small amount of fear in his voice. About a week later I mentioned sitting on Santa's lap again to Callen, and his response was 'yeah!' WooHoo! Winning! I then asked him what toys he was going to ask Santa to bring him to which he replied, 'no, books!' What kind of books do you want? 'Pete books.' Great! We were ready to see Santa. Cal was ready to go until the moment he saw Santa pull up in the horse drawn carriage. Once he saw him, he became very quiet and very aware of everything going on around him. When it was our turn in line, I walked Cal up to Santa, but he was gripping me tightly. Santa was kind enough to talk with Callen while he was in my arms, and Cal gave the same responses of presents as he had to me a few weeks earlier. 

Telling Santa what he wants for Christmas

I/m done talking...let's go!

Once he talked with Santa, I did the mean mom thing in order to get a picture of Cal sitting on Santa's lap...I pried him off my shoulder and plopped him down on Santa. Mistake!! His reaction was priceless...

Please don't do this to me again!

Sweet Santa trying to console Cal

Thank goodness Mom is back to save me!

I want to note that I started this post on Monday right before I went to pick up Cal from school, thinking I could finish it later that day when he was napping. Well, 4 days later and a total of 2 hours of napping by Callen (and one frazzled momma), I am finally getting around to finishing this post. So, if Cal's nap schedule keeps up with this current trend, there may be fewer posts over the next few weeks and months!

Furman Football

As mentioned before, the fall is quite the busy time of year. Most weekends are spent going to Clemson football games, and spending the day tailgating with family and friends. On off weekends, we are headed to Charleston for shrimpin', working on projects around the house, and attempting to make it to the mountains to hike. One thing Doug and I have wanted to do is go to a Furman football game. I had not been to a game since I was a kid and it had been about ten years since Doug last went to one. We thought Callen would love to play football and run around (he does these things at Clemson but there are sooo many people and we are always trying to talk and hang out with others). By going to Furman by ourselves, it would allow us to give our undivided attention to Cal and let him run around and have a big time without all the hustle and bustle of Clemson tailgating.

We went to the Furman vs. Mercer game last Saturday. Game time was 1:30pm, so we figured we would leave between 10-10:30. We arrived at Furman around 10:30am, and I was afraid I had gotten the dates mixed up...there was NO traffic! We drove right through campus and found a spot in the public parking lot beside the chapel. We had our choice of spots since there were only about 30 others cars parked at this point! (The lot did fill up closer to game time but it was close to 12:30-1:00 before the large majority rolled in). Before leaving that morning, we threw a few food and drink items in the cooler, loaded up the tailgate tables and chairs, and packed a diaper bag for Cal. We were ready to go in less than 30 minutes compared to the 1-2 day prep to get ready for Clemson games! After arriving, we set up our tables and chairs, got out snacks, and enjoyed ourselves. Cal ran around in the parking lot since it was so empty, grazed on the food table, and just enjoyed the freedom he had.

One thing we didn't realize going into the game is that one of Mercer's colors is orange. Oops! At least we were all wearing purple...but all our gear was orange!

Just chillin'

Pretty great set up...Cal height table!

Has to be just like mom and dad with koozies on his cups!

We were fortunate enough to be given 2 tickets by random people outside the stadium. We were glad not to have to pay for tickets because we didn't know how long we would make it in the game since Cal usually naps around the time the game was starting. We also wanted to leave by halftime in order to get home and watch the Clemson game on TV!!

The 'Champions Walk' to the stadium

Cal enjoyed watching the band and other pregame festivities. He spotted the bounce houses just outside the gates, so he was very intrigued with them...and then became very concerned when they were deflated! He liked watching Furman running through the blow up helmet onto the field. But, that was about the end of the excitement for him during the game. We kept trying to point out the players throwing and kicking the ball, but he was more concerned with climbing on the bleachers at this point! The Furman football game did not provide the amount of excitement needed to captivate Callen's attention for 30+ minutes! We lasted most of the way through the 2nd quarter before heading home. It turns out we missed the best part of the game as Furman went on to tie up the game in the 2nd half, but ultimately lose in OT.

Cheering for all the Seniors being recognized

Starting NOT to sit still!

We really enjoyed our low key tailgate and day at Furman. Spending time with just Doug and Callen at a football game is sooooo rare, and I enjoyed every minute of it. It's also nice to see how other fans and teams tailgate as well as the excitement in the stadium. 3,500 people attending a game for a team that isn't doing so well is WAY DIFFERENT than 85,000+ fans cheering on a football team ranked #1 in the country. As much as Clemson home games wear me out by the end of the weekend, I wouldn't trade that excitement and activity for anything. I may feel like I am always having to do something and running around at a tailgate, but it's worth it to walk into Memorial Stadium and see the Tigers running down the hill. And I think Callen enjoys it too. There is always something going on that holds his attention, and he knows he is watching the 'paw' team whether it be in person or on the TV.

An Overnight Getaway to the Mountains

We love the fall! It seems like every weekend we have something going on. We always talk about how fall is the best time to camp, but we can never find a weekend to go. We always make time for something else or end up being lazy and stay at home to watch college football on Saturday. We decided this year was going to be different. Callen loves looking at the stars and moon each night he can see them in the sky. He enjoys hiking, and gets excited if you mention camping with him. We knew we needed to take him on a camping trip again soon, but didn't know when the best weekend would be because of everything else going on. After looking at the calendar, we decided on Halloween weekend. Cal doesn't eat candy, so we figured he didn't need to go door to door collecting candy for us. Plus, he won't wear any costume from the store, so he was going to be a tool man...which is what he does everyday at home!

Our plan was to leave after Doug got off of work on Friday, and head to Pisgah Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We would camp two nights and head home on Sunday. We stayed there on our trip in May, and really liked the area. We knew we would be able to see the leaves changing colors at one of the many overlooks, the weather would be nice and cool for sleeping, and it's less than a two hour drive from our house. As the weekend got closer, the chance for rain on Sunday became close to 100%...plus the rain was going to start in the middle of the night, making packing up on Sunday not fun with wet gear. We decided to only spend the night Friday and spend the rest of Saturday hiking and stopping at the overlooks for the wonderful fall views. (What ended up happening is that we had a great time Friday night and got up Saturday morning to bone chilling cold weather. The air was damp and humid, no sun was shining, and there was a slight breeze. Cal was freezing by the end of breakfast and ended up spending most of the rest of the morning playing in the car while Doug took down our camp site! We decided it would be best to head on home as Cal's hands were little ice boxes and they were only to get colder being outside and stationary in the hiking pack.)

 

The time we spent in the mountains was great. Cal absolutely loves being outdoors and is really excited about camping and hiking. All day long he was so happy to tell you he was going to sleep in a tent. If you asked him if he was going to sleep under the stars and moon, he would answer with 'No, a tent!' When we arrived at the campsite, Doug unloaded the car and I went to pay for our spot. When I returned, Cal was carrying ThermaRests from the parking spot over to where our tent was. He helped Doug with the poles for the tent as well. Anything he could do to help, he was going to do it. He took his own 'pat' (aka hammer) to help Doug hammer in the tent stakes. He helped break sticks to use for firewood. Cal was having the best time at the campsite! 

The night sky was crystal clear and you could see stars forever. Cal bundled up in Doug's lap in front of the campfire, and looked at the stars. He was amazed at how many stars he could see. Anytime you talk about the camping trip now, he has to talk about the stars in the sky! After a while of sitting there, Cal drifted off to sleep while Doug and I sipped on some champagne and enjoyed the evening ourselves. 

 All the work and effort put into going camping for a little over 12 hours was so worth it to see Cal's excitement!

Cal's New Best Friend

Sorry Ella and Wyatt, you guys have been replaced as favorite friends by...Dawg! (just joking!)

For several months now, Callen has been watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while I shower and get ready in the morning. (This has drastically cut down on the amount of makeup I have had to replace since he is mesmerized by the show and won't bother the drawers in the bathroom anymore!) A few weeks ago, Doug and I were in the attic doing some cleaning out. I came across a bin of mine that had stuffed animals in it. I found a Pluto dog from my Disney days, and decided to give it to Cal to see what he would do with it. Much to our surprise, he instantly took to it. 

'Dawg' (pronounced with a southern twang) is actually named 'Hot' (like Hot Dog!) but is mostly called dawg. If you ask Cal dawg's name, he will tell you it's Hot. When you ask Cal who his best friend is, he will tell you dawg! Dawg goes for lots of car rides, but never into stores, and does everything Cal does around the house. He drinks water, gets his teeth brushed, wears PJs...you name it, dawg has probably done it. Each night when it is time to read to Cal, he grabs dawg and puts him in his lap so dawg can enjoy the story as well. We have to tuck dawg into bed...blanket over his body and either his ears or an old hunting hat of Doug's to cover his face. Dawg is the first thing Cal wants in the morning. If Cal is working on a project with Doug, he has dawg take a turn with the hammer, drill, or whatever they are working with. Dawg always has to have a turn.

Enjoying hanging from the fort just like Cal did

Along for the ride

Watching the construction trucks

Hard hat (thanks to some kind people at Fluor) and dawg!

Piggy back rides

Just giving dawg a big hug

Reading all about trucks

It is soooo cute to see Cal love on dawg so much. He is genuinely so excited when he sees the stuffed animal. I am amazed at 1) how long Cal has had this fascination with dawg and 2) that he has taken to a stuffed animal and treated it like a family member!

The UCI World Cycling Championships

After our stop in Greensboro, NC, we headed to Richmond, VA, for the World Cycling Championships. While watching the Tour de France in July, we learned that the world cycling championships were going to be held in Richmond September 19-27. We immediately started looking at the schedule of events and the Clemson football schedule to see if it was feasible to make it there for a few days. The championships have only been in the United States one other time, spending the other years at different locations in Europe. The UCI has decided that every 5 years the championships will be held outside of Europe. Several other cities around the world were vying for the chance to have the event this year, but Richmond won out. After learning more about this, we knew we wanted to go and experience it! It looks like it's something we won't have the opportunity to do too many times unless the championships find their way to the East Coast again! Because of Doug's work schedule, Clemson football schedule, and the line up of races, we opted to go to Richmond at the start of the event in order to watch the team time trial. We originally wanted to watch the men's championships (which was the final event on the last day), but we had both seen elite men racing when the US Pro Cycling Championships were held in Greenville. We both enjoy watching the team trial event during the Tour de France so figured this would be a neat race to see in person.

We left Greensboro around Cal's naptime so he would sleep in the car...no such luck! He decided he needed to be awake and take in everything around him on this trip. Thank goodness for the Welcome Center rest stop in Virginia; they had a playground! This allowed us to all get out and run around and keep us from going crazy in the car. Plus, it wore Cal out enough that he fell asleep shortly after getting back in the car (2 hours after we originally thought he would nap!). 

After arriving in Richmond, we drove through downtown to get an idea of where we wanted to be the next day. We found a nice park (Libby Hill) and let Cal play with his digger trucks while we sat and enjoyed the beautiful weather. That evening we met up with one of Doug's childhood friends and his family. They have 3 kids, with the youngest (Harper) being almost four. Age didn't bother Cal at all! He and Harper were instant friends and they chased each other all over the place. They made forts with the oldest kid (Cal thought that was so much fun and talked about forts anytime we mentioned their names!) and had the best time. It was so nice to hang out with friends and let the kids play together (especially since our other option was to sit in the hotel room!). 

The next day we made our way downtown for team time trial event. We parked in Libby Hill and were a little ways away from the bulk of the action, but we had our bikes with us so we easily made it to the spectator areas downtown. We knew we were going to eventually make our way back towards that park to watch some of the racing plus avoid traffic when leaving! The women raced first so we used this time to walk around the spectator areas and then into the Convention Center for the Fan Fest. As the women finished their racing, the top three teams would hang out in the Fan Fest area until they were bumped from their position. They would take pictures and talk to reporters. This was fun to see even though we knew none of the woman racers! The fan fest allowed us a break from the sun and heat. They had a great kid's area set up with little balance bikes and obstacle course for the kids, a small bounce house, and an arts and crafts table manned by the Children's Museum of Richmond. 
After a lunch break in the Fan Fest, we headed out to watch the men racing. Wow! These guys are fast! We watched them from several different areas. We started out watching them on a turn after a small uphill climb. From there we moved down to an area that had two passings of racers...one downhill and the other uphill. We were able to see the men FLYING down the hill on the far side of the road, and then slowly making their way back up the hill on the near side of the road. Many times a team had dropped a rider or two along the way so we would see the stragglers making their way towards the finish line. After hanging out in this spot for a while, we made our way towards Libby Hill and parked ourselves along the road to watch the last of the teams pass by us. We knew the big names on each team that were there and looked for them to come by, but they were all moving too fast to even realize who you were looking for! We say we saw certain riders, but really we saw them and their teams flying past us!!

Hanging out by the BMC support vehicles

 

In the Fan Fest with the 1st place women's team in the background

At the finish line

Stopping for a nack

Watching for the racers...this boy was so tired but would not slow down. Anytime he would lay his head on my shoulder, he would pop it up as soon as he heard people cheering and cow bells ringing. He did not want to miss any action!

He finally passed out on the bike ride down to this area!

Relaxing and watching the race while Cal sleeps!