Christmas Island

Tod and I decided we would take the boys to Grand Cayman before Christmas this year. For the past few years, we've tried to take them somewhere warm either before or after Christmas. We were so excited as we headed to the airport on the morning of December 19 to board our 9:30 flight. We were slightly disappointed when our flight was delayed for a 20 minute maintenance problem, but still felt good about our upcoming flights. That 20 minute delay, unfortunately, turn into a few hours and caused us to miss our connection to Grand Cayman in Charlotte. Hmmm.. What to do. After over an hour of searching flights, the gate agent booked us on a 9:00 pm flight to Philly where we would overnight and fly to Cayman the following morning. Back home we went to kill a little time. Then back to the airport around 8 to board our 9 pm flight. Only it was delayed. And delayed some more and then delayed again. We decided to head back home to let the boys sleep a bit while we watched the flight status online. By the time we got home, it had been cancelled altogether. US Airways had no idea how they would get us to Cayman as all of their flights were booked (make that OVERBOOKED) for the next few days. Luckily, Tod found a United flight online and we booked it ourselves. So we slept from midnight until 3 am and then drove to Charlotte for our flight. What a relief to be in the islands finally. A day late but totally worth the trouble. It was beautiful. We decided to stay an extra day to make up for our missed day.

We all had a blast. We swam with stingrays and we took a sunset cruise on a 65' catamaran on Christmas Eve. We swam and snorkeled and kayaked and ate and drank and overall had a very Merry time. We met some supernice people from Cary there also! The kids were both crying when it came time to leave. They loved their trip and didn't want to go home, even to a house full of presents. So, of course, we are begging Tod for another trip next year!!

Tod and Jackson kayaking

The boys at our hotel overlooking the beach at sunset

Jackson was feeling really strong after kayaking with Tod


At dinner

The boys enjoyed a strawberry smoothie every afternoon, while Tod and I enjoyed some adult beverages!

The boys loving their Daddy!

(and buttering him up for another trip!)

The view from our room was awesome!

The boys are snorkeling pros now!

Before dinner on our first night!

Enchanted Airlie

Every Christmas for the past 3 years, we have spent a Saturday night at Airlie Gardens for "Enchanted Airlie". Airlie Gardens is a beautiful botonical garden that is popular in the summer for their awesome concert series. At Christmas, the gardens are lit up and families, groups, and couples stroll through the gardens. There is what our family believes is the real Santa, electric train displays and all sorts of snacks, coffee, and wine available as well. Afterwards, we always go for a nice dinner somewhere to warm up. This year, I believe, we had more fun than any other year. Not sure if it was the unusually cold night or the ages of the boys, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and will cherish the memories we've created.

The boys before we leave

Shayla and the boys

The boys and the REAL Santa

The boys hanging out in our favorite adirondack chairs overlooking Bradley Creek

The boys love the electric train displays

Merry Christmas, Round 1

Tod's parents, Tom and Ginnie, spend the past few days with us to celebrate Christmas. We don't normally celebrate quite this early, but Tod and I are taking the kids to Grand Cayman the week before Christmas and the trip limited our options. Anyway, we had a great visit with them and of course, the kids were thrilled to be getting presents so early! We did the full celebration complete with a feast of a meal that we all devoured. Here are some pics.

Austin ripping into the first gift

Jackson ripping into his first

Jackson got an I spy book. He loves it!

Yikes! Austin got his first skateboard.

Jackson got an awesome microscope. Perfect start for his career as a scientist (which is of course his "backup plan" if the basketball thing doesn't work out)

My defiant child (kidding) in his Duke jersey. Doesn't he know we are Tiger fans?

At least Austin knows what team to cheer for!

The boys are dying to help Grandma open one of her gifts!

An Evening with Santa

Austin, Ginnie, Tod, Jackson, and Tom

Austin was a little shy at first

And then he loosened up a bit....

Jackson took his turn

Our sweet friend Maris Grant

Mommy is so proud of the boys' decorating skills but a little nervous about the sugar rush that is sure to follow

Grandma says "That is too much sugar!"

Daddy wants to sneak a bite




Austin enjoys his dinner

One happy family

Jackson is on his second plateful!

What a special night at Landfall Country Club! The club presented an Evening with Santa and it was a treat. We arrived and went straight over to Santa. The boys had both made a list to take with them, you know, just so they wouldn't leave any of their wishlist out. Austin even made a second trip to speak with Mr. Kringle because he had forgotten to mention that he would also like some Star Wars figures. After making all of their wishes known, we went into a special room to decorate Christmas cookies. Each child received their own special "kid sized" piping bag filled with icing and a cookie. After globbing as much icing as they could onto their cookies, they began to decorate them with M & M's, gum drops, and all sorts of goodies. As if that wasn't enough, we went on into a lavish buffet where we feasted and feasted! Tom and Ginnie Durst (Tod's parents) were in town and we were so happy to bring them with us. We all enjoyed a very special night and have started a new family tradition!

Advent Wreath Workshop

Austin is enjoying his pancakes!

Tod and Jackson LOVE pancakes!

The beginning of our wreath project

Working hard and having fun!

The finished product! Not perfect but it is OURS!

As many of you know, our family began attending a new church at the end of the summer. We are now so happy to call St. Andrews Covenant Presbyterian our home church. One of our favorite things about the church is the AMAZING childrens program. Last night, we all attended the Advent Wreath Workshop and had so much fun. Our friends the Ervins and the Heffrons were also there, which made it extra fun. We began the evening by enjoying a yummy pancake supper (who doesn't like breakfast for dinner?). After we all had our bellies filled, we began working on our Advent Wreath. The whole family contributed and we think it turned out beautiful. We are excited to begin lighting the candles very soon! The kids went on to make ornaments and decorations. Some were a little complex even for the adults but they all turned out great. What a fun way to spend a Sunday Night with family and friends.

Battleship Half Marathon 2008

Well, as I am sure all of you are sick of hearing by now, Tod and I ran the Battleship Half Marathon here in Wilmington this morning. Tod has run it before, along with the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon 2008. I have never run the Battleship but I had an awesome experience in Myrtle Beach running their half marathon earlier this year. We have both trained really hard. Tod is a much better (faster) runner than I am but we were both pretty well prepared for the race. Anyway, we woke up to 45 degree and sunny weather, perfect running weather. Tod was injury free for this race and I was not. Along with a number of nagging injuries, I also have a chest cold. No amount of good weather could save me. Around mile 7, I knew my goal of 2 hours 15 minutes was no longer possible. My next step was to finish within 2 hours and 20 minutes. By mile 8, I knew that also was no longer a possibility. Finally by mile 10, I knew that beating my Myrtle Beach time of 2 hours and 25 minutes wasn't possible. The death march began and I struggled to even finish. With the help of my trainer who ran with me, I did manage to finish with a smile on my face. It was a lesson in humility. It was also a good lesson for this control freak that I am; I cannot control everything. My final time was 2:36. Considering the walking and talking and complaining and whining that my trainer (thanks Roxanne!!!!!!) had to endure for 13.1 miles, I was pleased with my time. It could have been much much worse.

The great news is that Tod set a new personal record with a time of 1 hour 50 minutes. He will go on to train for the full marathon in Myrtle Beach in February and I will take a week or two off from running and I will be sticking with 5k's and 10k's for a while! I need a break from running, physically and mentally.

We didn't capture any pictures but we both think they'd be pretty painful to see anyway!

Monster Mash

We had a wonderful time Saturday at the Landfall Halloween Party! We met our great friends and former neighbors, the Grants, there to celebrate! The boys were excited to get dressed as their favorite Star Wars characters. Jackson was Anakin Skywalker and Austin went as a Clone Trooper (which must've been popular choice as there were 3 other Clone Troopers there!). We enjoyed crafts, a DJ, an Indiana Jones Snake Pit room, a huge balloon drop, and a Fear Factor Exhibit with various "brains, eyeballs, bloody fingers" and any other body part you can imagine (all fake of course!). The highlight of the party, though, was the hayride which we all LOVED, especially due to the beautiful sunny 80 degree weather! It was definitely a nice kickoff to the upcoming week of Halloween fun.

Race Day!

Well, three of the four Durst family members raced this past Saturday at the YMCA. Jackson and Austin ran in a kids 1 mile fun run and did quite well. Jackson finished in 10 minutes 29 seconds and Austin was right behind him at 10 minutes 40 seconds (not bad for his first time running a full mile!). I ran an 8K that according to the brochure included a little trail running! Hmmmm...... Factor in a torrential downpour and windstorm the night before and you have yourself a bona fide MUD RUN. Needless to say, I was covered (there will be no pictures posted of that! Not pretty!). Luckily, we all three ended up with PR's (that's a personal record to you non-runners) that day!!!

Another Busy Weekend!

Well, I did finally take out the camera to capture some pictures, but not many! We had another busy, fun weekend. We started Friday off with off-season swim practice for both of the boys. They swam their hearts out for an hour Friday night and I definitely could tell by how much they ate afterward! Then Saturday, Austin had 2 soccer games (he scored 4 goals in the second game) and did some fall planting around the yard. Saturday nights have become "Family Movie Night" and it was Jackson's turn to choose. We all enjoyed big bowls of popcorn as we watched High School Musical 2 (we're trying to catch up on our HSM before the newest movie comes out). Sunday we got up and went to church (our boys LOVE our new church home) and out for brunch at Landfall. The boys love to go to Landfall to eat, especially brunch. They always use their best manners (shocking, I know) and definitely get their bellies filled (are you seeing a trend with eating around here? I can barely keep groceries in the house). Then off to a very fun bowling birthday party. Our sweet friend Jenna invited both boys to come and what a treat. It was their first time bowling and they both loved it. It will definitely be new outing for us to enjoy. Later, we were off to Jackson's running club, which thankfully ended up cancelled. I was wondering how he was going to run with that belly full of food from the party.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Goofball Austin and Jackson before swim practice (Check out Austin's ears!)

Austin before soccer practice

Jackson's liking the look of this ball!