How James Bond got his start?

Santa brought Aidan a spy watch for Christmas and Aidan has been having great fun sneaking around, secretly recording conversations and shooting videos, and sweeping rooms for bugs. What a relief to learn that there are no listening devices in our house.

This morning, I heard odd noises as Aidan tiptoed into the living room. He had at least three bags hanging off his shoulders, each one stuffed with items.

Me: What are you doing?

Aidan: I'm a spy!

Me: Spies usually don't carry large bags that bump around and rattle as they walk.

Aidan: I'm a spy disguised as a HIKER.

He tiptoed into the hall and into the dining room. Hikers, of course, are known for tiptoeing. A few minutes later, James told me to take a peek at Aidan and this is what I saw:


He had set up camp underneath his computer desk and was taking a rest from his strenuous hiking. How much do I adore his imagination?

Merry Christmas!

Yesterday, two weeks after Christmas, James and I got our Christmas presents: snowshoes! We had decided before Christmas that our present would be snowshoes, but with the excitement and hassle of moving and the bustle of the holidays, we just didn't get around to buying them until yesterday.

Tada! My pair is a lovely Carolina blue:


(With a nod towards ACC equality, James' pair is Duke Blue Devil blue.)

We went out to Beaver Lake to try them out. We still had to rent a pair for Aidan, although we will likely try to find a pair of pre-owned snowshoes for him. It was a beautiful afternoon, sunny with little wind, so we enjoyed our trekking.

Aidan, of course, can't just snowshoe - he has to pretend to fall:


He also just falls a lot without pretending.

Don't ask me why Aidan and James look so serious in this photo, because we were having fun:


Snowshoes are a great way to enjoy being outside in the snow, a practical way to walk around, and an excellent way to get exercise (trust me, we are feeling the effects of yesterday's mile and a half walk). In an area that averages 120 inches of snow a year, we know that we will get lots of enjoyment and exercise with our snowshoes.