We spent Christmas Even this year at my sister-in-law, Marissa's house.  She decided to change things up a bit and requested everyone wear their best Christmas jammies.  Then Marissa and my other sister-in-law, Lindsay, made a huge Christmas breakfast for dinner.  And I have to say the breakfast was AMAZING!!!  Lindsay did such an awesome job with some delicious gingerbread fried chicken, a savory ham, and sweet potato waffles.  Seriously, all of it was sooooo good!

Here's the whole crew...

And another shot of almost all of us...

The boys got to open a gift from Aunt Rissa, one from Nana, and one from Grammy.  Thus, the beginning of so many presents to open:)  Here they are standing in front of Aunt Rissa's tree with a gift from Aunt Rissa...

Grammy got all 3 boys lanterns...so cute.

Baron got a couple fun trucks from Nana...

And Westen got a truck pulling a boat on a trailer...so cute.

Last, here's a shot of the four of us in Jammies...

I kinda loved the little change up this year.  It was fun!  After we ate, we played the annual White Elephant gift exchange.  I love it that my in-laws totally get into it and everyone steals from each other.  We ended up with a digital change collector and a juicer.  Score!!

Anyway, such a fun evening!  Thanks Marissa and Lindsay for everything!

You may remember from this post, we got to spend a weekend at a beach house that belongs to our dear friend Jay last year the weekend before Christmas.  Well, he generously offered it to us again just before Christmas this year.  The boys were so excited about it.  Westen actually remembered it from last year.  Baron said he did, but I don't believe him.  He was barely one:)  Regardless, we were all so looking forward to this MUCH needed getaway weekend.  Busyness occurs during this time of year between Thanksgiving and New Year's.  Add into that Austin coaching basketball, getting a new position at work, and a birthday 2 days after Christmas and you see why we were looking forward to a weekend of chillaxing.  

The boys and I headed up Friday morning to get settled in and then came back to pick up Daddy that afternoon.  We had dinner at the same little seafood restaurant, the same table actually, that we went to last year on Friday night.  And again, like last year, headed back to the beach house to watch Elf.

Saturday morning, Austin still had basketball practice so he went back into town for that...wait for it...and took the boys.  Yes I had a glorious 3 and a half hours to myself at this glorious beach house.  No cleaning to do.  No laundry to do.  No cooking to do.  No building projects to do.  What to do, you ask...
How would you spend it?

Coffee cup in hand...Book in lap...listening to the waves.  I dove into a book for about 2 hours.  Seriously...it was so nice.  And the book...Gone Girl.  I loved it and I hated it:)
After the boys returned, we ate lunch and went down to the beach where we headed north.

Some of us running, some of us walking:)

Finding shells along the way

Taking a moment to appreciate God's work.  Okay, well maybe he wasn't but it kinda looks like it.

And fleeing the waves

We walked up to "The Rocks" - part of a local State Park.  The boys could've stayed here all day.

The weather is what I'd call perfect for the mood of our weekend.  It was foggy and cool.  I loved it.
And I love this picture...

I know it's not the most flattering picture of my husband and I, but it's a real one.  I love that we are laying on the rocks practically in the ocean and that our boys are playing in the background.

That night we went to St. Augustine to see their coveted Christmas Lights.

Last year we did this and took a trolley ride to see them.  It was fun, but this year we took a horse and carriage ride and I must say it was worth the extra $$.  We were in a carriage by ourselves and the sweet men who took us gave us some great history about St. Augustine.  I think we all loved it!

And that's Molly:)  We had such a wonderful weekend!  We are so grateful to the Rust family for being so generous.

My lack of posts this last quarter of the year...I don't want to talk about it.  On my list of resolutions for 2013:)
Anyway, after not attending in 6 years, we FINALLY got to get back to AL for Thanksgiving this year.  My Aunt Vicki, Uncle Gale, and Cousin Alicia are AMAZING to host us all every other year.  I don't recall the final count, but I know there were over 60 of us in all.  I am blessed to be a part of such a great family.  It was so fun to see all my aunts, uncles, and cousins...and of course my immediate family.  I love every last one of 'em.  Below is a picture of almost the whole group gathered around to hold hands, pray, and give Thanks before the Feast...

This is such a fun weekend!  I love the chaos of that many people...sleeping 12 of us in the basement in one big room...getting to know my cousins kids whom I rarely get to see...all of it.
I didn't get a ton of pics, but here's some of my favorites...

Love that precious pic...

She was photographing and videographing the whole weekend.

That one is for sure one of my faves.  Love catching a candid of Daniel and especially one where he's being so sweet and affectionate:)  

Missing little Hannah, but a cute one of the girls.

My sweet Ryan.  Doesn't he look so handsome!  I miss him so much!

I'm sorry Dad wasn't in this one, but love it still.

So Cute.

I totally missed the true moment in this picture.  Dad, all my uncles, and my aunt Vicki all walked out together before we ate with their dad, my Papaw Day.  I love that my dad's family are all spread out geographically but when they are together you'd never know it.  They all love each other so much.  They're so fun to be around.

Last but not least, I can't not mention our Black Friday Shopping Spree.  I made shirts for our crew.  Three of my nieces are of age now, so it made for a new adventure for us.  Here they are...

I seriously can't tell you how much I cherish this day with this particular group of girls...my mom and sister whom I adore and these sweet girls that I love more than they'll ever know.

And that's all my iphone has to say about that!

So, if you've read the last couple posts, you noticed we had some visitors recently...

Mamaw and Uncle Ryan came to visit us in October and got stay for a little more than 2 weeks!!!  It was so fun.  And I know that sounds like a long visit, but when you haven't seen your Mamaw and Uncle Ryan in 5 months, you really try to make everyday count! That being said, I don't think we could've crammed anymore fun into that 2 weeks:)  I'll let the pictures do most of the talking, but here are some of the highlights...

This was just Mamaw's and Uncle Ryan's second day in town.  Most of you know that what looked to be like a fun day at the park (which it was while we were there) turned into a nightmare when we left the park only to find my car broken into and mine and Mamaw's purse gone!  But I'm not going to go there.  Obviously, from the pictures, we were blissfully unaware of what was happening in the parking lot.  

We also hit up the skate park in our neighborhood a few times so the boys could show Mamaw their skills on their scooters...

We took another swing at going to the park, but this time we didn't leave our purses in the car:)  The boys love to show off for Mamaw at the park...

We went putt putt towards the end of their trip and Westen got his first ever "One in the Hole" (aka hole-in-one)...

And we always love to take the boat out one time while Mamaw and Ryan are here.  This was a particularly cool boat ride.  We ended up seeing manatee, dolphins, and a beautiful sunset..

And yes, the dolphins were that close.  They were darn near touching our boat.
And here's a few more random pics and our visit to a local agricultural museum...

We had so much fun with Mamaw and Uncle Ryan!!  It always just makes us end up missing them more.  So glad you guys could come hang with us for a couple weeks.  We loved every minute!!

Here comes the Super Hero Squad!!  Iron Man and Spider Man ready to save the world!  Obviously, we had a super hero kind of Halloween.  We, again, like years past headed to our church's Harvest Fest.  But even the week before that, the boys got their costumes from Mamaw!  They were getting kind of antsy because I hadn't got them yet not knowing she already had them.  Thankfully, they didn't change their minds about what they wanted to be:)

Baron's got such a tiny little face.  These pictures really don't even do justice how cute they were...

Baron had also got a build-a-bear from Mamaw with the Spider Man costume on it and Westen got the Iron Man Costume for the build-a-bear he already had.  A partner in crime for both of them...

So, some highlights of the evening - a hayride...

And Uncle Ryan went too, rockin' his new glasses he got that day...

The slides...

The annual picture on the hay, and yes they're not wearing shoes.  They pretty much took them off when we got there to jump and play on the slides and never put them back on...

There were games to play...

Me and my sweet Ryan - love this kid!!!

Midway through the night, Uncle Ryan turned into the Pumpkin Pirate and I think it was his favorite part of the night...

I was so happy to have my mom with me again - she is the best.

The boys were so happy to have Mamaw and Uncle Ryan here too...

It was late into the evening and this point and there was no chance of getting them to look at the camera.  Austin and I rarely remember to take pictures of just us anymore so I was glad Mom remembered.

And a close up...

Too close?  Sorry:)  Ryan and Austin...

Thanks to our Super Heros we made it home safe that night;)  It was so fun and the boys have continued to enjoy their costumes.  Whoever says little boys don't play dress-up is lying!!  Mine had them on again today.

More pics from our visit with Mamaw and Uncle Ryan to come soon...

I just continue to find it harder and harder to keep up with our blog.  Dangit!!  I have A LOT  of catching up to do (it was a busy month what with Halloween, Baron's birthday, and a visit from some pretty special people), so I'll start with Baron's birthday party.  He wanted a "backetball" party, so I made him this little Warriors shirt (his favorite backetball team that Daddy coaches).  Here's our big 2 yr. old...

Did you notice the wrist-band? (yeah...he wore it all day).  The pull-apart cupcake basketball cake...

(Gotta love Publix)

We had the party on a Saturday morning.  It was supposed to be at our favorite park, but due to high winds and potential rain, we moved it to our house the day before.  Since I worked my mom like a dog the day before, the party went great:)  Thanks Mama (see her in the mirror?).  We were so excited to have Uncle Ryan in attendance too...

Now, check out the icing and yes...the snot...

Poor guy started with a cold the day before and he's still got it.  Probably couldn't taste if for all that chocolate though. Gross!! Here's some more from party day...

Lauren and Westen

Aunt La La,  Aunt Rissa, and Daddy

Ready to open gifts

Westen was excited he got a little something too:)

Somehow we didn't manage to get any pictures with our other guests, but we're also thankful to Nana, Papa, Mamaw, the Pendry's, and the Geiger's for celebrating with us!  It was a special day for our sweet Baron!
Happy Birthday (again) Baby!!!

Check back soon...I have to catch up on Halloween and our special visitors!

I LOVE that instagram pic!  I know he's mine but isn't he so stinkin' cute!  I cannot believe that little guy turned 2 yesterday!  Has it been 2 years already since this???

Looking at that just makes me feel nostalgic!  Melts my heart, a little.  I love this kid so much!  Recently I've forgotten that he wasn't even 2 yet.  He just talks so big and tries his hardest to keep up with Westen, who I think is his hero:)  Baron is a seriously spirited kid with a lot of spice and spunk!  Is that a nice way of saying he has a bit of attitude?  Yeah, kinda.  He is so rough when he plays...a little reckless...and prone to accidents because he is seemingly unaware of anything around him and his body.  On the other hand, he gives the absolute best snuggles in the world!  There's nothing I love better than when he puts those tiny arms around my neck most every morning to snuggle.  So he plays hard, but he loves hard too:) 

Unfortunately, due to the lack of well being in our house right now, we had to have a pretty low key day yesterday on his birthday.  We did go ahead and give him his gift from us though...

He seriously thinks he's so big that he got his own scooter.  He doesn't quite have it down yet, but gets the idea because he's tried on Westen's plenty of times before.  He kept telling Westen to get on his scooter so they could ride together.  It was so sweet!  He'll be hot-rodding soon enough with scrapes and bruises that, I know, are sure to come.

And we couldn't celebrate without cake!

I kinda love instagram:)  Anyway, Happy Birthday to my sweet, sweet Baron!  We'll have his party in a couple weeks, but I had to share his special day from yesterday!  Love that kid:)

Hello friends!  It took me a little longer to find time to recap our Georgia trip than I expected, but here we are.  Right before we left, the boys got new shoes (Thanks, Mamaw).  They were SO excited and had to try them out that first day - racing to see if the shoes indeed made them faster and then later shooting hoops.  They were playing so hard and it was so cute I had to take a couple pictures...

So the Saturday morning of Labor Day weekend, we left for GA.  It was a little over a 4 hour trip and the first road trip we've really taken with the boys in over a year or so.  I didn't know what to expect, but I have to say at 3 1/2 and almost 2, they did so good!  They watched a couple movies.  Baron took a nap.  They ate snacks.  And we were there without a hitch:)  Really.  Once there, we spent about 10 minutes getting our things into our room and then headed out on the boat which is basically where we spent the weekend.  The boys and I literally did not get in the car again until we left for home on Monday.  We met up with our sweet cousins at their lake house and spent some great time with them.  The boys got to ride a GIANT tube with their cousins and played so hard:)

Below Westen jumping to Austin in the lake...

Daddy's Boy...

And I just love this next one...

My 3 boys...

Westen and Baron on the giant tube with their 3 cousins...

Yes, Baron's facing backwards...

Unfortunately, I didn't do a great job taking pictures:(, but I got this last one that would've been good had my camera lens not fogged up.  By the time I wiped it off, the cute picture was gone. Nonetheless...

Did you see who was riding on each suitcase?  :)

In addition to all that, the boys LOVED staying at the hotel.  It's such a novelty to them.  On Saturday, like I said we took our boat out as soon as we got there and did not dock again until past 10pm that night.  By the time we got the kids in bed it was 10:30pm and the boys were somehow wired!  We're talking - Westen no nap and Baron a maybe hour nap during the car ride, and out on the boat all day.  They were so excited about sleeping there, by 11pm we had to split them up because they were having so much fun together on their bed, we thought they'd never go to sleep:)  And the next morning, they just wanted to play in the room for awhile.

It was also so fun to watch Westen all weekend.  I love seeing him grow more confident not only physically, like riding the tube without one of us or jumping off the dock, but emotionally too.  Cousins whose names he couldn't have told you on the drive there, he just jumped right in with and started playing.  It was great!

After we left Monday morning we stopped to see Nanny (kind of a great aunt) and our sweet cousins Kenny and Jan. The boys got to tour Kenny's peanut farm and eat all the peanuts their little hearts desired.  Plus they got Brownlee Farm hats, which they wore proudly on the way home:)
Such a great weekend!

Hi all!  I hope you're well.  As most of the kids in our area started school last week, my boys started their new home school preschool.  Yep, you heard me right:)  We decided to pull Westen from the preschool he attended last year and do something different.  To make a long story short, I was having reservations about sending Westen to school 5 days a week when I'm going to be home with Baron anyway.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVED his preschool last year!  But, when my friend approached me about doing a preschool co-op she had my interest peaked.  So the deal is she takes my boys one day and I take her little boy one day.  We found a curriculum online to follow and we've created a pretty structured setting for our boys.  That said, they even get to carry their backpacks to school.  Here's a look at their first day headed to Miss Elizabeth's last week...

It's so hard to get them to look at the camera together.  But really, I love that last picture.  It resembles their true little personalities.  Westen maybe a tad shy, but confident.  He almost always smiles for the camera:)  And then my little Baron, who is so funny, looks at his brother whom he totally adores and thinks is so cool.  He'll give a real smile to Westen but not to the camera:)

Later in the week, our friend, Xander, came to our house for preschool.  The boys are really totally into it.  We say a prayer and the pledge.  We have a memory verse for the week, a letter, number, color, you get the idea.  Here they are having their snack that day - apples for the letter A:)

So cute!  This weekend we're headed to GA for a family reunion, so hopefully more pics to come next week.  Have a great Labor Day weekend!

So, last weekend we took the boys to putt putt golf.  It was a first for both of them.  They really enjoyed it - particularly Westen who has asked to go back many times since:)  He actually "got it" while Baron tried a little, then did his own thing, then lost interest pretty much completely towards the end.  Anyway, here we go...

Westen's first attempt which was darn near a hole in one!

Austin started out trying to help Baron, but that didn't last long.  He'd begin his, "I DO IT!" which means no help:)  But look at this next series of pictures...

First of all, so intense, right?  Look at those little lips?  But did you notice what else?  It took us a good 5 or 6 holes to convince him it might be easier if he tried to putt the ball with the putter end of the club instead of the handle.  Sometimes the path of least resistance just isn't appealing to him:)
Here's some more...

It really was fun and I look forward to taking them again.  Whenever that is isn't soon enough for Westen:)

The next day we headed to a park.  Although it was hot, there was a great breeze to keep us cool, plus the swinging does too:

We talked Westen into sliding down this pole for the first time.  We told him he was just like a fireman.

He did it a few times, but he was kind of hurting himself trying to do it so he was all done.  Here's me trying to get him to do it just one more time for a picture...

He said he'd do it if I helped him, but then I didn't let go of him quick enough to get out of the picture.

Last but not least, Sunday Baron and his daddy caught a lizard.  Baron, ever so brave, held it to show me...

He was saying, "Look Mommy, it's tiny!" So cute:)
Have a great week!