Happy Thanksgiving!

We spent Thanksgiving in Tampa this year. We are so blessed with sweet and wonderful family surrounding us!
Coloring at Mema and Papa's house on Thanksgiving morning.


Jeff and Randy carving the turkey.

Olustee Festival

The Olustee Festival was held this past weekend and it was COLD! The girls participated in the Fun Run, a 1 mile run around the lake. They had a good time doing that. They didn't place, but they enjoyed it, and that's what important. The group picture is with a lot of the kids from their school who also participated.Then we came home and got ready to go back out to watch the parade. It was a really short parade this year for some reason - maybe the cold weather. Mema and Papa were here to enjoy it with us. After the parade, we came home to rest for a bit and eat lunch and then we headed back out to the festival. There are always lots of great craft booths to enjoy. We didn't find many must have items this year, but the girls did enjoy seeing the animals that were there. Annlee and Maryella rode ponies and all 4 girls enjoyed petting the bunnies. The girls had each gotten $5 for Valentine's day from Mom and Papa and they spent it at the festival on these sweet little name bracelets.

Bag Ladies

We had a fun visit with Mema and Papa this weekend. They brought gifts to the girls for Valentine's Day - soft, snuggly blankets that the girls immediately knew would be perfect for getting cozy to watch a movie. But before that, they had to play with the packaging. The blankets came in huge bags that provided lots of entertainment. They ran around the house with them, packed toys in them, and hid in them.

Kaylin celebrates with Mema and Papa

Mema and Papa were here to celebrate with Kaylin and after the birthday party with her friends was over, she opened gifts from Mema, Papa and Aunt Heather. She got some fun Hannah Montana stuff for her bed and some cool clothes.

Elianna enjoyed playing with the wrapping paper!

It was also lots of fun to get Elianna and Elijah together again! They are only 2 months apart, but gosh, that makes a difference!

Mema and Papa visit

I forgot to post this picture from this past weekend when Jeff's parents were here. We all had such a great time!

Christmas with our Tampa family

Jeff's family came up this weekend to celebrate an early Christmas with us and we had a great time! On Saturday afternoon, we went downtown to see the snow that had been brought in for all the kids to play in. It was terribly crowded, but the girls got to sled down the hill twice each. Maryella wouldn't sled the first time, but went down with Papa the second time and cried the whole way down. She was more interested in picking up the snow at the bottom of the hill. (Although that made me nervous with all the other kids still coming down the hill.)
These pictures are from our fun at "Snow Day".

When we got back to the house, most everyone took a bit of a nap and then we celebrated Christmas. The girls got tons of gifts and loved everything. Here are a few pictures from the gift opening extravaganza...

Birthday Celebration!

Kaylin and Annlee have birthdays that are about one month apart. Kaylin's was 2 weeks ago, Annlee's is right around the corner. To help out our families and keep them from having to come for 2 big weekends, we just combine the family birthday party. My parents and Jeff's parents came up this weekend and we had so much fun celebrating. The girls got some great toys, beautiful clothes, and lots of visiting time. Kaylin had requested an Ariel cake and Annlee wanted Cinderella, so I made a compromise cakefor the occasion! Here are a few more pictures from our fun weekend.