Kick off to the Holiday Season 2014

Family is a unique thing.  No matter where you are in life, they are always there.  We are reminded of this every time we get together with the family.  There is always someone to talk to and someone to give a hug when it's needed.  Life has been very busy/on the go/full of emotions, so when we had a weekend planned with my parents we were ready.

Friday night we drove to St. Louis to be greeted by three little girls awaiting their cousins.  The plan was to get them in their PJ's, drink hot cocoa, and watch the Polar Express, but it got really late and the movie wouldn't work.  They settled for Frosty the Snowman and some snuggles.

Avery is very lucky to have so many girl cousins who adore her.

Mack and Gretchen are only 6 months apart and have started to play together.

I love the pure joy in this picture!

That night all, but Gretchen, spent the night together.  It was cute to wake up in the morning with little people coming out of every room. I used to love spending the night with all my cousins!

The next day went really fast, and before we knew it, we were loading up to go see the rest of our family (minus a few).

You wouldn't even know you have kids at these events if they weren't running around with each other or you were chasing them down to eat.  It is a houseful of kids, adults catching up and LOTS of food!  Every year we say to not wait another year, and every year we seem to only get together on Christmas.

Each kid buys for each other and then they all open presents up together.

I love the feeling I have leaving weekends like this.  It's a reminder of how wonderful family can be.  Again, no matter who you are, what kind of personality you have, they always love you!

I am now officially in the holiday season!

Thanksgiving: A Year to be Thankful

The whole week of Thanksgiving I was SICK!  We had decided to have our first Thanksgiving at home and invited everyone to us.  I couldn't believe I got sick.  We had a fabulous time filled with memories, but I regret not feeling better to be with the kiddo full of energy.  Hopefully this will end in time for all the festivities about to happen!

It got real to me when I was asked what everyone should bring.  I had only thought about ordering the turkey-which I was able to do here locally and received a box full of fresh local side items!  Then flowers arrived from my parents!  It meant so much to me that everyone was so supportive and wanted to be here.

The kids helped with the table and made the center pieces!  My mom brought her silver and Avery put the napkins together! 

Nanny worked really hard to make a veggie and fruit platter in the shape of a turkey. 

We used a roaster to cut the turkey and it was finished fast.  My dad and Mark smoked two breast outside...we had plenty of food!

Avery and Mack were interested in the wish bone:)  

Mack received the bigger end!

We had Mark's aunt and cousin with us too.

Cooper enjoyed a lot of food!

As people arrived Avery was handing out tickets for her show.  She had us all sit on the stairs to watch.  There she sang and danced, then asked for audience support:)

It was a fantastic day and I learned how much work goes into a full Thanksgiving dinner.  I finally was able to write down my mom's recipe for her stuffing while cooking along beside her.  Everyone brought so much food and we tried new items.  Hopefully in the future it will be a lot more spacious with our new kitchen!

Princess Tea Party

A few weeks ago I purchased tickets for my mom, Mark's mom, Avery and myself to attend a princess tea party.  What a special treat to have both grandma's there!  Unfortunately, my parents were moving out of the lake house that weekend, so my mom could only stay for a little while.  We had been out of town all weekend and Avery was really worn out from being away from Mark and I.  She was not feeling the princess experience!  She had fun being with her family, which also included   her cousin Ireland!  I think in the future we will see if one of her buddies can come along since she isn't the most social bee around large groups of unfamiliar faces. 

She is the cutest little princess!  I love having these times with her-even if she only wanted to be with me...there could be a lot worse things in life!  Love you Avery Elizabeth!