The after (thanksgiving, week long) party

The kdis and i stayed in Fort mill for an extra week after Thanksgiving to enjoy fall weather and some Christmasey things


the kids loved playing in the garage and drew a neighborhood. you cant tell form the pic but in this litlte ideal 'hood we live next door to maga and papa and ahbi and papi and across the street from our friends the isoms. too funny

they mailed letters to santa at ahbi's work and of course a mall visit to sit on santa's lap

garrett was santas big helper and tried to show sissy santa was nothing to be afraid of but santa had this pose up his sleeve for any scared toddlers- jocie was clueless

Millie's Birthday and Thanksgiving

My miraculous niece turned 2 on Thanksgiving so we chose to go up and visit my family for the Thanksgiving holiday instead of Christmas to be there for her birthday party on Wednesday. You might remember she was born at about 4 months gestation and has brought our family so much joy and faith as we have seen her grow and develop. In most states they wont even help a baby that premature breathe however Millie has done so well and is almost caught up to her peers- a truly miraculous thing. we love her so!



i love these two pics in series as the cousins admire eachothers shoes- a love they share already.

Jocie cozied up with Uncle Buck. Jocie was so funny ths trip and showed all the male relatives lots of immediate acceptance and love and left those aunts bewildered with her bulldog face even whenoffered lots of snuggles and treats. silly girl.

she was grammy's little buddy by the time it was all said and done though. :) Well i dont have any pics form Thanksgiving day or black friday but we enjoyed yummy food at grammy's and saw everyone: Dabneys, Fraisers, and Sniders. My favorite was the shopping and giggling with the ladies. We went out at 9pm and stayed out until 5am. i got a lot accomplished because i knew it would be my only chance to shop without the kids. Thanks everyone for your love and hugs!

While the cats are away...

the mice played it up big time with Ahbi. all these pics are from the museum trip really but ahbi had a new coloring book or craft and movie for each day and made either a treat or kid friendly food each day with the kids in the kitchen. they also went swimming one day. luckily they didnt reject us when we got home though

parent getaway

Geoff and I needed a break so thankfully Ahbi made herself available to stay with the kids while we enjoyed a few days away.


Geoff was super excited when the mid-sized sedan we rented was out of stock and the rental car place offered us the choice of a lincoln continental or mustang. he chose the mustang of course.
We left after Garrett's soccer award ceremony and headed to Vero Beach to a fabulous luxury hotel for the night. i want a bedroom like this in the future for sure.

We were surprised that Vero Beach was nothing like Miami- reminded us of our honeymoon at Seaside, Oregon really. Rough surf, whole shells, windy and chilly weather, and cute little streets with no cars and tiny shops.



We then headed to Orlando where we enjoyed Universal Studio's Citywalk. We got a good laugh at the kareokee club and really enjoyed the Blue Man Group show form the front row.


Also in Orlando Geoff raced 50 mph gokarts, practiced golfing at the driving range, and i indulged in a massage at Gaylord Palms resort.
We really enjoyed the break, came home to happy kids (youll see why in our next post), but do wished we coudl have eaten more- i jsut cant seem to fit a baby and 3 delicious meals in this belly in a day. oh well :)