Better Late Than Never...

I kind of dropped the ball here with the blog last month. My sister, Anna, will be more than happy to complain to you about it if you would care to listen. Seems that law school is fairly mind-numbing with it's stress and all, and she was going through some serious withdrawals of seeing her "babies."

We, on the other hand, have been 14 kinds of busy and it seems I crash into bed at night with nary a thought of updating the blog. But, we have been up to some fun stuff around here!

So, let's catch up!

New Year's Day was so much fun! We took the kids to the Lil' 500 to ride the Go Karts. They were so excited - we haven't been there in a long time!


Look who is old enough to ride in his own Go Kart!


But, Abby didn't mind having her daddy ride shotgun!


It wasn't crowded at all, so we basically had the whole track to ourselves.


Even mommy got a turn to ride with Abby - we had fun racing with Drew!


It was so cute to watch Abby try to drive the Go Kart. She kept wanting to go faster and faster!


They both loved it and we loved watching them have so much fun -


Next, we headed to a park for some playground time. Drew really likes this triple slide!


They even have a little rock wall that the kids like to climb.


Abby is super fast when she climbs this thing. It kind of takes my breath away because I'm so worried she's going to fall! But, of course, she never does.


Drew's favorite thing lately is tag. Freeze tag, regular tag, whatever kind of tag you will play with him - he is constantly teasing us, "You can't catch me..."


Daddy gets pretty close!


The big brother took a time out to help push his sister on the swing.


These two are best buddies - they are at such a great age for playing together.


I sure do love these two little people!




What a great way to start the new year together - quality family time!

This Little Dude is Cold Too!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

We've had quite a frigid week here in Central Florida. It has been COLD. The temps have been in the 30's for three nights in a row and that is not something we are used to around here.

It's the kind of cold that allowed me to introduce my children to frost on the grass. And to watch them delight in being able to see their breath. It's meant we've had to pull out the fleece pajamas from Christmas to keep their snuggly bodies extra warm at night. And, it means Abby gets to dress up in warm sweaters - courtesy of her sweet friend Sherilyn who just gave us some great hand-me-downs...


Abby really wanted to wear this sweater dress, but it was so cold that we had to put it with some jeans to keep her legs warm!


I wore a scarf that day and Abby loved it so much that she had stolen it from me by mid-morning!


She told me, "Well, the blue really matches my eyes, Mama. I think I should wear it to keep my neck really warm."


The children were supposed to wear their hats and mittens to preschool today because the teachers had a surprise for them -


It snowed today!! Oh, they had so much fun playing in the "snow."


And, Abby got to make her first ever snow angel. So sad that it had to be in styrofoam rather than real snow.


But, not sad enough to make me want to move North!

Because the temperature should be in the 70s by tomorrow afternoon and this is one native Floridian who can't wait for it to warm up a bit!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Daddy, you are the best! We love you very much and appreciate all that you do for us. We hope you have a very happy 33rd birthday!!

Love,
Your family

Way Back Whensday #11

We are getting very excited about the National Championship Game tomorrow night! It's bringing back memories of two years ago when the Gators brought home the title in 2006.


There was a big pep rally at Florida Field that January to celebrate our National Champions. Matt and Jamie took the boys to Gainesville for their first visit to University of Florida.


So, to recap, Drew was three years old. He really wanted to hear the bells ring at Century Tower. And, Matt ran into his cousin right at the end of the video.

Nevertheless, it still documents my sweet boy's first introduction to the greatness of UF. Almost brings a tear to my eye...

This is one of my all-time favorite pictures of my boys.


And, here are Drew and James as they explore the campus. We like to think that they are envisioning their futures as Florida Gators.


Go Gators!

Way Back Whensday #10

Abigail Grace - 20 months old

Happy New Year from our family to yours!

Christmas Day

After lunch on Christmas day, we drove to Tampa to visit with Matt's side of the family. The kids love going to Aunt Denise and Uncle Matt's house because they LOVE, LOVE, LOVE their cousins! They were also going to get to see Uncle Joe, Grandma, and Grandpa so they knew it was going to be a fun day. Plus, there was going to be a sleepover and that is so much fun for them that they could hardly stand all the anticipation!

As soon as we got there they got down to business - opening presents! They opened the gifts from Uncle Joe first. He is so great at picking out things the kids like and he hit another home run. Drew got a pirate treasure chest and Abby got a ballerina June from Little Einsteins - they loved them!


Next, Drew wanted to give his present to Ryan. Ryan got a train table for his birthday so Drew gave him Sir Topham Hat and Porter to go with all of his Thomas the Train stuff. This was Drew's favorite Christmas gift a few years ago and Ryan seemed to love it too!


I loved watching Drew this year as he discovered the joy in giving. He couldn't wait for everyone to open the presents he had picked out and wrapped for them.


And, even though she is only three, Abby certainly enjoyed giving to others as well. She came out of Sunday School one morning telling me the most important thing she learned that day was "Christmas is all about giving. And Jesus."

She earned a big hug from Ryan who loved the Thomas the Train bath set she gave him!


Grandma and Grandpa love having all of their children and grandchildren together. It makes for fun photo opportunities like this -


Every year, Matt's parents just ask for gift cards to restaurants. They (especially his dad) love to go out to eat so it's the perfect gift for them. This year I wanted to have a little fun with them as they opened their gift. Look at his dad's face - he's so confused. I know he's thinking, "What the heck is in this big box? I don't want this! Where is my Outback gift card?!"


Once they dug underneath all the tissue paper they found their gift cards all wrapped up for them. They thought it was funny and I definitely pulled one over on them!


Grandma and Grandpa got Drew and Abby a keyboard for Christmas. It is really nice and I think they are going to love learning how to play it!


Oh, how they love their new baby cousin. These kids just love babies - especially Abby. She is so maternal - wanting to feed him, help change his diaper, kiss his cheeks, and play with him. It's so fun to watch them with baby Tyler.


Matt and I in front of Denise and Matt's beautiful Christmas tree!


Matt and his family -


And, our little family on Christmas Day.


We had a great dinner (thanks to Matt's mom) and let the kids play with their toys for awhile before bed. Matt's mom gave the kids Santa hats and they put on a show for all the grown ups. They played musical instruments and danced to Christmas music - it was adorable!

Finally, it was time to sleep.


They had plenty of wonderful Christmas memories to dream about.

At least that's what I thought.

Until two days later when Abby asked me, "Mom, is it almost Christmas again?"