Thanksgiving 2011

We had Thanksgiving at my house again this year with my Mom, Uncles, and Grandma. 

Ryan was able to come home very early Thursday morning and he didn't have to leave until Sunday night, so that was great! We ate and watched football all day. 

Granny, Uncle Steve, Uncle Pat, and Mom cooking in the kitchen

Ryan, Cullen, and Granny holding down the living room.

Our spread. It was way to much food for 6 people, but it was oh, so good!!

My cousin Chris and his family stopped by after lunch to visit, and of course Cullen had to take them for a spin on the Gator. I am shocked he let anyone else drive, but they all got a chance....and they all survived!

Riley, Avery, and Cullen

Cullen broke out the bat and balls and they had their own little batting practice. It was funny, and they had so much fun. 

As soon as they would hit it  they would run their bases....in a straight line! It worked out though because it would give the next person time to get their bat in without them realizing they were taking turns!!

Emery couldn't bat, but she was able to tag them out as they ran along!!

Cullen had so much fun with them, and watched them drive away until he couldn't see their car anymore. He was sad because they left, and Riley was convinced Cullen was going to her house. I'm almost positive that the 3 girls were asleep before they got out of our driveway!

We watched 3 football games that day. 2 were NFL, and the last one was the Texas A&M vs. Texas last rivalry game. Texas A&M is moving to the SEC, so Texas has decided not to play in our annual tradition rivalry game anymore, so, as of right now, that was our last game. It was a good first half. The 3rd quarter was brutal, and the 4th quarter was way too stressful to watch!! We lost by 2 points, and basically due to penalties (some deserved and some undeserved) but thats ok. We are moving on now!!

I did have Ryan take all of the Christmas decorations out of the attic that morning because I was "putting it up THAT DAY!" I demanded that he not do a single thing until he got them all out of the attic for me. I usually would not have been so adament because I would have just done it myself, but being 6 1/2 months pregnant I wasn't able to do that! Needless to say....it didn't get started until the Sunday and wasn't finished until the Monday.

All in all it was a great 4 days, and I am so thankful for everything that we have. 

We are on to Christmas.......

Twins Birthday and Halloween 2011

Megan and Wyatt turned 7 on November 4th....yes, I feel that they are no older than 4 or 5!

They had a costume party for their party this year, and it was a lot of fun to see all of them dressed up with all of their friends!

Cullen ready for the party.

Shelbi, their cousin, as Snow White

Most of the party guests. They are in school now, so their friends are invited to their parties now....how did this happen? Where is their toddlerhood???

The birthday girl and boy

Halloween was on a Monday this year, so I was off and Cullen and I spent the day together. I had made this shirt to sell at the store and the one left was his size so I snagged it and he wore it for the day!

About to run errands....pumpkin in tow!

Georganna, Mike, Brandie, Bo, Me, Jordan, and the all of the kids all piled on a trailer and went trick or treating for a little while. They had so much fun!

Katelyn making sure that Cullen got to and from his destination!

The Whoopie Cushion (Jackson), Dirt bike rider (Julien), Butterfly(Adalie), Pirate(Cullen), Ninja (Wyatt), Cat (Megan), and the Devil (Katelyn)

We ran into Ryder Cormier, the astronaut, along our ride around!

Cullen and Mom on the ride....he had ditched parts of his costume by this point!

Adalie and Megan

Katelyn, Brandie, and Jordan

We all went to eat afterward. The adults ate, and the kids didn't because they "weren't hungry!" It was crazy because when we got to their bags to steal candy all the good stuff was gone.....wonder how that happened!?!?!?!?!

October 2011

It is hard to believe but not only has October come and gone...so has November!!  I can honestly say that I feel that if I am still in August!!

Anyway, Jordan is a freshman in high school this year and he played football. We went to all but one of his home games to support him. He did a great job, and I honestly couldn't be more proud of him for choosing a sport and giving it all he has. They actually did not lose a game all season, so I am really looking forward to watching their team grow over the next 3 years.....even if that means that I am actually facing the fact that my baby brother is in high school!!

He is #53, and he is in the middle of the field in this picture.

Watching defense play....

Uncle Jordan's #1 fan....and always scamming Pawpaw or Paran out of food and drinks!!

 At the beginning of October we headed to Gulfport/Biloxi, MS to meet Ryan. It was the annual Cruising on the Coast Rally. For those of you who do not know...that is a huge hot rod show that my husband has ALWAYS wanted to attend. We couldn't be there for the whole thing, but we got to go and see old cars....thats all he really cares about! 

We met after work on Friday night and headed out to the show on Saturday morning. We went to the auction and to the part where they have all different kinds of things for sale. There is a name for it....I just can't remember it. :-\   I had my camera but also had a 3 year old around very expensive antique cars that were for sale, so I didn't get many pictures at all. 

Like I said, we attended the auctino....WITHOUT a buyers paddle!! It was definitely interesting to witness a live auction and to watch people spend crazy amounts of money in the blink of an eye. Cullen wasn't extremely interested in it of course, and I was in charge of him while Daddy took it all in!

Looking at a Camaro....or drooling....i'm not sure which one.

We were walking through the auction beforehand and looking at all the cars and I was talking about how my Grandpa would have been so excited to be there as well. Especially if he could have checked out the red convertible mustangs.....as soon as I turned the corner this is what I saw....

Someones grandpa looking at a red convertible mustang.....My grandpa may be in heaven, but i'm pretty convinced he was in this showroom that day!!!

We headed back to the hotel later that afternoon and let Cullen swim in the indoor pool for a few hours that night. He was worn out....WE were worn out. The next morning we headed to the outlet mall, and I got some retail therapy in during boys weekend!!

3rd Birthday Party

We had Cullen's birthday the day before his actual birthday. We had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse party. The kid can not get enough of Mickey Mouse clubhouse, so it felt like the perfect thing to do. I am not a big fan of characters everywhere so I mainly did the primary colors with the mickey mouse shillouette throughout. Ryan and my Mom were not able to be here, so I was kind of limited on what I could do. Between that and being pregnant I couldn't get as much done as I would have liked to have done, but in the end...he is 3 and he won't remember!!

The cake and food table. I somehow didn't get a picture of the present table!

We had a water slide for the kids to play on...it was a huge hit. 

The Mickey cake! Cullen was so excited. I thought he may not want to even cut it. 

I had seen these on Etsy and they were outrageously expensive, so I decided to do them myself. I couldn't find a Mickey Mouse cookie cutter to save my life, but I seemed to manage to make them look like him anyway. They weren't perfect, but they were pretty tasty from what I hear.

Opening presents...he was pretty excited about them all.

Especially the fishing pole!

and his bike. Uncle Jake had to get a helmet because he thought he would be in trouble for not buying one.

Baby Benton joined us!

It's cake time!

He needed a little help with the candles! :-)

E'lise enjoyed the cake as well.

Cullen and Ryder doing something only they could explain! :)

Having fun

It was a great party and I am so thankful for everyone who came and made Cullen feel so special! I can't believe he is 3 already, and that we have one more on the way. I'm looking forward to see what the future holds for our little family!!

Bella and Cullen's birthday

Mom's birthday is September 15th, Cullen's is September 25th, and Ryan's is September 26th. 

Mom, Paula, and Uncle Pat came into town the weekend before Mom's birthday so we had a little surprise party for her. We were supposed to have one the year before, but everything was crazy with my grandma moving down here and being sick. She had no clue, and it was great!

She just saw us!

With the decorations

Uncle Pat's made her go on a scavenger hunt for her gift....part 1....

....Part 2....my driveway is 700 feet long and we ventured to the mailbox at 8:00 p.m.!

....Part 3...upstairs

....finally back to the original starting place!!

BIRTHDAY CAKE!!

Cullen's actual birthday fell on a Sunday this year, so we had his party on the Saturday. I wanted to do something with him on his actual birthday though, so we headed to the zoo with Georganna and Julien. They had fun, but I was pooped!!

Getting a closer look

The giraffe!

Posing with the frog!

The alligator pit. These were the 3 that were sunbathing. The rest were swimming around.

Most of the animals were sleeping because it was hot and it was about 1:00 in the afternoon

He wanted to climb the ladder to the door of the white tiger cage......he didn't understand what was on the other side!!

Julien wanted to go to the petting zoo, but Cullen wanted no part in any petting!!

It was a good, but hot day. We stopped for ice cream afterwards to cool us all off!!

It was a celebration month....his birthday post is coming!