Thanksgiving in Alabama

Wednesday morning we were off to Alabama for Thanksgiving with the family! As we were running behind schedule, we went to my sister's house first thing. She wanted some pictures taken and we were running short on sunlight. The pictures got out of order on here and her pics are at the end. :)

Here is my dad, Bumps, above with all his grand kids, and below, with his 2 daughters and all the grand kids.

Jacquie's backyard provided the perfect setting for some fall pictures!
The goofy pictures at HaHa's house!
Sam's parents with all 6 of their grand kids!
The good picture of HaHa with all 5 of her grand kids and all 3 of her beloved pets.
The annual Smith family on the front porch picture. I LOVE this tradition!
Kaebrie and her HaHa.
Journey, the new one-eyes kitty was the softest, sweetest little thing!
Caught Jeffry, the 3 legged dog, in a rather interesting pose. :D
My baby sister, Jacquie, Brian and Blake in their gorgeous backyard.
AAAAWWWWWWWWWwwwwwww !!
Kaitlynn and her Auntie Jax... Kaitlynn has reminded me of my sister since she was just a baby!
Little Blake, getting all grown up...
My favorite picture of Blake, this really captures his crazy personality!!
He absolutely HATES to have his picture taken, even for his Auntie Jo.
My sis and my adorable nephew!
There were other pictures, snapshots of the totally filed 2 day visit, but I guess they didn't get uploaded.
It is really nice being back in the south and close enough to join the family for holidays. We have some fun traditions and the kids are making some sweet memories!

The Bryants came to visit!

Friends are a wonderful and special part of life. And friends that have been around for DECADES are even more special! Ashley and I became great friends in the 10th grade when we were 15 years old. We married 4 weeks apart and now we each have husbands who went through seminary and 4 kids. As we both have moved all over the last 17 years, we are now only 5 hours apart and in the direct line of when they drive home for the holidays. As a result, we got a 2 day visit and had so much fun! They had to let me do a family picture while they were here, but I can't decide if the one above or the one below is my favorite! :)
Here we go...all 8 kids together!! SO MUCH FUN!
The little girls were instant buddies. Kaebrie is five and Sydney is 8, but it didn't matter one bit.

Kaitlynn at 10 and Alice at 12 were inseparable!

(goofy goofy goofy girls)Collin at 12 and Aaron at 14 bonded quickly and had lots of fun playing outside and playing RISK.
They all loved the "goofy" poses!
Tiff and Lindley. At 7 and 9, they had a lot of common interests and got along really well. They liked playing Wii together.
The "cool guy" pose.
FLASHBACK ALERT: Here we are in 1994, before either of us had any kids. WOW. I realize the big hair and the big glasses, so no laughing!
Conan O'Brian, EAT YOUR HEART OUT!
The little girls were escorted down the stairs....
....then we were shown their make overs!! (We preferred them the way they were PRIOR to the makeup). :)
2 days and 2 (late) nights full of fun! Bryants, come back SOON!

Happy Birthday Yazzi Grace!

Our pup officially turned one on the 17th! The kids have been counting down the days and planning a dog party! Kaebrie insisted she had to wear a hat. Yazzi didn't think that was a good idea and only kept it on for one picture.

My has she grown in the 10 months we have had her. Gone is the tiny 11 pound puppy and here is the 50 pound red beautiful dog!
Below is her regal pose! :)

We made an Alpo cake with a hot dog candle. Kaebrie was upset there was no human cake for her to eat. That girl LOVES cake!
Yazzi waited patiently while they all sang to her. Mommy made them do it outside because that that canned dog food STINKS!
She loved it!
Happy Birthday Yazzi! I think we are glad you are a part of this family, but I will sure be glad when this puppy stage is over and you settle down into a wonderful, CALMER pet! :)