giving thanks

we had a full house for thanksgiving! all 17 people packed in and we still didn't have enough space.....i guess we need a new kitchen.....just kidding! it was tight but not too bad. great time with lots of family members from both sides of the family. carrie took on the task of cooking the bird and it was delish- not to mention absolutely beautiful as you can see above!

the kids ran around like turkeys and laughed & squealed until they had no more energy. we decided to pull out the new Christmas pj's & model them for everyone. why not start a little early? i think the elf on the shelf might be making an appearance tomorrow!!

more blogging to come....today someone has turned 3 so we have been busy celebrating and have lots more to do this afternoon. we just can't get over how grown up he has become.

i hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving. we feel so blessed to have a healthy family and great friends. love to everyone!

surprise saturday

so a few weeks ago the whole family (grandparents, aunts & uncles too) got this email from uncle J saying he had a surprise planned for us. we had to pick a saturday that would work for all of us with about 5 hours open in our day. with many emails back & forth we came to the conclusion that this past saturday afternoon would work the best. the only hints he would give us were "dress casual, bring a plastic cup, hat, change of underwear and your camera". well- i knew right away that none of those "clues" were really clues......he has been my big brother forever so i know how he works!! but anyways- we were excited about the family adventure and he sure did have us guessing. we all met at stephen & carrie's house at 11:30 & waited & waited. then all of a sudden, this loud honking van comes flying down the street!!! here is uncle j!!! the kids are just screaming they are so pumped for their "afternoon surprise". everyone loads up & we are off to the unknown. we take a lunch pit stop at the "chickalay" (uncle j's fav) & continue on up highway 77. take a look at the photos below from the awesome adventure!

the arrival of the van.....his two biggest fans run to meet him

of course Hen goes straight to the drivers seat

the whole family (hard to see) all loaded up & excited! (doesn't brett look soooo excited)

and this is where we ended up! the LAZY 5!!!!!

it was perfect trip since none of us had ever been before. tons of laughs, screams and plenty squeals from the kids of fright & laughter at the same time (they weren't quite sure if they should be scared or silly!!)

the famous "tongues" that henry kept talking about...."eewww nasty mommy"

i wish i had a better picture but the one that showed his perfect expression was blurry. here is a small sample of what his face looked like most of the adventure. he was mad/scared/laughing....face turning beat red & screaming at the top of his lungs. i wish i had the flip with me!!!

one little guy just decided to come all the way in

"hmmmm.....i really do think i want to ask santa claus for one of those little piggys for Christmas."


THANKS uncle J for the best surprise day!!!! you sure do know how to make the family come together and have a great time. these two never pass up an opportunity to be with their favorite crazy uncle! we love you so much!!!!!!

candy candy!!!!

lighting mcqueens pit crew driver and princess belle were in full action for some trick or treating this year! we had all the grandparents in tow to see it as well! the night ended with buckets full of sugar. thank goodness mine didn't even want one bite of his candy so that was all the more for mom and dad!!!

october saturdays

early saturday mornings in october have been filled with walking to support a few causes for our dear friends. henry was a trooper on both mornings getting up bright & early & enjoying the long stroller rides. each event filled me with lots of emotions tugging at my heart and tears rolling from my eyes! it makes me so proud to know these two very special people! GO AMY & GO FORD!!!!

amy decked herself out in pink!! this big smile is the perfect display for her awesome attitude these past months while battling her breast cancer. she has just recently finished her last chemo treatment & is more beautiful than ever! i'm so thankful to have her as my close girlfriend over the past 17 years. the memories have been endless & i can't wait to create even more with her down the road. i LOVE you Ames!!!!

this is ford.....is he not the cutest!!! we all decided that we would be "built ford tough" for the day!

henry, caroline & mac think doughnuts are the best way to start a 5k

charlie & henry racing to the finish line

the cannady fam

the mackey family- too hilarious!!!

and the winner of the day! ford getting close to the finish with his daddy! go team tough!!

linville 2010

how late can i be to update the blog?? sorry!! playing catch up so i'm about to do lots of posts! here are some favorite shots from our long weekend in linville with the whole family- the two kiddos, all the big kids and all the grandparents. this year was just as perfect as last but ended much better- no one left with the stomach bug!!!

this is where you would always find this girl

and this is where you would find wild man.......running.....surprised??? probably not

doing a little modeling of pants from back in the day when uncle wood was his age! too cute! i think he would fit right in on a brady bunch episode.

the favorite activity of the long weekend- golf cart rides with uncle J!

i just had to throw this one in here of my buddy. the tongue is always hanging out when in motion!

lucy being the smart one and enjoying the good ole' smores. of course henry wouldn't even touch it. it's like he isn't even mine!!

i finally got a photo with my main squeeze

searching for some free golf balls with daddy

and i will leave you with a sequence of photos: this is what it looks like when you tell little man that it is time to go home from the golf course. i'm so glad i had the camera clicking away!!! can't you just hear the whining??

settlin' back in

as you can see in these two photos we are just settling back in to our routine! the past month sure has been busy- moving back into the house (yay!), BIG family vacation in the mountains with all the grandparents and kiddos, daddies out of town for an Auburn weekend of fun, and having big installations at work. starting next week i think we will finally be back into our normal old swing of things but i just wanted to post two of my new favorite pics. the first one is from our Linville trip where these two kiddos had an absolute blast. the second one shows you just how much Hen is loving his big boy bed! LOTS more photos to come of the move, the mountains, and my two favorite little beans!!!

diving board!!!

we have discovered the diving board at the pool....thank goodness it is the end of the summer! lucy has been jumping for awhile but henry just heard about it so of course he wants to do whatever lucy does! it took about 3 tries but then he did it! i was really surprised- i honestly didn't think he would go through with it but i think the pressure of having lucy & uncle wood watching made him go for it! so for the rest of that afternoon we did a lot of treading water to catch him (great work out) & he had a blast. lucy is a total pro- she can jump in (with several styles) and swim all the way to the edge, swimmy free. watching her do this makes me realize just how much she has grown up over the summer. the time is just going way to fast!!!