December Party(ies)!!

My Family sans my sister, Sue Beth and her husband Michael (they were having their own Christmas Party) and my 2 cousins, Brian and Melissa. We missed them!

December is already such a fun-filled busy month, then throw in the Kentucky Museum's Open House with Santa (see two posts ago), The Polar Express with Santa (last post), and my Dad's Annual Office Christmas Party with Santa, and Garrett thinks Santa is a regular part of his day and family! He has been enjoying all of the festivities so much and this year is hands down the BEST (and last with just our Garrett :)) most FUN holiday season. We feel very blessed with such wonderful friends and family. We are SO looking forward to experiencing the holiday with TWO next year and especially for a special BIRTH day around the first of April. Baby is having its own holiday party in my belly (probably thanks to all the awesome food this Mama has been eating at the aforementioned parties!) and will have another check-up with the doc this Friday at our 24 week appointment! Time is flying so make those special memories and tuck them away this season! Love and cheers to you and yours!


Garrett with his new best friend/ member of the family!

Santa came armed with gifts! Garrett LOVES his monkey umbrella!

My grandfather, Willis (fondly referred to as Tat-tat) making sure he was on the Nice List

Door Prize Winners! Gerald won a $25 Red Lobster Gift Card (which FYI read the back, you can also use at other restaurants like OLIVE GARDEN!) and I won a Louisville Bats Hat (awesome for me b/c I love to wear hats of any kind (Hat = No fix hair day)!)

Polar Express

Tonight our family visited Bowling Green's Historic Rail Museum to experience some "Polar Express" Magic! After receiving our Golden Tickets the conductor directed us to the rail car, and upon boarding we were read the Polar Express! Although, the rail car did not move and no waiters magically served us hot chocolate and cookies, it was still pretty magical to Garrett! Especially when, upon disembarking Santa met each child with the first gift of Christmas. A bell, of course! And you know what, we all could hear it ring! We believe!!!

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

*Pause music at very bottom of page before playing

Jackson's Orchard Through the Years

September 2008

Jackson's Orchard is a local Bowling Green, KY favorite place to visit in the Fall. Hay rides to the pumpkin patch, farm animal petting zoo, a HUGE "Cidar Slider" slide, hay forts...... every child's dream! We have loved taking Garrett every year since he was born to this family fun haven! Some pictures from our first trip, Sept. 2008 through today!

Same Shirt as last year :)

Why Hello Spring!

How you know Spring is coming at Our Home:

The "Spring" Wreath gets hung.


The Tulips begin popping up!

This is new this year: I planted 3 strawberry plants in a colander after reading about this in Southern Living Magazine! I hope to have some tasty eats come May :)

Up close with the strawberries

The garden gets plowed! Good thing that tractor has a cup holder :)!!

Our Disney Top Ten List

After just returning from Disney, we wanted to share with you some of our fav things to do while in the parks. We truly love going and this time of year the temps are great and the crowds are down. Here is our Top Ten!:

10. Getting Fast Passes! Don't wait in lines when you don't have to. Rides to especially Fast Pass as soon as you enter the park: Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear, and Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom, Soarin' and Test Track in Epcot, and Toy Story, Tower of Terror, and Rockin' Rollercoaster in Hollywood Studios. Also, ask a ride worker about the "Rider Switch" passes for adults who wait with their child while the other adult rides. It is awesome!

9. Going to the Electa-Lights Parade in Magic Kingdom and listening to the Fife and Drum Group and Voices of Liberty perform in Epcot's America!

8. Riding the Monorail!

7. Getting hand-dipped ice cream on the Boardwalk and in Hollywood Studios

6. Seeing the Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid Shows in Hollywood Studios

5. Wearing *Disney attire* i.e. silly hats, shirts, etc. that wouldn't be appropriate to wear anywhere else but in Disney :)

4. Getting a personalized ornament in Magic Kingdom's Ye Old Christmas Shoppe to commemorate our visit.

3. Walking past the exact spot in Magic Kingdom where Gerald asked me to make all his dreams come true and marry him!

2. Eating at several character dining spots! Our favs are The Garden Grill in Epcot's The Land, Chef Mickey's inside the Contemporary Resort, and The Pooh and Friends Breakfast in the Crystal Palace.

1. Getting to meet, greet, and get autographs from all our favorite Disney Characters :)

Welcome 2011!!

My parents give me, my sisters, and our hubs an ornament each year for Christmas. In addition they give each of the grandchildren one as well. Before they began this tradition, my grandparents, Nana and Tat-tat, did for each of the grandchildren. Then as each of us grew up and moved away we had a childhood full of ornaments to adorn our "grown-up" Christmas trees. I love this tradition and Garrett already has quite a collection of ornaments to cherish from his Neena and Pappaw :) These ornaments are from Disney (of course, right?!)

So, my dad is someone that has everything and wants nothing when you ask him what is on his Christmas list :) He is a tricky one to shop for. As a result, Gerald and I thought it would be fun to get his bicycle restored for his gift this year. His parents gave this bike to him when he turned 10 years old back in 1959! Our talented friend cleaned it up and made it look like new! Dad was very excited and took it for a spin down the street after snapping this pic :)

Although my parents had 3 girls, my Dad somehow managed to survive all the estrogen and even those terrible teen years! I think now looking back he would say it was all worth it. We turned out pretty good, in my estimation :)!! And we love our dad!!

Sarah is a trendy little thing so we splurged on her this year and got her a white coat! She was striking a pose here!

This is my grandfather, Tat-tat, who has always been so wonderful to our family. He is also the one I mentioned above that faithfully gave us a new ornament every year for Christmas. Tat-tat still enjoys going to the New Albany basketball games with my dad, out to eat, and always has/will attend church faithfully. What an example he is and my grandmother were to us! He and my Nana were and still are wonderful grandparents and now great-grandparents. Here are his four great grandchildren who love him lots!