Thanksgiving, Part 3 - BEACH

Ahhh, the beach... it was perfect.  Lots of sand and space, very few people, warm weather, and loads of fun to be had!  I couldn't wait to introduce my daughters to the beach.  I kind of knew what their first reaction would be: Natalie would immediately love it and take off running and Kennedy would cry and want to be held b/c she would not like the sand.  But I also knew that the second time, both girls would have a ball... and they did!  It was great.  I couldn't stop smiling and laughing and taking video.  Great memories.

 Natalie - there she goes!

Love this... checking out her shadow

 I love this little run!  She would go back and forth, from our chairs to the beach

No fear.  I love that about her

Thanksgiving, Part 2 - BIKES

One of the best things about Hilton Head are the bike trails - they are even, paved, flat, and go all over the island.  My dad rented bikes for all of us, and two of the bikes had the child seat on the bike for Nat & Ken.  We rode at least once a day, sometimes twice.  It was really fun!  I think Kennedy enjoyed it the most.  She talked and hummed and sang the whole time.  And when we weren't riding the bike, she wanted to ride.  Here are some favorite bike ridin' photos:

Thanksgiving, Part 1 - FAMILY

We got to spend five days over Thanksgiving at the beach in Hilton Head, South Carolina with my parents and my aunt, uncle, and cousins.  Joel had never been to Hilton Head and this was the girls first trip to the beach.  We were really excited and apart from the 9+ hour drive down there, it was such a FUN trip!  The weather couldn't have been better, the company was wonderful, the food was plentiful & yummy, and lots of special memories were made!!!  And since we took so many pictures, I am going to post in three parts.  The first is going to be family - my mom and dad (Nana & Papa) and my Uncle John, Aunt Kelley, and cousins Jake, Katie, and Maggie who quickly became close of the girls.  Natalie and Kennedy still talk about them.  Except they refer to them as "my Jake," "my Katie," and "my Maggie."  So here are some pictures with those special people:

Papa taking Kennedy for a spin on the bike

 

Nana walking on the beach with Natalie

Cousin Katie (14yrs) sharing ice cream with Kennedy

Cousin Maggie (11yrs) liked brushing & styling Kennedy's hair

Look at the plaid headband on Ken - love it!

Cousin Jake (17yrs) with Natalie, who called him "my Jake"

And she meant it too  :)

Always smiling BIG when she was with Jake

We didn't get a lot of photos with my parents or John & Kelley for that matter... But you know we love you all the same!  We really loved seeing you guys, it had been almost two years, so it was a real treat seeing you and catching up!!!!!!  :-)

Christmas cards free from Shutterfly!

I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner!  I adore this time of year, especially celebrating the birth of our Savior!  There's also wonderful traditions, the aroma of a real tree, stockings hanging over the fireplace, and snowmen  :-)  Another thing that is really fun is getting Christmas cards from our friends, especially the ones we don't see as often.  We put all of them up on our collage board.  For the past two years, we have gotten family pictures taken by the fabulous Amber Beckham.  She always does an amazing job, and I will post those pictures very soon!  And then I heard about this awesome promotion from Shutterfly.  Thanks to Shutterfly, I will be getting my Christmas cards for free this year!!!  YAY!  And they are going to be so cute! 


They have tons of options and backgrounds and styles for your Christmas card, and you can input 1-6 photos in your card.  I will probably have to choose one that has at least three photos, because it's hard to pick just one picture! 


One year for Christmas, I made Joel a calendar from many of our favorite photos.  Its one of those things you just can't throw away!  It looked so great.

Also, you should check out the birthday invitations for your kiddos. They have some very creative and adorable ideas for parties! Just within a few clicks, a masterpiece is created! Shutterfly has great deals, they provide lots of free shipping, and they do it quickly! 
Now is the time to order those cards and check out the great blogger promotion if you haven't already! It is going on for one more week, so you will want to take advantage of this cool deal. And please don't forget to add us to your Christmas card list this year! :)


Wishing you a very merry Christmas!  And thank you Shutterfly!

Fall Fun at School

I love our girls school and we all love their teacher, who we affectionately call Ms. T.  She is awesome!  I think the girls will have her for an entire year, which I am grateful for.  She is so kind, and laid back, and does great work with the girls.  They have learned so much at school!  They attend at our church, so my father-in-law (who is the pastor) checks on the girls most days and I trust the staff there and am confident they receive biblical teaching, instruction, discipline, and love.  It's an incredible place and we feel blessed the girls receive such great care while we are working. 

A few weeks ago, they had a fall festival, so I took a half day from work to hang out with the girls and watch them do all the little activities they had set up for them.  Afterward, they went outside, and so I got a few shots from the playground too.  And they are wearing personalized pumpkin shirts made by thier talented Mimi  :)

Natalie climbing

Kennedy swinging

Ring toss

Put the face on the pumpkin

Kennedy trying out the ring toss

I can't believe how big my girls are getting - they look like toddlers now!

 Feeling the "worms" - colored spaghetti

I can't believe Kennedy actually touched it - she was being so brave

I threw these last two in because they are so very cute!

Kennedy loves to "talk" on the phone, and usually it is to Emmy or Mimi

Do you notice she is wearing her princess shoes?!?  That's our girl!