Belated Birthday Wishes

Happiest Birthday to you both!

This is my sister in law and her lovely family.

My brother in law is an absolute riot!

Sunny is truly beautiful inside and out. She is so genuine and down to earth and has such a kind and open heart. She is super easy to talk to and is so compassionate. I just love spending time with her!

AND, they have gorgeous babies!

Road Trip: Last Stop

Last stop on our road trip! My brother's house. We had an incredible time visiting with the three of them. Layla and her sweet cousin always have too much fun together. matching nightgowns, of course

goofs My sister in law.

My niece is always on the go... climbing, running, laughing, crashing, etc... Her enthusiasm for life is infectious. I love every minute I get to spend with her.

She does, however, need to be rescued from time to time.

My brother is as associate pastor at a gorgeous and historic church in Ga. "The origin of the church is 1750 and was established under the jurisdiction of the Church of England", so says the plaque outside. They took us for a tour.

Woodrow Wilson's father was a pastor here!

Tots in the pulpit.

Looking down from the balcony. Awful photo, but you get the picture.

My brother in his office. I'm so proud of him.

I love my brother with every ounce of me. He has saved me from myself countless times. Without fail, he picks me up, dusts me off and points me in the right direction. Whether I head in that direction or not is another story. Regardless, he is there for me offering a sympathetic ear, encouraging words of wisdom and unconditional love. He has always been the stern yet gentle voice of reason in my crazy life. Thanks for never giving up on me!

Love you, brother!

Road Trip: GA

We woke up at Grandma's, having packed up the night before, and decided that spending our last 5 days in Tx. wouldn't be nearly as fun as visiting our brothers in Georgia. So we gave them a call and hit the road. It was a looong 15 hours in the car. My brother-in-law lives in a gorgeous resort community nestled in the North Georgia mountains.The kids and I were so excited to visit with my sweet nephew and meet the newest addition to their family.

Aren't they the cutest?!

Reid was a little overwhelmed with Layla's enthusiasm. He did warm up quickly, however.

They had an absolute ball hiking, playing in the streams, and chasing rainbows!

Layla and Reid danced their way into 2009!

The tots stayed up for the entire celebration, complete with a sparkling grape juice toast, a little smooch and fireworks. No pics of the fireworks because is was 10 deg outside. bbbrrr..

We had an incredible time and were so happy to be ringing in the New Year with our family!

Road Trip '08: Grandma's

Next stop: Grandma's.

Lots of fun to be had there too! More land, trees , "tractors", and pets!

We were particularly interested in our shadows this day.

And perfecting our scream!

I would like to send a special thank you to my dear brother for adding Duke to "the family". He's already paid one visit to my home. Again, I can't thank you enough!

Aww... the lovely piano that, hopefully, will find it's way to my home soon!

We always have the best time at Grandma and Papa's house!

Road Trip '08: First stop.

Okay, this was our year to STAY HOME and relax for Christmas. We were NOT going to stuff our suitcases and fight the holiday traffic. We were going to stay home, sleep in our own beds, watch movies, etc.. My husband had two luxurious weeks off for Christmas and we were going to enjoy every minute of it. All was going according to the plan for the first couple of days. The rainy cold weather persisted and we were really starting to get the itch. A couple more days passed and severe cabin fever settled in. Thankfully, Christmas Eve broke the monotony and we celebrated a nice Christmas at home with my dad. Christmas night.... we stuffed out suitcases. What happened next? The Road Trip of '08 ! Who knew we would be celebrating New Year's Eve half way across the country?

First stop: Gramanee's!!

She was watching....

and waiting....

to see if Gramanee could bring Tommy or Dan in from the pasture.

Unfortunately, not this time.

T's favorite activity. See him driving the tractor??

He had to put on his work boots and help Papa.. dig a hole??



There are so many fun things to see and do at Gramanee's! However, the best part of the visit is hanging out with the fam.

Apparently SOME of us have a different idea of what family time looks like. I guess it looks a LOT like Solitaire to uncle Chris.

My super sweet niece that is following OH SO CLOSELY in her mother's and grandmother's footsteps! That's right Gramanee, I'm calling you OUT!

Showing off a Christmas gift to her cuz!

We had a blast hanging out with my husband's fam. down on Gramanee and Papa's farm. It was the perfect start to, what ended up being, a crazy long road trip.

Her Super Sweet 5!

Cupcakes and farm animals. Is there a better way to say Happy Birthday to a FIVE year old? I think not. So we gave the "pony man" a call and invited a few of our closest friends over.
He, "the pony man", brought ponies and..

a petting zoo too!

T. was famished which made for an extraordinarily cranky boy. Unfortunately, for him, we weren't scheduled to eat until after the animals left. Unfortunately, for me, he was adamant about making his needs known by continually pulling on my shirt and screaming, "I neeed my hot dog!!". Due to my constant efforts to "calm" him down, I wasn't available to take many photos. Luckily, my friend Tanya was on hand to capture all of the fun! All of the following FABULOUS pics were taken by her! Thanks SO much, Tanya!

a bunny too!

The baby goats were a huge hit! Layla now wants one as her pet.

a cow. AND you could feed all the animals. Too fun!

Of course, all the cupcakes were for the guests. The birthday girl wanted a princess cake.

She was NOT going to share.

She couldn't leave her little brother out. So she offered him a couple of bites.

Sampling.

There was a wide variety to select from. Thanks sooo much to a few O'mama friends that helped me to bake and decorate ALL of the cupcakes the night before. And thanks sooo much for stopping me from baking more. Wow!

Thank you, Tanya, for capturing all of these moments! You are awesome.

Layla and the rest of the family had a great time celebrating her big day!