Generation to generation

Jay's mom has had a sweater that her Aunt made for Jay when he was an infant hanging in the kids room ever since Drew was born. It never fit Drew during the right season so it kept hanging in the room. When I was at their house the other day I decided I would grab it hoping it would fit Brett.  Well it did and looked great! What a great thing to be able to pass along.

The first snow of the year

Once it got cold outside the kids have been begging for snow.  They have had their sleds and snowboards waiting on the front porch in anticipation for the first big snow fall.  They were even playing outside on their sleds and snowboards in the grass. Pretty desperate huh?  When Aunt Heather called Thanksgiving day to tell us that they were getting snow in Arizona, the boys were so jealous.  Luckily we got a good snow fall on Sunday.  Jay took the boys out and played outside for about 2 hours.  They had such a great time. Jay was having just as much fun having snow ball fights with the boys.

Not only do the boys love playing in the snow, they love shoveling the snow.  If there is just a slight dusting on the ground they are both begging to shovel.  They were numerous times last year that they shoveled the whole parking lot before our plow got here.  Reed gets mad when one of us does it before him. If he was only this passionate about things in the house as well.

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom and Dad!

I wish we could have been with you guys to celebrate! I still love it that mom thinks your anniversary is on the 29th and not the 30th.  You two are great role models to Heather and I.  You have shown us what it takes to make a marriage work. You are there to offer advice when needed and sometimes when not.  But we always know that we can count on you for showing us true love and commitment. 

Happy Anniversary we love you both!

Happy Thanksgiving

Our "Little Turkey"

This year we had Thanksgiving at our house with just the five of us.  Which meant I had to make everything on my own.  Jay of course had his requests of items that his mom usually makes, so I had to make them.  

 Drew and I made the pies on Wednesday.  As most of you know I am not a baker, so making pies is not what I call fun or relaxing.  I think I stressed more about them then I did the rest of the meal.  Sue always make pumpkin pie, but I don't like pumpkin pie. So I made what my mom always makes, chocolate pecan pie.  They both turned out great and I think I have found my staple pies for future Thanksgiving meals.  Everything turned out great, and we had a nice relaxing meal with just us.

I know, who takes a picture of their turkey?  This was the first big turkey I ever made so Jay wanted me to take a picture since it turned out so good. You can laugh it is alright!

We had started asking the boys on Sunday what they were thankful for and then continued to ask them each night, and here are some of the things they mentioned,

Reed.....toys, Brett and Drew, family, our home, food and being together.

Drew.....trains, family, friends

It was so great to hear how they went from materialistic things to the things that we take for granted each day. Like being together with our family and friends.  There are so many things that Jay and I our thankful for, that we could go on and on. But I want to make sure that we say thank you to our families especially for all the support they have given us over the years. They are by our side when ever we need them.  I know that we can always count on them for being there.  Even though we are miles apart, you are only a phone call away and sometimes that is all it takes. So thank you for just listening. We love you guys! 

A night out with Daddy!

I love the excitement on both of their faces!

Drew has been missing Jay a lot lately and is always wanting to know where daddy is, when is he going to be home, does he have to stay the night again, will he be tired when he gets home. It just breaks my heart to see how much the boys miss Jay when he is gone all the time. 

Reed had a sleep-over birthday party last weekend and Jay had the night off, so he took the opportunity to do something with just Drew.  Drew was so excited that he was going to get daddy all to himself.  They went out to eat at Wendy's, then went to Shopko and picked out some new cars and then went to see Madagascar 2.  Every time we drive by the movie theater or we see an advertisement for the movie, Drew quickly says, "I went to that with Daddy all by myself." I think Jay might have enjoyed the night more then Drew. He wishes he would be able to do those special things with them all the time. I just keep reminding him that he will in a couple of years.

A trip of many first's

Drew's first time miniature golfing.....and he got a hole in one on the hardest hole!

We went miniature golfing instead of trick-or-treating. If we only had that option every year.

Brett hanging out at the pool and enjoying the warm weather.

Drew loved golfing and getting the ball out of the cup for me. He lost his ball at the first course we golfed at, so the second course he was a little more cautious about how hard he hit it.

Brett in the pool for the first time. You can tell by Reed's tan that he didn't get out of the pool all week.

Our first family photo since the hospital when Brett was born.

Nick and Becky realizing they aren't quite ready for kids yet!

2 bedroom apartment, 4 adults, 3 kids, 2 dogs and 4 puppies...YIKES! The best form of birth control anyone can get.

Drew enjoying the view while we were eating dinner along the ocean. It was gorgeous, other then it was karaoke night.

The 4 puppies....they were adorable!  It is a good thing we aren't able to have pets at our place, because otherwise I think we would have ended up with one in our suitcase.

I could have taken thousands of pictures of all the gorgeous views and sights.  

The boys in front of the fountain at FGCU where Uncle Nick coaches. Five minutes after this photo was taken Drew fell into the fountain.

Reed and Drew watching Uncle Nick's team practice. It was Halloween day and Drew wore his costume all day.  It was so cute!

Brett's first time in the Gulf of Mexico.

Love it!

Can he get any cuter?

Reed and Aunt Becky enjoying the pool. 

Reed played catch for hours in the pool. It was always just one more....

Drew just lounging around

The boys loved the geckos that were everywhere. This one was in the pool so the boys wanted to save it so the had him jump on Reed's sandal to get him out.

Drew exhausted at the beach and laying in the sand and playing with a sandal.

Brett taking a nap at the beach. Will take a nap at the beach on a lounge chair, but not in his bed. I don't understand.

The boys playing so nicely together at the beach.

Drew chasing the seagulls around. He did this for about 15 minutes.

Drew was trying to kick the waves back into the ocean.

Enjoying the weather. It was a beautiful day.

Reed playing catch again, but this time in the ocean with some kid he met.

Reed taking pictures along the walking trail. He has really started to enjoy photography as well. I am hoping he will keep it up.

Drew just loving the pool.

The boys were able to sit in the cockpit of the plane on the way home, but of course the one time I put my camera in my luggage I actually needed it.  I had to take the pictures on our phone, they aren't the best quality but they will do.

We had such a great time down in Florida and were so glad that we were finally able to make it down to see Uncle Nick and Aunt Becky. The kids are still talking about all the fun things we did down there and ask when we can go back and visit. 

Thank you Nick and Becky and we can't wait to see you all again.

I will be updating soon!

A couple of you have asked when I am going to update this again.  I have had a lot going on and haven't had the time nor energy to do so. I promise I will get back to updating it. I have a lot to do on here, and I just need to do it!