Our amazing time with Grandma Gourley & Natalie!

We were so blessed to have grandma Gourley & Aunt Natalie come visit us for 2 whole weeks! We had a blast! Here are some of the highlights.
A trip to South Florida would not be complete without an airboat ride to see some alligators! It was chilly so most of the gators were hiding, but we did see one. I tried to talk them into holding one, but there was no way. Sammy was up for it, but I couldn't quite be the support myself this time. Once was good enough for me.

Grandma & Sammy collecting some sea shells at Deerfield Beach the day after Christmas. It was a perfect beach day. There were a few rip tides, but we found a sand bar where we could walk out and play for a long time.

Clara & Natalie spent most of their time up on the beach. Natalie was catching some sun and Clara loved playing in the sand!

Alex & Natalie playing a good game of chase in Sanibel (my favorite place! I'll post more about it later).

Fun Times with Grandma & Natalie #2

Our fun times continue...
Deerfield Beach the day after Christmas. Grandma Gourley is the best at playing in the ocean!

The whole gang catching the sunset over the Gulf coast in Sanibel. What a dreamy day!

Alex & Sammy eating fried gator...yes you heard me right. We all had a taste of some gator and I have to say I couldn't quite swallow it. Just picturing one of those guys swimming around was enough to make me spit it out. But Sammy & Alex loved it!

One more day at the beach. This time we were at Fort Lauderdale Beach and it was cold. But the water felt great and they had a great time playing in the water. Clara & I spent our time bundle up on the beach.

We all screamed for ice cream! One last hurrah eating ice cream at Cold Stone! We miss you Natalie & Grandma...come back soon!

Christmas!

Christmas Eve was filled with good food, good company, & good fun. We had our big dinner that night, read about the birth of Christ, let the children open up one gift (pjs), wrote a note to Santa, left cookies & carrots for the reindeer, and went to bed. Alex in his letter kept adding things he wanted for Christmas (last minute ideas) & Sammy wanted our guests to hurry home so we could all go to sleep and Santa could come. It was a magical night!


Santa somehow managed to fit a trampoline in his sleigh...the kids loved it and have been jumping ever since. Santa did leave a job for George and I...the surround for it. That is up finally, so hopefully safe enough.

Clara loved opening this gift from her cousin Libby. She played with those bath toys a long time that morning! And splashes with them in the tub!

What a mess we made on Christmas morning. Alex & Sammy opened all of their presents VERY quickly. I had to follow behind and remind them who they were from and how grateful we were. Not quite sure if it worked.

Two really happy kids...Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year!

Gingerbread House!

Grandma Gourley came to visit us for the Holidays this year! And we had a blast with her! Day #1 started off with decorating the gingerbread house she gave us (She did the 12 days of Christmas for our family! The kids loved opening the gift & each one was just perfect! Thanks Elene!).

Clara had so much fun trying to get some frosting. She was thrilled when Sammy graciously offered it to her from her finger!

Alex had his side of the house covered very quickly and then found time to put the rest of the candy in his tummy.

Sammy is my sugar girl and snuck licks of frosting any chance she got.

As you can see they had a great time & the house turned out great too!

December Events

December was filled with such fun activities! Here are a few snapshots of those things.

EY Christmas Party is the one time of year George and I get all dressed up to go out. It was great to meet all of George's co-workers, eat some yummy food, spend time with George, & be grateful that I get to be a stay-at-home mom!

The City of Coral Springs puts on a Christmas parade. I have to admit I was expecting more lights & floats, but it didn't matter Clara loved waving at the people anyway.

Alex put on a wonderful Holiday program with songs for Christmas, Hanukah, & Kwanzaa. Doesn't he look so cute in that Santa hat?

There are many advantages to living in Florida...one of them is you can have a field day in December. Here is Sammy trying to run with a ball on a tennis racket. Her class had a great time.

Our little Sammy took cheerleading this last semester. They put on a little performance and were awesome! Sammy loved yelling out the chants and she was the spotter for the stunts. :)

Birthday Month!

I know it has been forever since I last blogged. What can I say, December is a very busy month for us. Thought I'd start you off with some pictures from the 4 birthdays that we celebrated!

This year was a big birthday for me--30. I spent it mostly doing stuff I wanted to do and ended it with eating at one of my favorite places CPK. I just gotta have that BBQ Chopped salad.


George's birthday was next. He had the day off, so we spent all day pampering him. See that german chocolate cake...it is homemade. Not as good as Paige's but I am still trying. What did George get for his birthday? A sledge hammer and axe. I promise it was on his list.


My sweet Baby Clara turned 1! I can't believe she is one! She is so much fun! I can't even see her without kissin her whole face. She has certainly won the hearts of this family over! We had her favorite meal pasta with peas. And then she got to eat those cupcakes.

She didn't quite know what to do with that frosting, so she licked it for a while

She was satisfied and happy to be 1!

Talking on her new phone...how did she learn that?!

We got the pleasure of helping my sister-in-law Natalie celebrate turning 18! We got pedicures, ate good burgers & fries, & went to a show.