Florida Christmas!

(Yes, I know...many months late here!)
We hit the ground running...or the kids did!

Being outside and away from the frigid cold of the north,

the kids spent most of their time outside...

Lori's driveway and gorgeous yard were perfect for riding bikes,

running around, chasing dogs, pushing and pulling carts...

posing for Mom...

 

My beautiful girl turned 5!!!!!

Need I say more?...

"Thanks for the boat ride, Uncle Matt!"

The neighbor girl brought Gabby a flower wreath

that the "fairies" made and brought for her to wear

on her Birthday...

Smile.

She chose Chuck E Cheese...

and to share it with those she loves...

Oh yeah, and Chuck E himself!

Christmas cookie baking at it's finest!

Do I need to share how much sugar ended up on those cookies????

Gabby is my "Little Mommy."

She loves babies and playing pretend.

Such a beautiful thing to watch!

"Santa" came...but I think the kids all figured it out.

Sorry Grampa.

I actually think it was Xavi who figured it out and

spilled the beans to the others.

Gabby was the last to figure it out...

she is so sweetly naive and loves to pretend though!

I thought it was so sweet that she fell asleep with my 

childhood doll that Gramma found, cleaned up, and 

gave to Gabby as a Christmas gift.

But, I did not realize that this was the

first sign of horrible sickness to hit.

It turned out that nearly everyone got sick Christmas Day or shortly after.

The sickness manifested itself differently in everyone too.

I, along with Liam, were the last to fall.

I got sick the last day and knew it was not good the day we 

returned in MN.

I was then sick for over a month.

Never in my life have I been hit so hard by so much in one season.

:-(

Liam held out and only had little signs of sickness.

Always stayed sweet though...

Owen refused to say he was sick,

so, even with a fever and not feeling the greatest,

he played football and swam in the gulf.

These are the final photos of a backyard that we love!

I say final, because the next time we see it...

there will be a pool!!!!

We are so excited to stand in this spot...

and see a place of refreshing!

Lori and Matt had a photographer come out...

These I snapped with my phone...

sweet...

and even sweeter...

and sweeter yet...?

and a sign of times to come: 

this little girl is in love with Owen...

and she is so excited that she will get to see him even more...

because...we are moving!

and of course...there is more to come on that too!

:-)

Flying to Florida

I started this post because each photo tells quite the story...

about our kids, about our trip...

I only giggle about this one because of the "Viking" attire...

do you see it too?

:-)

Made me smile...

This little guy made me smile by just sleeping before the flight!

:-)

Each day I get to see Owen become even more

loving and caring as a big brother.

He was BORN for this role!

Hmmmm...I have come to the conclusion that 

Owen does not like reading. I think his teacher agrees.

I was concerned that this was hindering his ability, but

assessments show he is at or slightly above grade level.

I guess if all I read were encyclopedias and nonfiction, 

informational text,...

I wouldn't love it as much either...

Some fiction ideas for a little boy, Please???

More to come...

MN Christmas and more...

In an attempt to catch up, I am just going to post these and not say much!

Christmas in Mn with Granny Nanny and ...

Poppa Steve!

Liam loves his Poppa and runs to hug him whenever we visit.

A little football was not all he got, but

he sure loved it and it brought a huge smile!

Gabby managed to make a haul...

this little girl need nothing more...

she'd beg to differ!

I think Owen moved to quick for me to snap a photo of his loot...

but Liam is all smiles--

I can't resist taking many of him!

We had to celebrate early due to heading to Florida for a week!

more to come...