Every year our kids get a week off in February. If you live on the east coast, you know how cold and icky that month can be. The kids and I decided to take a trip down to Georgia to visit Aunt Jill and her family, Jarrod had to stay behind for work. The kids were awesome in the car and were so excited to get there. We absolutely love Sonic, more for the drinks than the food and we got excited as we passed signs for Sonic. We actually called Jarrod and had him map every one of them along the highway for us and we hit them all. The kids loved it. I think they had tried every flavor of slushy before the trip was over and we ended up with more than 1 straw poked through the bottom of the cup. We finally just started asking them for 2 cups! Yes, we did more than visit every Sonic between Connecticut and Georgia! It was so much fun to see Jill and Jeremiah. Christmas was a little crazy this year in Utah and emotions were running high and we did not all leave the best of friends. They live in such a cute town and did a great job fixing up their house. Jill is a good decorator. Ella was not too sure about us invading her space. Her and Ethan definitely had their moments. She was sick most of the time we were there, like really sick. The boys were just happy to be outside. They played baseball in the backyard, and even found some friends across the street. The weather was awesome. They thought it was a little chilly, but we came from the "negatives" so 70 was heavenly! Jeremiah and I went running everyday, it was so much fun to have someone to run with and we had some great conversations. I've never been able to spend that much time talking to him and living so far apart, felt like I did not even know him. It was so much fun getting to spend time with his family. We had dinner at his brother's house, the kids loved it. They got to ride on this big tractor thing in the dark and Scott and Cindy (Jeremiah's brother and his wife) took them to see this huge pig, I kept telling Cindy she needed to give the thing a bath....it really smelled! Jill and I got to talk a lot, I really miss that. We cooked, went shopping, spent a day at the beach and they took us to some really cool places. We went to the Okefenokee Swamp and saw alligators, St. Augustine, Cumberland Island, and Jacksonville, Fl. We even spent some time at his Aunt's house, which was definitely an experience. For fun, the kids have taken the hood of a car and turned it upside down, tied it to the back of an ATV and they ride around in the pasture on it. My kids did not participate in that activity, well....they did until their mother saw what they were doing! It was probably one of our more favorite vacations. Not because of the location, but because we were able to spend so much time with Jill and Jeremiah and Ella. We really miss them.
Lexi and Ethan had a huge fascination with Jeremiah's pineapple in the backyard.
The kids had so much fun at the beach. They played in the sand all day. It was so warm!
Our Family loves the beach and we could not have asked for a better day!
Ethan and Jake could have sat and watch the boat's in St. Augustine all day.
Scott and Cindy were awesome. They had us all over for dinner, they played with the kids and it was so much fun getting to know them. That was the one place the kids kept asking to go back after we got home.
Not one of my favorites, but Jeremiah was excited to take the kids to the Okefanokee Swamp. I could not believe how close we were to the alligators.
I love this picture of jill, she is so beautiful and doesn't even know it. Little Ella was so sick our entire week there.
Jill took us on a ferry over to Cumberland Island. It was a little chilly, but the kids got to run around and and we all sorts of animals. There were wild horses everywhere.
St. Augustine. This is such a cool place. Everything is so old.
Scott and Cindy's. Wherever we go Ethan seems to find a train. This was his favorite part of the whole trip.
Ethan was invading Miss Ella's space. He was tired and she was sick.....very bad combination!
St. Augustine, it was a warm beautiful day and lots of cool stuff to see.
Ok, so here are a "boatload" of pictures from Halloween. We had an eventful October this year. We carved pumpkins with McGoldricks and the missionaries....well, let me rephrase that....the missionaries carved pumpkins with our kids, the guys were watching a game, and I took pictures! The gooey mess is not my thing, but by the time these 2 missionaries left our area I totally had them trained. They knew where I kept all the cleaners and how anal I am about the kitchen counters. I was so surprised at how fast they had my kitchen clean after the pumpkin fiasco!!! We may not have been the best influence on the missionaries, but their wives will thank me one day!!! Lexi had a big Halloween party at school, it was so cute to see her interact with her friends. She has so many friends in her class this year, they all take dance and gymnastics together too. She is growing up so fast! We had McGoldricks over for soup and rolls before trick-or-treating and we saw everyone else while we were out. Not many pictures of the boys, they were with friends. Jake was with the Benedetti's and Small's, and Cameron went with the Myers. If you did not figure it out (and I can't imagine why you wouldn't) Cameron dressed up as Manny Ramirez from the Red Sox. We could not stop laughing, the wig was so funny. Our boys and their Red Sox, I think Jake was just the generic Red Sox player! Lexi was Jessie from Toy Story and Ethan was Buzz. We have the perfect neighborhood for "little kid" trick-or-treating. It's not very big, and the houses are close together. Lexi was in heaven with the little girls. It was a fun night!
