Gobble! Gobble!

We started our Thanksgiving festivities this year with a trip to Nana's house, and we dined like royalty! She always sets the most beautiful, fancy table for special occasions-it could make eating cereal feel like a big deal! The food was SO YUMMY and we really enjoyed spending a relaxing afternoon with her, just eating and watching a little football.

Isn't that a beautiful table!?


I call this "Sophisticated Caveman"


Ohhh my. This picture does not do that turkey (or ham) justice!


Nana and the kids


Bella loves Nana's Christmas Tree. It's decorated with ornaments from old classic movies-mainly Gone With the Wind. So pretty!

After we left Nana's we headed out for yet another adventure. . . meeting long lost relatives. Through the strange wonder that is Facebook, I have recently gotten in touch with an Aunt & Cousin that I used to be close with when I was just a very tiny munchkin. "Talking" with them over facebook was neat enough, but I wasn't expecting to feel quite so very happy about actually meeting them. Don't get me wrong-I was excited! But those of you that know me, know I have a bit of social anxiety and pretty much freak out at the thought of meeting new people. Generally, this involves a lot of sweating and panic on my part. Followed by a total inability to come up with anything intelligent or witty to say. And ending with me hiding safely behind Rob while He proceeds to charm everyone beyond belief. I both love him and hate him for that ability. Mostly love him though :)
So this little introduction wasn't really any different, especially the part where I had to walk into a house full of people I din't know and ask for someone I haven't seen in about 26 years! Yep, I was in full panic mode. Short of breath, heart palpitations, and everything. That lasted all of 5 seconds! From the moment my little family walked into this big family's gathering, we felt SO welcome and loved, like we really were always just a regular part of their family. It was wonderful and amazing. Everyone was so sweet!!! My cousin is ADORABLE and hilarious and goes non-stop. My face was hurting from laughing at her by the end of the night. My Aunt and Uncle are just the sweetest people you could ever imagine. Seriously. I've just never felt so at ease. There were tons of kids and they all had the best time together-like they had been friends forever too. Bella even cried when it was time to leave because she didn't want to leave her cousin. I totally understood how she felt-this was the kind of family you didn't want to leave. It was such a gift to reconnect with them-especially on Thanksgiving! We all had such a great time and hope to see them again really really soon!

Me and my beautiful cousin


The girls. Instant friends!


The whole long lost gang



Saturday, we headed over to PapaGigi's for our 3rd Thanksgiving feast! It was yet another super fun day, full of family and delicious food! We ate, watched football, and then played a version of football in the front yard. Really, I don't know what it would be called, but it involved a football, kicking, throwing, and a LOT of laughing!





Bella has clearly missed her calling as a professional punter.


Zach, however, has serious potential as a quarterback-his arm is crazy good!!!



Hope everyone had as wonderful of a Thanksgiving as we did!

Well it never fails. Every time I finally decide, this is it, I am going to start updating my blog regularly, I fail. Months go by. Nothing. Then after some ridiculous amount of months, I have to do some massive update. I tell myself I'm too busy or too tired or just simply don't feel like it. Then I see a friend's blog-someone who is WAY busier that I am, and it's beautifully up to date with entries almost daily, and I really feel like a loser.
This time is no different. It's been months; be ready for a billion pictures. I'm not promising anything, but just like you can't give up when you fall off the diet wagon, I am not giving up on my blog! Wish me luck, and let the picture bonanza begin!!

July was a fun month, we went on our annual Pickwick trip/family reunion. This was a pretty big trip for the Princess as it was a time of many firsts:
This year she decided that it was time to be brave, and boy was she ever!!!!

She did a little jumping



She did a little skiing. To say she loved it would be a massive understatement! She was quite upset when we told her she wasn't quite big or strong enough to do it by herself. So she settled on skiing hands free with Papa.


Of course there was some swimming (but this year she wasn't afraid to go under!) and a whole lot of tubing! She even did a little "extreme tubing" just like the big kids!




And was generally just plain cute!


August was another busy month for the Princess.
She started Kindergarten



And then we very quickly decided that homeschooling was the way to go for us! We couldn't be happier with that decision. Since the Princess has been able to read since she was 3 and a half, but isn't quite as super awesome at math, it has really allowed us to personalize her education. In fact, even though technically she is in K, she is actually doing first grade work in all of her subjects except math (and even it is an advanced K math program)! Little smarty pants! I'm so proud of her!


Also in August, was another major family development. . . we found out we are pregnant! SURPRISE!




Then came September.
WE WENT TO DISNEY!!!! That little announcement deserves its own post, which I promise to do. But here is a pic to get ya in the mood. It's crazy cute, so be prepared.

September was a little slow; we didn't do much because we were too busy getting ready for our Disney trip.

On to October.
We spent lots of sunny afternoons playing at Papa's










And of course there was Halloween! It was a lot of fun! We had tons of family and friends over for yummy pre-trick-or-treat dinner, and then set out for a night of candy getting!




Although a lot has changed over the past few months, the Princess has gotten taller, her reading has gone from good to really great, she is actually starting to grasp the concept of addition (PRAISE GOD!!), so much is still the same.
She still spends hours, and I literally mean HOURS a day drawing






She still has her imaginary friends (which I LOVE) and although her list of "friends" grows almost every day, the old favorites are still around. I really will miss Jacob and Alice when she eventually outgrows them.

She still adores her Lovie


She's still sassy!


She's still silly!




She loves to read, and nothing could make me more proud!!


She LOVES her family!


She still loves to pretend


And everything about her still melts my heart