More sun and sand for us!

 Syd taking a breather from the water

 My newphew, Austin

 My niece, Renne' and Blake

 My sister, Brielle and Bennett

 Trey's very deep whole

 attracting the ladies already!

Everyday that we were in Miami, we took full advantage of that ocean!  The kids really had fun once their cousins, the Sheppards, arrived in Florida.  Nick flew in New Years Eve and joined the festivities. 

Sunny Isles Beach, FL Day 1

One of Nick's good friends from Wisconsin got married right after Christmas.  Nick drove up to the wedding with his parents and I packed up the kids and went south instead to visit my sister, Brielle in Miami Lakes, FL.  It was a long 16 hour drive by myself with three kids, but I survived.  After a little rest, we headed to the beach the next day.  This was the first time my kids can probably ever remember playing in the ocean and it was priceless seeing how excited they were!  Even though it was overcast and only in the 70s, my kids were in that water!

Hiking - Tennessee River

We went on a hike on the banks of the Tennessee River.  Nick likes to be outside when ever he can and the rest of us get drug along for the ride.  We all had fun though and enjoined the great weather. 

Chirstmas in Knoxville, TN

We loaded up the kids and took off for Knoxville TN a couple of days before Christmas.  The kids did great during the drive and had a blast with Nana and Dadaw.  We went to a couple movies, ate great food, completed a 1000 piece puzzle, and just enjoied each other's company. 

2011 Gingerbread house

Ugly Sweater and Eggnog party!

We hosted an ugly sweater party the first weekend in December.  We had a lot of people come and we had a really good time, although pictionary got a little heated! :-)  We plan on having another one next year...so keep looking for those ugly sweaters!

2011 Family Pictures

Tiffany helped us get some great family pictures.  It was so COLD and very WINDY, that we were pretty limited in what we could do.  Poor Sydney's dress was short sleeves, so we would count to three, take her coat off, and then snap a few more shots.  Thank you for braving the elements and working us into you busy schedule, Tiffany.

Fort Worth Botanical Gardens

Nick and Sam took all of the kids to the botanical gardens while Tiffany and I were recovering from Black Friday shopping.  They got a ton of great pictures.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Much to Be Thankful for....

We had a lot to be thankful for this year.  We traveled back down to Texas to have thanksgiving with my sister and her family.  We started the day off with a turkey trot.  Nick and I ran the 10K, Blake and Sydney the 5K, and T man finished up the races with the 1 mile.  We had a great feast midday and then black Friday shopping started early this year (or late depending on how you think of it.)  Tiffany and shopped till we dropped, literally!  I think we were out from 10pm-5am.  I was exhausted!  I got everything I wanted, and I the exhaustion is too fresh to predict if I will do it again.