Sister Brunch

This year, we decided to have a special brunch to help celebrate Christmas and fun with cousins. Sometimes our time together is rushed and involves quick drop offs and pick ups or multiple interrupted conversations. So, this year the Lanes and the Milligans had a special brunch well before Christmas. It gave us a good excuse to eat some yummy breakfast goodies and gave the kids the opportunity to exchange presents early. We had such a nice time just chatting and the kids had fun playing...as always. Perhaps this will become an annual tradition! Merry Christmas!!

Christmas card pics- 2013

do you see Sammy (cat's) tail???

I love this one...even if it was a "suggested" pose

too much sun, but some cute kiddos

3 cute backsides

This was one of our best year's for Christmas card pics! For some reason, everyone was very cooperative! Even with silliness and giggles, everyone still gave a pretty cute smile and did what I asked. Yay! Of course, they got a kick out of standing on the driveway and looking over their shoulders. They thought it was funny that I was taking pictures of them from behind. Anyway, I love my little cuties and they sure are beautiful!

Learning Grove Christmas Party

Brad's group: 2nd and 3rd grade

my sweet Rach

Rachel's group: 4th, 5th and 6th

Daddy and Trenty

the whole gang singing together

This week, we had our Christmas party and program at Learning Grove. It's always a very fun time of year as we wrap up the first half of the year and take a break (from going to our group) until January. We have a new Music Tutor this year, who is fantastic! She taught the kids some wonderful new songs and they all sang a really rocking and exciting version of Jingle Bells. All the kids were super excited and enthusiastic about singing that one. :) After they sang some songs, we had snacks and played some games. We are so thankful for our homeschool group and all the wonderful families we have met thru homeschooling.
Merry Christmas!!

Happy Halloween 2013!

Ready to trick-or-treat!



Anakin Skywalker

our lovely doll

a clone trooper

This Halloween was super fun and candy-filled! But, we did have some last minute costume anxiety/changes that happened this year. For some reason, Brad was unsure if he really wanted to be Anakin Skywalker 1 day before Halloween. We gave him some homemade costume options if he was truly unhappy with Anakin. But, in the end he decided he liked his store-bought costume best. Rach was really unsure of her costume. She had chosen to be a LaLaLoopsy doll and we had bought several things to make her outfit. But, when we began putting it on, she didn't like anything about it. Off went the polkadots and purple hair. She ended up being a "doll". Trent was sure he was going to be Iron Man or Incredible Hulk or Iron Man or Incredible Hulk or Iron Man...you get the picture. Both of these costumes were in the closet, so we didn't care which one he chose. In the 11th hour, Brad suggested he be a clone trooper since he was Anakin. Trent thought that was a brilliant idea, and it was already in the closet. So, we ended up with a beautiful doll, a tough Anakin Skywalker and a fearless Clone Trooper. Maybe next year we'll feel more secure in our costume choices!?!
Happy Halloween!!

Virginia's Chess Pie

During our study of Virginia, we learned so much about this cool "Mother of Presidents" state. It's chock full of presidential history. It was super fun to visit there too! Rachel found a recipe for a chocolate chess pie in one of our books, so that's what we made in honor of Virginia. The pie was DELICIOUS! Juju was over when we happened to have all our necessary ingredients, so she and Rach each made one. This pie was one of my faves for sure! Can't wait to see what yummy recipe we make from our study of Tennessee!

13 years!!

Today is our 13th wedding anniversary! (The pics are horrible quality because I took a picture of a picture in our wedding album.) I am so thankful that God brought us together over 19 years ago...first as friends and then as husband and wife. What a wonderful 13 years it has been...I'm looking forward to many, many more!

Happy Anniversary to my handsome, sweet, funny, loving hubby!
 I love you Nick Milligan!

Vacation 2013 Pt. 7: The Griswolds head home

 there was some sleeping...

 and some chatting...

 and some smiling...

 and some more sleeping...

 and some cheesing...

 and some posing...

and some relief!

 

 

 

By the end of our vacation, Nick was feeling like Clark Griswold (and I was calling him "Sparky") from The National Lampoon's Vacation. All poor Clark (and Nick) wanted to do was take his family on a fun vacation. But, he had obstacles and disasters at every turn. :) 

 

Honestly, we feel very thankful and blessed that we didn't have more serious issues to deal with. Each of our "challenges" were overcome and dealt with and we all still had a really good time. Nick is a rock star when it comes to dealing with car issues and I can handle a bout of vomit with one hand tied behind my back! (Not really, but this definitely was NOT my first time cleaning up barf!) The biggest joy we experienced was being together as a family. We definitely created some unforgettable memories on this vacation and believe it or not, we can't wait to plan another trip! Maybe our next one will be a little less eventful. :)

Vacation Pt. 6: A walk thru Appamattox, Virginia

ready to tour the beautiful area!

an old home place

some gorgeous fields and scenery

the boys in jail in Appamattox

The pool was a welcome end to our last day of a fun (but tiring) vacation. We were very glad that we had chosen 2 hotels with indoor pools. The kids have an endless amount of energy and the pool was always a great way to

swimming fun

my 4 favorite people in the world

swimming in the hotel's heated pool on our last night of vacation

Appamattox Court House- the actual building where Lee surrendered

our pretty girl

our silly boy

our handsome guy

a (tiny) old home place

a pic taken by our sweet daughter (guess I was sleepy!)

After a restful and uneventful night in our hotel, we woke up ready to go. Nick got up super early to be at the tire store when it opened so he could have our tire patched. Unfortunately, they said the tire was damaged on the side wall which meant they wouldn't be able to do a patch. So, Nick had to buy a new tire. :( But, at least that part of our journey was over!

Lucky for us, Lynchburg is very close to the historic site where Lee surrendered! Appamattox, Virginia is only about 30-40 minutes from there. So, after a delicious breakfast of pancakes, biscuits, eggs and bacon, cooked by our friends, we hit the road.

It was quite surreal walking all over this beautiful site where so much history took place. The homes were beautiful and the courthouse was so cool! It had a museum on the upper level with depictions of Lee and Grant actually signing the peace treaty. There were artifacts from the war including: weapons, uniforms, furniture, etc... I know the kids didn't fully understand the significance of this, but hopefully they'll look back on this one day and be excited to say that they visited such an important historic site.

Anyway, visiting Appamattox was very cool and absolutely beautiful! After we walked all over the land, we had a picnic on the lawn. Then we went to a cool little coffee shop and then went back to the Green's house.

(To Be Continued...)