Christmas Card Pics

 While we were at the beach I wanted to get some pictures of the kids for our Christmas Card Pictures. I bought the letters J O Y and the kids put seashells on the letters. Cooper did the letter, "J" Tristan did the letter, "O" and I worked on the letter "Y".  I then put the letters to plywood. Tristan did not want to smile for the camera more than 2 minutes. And I need more than two minutes to get a good "Christmas Picture"! She didn't smile because she knew how I wanted her to smile!! She is something else. She was being very ugly about it and got in trouble. I was upset and didn't think I got anything worth using. But, I came up with a couple of pictures, not really what I wanted for the card. But, it's what I got:)




I love getting Christmas Cards in the mail and seeing how my friends kids grow through the years. I have saved all of them and need to come up with some organization.

Beach Sunset

 I snapped some pictures of the kids while the sun was setting. It is always beautiful! Blake and I got our pictures taken this time of year 8 years ago. They are some of the best pictures.

Ahhh...I see these pictures and want to go back to the beach where you have no worries and everything is peaceful. 

Ft. Walton Parks and Shopping

While we were at the beach Marilyn and I wanted to go shopping.  Marilyn took me to this one store that had a lot of furniture that people had gotten rid of from condos they bought. I found a cute cute chair from Haverty's.  Marilyn told me to go home and sleep on it, if we came back the next day and it was still there...then you would know it was meant to be mine. Well, it was there the next day and it WAS meant to be mine. It goes so well in my house. We also went to a couple of girly boutiques that we love to shop at while we are in town. There is barely in boys clothes in these places. It's really not fair. I've always said if I ever owned a Children's Clothing Store, I would offer more of a selection for boys. Anyhoo, Tristan got some Gorgeous clothes! A really pretty dress for Easter. Tristan's first Easter dress was from the same place. 

Marilyn and I had the kids with us so in between shopping...we had to satisfy the kids. We went to McDonald's and a couple of parks. So everyone was happy!

Beach Trip

These are Tristan's footprints in the sand. I already have a picture of Cooper's footprints in the sand that I  did something with. 

Every year for Thanksgiving our family takes turns  celebrating with my family one year and Blake's family the next.  Blake's family goes to the beach for Thanksgiving. This year we celebrated Thanksgiving at the beach a week earlier (because Mimi and D-John are leaving on a cruise to Hawaii a couple of days after Thanksgiving).  The weather was great. It was a little windy and of course not warm enough for the kids to swim...But, it felt really good. The kids had a blast and also had the beach to themselves. No one was there so they were able to literally run around everywhere. Any other time-they wouldn't have been able to run like that because there would've been beach chairs in their way. 

 By the end of every trip down to the sand-the kids were basically naked in the water. :) These pictures were from the first day at the beach. I wish we were there now!

The Kiddos Thanksgiving Crafts

Above: Cooper's Turkey with the long leg ( he painted this year) and his footprint turkey from when he was 3 in the Clifford Room.

Above: Tristan's Turkey and Handprint wreath she made this year in the Teddy Bear Room

I have saved all the kids artwork over the years. I try and remember pulling all their stuff out each holiday. It's so neat to see what they have done over the years. Here is a few of their things...

Above and Below: Coopers Handprint Turkey's from 2007! Wow! That seems like forever ago! He made these in the Panda Room.

Above: Tristan's Handprint Thankful Wreath that she made in the Owl Room. She is thankful for: Mommy Daddy Cooper Savannah Maverick Lima Poppy Mimi D-John and Her Friends.

Sweet Teacher Gift

I am so THANKFUL for the kids in my class this year and their sweet parents. I got a cute owl kitchen towel for Halloween, but I thought it would be great all year round-because it matches my kitchen perfect! And I love Owls! Below is a cute Thanksgiving Hand Towel and Turkey Candle Holder. I never think to spend the money on towels for myself, so this is a cute gift.