Glorious

 

We spent the day with some of our most favorite people (the girls—mom and sisters—plus the younger cousins!) at my second most favorite spot on earth (you can see the first spot here and here if you’re curious). It was the most beautiful day that I can ever remember spending at the beach. Gorgeous weather—simply spectacular. I said I have a thousand pictures, but I managed to whittle that down to 35. I’ll spread them out over the next few days.

I begged the kids to stand still for one group picture. They obliged for about 3 seconds and then they were off running for the next four hours. I’m not sure why I packed a picnic lunch.

It was little Ben’s first time playing on the beach. He squealed in delight the whole time.

We consider this our private beach.

I post more of this scene tomorrow.

This.

Five hours of perfection on the beach today. A thousand pictures tomorrow.

Easter Celebration

[Lola told me that she was a little hatching egg.]

Truth.

[The chalkboard is Ilex’s freehand artistry.]

Christmas Day

My grandparents [the first time they’ve been here for Christmas in almost 25 years!] with the great-grandkids:

Casey cooked tri-tip steak on his Traeger. Shannon made twice-baked potatoes. Asparagus went on the grill. I baked Swedish limpa [sweet, dark bread]. Mom made bread stuffing.

I missed several pictures, but the afternoon included some outside fun with bottle rockets that my sister Holly made for the kids. Dessert included [gluten-free] apple, pecan, and key lime pies and a birthday cake for Jesus.

I have pictures of the incredible gifts my sister Shannon made and gave the boys that I’ll share tomorrow.

Thanksgiving

With a Grateful Heart

A Birthday Party ~ Oooh, la, la!

I said I’d post pictures of Ivy’s birthday party (shared with Ben—isn’t he a lucky guy?), but I only have a few. I’m so disappointed because Ilex had picked out a fantabulous pink and black outfit for Lola while we were gone, but I didn’t realize it until we got home from the party. C’est la vie.

I missed getting a picture of the dessert table after it had cookies, cupcakes, and croissants with chocolate.

It was the last Friday night garden party at Shannon’s and Ben’s for the season. I’ll miss them! (The parties, not Shan and Ben. Grin.)

An Anniversary Party

I shared a bit about my grandparents, their 5 week summer visit in July, and their anniversary back in this quick post, but I want to share a bunch of pictures today. We sat in the garden and listened to my grandparents tell the story about how they met and got married. This is family at its best, people. And I couldn’t help but share a gazillion photos, because I loved every facial expression. (If you could only see how many I’m not posting…)