Felix's Newborn Pictures

When Baby Felix was born one of my dear, sweet friends said she wanted to do some family pictures for us as a gift. Since she is one of the most talented photographers I know, I was thrilled! Thank you, April D. Green Photography, for these pictures we will treasure forever. We love you!

(The pictures were taken on August 7 when Felix was just 9 days old).

Thanks again, April!

Fall Pictures 2016

Every year I like to take the kids to a couple of the same spots to take some fall pictures. This year it was so windy when we went to take pictures, so many of them didn't turn out as great as normal. There were still quite a few cute shots, though! Here they are; Jackson (8), Ansley (7), Elsie (5), Vada Belle (3) and Felix (2.5 months):

 

 And my favorite one from this year:

Halloween 2016

By now anyone that knows our family knows that our children love to do a theme for Halloween, and they know that they can easily convince Eric and I to join in dressing up if they need us to! They planned last November one morning on the way to school, right after Halloween, that they wanted to do an Alice in Wonderland theme.

Eric was the Mad Hatter, I was the Cheshire Cat, Jackson was the white rabbit, Ansley and Felix were Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Elsie was the Queen of Hearts, and little Vada Belle was Alice. On Thursday before Halloween we took the kids Trick or Treating at the dorms at ASU, and then Friday night we went to the Boone Boo. Then we went to our many usual stops and trunk or treats on Halloween night, so the kids loved that they got to dress up and go trick or treating three different nights. 

Since Mamaw Pearl's birthday is on Halloween, the kids of course had to stop by her house and sing Happy Birthday to her!

We were able to find all of our costumes either in our closets or from things we bought at Goodwill, with the exception of Eric's and Ansley's hat (which we found offline really cheap!) and Vada's Alice dress (that I got last year after Halloween really cheap. One good thing about the kids planning far in advanced what they want to do the next year!). I made Ansley and Elsie's skirts out of some tulle I've had laying around here for a while, and a piece of foam was the perfect thing to make a crown for the Queen of Hearts and her heart wand. We recycled the hairbow I wore with my "Wendy" costume when we went as Peter Pan for part of Ansley's costume, and Eric glued some felt onto a shirt for her and Felix. I crocheted Felix a hat very last minute and made Jackson a clock (out of a mailing envelope I had laying on the kitchen counter) to do the final touches on our costumes! 

The kids got to go Trick or Treating for a while with their friends, Caleb and Lyla. By the time we got home from our final night of trick or treating, we had enough candy to last for months and months! 

What a fun Halloween weekend we had!

Beach Trip!

The kids had a week off from school for fall break last month, and we were able to take a trip to the beach with Eric's parents and brother, Marshall. We love going this time of the year because the weather is usually still wonderful but it isn't nearly as crowded as during the summer. The kids were so excited to get to the beach and as soon as we got to our hotel and Eric was checking in, the kids and I were hanging outside and they loved catching the lizards running around.

Playing at the beach:

Grandma Winkie and Grandpa David got us a fantastic suite for all of us to stay at, and not only were the rooms wonderful, they had fantastic pools and hot tubs, a lazy river, a water slide, and was right on the beach. Perfect!

Playing at the beach is exhausting for the two little ones:

Our beautiful beach babes:

Felix's first time at the ocean! He wasn't a huge fan of sticking his toes in the water:

Hanging out and enjoying family time:

Lunch time by the pool!:

The kids loved the waterslide!

Pool Fun:

Last day at the beach:

When we were leaving from the beach and the pool and told the kids we had to go home now, this was Vada Belle's reaction. Crying and saying, "But I don't wanna leave the beach!" Me either, sister! Elsie and Ansley found my phone and decided to take a couple of selfies.

Thank you Gramma Winkie and Grandpa David for letting us come with you on this super fun beach trip! We had a wonderful time and made wonderful memories.