Circus and Valentines...they don't go together ;)

In February, Pops came down to take the boys to the circus and  babysat so William and I to go out to dinner for valentine's day! We had a fun night at Capital Grill. William earned a gift certificate and our families sent us a "little" V-day money to go out! The meal was great but the company was better as my 85 year old grandfather would say.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans

While we were on vacation in Destin, Thomas called and invited us to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. I was slightly nervous about taking the boys to Mardi Gras but Thomas assured me that his area was very family friendly. The boys were very excited to see Uncle Thomas and Aunt Jessie.  We arrived on Thursday and headed strait to a parade. Thompson got on Thomas shoulders and started trying to catch as much stuff as possible from the floats; they made a great team. After the parade, Thomas gave William and I his hotel room and he kept the kids for the night! It was a wonderful treat.

Friday came and he and I went to brunch. It was so fun spend some one on one time with my brother. Then we put the kids down for a nap and William and I headed to the WWII museum. It is one of my all time favorite history museums.  we spent 4 hours there. Thomas brought the kids to the museum and we all did the submarine exhibit and had dinner at the American Sector.  Friday night, Jessie flew in and we went to another parade! Again, Thompson (and Thomas) were all over it. That night, Jessie said she felt like she "missed out" keeping the boys so they put us up in their hotel and kept them. Can you say, Aunt and Uncle of the year! We met up for lunch on Saturday and then William stayed with the boys for nap! We had a day of parades on Saturday! Thomas and Jessie stayed at their hotel on Saturday night and then we all drove downtown to have some world-famous beignets. Then brunch out on Sunday with more parades. William and I decided to get a hotel room on Sunday night and leave Monday. We enjoyed spending more time with them!!! It was a wonderful weekend with fantastic memories made with some of our favorite people! Thank you, Thomas and Jessie for being out of this world-hosts!

On the drive home we stopped by Birmingham and met my cousin, Drew for dinner! It was a fun jammed pack vacation!

Thompson slept in the bathtub:

I earned this bag by doing a kart-wheel:

Destin in January

William left his job at GE to begin working for the NRC in January. He had two weeks off so we headed south.

We spent the first week in Destin at my Granddad condo. It was still really cold but that didn't stop Thompson from jumping in the water.  There was plenty of pool time, beach time, and a visit to The Track. We had some fun dinner outs and dinners in. 


The Donut Hole Tradition:

Christmas

We celebrated with my mom and brothers on December 21st. We exchanged gifts and had a family brunch. It was wonderful to spend time with them again. Thompson loves his Uncles and T-Lo. My dad came down in January and we celebrated with him.

 Then, Mary Beth and Damon came into town on December 22nd and we took the boys to see Santa Claus and then out for dinner. They spent the night and then Wade and Gayle drove up on Sunday. MB, Damon and William and I went to see Cirque Du Soleil as our gift from Wade and Gayle. It was a wonderful show and a fun memory. Sunday night, Gayle cooked Christmas dinner and we ate at our table and used my china. It made "hosting" Christmas very easy since she did the great cooking!

 Monday, was Christmas Eve and William finally was able to take the day off. We spent time together in the morning and then went to Church. After Church, my extended family got together at Lacey's for Christmas Eve dinner. My extended family is very special and they each bring their own unique qualities and special traits to our group.

Tuesday, Christmas morning we woke up with the boys and opened presents. We had coffee cake and sang happy birthday, Jesus! The boys each received 3 presents like the Wiseman brought for Jesus. For right now, that’s what we are using. I read about this idea somewhere and we liked it! Santa brings one present and stockings and we give them the two other presents.

Tuesday, night we went out with T-Lo, Hop pop and the Dyer family for a Christmas dinner. It was a wonderful Christmas.

 

 Crying because I wanted him to take a picture and wait to open the stocking...I can't really blame him. :)