Decorating for Christmas & The Iron Bowl

Yesterday was a great day for getting ready for Christmas.  We did a little bit of shopping in the morning and then it was time to get the tree and other decorations up.  It is always such a struggle to get all the lights on the tree working.  Matt spent about 2 1/2 hours working on it.  Ugh!

 We enjoyed a low key dinner of pizza before the game and decorating.

 The kids had a great time putting the ornaments on the tree and talking about where we got them from.

 It looks beautiful!  I love Christmas decorations and how cozy it makes the house feel.

 Then it was time for the Auburn/Alabama game.  Since Auburn has been on a downward spiral the last few weeks, we weren't too excited for the game because we thought it was going to be a total blowout.  We didn't make plans with anyone to watch the game because nothing worse than being around people when Alabama beats us up.  We did get some fun cupcakes.

 Much to our surprise Auburn played really well.  We were not embarrassed.  In fact we actually had the lead at halftime and the whole 3rd quarter!!!  It was really fun to watch.  We had to take a halftime selfie because we were enjoying actually being ahead!  

Things fell apart for Auburn in the 4th quarter and we ended up losing.  Hate that Alabama fans will have bragging rights for a year but at least we gave them a bit of a scare.  

Ben made a bet with a friend at school that if Alabama won he would have to wear an Alabama hat.  So today Ben "paid up" on his bet and wore this hat.  It is not his color!!!

Well, tomorrow it is back to the grind.  Ugh!  We sure have enjoyed the relaxing Thanksgiving break.  Hard to believe Christmas is only 25 days away!!!

Thanksgiving 2014 Wrap Up

Thanksgiving 2014 is in the books!  It was a very relaxing week of fun.  The kids were off of school all week so we enjoyed doing pretty much nothing most days.  It was awesome!!  My grandmother and Aunt Lisa came into town for Thursday so we hosted a pre Thanksgiving get together of appetizers and games.  It was fun to get to hang out.  We played "Happy Family" and several other games.  It was great to see GG!!

 Thursday morning was pretty low key.  We slept in and then watched some of the Macy's Thanksgiving parade.

 We then headed over to Matt's parent's house for the Morris family Thanksgiving.  There were about 35 people there so it was crazy and fun.  We enjoyed a big lunch of all the traditional foods!

 Aunt Teri always has crazy props for pictures after lunch.  I was laughing at the fact that I have had to do this for the past 19 years every time we have gone to Thanksgiving with the Morris'.

 We played a huge game of "Happy Family" with 30 people.  It was lots of fun.  Then we headed over to my parent's house for dinner.  Kate loved getting snuggles from GG.

 My mom always sets the prettiest tables!  They are amazing!  She made these cute tree ornaments with our names on them.  The kids made turkeys for each spot.

 There was a lively kids table.  The food was amazing as always.  I like that we do different side dishes each year.  We had asparagus, cranberry & apple casserole and several other new dishes.  It was wonderful!

 The kids finished up the night with new pjs from Granna and Grandaddy!  They were so cute!  It was such a fun day.  We were surrounded by our blessings and had so much to be thankful for.

 Just a side note Ben's glasses broke at dinner.  He looked so silly with them taped back together!

Happy Thanksgiving

Today we pause to give thanks to The Giver of ALL things!  Without Him we would have nothing. 

Wordless Wednesday- Playing with 50 Year Old Whips at GG's House

Game Time!

After the tailgating fun, we headed over to the stadium to try to get some tickets to the game.  Thankfully we were able to get 4 tickets for $30!  Awesome deal!  We were excited to head into the game.  

 The stadium wasn't very full but our tickets were all over the stadium.  Ben and I had great seats that were against a wall so we had back support.

 Kate and Matt came over and joined us in the middle of the first quarter.  Ben has a great look of disgust on his face which is probably due to how bad Auburn played in the first half.  We were actually losing the Samford during the second quarter.  It was rough.  Not to mention that is rained on and off for most of the game.  Nothing too hard but steady sprinkles.

 Thankfully the team started playing mid way through the second quarter and things looked better.

 The Cabras joined us for a little bit.  The kids had a blast hanging out and watching the game!

 We made it through the whole game!!  Thankfully Auburn won 31-7.  It was family day so they allowed us to go down onto the field after the game.  It was awesome to get to walk around on the field and look up into the stands!

 Unfortunately both of our phones died so we couldn't get many pictures on the field but we ran into several people we knew that took our photos!  It was a really great experience.

 Sunday morning we got up and headed back to Auburn to get our picture made with Aubie Clause!  It was a fundraiser for Aubie and really cool.  The kids loved getting to see Aubie.  I know I am biased but he really is the best mascot ever!

Such a great weekend.  Anytime we get to spend in Auburn is always special.  Feels like going home!

Tailgating

We had the date November 22 circled on the calendar since the summer.  We had big plans to head down to Auburn for the Samford game.  The Cabras and Wrights also made plans to come so we decided to have a big tailgate.  Brad staked out a great spot for us.  Since it was a low key game, there weren't many people around.  The spot was amazing.  Would could pull our cars right up and there was tons of room for the kids to run and play.  

 We had a sweet set up with tons of food and a TV.  Perfect for game day fun!!

 It was great to just kick back and relax with friends.  The kids were wonderful and we were able to really enjoy.  We just snacked for hours!

 Our spot was just 100 yards away from the Coca Cola fan fest area.  It was great to be able to take the kids and let them play.

 Ben was really good at the ball toss games!

 We are so thankful for our sweet friends.  Crazy to think about how just a few years ago we were college students hanging out going to the games and now we have a whole gaggle of kids along with us.

 We even ran into Auburn Santa and Mrs. Clause.

It was the perfect day!  The weather was gorgeous and the company was amazing!!

Quick Friday Wrap Up

We are getting ready to head out on a fun adventure for the weekend.  I thought I would post a few quick pictures before we leave...

One morning as I was getting ready for the day I looked over and say Kate relaxing in the tub.  Such a silly girl!

 Last night Matt and Ben went to a jazz band concert at Grissom.  Ben is really into jazz music so it was a great opportunity for him to get to experience some great music.  They had a wonderful time.  The ring bearer in our wedding is in the jazz band and had several solos.  We are getting old when our ring bearer is a senior in high school.

 Today at school Kate's class got to have a Thanksgiving feast.  She looked so cute in her turkey shirt!  Her class were Indians.  They got to pick their own Indian names and she picked Auburn Giraffe.  Not real sure what that has to do with the first Thanksgiving but it is totally Kate!

Stay tuned for a wrap up of our fun weekend to come!

"The Table"

Over the summer, Matt and I were researching options for furniture for our new screened in porch.  There were lots of great options but they were all so expensive.  I randomly showed Matt a picture of a farmhouse table on Pinterest and asked if he thought he could make it.  He took the idea and ran with it.  He spent several months researching options and gathering supplies.  Then over the course of 3 weeks he built this beautiful table!!!  

The pictures don't do it justice.  It is gorgeous!!  He was even able to make a bench to go with it.  Matt is so very talented!!  A man of many skills.  Now we have this wonderful piece of furniture to show it.  I need to paint some chairs to finish it up.  It has been so cold that we haven't gotten to use it yet but we can't wait!

The Actual Birthday

We had partied hard on Friday and Saturday but we still had our big girl's actual birthday to go on Sunday.  She woke up early and we got to snuggle in bed with her.  A cupcake and bacon are the perfect breakfast for a birthday girl.  

 She got to open up her first present after breakfast.  She had been wanting some Barbies so we got her a few Barbies and accessories.

 Then it was off to church in her 5 shirt!

 We had a very low key afternoon where the kids got to play with all of Kate's new toys.  They spent hours putting together Kate's new Legos.

 She got to open her new Barbie Glam house.

 And Ben joined her for some Barbie play.  So fun to watch!

 The last few times we had been to the mall Kate had asked to jump in the giant harness jumpy thing.  I of course had always put her off but her birthday seemed to be a great time to do it.  So we ventured to the mall for her to jump.  She was a little nervous at first but really got into it at the end and said she felt like she was flying!

 We finished up the day with dinner at Outback.  Every birthday girl deserves some Chocolate Thunder from Down Under!

It was a perfect family day celebrating our sweet girl!!