Wilbur

In Brynlee's hand is her "imaginary" pet Wilbur. Bryn has such an imagination. She doesn't have the imaginary human friends. All of hers are pets. This last week it happened to be a grasshopper named Wilbur. She would wonder around the house looking for him because he hopped away. She would then find him later in grandma's tub with his sister (no name). She even asked for a piece of cheese for Wilbur to eat for lunch. He ate it with no problem.
This week her pet friend is a puppy with brown spots and black ears. She wanted Aiden to pet her puppy and he just played along and pretended to pet what was in her hand. I love how supportive he is as a brother and doesn't make fun of her.
I love her imagination. I seriously don't know what we would do without her in our family. We are so blessed.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving time again.

I honestly can't believe it's already been a year since last Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is my absolute least favorite Holiday ever. This year we spent it with my family. However, a lot of us were not there. Kev and Nate stayed in Oregon and Aimie stayed in Florida. Ashton went with his girlfriend to New Mexico and Sharae's husband Josh left for boot camp the previous week. Sharae left early so it was just my little family. None of us seemed in the spirit this year. However, there are always millions of things to be thankful for and it's nice to have a holiday to remind us of that especially during rough times.
Things I am thankful for:
1. My 3 kids. Aiden, Brynlee and Kynzee are the best things to ever happen to me.
2. My best friend and husband forever, Ben.
3. I'm thankful that we have a place to live
4. I am thankful for the new job opportunity Ben has (more later).
5. I am thankful that my brother, Weston has returned from his mission to Switzerland, Germany and Austria. What an amazing kid.
6. I'm thankful that my mom finally gets to build a house as big as she needs without a huge house payment.
7. I'm thankful for the weddings that we've been able to do and earn more money. Also for my small income with Melaleuca, Shelf Reliance and doTerra.
8. I'm thankful for my Yummy food storage that I was able to start (thanks steph) for my awesome doTerra essential oils that have helped my family's chronic medical conditions. LOVE THEM!!!! and for Melaleuca's products that have made it possible for my kids to clean without having asthma attacks.
9. I am very grateful for the Gospel and for my Heavenly Father who listens to my endless, countless prayers.
10. I am grateful that I made it through another Thanksgiving.

Kynzee turns 6 months

Kynzee turned 6 months on October 28th. I'm a little behind. She is 24.5 inches tall and in the 10 percentile for her height. She weighs 12 pounds and is the 2 percentile for her weight and her head in in the 10th percentile as well. She is kind of following Brynlee's growth pattern, but hopefully won't have the same medical condition. So far so good.
She is such a joy. She has learned to roll over and scoot backwards. We found her almost completely under Aimie's couch because she had scooted herself backwards instead of forwards. Sometimes she gets pretty frustrated. She is a very snuggley baby and definitely a momma's girl. These pictures were both taken in Florida. The bottom one at Firehouse Subs. She thinks she is as big as everyone else. She loves bananas, sweet potatoes, green beans, pears, and applesauce. One day when I was feeding her, she grabbed the spoon out of my hand and fed herself perfectly. We were all shocked.

First Snowman

Aiden and Brynlee built this snowman all by themselves. Ben helped them lift the middle snow ball but they did the rest. They were pretty excited they were eating him.
When we asked Aiden where the snowman's hat was he replied "it's grandpa" Ben's dad is bald and he built a snowman to "match" him. When I asked him why he had red eyes, he replied with "it's a vampire." So snowman grandpa hatch is a vampire. Seriously love that kid.

Bye Bye Florida

The kids on the very long flight home.....home to snow. We are very grateful we had the chance to go to Florida to see my wonderful sister and her family. We had a amazing time that we will never forget.

Cousins

My sister, Aimie's baby Marlie and Kynzee. Marlie is 9 months and Kynzee is 6 months.

USS Alabama

Aiden in the ship's Jail

We stopped in Mobile Alabama on our way back to Mississippi to the airport to see the USS Alabama ship. This ships don't thrill me, but Ben and Aimie's husband, Aaron love them. The kids really liked it.

Wakulla Springs Swimming with the Alligators

Our aweseome 2012 rental. It was pretty high tech and I loved it...except the van part :p

Snake Bird

Aiden took a ton of pictures of Wakulla Springs. These are just a few. Wakulla Springs is a state park full of wild animals. Some include: Manatees, Snake Birds, many other birds and of course the Famous Alligator. The picture on the bottom is of the kids holding a REAL alligator head. Ben has wanted to buy them one for a long time. They thought it was the coolest thing.

Ben's Mission

This is where Ben lived when he served in Bristol. WOW an actual house.

This Apartment on the end is where Ben lived in Defuniak Springs. He called it a hole in the ground. Aiden literally believed him.

The Apartment in the bottom is where Ben lived in Pensacola.

Ben served his mission in Tallahassee Florida. We had the chance to go to every city he served in. He never did serve in Tallahassee. We drove from Pensacola to Bristol, Quincy, Bluntstown, Crestview, Defuniak Springs and even Tallahassee.

We had the chance to take pictures of all the places he lived except the apartment in Quincy. There was a lady sitting on the porch smoking and was giving us evil glares because we were driving slow past "her" house. We didn't take a picture for fear she would shoot us or something.
I feel very blessed that we had the chance to go. I know Ben really loved it and I am happy that he got to return to his mission once again.

Aiden's Photography of the Blue Angels Practice

Aiden LOVES to take pictures. He tends to move the camera before it is finished capturing the moment and then of course the image is blurry. These pictures were the nonblurry ones.
The Blue Angels were practicing for the air show that was going to the week after we were in Pensacola (of course). They are amazing.

2 Million Dollar Ceiling

Yes, that is real money hanging from the ceiling. There is about 2 million dollars and counting all in 1 dollar bills hanging from this ceiling at this Irish Pub in Pensacola. It was awesome. We watched some people staple up a couple dollars to add their contribution. Aiden was amazed

Naval Aviation Museum

The kids in a Blue Angel F18 Jet

Didn't plan that picture that way but I love it!

The Naval Aviation Museum was awesome. The kids loved it. Kynzee even did even though she is crying.

Halloween in FLORIDA

Ladybug, Ninja, Pirate Princess, Cupcake, and Dorothy

We walked around the Naval Air Station where Aimie and Aaron live on Halloween. We were not out very long. The mosquitoes are really bad and vicious there. The kids had fun. Bryn decided she was done way before the other 2 kids. She told me she didn't need anymore candy and that she was way good. Silly girl.