Happy Birthday, Mammie!

For Mammie's birthday this year we decided to surprise her and have a cookout! What's more fun that family and a bonfire!

Felicity got her first experience with hot dogs. I don't know that she's a fan. The bun appealed to her much more than the meat.

The boys really liked the fire. What is it about boys and watching things burn? Thankfully, only the hot dogs were smoked this time!

I used Madisyn's craft cutter to make a stencil for the top of mom's cake. The recipe for Hershey's chocolate cake and frosting is amazing!

It's a good thing a group of little girls knew how to open gifts. They saved Mammie all the labor of doing it herself.

Her gifts all received "little girl" approval!

Thanksgiving Feast

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving THREE times! I didn't manage to get pictures at two of the parties so shots from just one will have to do. My sister hosted Thanksgiving and did a fantastic job on decorations. She not only had a kids table but had a girls and boys table.

A bunch of little girly girls loved sitting with each other and the boys had a wonderful time coloring their placemats and tablecloth. The boy table was surprisingly quieter and had much less giggling.

Madisyn and Ty were promoted to the adult table. I'm still trying to keep it from going to their heads. ;) I didn't think to get a picture of all the wonderful food. The kids really enjoyed having turkey and ham. And we won't even mention how many desserts we had!

Felicity was worn out from traveling and the effects of Tryptophan. She found Aunt Ra's couch to be a great place for a nap.

The giggling girls didn't stop when lunch was over. They found lots of babies that needed loving, dress up clothes that needed wearing and food that needed cooking.

Then the dads {and me!} loaded up in the Rangers/4 wheelers and headed for the golf course?!? Robin's subdivision has a golf course layout that isn't being used. If you follow the cart path to the edge you find an awesome wooded area perfect for some mudding.

Those smiles lasted a long time! The kids loved getting a little dirty and their daddies slinging some mud.

Raegen has his own little 4 wheeler and some boys were impressed that he got to drive himself. He did a great job!

Isaac and Uncle Justin served as scouts. They helped us find which way to go when the side by side trucks couldn't fit through narrow openings.

The stairs seemed like the perfect place for a "Baker's Dozen Cousins" photo shoot. Getting 13 kids to look at a camera isn't as easy as it sounds!

Thanks Aunt Ra, Uncle Billy, Raegen, Lynden and Ellison for having us over!

The Nina and The Pinta and The Mighty Mississippi

We've had a busy month. We loaded up and headed to Memphis to visit the Columbus Foundation ships, the Nina and the Pinta. I was able to gather enough people together for a group rate and tour {it helps when 9 of the 15 are from your own family!}.

If you can come up with 15 paying visitors, I highly recommend scheduling a tour. It was neat to have the crew members explain various parts of the ship and answer our questions.  Not only did they tell us what ship life was like back in fourteen and ninety-two, but they also shared how they travel from city to city. While I think it would be a neat experience, I'm too spoiled by my sleep number bed to try a bunk on a ship!

The kids were extra excited that Mammie and Graddaddy could come with us. Dad really likes history type events. We're hopeful that we can drag him along on a few more field trips in the upcoming months.

Here Ben and Henry pose on the "poop deck". We were delighted to learn that poop deck has nothing to do with the modern use of the word. Back in Columbus' time, priests would bless ships from this deck. They often conducted a puppet mass from the roof of the cabin. Hence, the poop deck.

We visited in late September on a 70* day. The heat from the black boards of the ship made it quite warm. I'm sure it would be cooler at sea but poor Felicity couldn't handle the heat. Thankfully, Mammie didn't mind taking her below deck to the shade.

Over the River and Through the Woods

We traveled to Mom and Dad's for a celebration just before Christmas. We had been sick around Mary Claire's birthday so she started the day off opening some belated birthday gifts.

The kids all lined up and the gift opening started in a nice organized fashion. With 12 kids, including 9 aged 6 and under, the calm didn't last long.

Our first three boys loved tractors but really weren't into characters. Henry, on the other hand, has loved Thomas since he could say the word train. If you ever find the need to bribe him, anything Thomas will get the job done.

Radio Control toys were the highlight of the day. Some of the younger boys received radio control trucks and the older boys opened RC helicopters. Uncle Billy had to make a battery run as the battery supply was quickly depleted.

Madisyn was thoroughly excited to get a bean bag for her room. She loves to read and is very glad to have somewhere other than her bed to sit.

Henry, Ben and Mary Claire also received snuggies. Henry's is a Superman and Ben is Batman. They both run through the house fighting crime on a nightly basis.

Mary Claire and Liberty received a joint gift - their first car! They love it! The first couple of days it was in the house and Mary Claire was quick to institute a "No Boys" rule because they aren't "wittle like me" according to Mary Claire.

Mom and Dad with their dozen grandkids! Good thing There's Room For More!

No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

When Madisyn was very small we stopped leaving the house on holidays. We decided that we would get together with friends and family for those holidays but we would stay home on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Christmas Eve. We didn't want the actual holiday itself to be a rushed event or have one side of the family feel left out because we didn't spend it with them. We welcome anyone to come visit us and join us for lunch but we'll be staying put.

On Thanksgiving, we were blessed to have Nana and Mammie and Granddaddy come visit us. We had a wonderful meal (which my sweet husband and daughter did most of the work). After lunch Mom and Dad decided to work for their lunch. ;-)

They brought over supplies for gathering pecans. We have a couple of pecan trees and the kids had gathered a few nuts. We don't own a blower or pecan picker upper and this pregnant woman wasn't up for all the bending that is required to harvest the nuts. So they were kind enough to bring their supplies to share.

The kids had a blast picking up pecans with their grandparents. Ty got to run the really cool backpack leaf blower. What boy doesn't love power tools?

Mary Claire's closeness to the ground is a definite plus but her short attention span tends to cancel out the advantage.

When we moved to the 2nd tree, Griffin wanted a turn with the blower. It's so heavy that Madisyn had to assist him with putting it on. The blower seemed to weigh him down and push him back a little more than it did Ty. :-)

Sadly, Madisyn never got a turn with the blower as it ran out of gas.

Every time Mom and Dad visit the kids bring out tons of books and want Granddaddy to read them a story. This time, Griffin returned the favor and did the reading.

Thanksgiving Weenie Roast {Part 2}

I love this picture that Madisyn caught of Lynden and Ellison. They look like they are sharing a secret.

Mom and Robin did a great job organizing everything.

Justin decided that hot dogs weren't cutting it and confiscated Dad's brats. I think they learned that brats don't cook very well over a campfire. Some slightly raw sausage may have been consumed.

The boys had a great time cooking marshmallows. However, I'm pretty sure that more hit the ground or flames than were actually eaten.

This is an example of Mary Claire and Izzy's "direction" of Liberty and Isaac. I heard lots of "sit here", "No, sit down", "You want to stay right there". LOL What would younger kiddos do without older siblings to direct their ways?!?



I added this picture in to show the other side of Mary Claire. That girl has a sassy side. I get this look at least thrice daily. LOL

Thanksgiving Weenie Roast {Part 1}

This year we decided to do something a little different for Thanksgiving with my side of the family.

A few of the kids were sick a few weeks ago so we didn't get together for Ty or Mom's birthday so we started the evening with birthday gifts.

Mammie had lots of help getting her gifts open. It's just one of the services that grandchildren can provide.

After the gifts, we began the main event. . .  The Weenie Roast!

Yes, we had a weenie roast instead of a traditional Thanksgiving. Chalk up to one very pregnant woman, a upcoming vacation for the grandparents and a very busy family.

Mom and Robin made some chili to compliment the hot dogs and Robin set out an awesome S'mores bar.

The kids had a great time playing. Izzy and Mary Claire played together the whole night. Mary Claire is finally old enough to not be a "baby" and interact a little more and the two of them had a blast. The seemed to bond over the fact that they were both excellent at telling their little brother/sister what to do!

One of Ellison's favorite spots seemed to be snuggling with Mammie.