Tuesday morning we headed out for a 4 hour drive down the Natchez Trace in Mississippi for our Christmas visit with my side of the family. My mom's oldest sister, Jane, and her husband Charlie live on acres and acres of land in Kosciusko (fun fact: it's also Oprah's hometown). They have everything we don't. Horses, cows, 4 wheelers, tractors, a barn...basically just wide open space. Which is something we are definitely not used to, but enjoy very much when we have the opportunity to go. It was fabulous to barely have cell service. Great to just sit and be still. It's slow paced and the only thing you have to do is only what you want to. I think we all needed it! Of course, for Bethany it was wonderful for a couple of days but I don't know if she could survive much more than that! :) The whole crew was there, and that made me one happy lady. I love big get-togethers and wish we could do it more often.
When we walked in the door all the kids were having a fit to tear into presents. And it looked like a wrapping paper factory blew up just 5 short minutes into it...
B got loads of gift cards! She's not a shopper or anything (HA!)...
Cate immediately had to see what her new princess towel was all about...
YaYa and Pappy gave the girls these little poochies, and they have barely let them out of their sights...
Jane and Charlie have 3 Jack Russells, one being a puppy. Sweet Pea (bless her) won Cate and Towns over right from the very start. Between the two of them, the poor dog never got a chance to put her paws on the ground the entire time we were there. Towns was 100% convinced that Sweet Pea was her baby and that Jane and Charlie were only the babysitters. She didn't understand why we weren't bringing her home with us...
This face says it all...
She's silently begging me to round up the children and get them OUT of her house!! We apologized several times for any trauma they caused and hope that she wasn't scarred for life!
It was birthday mania while we were there. My mom's birthday was on the 29th (won't reveal her age!) and Anna Grace turned 11 on the 30th. We do love a good party...
Oops! I guess the cake spilled the beans in the age department! When Jane turned 40 years ago, my mom went overboard and sent her black roses. You know what the say about payback!
The birthday cake was, no doubt, enjoyed long after the parties were over...
That's right. Eating cake right out of the boxes. Granny nearly died! But in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter?!
Aside from presents and partying, we spent the days primping just for the fun of it...
Getting manicures with bright orange nail polish...
(It's no wonder why my children are obsessed with Mary Catherine!)
We spent lots of time outside...
Correction: they spent a lot of time outside. I only got out there once. I like being warm and dry way too much! April, here's your proof...
We did a ton of what you see in the background of this one...
And it was just what the doctor ordered!!
(Granny would kill me for this one - she didn't have her 'face painted' and her 'lips on'!)
And I have to show you this one...
I love it! And this one...
Their house is so quaint and inviting...it felt like home for our few days there! Thanks Aunt Janie! We had a ball!
Bethany was a doll and kept the girls quiet and entertained for the first couple of hours on the trip back home...
And being that it was New Year's Eve, we stopped for fireworks when we crossed the Alabama state line. Which, I might add, are totally illegal to shoot in the city limits. But if you know my husband, you know that's never stopped him. He's lit them and thrown them at us for 3 days straight...right B?! It's a miracle we haven't been blown to smithereens! We kept it safe for the younger ones, though. Sparklers all the way!
After all the fun, I tried to get Cate to sleep so that Bethany, Towns and I could make a Target run for a few last minute beauty essentials for B's big NYE party. But as you can tell from this one, she was way too fired up...
So J stayed home with her while the rest of us went out for bronzer and green teas! :)
And here's the finished product...
Beautiful!!!!!
I only hope Towns and Cate turn out half as sweet and smart as you, B!
You make me proud!
Happy 2010!
B got loads of gift cards! She's not a shopper or anything (HA!)...
Cate immediately had to see what her new princess towel was all about...
YaYa and Pappy gave the girls these little poochies, and they have barely let them out of their sights...
Jane and Charlie have 3 Jack Russells, one being a puppy. Sweet Pea (bless her) won Cate and Towns over right from the very start. Between the two of them, the poor dog never got a chance to put her paws on the ground the entire time we were there. Towns was 100% convinced that Sweet Pea was her baby and that Jane and Charlie were only the babysitters. She didn't understand why we weren't bringing her home with us...
This face says it all...
She's silently begging me to round up the children and get them OUT of her house!! We apologized several times for any trauma they caused and hope that she wasn't scarred for life!
It was birthday mania while we were there. My mom's birthday was on the 29th (won't reveal her age!) and Anna Grace turned 11 on the 30th. We do love a good party...
Oops! I guess the cake spilled the beans in the age department! When Jane turned 40 years ago, my mom went overboard and sent her black roses. You know what the say about payback!
The birthday cake was, no doubt, enjoyed long after the parties were over...
That's right. Eating cake right out of the boxes. Granny nearly died! But in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter?!
Aside from presents and partying, we spent the days primping just for the fun of it...
Getting manicures with bright orange nail polish...
(It's no wonder why my children are obsessed with Mary Catherine!)
We spent lots of time outside...
Correction: they spent a lot of time outside. I only got out there once. I like being warm and dry way too much! April, here's your proof...
We did a ton of what you see in the background of this one...
And it was just what the doctor ordered!!
(Granny would kill me for this one - she didn't have her 'face painted' and her 'lips on'!)
And I have to show you this one...
I love it! And this one...
Their house is so quaint and inviting...it felt like home for our few days there! Thanks Aunt Janie! We had a ball!
Bethany was a doll and kept the girls quiet and entertained for the first couple of hours on the trip back home...
And being that it was New Year's Eve, we stopped for fireworks when we crossed the Alabama state line. Which, I might add, are totally illegal to shoot in the city limits. But if you know my husband, you know that's never stopped him. He's lit them and thrown them at us for 3 days straight...right B?! It's a miracle we haven't been blown to smithereens! We kept it safe for the younger ones, though. Sparklers all the way!
After all the fun, I tried to get Cate to sleep so that Bethany, Towns and I could make a Target run for a few last minute beauty essentials for B's big NYE party. But as you can tell from this one, she was way too fired up...
So J stayed home with her while the rest of us went out for bronzer and green teas! :)
And here's the finished product...
Beautiful!!!!!
I only hope Towns and Cate turn out half as sweet and smart as you, B!
You make me proud!
Happy 2010!
1 comment:
That way of life is right up our alley - and SO glad to see proof my child has it in her. All that outdoorsy stuff AND she had no cell service - how DID she survive? HA! She said she had a great time. I know it was a lot of fun!
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