Andy Turns 26 (a few days early)!

My brother, Andy, turns 26 on Saturday, but since he deploys to Qatar tomorrow and won't be here for his actual birthday, we celebrated tonight at my parents' house. Mom made the family favorite, chicken pot pie, and then Andy's favorite cheesecake for dessert. Present time was fun, as well. We finished the evening off by watching episodes of Psych, one of our favorite t.v. shows.

Katie decorated for the party with monkey stuff, which has to do with Andy's nickname

The Kids Table: Emmaline, Jacob, Colton, and Ellie

Ellie and Papaw

Yay!

Monkey Cheesecake

Happy Birthday, Uncle Andy!

Andy turns 25!

November is a busy month for birthdays in our family. Tonight we celebrated my little brother, Andy, who turned 25. We dined on Joe's Pizza and then ate his traditional birthday cheesecake made by Mom.

My sister, Dee, brought a fun game that we tried out tonight called "Find It". It is supposed to be for my nephew, Colton, but the adults monopolized the game trying to find all the hidden objects. Whoever invented this is a genius because it is fun, self-contained, and will occupy kids for a long time as they try to finish the list. I will definitely be looking for these for Jacob and Ellie for Christmas this year.

Ah, the long-awaited season 4 of Psych, the funniest show on tv

The Birthday Boy and his cheesecake

The kids didn't want cheesecake (crazy, I know!), so they opted for ice cream sundaes instead.

Emmaline loved hers!

The Hot Tub

The kids had a lot of fun in the hot tub. It was near a hornets' nest, so they could only use it at night, but they didn't mind. They pretended lots of different things while in it and only came out when we made them.

Showing their muscles

Emmy pleading to come out

Relaxing with Uncle Andy

Cabin Fun

We met all of my siblings (3 sisters and 1 brother) at this cabin outside of Gatlinburg. It was great having everyone together. We hadn't seen my oldest sister and her family in over two years, so it was nice having them with us. The cabin had a pool table, air hockey table, arcade machine, and hot tub. When we weren't out having fun, there was lots to keep us busy.

My nephew, Andy, and my brother, Andy
(just as confusing as it sounds!)

My sister, Angel, and her husband, Gary

Jacob and Kayla
By the end of the trip, Kayla was calling "Yakie" her best friend

Colton and Jacob playing Kinex

Gary grilling carne asada in the rain
Before the trip, we joked with Angel and Gary that they needed to bring this yummy steak with them from California. A couple days before we left, a package arrived at my parents' house filled with 15 lbs. of steak and lots of dry ice. We drove it down to the cabin and it was delicious!

Kayla and Jacob playing air hockey

Mommy and her girls

Kayla during the water fight

Andy and Nathan practicing on the upper deck

Jacob and Ellie's "room"
It was actually the walk-in closet in our bedroom, but they loved having their own private space.

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Kayla and Jacob playing video games

Emmy hiding in the cabinet

Aunt Katie, Emmy, and Ellie on the deck

Colton is 5!

My nephew, Colton, turned 5 on the 19th, so we celebrated at his house today.

Colton and Jacob play with the Wall-E figures from the cake

Jacob and Ellie liked eating pizza, cake, and ice cream

Emmaline though it was funny to stand on Colton's presents

Nathan, Me, Katie, and my nephew, Andy play "Rock Band"

Emmaline is 2!

Today my baby turned 2! I cannot believe how fast Emmaline's first two years have gone by. We celebrated today with our families and had a great time.

This ladybug pillow matches Emmy's new bed and makes noise when you squeeze it

She got lots of books for her birthday. Emmy loves to read!

Look! It plays music!

Mom made a neat butterfly cake

Emmaline loved eating her very own mini-cake

Cousins eating cake
Ellie, Colton, and Jacob

Family Photo

Snow Day!

It didn't snow much today, but the kids still had a blast! We met my sister, Dee, and nephew, Colton, at Mom and Dad's for lunch (yummy grilled cheese and tomato soup). Then, we hit the slopes with the kids. It was more of a small incline in the backyard, but it was enough for the kids to tube down. They made snowballs, played in the fort, and outlasted all the adults in the cold. Afterwards, we all enjoyed homemade hot chocolate (thanks Mom!).

Ellie gets kisses from Papaw

Jacob

Emmaline thought it was funny to drop the tinker toy pieces down the heating vent.
She had amassed quite the collection when they opened it up.

Jacob does some tubing

One Sweet Girl and Two Silly Boys

Colton and Ellie

In the Fort

Climbing the Ladder

My Snow Angel