Oh What Fun!

My immediate family went to Silver Dollar City this weekend to kick off the holiday season. We were a little worried, but the weather ended up being absolutely perfect!

You can see just a hint of Christmas lights around my dad and Sophia. I just love this photo! Check out her warm boots.

Please scroll down to enjoy all 3 posts.




SDC is one of my favorite places to visit during the holiday season and it was extra special to have all of my brothers and sisters there to share it with.



Here are our awnry girls--Fun! Fun!

Aunt Liz with the girls on the pink butterfly.
This was my nephew Logan's first ever rollercoaster ride.

All of us stood on the side lines cheering him on. At first we weren't for sure if he was going to like it, but by the end of the ride, he was smiling and waving to us each time he passed by. He ended up loving it! Way to go Logan!

And if you couldn't tell, Maura LOVES the carousel--the simplicity of it is timeless.

And if you can imagine, all 13 of us had an Old Time photo made. Years ago, we had one made, and mom wanted to do it again. Anyways, I will try to share the photo with everyone once I take a pic of the tin type. We dressed up like Little House on the Prairie with the exception of the guys--dad was a confederate soldier and the boys were gun slingers. The kids were running around like mad. It was at the end of the day, no naps, needing supper, etc. You can imagine. But this is usual for us--patience is a virtue. We did it and I'm so glad that we did. The photo turned out really cute. Merry Christmas Mom.

Maura and I enjoyed decorating a sugar cookie together.
A "Steal your Dollar" necessity--kettle corn!
After an eventful day, we stayed at our favorite hotel.

This is what goes on in our room behind closed doors.
I assure you, never a dull moment. :) After Maura emptied the entire kleenex box, she then proceeded to jump on the beds. Watch out Sophia!!






Dear Family,
We had so much fun this weekend!
Many memories were made. Here's just a few of my favorites....
1. Logan on the rollercoaster. 2. The chaos of getting the photo made. 3. Seeing Maura's face on her favorite rides. 4. Singing with everyone on the train. 5. Mommy enjoying her yearly wassail.
6. And enjoying the beautful beautiful lights!

Love you guys and we'll see you soon!

Up on the roof top

Gary strung the lights on the house about a week ago. I thought you might enjoy seeing the fruits of his labor.
And I should mention that Maura was more than willing to help.

Gary took her out in the woods and they cut down 4 Charlie Brown Christmas trees. She's standing in front of a one that she helped pick out.

Thank you Daddy and Maura for making everything outside look so nice!!

The magic of Christmas

Today we decorated the girls' room for the holidays. We put up their pink Christmas tree and added silver decorations.

Maura is really concentrating hard to put the loop over one of the branches. And above...you can see Sophia's little dimples peeking through. She was our head supervisor. :)

And oh yeah, Sophia giggled for the first time today! What a nice sound!

Thanksgiving tree

The Thanksgiving tree was a hit this year with the kids. Each person was instructed to write down what they were thankful for and add it to the tree. It turned out really nice.

We had lunch on Turkey Day at my parent's house. Unfortunately, my mom had to work at the hospital, so the event was hosted by my dad, Charlie and Val, John, and Gary and I. Thanksgiving is my mom's favorite holiday, so when we found out she had to work we were all pretty bummed. Even without her there, everything turned out fantastic! Thank you dear family members for bringing all of our must have favorites.
Charlie and dad in the kitchen. Don't they look good? Lucky for us, the men in my immediate family can cook.
We started early that morning preparing the food. We had fun hanging out and somehow managed to be almost on time for the meal. Even my brother John chipped in. He sliced the cranberry sauce and took charge of the hot rolls. I should also take this opportunity to brag on my husband. He cooked the brown sugar ham, cheesy potatoe casserole, cranberry marshmallow dessert, and pumpkin pie. I am not kidding...my husband can cook and he enjoys it.

After a long hard day, even Maura took a nap on Pa Pa's lap.


Mom we missed you.
Dad the turkey was great.
Charlie and Val, we couldn't have done it without you and
John, all I can say is WOW!

Thanks everyone.


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Laney Dell even had a nice thanksgiving dinner.
Waiting to eat.
Sophia was all dressed up.

Shooting the shash.