A Pond Sort Of Day

We can now say that Eric' and Amanda's wedding was a HUGE success!!! The weather was perfect, everyone did great, the food was delicious, the drinks were flowing, and the dance floor was hoppin'. The next morning came a bit too early. Having two small ones who love the early morning hours made it a bit difficult. Dad got up early to farm. He helped Uncle Jim in the fields. Sawyer was up with the sun basically. Charlotte did sleep a bit longer than Sawyer so Alex got to sleep in more than I did. (not that I am keeping track :) ).

We got up and had a delicious breakfast prepared by Grandma Ann. We helped Eric get things loaded up and Alex went out to the fairgrounds to help get everything cleaned up there. We all ended back up at Grandma's throughout the afternoon (as usual, people just filter in and out all day long.)

We finally made it down to the pond for the afternoon though.

Uncle Rick loves to spend weekend afternoons out here fishing.

Melissa was a maniac with the catching of the fish!!!

Grandma and her pond. This just might be her favorite place.

...fish after fish...

Sawyer and I sat on the blanket with Aunt Michelle and Kyla and played.

Alex didn't have much luck catching so he took one of Melissa's fish...

...and showed Sawyer his first fish that he could touch.

Rock on, Dude.

This guy loves the farm and he loves to fish.

Melissa and Caleb decided to take the row boat out on the pond. We weren't quite sure if it would sink or float :) And we weren't quite sure if they would be able to get back to shore...

Dad finished plowing for Uncle Jim and made it out to fish for awhile.

I went back to Grandma's house to check on Charlotte and get Sawyer some snack. Charlotte was taking a nap with Aunt Kathy. When I got back, they had just woken up so we went back down to the pond.

They are maniacs together. 

She looks a bit crabby :)

When we were finished (and full of bug bites), we headed back to Grandma's house for supper, snacks, and Alex prepared the fish they caught. Then he and Dad headed back to Metamora. The kids and I stayed a bit longer.

My favorite time of the day is dusk. LOVE IT. Love it.

I took picutres of the pond as the sun was setting.

Amazing, right???

It's a beautiful place. And to think this used to be a feed lot a few years ago.

The kids and I then headed into Didi's house so that I could upload pictures onto her computer.

Charlotte put her own shoes on.

Charlotte was so happy that she got to see Sadie.

Such a good girl. She is such a big part of the family :)

We loved our day at the pond. It was a great way to end a family filled weekend. Days spent at the farm are like no other.

G, Katie, and Bare Visit Georgia

We are so lucky to have a great family. Great does not even describe it though. Back in October or November, Aunt Kathy let us know that flights were super cheap on certain dates. She let a bunch of people know. She ended up booking 2 different sets of flights to come visit us in November and in February. Well, Mary booked a flight to come see us. She bought Grandma a plane ticket for her Christmas present. When Aunt Didi found out about it, she decided to buy Katie a plane ticket for her Christmas present as well! So many visitors!! We are so lucky!

Grandma, Mary, and Katie flew into Atlanta around 1:30 pm. We were at the airport ready and waiting. Mary made Grandma ride in a wheelchair which was not something that she was fond of doing but Atlanta is a huge airport and her 76 year old body didn't need to be walking over a mile in it. 

Charlotte was so excited to have visitors coming! She was yelling for them from where we were waiting.

We were all set!! How much do you love Charlotte in this picture????

 Me and my beans waiting  for our visitors. We had plenty of people watching and plenty of travelers totally wishing they had a sign to greet them.

She was so serious about the sign. I wish I could have gotten a picture of her running to Mary when she saw her. It totally made me a bit teary-eyed. All I could think was, "This is one of the last times I will be coming to this airport to pick up visitors." Such a bittersweet moment.

This picture is stolen from Mary's Facebook.

LOVE Charlotte's face in this one.

Visitors from Illinois. This was Katie's first airplane ride. She LOVED it.

We got all loaded up into the car and headed toward Columbus. We stopped for a quick lunch then headed home. We worked on some packing and just hung out. The kids were so happy to have people at their house. Sawyer and went right to everyone and Charlotte couldn't wait to show everyone her bed and room and her toys. She is obsessed with Katie so this was one of her favorite days.

We are so happy to have them here with us for a few days! :) YAY!

Thanksgiving 2012 Part 3

We decided to go out for a deliciously fabulous Thanksgiving meal. We actually had an amazing restaurant in our hotel that was serving Thanksgiving dinner. So, we packed up the Brady Bunch and went downstairs to McCormick's and Schmick's for our Thanksgiving. 

 I was very nervous about taking our 2 rowdy kids to a very nice restaurant. I mean, our version of "nice" restaurants these days is Texas Roadhouse and Carraba's. 

However, once we got there, my two napless children started showing signs that sleep might be what they were going to order at the restaurant. Here is Sawyer 2 minutes before he fell asleep.

Here is Alex telling a wild story...and Daniel intently listening :) Can you tell by the position of Alex's hands that he was telling a crazy story????

My little whiney princess laid her head on my shoulder and was asleep in just a few short minutes.

So happy to be with my friend again.

While my kids slept, Ella just played and watched movies on the Ipad. Such a good girl!

We enjoyed some fancy little appetizers.

Here was my Thanksgiving meal... I had grouper.... naturally.

Alex had salmon. Another natural pick for Thanksgiving.

Ella had chicken strips and she LOVED them.

Once Goose woke up, she was ready to graze on everyone's meals.

We ordered her some fruit to top it all off. She was LOVING it.

Sawyer woke up when we were all finished as well!

So he had a tastey lunch of Similac Spit up with rice added to it. YUMMM

After our meal, we decided that a photoshoot was needed.

The Hicks family

The Jackson Family

Love my family so much!

The whole group!

Those with kids.... Daniel opted out of this picture.

The best of friends.

I can only imagine what they are saying here!!

And I can only imagine what Sawyer is saying here :)

One last walk before we say goodbye... :(

The front desk girls were loving our two little buddies.

Charlotte was so happy to have her friend back...even if it was just for 24 hours.

Love this one.

We headed back to our rooms, got our bags, and we headed out. It was so fabulous to see our friends. We have missed them so much!!! Saying goodbye sucked... 

We drove the hour and a half home... neither of our cars acted up! (Thank the Lord.) We got home all in one piece and with minimal crying from our kids. I made phone calls to my family on the way home telling them all Happy Thanksgiving. We skyped with mom at Grandma Ann's house when we got home. What a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!! Thank you Hicks Family and Mr. Sickler for spending it with us!! We love you guys!!!!!!!!!