Happy Birthday to Me!

This was the cake my oh so humorous husband brought home today.



But, I quickly forgave him when he gave me my birthday present.



Now if I could just find an app to clean my house......so I can play with my new toy!

Our Thankful Tree

This is our Thankful Tree loaded up with some of our many blessings.



So many things to be thankful for.










I put some graffiti on our Thankful Tree a few weeks ago.



And just a few days before we took it down, Katie wrote this:



So thankful to be 4ever a young. :)

Holly Beach

We found ourselves with nothing to do today, so we decided to drive down to Holly Beach. As the Gibsons were taking their beach chairs out, they found this little guy hanging on for dear life.



Ashley, who was afraid of him to begin with, soon became his friend.



Sarah, of course, was anxious to make a new friend too.



She wanted to bring him home, but Ashley decided that she was going to keep him.



So took a little stroll down the beach.



Bailey was lovin' being able to run free.



The other girls started collecting shells.





John David was just trying to keep up.



I discovered a new thing to do at the beach. I would look for these shells that were paper thin.



And then I'd step on them and crush them. It was oddly satisfying, kinda like crunching leaves or popping plastic bubbles. I know it's weird, but I liked it.



Anyway, so we each got distracted doing different things and forgot to watch Bailey. I think it was Aaron who finally asked where she was. So we started looking, and she was no where to be seen. We walked around in different directions calling her. The girls were in tears. We looked for about 15 minutes before we came back together and Aaron and I decided to get in his truck and drive around and look for her. She is a smart dog, and we knew she could find her way back to us, but we also knew that she is so friendly and small that it would be easy for someone to take her. But we hadn't drove very far before we saw exploring and enjoying her freedom. We started calling her and she looked over at us and just stopped in her tracks. She usually listens well, and comes when she is called. But she knew she was in trouble, so she wouldn't move an inch. So Aaron walked over and picked her up, and we took her back to where everyone else was waiting. The girls were so relieved.



And Bailey spend the rest of the time at the beach on her leash.



Our hero. Kind of ironic that he was wearing this shirt.



Thank goodness for happy endings!

Thanksgiving Day

We have had an absolutely fabulous day at Kent and Johnice's celebrating Thanksgiving. The weather was gorgeous, so we ate our delicious spread outside. We had all of the regular things, except for turkey. This year we went all out and got a Turducken. I had never even heard of a Turducken until a few years after we had lived here, and have wanted to try one ever since. It was delicious! Here are some of the other highlights of the day.



#1--The awesome birthday cake that Jaimee and Katie "made" for me and Aaron. Can you tell what it's supposed to be?



#2--Wheelbarrow races.









#3--Red Rover. I don't know who had more fun though--those playing or those watching!























#4--Taking pictures of Jessica....while she was taking pictures of me.





#5--Visiting with Maw Maw Mire.



#6--The new tractor swing.



#7--Tug of War. There may have been some cheating going on in this game.







#8--Playing with the water cooler.





#9--Wagon rides.





#10--Horseshoes.





But the greatest thing about today was spending it with those we love!