{thankful}

an open letter. to santa, baby....

Jack &co. O' Lantern

Guess where we went tonight? 

I bet you'll NEVER figure it out!

Go on......give it a whirl.

I'll give you a hint. It starts with a "P" and rhymes with Lumpkin Latch.

Still can't figure it out??

Okay....we went to a little Pumpkin Patch. A church down the road does a little patch every year and while I'd love to take my kiddos to big patch in a big field, this is just super convenient. So we let them run and pick out some pumpkins. 

I guess Tyler was not in the 

stop-looking-at-pumpkins-and-take-a-group-picture-with-your-siblings-AND-HUG-YOUR-SISTER-LIKE-YOU-LOVE-HER mood. 

Jack didn't pick up on the frustration. This is so them in a nutshell. The easy-to-please goof ball, the affectionate sweetheart, and the serious, thinking, on-a-mission child.

And while I was snapping pictures of her siblings, this little one was grabbing up all the miniature pumpkins and throwing them at her daddy. I kneeled down and told her that's not what we're to do with little pumpkins. And then she gurgled some sounds, batted her eyes at me, and chucked another pumpkin at my toe, turned and hobbled away, laughing.

In her defense, we had just played catch in the front yard. 

Lesson of the day: Do NOT wear flip flops to the pumpkin patch. 

happy heart day

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was going to share with you some of the ridiculously random, super silly cards the kids and I (and one anonymous friend) made for the guys on my husbands det. 

I will say that there are some 'normal' cards in the bunch.....courtesy of Sarah. Actually, I made one appropriate card at the FRG meeting-- which is where the idea for homemade valentines for the deployed guys originated.

So, my thought process was this: I bet a good portion of guys aren't huge fans of Valentine's Day, and the ones that have significant others probably don't care much about cards, they just want to be with the one they love. So, I figured silly was okay, because a laugh is just a vocal smile, right? (This thought is usually what gets me in trouble.)

As it turns out, my kids get more genetic material from me than I realized. Tyler and Kaiti's cards were just as silly as some of the ones I made.

So, here are some pictures of a few of the cards we made. I am thinking about getting some girls together and doing something similar for Easter.

Kaiti did this one all by herself!

that's all. she just wanted them to know. and apparently, upside down peace on a necklace.

she cut out those hearts all by herself for a cutie pei.

that's right, son. enough of this love junk- just bEEt 'dem bad guys!

that is the USS Bainbridge, in case you were wondering.

by my anonymous friend!

that's what their ship looks like, right? 

we ran out of Valentine's Day stickers after the 3rd card. And we had 16 to make.

Bon Jovi is ALWAYS a winner. He's right up there with Confucius.

at second glance, this is definitely missing something. perhaps another portrait of the Bainbridge. darn it.

did you know that Navy guys really dig Bette Midler? No? Well, they do.

okay, so this one is more legit.

it's a valid question

this one was a joint creation. and apparently my son is dropping the L in our last name. and on the left it says 'Come Back Safly'

Tyler's cards had to be a little more manly. 

haha. well, who doesn't want to hear THAT? he get's an A+ for incorporating random stickers.

this one was for my hubby :)

well, I'm not.

Kaiti's card for her daddy

I have no idea, but it is 'I heart the bull'.

again with the hi. it's a fair introduction.

isn't he sweet!

so it started great

but then..... she was worried they would think the sticker was real gold, so she wrote 'this is pretend' in kaiti.

I wasn't sure the smiley face would speak for itself, so just in case, good ol' parentheses.

Just some helpful tips and some touching song lyrics.

again, great way to work in random stickers.

totally manly valentine!

"Hi. Win. from Tyler Nelson."

winter

image courtesy of google images

Okay, so it is not THAT freezing here in Florida. But it feels pretty cold in comparison to our typical weather. And if I posted a picture of the beach, it would not have that same wintery feel.

Reasons I Love Winter:

1) Christmas
2) My Uggs
3) My curly hair chills out some
4) Cuddling by the fireplace
5) National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
6) You don't sweat at 7am from humidity
7) My kids get a 2 week vacation from school
8) Christmas Music
9) White Christmas
10) My husband looks cute in his coat (or jacket? what's the difference?)
11)Twinkly Lights
12) White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha
13) Scarves!
14) Elf

Reasons I DON'T love winter

1) It's COLD!!!

2) I'm even later than usual 'cause I have to bundle my kiddos

3) It's COLD!!!

4) My skin gets dry

5) It's COLD!!!

6) I don't like to wear jackets

7) It's COLD!!!

8) Flip flops = freezing toes

9) It's COLD!!!

10) I get pale

11) It's COLD!!!

12) No beach. Boo.

13) It's COLD!!!

14) Runny noses and sore throats

Here are some pictures I took with my phone while at the wing (group of squadrons) Christmas party! 

That's Santa exiting the hangar on a fire truck! 

Tyler with his goodie bag!

Jack found the cookie table. All was right in his world that day.

The 1st time Kaiti has ever gotten her face painted, and she ran out of room :) Oh, the Santa hat makes me laugh.

Me and Evie......by a Christmas tree and a helicopter