Happy New Year!

We spent New Year's Eve Day on the beach...it was a blast...personally, I'm so very thankful to live in a place that has outdoor activities year round. I don't hate it at all! 

Walker, Colton, Jenna, Camryn, and Molly

Walker and Colton...great friends

The beach was FILLED with these Portuguese Man-o-wars! Crazy! Look how long the tentacles are!

The girls...Camryn, Lainey, Molly, and Jenna

(Lainey had just returned from a private at her dance studio, which is 10 minutes away from the beach...so she was able to play at the beach both before AND after her private!)

Walker, carrying a coconut to the "witches' brew" that he and Colton were preparing

***

And a couple of images of our fur babies...ready to embrace 2021 and all it has to offer. ;)

Belle, 3 years old

Reagan, 16 years old

***

Happy New Year! Let's get ON with 2021!

Jacksonville and Whataburger

Because Ben and Walker (and Lainey and I) miss Whataburger so much, the boys drove to Jacksonville, FL to eat dinner and lunch at the fast foot restaurant; it's the closest one to us, and it's almost 5 hours away! Lainey and I opted to stay home... :) 

view from their hotel...so pretty

They stopped at the Kennedy Space Center on the way home - pretty cool. :) 

Ben "tweeted" about it and got this response from Whataburger! Really cool! But now we have to figure out how to DM on Twitter...we should probably find a teenager to help us. :) Ha!

Merry Christmas!

 

Lainey's Christmas haul

Walker's Christmas haul

Lainey's ballet photo shoot... ;) 

Walker, in a new Whataburger t-shirt

Harry Potter Legos! An awesome surprise!

***

This is probably the shortest Christmas post I've ever published! Due to Covid, we stayed in Florida and celebrated Christmas as a family of four...for the first time ever. We spent Christmas Eve at church and then had dinner at a local restaurant...then we spent Christmas Day at the house. Lainey got a headboard for her bed (she's so thrilled!) and Walker got a gaming chair (he had previously been sitting on a stool!). Both were very pleased with everything! Overall, it's been a very relaxing, slow break. Nothing too hurried or to fast-paced, nothing really pressing. We've enjoyed our time together, yet we've missed seeing our Texas friends and family....we're hoping that 2021 brings us opportunities to see our loved ones again!

Football Friends

On the days we can make it work, I take Walker to the park after school where he runs around with friends to play football. It's one of his most favorite things to do - as it was in Texas. I'm so happy for this development! Good group of kids, good group of moms! Most are in his class or the "switch class" - so they all know one another. I'm so thankful! (As is Walker...)

Happy Thanksgiving!

A bit of catching up to do...

The sunsets in Florida are so beautiful. I'm not sure why. Ben took these photos a couple of weeks ago...the colors were just beautiful.

I saw this giant iguana while on a run in Boca recently. He was huge!

While decorating for Christmas, Reagan ended up with a red foam berry on her nose. :) She looked cute.

Happy Thanksgiving! From the four of us, plus Reagan.

...always the fifth guest at the table.

Our 15-foot Rudolph is SO fun! He's huge!

I took this picture as proof that Ben and I can do our own Christmas lights! We didn't kill each other or ourselves. We wrapped four palm trees and are so proud of our efforts! 

Unfortunately, this is what Rudolph has come to. We had an overnight rain/wind storm that apparently knocked his head off. :( I've tried hot glue, zip ties, tape, twist ties...nothing is working. So sad! I hope the company can help us - maybe they can send us a new head.