Bloggin' in Bulk

I apologize to anyone who even looks like this anymore for not updating in a while. I'll try to be good about it from here on out. Wait, maybe I'll go for better, not good.

We went to my parents' house for Christmas!! It was SO much fun!

Look out ladies! Ross is home from his mission as of Dec. 24th.

I love Ross! I'm pumped he's home.

At the airport.

Ross and Mo.

Does anyone notice anything different about me? Okay I'll tell ya. Earrings! I was allergic to metal my whole life. I must have outgrown it! I've worn the beautiful jewelry my daughters give me from time and time and, yay, no rash. I got my ears pierced in October without any problems and got earrings for Christmas for the first time ever. It's been fun.

My sweet Dad and sweet Lilly

Tagg and Taden. Don't they look like trouble?

Payte and Mo

The kids had a blast with their uncles.

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Mom, Maranda, Lilly, and Tay

The kids AdOrE my mom. She is the BEST! She's so imaginative and fun. She gets a hotel room for the herself and the kids when we come. They love it.

The holidays took their toll on Dak and Tagg. Too much partying I suppose.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Reese's cousin Katherine and her GORGEOUS family came to Florida for the long weekend. I'm SO glad they came. They were tons of fun to be around and made easy house guests. And guess what?! There was frost on the ground Thanksgiving morning. I soak in every cloudy, cold day we get.

We went canoeing on The Little Manattee River near Mom and Dad's. So fun.

Mom, Payte, Dak and Dad

Tagg HATES boating. I think he really just hates wearing a life jacket. I managed to get a smile out of him.

Tay and Noelle getting comfortable

Big Cats and Little Kats

I said "Little Kats" because Tay's first name is Kathleen and she is SUPER little (for her age).

Tay's birthday was on November 7th. She was lucky enough to have both sets of grandparents there. She's seven going on 30. Her interests and tastes are way beyond her years.

Here is a list of things she wanted for her birthday.

1. Homemade chicken noodle soup

2. A Precious Moments figurine

3. An abacus

4. A subtraction book

Tay loves to write, read and play the piano, which she will choose to do over playing with other kids. I learn A LOT from her example. She always wants to do the right thing and is super disciplined. We challenged Tay to read the Book of Mormon by herself before her baptism in November. She's on track and honestly loves it.

I need to watch myself! For her, doing the right thing means doing what Mom does. In November the kids voted in school. She, not knowing anything about either candidate (my fault) voted for Obama, like everyone else. Of course, Payte voted for Obama because his name sounded cooler.

She had an "I VOTED!" sticker on her shirt when she got home from school. I asked, "Who'd ya vote for?" She proudly said, "Obama! Are you voting for him too?"

"Probably not," was my response.

She immediately broke down. She thought she had done something terrible. In vain tried to explain that everything was okay. On the real election day she tried in desperation to get me to change my vote. She fumed all the way to the bus and wouldn't hug, much less look at me as she stormed on.

I love that girl so much!

Reese's old boss Abilio took us to Big Cat Rescue. It's a reserve for all kinds of exotic cats that have been rescued from people's attempts at turning them into domestic pets. We were able to walk around the cages and with the cats in close proximity. They had all kinds of cats; lions, tigers, panthers, jaguars, leopards. You name it they had it.

Has anyone ever seen or heard of Christian and Lion? He's on youtube. He was a domesticated lion who was set free in Africa. He had a joyful reunion with his owners some time later. I kept thinking of that while we were at this park. Christian the Lion is the antithesis of what this park is all about.