ten years

Back in May, Michael and I celebrated our ten year anniversary. It's crazy to think that we've been married that long. We've done a lot together.

Marriage
A house
Vacations
Two babies
Laughs
Giggles
Cries
Good times
Hard times
Lots of memories

To celebrate,we did this...

Yep. I squeezed back into my wedding dress (Well, not really. I couldn't zip the back up all the way.) and we trashed the dress. I love our cheesy cruise wedding pictures, but I really wanted something a little more professional to mark this moment and hang on the wall. So we took a few pictures pre-paint.

Then I let the kids have at it.

  

Then Taryn, our fantabulous photographer, captured these of me and the girls.

Everything about this session turned out exactly how I imagined it. Paint, glitter, laughs, and a whole lot of love.

To my hubby. You're my partner in crime and my biggest supporter. You make me smile big and my heart happy. I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else.

Happy 10th Anniversary. I love you more today than yesterday and even more tomorrow. Thank you for loving me.



Hair and makeup by Danelle Wood from The Key to Glam
Pictures by Taryn Lewis from Sugartree Studios

the rest of the long weekend

Zarkle still comes on Thanksgiving night, even if we are at Grandma's house.

Since we were in Gainesville on Black Friday, we carried on the Santa tradition too. For some reason there is never a line and we walk right up. So much better than fighting the long lines and people here in Jacksonville. Plus, he's a pretty good Santa. Addison asked for a grown up jewelry box and a light up hula hoop. Morgan asked for a leprechaun house. I seriously thought she was joking, but nope. She was dead serious. What exactly is a leprechaun house? (More on this later.)

 

A visit to Westside Park is always on the agenda when were in Gainesville. The girls ride this merry-go-round the entire time. Complete with sassy girl pose and all. I don't know how they do it. 

 More Zarkle adventures.

Morgan discovered the cinnamon roll. I think it's safe to say she's a fan.

 On Saturday we headed home to find the perfect Christmas tree. We found it!

So what if it took up half of my living room. I didn't care. It was the perfect tree. Switching over to a real tree a few year ago is one of the best moves we've ever made.

thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving at my mom's and then headed to my Aunt's house for a little backyard fun.I was so happy that I got to spend the day with this little turkey.

You know when you pick up a baby and your body just starts to rock from side to side. The mommy sway. I think it naturally occurs in all mothers. I still got it. I swayed baby R right into her turkey coma.

And just like most holidays, we ended up at my aunt's house to visit with first, second and third cousins and eat dessert. There's always some swinging.

And some teeter tottering.

Tractor rides from cousin Ben were a fan favorite.

There was a little sliding.

And a little mothering. Morgan loves when there are kids younger than her. She takes such good care of them. It's sweet to see this side of her and Dylan loved every second of the attention.

I'm thankful for so many things. My friends, my family, all of my many blessings. Especially these two.

My family means the world to me. I'm thankful that Michael puts up with all of our shenanigans.

And last but not least, our Thanksgiving tradition. You can't finish the day without watching Elf.

I love Will Ferrell.

trick-or-treating

The girls decided they wanted to go with a family superhero theme this year. It seemed easy so I didn't mind one bit. We had Bat Girl.

And Cat Woman. With pink hair of course.

Together they were ready to conquer the world!

 And save things that might be stuck in a tree.

The three of us together could take on anything!

Even Batman if we had to. Turns out, he's one of the good guys.

This must be where they get the faces from.

A Halloween would not be complete without our annual picture at the neighbor's house.

This is Christmas card material right here.

We hit a few houses in our neighborhood and for the first year went over to a friend of Addison's house. Since Halloween was on a Friday I wasn't worried about dinner and late bedtimes. I let it all go. And had a few beers while trick-or-treating. That always helps.

Happy Halloween!