COUSINS!

During the holidays we spent an enjoyable afternoon at my sister's in Lakeland, FL.

My sister & Clara

My niece & her husband along with their four children were visiting from Indiana.

 We wanted to get the cousins together, 

since we didn't know when they would ever be together again.

Cousins - 

are they first cousins, second cousins, third cousins, or cousins once or twice removed?

My mom probably had it all figured out.  

I googled it, but I'm still a little confused.  

To me, we are all just cousins!

Theo shares lunch with his cousins - Kelan, Ava, Miri, & Blake.

This was the first time the cousins had ever met.

 They had a great time playing together.

One of the bedrooms was filled with toys!

 My sister still had the bouncy seat that her grandchildren had enjoyed.

Clara had such a fun time with it that we brought it home with us.

 

Clara with Uncle Gregg

Clara with mom

Brothers!

The patriarch!

My sister's 16 year old cat - Tia

We had a great time making memories together!

Walk Around The Block

On the first day of our son & daughter-in-law's visit we enjoyed a walk around the block.

They were thrilled to walk outside in the sunshine & not have to bundle up.

I was a little chilly since it was only about 65 degrees.

The block turned out to be about two miles long!

Our grandson walked most of the way.

Of course there were side excursions to explore the landscape & water features.

We returned home with quite a collection by our grandson - 

rocks, acorns, acorn hats, leaves, pine cones, flowers and more.

 Our granddaughter relaxing with mom while she works on a new tooth.

Happy New Year!

The holidays were busy, but so much fun!

We enjoyed Christmas morning with my dad & our favorite breakfast casseroles:

french toast; ham, egg & cheese; and sausage, egg & cheese.

I tried a new recipe for the sausage, egg & cheese casserole.

I used hash browns instead of cubed bread.

I decided I liked the hash browns better!

So. . .  note to self for 2015:  

Use hash browns not bread cubes in the breakfast casserole.

Here's the mess hubby & I left after the two of us opened presents.

 It was fun to surprise each other with gifts.

We left the mess & went for a walk around the neighbor hood.

I love being able to walk outside in the sunshine almost every day of the year.

Christmas afternoon we went to my dad's.

My sister & I fixed dinner for our dad & our spouses.

We planned better than we had at Thanksgiving.

We didn't fix food for an army!

There were just enough leftovers for one day.

New Year's Eve our oldest son, his wife, and two children came to visit for eight days.

Theo is 2 2/3 years old

Clara is 6 months old

Coming Soon --> more pictures & comments on their visit.

Praying Blessings to You and Yours during 2015!!