A Christmas Survey, I need your help!

With this being Gus' first Christmas, J and I have been trying to come up with our own family traditions to start this year. We wanted to do something new/different than what our families currently do but we are having a hard time. I thought it might be neat to see what some of your holiday traditions are and maybe we could borrow some of your ideas! So if you have a minute or two please let me know what your family does now or did when you were little that makes Christmas special to you. Thanks!

Santa Claus has come to Town!

Despite the dreary, cold weather last Friday, Gus and I struck out in search of Santa. After picking up our friends Amy and Noah, we headed off to the annual kids Christmas party at our local bank. The boys are invited because they hold savings accounts there. We had to stand in line for an extremely long time, considering we were holding 17 pounds and a diaper bag, but it was worth it. Gus was worn out and was on the verge of drifting off to sleep by the time we reached the front of the line, but he didn't mind Santa at all. He just sat in his lap, blinking very slowly:) Noah on the other hand was somewhat interested in the strange man holding him and even threw out a few smiles for the camera. The boys were too cute in their matching santa "tiny elf" hats. Some of the goodies handed out were: red and green antlers, a book with an attached CD of Christmas songs, cookies and punch and a photo of you and Santa in a frame for the fridge.

It was fun to spend time with Amy and Noah AND Santa! I wonder how they'll be when they meet the Easter Bunny at the bank's annual Easter party?!! Something tells me their indifference to strangers won't last much longer.

On another note, Gus has really been enjoying the Christmas tree at his Mae Mae's house. This photo was taken during a diaper change and he just wouldn't sit still long enough for me to redress him because he needed to see about the tree! Fraiser's beware, Gus is on the loose!

Happy Anniversary

Yesterday was my 4th wedding anniversary! I don't know where the last 4 years have gone, but I am looking forward to the next four more than ever. J and I don't usually give gifts for anniversaries because Christmas is so close. So last night we called Mae Mae to babysit and we headed out to eat. We decided on MTs Chophouse and were pleased that we did. It is a very nice restaurant and the food was delicious, pricey but delicious. It is one of those special occasions only places and we were way out of our league! J is so hilarious, he asked for ketchup to go on his steak and, after they looked at him funny, they did bring him a small dish on a platter. I don't know what those waitors thought about us, but hopefully we gave them a few laughs! The steaks were Wagyu, which is occording to our waitor, the America version of Kobe beef and they were very tender. The macaroni and cheese was my favorite, if any of you go make sure you get it. It has four different cheeses, absolute heaven!! Everything was good though that we tried so I would recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a special night out.
God blessed me with the sweetest man and I look forward to each and every day we get to spend together. I love you J.

The Crawler!

While our Thanksgiving was plagued with sickness and injury (don't worry we're all ok now!), one good thing did take place: my baby is crawling!!

He just started, on the floor, in front of all of the aunts and grandmas the night before Thanksgiving. At first it wasn't too pretty but he has really improved over the past few days. He is already getting into things in the house and heads straight for the Christmas tree every time he sees it! He also is pulling up in the crib, much to his father and my surprise! You should have seen how fast we made it into his room when we saw him pull up on the monitor. We had to lower that mattress down right then and there. I know that as he gets into everything I'll be wishing for my immobile child back but right now it is pretty exciting around our house. He is real proud of himself and especially enjoys all of the applause he gets, I think he learned that from Allie!! HA!

Wedding Photos

I know that it has been over a month since my brother's wedding and I haven't shared a picture with you all. Lynsey's Aunt Cindy took the photos and they are wonderful. She just finished all of the editing this past week and I snagged this photo of our family!

This was the only picture of us all we had taken before Gus zonked out on us and took a much needed nap! I think the picture turned out great. The hard part will be trying to pick out which pictures I want to frame!

Many Thanks

Today is my last day at work and therefore my last day with a computer until next Monday, therefore I am going to cover all the bases for this weekend in this post. First and foremost, Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. I hope that you have a wonderful and safe day with lots of fattening foods and plenty of family to share it with. I myself will be with my family this year for lunch and am excited about the traditional goodies we'll have to eat, especially the fried turkey breast which is my favorite! I also have always been in charge of decorating the table with leaves, vines, berries and other items found in nature so I look forward to that too. Gus will be passed around more than the turkey I'm sure, as this is his first Thanksgiving and he has too many aunts and cousins to visit with. So I'm willing to bet there will be lots of picture taking and sugar stealing!

Also up this weekend is the annual Ayers' girls Christmas tree shopping trip. I am so excited about starting to decorate for Christmas and the tree is my favorite way to start. This will be my first Christmas in our new house and I can't wait to see it dressed in red and green!

The Gators also have to play the Seminoles on Saturday and as always you just never know what will happen when those two teams play. Hopefully it will be a good game, and by good I mean as long as the Gators win I don't care what the score is! HA!

Go Gators!!

I just wanted to share some photos of the little hunter with you all. We had a fun time this weekend, except for a few mosquito bites! Gus enjoyed riding in the truck without being in the carseat and he loves being outside in general. We started out the day all bundled up,

He did start out with shoes but they didn't last long! This next photo is one of my favorites, as you can see J. and I didn't do a lot of hunting, just playing with Gus. Gus liked to play with the little boy in the truck mirror.

We stopped at lunch for a picnic and Gus was able to stretch out on the dog box and lose some of his clothes!

After lunch Gus wanted to help Daddy drive.

All in all we had a great day together, even though there were no big kills :) We did discover all kinds of things that we need in the hunting truck that we had forgotten (wipes being the biggest oops, thankfully Aunt Lynsey had some in their truck), but we'll get the hang of it hopefully before the season is out! Next year he'll be wanting to ride with Papa and Mae Mae instead of Momma and Daddy, so we better enjoy him while I can.

Hunting Memories

I know in most families the women tend to stay home during hunting season and enjoy their time without the guys, but not in my family. From November 1983 I have been in the woods with my family riding in a carseat during those early years to riding on the dog box in the back of the truck once I was old enough to hang on. I have so many fond memories of my time in the woods. I would ride with my Papa and Granny most of the time because Papa always had the best snacks. He was the Lil Debbie keeper and my brother and I knew it! My brother once fell off of the dog box trying to catch a Lil Debbie thrown to him by Papa and it knocked the wind right out of him. When I needed a little adventure it was Uncle Terry that I rode with. Why my parents entrusted me with Uncle Terry I will never know? He drove 90 miles per hour down pot-hole ridden dirt roads while I bounced around the cab holding onto Aunt Ronda for dear life! But boy was it fun! Over the years I have gone from a tagalong rider to an actual hunter myself. While I don't like going in the woods when it is dark, never have never will, I enjoy listening to the dogs run and sitting in a stand during daylight hours!! This year is really special for me because we have Gus to introduce to this family tradition. I'm sure he won't remember too much about this first year, but we will take plenty of pictures to show him one day. I know that Gus will want to ride with his Papa and Mae Mae, as Papa keeps his truck stocked with goodies and I'll have to do lots of praying when he wants to ride with his Uncle John, who is often referred to on the CB as "Speed Racer". Lord Help....... it sounds somewhat familiar doesn't it!

A Fun Weekend!

This weekend was a lot of fun for our family. We spent our first night away from the house since Gus was born at the hunting camp Friday night. Gus slept like a champ, unlike J. and I who slept very little. I wish I could still zonk out just anywhere! Saturday morning, in honor of Halloween, we played a little dress up with some christmas antlers from the Dollar Store.




















Then Saturday night he turned into a whitetail deer. His costume was complete with antlers, a tail, and hooves on his feet! J. cut the lining out of it right before we left the house so it wouldn't be quite so warm. All in all it wasn't too bad, Gus received lots of goodies that Daddy and Mommy will get to eat (which is just what I need!).
















Gus also met up with some of his buddies for some photos.


















Once the pictures had been struck and the candy collected, the boys decided they needed to get comfortable!
















We had a great time and I'm already looking forward to next year when they can all walk and really enjoy it!

Milestones

It seems like Gus has been hitting milestone after milestone lately. He literally grows before my eyes daily. The last week has been a big one for our little guy. Here are some things he has been up to:

1. The Excersaucer - while he still is a little wobbly, he is finally starting to play with the toys attached to the top of the tray. Check out those legs!!

2. He is eating cereal, which he loves, and has started pears! You should have seen the face he made when he tried the pears. I couldn't capture it on film however.

3. He is hanging out with the guys a lot more! They don't seem to be as scared to hold him now as they did when he was smaller. The first one was at Allie's birthday party with his Pap and the second one is with his Papa feeding cows.

4. He took his first bath outside. How cute is this?

5. Lastly, and in my opinion most importantly, he has cut two teeth! We noticed the first on Saturday and the second last night at Church. Watch out Allie, he can bite back now!

Our baby is really growing up too fast, but it is such a fun ride! His personality is really shining through and he is so nosy, busy learning about this great big world. He wants to move constantly and I know that it won't be long before he reaches the next milestone of crawling!!

Happy Birthday Allie!

It's so hard to believe that you are 1 year old today! Can't wait to watch you dig into some cake Saturday.
We love you lots,
Love Uncle J., Aunt Lyndsay, and Gus

The Honest Scrap

Just like Surrounded-by-boys my blog has never been tagged til now!

I am excited to participate and a little unsure of how this works but I'll give it a shot. Thank you Charon for the challenge. I have tried to come up with 10 honest things about me but it's harder than I thought it would be so these might not be very interesting. Here we go:

1. I hate to be late. Whenever I know I have to be somewhere at a certain time I start planning what time I will have to leave by, what time I have to take a shower by, what time I have to get up by, etc. My husband, bless his heart, takes his sweet time going somewhere and would probably rather be late. I am therefore always pushing him along and this has become a lot harder now that we have a baby to tag along!

2. I love the water. I love to swim, ski, tube, or just ride on a boat. The Lord knew I needed to live in Florida!

3. I enjoy hunting and fishing. And not just because my husband does. I actually like to be down at the camp sitting around the fire at night and chasing deer with the dogs during the day. I have done it my whole life!

4. I am a Christian. Having been raised in the Church, I was saved at the age of 10 during a revival. I attend Church every Sunday and try to live my life daily as a witness to those around me.

5. I am big on traditions! The hardest part about getting married was having to change my holiday traditions, or at least to blend with J's family. From Thanksgiving to Christmas we tend to do the same thing every year and that suits me just fine! This year of course we will start some new traditions with Gus and I am super excited about that.

6. I'm a country girl. Subdivisions give me a twitch, especially the ones where you can spit on your neighbors house from inside of yours. I am thankful for our 10 acres.

7. I own cows! I started out with a heifer before I was married and now have had at least 8 born. It is hard to keep up with them now but I name them in alphabetic order to help remember how many I have. I've got Alpha (which has died), Butterbean, Coffee, Delight, Eclair, Fordhook, Godiva, Hominy, and I might have an "I" that hasn't been named yet. They all live at my parents house with my father's cows!

8. I like to bake. Which is why I will never be skinny! I am also an icing addict. I love it! The sweeter the better.

9. I can my own vegetables. My parents and I put up our own corn, peas, beans, and tomatoes. We also raise our own beef (#7 was a hint) so I never have to buy store-bought hamburger meat!

10. I hate to shop, usually. I have to be in the mood to shop for clothes. I don't mind to browse most days but it depends. I get this from my mother, she hates to shop too. I think a lot of it stems from my inability to make a decision! HA!

So there you go. Maybe you learned something about me, maybe not. I am not going to tag 9 other blogs because all of the ones I look at have already been tagged. Thanks again Charon, this was fun!

A New Sister

With my brother's wedding fast approaching at the end of this month, things are pretty busy around our house. I am helping Mom and Dad with the rehearsal dinner and therefore spending my extra time (what little there is these days!) working on decorations and set-up plans. We have also been helping them start to move things into their home, having showers and luncheons, and finding the right outfits for each occasion! It is very easy to get caught up in the preparations and forget about what an awesome event is soon to take place: I am getting a new sister!! Our family will change and Lynsey will soon become not only my new sister but a new daughter for my parents and an aunt to my precious little boy! Wow, what a big deal! John and I have always had a love/hate relationship, Lord knows we have faught more than our fair share, but we are a close family and I am so glad/thankful/blessed that he chose a wife that will fit into our family so well and one that I like and enjoy being around. Lynsey is a sweet person and I think she will bring out the best in my brother! We are lucky to be getting such a great addition to our family. I want her to know that I love her and will always be here for her to ask questions or to vent when (and I say when not if!) John drives her insane! HA!

~These pictures were taken at her bridal luncheon, last weekend and they turned out so good. We had a great time with even better food. I'll share some more pictures soon!

Things I Cannot Live Without

While wondering through blogland I came across a page where people were listing things they couldn't live without. Of course my family, friends and faith are at the top of that list but I thought it would be fun to share some of the not so obvious ones:

1. DVR- If you don't have it you should get it. I don't know how to watch TV without it! Now that we have to work around Gus' schedule it helps us to still be able to catch our favorite shows.

2. Coca-Cola - My Papa would be proud. Having worked for the Coca-Cola company most of his life, we always had coke to drink. Now I have to have it at least once a day!

3. Gus' bouncy seat - This has been a life saver from day one. Gus will sit in it while I do any number of things like; shower, cook, clean etc.

4. Air Conditioning - I am hot natured and therefore hate to be hot! We keep our house a comfortable 75 degrees!

5. Jeans - I am a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. If I have my choice of what to wear, it will always be jeans.

Those are just a few of course. Share yours with me!

Mr. Grown Up

Doesn't he look like a big boy? This was at his Aunt Lynsey and Uncle John's wedding shower at the church last Sunday.

Big Adventures Ahead

With hunting season fast approaching, J and I have been trying to figure out where we would sleep now that we have Gus. In previous years we just slept on a pull out couch in the cookshed but we knew that wasn't going to cut it for much longer! We really wanted to find a camper and had been looking around for one that would work. Well the Lord completely dropped this one in our laps! So Saturday afternoon our little family loaded up and went to pick up our new camper. Since we didn't get home until late that night we took a picture before church Sunday morning.
It is really a nice camper and was kept extra clean. It has one slide out, air conditioning, heat, full kitchen etc. I am so excited about our future adventures. Not only will this be great in hunting season but vacations too. I hope that it will be a foundation for a lot of wonderful childhood memories for Gus. I can remember going camping with my family in my grandparents pop-up trailer when I was little. We had some great times and still laugh about those trips occasionally when we all get together. So if any of you come across a good campground or have your own great camping spots let me know.

Go Gators!

Good Luck this weekend Gators!

My Little Tiger

This past Friday night, J, Gus and I headed out to the high school football game! First we met up with Gus' best friend Noah and Amy and Brent for supper. The boys were completely decked out in their team spirit. I don't have a picture of both of them yet but here is one of Gus.

It is a little blurry but it was taken with a camera phone. The noise surprisingly didn't bother Gus too much. He even took a short siesta! And, in typical boy fashion, he was mesmerized by the cheerleaders and their sparkling pom-poms. I know that it won't be long before we'll be watching him play on that field and I'll have to be running off those cheerleaders. HA! He also got to meet a lot of home-town friends and was passed around like a sack of potatoes. We are hoping to check out this week's game against the Bulldogs. Hope to see some of you there! GO TIGERS!

Season Change

Ok I absolutely love fall and I have noticed the changes in the air for the last week or so, has anyone else? I am ready for cooler mornings and afternoons so that Gus and I can spend more time outside, which is where he loves to be. Yesterday, being my day off, Gus and I spent some fun time taking fall pictures outside! I know he thought I was crazy putting him in a long sleeve shirt and jeans to go outside but I was quick, I promise! This is my favorite photo.

He had on shoes but quickly kicked them off (oh well). Needless to say I had to run to Walgreens and have it blown up to an 8x10. What better fall decorations could I have than Gus? Gus and I also picked up our other fall decorations out of storage yesterday. I know I'm starting a little early but I am so ready. Besides this month and next are going to be busy with John and Lynsey's upcoming wedding. We have less than two months to go! That will be another blog soon. We start having showers this month.

Happy Fall!

My Vacation Spot

Of all the places that I have been my absolute favorite was Yellowstone National Park. In August 2007, J and I had planned to meet some friends in Wyoming and camp for a few days in the park. In order to make our flight we left way too early but ended up getting lost and barely making our flight. We were those people you see in the movies running through the terminal with their bags flying behind them (yes we really were running)! The guy behind the counter told us that he would take care of the baggage and for us to run to the plane! I had little faith that our luggage would make it to the same destination as us, but luckily I was wrong. We flew to Denver and then on to Jackson, Wyoming and when the plane set down beside those awesome mountains I was captivated. I have never been a huge fan of the beach, just a day or two and I'm tired of the sun and sand and salt, but I love, l-0-v-e, the mountains. While the Smokies are pretty, they pale in comparison to the Tetons. This is a picture of both ranges: (J and I had the great opportunity to go to both ranges within a few months of each other)

The picture doesn't do the Tetons justice, but the sun was setting behind them and it was beautiful. We camped in the National Park, in a tent, in August. One would think that a sleeping bag would be warm enough, however J. and I froze every night!! We tried every sleeping arrangement we could think of, separate sleeping bags, share a sleeping bag, put the two bags together, nothing helped. I would get up early just to go take a hot shower and stand by the fire. J. would go to the campground store every morning and he would have a hot chocolate waiting on me when I got back from the showers! Then we would start breakfast over the campfire! We learned that people in Wyoming don't know what good sausage is, because we couldn't find it anywhere!! We had to settle in that department but he eggs and grits (Rusty brought the grits from Missouri) were delicious. We also cooked supper over the fire most nights and packed a picnic for lunch.

The park was magnificent and we only made it through the bottom loop. J and I can't wait to go back with Gus so he can see it too. If you haven't been and you get the opportunity, go! We saved a lot of money by camping and cooking most of our own meals and it was so much fun. I would do it again tomorrow if I could! Here are some more photos that I took: