2010 Highlights

Because it is the last day of 2010 (what??!!), I thought I'd do a post on the best and most memorable moments of our year. I got this idea from another blogger, and I just couldn't resist! I also had a hard time deciding on the "best," so I posted quit a few pictures. And I'm sure I left out some things that should have made the cut, too. So... here goes....

The Big Snow- I think it has snowed more in the last 3 years than it did in our entire childhood. This February snow was the biggest so far!

Fireman for a day- Spring Break this year we visited a fire station and got to play on a real firetruck. (Thanks Brandy and Kyle!!)

Memphis Trip in April- We went for a family wedding and made a long weekend trip out of it. The highlight of the trip was the zoo for sure! Here we are strolling downtown near Beale Street... which was NOT the highlight. Funny night tho ;)

Baby Dedication- The "babies" were so sweet on this very special day.

Crescent City Classic- Whew! This was such a tough yet fun morning for us. (Tougher for me than Kyle-ha!)Can't decide if we are doing it again this year. Kyle says NO!!

Day in Park 5K and Crager Crawfish Boil- This will (hopefully) be an annual event! We had a blast!

June and July Beach Trips- No comments needed!!

Collin's 1st T-Ball Experience- We were so, so proud of our big boy for being so brave, especially being one of the youngest on the team!

A Dino 3rd Birthday- Collin loved every minute of this party. It was a great one with lots and lots of... dinosaurs, which he still adores!

B's Big Girl Bed- Her first nap in the big bed. She still loves it... until about 5:30 a.m. and then she prefers Mommy and Daddy's bed. (which we don't mind a bit!)

Stella- We were so excited to welcome Stella. She was so sweet at this stage! We still love her death now that she has grown to 5 times that size, has destroyed everything in the backyard, and has dug holes big enough for the whole family to fit in. Sweet, sweet Stella.

Lasik- This was such a big deal for someone who was practically blind for so many years. This was Kyle the day after surgery. Amazing, really.

Sweet B is 2- What we remember about this day is how truly excited she was about her Minnie Mouse party and especially blowing out those candles!

South MS Fair- This event had to make the cut. C & B had so much fun this year! We didn't have high expectations, but these two blew it out!

Minnie & Batman - This Halloween was really busy, and we hope to slow it down next year and just Trick or Treat. Regardless, they were very excited about their costumes and, of course, the candy.

We'll end with the Laurel Christmas Parade. This event kicked off all the Christmas events of the season. The kiddos loved everything about Christmas this year. It was just what we hoped it would be like.

Well it looks like this year is coming to a close... more like an abrupt stop! Wow, how time flies. We aren't making any resolutions for 2011. Just taking each day and moment one at a time and trying to see the blessing(s) in each one. Our motto this year is "Keep calm and carry on." It was written on a painting in one of my cousin's home. She said is was an old saying from soldiers in some war, maybe??  Anyway, I though it was an excellent motto for parenting young children :)

We wish everyone a very safe and blessed New Year!!

"... The Lord bless and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you..." Numbers 6:24-25

Wake up, Wake up!

Just like we predicted Brantlee woke up a little before 7, but we had to wake Collin up! It didn't take too much to get him out of bed once he remembered what day it was. With the video camera in one hand and the camera in the other, I was determined to capture "that moment" when they enter the living room and their faces light up!

Collin was excited and immediately spotted what he hoped he'd see. Brantlee was still a little foggy. But she quickly came around.

Admiring his TRAIN TABLE!! He has been one happy boy :)

YAY for a big girl kitchen and lots of food to play with!!!

Opening their stockings was so much fun for them. That was always my favorite part, too. After things calmed down that day, Collin had a few thoughts/questions about Santa: "Did Santa get wet in all this rain?" "How did Santa get in our house without a chimney?" We let Daddy handle all those questions ;)

And I forgot to mention something else Santa dropped off outside the day before... it has a slide, a tree house, and some swings! Too bad the weather was so yucky on Christmas. More pictures to come of them playing on it.

Christmas #3

Again, it is tradition to meet early on Christmas morning with the Sumrall side of the family to cook and eat brunch and then exchange gifts.There are 8 (9 as of May) great-grandchildren. Seven of these children are 4 and under. Throw in 5 grandchildren and their spouses, and then four children and their spouses, and I'd say my Mimi and Paw Paw have a house full! Can you say chaos??... Let's just call it fun, contained chaos ;)

The calm before the storm. Once everyone starts opening gifts, you literally can't see the floor!

Christmas #4
After resting for a few hours, we went over to Nana's and Poppa's house for ribs and more gift giving.

Collin ate as much as the adults. That boy loves a rib- on the bone no less.

This Big Foot/Monster/Robot thing is the coolest thing ever! Brantlee keeps saying, "That giant's gonna get me!"

After all these festivities, it would stand to reason that we would have some grumpy, tired, overstimulated kids 9 o'clock that night. It was time to go home!

Christmas 2010 was so incredibly blessed! We have so much to thank God for everyday, but especially around the holidays. Thank you Lord for our precious family, and most of all for Jesus.

Christmas Eve

It is tradition for each family and the sets of grandchildren and great-grandchildren to get their pictures made in front of Mee Maw and Paw Paw's tree on Christmas Eve. We've done it for as long I can remember. Here are just a few of the combinations for this year.

Paw Paw Bob and Mee Maw Beth

With the grandchildren- K'Lynne, me and Casey

The growing Reid clan. Aunt Casey is expecting another sweet BOY in May!!

 

                           A rare family photo. (I treasure these!!) We haven't had one since July.

No matter how cooperative or uncooperative our subjects are, we shoot anyway and take what we get.

The grandchildren shot with Lolly and Poppy was a little on the uncooperative side, but cute (and typical) nonetheless.


After eating grilled streaks and potatoes, it was time to open presents again! And boy was it wild :)

                                                                         BUZZ!!

                                                                            DORA!!

Mee Maw and Paw Paw bought the great-grandchildren these little pianos with microphones. Collin, our future musician, stole the show and sang and sang.

After we played with our new toys and visited for a while, it was time to hurry home to prepare for long-awaited Santa. We set out his cookies and milk and put out some carrots for the reindeer.

Can you say EXCITED??!!!

Collin and Brantlee were actually not too hard to get to sleep that night. Collin asked for a train table. Brantlee was hoping for a kitchen. Did Santa pull through??

Our 2010 Christmas ...

Is it over??!! Christmas 2010 has come and gone so quickly just like it always does.This year it was so exciting with Collin and Brantlee being 3 and 2. They were so hyper starting on Thursday night. That's when all our festivities started. They LOVED their gifts, and we are still trying to figure out what all these new toys do! Opening presents (regardless of what was inside) was by far the best part. We had 4 Christmas gatherings not including Santa's visit. We have such a big, loving family, and we were worn out last night when we got home at 9:30. But  we are so grateful for all the places we get to go and all the family we get to see. We couldn't imagine it any other way. Of course we took lots and lots of pictures over the weekend, and I will have to do several Christmas posts to cover all the details.


CHRISTMAS #1

Excited really isn't the word to describe these little munchkins on Thursday night at Mom & Dad's house. However, they did stop long enough for this picture. Can you say SHOCKER! We couldn't believe it!
We enjoyed Mom's gumbo and pecan pies and a low-key (??) fun night.

Let the opening begin! We tried to let everyone take turns opening, and that lasted for a little while anyway ;)

Lolly and Poppy got them all these cool trikes. Collin is obsessed with his. He has actually snuck outside to ride it a couple of times when we weren't looking. Oh, and he refers to it as his "motorcycle."

Let me explain these pictures here. Lolly and Poppy got B this box of dress up clothes, which she LOVED. She immediately starts pulling off her clothes so she can wear her new dresses. Uncle Derek helped her put on the crown and ballerina slippers. As you can see, she wasn't the only one who loved it. Fischer was excited about the jewelry and the heels ;)

The next morning we played with the Baby Alive that eats, drinks, and well, you can figure out the rest! Thanks Aunt Casey!

 I suppose that brings us to Christmas Eve...