Loxleypalooza...part 2

...I bet you thought she was done, didn't you!?

Mo LOVED the beach!! AND we ALL loved watching him love it!

 

He would run, run, run as fast as he could... 

laughing the whole way

 

and crash in to the "waves"!

  

after he mastered that, he was ready to graduate to the boogie board

or at least toss some seashells

and build some sand castles with Mama J

at dinner he cheered on a game of beach volleyball

What a fun memories and a fun weekend!

 

Happy Birthday Savanah and Payton!!

Happy 2nd Birthday!!

What joy you bring me!

We loved you both even before you were born.

Such special memories of the day we got to finally meet you just two short years ago!

Loxleypalooza...part 1

Loxleypalooza did not disappoint! 

Time with family is a gift. I SO enjoyed having all EIGHT of us together for an entire weekend. The weekend was spent taking turns squeezing Mo, delighting in his every move, enjoying each other, and of course eating!

The mornings began slowly, as they should..sipping coffee and stepping outside in our pjs to see what the day had to offer.

We read books, visited and took afternoon naps.

(eyelashes?!?)

We went to Fairhope to stroll around and visit shops...of course taking time to smell the flowers!

We visited the Fairhope museum and "drove" an antique fire truck.

The guys had some "man time" while the girls wandered in a few shops.

(John and three generations of Jeff men)

Mama J soaked up every second of her time with her favorite little guy.

Grande and Mo watched the boats while we waited for lunch.

We went to Burris' Market for fruits, veggies and of course cobbler and ice cream!

(For those of you who know Grande...you know how amazing this picture is. Grande under NO circumstances shares his food. Proof Mo is the exception to every rule! Just a sweet smile and the "more" sign was all it took to break him!)

We ate boiled peanuts after nap as fast as Aunt Rachael could shell them.

Most of all we wished we could find a way to slow down time!

she said YES!

12.11.10

my sister in law is getting MARRIED!!! let the planning begin!

we are thrilled for you Emily and Eric!

Loxleypalooza

This thug is leaving his "hood" and heading south....this time WAY south.

Loxley.Alabama.

We are picking him and his awesome parents up Friday morning, for the FIRST.EVER.

Jeff Family Weekend

Excited would be a major understatement.

the family reunion

John and I spent the weekend in Nashville for his big family reunion. The weather was H-O-T and I mean hot, but time with this crowd is few and far between.

 John's first cousins are spread out all over the southeast. Rare treat to all be together. What a fun weekend!

delight

If you have ever wondered what the happiest woman on the Earth looks like. This.Is.IT

What a gift to have a front row seat to watch this Grandmother so in love.

Waving to boats. swinging. good afternoon nap

HHS round 2

HHS Class of 2000 10 year reunion...same song second verse, this time HARTSELLE High School!

I knew this would be a fun weekend for John and I was happy to be by his side, but I didn't expect it would be so much fun for me!

I had forgotten how many of John's classmates I had gotten to meet when we very first met. So much fun to see old friends and familiar faces. Flashbacks to freshman year! I loved getting to see my next door neighbor from my dorm, as well as Trai who I give the credit of introducing me to the love of my life. Had he never needed a wing man..my little world would be so different!

Below is not a great picture, but the only picture of the actual reunion I have so far. We didn't take our camera so sadly we are at the mercy of facebook tags for memories.

me, John, Summer

Going to Hartselle for the reunion meant we also got to spend time with our precious nieces (and the rest of the family!). They are growing so much and so much fun. It has been even more fun lately since we have gotten to see them several times. I love that they are getting old enough to remember us from visit to visit. Of course Uncle "Gohn" has stolen their hearts and I'm hoping one day they love me as much as they love "BA-lay"!

Something about the sun on Alyson's office wall Sunday morning made a neat snapshot backdrop!

Savanah, me, Gohn, Payton

Payton and Uncle Gohn

 Great pic of John and Alyson

me and BA-lay who wasn't sure about the heat

me and Aly

Alyson doesn't get much "face time" on the blog because she is the super talented one typically behind the camera! Meet Aly blogosphere!

me, Payton (L) Savanah (R)

meet bonnie

this is one of my fabulous aunts. her name is bonnie.

this birthday post was more about the birthday GIRL than the birthday CAKE...but since you asked for it... you got it!

a "MADE FROM SCRATCH, DECORATIONS AND ALL CAKE" shout out!!!

great job Bonnie! I love you!

good friday

Isn't it amazing to think these sweet little babies

turned in to these fun, full of personality, coloring toddlers in just ONE year!?!

Incredible.

We so enjoyed our time in Hartselle. Great family, great food, and great weather to enjoy!

grandmother

Happy Birthday Grandmother! 89 never looked so good!

I love you!

rain rain go away...

unless you look this stinkin cute in your raincoat!

we sent Mo a raincoat and a few other goodies for his birthday. These pictures make me smile, thanks for sharing Stuart and Allison.

one year

Exactly one year ago this morning I got the very best text message I had ever received.

It simply said:

"Mo is here."

beneath the picture he wrote: "my baby"

beautiful.

Happy Birthday Mo!!

 ONE year! The snow is piling up at your house today, and I am so thankful it was not this time last year. I would have been a nervous wreck wondering if your midwife and doula could get to you.. not to even mention all of your grandparents who were dying to meet you!

We LOVE you!

dad cave

I've told you about my precious ladybug and bumble bee, but tied at the top of my list of "fun things about the holidays" was getting to spend time with this little guy. Sadly for us, Mo lives in Maryland so we don't get to love on him nearly as much as we would like... BUT despite the distance it is safe to say we are all obsessed. Such a treat to enjoy him with out the help of skype and flicker!

During his last trip to Alabama one of Mo's many tricks was entertaining us with "The Dad Cave"

Who knew a blanket could be so much fun!?!

making sure his audience was ready...

is EVERYBODY watching?!

 ta da! here I am!

aren't I funny!?!

Good show, Dad! They LOVED it!

the bumble bee and the ladybug

We honestly had a wonderful Christmas. John's work schedule tried to be the Grinch, but we didn't let it completely steal Christmas! Thank you to the McFees for celebrating Christmas with us early this year. We really appreciated your flexibility.

Christmas with family is always fun, but this year these two little girlies made things even more fun! Watching their pure excitement as they discovered Christmas was a joy. What a reminder of how we should all be....not only while opening gifts on Christmas, but everyday. Joyful.

If you could see the sheer surprise and delight in Savanah's eyes as she opened her very first stocking. Absolutly priceless! We could all learn a lot from this little lady....the world would be a much better place if we were all as excited about socks.

Stockings at the McFee house are a BIG deal! Payton and Savanah caught on to this tradition fast!

One of our presents to the girls was pajamas. Here is Payton the bumble bee...

...and Savanah the ladybug

Both girls posing by the Christmas tree in their new pajamas. Pretty darn cute if you ask me!

I think Savanah liked them!

and I know we loved our Christmas with all of you!