November

November has been a crazy month! We have been here, there, and everywhere! Last time I posted we were in Jacksonville. We only ended up staying there a little over a week. But before we left we got to spend some time with a good family friend. My mom has known Ricki since high school, and they've been good friends ever since. We vacationed with their family every year growing up, and she happens to live in Jacksonville!

One day we went to a beach near Ricki's house and stopped by for pizza after. So much fun!

It didn't take Colt long to get into the toys and declare he was taking them home.

The Friday we were there was Veteran's Day. We went to the beach, and it was an absolutely perfect day. We were so lucky because Daniel got to join us! Daniel served in the Army and guarded the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and we are so proud and thankful for him. We were happy to celebrate with him at our happy place!

I had to keep an extra eye on my little fish! She got so far out all by herself, and I had to call her back several times! So proud of her.

Love my people.

Colt was whispering to Daddy what kind of cupcake he wanted. 

Sunday Ricki took us to the Jacksonville Zoo. It is in the top 10 zoos in the country, and it did not disappoint!

Avery with the elephants. We did a big Roll Tide to that!

Giraffes are my absolute favorite! They are so pretty! I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't too excited to feed them, but it was so fun. The kids did perfect, and look how close we were to him!! 

The otters are a close second for my favorites. They are so cute and friendly.

This was the cutest thing ever. The mom (or dad) grabbed the baby by his arm and slung him on her back. So sweet.

Ricki was so sweet to take us to the zoo. We had a blast. Later that evening we took the kids to Ricki's so we could go on a date! I forgot what that was like. We found a cute little seafood place on the beach, and had fun having uninterrupted adult conversation.

Can't remember the last time I got dressed up.

My little redneck children in the big city. Colt decided that's how he likes to wear his flip flops. Fine by me...

Daniel took Colt with him to Paducah, and Avery and I had a girls' night on our last night in Jacksonville. We found this yummy Italian place and ate pizza and spaghetti. The next day we picked up Shorty and headed to Birmingham. We spent a couple days there then went to Paducah for a few days so Daniel could hunt.

Many parts of the southeast are going through a devastating drought, and we went out to Lake Purdy near my mom's house. We were standing in the middle of the lake, and it should have been 8 or so feet high with water. There is barely any water left. A few days after this they had to close the lake. We got a little relief last night, but it will take a while to reverse this.

This is about the only thing to do when we go up to Paducah. Superman is ready for Christmas!

Colt wasn't tall enough to put his head on Superman, and sweet Avery held him up best she could.

 Fun times. That took all of five minutes.

This was cracking me up. Shorty was so excited to be in the house with us. Avery found this pillow and put her in front of it. Shorty was in heaven.

We went to my mom's for Thanksgiving, and we got this gingerbread house for the kids. Daniel was smart and waited til I wasn't there to do it with them. I have no patience. Turned out cute, and they ate on it for days...gross.

Obligatory family picture. Happy Thanksgiving!

My mom and I went shopping on Friday, and Daniel sent me this picture of the kids. He said they were looking for turtles.

We came home Sunday, and I bought some Christmas cookies to bake. Love me some good Christmas footies. This was about 20 minutes before Colt fell out of his chair and almost broke his ankle. Good times.

I'm trying to do better with my homeschooling. It's hard, though. This week's theme is transportation, and I wasn't really prepared yesterday, so Avery made a train with the sight words she knows.

We broke down and got a fake tree last night. I'm pretty sure I've never had one in my life. It is pretty, but not the same. Back to a real one next year.

Looks like we're home for Christmas, then time will tell where we are headed. Just ready for 2016 to be over.