Thanksgiving

We had the privilege of hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year!  It was such a great day, spent with everyone that we love...all 18 of us!  It's times like these that Aaron and I remember just how lucky we are to have such an amazing family.  

Not all families are lucky enough to blend well, and have a great time together, but ours seem to do it effortlessly.  I am so mad at myself for not getting a big group photo...(pumpkin martini's may have had something to do with that ;) )  But, everyone had such a great time that I think this will be a tradition, so I will be sure and get one next year!  

Since I failed to take anymore people pictures...here's a few of the tables.  Thanks to Pinterest, I had a blast decorating for Thanksgiving dinner.  I couldn't bust out my china and not try to fancy up the tables a bit ;)

Turn some wine glasses upside down, and use as candle holders...so simple, yet elegant.

The "adult" table ;)

I loved the mini-pumpkin tea light holders.  They were so easy to make...just drill a hole in the top of the pumpkin big enough to hold the tea light candle...and viola!  You have tea light candle holders :)

Thanks again to everyone who shared Thanksgiving with us.  We had one of the best ever, and can't wait to do it again next year.  Hope yours was filled with as much family and love as ours was :)     

Kitchen Help

Anytime we are in the kitchen now, Ays has to be in the middle of it all.  He pulls a chair over to the counter so he can climb up and be a part of the action.  On this day, I was cooking dinner, reached over to grab a spice, and found this masterpiece.  This kid cracks me up...we may have an engineer or a contractor on our hands ;)

Nashville

We have so much to catch up on.  I just realized that my last post was nearly a month ago!  Sorry blog...I've been neglecting you, but I'm back.  I promise December will be full of pictures and posts :)  So, to start of my blogging spree, here is a little looksy at our trip to Nashville.

Although the main reason for the trip was business, we got to mix in a bit of pleasure as well.  From the CMA's, to Broadway, to Honky Tonks, to wineries, we did a little bit of everything.  

We were lucky enough to be in town during the Country Music Awards.  This seriously has been a dream of mine, to go to the CMA's, and although we didn't get tickets to go in, we went down to the red carpet for awhile to watch the celebs arrive.  We were a few rows of people back, so it was kind of chaotic, but it was fun and we got to see a lot of people, so it was totally worth it.  

Just a few of the people that we saw...Faith Hill.  She is seriously as pretty in real life as she looks in magazines and TV!  

Kelly Pickler...thank you girl with the cell phone for ruining my pic.  

And the person who I was most excited about...yes, that is Lionel...I almost peed myself ;)

Although the CMA's were fun, our favorite part of the trip was our visit to Arrington Vineyards. This vineyard is owned by country star, Kix Brooks, and sits about 20 miles outside of Nashville.  

 It was so beautiful!!!!  It sits in a very quaint, country setting, and is well worth the drive.  

We sampled a few wines and got to walk around the vineyard...

pretty much my idea of heaven :)

Of course, we had to get some pics in front of the big, super fun, wine barrel :)

Would LOVE to go back someday!
 

We tried to tour the famous Ryman Auditorium, but we didn't quite make it in time, so here is the outside :)

And finally, here is a look at Broadway.  This street is lined with bars and little honky tonks.  It was such a fun atmosphere...almost every single one had live music.

A big THANKS to Grammy and Pops for watching Ays while we were gone :)     

 

Arkalalah

Elmo was out in full force at the Arkalalah kiddie parade.  This was Ays's second time to walk in the parade, and he made it the entire way this year.  Last year he was practically running people over with his little ambulance, but this year, he took his sweet time, taking it all in. 

He was so cute, clapping...

waving...

and holding hands with Strawberry Shortcake (Kierslynn) the whole way.  It's so fun that these two get along so well :)

After the parade, we headed to the carnival.  Ayson was able to ride several rides, but his favorite by far was the carousel.  Look at that face...pure joy!

Haha...so typical!

He was getting a little too brave for his britches by the end of the ride.

Look at this big kiddo, riding his first ride without us...

and it's a roller coaster!  Kierslynn & Ays were perfect riding buddies.

Watch out for these backseat drivers!

I think he really thought he was driving ;)  Ha!