So Much to Celebrate

About a month ago (yes, that's how far behind I am), we took the whole family down to Florida to meet our new little niece and the kids' first first cousin, Ashley. She is beautiful and such a sweet baby! I hate to say it, since most moms hope their daughter looks a little like them, but she looks a lot like my brother right now! I bet in a few months we'll be saying just the opposite. Rick and I were lucky enough to be chosen as this little angel's God parents, so on July 11, 2010, Miss Ashley was baptized. As did all of our children, she wore the family gown made by my Grandmother. She was the 11th person to wear this gown which is now 68 years old. I don't know who will wear it next, but I do know we've already filled our quota in this house :)

Here's a picture of the two littlest cousins together. So cute!



This is also a big year for my Grandmother. She will be 90 years old at the end of the month. So, while we were down there we surprised her with a little celebration, in her honor, since all of us were together.



The kids had such a great time playing games and reading stories with her. Here she is with Ryan...



She is an amazing woman and I hope she knows just how loved she is by her entire family. She is mother to 2, grandmother to 4, and great-grandmother to 5! With everyone together, we had the rare opportunity to snap a great family photo!



And here's one of our family....



Also, while we were down there, it was Papa's birthday as well! So, we celebrated not once, not twice, but three times! That's a lot of cake, but you don't hear any complaining from me. We all know I love me some cake!

We had a really fun time! Grammy and Papa rented a nice house so that everyone could hang out for the weekend. The best part for the kids (and us too) was that it had a pool!





The kids also had a blast playing with their cousin Natalie. They were a little shy at first, but by the end of the night they were inseparable!





We also took the kids to the Loggerhead Turtle Rescue. We saw so many GIANT turtles, all rescued within the last month. The boys loved it and so did Great-Grandma!



It was such a great weekend, and it was so great to see everyone. The four cousins: myself, my brother, Jenny and Chris haven't all been together in years. It was fun reminiscing about all the stupid stuff we use to do as kids :)

It was a fun weekend of celebrations!!!