Christmas

Ella really got into Christmas this year, more so than I thought she would. It is now February and she still asks to watch Rudolph, which she calls Hermey (you know the misfit elf). We had 2 big Christmas celebrations. Grammie & Pop (Brad's parents) were here first. Then, Mim Mim & Pep Pep (my parents), my sister Carly, and her boyfriend Kory came to visit. We had a wonderful time celebrating the birth of our Savior with our families. Here are some pictures from the festivities:

Worst Blogger Ever!

Yep, that's me! I started this blog with the intention of actually updating it regularly. But, as you can see, that hasn't happened. I can't really say that I enjoy blogging all that much, but I have made a resolution to start doing it again. I'm not going to backtrack too much and attempt to cover all the things I missed, that would take days. I will probably hit the highlights, and then move forward. Wish me luck:)

Whitney's First Birthday

A few weeks ago, we went to Indiana to celebrate Ella's cousin Whitney's first birthday. As you may have read in previous posts, Whitney was born prematurely last August. We were all very excited to celebrate her first birthday! This was actually our first time meeting her, so we were extra excited! Here are some pictures from the festivities:

Whitney is about to dive into her cake!

Ben, Whitney, and Jill

Ella and her Auntie Jill

We love our sweet little niece!

Trip to Pensacola

\
We recently went to Pensacola to visit Ella's Mim Mim and Pep Pep, and to celebrate Auntie Carly's birthday. We had a great time while we were there! We went to the beach, of course, and ate at Brad's favorite restaurant in Pensacola...Peg Leg Pete's. (Brad would probably drive all the way to Pensacola just to eat there:)
While at my parents' house, we attempted to play badminton...which is always very entertaining, given that we are all pretty bad at it. Ella even got in on a game or two. But she really enjoyed blowing bubbles and running in the sprinkler. Here are some pictures of our fun trip.

Ella chasing the birds at the beach

My sister (Carly), my dad, and me

We were finally able to get some family pictures!

Ella is a great badminton teammate!

Ella blowing bubbles

Having fun with Auntie Carly

Having fun with Uncle Kory

There's really no explanation for this

Playing at the Creek with Hannah

My sister, Brad, and I took Ella to play with her friend Hannah at Edwin Warner Park on the 4th of July. The girls had so much fun splashing in the water, and playing with rocks and sticks. Unfortunately, the fun ended rather abruptly when we saw a snake! It was swimming around in the water right by Hannah's foot! Thank goodness Brad spotted it. We didn't stick around to get a picture of the snake, but we did get some cute pictures of the girls playing.

Destin

We recently took a much needed vacation to Destin. We were so anxious to have some time at the beach, but were even more anxious to see how Ella would react now that she is a bit older. Fortunately, she LOVED it more than we could have imagined!! That girl played in the sand and water all day long! She would float around in her turtle float for a while, then point to the beach to indicate that she was ready for some time in the sand. After playing in the sand for a while, she would start dragging her float to the water to let us know that she was ready to cool off. It took her no time at all to become accustomed to life at the beach.
Brad and I are seriously still in awe of how well behaved our precious girl was. She acted like a perfect angel during both the drive there and the drive home. While we were at the beach, she quickly adapted to being in a different environment and having a different schedule. She is such a good girl. Brad and I still don't know how we ended up with her! :) We are so incredibly blessed!

Gracie Louise

Our family recently lost one of its most beloved members, sweet little Gracie Louise. Gracie went to Heaven on May 31. She was with our family for over 9 years, and was an absolute joy to be around. Although she was timid around new people, she was super loving once she got to know you. She was often times more like a puppy than a cat, in that she loved to play and snuggle all the time. We have so many wonderful memories of our little sweetie. She will be greatly missed.