Happy Birthday Little Sis!

Jenni turned 18 yesterday! Can't believe my sweet girl is all grown up.

Glad we all got to spend the day with her to celebrate since her big day was on Thanksgiving this year. Thankful for my baby sister amongst so many other thing this year.

Birdy Quotes

L to his Uncle Michael: "You live on a different planet? "

Later that day in a different conversation:
L: "I live in Rainbow Moon in my rainbow house."
[Oh the imagination. I'm glad I know where he lives now next time I try to find him. He is an excellent hider. Earlier today I found him in the guest room bookshelf -- quietly all tucked in. ]

Homecoming #8

With October came our 8th Annual Homecoming! It all started with ten of us sleeping in our friend Joel's one bedroom apartment the year after we graduated college. Several years later, we're still going strong with our Homecoming tradition. Matt and I have obviously since moved to Nashville and have taken over the task of hosting since Joel has since moved to California. 

We are so excited that our friends still come into town every year from East coast to West. I love that a decade after meeting each other and having moved hundreds of miles apart, this group of people is still in our lives. I love you all! We're also excited that we've added several amazing people to the group over the years as significant others and our little ones have joined. 

And yes, we are still sleeping on the floor (or rather futons, couches, and air mattresses). Well, Matt and I aren't. The joy of hosting this shin dig every year.  Without us all crammed into one space, crawling out of bed mid-morning in pajamas to hang out with our coffee and apple devices (the number grows every year), and staying up way too late in the evening, Homecoming just wouldn't be Homecoming. 

Our Homecoming weekend every year is as Matt likes to say the weekend "we all pretend like we're still in our twenties." Well until this year we were actually in our twenties but from now on we'll have to pretend. 

A few of my Vandy peeps:

The kiddos did not understand that maybe they should sleep past 6am if the whole house didn't go to bed until shortly before. Luckily mommy thought that might happened and turned in "early" as well. Mickey Mouse time it was.

Giving all our friends some baby playtime.

Nice cup house 

Chatting everyone up a la Lucas style

Lucas enjoyed the abundance of iPads and willing people to let him play

HK and the McKinney-McEacherns all decked out in Vandy gear

Haley got the cutest self-made Vandy onesie and tutu from our dear friend Whitley. This girl was ready for a big win. Photo shoot! Thanks Whit!

Lunch at McDougal's. Yummy but cold! Brrr.  Followed by a walk around our old stomping grounds.

Group shot in the redone Sarratt. This definitely didn't exist when we were still here.

And a quick shout out to my dear friends Whitley and India who both ran a full marathon the day of homecoming and the week before respectively. My hat goes off to both of them. I get out of breath just thinking about 26.2 miles. You are both so incredibly amazing. 

And here everyone is cheering Whitley on from afar. We missed you at Homecoming Whit but are so proud of you. And India, thanks for running early to be with us. Wouldn't be the same without you!

Go Dores!!

October Potpurri

As with every month, the month of October flew by. It started with Disney, ended with Halloween, and had some annual Homecoming fun in the middle. We also had a lot of fun with our every day craziness. Had to share some of last months pics of the kiddos. 

What a special treat: Uncle Mike came to visit. 

Molly has the best toys!

Cheering on the Dores

Israel Family Pic

Cruisin'

Trick or Treat

Candy galore at la Case de Israel now that Halloween is over. We took our T-Rex and Ladybug trick or treating with L's friends Belle (Ella) and Sleeping Beauty (Anna) on their closed off street and very soon all we could see was a streak of green as our dinosaur ran from one house to the next. We have trick or treated on the same street for a few years now and it's fabulous: no cars, lots of spooky decorations everywhere, and even one house that serves smores to all the adults. Yum!

HK is unsure about this whole Halloween thing but L is watching out for her

T-Rex and Sleeping Beauty

The princesses with our critters

Still unsure...

Better. Hoping for some candy now.

The candy hunt begins despite refusal to wear the dinosaur head

Shortly after starting on the candy hunt, HK passed out in her daddy's arms. We had one tired bug!

After Lucas successfully collected a whole bag of candy we met up for pizza and more pictures with some of our other little friends. We had a whole zoo: a duck (Molly), a dog (JD), and a giraffe (Will) in addition to our little guys. They were such cuteness! I do admit this picture was not a small feat to capture. 

HK and JD playing. Look how big we're getting. These two little ones have birthdays exactly one week apart!