Thanksgiving 2015

This year the girls and I flew to Virginia for Thanksgiving. Andy had a busy schedule and sometimes it's hard to be in a new place for your first family holiday. Good thing we have airplanes that can cover the miles upon miles of distance between you and your family! The girls were so excited about getting to see Mimi and Papa as well as getting to fly in an airplane.

 everyone is happy but MC…why is she upset? because she had to sit in the middle and can't reach her tv screen that is on the back of the chair in front of her…(sigh)...

And we made it! On to yummy food, great conversations and lots of baking and game playing!

the girls are playing "Macy's TG parade Bingo"…they LOVED it

playing by their own rules I am sure...

Little Miss Caroline came over to view the quilts we all made this summer at the beach…what a cutie

Ms Kathy is educating us on the joys of Charlie Brown movies

Mc playing with cars…she's my child that loves to play with others but also will just disappear and be found playing nicely by herself.

we had a little memorial service for our beloved cat who passed away right before our visit. Cagney lived to be 15, so she definitely lived a good, long life!

you can't have a trip to Mimi's without baking something! Pound cake it is!:)

Granny was able to make it down the weekend after Thanksgiving with all the Noels. It was so great to see everyone again. We miss our yearly beach trips, but we are so thankful for those times now that we are able to gather.

the kids playing play-dough

granny and the girls…a little blurry...

Granny gave all the grandkids a very meaningful gift this year. She had all her dad's (our great grandfathers) law certificates/degrees framed and gave each of us one. William Basil Bruce was a self-made lawyer and even served in the house of delegates. We had a great time listening to her stories and just being with everyone.

a picture of all Granny's grandkids (minus 2 spouses)

we also played lots and lots of connect four…lots of it...

 I am so thankful for a wonderful family, for an amazing and giving husband, loving daughters and time with family!

Life in Illinois

The first two weeks here in Illinois have been exciting and busy. We went to our first Illinois football game! the girls had so much fun meeting and playing with the other coaches kids and watching the game from a pretty awesome viewing spot!

on the sidelines before the game

our view from the lounge…we stayed warm and the kids had lots of room to run and play.

Second, Alley started public school. We labored over this decision but ultimately decided this would be best for our girls at this stage in our/their lives. Unfortunately we couldn't get Kendall in the same school (because Champaign has school choice and KG was full) so she is being home schooled until she can get a seat in Alley's school. Alley's teacher, whom we LOVE, sent this picture of Alley and some of her new friends. They were on a field trip and she thought I'd enjoy seeing Alley with her friends. Yes, this momma did enjoy that!!

Pizza night!!! MC was a big help!;)

We also experienced our first snow in Illinois. Apparently this was just a dusting for Champaign, but the girls loved it! We realized that they need snow pants and sleds!

this is the first time they've been able to make a snowman and they were thrilled! They even let our neighbor help:)

Alley is 8!

Where have the years gone? When did this little one turn into an 8 year old??!!

Alley had a big birthday week. On the week of her birthday we made the big move to Illinois. So she had to spend her birthday in a new place without her buddies. She took it like a champ. We were able to still do our birthday tradition of doughnuts…unfortunately, Champaign does not have a Krispy Kreme. But we are fine with Dunkin Donuts:) 

Andy and his mini-me

daddy and his girls…they are so happy to be reunited!

happy birthday girl

 We love you Alley and are so proud of the the young lady you are becoming! You have met challenges head on and have grown to be such a sweet and caring young lady. We are so thankful for you!!

Good-bye South Carolina, Hello Illinois!

Let the fun begin! The truck is here and we are ready to load! Eeekkk! This make our move so real...

the girls camping out in the basement on our last night in Clemson. They, of course, thought it was the coolest thing ever…

last dinner at the Smokin' Pig…oh how we will miss you and your sweet potato fries!

Mimi and papa came down to help us finsih packing the house and loading the truck. I.could.not.have.survived with out them!!!! Oh we will miss being semi-close to them:(:(

a final good-bye to the Whites…so sad:(

Queen Mimi playing cards with the younger two while Papa and I took furniture apart

Our small group is AWESOME! They came and helped load our entire house up into the haul (in the rain!) and then the guys took off from work and actually drove the haul up to Illinois and helped unload it. we were really struggling with how we were going to be able to make this move happen since Andy could't come back since they were in the middle of football season. Some guys in our small group just stepped up to the plate and said they would do it all for me. I cannot thank them and their wives enough for what that meant to us. We are so thankful for their serving hearts! we will miss them all (not just because of what they did) but because of who they are as people!

here's the crew helping to pack the haul

princesses

after a full day of driving, we finally made it!!! Home sweet home! this was the first time I saw the house…Andy did a great job picking it out!:)

the park was 6 houses down from our house...

and it had an awesome playground! Woo-hoo!!!

on day 2, MC decided she was ready to go back to Clemson and live with Sydney…sorry girl, you won't make it on that bike;)

Halloween and the beginning of good-byes

Andy left for Illinois earlier in the month, so our house has been a packing zone for a few weeks already. I am using that as my excuse on why it took us so long to go pick out pumpkins…and why we never decorated them…sorry kids! Anyway, we went to a local school and picked out our pumpkins one afternoon. The girls love being able to pick their own and I love that its quick and close by:)

MC found hers…she said it was heavy and perfect

Kendall and her top pick…this child really struggled to make a decision. She wanted them all

my pumpkin pickers:)

the girls and I on our last walk around the lake in Clemson…so sad.

Our small group go together to enjoy the homecoming floats and have a little dinner downtown. we had so much fun together. We ended the evening by watching a little of the soccer game.

MC and Sydney…love these two sweet girls

my CP girls…I love them dearly 

my best friend…oh how I am going to miss her!!!

 The girls decided they needed to prepare for Illinois winters while we took Bailey on a walk…I hate to tell them that they are going to need MUCH more than just gloves!

Halloween fun!!

two cowgirls and a "gymnastics girl"

our neighborhood halloween parade

The Whites invited us over to their neighborhood to a halloween party and to trick-or-treat. The girls have never trick-or-treated, so I figured it would be a good sending off for us since we are moving next week. We all had so much fun with everyone.

MC and Sydney chalk painting

Alley and Leah playing a mummy game.

the mommas!

We couldn't pass up a mexican dinner with some other favorites of ours. Izzy and Charlie are some sweet friends who we have loved getting to know and have loved spending time with. The girls met them their first day of preschool when right when we moved to Clemson and have been inseparable ever since. 

the gang