Vacation Photos and More Vacation Photos

I'm sitting on the bathmat watching my boys have their first bath together. 

This is the life!

As promised, here are the last of our vacation pictures that I wanted to share...

The boys sure did love their time with Pop & Mimi.

Not to mention the lake...

Ryder braved the tube...

and roasted a few "marsh-melons."

 Lynden got to meet Memaw...

and Papa.

From peek-a-boo to playing with family, Ryder had a blast.

Until next time!

Labor Day in Alabama

What is it about vacation endings that prompts sickness?

Since I canceled most of my other scheduled activities to rest up, I had a little bit of time to pull up some pictures from our trip to share with you.

Ryder and Lynden were both champs during our travel days. 

Ryder was just tickled to get to fly in a real airplane!

Ryder was spoiled and Lynden could only keep up so long before dozing off. 

A lot of skiing happened.

We got to spend some time with Granny and the rest of the Apperson clan. 

Ryder loved her dog.

We even managed to get away on a date with just the baby while Pop & Mimi took good care of Ryder. Breakfast out, shopping, the wood store (for Braden ;), popsicles, and awesome coffee. 

These are fun days!

Ryder was coached on the finer points of fishing by Braden

and Braden's uncle.

I know at least a few of you were praying for a safe and uneventful trip home. 

It was just that!

I don't think either of the boys shed a tear on the flights home.

Lynden even got to taste the dregs of my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season. 

Yum! 

I'll have more pictures from my camera in the coming days. 

Our big trip to Alabama was great - and it's great to be home!

Happy New Year!

Well, 2015 is here!  We had intended to wrap up the year back home with friends, but a broken jet changed our plans and Southwest ended up putting us up in Birmingham for one more night. 

Here are a few more pictures from our trip southeast.

A beautiful river canyon in Desoto National Park.

Date day with my guy, thanks to Pop & Mimi babysitting Ryder.

Walking through B'ham our last night. 

And now, here we are - home sweet home! As wonderful as family time is, nothing feels quite like home - especially after nearly a month of living out of suitcases, not to mention more than our share of sickness.

We were greeted in Reno with a beautiful dusting of snow. 

After a morning trip to Costco, our fridge is once again stocked and ready to get us through the next couple of weeks. 

Of course, I was anxious to get home and try out my new huge Le Creuset dutch oven (thanks Braden!) and what better way than homemade chicken soup for my 2 sickies?  

I started out by roasting a whole chicken.  Once it was finished, I removed the breasts for another meal and let the rest of the carcass and skin simmer in water with veggies. 

Before long, the meat that was left practically fell off the bone and I added seasonings and pasta before serving.  If you're looking for a recipe, here's one that I came across on Pinterest that looks great.  It was my inspiration, though I can't say that I followed it.  The only similarities between mine and this one were lemon juice and a few dashes of dill. 

Suffice to say, I love my new dutch oven and look forward to more experimental recipes in the days to come. 

It's great to be home and I'll make it my goal to be posting more regularly, now that we're somewhat settled. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

J

Our Alabama Christmas

This is my ABSOLUTE favourite picture.  

Ryder is ecstatic to find a little orange ball in his stocking. 

Look at that face!

Cozying up with Gram to open another gift.
That tongue!

So blessed to be with family through the holidays! 

Park Time And A Flashback To Last Year

Since we've been away from home, posts have been less frequent.  But, days are always interesting with a toddler.  This morning we walked to the lake park.

And just for fun, here are a few throwback photos from the same park taken at this time last year. 

I'll be posting less until we're back home again.

Ryder and Pop

Until next time, enjoy the Christmas season,

Jayne

Stack 'Em Up, Knock 'Em Down

Ryder's new favourite game to play with Pop and Daddy is Stack 'Em Up, Knock 'Em Down.

Squeals and clapping ensue.

Not to mention scrumptious lemon rosemary scones courtesy of the Pioneer Woman.

Needless to say, we are definitely enjoying our family time in Alabama.

B'ham Bound!

B'ham used to mean Bellingham, WA to me - but we're headed to the B'ham my husband calls home. 

Our preparation included a 'baf' for all of Ryder's stuffed creatures. The first 2 minutes they were in the wash, it was fun to watch them spin round and round, but before long they invoked a few tears. Sometimes it's just hard to be patient.





















Tuesday we headed to the airport for a day of travel. The blowup Santa plane sitting by our gate was a huge attraction while waiting to board. 

Thankfully, we had a third empty seat between us on both legs of the journey and Ryder traveled like a champ.  

Now it's time to enjoy being with family!