The Fraser's in the South!!

THURSDAY

Jane, Andy, Dana & Liam arrived early afternoon!  We enjoyed an afternoon and evening playing on the patio!  Shawn and Liam playing on the Plasma Car:)

Liam loved the 'Roller Coaster'!!

Thatcher showed Elsie Anne how to ride his 4wheeler, and soon enough...

...she was at it ALL ON HER OWN!!

Papa (Andy) caught this awesome shot of EA swinging with her new Clifford the Dog, the Fraser Dog Clan got her!  She is in love with it and sleeps with it every night now!!

FRIDAY 8/12

Foggy morning on Lake Iamonia.  All the Fraser's experienced my Dad's(BigDaddy) airboat - catching alligators and all:)

We went to Pebble Hill Plantation and enjoyed the walking tour in the unbearable heat!!  We were all drenched in sweat, but had fun to learning about the history of the Plantation and Thomasville, GA!  Liam and Elsie Anne taking a little break in the 'Kitchen Garden'!!

SATURDAY 8/13
We headed down to the Ochloknee River where my GrandParents live.  Their house is at the mouth of the River, which opens up into the Gulf of Mexico.  We took the Pontoon Boat out for a picnic ride and some fun on the beach:)  GeeGee, EA, Liam & Dana!

I love finding Horse Shoe Crabs - the are so prehistoric!  It was fun to tell EA that they are dinosaurs!!

Floating around in the tube! 

Nothing better than being on the water, under a bright blue sky... COMPLETE RELAXATION!!  Shawn and Dana having a little brother/sister bonding!!

GeeGee and Papa chillin' in the shade with the salty breeze blowing around, aaaahh!  Liam liked the boat ride, but we're not quite sure if the salt water or the heat gave him a rash from head to toe:(

Elsie Anne always takes a boat snooze!  Getting cozy with Memoo on the ride home:)

SUNDAY
We had a lovely chill day!  Went to the Trousdell Splash Pool and had a ball!  Wish I had better pics, but Andy & Dana were taking all of them!  Here's EA & Liam about to go down the slide:)

Elsie Anne enjoying her Daddy at the pool!

A relaxing night complete with a family cookout, made for a great ending to the first of many Strickland/Fraser gatherings!!  We're looking forward to Brad, Melissa, Brady, Logan & Adam to join us next time!

It was such a pleasure getting to show Shawn's family Tallahassee and our Southern traditions!!

Little Chef :)

Most of you know I've always said that 'cooking is generational' - mainly to give myself an out, on the reason I barely even try to cook!  Well, this week that Memoo spent with us, completely proves my point!!  ONE of the many things we love about having Memoo here, is the home-cooked meals - uumm,uuuum!  And Elsie Anne took a major liking to preparing each one!!

Learning to 'scramble' the eggs for the Vegetable Fritatta (not sure how to spell that)!

Letting the apprentice do it all on her own!  Every drop stayed in the bowl, she was extremely careful as she maneuvered the spoon around & around:)  She then got to help stir in the sauteed veges & pat them down into the egg mixure!

While our Dinner Fritatta was baking, we had time to play on the deck...AGAIN!!  EA never gets tired of it!  She is looking through the hole that melted on top of the SNOW CAVE - I stuck the camera inside to capture it, turned out pretty cute!!

Pulling her sled all around!  We tried to sled down the snow pile on the deck, but it wasn't thrilling enough for our little dare-devil, so she stuck with pulling:)

We had a lovely dinner together, EA went to bed early (6:50pm), so Memoo & I got to watch TAKEN with William Neeson!  Its an action-packed thriller that I highly recommend, but beware, it will make you even more neurotic about letting your children do anything on their own!!!

We had to clean-up, pack-up & head-out the next morning - Memoo to the airport, and EA & I back to Breckenridge.  It was sad, but a short good-bye & EA made us both feel better by saying "Memoo sad?? Be happy Memoo!" then same thing to me!  Instead we said "Love you Memoo.  See you soon.  Memoo fly on aaiplane see Big Daddy!"  Great visit with my Momma, its never long enough. 

We'll get to see my parents & all of Shawns family in a few weeks at his sister, Dana's wedding, in Oxford, Ohio!!  We are so excited for all the family time:)

Granby Fun

Memoo, Elsie Anne & I went to Granby for the weekend!  Unfortunately Shawn had to stay back and work. :(  Us girls were able to hang out, play in the snow, eat delicious home-cooked meals, nap, read our books, play in the snow some more, eat more left-overs, & do a bit more relaxing!  Yes, it was just what the doctor ordered!  Nothing beats time with my Momma & daughter (well, Shawn would have made it complete)!!

The deck on the Granby house is awesome, for many reasons, but in the winter - it becomes the perfect 'play pen' for any aged child!!  We found that one of the last visitors made a 'SNOW CAVE' - after a bit of testing to make sure it wouldn't collapse, we sent EA in to check it out!!

Once inside, Elsie Anne could sit upright with plenty of room to spare!!  It was pretty impressive - we need to figure out how to build one!!

EA has a mouth full of snow in this one - she liked feeding us too:)

Memoo helped EA build her first snowman!!  I'm not depriving my child, its just that until now, the snow has been too 'powdery' to even make snow balls.  So now, with the warmer weather it makes it stickier & perfect for snowman-making!!! 

I thought this little Snowman face rivaled my own daughter's cuteness!!  Love the carrot-chip!

After almost 2 hours on the deck EA got a warm tubby & played all evening long in pajammas!  Memoo & EA liked racing her new 'bunny on a skateboard' toy back and forth between their legs!  In this one I caught them practicing 'point & flex' with their toes:)

Back to Breckenridge on Monday for our work week!  'Monkey See, Monkey Do' class on Monday morning, Adeline on Tues, Wed, Thur (9a-4p), Henry on Wed night, 'Tumbling Tots' on Friday morning!  I told Mom she should get half my pay this week, since she is such a big help:)

Friends in Granby!!

Sommer (Shelfer) Blackburn had her buddies out to the Granby House (her parents are part owners), and boy was it a crew!!!  Sommer, Jobey, Addyson (almost 3), Warren (11mo).  Meghan, Cameron, Harrison (almost 2).  April, Michael, Maddox (3), Morgan (8mo).

Sommer & Addy loving the snow on the deck!

All the kiddos watching their Daddys have a snowball fight from the deck! 

Elsie Anne & Harrison having a snack & coloring together!  Its so fun seeing these two together, EA is just two weeks older than H!  They'll be best buds when they see each other more:)

Thanks for having us over guys, wish we could have stayed longer:)

Hunting Boys!

My Daddy + Dallas (older brother) came to the family Granby House for their annual Elk Hunt!  We were able to join them for the two weekends they were here...

SUNDAY 9/19

Hanging out on the deck w/ Big Daddy...

Getting some 'mustache sugar'!

Uncle Dallas chatting about Elsie Anne's new sippy cup!

Big Daddy + EA watching the train in the distance + playing @ this cool wooden park!

First time on a tire swing!

EA loved this special time w/ Big Daddy!

WEDNESDAY 9/22
After a quick work week, Shawn, EA + I made it back to Granby for Dad's birthday dinner!  Uncle Dallas had EA in awe as he lit the candles:)

We had been talking about Big Daddy's birthday all week, so she was primed + ready for his birthday song!  I just love this sweet pic of these two admiring eachother!!

THURSDAY 9/23
We had a lazy morning w/ the hunters, a yummy lunch in Grand Lake Village, and as the boys went into the woods, we took EA to the park.

One of her favorite spots on the playground is the "bigde"!

Daddy bounced her up + down!

FRIDAY 9/24
And all weekend long, our big girl sat @ this table using only a pillow to raise her up!  She loved this new status of 'big girl'!

The boys hunted ALL-DAY-LONG, so we were on our own!  Elsie Anne has always enjoyed watching the 'skateboarders', so we took Shawn's skateboard for a spin!  When I was a little girl, I thought I was pretty good @ staying on the thing, but now, its much scarier!  EA loved the ride from the front of the board:)

Daddy does the ramps + impresses us ladies!

Then home to cook up a hearty meal for the hunters!  Shawn, of course, had a fantastic menu planned... BowTie Pasta w/ his own Veggie + Chicken Alfredo Sauce, Roasted Asparagus + Garlic Bread!  It was a HIT and we all 'carb loaded'!!!

This is what family time is all about...hugs from my Daddy, tales of the woods, beers in our hands...

...and this grin from my big brother!!!  It was so nice having one-on-one time w/ Dallas, its not that often this happens!

SATURDAY 9/25
FOOTBALL TIME!!  Everyone saddled up in their Seminole attire... + drove to Grand Lake Village for a football frenzy!  We watched FSU + OSU whip some tail!

Big Daddy spoiled his grand-daughter rotten...ice cream cone, doggie balloon + a lollipop!

This was our perch while Uncle Dallas shopped for his family:) 

EA had more sugar in this one day than she has had in her entire 18mo of life!  She will always be greatful to her BigDaddy for it:)

At the bar, watching our respective teams!  EA cheering, "tuudoown meminole!"

Some Uncle Dallas playtime + love!  It was very obvious the two of them enjoyed their bonding time:)  Dallas is usually a little side-tracked w/ his own three children!

EA made a big girl-friend, Ashley, who toted her around all day!  She seriously reminded me of myself as an eight-year-old!  I was the biggest baby hog:)  Anyway, EA followed + Ashley doted, so it was a perfect friendship for the 4hrs we hung out!!

Later in the afternoon, Elsie Anne experienced her biggest accident to date:(  She fell off the picnic table they'd been playing on all day long, head first, into the gravel.  It scared Shawn + I to DEATH!  We'd never seen such a booboo + she had 3 scrapes w/ blood + bumps across her forehead.  Thank goodness Dad + Dallas were there to calm us down.  Both having raised 2 boys each, they'd seen much, MUCH worse, + were able to show us that she was okay + we'd be okay:)

We finished up the evening w/ delicious Elk Stew @ home + EA went to bed w/out a hitch.  Really, once the trauma of falling was over, she could've cared less about her big scabs.

SUNDAY 9/26
EA + I heard BigDaddy + Dallas packing up the car @ 4:30am and decided to sneak another good-bye kiss from them:)  I think the boys enjoyed it too!  Then we said good-night to the moon + went back to bed until it was really time to wake up!

Daddy fixed us a delicious breakfast...but in the meantime, we played in the ClubHouse EA had found on the 3rd floor earlier in the weekend.  We brought her bowls + spoon so she could "cuuk" like Daddy!

We stuffed our tummies on Veggie Eggs + admired EA's battle wounds!

Shawn couldn't miss his Bengals, so we went right down the road to SolVista Inn to watch their victory!  The Lobby is a 'stuffed animal' Zoo...kinda neat from EA's perspective:)

What a fun Family weekend.  We're glad the boys got to see what EA is really all about these days:)