Bellingrath Gardens/Spring Break

My mother gives a whole new meaning to Spring Break. Not only is it a break for the kids from school, but she takes them all for a few days so we get a break also. I miss them terribly, but it has been so nice!! We have watched alot of movies and gone for a long bike ride. Slept in, just relaxed.

We dropped the kids off with Nana at Bellingrath Gardens in Mobile on Saturday. Ben and I had not been back there since we were married there nearly 12 years ago. It was such a great experience to share it with the kids. I brought our wedding pictures for them to look at on the way down. They got a kick out of it. We met April and Ava there as well. They all love to be together. The flowers were gorgeous and it was a perfect weather day to be there. The kids loved just exploring and we got some great shots!!!





Here we all are standing in the spot where it all began.

Little Cobras

Conner played Upward basketball for the first time this year. I think his favorite thing about it was the fact that Ben was his coach. It was great for the 2 of them to have that to share together. Conner's skills improved alot over the course of the season. He had never played so he had nowhere to go but up. They had a really great team and great assisstant coaches. We will definitely be doing this again! Cutest thing ever to watch.

Sidney's 4th Birthday

So apparently we didn't learn from last year, and we went back to Chuck-E-Cheese. Bless her, she just loves that place so how could we say no? She did tell me that this would be the last birthday she has there...here's hoping she meant it. We let her open a few gifts from us on her actual birthday. Then Ben took Sidney and Linlee to a daddy daughter princess dinner at church on the 3rd. They had a WONDERFUL time and even got to ride in a PINK Hummer limo!!! Sidney still talks about that. Such great memories.
When I booked the party at Chuck-E-Cheese, one thing I did learn from last year was NOT to book it on a Fri or Sat night! So we opted for Sunday afternoon since more people could make it then. What I didn't realize was that it was Super Bowl Sunday. The guys weren't too thrilled with that but were troopers and came anyway. The kids had a fantastic time. We are so lucky to be blessed with great family and friends!

Gift list for her future reference: Stroller, twinkle toes shoes, elephant purse, rapunzel dolls and horse, light sprite, Find It game, Shirley Temple movie set, Pinkalicious sticker book, cupcake necklace, Princess sleeping bag, money. (hope I didn't forget anything) Very blessed indeed.

Linlee's big girl birthday.

So, I dont' know when we reached this stage, but Linlee wanted to have a family steak dinner at home, have a friend sleep over and then have an outing at the mall for her birthday. I was all for going simple, so that is what we did. Holiday birthdays are difficult to plan anyway. The grandparents, Bailey family and Gardner family all came. Apparently the bows were the hit of the night. Linlee was seranaded by the Fish family singers, and then we were off to the mall. The girls had a great time being all grown up.



A pedicure set was one of Linlee's presents and so since she had gotten a professional one earlier that day, she treated Sidney and I to one that evening. It was fabulous!!

Holiday Events

What a busy holiday season!!! We kicked off the events with the Berteau clan. We had a wonderful dinner at the in-laws house. They were taking one of their many Gatlinburg trips over the holidays so we did our family gift giving a little early. Ben and I showed up dressed and ready for the occasion....

I have to take every opportunity to wear this shirt, since there is a chance I won't be able to next week.
Conner got a real bow and arrow set that he obviously was excited about!

Sidney got a scooter that everyone "helped" put together.

Linlee and I both got a Kindle each. One of the best gifts ever!!


We had the unfortunate experience of saying goodbye to my grandfather during this season. He had a long hard battle with health issues and in a way, it was a relief not to see him suffer anymore. I am glad that family had time to visit with him and really talk before he was gone. He will be missed!


The Giles Christmas Eve Extravaganza kicked off at my grandmother's house. We always have lots of food to eat! The kids provide the spontaneous entertainment as you can see. I think Eric topped us all in the gift giving department with a new car for his wife Michelle. She was suprised!

We finished the day off with a candelight service at First Baptist Church. Bittersweet.

Christmas morning we had our family gift giving


Then on to the Smith family craziness: