Holiday Road Trip

The morning after Christmas, we picked up Mom Husted at 5am and blazed through the Michigan snow toward sunny FLORIDA!!! Lucas looks a bit concerned that we left him in the hands of his big sis Malia...We drove 13 hours, spent the night in Georgia and after a total of 22 driving hours we made it to Florida for a sweet reunion with Dad!! We had 2 nice days to enjoy the pool and sunshine. The girls were the first and last kids in the pool each day and spent the whole day in the water!

A cold front came in and the temps dropped to the 50s & 60s so we skipped the pool and visited a Citrus Farm and Wildlife Rescue. Malia was the smallest person on the tour yet the most eager to hold/touch every animal. Riley, Nana and I stayed far away but Malia suckered me in to one yucky experience with a 40lb python!!

She surprised all of us as she volunteered to pet an alligator and took a ride on a giant turtle.We celebrated New Years Eve with Papa, Nana, Aunt Val and Uncle Doug doing fireworks and riding bicycles around the park to see all the pretty lights!
After a week with Papa and Nana, we were off to Nashville for a Family Ministry Conference.

The girls were thrilled to meet Kai from Little K!!

While I attended sessions, Ryan and the girls enjoyed fun activities at the mall

and around the area.

At the rainforest cafe, the entire restaurant turns to night and the animals "go wild"!! The girls freaked out, jumped into dad's lap and cried through the whole show. They really didn't like the gorillas for some reason. The server saw the whole meltdown and moved everyone to the butterfly/fishtank section where the girls enjoyed a HAPPY meal.

Finally, after 2 weeks, we are ready to go HOME!!

Winter Fun

Here's a few pics of our fun in the snow. It's really Ryan and the girls...I just ran out to take one pic with frosty. It's Soooo COOOOLD!! I prefer to watch from the window but the girls love being in the snow with dad.

Husted Christmas

We had a fun Christmas Eve & Christmas with the Husted Family!! Ryan hosted Christmas Eve while I was away working Trinity's 3 services but Ryan held down the fort while taking care of 3 kids! He even made it to the last service with the kids and served as an usher. He's a trooper! We opened stockings from Santa Nana. The big kids got the traditional Spartan gear and the grandkids cashed in with the matching pj's!! Yummy ham dinner and lots of treats!

It was so nice to have Nana with us for Christmas!! Soon she'll be in Florida for the winter.

Christmas morning, the kids were so excited! Malia woke half asleep, peeped her eyes open and said, "It's the day before we go to FLORIDA!!!" Riley said, "It's CHRISTMAS!!" When the kids came downstairs, there were no presents under the tree. It was dead quiet until they realized the presents were hidden all over the house. Then it was absolute craziness!! We got it all on videotape. We let the kids open one gift each and then we had cinnamon rolls and eggs for breakfast while Ryan read the Christmas story. We did face paints and the girls got a set of nail polish. Malia begged and begged until Ryan finally gave in and let her paint his nails. She was on cloud nine!!
At noon, we joined the Husted clan for Christmas over at Kent & Becky's house. Silas read the Christmas story, we had a delicious brunch and then opened presents.

The two youngest...Elijah Bowden & Lucas Husted.

Riley and Malia got their first doll house!! Riley was so excited and begged to leave the party so she could go home and play with her new toys.

When we got home, the girls played for hours! They LOVE their doll house!

We had a wonderful two-day Christmas celebration!! Now we're packing our bags and getting ready to drive 2 days to Florida!!

Driving Myself Crazy!

Growing up in Hawaii, I got my drivers license when I turned 15 with no drivers ed.

My husband informs me that driving is not one of my gifts from God and always insists on taking the wheel.

At age 2, Riley's favorite saying when pulling out of the driveway was, "Watch out for the mailbox!"

Well, I did it again. Not the mailbox this time. I didn't know the rear door was open when pulling out of our garage until I heard a LOUD crash!!

I've been working on reversing slowly but this was not one of those times.

Our car is in the shop and now my kids say, "Are all the doors closed?" when pulling out of the garage. Geezz.....

Trick or Treat!

We started the day by preparing for our fun evening ahead. The girls and I decorated the yard, opened lots of candy bags and cooked a BIG pot of chili. Riley was a cheerleader and Malia wanted to be a football player!

Ryan set up a fire pit to roast smore's, we buried TONS of candy under hay in the pumpkin inflatables and put together smore's gift bags for our visitors.

Everyone arrived early for dinner...The Nickel clan, the Bowdens, Mom Husted, Julie & the kids. Everyone ate quickly so we could get out and enjoy the fun!

Our little ones.The kids are ready to hit the road!! Lucas and I stayed back to pass out candy and keep the fire stoked.

Peyton going house to house.

Feels like 30 or 40 degrees! Thank goodness we have a warm fire!Nana and MaliaMaking smores... Becky, Ryan and Malia

Nana & Lucas

What a fun night to spend with our neighbors, family and those we love!

He's Captured My Heart

Lucas is growing so fast! Everytime I look at him, he melts heart and reminds me how blessed we are to have this little guy in our lives. He reminds me to take time to laugh and play.
It's impossible to have a "bad day" when this little guy is always smiling and giggling. Life is so simple with baby Luc around!!