Monday, December 28, 2009

It was such a blessing to get to spend the days surrounding Christmas at a b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l house right on the gulf. To make it better I was there with with my family... my WHOLE family (minus one cousin). Anna Kate loved having Mommy, Daddy, Granna, Granddaddy, Uncle Brian, both sets of great-grandparents, Auntie Pam, Great Uncle Hank, and cousin Kevin there. She was certainly not starved for attention!

Our view from the back deck. I could get used to looking at this everyday! I already miss it.
Our home for a few days.
Our bedroom. It was just one of six and they each came with their own bathroom! This house was just perfect!

About 1:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, I was stricken with a terrible stomach virus. Unfortunately about four hours later it hit Chris as well. Needless to say, we both missed out on the Christmas Eve festivities with the family that night. It was so hard especially to be away from little Anna Kate on such a special night. I was SO thankful though to have so many people there to continue to make it special for her in our absence. I had to rely on my mom for a couple pictures from that night. Getting ready to go to bed so Santa could come!
Luckily, Chris and I were able to join the world again on Christmas morning and see our bright eyed little sweetie enjoy all the fun!
Bed-head and all, I love the Christmas morning grins when she saw all her gifts!A Christmas morning tradition... cinnamon rolls! Yum!The one thing she said she wanted Santa to bring her... a "big Lilly." She loves babies!A George game! One of her favorites!
Watching their great granddaughter open presents. Another favorite! A new stroller from GrandMaMa and Auntie Pam!What a view.
Pam and Punkin on a Christmas morning walk.
Brian and Kevin. We missed you Jay!

Mommy and Anna Kate on Christmas morning.
Daddy and AK.
Love this one.
Showing Great-Grandma her favorite ornament.
Bella was quite relaxed. :)
My Granddaddy is one heck of a seafood cook! It is always a special treat for him to cook for us, and what better way to enjoy Christmas lunch than a fish fry?
Yum. Wish I had some more of this!
Dinner table!
The gang's all here! Not the most in focus picture, but I forgot my remote and we had to use the self timer.
One of my favorites. Christmas evening.

The guys could not leave without a fishing trip! Even on a cold afternoon, they caught two sharks, a mullet, and a catfish! Not too shabby.
A true fisherman making fun of his own "fish stories."
Great-Granddaddy and Anna Kate watching the waves.
The Browns.

Relaxing on the deck.
The deck was enormous! AK loved playing with all her new toys out there! I love the fact that is was glass "railing." The unobstructed views were beautiful.
A little help from GrandMaMa.
Lovin' on Bella.
Going to feed the seagulls with GrandPaPa.

Shhhh. Don't tell. :) No, dogs are not allowed on the beach. We had to let Bella play a little frisbee out there though! She LOVED it! I have never seen her have so much fun! We were all lucky though. We had all three of the dogs with us out there for a little while almost every day and never got caught. Our neighbors were not so lucky... the beach seriff caught them a wrote them a hefty ticket. Oops.

Anna Kate and Granna.
Pam and Punkin.
Looking for seashells.
Although our trip had it's share of setbacks... two failed transmissions (my parents on the way there and my aunt and uncles' on the way home) and three people with a virus (my mom caught it too), it was all around a wonderful time. Precious memories with family.

3 comments:

Jessica said...

Looks like fun! Is this going to be an annual event? If so, will your family adopt me so I can come next time? How beautiful!

Love AK's tutu =) She is so adorable!

Melissa said...

Awwww Amy, these are beautiful pictures!! I'm so sorry to hear that you were sick for Christmas Eve! You have definatly given me "beach fever"! ha ha

Have a great 2010!!!
xoxox

The Davis family said...

Love all of your beautiful pictures!! The beach looks awesome :) What a great time for the whole family!