Other Noteworthy December Pictures

Benny has become quite the chef! His specialty? Ramen of course. His favorite afterschool snack. He loves cracking a raw egg into it after he's poured it into his bowl.

Jackson's Osceola Angler Club picture. 

It was squirrel season! Crazy Florida actually has a season for hunting squirrel, right? Benny plucked a couple out of our yard with the new pellet gun he got for Christmas. They taste fine, you just need so many to make a meal of them. Plus, it's really hard to rid of all the fur... we encountered some unappetizing bites because of it. 

Eva took some pictures back in January from the couples reunion in Florida. Here are a couple of me and my babe!

It's a tight squeeze coming in and out of my garage. I knew this day would someday come. It did.

Over Christmas break Ivy, Jackson and I signed up to help sort, package and load groceries for the needy at a hotel in Kissimmee. It was fun doing some community service with my kiddos.

Aunt Christine is the fun aunt because she will actually take Ivy to Starbucks (I refuse).

Pizza and play with all the boys!

Girls Game Night

Daniel had a hotel stay through a Wild Florida trade that expired at the end of the year so we headed over to Melbourne to use it up! We went to a creperie in the morning and while they did look absolutely delicious, they were mediocre. Oh well... you live and learn. 

Temple

Thursday nights are Family Night at the temple. You don't need an appointment, you can walk right in. We decided to take the kids one night. It was a lovely evening. 

Christmas 2023!!!

Christmas time is the best! Instead of breaking them all up into difference posts, I am going to make 1 really big Christmas post with all things Christmas that we did this month. 

First up... our visit with Santa!! We love going to the Bass Pro in Palm Bay. It's far less crowded. It is also right next to a really nice shopping center where we have started doing our Christmas shopping for one another. It's always a really fun night!

I loved having Christmas Eve on a Sunday. Our Christmas program was wonderful. What are the odds that we all picked a Christmas tree pin to wear?

Some leisure Sunday afternoon gaming before we go to Grandma's for our Christmas Eve dinner!

We made it to Grandma's! Dinner and dessert were so delicious, as always. We love our tradition with her and opening gifts afterwards. It's also become a tradition that Benny selects the same green ladle from his school's Santa Shop to buy for Grandma every year. 😂

When we get home from Grandma's it's always a little hustle and bustle, taking our Christmas tree jammie pic, and reading Luke 2 and setting out the plate for Santa and saying our goodbyes to Christopher Popinkins. We couldn't take the picture until we found Rosco and we just could not find that dog anywhere!! We decided to check with our neighbors and, sure enough, Rosco was over at their house. They had given him his Christmas gift (a sweater that said "spoiled") and sent us these pictures of him just lounging on top of their couch!! They said "our door is open, he can go home at anytime." Almost taunting us that he'd rather be with them than us (sadly, this might be true!) They are the cutest couple with no children and 2 dogs of their own and they love Rosco as much as we do! We are lucky he has a home away from home!

We finally got him back! Such a cutie in his sweater!

Daniel, getting his chair ready for the gift distribution in the morning!

Santa came again this year! He ate all his treats and the reindeer got their treats. He always gathers the baby Jesus's from our nativities and reminds us why he comes and brings us gifts... to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

All of us on the bed together Christmas morning before the big reveal!

The rest is on videos. We had to pause our gift opening to have creamed shrimp on toast at the Haughts.. I caught this cute pic of Jackson and Harry. 

It was a great day for the greatest reason! Happy Birthday Jesus!

Sister Anderson

Our cute little niece, Avery, was called to serve her mission in Ft. Lauderdale, FL! Crazy to think she's just a hop, skip and a jump away from us! We had to travel down to south Florida for Jackson's volleyball tournament and were going to be driving right through the area she was serving in so we got special permission to meet up with her and her companion for dinner! It was the happiest little reunion! She looked so good and is so doing so well! 

Freshman Basketball

Jackson tried out for and made the freshman basketball team!! We are so excited to watch him play this year! Making up for all that lost time last year when he had a broken arm!

Middle School Volleyball Season

After soccer, Ivy tried out for the volleyball team. She only made the practice squad which meant that she practiced with the team every day but wasn't on the game roster. She could sit with the team on the bench for the home games (and the away games) but she wasn't able to ride the bus with the team so she'd have to get her own ride if she wanted to go. This didn't discourage her. She loved practices and worked really hard to improve her game (she really doesn't have much volleyball experience). Well, when the team made it to the playoffs the coach surprised the practice team with jerseys and a spot on the official roster! She didn't see a minute of playing time but it was still so fun to be a part of the experience... especially since they took the championship!! She is very excited for next year!