Thankful for Many Things

For Thanksgiving this year we headed south to see Ben, Mara, and Jade.  The company and the weather could not have been more perfect. We tried to soak up as much sun as we could and ate lots of good food.  Sunshine, food, family...doesn't get any better than that if you ask me. Thank you Ben and Mara for putting up with our crazy bunch.  You guys were so kind to feed us and entertain us.  We will miss you.

These guys were great friends during our visit. Our girls simply adored their little cousin.

Is she a great aunt or what?  Look at that tribe of children surrounding her and forcing her to take crazy pictures of herself on the Ipad.

These guys were the best of buds.  So fun to watch.  We will try to forget about the fact that I was NOT Jade's number one fan.  Sniff, sniff.

The last evening we were there, Mia, Libbie, Ben, and Nathan had a fun game of soccer.  The guys even toted around our littlest kids during the game because they wanted in on the action too.

Uncle Ben treated everyone to a horse ride that wanted one at his parent's home.  Jaren was in heaven.

Claire thought it was great fun too.

What a cute cowgirl!

Mia getting some instruction...hold on tight.

Both the kiddos wanted Nathan to hold them inside the pasture so they could see the horses up close.

Nathan couldn't have been more excited to hold onto Patsy while Ben ran to get her saddle.:)

Ben's parents have a wonderful orange grove on their property, and we were lucky enough to enjoy the fruits of their labor.  The kids went haywire picking oranges.  I guess we need one of those in our backyard.

It was so fun when Jaren occasionally saw Jade as a playmate instead of a punching bag.

We enjoyed lots of time in the sunshine at all the fun parks.

Our dear friend Ilario and his wife Delores welcomed us into their home again for a quick visit and, as usual, treated us like royalty.  We got to have a yummy dinner of grilled veggies, steak, chicken, potatoes,  and bread shortly after we arrived.  They also hooked the girls up with lots of fun gifts and treats.  They really are so sweet and generous!  Thanks so much you guys! It was great to catch up for a bit.