A few of my favorites from a quick trip home

After spending a short week in the states I thought I would come home with a hundred or more pictures. Turns out my camera does have an auto pilot and I wasn't as on my game as I had anticipated. The result... not very many pictures at all. However, here are a few of my favorites.

 Trying to figure out if Trey can roll his tongue. Uncle Chris lacks the appropriate gene and they say it is genetic. However, Trey is still a bit too young to understand the concept of rolling your tongue. Instead nephew and uncle spent about 5 minutes sticking out their tongues at each other and making other funny faces.

 I never set out to dress like my 86 year old Papa. However, Cricks can really rock the plaid so I am okay with this...

 Watching D-D-D-Dora. I tried for almost 15 minutes to get a picture but Trey was more interested in helping the baby red fish find his way back to the ocean. This included doing the crab dance, reading maps and shouting out various Spanish words.  Aqui! Ariba! 

 No explanation necessary...

This pic is a bit over exposed and full of shadows but too cute not to love. It was great getting to spend 2 days with Michelle, Matt and Trey. It was a quick visit and only left us wanting more. Thanks to the Farmers for their hospitality and for taxiing us all around Atlanta!

PS: I would have added the pic of my dad and Chris to this post if I hadn't already added it... just thinking about how excited they were with that 6 pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon makes me laugh!

The proof is in the PBR

They say that girls grow up to marry a man that remind them of their father's. I have had a few moments in my life where this has proved to be the case. The following are just 2 of several examples...

Case in point 1: In the midst of a typical category 3 verging on 4 Florida hurricane just weeks before out wedding Chris could be found standing in the parking lot of our apartment complex pretending to be a weather reporter. The only thing he was missing was a camcorder. My dad on the other hand was standing in his yard in the midst of a very similar storm... with the camcorder.

Case in point 2: While everyone else in middle Tennessee were checking their milk and bread supply to hunker down for a few inches of snow and possible ice; Chris and my father made a trip to the local corner store and returned with Pabst Blue Ribbon...

And couldn't possibly have been more pleased with their purchase.

Love these guys :-)

A Snowy Day in Londontown...

The Kipphuts should be buckling their seat belts and settling in for the hop across the pond... However, London weather had another plan. About 2 hours of snow left us with mass chaos at the airports, train stations and roads. Runways are closed and the Kipphuts' flight has been cancelled... the good news is that they are rebooked to arrive on Tuesday. Finger crossed :-)

We dealt with our disappointment with a frolic in the snow... which ended in a snowball fight!

I guess it is not all bad!!

Florida Girl returns...

After a very long winter and a rather dull London summer, we headed to Rosemary Beach for Labor Day. My dad and Lori drove over from Jacksonville for a night before heading north to Tennessee. Michelle, Matt and trey came down from Atlanta for the end of the week. We had a week of sunshine and amazing heat... which I am dearly missing at this moment! Chris and I were on the beach every single day and if I look closely enough I can still see faint tan lines over 4 months later!

 Me, Chris, Laurie, Mike, Michelle, Trey and Matt

 Our first day on the beach... HEAVEN!

Lori, me and my dad.

Christopher and his toes...

Chris, me and Trey... after a week in the sun.

Trey sporting his Polska t-shirt. 

 I'm at the beach... Woo Hoo!!!

The trick is to jump a little but bend your knees a lot! 

Jacksonville

Chris and I spent almost 2 weeks in Florida over the holidays. It was a little chilly in Jacksonville but after weeks of London weather, sunny and 65 isn't so bad! We spent as much time outside as possible. We even rolled down windows and opened the sunroof while in the car. It felt great to be in the sunshine and fresh air, especially at my Dad's in Jacksonville. As you can tell from the pictures, there are only a few neighbors but tons of oak trees and Spanish moss.

My brother and his family drove down from Colorado... yes, they drove! It was great spending time with them and the rest of the Cricks. As soon as I figure out how to get the pictures off our new camera without the adapter I will add other pictures from Jacksonville.

Chris, me, Jason, Maria and Steven

My brother and his family... Can you tell Jason doesn't like to have his picture taken?

Maria and Steven

Steven minus his 2 front teeth!

Steven is a bit of a cheeky monkey as well as a con artist. He managed to con Chris into buying him a $20 toy that was broken before we went to bed that same night! Chris quickly became Steven's favorite and the two of them could be seen playing in the yard, on the porch, in the living room, in the kitchen... well, you get the point. Steven specially packed a rubber snake to put in Grandma Lori's bed to scare her. The snake was strategically placed in no fewer than 4 places in one day eliciting screams... some legitimate and some for Steven's sake! He also made sure to bring reindeer food with special sparkles to ensure Santa could find him!

On our last night in Jacksonville I tucked Steven in to bed and he took my hand, softly in his own. He looked up at me and said "Aunt Jen, why do you and Uncle Chris have to leave tomorrow?" My eyes filled up with tears and then I realized he was just avoiding going to sleep... kids can be so clever!