The Fighter's

One of the perks of living in the same town as cousins....cousin sleep overs, breakfast, cartoons and dress up parties.  I love that these kids are as close as they are.  Ava, Kate & Olivia love their Jet, Mattingly & Collins. That is for sure.

We hosted in Toledo this year!  Lots of prep work but so worth it. And so much fun. Tried a new homemade cranberry sauce recipe from my favorite lady (The Pioneer Woman).  Love her stuff.  She really is my favorite (ask Doug).  And I will never buy the canned stuff again! Some festive head gear and fun turkey spirit.... Wednesday night at Venturas with Aunt Juli, Uncle Al, Uncle Tim, Aunt Amy & Luke.  So much fun! Turkey Trot 5K Thanksgiving morning through our neighborhood.  It was a cold, cold morning but I was so proud of Ava - she completed her first 5K! Then home for table setting and dinner preparations.  My dad smoked a turkey and I cooked one in the oven (again...Pioneer Woman's recipe)!  My mom, Aunt Amy & Aunt Juli pitched in and were HUGE helps as always.  I think this is why I never stress about having my family in for a visit...everyone loves to cook and help...and they are fantastic at it!  The kids made our place mats (hand prints made t

"there's nothing to it."  Right?  It has been a while since we had a picture taken of all 5 of us...it was a short adventure. Prepping More prepping - not a ton of cooperation:-) Ava likes her silly faces. We're all smiling and looking at the camera - or at least in that direction. After the picture

What?  8? How has my little fuzzy brown haired baby girl grown so much?  It seems impossible - and if I stop to think about it too long...I get a little sad.  But then I quick change my focus and think of how proud I am of my sweet, kind hearted, loving, smart, talented, protective big sister to her littles, funny, brave, strong, witty girl.  She is something else.  And she brings so much joy to my heart.  I love spending time with her.  And I love watching her grow into a beautiful young lady. First up for the birthday - a pet.  Ava has been begging for a fish - and her daddy came through with 3 glow fish.  She was thrilled (and so were her sisters).  They named the fish Ariel, Doug and Ohio State.:-)    We threw a party for Ava and her friends at a new local pottery place called Peace - Love - & Pottery.  The girls chose a few pieces and put their creativity to work!  Ava loves, loves, loves art...she was so excited to paint with her friends.  We had cake (Ava picke