Christmas in Fayetteville

We headed out to Arkansas as soon as we finished our last day of school and work (for Mommy) in 2011, which was the week before Christmas.  On Friday evening we swung by Daddy’s work at 5:00 to pick him up, and began our 6.5 hour journey northward.  The kids fell asleep in the car around 9:00 and slept until we arrived a little after midnight.  This is one reason I love driving at night!  Coleman stayed asleep when we got there but Shelby woke up and joined us for a while as we said hello to Uncle Dane.  Dane, as promised, had some red wine waiting for us, along with smoked bacon-wrapped pork loin, chips & salsa, and other goodies.  Talk about a midnight snack!!  Shelby went back to bed, but since I had a nap in the car, and so did Jeff- somehow we stayed up until 5:00 in the morning with Dane!  (I don’t think I even did that in college!!)  I think Nonnie and Anna were able to hang until after 3 am as well!  We had a great time hanging out with Uncle and talking about Aunt Jan.  She would have been proud

 

This has to go on the blog just to remember- because it’s gross.  Dane had 2 RACCOONS defrosting in his sink.  He planned on smoking them the next day, but since we all stayed up so late, he postponed this feast until later in the week- which I was MORE THAN HAPPY to miss out on.  (YUCK!!)

They still had their little feet covered with fur.  I promise you, they were even more nasty in person!

The next day, after a few (and only a few) hours of sleep, we were up and at em…but then we got a 2 hour nap at noontime so we would make it through the night, which was the big family get-together at Uncle Alan’s house.  Our family just keep growing every year.  This year we had 2 new babies to add to the group (Adelyn aka Addie and Emmalyn aka Emmie---sorry if I misspelled)!  We really enjoyed watching the kids play and open presents. 
This is Ava, Adelyn (sisters), and cousin Cameron:

And here is Buddy with his great grand-Nana!

These are the lucky boys who married the Breedlove girls:  Terry (Poppy), Kenneth, and Dane:

Sissies Sharon and Karon (Nonnie):

Anna and cousin Brittany:

The living room soon blew up with presents galore!

The little 2 year olds put on quite a show with their new guitars, which we all enjoyed!

Ava and Cameron’s granddad joined in too!

We found Shelby off in a quiet room working on her new Hello Kitty scrapbook soon after opening presents

Coleman soon became the “cool, big cousin” to Cameron and they were buddies the rest of the night- those boys have to stick together…they are outnumbered in this family!!  (And doesn’t Shelby look thrilled?)

Coleman was such a good big cousin, teaching Cameron how to play his computer games, offering him snacks, and helping him off/on the bed.

Back at Dane’s house the next morning, Shelby was in DOG Heaven:

When Aunt Jan was at our house in June, the last time we saw her, Jeff and I promised her we’d make Dane a cooler for their new back deck.  Jeff made sure to keep that promise and Tyler helped by bringing it up in his tahoe on Saturday.  This cooler is pretty cool!  Jeff is such an artist and I am so thankful that he did this for Dane (and Aunt Jan!)  He drew the razorback and painted it in.  He also engraved the side of the cooler.

Sunday we headed over to Mimi and Grumpy’s house and had an amazing day and night with more family.  Along with Mimi and Grumpy, we got to see Aunt Jana, Hayley, and Uncle Scott.  We had a family game night and it was a blast.  Unfortunately, the camera was left in the car for that visit. 

We are so thankful to have family near and far (and wish they were all nearer!)  They make the holidays so special!

We miss you all and always look forward to the next time we are together!