Jacksonville Zoo

The Jacksonville Zoo has always been a favorite!!! Cannon has been such a trooper on this trip and I am so thankful that we have been able to go do all the things that everyone else was doing.

Black Friday

We continued our fun Thanksgiving by going to black Friday. Since some stores opened at 10:00 PM, we did something a little different and let the kids go with us. I wasn't sure if it was the best choice but once we were there they did great and we all had a lot of fun.

Garrett and Ethan shared a birthday cake since their birthdays are only 12 days apart.Grandpa and Grandma Copeland let the grandkids open their Christmas present early so we could all be together.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving is how I would describe today. Time together with people I deeply love, eating delicious food and enjoying the beautiful nature of Florida made for the perfect setting.

We went for a walk after dinner and played relays out on the golf course. It was a good way to work off some of those extra calories (and made me feel better about having pumpkin roll AND pumpkin pie for dessert).

Arden and Ethan have been buddies since we first moved to Florida for dental school. They are both growing up so much!

Wednesday

Cannon is still on Washington time and he is up until after 2:00 each night, so Kent and I have been taking the opportunity to sleep in and it feels soooo good. We got up (late) and drove up to Green Cove Springs to stay at Kent's parents house. Craig and Cassie flew in from Dallas and Amy and Jeff live in Green Cove too so now there were 5 out of 7 siblings together for Thanksgiving. It makes for some beautiful chaos.

Disney World

I was so excited to finally be seeing my sister-in-law, Kim. It had been way too long since we were able to hug each other and have a good conversation face to face. Their family moved to Orlando over the summer and it has been so fun to be in their new home. The kids soaked up the sun in the pool while I soaked up in some good conversation that I had been craving for a long time. The weather was phenomenal and the kids got along perfectly.

There are those that love Disney and those that hate it. I'm a Disney lover. It has always been a magical place for me. We went with two of Kent's brothers and their families and it was great. I love building memories with my kids that I know they will remember fondly.

Take Off

If there is an easy way to get your kids up and going at 4:00 in the morning, it is with these words, "Wake up! Let's go to Disney World!"
Catching a 6:00 AM flight in the freezing temperatures is not exciting unless your destination has most of your family waiting for you in 80 degree weather. Traveling from one side of the country is no small task but the kids were pretty good and we had a good time watching movies, eating snacks and anticipating the week ahead. I decided to leave my camera home so I could worry more about enjoying myself instead of being so concerned about getting it all on camera so we will have to forgive the upcoming cell phone pictures.

The night we arrived in Orlando, we were exhausted but Kent insisted on taking me out for our 11th anniversary. It was nice to take an hour off and go on a little date- just the two of us.