LAST DAY IN GEORGIA

Hotel bath. I think they preferred the hot tub that we used in place of bath the morning before (in order to soak our sore muscles after our 9 mile run!)

Baby it's COLD outside (temps in the low 30's all weekend!)

Sporting his Gator hat

Throwing pine cones into the lake before breakfast

Hanging out around the hotel rooms while the adults chatted and packed cars for return trips home

We found a group of guys flying model airplanes as we were leaving the park, so we had to stop and check them out. VERY exciting for James and Cora!

Baby Doll gives the best hugs!

Riding tractors at Mark's Melon Patch (makers of the BEST boiled peanuts and peanut brittle in all of Georgia, perhaps even all of the US!)

Cora is a Deere girl

Out at Uncle Doug's pond to feed the fish and ride the Jeep, walking across the bridge with Uncle Jamie.

Cora learned to pee in the woods...

Jeep ride through the woods and around the cotton fields

James climbed a couple of deer stands all by himself...

Happy in Uncle Doug's arms

James said "Daddy, you better hold on tight! You're gonna fall off and bump your head!"

Showing Uncle Jamie the old still (blown up years ago, back there by James' blue jacket)

Uncle Doug carted Cora over the fallen branches

Back at GG's house, after a yummy spaghetti dinner by Gramma, dressed in the Gator gear jammies and ready to start the long drive home.

WADDELL FAMILY PORTRAITS

Look! Jamie has a little smirk on his face!

(I made all the men in plaid get together for a picture...)

All the cousins! (Except Jason, who couldn't make it this year)

32 of the 35 Waddells (missing Jason, Amy, and Finn, and going ahead and counting Adair since she and Kyle would have been married twice over if wedding plans didn't keep changing!) We all missed Uncle Bubba this year, of course. It was so nice to get everyone together for some family fun though and to celebrate the holiday seasons and the many blessings that we all have in our lives. Thanks for a great weekend you guys!

CHRISTMAS DINNER AND GIFT EXCHANGE

This year's dinner took place in a private dining room at the resort's restaurant, and the gift exchange followed in the conference room.

Kisses for Gramma

The "Kid Table" - MacKenzie, Wyatt, Carter, Marvin, Julia, and Skylar

Cora learned how to butter her own bread (and so did James)

But then she started dipping it in Uncle Jamie's water glass instead. And eating it. Uncle Jamie decided that she must be part duck. Her daddy and I think she must be part gross.

Kate obviously had too much fun this morning...

Jill, Karen, and James join the kid table

Must have been an exciting game...

Gift exchange! We just put our kids' names in the drawing this year, and James drew Kate, so we got her a mini American Girl doll and book, and an iTunes gift card to go with it (so she can buy whatever apps she wants for her iPad).

Skylar drew James' name, and she got him this awesome game. He was so happy when he opened it, saying "Hey! That's a giant Spider-Man! Doot doo doo doot doo DOO!" and then proudly walked to around to almost every single family member to show it off!

Cora was part shy and part social on this trip, definitely preferring to be in the arms (and laps) of her uncles over her aunts. Here she is showing "Uncle" Ben (actually a second cousin, I think) her new baby doll, a Baby Cinderella from her Grand Aunt Sara.

I joked with Ben that maybe he needed his own baby doll... (I think everyone is hoping that Ben and Whitney are next on the great-grandbaby making list)

We discovered at dinner that James and his Uncle Jamie were wearing matching shirts (and we're pretty sure Jamie doesn't shop at Gymboree), so of course I had to get a photo of the twins!

Aunt Beverly put together a "money tree" for GG using contributions from many of her family members, with checks she can use at the nursing home for hair cuts, manicures, etc.

At 10:00pm, James finally got a chance to unwind back in the hotel room and play his new game. The kids were up until 11:45pm Saturday night...

WADDELL WEEKEND, PART ONE

In a somewhat last-minute decision (we decided on the drive home from Florida after Thanksgiving, after realizing that the kids had BOTH become good travelers and that Jay's stress level would be tapering off significantly post-graduation), we headed to Georgia this weekend to attend the annual Waddell Family Christmas. This year they stayed close to GG (living in a nursing home in Leesburg) and held the event at Lake Blackshear Resort, located within the Georgia Veteran's Memorial State Park. The accommodations were excellent and the view was beautiful. As usual, I took too many photos over the 2.5 days we were in Georgia, so I'll have to break this into separate posts...

James and Uncle Doug. As soon as James saw him, he asked him about riding in his Jeep and fishing in his pond!

Skylar loved our kids to pieces on this trip, and they loved her right back.

GG and Cora doing the Gator chomp.

Hanging out with Aunt Lisa!

GG's littlest great-grand got the perk of riding around on her wheelchair with her anytime she asked.

When dinner takes too long, mommy and daddy break out the iPhones...

More antics with GG. We sure loved seeing that big smile!

James had so much fun playing with his older cousins (he's the youngest boy). Pictured here with Carter and Tanner.

Taking a little quiet time in the conference room (where we hung out most of Saturday at the hotel) to feed her Josie Baby.

Driving trains and cars UNDER GG's wheelchair (you can see she encouraged them by lifting her legs - pretty sure she would have let these two do anything they wanted all weekend long if it was up to her!)

Checking out her gingerbread house

Coloring with cousin Kate

The annual puzzle extravaganza! (Tanner, Carter, and I organized all the green tree pieces, then escaped the madness to go play with bigger toys.)

Tanks at the memorial park...

...and airplanes!

Group photo! Skylar, Julia, Wyatt, Jay, Cora, Marvin, Carter, and James

Playing in the sand/dirt under the tank

When you have toddlers, you can hunt down a playground anywhere!

(Julia helping Cora do the monkey bars)

Big girl showing off for her cousins

Wyatt and Carter racing

He found more sand (pretty sure we're going to have to break down and buy some sand to put under his new play set at home)...

Marvin and Carter

Lunch in the room before a late nap