Family pictures are hard

All my mom wanted for Christmas were some half decent family pictures when we all got together in December. We pooled our DSLR cameras and my friend Kristen came and snapped a few pictures for us. 

Maclay Gardens here in Tallahassee is one of my favorite spot for photos. The brick paths and moss covered oak trees are the best. We asked everyone to wear grey, black, or cream, encouraged lots of pattern for interest...and then just hoped for the best. The kids were crazy, and everyone in our family hates taking pictures, but in the end we had a few turn out. 

Thanks for putting up with our shenanigans, Kristen! You're the best :)

Because when you're in Florida you go to the beach

When you go to Florida for a vacation, you should go to the beach. So we did. Even though it was very, very cold. While we were packing up to make the trip, we comforted ourselves with the hope that it would "probably be warmer on the beach". (It wasn't.) We put our boiled water in a thermos, bought some charcoal and marshmallows, and hoped for the best.

We roasted marshmallows and drank hot chocolate and dressed the kids in every single mismatched article of clothing we had stashed in the diaper bags. (Layering is so hot right now.) We saw stingrays and dolphins jumping in the waves, hunted for seashells, and froze our little buns off. The little babies stayed bundled up in their carseats and fun was had for as long as we could take it. I'll call it a success, even if Amelia did look like a little hobo child.