Christmas Eve

Here are a few pictures from Christmas Eve at Sean's mom and dad's house.

Wyatt got a bow - which he was VERY excited about.

He was also really excited about his Polamalu jersey and Steelers hat (please don't ask me how he became a Steelers fan. I have no idea).

Kellen, Wyatt and Gavin got a pellet gun to keep at Mamaw and Papaw's house.

While Elliott got some great toys, she seemed especially interested in Uncle Eric's hunting hat...

...and hanging with her cousin Nolen.

Kellen got 2 new slowglobes for his collection - a Phantom of the Opera snow globe from Uncle Eric and Aunt Ali, and this one - "Mickey through the Years" - from Mamaw and Papaw.

We wouldn't let him take it out of the box with is siblings and cousins running around, but here's what it looks like:
Instant classic - of all his snowglobes, he says this one is now one of his favorites!

Thanksgiving

Ok, so I lied. I said I wouldn't go back and reblog the last six months, but I've decided to do separate posts from a few specific events, in no particular order. I'm starting with Thanksgiving.

My mother-in-law was out of town for Thanksgiving this year, so we had Thanksgiving dinner at our house.
After a little drama involving the fried turkey, we had a great day with great food and lots of Giffords: Sean's brother Eric and Allison and their boys Gavin and Nolen, my father-in-law, John, grandmother-in-law Irene ("Mamaw Camper"), and cousins-in-law (is that a word?) Brad, Lindsey and their girls Alexis and Alyssa.

It wouldn't be a holiday if we didn't do something crafty, so we made Turkey cupcakes.
Kellen seems super excited about it, don't you think?
At least his cousin Gavin was stoked about his cupcake - it was totally milk-free so he could actually eat it!
Elliott, of course, could care less about the cupcakes; all she wanted was her "Bop Baw" (which is what she's named her Papaw John).
After our company left around 7, we made a first-ever Thanksgiving Day shopping trip. Because Sean and I were leaving for Europe on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we had to squeeze in some Christmas shopping when we could, including Thanksgiving Day. And, of course, Kellen and I got up with the chickens - make that before the chickens - on Black Friday for our annual shopping trip. Here's a picture of Kellen with the clock as we were about to head out the door (yes, it says 4:49).
We didn't buy much (we never do), but we had a great time people watching!

New year, new start

I decided that it's time for me to hijack the blog back from the kids who, while completely adorable (in my totally biased opinion), are NOT the world's best bloggers. I mean really - they haven't updated since July?!? Really??*

I've never been one to make resolutions this time of year, but if I were the resolving type, I guess I'd say my resolution is to do a better job of keeping the blog updated. I started this blog 2 and 1/2 years ago - way before blogging was even cool - as a means of keeping family and friends who don't live near us up to date on the goings on of the Gifford gang. Shockingly, the Gifford gang hasn't slowed down any in the last 2 and 1/2 years, and since no slowing appears to be on the horizon, the need for me to pass along our stories via blog is as great now as ever. So, here goes. Again.

I'm not going to attempt to go back and fill in the last 6 months with separate posts, as though I'd been blogging all along, so instead I'll skip to the good parts (at least what the far-off family members consider the good parts) - the pictures. Without further adieu, half a year of Giffords in pictures:

Fun in the Sun: Kellen and Wyatt hanging out at the Gifford Family Reunion, 4th of July, with their cousin Gavin in the middle.

Elliott at the Gifford Family Reunion
Labor Day beach trip - Blue Mountain Beach, FL

How Kellen spent most of his beach time...

Wyatt and his wake surfer (which is how HE spent most of his week at the beach)
Elliott at the resort pool.
In September, we were supposed to go to Gainesville for the Florida/UT game, but illness kept us home. Here's our swine flu tailgate.
Elliott says, "Go Gators!!"
For Halloween, we had a kitty cat (Elliott), Special Forces Agent (Wyatt), and glow-in-the-dark stick man (Kellen). And lots and lots of rain.
We made the trip to Gainesville for the Vanderbilt game, and this time no illness stopped us. It was our last time to see Tebow play in the Swamp.
Elliott was just about to run out of patience - "So WHEN do I get to meet Tebow already?!?"
Meanwhile, her brothers got to meet Urban Meyer. Their parents were at the back of a thick crowd and didn't get any pictures of them hugging him/shaking his hand, but Kellen snapped this picture with the "little" camera just before they got to meet him.
The Florida/South Carolina game in Columbia, SC.
Elliott - just being Elliott one Sunday before church.
Kellen and Wyatt went snowboarding with daddy.
Christmas Eve at Sean's parents' - sporting our mommy-made matching pajama bottoms.
Christmas morning at home...
Post-Christmas/Pre-New Years festivities at my parents - which consisted of a WHOLE lot of Beatles Rock Band. Far left is my dad, next to me in USM Golden Eagle-Yellow is my brother, Jon, rocking the drums is my brother Robert, and of course Sean's on lead guitar. (Yes, we're wearing our Christmas PJs again. Poor Sean.)

So that's it - six months in 60 seconds or less. Here's to hoping my next post will be before July...

*Please don't tell me you ACTUALLY thought my kids are tech savvy enough to have been the ones blogging all along. If nothing else, surely the posts by a one-year-old Elliott would have given that away?