Pretty sure I blinked and November was gone! However - the memories from that month will last a lifetime! I probably should have done about 5 different posts to share everything that happened in the month... but I jammed them in to one so sit back, relax and enjoy the blog :-)
Mid November I was named a finalist for a Business Executives award presented by the Tampa Bay Business Journal. We had a fun night at the event -- Ronnie's parents attended as well as the B-Lynk crew. It was held at the Tampa Theatre - the venue was so cool with a lot of history and character!
 |
| Ronnie/Katie Selfie! |
 |
 |
| Ron, Cathy me and Ronnie. |
 |
| Me, Justin (one of our trainers) and Raquel - my right hand woman. |
Ronnie and I also celebrated our 3yr anniversary in November. Unfortunately I don't have any photos to share, but we went to the SandPearl where we got married and spent the night at the beach. Ron and Cathy watched Drew for us so it was a mommy/daddy only weekend!
Now....... let the madness begin!
On November 21st THE MERRILL INN officially opened for business! Ben, Bri and Beau made a multi-stop trip to Florida. They took Beau to Disney World, then I pick up the crew from Orlando and they spent the weekend with us!
We had such a great time with Beau -- he is such a SWEET SWEET boy. Him and Drew were buds and played so well together.
 |
| They were actually holding hands. It was the cutest thing ever. |
 |
| HUGS! This picture makes my heart melt. Those are hugs of love for sure! |
 |
| Bathtime with Beau! |
 |
| Movie time with 'Mic-Mow' |
 |
| Wow Uncle Ben - this is a pretty comfy bench! |
 |
| Love from Aunt Bri! |
We were so thankful that Ben and Bri made it down to visit us. It really meant a lot to us and we had such a great time just hanging out with them for a couple days. Love you guys!
The day after The Butcher's left.... THE WEBERS ARRIVED! They were here over Thanksgiving and it was SO much fun to be able to spend the holiday with them!
 |
| I like reading stories with you, Aunt Wendy! |
This next picture does not do justice at capturing the craziness that was happening at this time... the first night they were here we threw all the boys in the bath together, then after the bath it was like nothing I have ever seen. They were doing laps in the hallway, chasing each other and laughing. None of them had diapers/undies on it was hilarious. If 21mo. babies can remember fun times - I'm sure this is one Drew will never forget.
 |
| (sorry Ethan - this is the only pic I have of you the entire trip!!) |
The next day we took a trip to Winter Haven, FL to check out LEGOLAND! Pit stop at Wendy's for some lunch before the park.
BTW -- Drew found some new things that he likes now since all the boys have visiting... Apple Juice being one of them!
 |
| French fries and apple juice = a happy Drew |
How cute are these two?????
 |
| Taking a ride on the 'choo-choo'! |
Everything at LEGOLAND is made out of legos! Luke found a Lego Pig!
 |
| Hey Drew - let's get on the lego pig! |
This picture cracks me up - there were 3 little girls that were playing on this lego bench before Drew and Luke arrived. I guess the fact that the boys were pulling the legos off the matt and CHUCKING them into the basket scared them off. Hahaha.
 |
| 'What a fun day, Daddy. I'm exhausted.' |
Drew was SO happy driving his very own BEEP BEEP! These were the tractors (yes, the wrong color) and they boys rode (drove) them a couple times!
On Thanksgiving Day me, Wendy and Ronnie got up and ran the Wiregrass Wobble 5K! It was a blast -- Wendy got 1st in our age group and I got second, and she also got 15th in women overall! My sister is a speed demon!
 |
| Post race selfie... now time for some TURKEY! |
After the race we got the boys and headed over to Ron and Cathy's. I can't believe I only have 1 picture from the entire day! I guess that means they were on the move and I couldn't catch them on camera.
Steph and Jimmy, her fiancé were home for the holiday so it was a full house! Ron even fired up the firepit that evening and the boys roasted marshmallows. It was such a wonderful day with family.
 |
| I'm gonna miss you, bud. |
But wait....it doesn't stop here! On Friday night the 27th our doorbell rang at 11pm. Ronnie reluctantly went to the door to find DAD AND CONNIE! Dad couldn't stop laughing and I couldn't believe it. They completely surprised us and showed up for the weekend!
But wait - one more event! Steph's bridal shower! After we took the Webers to the airport in the morning, it was time to shower the bride to be. It was held at Ron and Cathy's house and was such a beautiful shower. Can't believe the wedding is just a little over two months away!
Ronnie, Drew and I are all in the wedding - it is going to be such a special day for Steph and Jimmy. We can't wait to be a part of it!
Now, back to Grandpa Butcher. He sure loves his sports and so does Drew... after the shower we had a good time at the club watching games and snacking on popcorn!
On Sunday we went into the city and took Drew to a fun park. He had a great time playing with Connie and swinging with Grandpa!
Then Connie and I diverted for some shopping fun....
During all of these visits Drew learned how to say 'HUG' and starting giving out lots of hugs! This is actually his new stall tactic before bedtime...
 |
| HUUUUG! |
 |
| HUUUG! |
Then we had a quick 4 days to get the house cleaned, sheets washed and groceries restocked before the next set of visitors: GRANDMA LORI AND FRANK!
Grandma Lori LOVES the beach so we zoomed over there on Saturday to enjoy the Florida sunshine and 80 degree temps! Drew hadn't been to the beach since August when it was actually too hot for him to really play in the sand. So this trip was SO much fun for him. He transferred sand from one bucket to the other, added water, dumped and did it again. He also loved having the water rush up over his toes (a chilly 59 degrees)!
 |
| 'I love you, Grandma.' |
 |
| King of the sandcastle that Grandma made! |
I had to get a picture of this.. it was in the lobby of the SandPearl and it's a REAL sand sculpture! It was unbelievable.
On Sunday we did a little shopping while Daddy and Frank watched some football, then we watched the light show at Wiregrass. Drew loved the Christmas music and all the lights.
On Grandma's last day she got up and let Drew watch a movie and snuggled on the couch with him (and Sammy).
 |
| This is the life! |
We truly are so fortunate to have such a wonderful family that loves us so much. Everyone made lots of sacrifices to come down and see us and we couldn't be more thankful. It makes me so happy that we have a common interest in keeping the family so close, even though we are so far away from my family in Iowa.
Love you ALL so much and only two weeks until the Butcher/Merrill/Weber cousin madness continues! XOXO
No comments:
Post a Comment