Wrinkles only go where the smiles have been...

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Monday, January 17, 2011

The Places and People We Love

One beautiful thing about visiting our hometown is the fact that we get to visit ALL of our friends and family while we are down.

Alan and Anthony have been best friends for....well, years and years. They are the closest thing either one has to a brother and although they only see each other a couple of times a year, whenever they do get together, they pick right up where they left off. Anthony is married to Anna, and they are expecting a little girl Kidd around the same time as Silas' first birthday! Of course, we already have not-so-secret plans for an arranged married for the two kids, but don't tell them :)

Uncle Anthony and Silas
Lucy is (like) my (our) little sister. She was in the youth group at the church where Alan and I both worked. When we moved away, she kept in touch and has visited multiple times--including when Silas was born. We love this girl to pieces--and always make sure to visit with her while we are in town.


Aunt Lucy

The Tin Top is located in Bon Secour, AL and is one of our FAVORITE places to eat. Ever. The food is divine, the service is great, and the ambiance is so relaxing. It is owned by some dear friends of my father, so we always make at least one--if not more than one--trip to eat there while we are down. Bob and Patty (the owners) are amazing and below is a picture of us at the restaurant. Oh, and they have a new restaurant open in Tuscaloosa. You should visit if you are in the area!



Finally, I've got a picture of me and Silas in Cracker Barrel. When we travel, we hate eating fast food. It just makes us feel gross. So sometimes, we stop at Cracker Barrel to get food that's a little less gross and gives Silas a chance to get out of his carseat.

"Great" Family

Silas is blessed to have some really "great" family members...here are some pictures of him with those people over the holidays.

Great-Granddaddy


Great-Grandmother Ethel and Great-Great-Uncle Wyatt





Four Generations, with Great-Granddaddy Louis

Four generations with Great-Nanny
Great-Grandmother Nanny

Great-Grandmother Frances



Christmas Celebration #4

This year, we extended our Christmas celebration to December 26--with my extended family. That morning, Alan, Silas, and I went to church with his parents and then went to my grandparents' house for lunch. The house was packed as everyone came over--us, my grandparents, my father, step-mother, step-sister, my cousin Sarah, Aunt Debbie, Uncle Dan, cousin Kristin and her husband Jeremy, Uncle Wyatt, Cliff, Dylan, and Samantha. I hope I didn't leave anyone out!

It is always entertaining and loud when we all get together. Although we missed Jenna, Josh, and brand-new Evie-Lou (she was only a few weeks old at that time), we still had a blast!

Aunt Mal and Silas

Dylan!



Silas and Aunt Samantha


Precious



Kristin and Dylan


Action shot...I'm sure they love me for this.
yearly family shot


goofy shot for a goofy family

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Christmas Celebration #3

After leaving Alan's parents' home, we heading to my father's house for Christmas celebration #3. Here, we celebrated with my father, step-mother, step-sister Mallory, Cliff, Sam, Dylan, (Great) Uncle Wyatt, Grandmother and Granddaddy. Full House!!

One thing I love about all of the different celebrations is how different they are. From the food to the atmosphere, they are each unique to our family members. This one was loud. And busy. We had hors d'oeurves, then Texas Chili, made by Uncle Wyatt, and some different types of cornbread. Yum!

Here are some picture highlights of the night there:

Cousins playing together

Fun with Uncle Alan/Daddy
Feeding time
Aunt Courtney

Aunt Mal playing with the boys
Isa and Dylan
Silas playing with a gift
Dylan in the snowsuit we gave him
Rwarrrrrrrrr!
Yes, Mallory has her OWN onesie. 
The onesie twins
Kisses from Aunt Court


Grandmother and Uncle Wyatt


Four generations of Snellgroves






Fussy...

And, he's out.