Baby Gators

 Mike wanted to take the boys to the Gator stadium the other day.  They were reluctant at first, but once we were there they had a great time climbing up all the stairs to the top, and walking all the way around the stadium.  There was also a guy in there practicing field goals (no idea who he was), which was also fun to watch.

We went to the Gator shop with the goal of getting Mattie a new Gators shirt or sweatshirt (since he's outgrown his old one), but as you can see we ended up with different souvenirs entirely. :)  (These boys sure have it good!)

By the way, Mattie's eye looks funny in the second picture because he spent the ride over covering it up and telling us he was only going to look out of one eye. (This was his protest against having to go on a family outing.) Obviously he pressed on it a little too hard (it actually looked even worse than this up close and had me a bit worried), but it was back to normal by the time we were heading home.

Seth Arrives

 Cousin Seth and his family arrived the other night.  We had mini-second Christmas, and the cousins have been having fun playing together.

Fun and Games

 Grandpa is building a cornhole (beanbags) board for Nora -- it's turned out to be a more involved process than expected!

Daniel tried to tell Matthew and James about a "poker face" the other day, but they ignored him completely -- their Angry Birds Uno strategy involves cheering when they get a "good" card.  :)  And as you can see, we haven't convinced them to exactly keep their cards hidden yet.

More Merriment

 It was pretty rainy the first few days we were here, but the sun came out today.  The earlier clouds didn't stop the kids from braving the pool (at least wading in the steps), though.

Daniel got a ton of games for Christmas, and Matthew and James are currently loving Angry Birds Uno.  So, we've been playing a lot of games, too.

Mattie has had a terrible cough, mostly at night -- poor little guy!  Hopefully he'll start to feel better soon.

Jamesie has been enjoying football bowl season.  No matter the game, he picks a team to root for -- and he always wants to pick the winner!

Merry Christmas to All

 and to all, a good night!