My Buddy

Ok, so for some reason these pictures just remind me of that old doll they made back in the early 80's "My Buddy". Ok, so I am getting vulnerable here and slightly revealing my age. I guess you are either thinking...wow, she's THAT old or what??? she was born in the 80's and has 4 kids!! Either way, it doesn't bode well, so let's just forget about when the doll came out and let me refresh you about the doll...
It was made in 1985 and had a red ball cap and overalls. It had a annoying little song that said "My buddy (echo) my buddy...." and pretty much those were the words. My Buddy also had a "Kid Sister" who was advertised to the female crowd.

Anyways, Ella and Huck just remind me of this My Buddy song everytime they are together. Ella has adored Huck from the moment he was born. They are only about 9 months apart, and for much of his life, he's been a bit bigger than her. But that doesn't stop her from "momma-ing" him. She knows she's older and she thinks she's in charge.

A few days after the holidays the weather was chilly, but beautiful and we ventured out to the park. Huck got a new little car for Christmas and he was so sweet to share it with Ella. They were TOO CUTE together (maybe you, too, are now singing the My Buddy song...sorry for that.)

Enjoy the cute pics (and the annoying song I just now got in your head),
The mom.

Enchanted Lights at Rock City

For many years Scott and I have said we were going to go see the Lights at Rock City for our anniversary. It falls on December 21st which is a very busy tim for Christmas preparations and has become more hectic the larger our family gets. This year because of his short time home, we thought a night to ourselves was very important and we decided to spend the one night after Christmas at the Chanticleer Inn on Lookout Mountain. Directly across from See Rock City, we knew that we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see the lights, but we also know that we'd be sad not to have the kiddos with us. So, we made the lights a family event and then Lolli and Pop took them home so we could have our much needed romantic getaway.

It was one of the coldest nights we've had this winter and pretty much we just put on all the clothes we had. We were fortunate to have all but Skylar join us for the event (we missed you!) and I think we all had a nice time. Ella got a bit tired of the cold weather and became ornary during the show depicting the birth of Jesus. You can see her by herself in the "big sleigh" which was my way of trying to distract her from the cold weather. She clung to me most of the time, although she did let Uncle Bo carry her through the skinny rock opening (good things since who knew that'd really freak me out!!).

The kids seemed to enjoy the lights, but were definitely most impressed with the inside of Rock City where they have all of the Fairy Tales creatively displayed inside the cave.

I'm not sure this is something we will make a yearly event, but it was definitely worth the trip this year. Enjoy the pics and I think that wraps up our official Christmas festivities.

The mom.

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas...(we've celebrated so much I'm losing count)

The celebration at Ma and Da's house was held the day after Christmas this year, which was great because it meant Scott, the kids, and I were able to go. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and the company of the extended Tinney family. The kids enjoyed unwrapping their gifts and sharing in the Christmas gift swapping festivities. We were also forunate capture a few moments of the kids all decked out in the Christmas best including the family photo at the top of the page!

The mom.