Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!! I love this time of year!  Here are a couple of pictures of our house decorations.






































And here are some more family pictures.  What an amazing family!!!!

Family Pictures and Self Portraits

We recently did family pictures with the Talley family.  Family pictures are so much fun!!! We always make it our goal to get the most natural smile possible and to capture each personality.  We always have a good time doing family photos and trying to get everyone to smile.  Jon is really good at making people feel relaxed and making them laugh.

We also did self photos this year.  Gotta love self timers on a camera! We always have so much fun and end up laughing so hard trying to set the timer and then running to get in place.

Road Trip 2 - Pennsylvania/Virgina

We recently took a second road trip this year.  The first one was in May when we went to San Antonio.  This time we went to Pennsylvania and Virginia.  It was such a fun trip to take in the fall.  Our first stop was Gettysburg, PA.  We did not stay long because it was freezing cold (compared to what we are used to) and windy.  But, we did drive a little bit around the battlefield and the town.  It was fun reading about the history and sobering to imagine what it was like during the Civil War.

Our next stop was Amish country, Lancaster, PA.  We loved Lancaster.  It was beautiful.  With the covered bridges,  farms and beautiful rolling hills, it was a great place to spend the day.  We had so much  fun driving around the countryside.  The farms were amazing (I am a sucker for farms - love them).  And of course it was also fun to see all the horse and buggies.

Next, it was on to Philadelphia, PA.  We were so excited about Philly.  We recently watched the "John Adams" movie series (if you haven't seen it, you need to!!!) so, it was fun to see the all the historical places. We love American history so Independence Hall was definitely a highlight.  Seeing the room where the Declaration of Independence was signed and where so many brave men chose to stand up for freedom was incredible!!! We also saw the Liberty Bell and walked down the oldest residential street in North America. We also got to eat an authentic Philly steak and cheese!!! Yummy!!!

And of course we couldn't leave Philly without running up the "Rocky Steps".  Such an experience!

Next it was on to Virginia!!! It was so good visiting family.  My cousin had a baby this year so this was our first time meeting Caleb.  What a cutie!!!

While we were in Virginia, we decided to do a little sight-seeing.  We went to Mt Vernon.  I haven't been there since I was a kid so it was fun to see it now that I'm older and can appreciate it more.  It was literally the perfect day to go.  A beautiful blue sky, a cool day and colorful fall leaves!!!

After Mt. Vernon, we went to Alexandria, VA.  I was born in Alexandria, so it was fun to explore the town.  They have a historic district right on the water.  It was so much fun to walk around the town and look across the water to DC.

Our last stop on our way home was Colonial Williamsburg.  We had so much fun in Williamsburg.  It is such an experience. With all the horse and buggies and people dressed up, it's like taking a step back in history.

It was such a great trip.  We are so thankful for that opportunity!