Thanksgiving 2011

This year for Thanksgiving, I decided to take the entire week off from work and life in Gainesville and spend some quiet, quality time with the family in Wauchula.  Well, life had other plans!  I spent the week in Wauchula with family, but it wasn't very quiet.  I decided that since I was on vacation, it would be the perfect time for me to get sick.  I started coughing on the Sunday before Thanksgiving and as of the time I post this, I'm still coughing.

But, let's go through the week a bit:

It started with getting to go to the Florida Gators football game.  It was the second to last game of the season and turned out to be our last win of the season.  Jay had a blast!  For the first have of the game, he sat with just me in our two seats (and by sitting "with" me, I mean "on" me).  Then during the second half, we were able to go sit with Grammy and Papa and Jay got very comfortable in Papa's lap!

Fun picture with Jay and Oba



Halftime salute to Veterans



Smiling before the game





Chillin' with Papa



Jay, Papa, and Grammy

Boys on the move



After the game, we all four traveled back to Wauchula and had to stop at Jay's favorite restaurant for dinner: Five Guys Burger and Fries!  And let me tell you, that boy can eat!  He had almost his entire hamburger, some fries, and peanuts (and all of that after having a Fiber bar on the way home).

I spent the rest of the week helping Mom with the kids and Thanksgiving preparations.  Mom was extremely busy with sewing projects and so the kids and I got to spend some quality time together.  And I am happy to announce that I was able to consistently have Lily call me Oba!!! Maybe it will stick with her :).  I wish that I had gotten some pictures of the projects that we did (which, according to Mom, Jay is obsessed with doing now) of hand-print turkeys and apple turkeys, but here is a good one of the kids:

Being silly



Well, it may not be the "best" picture of them, but it was the cutest - especially since Steven use to make that same face that Jay has when taking pictures.

For Thanksgiving this year, I decided that I wanted to make a pumpkin pie from scratch - including the pumpkin.  So, I started with this:

Pie Pumpkin

And cut it up and cooked it, then smashed it until it looked like this:

Pumpkin Mash

Then I mixed all the ingredients and got this:

Pie filling

Very soupy

Mom graciously made a homemade, from scratch crust (I don't do so well with the crusts) and so this is what we put into the oven:

baking

And the final product was this:

Amazing!

It was enjoyed by all and turned out pretty good!  I had enough pie filling left over that we made a second pie (minus the homemade crust) on Sunday for family lunch.  Also, we had enough pumpkin mash was enough that we freezed the leftovers for next year's pumpkin pie! 

So, except for the fact that I was sick the entire holiday (and then some), we had a great time and I so enjoyed spending time with the kids.  I wish that Ethan could have been there, but hopefully next year we'll have all of them together.

Now, CHRISTMAS!!!!

Two years ago

I'm doing this from work (shh, don't tell anyone), so some of the pictures will have to be added later.  I was reflecting on my life two years ago and how wonderful things are now.  This month two years ago was a bit stressful - both wonderful and scary things happening.  I had only been at my new job for a few months and was a little nervous because I was going to have to ask to take almost 2 weeks off in that month!

The month started off with a wedding in North Carolina on October 3.  My friend Denise got married and asked me to be one of her two bridesmaids.  I was shocked and honored at the request.  We had a wonderful weekend at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina.  I remember how wonderful the weather was and wishing that I lived up there all the time. (Of course that was before I had 3 kids down here that I have to be near, we only had one at that time - more on that later).  The wedding was outside and was absolutely beautiful.  I had to walk up and down stone steps in heels and was a little nervous about that, but all was well and no ankles were injured :)

A few weeks later on October 20, my dad went in for back surgery.  That was one of the longest, most stressful days of my life.  Dad had such an ease about the surgery, but I was very scared.  One little slip and he would be paralyzed!  Ok, so maybe that is a bit overdramatic, but that's how I felt.  His surgery was suppose to have started around 10 (keep in mind too that this was in Orlando, so Josh and I left G'ville around 6:30 that morning to be able to see him before his surgery), but it didn't actually get started until closer to 12 or 1.  As soon as we were informed that he was being worked on, we went to lunch (if for nothing else, to get out of the waiting room chairs).  His surgery lasted until about 5 or 6 that night (I think, I know it was later than we had expected).  Then he had to wait in Post-Op until his room was cleaned.  He wasn't suppose to have visitors back there while he was coming out of anesthesia and such, but when we realized how late it was getting and told the staff that Josh and I had to get back to Gainesville, they finally let us back to see him around 8.  He was fine and did so well that they didn't even send him to rehab like originally planned.

So, that was Tuesday.  On Wednesday I headed to Wauchula to an empty house (Mom was staying in Orlando to be close to Daddy).  On Thursday, I had the pleasure of keeping my Jay-man for Mom so that Tiffany and Steven wouldn't have to find someone else to watch him (and so I could have him all to myself for a day!).  We had a wonderful day and I had fun playing with Daddy's good camera and taking pictures.

That night was the rehearsal dinner for Beckie and David's wedding.  We had fun and it was great meeting a new friend, Kimberly from Kentucky.  We then had fun Thursday night and spent the day Friday doing things to get ready for the wedding.  Saturday, after my hair appointment, we had the bridesmaids' brunch.  Then it was off to the church to get everyone dolled up for the wedding.

We had a blast and it was so wonderful to see Beckie find the one that God has intended for her.  It was a great way to end a busy, crazy, wonderful month.

Two year update:  Denise is an ordained pastor and (from what I can deduce) is loving being married to Dean Martin.

Dad has dropped over 70 lbs (I think) and is looking and feeling great!!!  Has no problems what-so-ever with his back (unless he bends or twists the wrong way and is reminded of the steel rods and pins that are holding him together).

Beckie and David just welcomed their second daughter and are having a wonderful time being married and being parents.

Aunt Ethel's 97th Birthday!

My Granny's older sister turned 97 on Saturday, September 17 (just one day after my brother turned 34!)!! We've decided that she is going to out live us all!  She is in fairly good health and has a wit that is sharp as a tack!!  She amazes me!

Since the Gators were playing Tennessee in Gainesville, I suggested that Steven and Tiffany leave the kids in Wauchula and Grammy, Papa, and I would take care of them.  We had a blast!!  The kids were great at the party and other than waking me up at 6:00 A.M. (but I'm not really complaining because I got cuddle time with them for an hour and a half), it was a great weekend!  Jay was too cute at the party.  While sitting in my lap, eating finger sandwiches and carrots, he kept putting his arm around my neck, pulling my head down to his, and saying "Cheese!".  So we took some self portraits!  I did realize that I somehow got through the party without taking one single picture of my great aunt! Hopefully my Uncle Bill will send me some that he took!

Grammy and the two
Gator fans!

Lily and her Grammy!

One of the shots after Jay insisted
on being cheesy!

Our first shot

Playing with the birthday balloons!

If I get pictures of Aunt Ethel, I'll be sure to add them!!

And here they are!

The Birthday girl sitting down to
enjoy the party

Chatting with her son David!

Until next time!

Football Season is here!!

And we are in full swing with tailgating and games!  We've had two games so far and we've won them both (which is not saying much considering the teams that we've been playing).

The first two games were at 7:00 PM, so I suggested that I keep the kids while Steven and Tiffany went to the game, after tailgating of course. . .  We had a blast!  I didn't take any pictures of the "campout" as Jay refered to it, but I do have a few of the kids while tailgating



Jay, trying to hide from
the camera



Lily - red faced. It was hot!



This past weekend, Tiffany kept Lily at home so that Jay could go to the game (we had to do a little convincing last weekend to get him to come with me and Lily).  Since Mom wasn't going to be at the game, Dad asked me if I would like the tickets.  I said of course!  So I asked my friend Susan if she wanted to join me.  We tailgated, of course, before the game.  I'll have to see if I can get the pictures off my phone and add them - Ethan was FILTHY by the end of the tailgate.  Steven took Jay to the game and we all stayed to the end of the 3rd Quarter so we could sing "We Are The Boys"!  I can't believe how big Jay is getting!



The boys in Orange & Blue



Love the interaction between
father and son!

A shot for Mom & Dad to say Thanks!

The moon was almost full and I got a few great shots of it.  I wish I could have gotten a picture of the clouds too.  They looked like a painting.

 Well, until next time.  We play Tennessee this weekend, but I won't be going. I'll be watching with the kids and Mom and Dad in Wauchula.  We will be celebrating my Aunt Ethel's 97th Birthday!!! 

The first scenes from the new apartment!

My Uncle Randy is an amazing carpenter!  When I spent the weekend with he and Aunt Jeannie in May, I mentioned wanting to get a bookcase for all (and I mean ALL) of my books.  So what does he do?  He offers to make one for me!

It is beautiful and perfect!!  Well, don't just take my word for it.  See for yourself!

It looks like I might be getting Jay and Lily overnight during the first football game this weekend.  So I've been cleaning and organizing the apartment like a mad woman!  That being said.  There WILL be pictures of the rest of the place soon!  I just had to first post a picture of my wonderful bookcase!  Thanks Uncle Randy! You're the BEST!!

Another Galloway Girls' Weekend

Last weekend, my two Florida aunts (Jeannie and Susan), my mom, my cousin Leslie, and I all got together for a Girls' Weekend.  Aunt Jeannie had some flight vouchers that needed to be used and so she flew Leslie down from Nashville just so we could have some fun.  Again, I forgot to take pictures of the entire weekend, but did get some shots of us at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company and a group shot on the beach Sunday morning before the "storm" hit (it didn't come until much later in the day, but we were sure we only had an hour window between showers).

We played Uno, drank Coastal cruisers, played Uno, ate snacks, played Scrabble, and oh, did I mention that we played Uno?  It has become a Galloway tradition to play Uno and eat Cheetos at any and all gatherings. 

Mom, her sisters and her parents get together at least once during the year to just have some time together.  A few years ago, we decided that the Florida Galloway Girls (including the next generation) needed to get together.  Then Leslie decided to move out of the state to Tennessee (no worries, she's still a Gator fan!).  So we've had to improvise as to how to have her involved.  Aunt Jeannie to the rescue!!!  We had a blast and can't wait to do it again!

Just a few shots of our adventure:

This is where our adventure
began on Saturday.

This is where we ate lunch on

Saturday.  YUM!

Enough said!



This was really cool! They
had the scene set for you, just
sit and insert your feet!





This is why we don't let Mom have
the camera! I should have known
better!



The girls! It was windy, but nice.





Galloway Camping

Ok, so a few months ago, I mentioned that my mom's side of the family were almost all meeting together and going camping and I promised lots of pictures.  Well, I lied. We did get all but 13 members of the family there (which was a huge feat for us!), but I don't think I took the first picture! :( (I did actually take a few pictures and have added them to the end of the post) I was too busy running around with the kids. 

We had a chili cook-off the last night that we were all together and it decided that as soon as we were ready to serve the chili, that it needed to start raining.  Let me just tell you that trying to figure out how to get 12 people under one shade tent when it starts raining was fun to watch.  7 of the 10 Southwells headed back to the cabin (so that the kids weren't in the weather) while the other 3 of us huddled under the canaopy of the camper.  The main concern was making sure that my almost 90 year old grandparents didn't get wet.

It was nice to see everyone and watch the kids experience new things (Jay discovered lightening bugs for the first time! and he got to sleep in the camper with Grammy and Papa one night).  However, we have decided that Hard Labor Creek State Park is not the place for us to try to camp with 2 elderly adults and 4 smaller children.  The ground is unstable and it is HOT (which my cousin Leslie and I reminded the planners when the discussion was started about camping in June)!!!

Next year I think we will all be gathering in Charlotte for Granddaddy's 90th birthday party.  At least we'll all have a cool place to stay! :)





  Updated pictures (hopefully this will work)

Lily's favorite past time: play (and eating)
rocks!



Mischievous! Cute, but

mischievous.




The kids in their chairs from
Grammy and Papa

Jay being tickled by
his Daddy



  Grammy and Papa also brought a pool, so we decided to let the kids have some fun it in.  We were even able to get Rowan (a cousin we just met who is only a few weeks older than Lily and Ethan) in for some pool time!



It's a little chilly!





Miss Lily!



All four kids!







 Then, once the little ones were finished and out of the way.  I let Jay splash around as big as he could!!



The BIG finale!



Getting ready to splash around!



Posing for the camera