Life as a Brandtito

We made a stop by "The Varsity" on our way home from the ATL. The environment was stressful, but the milkshakes & onion rings made it worth it. Accurate portrayal of life with the Brandts  This was an interesting Atlanta site as well.... Yup. That's a deer strapped on top. 

Check out the mini Brandts geared up and ready for the Snow!  Since we didn't take a trip to the Mountains for fall break, we planned to take a trip over Christmas break. The kids REALLY wanted to see snow, but judging by the weather forecast it looked like we were going to have to drive well into North Carolina to POSSIBLY catch a decent amount. We're talking like a 12 hour drive. If you've never traveled with small kids...maybe this doesn't sound so bad, but I know these Branditos....and believe me...it would be dreadful for all parties involved. I quickly began looking for an alternate plan and stumbled upon Stone Mountain's Snow Mountain.  We had actually considered doing this on our last mountain adventure but I got sick and we had to come home early. I was a little nervous as to how entertaining it would be as I didn't know anyone who'd been and for all of us go to, it was pretty pricey...but it met and totally exceeded all my expectations. We

Christmas has arrived!! That darn Elfie Sneakins trapped the girls & Gavin in their room again this year to ensure they couldn't sneak out and take a peak before the parental units could arise and wake the kids up. Heaven says she was woken up by Santa himself shouting, "Ho Ho Ho" down the hall. As the day progressed on, this story turned more and more intense and by the end of the day both Heaven & Gavin  reported actually seeing Santa. These reports could not be confirmed or denied of course. Gavin's big present this year was a Play Station. As he is REALLY into football right now, he can't wait to try his new College football game. He got A TON of Gators stuff The girls major gift was Taylor Swift tickets for her concert in Atlanta in April. They are so excited. They LOOOVE Taylor Swift!! They also have another present to be delivered by Santa after Christmas sometime.  Apparently Santa tried really hard for several hours on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a busy event for the Brandts :) So much family, and so little time. We managed to get all our visiting done JUST in time to get the cookies & milk ready for Santa and spread our reindeer food in the front yard. According to the Santa Tracker we made it with just an hour to spare... Auntie Mikey & Presley Showered & wearing new Christmas PJ's Family Christmas Tree We had to be sure that Santa knew WHICH door to come too. Mini Brandt's Christmas tree Christmas Eve at the Cottons...I'm putting this on here in hopes you'll get a smile over Ava's face in this photo. I sure did....

The kids have been begging to go to the Winter Wonderland Festival at the Wahoo stadium since it opened up earlier this month. I'd heard mixed reviews, and at $11 each, I wasn't quite sure it would be worth it...the kids however disagreed. The Wahoo's ended up donating free tickets to both Santa Rosa and Escambia County School students & our lovely neighbors donated 2 unneeded to us as well, so we ended up going for FREE!! WAHOOOO!!! :) (<---get it...Wahoo for Wahoo's...give it a minute) However, if we'd paid $60 for us all to go, I would have been disappointed. The activities were pretty sparse, a few inflatables, a small area of games drawn on the grass (Checkers, Twister, Tic Tac Toe) and of course the main draw, Ice skating. Only it wasn't REALLY ice skating, it was some sort of coated plastic The schedule said there was supposed to be a Christmas movie as well & Santa, but we didn't see either of those. The mini Brandts however really

  Merry Christmas from the Brandito Bunch!! All Fancy and ready to enjoy post church lunch!

Tonight, while Gavin enjoyed a night with Grandma, the lady Brandts and cousins Ava & Carleigh had a girls night in. In a pre Santa celebration, the girls decorated cookies (deemed inedible with decorations and icing by anyone in their right mind), watched Christmas movies and sipped hot coco. They're camping out in the living room tonight enjoying a little girl power time...and sugar rush.. Here's a few shots from the evening. The girls had two allowed male guests during the cookie decorating, the McLeod boys! They're always a welcome addition to the Brandito madness. Carleigh Heaven & Collin The Relli AB Disgusting Luke wasn't really intrested in decorating the cookies....but did repeatedly volunteer to be a taste tester... Christmas Movie Camp Out