Merry Christmas from our house....

......to yours

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Gingerbread Houses

The Countdown is on...three more days! YIPEE!!!

"Freckle Freaks"

Lauren was sad after school today because she said that everyone at school makes fun of her freckles. Carter said, "It's okay Lauren, all my friends call me freckle freak and even made up a song. I just dance and act like it's funny because if you have freckles, that makes you funny." That seemed to cheer her up. So, here's a shout out to all the "Freckle Freaks" out there...you know who you are! :)

It's Monday!

SO, this is how my morning started off....

Yep, as I was backing out of the garage to go do my crossing guard job (need I mention that it was 32 degrees outside with a windchill of 17 degrees) I hit the side of the garage door with my mirror. Lovely. At least the kids weren't in the car at that moment or they may have learned a new word or two. :) Happy Monday Y'all!

Girl's Weekend...

My friend Lynn and I left Friday afternoon and went to Bastrop, TX (about an hour from our homes) to stay at the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort (http://lostpines.hyatt.com/). We had a grand ol' time. We enjoyed dining out, roasting smores by the fire pit, movies, working out, rock climbing, zip lining, and a leisurely afternoon at the spa. Oh, and did I mention my 60 minute massage? It doesn't get much better than that! I loved the resort and want to take my family back one of these days. Here are some pictures from our weekend...

Breakfast Saturday morning...

Waiting on the bus to go rock climbing and zip lining...

Ready for our adventure...

Lynn and Halli trying to climb~it really is harder than it looks!

Halli...

Lynn Zip Lining...

Halli Zip Lining...

Taylor's Band Concert...

Tonight was Taylor's first band concert and it was awesome! I gained a new respect for her when she had to teach me how to play Jingle Bells on her oboe. The reasoning was that the best way to learn, is to teach. So, they had to teach one of their parents how to play a song on their instrument...then, all the parents got to play Jingle Bells at the concert together! It was pretty funny.

Ms. Gonzales (Taylor's band teacher) & Taylor

Here's a video of Taylor and the other oboe artists playing their little piece....

Here they're playing Up on the Housetop...

This is The Hannukah Song...

Twas' the days before Christmas...

...when I decorated my house,

not a creature was stirring....
not even Maggie!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicolas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in MY bed...

...while visions of Christmas Break dance in their heads;

Now, can I settle my brain for a very LONG nap?

Orderly Conduct

I think we often love traits of others that we do not possess. One thing I love about Dave is that he is so orderly and neat. When I do things, I'm a bit more half-hazard and messy! ( I think I got that from my dad. *grin*) I clean up nicely but tend to be less "graceful" than he. Tonight I had to run Taylor to Young Women's and my blueberry muffins were still cooking so I asked Dave if he would take them out of the oven for me when the timer went off.

This is what I found when I got home...

Isn't that cute? He lined them up in neat, tidy, rows! I LOVE IT! I just smiled to myself and thought, "Yep, one of the many reasons I love him!" Cause when I do it, I just dump them out of the pan and they lay where they land....

Breaking the Wishbone!

First you must make a wish, then you PULL...

And the winner is...

...and she definitely DID NOT gloat! ;)

Twilight

Dave and I took Taylor and her friend, Samantha, to see the movie Twilight! It was AWESOME!! Taylor and I have read all the books... and the movie did not let us down!

Doesn't Dave look SUPER excited to see the movie? He could hardly wait! :) LOL! He actually liked it...in fact, he may read the books now too!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great day! We had a total of 15 hungry people this year. Among the guests were Dave's sisters family, my friend Susan and her family, and my friend Lynne. Everything was yummy! We are so grateful for good friends and our families.

Halli & Dave...


Katrina & Kevin Shaffer (Dave's sister and her hubby)...

Art & Susan Muela...

Halli & Susan...

The "Adult" Table....

The "Kid" Table...

Caitlyn & Lauren (BFF)...

(Whenever they are together they act like they're dogs...hence the "bones" in the mouth!)

Happy Turkey Day!!!

Puppies!

My friend's foster dog had puppies and let us come and see them. The girls could have sat there all day long. Carter snuggled them for a minute or two but then was off to play... Lauren and Taylor couldn't get enough. The puppies are two weeks old and their eyes still haven't opened. Aren't they cute?

A Conversation with Carter...

It went something like this...

HALLI: "One day, Carter, you will go through puberty too. Your voice will change. It will get deeper. Not to mention, you will start to grow hair on your body...under your arms, on your chest."

CARTER: "Well I'll shave my armpits and belly."

HALLI: "Boys don't usually shave their armpits bud. Dad, show Carter your arm pits."

(Dave shows Carter his very manly pits)

Carter takes a quick look, covers his eyes with his hands and says, "EEEEWWWWW...I can't look!"

(Taylor laughs hysterically and the teasing begins....)

Miss Lauren

Meet India, Lauren's pilgrim clothespin doll (which she made completely by herself). According to Lauren, she lives in a pumpkin patch and is very excited for Thanksgiving!

Need a closer look? Here you go...

I'm excited for Thanksgiving too!

No Boys Allowed

Lauren made this sign and hung it on her bedroom door....

We really don't swear around here so I don't know where she came up with that! I think I may save this sign for the future with a slight modification being "...or else my mom will swear!" :)

Happy Friday Everyone!

Family Photo Shoot

Yesterday we had family pictures taken. My friend Kerri Cernosek took them...she's awesome if you live in the Austin area. Her website is http://www.kcphotodesigns.com/. She emailed me a sneak peak of some of the "fun" ones and so I thought I'd share them with you! I am excited to see the rest of them....