We Wish...

...you a Happy New Year!

Way Back Wednesday!

~Yours Truly~ Christmas Morning 1977~

To all the people we love...

from...

to...

Way Back Wednesday!

~December 2001~

Lauren's New Do...

Look what we did today...

Christmas Cuties...

~Lauren & Grandpa~

Piano Recital

Did you like Carter & Taylor's bows?

This and That

At the beginning of December, Dave took Carter on his first deer hunt...

While the girls and I joined my parents at a party for a dear friend who recently beat cancer. Check out the cake...

Isn't that awesome! Lauren said, "Do we have to eat that butt?"

~Taylor, Lauren, & Grandma~

Thanksgiving Break

This post is way past due, but we've been busy so I'm kinda behind. The kids and Dave had the whole week of Thanksgiving off so we decided to use that time to replace all of the baseboards downstairs with new, taller baseboards. How hard could it be, right? It turned out to be a HUGE job and took us a couple of weeks to finish...we didn't finish until last weekend! First we had to remove the old baseboards... Getting them off without breaking the tile was a giant pain!

Then, we painted the new baseboards, cut them to fit, nailed them to the wall, filled all the nail holes, repainted over nail holes (twice), and caulked. It was A LOT of work...

The next pictures shows the new baseboards on the left and the old on the right. Can you tell a difference? You better say, "Yes!" :) After we finished the baseboards we had new carpet put in downstairs...

I think it was worth it now, but we still have to do the upstairs which I'm kinda dreading. I love how crisp and clean the new baseboards look though...Don't you?

We worked the entire week besides Thanksgiving day (can you believe I forgot to take pictures?) We had friends and family over which was very fun. One evening, we did manage to take Carter & Lauren to a Texas Stars Hockey game (Taylor opted to hang with a friend) which was fun....

Now we are frantically trying to get ready for Christmas!

Way Back Wednesday!

~December 2002~

Way Back Wednesday!

Santa Baby...

~December 2001 (Lauren was 9 months old)~

Winter Band Concert

Carter had his first band concert Wednesday night. It was awesome. He plays the trumpet...

They played several songs. My favorite was The Little Drummer Boy...

One of the things they do in sixth grade is have each band student teach one of their parents to play Jingle Bells on their instrument. The reasoning behind this is that the best way to learn is to teach. Then, the night of the concert, they invite all the parents up to play for the audience. Carter chose to teach Dave. Dave's goal was to play loudly and if you listen, you can totally hear him...It was hilarious! I couldn't stop laughing. He looked like a blow fish about to pop! :) Check it out...

Isn't that the funniest thing ever! Did you notice the kids around him turning to look at him and laughing? Taylor said that her friends were talking about this "weird guy" at the concert that was "really tall and played the trumpet SO loud." Mission accomplished. :)

Way Back Wednesday!

~December 2002~

We had just moved to Texas and were living in a corporate apartment waiting for our house to be finished. Can you believe it's been 8 years since we moved here? Me neither.

Way Back Wednesday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

~November 2005~

Taylor's Birthday Party

Taylor turned 14 in September...remember? We didn't do her birthday party then because she wanted to go to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows and it wasn't coming out until November. So, last weekend, she invited three girls (who also love the Harry Potter series) to see the movie...

Afterwards, Dave made them banana splits...

And sometime in the wee hours of the morning, they all crashed...It was a fun party! The end.

P.S. I still can't believe she's FOURTEEN. Crazy.

Last Weekend Recap

Last weekend, I got to go on another scrapbook retreat with my friends Laurie and Janet. We left Friday morning and got home Sunday night. It was nice to get away and to focus on just scrap booking for 2 1/2 days. On Saturday we scrap booked for 14 hours straight! It sounds awful, I know...but the time flew by and it was fun! :)

My space...

I got a lot done and got some new ideas. Here's a couple of my favorite double page layouts that I completed... And my favorite single page layout... I'm still 3 years behind...but who's counting, right? :)

I came home to this smiling face...

I'd like to think she was all grins due to my return. Nope. She was beaming because my parents, a.k.a. "the snowbirds", also arrived to their Texas home Sunday night. So, we had them over for dinner Monday night...
They are back for the winter and we couldn't be more excited! :)

Way Back Wednesday!

Taylor and Carter breaking a wishbone.

~November 2003~

P.S. The doc left Taylor in a boot...Hurray! We are both thankful for that. :)

Broken Footsie

Last Thursday, I spent the evening in the ER with Taylor. She was playing kickball in PE and fell funky resulting in a broken foot...

We go to the orthopedic doctor tomorrow. We're hoping they leave her in the boot instead of putting her in a cast. It will be a royal pain if she ends up in a cast. So, keep your fingers crossed! I'll keep you posted.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

We are excited to see you!

Way Back Wednesday!

My mom & I. I am so thankful for her. I love her.

~November 2001~

Healthy Mango Chicken Stir Fry

A friend of mine sent me this awesome stir fry recipe that she found on the Internet. It's really good...you should try it! I made it last night. See...

Ingredients:

15 ounces skinless chicken breasts

2 bell peppers, one red and one green, sliced

1 medium white onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 medium mango's, sliced

4 TBSP low-sodium soy sauce

1 TBSP unpacked brown sugar

2 TBSP fresh lime juice

dash red chili pepper flakes

dash sea salt

dash black pepper

3 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

Dice raw chicken, season with salt and pepper. Toss in wok or large frying pan on medium heat until cooked. Add the onion and bell peppers. Cook until tender. Remove from heat.

In a separate saucepan add garlic, mango's, lime juice, soy sauce, chili flakes, and brown sugar. Simmer and stir on low heat until the flavors blend. Add sauce mix to chicken and simmer 2 more minutes. Serve over brown rice.

*Serves 6 (I doubled the recipe so we'd have leftovers.)

The Magster.

I brought home carpet samples and apparently, Maggie thinks they are her new bed...

Funny Dog!

Book Worm

Taylor loves to...

...and I'm so thankful she does! What are you thankful for?