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happy wolf day!

2012-01-31T18:40:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year

2012-01-24T16:04:00.000-08:00

Xcambo & Dzemul

2012-01-12T20:22:00.000-08:00

Playa del Carmen

2012-01-11T20:43:00.001-08:00

Costa Maya, Mexico

2012-01-09T16:44:00.000-08:00

The Cruise

2012-01-08T11:22:00.000-08:00

We had the BEST TIME EVER on the Cruise. I think we are going to go next year...wanna join us? Big thanks to Mel for taking and picking us up! Then to top it off...make us dinner. Love you Mel--you are a true friend!!!!

christmas morn

2012-01-03T16:29:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve

2012-01-02T14:48:00.000-08:00

Mel's Favorite Things Party

2011-12-23T19:33:00.000-08:00

I was needing a girls trip! I was missing my friends in Houston and was so happy to fly out for the weekend! It was just what I needed--girl time, mani/pedi's, Casa Home Tour, shopping, eating and my favorite restaurants! Mel looks adorable pregnant and I can't wait to meet her new little baby girl!

Mel-thanks for hosting a fab party and letting me crash for the weekend. I love ya!!!

The Boy who can Eat his own Face

2011-12-23T19:28:00.000-08:00

Cater was fabulous in his school play. The title was a little weird, but the play was funny and complete middle school humor.

Gorgoza

2011-12-04T15:11:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving

2011-12-04T15:06:00.000-08:00

Focus...

2011-11-20T14:28:00.000-08:00

We are all trying to stay focused the last few days before we leave to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. We cannot wait to see you all!!!! Callie and I made and delivered a bunch of Thanksgiving goodies today...

Has anyone ever tried this? I'm hoping it's the miracle pill we've been looking for. Seriously, how many times can you yell at your kid for completing their homework and then forgetting to turn it in. That's a big fat 0 in the grade book! It's hard to climb back up from ZEROS. How hard is it to turn in a paper???? This kid decided to be a problem solver and now takes a sharpie marker and writes all over their hands to remind them to turn in their work--then can't remember which reminder is for which class!!! I'm learning to take deep breaths and chug "focus factor pills"-it says it suports concentration. I need to concentrate on not yelling! I'm also hoping it will lessen the teacher emails about how we have the greatest kid ever, just not focused. Hmmmm.....If I can just stay FOCUSED enough each morning and REMEMBER to give the darn kid the pill, we might just have a chance.

Here's to focusing on what's important in life...FAMILY.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thankgiving!

Recipe Group

2011-11-03T15:22:00.000-07:00

I had a recipe group in Sugar Land that I LOVED!!! I miss you girls and your fabulous recipes and stories! I was especially missing them when I moved to Amarillo. I decided to start one up and have made some great friends and had some good food!

Trick or Treat

2011-10-31T21:26:00.001-07:00

The First Snow

2011-10-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

The First Snow

October 28, 2011

It was the perfect snow....big flakes, 2-3 inches on the ground, but it melted off the streets by noon. Cater and Callie couldn't wait to get home from school and roll around in the snow.

Sky loved being a part of the action!

Awwww....snow buddies!!!

Fall Festival

2011-10-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

We have a really great ward and the kids were excited to go to the Fall Festival this year. This is my first year NOT making Callie a halloween costume. Instead of dressing up as an animal this year, she decided have an animal as her accessory. Holly was NOT thrilled about this whole idea, so I think she is going to have Sky do the honors on Halloween night.

Callie and Holly...she truly loves this dog.

Since she couldn't bring Holly or Sky to the Fall Festival, she brought "Tober", her trusty sidekick. I was amazed that she actually held this huge dog the whole night.

Cater had a great time with his buddy Tristan. They were in charge of the fishing booth. After that, Cater was talked into the pie eating challenge.

Go...Cater...Go

....of course it ended with a pie in his face!

Maxwell's Pumpkin Farm

2011-10-29T19:53:00.001-07:00

We went to Maxwells Pumpkin Farm last year and had a great time. Cater and Callie decided it must be a tradition. They LOVE the corn maze. I have to admit, it's a super fun and easy to get lost in. Here's Tristan and Cater acting goofy on the hay bales.

Avery, Hailey & Callie

these girls are so cute together

Cater being his awesome self--goofing around!

Cattle Barons Gala

2011-10-29T19:45:00.000-07:00

When you're in Texas, a Gala means to put on your cowboy boots. I wrestled up some skinny jeans and my cowgirl boots and Ed and I headed out for a fundraiser "Boot Scootin' towards a cure for cancer". We had a good night and enjoyed watching people get down and "boot scoot". There were a few with some fancy dance moves a few with huge sweat rings under their armpits and down their back.

Atmos Energy was a sponsor of the event, so we had a front row table for all the entertainment.

We Believe

2011-09-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

The theme for the youth this year is the 13th Article of Faith:

^aWe believe in being ^bhonest, true, ^cchaste, ^dbenevolent, virtuous, and in doing ^egood to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we ^fhope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to^gendure all things. If there is anything ^hvirtuous, ⁱlovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

We have a great Youth Program with amazing leaders. Their stake activity this past Saturday was to paint the Cadillacs all grey and write "We Believe" on them. This is how they normally look-it's fun to paint them, we've done it many times.

This is Cater and his bff Tristan painting away.

the end result...they submitted the photo to The New Era...so look for Cater in it:)

I'm really grateful for leaders who go above and beyond to strengthen our youth.

best canines 4ever

2011-09-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

Like it or not...wherever Holly is...Sky follows. You can tell it sometimes annoys Holly...but she puts up with it pretty well.

I always thought I would have a girly girl who dances and was into fashion...funny how things turn out...she does like pink but LOVES animals. Seriously loves them. The dogs sleep on her bed, Holly sleeps with her every night. Did I mention that I walked into her room and she had the dogs lined up...cleaning out their ears with qtips and brushing their teeth. I asked her where she put that toothbrush...I about gagged when she told me back in her bathroom. It's only a matter of time before toothbrushes all get mixed up! I just threw up a little in my mouth.

Callie also announced at dinner that she wished I would have named her CAT and that she really wants a rabbit. I gave her the "if you ask for one more animal, I'm going to commit myself to a mental hospital" I love Callie...I wouldn't want her to be any other way!!!

The Carolinas....

2011-09-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

We spent Labor Day weekend in the Carolinas. Driving from the airport...I'm always reminded how incredibly beautiful it is. I love how green and pretty North Carolina is...I miss living there! We had a great trip and hope to go back soon!

The Pink Kitty Shirt

2011-08-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

A few years back we noticed Callie wore a pink kitty shirt on the first day of school...once we noticed, Callie was excited to wear a pink kitty shirt on the first day of school every year in Elementary School.

Kindergarten 2006

1st Grade -2007

2nd Grade- 2008

3rd Grade- 2009

4th Grade-2010

5th Grade 2011

Cater let her know...you better not wear a pink kitty shirt the first day next year...middle schoolers will make fun of you! Callie looked him straight in the eye and said, "I don't care, if I want to wear a pink kitty shirt next year- I will. AND I probably will" Cater rolled his eyes!

Dog Gone Good Sunday

2011-08-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

We had a great Sunday! I made PW Pulled Pork Sandwhiches-you should try them. They are yummy. We also enjoyed a great Sacrament meeting. A Return Missionary spoke and gave a great talk. When he was at a low point in his mission, his Mission President delivered the news that his dad had a brain tumor and was having immediate surgery. As a ward, we had been fasting for the family and my heart just went out to them...to hear this Missionaries side of the story was touching. To see the Lord's hand in their lives is amazing. I just sat there with my arms around Cater and Callie and know that I am very blessed as well.

I am going to teach 4th grade this year at Callie's school. I'm really excited to teach and have been getting my room ready this week. That is one of the reasons we got SKY right away...we wanted the kids to bond with the dog right away before we head off to our busy fall schedules. Our lives have pretty much revolved around SKY right now...here's a few more pictures of her. She's getting big...very fast. She's a very laid back dog and sleeps A LOT!!!

Cater loves SKY and has a good time chasing her around and teaching her fetch!

The kids got their hair cut yesterday...Callie's all ready for 5th grade with her sassy short cut!

Hope you have a great week!

Sky

2011-08-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

To make a long story short, here is the story of SKY. I have been feeling like Cater needs a dog. I wanted him to have the opportunity to really step up and take responsibility--a puppy is a huge responsibility and he needs a buddy. The move to Amarillo has been harder on Cater and I. Then we go to Utah and Ed's sister Tillia gets my kids all worked up about getting a dog. She has 2 big dogs and Cater saw what a great bond his cousin Coleman had with his dog and really started to wanted one. I was still firm. No dog. Not right now. Well to top it off, they really wanted a Great Dane....and lo and behold my brother Michael decided to get a Great Dane puppy a couple weeks after we left Utah. My kids were so jealous. It ends up Michael is worried about his allergies and rethinking a huge dog when he has a 6 month old adorable baby. This is Cater and Callie's big opening they have been praying for...and I'm a SUCKER!!! The dog is fabulous and crate trained and potty trained, so we flew the little gal out to Texas. Cater loves her and named her SKY.

They really are buddies!

Dallas Fun

2011-07-30T15:32:00.000-07:00

I missed my good friends Mel and Leslie, so we met up in Dallas for a few days. The kids had a great time and I got in some girl chat.

Love ya Mel & Leslie!!

Utah Trip

2011-07-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

I love Utah in the summer! We were all excited to drive out to stay with family for 2 weeks. We had such a great time and it was really hard to leave. Cater and Callie both said they think it would be so cool to live in Utah and be around there awesome Aunts, Uncles and cousins all the time. We wanted to be there for 4th of July and Cater was excited to go to BYU Sports Camp with Coleman for a week. I don't have a picture of the boys at Sports camp, although I have to admit, I would have loved to follow them around a bit and take pictures. hee hee

Dropping Cater off at camp was a drive down memory lane. I have so many fabulous memories at BYU and I love the campus!! After the week of Sports Camp...Cater thought BYU was really cool and wants to go there. Since the mascot is a cougar...that was enough to sell Callie on it!

We went to Stadium of Fire saturday night. I LOVE Stadium of Fire. I love the patriotism, the excitement, the jet flyover and the entertainment. This year was Brad Paisley and he puts on a great live concert!

Carol, Callie and I outside the Stadium.

I was so glad that Carol could go with us...the boys were all meeting at her place the next day to move her into her new house and I knew between work and moving I wouldn't get to have as much time as I usually do with her. I'm so excited for you Carol!!!

Snowbird

2011-07-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

We LOVED hanging out in snowbird. It is so beautiful in the Utah Mountains. This was one of our favorite days! There is just something about being up in the mountains with family and a large group of kids:)

We started off by riding the mechanical bull. Check out Cater's face...he cracks me up!

We thought Ed would show him how to do it...being from Texas and all...but he flipped right off!

Ohh yeah...Ashli has her toes clinging to the sides and seems like she's got it down!!

Tillia and Leland climbing the ropes course.

Callie and Leland hanging like monkeys!

Isn't this picture cool...Steve and Elsa climbing around. The mountains are so beautiful!

Callie and Grace taking the lift up to the Alpine Slide.

Cater and Coleman just took off and we would randomly see them. They had a good time!

Ohhh....sweet Elsa didn't feel well. She just fell asleep during lunch.

Michael and Ethan....what is Ethan doing? That kid is funny!!

Ed and Claire!

It was cute how Ruby wanted to do everything the big kids did.

Lunch with the gang!

Tillia and my family stayed the longest and took the tram up to the top. The view is AMAZING!! It was fun to run around in the snow.

Awwww....love these two!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-16T11:06:00.001-07:00

Jaime and I started early in the kitchen and made this yummy sugar cookie! I love cooking with Jaime, it reminded me of when we cooked Thanksgiving dinner together last year!

Our little firecrackers! I love my nieces, they are so dang cute!!

Steve's neighborhood throws a big block party on the 4th. They have all types of bounce houses, cotton candy machine, snow cones, sumo wrestling, dunk booth, etc.

Awww...cute little Alyeska and Michael.

Cater and Michael duking it out!

Michael and Steve going Sumo Style!

Sweet girls with the newest niece and really....how did Callie talk me into bringing her Guinea Pig on the trip?

all the kids did like playing with Mo!

look at this sweet baby...Alyeska is the sweetest, smiliest baby ever!!!

Jaime and I made PW's pulled pork sandwiches, a mandarin spinach salad, beans, and watermelon. We also made a big sugar cookie and put cream cheese frosting on it and decket it out old school like a flag with strawberries and blueberries!! Ashli brought some seriously delicious Brazilian lemonade and cupcakes.

The pulled pork sandwiches were so so yummy! Here's Carol with all the sweet girls.

Firecracker besties!

My sweet kids!

Ed and Cater starting up the show. Cater was insistent that he was the one that lit all the fireworks this year. I didn't buy that many, and he let me know his show could have been awesome if I would have shelled out some more money for fireworks.

Family picture!

Cater and Aunt Carol...everyone's favorite Aunt!

Cater LOVED Alyeska. My kids are not used to being around babies, so they are a bit of a novelty for them. Cater couldn't stop playing with Alyeska and she was a sport when he turned around and she flipped off the ottoman inbetween the couch and we all did the big save...Alyeska did a big scared smile at the end and Cater just looked at us like, "ooopss...she's a wiggly little thing"

Hanging with Mashli

2011-07-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

We heading to Springville to hang with Michael, Ashli and Carol for the weekend. First up...Michael and Ashli took the kids to 7 peaks and then we met up for some famous Brick Oven Pizza. Next we headed to Michael's for some fireworks.

Michael is starting up his own business and took us over to his new office. The kids were amazed that he has his own business and he's got a great new office that he's been renovating!

We got up early one morning and hiked up to the Y! Cater and Callie were shocked how big it was.

b 'Y' u!! Micheal and I are BYU Alumni's.

The next day, we met up with some great friends from SugarLand at Boondocks.

Here's Cater and Ryan taking off on the slicktrack!

Callie and Tess

While the kids ran around at Boondocks, Jenny Nogales and I were able to catch up and had a great time!

Girls Day

2011-07-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

I stayed with Tillia most of the time...we loved working out together. She has a great Yoga studio nearby and we did Yoga most days! One day we decided to head to the Sanctuary Spa. It was dreamy...we had detox body wraps, facials and pedicures. We loved hanging out together and I will always remember the laugh we had over the scones and getting the full experience!!!

Fresh from the spa, we hit Nordstrom and had a good time shopping in the silver curtains!!

That night Jaime and I took our sweet girls out. It's kinda a tradition and we bought them a matching dress and took them to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. This was a fun night as Callie and Grace keep us laughing and let us know we are "fashion killers". The outfits they picked out and thought were fabulous kept Jaime and I giving each other "the look"... I also had the "bra talk" with Callie while in Utah and let's just say, it didn't go well. I think her exact words were..."why do I have to wear a training bra...it's not like my boobs are going to the Olympics" Jaime and I couldn't stop laughing. Ohh, how I love Callie!!

I love that Grace and Callie have each other! I am also very lucky and blessed to have such amazing sister in laws!! Love you Jaime, Tillia & Ashli!!

Cowabunga Bay

2011-07-16T09:57:00.001-07:00

On our last day we all went to Cowabunga Bay for a day in the sun. These cute girls all stayed together in a pack and ran all over the park!

A little dolphin pod. Cater lead them all in a game of tag for awhile.

Tillia & Ruby

Cater and Coleman heading out to ride a slide.

While we were out, Carol moved into a fabulous new twin home. It's so adorable and she is just a few blocks from Michael and Ashli...on our last night we went over to her house for dinner. I love her backyard, she's going to have a lot of fun BBQs!

One of my favorite things to do in Utah is to hang out in Michaels backyard, talk and make s'mores! We have the best laughs and I LOVE s'mores.

Cater and Elsa...sweet cousins! It looks like Elsa is about to loose a whole lotta marshmallow on her lap!

When driving home we talked about our favorite parts of the trip and worst:

Cater's best: The Apline Slide and Ziplines at Snowbird, the awesome slides at 7 Peaks and Alyeska.

Cater's worst: Leaving Alyeska.

Callie's best: My very best part was seeing Grace, hanging out in Snowbird and 7Peaks and being with Tank and Daisy.

Callie's worst: Throwing up and leaving Grace.

Heat Stroke

2011-06-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

Ed is mean... I'm slowly rubbing off on him...he used to be nice. Cater is at scout camp for 8 days working on his merit badges. Ed went up to spend the last few days with him. It's been so hot, I've been worried about heat stroke...Ed sent me this photo today with the caption of, "heat stroke".

If it wasn't for that sweet glimmer of a smile he's trying to hide...I just might of bought it. His scout leader already called to say his silver hillbilly cap fell off his tooth, but he's fine...he's having too much fun for me to worry about it. I have a dental appointment arranged for the moment he gets home. I miss Cater so much!!!! Last night Callie said she feels like an only child and doesn't like it and then started crying because she misses Cater so much!!!

removing camp

2011-06-23T08:38:00.000-07:00

The final process of removing the dirt and grime off ....a pedicure with Callie. Yes, her feet are about the same size as mine. Yes, she picked hot pink zebra polish. I'm slowly recovering from camp, it's a long process.

Girls Camp

2011-06-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

Heaven help me...it was a rough weekend. I actually like camping...as long as it's not hot. I volunteered to go to girls camp this year and it was miserably HOT. 104 degrees HOT! No air conditioning anywhere HOT. Being the diva that I am, I found excuses to "help out" that involved going into the nearest town for supplies. I drove really slow in my air conditioned car and stopped off at DQ for an ice cream:) As miserable as it was, I LOVED getting to hang out with these cute girls. We have amazing YW in our ward.

While my sister Carol was up, we made little treats for the girls each day. They loved the "Cheesy" one because if you look close, I'm in the tent eating cheese. Carol and Callie talked me into that. ha ha

I am glad to be back to air conditioned civilization.

Florida Keys

2011-06-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

Ed and I met up with my brother and his wife Jaime for a week on the beach with no kids. It was so relaxing and we had a lot of good laughs. I am lucky to have such a cool brother and sis-n-law...we love hanging out with them.

Dad and Mom....this is for you! Steve and I immediately thought of you and miss you guys. A big train sand castle right at our hotel.

We spent most of our time right here. I love that we walk down to the beach and they set us up chairs, umbrellas, put the towels on the chairs for us and point the umbrella any way we want.

The Waldorf Astoria doesn't mess around...every few hours they would bring us a fabulous beach treat...Jaime and I were laughing so hard when they brought us cucumbers and put them on our eyes and misted us down. They brought us ice towels, body champagne, fresh fruit and if you were by the pool some serious popsicles. Best way to enjoy the beach by far!!! We were always a little giddy when the beach boy came by with our next treat.

Heading out to the 3rd largest natural coral reef in the world for some snorkeling.

Southern Most Beach.

This was Jaime and my favorite beach. Because Max was there. That's all I'm going to say.

yup...lots of key lime pie. lots. Southernmost Beach Cafe. Really good food. And Max was there.

We were eating yet another pie of key lime pie at Kermits and this bird jumped up on Ed's shoulder. It let him pet it's head and belly. I mostly just love the picture of Ed. I love his smile. He looks happy here. He makes me happy. Wow..I'm sappy and rhyming for that matter.

Jaime and I went to Ernest Hemingway's Home. It was really cool. The weirdest part was the cats. I really can't get over it. I guess he loved his cats. There is an electric cat fence on the property and tons of cats all over. They claim they are all the direct descendants of Ernest Hemingway's cats. Weird.

They had all his furniture roped off with signs saying they were precious antiques, but the cats were able to lay all over them. again...weird. A lot of the cats had 6 fingers like this one.

This is the room he wrote most of his books.

This is the Cat Cemetery on the grounds. The cats are treated like royalty and no one was allowed to pet them.

After a hard day of laying on the beach and jet skiing around the island, we went to dinner. The "Duval Crawl" was a little more wilder than we had thought...made for some interesting nights:) But we never returned back to the hotel without some key lime pie. This was my favorite. Frozen key lime pie on a stick dipped in chocolate! I could always count on Steve to eat dessert with me. That just what an awesome brother he is.

I love cookies. Love them. I just kept staring at these, but didn't get one because I was full from Key Lime Pie. Funny thing...on our last day as we left the hotel, we were all talking about how much fun we had...last chance for anything else...I speak up. "I think I'm going to have regrets if I don't try one of those darn cookies". Ed gave me the typical stare of....seriously...am I driving you back to Duval street for a freaking cookie....yep he did. Jaime meanly said she thought they looked dry and I better buy some milk to go with it. Oh my gosh...one of the best cookies I have ever eaten in my life. Really...so moist and yummy...and I shared and they loved the cookie too! hee hee

Picking out a restaurant on the "Duval Crawl"

After our snorkeling trip, we went to this beautiful beach and hung out a bit. I loved this sign.

and I love him....

After the beach we headed to this local restaurant that served really good fish sandwiches. We were told it would look like a dump on the side of the road and they were right. Jaime and I were a little sketched out at first, but it was one of the best fish sandwiches I've ever eaten.

Jaime and Steve waiting for their fish sandwiches...and they were a little jealous of our lime-aids. hee hee

My favorite person to enjoy a fish sandwich with. I love this guy!!

We had a fabulous trip. We love you Steve and Jaime!!

Grateful Sunday

2011-05-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

I'm so grateful for my little family. Cater and Callie bring me so much joy. I was sitting in church today and they were each sitting on the side of me and I just felt blessed. I always wanted a little bit bigger family, but I am truly grateful for the one I do have. I am grateful for the knowledge of my Savior, Jesus Christ and know that He is there for me. Ed was just called to serve as 1st Counselor in the Bishopric in our church. We were excited that his Dad was able to fly out and ordain him. Ed gave a wonderful testimony today and I am extremely blessed to have a husband who honors his priesthood and keeps a good balance in life.

We have enjoyed "granddaddy" this weekend. We took him to Palo Duro Canyon for a picnic.

It was hot, so we broke out the water guns.

...once we were cooled off...Cater talked the "caters" into some football.

good throw...cater!!!

The last week!

2011-05-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

I was talking to my SIL Jaime and with all the activities in May, it's as busy as December. This is the last week of school. Woo Hoo!!! I can't wait for summer. Here's Cater at his awards ceremony. He's such a great kid and we are so proud of him for keeping on the Honor Roll all year. It was a tough year for the little guy...moving to Amarillo, making all new friends, starting a new school--and middle school for that matter. He did it all like a champ...made some good friends, kept us in stitches and survived his first year of middle school. We love you Cater! After the awards ceremony, the principal actually said, "if you are going to take your kids off campus to celebrate with a milkshake or coke, please make sure and check them out first." Cater looked at me and said, "lets do that". It was 9:30am and I was in my gym clothes ready to workout. So basically, it turned into "Cater Day". We never made it back to school, we went to the gym and worked out together, went to his favorite place to eat and just talked and ran errands for his upcoming scout camp.

I was also thrilled to attend "Mother/Daughter" night with Callie. She has an awesome FIG leader. The girls made the mom's these hats out of wrapping paper and made us dinner. They were so cute serving us dinner. Cheryl, you did an awesome job!!!

We also went to the school "Sock Hop". Callie has made some really cute friends this year. She hula hooped and danced around with her friends. Beside me getting in a small altercation with a man in the food line, we had a great night!!!

Next was the Healthy Horseman run. Callie did a great job running the mile.

On the trial run she placed 4th. I was proud of her and asked her if she wanted to run track, she looked at me and said, "no way, I thought i was going to die, I was miserable".

On Friday, we went to a Writer's Celebration. The kids all wrote a poem about whatever they wanted and shared it. Most were about random things, I knew Callie's would be about an animal. I was shocked and shed a little tear when she read hers out loud. It was about me and so tender and sweet. A couple of moms asked how I held it together with her sweet voice reading it to me. Sometimes I wonder what they think of me...I'm always yelling to do homework, pick up the house, stop playing video games, keep your rotten peeing animals out of my house, etc....

This was the perfect ending to a crazy week. I feel blessed to be a mom to Cater and Callie. I love you guys!!!

NY Scrapped

2011-05-18T16:45:00.000-07:00

Friends in the City

2011-05-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

I had the best Mother's Day ever. Michele and I met in New York for a long weekend. Michele and I have been best friends since 2000. We met when Ed and I moved to Charlotte, NC and we bonded right away. We threw each other our baby showers and lived down the street from each other. We both love fashion, exercise, tennis, good food and our families.

I love the city. I wish I could go more often. Ed rolled his eyes when I gushed that statement. hee hee. Michele and I love Central Park. We decided to rent bikes and spend the better part of the day there. Ohhh...check out the scene going down here...I was loving watching this...they also had 2 police dogs. I took pics for Callie.

The park is so beautiful. Here we are riding along taking it all in. We rode to Shake Shack for lunch. Best veggie burger I have ever eaten in my life.

Me just acting like a dork.

Do you recognize the fountain in the background....the friends fountain!

Here we are crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. The view is amazing!!!! My camera (or as Ed would say "the camera user" was on the fritz and I couldn't get a good pic of the view..trust me...amazing)

Mr. Grimaldi himself...best pizza ever. New Yorkers are lined up everyday for some of this amazing pizza. The place is a hole in the wall, but the pizza is yummy...it's cooked in a coal fired pizza oven. Once we ate and chatted...we walked the mile back over the Brooklyn bride and headed to Serendipity.

After that walk...I needed something sweet...nothing sweeter than Serendipity. We shared a frozen hot chocolate and berries and cream. Ohh, and yes, we did squeeze some shopping in...it's New York after all.

The last night we shopped a little and ate on the street corner and then went to see Mama Mia! Loved it.

Michele... had the best time ever...love ya!!!

When mom's away....

2011-05-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

Ed gave me the gift of appreciation for Mothers day....I headed to NY with my bestie for 4 days so everyone would start appreciating me. ahh ha ha ha!!!

So as I'm all snug in my seat enjoying the time of my life, Callie sneaks in a call. "mommy, I really miss you" "don't leave me home with the boys, we're at the hospital! Do you want to hear the story?" Of course, I'm on the edge of my seat now. It went something like this:

We have 2 huge beanbags upstairs. Cater and Callie run upstairs and jump on them (I've told them not to jump on them a million times, I don't want them to rip) Cater does a leap onto the beanbag all ready to play a video game (again, I tell him not to play videogames all the time, no one listens to me and guess what happens). He lands straight on the tip of a pencil. It goes through his boxers, through is shorts and right into the plump part of his left butt cheek. I kid you not! The pencil breaks off, but an inch of lead is embedded into his butt. He thought someone stabbed him in the butt. Ed pulls the lead out with tweezers and some is still lodged down there, so off to instacare. According to my informant Callie--they gave him a bunch of shots to numb his butt and then tried to irrigate it. He now has a sweet wound and is on antibiotics 3 times a day for the next 10 days.

They saved the lead and pencil and gave me a play by play when I got home. There's even still blood on the lead...they wanted to "point" that out.

See what happens when you don't listen to your mom and jump on the beanbag and play too many video games...you get stabbed in the butt.

Easter

2011-05-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

Dyeing and Hunting

2011-04-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

The boot

2011-04-25T08:07:00.001-07:00

Ed decided to introduce the finer things in life to Cater. Paintball. They were so excited to spend the day together and shoot people. They had all their gear and headed out...I got a call a little later. Ed was mad! He said that before he got 1 shot off, he stepped in a ditch and felt his ankle snap. Sure enough, it's broken. He is now the proud owner of a big ole boot that he has to wear. Here's some pictures of his foot.

Alright ladies...don't be jealous...he's all mine. Sexy foot ey???

It must be spring...

2011-04-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

Holly is loosing hair at a rapid rate. Callie brushed her today...this is just in one brushing...

Callie showed me this birds nest in our church's parking lot. Look at those eggs...real robins egg blue. She is excited to check it each week and see the progress.

I hope you are enjoying your spring days:)

San Marco Island

2011-04-15T22:16:00.000-07:00

Before & After: Family Room

2011-04-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

This the the before. Very brownish, light brown paint.

Staircase

We had a pretty blank slate to work with.

We painted the room a light grey, added white bookcases to flank the fireplace. I really wanted to tear the fireplace out and add a cast concrete one, but Ed gave the death look so I quickly got that out of my mind.

I had a really pretty PB rug in here with blues, browns, grays, but I moved that into the dining room and love it there. The white/gray one really lightens up the room. The one thing that was for sure staying was the leather sectional. It's fairly new and so comfortable. I like that the kids can eat on it and it's very relaxed in here. I would have loved a gray velvetish couch, but I would stress to much about keeping in clean.

Kirsten Krason was really easy to work with and I'm super happy the way it all turned out. I'm putting a custom upholstered ottoman in the room, but I can not decide on a fabric. I have samples all over my room and just can't decide. Here are some custom chevron pillows from this etsy shop.

I love the elephant pillow.

CheaP Thrills in Vegas

2011-04-05T18:32:00.000-07:00

I was hoping for some warm weather and laying by the pool in Vegas, but it was chilly...so plan B! Some serious thrills at the Stratosphere.

Carolyn was hilarious...she would barely open her eyes on this ride... I was yelling at her--"open your eyes!" We had a good time....and as a bonus...Carolyn accidentally showed us her butt crack.

The girls were too chicken for this ride...it goes right off the top of the building. NO WAY!

Ed and Johnny rode this one...INSANE...this big claw rotates over the building and then spins you around. Crazy fools. Do you see them there?

Miss and love you guys!!!

Sin City

2011-04-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

A lot of people don't like Vegas....I love Vegas. I love the shows, good restaurants, people watching and nice hotels. I was so excited to go see Celine with my best friends!

I love Mel and Carolyn!

Mel's sister-n-laws happen to be in town for a wedding, and we had extra tickets, so they came with us. They are super fun and sweet AND have serious talent in the make-up/photography department. They are a dream team and I want to take them on every vacation I go on.

Johnnie working her magic on me....

We stayed at the Monte Carlo and ate dinner at an Italian Restaurant before the show.

A few fun shots....awww...love you Ed!

Johnny and Carolyn

Jared and Melanie

Johnnie's makeup and Jenny's photog magic.

Heading out to see Celine...

Traveling with the Fjrossi's in style..

The gang heading to Ceasars Palace.

We had a fabulous time! The next night we went and saw KA-Cirque de Soleil. I LOVED that. I want to go back to Vegas and see some more Cirque shows....Carolyn and Mel...are you with me? You can see more pics here.

Shoes

2011-04-03T09:03:00.001-07:00

On most days, I love shoes a little less than Ed and the kids. When he travels and is gone for 4-5 days at a time, i find comfort in pushing "add to cart". These are the ones I "added to cart" last week. They should be here any day. Aren't they gorgeous for spring?

You can get them here. They also come in red. Ohh...so tempting.

April Fools

2011-04-03T08:46:00.000-07:00

My friend Carolyn gave me the book, Hello Cupcake a few years back. I decided to trick up my kids on April Fools. I told them I was making spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. They were totally on to me. Our new fabulous neighbors were moving in that night. While Ed was helping them move in I told them I would have dinner for them. They did give a second look when they saw these on the counter:) Brooke thought it was weird that I would leave dinner just sitting on the counter and eventually one of them stuck their finger in it:) hee hee We ordered pizza and had these for dessert.

It's cupcakes with frosting slightly tinted and swirled all on top. The meatballs are Ferrer Roche chocolate balls, the sauce is strawberry jam thinned out and enhanced with red food coloring. The parmesan cheese is grated white chocolate. Happy April Fools!!!

Staircase: Before & After

2011-03-31T16:48:00.000-07:00

This was our staircase before. I really wanted a more modern look.

Here's the after: I had the bannister painted black and white and switched the carpet out to a low pile gray carpet. I added the curtains and the chair I LOVE. I had to add a little elephant accent that Kirsten found for me.

Easter Centerpiece

2011-03-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

I'm ready for Spring!!! I thought I would start by doing a little Easter tablescape. I hope this weekend I have time to plant some flowers out front.

My two favorite times of the day are when I drop Cater off from school and when I pick him up from school. He is very chatty when he gets in the car and tells me all the happenings at school. Are you ready for the Middle School joke of the day?

What's the difference between Justin Beiber and a snickers bar?

A snickers bar has nuts! Ohhh...and I'm so glad that sweet Callie looked at me and said, "why doesn't Justin like nuts?"

fodelsedagen Mom!!

2011-03-29T10:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my Mom's birthday. She's serving a mission in Sweden and we all miss her!!! She's a really cute grandma to my kids. We all went in on a bracelet for her. It has all of her grandchildren's names on it. I know she'll love it. Here's Callie modeling it. I got it at the etsy shop "hammering redhead". She has some really cool jewelry!

Mom--just want you to know that I love you and appreciate all you do for me. I appreciate it so much more now that I'm a mom. When Cater and Callie are ungrateful or don't even notice all I do for them....I keep thinking...they'll appreciate it someday. Today is your day...I appreciate YOU!!! You are such a great example to me and made growing up fun! Especially the holidays. I hope you had a Happy happy Birthday!

On a side note...Cater had the audacity to ask me why I was getting him to school late again??? I gritted my teeth really hard (I think I'm going to invest in a mouth guard and wear it when I'm around him) and turned to him and nicely said, "Cater...yesterday we were late because at the last minute you told me you forgot your homework at a friends and I was texting like a mad woman to get them to scan and email it so I could print it out for you because you were freaking out that it was worth 3 grades and you worked so hard on it. Today we are late because you were a "ricki" and set your alarm clock for 6:30 PM instead of AM."

He was dead silent and got out of the car. After all that...I still brought him lunch today. Again, I have to drop it off and act like we don't know each other at all.

Someday he will appreciate me right??

Tips on Jail food

2011-03-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

There is this one student I'm particularly close to. She melts my heart. I look forward to working with her. She's polite, respectful and completely into 5th grade fashion and gives me her opinion on my hair and clothes each day. I call Ed and tell him that I wish I could adopt her. She lives with her Grandma because CPS keeps getting called on her mom. It was her birthday today. She was wearing a ribbon the school gave her. I was excited for her and asked her about her big day. She told me she was going to dinner and her Uncle was going to buy her an Ipod. Then she went on and on about this beautiful picture her Dad drew her and that he was the best daddy in the whole world. I asked if he was going to dinner with her too. She said no, he was still in jail. She doesn't know why he's in there, but if he would stop getting in fights he could come home. He was supposed to only stay in there for 4 months but if you get in a fight, the 4 months starts over again. I asked how long he's been in there, she said 2 years. Then her friend said that her Dad has been in jail 3 times and says the food is really gross. The best thing to eat is the beans. Then she said that if I ever get put in jail I should eat the beans in there because they are really good....and that I shouldn't fight in jail.

Little MO

2011-03-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

I'm not really sure what got into me...I was talked into a joint custody arrangement. We now are the proud owners of MO the guinea pig. Mel and I are going to take 6 months each. Although I know she is hoping I'll forget about it and MO will be our permanent pet. Of course Callie is in heaven. I'm insane. As if the dog and cat don't drive me crazy enough. It also didn't help when Mel told the kids something to the effect if we didn't take the critter she was going to let it go into the woods and a wolf would eat it. Callie looked up at me with those animal loving eyes and gave me a look I couldn't resist.

We went to the pet store when we got home and Callie spent her money on pimping up Mo's cage....and of course she kept slipping her dollars into the little bin that goes to help save animals. She beams at the thought of saving an animal. Cater made a snide comment that the workers probably just take the money and that she's an idiot for giving her money away...almost burst her bubble.

Bowling

2011-03-24T20:20:00.001-07:00

Spring Break bowling...the kids had a great time bowling with their friends. Here's Callie, Rae and Karson. Callie and Karson have been friends since they were 4 years old. They all had a great time together!

This was my favorite part....Callie and Karson were being cute with Izzy. They were helping her bowl. The ball would go down the lane so darn slow, they would just sit down and talk and watch it finally hit the pins.

Awww...love this kid...he had his own game going on with Bowen, Syd and Abby!

Mel and I kicking back, chatting and watching the kids bowl.

Spring Break

2011-03-20T17:10:00.001-07:00

We had a great Spring Break. We headed to Dallas and spent a couple of days with the Horns. Callie and Audrey had fun playing with trooper and acting like owls. We were lucky and able to go to dinner in honor of Audrey's birthday. Audrey is such a sweet girl!!

Ed was working in Dallas, so he was able to meet up with us for dinner and we stayed with him in the hotel Tuesday night and headed to Houston on wednesday morning.

We stayed with Mel for the rest of the week. I love hanging out with Mel, she is so fun. Here's a pic of her cute family at the rodeo!

Of all the luck, Callie got sick at the rodeo. She had a fever and just felt yucky!! Jared offered to take her home and she pitifully looked at me and said, "I'll be fine if he wins me a big husky". Jared, being the sport that he is took on the challenge and WON one for both girls:)

Cater had fun riding all of the carnival rides with Syd, Abby, Liam and Elijah.

Click on this pic closely...do you see little ole Luke? He was loving every minute of this ride.

Liam would carry Luke around. When he got tired Luke would say, "does anyone want to carry me?" He cracks me up!

I love this picture of Cater. He had such a great time and Jared won him a Pikachu.

I love these girls, and yes, we are all wearing cowboy boots! Mel and Carolyn, you are the best.

Here's the gang!

The 3 Caters

2011-03-13T23:45:00.000-07:00

We were happy Ed's Dad came out to spend the weekend with us. It was a very relaxing weekend, Callie and I had a chocolate buddy.

Peaches

2011-03-10T20:25:00.000-08:00

This week has been particularly rewarding. I kids I tutor are amazing. They don't realize their life sucks really bad. I taught them a rap about area and perimeter and I was laughing so hard. There is this one boy that is asleep ALL day. Of course he's not doing well in school, so they assigned him to me. I make him take off his jacket even though its cold, today I did jumping jacks with him and made him splash water in his face. His jacket is COVERED in dog hair. COVERED. I could loom a scarf out of the hair on it. So I asked him if he had a dog...his reply....13 dogs and a goat. I kid you not. His sweet face lit up when he told me all 13 names of his dog and about peaches the goat. Who has a goat named peaches in the ghetto? I asked why he's tired all the time, he said he's on new meds for his anger issues and that they make him super tired. "why are you so angry?" He said because his Dad is getting out of jail and his mom leaves him when his Dad comes home.

I think I would be angry too.

12 years

2011-03-07T16:31:00.000-08:00

I remember this picture like it was yesterday. Cater was the sweetest baby ever (unlike his feisty sister). Time is going by so quickly. After years of infertility...Cater was the light and joy that filled me. My prayers were answered, my dreams of being a mom became a reality. Cater makes me a better person. He tests my patience, he pushes my limits, he makes me breathe deep when I want to scream at him. He has shown me a love I didn't know I was capable of. He has taught me patience. He has given me a small glimpse of what my Heavenly Father feels for me.

i love you cater.

Cutest thing ever!!!

2011-03-02T14:22:00.000-08:00

I'm working on my entry way wall and collecting pictures of family members. My heart skipped a beat when this little sassy picture was delivered. Just look at her....so darn adorable. Her personality is just as adorable, I'm not trying to take anything away from my other sweet nieces and nephews, but seriously....how cute is she? Cater has a special bond with her because they both have blond hair and blue eyes. Elsa says, "we're the blondies"!

I cannot wait to spend time with her this summer!

If you are related to Ed or me and would like your family picture on my wall, please email it to me:) Cater...we are still waiting on pictures from you! Edwin keeps telling me you are sending them:)

6th Street Design School

2011-03-01T13:46:00.000-08:00

I was thrilled to work with Kirsten Krason to help me finish out my Family Room. She has featured my E-Design Board on her website. Click here to see all the details.

It's almost all put together. I'm waiting on a few things that are back ordered and then I'll post the pictures.

Visitors

2011-02-27T15:42:00.000-08:00

We were excited that Leslie and Audrey came up for the weekend.

Thanks for coming up, we had a great time. You both are forever friends:) We have the bracelets to prove it!!

Heart day

2011-02-17T13:16:00.000-08:00

Valentines

2011-02-11T08:35:00.000-08:00

My conversation with Cater today:

Me: Instead of dropping off Chick Fil-A to you today, do you want to eat lunch with me?

Cater: Well, how does it all work?

Me: I will just check you out real quick and we can eat together at Chick Fil A and talk.

Cater: What do you and Callie talk about at lunch?

Me: The girls in her class, sometimes the boys, what's going on, how's she's feeling, stuff like that.

Cater: Oh gosh...you just sit there and talk about your FEELINGS? Just drop the Chick Fil-A off at my school. I'm good.

So, I'm off to drop Cater's lunch off at his school and then pick Callie up for lunch. We are going to talk about our feelings and love every minute of it.

Callie made her Valentines this year...little Valentine gnomes and Ipods:)

Callie and her friend Hailey making their valentines. I love family fun magazine, I always go there first for ideas...Here's the link: www.familyfun.go.com

And on a side note...I have the humor of a 10 year old boy. I was taking my pilates class this morning and when we were breathing out and relaxing...a lady really let a loud toot out. Seriously, my whole body was shaking I was laughing inside so hard.

Missing Family

2011-02-10T05:01:00.000-08:00

The holidays are over, my parents are in Sweden, my husband is in Dallas. It's cold. Both my kids are sick. I'm homesick and missing everyone. This page in my scrapbook album brings back lots of good memories. Here's to wishing we were all together. The warm California sun, yummy food, lots of ipad action and Michael making "rubbers for the girls".

Snow Day

2011-02-09T10:50:00.000-08:00

Good Morning snow! I opened my door up to this:) As you can see, the sun is already shining! One of the good things about Amarillo is that if you get sick of the weather, just wait a day and it will change. We are excited to get snow! It will be in the 60s this weekend, and the snow likely gone. So today, we are going to enjoy the snow.

Callie was insistant that I make pancakes this morning. She still likes them in the shape of dogs and cats (and I don't want her to grow up, so I do it). After breakfast, they headed out to play in the snow and I made these little treats for YW. I'm the Personal Progress leader/ Secretary/ Laurel Teacher.

oh yeah....the chair I ordered below...good news...it should be here in 3 weeks.

woo hoo!

Super Something

2011-02-07T08:43:00.001-08:00

We woke up to a blanket of snow today. It was so beautiful, as soon as it warmed up, the kids headed out for some snowball fights and snowmen.

Callie and I made a snow kitty.

I have to admit, I loved the snow and was out there with those sweet kids. I told Cater he could NOT throw a snowball in my face or I would get cranky, so just about every time I bent over to scoop up a snowball he pegged me in the booty and thought that was funny. Oh and get this....we let Holly out to play with us. She would run around as fast as she could in the snow and then run down the street and come back. After awhile of doing this she didn't come back. I thought she might of just got sidetracked and would be back soon. Then the phone rang and she had crossed a MAJOR street and went to a little strip mall and was giving the owners a sad puppy face and they let her in and called us. Callie and I had to get in the car and drive and pick the darn dog up. Seriously...the animals are going to drive all to insanity.

It was Stake Conference today, do you ever feel like that's an approved day off from church? I totally do. With all the responsibilities that come with callings I feel like whew....a day off. I'm sure it's supposed to be a day off from your responsibilities, but my interpretation is a day off from church. So we took the day off, played in the snow, laughed a lot, made Ed's mom's famous enchiladas, guacamole, and some festive little cupcakes.

Love this Website

2011-02-03T16:57:00.001-08:00

I just discovered the Layla Grayce website. I am in love with almost everything on their site.

Look how cool this cell phone cover is:

I am in LOVE with this chair...so much so that I just bought it for an accent chair in my family room. Ohh, I just think it's so dreamy. Although I just got an email letting me know it will take 16-18 weeks to ship from the manufacturer. And then freight shipping is another 2-3 weeks. It seems ridiculous to me that I won't get my chair for 5 months. Does that seem crazy to anyone else? Not 5 weeks, 5 MONTHS.

Look how much fun these trashcans are.

Ed is going to wish I never found this site :)

Valentines craft

2011-01-28T19:58:00.000-08:00

I was feeling crafty this week. I decided to add a little valentine love to my dining room.

I wanted to do some heart swags across my mantel and on my bookshelves. I just went to Hobby Lobby and bought a bunch of felt hearts. Callie and I had fun hot glueing all sorts of ribbons, glitter, buttons and bows all over them. I did all reds and pinks on my mantel.

Callie wanted to add in turquoise, greens and zebra. I love that little girl, I ended up liking the colorful ones better. I hung these along my bookshelves.

It was 70 degrees here today. On Tuesday it's supposed to snow...crazy huh?

Have a good weekend:)

Tutoring

2011-01-26T18:45:00.000-08:00

I'm tutoring 3 days a week at a Title 1 school. It's a very rewarding job. These kids are so adorable and sweet. I'm hugged a lot and they make me laugh....and break my heart. I have not met a single child that has not experienced a parents divorce. They tell me how their Dad is in prison, they tell me that when their parents fight, they take their siblings in their room and play really loud music and dance. They tell me as simply as they tell me what they ate for breakfast. Some days I just want to take a few home with me.

And then there are days like today where I truly try to redirect them back to their work, but can't stop laughing inside. Here's how my conversation went as we were wrapping up a Math Station:

Child: How many kids do you have?

Me: 2

Child: Are they white?

Me: yes

Child: Are you married?

Me: yes

Child: Is he white or mexican? Because if you married a white guy you're probably rich.

Me: Do you remember what 1/4 plus 1/4 is?

Child: My mom just had a baby and our baby is really hairy all over her body. My mom said mexican babies are like that. Were your babies really hairy?

I can't wait to go back tomorrow. I know I am really blessed. And I am curious how hairy that baby is.

She's back......

2011-01-16T14:37:00.000-08:00

My Spot

2011-01-14T14:56:00.000-08:00

We have moved around a bit since we've been married. In 1999 we moved to Charlotte, NC, then in 2001 we moved to Maryland. 2004 took us to Houston and in 2010 we moved to Amarillo, Texas....yee haw! Whenever Ed is deciding on taking a job or transfer, he always asks me what I think. I've always told him "Home is where you are". While sometimes I wish the offers were from Hawaii or Florida, I've always felt a home is what you make it. My home will always be with him. I made this little reminder and had it stretched on canvas to hang by my computer.

I am a fairly organized person. Everything has to have a place and I don't like it when papers stack up. I have a basket with the kids name on it. We just put everything in there and once a month or so I go through it. It keeps papers and junk from being lost and off the counters.

I love polka dots. I was excited to find this chair at PBTeen.

Here's looking into the laundry room. I just got that rug from One Kings Lane. It's reminds me of a Laundry room with those big drops. It adds a little whimsical (or gay as Ed said) to my little spot in the house

Have a fabulous weekend....I'll be in here doing laundry between the kids basketball games :)

Double Digits

2011-01-12T21:22:00.000-08:00

Colorado Christmas

2011-01-05T19:57:00.000-08:00

We hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Christmas wolves

2011-01-01T12:31:00.000-08:00

We're back and reunited with Holly

2011-01-01T08:07:00.000-08:00

Callie jumped out of the car as soon as we pulled into the driveway and ran in the backyard to love on her pup. They played and snuggled together. Both were happy to be back together. On a sad note, Cookie has still not come home. Each morning she wakes up and puts a "C" on her calendar...another day without cookie. She cries daily and wants to know what happened to her.

We got back just in time for me to host a small dinner party for Ed's direct reports. Although we didn't communicate (which means he wasn't listening to me when we both agreed and put it on our calendars at 6:30) and guests showed up at 5:30. Luckily I was pretty much ready. Although I plan to milk this for another new pair of shoes.

Dinner turned out great. I served:

Roast Beef

Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

Homemade rolls

Corn souffle casserole

Greens with sugared pecans and raspberries with a raspberry dressing

Denver Creme with berries

Happy New Years! I'll be posting our Christmas trip soon. We had so much fun!

All I want for Christmas....

2010-12-22T19:07:00.000-08:00

Cater and Callie kept asking me what I wanted for Christmas this year. They think they are too old to sit on Santa's lap. We were at the mall and I saw the line of little kids waiting to see Santa. I told them that all I wanted was a picture of them with Santa. What a coincidence, they are both wearing red:) I told them it was meant to be. They rolled their eyes and said, "this is all we're getting you"!

I'm a happy mommy!

pretty candy

2010-12-21T19:04:00.000-08:00

My parents are serving a mission in sweden right now and sent us a Christmas package. Look how pretty this candy is. It's super shiny and the peppermint curls are huge and it taste so good. I wish I could fill a whole vase with them and use it as a centerpiece. That's how pretty they are!

Christmas Mice

2010-12-20T18:51:00.000-08:00

In typical husband timing....Ed wanted to go ahead and give cards to his employees and a little treat. He decided this last night. We leave in 2 days. He has 250 employees. I hurried and printed 250 cards out from Sams and got working on some Christmas mice. My friend Jenny taught me how to make these little cuties...she has serious kitchen skills. I'm not totally crazy...I didn't make 250. Just 50 for front staff and supervisors.

2010-12-19T18:03:00.000-08:00

I love all the holiday parties. We live in an awesome neighborhood and I love that they are all social and find reasons to get together. We had 3 parties this month. Callie loves her school, teacher and new friends.

I'm over Personal Progress in our church. Each month I hand out a little goodie to encourage them to work on it. I couldn't decide what to do until I came across my cousin's blog and found these cute little reindeer. Thank heavens there are so many creative people that I can copy from:)

Delicious Mint Brownies

2010-12-16T15:46:00.000-08:00

These are my sweet friend Lauries recipe and they are seriously delicious. I topped them with those yummy Andes peppermint baking chips.

Callie's rotten horrible no good week!

2010-12-15T19:57:00.000-08:00

Today was the final straw in her horrible week. She came home from a party this evening crying once again. I had her come sit on my lap and tell me all about it...wow it was a lot of problems. Here is her list of reasons this is the worst week of her entire life:

1. The scratch on her face is from where a boy in her class stabbed her with some pencils.

2. She has a rash on her legs that is super annoying.

3. All of her friends in her class are in choir and got to leave campus and sing places, she was left with all the boys and 1 other girl.

4. Holly snuck into her room and tore the eye of this porcupine stuffed animal named Rock Star. We can't find the eye anywhere to sew it back on.

5. She had an ornament exchange at her Christmas party and lost her ornament on the way home from the party.

6. She didn't do well on the last test in math (it was the day cookie went missing) and her grade dropped to an 89. Her first B this year. This means she doesn't get a Chinchilla at the end of the year. Our deal was all A's all year long. She feels horrible. And NO, Ed and I are not budging, the deal was straight A's.

and....

7. COOKIE (her beloved cat) is still missing.

Winter Bathing Quarters

2010-12-15T08:05:00.000-08:00

Callie usually bathes Holly every week outside. Now it's too cold to bath her outside and this is Callie's solution. Heaven help me, I'm sharing my shower with a dog. This is motherhood in a nutshell, right?

Christmastime

2010-12-12T20:01:00.000-08:00

I love our new home and was excited to decorate for Christmas.

Dining room.

Each night in December we all gather as a family and read a short Christmas story and reflect upon the true meaning of Christmas. After, the kids get a little gift out of our advent string. Cater gets the odd number days, Callie gets the even numbered days. It is something I look forward to each night with the little buggers.

We have always had a real tree. This year we broke down and got an artificial one. We got a 12 footer. It is very large and barely fits into our family room. I now know we have 12 foot ceilings. I will say it it nice not to have to find the cat in the tree, water the tree, vacuum up the needles and slowly watch the ornaments fall off because the tree is dead before Christmas. Why did I wait so long???

Dining room table.

Our nativity. I absolutely love our nativity set. I buy a new piece every year.

It's from Fontanini. You can browse their fabulous pieces here

I don't have a fancy tree with all matching ornaments or a theme, but I love decorating our tree each year and memories of each ornament come flooding in. Ed's mom made the kids the felt stocking ones with the mice peeping out. And Cater went through a purple stage at school and made that purple dandy one and presented it to me with great pride.

Look at that sweet cherub face of Callie...she made that ornament in preschool. She had it all wrapped up and couldn't wait to give it to me. Let's talk about the one next to it...me...seven years old. I knitted that one with pride and gave it to my mom (right before my big buck teeth were at their full potential). Ohh and the painted bulb one that I volunteered to help Cater's class make. I had just bought my first pair of expensive Joe's Jeans and wore them. When Cater's paint jar spilt all down them and I found out it was permanent paint, I remember taking a deep breath and smiling when I really wanted to drop the F bomb.

and here's the best part of Christmas....Ed always takes a few days off and we get to spend some quality family time.

Enjoy the season.

The Nutcracker

2010-12-11T21:07:00.000-08:00

Naughty Poo Monkeys

2010-12-07T17:43:00.000-08:00

Chocolate Chip Christmas Cookies

2010-12-07T16:37:00.000-08:00

I spotted these at the grocery store and couldn't help myself. I just added them to my chocolate cookie recipe and they are so yummy! Try them, you'll love them:)

Aprons

2010-11-30T11:40:00.001-08:00

While Jaime was up, we made 12 of these aprons. We were like an old sewing couple whipping these up. Jaime would iron and I would sew. Then to throw in some good ole fun, we would challenge Ed and Steve to see who could inside out the apron strings the fastest. It worked and every now and again, they would roll their eyes and then inside them out as fast as they could. Ed used a knife technique that put him over the edge:)

It was really fun to hang out with Jaime. We made these for a gift exchange she does with her friends. She's going to add a little kitchen gadget and wrap it all up cute. I miss her little family around here.

I love big TEX

2010-11-28T10:34:00.000-08:00

Thankful

2010-11-27T20:34:00.001-08:00

Cadillac Ranch

2010-11-23T21:21:00.000-08:00

Flip Flop

2010-11-22T08:43:00.000-08:00

These cousins are so cute together. They woke up and put on these outfits and said look, "we have matching flip flop outfits!". The colors are flipped!!

Here we are....off to justice for a little girly shopping spree!!

Kitchen: Before & After

2010-11-21T19:12:00.000-08:00

Since I will be spending quite a bit of time in my kitchen the next few days, I thought I would share the changes we made when we moved in.

First we painted everything a light gray and then changed out all of the light fixtures.

Before: Breakfast Nook

Before: Kitchen

After: Breakfast Nook

We also added shutters.

After: Kitchen

Turkey Table

2010-11-20T07:32:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited about Thanksgiving this year that I went ahead and set my table today. I also made another pumpkin cheesecake. I'm always so full after Thanksgiving dinner, so I'm just going to start baking them now and eat them all week.

he's home

2010-11-19T16:58:00.000-08:00

It's always a long week when Ed travels. He was in Canada all week. I miss him, because he's him. But I was also excited for him to come home and hang my new light I ordered for my kitchen. Isn't she a beauty???

And the water and ice maker thing went out on our refrigerator. I pretty much only drink water. Cater and Callie both said they have felt like pioneer children not having filtered water out of the fridge door. We are all slowly dehydrating. I'm a little weak typing this right now...heaven forbid we drink water out of the sink facet. Cater looked at me and said, "who would actually do that?" Thank heavens he's home and working on the fridge to rehydrate his delicate family.

even

2010-11-16T08:34:00.000-08:00

I'm even this year. I have a cousin that finds comfort in this. I had a great birthday this year. I'm grateful for great friends and a fabulous family. Love you all!! I spent the day doing a few of my favorite things....watching the kids play in the snow, watching Cater play basketball, shopping with the family and eating good food.

In my children's eyes

2010-11-14T14:26:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite songs of all time is Martina McBrides "In my Daughters eyes". Ed and I took our kids to her concert and I will never forget the feelings of love for my children and what an honor it is to be their mother. I remember Callie and I sang this song at the top of our lungs together. I'm tone deaf and didn't care!!

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero

I am strong and wise and I know no fear

But the truth is plain to see

She was sent to rescue me

I see who I wanna be

In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal

Darkness turns to light and the

world is at peace

This miracle God gave to me gives me

strength when I am weak

I find reason to believe

In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand

around my finger

Oh it puts a smile in my heart

Everything becomes a little clearer

I realize what life is all about

It's hangin' on when your heart

has had enough

It's giving more when you feel like giving up

I've seen the light

It's in my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes I can see the future

A reflection of who I am and what will be

Though she'll grow and someday leave

Maybe raise a family

When I'm gone I hope you see how happy

she made me

For I'll be there

In my daughter's eyes

As I watch my children grow, I try to see the world through their eyes. I was smiling as we were riding to school and watching their awe at the big first snow storm. They were laughing while staring out the window. Each with their own interpretation of the snow...."look straight into the snowflakes, it looks like a swarm of bees". "look straight at them, I blink even though we are in the car...laughing...me too" They have such a care free innocence. They make me happy. As Martina lyrics suggest...everything becomes a little clearer and I realize what life is about...through my children's eyes.

The first snow

2010-11-12T12:11:00.000-08:00

Amarillo has some crazy weather. All last night it rained and thundered. Then it turned to snow, but was still thundering. I didn't know that was possible. Cater and Callie were thrilled to wake up to snow. Now it officially feels like the holiday season....I'm sipping hot chocolate and listening to christmas music.