This just in...

Snow and cute kids are waiting for us in Utah!

I know I have said that I am ready for Christmas at home one of these years, but look what I would miss. These adorable little guys are Noah and little brother Luke, Huy's sister's kids. They were out playing in the fresh snow.

We ALL can not wait to see them and the rest of the family so we have decided to leave earlier. We will be heading to Utah on Thursday rather than waiting until the kids are out of school and leaving Saturday. Let the fun begin!

Nike Dog

That's what we call him sometimes, Nike Dog. We have come to adore this guy. He is definately a big part of the family. His latest... he loves chewing ice cubes. When I fix the kids waters bottles for school, I usually drop one as I'm fitting them in the bottle and so now he has learned to sit and wait. Now I drop one reguardless if I meant to or not.

And isn't this the saddest thing ever? He has to wear a lampshade for about ten days to keep him from pulling out his own stitches because yes, he was neutered! But he is still a man dog. Huy assures us of that.

Where's Tanner?

Do you see him? Can you pick him out of the crowd? Oh, there he is... at his 5th grade musical! He just loves to sing and dance and perform. He would rather do this than go to basketball practice. He is such a good kid and he did a great job singing and doing his little ditties that went along with the music. We are so proud!

I mean, check out the good time he is having. NOT! He went and was pleasant about it, but surely didn't love going over basketball practice. He would hardly smile for the camera. I think he was pretty glad when it was over. But he at least now knows the song, "My Favorite Things" from the Sound of Music. (The theme was "All That Jazz" so they sang a few classics and had a live band. It was really pretty good."

Look who came for a visit!

One night we were all getting ready for bed and there was a knock at the door... it was Santa! He came to see if the kids had been naughty or nice this year and he sat with each of them, asking them what they wanted for Christmas and gave them a little present. They weren't quite sure what to think of the whole thing, but Kaylie was definately enjoying all of it. She came up to me and asked if she could give him her letter and she had a little book catalog that she had been looking at. She shared them both with Santa and she was just too cute. Santa had a cookie and was gone. I'm sure he had many stops still to make.

The photo quality that night wasn't so good, a little dark and fuzzy. Darn.

Ward Christmas Party

Yes, I made these adorable, or not so adorable bible clothes. I thought, ahh, just a few dollars a yard at Walmart and I can sew a straight line. This should be something I can do and it will be kind of fun. Well, about $50 dollars later and most of the day leading up to the event, this was the outcome. Note to self, look up "bible costumes" on Google BEFORE making your own. You can't see it in these pictures, but the length of ours were more like ninja or jedi costumes than the floor length attire worn in the day.

We were invited to Bethlehem as if it were during the time of Jesus' birth. We received a decree that told us where we needed to be when and what we needed to bring. It was very cute and clever. The gym was set-up with all these tents you could visit after eating a "meal" on a blanket. There was a fresh fruit market, the food tent that had bread and hummus and cheese cubes and dates, and a jewlery tent. Kaylie immursed herself in the storytelling.

Taylin and Tanner liked the game booth where they were taught how to play a game called "Dreidle." It was so cool I sent it to my nephews on their mission. They can have fun playing on Christmas with their companions! And I'll probably bring it out with our families in Utah. It is a fun way to get some candy! The evening was followed by a nice program of the nativity.

Huy and Tanner decided to modernize their costumes. Everything in our house needs this logo!

Late Nights with Friends

The Colquitt girls have been coming over for a few "late nights." They have enjoyed playing, watching movies on the projector and having hot chocolate. They've had so much fun and it is nice to have good friends for them to play with! Kassadi and Halle, you are welcome anytime!

Disney's M A G I C K I N G D O M

Because Tanner's team was going to Disney World, the girls and I HAD to come along and one of the great perks... going to Magic Kingdom. It was the best mother/daughter date ever! The girls and I had all day to do all the things that girls wanted to. As you can see, it was such a great time that I couldn't choose one or two or three pictures to share - there were so many cute ones. It surely was "where dreams come true!"

After spending ALL day doing EVERYTHING, we had to stick around to see Cinderella's castle lit up in Christmas lights. Kaylie had fallen asleep and Taylin and I were freezing (yes freezing, even in Florida), but it was worth it. It was beautiful!

It was fun to shop all the Disney stores too. Taylin got her cute, black and white plaind hat. So High School Musical! She loves it. And Kaylie got a Tinkerbell Polly Pocket and then a Minnie Mouse one. She couldn't seem to live without them. We had so much fun! We want to go back next year!

NFL National Flag Football Championships

What an experience! Tanner and the rest of the Dallas Cowboys team had a great time in Orlando, Florida at the Disney All-Star Sports Complex competing for the National Championship title. They won their first three games in their pool which placed them as the first seeded team in the tournament brackets. They then won their first game in the bracket which led them to the semi-finals where they played a well-known, veteran system team, Mo Steel. The Cowboys were very close to winning it, but ended up losing to Mo Steel who went on to win in the championship game. Despite the loss, it was an experience that we will all remember for a lifetime!

The Clarks and Thanksgiving

This is a sampling of our dear friends, the Clarks, and their Christmas card photo shoot. It was one of the many fun things we did over the Thanksgiving weekend. They came down from Fort Worth after their dinner with Karmen's Aunt and family and after we enjoyed our Thanskgiving feast with our friends. We always have a good time and it has been such fun to watch our families grow up together!

Taylin and Lauren had a great time playing and playing and playing some more. They often included the little girls which was nice too. They were good to keep themselves entertained so we could get started on Christmas things.

Cole and Tanner kept themselves busy as well. They made vinegar and soda bombs and let them go off in the cul-de-sac. After several small "booms," they wanted bigger ones so they proceeded to make bigger ones. And then when one went off, I told them about the kids in the neighborhood that the police showed up at their doorstep for letting bombs off and that seemed to quiet the big ones down and they went for a few more smaller ones.

Ahh, the joys of putting up the Christmas decorations. It was a huge help, and much more fun, to have help putting up the tree and decorations after a morning of shopping on Black Friday. Karmen and I made the most of our shopping trip, finding some real good deals and just enjoying time shopping alone!

Huy was an awesome help too as he worked at getting a few stands of lights working again on the tree. Albeit unsuccessful, turning the tree around so the dead spot was in the back was brilliant! Thanks sweetie!

By the weekends end, we had accomplished a lot. Christmas cards were done (now I've got to address them and get them in the mail), decorations were up, we saw Bolt and the new 007 movie, ate lots of yummy treats, got a jump start on some Christmas shopping, and had fun playing and doing it all together. Thanks guys for coming to hang with us!

Give thanks in everything!

Little Miss Jennifer Pilgrim came to Thanksgiving dinner and cooked the turkey and all the yummy fixins! It was such a delight to enjoy this "Tom the Turkey" with our good friends, the Simmons, at their home, and with the Mabeys. Everything was most enjoyable!

Huy enjoyed the electric knife as he helped cut the turkey.

And after that wonderful meal, the kids took a dip in the Giles hot tub (before their home sold, we got one last dip).
Thanks everyone for all the delicious foods and the great time!

My beautiful new haircut

"I love my haircut, but I don't want to smile and pose like a pretty, cute, obedient, little girl. I want to be grumpy!"

"But okay, Daddy makes me laugh so I guess I will let him make me laugh so my mother will be happy that I am finally smiling for the camera for you all to see my cute haircut that I have been asking for for weeks now."