Pictures from 2011 I meant to share

These are bits and pieces that I meant to share and just ran out of time.  Enjoy!

Kenzie playing with her Halloween candy like it was little toy figurines.

She did this for a good 10-15 minutes and hardly ate any of it. :)

Kelly and her friend Olivia dressed up to see "The Phantom of the Opera" at the high school. 

During our week off for Thanksgiving I took the kids to the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science.  This is in the area for kids 6 and under, (which happens to be everyone's favorite part--even Kelly).

One of the traveling exhibits.  It was fun, but definitely geared for younger patrons.

We had a special visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. (They are the wonderful couple that had been babysitting Kenzie for us while I was working full time). 

Kate and her green machine she got from Santa--she loves it!  What's cool is that it has a weight limit of 200lbs so just about all of us can ride it (if she let's us). :)

Kelly and her camera she got from Santa.  At this point I should also mention that if you're not shopping on Amazon I highly recommend it.  You can find just about anything and get great deals along with free shipping.  It made our Christmas shopping so much easier this year!  They also have Amazon for mom's that I haven't tried yet but I understand that you get incredible deals on everyday items like toilet paper, peanut butter, and diapers.  You can set up automatic payments and regular delivery dates so you never run out!  That is one of the new things I'm going to try this year.

Moving On.

We were so lucky to have a few days of great weather while Grandma T was visiting.  We spent one day at the Heard Museum which has a cool dinosaur exhibit right now until the end of January.  All of the dinosaurs are animatronic and fun to find while you're walking on the hiking trails.

Kevin with his remote control truck from Santa.  I should know all the details, but sadly I don't. I just know that it's not like any other RC vehicle we've ever had.  He really loves it and enjoys working on it as well.

It is a beautiful day here so Kenzie and I are heading to the park.  I hope you have a wonderful day!

Merry, Merry Christmas

We are grateful for the many blessings we've enjoyed this year. As we reflect on the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, one of the greatest events to ever happen, we are humbled by the blessings of hope, immortality, salvation, and eternal life that it brings.

We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a joyful New Year!

It is Cold!

It is so cold it deserves a capital "C" in the title.  How cold?  Well take a look at this:

This window is in our bathroom, by our tub.  We have a matching one inside our bedroom along with french doors.  I know there are lots of places in the world that are much colder than 19 degrees with a wind chill that makes it more like 5 or 6 degrees, but for DFW, that is seriously cold!  So cold, they have cancelled school for the last 3 days.  Early Tuesday morning we were hit with sleet and a little snow, covering everything with about 2 inches of ice.  The roads are so slick, and it hasn't been above freezing since.  The kids love having a few days off, but they don't love not having any real snow to play in.  Honestly, we haven't left the house since Monday.  It's just too cold.

Are we climbing the walls?  Just a little.  Some of the things we've done to pass the time:

* Blocks

*Legos

*Littlest Pet Shops

*More blocks

*Wii, wii, and more wii

*Movies

*Looking through photo albums

*And....painting nails!

I love these chubby hands.  I think nail polish looks so much better on my little girls hands than my own.  I really only like clear on my nails, if that.  My hands just look so foreign to me when I have color on my nails.  Like they're someone else's hands.  Weird....I know.

While I was painting Kate's nails she told me that when she was little she used to call it, "pol-nailish."  Which she did.  I asked her if she remembered doing that, or if she just remembered because someone told her.  She said that she remembered saying that. I painted her toe nails too, but we kept it on the down-low because Kenzie was wearing her "feety jammies" and so we didn't paint hers.

For some reason when I looked through our photo albums it made me feel sad.  Does that ever happen to you?  It's not that the memories aren't happy, they are.  There's just something a little sad when I look at my babies and know that those days are gone.  They're growing up so fast!  Also, I remember our little house in California.  I loved that house.  Sometimes we wish we'd never left.  We had some really happy days there.  We see pictures of old toys and furniture that we no longer have, probably the result of so many moves.  There's just a little bit of sadness mixed in all of it for me.  It makes me think that we need to get some new photo albums and get some current pictures in them so that I can see just how great things really are right now.  Because they are!  I think the cold weather is getting to me.  Sorry for the babbling.  I hope everyone is having a wonderful February and that you are all staying warm!

From Our Family to Yours

As we reflect on the wonders and blessing's of this year we couldn't forget our friends and family.  From our home to yours;

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Summer Road Trip--Pictures

 Finally!!  Time is truly flying by and I haven't been able to add these pictures until now.  Even then, it has taken me a long time.  I tried to post some edited pictures, some cropped and touched up, but I got some weird message saying "server rejected".  I keep hoping that someday blogger will get easier to use.  How nice would it be to just drag and drop, or copy and paste pictures right into your post, right where you want them?!  Maybe.....someday.

Anyway, I digress....Here are some pictures from our trip.

Kevin and Kenzie zonked out in the hotel.

Kate, my early riser sleeping in the "cool fold-out couch bed."

Kelly and Kevin and their cousin having fun at Bass Pro Shop.

All but two of my parents grandchildren.  We sure missed those two!

At Ball Town Cemetery, Rich Hill Missouri.  This is the headstone of Martha K. and James A. Reese, my great-great-grandparents.

Kenzie talking with her cousin.  I just love this picture and the expression on their faces.

My mom was craving brownies, thanks to my BIL and my sister we made some and celebrated summer family birthdays.  Kenzie finally got to blow out the candles!

My Sisters, Mom and I pre-walk.  I was really bummed that I couldn't get my edited picture to upload.  It looks a lot better.

Kenzie came along for the ride.  She was a great sport.  Thanks to Justin for folding up this stroller and packing it in the van!  It was a huge help!

Us girls after the walk.  My sister next to me, and I are looking off to the side because Kate and her cousin were starting to wander off.  Again, I have a better post-edit picture but it wouldn't upload.  Oh well.  It was a great walk and I'm glad that we did it!

One afternoon I really just wanted to visit with my family so I had Kevin go around and take some pictures.  Here are some of the ones that he took.  It was a good opportunity for me to get "proof" that we really were all together; and it was good for Kevin to learn a few things about taking pictures.  These motivated a lesson on white balance settings, keeping the light behind you, and getting closer to your subject. :)