Just a day at the park

 Since it is still in the high 70's here we took a trip to the park. I'm pretty sure my girls couldn't be much cuter! Abby wasn't timid at all and crawled around like a big girl. And Kate was sweet and kept an eye out for her sister.

Christmas Decorations

 Our Christmas tradition is to wait until after Kate's birthday party to put up our tree. So Sunday night we put up ornaments, which we had to move up out of Abby's reach within a few minutes after she repeatedly tried to take bites out of them like an apple. This was Abby's first time hanging an ornament.

Proof that our house is run by children, our fully decorated tree only half covered.

Kate's Curious George Party

 This cute girl requested a Curious George birthday party. I'll be honest, I didn't feel inspired by the theme, but it turned out great in the long run!

 The decorating crew.

 I got canvasses for the kids to paint. Super simple entertainment, but everyone seemed to love it. And the weather was nice so the kids played outside for the rest of the party and that was all I had to do!

 Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Kate! Happy birthday to you!

 Abby was a huge fan of the cupcakes. She kept stealthily stealing unguarded cupcakes. I think I counted 3 she ate.

 And spoiled by presents! I'm excited--she got lots of Barbies! We will have to start having fun with them!

 And Daniel read a story at the tail end of the party that was great. I decided next year I will have to hire him to read a story for everyone, as he is quite entertaining!

Someone is 4!

 

Kate's Answers for her birthday quiz

1. What is your favorite color? yellow

 2. What is your favorite toy? dolls

3. What is your favorite fruit? mandarin oranges

  4. What is your favorite tv show? Hercules

 5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? turkey and cheese

 6. What is your favorite outfit? red dress

  7. What is your favorite game? candy land

  8. What is your favorite snack? dora fruit snacks

 9. What is your favorite animal? tiger

 10. What is your favorite song? sunbeam

11. What is your favorite book? princess books

 12. Who is your best friend? Dallin

  13. What is your favorite cereal? tiger cereal (frosted flakes)

  14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play with Abby and Chance in a wagon ride

  15. What is your favorite drink? milk

 16. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween

  17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? bear blanket and unicorn

 18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? fruit loops or tiger cereal

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? hamburger and fries

 20. What do you want to be when you grow up? a teacher

Ward Christmas Party

 At our Ward Christmas Party this year we had a special guest stop by. Kate and Abby were not huge fans. I love how Abby's face in the first pic says "I'm warning you old man!" The ironic thing is this family sits behind us in church every Sunday and both my girls go back and sit with them because they love them! The Santa disguise sure works! Kate sat on his lap but acted uncharacteristically shy.

 Then Kate had her acting debut as a cow in the Nativity. She had great stage presence, and stood in place without acting silly. Very great cow posture and everything. Our thespian is born!

Frozen

Not the weather....the new Disney movie! Kate and I went for a movie date on Saturday. It just happened to be the 3D movie fit our schedule best, so we went for it! It was a cute movie. Kate didn't sit still too well, but it could have been worse. Hopefully she will have good memories of me as she grows up!

It's beginning to look like Christmas!

 So I was up early for Black Friday and came home to see frost!! I believe this is the most white I have seen on our yard in 4 years.

 And unrelated to Christmas, Abby is taking after Kate and now finds great joy in dragging the dog all over the house. Poor guy....he is so patient!

 Then we have photos of Jon and I on the ferry heading home from Jon's company Christmas party. It was so cold! And the spray hitting your face was freezing, but it was fun anyway! The work party was great, all 3 owners of the company took me aside to tell me how amazing my husband is. It's always nice to have someone else tell you that you picked a good one! ;)

 This year we finally stopped being cheap and bought lights for the house. I love love love them!

And last but certainly not least, Merry Christmas Southeast Texas style (this house is just a few blocks from us!)! Santa on his flat bottom boat with his trusty gators leading the way. Heaux Heaux Heaux!

Thanksgiving!

 At the last minute our Thanksgiving plans changed, but we were able to make a quick trip to Dallas to see some family. Bruce and Matt flew in and Michelle and Melissa's families welcomed us! It was great to spend some time with everyone. Jim was the turkey master--and fried it! It was pretty good.

 Abby and Kate were awesome for the trip! They were so well behaved, we kept waiting for it to blow up in our face....but it never did! Thanks for making it a great trip girls!

 Kate's favorite activity was jumping outside! She also had fun with her family. One cute moment, Kate wanted to watch a movie upstairs. Jon had already gone up to watch with her, but she returned to ask Uncle Bruce and Matt to join her. They looked to me and said "How can you say no to that?". She felt so special they would go with her.

Random pictures

 Look at how different this girl look with her hair up! It cracks me up!

 Kate is a true Texan. She thinks pants are uncomfortable, because she only needs to wear them a few months every year. So when she puts them on she rolls up the bottoms and looks super stylin!
Speaking of the cooler weather, these girls need some pictures to prove that they actually wore a jacket from time to time, so here we are today getting ready to run to the grocery store. The joys of grocery shopping Thanksgiving week in the pouring rain with 2 kids.....so fun! But we survived!  On another note when we got home Kate decided to go streaking around the yard in the pouring rain while yelling "It's so cold!!!" That girl is crazy!

A Chill in the Air

FINALLY!!! The weather has turned more fall-like! 2 nights ago we had to break down and turn the heater on. I have never been so happy. I love being chilly--wrapping up in a warm blanket, wearing big baggy sweatshirts, fuzzy socks.

And Jon does the most precious thing at night when it is chilly, when I come close to him in bed he automatically wraps me in his arms and pulls the blanket over us. It's this natural protective instinct thing that melts my heart. If that is how he feels about me while asleep, I know his love for me runs deep! I'm one lucky lady.

Josh Groban

 Last night I went to see Josh Groban sing to me for the 3rd time. I would let that man sing to me every night...*sigh*. His concert was amazing as always! Instead of singing mostly from his new album, he did kinda a greatest hits from his career....and it was great! He ended up singing most of my all time fav's! My awesome friends kept laughing at me on our way there cause I was giddy as a school girl! Several people also praised our shirts....they were pretty awesome!

The sad thing about the night was I realized he is not the perfect man. I am sad to report that he wore skin tight skinny jeans. I just can't handle that. I don't care how 'cool' fashion says they are, something about tight tight jeans on a man makes me queasy (shoot I don't like them on girls either)! Also, when asked what his favorite meal in the world is he responded about some place in Japan....and we all know how anti Asian food I am. A small part of my heart was broken, but then he sang my all time fav song and was forgiven! And I might have wanted to steal his violinist. He was precious! I am so lucky to have opportunities like this in my life! Great music is a huge blessing to me. And then amazing husband who lets me leave him with the kids, and great friends who humor me!