Merry Christmas

Christmas Morning we woke up to stockings and a delish Christmas breakfast. Mom made a breakfast casserole, fresh fruit salad, and Emily made Mom's maple twist!
Stocking Fun! Always one of my favorite parts of Christmas. Being around Parker and Hannah made Christmas feel more magical. They were so cute and excited about everything.

After stockings we all opened gifts. Parker and Hannah were so excited to see what Santa got them. Parker got a bike and Clifford and Hannah got a doll house and a doll. The adults then took turns so we could see what everyone got. It was a relaxing Christmas morning. Thanks everyone for my gifts, I loved everything!

Look at all the presents!! It was so great being with so much family on Christmas!

Hannah is so pretty! I chose the one without her smiling, I think it is so cute! She has naturally red lips...man that would be a dream :)

Emily and Russ

Ashli playing with Christmas Toys! Showing the boys how it is done! GO ASHLI!

Mom relaxing after all the festivities of the day including making a delicious Christmas dinner! She is wearing the cute apron that Ashli and Michael gave her! It was a very Merry Christmas! Thanks Mom and Dad for a great Christmas weekend!
P.S. Of course while in Ridgecrest we took a few trips to the drive through dairy and also had breadsticks and peanut butter pizza. Crest was closed the majority of the time...whats up with that? Not that I needed a donut after all the great Christmas food :) Oh, we also play FARKLE almost every night....we miss you Steve and Jaime. Next fam event we need to convert everyone!

Ashli took this cute picture of the kids with her fancy new camera lense. Soooo cute!
Happy New Year! I hope 2010 is a fabulous year for everyone!

Birthdays

Happy Birthday Parker, Ashli, and Ethan!!!I love you all!!!!

Christmas Celebration

We decided to get together to have a holiday celebration since Michael, Ashli and I will be going home for Christmas so won't be spending time with Steve, Jaime and family. We decided to do the tradition of appetizers. They were all yummy.

After appetizers, the kids each opened a Christmas Present. I sure do love spending time with the kids and will miss Steve and Jaime on Christmas Eve!

Michael, Ashli, and Steve straightening the Christmas Tree. I love how Jaime decorated the house. It was nice and festive!

It was a fun night. I'm so glad that I live so close to family! We also celebrated Ashli and Ethan's Birthdays!

Pretty Ballerina

Elsa called me and invited me to her ballet recital. It was so much fun to be there with Elsa. She did such a good job on her dance...I am so proud of her. What a pretty little Ballerina! Elsa is such a sweetheart.

My Sister

I went to visit Becky and her Family for Thanksgiving. I had such a fun weekend hanging out, shopping, baking, making Christmas presents, spending time with the kids, and of coursing laughing! I wish we lived closer so we could see each other a lot more often. Brings me back to living in Utah together and celebrating every possible thing we could just so we could be festive together. Thanks for being such a good sister and friend!Ed and Rebecca

Callie Cat
Cater Bug (I don't think I'm supposed to call him that anymore :)
I love this picture of Cater and Becky, I think it is so sweet!Okay, we were driving to church and there was an alligator hanging out right in Becky's neighborhood. He was just chilling by the water. So on our way back home, he was still there. Ed was a good sport and pulled over so I could take a picture. I asked if they were supposed to call animal control and Ed explained that they don't remove alligators because if they did they would be doing it all day.....what the heck??? Alligator invested neighborhoods? Callie told me that you respect them and leave them alone. No one goes swimming in the Bayous b/c that is their home. I guess they do have alligator attacks but it is when a pet decides to take a dip. When Callie and Becky go running with Holly, Callie is really careful that she doesn't go down by the water. I'm just afraid the alligator we saw is going to grow into this size gator that we saw at the Bayou Wild Animal Park!!!!!

A Texas Thanksgiving

We got up Thanksgiving morning and cooked/baked like crazy. Callie and I were in charge of making mini turkey cupcakes. We were a good team and made a whole platter of them (plus the ones we ate as we were making them). Becky made all kinds of good sides and also some homemade rolls! It was fun to be in the kitchen with Becky and Callie. I love holidays and it was for sure a festive day!

The finished product! Gobble Gobble!Cater being silly on the way to Thanksgiving dinner. He is filled with holiday cheer!

We had Thanksgiving dinner over Becky's friend Jenny's house. Jenny was so welcoming and fun to be around. The dinner was fabulous. Turkey, potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, rolls, salad, and much more. Finished the meal with pumpkin and chocolate cream pie!Jenny's house was so festive. Here is the adult Table!Kids table! After dinner the kids went SWIMMING in an outdoor pool? What???? I'm used to Thanksgiving in Utah where it is chilly!

Cater lovin the turkey leg....reminds me of Mema, she always took a big bite out of the turkey leg for a Thanksgiving photo. Way to carry on the tradition Cater!

Sweet Callie and I snuggling on the couch chatting and watching a Dog Show Competition!I am so thankful I got to spend the day with Becky, Ed, Cater, and Callie.

Bayou Wild Animal Park

We had so much fun at Bayou Wild Animal Park. As soon as we drove up, animals surrounded our car. I'm not even joking, they practically got in the car with us. It was really cool.

Callie feeding a ram!
Check out Cater poising by this big huge hog. When it walked, its belly dragged. By the way, Cater's shirt says: It's not a party unless I'm there.
That is for darn sure. It is a party when Cater is around!
AHHHHH
There were all kinds of wild life including these camels hanging out behind Callie and I. We had just fed them. It was so much fun to be with Callie and watch her in her element....love her!

Seriously...Callie is in heaven being able to snuggle a reindeer. It was so cool just being able to walk up to the wildlife and have them be gentle.

My new boyfriend! My pretty sister getting a little wild with the animals!I love Cater!!! He had to remind me it isn't cool for him to hold my hand anymore. Ohhhh, he is growing up.

We had an authentic Texas lunch after the Wild Animal Park! It was such a fun day!

Hard to say goodbye!

It was hard as always to leave. I LOVE spending time in Texas with Becky and her family. I love it that Callie is so tender hearted and wears animal t-shirts. She for sure is a true blue animal lover. She is also fun to cook with and again....sweet as sugar!

Cater and Callie both play on basketball teams. Cater and I played basketball together right before my plane left. He is sooo good. I'm practicing for a rematch the next time I see him. Cater has such a cute personality. I can't believe how much he is growing up! He has a great sense of humor and totally cracks me up. When Becky and Callie took me to the airport, Cater got on his bike and followed us out of the neighborhood say "Don't go Aunt Carol." Wow, talk about feeling loved! Of course he was doing it in a silly way which even made it harder to leave.
Thanks for a fun Thanksgiving weekend. I miss you all like crazy!!!!

Christmas Shopping and Lunch

Jaime, the girls, and I went out to lunch and Christmas Shopping. We had such a fun time. Gracie, Elsa, and Anna were perfect little shoppers. I love them to pieces.

Look how adorable Gracie and Elsa look in their hats!!!! They look like they should be Gap Models :)

Gracie and I at lunch....we got shredded pork burritos, yum!

Ahhhh...Anna and Elsa at the mall. Anna loved looking at all the Christmas lights and Elsa was my little buddy. It was a fun afternoon. Jaime and I had a good time chatting and shopping! I love this time of the year. Steve and Ethan were at the last home Ute's game.