12.31.2009

{today, together}

today is the last day of the month, the year, the decade.
today is always a day of reflection, a day of looking back & forward.
today is an anniversary day in our house.
today is always associated with our move from buffalo to austin.
today is new years eve.
today is now.
today is here.
enjoy. reflect. move forward.
renew. refresh. rejoice.
thank you 2009.
embrace you 2010.
we are ready!

12.30.2009

{ a random snapshot from christams day }

colin building a new lego kit.

nathan playing on his cell phone.

a new longhorn flag hanging.

a fire in the fireplace.

filled stockings still hanging.

all traces of wrapping paper removed.

egg bake aroma fills the air.

christmas memories now.

12.29.2009

from here...

to here...
to a new dinner on the table.
its my version of julie & julia.
tonights entree was comfort meatballs & mashed potatoes
from the pioneer woman.
the perfect meal for a cold tuesday evening.
a quick trip to the cedar park arena,
a spin around the parking lot &
a cocktail at dave & busters.
more memories in the making.

12.28.2009

vacation days are great days

to work on science fair projects.

heres the cast of ingredients.

heres the project in the freezer.
we'll let you know the results.
(due date: by january 21st!)
heres to a day of getting back to normal -
filled with grocery shopping, laundry
and monday night football with some boggle
games in between.
happy day.

12.27.2009

take one sunday afternoon,

add one christmas firepit,

one nfl football game on tv,

and lots of fans.

sit. squint. watch. cheer.
enjoy!
another vacation memory made.

12.26.2009

post christmas down time.

perfect time to hit the alley.

the bowling alley.

nothing like a pair of rented bowling shoes

to beat away the post holiday blues.

put those video games on pause.

the best of the 80's music is playing.

heres to strikes, spares & gutter balls.

12.25.2009

christmas brunch.

6 smiling children in a post present smile.

the mini marshmallow pumper in action.
friends season one on the screen.
the christmas gifts all organized.
slowly reading new game directions.
leftovers for dinner.
evening long distance phone wishes.
may the blessings of the birth of Christ
engulf your day, your heart, your life.
-
"therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign, the virgin will
be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call
Him Immanuel."
isaiah 7:14

12.25.2009

christmas morning arrived at 7am.

boys were allowed downstairs at 7:30am.

santa was very good to us all.

some gifts came with mini marshmellows.

some gifts came with many pieces that

had to be opened and created asap.
some gifts came with lots of statistics.

some gifts came with a built in camera.

cell phones. legos. movies. clothes. friends. clue game that

sends text messages to your cell phone during the game.

(i remember the little brown envelope version -

what happened to that?)

football cards. ubs keys. playing cards. wii games.

basketball game for outside. books.

longhorn flags. golf vest. speakers.

a great relaxing morning.

fire in the fireplace.

blue skies with a chill in the air.

wrapping paper everywhere.

it doesn't get any better than this.

holiday brunch up next!

12.24.2009

christmas eve anticipation.

the boys could barely wait.

they decided to exchange gifts tonight.

it was so fun to watch them open each others gifts.

all very thoughtful.

movies, posters & one sockem' game.

what an end to a memorable eve.

12.24.2009

6 snapshots to christmas eve.

#1) pioneer woman whips up one or two or fifty dishes.

(i know now where she inherited this from)

#2) a quick game of chess on the floor in the middle of the party.

trying to pass the time till santa arrives.
#3) hohoho santa - we've been angels this year.
#4) hohoho santa - we've been angels this year!

#5) dirty santa strategy plans in the making.

#6) steve admiring justins haircut from yesterday.

(honest?!)

heres to sugar plums dancing in all the boys dreams tonight.

heres to dirty santa rules & presents.

heres to tools and boxes and blankets.

heres to mistletoe martinis.

heres to santa coming tonight!

hohoho.

12.24.2009

traditional christmas eve picture.

in front of the fireplaces.

what happened to the tucked in shirts?

12.24.2009

christmas eve morning.

traditions: grocery shopping at 6am.

(7am this year - overslept)

baking cutout cookies & frosting them.

(borrowed cookies & canned frosting - can't do it all)

family photos on the front doorstep before church

(forgot this one - actually too cold!)

prepping food for tomorrows party

(all done & ready)

iron holiday outfits

(tried to skip this - no go - too

many wrinkles)

write a letter to santa

(not sure why i do this - ? self torture to see what the boys really

want for christmas - hello walreens - maybe i should

do this exercise on december1st?)

candlelight service at church

(actually made it early)

christmas eve party

(celebrated at sarah & troys this year!)

dirty santa

(love this new tradition - can't wait

to see what gifts are a hit this year)

heres to christmas eve traditions

(old and new)

hohoho.

enJoy.

12.23.2009

vacation day three.

weather: 72 and sunny.

memories: mailed last batch of cards.

three christmas haircuts.

one trip downtown to the

texas memorial museum.

this guy was just hanging around to greet us.

this wild animal ate our arms.
this hula hut quenched our thirst.

this character wanted gum-gum.

hohoho.

happy christmas eve eve.

12.22.2009

vacation day two.

weather: 70 and sunny.

to-do list:

load up one minivan with 2 dads & 5 boys.

pack one cooler & 2 holiday movies.

wave goodbye.

mix up a batch of metropolitans.

rent julie & julia.

gather presents & scotch tape.

wrap. wrap. wrap.

who ever knew wrapping christmas presents

could be so much fun!

thanks sarah, meryl & skyy.

ho ho ho

12.21.2009

vacation day one.

weather: warm but windy.

errands: specs for holiday spirits.

memories: coffee with sarah & troy.

afternoon guys golf.

scavenger hunt for boys.

hide 75 treats around a pool & sit back and enjoy.

finding a pen early on was key.

searching high & low.
almost done.
the winner was riley!
he found all treats first.

74 out of 75 treasures found.

we still couldn't find the last nickel...

afternoon football in the street.

g-force movie & rudys dinner

at the hudsons.

hohoho.

making everyday memories for the holidays.

12.18.2009

holiday fun at school.

take one second grade class.

add one great teacher to the middle.

play a fun game of pass the present.

sugar plums are already dancing.

nathans party face in full blast.
this is how we have a snowball fight in texas.

christmas vacation here we come!

12.10.2009

lots of hills. valet parking. honest. 2 of the nicest hosts you'll ever meet. 1 unbelieveable view. love christmas celebrations. sorry no pictures. not quite appropriate.

12.10.2009

today.
one nathan graduated from DARE at 8am.
one trip to barnes and nobles for a christmas present.
one trip to william sonoma for a hostess gift.
one holiday lunch with colin at school at 11:30am.
one trip to a fedex box for a dropoff.
one stop at specs for a bottle of bubbly.
one meeting at work at 1:30pm.
fourth trip to school to pickup the boys.
homework. wash. email.
one holiday party at 7pm.
one busy day!
love the holiday schedule.

12.9.2009

happy birthday rosie!

wishing you a 'warm' birthday celebration.

12.9.2009

one lunch date today.

one star student of the week.

one mcdonalds happy meal.

12.8.2009

signs of christmas. we finished the holiday puzzle already. the lego advent calendar is a huge hit - its the first question everyone asks colin in the morning - 'what did you get today?'. the wrapping basket is out and in use. the holiday cards have been ordered. the tree is up & the ornaments are on. the house is decorated - inside & out. the stockings are hung. the presents are almost all bought. the shipping boxes are assembled and awaiting their packages. we are getting there. hohoho.

12.8.2009

christmas elves busy at work.

a charlie brown christmas

is on in the background.

one present boy.

one tape boy.

one label boy.

one true meaning of christmas.

12.4.2009

{photo taken by colins teacher today- thanks ms zuckman}
look what we woke up to this morning.
we have been waiting all week for this.
cold temps.
snowflakes actually fell today.
real snow.
didn't stick. didn't stay.
but it felt like home for a minute.
but it felt like december for a minute.
hohoho. cold night ahead.
a fire in the fireplace already.
stay warm.
tis the season.

12.3.2009

nothing screams festive like a special delivery from the ups man today.
i can almost taste a cup of tim hortons now in a special holiday cup.
i might just have to incorporate this into our holiday decorations.
thanks mom & dad!

12.2.2009

look what colin found wrapped on the kitchen table
yesterday morning.
he has been wishing for this since the holiday lego catalog
arrived last month.
what a great way to count the days till christmas.
he has decided to open the prize each morning before school.
its beginning to feel festive around here already.
'tis the season.

12.1.2009

its a wonderful way to start december.
an evening holiday musical concert.
look carefully and you'll see justin playing the baritone.
he sounded great.
sarah and i played hookie today &
shopped till we dropped.
we stimulated the economy at barnes & noble, old navy, container store,
cosco, target, walmart and sports academy.
we didn't let a little rain slow us down.
'tis the season.