~Day 334: Christmas Mixed With Thanksgiving

The kids were very excited to decorate the tree tonight. Cailee very reverently came to show me a bulb that lost its hanger. 

The tree is almost done.  We should have brought out the stool to get the top of the tree. 

Finished product. 

This is as far as I got with the rest of the decorating. Jocelyn made us these beautiful stockings one year. The kids were dying for them to come out. So here they are. We love them. 

We also had a second thanksgiving dinner.  Since the original feast was not at our house this year, we didn't have the leftovers. So we did our own turkey today.  

Ashton fell asleep again while reading.  This is a rare sight. But it's happened twice now in about a week. Poor tired little man!

~Day 333: Golf and Dvorak!

Tonight Linda and I went to see the Phoenix Symphony .  They performed "The New World Symphony" by Dvorak. (Symphony #9). It was so good! I haven't been to a symphony performance in ages. It was great!    

We started out having dinner at Olive Garden.  Very yummy.  And after the concert, we made a slight detour to the wild horse casino.  I suddenly forgot how to drive. Again. I kind of forgot to take the right exit.  It was a fun night! I can't wait till the next concert!

Nick took Ashton to the driving range today. They have gone together a few other times. Ashton loves it. Nick says he does really well.  Part of the Black Friday weekend, junior golf clubs were on sale. 

These clubs found their way home with the boys. Ashton is very excited. I'm excited as well. This is something else he is interested in besides video games. I hope this goes far. 

Ashton seems to have picked up the correct way to stand and hold the clubs. He was showing Brookie how to hold the clubs. 

Nick took Ashton to the park later today and they practiced some more. I think it's great that they have something to do together.  

~Day 332: My Black Friday Deal! Score!

So.  I didn't venture out this morning with the crazy shoppers for Black Friday.  And I didn't plan on going out at night. Plans change and I'm glad they did! I ran into my wonderful friend Stacy! I sure love her She and I sat in Walmart and talked. Yup. Walmart. Her poor hubby was great and let us converse for a few much-needed minutes. My hubby was great, too. I was on the phone with him both times I ran into her. I ditched him both times, too. Sorry Nick! It was so great to see her! 

My original picture was going to be this one, not of me and Stacy.  But I have to add this one still. 

I was wandering thru Walmart with my pants rolled up my calves. Yup. I was one of those people who didn't care what they looked like. I had just gotten my toes done and didn't want my pants to screw things up. I do have priorities. And my stubby toes do look fabulous. 

And this little lady decided she was big enough to ride her own big bike. Nick worked with her last year, but she was very hesitant to take off and ride on her own. She has been practicing all week on a friend's small bike where she could start and stop by putting her feet down.  She was so excited to show me she could do it.  Her smile says it all! We are very proud of her! Especially because she  did this all in her own. She thought about things a lot and figured out to make it work. 

Look at her go!  I can hear her giggling as she goes!  She was the reason I ended up in Walmart tonight. We needed an intertube for her flat tire. She needs to be able to ride tomorrow.  She asked Nick today if he got her a new tire.  She needed a new one because hers was flat and it was distracting her. Haha  we love the words that come out of her mouth!

Nick took this picture. Ashton loves to read before he goes to sleep every night. We usually have to tell him to turn out his lights. But tonight Nick found him asleep. This is a very unusual sight. He played football with some neighborhood kids today. I think that was a first for him.  The football.  But he had fun!  He played outside a lot today. And he played hard.  I like this view. 

I need to add this.  I need to make someone feel good about themselves.  And remind myself in a few years of how smart I am. 

This is my mom's fabulous Chiffon Pumpkin Pie. (Best pumpkin pie ever!)  Well, this is the beginning of it. It is supposed to be a nice, smooth, all brown mixture at this point. It has sugar, spices, evaporated milk and egg yolks. Those yellow things on the left are the egg yolks. And the yellow specs in the pan are egg yolks. They are hard. Cooked. Yup. I'm so smart, I didn't stir the eggs before I turned on the heat. The the yolks proceeded to cook like an egg-drop soup.  Fail. Had to dump it out and start again. Yay me!  Remember. Stir the eggs. The end. 

~Day 331: A Day To Eat and Be Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!  The day was pretty restful and nice for the most part. There were a few little sqawbles with the kids, but it really was a nice day. 

Nick had a photo shoot this morning, so it was just me and the kids. We played games most of the morning. The TV or computer wasn't on. It was so nice. 

Ashton really wanted to play Risk. I was going to play, but I let them go at it alone. It was fun to watch them try to play it.  

We weren't eating the large meal until 5 pm, so Cailee helped me cook brunch. We had breakfast burritos. She helped cook both the sausage and the eggs. She loves to help me. 

Dinner was at Jim and Chris's house. The kids always love to visit because they get to see our old dog Benny. They had fun playing with him for a little while. 

Dinner was really good. Alissa, John and JJ were there. Annette and Russell were down visiting Nathan and Erica and baby Sophie. So they were all there. And Bart and Stephanie were there too. It was really nice to sit and visit with everyone.  

Baby Sophie thought it was time to eat too.  Poor Erica was out with Sophie for most of the meal.  Grandma Annette took over so Erica could have a turn to eat.  

Cailee had to get her JJ fix. She just loves her new cousin.  He liked to watch her while she talked to him. He's getting so big!

And I had to get a baby fix, too. Sophie is still so tiny. She is as big now as JJ was when he was born.  She is so sweet. I'm grateful Nathan and Erica let me steal her for a short time. 

It was a very nice day.  The holidays have officially started in my book. I'm sure time will go too fast and it will be the new year before we know it. 

~Day 330: Minecraft Buddies

The day was not very eventful. Half day at school. Girls played outside all afternoon.  Ashton had friends over. They played Minecraft. A lot.  

It is also cheap kids' meals night at Sonic. So they all had Sonic for dinner.  

I think the kids had a fun day. 

~Day 329: Arizona Wimps

Brookie:  "I'm cold." 

So she stayed inside this afternoon and sat under her warm blanket while she watched Disney videos. 

Cailee was cold too.  She sat inside and watched My Little Pony videos. 

We got up to 66 degrees today. That is extremely cold. We are wimps now. 

And there was a breakthrough today. After being really sick for over a week, I finally felt like doing stuff today. Granted, I still spent a lot of time in bed, but I actually made a mess in my kitchen while I cooked dinner. I'm still not 100%, but hopefully today was a turning point.  

~Day 328: My View

I didn't do much today since I'm still sick. I sat and watched Ashton play his video game for awhile.

The girls thought they were pretty tricky when they took over Ashton's seating area. Ashton is sitting with me. I used his red head as a camera stand. He was glad to help me out. I love my goofy kids. 

~Day 327: Night time Reading Material

Brookie was excited to show me the Judy Moody books she got from the school library. She almost fell asleep reading them in her bed tonight.  

~Day 326: Meet Cailee

Miss Cailee had her first real meeting with the road today. The road won. She has some nice road rash. 

I got her all cleaned up and band aids put on to make it all better. She said she wouldn't ride her scooter as fast anymore. We shall see. I'm sure this isn't our last injury. 

We had hamburgers for dinner. Everyone except Cailee. We make her hot dogs because she won't eat the burgers. I made her two and cut them up (out of habit. She can really cut her own) . She was so proud of herself when she put her hot dog back together. Then she was even more proud of herself when she found out she made two dogs into one. Maybe this is one of those 'you had to be there' moments. But it made us all laugh. 

Brookie walked out into the living room wearing her toy's glasses. 

I had braided her hair donut will be curly tomorrow. Without missing a beat, Cailee said, "Why does BrookLynn look like a nerd?" Lol we all laughed because Cailee was so straight-faced when she said it.  It was hilarious. 

Cailee pulled this wand out of a bag. She said, "this is the wand of happiness." Ok. 

Her little 'isms' are cute. She sure keeps us on our toes. 

~Day 325: Movie!

Tonight we watched Maleficent.  It was good!  At one point they all ended up on the couch next to me. They say they weren't scared...

This is where they started. Pizza. Picnic style. They love movie nights. 

~Day 324: We Love Music

Today the girls had their choir concert at school. It was fun to watch them and hear how much they learned. Brookie ran and found me after. Cailee disappeared before I could catch her. 

All my pictures are fuzzy. Beans stood like this for most of the songs. The kids were supposed to be animated and do actions, but she was all business.  But she knew all the words!

Brookie on the other hand was pretty lively. Always had her hands in the air and  a grin on her face. 

 She was also  one of four kids that led the congregation in the pledge. She was all smiles. 

Ashton is filling the living room with Harry Potter music.  He's decided that HP isn't all bad. It took him long enough to get interested in it. 

~Day 323: Nose in his book

I'm not usually home when the kiddos get home from school. But I imagine this is what Ashton looks like most days as he walks home from school. 

And my good friend Janece brought me lunch today. I stayed home from work, sick, for a third day. But I wasn't just sitting around. I was actually working because it is my company's fiscal month end. I don't have the luxury of not working this week. 

So Janece was so sweet and checked up on me and made me feel better with a  yummy lunch. It made my afternoon! I have very sweet friends!

~Day 322: Sailing Indoors

Brookie decided to create sailor hats for herself and her new birthday doll. You should see our living room floor. Covered with her cutout creations. 

~Day 321: Upsidedown

The goof.  The kids love that ball. Nick wants to deflate the thing... But I'm dragging my feet.  It makes the kids move around instead of sitting still. Gets out some wiggles.