Ice Skating

Saturday we kicked off the holiday season by hitting the ice. We went skating with Emily's family and Aunt Amber. It was a lot of fun although my ankles are still sore as well as Ryan's back from all that bending over to help Erin. We are getting old!

Erin loved being on the ice...especially with her daddy!

Look! No hands! We were really impressed with how well she did for only being 2!

Emma with Aunt Amber....Emma loved ice skating and got pretty dang good at it by the time we left. She could finally circle the rink with no falls and some speed!

Seth is great on the ice as well but wished he had the rink all to himself.

Taking a break!

Erin loves her aunt Emily!

Erin amazed by the zamboni !

Afterwards, we stuck around the mall and enjoyed a warm Cinnabon. Erin was determined to eat it all by herself which is a little tricky with a plastic spoon. Notice the icing in her hair....

Emma enjoying having daddy & mommy all day!

Seth and Amber enjoying their treat

All pooped out!

Dazzler

This is Emma all gussied up for her "Dazzler" jazz class's Christmas party. We were in such a rush to get her out the door and this was the only picture I got. She was so excited....I think more so about her new dress though.

Trimming the Tree

Erin loves the glow of the lights!

The kids hanging their ornaments as we watched Polar Express

Erin so proud of her two year old self! Notice all of her ornaments weighing down the bottom branches...

Thanksgiving Fun

So this was my first year to actually "host" Thanksgiving dinner. My parents, Laura & Brent, & Amber came for the occassion. Everything turned out super yummy! We ate till we were stuffed and headed to the park to burn off some energy before heading over to Laura's where we had desserts galore! I wasn't so great at getting pictures of everyone else but here were a few I did get of my family.

Diva's for a Day

Emma's gal pal Tara had a Diva party to celebrate her birthday. The girls had so much fun putting on make-up, getting their hair done and dressing up. The best part was strutting their stuff down the red carpet for the fashion show!

She looked a little too grown up for my taste but this was right up her alley! She was such a poser!

Erin didn't want to be left out! She and Maleah kept right up with the big girls! They were so cute!

Halloween Fun

I'm a little late on this one but I had a good excuse. I haven't had my camera all week! The kids had a fun halloween though. Grandma Pam came to help them celebrate. She got them from school and suprised them with lots of fun treats! We got all decked out and headed over to the outlet mall to meet up with some friends and trick-or-treat. So their pumpkins were full by 5:30! Grandma took them out trick-or-treating around the neighborhood too so we had quite the stash of candy and grandma got quite the workout! One of the highlights of the night is a house down the street that sets up their telescope each halloween night and gives their guests quite a treat.....a view of the moon - craters and all! Emma especially enjoyed this as she had been studying the sun & moon that very week.

I was very suprised this year that the kids wanted to actually dress up "halloweeny". So I had two cute little witches and one handsome vampire.

seems that witches were quite popular this year...... Emma & Erin with Tara & Maleah

Erin trick-or-treating with grandma and lugging around her "diaper bag" as she called it while doing everything to avoid having her picture taken.

The next day we went and played putt-putt with grandma, Laura & Annabeth. The big boys went to the "real" golf course. It was a beautiful day! Notice how much Erin just loves posin' for pictures. She was not happy anytime we tried to get a picture this weekend.

The girls with one of the elephants

Pumpkin Patch

So when our summer harvest of vegetables was over we decided to try our hand at our very own pumpkin patch in hopes of carving a home grown pumpkin this year. We purchased a pack of seeds for $2.75 and got busy planting. Each day Ryan and Erin went out and watered and took such good care of our little patch. The plants grew and grew covering a whole corner of our yard. We thought things were going well. We saw lots of yellow blossoms but they just never turned into pumpkins!!! When it was all said and done this is all we had..........

Three little pumpkins! That was it! I was at the grocery store the other day and they had similar size pumkins priced at 78 cents! I could have bought three for a grand total of $2.34 meaning cheaper than the seeds. So you would think that we wasted alot of time, money & energy on this little experiment and honestly we probably won't try again next year but Erin sure did love going out each night with daddy to check on "her" pumpkin and water it. So I guess it wasn't all bad but we aren't cut out to be farmers that's for sure!

Week(s) in Review..

The last couple of weeks have just been crazy busy! Here is just a sampling of the past couple of weeks....


Brent & Laura are finally here! We are so happy to have a little more family here in Texas! They are just about 20 mins. away so not too bad. Brent was out of town this last week training so Laura and I got down to buisness and started painting! In just 2 days, we were able to tackle the family room, entry and Annabeth's room and it looks awesome if I do say so myself.


I have survived work this last week. We had a 2:30am newline night at Gymboree and somehow my measly little 2 shifts, 8 hours a week turned into 36 hours for a 2 week pay period!


We also made it through the primary program this Sunday with only a few setbacks....we had one kiddo throw up on the back row. The kiddos around him were great just all scooting down and continued on despite the smell. He left and cleaned himself up and returned to do his part. His sweet grandpa cleaned it up and apoligized saying it was his fault because they had a sleepover the night before and he prob. gave him too much junkfood. Isn't that what grandparents are for? Honestly, I didn't know that it had even happened until after the program so hopefully no one else noticed either. I am just glad it is all over! They did a great job as well as our presidency. I feel very blessed to work with such amazing, smart and talented women! My favorite part of the program would prob. be our closing song. It was 'A Child's Prayer'. The kids sang the first verse and the congregation the second and then with everyone singing together. Amazing!


Seth and Ryan went to the BYU vs. TCU game in Fort Worth. It turned out to be an extremely long night and without reward! They lost 32-7!!! Seth just enjoyed being out with dad. One thing that I do think is pretty cool is that when BYU is on the road they put on a fireside for the youth the night before the game. Ryan took Seth with him. I think Ryan was just as excited to see "real" football players as Seth was. They spoke on being disciples of Christ. The icing on the cake was to meet a few players after as well as Coach Mendenhall who Ryan has great admiration for. Seth even got a few of their autographs....in fact there were even a few kids that asked for Ryans autograph. Guess they thought the big & tall guy must be a player. As you can imagine Ryan was flattered.



Here are a few of the signatures Seth got. Notice Bronco's at the top!

Birthdays....

Seth is now officially in the double digits!! I still can't believe I have a ten year old. Just look at how tall he is. He stands almost a head taller than most of his friends! He isn't far behind me in height now either. We can even wear the same size shoe!!! Seems this is all just going by too fast.....He had a great birthday! The older that he gets the more low-key it is. This year he just wanted to go to Gatti-town with some friends. It is an all you can eat pizza buffet with an arcade, rides and other games. They did their own thing, only stopping to find me when they were out of money on their cards. He got everything he wanted....guitar hero, new football, Roller Coaster Tycoon, and of course money. I am amazed at how good he is with his money. He is my little saver.

My Birthday was just a week after Seth's. I was lucky enough to have family from Missouri here to celebrate with! Ryan's Grandma Smith, Aunt Sandy and Uncle Bill came bearing gifts. We had a great night visiting and Emily spoiled us with a great Kabob dinner and made my favorite cake - a spice cake! We even had time to play dominoes. Grandma Smith stayed in Texas for the week while Sandy and Bill headed down to San Antonio. We had a great time visiting with her. We were able to try out some fun new restaurants. Erin warmed up really quick and loved to show off for her Great-Grandma.

Chasing Cars...

If you have ever been to our house then you will be familiar with Erin's way of saying goodbye. She likes to "chase" any visitors down the street as they are leaving. I took this the other day as she was returning from a chase. Remember she is only 2 and therefore likes to dress herself. So never mind the pink t-shirt, emma's size 6 tinkerbell undies, red socks, & the hair that just never got brushed this particular day. Totally ghetto I know, but hey she is my little miss independent and she is Happy! Her little ritual reminds me of the McClellan wave.......the McClellans waving goodbye will continue to wave or just hold up their hand till you are no longer in sight - and those in the car also continue waving till no longer in sight - however long that may be! Grandpa Mac & Uncle Bruce are pros at this and it has been a fun little tradition that is now part of our family.
In other new around here, If you haven't heard I am now a crossing guard for the Allen ISD. It is a great little part time job that doesn't take much time away from my family - about 1 1/2 a day. This morning as I was at my corner I got bit by a yappy little dog! Enough to even break a little skin through my jeans. Crazy dog! That wasn't in the job description. I have been scared of getting hit by some car but never attacked by a puppy.
Today is also Seth's Birthday....so we are off to celebrate! I'm sure I'll post more later. I still can't believe I have a 10 year old.

Special Sunday Meeting

This past week we were truly blessed to have been taught by living disciples of Christ. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we believe that just as there were prophets in the days of old that the Lord has not forsaken us in our day now. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (the 2nd counselor to President Monson) along with Elder D.Chad Richardson spoke to just the Allen, Tx stake. It was amazing to be present in such an intimate gathering, well there were actually 1400 in the stake center and others joined through broadcast in different buildings. The messages were wonderful! It was a mini General Conference. Elder Richardson focused on the plan our Father in Heaven has for each of us and that none are beyond His reach. He promised that if we do our best Christ will meet us and make up the rest. Grace is a daily gift and He will bless us in every affliction & sickness. We were also addressed by Brother Gerard who is the Dallas Temple Pres. He reminded us that we are not immune to discouragement and to "Cowboy up & Soldier on" - to live by faith not fear as we see the happenings in the world around us! And lastly, President Uctdorf was such a neat and very personal kinda guy! His personality and smile are infectious. He counseled us to remember who we are, to search for truth and to stand up for it! He also went over the importance of the "For the Strength of Youth" guidelines and need to Follow the Standards. He spoke of reaching out to one another & to forgive. He promised us that the Lord is aware of our challenges and that we are in His hands & through prayer the things of concern in our lives will be answered. I know that I personally left with the desire to recommit myself to stand a little taller & do a little more. As he was leaving he blew kisses to all. It was a neat experience not to be forgotten.

A good lookin' Emma & Seth as we waited in line....yes, there was a line! The mtg. started at 10am and we were in line by 8:15. Thankfully, they opened the doors at 8:30 although they only allowed 12 people through every 30 seconds so there was no stampede into the chapel.

Back to School..

We are in our second week of school now and it feels so good to finally get back into a routine. So far, so good! The kids are enjoying their classes. They each have great teachers. Emma was a little bummed that none of her good buddies were in her new 2nd grade class this year, so it has been an adjustment to go outside of her little comfort zone and make new friends. This will be her first year she will be getting grades too! She came home with her first 'homework packet' and has been working very hard each day. Seth began 4th grade this year and is an old pro at this school thing. He is even rotating classes this year. My babies are growing up too fast!!! As for my little Erin, she is loving having the house & mommy all to herself during the day. She keeps busy with playing dress-up, babies, and playdates with friends.

Louisiana Trip

We went over to Shreveport last week to finally meet little Fox. Mandy & Andrew came down from Indiana. It was so fun to visit with them. Erin enjoyed having a cousin her age to play with. They are still 2 yr. old toddlers so there was a lot of "mine, mine, mine" going on. With 6 grandkids there it sounded more like a daycare at times but it was so just so good to all be together again. While we were there we spent a day at Gator & Friends. It is an alligator park with lots of other animals to see and feed. We discovered that Erin is such a chicken while Eden has absolutely no fear at all! They actually feed the gators each day and that is pretty crazy to watch. There are at least 50 or so alligators jumping out of the water for food! Check out the clip.

Sweet little Fox all decked out in his gator gear

Gator & Friends

In other news around here....I finally finished the Twilight series. My mom was kind enough to "share" the last book with me. We took turns reading chapters and at night I would steal it! They are such addicting books. I'm just glad I have actually finished! Now I can finally get some sleep, a little laundry done, interact with my children more and maybe stop thinking of Ryan as my vampire!!!

San Antonio

We were a little sad that we didn't get to make it out to Utah this summer so we decided we needed a little family vacation. We have lived in Texas for the past 8 years and have never made it down to San Antonio. We spent a few days there checking out the Alamo, Riverwalk, Market Square, the Temple and of course Sea World. We had a blast! The first couple of days were super hot - over 100 degrees! Tropical Storm Eduardo decided to roll through and it actually cooled things off a bit for us. We caught all of the fun shows on this first rainy day and the next day went for the rides and the water park. I was so happy to find out that I have children after my own heart - they love rides- big rides!!! Seth loved the roller coasters and Emma was quite bummed that she wasn't quite tall enough to ride the big stuff just yet. Seth rode the coasters over & over taking mom or dad with him. Emma loved the Journey to Atlantis (major log ride) and little Erin was even big enough for a few of the rides. Here are a VERY few pics from our adventure because Shamu got my camera wet and it didn't work at all the 2nd day. It still isn't the same - hopefully a new battery might help.

The kids loved feeding the dolphins! $5 for a tray of fish brings them right up to you

Shamu right before my camera went dead! Seth & Ryan sat right down front in Splash Zone city and I took the girls up a little higher and we ended up getting more wet than they did!

The kids on the Riverwalk