Brian surprised me with a trip to NYC, just the two of us. Thank you to Manga and Pop for watching all the kids so we could go. It was a very very fun trip. We saw Wicked, the Musical, went to the Top of the Rock, twice, skated at Rockafeller, and shopped 5th Ave., (bought something at Juicy for our niece Madison). She has very expensive taste. Just kidding, she is going to love it. We went to Macy's, the Financial district, battery park, and the statue of liberty. We also walked in Central park, stayed on times square, shopped like crazy at the M&M store, and played on the big piano at FAO Shwartz. It was cold, but very fun, and we figure we probably walked 7 miles on Wednesday. I'm so glad we got to spend time together just the two of us.

Christmas in Seattle 2009

Seattle was so fun! WE are all so glad that we got to go visit family in Seattle. Our highlights were bowling, the park, playing with family, dance contest, maraca di amigo, the barnyard game, blink, and every other game we played. making cookies with Grammy, going to Aunt Melanie's and Uncle Shawn's, and going to the movies. We fit a lot into five days, and made everyone really tired, even Hanna, but it was so fun.!!!!

Stacy and Dustin came to visit at Christmas time and we had so much fun with them. All the cousins were excited to see Cooper and meet baby Madison. We had a great Christmas, even if we did have to cut Christmas Eve short due to the weather. The kids took a dip in the pool on Dec 20 and then it snowed 4 days later. Burr, it was so cold, but they had fun for about 20 seconds. Troy and Abbey also decided to sell cookies and candy at a stand. They made 6 dollars altogether. Troy isn't in the picture, because he had decided to go door to door and ask for donations. We stopped him before he went to too many houses. They set the whole thing up, and took the whole thing down at the end. They looked so cute out there on the street. Remember we live in a culd-de-sac so there was not a lot of traffic for them to sell cookies, but we have some nice neighbors that saw them and helped them out.

Go, Team, Go. All three of the older kids have had fun playing basketball this year. Trevor puts a lot of pressure on himself to help his team, but he still really enjoys it. He loves anything that is challenging, and involves a ball. Abbey is in her first season of basketball and is really liking it. She wasn't quite sure what to think at the beginning, but she is really starting to get into it, and has scored in every game this year. Troy is loving basketball. He thinks he is in the wrong league though. He has told us he should probably be playing up a level. Doesn't that sound like Troy. He is a great guard and loves to get the ball. As in life though he is very good at getting the ball to the other kids. He wants to make sure everyone gets a shot. He even screens for his teammates who haven't scored so they get the chance to shoot. Not to win, but so that everyone gets a turn.I am very proud of all of them for being good team members and working hard everytime they play.

School days

The kids get three parties at school a year. Their Christmas party is the first one. They all had tons of fun eating candy and playing games. I am not a room mom this year, and was glad to get to see all of the kids at their parties equally this year. Trevor was in the Tots program at school too. He had a ton of fun performing in front of his school and also at some high school basketball games. He did a great job and impressed Brian with his mad skills!

We don't get snow very often in Texas. In december though we got three storms. One was crazy! The wind was blowing really hard and it made the snow go sideways. The kids loved it. Brandy loved it too. She wasn't sure at first, but as soon as she saw the kids, she had fun running around with them. I had to run around putting clothes on them though, they are not used to the snow and thought they could run around in just their sweats. Burrr was it cold!

Outings in December

WE had a blast at the Zoo together as a family. I love those moments where you look at your kids and feel like maybe you are doing something right. I had that moment when I looked at Troy and Aubrey holding hands while they walked at the Zoo. Abbey Aubrey and I went to see the Rockettes Spectacular with some friends. It was really fun. Aubrey wanted to know why she couldn't just go on the stage and rock out with the girls though. Abbey and I went and saw the Nutcracker by the Ft. Worth Ballet. We both loved it. I was surprised at how much Abbey enjoyed it. She got a little nutcracker to remember the night, and she is still showing it to people 2 months later. Dustin, Brian, Trevor and Troy went to the Dallas Stars game . They had a lot of fun with Their Uncle and it was a great game too. Last picture is of Babe's. So yummy!!!! All of us enjoyed going. The kids did the hokey, pokey, and listened to an amazing singer, plus the food is amazing.

November 2009

November was a busy month with Troy's birthday, Thanksgiving, a new camera, and basketball season ready to start. Brian went out and worked on shooting with Abbey and by the end of the hour she was excited about playing. She just needed a boost of confidence that no one can give quite like her Daddy. Troy is very excited about his new back pack and isn't afraid to show it. Thanksgiving was very nice. We all had tons of food and great family to be around.