Christmas {2011}

This holiday season came out of nowhere- and was gone just as fast. Whew.
We had a lot of fun this year. We started some traditions a few years back and have continued them this year.
We drove around and looked at Christmas lights, we baked cookies (and choc. covered oreo reindeer!) and we watched A TON of Christmas movies! I also made a Christmas ornament of the boys thumbprints, that I found on pinterest.com. It turned out SO cute!
The boys had an awesome Christmas. We celebrated on Christmas Eve this year because Kyle drove all three boys to Dallas- to surprise his parents! He pulled it off, too! They even arrived in time for Christmas dinner!
The big boys got ipod touches for Christmas and lil Austin got a tricycle! They were all happy boys! Uncle Nathan, Grandpa and Grandma got them an Xbox 360 with Kinect! They were so happy! Awesome gifts.
They also got new nerf guns and Texas Longhorn sweatshirts, which they packed up with them to take to Dallas.
When Brendan got home, he had taken over 350 photos/videos on his ipod. LOL
Some photos of our holiday season!

{decorating the tree}

{our Christmas card photo}

{visiting with Santa!}

{Christmas Eve}

 ^and Daddy's turkey fryer in the background. he can't wait to use that thing!

Merry Christmas, from our family to yours!

Brendan is {9}!!!

Happy Birthday, Bren!! You are 9 now and you just had your first sleep over! You, Peyton and 2 {wild} friends from your class. I felt really sorry for teacher A LOT today. LOL
Brendan, you are really turning into such a strong, independent young man. You are so funny- you love to make people laugh.

Here is a little snapshot of you at this age--
You are in third grade, Mrs. Kircher's class, with your great {wild} friend, Carson.
You love listening to music on your ipod shuffle- your favorite right now is Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO. You love to dance to this song. Well, every song with a good beat, really. :)
You are very competitive; you love sports. Football is your favorite. You played for the first time this past Fall and LOVED it!
You are trying so hard to learn to skateboard and you are getting better and better each time! You love your ripstick scooter, too!
You are a pretty good gamer- you love playing your DSi and the Wii. You just got Zelda for both systems and are very excited about that game!
You really enjoy reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books (and watching the movies). Those keep you reading.
You are doing okay in school- could be better. You have a few distractions in your class this year, but I really hope that this improves for the second half of the year.
You are a fun, energetic, very smart and loving kiddo, Brendan. I love you so much!
(I also really enjoyed giving you NINE spankings and a *pinch to grow an inch*)

^i love A's expression in this pic! he really wanted a nano bug! ;)

We are {Thankful}

Happy Thanksgiving!
We had a really great day today- good food and quality family time spent together.
Before dinner, we went around the table and said a few things that we are thankful for, we do this every year.
B: "my family, my video games and my house"
P: "my freedom to do what I want and my family"
D: "my boys, my beautiful wife (no lie) and the roof over our heads"
M: "my family, our home, our HEALTH and mommy and daddy's jobs"

We have a lot to be thankful for and we know it!
I feel so blessed; three healthy, handsome boys and a husband who is the best father. "My cup runneth over"

My version of the "thankful tree" that I found on pinterest.

After dinner, we watched the last rival game between the Longhorns and the Aggies, which was played at College Station, and the HORNS won!!! Final score: 27-25!! The last 7 minutes of this game gave me heartburn!
Good luck in the SEC next year, Ags.

{wordless} Wednesday

Thinking about you...

Today would have been your 66th birthday, Granny. You've been gone for 9 years, but somehow it doesn't feel like it can possibly have been that long. I think about you all the time and talk about you with Kyle and the boys often. I miss you so much. I know you already know that, though. You not being here with us is so hard, but I know that you are in a better place and that you are keeping up with us all.
You still mean so much to me. I am so thankful that you were in my life and I will keep with me always the time that we spent together. We had a very special bond and I will never forget that. I love you.

my little {artist}!

Austin's first time finger painting was a big hit! He absolutely LOVED it! We had to do two paintings because he was just in a creative mood today. LOL
He is hilarious.
Photos:

Happy Painting,

Saturday {snapshot}

Um- you are supposed to be raking the leaves, Brendan...

Disguising TED the Turkey

Peyton's assignment for the weekend- to help disguise Ted the Turkey so he survives Thanksgiving. ;)
He also wrote an essay about his disguise. These are being judged in a few weeks, before Thanksgiving break. He had fun with this one!
Good Luck, Ted the Traveling Circus CLOWN!

                                                                Before...

                                                                 After!

Trick or {Treating} 2011

This year we had one trick or treater- Peyton and Brendan handed out candy at our house.
Our little garden gnome was a HIT! He was so cute- even though I had such a hard time convincing him to keep his hat (and the attached beard) on. Kyle and I took him down our street and he was so happy. After we got home, he dumped out his bucket and surveyed his candy. ;) He even shared a few pieces with us.

Happy Halloween, y'all!

Boo at the Zoo!

We did this last year and it was a lot of fun....
The boys got to trick or treat a few days early at the zoo- one more day to wear their costumes, too.
We spent the day with my friend, Sharla, and her two kiddos. The zoo was crowded but the weather was perfect. :)
After the zoo, we had an early dinner at Qdoba! Yum!

My boys at Boo at the Zoo, 2011

Anderson Farms visit with Grandma Sharp

Grandpa and Grandma Sharp surprised the boys! They got into town on Sunday, October 23rd.
On Monday- Grandma and I took the boys to the pumpkin patch while Daddy and Grandpa went golfing. It was such a nice day- and with SNOW in the forecast for Wednesday, we figured it would be the best day.
We love the pumpkin patch!

We went on a wagon ride, the boys (and Grandma) rode the petal cars, we went through the hay maze and corn maze, fed the animals and had lunch. Fun day at the patch, as always!