What's been goin' on

You might think that because I pretty much dropped out of the blogosphere for three months that I just didn't have anything going on worth blogging about. Au contraire!! The last three months of 2010 simply flew by!
September was mostly spent trying to get accustomed to our new schedule. We enrolled our kids in the local public school for the very first time this school year and it has taken some getting used to. None of our family are morning people, so mornings are struggles because we simply don't want to get up while it's still dark outside! But the kids love it...especially our youngest, who is a fifth grader.
The first six weeks she was chosen by her teacher as the "Wildcat Kid." She made straight A's and had perfect citizenship! (I would like to see what she would have been chosen as if her teacher had seen her at home for six weeks! HA!)

She was invited to a special breakfast with the other Wildcat Kids and got to have her picture taken with the mascot.




Although a karate girl in her heart, I did get Morgan hooked on the Dallas Cowboys. She even picked a favorite player and made a commemorative jersey!




Near the end of the the local high school's football season, the fifth graders were invited to come sing the Star Spangled Banner before one of their home games.


Halloween weekend found our family at our church's Trunk or Treat event. Lot of candy and lots of fun. Not to mention a couple cool characters!




In November I made this very cool zippered pouch as a gift for one of my girls' friends. With a gift card inside it was the perfect birthday gift!


For Veteran's Day, the fifth graders put on a program full of narrative and music. Morgan sang a duet with a friend at the beginning. Have I mentioned my girl can sing? One of the things they did to decorate was make some stars to honor veterans, past and present, that are friends and family.






On a more practical note, I sold my refrigerator that I was in love with. We bought it when we built our house and it was sized for the space it was in. There was no way it was going to fit in the rental. *sniff*


Right before Thanksgiving break, the fifth graders (busy, aren't they?) had Native American Day. The whole day was devoted to studying and being immersed in Native American culture. Morgan even got a new name! I love how teachers can integrate learning and fun so effortlessly!






In December we celebrated my boy's 12th birthday. Unbelievable! He got exactly what he asked for but I think he was still surprised!


And finally, in the midst of getting ready to move I got a chance to have an afternoon with one of my best friends from high school. I hadn't seen her in about 17 years! It was a wonderful time. We ate, talked, got our nails done, talked, went to Starbucks, talked...well, you get the picture. Speaking of pictures, I didn't take any! Of course I wish I had now, but at the time I just wanted to concentrate on getting caught up! However, before I left to meet her I did take a picture of myself. I knew it would probably be the last chance before we moved that I wouldn't be wearing clothes covered in dust from cleaning out closets!


So, that's about it! The last quarter of 2010! I can't wait to see what 2011 holds!

Guess who had a birthday...

ME!

My baby is 9 today

Morgan is a child of extremes. She loves hard, but has a quick temper. She's extremely confident about her abilities in some areas, but needs much reassurance in others.

She loves animals, and is very tenderhearted toward them.

But she can be pretty fierce when the situation calls for it.

She knows she's loved and it builds her up.
She's her mother's daughter in so many ways. We can't imagine her being anyone but who she is!

Happy Birthday to our little monkey!

Because what's summer without a puppy?

Maddy's 12th birthday is this Friday. But we gave her an early birthday present last night. Her name is Honey and she's 1/2 German Shepherd and 1/2 Great Pyrenees. In other words, we expect her to get about as big as a horse.

Bath time!

It was truly love at first sight.

Snapshots of a Saturday

This was a full day! Wednesday was Ron's birthday and we had his traditional birthday dinner tonight. It was just our family and his parents. Ron really outdid himself by cooking his own special meal. We gorged ourselves on grilled rib-eye steak and shrimp, fresh corn on the cob, avocados, grilled jalapeno and bell peppers, and homemade rolls. The steak especially was heavenly; a combination of a good marinade along with Ron's superior grill skills. I didn't get any pictures of the meal. If I had asked this group to abstain from eating so I could snap some photos, I probably would have gotten a fork stuck in a very unpleasant place.

But since I made the cake this morning, I was able to get a picture of it.

This is Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake. And everything she says about it on her website is absolutely true. It is the best. It is divine. It is...well, you get the idea.

I wanted Ron to have a special birthday card this year. Usually I don't even buy him a card since he's really not sentimental in that way. Except about the kiddos. So I took some pics and Maddy made him a card that I don't think he'll ever throw away.

On the inside are some very sweet hand-written messages from the kids.

After I finished with the cake, I decided I needed some equine therapy. Trixie has been missing from this blog for too long. She looks so gorgeous now. She has shed her fuzzy winter coat and is simply gleaming.

As curious and sweet as ever!

While we were out in the pasture, we visited the new baby goats.

On the way back to the house, we encountered this little bird enjoying some lunch. Can anyone identify it?

Pretty soon it was time to clean up for dinner. ((Picture delicious meal here.))

After dinner, Ron opened his presents. There was the normal guy birthday stuff. Cabela's gift cards, Starbucks gift cards, bluetooth headphones...but then Morgan came in with this..

A fresh strawberry from Ron's very own strawberry plant. Ron devoured it in one bite and proclaimed it "awesome."

Things are winding down now. It's been a good day.

Hoops & Yoyo

Monday was my father-in-law, Jody's, birthday. I always try to find a funny card for him and I think this year's was particularly good.



Don't you just love Hoops & Yoyo?

Front: "We wanted to shout Happy Birthday from the top of Mount Everest but we ran into a few roadblocks."
Inside: "We like oxygen, and being cozy warm, so we'll just send your wishes from right here... Happy Birthday! Yeah! and not falling off mountains is nice."
Audio: "Well, apparently, it's like, the tallest mountain in the world! Oh my goodness! And it's really, really, cold! And it's in a far away country! Tibet! It's really, really risky! Ohhh! You take your life in your hands when you go up there! Don't make us go where there's no oxygen! It's a great gesture! It would be great if we could! You're totally worth it! But we'll say happy birthday anyway! Yeah, like, right here! And we even have an echo! Ready? Happy Birthday-ay-ay-ay!"

Awesome.