Christmas Activities

Here's a little synopsis of what we have been doing this Holiday Season:

Wilson had a solo this year in his Holiday Musical Program!  He was the best soloist and sang with perfect pitch and articulation (no bias here.)  We all learned something new about Hanakuh when Wilson conquered his role as a confused, pre-conceived Latka.  What is Latka?  We wondered the same thing.  It's a Yiddish potato pancake.  Sounds delicious, right?

A visit with Santa was on our schedule; however Wilson informed me this year that he was not sitting on the FAKE Santa's lap.  He found it pointless.

One of our most time consuming activities this season was helping with the open house of our new church building.  I get emotional just thinking about having a chapel in our lil' ol' town.  What a blessing!  We were happy to be involved.  We even got to ride in the parade on the church's float.  Next time you see Maisy, ask her to show you her *parade wave.*  It's scary how perfect it is.

Mostly we've just been enjoying everything about the Christmas festivities.  Maisy is always reminding us why we celebrate and give presents.  She's been saying in her prayers things like, "Please help us to remember that Christmas is not about getting toys, but about sharing our hearts."  And, "Please help to see that special star and remember that Jesus loves us." Love that girl.

Merry Christmas Everyone!  We love YOU!

TACO TOTE

Where is the best place to dine in Laredo, Texas?  TACO TOTE (Pronounced "To-tay" for you gringos out there) So why do we like Taco Tote?

Because you can meet a cool fake guy in a tuxedo-te.

Unlimited chips, limes, salsa, and cilantro-te.

"Panchos--" Nachos with beef, chicken, beans, and queso-te.

Authentic tortillas and shredded beef make a perfect taco-te.

It's everybody's favorite place to go-te.

You can eat and eat and eat 'til there ain't no mo'-te.

Taco Tote, Taco Tote, food so good that you can't say no-te!

New Moon Fiesta!

Ahhhh!  New Moon! Awesome!  Okay, I got that out.  This past weekend I had a GIRLS WEEKEND with my family for the opening premier of New Moon: The Twilight Saga.  My mother flew in from Arkansas and my SILS flew in from California and Laredo.  We had a most luscious vampire-lovin' weekend!

The most exciting part of the weekend was our surprise guest!  On the dawn of our weekend fiesta--I got a knock on my front door.  When I answered the door, I was in utter swooning shock as I stood before Edward.  Seriously, my fellow devoted Edward-aficionados, when I unexpectedly encountered this life-size stand up--my heart started to pitter-pat and my palms got sweaty until I realized it wasn't really him.

So, I decided everyone should have the same experience that I did.  Edward upexpectedly greeted everyone that entered the house that weekend.  He even showed up in inconspicuous spots like the shower.  The best was waking up to him staring at you--just like Bella!! 

Don't judge my sister-in-law!  You know you were thinking the same thing!

Brett is such a trooper!  Our anniversary was the day before the movie opened.  He was very understanding that I spent our anniversary with Edward.  He only had a little animosity.

It was a very awesome weekend and thank you Mom and Sisters for making it so!

Restaurant Review: Madam Mam's

This is going to be a fun Restaurant Review.  The sad part is this restaurant is in Austin, so it will be a bit of a drive for most of you to get there.  It just might be worth the drive though, because Madam Mam's is the place to go if you want some great Thai food!

We went to the restaurant on a recommendation from Aunt Kay.  She and her sweet family accompanied us and helped us decipher the menu.  Brett and Kasia no talk Thai.

The kids were interested in the live fish swimming around in the huge aquarium above our table.  However, when the food arrived, all thoughts of aquatic life swam away, and the feast was on!

If we had ever been to Thailand before, I'm sure that we would have felt just like we were going back to that place we have never been.  Does that make sense?  Sure it does!  I'm trying to say that Madam Mam's might be really authentic.  Regardless, those fan thingies on the ceiling sure were cool.

I (Brett) got this delicious soup with chicken and green leaves.  I think it was called something like Guay Teaw Nuer Puey.  Or Guaw Wee Not Teen.  Or Noen For Cing tent.  Whatever it's called, it was enjoyable.

The kids devoured the Pad Thai, as you can see from the meaty fist in the picture.  Pad Thai means "Rice from a Thai paddy" In Thai.  Actually, it doesn't.  But the kids sure liked it!

Kasia partook of the masman curry.  She liked it but she LOVED . . .

. . . the Tom Kha, a coconut, lime, and lemongrass concoction.  Exact quote: "I could eat this all day." Party on, Kasia.

 

Some restaurants win, and some restaurants lose, but this restaurant review ends in a Thai.  We love you, Madam Mam.

Story Book Characters

Every year, the elementary school has *Dress Like Storybook Character* Day on Halloween, so I usually try to create their Halloween costumes around the storybook character of their choice.  They have a parade at the school and the kids carry the storybook with them.

Wilson wanted to be Mighty Casey at the Bat.  He didn't like the mustache or the *muscles* we put on him.  He kept saying, "No one wants to see me with muscles!"  I insisted though, because without the muscles or mustache he was just an ordinary baseball player.

Maisy wanted to be Kirsten: An American Girl.  In the book, Kirsten is a pioneer who comes on a boat from Sweden and then travels to Minnesota to settle with her family.  All week long she has been asking us to just call her Kirsten, please.

Ace didn't have much say in what his costume would be.  He got to be a Chocolate Chip Cookie from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.  He does like that book and he liked his costume okay too.

We had a Halloween Party this year.  We made Haunted Gingerbread House!  Very spooky!

Even spookier--our friend that dressed up like He Who Must Not Be Named

We had sooo much fun trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.  It's such a fun place!  Everyone comes out and sits on their porches or driveways to hand out candy.  It's a very festive atmosphere.  We love and hope to celebrate many more Halloween's right here.

Happy Halloween!

Wilson has glasses!

After weeks of complaining that he can't see things far away and after a screening test at the school--Wilson got glasses!  He had a great experience with Dr. Gibbons.  Seeing better is helping him in all aspects of his life...

It helps with playing BASEBALL

It helps when playing GAMES

And of course it helps when watching TV

In the car on the way home from picking up his glasses, Wilson was enthralled in the new world of being able to see things much clearer.  I overheard him saying this to Maisy:

Wilson: "Maisy, I can see things that you probably can't see!  Like that tree over there!  It's like I have SUPER SONIC POWERS!!"

Maisy: "Wow, Wilson!  That's so cool!"

All About Ace

I thought it was time to give a little update on Alton.  He's growing up tooooo fast.  We call him our passionate child.  Every emotion is to the MAX!  But he is conceivably cute while wearing every emotion.


This is a HUGE no-no in our house.  No eating in the living room.  But, I couldn't help it.  He's so cute!

I LOVE this little video.  We had been trying to get Ace to say "Da-da" or "Daddy" or anything resembling his father figure.  He's been enthusiastically saying "Mom!" for a while--which I will admit is secretly so satsifying because our other two said "Da-da" first without even a bat of the eye.  But when we would request him to say "Da-da," all we would get is a precocious little grin.  Until one morning, when Brett was at work, he woke up saying, "Dad," and he wouldn't stop.  It was totally unbelievable!  I had to video tape him so that Brett would believe me.  It was just so great!  We love you ACE!

A Time for Birthdays

We had a wonderful time celebrating Maisy's birthday with a Pajama Party!

She had a donut cake (very easy to assemble.)

Her friends all came dressed in pajamas and some even wore slippers.

We had pancakes and played games.  One of the games involved pillow cases and hopping around in them.

Then we headed over to Austin to celebrate my grandmother's birthday.  This picture is for posterity.  It's not as good as my other "for posterity picture" otherwise known as "the grandma picture."

This is my Grandma Judy with my mother (her daughter.)  We had a great time!  The best was when I found out that I am related to the principal (his boss, basically) at Brett's school.  We are 2nd cousins once removed!!  Isn't that just the best!  So totally random.  Gotta love families.

Turtle Ride

This is a random post. I'm throwing in a highlight of our adventure to the Texas Rangers game. We had a blast. Maisy loved eating the food. Ace loved throwing things over the balcony. And Wilson loved the whole experience.

Wilson's favorite player, Ian Kinsler, hit a home run that night. They shoot off fireworks when a home run is hit.

This is a random little video of my dad--otherwise known as Pop--giving the grandkids a *TURTLE RIDE.* I loved this because my sister, brothers, and I use to get turtle rides when were children. Good times!

Fashion Show! Fashion Show! Fashion Show for Mom!

Sunday Sept. 13th was Brett's Birthday.  We had a BIRTHDAY FASHION SHOW!  It was fabulous!  Brett's Mom had bought him some new clothes that a very innovative and talented teacher would be proud to wear.  He looked SO handsome and VERY professional--well, I guess he tried to look professional.  You know Brett.  So take a look and tell us which look you like the BEST:

The *There's No Twinkie in My Lunch Today* Look

The *Prancing Pony* Look

The *Can You Shake It Like This* Look

The *Teacher of The Year/Most Studly Teacher of All* Look

The *How Do You Say Oompa Loompa In Spanish* Look

The *I Am Normal* Look

Thanks Ace for giving the final approval!  Happy Birthday Brett!  We love every bit of you and your *looks*

BYU Cougars #9

That's right.  This entry is all about celebrating, bragging, gloating or whatever you want to call it!  Before you even ask--yes, it was a glorious event.  Just being in the brand new and one-of-a-kind Cowboys Stadium was an experience all in itself.  But match that with an incredible and exciting display of the beloved game of football by our very own BYU Cougars and well, it was an athletic fusion that literally moved me to tears!  Never in my life did I think I would cry over football.

The new Cowboys Stadium is absolutely incredible.  Our seats afforded us a great "overhead" view of the field, and a beautiful look at the biggest TV in the world.  160 feet long, 72 feet high. Wow.

 

There were LOTS of rows in fornt of us, and only two rows behind us.  If we were back any farther, we might have fallen out of the stadium.  That's okay, though.  We could still see everything just fine. 

As the first half ended with the Cougars only down by three points, we realized there was a chance of something special happening.  We started getting pretty excited and anxious.  

 

Then, when the Cougars put up a ferocious goal line stand, followed by Max Hall's brilliant touchdown drive, we went CRAZY.  The Cougars held on to win, and as the Sooner fans filed out of the stadium, the BYU fans stayed and celebrated one of the BIGGEST WINS IN BYU HISTORY!!

 

In the polls the Cougars are up to #9, but in our hearts they will always be #1!!