Thanksgiving

Well, it seems like forever since I have blogged!!!! A lot has been going on! Chase had his birthday and had a fun party. We took the kids and some of Chase's friends bowling. WOW! It had been a long time since we went bowling! It was a ton of fun! Chase really wanted and needed a new bike for his birthday....so here it is! He is pretty excited...the side of his bike says "chaos" and it doesn't have foot breaks, and the coolest part is that his front tire turns a full 360!!! Chase also asked if he could have his scriptures early (instead of waiting for his baptism. So we took care of that last week!)Chase is such a great kid! We are so happy to have him in our family!Most of you know that twilight came out last weekend....well, Jordan was SO excited to see the movie. A girlfriend and her worked hard making their t-shirts to wear to the movie...she loved it! Eventhough I didn't read the book, I went to see the movie with some girlfriends. Thanks Shaunna for keeping me clued in on what was going on!!! I loved the movie, and have now commited to reading the series!!!I broke the rules and decided to put up all of my Christmas stuff early....so I had the house decorated for Christmas before Thanksgiving. (I didn't have the tree up, so I didn't break all the rules!) It just seems like Christmas is coming too fast!!! We were so lucky to have Ricks parents come and stay with us for a week! We had such a fun time and were so happy to have them here! The kids got to go swimming at lifetime with grandpa (he even went down the waterslide), we did some shopping, and played lots of games!!!! Thanksgiving was super yummy.....thanks to Marlene's rolls!!! We kept with the tradition and made gumdrop turkeys. Cody got a little crazy with his, and I think Chase ate half the bag of gumdrops. This year was my first time to make yams and apples....let me just say...YUMMY!!!! I will definately be making them again! My cousin and his wife, Davey and Kristi came for Thanksgiving too!!! It was a great day!Friday night was pretty chilly outside, so Chase had an awesome idea of having a fire in the backyard. Rick started the chimnea and we had some hot chocolate! What could be better? Tonight was Dickens of a Christmas in downtown McKinney....I love it!!! It was nice and cool, and the square looked so pretty! They had Christmas lights, people singing, and awesome booths with food and activities for the kids. The first thing we did when we got there was take a ride down the sledding hill....what??? snow in texas??? Well, we make our own snow! Jordan, Chase, Cody, and I all took a turn going down the hill... We walked around and looked at some shops, Paige and Chase rode some ponies. That was not such a great deal....the kids stood in line and when they got up the lady said, $5.00. We thought well, okay - then she said $5.00 each! What?? I guess we know better for next time! That was the most expensive thing of the whole night!We had hot chocolate and they had a cute little train that gave rides around the square. The kids also got to decorate their own cookies. Of course Paige made hers into a cute snowman. Being extra careful to make it look nice. Chase took a little less time, and here is what Cody came up with!!!! We love walking around downtown....it is so fun and really puts us into the Christmas mood!!!! Hope everyone had a nice holiday!

Happy Birthday CHASE!!!!

My little guy is 8 years old and I can't believe it!!!! I remember the day he was born so well. Chase was born at 9:46 in the morning. I was actually scheduled to be induced on the 15th, but my water broke the morning of the 14th. Chase had a little bit of trouble coming into this world. He wasn't breathing very well when he was born. About 6 nurses were working on him when my doctor went over to check things out and finally little Chase decided he would quit scaring all of us and start breathing. From that moment on, Chase has been perfect!Chase was my biggest baby at 7 pounds 6 ounces. He had the cutest and chubbiest legs I have ever seen. Chase was always full of smiles when he was little and loved to get into everything. He was my first experience with boys....wow! He was different than my little girls. He was born making car noises and constantly had to have a ball or bat in his hand. (that still holds true today!)Besides hitting or throwing balls, Chase loved playing with his tools. Anytime Rick was fixing anything, Chase was right there with his goggles and tools! It was so cute to see him following his dad around all the time! Chase is growing up to be such an awesome kid! I couldn't ask for a better son! He is kind, smart, a hard worker, and very caring. Chase is very obedient and listens to his mom and dad. (Hopefully this will always hold true! :-)

Chase, I can't believe you are already 8. You have been such a joy to have in our family. Our family wouldn't be the same without you! I know you are excited about getting baptized. Your dad and I are so proud of you. I love you buddy! I hope you have a great birthday. Turning 8 is awesome!

New York continued!!!!

So here is the rest of what we did in New York!!!!
Day 2:
Day 2 in New York was so much fun! Rick had to work most of the day, so I spent the majority of the day with another wife that was there. Her name is Blanca and she was so much fun to hang out with. After breakfast the guys went one way and we went the other....straight to the subway!! First stop...CHINATOWN! We needed to do some shopping! My friends told me about how people would come up to you and whisper..."handbag, chanel, coach." They want you to go with them in a back room to see their "designer" purses. Since I was with someone I figured I would go...The first store we were in the lady opened a secret door in the back of the store. I would have never guessed it was there. It was a small room with great purses, but I decided to hold out and see what others had. So as we were walking another guy asked us if we wanted to see some purses....we said okay...we followed him down the street. He opened the door and took us up three flights of stairs. (Very steep I might add!) Then through a door into a big open room and finally into another door. He had a ton of purses!!!! Let me say....I definately wouldn't recommend following complete strangers into strange places in other circumstances! :-) Luckily I was worned this would happen, otherwise I would have been completely freaked out! Chinatown was great! We continued walking through Little Italy, Soho, Noho, and got onto the Subway to "BLOOMINGDALES!" Soho was a fun area....lots of shops and also where NYU is. I also saw something crazy! A "city style" Home Depot. It was crazy! Just right there on the street as if it were a clothing store. Bloomingdales was fun, and for a moment I got to pretend I could actually afford anything I wanted in the store! By this time it was past lunch time, so we headed to a restaurant both our friends had told us about.....SERENDIPITY3. Okay - this place was SO cute and fun!!!! I would definately recommend this place! It was tiny.....if you blinked you would pass it, but just the environment was fun...they are known for their dessert, but their food was good too...for lunch I had a sandwich and "double dare chocolate mousse!"" YUMMMMMMMMM!!!!!! It was the best I've ever had!!!! After lunch - my friend went to see Letterman, so I just toured around myself. I had the best time!!!!! I went to Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Macy's, Madison Square Garden, saw the Empire State Building, and walked pretty much that whole area of the city! Rockefeller Center was cool...I saw the ice skating rink and where they tape the Today Show.We finally took the Subway back to the hotel to meet up with the hubbies!!! I had to take Rick to Serendipity for dinner, so we headed back that way! Again, our food was so good, and we tried "frozen hot chocolate". YUM! It tasted like a cocoa shake... The weather was getting pretty cold, so what better than cuddling up together while taking a carriage ride! Yup!!!! We did the carriage ride through part of Central Park! Fun, Awesome, Romantic!!! Our driver was so nice and let us know about all the info that goes on at Central Park. Then since Rick hadn't seen Times Square yet, we headed there. While walking there we passed The Plaza, Trump Towers, FAO Schwartz, Radio City, ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center, and pretty much everything!!!! Times Square is a place like no other!!! By this time it was getting really late so we decided we should probably head back to the hotel. Once we were in the subway we had to figure out a special "late night" route, since not all the trains were running. When we got to our stop we walked up to the street and the rain was POURING!!!! We started our "scary" walk and got drenched. I'm not sure if I would recommend walking late at night in the scary streets of Brooklyn! I feel myself getting all tense everytime we start walking from the subway to our hotel - in the dark! I totally feel like an expert Subway rider and tourist!!!!! WAIT!!!!! We got tickets to the David Letterman Show!!!!! Before we left I applied online for tickets. The way it works is they call you on the phone and if you answer a trivia question correctly they will give you tickets. Of course I put all of Ricks information down, since I don't know everything about the David Letterman Show. I wasn't sure if they would call, but while I was talking to Rick on the phone he said, "let me call you back, the Letterman show is calling me." They asked him what type of store does Rupert (David Lettermans friend) own? And he knew the answer!!!!! It is a deli store called Hello Deli! I never would have known that!
Day 3: It rained all day!!! I decided what better thing to do on a rainy day then to go to a museum. I spent a good part of the day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (also known as the Met!) This was so great! I haven't been much of an art fan, and honestly if it wasn't raining, I don't know that I would have gone. BUT, I'm so glad I did. Now I understand why Paige loves art so much! I can't wait to see more with Paige at local art museums. The Met was awesome and I have learned to really appreciate art! That night it stopped raining, so Rick and I headed out to the city. I really wanted to see a show, so we saw - "spamalot" It was very good, and Clay Aiken did a fabulous job. I have decided I really could see any show and LOVE it.
Day 3: Rick and I decided to head to the World Trade Center site and do a tour. Wow - that is amazing and heartwrenching. I was listening to the audio tour and couldn't help but get teary eyed. I definately recommend this!!! It was awesome. I hope we get to go back when they are finished building all the memorials. Rick had one request for lunch...that was to eat at the Hello Deli....so before letterman we went in and talked with Rupert and had awesome sandwiches! That was fun to get a picture with him....then off to Letterman! Awesome!!! We got seats front and center.....just being there was cool...it was the day Alec Baldwin was on.

The first day we were there - New York seemed a little scary and overwhelming....but now - WE LOVE IT!!!!!!! Rick- thank you so much for taking me with you and spending time with me....you are truely the best and didn't complain about all the pictures, sites, shows, and crazy things I wanted to do! I love you so much and can't wait until one day when we can go back! I love you!

Halloween!!!!!!

Halloween is such a fun time of year!!! It gives me an excuse to dress up and be crazy!!!! This year Paige's fourth grade class has a Mad Science Lab. This is a big secret for the kids! The parents dress up as mad scientists and the kids get to come in and do fun "hands on" experiments! Can you guess which one is me???Paige had no idea I was even there. She went through the whole hour not knowing it was me behind the black wig and funky teeth! She did give me a few wierd looks though. Finally when she came to my station I went over and stood beside her. (I think I scared her at first) She kept turning away from me and moving over. Finally I bent down and gave her a hug and kiss. She yelled, "MOM!!!" It was great! We had a blast getting messy!!
Every year for Halloween I make a "buffet" type dinner. That way I don't have to worry about finding time for dinner and cleaning up the dinner dishes. I just set the food out on the table and the kids can eat as they want too! Jordan had a group of her friends over, so they just came and went. Some of our delicious treats are: Halloweenies, green slime, deviled eggs, broken bones, and witch warts. (A big thanks to mom for starting this tradition when I was little and making me my very own set of name tags for the food!)
The kids were so cute this year!! Jordan was Rosalee from the book Twilight, Paige was an old "granny", Chase was a gangster, and Cody was a policeman. (If you can believe it the police costume was my old dance costume!)

HELLO MR AND MRS INCREDIBLE!!! This year Rick and I were the INCREDIBLES!!!! You are probably asking how I talked Rick into dressing up with me??? Well, lets just say there was a little bit of begging, pleading and I owed him HUGE!!!! He is such a good sport! I am lucky to have a husband that will be crazy with me and have fun! Let me say.....he looked so good in his costume! Look at those legs!!!


I love Halloween and the chance it gives us for the whole family to get together. Donny is home for just a couple of weeks before heading back to Afghanistan, so we were so happy to spend Halloween with him... Mom, Dad, Kristi, and Davey also came to do some trick or treating with us!
This picture blows my mind. Here is the candy from Paige, Chase, and Cody....this doesn't even include Jordans candy! WE HAVE WAY TOO MUCH!!!! Thank goodness my kids won't sit and just eat candy all day...they are pretty good about pacing themselves. Last year Jordan still had her bag of Halloween candy stored in her room on Valentines Day. (I finally made her throw it away). For the past two days the kids have been re-organizing their candy and making "trades."Halloween was so fun.....I can't believe it is over and we are now heading into the holidays....AHHHH! It all goes by way too fast!