December and Christmas Fun!

CHRISTMAS WITH MOM AND DAD
Since we wouldn't be spending Christmas with mom and dad this year, they wanted to be sure we had our own Christmas together! Mom and dad made a yummy dinner and mom pulled out her good china for us to eat on! Mom always does such a great job making everything look so nice. Mom went overboard on the desserts this year and made cupcake brownies.
She had a friend of hers make cupcake toppers! The kids loved them!!! They were amazing. From looking at them, you wouldn't think you could eat them....but yup, completely edible!! She had snowmen, Santa, elves, Christmas trees, anything Christmas you could want. Wait a second....Cody looks just like this one!! It was great sitting around the table with family! Davey and Kristi were able to join us, along with Uncle Ron. The kids enjoyed opening their presents from everyone. Davey and Kristi gave us something really cool this year. They gave us a card and on it said that a donation had been made in our name to a family in Africa for chickens. They explained to the kids that this was a very big deal for them. This was how they got money, food, pretty much everything they have. A letter will be sent to us soon with more information about the family and what the donation truly means to this family. Thanks Davey and Kristi!!!! It was a great night all around! Mom and Dad your the best!!! Thanks for always going above and beyond to make us feel special!!!
PACK MEETING
Chase officially moved up to Webelos this pack meeting. He received his basketbll belt loop and his SO close to earning his religious square knot!!!
The webelos did the cutest Christmas puppet show. They worked so hard and did such a great job. They made the back drop and each boy made his very own puppet. Chase was the tree in the puppet show and did a great job!! We have an awesome group of boys and leaders that do such a great job with our scouting program. I love seeing all that they do and accomplish. Chase is lucky to be in such a great pack!!!

WHAT DOES CODY DO AT OUR HOUSE WHEN HE NEEDS SOMETHING TO DO???
Well, he builds a fort of course!!!I am actually sorry to say that this picture was taken before the fort was fully finished. He did add on to it before all was said and done. He even made an open and closed sign for it!! I think all the kids have slept in it with him. I love my little Cody and his creative mind!!!!

JORDAN SINGS SOLO!!
Jordan has been doing voice lessons and along with that comes the dreaded "voice recital." This is something that actually terrifies Jordan, but she has gotten better each time she has done it. This time was her best!!! She remembered all the words, didn't repeat any verses, and actually smiled!!!! Jordan, we are so proud of you for stepping out of your comfort zone! You did a great job!!! (I did video it, but promised her I wouldn't put it on my blog.)

SCHOOL PARTIES!!
School ended with a bang for the kids!!! Cody and Chase had their class parties. Well, actually they weren't partying just on the last day. It was pretty much the week!!! They got to have a Polar Express day and come to school in their jammies and watch the movie!!! Chase's class made ornaments and decorated train cookies, while drinking hot chocolate!!! Paige watched a few movies in different classes, and Jordan decided she and her girlfriends would wear fun Christmas sweaters to school!!!Well, I would say it was a great way to end school for this year. The kids are definatily ready for a break and Christmas!!! Hopefully the break will re-energize them to start off 2011 going strong!!!

Sonic Fundraiser

As if December wasn't already busy enough, why not throw in a fundraiser for the softball team? I have myself to blame...I was actually in charge of setting this up, and December was the ONLY time Sonic had open before our season started. So I grabbed it and hoped for the best. The girls did AWESOME!!! Full support from girls and parents. They worked hard and delivered food like Pros!!! We did great for one days work.


A huge thank you to everyone who helped!!! I told Jordan she looked great working that food line. Could there be a Sonic job in her future???

Ugly Sweater Party

Rick and I were invited to our SECOND Ugly Sweater Party... Wahooo...we made the invite list, two years running!Unfortunately this year, we didn't have much time to put that much effort into our sweaters, so next year we will really have to step it up. We are definitely not in a group of amateurs - they take this thing seriously AND look really good!!

Rick and the boys...Me with my girlfriends.THE WHOLE GROUP!!!!!

THE BOYS!!!!THE GIRLS!!!!I loved Sally's candy cane sweater, and Jeff had not only his shirt lighting up this year, but also his pants! And Bryan - well, what do I say about Bryan??? You went all out buddy!! Winner for sure!!! We had such a great time! What an awesome group of people to hang out with!

We started the night with dinner at Saltgrass. Yes, there were many stares and silent comments as we were waiting for our table outside. But nothing compared to the laughs and applause we received when we entered the restaurant!!! The night continued back at the Fry's house where awesome desserts were eaten and white elephant gifts were exchanged. Always the highlight!!! What a great night...can't wait until next year!

It's Christmas Time!!

Well, December is almost over and I have hardly posted anything about what we have been doing. We have had lots of fun at our house, but as usual the holiday season is flying by and I haven't been able to do hardly anything I wanted to. Maybe if I start now for next year EVERYTHING will get done and maybe I will have time to sit, relax, and enjoy. (nahhhhh....it wouldn't be the holidays if I wasn't busy, busy, busy...right???)

Right after we got home from spending Thanksgiving in Branson I wanted to get the house decorated and the Christmas tree up!!! Decorating the Christmas tree is one of my favorite things to do with the kids. Each year they get to pick out an ornament, so when it is time to get all the ornaments out - they are so excited and love putting all of "their" ornaments in a pile. I have a list of who's is who's, but they seem to never forget!! It is fun to hear the, "oh, I remember this one" and "this one is my favorite!". The kids each hang their ornaments...when all is said and done, the tree is full of great memories!!! Most years I have to do a little "remodeling" of the tree to spread some ornaments out, but this year I figured I would leave it just the way the kids decorated it!!! And it looked great!!! A little ornament heavy in some areas, but still fabulous!!Keeping with tradition, once the kids decorated the tree and went off to bed, I hid the pickle in the tree for them to find. This year I was certain I found the best hiding place EVER!!! When they woke up, they hurried to the tree to search for the pickle. A day went by, then two, then three....they begged and begged for a hint!!! I gave in, once I gave the hint of which side of the tree it was on, BOOM - it was found!!! Jordan was the first to find it this year!!! I believe that is two years in a row. (according to her) Alright - next year... NO HINTS!!!!

With all the fun of decorating the tree, we figured why not decorate the kids too!!! We had such a good time wrapping the kids with lights and decorating them!!I remember when I was little and my parents would do the same to me! Cody was so excited he wanted to be first!!!Chase had to have his Longhorn hat as the finishing touch!
Sporting her art clothes, Paige made the cutest little tree.Thank you Jordan for being a good sport. I hope you realize you will never be too old :) You are so good to humor your mother and never complain!!Decorating the Christmas tree is a fun thing our family does together each year. But even more fun are the memories we make while doing it! There always seems to be some crazy thing going on! But in the end, I hope the kids remember these moments for years to come. It is the simple thing of decorating the Christmas tree that I will cherish for a lifetime!!

What is Jordan up to?

A big congrats to Jordan for receiving the Academic of Excellence Award. She was actually awarded this for her grades last year. She received a red cord. Each year she receives this award she will get a different color cord. (Hopefully she will get it every year :)We are so proud of you Jordan and all the hard work you put into doing well. Way to go sweetie!!!

Jordan was also able to go on a fun getaway a couple of weekends ago with a good friend of hers. She was invited to a church retreat and had a great time getting to meet new friends and also reconnecting with old ones. Haley has been a good friend of Jordan's since Kindergarten. Girls being silly!!Jordan and KatherineLove to play in the leaves!!Getting ready to zipline!!Jordan's turn!! Jordan is up for trying mostly anything!!I'm so glad Jordan has these opportunities. It is good to spend time with different groups of friends and also learn about other religions.

Thanksgiving in Branson!!

This year for Thanksgiving we headed to Branson, Missouri for our second year in a row. We really enjoyed ourselves last year and decided we would try it again this year. We left the day before Thanksgiving and met Ricks brother and wife there. We also had some other friends from McKinney there as well. The first night we were there we took the kids to watch "The Acrobats of China" show. Oh my gosh they were amazing. I can't believe how strong they were and the crazy things they could do with their bodies!!The next day was Thanksgiving. We took our time getting ready and hung around the hotel for a bit, then headed to our Thanksgiving Feast! We went to another hotel that had a buffet. It was delicious!!!! Great food, as much as we wanted, and no cleaning up!!! FABULOUS!!! What an awesome day of the year. I look at these pictures and am so grateful for the many blessings I have received throughout my life. I am truly grateful for all that I have.I am especially grateful for my hubby. I was so lucky to find him and be able to spend the rest of my life with him. This year it actually started snowing a bit as we walked out of lunch. That didn't last long, but was followed by a little rain. SO - our options of a day on the town didn't happen. Instead we headed back to the hotel and the boys watched a little football. The rest of us kept up with the yearly tradition of making GUMDROP TURKEYS!!! It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the gumdrop turkeys. Paige and her turkey...Mom decided she would get in on the fun too!!Jordan and her turkey...We had so many turkeys, the kids ended up getting creative and making all kinds of animals!The rain finally stopped so we decided to walk around the town a bit. We were absolutely freezing, but had a great time window shopping. As we spent this time together, giggling, playing, joking, cuddling all together - I again realized what life is about. Being with those we love! Times like these are so very precious. I know I will remember them always.On our way home we stopped at one of our favorite places ....Krispy Kreme. What could be better than a warm donut and hot chocolate.Once we got home, the girls and I sad our goodbyes and headed out the door for some Thanksgiving Shopping!!!! We grabbed one of Jordan's friends that was their to go with us. He was such a good sport!!! We got to the outlet mall around 11:00 and it was already packed! We had such a good time. Not only did we find some great buys, but we had a great time taking silly pictures and videos!!! We actually headed back to Krispy Kreme before we headed back to the hotel. When we got back to the hotel it was 3:30, I dropped the kids off and headed back by myself to Walmart. This was my first Thanksgiving Walmart experience....I will just say it was interesting. I was sure happy to climb into bed when I got home at 6:00 AM!!! We were super tired, but it was SO worth it!!By the weekend, the weather was great!! Rick was able to go golfing with his brother and the rest of us were able to enjoy Branson. The kids could hardly wait to ride the go karts, so we headed there first!!! Everyone except Cody was able to ride their own car....the battle was on!!! Cody and I were in first most of the time, but I think Chase passed us right at the end. We definitely worked up an appetite, so off to lunch we went. Our favorite part was the GIGANTIC banana split we tried to share. Even with 6 of us, we still couldn't finish it all. Close, but nope, we couldn't do it. And this is how far we got!!!We walked around the cute village of shops and ended up at our favorite picture spot. The gigantic rocking chair!!Every year the kids ask if we can buy it!! Where in the world would one put such a large chair??

We had a wonderful weekend in Branson. We hit as many shows as we could. The boys were sure to ask dad for a souvenir at just about all of them :) I actually do love their "vase" hats. We fit in some shuffle board. Last minute homework assignments. And most important....spent time together. I love the holidays and the time we are able to spend with those we love!