Pre-Christmas Activities

Playing in the snow

Hanging with Grandma

Gingerbread house construction

Seeing the lights

Texas Christmas

Our Christmas in pictures!

A ride around Frisco Square on a makeshift trainGetting the courage to get in the Santa line, but no closer than 5 feet away
"Texas Christmas" morning a week early at home

Thanksgiving 10

The week before Thanksgiving, Aunt Katie came to visit since she had a job interview in Irving. She got the job! So she is going to be a close neighbor.I have been waiting for Helaman to upload his phone pics to post the Thanksgiving pictures but I may as well just write about it in the meantime. It was great! The day before we left for Houston, Helaman decided he wanted to smoke a turkey this year. So he went to the store and bought a smoker. The next day we drove to Houston with it still boxed up in the car. He got up early to put it in the smoker, and by Thanksgiving afternoon it was a beaut, and one of the best tasting turkeys I've tasted. Thanks H! We also had fun with the fam making a 4 course pizza meal together, hanging out at the park, sharing our talents during Variety Night and admiring new baby Clark.

I did not get into Black Friday this year. Like last year, I felt like the retailers didn't really put forth the doorbusters and loss leaders that I rely on for a great early morning shopping outing. Maybe next year!

Charlotte had a ton of fun with her Grandma B. Here they are in coordinating outfits. Grandma made the dress.

November Supper Club

November was my month to host Supper Club with my partner Angela. A group of 12 girls from the ward get together each month for delicious food creations and uninterrupted adult conversation. It was a lot of fun to prepare, but it will be even more fun for the next few months when I am not in charge and can just enjoy it!

My china got its second use in 7 years!

Appetizer: Cheese & Artichoke Bites

Soup Course: Tomato Basil

Prosciutto Chicken Paachi

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Pool Party

The girls have been enjoying our fall weather. Olivia loves to sit in her pool outside (amazing idea) and watch Charlotte drive her car around the patio.
Charlotte recently inherited a yellow skirt from her friend Julia. This was a few weeks ago; she has yet to take it off. Yesterday I asked her to step outside and tell me if she thought she would be warm enough to go to the store. She changed into pants for the store, but the minute we got home the skirt came out again.
For playgroup we went to the Heard Museum in Allen. They have a pretty impressive dinosaur display. I love Charlotte's pose here.

Happy 7th!

Happy 7th Anniversary Helaman! I love you so much!

Olivia is 10 months!

My little baby is growing up! She crawls like a champ, eats anything in sight, and does the splits with ease. It is impossible not to squeeze her, kiss her and hug her all day.

Happy Halloween!

We love Halloween. There are always so many festivities. First was Safety Town. We got there early and narrowly missed a huge crowd and an even bigger downpour.
Recycle Dog giving... a hug?

The NTTA go karts are always a favorite.

Next was the playgroup church trick or treat.

After that was Trunk or Treat. Olivia was a huge hit in her poodle costume, though she had her doubts about it and aired them loudly (in other words, she was super fussy). It certainly kept her warm on what turned out to be a chilly night.
After a round of the parking lot, the girls decided to jump in a trunk to keep warm.

Our pumpkin carvings for the year. I bought this battery powered pumpkin carver at CVS this year, totally excited to cut our drilling time in half. It was a disappointment. The power saw was so weak it was easier to do it manually.

Halloween

Fall Scenes

Happy Fall! After leaving it up for 10 months, the nut wreath I made last year succumbed to moths (yuck!) So I made a new one, which was very fun and I think it is a definite improvement over the old one. Making these always reminds me of putting together a jigsaw puzzle.
It was Olivia's turn to wear the yellow wig! Charlotte wore it 3 years ago. She really thought she was something in it.
We visited the Big Orange Pumpkin Patch and loved it! It was perfect weather, not crowded, and not far away at all. It was fun driving through acres of farmland scenery to get there.

Pumpkin surfin'

The animals were well fed that day, and most were sick of the offerings. A few good-natured ones would still come up and say hello.

Enjoying a late afternoon hayride.

Loving Halloween already!

My pumpkin in a pumpkin patch.

9 Months

My butterball is 9 months! She has developed severe separation anxiety and won't let me leave a room without hollering. But, she is a little sweetie who you can't help but cuddle with. She gets excited at the very glimpse of her alligator xylophone and plays it like a rock star.

Weight: 23.6 lbs - 97%
Height: 28.5 inches - 84%
Head: 18.5 inches - 99%

Huge thanks to Mom, who came down for the weekend to take care of these ladies while I went to Time Out for Women in Plano. It was tons of fun to learn a lot, carry on uninterrupted conversations with friends from the ward, and know that my girls are in good hands!
...although still not entirely cooperative when it comes to taking pictures.

Girls

Olivia is 8 months! She isn't crawling yet, but somehow gets all over the house. The girls were playing in the family room this morning when I took a shower. By the time I got out, they were both in my room with me. Charlotte loves to drag her all over, and most of the time Olivia is alright with it. She doesn't sleep as long in the morning as I would like, but how can you not be happy to see that face?

Here is Charlotte on her way to a Princess Party. Charlotte loves shopping with Mom, building Lego houses and dressing up her little sister. She always likes to know what "the plan" is and will not hesitate to protest any deviations to "the plan". She can point out any Hyundai Santa Fe on the road as well as any Toyota Highlander (that's Grandma's car!)