as for me and my house...: December 2010

Friday, December 24, 2010

Steve & Mark

We were lucky to have my brother Steve and his partner Mark come stay with us for a couple of days before Christmas! They live in South Carolina, so we rarely get to enjoy them! We love them both very much and wish we could have them more often!

Our first stop on the night they arrived was to the Harbor for some Salvadorian food at Glorias! Yumm!!

It was a little too chilly to enjoy the view for long though!

Tommy & Steve are in love!

Steve, Tommy, Tim, Mark, Maggie & Jenni

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We exchanged gifts early so that they could watch the kids open them - Thanks you guys!

Tim & Mark have the same taste in toys!

Maggie loved her cat hat! She actually slept with it on!

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Next was a trip downtown to show Mark a few of the sights in Dallas!

Steve liked the Farmers Market the best!

He couldn't believe ho big this jalapeno was! It will be stuffed for dinner shortly!

Mark is a STAAAARRRR!!!!

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Finally, we were off to Tillmans Roadhouse for lunch. DELICIOUS!!

Tim is obsessed with the Rubik's cube right now - he had it out showing the waiters how fast he can solve it - it was super funny when one of them pulled out his own to show Tim his skills!

Tommy delivering Steve his favorite vice - not a big drinker, he says it may take him about 3 years to finish it! Does that mean we don't have to get him a gift for three more years?

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

red moon -twice?

This is Maggie, Brian & Haley on Sunday night - hanging out inside until it got close enough to midnight to pile on the trampoline ( in the 40 degree temperatures) to watch the lunar eclipse and see the red moon.

This is Brian, Maggie & Haley all nestled in their sleeping bags ready to watch the eclipse from the trampoline on Sunday night

Yes - I said Sunday night - and yes, the eclipse was actually on Monday night!

Who was more stupid - Haley, for telling us it was on Sunday? or Brian & Maggie for believing her without checking the facts on the Internet?

Thanks to Tim for finally setting them straight!

(after they had FROZEN out on that trampoline!)

He thought they were all idiots!

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Lunar eclipse and red moon watch party, Round 2!

Monday night - Ben joined the ranks out on the trampoline (in much nicer weather, but still pretty chilly) to await the big event.

at about 1:40 in the morning they finally got to see the eclipse!

(don't check my timeline please! I'm close to being right, I'm sure!)

then they saw the red moon at nearly 3:00 a.m.- Maggie slept through everything in between!

I love this next pic - they were all so tired from a worthless late night the night before - then a full day of six flags - that they were not entirely impressed with the moon!

Ben looks drunk - Brian is disappointed - Maggie is saying "I woke up for that?" - and Haley is sad that the aliens didn't beam them up like they do on t.v!

maggie, the wedding & six flags

Carlie is back from her 1st semester in Hawaii! We first got to get together with her at her brothers wedding - just after she arrived! Maggie couldn't wait to see her!

The crowd was there (minus a few) and so I snapped a few shots.

trent, scotty, dave, maggie, ben & greyson

i LOVE ben's butterfly hands!

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Next adventure - SIX FLAGS!!

Haley, Brian, Ben & Scott came along for a fun day! The weather was PERFECT!! and the coasters were AWESOME - hardly any wait time!

ben, haley, maggie, scott & brian

boys!

Tim & Michaela's Christmas

Tim and his girl, Michaela exchanged Christmas gifts early, because she is spending the holiday at her dads house in Canada. She got him a gift card to gamestop and he got her a baseball cap!

she exclaimed, "YES!"

then went on & on about how much she loved it!

Really - it was adorable - look at her happy face! If everyone received gifts the way she did, more people would give gifts!

then they spent a while trying to pop the packing pillows!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

My Favorite Weekend of the Year!

The weekend of Forney Hometown Christmas is my very favorite! I love the festivities welcoming Santa and the holiday season to our small town!

First is the ceremonial lighting of the town Christmas tree (it's really lame actually - a very small tree in an empty lot next door to the auto repair shop!) where the elementary and high school choirs sing and hot cocoa is served to all!

Next is the big day! It starts of with a parade through downtown - girl scouts and firemen and horses with antlers marching, bringing Santa and Mrs Clause to the main stage, where he is given the key to the city! Vendors have booths set up all along main street for shoppers to browse through, choirs and dance studios perform throughout the day, kids enjoy the bounce houses and carnival games, and Santa sits in the city garden for pictures with young and old alike! The weather is always great and I don't feel like the holidays have arrived until this special day!

tim and tyler at the tree lighting

"SANTA!!! I KNOW HIM!!!"

BFF Michaela singing with her choir

Tim dutifully watched Michaela perform, and then it was off to play!

Maggie hung out with her friend Brian for a little while

Tim & Michaela enjoyed a funnel cake - yummm!

I had to cut the afternoon short for a photo shoot - Mag & Brian came along to help. It was pretty cold so she borrowed someone's coat and he got stuck holding my lenses and hairspray! Thanks Brian!

Actually - I got a little ahead of myself - friday night my friend Stefanie and I hosted a HOLIDAY SHOPPING PARTY!!

We had several vendors come and we had a blast! Lots of door prizes were given away and all of the vendors were able to sell their wares! Most of the guests were able to get some shopping handled in one fun night!