True Religion

Hi there. This is Luke...I took over Mom's compooter to show you these AWESOME jeans that Auntie Atlanta bought me. She also made me this studly shirt. Am I handsome or what?

Polar Express and Nana, Grampa Jim Visit

Nana and Grampa Jim came in for David's birthday this weekend. We celebrated by taking Luke to the Polar Express and having a great birthday dinner at home. We laughed about the 'lameness' of the train ride and the terrible views, but Luke didn't care and LOVED the whole experience. We also told his parents of our new arrival with the 'big brother' shirt that Luke has on. We had to point it out, but they are very excited.

Checking out the Christmas stage while waiting on the train...

Getting in line with tickets in hand...

Sweet boy...

Always has that finger in his mouth...

Daddy and 'buddy-boo'


It was SO cold...it was snowing! (not really...fake snow looks pretty, too, though)

SANTA!

Luke was scared of Santa, but loved watching him from a distance. He made his way from car to car while Here Comes Santa Claus BLARED on the speakers. I think they had to play it 10 times before he made it to the front...Luke didn't notice, but we had fun joking about it.

Luke's Plasma Car from Grampa Jim and Nana! He LOVES it!

All 3 men gotta get their hands in to work on it!


Happy 34th Birthday, Daddy! You are the best husband and father...EVER!

Grampa Jim test driving the car...

Old City Park

Before we moved, David and I would always make it a point to go to Old City Park during Christmas. We loved the holiday spirit of the park and quickly made it a tradition. So, we made a point to go this year. David, Mom and I took the kids (Luke and the cuz-ins) this time and it was a hit! There was a hay ride pulled by a HUGE tractor that Luke and Will LOVED. The streets were donned with lights and carolers dressed in 1850-1910 attire. The old school house had a Christmas musical provided by a local elementary school and all of the old homesteads were live with people in period attire. There were cowboys resting around a campfire and the traditional Hanukkah celebration in the George House. Blacksmiths forged objects out of iron and an old fashioned kettle corn bowl was there for all of us to enjoy. Volunteers made cookies and treats to sell for snacks and the old store sold nostalgic candies. I think the kids enjoyed our tradition, too. We will definitely go back next year with a baby in tow!

Elementary Choir

Gramma and Haley enjoying the choir concert

Haley and Will on hay ride

Haley really LOVES Will...doesn't it show! :)

All 3 on the hay ride...

Counting 1 to 10

Sorry for the poor quality. I don't have a great video camera. I think you can still hear him.

Thanks, Gramma, for the Gingerbread House

Trying to get a good picture of Haley, Will, and Luke...Impossible...

Impossible to get all three looking at the camera and smiling! What a beating! Maybe one day!

We did get this one at the Music Together Christmas party...not too shabby...

Thanksgiving at Lou Lou and Opa's

We left Nana and Grampa Jim's to have Thanksgiving at Lou Lou and Opa's. We enjoy being with them for a number of reasons. They love to have fun! Since we were in Houston, you can imagine that the temp was pretty warm. We enjoyed a yummy lunch of fried turkey and sufferin' succatash (only in TX, right). We roasted marshmellows in a fire/smoke pit in the back yard and the kids played in the hot tub! We didn't intend to get in the tub, but it is hard to convince kids that it's too cold in Novemeber when it's 80 degrees. They had a ball.

Sweet, silly Ella in her new Ovilove shirt!

Family pic on the way to church...

Thanksgiving at Nana and Grampa Jim's

We spent Thanksgiving in Houston with David's parents. It was a great time. We love staying at Grampa Jim and Nana's for many reasons. One of them happens to be the awesome (forever long) walk-bike-run trail that runs through their city. It is an amazing tree lined nature walk. Last Thanksgiving, we found a turtle on a walk. This Thanksgiving, we just walked...and walked...and walked. Seriously, I kept asking David if we needed to turn back. He would reassure me that the path was going to loop back. Eventually, my sense of direction piped up again and made him call his Dad. I was right, we needed to turn back because the 'loop' wasn't going to happen anytime soon. So, after our hour and a half run walk, I was pooped and glad that Grampa Jim and Nana were cooking and my part was done. I was in charge of the 'decor'. See the tables below...pretty fun!

Flowers in a butternut squash...center piece

Kids table...pine cone turkeys!

Pretty little cousin Ella

How cute is she?

We tried to get an 'all-grandkid' picture...can you say, 'not gonna happen'?

What you lookin' at? Stay away from the spoon brotha!

This one is pretty good...gotta love Tyler's fishy face!

Take that, Colby! That'll teach you not to share the spoon.

Uh oh...an innocent bystander...Jack gets hit and it all goes down hill. Even caught the dog yawning.

(PS. If any of you know why my kid decides to hit babies or favorite cousins in the face, let me know. He gets so excited and starts slappin' away. I get on to him. It is hard, though, because he doesn't mean to really 'hit' them. It is almost like he can't control his excitement.)