Christmas Trip, Part II

On the 23rd, we headed up to Salt Lake City to spend time with Neal's family. We met up at his cousin, Tricia's house, where we had a yummy dinner. (Thanks, Tricia!)

That night, the kids slept at Charlotte's and Neal and I at Georgia's. We went to Temple Square on Christmas Eve. Our kids had never been!

 Audrey, Savannah, Oliver, Emmaline, Miles, Parker and Tucker.

 We went back to Charlotte and Tyler's house for some traditional Clam Chowder, games and gift opening. Emmaline made everyone a gift; it was so sweet. We loved these "Dinosaur Feet" she made for Johnny.

 Some of my pictures downloaded funny. This is one of them. Audrey and Emmaline.

Late that night, we drove back to Sundance, just in time for Santa to come! The next morning was so fun.

 Miles, opening his Josh Hamilton autographed ball.

Santa brought Audrey a Kindle and this wolf case to put it in. She has not put it down, but to sleep, since this moment. Way to go, Santa!

 Christmas aftermath, from the loft. My dad helped Miles put together his huge Lego Star Wars ship, and Parker was working on his circuit kit.

Mom and I took a peaceful walk before dinner. All in all, a very peaceful Christmas Day.

Christmas Trip, Part I

We had such a fun Christmas break. We opened a few presents here at home before we left for Sundance.

Where we mostly just lazed around watching little people come in and out of the room being silly.

 Matthew reading to Sadie, David and Max.

 Miles, Max, Jack and Parker

 Annie and Audrey

The kids played outside. There was so little snow that they were able to go all the way down, below the house, to the stream and the little cabins that are nestled alongside it.

 David and Miles, warming up in the tubby.

One afternoon, we went to my parents' friends' house to see their animals. This is the same family that lets us come swim when we visit in the summertime. They are so nice to always invite us down.

We skiied for a couple of days. The first day, we put all the kids in ski school, so Neal and I had some time on the mountain by ourselves, just like the good old BYU days.

The next day, Neal took the older kids in the morning and Miles and I joined them in the afternoon. We thought that maybe I could just ski with Miles, but that was beyond my ability after one run. Neal took him over to the rope tow hill and I think they had fun for the rest of the afternoon. I need to learn to ski backwards, like Amy, his instructor did.

Another night, we had dinner at the Foundry Grill. Mmmm.

Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas card! We had so much fun planning for and making this happen. Thanks, in no small part, to Julianne and Toni!

The photo we would have used if the Abbey Road one didn't turn out. This is us in the garden after Toni and Julianne's wedding in September.

Merry Christmas everyone! Sending our love to you from Texas.

recents

Things that have happened around here lately . . . 

We got together with our friends to decorate gingerbread houses. Yum.

Miles has a flag obsession. He made these out of perler beads. Took him hours.

Neal and I went to a fun party, and Neal brought a great ice-breaker: oysters. I always have fun with our friends, they are amazing. Above are Jill and Chris, who serve in Primary with me.

We had the Elders over for dinner and some cookie decorating. I always feel a bit sad for missionaries at Christmastime. I was hoping to remind them of childhood traditions they did with their family, but it was their first time eating gingerbread. :)

Tomorrow, the kids and I leave for Sundance. Neal will join us Wednesday night! We are excited!

Grateful Sunday

Neal tying Parker's tie after we got to church. I can't do it, we have to go find Dad in the clerk's office before Parker is considered "dressed."

Today, I'm grateful for:

• my wonderful friends and family, who made me feel so special on my 34th birthday last week. My birthdays always seem like a good time to reflect on how blessed I am, and this one was no exception. The very first thing that happened that day was that Miles bounded out of his room at 6:45 to give me the card he had made for me and the biggest hug ever. It was so sweet, I love that dude. After school started, I had breakfast with Neal's sister, Martha, and my friends. Next, Martha and I visited Neal at his office and were off to the airport. I stopped at Chipotle for lunch by myself (love that place), and had just settled down when my dear friend, Rebecca, tapped me on the shoulder. We ended up eating together and having a great time. I picked up the kids and went home to open the gifts my friends had brought, and once Neal was home, we went to dinner at our favorite hibachi restaurant. Sprinkle in a few phone calls from people very dear to me, and all in all, it was a wonderful day. Hooray for birthdays!
• Martha, for coming to see us and for spending such quality time with all of us, but especially with Miles. He had so much fun with Aunt Martha (and got all of his homework done)!
• Audrey and Parker's wonderful piano teacher, Miss Ruby. She gives so much of herself to her students, and is so delightful. We had their recital tonight, I'll try to post video tomorrow.
• our wonderful ward, we had a great time with our church friends at our ward party on Saturday night. We left feeling so blessed to live where we do. 
• a fun night decorating gingerbread houses with our friends, the Wrights. Lots of laughs and lots of candy all over the place meant that we had lots of fun.

Spelling Bee

Audrey was in the Intermediate School Spelling Bee last week. Her school is just fifth and sixth graders, and she won third place! We are so proud of our Audrey, she is an amazing natural speller! Here are the words she was given to spell:

scoop

sparkle

helmet

praise

jitterbug

munchkin

virtue

muscular

conjure

intrigue

adolescence

extrapolate

cornea

imaginary

bankruptcy

participle

erroneous

alibi

She got to the 19th Round, and at one point she was spelling the "championship word!" Spelling Bee rules are pretty crazy, you kind of have to be there! We were proud of her, she beat out all but one of the sixth graders, and her friend, Carson, who took second place. Yay! Can't wait for next year!

2010 Spelling Bee (2nd Place)

2009-2010 Spelling Bee (4th Place)

tree!

After two failed attempts to buy a tree last night, we finally ended up at Lowe's, which was fine; they had great prices! We opted for a smaller tree this year, since we'll be leaving for Christmas. I'll post some decoration photos as soon as I decorate stuff. :)

Parker on TV!

Lots of you have already seen this video, but it is just so fun to see my little Parker in this commercial! The news producer for the local station has a daughter in Parker's class, so when they needed a classroom scene for a new promotional spot, they came to Mrs. Smith's class! Little did we know that Parker's sweet smile would be front and center. He was so excited, we all watched this a million times!

Natchitoches

Last weekend, we took a trip to Neal's homeland, and visited Natchitoches, Louisiana (pronounced Nack-a-dish, about 45 miles from the town where he grew up). Our main reason for the trip was to visit Paul Peters, Neal's mother's cousin, and one of the last people left from her generation in the Walker family. He has emailed Neal several times and we felt like it was time we went to see him. Louisiana is a beautiful place, I always am up for a visit, and there is always lots to do. We started our trip Friday morning, by going to listen to Dr. Peters at his home. He told us stories and shared memories of Neal's grandparents (whom Neal never really knew), his aunts and uncles who passed away before Neal's birth, and his mother. Dr. Peters was such a sweet man, we really enjoyed our day with him. Below are some photos.

We wanted to take Dr. Peters to lunch, so he suggested Uncle Earl's Pea Patch Cafe, in Winnfield, which was delightful.

From there, we went on a driving tour of old family sites. A couple of cemeteries (Transport and Ebenezer), and the old Walker homestead in Dodson. We saw the high school where Neal's grandfather graduated in 1911 (two years late because of an injury and amputation). It was fascinating. I love family history!

Later, we went back to Paul's house. The kids had a great time in his backyard and Neal and I listened some more and were able to borrow a few photos to scan and catalog. We left after dark and promised to come back soon. I hope we can go in the Spring time.

The next day, we spent in Natchitoches, attending the 85th annual Christmas Festival. It was so fun, I have wanted to come for years. We visited Natchitoches once with Neal's mom years ago, and once more since then, passing through. I really would have loved to stay in one of these old houses, which have all been turned into inns, but apparently you have to book December weekends in January. Oops. We stayed out of town a bit and drove in for the festival.

We arrived just as the first parade was beginning. The kids ended up with many strands of beads and a load of candy!

 After the parade had passed, we made our way to Jefferson Street, which runs along the Cane River. On the way, we collected house ideas. Neal and I both love this old Creole style of Plantation home.

By the time we got to the river, the parade was about to pass us again, so we hung out and got more loot!

Then it was lunch time. Parker had ALLIGATOR ON A STICK. Yes.

 Another parade started at about three o'clock. We sat in a different place this time, and where else in the world would we have been able to see the Sons of Confederate Veterans marching in a parade? They were awesome.

After dark, it was time for fireworks and for the lights along the river to be lit. So much fun, I can't wait to go back another year!

Thanksgiving in Canyon

We traveled west to Canyon, Texas to spend Thanksgiving with Shelby and Julie and their family in their beautiful new home. Megan and her fiance, Dallas, Jeff and his kids, and Neal's dad and Gail came, too. We had a great time!

Some photos from the weekend . . .

Above, from left: Audrey (10), Caroline (14) and Claire (12); Audrey, Claire and Bugsy, the guinea pig; Megan cutting Parker's hair; Neal and me at the Big Texan Steakhouse in Amarillo

Above, from left: Parker and Miles with Bugsy (he was a big hit); Gail, Julie and Neal getting dinner ready; Shelby carving one of the delicious turkeys he cooked; the kids eating outside.

One cold, windy night, we went out to Cadillac Ranch to see the cars buried in the ground. Good times! Parker and Miles (and Neal) had fun adding to the graffiti a bit. The day after Thanksgiving, we avoided all crowds and shopped in some local boutiques in Amarillo and Canyon. It was so fun, I found some great stuff!

By the end of the trip, we were all tired and had all eaten far too much, but we were so happy to have spent some time with our family.

recently

I have been so bad about blogging! Just can't seem to keep up and it's driving me crazy. Here are a few photos from lately.

Parker's tongue depressor immigrant doll he made for school. He could have chosen to make a doll dressed from a country of his heritage, but England and France don't have the most interesting costumes. Neal's family comes from pretty much the same places mine does (with maybe some Austrians thrown in). Audrey did a Scottish doll when she was in Mrs. Smith's class, so we wanted to branch out. Parker chose to make an Argentine gaucho, since his daddy served his mission in Argentina. My favorite part is the mustache.

We got together with some friends to make missionary care packages and to play Beatles' Rock Band. So much fun. Here are Parker and Miles with some of their friends. I think Audrey must have been playing the drums during this song.

Miles completed his season on the Padres and we had a fun party to celebrate.

Neal's office recently moved locations (hallelujah). They had an open house for all of the dentists around, their staffs, and me.

Grateful Sunday

The kids in Natchitoches, Louisiana yesterday. We went down there for a couple of days. More on that trip after I blog about Thanksgiving. :)

One of these days, when I have more than 10 minutes at home, I am going to sit down and blog about all that we have been up to lately, but for now, it's another Grateful Sunday post, because I'm tired out and need to get to bed!

Today, I'm grateful for:

• the nice person at the temple in Dallas who sent my misplaced temple recommend to our ward clerk, who happens to be Neal.
• the chance we had to visit Neal's mother's cousin, Paul, in Louisiana on Friday. He is the reason we went on the trip, and he was so very sweet. We were all better after having spent the day with him.
• Neal's sister, Martha, for spending a couple of days with us. I hope she's ready for one of my typical Mondays, which involves staying in our pajamas and folding laundry while Miles watches Curious George!
• the dear friends I have found here in Keller. My life is so full and so happy, and I am grateful every day for those blessings!
• the opportunity we have to take our children all over the place, exposing them to different cultures and people. I hope they remember lots of it, but if they don't, they'll always have my blog to look back on. I am so grateful that I started blogging. I can't believe I'm still doing it SIX years later! Hooray!