Brrrr!

We actually have cold weather! Ice and freezing temperature! The city of Austin goes crazy with ice, the TV stations broadcast the weather all day long, and knowing how unaccustomed people are to driving on ice, we stayed home nice and warm. More coming tonight and maybe even snow! Teysha is excited about the cold weather, she gets to wear cold weather clothes and it is even cold!

Runs in the family

Aren't my grandchildren beautiful! They seem to be following in their cousins footsteps of wacky dressing. At least there are always fun photos!!

Happy New Year 2007

There is not a better way to spend New Years Eve with your friends, with a little food, drink ,and music!
The food was snacks, chips and dips, and anything else they could find!
The drink of choice was Sparkling Apple Cider
The music was rocking with all three girls playing the guitar!

They are here!

The boys came to spend the week after Christmas and of course it rained almost every day. Teysha and Keyton were skateboarding down the hill when the skies opened up. It was a long wet walk back up the hill! Brandan and Tuck stayed nice and dry, having a snack!

Getting ready for 2007

With all the rain we have been having, what a better way to spend a few hours but playing hide-n-seek outside, in the dark , in the rain, and in the mud! They dressed for hiding and armed with a flashlight spent about 2 hours enjoying the game, the rain, and the mud!
Stephanie, Brandan, Julie, Keyton, and Teysha

Nancy's album

Rich's sister, Nancy, has Downs Syndrome and has gone into hospice care. I am putting together an album of memories for her funeral service. Nancy has had a good life for 58 years and we want to remember all of the joy she brings into our life!

Number One

We spent Dec. 8-10 in cold wet LaPorte, Texas, playing for the State Championship! We won! We are number one, undefeated for the season! The girls had an incentive to win, they got to shave their coaches head after the game if they won! He was a good sport and promptly sat down in a chair on the field and the girls shaved away!
Teysha received a mild concussion Saturday but managed to play the winning game on Sunday! Always nice to come home a winner! 

Block Toy Tree

I made this block tree full of tiny toys many years ago. Each year the grandkids loved turning it and finding special toys on the blocks. Last year our puppy pulled the tablecloth out from under the blocks and they crashed to the ground!! Since the holidays were almost over I put it in a sack to be put together this year. I had to get the directions on how the blocks are stacked from my sister and I went to work this week reassembling it! Sadly our puppy chewed a few blocks and I can't find anymore this size, so the block tree is downsized but back together to join us in our holiday celebration once again! 

From Start to Finish

For me the hardest part of decorating for Christmas is getting the boxes out of the attic and sorting through them.The boxes are all labeled Christmas but that is as far as it goes! I always say this year I will label them better but I never do. After a day of unpacking the boxes Teysha and I ended up with a home ready for the holidays! 

Salado Road Trip

We took a road trip to beautiful downtown Salado. This small quaint town is algow with beautiful Christmas lights! We toured some of the shops, enjoyed the beautiful lights and saw a play at the Silver Spur Theater! At first Teysha was sure this would be no fun, but about 10 minutes into the vaudville fun she was loving it! We met the cast after the show and this was a great way to spend a holiday night in Salado!
 

Baby It's Cold Outside

We don't have snow but we do have cold weather! It is about 35 degrees and the wind is howling out of the North! A perfect day to get our Christmas tree! Teysha had a dentist appointment so she got out of school early. We drove the 30 miles to the Elgin Tree Farm and rode on a trailer to pick out our tree!! Believe me in the cold wind it did not take long to find the perfect tree! Teysha cut it down and it was loaded up on the trailer for the drive back to the farm!! It is so much fun to go pick out and cut down our own Christmas tree!!

Alligator Walk

Still working on some old pictures!! I think you can read the journaling on the layout, but it tells about how much she hated this costume after I worked weeks sewing on it!

More old bad photos

I am still struggling my way through Rich's family's old pics. I was struggling with these pics and my friend, Janet, the heritage expert, helped me out! Love the Cosmo Cricket papers! Used the Cricut Base Camp and QK! Thanks Missy!!

Where has the time gone?

It has been a while since I have posted, I think life just got in the way! We are still in first place in soccer and will go to State playoffs in December, in Houston!
Teysha has managed to survive the first 9 weeks of school, just barely, her grades need improving and she had her camera stolen out of the soccer gym! It seems to have been the week of stealing,they got her camera and 4 Ipods!
On a lighter note I have made a mini album that was so much fun! Used all SEI papers, Autum leaves arrow stamps (thanks Ruth),TT flower stamps.

Sunday Soccer

Lovely weather for a soccer game. The pictures are not blurry, it was raining cats and dogs!Teysha loves playing in the rain and the dirtier she gets, the happier she is! We carry plastic bags to put all the muddy, soaking wet, stinky soccer clothes in after games like this! We tied 1-1 so that is better than a loss!

Old Pictures but Fun Memories

Trying to work my way through all the old pictures, some not very good!
The Wildlife Park layout, my parents came to visit and we thought they would like the walk through the park. They did enjoy looking at the wildlife up close, but once they discovered the rocks they were really excited. They were "rock hounds" and made beautiful jewelry, so this was a wonderful day when they could walk around finding just the right rocks! The bottom layout was on their farm. My oldest son loved to fish and hunt snakes. They loved taking him with them to their farm and "camp". These old pictures bring back such fun memories of my parents and their grandkids.

Soccer Season

Once more soccer season is in full force. I am determined to keep up with this seasons layouts, hopefully having the album done by the end of the season:)I am trying to get action shots of all 18 girls in the black uniforms and try again for white. So far I am halfway there!!I was lucky enough to play with the new EK Succes circle cutter. Cuts up to 12 inch circles and I love those circles!! This cuts like butter and so much fun!!

IHOP Manners

We work hard to teach our children table manners, right? Right! We teach them how to chew with their mouth closed, keep your hand in your lap, don't reach for something, and the list goes on. By 15 we were proud she knew all the correct "Miss Manners", we thought! A group of teenagers stopped by IHOP after a football game and after seeing the pictures from the night, I realized I totally was remiss in teaching Teysha what to do with her spoon!

Lizard and Spider

Our friendly lizard that lives in our backyard was extremely hungry! We spotted him on the side of our house with this big spider clamped tightly in his mouth! He clung to the wall and munched on a tasty meal of live spider! It took him a few minutes to finish his meal but he looked like a happy lizard!

The Finals

We made it to the finals and once again had to get up at 5:15 to be at the fields at 6:45. It was almost cool this morning and the girls played super. We won that one and moved to the finals. We played the finals at noon and it was so hot and humid we all looked like we had been in the water! They came in 2nd and got great trophies, so I guess the heat and early mornings were worth it. This picture shows the group,but if you look at the foreground you can see brown spots in the grass. These are cracks! Some are at least 3-4 feet deep and everywhere except on the actual playing fields ( I think the grass holds the ground together) This just tells you how badly we need rain!!!