Saturday, December 31, 2011

A New Year's Eve Toast with the Pfennings

We had plans with one of our favorite couples to Skype and toast to 2012. Since they live in Colorado, we planned to Skype a few minutes before 11pm CST so that we could toast to 2012, EST or with the New Yorkers. They had their adult beverages and we had our sparkling apple cider, and we Skype-toasted. It was special!!! But the most special part was seeing Paula and Deon, face-to-face for the first time since they moved. I hid my tears well :) We talked for over an hour and caught up and promised to Skype more and to plan a trip VERY soon.

I am always amazed at the number of people that come in and out of our lives at any given point because, whether good or bad, they all teach us something. The Pfennings were in our lives for a short time but they have left a lasting impression! I hope and pray that we all continue to be close :)

P.S. - I know this is a terrible picture but it's kinda hard to Skype and snap a picture!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

The Richardson Train Man is #1

Oh, it's been a busy day but why stop at lunch with friends, a party at P&L and a steak dinner?!?! The day would not be complete without a train ride! I was reminded about the Richardson Train Man (RTM) this afternoon so as a surprise to Parker, after dinner we went to check it out.

So, let me set the scene for you.....to get to the RTM, you drive through a residential neighborhood and happen upon a Christmas-Vacation-style-house, Chevy Chase-style, with cars lining the street on both sides and in the midst of this regular size, residential (did I mention that??!!??) backyard, is a motorized train.

And behold, the best thing for a train-loving toddler to discover:

And his train-loving Daddy:

Which was engineered, built and operated by the RTM:

It was a neat experience and the best part, it was FREE! Of course we donated to the 2012 project but this simple train scape made my train-loving-boys VERY happy tonight!!!


P&L Christmas Party

The P&L Christmas party was today....with a twist. I usually meet the girls for lunch, a champagne toast (again for me, Apple Cider) and the exchanging of presents. Since we were out of town during the last work week for the P&L staff, we scheduled a post-Christmas party that included the husbands and kids!

The kids toasted with Ginger Ale, exchanged kiddie presents and then the rest of the afternoon consisted of this:


Sunday, December 25, 2011

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Santa & Me

Today was the last time that Parker had to sit on Santa's lap before Christmas so Bryan got him up before the sun came up so they could stand it line to see Santa. We have seen, talked and waved at Santa but wanted nothing to do with sitting in his lap. Last night Parker "promised" that he would sit on Santa's lap (and if he didn't, it would still be ok). By the time that Bryan got Parker to Stonebriar there were already a few people in line but it wasn't that bad. Parker did fulfill his promise by sitting on Santa's lap and told him that he wanted a "big kitchen".

Afterwards, Bryan gave Parker a special treat....at 9:30am....yes, AM!!!
Santa gave Parker a free pass to ride the Merry-Go-Round but Parker has never been a fan. However, on this day, he wanted to give it a try. By the time they got home, either the sugar was kicking in or he was truly excited because he had a lot to say :)

{{{MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE, EVERYONE}}}

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

The Christmas Trees of Angleton

While in Angleton to celebrate Christmas, I took some pictures of the BEAUTIFUL Christmas trees that our families put up this year!

Jimmie & Helen's:
The Campos Family:

My Mom's:Don't you love them??? All three of them made me smile :)

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Ryan Turns TEN & Parker BOWLS

Ryan turned 10 today! And we are home to join in the birthday festivities...YAY!!! We were invited to join the birthday boy and his entourage at Main Event for bowling and laser tag. This also marks Parker's first bowling experience. It.was.fun.
The birthday boy:

Parker's first hand at bowling:

And his cousins, who love Parker to pieces, give him high-fives for doing a good job:

I cannot believe that Ryan is 10. When I met Bryan's family, Ryan was a year old and still in a high chair. In the past nine years, he has turned into a game-loving, technology-driven, handsome, cool dude. It's been so fun to watch him grow-up and I can't wait to see what another 10 years brings his way!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Christmas with the Girls

Michelle & Rachel were two (out of four) of my best friends while in middle and high school. They know me inside and out and so it is ALWAYS nice to get together with them. It's nice to be myself, be honest about things and not have to worry about offending them and I never have to worry where we stand....we are always standing together! I LOVE THAT!!!

Tonight we decided to meet at The Grape Taste to have dinner and exchange Christmas gifts. And we also....{my favorite part}....had some girl talk. We discussed a wide variety of different topics, from Michelle telling us about her teenage-kids shenanigans to Rachel asking us to be her surrogate since she can't have kids. Yep, it was just that good! I loved every minute of it and can't wait for our annual girls weekend this summer :)

P.S. - the tapas-style menu was fun and the food was delicious!!!

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Guess WHO Drove to Angleton?

We are headed home today for some Christmas-Graduation-Birthday fun! We are all so excited to see everyone back home but we could do without the driving part. There are only so many Christmas songs, I Spy games and books you can read before you are itching to get out of the car and get some fresh air. About three hours into our five hour drive, we all get a little silly and Parker is no exception. He requested that Sid drive. So, as any good Daddy would do, Bryan obliged (with Millie already sleeping in his lap). I am happy to report that Sid is a very good driver :)

Friday, December 9, 2011

Finally, THE Two Year Photos

Since I am trying to play catch-up on blogging, you will have to look back at September to see the actual photos {once I get around to that post} but I wanted to share this one photo. It makes me smile. We met Tom at a park in McKinney for the photo-shoot and since it was cold outside AND during naptime, I took some candy along so that we could get at least a few good pictures of Parker. What I wasn't expecting was for an entire colony of birds to join us. And I really wasn't expecting Parker to share all of his candy with the birds either :) However, the birds were just not interested in the jelly beans that Parker offered. Once they figured out we only had candy, the started disappearing. We had a good session and as always, it was good to see Tom.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

After nap today we needed to run through the drive-thru to get Parker's medicine so I decided to make it fun. At 4pm it was still in the low 30s so I thought treating Parker to ice cream and a drive around a few neighborhoods to look at Christmas decorations was in store:



Parker loved the special treat and we actually had fun looking at all the the decorations while it was daylight out. I think sometimes it's hard for him to see or make out what the decorations are while it's dark outside. Anyway, just a special time staying warm, listening to Christmas music and getting excited over all of the nice yard art.