Sunday, December 28, 2008

a good week for updates ...

We took the girls to Las Colinas so we could get some shots of them for Christmas presents. The weather was a little chilly, but we had fun checking out a new place. The scenery was really nice and I think the pictures turned out great.

We had such a fun Christmas this year...I don't think you completely understand the phrase "'tis better to give than to receive" until you have kids. They sure made it fun for us as they could barely contain their excitement for the things they got. I already can't wait until next year when we'll have three girls to "spoil".




Freezing in NYC ... some images from the weekend






1000 ft Over Dallas







Sunday, December 14, 2008

Happy Birthday Rachel!



"Dear Mom,

I love you

I hope you have a great birthday

From

Kate"

Friday, December 12, 2008

When the Dad's away, the GIRLS will play....

Brian just left this morning for a quick trip to New York City. So, its official- GIRLS weekend! By girls, I'm referring to myself, Kate, Taylor, and the little girl bean in my tummy. That makes 4 of us, and thats quite a crowd!

So, we just got back from the grocery store and I bought for us all candy, chocolate milk, sugary Christmas cereal, E.L. Fudges (per Kate's request), Frosted Shortbread cookies (thanks to Taylor), and stuff to make peanut blossom cookies- you know, the stuff I never indulge in unless I'm completely without adult supervision. :) Ask me if I will feel guilty about the absolute gluttony I will indulge in for the next two days. Nope...after all, I am 8 months pregnant, without a husband, taking care of two toddlers solo for two days, and its the weekend of my birthday.

By the way, I'm being induced on January 12th- I thought I would mark this day as the one month mark. 4 1/2 weeks until I can breathe better, eat healthier, have an excuse to NOT wear jammies all day long, bend down far enough to put my shoes on, not worry about the people who stare at pregnant people everywhere I go, and hopefully being able to look at my backside in the mirror without shaking my head.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Santa is here ...

Our neighborhood had a Christmas Party today and guess who was in attendance? SANTA!!

Taylor was too scared to sit on his lap- but hey, 1 out of 2 ain't bad. I'm glad Kate got to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas- we wouldn't want him delivering the wrong presents! :) Kate and Taylor also got to ride in an antique fire-truck around our neighborhood while listening to some festive tunes. It was such a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun celebrating this time of year...I love Christmas!

On a funnier note...I took the girls Christmas shopping this week and wanted them to buy the other one a Christmas gift. We ended up at Target and I had Kate help me pick out a scooter for Taylor. So, I briefed Kate on the importance of keeping this a secret so it will be a surprise on Christmas morning. So, what does she do? She marches right over to Taylor (who was keeping busy with the dolls a few aisles away) and blurted out, "Guess what Taylor? We got you a Dora scooter for Christmas!" The next morning Taylor came into the kitchen and was telling me all about her Dora scooter- I guess Kate went into further detail that night after they were put to bed.

Then, I took Taylor to pick out some crocs for Kate. That afternoon, Kate was talking about the pink crocs that she really wanted for Christmas and Taylor says, "No Kate, they aren't pink, we got you the green ones". Oh well, better luck next year!


Rubsamen Family ...

This morning I had the chance to meet up with the Rubsamen family ... Dean and I go back a couple years and it was great to see his family and their new baby boy. Although the weather has been a little harsh lately, this morning ended up being pretty nice.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Thanksgiving Break




We ate Thanksgiving dinner at Nana and Papa's house this year.  The meal was delicious...Kate and Taylor helped me make a pumpkin pie, chocolate pie, and rolls (that was a fun one- they thought it was play-doh).  But, before all of the gluttony, we indulged in some 4-wheeling and leaf-throwing.  The four-wheeling, while it was fun, came at a cost- at least for Taylor.  She put her poor, little hand on the hot engine after hopping off and walked away with a pretty yucky burn.  Thank goodness for first-aid kits...we had her all bandaged up in no time.  You can see how precarious she is with her injury...girls!  There is certainly no shortage of drama in our house!

Monday, November 24, 2008

BIG PREVIEW: Robinsons, Taggarts, Richards, and Rice University

This past weekend we drove down to Houston to visit the Robinsons ...

We also took some pictures. After a quick tour of the city, we decided to shoot at Rice University. We had a great time and met some really great families ... enjoy the long post of pictures.
















Saturday, November 15, 2008

the Angels ...



Kate's last soccer game- it had all of us about freezing to death (our first sign of winter then and since). I guess the girls wanted to stay close together too- to keep warm...or is this some new strategy for scoring a goal? I guess positioning went out the door with the decent weather!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Can I have another one?

On Fridays, Daddy will sometimes bring home leftover donuts from his seminary class and give them to his girls. Taylor loves donuts and she dug right in...literally.

She "ate" (nibbled) all FIVE of these donuts and then asked if there was another one... seriously. I had to get a picture because the way that she ate these was too funny.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Halloween Aftermath at the Arboretum






This past Saturday we visited the Dallas Arboretum for their pumpkin festival. I highly recommend visiting the Arboretum- it was absolutely gorgeous. Kate and Taylor loved running through the hay maze, walking through the pumpkin house, and climbing on all of the pumpkin displays (which was allowed, I promise). :) It was fun to get out and see such a beautiful part of our city and it really wore the kids out- they both passed out on the way home. What a fun day!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Pre-Halloween Party(s)

Halloween is so much more of a big deal now than I ever remember it being when I was little. I love Halloween, so I won't complain. Let's get started...This year Kate is a cowgirl and Taylor is Dorothy (after deciding that Tinkerbell's outfit was just too itchy).

Kate had a pony birthday party on Saturday morning, which we had to leave early in order to make it to her soccer game. Then, we went to our neighborhood Halloween party and the girls cashed in with pizza, cupcakes, and cookies while mommy and daddy began to turn a very blind eye to all the junk our kids will inevitably eat during this entire week (I don't know how many times already that cookies were served for mealtime). I digress...one hour later we headed on out to our favorite annual trunk or treat, where again, unchecked amounts of candy were eaten. All in all, a very fun Saturday was had and the girls slept in until 9:30 AM on Sunday- a result, I'm sure, from hitting a sugar low in the morning hours!

More festivities to come later this week...






Saturday, October 25, 2008

[PH]ISHER PREVIEW ...

My prediction ... the kid on the left (Calvin) will be a rock star someday--if he isn't already

If anyone knows the [Ph]ishers, they know what a fun, stylish family they are--we all had a great time--enjoyed another perfect weather fall morning!

Rachel's mother also got to join us at the end--glad she did ...

Here are a few shots ...