WOW!!!

**MAJOR GUSHING/BRAGGING MOMENT**

This is Kailee! She is awesome! We tease her all the time that she is the least loved! Aren't all oldest children the least loved...I can tease her about it cuz I know...I am the oldest too! Really we love her to pieces but don't tell her I said that! I will have to deny it to uphold that mean mom status I have worked so hard for! This sweet girl gave me the most wonderful birthday gift! She surprised me by singing a song in church with her friend Morgan! They sang "O Holy Night". It was beautiful! I wish everyone could have been there! I was in tears!!! It's one of my most favorite Christmas songs and she choose that one cuz she knew it was! She has an incredible gift...the voice that was coming out of this 13 year old was mature beyond her years!!! I know she can sing...she is always singing...we can't get her to stop!... but I have never heard her the way she sang last Sunday!!! It was awesome!! :) Thank you Miss Kailee for an unforgettable gift!!

Gingerbread Houses

**DISCLAIMER** Sorry about the horrible pink tinted pictures! My camera is slowly going to pot. At least you get the idea...the kids made gingerbread houses and had a ball!! :)We started on Wednesday night...we'll just quick put these houses together before bedtime...right? WRONG! We only bought 2 house kits (willy wonka ones from Costco) thinking this would be a great way for the kids to work together! That part I was right about...whew! Shawn and I each ended up taking a house and holding it together for the "glue" to dry while we sent the kids to bed. I think we sat for a good 20-30 minutes holding the houses. :) So Willy Wonka Kit...not great frosting...he may be good at chocolate and candy but his frosting making abilities are lacking!

OK....now it's Saturday and we finally have time to make the houses! The kids had so much fun...they did work great together which made me happy cuz I do not want 4 of these things sitting on my counter! They worked together to make their "plan" and then ended up just each taking a side of the house and decorating it! :) It was cute to see how each side turned out!

Kailee's side

Ty's side

Kyler's side

Austin's sideAustin put two broken banana runts on his house and said "Look it's a Longhorns' house!" :) Shawn was very proud! Then one "horn" started to fall. When it fell and there was only one horn left Kyler said, "Now it's an Aggie house!!!" It's amazing what kids listen to...he knows about the rivalry!!

Happy Birthday Austin!!

I know I am just a couple of days late in posting about Austin's birthday! It has been a crazy week...the last one before the kids got out for Christmas break! So I am playing blog catch up tonight! Austin's birthday was the 15th...he turned the big 12!!! I am stunned that he is that old! It feels like just the other day he had that cute fat face of his and all those cheeks and he was running around keeping me soooo busy! He really has grown into a great young man! On Monday I went and picked Austin up for lunch. His lunch is at 10:05am though and so we had to do something to kill some time till the rest of the world was ready for lunch time! We went and picked up his new frames, got him a much needed haircut and bought him some new tennis shoes. Finally it was an acceptable time for lunch, 11:15am so we went to a pizza place Austin had been wanting to try, New York Pizzeria! It was so yummy!! Then he went back to school. When he got home from school he got to open his presents {he got an ipod shuffle and a $50 visa card} and then we had to get ready for his first band concert! He plays trombone and is loving it! His concert was awesome!! He did a great job! Then we hurried home to sing happy birthday and have cookie cake! :) This year Austin got to have a party and he was gonna invite a few friends to play Laser Tag and have a sleepover...but the wheels in his head are always turning and he decided to have just one of his good friends over so they could play more games of Laser Tag! They had a great time and Tyler gave him a fun game called Killer Bunnies! :) Of course I got no pictures from Friday night! ...oh wellWe have had fun playing it!

blowing out candles and 12 birthday spankings!!

Schkills to pay the bills!

So my sweet little Ty loves rocks...haven't you heard? :) He asked for a rock polisher for his birthday and he got one! He has been patiently polishing rocks and taking such good care of them...and saving them for just the right occasion! Well that occasion came on Sunday when he decided that the perfect Sunday afternoon activity was to make his big sister some stylin' jewelery! How sweet was he to think of that?!! So here is Kailee wearing her extremely "precious" gemstones to school on Monday. This set came complete with earrings and a ring. I do believe Ty has some kind of certificate of authenticity to prove the value of these precious and priceless stones!!! :)

Life Preservers!

Did you ever see back to Future?...if not you must live under a rock! :) Someone asked Marty why he was wearing a life preserver? I have always loved the life preserver look! I found these cute outfits for the boys the other day when I was shopping. Ty and Kyler LOVE their vests...to say LOVE is an understatement! They were asking me to do a "photo session" this morning before school...and who am I to say no? They ARE the cutest little guys ever!!! :)

Ornaments

Every year we head out the day after Thanksgiving and look for our ornaments for the year. I have been buying the kids an ornament every year since they were born. Sometimes they are just cute ones, sometimes they are ones the kids themselves picked out, other times they have reflected something about the kids, their personality or what's going on in their lives! Someday I hope to be able to part with them and give the kids their own ornaments to decorate their trees with when they get big and leave home! {Don't worry I have a lots of ornaments for the tree too...family ones, so that I am not left with a sad and bare tree!!} It has been a fun tradition to go pick them out and see the kids get excited about every ornament they find. It has also been so much fun to watch them get out the ornaments every year when we decorate the tree as they look back on the ones from years past! {Kyler crying about how he doesn't have as many as Kailee and Austin...not fun!!}

Austin found this ornament at Hallmark. It SCREAMS Austin....it's a little video game controller!

Kailee would be the pickle lover as most of you know...if you didn't...you have been living under a rock...she talks as much about pickles as she does anything else! Instead of signing her name most times she signs"picklez" :)

Tyson was on a hunt this year for a muchkin ornament. He wanted to remember that he was in the Wizard of Oz. He found this and decided it was perfect...he is in the Lollipop Guild in the show and this is a bucket full of lollipops! :)

Kyler has learned to read in the last few months and does better and better every day! He is quite the little reader! We thought this ornament was especially appropriate! It's a book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar...which is a book he loves!!
{{You may have noticed the "diet coke can" at the beginning of this post...not a lot of mystery behind that if you know me! I know! Shawn found this one and insisted I get it! I didn't want it! Finally I agreed but only if it went towards the back of the tree! Since we hung it, it has grown on me...it's pretty funny actually so it has crept out a little from behind all the branches!}}
----->Shawn has yet to find his ornament...he looking for just the right one! Although I don't know what that is!<----

All things Thanksgiving

The food! turkey, stuffing mashed potatoes, corn, broccoli salad, cherry jell-o salad, sweet potatoes and rolls....then 6 pies for dessert! I know I went a little crazy on the pies...but they were all so good I couldn't not make one! So I made them all...French Silk, Pumpkin, Pumpkin Walnut, Cherry Cream Cheese, Banana Cream, Kailee's Razzleberry.

Almost ready to eat...one last picture!

So patient to take a picture when all they wanted to do was eat!!

Austin opening the sparkling cider!

Tyson opening the other bottle of sparkling cider.

The turkey cutting the turkey!

The table

Another table shot...I was impressed with myself and the table decor! I made the pumpkins, place cards, confetti, pillow boxes {filled with Andes Mints}, placemats and the scalloped circle placemat in the center all out of coordinating patterned paper!

Our Thanksgiving was soooo relaxing and fun! All the kids helped in the kitchen...there was no schedule to keep, we watched Christmas movies and listened to Christmas music all day! It was fabulous! Shawn took the 3 older kids to the annual Katy 1st Ward Turkey Bowl...they had fun...Shawn was quite pleased when he came home and said one of the young men said he was the MVP!! {a little sore but pleased!}

This is Kyler {an Indian} with his teacher Ms. Rigling {the turkey}. Is she not awesome?! She is so fun when it comes to dressing up!!! This was the highlight of Kyler's day...and he even got to come home early...but he loved the turkey the best!! ;)

An Indian eating his thanksgiving feast!

Kyler made this Indian costume at school...he has a very cool pouch around his neck that holds his bow and arrow. He also made a pilgrim costume but chose this one to wear for the feast!