2014 Year in Review

January: Mom and Dad came to visit. We skipped rocks and went rock climbing.

February: DI Regional Tournament; Miles tried out basketball; Parker and the Cold Bombers played in the talent show; Miles and his buddy did a comedy routine in theirs; Lincoln, Mimi and David came to visit and we went to the Great Wolf Lodge; Miles was in the science fair

March: Neal and Parker got to drive some really fast cars, we spent part of our Spring Break in Bastrop at a fun resort, Audrey turned 13, Audrey and I went to San Antonio for the State Science Fair

April: Parker earned his Arrow of Light, Audrey's DI Team was offered a bonus spot at State, so we went to Pflugerville; Parker turned 11 (Pa came for a surprise); Easter was pretty and spent with the Horns

May: Neal played with the band a little bit, Audrey was a hippie in a play, Miles went to the zoo with the first graders, I had to speak on Mothers' Day, my friends and I hosted a candidate forum, I went to Virginia

June: Audrey recognized for her ACT score, school ended, Girls' Camp, Father's Day, Dr. Who event at the movies, we got bees and harvested eggs and blackberries, we played baseball, we were in a fifties photo shoot, Neal and I went to Houston for his Dental School reunion

July: spent the Fourth in Nebraska, we went to see Aunt Zilla, a lot of time was spent in Utah (sans Neal), then California for a week (avec Neal), then back to Utah (sans Neal)

August: beach time in San Diego, Ogden Temple open house, Miles got a mini Cooper Lego set, school started, Lego KidsFest

September: Miles was baptized, three of us went to see the Piano Guys; we spent time at Hawaiian Falls, making the most of our passes; Neal played and sang in the band; Miles became a cub scout; we had fun with the chickens

October: Meet the Candidates Night, Neal and I went to Louisiana, Halloween was fun (Dr. Who, Lego man, squirrel head)

November: baseball season ended, Punkin Chunkin', Miles got glasses, Thanksgiving fun in Weatherford

December: TAGT Conference in Fort Worth, Parker's robotics competition, Audrey got an art award, DMCO concert, Barnes and Noble fun, Christmas piano recital for Miles and Audrey, Ice and the Nutcracker with the Lelands, Christmas in Keller and New Year's in Weatherford

Christmas Fun

I have never appreciated a lazy Christmas break as much as I do this year, now that I've started working! We have been doing pretty much nothing at all, which has been so welcomed.

Miles made these awesome Lego models, and I posted them on the Lego Facebook page. Not only did Lego respond, but over 500 people liked the photo! (Lego said: This is just awesome! He made that himself?! We think you have a master builder on your hands. Please tell Miles this is the best piano we ever saw!)

Of course, we have been eating gingerbread cookies . . . 

And stuffing our hugest shirts with pillows(?)

On Christmas Eve, we had a delicious prime rib, cranberry juice with sugar on the rims, as per Horn tradition, and delicious crème brûlée.

Then, we burned the frankincense that Julianne and Toni sent us from Ethiopia last year. Such a fun addition to our traditions!

The next morning, the kids woke earlier than they typically have on Christmas! 6:45 and we were out of bed watching Miles put on his handerpants.

Parker got a cool new drone and baseball mitt. Audrey got an art tablet she really had been hoping (and saving) for, but it was faulty, and so we've had to send it back and wait for a new one. Pretty anticlimactic for her. :(

Later in the day, we took Rusty out for a drive. Mostly for Trooper's sake.

Daddy and Gail came over in the afternoon and we had a yummy turkey dinner and opened a couple of gifts. It was a quiet Christmas!

Miles and Bear selfie in the car! Lately, however, he is not called Bear, but Guhbun. Evolved from Guhguh, Squabs, Gibbens, Squeebers, Squeebags, Gabba. It goes on and on.

Merry Christmas!

Fun times with the Leland Family

Our old friends, the Lelands, came to Dallas for a quick weekend from Amarillo. They stayed at a nearby resort and we had a ball!

With a cool gingerbread house in the lobby at the Gaylord Resort.

Same kids, a few years earlier!

First, we met up with them to attend Ice at the Gaylord Resort, which is a huge walk-through exhibit of ice sculptures and amazingness.

It is only 9 degrees in the exhibit, so they provide these fun matching parkas for everyone to wear. Our legs were freezing by the end!

The next day, the girls headed down to Fort Worth for lunch in Sundance Square and the Texas Ballet Theater's The Nutcracker at Bass Hall. Rebecca inadvertently bought us front row tickets! It was pretty incredible.

Piano Recital

Audrey and Miles did a wonderful job playing in their Christmas piano recital. I love to hear their talents improve, and we adore Mrs. Vaughan, our teacher of over seven years now!

Audrey Piano Recital Christmas 2014 from lesliehorn on Vimeo.

Fun times with friends

The kids' school hosts a yearly fundraiser at the local Barnes & Noble. The kids participate by volunteering their time to read stories, or help with crafts. After the event this year, they went out with their buddies and a teacher or two to see Interstellar. Crazy that they are getting so old.

Miles lucked out that night and got to go with his friend, Dillon, to a Dallas Stars hockey game! Woohoo!

DMCO Concert

Two of our dear friends (and Beehives), Madie and Lauren, participate in the amazing Dallas Millennial Choir and Orchestra. Audrey and I took the evening to go to the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas to hear them sing. Oh, it was lovely!

Haley, Madie, Audrey and Lauren

With my Beehives.

Rusty Truck

I don't think I have written anything on my blog about our truck, Rusty! We bought him from our friends, the Mabrys, as they had to move out of state and Rusty was a little too bulky to pack with them. We adopted him and have put him to good use, mostly for recreation, but he sure does come in handy for picking up Christmas trees.

My Birthday

I had a fun birthday. The actual day fell on a Saturday, and that evening was our ward Christmas party, so that was kind of anticlimactic, but earlier in the week, we had some fun celebrating. Thursday night, the kids and I went to see some of our friends in a play at the middle school. Afterward, a friend invited us out for ice cream at a local shop, but when we got there, the table was ready for a dozen friends. They all showed up to wish me well, which was so unexpected and sweet. I had breakfast or lunch with a couple of dear friends the subsequent days, and on Friday night, we had a great group date at one of my favorite places in Southlake. Oh, why don't we do that more often? Such fun.

The next Monday night, I shared a birthday cake with my dear friend, and almost birthday twin, Teana. Hooray! 37!

Audrey's Art Competition

Audrey has started taking twice-weekly art lessons from a local Russian painting teacher. She is really improving her technique, and enjoying her time creating. Her teacher encourages her students to enter their art into competitions, so Audrey has been creating pieces that fit certain criteria or follow certain themes. For this first competition, the theme was "I am Thankful For . . . ". Audrey painted these beautiful birds filled with music, expressing her love for the music of nature. She placed third in her age group, and her art was on display at the Galleria in Dallas. Last night, they held an awards ceremony for all of the kids who placed. Yay Audrey!

The piece she entered in the Fort Worth Stockyards Art Competition. The piece had to reflect Western themes. Of course, Audrey chose chickens. :)