Big doin's...

We had a super busy, but super lovely Valentine’s Day weekend.  As you know, Valentine's Day fell on a Monday this year, but most of our weekend was devoted to Valentine's Day activities as well as Bella’s Birthday. I have a lot to cram into this post, so bear with me here.  I want to make it quick because I have MUCH bigger things to move onto, like Madi's 13th Birthday which is tomorrow!!  YAY - it's exciting and at the same time very, very frightening!

So anyway, I'll try to wrap-up our Valentine’s Day weekend as quickly as possible, starting with Friday, February 11th which was the night of Madison's middle school Valentine's dance. After school  on Friday, I picked Madi and her best friend, Carly up and brought them home to get all dolled up for the dance.  My sister and brother-in-law brought our nephew, Jason, over about an hour before the dance began.  My intention was to take pictures of the kids (together and separately) before the dance. Yeah, that didn’t really work out. The girls (who weren’t looking forward to pictures anyway) took waaay too long to get themselves ready and by the time we got out for pictures, the sun was setting and we didn’t have time to drive to the location I had in mind.

So anyway (sigh), this is the only worth-a-darn shot I have of all the kids... 

Carly is not smiling and I had to make Madi stop making faces...Mom & Dad, I know you are laughing right now!  You get what you give, right?

Jason, on the other hand, was down with the whole picture thing. Or, at least he was kind enough to pretend that he was and never complained.  I got a few of just him.  He looked very handsome I think. Here he is seen, kickin' it outside of "Tiger Stadium".

The dance was over by 9pm and all three kids came back to our house to hang out afterwards. They were all wound up;  Jason was showing Jack and I video’s of friends he recorded breakdancing while Carly and Madi demonstrated their a.w.e.s.o.m.e (hehe) new dance moves!!  I wish I would’ve recorded those!  Jason only hung out with us for a little while after the dance, but Carly spent the night - well she actually spent the whole weekend with us. I feel kind of sorry for her, having to hang out with Madi and her crazy parents for two whole days!  Poor thing, we had her up early both Saturday morning, for a basketball tournament and Sunday morning for Church. 

Early Saturday morning we drive to Bruceville-Eddy to watch Madi’s long time friend, Micaela, play in a girls middle school basketball tournament.

Micaela during the game.



Micaela's little sister, Ashley.  What a cutie!  And super sassy too! 

 

 

Ashley playing with Madi.  Madi has a way with little ones and it was so sweet to watch she and Ashley together.



Micaela’s team didn't win their game, so they did not advance in the tournament.  I know Micaela and her family was disappoint, but those girls played so hard and should be very proud of themselves.   Micaela was really impressive and we think we'll be seeing big things from her in the future.  She’s super talented and such an all around great kid. 

The girls after the game. That Ashley really loved Madi - it was so sweet!


Thank you Micaela, as well and Albert and Melinda, for inviting us to come out and watch the game!  We had a great time with you all!

After the game, we drove home and started baking for Valentines Day!  I was a little lazy this year and decided not to bake sugar cookies.  Instead, I made No-Bake Cookies.

My Mom use to make them all the time for my sisters and I, when we were going up. Not for Valentines day, specifically, but just on a regular basis.  This was my first time making them since I was in 4H back in 5^th or 6^th grade and they turned out just as I remembered – super delicious!  After making them the traditional way (with oatmeal, cocoa, sugar, vanilla & peanut butter) I decided to put my own spin on them and made a second batch with cayenne pepper.  Yum. I have to pat myself on the back for that idea!  Never whoulda thunk it, huh?!  Actually, I wasn't a bit surprised because I've found that a little bit of heat/spice and chocolate can compliment each other quite nicely.  When I told my Mom about adding cayenne pepper to her No-Bake Cookie recipe, she sounded straight up horrified and somewhat disgusted at the idea!  I think its fair to say she'll be sticking to the traditional way.

While I made the cookies, Jack made his 4th annual Valentine's Chocolate Cheese Cake.  This is always the highlight of my Valentine's Day!  I've look forward to one every year since we got married and he never disappoints!  

 

Seriously the best chocolate cheese cake- ever!
Jack shared a few pieces with his Mom and Dad and they both agreed - it's the best.

Once the cookies and cheesecake were done, Jack and I desided to go for a trail run. We couldn't resist, it was gorgeous outside and it would've been a shame not to take advantage of it!  We went to Dana Peak Park and took the girls (all three ~ Madi, Carly and Bella) with us. We didn’t make Madi and Carly run; we ran (with Bella) ahead of them and just before they got out of our sight, we turned back and ran toward them.  Bella, who hates any form of exercise, was in misery, but Madi and Carly seemed to enjoy themselves. I didn't take picture during this run, but I did take pictures during our run the following day (Sunday) out at Miller Springs - which I'll get to later in this post.

Saturday evening, as a Birthday/Valentines day present, Jack made homemade dog treats for Bella...  

Madi, Bella and I are so lucky to have Jack!  He does such a great job taking care of his girls!

and we celebrated her 4th Birthday (which was technically on Feb. 5th) by giving her a few along with a stuffed froggy.

Jack giving his princess her toy.

Madi & Bella playing with Froggy

Bella loves her froggy!!



Sunday was a little bit more relaxing.  We went to church and afterwards we took Carly and Madi out to lunch.  Later, Jack and I went to Miller Springs Park, as I've already mentioned, for a long run.  Miller Springs is just about a mile from our house!  The trails are fun and the scenery can really be stunning.  At this point, if I had to choose between Dana Peak (which is awesome as well) and Miller Springs, I would choose Miller Springs as my favorite place to run.  Anyway, I got some pretty good pictures that I can't wait to share later in the week.  

By the time Jack and I got home from our run, our Sunday-funday was almost over and it was time to wind-down and get prepared for another work/school week.  But, to my surprise, while Madi and I drove Carly home, Jack stayed home preparing my Valentine's day gift.  I didn't know it at the time and it wasn't until a little while after I got home, that I found it.  I went into our bathroom to grab some laundry and right away, this is what I saw...



Knowing how much I love long, relaxing baths, Jack got me all new bath stuff!     

I was so surprised, I teared up!  He had totally redecorated the tub area with apothecary jars (I love the jars!) each filled with different bath goodies, candles, and a sponge in a beatiful dish with little roses that float on the bath water.  He truly amazings me sometimes!  I was thrilled with my gift, but felt very guilty because I didn't put as much thought into his gift as he had mine. :(   

I waited until the next morning (Valentines Day) to give Jack his gift - 

A birdfeeder.
So, yeah...now you see why I felt guilty.


















We also gave Madi and Bella their gifts on Monday morning...

For a Valentine's day breakfast, I fixed eggs and cheese toast for Madi  and Jack mixed Bella's dog food in yogurt (an every morning thing) and placed one of his homemade heartshaped dog treats on top! His girls (Madi, Bella and I) are pretty spoiled like that!  :)

Tomorrow is a pretty important day - it's HUGE - it's Madi's 13th Birthday!  We'll be celebrating her birthday a little tomorrow before and after school, but we'll do the major celebrating this coming weekend.  I plan to write a short Birthday post for our beautiful young TEEN tomorrow, so look for that.

Have a blessed day! 

Christmas cheer, found here...

..and LOTS of photographic evidence of it!

First, let us just say, hey!!  I know it's been awhile and we're sorry for not keeping up with posting over the last two months.  That's a long time and we've had a lot to post, but just never could find the time over the busy Holiday's to sit and write.  With that said, I think I'll just skip all the stuff in between the last time we posted (just after Halloween) and Christmas. 

Well, I do want to share the latest couple of swim meets that Madison participated in, both of which were before Christmas, but I'll save that for another time.  Today's post...all about Christmas! 

Madi's choir class preformed a Christmas concert just a few days before their Christmas break.  My Mom, Dad and Nephew attended the concert with me.  Jack was out of town on business travel (what a bummer!) and could not be there to see it.  That's two in a row!!!

Madison looked so beautiful in her choir dress which made mom cry!

See?  What a beautiful young lady!

These were all taken at home before the concert.

And because being silly is part of Madi's lovable personality, here's a picture of her goofy side. 

Madi's Christmas Choir Concert ~ the 7th Grade Advanced Choir Girls.

So, after the concert, we were officially in the mood for Christmas and for Madi's two week break from school!

Madi and I began baking the day before Christmas Eve.  We had a lot to bake and I'm so glad she was willing to be my helper.  I'm lucky to have her in the kitchen and really enjoy our time together whether we're sharing some great recipes or the latest "experiment"!!!

~ Madi, preparing to make fudge in the picture on the left and sifting flour for sugar cookies in the right. 

Our Christmas sugar cookies!  These were my favorite out of all the Christmas goodies we made.

Madi and I also made Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes.  Ah, Starbucks you've got nothin' on us! :)

I didn't get any pictures of the fudge and to be completely honest, I didn't care for it too much.  Jack loved it (CHOCOLATE), but Madi and I didn't like the texture - too much like biting into a mouth full of sugar. I think it must have had something to do with the cooling process and not having a candy thermometer. Yeah, that's it!  

My poor neighbors and what they must think! I gave them gift boxes, like the one above, that had cupcakes, cookies and some of the mouth-full-of-sugar fudge!  I'm hoping that if Jack loved it, maybe they did too. :}

Madi and I literally spent that entire day and night in the kitchen baking!  We didn't go to bed until after 1am and had to get up and ready early the next morning for Christmas Eve doings.

My Mom and Dad were nice enough to host their Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve again this year.  I didn't take pictures of our feast (for once I wasn't thinking about my camera, just my belly which was totally empty and very angry we me after all that baking and no taste testing!)

I did take some pictures of Mom's after dinner treat which we (the grown folk) enjoyed while the kids (Jason and Madi) opened a gift.  It's sort of a tradition to let the kids (kids only, no grown folk!) open one gift each on Christmas Eve. 

Mom made a strawberry cake which we all enjoyed (super yummy!) with a cup of coffee, a soaked crotch (that's a whole nother story!  Poor Jack.  hehehe) and lots of laughs while the kids opened their gifts...

The next day (Christmas day), Jack, Madi and I loaded up the car with all the Christmas gifts at 6:30am and headed to Mom and Dad's. 

Madi was getting a little impatient waiting on her Aunt Gennie, Uncle Andy and Jason to arrive!  Jack was content. Enjoying a good cup of coffee and some breakfast my Mom and Dad fixed for everyone (mmm...lil' smokies!).

Leo was trying to figure out why we were at his house so early in the morning, disturbing His Royal Cuteness's sleep!

When Gennie, Andy and Jason finally arrived, it was time to get busy!  The kids positioned themselves on the floor and waited on "Santa" (Jack) to hand them their gifts. 

I took WAY too many pictures (imagine that) which you are now about to see...

Our Christmas gift giving started off with a very special gift to Papa from Jason.  A U.S. Army Retiree hat and some dog tags with Jason's name on them. A very thoughtful gift which Jason thought of all on his own.  Good job, son!

After that sweet little moment, things got a little crazy and  it was hard to keep track of all the action!  Hard, but not impossible!  Here we go!

Madison with GiGi and a great big smile.  She's got THE best smile! 





Bella and Leo got gifts too, of course!

Some of my favorite reaction pictures of Madi. 

Jack and I gave my Mom a picture of a flower (a weed really) that I had taken at her house over the summer. I've taken so many pictures on my Mom and Dad's property that it was difficult to pick just one - the one.  Once I narrowed it down to two pictures, I asked Jason and Madi to pick the "it" picture. They both agreed, with no hesitation, on this one.  I hope Mom is happy with our decision.

It's my Dad's tradition to have one shot of Crown Royal every year on New Years day.  If Jack or any of his other son-in-laws are around, they are offered a shot as well.  We gave him a new bottle of CR for Christmas because his old (and I do mean old!) bottle from 1978 was almost gone.  Seriously, Dad has had the same bottle of CR since 1978 - 33 years!! 

However,  the old bottle (above) was emptied of it's last remaining 33 year old contents on New Years day, 2011; and so continues the tradition with a brand new bottle next year!  

I had to snap a picture of Gennie being silly ~ wearing Jason's helmet toboggan (thanks for the name, Tracy!) thingy!  Hopefully she wont hate me for posting it...

His Royal Cuteness looking...well, looking cute!

After cleaning up and repacking our car, Jack, Madi, Jason and I headed home to get cleaned up and ready for Christmas, part two, at Jack's Mom and Dad's. 

I waited to give Jack two of his gifts from Madi and I till we got home because they were just to heavy and awkward to bring out to my Mom and Dad's.  

I'm pretty sure he LOVED these last two gifts - a miter saw and a sort of "wine lover's" gift basket that he was eyeballing in Specs a few days before Christmas.  He's got this fascination with collecting power tools and has wanted a miter saw for some time now. I say "collecting" because I haven't seen him actually use them yet.  :)  

After a quick trip home, we loaded the car (again) and headed to Jack's Mom and Dad's to spend our Christmas afternoon and evening. 

Reaction number 1!

Reaction number 2!


I'd say she's pretty happy!!

Jack and I really wanted to do something special for his Dad this year and  we knew that the Great Blue Herring that hangs out in their backyard ( on the lake behind their house to be more specific) was pretty special to him.  So, we had a picture that I had recently taken of  "Blue" blown up and framed for him.  We think maybe he liked it, he hung it up the next day! :)

We had such a wonderful time visiting with Camille and Johnny!  Their Christmas dinner and Camille's Pecan Pie was amazing!  So was the company!

Once we were home, Jack and Madi couldn't wait to try out the PlayStation 3.  I couldn't wait to crawl into bed; I was exhausted and couldn't believe their energy!  That Jack, he's just like a kid!!  Just as excited as Madi about his Christmas gifts!  But, I love that about him.   These two "kids" stayed up till 2am.  That's just crazy!

Here's Madi playing with her new eyepet game.  I watched her play it for a few minute before I went to bed and thought it was a super cute and fun game.  

We had a really great Christmas and would like to thank both of our parents for making it so amazing!  Also, thank you for all that you have done for us throughout the year and for all of the wonderful times we have shared together this past year.  We look forward to many, many more over the years to come!  Maybe next year we can give you guys a break in the kitchen more often though!  :)

We would also like to say that we are SO thankful for all of our blessings and gifts this Christmas. To our family and friends, we have enjoyed another year shared with you in love but, more than anything, we celebrate the divine reaching down to mankind through the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ and remember that His gift is more than we will ever deserve!