Thanksgiving & Girl's trip to Chicago

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Since both of our families live in Dallas, we got to have TWO Thanksgiving meals again this year! Here is a picture from my family's get together at Aunt Kim & Uncle Kirk's.

After lunch Papa Joe read the girls some books. They both love to have Papa Joe read stories to them.

Anna Kate had a rough morning! She fell and hit her head on the coffee table at Nana & Papa Joe's. Here is her sad little boo boo. Luckily, we didn't need stitches!

Here are two pictures of the girls eating pizza the day after Thanksgiving. It looks like they're much interested in the Ranch dressing than the actual pizza!.

A couple of weekends ago, Ryan kept the girls so I could go to Chicago for the weekend with Ame & Lindsey. Here's two pictures from our trip. We had a blast shopping, eating & just being together! We stayed at the W, shopped (ALOT), had tea at the Drake Hotel, ate at Japonais and Le Colonial,and visited Millenium Park and the Bean.

Pumpkin carving, pumpkin patch photo shoot and Baylor Homecoming

I haven't posted these sweet pictures of Ryan carving a pumpkin with the girls. They are so crazy about him, and he is the BEST daddy! Here are a few cutes ones...



We went to the pumpkin patch a couple of weeks ago with Scarlett, Bowden and Pierce. We tried really hard to get a cute one of all four of them. This was our best result. I figure that two out of four kids looking and smiling at the camera isn't that bad!

Anna Kate is thoroughly enjoying herself!

I had to post this b/c it is a rare picture of Taylor actually smiling!

The girls and I went to Baylor Homecoming with Mom & Dad again this year. It is so much work to take both of them to the parade and the game, but I love doing it. The girls looked so cute in their Baylor cheerleading uniforms!



One last sweet and funny story... Taylor has learned to say the Lord's Prayer at school. It is the most wonderful thing to hear her sweet voice recite the entire prayer! I hope that she continues to memorize scripture as she grows up. But, the cutest part is at the end. She says "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, adn the glory, forever. Amen. Here's your snack!" It is very obvious that her teachers have them recite the prayer before they give them their morning snack. Too funny!

Halloween, back in the house, etc

Okay, sorry it's been so long since I updated this thing. I guess I should decide if I'm going to officially be a blogger or not. Here's one more try...

We are back in the house. Here's a before and after shot of the kitchen...

BEFORE


AFTER


We had a fun day on Friday. I got the girls dressed up in their cowgirl outfits, and we went to Voinov's house for lunch in costumes. It was so good to see everyone. I must say that my friends have REALLY cute kids. They were precious. I didn't take pictures of the whole group, but someone did and I will post it when I get a copy.


Yee haw!


















In other news, my best friend, Ame, is pregnant with a baby girl! I couldn't be happier for her! Here is a picture from our dessert date when she told me the good news!








This was too funny not to post. My best friend Courtney brought her son Tanner over for lunch a few weeks ago. Tanner and Anna Kate are in the same class at "school" which is really fun for us. The babies shared an oreo after lunch. It's amazing what a mess these kids can make with any food!













I am only posting one picture from our wonderful trip to the Amalfi Coast. We had the BEST time! Thank you so much, Mom & Dad! We are so grateful!

Second Generation of Trouble!

Taylor has become great friends with Riley Stephens, Jarrett & Deb's oldest daughter. Ryan and Jarrett are best friends from college. Deb and I have become good friends over the years. Taylor and Riley will probably be in the same grade, and Anna Kate and Kelsey as well. It is so funny to see the two oldest girls together because they are like a younger, cuter, female version of Jarrett and Ryan. I love listening to them talk because they choose the funniest subject to discuss! Here are a couple of pictures from two weeks ago when we had a fish fry at the Perry's house. I will post more pictures of the progress of the renovation soon!

Already an old woman

Taylor, Ryan and Anna Kate were working outside a couple of weeks ago. Blaire & Caleb gave Taylor a cute gardening set for her 2nd birthday. Taylor put on ALL of the garb to help Ryan out. For some reason, she looks like an 80 year old woman with terrible taste in this picture. So funny!

Disco baby

This picture cracks me up! We had a very small 70's party before the renovation began, and Pierce Luce, Scarlett and Jason's son, came dressed up in a wig! I just had to put it on the blog!

Remodeling!

The remodeling project is in FULL swing! What a mess! Here are a few pictures. I feel sure that we are going to be so glad we did this once it's all over, but right now, it's a huge mess. We are SUPER THANKFUL for our families who have been so kind to let us stay with them! It's not easy asking someone to house a family of four and an annoying Yorkie! I will try to be good about taking pictures along the way to chart our progress...


This is our kitchen. I'm obviously not doing a lot of cooking right now!


Here is a view of what used to be our bathroom!

Gone Fishin'

We went to the Morgan's Ranch on Sunday night. It is about an hour north of Dallas and absolutely spectacular! It is so peaceful and beautiful! Taylor has been very excited to go fishing with her Papa Joe. So, we headed out on four wheelers to a little pond that has some brim in it. Taylor was the only person to catch a fish, and she caught two.



I guess Taylor is going to be a bit of a tomboy. This is good news and shocking news, considering I am her mother! She loved touching the fish and is fascinated with the worms. She carried them around with her.

Here is a picture of Blake and Dad so you can see how beautiful their land is.


Anna Kate with Nana and Papa Joe

Future College Roomies

Lindsey and Ava Trull came into to town to visit a few weeks ago. The three roommates had a great time hanging out, as always. We got to have a girl's night out on Friday night, which was wonderful! On Saturday, we let the little girls hang out with the big girls. They are wearing the matching outfits I bought when Ava was born. I am already praying that my girls will have wonderful girl friends when they grown up. I am so grateful for my girl friends!

Anna Kate's 1st Birthday Party

We had a swim party for Anna Kate on Saturday. We had a great time (in spite of the 107 degree heat)! Here are a few pictures.

I can hardly believe that my baby girl is one already! This year has truly flown by! Anna Kate is such a joy! She is such a happy baby and she always brings a smile to my face! What a wonderful gift she has been!

Here is the little cutie enjoying her birthday cake. She seriously had the equivalent of about three pieces! The girl can EAT!

Her invitation was a mermaid, so we did a birthday cake to go along with the theme. I was so happy with it. Check out the beautiful cakes on Stacey's website, mysweethobby.com.

The dads were the lucky ones because they escaped the heat and got in the pool with the kiddos.