2011 - Year in Review

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Looking back on 2011 --- We had a great year filled with travel, family, and fun.  Here is a quick review and please look up the blog entries on these for more details.

We started the year with a Trip to Las Vegas.  It was Raef's birthday and I wanted to play in Vegas for a few days.  The month ended with us down in Temple for Jared's birthday.

February took us to San Antonio Wyoming for time with Jen and family and then to explore the area.  It also brought us SNOW!!  Lots of snow.

March found me traveling to Montana to pick up Elena and bring her down here for a most delightful week.  We also ended the month moving Mister's from her home to a retirement community.  She loves it.

April took us down to Temple for Pinewood Derby construction and then on to San Diego/Los Angeles with Matt and Becca.  Mid-month was Jen and family up here for Scarborough Fair and Easter.  We finished the month with the arrival of anew grandson.  Welcome Caleb.  I went to Vegas to help for a few days and then on to Montana for Zyra's birthday where I met up with Mister again.

May -- We made the rounds and went up to the Flathead the first week and back to Billings by the weekend for Elena's birthday.  Whew, after two weeks, it was time for my own bed again.

June let me explore the wonderful city of Boston.  How fun.  It also took us down to Austin for the National Tae Kwon Do tournament which Bekah was in.  The month ended with the experience of a lifetime and one I will forever hold dear.  Thanks to Mister's Valentines gift of a turtle nest -- I was given such a treat and memories I will treasure forever.

July gave us the chance to just hang around the house and enjoy Dallas.  This type of month is awesome as well and sometimes much needed.

August brought the family reunion to Texas.  I organized it with a beach house rental in Surfside and was on pins and needles hoping everyone would have fun.  Cass and Scott arrived a week ahead to help and spend time together.  It was such a great time and we cannot wait to go back again next year.  Just having all of my children together once a year is such an incredible high for me.  Ah, the memories.  Once we returned from the beach, we still had a few days with Cass and Scott.  What a fun two weeks.

September was the beginning of our subscription to the Dallas Theater Center.  We have really enjoy our "play" nights and hope to continue this for years to come.  It also delivered Hyrum and Zyra to us for a fun week.  I flew up to Denver and met Becca to do a kid trade.  She then flew back to Billings and I flew with the kids to Dallas for time together.  A week later, we did the reverse, meeting Matt in Denver and returning them against my will.  We loved having them here.  The Texas State Fair is this month and so Jen arrived to spend time there with us.  What a fun month.

October is our anniversary month and so we spent a weekend in Hot Springs, Arkansas enjoying all it had to offer, including the old bathhouse.  We were also able to go to Chicago with Matt and Becca for a few days.  We finished the month down in Temple, watching the grands while Jen and Louis went  away for Jen's birthday.  Whew.

November was another quiet month for us mostly spent with our Texas family (Yep, Jen's) and with a small trip down to Lake Granbury for a night with Willie Nelson.  Good times.  I also got busy baking this month -- gearing up for Christmas.

December started with a "help" from Amanda and so off to Cheyenne we went to help them get moved.  It was a great time and we even managed to get a little Christmas in there as well.  Ending the month was time with Jen and Cass.  Cass and Scott arrived for 10 days and helped make the holidays special.  Jen's crew came up for Christmas and we had a full but oh so happy house.  Sometimes I think I live for these moments when I am surrounded by those I love so dearly.

What an awesome year.  When we fill it in with friends, dates, and just time together, Mister and I can say that our lives are full of love and fun times.  We look forward to 2013 with all the surprises it will bring us (and a new granddaughter).

Love to all,

Mister and Lady

New Years Eve With Cass and Scott

We were lucky enough to have Cass and Scott with us for New Year's Eve.  Mister had decided to make sushi and so was in the kitchen creating away.  We started the night with a cheese tray and snacks and then moved on to the sushi.  I think he did a dang good job for his first attempt.

A Treasured Christmas with Family

I love it when all the work is finished and the celebrations can begin.  Scott and Cass were able to come down for Christmas and so we began with the traditional Tomato Bisque Soup.  This soup is so very good but oh so much work that it only happens a couple of times a year with Christmas Eve being one of them.  Let the holiday begin!

The tree is decorated, packages are under it -- where are the people?

Christmas morning!  Cassie is the youngest and so gets to play Santa.  Time for laughs, smiles, and yep -- happiness over that special gift that was just perfect.  You will have to ask me personally about this one.  Having a photographer in the house makes it simple for me to succeed with at least one gift each year.  A new lens. 

We had purchased knife sets for several of the kids this year and Scott and Cass were tickled with theirs.  Her lap is covered with the knives and Scott is lovingly caressing the block.  There is a kid still in him as we discovered when he opened his gift from his wife.  And yes, he spent the holiday putting the whole thing together before he had to take it apart in order to get it home.

Later that morning, the Southern group arrived from Temple.  Now the house was hopping.  Gifts again of course, but we started with Josh's birthday gift since we had not been together for his special day.

Then it was time to get to work.  We had a whole traditional dinner to prepare and serve.  The girls had wanted to do Mom's menu as they remembered it and so dishes were being filled everywhere.  We also had a table to get set up as there were many more of us than our little four-seater could hold.  Two tables were added and then a huge tablecloth to make it all look so special.  I was very please with the effect.

Aunt Cassie was trying really hard to get Bekah to taste the cocktail sauce but she wasn't budging.  Don't the salads look pretty?

Dinner time!  I absolutely love these moments.  Yes it is crazy, but such a good kind of crazy.  I didn't have a lot of this type of opportunity when my children were smaller and so I treasure these moments as a grandmother.

As I said before, the youngest always gets to play Santa and so Josh got to hand out gifts to everyone.

Finally!  The kids thought we would never let them open gifts.  This reaction by Jacob to the remote control helicopter he had been asking for was priceless.  Since we had bought it, he didn't think he was going to get one after they finished opening gifts at home.  Yay Gammy and Grandpa!

Bekah is at the age where she loves clothes and so is becoming easier to buy for.  A hoodie with a gift card tucked into the pocket scored big time as well.

After dinner is one of my favorite times as the mess is gone and it is just time now for fun, stories, visiting, and games.  What is Aunt Cassie thinking here?

Now where to put everyone for the night?  Ah yes, utilize the back house.  After finding a spot for everyone to rest their heads we called it a night.

The next morning was spent relaxing and taking it a little slow for awhile.  Time together was the objective for the adults while teens liked to be alone.





 Jen and I set about to come up with a plan for what to do today and also shared a few great mother-daughter moments.  I miss these times and even though we live closer to each other, we seem to lose them.

This shot of my girls is too fun.

Now what to do with all these people for the day.  They need to get out and move around a little.  Ah yes, the zoo.  What could be better?  First stop -- the giraffes for some feeding.  This is always the highlight of any trip to The Dallas Zoo.  Grandpa and Josh were virtually inseparable for most of the day.  I love seeing them together and I especially love this picture.  I wish I knew what they were looking at.

We decided to take the Monorail Safari and see parts of the zoo that are off limits to foot traffic.  We filled an entire car with mostly smiling faces.  As you can tell, it is nice in Dallas in December, but still coat worthy.  A final stop at the Children's Zoo to play with the birds brought many smiles and experiences.

The birds were everywhere and we became perches for a large amount of them.





Even Jared and Josh were able to hold still long enough for friends to visit.

After a stop for a quick bite to eat --- we were off to Jumpstreet, an indoor trampoline arena.  Even Gammy got into the mood and jumped with everyone for awhile.

The best part was watching everyone play dodgeball though.  This picture is it for me.  Cassie is definitely indicating that "you are out" and I love it.

The next morning, Jen's family had to hit the road back home and so we said a heartfelt good-bye and were so glad for the time we had together.  Cass and Scott still had a couple of days here and so after a morning spent relaxing and "building", we decided to take a walk at White Rock Lake.

The day was beautiful and we discovered the flock of parrots nesting in the trees.  It made for many camera teaching moments by Mister for Cass and I.  Are they not beautiful?

Just walking and enjoying the sunshine was fun.  We wandered the shore and around some of the old historical buildings that are there.


I seldom highlight pictures of me, but my sweetie took a good one here.  I absolutely love this lake as it reminds me of my years back in Bigfork as a teenager. Obviously the lake is much smaller, but still great times.

The next day we decided to go back to the zoo so that Cass could see the whole thing since we had only covered half of it the day before.  Even still, her preferred first stop was the giraffes.  At one time she had wanted to work with animals.  Now she works for an airline -- I guess that is still working with animals in a sense.  People can sure be bizarre.

What a great day!  I have really enjoyed our time with them and am sad to see them go.  Oh - this outfit managed to get me singled out as a zoo employee throughout the day.  Too funny.

The Color of Fall - Texas December

Looking out the front door.  Is this not absolutely beautiful?  It is December after all.

I Think I'm Finished - Whew!

This is the end of my holiday treat making.  Fudge, Chocolate Mint Dream Cookies, Dipped Pretzels, and Wafer Mints finished out my list.  Whew!  It feels good to be done.

Creativity at Work

Since we don't own a television, Mister decided to make a better antenna for my computer so that I could watch The Amazing Race.  Here is his creation -- and even better -- IT WORKS!