Zoo-refic

Yesterday we met my longtime close friend, Sara and her adorable (I mean so amazingly precious) daughter Jaeda at the zoo. It was a beautiful fall day with temperatures in the 60s and lots of sunshine! Since it was the first Monday after a holiday there was hardly anyone there, so we were able to see all the animals in a little over 2 hours. The kids weren't the only ones loving being outside in the pretty weather, the animals seemed to be enjoying themselves as well. We saw bears wrestling and running around, the male lion was roaring, the penguins were walking around in the sun and the birds were happy to eat and stand on our sticks. All the animals were out and moving in their enclosures and seemed to be enjoying the cool but sunny weather as well. It was a great day! I forgot my nice camera (after Levi threw a fit about cleaning up his toys before we left...fun) so all I got was phone pics. Luckily, I've got my fancy new phone, so they aren't too bad!

the lion was loud :)

Levi and Joel tried to grab the birds...

Jaeda was a little leary :)

Thanks so much Sara for making the drive out to our part of the metroplex! We had a wonderful day and I always enjoy spending time with you and sweet Jaeda. The boys love seeing her too! I'm so lucky to have such wonderful childhood friends and am so glad that Sara is back in the area so we can see each other several times a year instead of once or twice :) It's much better than talking on the phone!

Thankful Thanksgiving!

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving twice :) We spent Thursday at my parents house with my Mom, Dad, Gran, Aunt Mary and Uncle Buddy, Seth and his girlfriends Morgan. It was a nice relaxed and very delicious meal. Since my Mom is still recovering from her heart attack the rest of us took over the meal planning and cooking to that she wouldn't have to lift a finger. The meal turned out great! We contributed homemade yeast rolls, the turkey (the Alton Brown brined and roasted variety!) and roasted brussel sprouts. Everyone else's contributions were very tasty as well! We ate off paper plates, buffet style so the clean up was quick and easy. After the meal we all lounged for a couple hours in the living room while my Mom and Seth (who was sick with a stomach bug...ick) took naps. It was a sweet time with our family just spending time together and watching the boys play.

I forgot my nice camera, and didn't do a very good job of taking pictures with my phone, but I did capture some of Joel's newest obession...stuffing his shirt full of toys (matchbox cars here), of Levi stuffing himself with pumpkin and pecan pie, and Gran giving Levi some tickles on his feet :)

 

On Saturday we headed back to Plano (I was working Friday) to celebrate Thanksgiving with Philip's side of the family. Although we were all missing Carol and her over zealous meal planning and snack making, we had a great day playing with the kiddos, and visiting with Tamara, Derrick, Erika, Papa and Nana D. Levi and Joel were in heaven spending a whole day with their beloved cousins! Kamryn and Levi (who are almost exactly 1 year apart) were so cute together being extra silly :). Kynlee was in Mommy mode as always and spent hours following Joel around and playing with him. Kadin and Philip lost their minds and dared each other to swim in the cold pool! All in all it was a fun holiday with our family; we ate, made cookies, ate, swam, ate, danced and had a blast together :)

This year I was feeling extra thankful, so here are the 10 things I am most thankful for in 2012...
1. My Husband - he works so hard, usually without complaint, and seems like he can do anything!
2. Levi - he is fully of energy, curiosity and humor. He is so smart and crazy coordinated...and darn cute too!
3. Joel - he is sneaky, loving and spunky little. He can say anything now and could melt me with his smile
4. My Mom - especially this year I am thankful to have such a special woman in my life! Thank God he let us keep her here with us for (hopefully) many more years!
5. the boys cousins - I love that they have cousins close in age on both sides that they adore! I know all of their cousins will be positive influences in the lives which makes my heart happy!
6. my family - I have some of the most amazing people for my sisters, brother, sis-in-laws, bro-in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents etc, etc
7. our church family - we love our friends at church and they love us and our sons...this is a HUGE blessing
8. our home and all the luxuries we live with every day (good food, clothes, electronics etc...)
9. My (and my families) faith in the God who loves me and made me
10. Philip and my jobs that help us have a secure life and keep us both learning and enjoying our work

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Happy Birthday Dear Philip!

Philip's 30th birthday was Wednesday, and we celebrated with a family trip to the deer lease Monday and Tuesday followed by a pot roast dinner (of wild boar) on his actual birthday. We had a wonderful time at the lease and all the boys had a blast! It was fun for me to watch them be men together and enjoy their time together so much! I will probably never fully understand why Philip (and my Dad, brother and father-in-law) loves hunting with such a passion, and invests so much time, energy and money into the hobby, but these two days gave me a little more insight.

I can honestly say that I am looking forward to Levi and Joel growing up hunting with their Father, Uncle and Grandfathers. The bond they share is so special, and they will learn so many skills such as patience, caution, how to clean, dress and butcher an animal and use many different tools. Hunting actually takes a lot of brain power! I can already see the interest brewing in Levi and as much as Joel follows him and Philip around, I'm sure he's not far behind!

Here are some pictures from the fun trip!

A never ending supply of dirt = 2 happy and dirty boys!

Levi was excited to send Daddy off hunting in his "crazy clothes" Monday evening!

Helping Pop make a fire was fun...learning there were no marshmallows or hot dogs led to a Pop giving sympathy and narrowly avoiding melt down!

We enjoyed 2 beautiful West Texas Sunsets, one way God shows his love for us!

 Levi actually took this picture of me enjoying some sweet snuggles with Joel while the "big men" were off for a morning hunt on Tuesday.

All the hunting men :)

Philip shot an 11 point buck white tail (and two hogs as well) and the boys were very excited and interest in the deer. Weighing in at over 125 lbs he will become a lot of good meals.

Levi had a lot of fun watching all the guys work to clear an area and do other odd jobs around camp. He was itching to join in with the "worker men"

In the afternoon we drove around the land looking for animals and to see some of the pretty parts of the ranch. There is a beautiful area where the old ranch homes are nestled near the river. There we saw lots of deer, ducks and turkey.  Joel loved the "tur-tees" and said "gobba gobba" in the sweetest little voice whenever we saw them. Good Thanksgiving prep :) The boys sure were filthy after 2 days outdoors!

I am so thankful for these past 30 years that Philip has been in the world, and feel very blessed that I have been a part of his life for 15 of those years (that's half his life!!!). I love cooking for him and he enjoyed his special meals at the lease as well as his birthday dinner at home. He is so good to me and pretty easy to please most of the time :). Happy Birthday Philip! I'm so glad I can call you mine!

Preschool Thanksgiving Feast

Thursday Levi had his Thanksgiving feast at school. All the parents and siblings were invited. I signed up to bring dessert and after seeing a picture of a turkey cupcake in my new cup cake cook book (thanks mom!) I decided that's what I would be making. The book made it sound and look so easy, but I spent about 2 hours just assembling 10 birds! That doesn't include all the prep time of making frosting, cupcakes and gathers supplies! But, it sure was fun to see them come together and the other parents and kids seemed to enjoy them. The little boys especially enjoyed biting off body parts :) Every time Joel saw them he would say goba goba goba in the cutest little voice.

It was nice to meet some of the other parents and watch Levi interact with his school friends. They all seem to get along well and enjoy each others company. We had quite the spread and Levi and Joel both ate like champs. Unfortunately, Philip was in Canada, so he couldn't come to the special meal. He and Levi were actually both really disappointed he couldn't be there. It melts my heart how much they love each other!
 

Levi was so excited and gave Joel a Big hug :)

close up bird

a rafter of turkeys

brothers chowing down!

me and my sweet boy

hahaha! I'm eating a turkey head!

got his eye and the tip of his beak...yum!