Dusting off the Blog

My, does time fly. I have gotten so behind with blogging. When I was staying home, blogging was sort of an escape, something I enjoyed doing when the kids were sleeping, but lately it has gotten harder to squeeze in. I haven't wanted to touch our computer when I get home. Maybe my new work lap top will help. Here's where we left off.

Cowgirls Made the Elite 8

We are really proud of Kristen's soccer team. They ended up advancing to the Elite 8 in the NCAA post season tournament, but lost to Notre Dame last Friday, 2-0. Due to some major upsets, OSU got to host all four Cowgirl games, so we got to be there for every one. Attendance at the final game set an all new high, and the Cowgirls advanced the furthest in the program's history. We're kind of sad the season is officially over, but at least we have Timmy's baseball season to look forward to right around the corner.

Kenzie Loves Performing

Kenzie started dance lessons this summer with Oklahoma Performing Arts and loves it. She is in the pre-dance program, which includes ballet, tap, acrobatics and voice, and meets two days a week. She recently had her first holiday performance at Barnes and Noble, which donated a percentage of all sales that day to the non-profit in support of arts education. I really like the program so far - especially since they incorporate a service aspect. Kenzie will be performing at a retirement home tomorrow, and next Saturday she will have her official performance on stage at the Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center at 3:00 PM. If you would like to go see some talented kids perform a Nutcracker and holiday segment, bring yourself and a canned food donation for admission.

Give Thanks!
We left Tulsa after work last Wednesday and headed straight to Kansas City for our annual Thanksgiving reunion with my Dad's side of the family.

My Aunt Melanie and Uncle Jim cooked a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner,complete with all the traditional fixings and a fresh turkey.

The whole crew

Look who is passed out on the floor - had to wake him up to eat

Kids Table - Cooper wasn't thrilled about waking up


We had to leave early in the evening on Thursday to make it back to Tulsa so we could turn around and head to Stillwater the next day for Kristen's game and family time with Mama Joe and Grandad and the Roys. Lots of travel packed in a few days.

Oh Deer!
We came across two instances of fresh deer road kill on the highway on the way home. I actually hit a deer a week before going down 51st between 129th and 145th in Broken Arrow! The damage to the car was very minimal - just a cracked, loose headlight - and there wasn't any blood, so hopefully the deer got away with just a bruise. Crazy. Cooper was in the car with me, and he slept through the whole thing. If you travel down 51st at night, be careful. Might be worth buying a deer whistle for our cars, especially for travel between Tulsa and Kansas City.

Cousin Noah Turned 2 - such a cutie

Noah's Aunt Rachel made this cake using the same type of Wilton Puzzle cake I used for Cooper, but this set had a truck and rocket type theme.

Another Reason Why I Love Catholic School

Kenzie's class made this fun advent wreath craft at school and sent home three additional tissue papers for the kids to add each Sunday. Got a little smashed on the way home. I thought this was a cute idea and am so glad that my children are getting a Christian-based education.

Deck the Halls
We finally put up our stockings and tree and will be putting up our Christmas lights tomorrow. Seems like we're the last to put up our decorations and take them down too once the festivities are over - glad we have a homeowner's association to keep us in line there. The real test will be if you get our Christmas card before the big day. We usually don't get around to sending out until the week of Christmas.

In the mean time, wishing you and yours a great start to a happy holiday season!