Blog test

So my family has been begging me to start blogging again. The hard part is I no longer have a computer because I just work from my phone. The last time I checked, Blogger had an awful blogging app. So now that it’s been a few months I am trying it out again to see if I like it and if I can do it from my phone. It looks like I can now insert photos directly from my photo library on my iPhone. I can also use voice to text which is making this so much easier! Yay!

OK I have added pictures of what Melvin did. Melvin is our elf-on-th-shelf who comes at the beginning of December. Last night he decided to paint Brian’s toenails. He wrote a note for the kids, telling them to go check out their dad’s feet. Brian was not happy at all that Melvin did that to him in the middle of the night!

New Year's Eve 2017

I'm not going to write anything about New Year's Eve basically because, um, I don't remember much of it.  But here's a photo dump! 

Christmas 2017

Christmas Eve
We had another great year of Christmas time with our families.  Brian's family came over on Christmas Eve and we enjoyed Brian's yummy brisket along with the traditional corn casserole, sausage balls, little smokies, and Ashley/Kellie's deviled eggs.

The family gathered.



our family Christmas photo

sporting the Hargrave heirlooms, the Santa slippers

always hanging with Uncle Adam



Papa Mike helping Jack figure out a new gift.



yummy desserts that I have to hide from Brian and Uncle Adam AND Jack until dinnertime.  Boys, I tell ya.

Sarah mastered a spinach dip and crescent roll Christmas tree.

 

The kids were surprised with their big Christmas gift, a piano.  This is a player piano from the 1960's so its pretty fun.  Funny story:  I bought this piano from someone in the neighborhood who was moving.  Since the piano is way too heavy to load on Brian's truck, he and three teenage boys from the swim team pulled it down the street on furniture dollies, towed behind the truck.  I'm sure they looked real classy.
The kids have done a really good job teaching themselves new tunes.  Halle and Arden have learned "Fur Elise" and "Beauty and the Beast."  I've also heard them play "Heart and Soul" about 2 million times.  Jack learned "Hot Cross Buns." 

 

Christmas Morning

The chaos that is Christmas morning.  Lots and lots and lots of presents for the kids!  This is the time that the kids get to open presents from Santa, Mom and Dad, and Aunt Sarah and Uncle Adam.  Papa Mike and Gigi always come over to see the present opening and to have breakfast with us.  Christmas Vacation is always played in the background.
This year all the kids seemed to have gotten music related.  Halle got guitar picks, guitar strap, and a guitar stand.  Arden got a floor keyboard mat and some music books.  Jack got a ukulele.  Not to mention the piano mentioned above. 

Melvin said goodbye until next year

Christmas Evening

We headed to Rodney's house to have Christmas with my side of the family.  Sometime during Christmas Eve night I started feeling really bad.  I almost didn't go to my family's that evening, but I got up anyway.   I was able to compete in our annual family Christmas game. 

This is our family picture that my Pauline made us take.  She makes everybody take pictures.  I look awful.  However, Hope, my sister-in-law, gave me some BC powder.  I'd never taken it, and it was a life saver.  It made me feel well enough to compete in our annual family game of Pictionary.  As usual, it was rowdy.

Pauline and Rodney, probably arguing about something during Pictionary. 

 



 

 

 

 

December 2017

Melvin came back on December 1st.  He kept a good eye on the kids, but also managed to get into some mischief.

Mevin's letter to us on his first day back.

Melvin borrowed Halle's camera to take selfies with a snowman

Melvin had a good time getting into the toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Y'all we HAD SNOW!!!!  Like real snow.  In Houston!  As in Houston, Texas!  It started snowing about 10 pm and at 4 am the ground was covered in about 3-4 inches.  I woke up the kids super early just in case it melted before the sun came up.  Surprise, it didn't!  That meant from about 5 am until 7:30 am (they had to get eventually get to school) the kids played outside, made snow angels, had snowball fights with the neighbor kids, and made snow men.  It was awesome! 

Arden eating the snow.

The drive to work was amazing!  It looked like a winter wonderland.  Definitely my favorite commute ever.

We picked out our Christmas tree.  Actually, Brian picked it out, we just posed for pictures.

Here's all the fun things we did during December.  

Made gingerbread houses.

Read the Christmas Story

Got into character

 Baked

 Saw Santa

 Played Bingo

 Christmas Shopped

and strung garland

November 2017

Big month for Jack since he lost his very first baby tooth!  Just like the others, he used Brian's old tooth fairy pillow that night.  

We spent a day with some church friends at P-6 farms in Montgomery.  It was a nice day to, um, roll around in the hay.  There was a corn maze, bumpy butt slide, like they have at Dewberry, jumping pillow, cow train, etc.  The absolute funnest part of the day was watching the pig races.

Dressed up for Thanksgiving brunch at Walden Yacht Club.  Excellent meal like always, and great company.

Afternoon with my Dad, shooting BB guns, and playing with Mila.

Arden sprained her ankle on the trampoline the weekend after Thanksgiving.  She hobbled around on crutches for a few days.