4th of July

Ok, I wasn't going to write anything about the 4th of July because we really didn't do much this year and the pictures are really limited, but then I saw some pictures of Danny and couldn't help but put them up.

For the 4th the base did an Appreciation Day which included a BBQ, paintball, prizes, live music, games, and a go kart track.  Matt and Nate earned money for scout camp by being on litter duty for a couple of hours while Danny stood in line FOREVER to drive the go kart.  To his mind it was worth every minute of the wait.

Pretty sad picture of fireworks, but we were able to go home and sit outside our front door to have a great seat for the show.

Christmas 2012

Christmas was in San Antonio this year.  We enjoyed some of our favorite traditions.  Christmas Eve was Cheese and Broccoli Soup for dinner followed by the Christmas story, and then opening Christmas jammies.  Love the footy jammies on my pre-teen and teenagers.  

After that was the Night Before Christmas and everyone to bed.

The next morning was opening presents which included the much awaited Ipod Touch for each of them.

I must add this was the quietest Christmas ever.

This year I went crazy on the Christmas cookie making (blame it on Pinterest).  I made way too many cookies with the winners being the Peppermint Oreo Truffles and the Egg Nog cookies.

 Christmas dinner included ham, grits, and rolls.  A good time was had by all.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a wonderful event this last year.  We were blessed that Aunt Taty was able to share Thanksgiving with us since she lives so close in Houston.  We also took the opportunity to have two Air Force Trainees to enjoy our dinner with us through a program called Operation Homecooking.  It was truly an honor to open our home to these two young women who have chosen to serve their country.  I also received a couple very nice thank you notes from family member who were grateful that their daughters/granddaughters were able to have a family around them during the holiday season.

So with so many guests for dinner I really wanted to go all out.  Although my turkey turns out good every year, I wanted to know if I could improve on it.  So this year I researched turkey recipes and ended up going with Alton Brown of Good Eats recipe.  After the smoke cleared......yes cleared, we were graced with the best turkey I have ever made.  Rich, tender, beautiful bird that has now made me a believer in the need to brine a turkey.  And yes I did cook it upside down.  I will need to do a better job on that next year.  Needless to say we enjoyed a wonderful meal with a pomegranate salad made by Aunt Taty.  (The boys have made ma promise that this will be on the menu next year)

It was so nice to have good food, good company, and a chance to give thanks for all those blessings that that Lord has given us.    

Blessings Tree

This last November I tried to have my family think of what they were thankful for rather than just a big meal and football for Thanksgiving.  All month we were each to fill out a leaf daily of blessings that we are thankful.  Although our tree started out looking a little sad by the end of the month we had a full tree of blessings.  

Ward Halloween Party/ Trunk or Treat

The 6th Ward was able to hold their first big event in our new building this last weekend with our annual Halloween Party.  As a ward we were encouraged to bring our friends and neighbors so the turn out was huge. (Can't tell that from the pictures as this was just at the end of setting up).  We had so many cute costumes show up and lots of super heroes like Dan's Captain America.

Our ward also does the Chili Cook Off during the party and of course I had to submit my (OK my dad's) Green Chili.  As usual by the end of the night there was none left.  Good thing I took some out before we left home so we could enjoy it.  

Then it was Trunk or Treat time.  This year I really tried to do something with the back of our car.  I was going to do a big mouth but ran out of time so it was a spider web.  I got a lot of cute comments from some of the nursery kids that I help with once in a while.  My favorite was "creepy".

The Young Women also do there fundraisers during this event by making deserts that are set up in a silent auction.  I had to take a picture of the beehive (made by a Beehive) for Dad.  

We were able to invite some friends to do the Trunk or Treating with us and really had a great time.

Easter

Easter was the last holiday that we had to celebrate without Doug.  I learned one really important lesson about that, I cannot do it all.  Usually while I am cooking he is having the Easter egg hunt, or I'm filling baskets while he is filling eggs.  Yep, none of that help this year, but we did our best.  We started with the Easter basket treasure hunt.

Please excuse the length of the video, but I knew Papa would really get a kick out of this.

Then it was off to church were I got to teach Relief Society.  (Glad that is over)  Then back home and we managed an Easter egg hunt but ended off postponing Easter dinner until Monday due to lack of before mentioned help.  I was a great day anyway.

Christmas Day

Having Doug so far from us during the holidays has made us do our traditions a little differently.  This is the first year that the boys didn't run out to see what Santa had brought them, but instead ran out to see dad on Skype.

While Dad looked on the boys ripped through their presents.  Everyone got that special thing they asked for and this year the gifts that the brothers gave each other were very thoughtful.  We enjoyed a great breakfast and then I enjoyed "a long winters nap."  It was great to be around family during this holiday time.

Christmas Eve

This year I was determined to have Christmas in San Antonio even if Doug wasn't there.  I purchased all the presents, decorated the house, put up a tree, and made preparations for Christmas Eve and Day meals.  Then three days before Christmas, after watching a movie that stated that Christmas was to a time to be with family and friends, I made the impromptu decision to go to Arizona for Christmas.  I made this announcement to the boys and within an hour we were on the road to Arizona with little to no idea what we had thrown into our suitcases and into the back of the truck.  All I knew was we were going home.  We arrived Thursday evening and I really didn't get with the program until late Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve came with all the family traditions.  We made homemade pizza (that didn't make anyone sick this year).

We visited the temple grounds to see the lights.

 

We opened our jammies

We read the nativity story and The Night Before Christmas.  This is usually Doug's job and we tried to have him read the story to the boys over Skype but it just didn't work out.  So I got to take over the duty.

Then it was off to bed so Christmas morning would come that much faster.

A Deployment Christmas

Since I view this blog as more of a family journal than anything, I figured that I was allowed to share how hard it is to be away from the one you love at this holiday time.  I admire those spouses who seem to take every deployment in stride, but I don't seem to be one of them.  All I what for Christmas is my husband home.



Nate's Christmas Concert

This year Nate has been involved with his school's choir.  So with the holiday season comes the Christmas Concert.  He was so excited because there were speaking parts and he was the one with the most lines as Rudy the Soda Shop keeper. 

It was really pretty cute with the Grinch even making an appearance and Nate did a great job.

Thanksgiving

With Doug gone this year it was a different Thanksgiving for us.  Usually we stay home celebrating with friends but this year the boys headed back to Arizona.  We loved almost every moment of it.  (Thanks CA Jen for the 8 hour flu)  We attended church with Papa, had a baby sprinkle for Aunt Jymie, played at the park, went hiking with Aunt Taty, watched movies, played with Vash, cooked with Nana, bought Christmas presents, and ate.  It was a much needed trip.

I forgot how easy Thanksgiving dinner can be with more than one person cooking.  Then again, I love my mom's kitchen that allows so many cooks in the same area.   

Danny even got in on the preparations when he and Aunt Taty whipped the cream for the top of our pumpkin pies.

Veteran's Day

Although the boys did not have the day off of school to celebrate Veteran's Day, I think they had something better.  Nate and Danny's school did Veteran's Day program that each participated in.  For Nate it was his first choir concert and Danny participated with his grade in a salute to the military.  The greatest thing about both programs was how excited the kids were to thank our veterans. 



"A Veteran is someone, who at one point in their life, wrote a blank check payable to the United States of America for an amount up to, and including, their life. That is beyond honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer remember that fact."

-Unknown

Father's Day

I must admit that I am very proud of myself this year. The boys and I did Father's Day up right for once. Since we have early morning church (and I'm not much of a morning person) we prepared overnight french toast and fruit kabobs so all we would have to do is put the french toast in the oven in the morning. We didn't even hijack him in bed but let him eat at the table like a normal person. (A very thoughtful thing in Doug's case.) We also didn't overload him with all our cards and gifts before his eyes were truly open which only makes him have to pretend that he really can see them and is enjoying them.

After church the boys and I attempted to put together Doug's "big present". Unfortunately, the manufacture had not included the S hooks we needed to attach the hammock to the stand. As you can see a quick stop at Walmart (no, not on Sunday) and we had it up. Now this is my biggest triumph as Doug's personality is not one that you would think "relax" as one of his main character traits. He is more of a go, go, go type of guy. But as you can tell by the goofy grin on his face that he is really enjoying this. We even got him a clip on insect repellent and with the fans on the porch it really is a nice place to sit after the sun has gone down.

After realizing the the hammock was not going to be in functioning order on Sunday, the boys and I set out to make lasagna. I am the first to admit that this is not one of my speciality dishes. In fact my lasagna usually turns out dry and well, bad. But this is what he asked for and I was going to do my best to deliver. I had made the sauce earlier in the week so it had all that nice time for the sauce to marinate. And then we went at it with cheese, cheese, and more cheese. Needless to say, it turned out WONDERFUL!!!! YEA!!! I was so worried especially since I had invited a friend over whose family was on vacation without him. (I hate serving guest yucky food)

Doug also received a Father's Day craft that the boys and I made along with a empty picture frame. He thought the tie key chain was a cute way to get his "ugly tie" for Father's Day. And hopefully sometime this week I will get to filling the picture frame for him.

It was a great day to spoil Dad!!

Memorial Day

I follow quite a few blogs. One of my favorite is called the Pioneer Woman and I have been following her pretty much from the beginning. I love how real she is and how simplistic her instructions are. I also love her photography. She gives assignments for people to submit photos that follow a theme. This weekend she had the theme of "Coming Home" with a military bend. I have laughed, cried, and sighed over these photos. Take a few minutes and follow this link http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/ . Be prepared to be touched and grateful for those who have served and given their all.

Fiesta

Being new to San Antonio we did not realize the importance of Fiesta, but after asking around we felt better about our ignorance. We found that most people don't know how or why Fiesta started. For them the important part is the party that lasts for 10 days. This seems to be San Antonio's answer to St. Patrick's Day or Mardi Gras. (It's true that everything is bigger in Texas.) Never fear, through the trusty Internet we were able to find out that Fiesta was first started with the Battle of Flowers Parade in 1891 to honor the heroes of the Alamo and San Jacinto.

This is also a special time at school for the boys. Fiesta is one of two parties a year that the school district allows (the other being for Christmas). A float was made for Danny to have in the parade and Matt enjoyed a DJ party. Food, crafts, and music were enjoyed by all. Although this year we didn't take in any of the local events we are planning on attending a parade or two next year.

Happy New Year's

As I have stated before, Doug and I are not big party people. We enjoy getting together with friends but we are happiest at home with our boys. So how do self proclaimed homebodies celebrate New Year's Eve? First you have to give up on dinner and have pizza with wings. Then you start a never ending game of Monopoly with your kids. And if that isn't enough, pop in a family friendly movie to pass the hours to midnight. Do we know how to party or what?

We did add fireworks this year. We currently live in an unincorporated area of San Antonio. This means we have a separate bill for garbage pick up, we are on a rural postal route, and we get to set off fireworks like crazy. The boys had a blast setting off our fireworks earlier in the evening, but we were in for a treat at midnight. As the clock turned 12:00 the sky lit up. Everywhere we looked there was fireworks. We stood on our back porch with big goofy grins on our faces as we watched all our neighbors fireworks. I have never seen anything like it on New Year's. It was definitely a San Antonio experience. I just wish I could have gotten better pictures of it.

A New Year's Eve Post

2000

2001

One last word before this year ends, one last musing at the end of this decade. It didn't hit me that this is the last day of this decade until I was making my bed this morning. (What? You don't think of big thoughts while you are making the bed.) Wow! So I have not only been going over what has happened this last year but also what has happened these last ten years.

2002

2003

2004

Over the last ten years our family was put together one member at a time. Yes, just three boys for us. Those that attended dental school with us said it would never last, but we are happy as a family of five. We have celebrated first steps, first words, first haircuts, and first days of school. We have had many birthdays, two baptisms, and one graduation. We have lived in four different states and the boys have attended three different elementary schools. Doug and I have served in the church as everything from Ward Clerk to Scout Leader to Nursery Worker with many in between. We have grown physically, educationally, and spiritually.

2005

2006

What a busy decade and the next promises to be more so. In the next ten years we will have many birthdays, three boys receive the priesthood, three Eagle Court of Honor's, three new drivers, two graduations, one completed mission, and one mission being served. We will move again and the boys will go to middle school then on to high school. Doug and I will continue to serve in the Church to the best of our ability. We will grow physically, educationally, and spiritually.


2007

2008


(Coming Soon)
2009