Thanksgiving 2013

This was such a fun Thanksgiving!!  I love these ladies!  Miraculously we were all in town so decided to feast together.  It was awesome cooking together at Jen's house.  The best part about feasting with friends for Thanksgiving is you discover so many amazing new recipes.  These ladies can cook!!

I made my stuffed mushrooms but have decided that my stuffing doesn't hold a candle to Jenny's.  These mushrooms will be much tastier next year with her fixings inside.   I always knew Angie was a good cook but Mario is quite the chef too.  Their mashed potatoes and desserts were the bomb.com!! Macy made the best rolls and sweet potatoes.  Every bite was seriously a party in my mouth!! 

Ben whipped out his electric knife and cut into the brined, moist turkey.  Delicious!!

I wished I had more room in my stomach!!

Feeling so grateful for wonderful friends here in Austin and in other parts of the world.  So grateful for Chase's job that brought us to Texas.  So grateful he LOVES his job.  I am bursting with gratitude for our healthy kids, a home to live in, food on the table and our happy life as a family.  So blessed!

Preschool Thanksgiving Program

Bless the big hearts of the teachers that somehow get all these kids to perform in a preschool production.

It's not a job for the faint and feeble.  That's for sure.   

Way to go Jack!! You managed to entertain us all by just being cute, crazy little you!!

Movember

Chester is back!!  It's Movember and the facial hair is out of control! We were so proud of Chase's mustache this year. It took a whole month to grow out and was still pretty patchy on one side.  I gave him the tip of darkening it up with an old bottle of mascara.  He looked pretty funny taking Covergirl Lashblast to work. 

This is what I got to look at every night before I went to bed.  Lucky me!!
Word got out at church (it wasn't me....I promise) that Chase was using mascara to thicken his stash.  He got a lot of slack from all his buddies.  They were just jealous they didn't come up with the idea on their own. 

Speaking of church.  Our kids are naughty in sacrament meeting.  So naughty they're chosen as the reverent example in primary.  That'll teach 'em!!

Texas Winters

It's November and we are in swim suits!! I went to a baby shower and came home to these shenanigans.

We decided to make the best of that 75 degree, mosquito free day, and head to Barton Creek which was FULL of water!!  With our droughts every summer, it's hard to find the creek anything but dry, so this is a happy occasion indeed. 

So happy in fact, that we strip down to our skivvies and jump in!! 

And dance too!!

Sadie was the first to take the plunge!!

Jack needed a little coaxing but eventually surrendered.

 

Sadie is usually "Miss Prepared" and brings along all the essentials for a Cannon excursion in her pony bag.  These essentials will include band aids, binoculars, a head lamp, her pink silk money purse, and snacks.  She never skips a beat.  I'm sure she was very vexed at not having a change of clothing after her cool dip in the creek, but no worries!  Dad REALLY wanted to show off his raging muscles, so he gave her his shirt. 



George and I stayed dry and kept Jack's clothes dry too.  George was very interested in throwing rocks.  Jack was more interested in picking his nose.

This weather is why we love Texas so much.  We've entered our season of paradise!

Although some mornings it gets all the way down to 60 and Jack screams "It's freezing!!" while waiting for me to unlock the car door. 

 

However, us Texans have been shivering in our timbers.  We got a cold blast from Alaska and we had to endure a 30 degree low.  That's cold Mr. Bigglesworth!!  So cold we had to turn the heat on and wear our pajamas all day.

So cold, that instead of walking with the ladies, we went to Target and bought stuff we didn't need.

So cold I wore a hat inside and out.  The good thing is, the hat covers the greasy hair underneath. 

So cold, we pushed our fall décor aside and put up the Christmas tree.  A whole week before Thanksgiving.  We're crazy y'all! When the high is 40 outside, you deck the halls!

So cold we thought the Cottams outdoor screening of Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving would be cancelled, but it wasn't and we wore tons of layers and pulled out our Sorels from storage.

But don't you go worrying about us, because tomorrow it's going to be 80 degrees again.  We're keeping it weird, all the way down to the weather.

 

 

 

 

 

The Faces of George

George is full of expression and he's not afraid to show it!! We all get a pretty big kick out of all the faces he makes.

This is the "I want to watch choo choo's on your iPhone.  I won't eat if you don't pull up YouTube RIGHT NOW" face.   

This is the "really? I mean REALLY?!!" face.

"You can't entertain me with sugar packets for long" face. 

"I'm bored and I want my BBQ already!!" face.

 "I love talking to my dad on Facetime but I HATE saying goodbye" face.

"My name is Mildred" face.

"Peek a boo!" face.

"Thanks for the pouch of squash.  I can do no wrong and I'm completely innocent, but I'm ready to get out now and reek havoc on Target" face 

 

 This is the "I love my Mom and I love looking at myself on her camera" face. 

 

GEORGE WE LOVE YOU!!!

Grandpa to the rescue!!

I was delighted, I say delighted, when my dad offered to come to Texas and help me paint.  EVERY room in the house needs painting so a little help, goes a long way.  I sometimes get overwhelmed by all the updates this house needs.  New floors, new cabinets, new bathrooms, toilets and sinks.  The list goes on and on and I fully recognize this is totally a "first world problem."  I am overwhelmed and overjoyed to even own a home that I can call my own.  I just want to put a little of my flare into it so Abby shines through. 

George's room was the first on our painting list.  His room was sooooooo dark!!  Even with the blinds open, I have to turn a light on during the day to see where I'm going.  It was a hideous greenish beige and I was happy to see it go. 

Choosing the perfect white is HARD!!  I finally decided to match it to the trim around the house to save me the step later of having to repaint all the molding.

I love painting with my dad.  We turn on NPR and discuss what we hear as we paint along.  He is such great company!! Love this man!!

Before and after!

It looks sooooooooooooooo much better and you wouldn't believe how much light is in the room.  George wakes up and can actually see what's going on.  It's amazing to me how long he stays in there every morning before he starts to cry. I think he just loves being able to see everything from the view of his crib. 

The second project was to redo the hideous "French Chateau" half bath downstairs.  I still hate the textured walls (first world problems) but I thought we'd paint over them to see if it looked any better.   

The absolute worst part about this bathroom is the stained door and molding.  I can't stand it!!  It looks terrible.  I was so excited to paint over it!

They even "stained" the ceiling. 

It already looks so much better just with white trim!!

Grandpa did his magic again and it really looks a lot better apart from the textured walls, need of a new toilet and sink (to replace the grandma swan one in there:-)

Before, during and after!!
 

Grandpa still had to be grandpa while he was here and the kids LOVED it.  George was scared at first but it took all of 5 minutes to warm up. I feel so much better about the house having done just those two rooms.  It was highly educational and I'm glad I was able to learn from the BEST!!  Thanks again Dad!! You can come anytime!!