School choice

I feel like the month of January puts me in a funk. Christmas is over and I'm sad...I have to un-decorate my house so it looks empty, and the weather is usually gross. However, the end of the month has been really pretty and last Friday was a great day to be outside!

Scarlett goes to a little Christian school and Friday afternoon they had a balloon release celebrating school choice. 

counting down

and they're off...

Excitement!

And then there's Clark. He was so sad that he didn't get a balloon :(

friends

Even Jemma enjoyed herself :)

You can't really tell by his expression, but the popsicle made up for no balloon.

It was a fun afternoon, and I'm happy that Scarlett goes to this little school...even if it does cost a fortune! ha~

Anniversary

TEN YEARS!!

I cannot believe Brody and I have been married for ten years. The best decision I've ever made was saying yes to that man! :) Normally, we just have a nice dinner out to celebrate, but since this was a big number, he had a few tricks up his sleeve.

This was my gift...love them!

dinner at Fleming's

(iphone photo...bad quality)

After our delicious meal we went to the Westin, La Cantera for the night.

the view from our room

 It was a wonderful anniversary, and I'm thankful to my parents for keeping the kids! I am so lucky to have Brody as my husband...he is just the greatest! I'm looking forward to many many more fun anniversaries!

Christmas!

We had a fun Christmas! I'm always sad when the break goes so fast and we have to get back in the routine.

We've started the tradition of making cookies for Santa. The kids had a great time this year and actually helped me decorate all of them! Clark was using Halloween sprinkles for this shot. ha~

our finished products

Christmas Eve we spent with Brody's parents

 Kathi makes jewelry and so she pulled out all her Christmas beads and the kids got to make necklaces. They loved it!

 I think Clark's favorite thing was this train. It went all the way around the tree, and he got to use the remote to make it go, reverse, and stop. He was in heaven!

The other favorite for Clark was this "ginormous gun". He had asked for one, and was so happy!

      

 

Scarlett asked for some Littlest Pet Shop Walkables, and was thrilled when she opened this treat!

Christmas morning was also a hit!

spin brushes

My three favorite people!

Christmas day was a little weird because we usually go in our jammies to my parents, but it was Sunday so we went to church first and then headed to mom and dad's.

 It's always loud and chaotic over there on Christmas day, but the kids are beside themselves with all the fun.

sweet girls

 my crazy boy~

Christmas Around our House

It's been so much fun to decorate our NEW house this year for the holidays. There's still a lot that I want to add over the next few years, but I think we're off to a pretty good start. 

dining room

stairs

I highly recommend a chalkboard wall somewhere in your house. They are so much fun!

This table has pictures of the kids visit with Santa every year.

My "fancy" tree again. I found a tutorial on the tree skirt from Pinterest.

Scarlett's tree

Clark's tree

Clark decorated his tree himself :) Notice the decorations he made out of pipe cleaners, and even added a lovely mini candy bar wrapper. ha!

 Another decoration found on Pinterest. I don't know what I'll do with this space once Christmas is over, but I have a few ideas.

A great gift from my friend Jenn.

Our family tree in the living room.

My shiny centerpiece on the coffee table.

Blake, our elf has been having lots of fun every night...looks like last night he played a few video games. :)

Festivities!

We're in full Christmas swing around here! Both kids have had their Christmas programs, Brody and I have been to a couple of parties, and there are still a few more to attend!

Scarlett was an angel at her program...literally :) They did a great job!

 Clark was part of the choir at his program. I never know with that boy how he'll do...but thankfully he had a great time up there and was even keeping time of the music with his hand just like the music teacher. haha!

 We are so lucky to have our family in town! Even sweet Jaime and Jemma came to watch Clark, but unfortunately I didn't get a picture of them.

 Scarlett's class had a field trip to the Majestic to see part of the Nutcracker. It was a shorter version since there were just schools attending, but it was still lots of fun. I'm not sure how much the boys liked it, but the girls were all in heaven seeing the pretty ballerinas!

We also hosted part of our bible class party (it was a progressive dinner and we were the appetizer house), and I had my annual Christmas party for the girls I used to teach with. We figured out we've been doing the party for 13 years!! I don't know what got into me, but I forgot to pull out my camera for either of those parties. Brody and I still have several more functions to attend, so hopefully I'll remember to take some pictures then!