Proud Parents...

(I've already posted this on our Project 365 blog, so sorry for the duplicate post if you've already read this news on the other blog.)

Both boys made the A/B Honor Roll for the 1st semester! Wooohooo!!! While I won't say it has been easy for us or for them, the 1st semester of school is now over and was successful if we made it out with the boys both on the A/B Honor Roll.

(Yes, I know...this was a short and boring post. Sorry! We don't much excitement or noteworthy events going on right now.)

Icy Days...

Well, the past 2 days have been 'Ice Days' for the boys. I've stayed home with them. Yesterday, it just seemed to be cold and sleeting off and on. Last night, was the worst of it. Our power went out for about 3 hours. I was pretty certain when I went to bed that the boys would either have a delayed start or school would be canceled again today. Sure enough, it was. I decided that if it is bad enough for the boys' school district to be closed, it is bad enough for me to not make a 25 mile one-way commute to work. Fortunately, I have the capability of working from home. Although, I only brought home enough work to last me one day. I didn't prepare to be home for 2 days.

WFAA is calling this the worst ice storm since 1980. While I am not a weatherman nor have I actually left the house since Monday at 5pm, I'm not sure that this is the WORST ice storm since 1980. Perhaps it is, but I'm glad I'm fortunate enough to not have experienced it as I did back in 2003. I remember it taking me 4 hours to drive from Northwest Hwy to Lewisville. This is back when I was in hotel management and had no choice but to be at work. I drove home to get clothes for the next day, as I knew my employees weren't going to make it to work. I will remember that ice storm forever! It was pure hell for about 48 hours!

When Jason was going out to the truck this morning he said he slid all the way down the driveway and almost busted his rear. LOL! (Wish I would've seen that!) He did say the roads were pretty bad this morning at 9am when he went to work. He only works 1 mile from the house.

Anyways, here are a few pictures of the 'ice' that has caused 2 ice days for both the boys and myself.

As you can see...the ice is melting! Maybe I can bundle up the boys and send them out to play to burn off some energy!

Colby is Denver Bound...

Well, he isn't Denver bound, just yet. His trip is booked as of 8:40am! He is going to be so excited when I tell him after school that he is going to Denver 2 weeks from today! His birthday is the following Friday after he returns from Denver. On his actual birthday, we'll be headed to Shreveport for our 3rd Annual Mardi Gras Parade festivities. Looks like he'll be having his b-day party a week or two after his actual birthday! Oh well, I'm sure he wouldn't pass up his snowboarding trip just to have his b-day party closer to his actual b-day!

Tristen's Vacation Reacp

Uncle Shane made the below 'newsletter' to recap Tristen's visit to Colorado.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Tristen - Enjoying Denver

(crappy phone picture quality)

Here is the first picture of I'm sure many more to come. Tristen enjoying the snow. It is warmer in Denver than it is in Dallas today. It is a balmy 55 degrees in Denver, compared to our chilly 41 degrees here in Dallas.

Tristen's 1st Flight

Tristen left this morning for his trip to Denver to go snowboarding with Uncle Shane. Uncle Shane is flying each one of the kids (Tristen, Colby, & their 2 cousins) out to Denver (one at a time) for a weekend trip. This was Tristen's first flight and while he was excited to go he also mentioned being nervous/scared because he had never flown before.

This morning came extremely early. We woke up at 4:15am to get up and get ready. We arrived at the airport not really expecting it to be busy. Yeah, we were wrong. We waited in line for probably about 20 minutes. I tried to check him in early, but b/c he was traveling as an unaccompained minor, I was unable to. We were expecting for just Jason to be allowed to take him to the gate b/c I had previously called and they told me only one adult could accompany him to the gate. While checking him in the ticket counter lady asked us if we both needed passes, so that was a pleasant surprise. We had to wait in the boarding area for about 30 minutes and then Tristen was called to board fast. It kind of caught us all of guard (which was probably good) and he was on his way. He was taken down the jetway by the ticket counter lady. We had to wait for the plane to actually take off before we could leave. After everyone had boarded the plane, I went and asked the ticket counter lady if he was ok once he got on the plane. She said he was FINE! He was excited and asked for a window seat. It was dark when he left, so leaving Dallas all he got to see was lights. I'm sure he got to see more when he was arriving to Denver.

So, his trip has been successful so far. Uncle Shane called me when he got Tristen at the gate in Denver. Tristen was boucning off the wall with excitement when I talked to him. His first experience snowboarding will be tomorrow. I'm not sure if they will make it out to the slopes today or not. He arrived early enough and was getting fitted for his board, boots and bindings today.

Colby will be going soon and I can *ONLY* hope that he will be just as excited and not scared of his first plane ride. He is a little bit more reserved and quieter than Tristen.

I'm so jealous that I'm not in Denver hitting the slopes this weekend.

*I'll post pictures after Uncle Shane sends them to me. Tristen has a camera in his possession, but who know what kind of pictures will come off of it.!*

Quick Update

We haven't had much going on, as of late, but our lives are about to get busy.

• Tristen is taking Mid-Terms this week. (I'm still confused on why they do these AFTER the Holiday Break and not before. Strange!)
• Tristen leaves for Denver on Friday for his snowboarding trip with Uncle Shane. We have to be at the airport at 5am! YUCK!
• Jason starts school next Tuesday.
• Colby's trip to Denver will be sometime in February.
• Colby's b-day in February.
• 3rd annual family trip to Shreveport to see Jason's Aunt and Grandma for Mardi Gras.
• Colby's baseball will be starting back up in mid-March.

Before we know it, Spring Break will be here. I casually started looking at a tropical vacation for Jason and I to go on this summer (sometime around our 2nd anniversary), but not sure if that will actually happen. Anyways, that is the latest on us. :)

Fundraiser for Adoption Fund

You might previously remember a post awhile back about an adoption fundraiser. While the calender fundraiser was successful, adoptions are very expensive and they are continuning their fundraising efforts. A generous photographer in the DFW area has donated 2 photography sessions. For more information about buying raffle tickets, please see Bunches of Burches (link).

Abby's Birthday

Abby, our niece, turned 5 on the 4th. She had her birthday party at Going Bonkers in Lewisville. I can't believe she is 5!!!!!!!!!! She is the most girly girl you'll find. Below are a few pics from her big day.

Showing off her 'makeup' from Allen & Kate

Excited to be 5!!!!

Her new Barbie camera!

Colby & Tristen @ Abby's party

Project 365 Blog & Recipe Blog

I'm going to attempt Project 365 in hopes that I can keep it up! Here is the separate blog I created for it: The-Hoppers365

I've also, for awhile now, had a recipe blog. I haven't necessarily tried everything that I post on this blog, but it is an easy place for me to keep recipes I find online.

Out with friends - Allen's 29th B-day

Saturday night we went out with friends to celebrate Allen's 29th B-day. We went to eat on the patio at Ozona's and then headed to Stan's Bluenote on Greenville. Below are a few snapshots from the night.

... The hubby and I...
Kate & Me
Maturity at is prime! This was an 'end of the night' picture.

2008 In Review

I know it is a few days late, but I had to take the time to sit down and actually write notes for this post. We said goodbye to 2008 and Hello to 2009 with some friends at our house. It was a low-key party, but it was fun and successful. As we sat around the table and talked about babies and kids, we realized how different things are now than 4-5 years ago.

2008 was a great year for us. Here's a quick recap of 2008:

• The boys experienced a Hibachi restaurant for the 1st time (for Allen's b-day).
• My brother and Sister-in-Law moved up to Dallas from Austin.
• Colby turned 10 in February.
• Boys kept us extremely busy with baseball.
• Jason played on 2 softball teams.
• We took our annual trip to Shreveport to see Jason's family for Mardi Gras.
• Our BFF's had an adorable son (our psuedo nephew).
• House hunting, found a house, & closed on a house.
• Jason and I made a quick trip to Wink to see a friend's graduation.
• My 10 year high school reunion - that I was unable to make it to. :(
• Our 1st anniversary.
• Colby tried out for and made a Select Baseball Team.
• Colby was selected as 'MVP' from his team in the Tara Sawyer Baseball Tournament.
• The boys started new schools.
• Tristen began band and worked his way to 1st chair.
• We slowly but surely have been decorating our home.
• Tigger ran away (b/c I didn't latch the gate all the way). Tigger came home 36 hours later.
• Jason bought a 1964 VW bug. (Not that I need a reminder as has taken my garage parking spot.)
• My brother Bear graduated from Dallas Fire Academy.
• Tristen turned 12 in November.
• Thanksgiving and Christmas came and went by so fast.

2008 was fabulous, but I expect 2009 to be even better. Life is about to get pretty hectic for us. Mid-terms for Tristen next week. Tristen leaves for Denver on the 16th. Jason is starting school in later this month. He will be at school 3 nights/week. Colby's birthday in February. Trip to Shreveport for Mardi Gras in February. Colby's trip to Denver in early March. Colby doesn't start baseball until probably late March/early April. Before we know it, summer will be here again! *Possibly* later this (late) summer or (early) fall, we will start trying to have a bebe! :)