Day after Christmas

We had so much fun on Christmas Day, that Bristol slept until 11 the next morning. Madalyn didn't get up much before he did, here she is complete with her 'Leave Me Alone' eye cover she snaked out of my stocking. The next two are of Madalyn and Beck sporting some of their new Christmas fashions.

Christmas Day

It's one of those days when you truly enjoy your kids. We had such a great morning- Mom and Dad came over to watch the kids open their Santa presents. (see picture of haul of gifts) We made beignets that I had bought mix for at the Cafe Du Monde when I was there for training earlier in the year. After much cursing, they were wonderful. Then for lunch the immediate crew came over including Julie's parents and we ate more than should be legal.
Then it was time for gifts and Jeff's infamous Christmas Ritas. If you haven't heard the story of how they were named yet, please ask me- it's awesome. We ended the night with a house full of friends breaking in Jeff's new Rock Band game for the PS3. The bad thing was that the adults wouldn't let the kids play because we were having too much fun, although Brenah, Maddy and Ella made some great groupies! Maybe it was those pesky Christmas Ritas.

Ballet Austin's Nutcracker

To celebrate the season, Santa sent 4 tickets to the Nutcracker so that Willow and Madalyn could take their moms. My parents had had taken me in high school, so it was like seeing it for the first time again. It was a lot of fun, and I was excited to support one of my audit clients.

Lily's Sleepover

After the Girl Scout dinner, Madalyn headed to Lily's house with Hannah and Abbie for a sleepover. Complete with being silly in pj's, decorating homemade cookies, and how could a party be complete without a round of Twister? I promise that Madalyn didn't have any maragaritas at the resturant!

Girl Scout Troop Christmas Dinner

Madalyn's Girl Scout Troop had a dinner and an ornament exchange at Mamacita's in San Marcos. Allison, Reid, Jacqueline, Abbie, Hannah, Willow and Madalyn enjoyed dressing up in their Christmas dresses, eating mexican food, exchanging ornaments, and getting their prizes from the Fall Roduct Sale. We're really enjoying being part of the troop, and if you're reading this- cookies go on sale January 19th. Remember to buy from your favorite girl scout! ;)

Celia's Second Birthday

When I was at EY there were four of us that were pregnant at the same time. Leigh, who's daughter Celia was born on December 5th had her second birthday party last weekend at Gymboree. I was super excited because it was the first birthday party that Bristol had been invited to on his own. We had so much fun- I hadn't ever been to Gymboree for classes or parties, and it was GREAT. Bristol had som uch fun playing the 'freeze' game (in the pic) and with the bubbles on the parachute. Thanks Celia!

Budafest 2007

My dad volunteered again to drive the Dance Unlimited 'float' at the recent Budafest parade. Budafest is the annual Christmas event in you guessed it- Buda. =) Madalyn had fun because she got to ride with Miss Amy's daughter Taylor, and Beck was pleased as punch to get to ride with them on the trailer. Bristol even got to participate riding in the truck with Jeff.
One of the highlights of Budafest is getting to see Santa and Mrs. Claus and getting to tell them what they want for Christmas. Beck wants the dinosaur that spits out cars, and Madalyn wants the Holiday Barbie. Bristol was a trooper and didn't cry, but he certainly wasn't taking his thumb out of his mouth either!

Busy Days at MLR

We've had some busy days at MLR complete with a Holiday Party and food sorting with at the Capital Area Food Bank. Most of you won't be surprised to know that I'm heading the Social Activities Team which means that I spent a lot of time planning the Holiday Party. It was very fun and we converted the group to the Casino format, but the best part was that our ex-leading partner, Earl Maxwell, was able to attend. Then last week, a bunch of us at the office took the morning off to sort food at the Food Bank. It's great that the firm really practices what they preach when it comes to community service. We sorted 8400 pounds of food in one morning!

EY Happy Hour

Heather Bendes, a fellow EY to MLR convert, planned a holiday happy hour for some of the girls. A couple are still there, but most have moved on to different things. It makes me so grateful for my time there.

Monster Truck Rally

When we heard this was coming to Austin, we knew we had to go. We surprised Beck with the tickets a few days before and that's all he talked about for three days. He woke me up at 5:30 one morning to see if it was time to go yet.
We went with a pretty big group, as this is something that appeals to the Niederwald crowd, or maybe it was Beck's excitement that was catching on. We were able to take pictures next to the trucks before the show, and even got to ride in Sergeant Smash. I thought at one point that his head would actually just explode. It was a great night and so much fun to experience it with Beck.

NASCAR Race

Well, it's that time of year again folks - the fall race at Texas Motor Speedway! This is my favorite race because it's later in the day so it's cool and the race finishes under the lights since it falls on the same weekend as the time-change. We went early and tailgated with Brandy, Bryon, Floyd and Janet at their camper at the track before we headed down to the track for the race. For anyone that doesn't know us well, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is our favorite driver and he has had a lot going on this year. Note the 'Ride to Remember' logo under his picture on the trailer- he's changing teams and numbers from 8 to 88. So, for those of you that look for the red 8 sticker on my white suburban, it's gone and been replaced with a black 'Jr Nation' sticker instead.
And even though Jimmie Johnson won in the end- it was a great race and down to the wire with Jimmie and Matt Kennseth trading out the lead the last 15 laps. NASCAR is totally exciting and you should experience a race in person at lease once!

Burleson Weekend

We were up in Burleson last weekend visiting Jeff's family and to watch the race. On Saturday night mom, dad, Cody, Julie, Louis, Tara, and the Raymond Crew went to the infamous Babe's Chicken for some fine family dining. This is one of those places where you fast for the day because you know it going to be so good and that you need all the room you can save. After dinner some of the group took a carriage ride with Josh the horse around the Old Town Burleson area.
We left Babe's and bounced over to Peyton's Sweet 16 birthday party. Peyton and his mom Paula have been long time friends of Jeff's family and are just great people. Peyton is on the drumline in the Burleson High band with Zach, note the lovely picture they posed for. =)He had an awesome driver's license cake, karaoke, and yes- that is Jeff and Zach competing against each other at Guitar Hero. Young at heart right? It was great, and I was glad we were there to crash it.

Our Super Reader

Madalyn is doing a great job with reading, and was tested at the highest level she could be for second grade. I took this picture recently at Borders where she was tearing through a 'Wayside' book. It's a trilogy of books containing short stories about a crazy school. She loves them, and since I read them as a kid it's even more fun. Julie and Maddy really participated in the reading program at the Austin Public Libraries over the summer and it's certainly paying off!

Halloween 2007

Halloween was a big day for us. We started with Trick-or-Treating at my office in the Frost Tower downtown. There were a lot of kids there, and the Raymonds used it as a warm up for the evening. After we left the office, we went by my godparent's house in Onion Creek. They loaded us down with even more candy and cookies made from scratch from Aunt Dianne. =) It was a fun excuse to stop by and see them and their super cool house! From there we headed to the Buda Park where they were having a carnival and met up with our friends and half of the people I went to school with. Sometimes living in the town you grew up in is weird. After about an hour at the we went good old fashioned door to door trick or treating in a nearby neighborhood. This was the highlilght of the night because it looked like the scene from ET- there were kids everywhere and no cars driving down the street. Beck and Madalyn were in full force though, and we had to keep asking them to slow down for Ella, I mean Wonder Woman. All in all, it was a great experience with family and friends so you couldn't really go wrong!
And a special thanks to my mom for making Madalyn's costume some time back, but continually adding to it everytime she wears it. The hoops were greatness!
Pics are of the whole crew, our team of Superheroes, Addison the Bee, sweet Bristol, Madalyn as Belle with Ella, Mason the Pumpkin, and Beck playing with a skeleton - go figure.