Christmas Day

Well, after many days of counting down, Christmas finally came. The boys are napping from all of the morning excitement of unwrapping presents, although Boyd really didn't understand what he was supposed to do. He was content with playing with the toys that Scotty unwrapped. We promise ourselves every year that we are not going to go overboard on buying presents and each year when we get it all out to wrap we realize that we've done it again. Not really overboard like some people do, but still way too much for two boys that already have more than they can ever play with. Scotty has reached the age that it is all about fair. He thought that surely Boyd must have gotten more presents than him since he still had so many to unwrap. He didn't realize that Boyd never opened one of his presents by himself as Scotty tore through the wrapping paper on all of his in a flash. Oh well, we decided not to worry ourselves too much about it and use this as a "learning opportunity". I guess kids aren't born with gratitude in their hearts. So this is the Christmas for teaching that it is rude to say things like, "I already have that", or "I didn't get very much", or "Did you get me anything else?" Fun stuff!

From 12.08

We went to Grapevine on Monday night to see ICE at the Gaylord Texan. It was beautiful and SO COLD. 9 degrees. They give everyone a parka to wear even if you have your own heavy jacket. It was a good thing. We thought we had the boys bundled, but they had two layers on and still got cold. Boyd's parka was so big that his hands only reached about halfway down the sleeves. The picture doesn't do it justice. He looked like a little penguin waddling around. Scotty was so cold that his eyes were watering. Brian and Boyd skipped the slide, and after waiting in line for 15 minutes Scotty wanted to skip it too, but we braved the cold and slid down the very lame excuse for a slide just to say we did it.



The next day we made cookies for Santa. We used GG's recipe for Sour Cream Sugar Cookies. I could eat the whole plate. I am trying to limit myself to 1 or 2 each time I walk by. After all, they won't be good after a day or 2. :)







Hope Santa was good to everyone! Have a wonderful holiday season. We are looking forward to seeing the family in Lubbock next week.

Happy 2009!!!

Christmas Program

Christmas is almost here. Hope you are all finished with your shopping. Scotty had his very first Christmas program at church today. He was one of the barn kitties in the stable where Mary and Joseph spent their first night with their new baby. I had never seen a program with so many barn animals before, but I guess it created many parts for the little kids. Not even the bigger kids had speaking parts, though. It was all silently acted out while the adult choir sang their Christmas cantata.

Scotty was relatively well-behaved throughout the entire program, though there were a few instances of monkey-see, monkey-do where he thought it would be fun to eat hay and "shear" the wool off the little lamb's costume. I really don't know how they kept the kids so quiet. They had to be ready and in the hallway at 10:30, church started at 11:00, and the kids didn't come in for the program until almost 11:30. All said, it was cute, and the music was beautiful, although most of the congregation was giggling about the children so I think a lot of the message was lost.

Scotty's Christmas List

Scotty sat down with Grammy tonight to write his Christmas list. It is too cute not to share.

1. Camo Airplane (Big)
2. An eel for mommy (not a Beta)
3. More cowboys and Indians stuff
4. Another eel (for my Daddy - not a Beta)
5. A big blue monster truck for Boyd
6. A whole bag of peppermint candy
7. New dog snacks for Hank
8. Chicken snacks and a hard Texas Tech tennis ball for Rascal
9. Lincoln Logs for Boyd so he won't play with mine
10. A big Massey Ferguson tractor
11. Red and Black clothes for Mommy and Daddy
12. A volcano toy

Hopefully Santa is reading this, because big Camo airplanes are hard to come by. Let us know if you see one, so we can pass the tip along to Santa. I'm sure the big guy can use all the help he can get.

Halloween Pics -- Finally!

Well, I tried to get these pictures on the blog sooner, but my electricity went out the night I sat down to work on it. Since then, I have been working on a paper and getting ready for a final exam. So, here are pictures from Halloween. Boyd was a biker and Scotty was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (not sure which one, he just liked the costume).

Maybe I'll get pictures from November up before Christmas. Did I take pictures this month? I can't remember.

New Raider Fan!

Boyd has started saying "Texas Tech"!!! We are the proudest Red Raider parents ever!
Okay, so he is actually saying "Da Da Da", but he says it when we show him a Double T or put our guns up. Usually we only get one "Da" out of him, like "Da" meaning I want that or "Da?" meaning what's that? So, I would say that he definitely knows what he is saying. Go Red Raiders! Beat those Aggies!

From Colorado Vacation

PhotoHunt: Lazy

This week's PhotoHunt topic is Lazy. We have definitely not been lazy lately, but I did manage to snap a picture that fits perfectly. On our recent trip to the Ft. Worth Zoo we watched a turtle crawl on the back of a crocodile. The crocodile wasn't to happy to carry the freeloader, as you can see.

This week has been very busy. We are all feeling better, but could still feel a lot better. Allergies have us all coughing and sniffling. On Friday, Scotty went with Brian to the stock show in Waco, and on Saturday he had Zoo School at the Ft. Worth Zoo. He learned about creepy crawlies. He said his favorite insect of the day was a scorpion.

Here are a few more pictures from our trip to the zoo.

From 9.08

PhotoHunt: Sad

From The Statler Family Blog

Scotty at age 3 sitting in the time out chair. Drama!!!

Photos from Jamie's wedding

Jake's cousin, Jamie, was married last Saturday at a beautiful garden in Weatherford. We took the opportunity to take a bunch of pictures of the boys all dressed up. Some are worthy of printing, if I do say so myself. We never thought to ask someone to take a picture of all of us, but we did have Scotty take one of me and Brian. It turned out a little blurry and Brian is jumping because I accidentally spilled his drink down the back of his legs.

From Drop Box

PhotoHunt: View

From Colorado Vacation

A view of the San Luis Valley in Colorado from the top of the "Stations of the Cross".

PhotoHunt - Road

From Colorado Vacation

Yes, that is a road up there. The Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado.

Scottyisms

It's been quite a few weeks since I have felt like I could sit down and blog, and I don't know why considering I don't bring work home anymore and my class is fairly easy. Oh, well. I had to take the time tonight to share some Scottyisms before I forget them.

Yesterday, we made brownies for dessert. As usual, Scotty struggled through dinner until we reminded him about the brownies. The dinner was gone in 60 seconds. He had one brownie and then asked for another one. We said he really didn't need another, and he said, "My belly is growling for a brownie."

This morning while Brian was helping him brush his teeth, Scotty mentioned that the toothpaste smelled good. Brian explained that it was because the toothpaste is minty. He showed him the tube and pointed to the words "clean mint". Scotty said, "What does dirty mint smell like?"

His newest thing to say when he forgets what he wanted to tell you is, "My words went 'to the dump, to the dump, to the dump, dump, dump'."

Summer is almost gone!

Last week of freedom before I go back to school, but I can't say that I am not ready. We have had a very full summer. I took two classes for my library certificate, and may I brag a bit? I made an A in both. Of course, who ever heard of failing a graduate course? We made several trips to the Ft. Worth Zoo, and who could forget the 2-week road trip to Denver, Colorado and back. I need to go back to school to rest and relax.

This week has been uneventful except for a minor stroller accident on Monday and the attack of the deer skull today. On Monday, I came home from a trip to Sonic to see Brian and the boys out for a walk. I got out of my car to the sound of both boys crying. I just thought it was normal until they got closer and I could see their bumps and bruises. The stroller tipped over, but luckily Scotty caught it with his elbow and Boyd with his forehead before the stroller could sustain any damage. No major injuries in that incident. The attack of the deer skull, on the other hand, left me with a gash on my head and my thigh. I was cleaning up toys upstairs when I raised up and hit my head on one of Brian's European mounts. The whole thing fell off the wall and gouged my leg as it plummeted to the floor. I thought I made it through without any injuries because the "scratch" on my leg didn't appear to be bleeding. My head felt like it was cracked in two, but I didn't feel any blood. So I sat in the floor for a minute or two waiting for the little birdies to quit flying around my head and then I went down for an ice pack. As I came back up the stairs I looked at the ice pack and noticed a little blood on it and also noticed blood running down my leg. Scotty noticed all of this at about the same time. I calmly called Brian so he could come home and take a look. I left a message on his voice mail and then started to panic. What if he doesn't get my message? What if I pass out on the floor in front of the kids? What if I need stitches? So I called the school and had Dru find Brian and send him home. We decided that it was probably borderline of needing stitches in both places, but since I am more terrified of the stitches than the gashes on my head and leg, I let Brian doctor me up and I laid in bed for an hour with an ice pack. Here's the sad part. As I lay in bed all I could think about is how dark my roots will be before I can get my hair colored again. :)

Scotty is so into the "E-lympics" right now. We watch them every night, and I have started recording them so he can watch Michael Phelps swim in the morning. We heard about a typical breakfast for Phelps on The Today Show, and now Scotty compares all of his meals to Phelps. He says, "Me and Boyd are going to grow big like Michael Phelps." He's so cute to watch, and so sharp, too. He can pick out the American flag and tell you the lane number for Phelps. Then he yells, "Go American Flag!!!"

Here are a few pictures from the week.


We gave away some baby things, but got this shot before Leslie came to pick them up. I wasn't sure if I should give him a garage sale sign or one that said "H___ no, we won't go!"






Notice the spike. Just enough hair to make it stand up after a bath.

PhotoHunt: Dark

PhotoHunt Theme: Dark
These pictures were taken by the pond at the farm right before dark. I was playing with the twilight setting on the camera. NOt so great. I definitely needed a tripod.

PhotoHunt: Clouds

PhotoHunt theme: Clouds

Clouds over Echo Canyon in Cripple Creek, Colorado.

Colorado Road Trip - Days 11-14

Wow, we are finally home after 2 weeks on the road. Let me recap the end of our vacation.

Day 11: Wednesday
We almost reserved another room in Red River, but decided that we could see everything there was to see and still leave midafternoon. We started with a hike by the river. The water was so cold that you couldn't hold your feet in it for more than a few minutes at a time.





Then, we went for a ride up the mountain on the ski lift. Scotty and Brian rode together on the way up and I held Boyd in his snuggly. Thank goodness for the snuggly because Boyd got restless and tried to climb out of the ski lift. The ride took about 15-20 minutes and Boyd fell asleep about 2 minutes before we got off. We hiked around a little at the top and decided to head back down the mountain before Boyd woke up. Surprise, surprise! Boyd woke up as soon as we got on the lift. Scotty and I tried to entertain him the whole way down.





We ate pizza for lunch and did a little shopping. You can't go to the Rocky Mountains without a trip to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Then we headed out for Lubbock.

Day 12: Thursday

We took the boys to Texas Tech to take pictures. First stop, Red Raider Outfitters, to make sure everyone was outfitted for the pictures. We took pictures in front of the Tech Seal, Will Rogers, and Memorial Circle. After pictures, Scotty wanted to see our classroom. :) We took him into Holden Hall and showed him a lecture hall with students in it. He was very surprised at how big it was.

Day 13: Friday

Grammy and I took the boys to the Texas Tech museum to see the dinosaurs. Like any 4 year old, Scotty was ready to move to the next exhibit after 2-3 seconds. It was a short visit.

Day 14: Saturday

No big events. Visited family and left Saturday afternoon for home. We finally made it home about 8:30 Saturday night to find out that our neighborhood was having a pool party across the street. Of course, we felt the need to socialize. So we scarfed down dinner and threw on our swimsuits.

Colorado Road Trip - Day 10

We left Grandpa's house in Littleton at about 7:30 this morning. We weren't really in a hurry since the drive to Red River is only 5 hours, but we wanted to be able to stop along the way.

First stop: Pueblo Zoo
Pueblo has a very nice zoo. It's small but had some really good exhibits. My favorite were the native dwellings that they displayed in each section of the zoo. They were almost full scale models of a home that would be found in the area and you could walk through most. Scotty and Boyd enjoyed stretching their legs. I think Boyd walked more than Scotty did. Anytime Boyd got out of the stroller, Scotty hopped in.







Next stop: Stations of the Cross, San Luis, Colorado
As we drove through the little town of San Luis we noticed a hillside trail with bronze sculptures of Jesus and the cross. We decided that it looked so much like the Stations of the Cross in Greece that we had to check it out. It was about a mile hike up a hillside, but it was well worth the hike. The sculptures were beautiful and there was a plaque with scripture for each one. The chapel at the top was amazing inside and out. Did you know that San Luis is the oldest town in Colorado?







We finally reached Red River, NM at 5:30. Our hotel is right next to the ski slope and the go-karts. Brian and Scotty road the go-karts as soon as we got there. We are going to ride the ski lift up tomorrow. We are thinking about staying an extra day here. It's so beautiful and the temperature is nice too.

Colorado Road Trip - Day 7, 8 & 9

Sorry, I have been out of commission for a few days. Migraines! Don't know if it is the altitude, sinuses, or just traveling. I will post a few pictures later when I have some time to upload from the camera.
Saturday morning we got up and took a trip into downtown Denver. As we were driving, we saw the light rail train and decided to take it into downtown. Good choice as we didn't have to fight with parking. We walked down 16th Street mall which is an outdoor shopping center. We went to the capitol building and then walked back to 16th Street for some lunch. We chose the Paramount Cafe and were very impressed with the food. Brian and I shared green chile chicken burritos and the boys got corn dogs in a fun little cardboard car. The highlight of their day.
Sunday we went to Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park northwest of Denver. We did a little hiking up to Alberta Falls and then drove up to Bear Lake. Then we went for an early dinner. Kristy and Bob recommended Nicky's and we were not disappointed. Great food. The owner is Greek and offers a mix of Greek, Italian, and American foods. I had fried trout, Grandpa ate Cod Florentine, and Brian had Prime Rib. The dessert was also fabulous. I would recommend it if you are in Estes Park.
This morning we were supposed to go to Breckenridge for some family history, but after waking with my 3rd migraine of the trip I decided to go back to bed. Brian took the boys to a water park and then to eat at McDonald's. Grandpa is going to take us to the foothills to see Red Rock Ampitheater tonight. Hopefully, we will catch a glimpse of some deer.
We will leave in the morning for Red River, NM to stay one night and then we will be back in Lubbock.

Colorado Road Trip - Day 6

This morning we visited The Garden of the Gods just outside of Colorado Springs. It is a free park with hiking trails that wind in and out of massive rocks jutting into the sky. Beautiful! Wish you were here! Not much to say about it. I'll let the pictures do the talking.
We made it to Littleton this afternoon and will be staying with Grandpa until Tuesday morning. Not sure where we will stay on the way back to Lubbock. While in Littleton we plan on going to Denver, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Breckrenridge for a family history lesson.