Baby Reed

No, I didn't have my baby early again. We drove to Arizona with Paul (he had 3 interviews in Phoenix right after Thanksgiving) and were able to visit my sister Sharee. She just adopted the most beautiful baby boy! I am so glad that our son will have a cousin his age. Hattie was very excited to hold him and is even more excited for our baby now. She keeps telling me she is going to help me out a lot - getting diapers, singing to him, etc. She loved holding little baby Reed.

And Claire couldn't get enough holding her new baby brother. We are so happy for them!

Of course the weather was awesome and the girls loved the park in 60 degree weather...it wouldn't be so bad to match in Arizona!

Visit from a Starr!

When I was a Freshman at BYU 11 years ago, I made some amazing friends. Karly, Eden, and Melissa were the greatest roommates I could have imagined. Gratefully we have remained quite close through the years, and even had a roommate reunion in Virginia 3 years ago (which I somehow never blogged about). This year Melissa came to visit me in Lubbock! She is now a physical therapist in Lincoln, Nebraska. We don't get a lot of visitors here, since there's not too much to do, so I felt pretty special that she came all the way here for me. Paul was out of town the week she was here, so I made breakfast for dinner as often as possible (since Paul, for some strange reason, doesn't like breakfast for dinner). Hattie loves to help me in the kitchen whenever she can...and she as also started to dress herself, as you can see.

The girls were thrilled to put on their Halloween costumes for Melissa to see.

We went to the park and were surrounded by very friendly, over-fed ducks and geese.

Check out Hattie's left hand...almost got eaten along with the bread!

Hattie was a little traumatized after that...Anna just didn't like the noise.

Anna could have stayed at the park all day.

She was initially afraid to conqueror the rolly slide...

but she eventually got over it.

Hattie wanted to play beauty salon.

And Melissa fixed Hattie's hair too

The whole purpose of the hair salon was to cut Anna's mullet off (finally!). She did really well, thanks to the television, chocolate chips, and Melissa's helping hands.

We went to our favorite frozen custard shop...

where we tried to take a picture of their messy mouths...

but Anna didn't like the bright sun too much.

It was so wonderful to have Melissa with me for 5 days. Hattie keeps talking of when Melissa was here and when she is coming back. The best part was talking with her all day and in the evening about old times, lessons learned, and current happenings. I remembered how much fun it was to live together and have constant friends around. I am truly grateful for friends who are so reliable, loving, constant, and true. We have been through a lot together and I am glad to have friends who have helped me through hard times and are still there to listen and help out. Thanks again Melissa!

Turkey time

We had a nice calm Thanksgiving by ourselves this year. Of course the fried turkey was the yummiest. The girls just wanted to have friends come over all day, to which we had to explain that all their friends had family in town. So baked pumpkin cookies and let Hattie run around in dress up clothes all day.

I am thankful for baby brother, pillow pet, daddy, mommy, Anna, flowers, friends, Callie, and care bears.

Hot Air Balloon Festival

Ever since my first October in Lubbock, four years ago, I have wanted to go to the Hot Air Balloon festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Each year something came up that we never went. Since we'll be leaving Lubbock in May I knew this was my last chance to go. Paul was in Dallas, so my buddy Kristina and her two kids joined us.

When we arrived, it was raining and super cold, so the balloon events were cancelled. So we went to the mall to hang out. At the Disney Store, Anna found her niche...this girl loves Minnie Mouse.

The next morning we woke up around 5:00, drove to a park and ride location and took a bus to the balloon launch site. This is when the trip took a bad turn. It was ridiculously cold outside...about 37 degrees. And I, when packing in Lubbock, didn't think about how we would be outside in the morning BEFORE the sun came up. I only looked at the high for the day and didn't plan for the low. So my girls had on two long sleeve shirts and an Old Navy sweatshirt...no hats, no gloves, no coat. They were freezing. To add to that, the balloons were supposed to launch at 7:00...then we would have only had to endure the cold for an hour or so before they were done. But, due to some wind at higher altitudes, the launch was postponed til 9:00. By that point my kids were done. We sat snuggling around a gas heater while they just cried and whimpered about being so cold. I felt like a horrible mother.

Can you tell that Anna is freezing? 

 Eventually 9:00 rolled around. We were still cold but at least there was something to look at. In the distance you can see the first balloon launching.

 This cow was an obvious favorite.

 Hattie eventually started to enjoy herself.

 Anna started having fun when we passed out suckers.

 Despite the cold, we had a good time.

 And the kids favorite part was riding the bus...notice Anna is still working on her sucker.

 We went back to our hotel, exhausted, ate lunch and forced our kids to take a nap. Then they lounged in front of the TV for a while.

There was also an evening event, where they blow up all the balloons and they glow in the dark, followed by a fireworks show. Considering our morning experience, we weren't too keen on dragging our kids all the way back to the launch site in the cold weather. So, we parked close by, got a pizza, and had a picnic. That way we could see the balloons and watch the fireworks from the comfort (and warmth) of the van.

All in all, a good trip, but next time I promise to be more prepared!

Latest quilting project

So it's December again...5 years ago I decided to make a quilt for whichever sibling I had for Christmas (Mark, Val, Laura, and Lisa so far). This year I have my little brother Spencer for Christmas. He is currently serving a 2-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Tallahassee, Florida. And being that he's 24, single, and will be going to college when he returns home in a month, I didn't think my usual patchwork quilt would be his style. So I bought a cotton Florida flag and added a border...the easiest quilt I ever made, and hopefully it'll be a good reminder of his mission. I did hand-quilt the middle where the woman and the boat are, something I've never done before. And since he's still in Florida and won't be reading this blog, I can post it before Christmas!

First snowfall

I still have a few more catch-up posts to do, but I wanted to post this while it was fresh. Since snow is rare in West Texas (usually we have about 3 snowfalls a year) it's a big deal. The girls couldn't wait to go outside this morning. Anna was wandering around the house with her Santa hat and scarf on, as well as her pajamas and a princess dress, while she waited for me to get ready. Hattie said that it must be Christmastime if snow is falling and made me turn on "Let it Snow."