It's not cold Mom!

This past weekend it finally stopped raining and with a little wild man it can be very hard not to get outside. Blake and I decided since it was pretty we would go to the park. First of all, we had not been outside all day. I knew that it was somewhat cold just from letting the dogs out, but had no idea that it was meat hanging weather! This did not matter to Bryce. As soon as we let him out of the car he hit the ground running, literally! He throughly enjoyed it, even though we were only out for about 20 minutes. It didn't phase him that it was cold until we were back in the car and he started to thaw out. We survived and Bryce was just so happy to be out of the house that it was totally worth it!

Getting ready for Christmas!

Sorry I haven't posted lately. We have been getting ready for Christmas. I have done some really great shopping this year and found such great deals! I can't wait for the big day. Anyway....We took our pictures for our family christmas card and I thought I would put up a few. First, I had to share this cute picture of Bryce playing under the tree!







Steven went to his first dance on December 5 also! He is so big and I am getting older by the second. Look how handsome he looked. Don't worry he didn't dance with any girls yet. He had a great time though!




Here's some shots for our Christmas card.

We are going this weekend to take some Santa pictures. Hopefully Bryce will cooporate. He has started the terrible twos a little early and has decided that he is a very independant person.

Merry Christmas and hope to post some more soon!

ROLL TIDE BABY

Do I really need to say anything about why these two boys look so happy?

ROLL TIDE BABY!

36-0

Gobble till you Wobble!

I cooked my very first Thanksgiving this year. It went great, too! I was somewhat surprised that mostly everything turned out. Everything that is except for green bean casserole. I know, how did I mess that up!? I have no idea and after everything else was finished I didn't care. We entertained my side of the family at our house. We are having the Griswold Family Christmas this year so this was a practice run! Here is Steve-O ready to eat!

Here is my turkey. It was so good. We cleaned the bird and then added fresh rosemary and thyme under her skin. She turned out great! I have to build my serving collection!

I unfortunately came down with a stomach virus Thursday. I ate only a little of my turkey and some rolls. By the time we had to leave for Blake's family's Thanksgiving, I felt awful and did not eat a thing. It was great at my in-laws because Blake's uncle and his new wife were in town. I just love them! We hate that they live so far away! I could hang out with them all the time. Blake really favors his uncle.

Needless to say, we had a great Thanksgiving! We spent time with our families and even though I was not feeling up to par for most of the weekend it was wonderful!

Indiana Wedding

I know I should have posted this sooner but Bryce and Blake have been sick. We went to Indiana 2 weeks ago and had a great time. One of my cousins got married, so we made our way north. I actually remember living there, and I love to visit. This was a very short trip and we didn't get to visit as much as I like. I did get to see my oldest friend Justin. We were neighbors growing up and I guess I have known him my whole life. I don't remember the last time I saw him but it was great getting to catch up and eat some Skyline Chili. This is Justin, me, and my little brother and sister years ago!

Saturday, we hung out by the pool at the hotel and then went to the reception. It wasn't too action packed but it is nice to see family. We don't have any family in Alabama and being in this state sometimes I would like more family. The hit of the party was my Grandma's nephew Chris. He is Santa and I have been working on Bryce to like Santa so when it is picture time he will not cry. Well, I must say that I have done a great job because Bryce went right to him and did not want to go anywhere else.

We just found out that Steven was the top popcorn seller this year in his troop. Popcorn is the scouts main fundraiser. They receive around 75% of the sales. Now that we are in boy scouts and not cub scouts, the money supports the troop AND Steven. He receives "scout bucks" that help to pay for camp and a ski trip. Steven is soooooooo excited about the ski trip. Way to go Steve-O!

This past weekend we loaded the trailblazer and headed to the Talladega Superspeedway for the Scout Encampment. This event is held every four years and it draws over 10,000 scouts and their families. This was a bad weekend for Blake due to the AL/LSU game being played. Now, if we had been experiencing a losing season he would not have cared but being a nail biting game that we could have lost he went to great lengths to make sure that he would be able to see it. Blake works at direcTV and he had access to a 17' HD TV with satellite in a briefcase. We had to take the wagon just so we could carry all of Blake's equipment in.

So we finally get in this huge place and the boys decided they didn't want to see the exhibits. They played football all day and watched the game a little. It was a great time. We cooked chili for the adults and Steven's patrol made hobo's over the open fire. Here is our group in the winner's circle.

Here is Bryce hard at it in Steven's tent. He was so exhausted that he slept for about 2 hours and didn't move at all. He seemed pretty comfy. I should have napped with him but didn't think about it until it was too late!

This was taken on turn two. This is where the boy scouts were. This is such a big place. I cannot imagine what it looks like during a race. This was early in the day so a lot of the boys hadn't pitched their tents yet. Steven loves boy scouts. I love that he loves it because they have great values and they accept everyone.

Boy Scouts makes me TIRED!

This past weekend was the Talladega Encampment at the Talladega Superspeedway. Now I am not a race face by any means and never realized how large this place is! So, Blake had been working on trying to find something to watch the AL/LSU game and since he works for DirecTV, he had a great opportunity to take something from there. This is after my boss had already let us borrow a handheld tv with an antenna. Of course this was not big enough for him. The guys from DirecTV gave him a 17' HD TV with satellite that comes in a briefcase. Needless to say, our troop was a hit. After getting up at the crack of dawn to load and drive down there, (we didn't spend the night because it was getting so cold and I didn't want to try that with Bryce) we pulled into our parking spot for the day only people. We noticed that you had to walk up 3 to 4 flights of stairs. This was a problem because everything for the tv was in a wagon. He said all this stuff was heavy! So we did find a handicap ramp. (how anyone in a wheelchair attends Talladega is beyond me)

After getting to the top we find out that you have to walk through the bleachers. This wasn't enough room for one person and definately not big enough for a wagon full of junk! So, back to the car and repack everything. We go back in and find Steven and the bunch and then we looked at the exhibits. The boys weren't too impressed and they just wanted to play football. While we were walking back to the campsite one of the dad's told Blake to just go ahead and pull the car into the overnight parking that way we could have the tv set up. Our troop was a crowded area once the game started. There were so many dads watching and Blake was thanked over and over again for the tv. He did have to tell them that I didn't want him to bring it! Steven had a great time. He loves scouts and doing anything with them.

Talladega here we come!

Our family is gearing up for the Talladega Scout Encampment. This is the largest function this year for Boy Scouts. There is supposed to be over 20,000 scouts plus families. So, our family is having a hard time with this because the Alabama / LSU game is this weekend. If you don't know Alabama is ranked #1 for the first time in forever! So we are now trying to figure what tv we are going to pack with what satellite so my sweet hubby doesn't miss the game! I am also in charge of helping the boys cook and if you know my skills, we better hope the kids can cook! This will be a huge event and one of the first times we have taken the baby to something with scouts. I guess it is time but it may be cold. Steven is excited and I am too!

Halloween 2008

Well Halloween could have been better this year. We have to make it to so many family houses that we really didn't have time to do any trick or treating. Now this is hard for me because I am into the traditional holidays and sometimes I just work myself up to much and get let down too easy. Bryce learned to jump in his own way not too long ago. So, we thought that it would be fitting for him to be a Kangaroo! He is so darn cute sometimes. Steven is getting older but he wasn't too old to dress up. He decided on Freddie Kruger again this year. He is getting into the transitional phase of too big but not too big! I hate it but I love it. I still miss my little baby steve-o!