Drunk-Mobiles

Well, our tradition has been revived...we made it down to Greenville Avenue for the St. Paddy's Day Parade. We missed last year, but we were back this year. This was Seth's first "official" parade, and he had a blast. I've never seen him so still. However, he has a tendency to chase dogs. We really had to keep our eyes on him...

Anyway, I was finally able to sum up the spirit of the parade: Fill up a vehicle (bus, truck, boat, etc) with as many drunk people as you can find. Then have them fling items (mostly beads, sometimes Jell-O shots) at the crowd, also full of drunk people. Surprisingly, though, it stays pretty family-friendly. Seriously, how obnoxious can you really be at 11am?

Here are a few of my favorite drunk-mobiles:

Of course the parade wouldn't be as much fun without the kids!

My Sister....

In case you don't know my sister very well, I'll let you in on a little secret: She sleeps HARD. She isn't easily awakened. If you do manage to wake her, BEWARE. She talks/hits/punches/thrashes/eats in her sleep. All of this information will help you understand the humor in the events that transpired this evening.

9:40 pm, I called her home phone.

Annie (out of breath): "Huuulllllo."

me: "What are you doing? You are out of breath."

Annie (still out of breath): "I was sleeping. I was watching Ace of Cakes."

me: "I have a question."

Annie (slightly agitated): "What time is it???"

me: "9:40."

Annie (excited voice): "Are you kidding me?? It feels like it's frickin' 10 o'clock!"

SILENCE.....

A Whirlwind Christmas!

Whew!! It's been a while since I've posted...and the craziness of the holiday season is wrapping up. That's my excuse for not keeping up with my blog...

We started in McKinney with the Donovans. As soon as we got there, we promptly set off on many adventures. Our first stop, The Dallas Galleria for ice skating. Since we went last year and this year, it is officially a tradition. It was killing Seth to have to watch...maybe next year, son.

Wednesday found us out again. My sister and Tim had the luxury of having to work. That's right...I said *luxury*. That left Brad, PopPop and I taking all the kids to NorthPark Mall to see the trains. It was OK. The best part: As we left it began to snow!

On Christmas Eve, we attended a service at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano. It's HUGE! I wanted to see what all the hype was all about. Nice service. We decided to stop and eat at Chili's around 8:00. Yep...Christmas Eve supper at Chili's! Why not?

By the time we got home, Christmas Eve Blizzard 2009 was in full force.

But, Santa still managed to make it! Ella Grace was thrilled with her new skates and Seth got a new truck. Thank goodness...the poor guy has been seeing "pink" his whole life! Of course, he sometimes preferred Ella's pink flower.

It's official! We had a White Christmas! I heard that it has only happened 6 times in the past 111 years in Dallas. Pretty cool!

Saturday morning, we got up early and braved the *after-Christmas* crowds. Pretty small crowds this year.
Then it was time to pack up and head out for the next leg of the trip: off to Tulsa! But, this time we convinced the Donovans to come with us!


Annie and I drove the kids, while Tim and Brad drove the dog. Hmmmm...wonder who got the better end of that deal?? We made it 250 miles....then got stuck 100 yards from my in-laws' house! Seriously.....we had to be towed up the rest of the way. In my defense, my in-laws live on a VERY steep hill. Really. Here's the kicker: while we were being pulled up, the boys called and needed to be rescued too! BUT, they had not made it as far up as we had! Impressed?



The rest of the Tulsa trip can be summed up in one word: SNOW!

In fact it deserves its own post...later. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A Wiley Halloween

It has finally come and gone...another Wiley Halloween. We ALWAYS do it up right here! In fact, I'm pretty sure we have more Halloween decor than Christmas. I have to admit, I never really liked Halloween...dressing up and acting foolish. But, Tim makes it tons of fun for our family. How can I resist?


We started early on Halloween morn. The kids love to be part of the action. This year, we bought a pop-up canopy for the haunted house because the 2-by-4's of years past finally bit the dust. It sure made set-up faster. Although, the box promises "7 seconds to set up." As Tim put it, "This sure took more than 7 seconds." So profound...





My dad and Cynthia also came to help with everything.







Ella is really into "scaring" people right now. So, she seized this amazing opportunity to surprise her brother...I mean: when else do you have a cemetery right in your front yard??












PopPop was put in charge of carving the pumpkin. He and Ella (with a little help) created a magnificent jack-o-lantern. Although I forgot to take a picture of it...you'll just have to take my word for it.



Seth wanted nothing to do with the guts from the pumpkin.









This is the final set-up...in the daylight.

My cemetery. I am very proud of it this year. Of course, it was much more impressive in the dark.






Thought I'd add some nighttime shots....



Yes...that is the Texas game playing on the garage door!




And now....for the COSTUMES!







Isn't he an intimidating "Godfather" with that cute, little monkey??!






And, just because we're a little twisted....these are some pics we took with one of our newest decorations.










Sunday, November 1, 10:42am. We joined these other losers in the line at the Halloween store. What??? Everything was 50% off!! Don't judge us.

You'll have to wait til next year to see our haul.....