The Polar Express

The Polar Express was way fun, even though Zach ditched us for the Vegas Bowl. (He felt bad about it- not great scheduling on our part.) We loved being with the Derricott family and there is nothing like the burgers at Dairy Keen in Heber. Little Jack was a bit young for the long train ride but by next year he should love the whole adventure.

The Tree

The annual choosing of the Christmas tree was done in record time this year. Fifteen minutes- from start to tying the evergreen beauty

on top of the car.

Zach was impressed.

(It was a great tree but it was snowing and I didn't want to confess that I had just done my hair and I really didn't want to do it again. It is amazing how quick you can be when properly motivated.)

Christmas is Coming

Christmas is coming, the shopping isn't done, the packages (the few there are) aren't wrapped, the cookies haven't been baked, the neighbor gifts aren't finished, the Christmas cards aren't addressed....but seeing this picture of my boys made me smile.

Merry Christmas.

The Annual Christmas Photo or Now, WHY are we doing this?

At this point in our lives you might think that the annual Christmas photo would be a pretty easy task.

Oh, so not true!

Between the dog (who we actually forgot for half of the photos), and the boys who don't know how to just stand and smile, and the Grandfather who wanted to make the grandson smile (Not his job), and a grandson who thought we were taking WAY too long (we were), and a slow camera, I thought I was going to murder someone. (Not the darling grandson, most likely the boys who don't know how to stand and smile.)

It is done.

(This should give you some idea of the boys behavior.)

Fall

I love fall.

I love all of the colors of fall. I love the crunch of leaves under my feet. I love the way leaves smell. I love seeing piles of leaves. I love watching leaves fall as the wind blows.

I love fall.

True Confessions - Big Trouble

I would like to blame the contents of this box for the 10 pounds I need to lose. While in NYC I discovered this fabulous bakery, over and over again. (The LONG line going out the door was a real clue that tasty treats were inside!) Their Red Velvet cupcakes tasted just like the Red Velvet cake we had every Friday at Richland Elementary School in Memphis Tennessee. I used to live for school lunch on Fridays! The frosting isn't the cream cheese frosting you often see on Red Velvet cupcakes, but the same white sauce (sorta') frosting that I always had in the south. (I finally found a recipe like it - from a southern cook- and it is wonderful!) Anyway, I visited the bakery everyday while we were there and never left with just one. (I even brought one home on the plane.)

Alas, they do not do online orders.

Maybe that is a good thing.

Passing time without a computer

I have had a most frustrating fall. My beloved imac has been very sick and finally we had to get a transplant. Fortunately, we don't seem to have any rejection problems. Maybe now I can catch up on photos and events from the past few months. (Sound familiar?) We'll just start with our cute Jack.