January Update

Of Course one always thinks, that the new year is going to be different. You make all these plans, and swear to yourself that this year will be different. You will be more organized, you will accomplish more, the year will not fly like 2008 did, cause you will take time to enjoy each and everyday. Excuse me, but where did JANUARY go!!! I know it was just there knocking on my door to let it be shown in, and with a blink it's finished!

So here l am again recapping what my friend January brought with it.

A quick visit to Austin and San Antonio with my parents and Zii.

We got to celebrate Zio and Zia's birthday here in Texas.

And of course what do you get an Uncle who is constantly cold?

A Snuggie! Pure Joy!

On the 14th we had to say our goodbyes to Zio and Zia. It's the part l hate the most! Again lucky for us we still had mum and dad with us, so it made it a little less sad. Our house seemed a little empty once they left and Coco sat on her bed, looking for Zio who was always petting her or taking her on walks.

Ciao Zio and Zia, it was wonderful having you with us, and we hope you enjoyed the Texas hospitality.

On the 17th we celebrated Coco's 1st birthday in true style. Maddy made cupcakes for her, and she even wore a party hat, such a good little puppy.She has been such a blessing for us.

Well there was no way of avoiding it, but the 26th rolled by pretty quickly and it was time to say goodbye to my mum and dad. Our house really was empty now, and it was very hard to see them go. They have promised to come back again in 2 years time, so we are holding them to it.

Thanks mum and dad for all you do for us, and for your unconditional love and support. You will be missed by us and of course Coco ( who spent the day on her bed, looking depressed)

No sooner had my folks left, we got an ice storm come through Texas, and the kids got 2 days off school. It looks like snow, but it wasn't and it was quiet dangerous on the roads.On the last day of January the weather warmed up and we headed down to Ennis to visit Anna's parent's farm. The kids love it there, it kind of reminds them of my in laws farm back in Australia. Not to mention that they get to play in the creek, jump on hay bails and ride around on 4 wheelers and a golf cart.

Well that's it for January. Now February is a new month so l will try to be really good and post more often.

December Update

Someone stop this year from speeding by. December came knocking before l even knew November had gone.



My Aunt and Uncle (Zia and Zio) arrived on the 8th of the month. We did some Christmas shopping, went to Dealey Plaza.

Visited the Fort Worth Stockyards.

Did a day trip down to Fossil Rim and Dinosaur Valley in Glen Rose.

Went looking at the Christmas Decorations and lights.

Got our first Freeze.

Celebrated Darren's birthday at Boi Na Braza.

Celebrated Christmas Eve with all our friends, this has become a tradition of ours. This year marked our 4th anniversary. Christmas day was spent opening gifts, having a delicious Christmas lunch complete with Turkey, Ham and bonbons and playing card games.New Years Eve was celebrated with our dear friends the Oakley's and the Fentons at our house, playing Pool, Bingo and Poker.

And here's to a great 2009(although it will seem a little quiet after all the visitors we've had this year)! May it be full of Happiness, Peace, Love and lots of cool memories.

November News

The month of November continued to be a busy and eventful month. First off we said goodbye to Ken and Barb (my in laws) not exactly a happy day for all of us. We love living here in the US but we do miss our family a lot. Especially the kids, they really miss their grandparents.

On a good note we still had my folks staying with us, and on the 3rd my dear friend Graeme came for a quick visit on his way through to NYC and London.

Of course the most exciting thing about November was the Election, and this was the one time l wish l could vote. Needless to say all us Aussie's were very excited when Obama won, and couldn't help but celebrate. Darren unfortunately had to see the results in LAX on his way to the Philippines. Liam got to be a secret service guy for his school run election, and got his photo and name in the local paper.

Calls were made to family and friends overseas and a celebratory drink was had. We were seeing history in the making and happy to be here for it.

Once Graeme said his goodbyes, my parents and l got to work.

My parents are very talented and can build, sew or fix just about anything. So we got to work on our upstairs media room. I had wanted wains coating, and wains coating l got along with new window dressings and some paint colour.

For the rest of the month, we worked on the upstairs, made Christmas cards and celebrated Thanksgiving with our friends. A first again for my parents. We don't really celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia, since it was settled as a penal colony, not much to be Thankful for back then l guess.

Went shopping at 4am for the Post Thanksgiving day sales, another first for my mum. Did a quick trip up to Shreveport's casino. Visited Tyler and saw the famous Tyler Roses.

Decorated for Christmas and prepared for the arrival of my Aunt and Uncle (hence forward known as Zii) who were coming in December from Italy to spend a month with us.

Wow l'm tired all over again.

October News

OK, so to say that October was a busy month is an understatement.

First off, Darren and I went on our weekend trip to Boston. Our good friends Anna and Steve surprised me and met us up in Boston. I loved Boston, and hope to return again soon. 3 days is not enough to see all there is on offer. Of course we went to see Harvard, and up to Salem along with doing the Freedom Trail. However my absolute favourite was visiting the quaint fishing villages of Gloucester and Rockport. Not to mention the amazing glimpses of Autumn colour that was starting to emerge.

We celebrated Maddy's 13th birthday, yep l am now the mother to a teenager! A pretty amazing teenager. Love her to bits.

Liam and his friends participated in Beckopoly at school, it's a entrepreneurial night, where the kids come up with a business idea, and a plan to make it happen. They then open business for that day and raise money for charity. Our booth won "Best Store Front" , and those smoothies were really delish!

We also helped celebrate my father in law, Ken's 70th birthday.

Of course we did the traditional visit to the pumpkin patch for photos and to show my mother in law what it's all about, since we don't really have all this in Australia.

Then on the 30th my parents flew in from Australia, and after 24 hours of travel, along with missing a connection in LA, and waiting around the airport for 2 hours for their bags. We took them out to dinner and then carved pumpkins ready for Halloween the next day.

This was both my mum's and mother in laws first time carving pumpkins, and they really enjoyed themselves, not to mention that they did a really amazing job with their pumpkins.

And last but definitely not least Halloween was a big event at our place. Both sets of parents have never celebrated Halloween, so this was a great big party for us. My mum and MIL along with Coco, got into the spirit of it all and dressed up for the night. We then all went trick o treating, followed by food at our house, smores, and then a game of Texas hold em.

One amazingly busy month, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

September News

Busy month! Not much time to blog. Quick recap of what we've been up to.

Went to Washington D.C. to meet up with Darren's folks before they came down to Texas to visit us.

Had a great time visiting D.C. walked and walked, took photos, visited museums, and monuments, did l mention we walked and walked?

Turned the big 40 on the 30th. Celebrated with friends.And got a weekend trip to Boston as a surprise gift.

Something Crafty

I just wanted to share what l did for Liam's 10th birthday, rather than make him a card as l usually do, l decided this year to make him a mini album. It showcased his birthdays for the last 10 years.

I chose some co-ordinating paper to cover the pages and added some painting. The design is pretty much the same for each page and l have hidden journaling, detailing each birthday, the simple where, who, what etc along with little things l remember.

It was a very simple fun project that l enjoyed doing. Liam was also very happy with the final result. Here are some detailed photos.

Enjoy.

Ages 3 and 4

Liam's 5th and 6th year, l added the text directly onto the photo with photoshop.

Pages showcasing Liam's 7th and 8th year

Close up of the book, with ribbon peeping out at top.

Back of the book

I used chipboard letters to add dimension.

Journaled tags behind each photo

Some dimension inside, added with pop dots, and chipboard

hidden journaling