Thanksgiving!

Well, we did Thanksgiving at my parents' on Thursday. I always enjoy it so much, but this year was bittersweet, due to the fact that Jonna's family couldn't stay long (UT - A&M game) and Troy's family didn't come at all. Well, we did at least get to see Zayne & Hayden for the ALWAYS stressful, yet amusing, family photos. If it weren't for Uncle Wayne's talents he learned while in the circus, there would not have been any smiles!!! We are off to see Joe's family on Saturday...I've started packing up the wine!!! ;o)

My "Happy Things"....

Per my friend Heather, I am required to post 6 things that make me happy. (I had already started my GIVING THANKS posts, so I will not include Microphones and Shower Heads in my "6 things"). LOL

1. *Fruit Salad* I am a FREAK for fresh, ripe fruit...but a WHOLE bowl of them. Thank you GOD! 2. *Fuzzy Socks* Because I'm a TOTAL whimp in the winter! If my feet get cold, don't even bother coming near me. I love me some fuzzy socks.

3. *Martinis* DIRTY OR FRUITY!! Crack-a-lackin'
4. *The Beach* I can't think of any place I would rather be than lounging on a chair with a view of the ocean, a book in my hand, the kids laughing around me, and that AWESOME smell of the ocean breeze! 5. *Riding My Bike* Me, my bike, and giant disco headphones hooked to my ipod cruising around the neighorhood after the kids go to bed. PERFECTION! 6. *Family* ALL of them! Parents, siblings, hubby....and of course my kids! I never dreamed in a million years that these tiny, little people could be so FREAKIN' hilarious! {I will add a photo after Thursday...}

On a side note, Heather M. is the QUEEN of all blogging. Her blog, unlike mine, is not just a way to stay in touch with friends and family and show them your latest photos of the kids. Her blog is a novel and a work of art! I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good read! http://www.stepfordlife.com/

Giving Thanks (2)

Dual Shower Heads!

GIVING THANKS (1)

With only 4 days until Thanksgiving, I thought I would choose something each day this week that I am thankful for. But just so we are clear, there are TONS of items that are a "given" and I refuse to try to narrow it down to just "My Children" or "My Friends"..or any of the other countless things I could list that would tell you NOTHING about me!!

So today I am thankful for MICROPHONES! Yes...without microphones, my hour and a half in the garage cleaning up would have seemed like a long, boring chore. Thankfully, Summer and Evan came and asked me if I would hook up the Karaoke machine for them. Thinking they were planning on singing a bit, which is always a fun thing to do, I went inside and hooked everything up, then returned to my chore. For the ENTIRE time that I cleaned up the garage I was smiling because of the "reporting" that was coming from inside my house.

You see, the kids assumed that since no one was inside with them, that no one could hear them. As we all know...that is when children are their funniest. I couldn't stop myself from quietly opening the door over and over to actually SEE what they were doing. After a quick little Rap song by Evan...with his boxer shorts pulled up under his armpits so that he looked like a nerd...complete with the boom box base "spit" sound that all good rappers know how to achieve...Summer took the mic and proceeded to anchor the news. "That was Evan the rapping nerd singing his new hit single! NOW...back to you Sally!" Throughout the next hour and a half, they sang a few songs, Evan did some bird calls and monkey sounds, they interviewed a few actors, and then Summer stretched the microphone out to my exercise bike and interviewed bike racers (she was both the newswoman, and the racer). She won, of course...beating Ricky Bobby by just a mouse's tail!

My New Favorite Products!!! WOOHOO

Before November, I had never even heard of ESSENCE OF BEAUTY! But one Monday, a few weeks ago, I stopped by CVS to pick up a couple of items. I had some time to kill before I picked Summer up from tennis lessons so I started browsing through the bath and body section. A line of products caught my eye...only because one of the fragrances sounded like something PERFECT for me. CITRUS COCONUT! Wow, surely this can't be as great as it sounds!??!?! I was feeling "frisky" and decided WTH! I picked up one of the body cream jars and a shower gel in the Citrus Coconut scent!

WOW WOW WOW WOW! I am in love with this product. First of all, the SCENT rocks. I love Citrus Coconut! It is JUST what I had hoped it would be. Not overwhelming in either of the fragrances, but an amazing, pleasant blend that is "tropical" and "Fresh" at the same time.

The Shower Gel has a hook at the end to hang in your shower, and the gel itself is a great consistency that really did leave my skin soft. The Body Lotion wasn't like other body creams I have bought. It was Whipped, and it felt so wonderful. A little bit goes a long way, and it is so soft.

Okay, after a little research I was amazed to find out this brand is only sold at CVS! So, needless to say, I have made a few return trips to get more products! The Pomegranite Apple scent is also fantastic and leaves my whole bathroom smelling so fresh. BUT WAIT...my latest find is the Essence of Beauty make-up brushes! They are very reasonably priced and they ROCK! I've bought one of the powder brushes and a lip brush so far, and they work fantastic. I am especially in love with the lip brush!

There are more frangrances to try and more brushes to experiment with, and I plan to do just that!! My next purchase, however, will be the Soy Lotion Candle..which (according to advertising) melts at a temperature just above body temperature and you can apply it to your skin!! Sounds very SPA-ish to me, and I'm all about pampering myself. I will let you know how it turns out!

Prop 8

Since I'm not so eloquent...i'm with Keith!

Good Genes!!!

It is not very often that I get a photo with both my mom and dad in it.....let alone one where they are actually posing for the photo! So, when Jonna emailed me a photo of both of them, looking mighty Dapper...I was so excited. The first thing that came to my head was, "Blog Time!" So, here they are ladies & gentlemen...SHARON & THURSTON (aka Roney & Paw).

Cool Memory about Dad: Being sick and staying home from school, we were "forced" to go to work with dad. (Yay!!!) Dad had a shop where he repaired radios, tvs, cb's, etc. And, being that we grew up in a time BEFORE all of the over-protective hysteria hit America, to keep us occupied Daddy would give us a soldering iron, a circuit board, and a coil of wire and virtually lock us away until my mom could come and get us. GOOD TIMES!

Cool Memory about Mom: Her Artex Painting Projects.....my favorites being her polyester white shorts with the American Bald Eagle on the butt and the shirt that said "Raquel Welch Has Flat Feet!" (Of course, at the time I took that for FACT and relayed the awful medical news to my friends...only to realize later that my mom was, in fact, a tad bit jealous!!)

Discovery Green

Finally....Houston has a wonderful park in Downtown that the kids can enjoy! DISCOVERY GREEN was opened up this year on about 12 acres in Downtown Houston, next to Minute Maid Park. Joe and I took the kids there today, along with my neighbor Karen and her kids (Nick & Zach). What a fantastic place! (Of course, I've come to the conclusion that, with Karen at your side, you could have a good time pretty much ANYWHERE!!) Besides having just lovely lawns and trails, there was a playground, a fountain the kids could play in, a splash area with water spouts, a pond with remote control sailboats, and a stage for bands to play on! The kids would have stayed all day if we had let them. According to people we talked to, they will be adding on 20 more acres soon, and the lake will be an ice skating rink after Thanksgiving! It was so awesome to just hang out with a view of Houston's beautiful downtown skyline! Here are a few photos of the kiddos having fun!

Happy Hallow-Winn!!!

The kids had a great time last night Trick or Treating!! Amy and Wil Guzman came over with their kids (John & Chloe) and Shirley and Kurt brought Ainsley over! It was a PARTY, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Summer was a hawaiian/hula girl and Evan was a Ninja.

We also had two Halloween Parties last weekend...one for the boys and one for the girls (Can you say EXHAUSTING!!). Thank God for Moonwalks (Jumpies)...the boys had a great time jumping all night. We also had a treasure hunt in the HAY! And of course, musical chairs!! As for the girls' party...music and microphones are all you really need, right!?!?!? WOOHOO, they had a blast! We also did a hay ride for both parties, which is always the favorite part of the evening for everyone.

Of course, the evening wouldn't be complete without Michelle Robison giving Summer a wedgie!!