Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving has gone to the dogs!

Literally.

The boys are back in town... and I mean all of them. Rex and Jim are here to celebrate Thanksgiving. Buster is also with us this holiday. Buster and Lelly are having a little Thanksgiving treat. They are, of course, the true inventors of Thanksgiving... Eat a lot and then sleep it off!

Todd is carving the Turkey. First turkey done in the Green Egg grill. I am told it was quite tasty and very juicy.

Jim, El, Lelly, and Buster chill out in the living room

El chats with us as we prepare the feast!

Eva is Pocahantas for the occasion.

She also made the toast. "I am thankful for the entire universe, our world, my family, and my friends." Well done Kiddo!

The table was prepared by El and Eva.

Rex takes a break for a bit of fresh air.

Todd about 10 minutes after dinner. He miraculously awoke just after the table was clean and the dishes were washed. Hmm...

Lelly and Buster rest in front of the fire.

I am sure deep inside he is rooting for the Longhorns!

Lelly decided the stuffed bunny "Monsieur Lapin" made a softer bed.

We have had a wonderful time today. Hope your holiday was wonderful as well!

My Thespian

Pictures have arrived.

El was in a production of The Good Doctor at school. I will post pictures as soon as I am able to get them from my cell to my computer. I seem to have a glitch in the system. She did a wonderful job. I was very impressed with the production as a whole. My expectations were low as we were attending a middle school performance. I was pleasantly surprised with what a good job they did. El, of course, was excellent! She loves to be on stage and it shows.

Check back soon for pictures!

Kenichi Wa

OK, so the title is Japanese and she is dressed as a Chinese girl. I did not know a Chinese greeting. Eva decided to be Chinese and wanted to do a photo shoot. She just kept posing and posing. I have several more shots!

Watch out for this warrior princess!

97 years!!!

Happy Birthday Gramma Brown!

Today is the 97th birthday of my Gramma. I am hoping I received some of those longevity genes! Yes, I know, she looks wonderful... but she is only 96 1/2 in this photo:)

Here's hoping it has been a wonderful day and for another wonderful year.

My birthday advise? Heck, what do I know? Clearly you should keep doing what you are doing!

Much love from your Texas bunch!

Pertussis... really?

Eva had a fever, a cough, and general yuckiness. After one day the fever broke but there was something not normal about that cough. It was so rough at times she threw up. I took her to the doctor to find out she may have whooping cough. ??? Yes, I did have her vaccinated. However, it seems there has been a resistant strain that has been making it's way around. The test has come back and yes... Pertussis! For preventive measure the rest of out family will be starting antibiotics today. This includes Dede and Papa who were so lucky as to visit during this highly contagious moment:) No one can say Sweet Eva doesn't share. This video clip is from a late night bath for Eva after ending up with vomit in her hair. Sweet Elyse was right there for her little sister. I am one lucky mom!

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween to all!

Our neighborhood has a party at the amenities center. The kids all hop on a hayride for trick-or-treating. It would be a long walk otherwise! The hayride had about 10 designated stops and then back to the party. Our house was a stop so El was our candy girl.

She awaits the forty trick-or-treaters that come all at once!

Eva as a princess witch.

El did Eva's hair and make-up.

Ready for take-off... wait up Gramma Pat, Eva wants to fly with you!

El is a Hogwarts student in Dumblebore's Army. If you like Harry Potter you know what this means... and you are excited that the next movie will be out in 20 days!

Ready for the battle against evil!

My sweet girls!

Eva and Lelly. Lelly dressed up last week and went on parade with other pooches.

Eva on her way to treats.

YUM!

El's Sea World Experience!

El's birthday present was to go to Sea World and have an animal interaction experience with the Sea Lions. She had a ball! She started out with a short training video and lecture. Then it was into wetsuit and off to play with Elrod.

El is taking a ride by holding on to Elrod's rear flippers.

Here she gave the command to flip!

Just chillin' with her new bff.

You can't see it in the picture, but she just got splashed! The water was 60 degrees.

Time for a rub down.

El gave the command to dance.

El, Elrod, and Steve.

Little Buckeroo Ranch

Eva and I spent a few hours at the Little Buckaroo Ranch with the Momma group we belong to.

She was excited to have a chance to sport her cowgirl boots!

Hangin' out by the hitchin' post.

Roasting marshmallows by the fire was a big highlight.

If you touch the top of the water the fish would "kiss" you. Eva would pull away just as the fish got to her finger.

Scratching a pigs back.

This is the calmest rooster I have ever seen in my life.

Eva really enjoyed feeding the goats.

This is a miniature horse. He did a little performance for the group.

Eva and Ian... Superheros!

Eva and Ian love to play together. Ian is her first preschool teacher's son. They like to play Batman and Batwoman (she always wants to be Batwoman and not Batgirl) as well as Power Rangers. Ian is red and Eva is pink.

Up they go!

And down they slide!

Sidewalk chalk is always fun!

Eva signs her artwork. Cute acorns.

They really love the swings!

Eva wore her red dress because it is Ian's favorite color.

A Quick Trip to Houston

I have taken too long to get this post up. I was waiting to get El's camera so I could post the pictures of our Friday evening dinner with Rex, Jim, and Fabene'. I finally got a hold of the camera and downloaded the pictures. A glitch occurred and I lost forever all the pictures. Lesson learned! So, here are the pictures of our Saturday lunch with Mary, Chloe, Alex, and Tanya.

Alex and Eva play on the slide.

Best Buds Chloe and El.

Tanya and Mary just chillin'. Well actually we were mostly gossiping:)

Sister Slide!

Boo!

Eva love, love, loves Halloween! She drew this pumpkin for me. We already have candy corn in the pantry, spiders and ghosts decorating the house, and scary stories at bedtime. She is such a funny kid. She asks me quite often, "How many more days until Halloween?". Maybe this year she will trick-or-treat more. She gave up early last year and just wanted to stay on the hayride!