Christmas 2012

Christmas this year was a lot of fun .... my parents planned to visit us over Christmas, and since they don't celebrate Christmas, we decided to celebrate it before they came. 

We started the evening out by eating at my favorite place to eat ... BJ's!  We love their pizookies there, but didn't get them this time!

 

When we got home, I told the girls to get into their pajamas -- and then everyone could dig into their stockings and presents.

 

Katie's big present was cowboy boots & a cowboy hat.  She decided not to have it wrapped, so she had the fewest presents to open.  But, she was still thrilled with her other loot she did get!

I swear.. it seems like I buy her silver hoops every year, because she manages to lose hers every year! 

The girls bought Mike a case of Mexican Coca Cola ... which ended being flat (need to take it back!)

Miss Maddie is our straw girl -- so what better thing to get her than a nice straw holder?

 

Katie's dream guy is Hunter Hayes..... and Maddie got her the Hunter Hayes CD ... she was excited.

Maddie's big gift this year was an itouch -- and boy was she excited!

This was Katie's year for music, I guess.... she also asked for the Luke Bryan CD ... which she got courtesty of Maddie!

 

Katie got Maddie a huge box of puzzles ... since Maddie loves puzzles!

 

The girls got me these two colorful Santoku knives!

... and my big present from Mike was 5 sets of Fiesta dishes!!  Wahoo!!  Our other dishes we've had for almost 16 years, and it was time to say goodbye to them (they're going to the cabin).  It took me FOREVER to figure out what I wanted to have for my  next set ... and while this wasn't on my wish list (I really wanted a Kindle Fire), I'm thoroughly thrilled with my gift!  Two days later I went out and bought four more sets.... I now own almost all the colors!

Smile! You're on Camera part 2

Back in August I wrote a blog post about the different animals we see on our Game Cam at the property.  Our most awesome picture was a big huge razorback, that we've nicknamed Tiny -- which has yet to be seen again since.  You can click on this link and you can see the animals we've captured on camera. 

Since Mike installed another Game Cam camera on the same property but in a different location (he noticed a bedding ground for pigs nearby and found a trail made by the animals).  Most of these pictures are from that location, but included are a few new ones in our normal location where the feeder is located!

The best picture, of course... is saved for last!

If you notice the date in the bottom right corner ... the year is wrong.  This is the time the deer come out to graze.  MOST of the time they come out at sunrise and sundown.  This one came smack in the middle of the day!

Look how HUGE these hogs are!  Tiny is not in this picture... but these are still big!

This is the trail that was found .... and what caused Mike to place a camera in this location.

I believe these are fox (foxes?  foxs'?) -- either way, there are two fox.  Or coyotes.  I can't remember what Mike said they were....

Let me state for the record, I'm totally in love with this black & white little baby pig.

I spy with my little eye.....an owl!

I also spy with my little eye.... two girls walking and waiting for their dad to check the cam after hunting!

 .... same two girls riding the four wheelers along the trail

I've never seen a deer with one antler.  Until now.  The laughingstock of the tribe of deer he must be.  "Don't look now Larry ... but that deer only has ONE antler!"   Don't mind my sense of humor right now... I'm overmedicated w/ cough medicines & decongestants to stop my cough.

..... and I said I'd save the best for last!!  This gorgeous ..... prime hunk of a buck!

 

"excuse me!  .... won't you please say hello for the camera?"

Ahh.... gorgeous huh?  Also came smack in the middle of the day as well!

What in the world has Amy been up to?

Oh my .... it's been almost a month since I've blogged, and really, it's quite unheard of for me to not blog!!  I've been quite busy, actually. 

Yesterday I just finished coaching my last season of volleyball for Maddie's team.  While I enjoyed the run for the past 3 years, I'm ready to be done. 

I was called to serve in the Young Women's organization at church in November, so I'm getting used to being around teenaged girls now instead of little kids!!  I had to resnap pictures of Katie for a project the leaders are doing in YW at church, and while we didn't use these pictures, I sure do love them of Katie!

We finally have fall here in San Antonio!  We don't see the leaves change colors very often (probably because we lack the type of trees that turn the beautiful reds and oranges!), but I did find some beautiful colors at my last photoshoot!  I also found that our tree out front of our house turns red in the fall too!  YAY!  It's no secret that fall is my favorite time of year!

Mike started tile work in our kitchen -- hasn't finished it yet.  But, at least the bar section is 87% done ... he still needs to seal it up.  I can't believe I didn't take a final picture.  To come later!

The Young Women had their Young Women in Excellence night at church.  Each girl talked about what they worked on for their projects that year.  Katie & her BFF Madison danced the Highland Fling.  You can see Katie's profile picture on the "flame".  Her poster was also drawn by herself, and she added in words found in magazines that reflect how she sees herself.

We had our traditional Sunday dinner every first Sunday of the month -- the month of December was at our friend's Katie's home -- she is an amazing baker and this is her second year of having something for the kids to decorate and take home.  This year it was a stable!

What not to do when making yarn balls ....

Today is my baby's birthday .. she's a big ol' 11 years old now!  I'm on a roll in getting their room decorated before company comes. 

I saw this idea at a friend's house while doing their newborn shoot.  She said it was so easy, and it looked so amazing!  I thought "ooh! I could do this to Maddie's room!"  So I scoured Pinterest, blogs and figured out what formula I should use.  For example, liquid starch .. elmer's glue ... cornstarch .. and the list goes on.

Here is my list of what not to do when making yarn balls.

1)  First of all .... don't make them.  I'm not kidding.  They may look incredibly easy, but they're not.  Sure yarn is cheap, balloons are cheap, and so is glue.  Do not be swayed!  Stay away from these balls!  Go buy japanese lanterns instead!

2)  If you decide you have to make these yarn balls, then don't use just elmer's glue & water.  I tried this on my last three balls I made, and it did not work.  The first three balls I made (I ran out of mixture), I used a combination of Elmer's glue, cornstarch & water.  I think the ratio is like 4 oz glue, 1/2 c cornstarch and 1/4 c of water.  When I realized that my yarn was not hardening up like the first batch did -- I had to run out to get even MORE glue, and did my mixture and paint it on while it was wrapped around the balloon.  It did the trick, and hardened up after drying.  Also note that you'll use even more glue than you think you will use.   Stock up for this project.

3)  Two people really need to be doing this -- one to dip the yarn in the mixture and one to wrap it around the balloon.  I read somewhere someone said to place vaseline around the balloon, but I didn't do this.  If I did, maybe it would have prevented a lot of frustration after I popped the balloon.  I'll show you why in a second.... If it doesn't prevent what I'm about to show you, then I have no clue why they put vaseline around the balloons?

4)  Again, don't make these yarn balls.  They are a headache, I'll tell you!  I'm totally doing ya a favor!

5)  After you pop the balloons -- they will still stick to the yarn, and there will be lots of dried mixture that stays on the yarn.  What a pain in the butt.  I gave up after a few hours of scraping this off with a skewer -- I'm hoping no one take a close look when it's in her room.

6)  I used a punch balloon for my large pink balloon -- however, do not buy a punch balloon that has ink on it ... like a princess.  That transferred onto my yarn.  *%#)@#! 

7)  I bought two different types of yarn.  The thicker yarn was cheaper -- and it was harder to deal with and it doesn't look as nice as the thinner yard does (the pink).  So, splurge a bit more and get the thinner yarn.

ouch ... sorry for the noise in that picture!  High ISO = noise in my pictures!

8)  When hanging the yarn balls in the ceiling over your daughter's bed, don't drop a tack on her bed.  'Nuf said.  :/

and finally

9)  Are you really sure you want to make these yarn balls??

My daughter is totally worth it -- but man alive I wish I did something else!  (can you see the black ink in my large pink ball?!! FAIL!)