Let the Holidays begin!

Joe and Teresa came over tonight to have some of my favorite Cheeseburger Soup. We hung out for a little bit afterwards until Allen brought in the tree to put up. Then, Joe whips into action. If there is something to be done, Joe is going to do it right! Once we get the tree out of the box and put together, Joe continuously alternated from sitting on the couch making sure we had our angles right to getting up and making sure we were "fluffing" it properly. This game ensued for at least an hour.

This was Alex's first tree siting. He loved looking at it but hated touching it. Which is fine by me. I hope that trend sticks for the next ten years! That kid can hate trees as much as he wants. Stay away from it Kid!

So that is that. Holiday weekend over. Man do I hate to go back to work on Monday!

Joe Humbug

Alex's first look at a Christmas Tree!

Thanksgiving in Arkansas

We went to Arkansas to see Allen's extended family for Thanksgiving. As promised, I have pictures of cats and guns! I can't help it. Where else can you drive just a few miles from the house and shoot stuff!? And where else do you walk out the back door and see so many cats just waiting to see you!?

We arrived on Thursday and had Thanksgiving dinner at Bob and Joyce's place. It was crowded but MMMMMM it was good food! Alex also met his cousin Preston for the first time on Thursday. Normally, Alex sees himself in the mirror, so seeing Preston really threw him. I think he could not figure out why this kid looked nothing like the kiddo he normally sees, and why doesn't this kid do everything he does?

We got up and took our time getting ready Friday. We went to lunch with Allen's parents and then headed back to Granny's. Granny does have some cats outside this year, but not as many as before. She did have three kittens that were just adorable and I wanted to take home. Allen would hear nothing of it. Poor kitties, they were so small and it was so cold........ Then we jumped in the truck to go do some target practice. It was cold and raining but, you can't sit around all day! (Notice the RED Arkansas mud on the ground. You want nooooo part of that.

We drove home on Saturday, and here I sit, updating the blog, watching Alex play. Alex is getting very close to crawling. He can go backwards right now. And he rocks back and forth a lot. I am guessing that within 2 weeks, he'll be crawling around.

I leave you with some pictures and video!

Smiley Boy!

Preston

As soon as you get there, the cats jump on your car because it is so warm!

Begging to take kitties home.

Too bad Allen didn't actually catch the lid flying off!

(I would upload the video of Allen's target practice but it is loaded with profanities so, I decided against it!)

This kid is almost always happy!

Company Christmas Party - In NOVEMBER???

Yes, the company warned us that the Christmas party might be a wee bit early this year, but we had no idea it would be so early we might be tempted to dress as pilgrims and indians! I mean how often could you wear a head band with colored feathers and it be appropriate? We did, as a side note, eat turkey and dressing while we were there. Is it bad that I ate three pieces of pumpkin pie too? I think not. I mean, they would have thrown it away if it were left over right? And no sense in that right? So I was just making sure we weren't wasteful. Yah.

It was a casino/Vegas themed party. I am a big fan of the slot machines, but, I almost hate to admit, I have never even played Blackjack before. What better time to learn than with play money!?!?!?

After ALLEN lost ALL my chips, we sat back down at our table with our good friends Alynn and Ryan, and proceeded to (very maturely) snap random and silly photos of each other. Everyone that works with me knows that if nothing else, I always try to be the utmost authority on behaving professionally. ;)

Below are a few shots of the party.

Tomorrow Allen, Alex, and I leave to go to Arkansas to see Al's extended family. Alex will meet his cousin Preston for the first time. They are only 2 months (right Kelly? Two months?) apart. So I am sure I will return with lots of photos from that. And cats. I always manage to take tons of pictures of cats while I am out there as well. A guns. Always photos of guns too.

Inner monologue: You know, we always target practice with beer cans but maybe since there are so many cats around.......

Looking good Big Money

Alynn and I goof off.
A lot.

I love this gal!

I can not believe that Monday is going to be December 1st.

Baby Macnab - a few concerns

Laura was feeling a ton of kicking from Baby Macnab. So much so it was causing her great discomfort. She finally caved in and went to the doc for another scan.

I guess this explains it all........................



I couldn't help it! Sorry if I scared any of you!

Baby Macnab

Here is the most recent "picture"of Baby Macnab. I believe Laura is about 13 or 14 weeks now. We find out if it is a boy or a girl in mid December. Just in time for some Christmas shopping! ;)

With each passing day I come to appreciate more and more the pure genius behind suction cups toys. To whomever invented these gems of plastic entertainment, I thank you. I ordered two off Amazon last week and can not wait for them to arrive. Alex is just beginning to test the limits of gravity with every toy he touches. To him, this is an awfully amusing game.........

We had an eventful weekend. Not busy, but eventful.

We did nothing on Friday night. We were both beat from work, and Allen had a horrible day too.

But Saturday night we were very excited to take my nephew to a haunted house. It was his first Haunted House experience and he walked a fine line between crazy excited and overly nervous. At one point in the car he showed me he was such a combo of these all too often nerve wrecking emotions, that he was smiling and had tears running down his face!

Zach was very anxious but when we got there and the DJ of the house was playing some 80's metal music, he felt right at home. I think he actually got a pretty big kick out of some teenagers next to us playing air guitar. The first haunted house we went to was the main attraction and it took 40 minutes to get through. It was a theme haunted house. They put everyone in rooms and had a different act going in each room. One of the funniest parts was the very beginning. We went in with a group of about 15, and Zach was by far the smallest. So they usher you in a room and cram you all together.......and then it goes pitch black. Zach was holding my hand. The funny part was, it didn't take long for everyone else in the room to figure out the ceiling was coming down on us......everyone except Zach. We were all starting to crouch down in the dark and I had to tell Zach to reach up and jump so he could feel what was happening. Funny that he was probably the most scared person in the room, yet the safest!

The rest of the haunted houses were fun too. Every time we were about to walk into one Zach would say, "I don't know about this one....' and then when we were done he would say, "That was awesome!"

We came home around midnight and Zach barely had his eyes open. He thanked us a jillion times before he and Aunt Stacy went home. That kid is so great and Allen and I just love to be around him.

On Sunday, John Hendricks, his wife Sabrina, and their son Ben came to visit. When my brother and I were growing up, John was his best friend and they spent a good part of most days together. Meaning, I spent a good deal of time with him too (although at that age, we didn't quite see it like that!) It had been quite a while since I had seen John and I was glad he had called. They came over and chatted with Allen and I while Ben played cars on the floor. I made SURE to take a picture of John holding Alex just to pull the heart strings of my brother a little bit. (Subliminal message: come home Alex and Laura. Coooooommmmmeeee hooooooommee.....)

For dinner on Sunday, I had quite a few tamales in the fridge, so I called Joe and Teresa to come help us out. We got rid of all of them. After they left I put my Monster to bed, and here I sit, updating you on our, what might seem mundane to some, but to us, happy lives.

Zach, before we went in, getting very nervous!

It's a Haunted House Fire!

Alex and my brother from another mother, John.

People think that the last Robersaurus Rex was gone thousands of years ago, but they are wrong.

HALLOWEEN!!!!

Halloween was on a Friday night, so honestly, I did not want to be in my house this year so that I after I turned off the front porch light, some stupid teenager would try ringing the door anyway and you would hear a simultaneous ring, bark, cuss, and baby cry. You can call me the Scrooge of Halloween, but......doesn't sound like fun to me. I was all too thrilled when Stacy invited the whole fam damily to her house to hang out and do Halloween.

My father was out of town on yet another motorcycle trip, so we scooped up my Mom and brought her along!

When we got to Stacy's house, the entire neighborhood was buzzing with kids in costumes and parents too. People in her neighborhood go all out. I didn't even think to take the camera when Allen and I stepped out to trick-or-treat with Zach and I should have. People out there are nuts! Houses were decorated from top to bottom with motorized parts and smoke machines. Kids everywhere! And one of the houses near Zach and Stacy's house does a haunted house every year. The line was around the block but Zach wanted to go so Allen, my Mom, and I went with Zach to go wait in line. I am guessing we were in line about 35 minutes, but it was worth the wait.

These people had worked very hard on this haunted house, telling us it takes over a month to set up. It took less than 10 minutes to get through but considering it was just someone's backyard, that is pretty impressive! It was my Momma's first haunted house ever and she enjoyed it. She was scared more times than anyone else in the group! Of course, she had one of Allen's gin and tonics so she was not at her most aware!

We could not stop laughing at Zach, who decided this year he wanted to dress up like a woman. Well, the kid did it right! I leave you with Mr. Zachary Austin.