Christmas Is Near!!

I love this time of year and this year we are feeling very festive. Jason and I put up the Christmas tree yesterday and had fun decorating it and taking pictures. We listened to holiday music and it was snowing outside so I couldn't have asked for a better time with my husband. And thanks to Black Friday, there are already presents under the tree. Hopefully now when we go home we will not have to be at the mall every single day before Christmas shopping for all of our gifts and get to spend more time with friends and family.

We have started collecting addresses for our Christmas cards and hope to get those out early next week after we decide on a photo to put in with them. In years past we have bought the cards and had every intention of mailing them but something always happened and we never made it that far, so this year we are already ahead of the game.

Here are some pictures of our tree and the family.

It has been a while!!

I am re-commiting myself to keep up with my blogging. I fell of the wagon and wasn't even on that long. LOL. Hopefully it works out the second time around. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

So here is a snapshot of some things that have happened since May.

Jason and I went home to Houston in June for two weeks and had a great time with family and friends. We were able to visit with Jason's grandmother, Kitty, who is a sweet lady I admire very much. She has raised such a beautiful family. Also while in town we went to one of our favorite places to visit, New Baunfels. We rented a cabin on the river for a weekend and had a great time with John and Belinda, Kevin and Mary, and Chuck and Angela. Hope to be able to make that a tradition. I also got to stay the night with my friend Charlotte and went to Sea World with her children and my sister. Thanks Charlotte for a fun day and the good Indian food.

In the month of August the greatest girl I know came to visit Jason and I for 15 days. Katy flew up here to PA and got to see how Jason and I live day to day. It wasn't very exciting as she found out. But it was a real treat to have her all to ourselves. We took her to Philadelpia to see the historical sites, and then took a trip up to Niagara Falls. The falls were awe inspiring and all three of us loved the Maid of the Mist boat ride. The highlight of her trip for me was our Six Flags in NJ day. Up until this day Katy was afraid of heights but something took over her body and she was a girl with no fear that day. The King da Ka is the fastest(128mph in 3seconds) and tallest(45stories) ride in the world and the reason Jason and I wanted to go to this park. I never thought that Katy would get on this ride. But ride she did, and not only twice but three times again did she ride that ride. I was terrified of it but didn't show it cause Katy wasn't even a little bit nervous. It was a wonderful day and one that I will never forget. Love you Katy!!!

In September, Kevin Fowler, who is a Texas County music artist, came to Wilkes Barre for a free concert. Jason and I got to the Bar and Grill where he was playing about an hour and a half before the show was scheduled to start. I immediatley saw his cowboy hat sitting at a table eating dinner and asked the hostess if we could be seated at the other end of the table. She walked us over and sat us down. We ended up hanging out with him and two of the band members all night. Kevin challenged me to beat him at skee ball and he would play a song of my choice. So I whooped his booty!! 250 to 175! So he kept good on his word and dedicated "100%Texan" to me and we got it on video. It was a pretty cool moment.

Jason and I love to go to concerts together and one of our favorite bands, Cross Canadian Ragweed, is calling it quits this year. Their last show is in Chicago and we tried to get tickets to it but they wanted way too much money. So we found a show in Austin, The Red Dirt Festival that they would be playing at and flew down for the weekend. It was a spur of the moment kind of trip and we met two awesome girls, Kelly and Michelle. While there Chuck and Angela came to visit us and we got to celebrate Gregory's 1st birthday with them. We ate at Joe's Crab Shack and then walked around the capital grounds.

Memorial Day Weekend

So this past Wednesday I flew to Houston for my baby sister, Whitney, post-wedding open house. It has been very busy at my mom's house with all of the preperations and work to get ready for the party. My aunt Kimmy and her youngest daughter, Melissa, also came down to help and I have really enjoyed getting to spend time with them as well. Sadly though, Melissa has had a cough all weekend that has been getting worse and finally went to the doctor to found out that she had a double ear infection! Ouch!! I hope that she feels better soon because it is heartbreaking to see a child so precious suffer. The party went very well, despite guests arriving almost 45 minutes prior to the time on the invitation, and Whitney looked very happy with Joe. I am happy for them and wish them all the best of luck in their marriage and life.

Toyota Highlander

I GOT A NEW CAR!!! The Hummer is history and I couldn't be happier about it. Jason and I went to get out oil changed at a toyota dealership in Sayre and just looked around the lot. We were not there to make a purchase but two hours later with a sales guy (here is his plug, Gary Archer) and we were the proud owners of this 2010 Highlander. I am going from 10 miles a gallon to 18 and am soo happy about that. It is a beautiful car and am so greatful to have it. Thank you baby being a wonderful provider. Here are a few more pics of the interior and such.

There is a third row of seats that can fold flat, as in the picture above. There is pretty good leg room back there, but I have to say that I like that I even have the option.

Well, I guess I am going to be a blogger now. I kind of think it is funny because I would not consider myself as a writer but I like the idea because it is almost like a digital scrapbook or even keeping a journal. Plus, family is all the way is Texas and this way they can see what it is Jason and I are doing up here in Pennsylvania.

I am sure that our life is not very interesting to everyone but I wonder, whose life is that interesting everyday? I hope to be able to at least get a post once a week if not sooner of if something really cool happens.

These are our dogs, Dakota and Wickit. Dakota is 2years old and is a Husky mix. I would say he is hyper and thinks of everyone as a friend, he also has a wonderfully happy personality. Wickit is 5 years old and is a Shih-tzu. He thinks he is in charge of Dakota and he pretty much is inside, but outside is a different matter. Dakota can run circles around Wickit and loves to tackle him from full speed. This is Dakota in pre-run/attack mode. They are my babies and I love them dearly.

My wonderful husband purchased a piano for my birthday back in January and I have been taking lessons again. I took lessons when I was younger but didn't really practice like I should have. Sorry Mom. Now, as an adult I really enjoy practicing and could not ask for a better teacher. The piano has some pretty cool noises on it. There is one that when a key is held down it sounds like a firework shooting up in the sky and then you hear a boom.