Valentine's Day Parties

I still felt like I was recovering from the Christmas Parties when the Valentine's parties arrived. The girls were so excited and I always feel so lucky that I have been able to attend the girls' parties over the years. Seeing them with their friends in such a fun atmosphere is such a treat.

 Here is Campbell posing after decorating her cookie. Don't worry there was a lot more food on her plate before the party was over. I have never seen so many goodies sent by the parents in her class. They also painted pet rocks and played a game all in about 45 minutes time.

 Campbell with her sweet friend Hannah

 Campbell's class

 Kaylee's party was a little bitter sweet for me because it is the last school party she will have in her elementary years anyway. Their party was a little different because they spent time eating, talking, and having a little dance party in the classroom. That was quite hilarious and made me realize how grown-up she is at the same time.

 One group of desks...there are 32 students in Kaylee's class this year. Crazy!

Kaylee, AC, and Mattie

I am so thankful for the three girls in this picture. Their personalities are all very different and they bring out the best in each other. It is such a joy to be around each of them.

And Valentine's Day 2013 comes to an end...

Dunk Dynasty

 The beginning of the year also meant the beginning of basketball season for Kaylee. This was her second year to play with AYBA and she loved it! I loved that the coach of her team who is also a friend of ours decided to call the team Dunk Dynasty. Which if those of you reading this are anything like us you are highly entertained by the show Duck Dynasty. Kaylee knew several of the girls on her team and made new friends with the others. Kaylee scored several baskets over the season and truly worked hard each week. We even managed to have some family and friends stop in for a game from time to time. (Sorry Lan I did not get a picture of you, I think you took them with your camera.)  It was a great season for us!

 Kaylee preparing to pass the ball.

Kaylee with our sweet friends Addie and Cooper.

Papa and Nana with the girls.

Cotillion Fun!

Well somehow I talked Kaylee into taking Cotillion Classes which were offered to 5th graders at her school this year. I think the conversation included a list of friends who were also taking the class to convince her. There were a total of four classes and they were conducted at the local Country Club. Most of the classes included how to shake someone's hand properly, answer the phone, greet someone, thank you note etiquette, and how to act at a formal dinner. I think the formal dinner night was Kaylee's favorite for two reasons; first of all it included a 5 course meal (which her Food Network loving self enjoyed) and secondly it was the last class. Here are a few pictures of her with some of her close friends. It is such a sweet group of young ladies and gentlemen. I feel very blessed that they are growing up together.

 Aren't they so pretty and handsome?

Kaylee and her BFF Anna

Christmas Morning

This Christmas was extra special for us because we got to have Santa come to our house. My parents, aunt, uncle, and cousin were nice enough to make the journey to Abilene to make this possible. We had such a wonderful time and it was so fun to wake up Christmas morning at our home.

Before we get to that I have to post pictures of one of the girls favorite gifts...electric scooters from Papa and Nana. They had the best time riding these on the golf course path Christmas Eve. Can't you tell from the huge smiles on their faces? I don't know if Santa can top this one.

After a day filled with food and fun, along with our tradition of looking at Christmas lights it was time to prepare for Santa's arrival. The girls put out the reindeer food.

 Then they snuggled up in bed to listen to their Daddy read The Night Before Christmas to them. I think they were all giggles and smiles in anticipation of the big guy's arrival

 The girls had several things on their list this year and most of them were electronic like new itouches, Beats headphones, and a WiiU. They did however include a few games, an American Girl doll for Campbell, and other novelties. I think they were pleased with the loot Santa left for them.


 Kaylee with her blue set of Beats.

 Campbell with her McKenna American Girl doll.

 Here are the girls with my Uncle Don, Aunt Trudy, and Duncan before they headed home to Bay City.

 Papa and Nana with the girls.

Kaylee and Campbell playing the WiiU.

As you can see from the pictures above we all had a wonderful Christmas together. The best part was being able to have everyone to our home. It was nice to be the one hosting and spoiling those who usually spoil us for a change. The only downside was that time seemed to go by way too quickly after the month or more of preparing. We are way more blessed than we deserve. Thank you Lord for the gift of family and holidays where we can slow down and just enjoy each other.

Beard Family Christmas

Well our year finally arrived, our turn to host the family Christmas for the Beard side of the family. Cary's sisters and their families made the journey from Edmond and Austin to Abilene to celebrate with us. ( There were 7 adults and 10 kids counting our family too.) It was so nice to not have to travel but there was definitely a lot to do to get ready for everyone. Since I am an organizer by nature I got all the menus ready and then tried to decide the best sleeping arrangement for the next few days. I am always thankful for Sam's Club but I think after two trips there to get all the groceries we would need, I had a whole new appreciation and a hole in my wallet too. The beds were arranged, food was prepared, and presents were wrapped all in preparation for their arrival just in time.

Once everyone was settled in on Friday we decided it would be fun to have the kids wake up Saturday morning and do Christmas presents so that way they would all have something new to play with and occupy them for a day or so. There would also be fewer hours to ask "when are we opening presents" which is always a plus. I must say it worked well with a combination of great weather ( thank you Lord) and a lot of outside fun including a football game in the field behind our house the kids had a blast. I love the way these cousins enjoying spending time with each other and there is rarely an argument either. 

 Here are Londyn and Aunt Tiffany opening her gifts. Adalyn was already down for her morning nap when we were opening so no pictures of her.

 Catch is very excited over the Nike Elite socks we gave him. I do not think I would have ever been this excited about socks unless there was a cute outfit to go with them. lol.

 Crew with his Cars stuff. I really think this kid is going to be the next Bill Cosby. He is hilarious all the time!

 Kaylee excited to get a gift card so she can go shop without having to use her money. I swear she has more money saved than I do.

 Campbell still trying to wake up and process what we are doing. She is so much like my nannie when it comes to waking up int he mornings.

 Chenna with her Nike socks. Evidently they were some special kid I was unaware of. I just liked the colors, just trying to be a cool Aunt.

 Third time is the charm with the socks. At least they were all happy. I think Cane is hoping these get passed down to him eventually because he is looking so intently over Colt's shoulder. However, he could be wondering why all the excitement over socks.

Devon with a Thomas toy. I promise he was more excited than his face shows.;-)

After the presents were over I popped back in the kitchen to cook while the rest of the family played and talked. It was so nice to have a house filled with laughter.

On Saturday night we went to a local place with a light display and a Santa to sit with. I must say it was pretty funny to watch all of the kids with their different personalities sitting on his lap. 

First we have Kaylee and Campbell who are old pros at this and old enough that we only have to take two pictures and be done.

Here are the twins, Adalyn and Londyn, with their big brother Devon. I love the sweet smile on his face while the girls are having none of this picture taking with a strange man.

Then we have the Davidson crew ranging in ages from 10 years to 2 years. You can see that Cane is not into this experience at all but the rest of the family is giving it their best try. 

Back row: Adalyn, Catch, Colt, Kaylee, and Londyn

Front row: Cane, Chenna, Campbell, Crew, and Devon

This is our attempt after church on Sunday to have a family picture of all the kids together before everyone headed home. At this point we were just glad they all seemed to be looking at the camera and giving what little energy they had left for the picture. It was so much fun to have everyone at our house! I did not get many pictures because I was preparing food or playing with my nieces and nephews when I could. That is okay because I have all the memories in my head and I am sure my sister in law (the photographer) is going to share the moments she captured.  Thank you all for coming! We are looking forward to Christmas 2013 in Oklahoma!

Christmas Parties Galore

Well during the month of December I felt like I lived up at the girls' schools. It was a great thing though to be able to go to so many celebrations and see them interacting with their friends. A little bragging from their teachers is always good for a Mom to hear also. 

 Here is a picture from the BIG 2nd grade Gingerbread House Making Party! This happens each year for the 2nd graders and they all look forward to it. Imagine 12 second grade classes lined up in front of butcher paper lining the floors with everything they need to make a gingerbread house in front of them. Remarkably it was relatively calm because they were all so busy making their creations. Campbell had a blast and I have to say I was a little sad to never experience this again. I just love her personality and the way everything just had to be in the perfect place. She was one of the last ones to finish.

 Here she is with her completed masterpiece.

 I also got to attend Kaylee's class Christmas Party. I just love the sweet young lady she is becoming. The party was filled with BINGO, a lot of Treats, and some fun prizes. I cannot believe this was her last Christmas party at school since they will not have them in 6th grade. made this Mom sad to think about all the time that has gone by and what time I have left. I am not going to think about that too much right now though. Just living int he moment and enjoying days like these.

 This girl is always enjoying life. Look at that big smile!

 Also during the same week as the parties we had a special lunch for Campbell's class a few of the Moms put together. It was also pajama day so they were living the good life. Love the picture of me and Campbell with the inflatable Santa. It just would not be Christmas without some fun holiday decor.

Here is my sweet girl in her Christmas music program. I did not get many pictures because I was in charge of the video camera since Cary was at a meeting out of town. She got to dance, sing, and play an instrument so I suppose you could say she is a triple threat. I love that she has a good time performing. Notice she even had to have a necklace on that day.

Here is the whole group in the music program that day. I think this was just three of the second grade classes. There are so many they have to break up the performances over a 3-4 day period of time.

NYC at Christmas with my Sweetie

 Well, my wonderful husband got invited to a seminar in New York City so believe you me I packed my bags very quickly to tag along for the fun. I make it a point never to pass up a trip to NYC! I booked a few reservations before we left but mainly decided to try to hit some spots I had been on the girls' trip and some we had never been to before. After checking into the hotel and Cary attending an evening reception we headed out for a little sight seeing. It is the city that never sleeps.

 Our first stop was Serendipity to have a bite to eat but most importantly try the frozen hot chocolate. I suppose the third time was the charm for me since I finally made it inside on my third trip to NYC. Let me just say that the frozen hot chocolate was well worth the wait. I think it is one of the best things I have ever tasted. 

 Me posing with the amazing menu. So many choices and so little time. After such a delicious meal we headed back to the hotel to get some rest.

 On Friday Cary was in his meetings all day so I wandered magically around the city. We were only a block over from the shopping on 5th Avenue so my day went great.

 That evening we enjoyed dinner at Park Avenue-Winter before heading to see Jersey Boys. The meal at this restaurant is worth the trip to NYC alone. If you ever go get the pork chop dish off the menu, it was amazing! The only down side to our evening was the 20+ blocks we walked after our meal to get to the theatre Evidently 7:30pm is a popular time for the cab drivers to switch from on duty to off duty and the new drivers are no where to be found. We will definitely remember that for next time and schedule a cab ahead of time. I guess on a positive not we walked off the calories from our dinner.

 As you can see we were all smiles after the show. Jersey Boys is definitely one to see if you ever have the chance. The music and notes the lead actor could reach were very impressive.

 On Saturday we went to Grand Central Station and ate at The Oyster Bar for lunch. The station is so pretty and bustling with activity.

 After lunch we walked to 5th Avenue and looked at some window displays on our way to Central Park. All the window displays were decorated so beautifully. Such talent!

 Central Park

 A little shopping/ looking at one of my favorite stores. Can you guess where I am?

 We saw this shirt in FAO Schwartz and could not resist the humor in it.

 The soldier at FAO Schwartz was in the mood for fun when we stopped by. He was such a friendly guy who you could tell enjoyed his job and the people he came in contact with.

 Rockefeller Center

On Saturday night we went to Macy's then to eat at my other favorite NYC place, The Mesa Grill. Bobby Flay never disappoints here. The sweet potato tamale that I remembered from my last trip was still just as delicious so my stomach was very happy.

Sunday morning we packed our bags and left the Waldorf -Astoria after grabbing some authentic NY pizza and fitting in a little more shopping. I always hate to leave this magical place, hopefully we will return again soon. Two trips alone with my husband in a month was so nice. I cannot wait to take a trip again...unfortunately that may be a while.