Discovery

** You can buy a new bed and bedding.

** You can paint murals all over the walls.

** You can buy new furniture... nice new furniture.

** You can decorate it as fancy as you want

And on any given night, a 5 year old boy will choose an impromptu camping trip with his sister in the living room floor with old blankets.

Roasting hotdogs on a night light?? There are marshmallows on the plate for later. Makenzie missed out on the fun tonight, because she had already fallen fast asleep.

Nightmare!

Those of you who know me probably know that I take great pride in the way my children are dressed. Some might think that is shallow...... but before you judge take into consideration that I don't drink, smoke, do drugs, or gamble. I actually prefer to call it therapy to shop for my kids' clothes. So anyway, you get the idea that I am pretty particular about how my kids look. Here are some examples through the years to refresh your memory.

That was a fun stroll down memory lane over the past several years huh??

So you can imagine the HORROR I felt when I walked into Mason's school this afternoon and saw THIS.............

BURNT ORANGE LONGHORN SHIRT????? What the heck??? I truly thought someone was playing a joke on me since I'd been hoopin' it up over the Hogs basketball win this week. Well..... you know what they say about Teachable Moments........

Gotta run... we have a bonfire to build and a shirt to burn.

Happy Winter

This replaced the Christmas decorations in our entryway. Maybe it'll bring us some really GOOD snow days.

Merry New Year~

This is a picture on Christmas Eve right before Ole St. Nick made an appearance. It was very peaceful and quiet at this moment!

Our Christmas tree had a train at the base of it this year with some of our Christmas village pieces to create a little town of its own. Stan is the mastermind behind this. Who would've thought?

The stockings were all hung by the chimney with care (or actually laying on the floor because they were too heavy.....

The kids had a fun Christmas morning. Santa brought them EXACTLY what they wished for plus too much.

A couple of days before Christmas Santa made a personal visit to our house. Mason opened the door and this is what he found.....

Christmas Card Letter 2008

Today at 5:00, my official 16 day vacation began!! The first task completed was scripting the family letter for the Christmas cards. Here it is for those of you who just can't wait for the postman to deliver it.....
Hopefully, they'll be mailed before New Year's Day!


Holiday Greetings from the Simpsons!

In January, Madison Victoria turned 11 years old. She currently is in the sixth grade, and loves middle school. She is as smart as ever, and still keeps us on our toes with her creative mind and stories. She began playing violin in the school orchestra, and not surprisingly… does a great job. I must admit that I wasn’t crazy about the idea at first, but she doesn’t screech when she practices, and she is actually making music with the violin. She is still dancing with the same performing company, and they just finished up The Nutcracker. This year, she is dancing a ballet duet for the first time, and is excited to compete in March.
In February, Makenzie Vaile celebrated her 9th birthday. She is in the fourth grade and is in her last year of elementary school and wearing bows (or so she keeps saying J) How time flies!!! She is singing in the fourth grade honor choir called the “Treble Makers.” This is her first year to dance in the performing company at the studio. She is enjoying it… especially the social part of it. She too danced in The Nutcracker recently. She also loves to draw, and teases her dad with drawings of the two of them hunting together.
Mason Riley was 5 years old in August. He is in his second year of Pre-K, and is doing extremely well. He could’ve started in kindergarten this year, but with that late birthday, we decided that another year of maturity wouldn’t hurt. With Mom being the Assistant Principal at school, she didn’t want to have to suspend her own baby boy his first year J He played his first year of T-Ball this summer, and had a blast. His favorite pastimes are playing the Wii and hanging out with his best buddy- Daddy. They are quite the pair together.

We pray the joy and blessings of the season for you and your family,



Stan, Amy, Madison, Makenzie, and Mason

No It's Not, But..............

we DID get gift bags from Blakeman's. Inside was some jewelry cleaner, coupons for various retailers in the area, and a burgandy scarf with the Blakeman's emblem "B" monogrammed on it in with silver thread. Oh, AND there was a David Yurman catalog in the bag that contained pictures to remind me of all the things I DIDN'T win this evening. But.. it was a quick spontaneous adventure (which I haven't had in a while), and it gave me some quick time to spend with an old friend. Thanks Aricka!~

PS... If your name begins with a "B", comment on this post. I have a nice personalized Christmas gift for you.

Is it my lucky day???

An old friend (not age... but we go way back), Aricka just called me out of the blue. She asked me to go with her to Blakeman's to enter a $5000 drawing for David Yurman jewelry. You must be present to win. Of course, I said yes.... so off we go to WIN. If we win, I'm heading to Vegas :-)