Thanksgiving in T-Town

I heard Dr. Phil say the other day that holidays are a time when too many people get together in too small a place for too long of a time.   It made me laugh.

In my family we remedy the overcrowding by heading outside to shoot guns.  That time was made extra special this year when my dad gave Sam his first Red Rider BB Gun.

Jack put on his gloves in case they decided to shoot a squirrel instead of a can and he needed to go get it.  Luckily that didn't materialize into anything.

In the suburbs of Houston (or at least the one I live in) we don't shoot guns much.  We also don't have many trees in our yards that are taller than our homes (or us).  I regularly long for wide open spaces and my friends wonder why I am not more at home here.  Well.....

That is because this is where I spent the first 18 years of my life.

There were more trees around the lake then and the bridge wasn't there, but my house was.  My dad sold our home 6+ years ago to Texas A&M and what you don't see in this picture are the educational buildings that now sit on it for the Bringle Lake Campus.

My mom planted this Magnolia Tree and it sat right outside of my brother's bedroom window.  It was much prettier then and hasn't weathered the construction well.  We took the kids there the day after Thanksgiving to let them fish where mom grew up but we quickly discovered that A&M not only killed my tree but my fish too.

I miss you Texarkana, tall trees, fall colors, and wide open spaces.  Until we meet again...

Pre-Thanksgiving Celebrations

Before I can post the happenings of Thanksgiving, I still have to catch up by posting our pre-thanksgiving festivities.  This was Ruthie's last pre-school Thanksgiving party and probably Sam's last time to dress up as an Indian or a Pilgrim.  Oh how it passes too fast.

The Orange Show

This is prime photography season so I am a bit slow posting to the family blog.  Last weekend the family made a spontaneous trip the Orange Show here in Houston.  You can check it out HERE.
It's a strange yet cool place created over many years by a man with some extra time on his hands.

After his death, a foundation was formed to preserve the monument to Oranges.

If you are in the area, you should check it out because there is no other place like this. 

COOKIES!!!

I was having a creative itch last week so I contacted my partner in crime for a little spontaneous photo shoot.  You see, I have great friends and neighbors who don't mind me calling them up and asking if they are available for an off the wall activity.

We took the girls to a path in our neighborhood, hung a few ornaments, and let them decorate Christmas cookies while I played. 

They had a blast and the crew of workmen digging a pipeline behind us had to be amused by our 8:00 am cookie party.  It's like a donut.  Right?

After the icing, we took a few minutes to play with the sprinkles.  It got really fun when we decided to throw them at the girls.  Yes, Ruthie has green sugar in her hair all day. 

This pic was one of my favorite. :)

 They had a blast and went a little overboard with the icing and sprinkles.  I got some great shots and took care of my itch to be creative (at least for another week or so). 

Halloween 2012- A Re-written Motion Picture

Sometimes I feel like the major events of our days as a family are all re-written motion pictures.  Basically, I get a picture in my head of how something is going to go and either my family or our circumstances re-write it for me into something even more memorable.  Not always better, but always memorable.

My motion picture had us dressed up as a family as the characters from Despicable Me with Trent as Gru and the rest of us as Minions.  I pitched that to the kids and they ALL vetoed it.  Jack didn't want to dress up.  Sam wanted to wear his Ninja costume from last year (score 2 points for getting my money's worth out of that one), and Ruthie wanted to be a Dalmatian (bonus point for knowing a friend with such a costume).

Sam ended up coming down with a virus last Sunday and ran 103 degree fevers until yesterday! So it was a good thing his Ninja costume had a mask.  We sat him in a chair behind his dad who was handing out candy at the trunk or treat.   He was super bummed he didn't get to participate.

Jack found his place right where I would expect him to- in the sound area.

And well Ruthie took it all in.  She mastered the mechanical bull right after my stepmother showed her how it was done.  I would post that picture but I might lose my invitation to Thanksgiving if it got out. :)

Fevers, dalmatians, and mechanical bulls were not part of my original script for the evening but certainly added to drama of the Halloween motion picture.