Back to Reality

Well the vacation is over, and I return to work tomorrow!!!! :( We went to Arizona to spend Christmas with Bob's family in Tucson. We were lucky enough to take about 10 days off for our vacation. While in Arizona we visited the Tucson Zoo and the Children's Musuem, and of course, Santa. I was also lucky enough to be able to visit with my long time friend Kristen and her boyfriend Phil and their daughter Hayley. I got to visit with a long lost friend as well. A good friend of mine, Courtney, was able to stop by as well. I havent seen her since....well at least 5 years. We all went to the Zoo together.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were perfect. We got to see the family, decorate ornaments, and relax.

We returned home and had a second Christmas with my family here in San Antonio. My brother and his family were able to make it for the holidays and we got to spend a little time with them as well.

So as you can see, we were truely blessed this season. I have posted some pictures of our vacation in Arizona and will post more later for the Zoo, Children's Museum and our San Antonio Christmas.

I hope everyone was as fortunate as we were to have the Perfect Holiday Season. Our love to all and more pictures to follow.

Merry Christmas To All......

Its Finally Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Christmas is my favorite time of year. I look forward to this all year long.

• Holiday Music in all the stores
• Christmas trees and decorations in every building you go into
• All the lights displays on the homes
• Shopping for that PERFECT gift for a special person
• Christmas would not be complete with out the great christmas commercials "They do exist! He does exist" If you are a true Christmas fan, you will recognize this a the seasonal M&M's commercial.
• "Its a Wonderful Life", "Miracle on 34th Street", "The Santa Clause", "A Christmas Carol" - I could go on and on, and YES, I do have to watch them all.
• Hearing Robert say each and every time we go into Walmart, "Mommy, I want to go see Christmas!" - Translation: he wants to go see the seasonal section with the tree and yard decoration displays.
• Getting all the family together that we havent seen in a while! This is our year to go to Arizona to see our family there. We only get to see them twice a year, and only every second year for Christmas.
• Pictures with Santa!!!

There are so reasons, I could list.

On Sunday, my work is hosting our anual holiday party. This year we are inviting all our staff's families. We will have our special guest, Santa, there. I will post pictures as soon as we get back.

Happy Birthday Alastair!!!

Monday was Alastair's first birthday. We had a small gathering of family on Sunday to celebrate. Although it was Alastair's party, Robert kept referring to it as "my party". We could not convince him that it was not his party, but his brothers. Alastair demolished his little cake in true One Year Old Fashion. Alastair got a cool keyboard (which we now hear ALL the time), and Robert got a new guitar. Mommy broke his last guitar and he has been asking for a new one ever since. So both boys got what they wanted and the party was fun. I have included some pictures of this wonderful event for you.

After cake, bath, and presents- Bob cooked dinner for our clan. We then took a bunch of family pictures for two reasons. One- Yes, I do have a new camera that I am still learning. Two- I realized that we do not have any recent family pictures. We do not have any pictures at all of Ursula, Jason and Kelsie. And we do not have any pictures of mom becuase she makes like a ghost and disappears when a camera comes out. So I forced everyone to a painful evening of photos, which I hope you all enjoy.

It's Finally Fall!!

Well Fall is finally here. We got to put our clocks back and get an extra hour of sleep, although the boys did not seem to realize that. Bob was sweet enough to buy me a new camera as an early Christmas present, so as you can tell I have been taking a lot of new pictures. I bought a computer program for photo editing, so I am hoping to fancy up our pictures too.

We took the boys to the park for a picnic last weekend. Robert and Bob went for a walk in the "woods" while Robert and I ate snacks. We also spent quite a bit of time on the playard and swings.

Bob decided to try using my camera the other day (as I usally take most of our pictures), and took a bunch of pictures of the boys. I have put some of them up for you to see. We hope you enjoy.

Today, the boys and I are going downtown to do a fundraiser walk for Children's Miracle Network. It is a 2.5 mile walk downtown to raise money for our local children's hospital. We do it every year. Last year, we were scheduled to go, but I went into labor. Yes, this is my baby's 1st birthday this weekend. We are going to do a small party tomorrow. Robert keeps telling me that the party is for him, :) of course.

So this season is full of things going on and fun to be had. Soon it will be time for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yeah!!!

Trick or Treat!!!

Happy Halloween Everyone,
I hope everyone had a great Halloween. This was a good year for us, as Robert is getting old enough now to really enjoy the season. We took the boys to a local landscaping company that was doing a Halloween Maze. Robert got to run around the maze and look at all the "cool" scary things. Of course his favorite was the skeleton leg bone that he used as a sword. This child will find a sword anywhere.

Then on Sunday night, Bob and Robert carved the two pumpkins. One for Daddy and one for Robert. I cannot believe the amount of patience that Bob has. Anyways, the pumpkins turned out amazing. Robert had a wonderful time doing the pumpkins with this dad. I am not sure how much fun Bob had. :(

We took both boys trick or treating. Alastair in the stroller as it was past bedtime. Robert really enjoyed himself this year. He got the "trick or treat" part down some of the time, and the rest of the time he just said "thank you" when someone opened the door. My favorite part was- as we would walk up the driveways to each house, Robert would be whispering "please, please, please" like a little chant. He was hoping that the homeowner would open the door. It was really cute. After about an hour, Robert got tired and told Bob that he wanted to go home. Bob carried him the rest of the way. Believe it or not, that child slept like a log.

So that is our Halloween experience this year. I have added a bunch of pictures of the Pumpkin Maze and the Pumpkin Carving and Trick or Treating. We hope you enjoy them.

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

Well Fall is here and thus the door closes on all the fun of summer but opens to so much more. Fall brings beautiful weather with warm afternoons and cool peaceful evenings. Lets not forget Halloween and Thanksgiving will soon be here as well. This is the time of year of delicious food and many family gatherings.

Today we took Robert and Alastair to the "Pumpkin Patch" to pick out their pumpkins and to take some seasonal pictures. It was a beautiful cloudless day, with a slight breeze. Who could ask for more! The boys had a good time raising havoc and choosing their "perfect" pumpkins. Robert was really excited that Daddy got a BIG pumpkin one too. We have to have one to carve of course, and as luck would have it, the boys picked out little bitty ones. So after about an hour we came home with 75 pictures, 3 pumpkins, and a loaf of pumpkin bread. I think we did pretty well.

We hope you enjoy the pictures from the pumpkin patch. We will soon be sharing our Halloween pictures and experiences.

Maya Angelou

I absolutely love this poem and wish this for all of you ladies.

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of
her own even if she never wants to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams
wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a youth she's content to leave behind....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in
her old age....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .....
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
one friend who always makes her laugh... and one who
lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone
else in her family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a
recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
a feeling of control over her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to fall in love without losing herself..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
HOW TO QUIT A JOB, BREAK UP WITH A LOVER,
AND CONFRONT A FRIEND WITHOUT RUINING THE FRIENDSHIP...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
when to try harder... and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that she can't change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that her childhood may not have been perfect...but its
over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
whom she can trust,
whom she can't,
and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
where to go...
be it to her best friend's kitchen table...
or a charming inn in the woods...
when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she can and can't accomplish in a day...
a month...and a year...

Maya Angelou

The End of Summer

Well summer is finally over. Work is starting to settle down now that the major tourist season is over. I am finally getting home on time each night to have dinner with the family. Bob has dinner ready at 5:30 each night. How spoiled am I?

The boys are doing well. Robert has more energy than I know what to do with. He is learning so much every day. Alastair is starting to walk and is learning as much as he can from his brother. At this point, I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. :) We are starting to look at our plans for Christmas and set out some dates for going to Arizona for the holidays.

So all is great in the Foley world as our boys continue to grow and learn.