Trixie's Travels...

Welcome...

to my room.  One of my children, I won't tell you who, went after Christmas shopping with Hot Rocks and came back with **THREE** doormats.  Not one, not two, but THREE!! Even on clearance I wouldn't have bought that many.  I assumed that they were all for me when the child pulled them out to show me.  

All I can say is I was wrong, they weren't all for me, one was for this particular child.  This is how I was informed of which ones belonged to who:

"Mom, I bet you thought these were all for you. But they aren't.  Two are and one is for my room."

In my mind, I am thinking "What is this child talking about?" so I asked "Where are you going to put it?"

The child's reply, "In front of my door so that I can keep my boots there and wipe my feet before I go into my room."

All I could say at this point was "O.K.".  I think because I was just a little stunned at the whole concept of needing a doormat at their bedroom door.

Needless to say, the child has kept their word and keeps their boots there.

At least "the child" is keeping the carpet in their room clean!  I tell ya - SHE'S A SMART ONE!!!

 

 

Firing Range

This is the kid's homemade firing range.  They all received BB guns for Christmas and since Hot Rocks was an expert marksman, when he was first enlisted in the Army, it just seems normal.  Hot Rocks teaches them all about gun safety and how to properly aim.  That is not my area of expertise as I failed my gun safety course TWICE as a kid.  

I can't believe they are using one of my home-grown pumpkins as a target. Don't they know all the sweat and tears that went into that?  Of course they do, it was all of their sweat and tears as I reminded them to water the garden during the summer!

In between rain, you will find them out back shooting away at the cans and the pumpkin.  There is also part of a trumpet squash hanging from one of the limbs but that didn't make it in the picture.

If I would let them they would have the big hanging targets out back too but I think that is a bit much....

It's her.

Mem.  Enough said.  She runs to her own rhythm, no doubt about it.  When she wants to do something, it only comes at one time...."NOW!"....wait is not in her vocabulary no matter how many times you remind her that the word really does exist in the dictionary.  

She LOVES this hat, she got it for Christmas and it has barely left her head.  She wore it to church, she brushed her teeth in it, she didn't even take it off to put on her PJ's.  

When she opened up the gift, her eyes lit up.  She took it out of the box and out of it's plastic packaging and brought it up to the front of her face and declared in a matter of fact tone..."OH MY GOODNESS!!!  This is so ADORABLE!" and then plunked in on her head.

I don't know why it caught me off guard.  It just did and I giggled as I played over in my head what she had just said.  She was completely sincere.  Auntie and Uncle scored high points.  She knew who it came from.  

She just makes me laugh and she always keeps me guessing as to what the heck she will be doing next!

 

Mem's Pledge

 

Every time she sees a flag flying this is what Mem has to say.

Enjoy!

 

The coolest thing......

at Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley is located right when you walked in....

 

The girls had to wait until everyone completely disappeared to do the above... which is "not allowed" hee hee

 

 

because all of a sudden a wave of kids would come flying up to hit and just destroy what they were doing....

 

 

they would get so frustrated ....

 

  

but they just kept trying to complete the task!

 

That would be so cool to hang on their wall or something!  How do I get one of these? 
 

Growing Up

You realize that the childhood years are so fleeting when you see your oldest daughter dramatically change into a young lady in a matter of minutes.  This was the case for me when she had decided to get her hair cut and donate all of her golden locks to Locks of Love.

I came prepared with camera in hand because she wasn't going to wait for Hot Rocks to get back home from the military to do it.  I think it would of killed him anyways.  

Look at all of that hair....

 

 

all those years of growing, brushing, getting it trimmed...

 

 

and then the measuring....was she going to freak when it was all chopped off???

 

 

No, our daughter was more then prepared.  "It was time.", she said.

 

hopefully someone will be really blessed with that thick lock of hair....

 

  

and then a little twirl of the chair and I looked at this...

 

 

a beautiful young lady who has the smile of an angel.

I still can't believe that it went from this:

 

 

to this:

 

 

It just happened to fast!

No Wind...No Problem!

Do you ever have one of those moments where you have to do a double take?

They come frequently with Mem to be honest!  Take a look at what we saw when Hot Rocks and I drove up to the house...

What can I say?  Creativity abounds!

     

A Kid that Coupons

We have a son that likes to spend money, ok, let me correct that, he likes to shop.  

Does he look like a shopper to you?

 

Not a shopper with those beedy red eyes - I tried to change them in photoshop but that didn't work very well.  

You see, he went to Las Vegas with his grandparents to see a Nascar race and in his down time, he bought gifts for everyone in the family.  He is that way. He came home penniless but a modern-day Santa.

Today he spent a good hour going through the ads, one in particular, CVS.  He mulled over that ad to see what we needed and matched up big money coupons to the things that were on sale.  

He is a natural.  He had two "money makers" out of all that was purchased. This was what he told me that I needed to purchase.

 

We spent a total of $35.00, saved $32.00 and came home with $13.00 in ExtraCare bucks.  Basically, in the overall picture, we got all of the above for $23.00.  A couple of big ticket items, like the razors were only $2 and the toothbrush was a money maker & so was the Pantene shampoo & conditioner.  

We have been so busy lately that couponing has been put on the back burner for me but he couldn't wait any longer. 

And just because I need to be fair, here are recent pictures of the girls.  My, how fast they are growing up!

 

  

 

The Girls Christmas Tradition

A number of years ago, Hot Rock's sister took Sis, Hot Rock's Mom and his Grandmother to San Francisco to see the Nutcracker for Christmas.  I was pregnant and uncomfortable at the time, so I opted not to go....since that time though Sis and I have tried to make it each year.  We haven't always been able to go, but this was Sis' 5th year of going ~ so thus, for me, it is tradition.  

It was also Mem's first year of being able to attend.  I wanted to make sure that she would be able to sit through the whole performance AND try to not talk through the whole thing either.  

We found their outfits for Christmas time...Mem was short, sweet and to the point ~ Sis on the other hand was another story BUT look at how pretty our girls are.....

 

 

We headed to our traditional restaurant that goes with our night out for the Nutcracker - none other than The Cheesecake Factory.

We walked in and Mem didn't even need a menu, she immediately said "Macaroni & Cheese".  I laughed as she ate a whole loaf of the yummy brown bread that they serve before your meal.  You would think that she hadn't eaten in a few days!

 

 

It was great, we got to the restaurant before "dinner" time so the place wasn't packed and we didn't have to wait in line.  

 

We had fun goofing around while we waited for our food....

 

 

 

Then it was time to hit the road Jack and head on over to the War Memorial Building for the performance.  

It happened to be Opening Night and Family Night, so a few of the cast members were out in the lobby to take pictures with the kids before this evenings performance.  

 

They serve juice and cookies at intermission also, for the Family Night performances.  

 

 

It was so sweet to see all the young children dressed to the hilt in their pretty little dresses or suits.  

I am thankful that Sis and I were able to go this year and that Sis didn't mind opening up the opportunity to her younger sibling. She is turning into a lovely young lady....

 

  

Our girls made the evening special for me ~ it was nice to share something so special with them!

May you enjoy your Christmas season as much as we are!

Morning

I woke up early but hadn't wandered outside yet when Pook came flying in to find me and tell me that I had to come outside "RIGHT NOW! MOM, YOU NEED TO COME OUT RIGHT NOW!"  

When something like that happens, I automatically think that one of the chickens has died or something to that effect.  

It wasn't the case this morning, he just wanted to show me how gorgeous the sky was because he knew how much I love that kinda stuff. 

Ahh, gorgeous.....

 

                         .................by God.

I love sharing these moments with my kids.