Christmas Pictures 2008

Christmas Eve at Paul's Parent's House

Christmas Eve at home... the girls got new Christmas Pajamas


Ally reading "The First Christmas" to us.


Christmas Morning!

Pretty Girls

Clayton Christmas Parade - 12/13/08

Last weekend Angie danced in the Clayton Christmas Parade with her dance school. The procession was the entire length of main street, which proved to be too much of a trek for little Angie. Paul, Ally, Auntie Jordan and I were stationed with our video camera near the end of the parade so we could pick her up when she was done, but by the time she reached us she'd already given up on the parade march and had been mercifully transferred to the float where she could ride and rest her feet. Digressing to that morning, Angie had a run-in with Murphy's Law: she slipped down the last couple steps of the stairwell and cut her foot on the bottom railing post. So... marching in the long parade was difficult and painful for her. She was a trooper for most of it, but since we were near the end we didn't actually get to see her dancing as she had thrown in the hat by that point. These are some cute pics from just before the parade started.

Fun at the Grandparents House

A few weeks ago the girls and Jenn joined Michelle, Jo, and Amy for a visit to the grandparent's "ranch." Ally and Angie had a great time playing outside, as they always do.

There is a naturally growing bamboo forest near the back of the property, which the girls found to be a fantastic playground!

Aunty Jo-Jo was their tour guide. Thanks Jo!

My parents adopted 3 wild Mustangs last summer... as you can see, they are not exactly wild anymore. Though they still have a long way to go in the training process, they are quite friendly and enjoy their human companions. Sadie, the one shown below, should have been a lap dog instead of a horse. She absolutely LOVES cuddles whenever she can get them!

All these great pics are compliments of Jordan and her camera. Thank you!!

Angie & Mira - Nov '08

I snagged these pics from Mira's blog page.

I couldn't resist!

Visit with Santa

The girls got to chat with Santa last week to tell him about their wishlists.

Halloween Pictures

Here's some halloween pics... finally!

Angie and cousin Mira

Angie and Pa Strickland (trying on the pumpkin head)

Halloween 2008

Ok, sorry this has taken so long to get this updated. We have some great pictures of the girls in their halloween costumes, but I have yet to get them off the camera and onto the computer. The main reason is because all the really good pictures were taken by Paul's mom and she still has the memory card. =)

Until I get some pics, I'll do my best to describe the costumes. Angie dressed up as Hannah Montana, with a flashy outfit, boots, a blonde wig, and a little microphone to carry. She looked great! At times she grew tired of the wig and wanted to be plain old Miley Cyrus, but we couldn't stand to let her lose the awesome blonde locks. She was quite sassy, and even did some singing for us. Ally decided pretty early on that she wanted to dress as the Headless Horseman. However, rather than going headless she opted to wear a pumpkin on her head. So Paul and Ally worked hard for a week making a big pumpkin head from paper mache. For the rest of the outfit we cut up one of Paul's old shirts, which worked perfectly for a tatterd cloak. We borrowed some tall boots, threw in some black pants and a white dress shirt, and the look was complete. It turned out great, and Ally looked fantastic!

So, on Halloween night we were joined by Ma and Pa Strickland (Paul's parents), Aunty Jo-Jo, Aunty Michelle, Uncle Matt, and Little Mira (who was dressed in a lamb outfit - adorable!). For the first time in years, we were able to Trick-Or-Treat right in our own neighborhood. The days of apartment living and driving to other neighborhoods are, fortunately, in the past for us now! There was a pretty big crowd of kids and parents haunting the streets, and overall it was a very fun atmosphere. Ally and Angie took turns cruising along on the scooter, which helped relieve some of the tiredness. As expected, the girls returned home at the end of the night with a nice big healthy supply of candy. Even Mira, (with a little help) collected a fair amount of chocolate for her mommy.

So, that's it for now. Hopefully this weekend I'll get my hands on some pics! =)

Jon Reep

Saturday night, Jenn and I went to see Jon Reep (the "Hemi guy") at The Clayton Center. This guy had me in stitches all night long. He's a good ol' southern boy from Hickory, NC who made it big being..... Well Red, White & Blue (That's Red Neck, White Trash and Blue Collar). If Jon comes to your neck of the woods, you have to go see him. I promise, it's one of the best comedy acts you'll ever see.

2008 State Fair

This past Saturday, Paul & I took the girls to the fair. It was a chilly day with a steady breeze. We spent the day riding rides and eating then riding more rides and yeah, eating even more. We had a fun time. We highly recommend the deep-fried milky way!