Nutcracker 2013

We continued our tradition of going to the Nutcracker with all of the Reed girls that are in town.  This year Atley was old enough to go!

 We didn't get our good seats, as I didn't buy them soon enough to get front row seats together.  It was still fun to watch.

 The Peterson girls. . .  (and Violet) - she's not camera shy)

 We managed to get one picture all together.

 Sweet Leah . .

 I was a little worried about getting there on time, since Lindsey had a change of plans and went to New York instead of coming, so I needed to bring Violet.  I gave myself plenty of time, since navigation is not my forte.  I didn't need to budget the extra time, as I had a navigator in the back seat yelling, "Turn around, you're going the WRONG WAY."  She directed me to downtown Houston without incident!  Whew!

I LOVE the Nutcracker!  We missed Carrie and Caroline, Ashley and baby girl, Poodle, and Ashley!  Maybe one of these years we can get everyone together.

Pizza, anyone?

This weekend for Sunday dinner DTB decided it was time to try out his new (father's day 1 1/2 yr ago) pizza stone for the grill while the kids were out of town (you're welcome!)  We're adventuresome like that!   I went to the store and bought everything we needed.  DTB made sure I purchased a new box of cornstarch, as he stated the instructions for the pizza stone were to slather it with cornstarch so the pizza wouldn't stick.

The pizza turned out with a nice, crunchy crust, but a funny aftertaste.

conversation at the dinner table:
Me: (as I'm wiping cornstarch from the bottom of my crust)   "Are you sure about this "cornstarch" thing?   This just doesn't seem right."
DTB:  "Well, I think I remembered it right, it was corn-something."
Me:  "Could it have been cornmeal?"
DTB:  "Oh, Yeah!  That's what it was!"
Me:  "Great!  That explains a lot."

This calls for a do-over.

Thanksgiving Fun

Thanksgiving was awesome this year!  While most of our family partied at Carrie's house, we had fun with my niece Emily and her sweet family.  Lucky for us (and Abby,) the Harpers stayed in Houston.  The Hamiltons arrived Wednesday evening and Abby and Violet became instant BFF's.  We had a great time introducing them to Houston - Shipley's donuts, kolaches, and many of the landmark sites around Houston.

The first event was Thanksgiving dinner and the "pie wars" - initiated by Bethy.  At first Emily was a little taken back by our competitive spirit, but quickly dove into the fun - making, decorating, and photographing our pies.  I will admit, Bex is a better baker, but we gave her some stiff competition!

 The next day we were pretty stuffed, after eating all that pie.  Since Shady had coupons for the Children's museum, and it was a little cold for Brazos Bend, we decided to give it a try.  The girls LOVED it!

They tried the construction zone . . .

physics challenge . . .

 crafts . . .

 and a special visit from Santa!  Kate charmed old Santa with her bubbly, chatty
personality.

 The maze was a little claustrophobic, and I ended up having to crawl through to"rescue" someone .

 Anatomy and physiology . . .

 and shopping at the HEB!

 This was my favorite station!  Doesn't she look official?

 They actually acted like they knew what they were doing, without any prompting!

Future physicians?  (let's hope not)

You'd think they'd be tired after all of that excitement.

Of course not!  We headed to Chic-Fil-A for refueling, where the girls decided they wanted to go to Herman Park to ride the train.

You just can't leave Houston without riding the Herman Park train.

 Even Charlie had fun!  He was a trooper!  (especially when he was with Papa)