Thanksgiving 2010

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!  It was filled with family, food, and fun!!!!   Curt and I have spent the week cleaning out the house...getting rid of old toys, cleaning out drawers, putting up Christmas decor inside and outside, and every present is wrapped and ready!  Can ya believe it?!  We received a free beautiful piano from one of my mom's sorority sisters who was giving it away.  We know we want Brooklyn to eventually take lessons so we were thrilled to receive it!  Thank you Lynette! 
Thanksgiving day my mom joined us at the Alford house for a wonderful feast.  We brought the grandkids who proved to be pure entertainment for the whole family.  We missed my dad because he had to work on Thanksgiving and my sister who went to Kentucky to meet her boyfriend's family.  It was weird without the both of them but I am so blessed to have great inlaws who love my family and always invite my family to join them!  After lunch, Aunt Crystal bought a gingerbread house the Brooklyn built with her!  Brooklyn loved it!  Colson was busy playing in the sand box outside and going to the potty at Memaw and Pop's!  Yep, you heard it....we are potty training...oh wow....it has been a chore with Colson!  He is definitely showing his boy colors with the whole potty training thing!  We are getting it but still having accidents...I just really hope his school will encourage him to go on the potty and not be quick to put on a pull up.  He is very motivated by his Mickey Mouse Pez dispenser and has even started telling us when he needs to go.  He has slept during his nap time with regular underwear on Tues - Friday and has woken up dry each day!  We have good days and ok days but it will get better!  GO COLSON!!!!!!! 

Our new beautiful piano!

B was so excited to put up the Christmas tree!

Pop and Memaw give the kids an ornament every year...B's was a ballerina!

They loved putting the ornaments on the tree....all bunched up in one place!

Colson LOVED helping!

Colson got an ornament that was the cutest Christmas dogs ever!!!

He even found the perfect place for it!  (notice the big boy underwear!)

I Love this pic!

Every year they help daddy with the tree topper!

Outdoor decor in 83 degree weather!

Brooklyn loved helping with the cutting, taping, and labeling the tags this year!

My #1 helper!

Thanksgiving day!

Her feast...she had to be forced to eat!

Colson loved his turkey!!!!

THANK YOU AUNT CRYSTAL!

She is SO crafty and loves this kind of thing...she can do it for hours!

Trip to Washington D.C.

At the beginning of November, I took a trip with Laurie and her 18 month old son, Marshall, to Washington D.C. to visit our college roomie Meagan who lives there now.  Meagan's husband was transferred to the DC office in May and Meagan and her daughter moved up there in June to be with him.  They live about 1 hour away from the city in Warrenton, Virginia.  It is a beautiful little town with one of everything you need but about a 30 mile drive from nice conveniences in Fairfax.  Marshall was great on the plane and we had a great visit.  We got there late Thursday night and Friday got up to drive into town to go to lunch and go to the National Zoo....it was a very nice FREE zoo that had a lot of indoor exhibits because of how cold it gets there most of the year.  Saturday we went to town again and went to the American History Museum which was FABULOUS!  Definitely a place I can't wait to go to with Curt...he will love it!  We took the kids with us and then Brian met us and drove both kids home so we could have girl time!  We went and did touristy things like look at the monuments around town and enjoyed a kid free dinner at Ebbits....it was so YUMMY!  Sunday we went to Fairfax and went shopping for Tatum's birthday since we won't be there to celebrate with her!  We all got her dress up clothes...she was not fond of them...eventually she won't want to wear the real clothes!  We also went maternity shopping for Laurie and Meagan!  Laurie is having a little girl in March and Meagan will soon find out what she is having (hoping for a boy)!  We were sad to leave on Monday, but I did miss my babies and were so excited to see them when I got home!  Thank you Meagan for a wonderful time!!!!!!  LOVE YOU AND CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO MOVE HOME!

The National Zoo 

Marshall, Laurie and me eating lunch in DC 

Beautiful Panda at the zoo

A cold day at the zoo!  Loved the fall leaves!

My dad used to talk like Julia Child so I took a picture of her kitchen!

Dorothy's red slippers

World War II memorial

She may live up north now but she is always a Texan!

Beautiful Washington Memorial

Lincoln Memorial is massive

It was breathtaking to be there in person!

The Korean Memorial was very moving.

Vietnam War Memorial

The White House...Brian works for the secret service but no special privileges here!

She was so mad at us for putting on her princess clothes!

Marshall loved to dress up!

With Love From Brooklyn

Anyone who knows Brooklyn, knows that she is quite a crafty girl and really enjoys drawing, coloring, cutting, glueing, and being creative in any way!  I went to open the refrigerator and she had a surprise for me there....Made me cry!  Just love it!!!!

She tried to spell my name by herself!  Wrote mom by herself...she said I needed a dress with no sleeves and she wrote a number 1 because I am her number 1 momma!  Love her!

Halloween Night 2010...I know it is a late posting!

I know I am very late on this posting...but I have been out of town, had sick kids, and so much craziness at school....HALLOWEEN night was a night of fun for one of our kiddos!  Colson got a fever after church on the day to trick or treat!  He was so sad he didn't get to go to the Kuhn's house with us and trick or treat with them but he went to a few homes right around here.  We had to get him well and make sure nothing went to his chest!  Kiki came over to see the kids before they trick or treated and Brooklyn had a blast and ate candy the entire time she trick or treated.