What has been going on

Ugh, I know, I have gotten really bad at this recently.  We have been busy - and not busy at the same time.  We had Thanksgiving, and Blake's 30th Birthday, and Christmas, and New Years, and all the parties which go along with all of those events.  So here is the brief overview of all of those items:

Thanksgiving:

 - We again had everyone over to our house for the holidays.  I really think this is the best way to go - invite everyone to your house and call it a potluck holiday so everyone brings the sides...  We prepared the Turkey (well Blake did that - one fried and one smoked), and I made the rolls - Rhodes defrosted all the way.  Other than that all I had to do was clean the house, which let's face it I would have done anyways.  Everyone else brought all the additional Thanksgiving items to eat.  Our new table which I refinished (twice) this summer, easily sat all 10 of us.

Travis was the official Welcomer and Door Holder.

My lovely table set for 10

Travis loving on Pops

Jake loving on Grandad

Blake's 30th Birthday:

 - I planned a surprise party for Blake's 30th - which amazingly, actually surprised him (or so he claims).  Mimi and Pops picked up the kiddos for a slumber party around 4, and Blake and I got ready to go to "dinner with another couple".  We headed over to their house at 6, and then they drove us on from there.  We went to Chinatown, and surprise - Blake's closest friends from High School were there to join in dinner with us, along with our families.  It was a wonderful dinner, and the company couldn't have been better.  After dinner we had another surprise, and went bowling - I think this is the first time we have been bowling together (aside from the Wii), since College - so that was fun.

Christmas:

- As in years past, we had 3 Christmases all on Christmas day.  The boys actually slept til the respectable and normal hour of 7:30, so we did Christmas morning at our house at about 8am.  By 10, we had driven to Driftwood to do Christmas at Mom and Dad's, and by 4 we were in Westlake to do Christmas with Blake's parents.  It was a long, exhausting, but fun day.

Not from Christmas but from one of the Christmasy things that we went to do.

Also not from Christmas

Boys Decorating the tree at beginning of December

New Years:

- My parents requested that the boys spend the night at their house for New Years, thus giving us a date night!!  So, we went to the Movie House Eatery, and watched the last Hobbit Movie.  This place is awesome - not only do they serve wine (YAY), but the seats are full blown recliners - so comfy.  Pretty sure we will only go there for movies from now on.  The entire evening was pretty laid back, and although we didn't watch the ball-drop ceremonies for the first time, I think we were still awake at midnight.  And we got to sleep-in in the morning thanks to the lack of little people waking us up!  On actual New Years day, we went back to my parents and joined some extended family in a New Years day Lunch and football watching party.

So, that is about it - all that has been missed summed up for ya.