My dad is crazy...

So while my sister and I are inside the house the day before Christmas Eve, wrapping presents, we hear her kids outside shouting and giggling. I peak outside to see what's so funny, and here's what I see...

There's a kid wrapped up in that parachute. A 3 1/2 year old kid. Sophia.

She's most definitely still in there...

And then over the head - still a kid in that parachute!

Here's a live action shot of Sophia in the parachute...

And now Emma gets a turn!

Sorry this last one is sideways - I went to take a vertical picture, and forgot I had left it on the movie feature. But it turns out to be worth it, because in this shot he is actually swinging BOTH girls around in the parachute at the same time...

Newest Creveling addition!

First off, let me clarify - he is not mine!

He's 2 1/2 months old, about 12 pounds, and has yet to be named!

Yesterday, my parents called me at work and told me that they were at the mall and they had 4 Weimaraner puppies at the pet store! They have one already, and we're all just suckers for Weims. I told my mom I would just have to drive by after work and play with them to get my puppy fix.

Well about 20 minutes later, my dad called back and wanted to know if I would be at work for much longer because they wanted to come by and introduce me to someone. Oh boy...my boss is listening in on this conversation and as I slowly (and loudly) realize that they bought one of the puppies, she's waving at me like "HAVE THEM COME IN HERE...BRING THE PUPPY HERE!" We're a dog-crazy office for sure!

So they arrived and he was freaking adorable, of course, and it took 30 minutes to get around all areas of the office with all of the women swooning. And I think I really scared Justin when I walked around to his cubicle with a puppy in my arms!

They haven't named him yet, but it's only been about 24 hours, so cut them some slack!! I will definitely keep the blogging world (those of you who read this) up to date on the little man!!

Walk down memory lane...

Each time I go back to Texas for a visit, I always want to go back and visit my alma mater, the University of North Texas. I know it's probably changed over the years, and it's been at least 3 years since I last stepped on campus, so this year I really pressed the idea of going to visit.

Fortunately for me, my sister also graduated from there, and on the 23rd her husband had to work and my mom and dad were driving into Plano to visit friends. So...I was able to convince my sister to go to campus with me (more like take me, since I didn't have a car) and that if we brought her kiddos along, I would help watch them.

It was exactly what I thought it would be! Every single park bench, building, bike path or "mushroom" we walked past brought back a very specific memory for me, and I couldn't help but open my mouth and say something starting with "there was this one time..." It really made me want to re-enroll and go back to graduate school! I wanted to go back into each classroom, and feel the feeling of listening to a lecture and taking notes...is that weird? If only I lived there!

Here are some shots from my trip down memory lane!!

The very first dorm I stayed in Freshman year! It was an all-girl dorm then!

And oh...Willis Library...I can't even begin to calculate the countless hours I spent in the basement of that building doing research and typing up papers! (And the occasional movie on my laptop to get out of my dorm room!)

This little brick thing wasn't here when I went to school, but I think it's a nice touch. I even got Sophia and Emma to get in the shot with me!

The gigantic tree in the middle of the student union building I used to work in - seriously, some of those ornaments were as big as my head!

Great shot of our Administration building...look familiar? You may have seen it in a little film called Necessary Roughness...it was filmed on location at North Texas! So everytime you see the admin building, football field - all the outdoor shots - that's North Texas!!

A nice eagle statue outside the Admin building, with my sister and her 3 little kiddos!

I just included this building because I used to have a Spanish language lab every Friday morning at 8 am in this building, and I HATED it because it was a good 15-20 minute walk from my apartment and Thursday night was College Night at all the bars in town! Guess how many times I made it to that lab. Fortunately, most of the classroom sessions were cancelled because we had to go into some kind of computer lab, but still. At least I passed!!!

It was great to go back, and I ultimately realized that I missed it and I wished I had really relished in it while I was there. I can never repeat those 4 years!

My very first "official" White Christmas!

It's definitely been a while since I've posted and Christmas has come and gone! I was able to spend Christmas in Texas with my family, and believe it or not...

We had a White Christmas!!!!!

It started raining pretty heavy in the early afternoon on Christmas Eve, and pretty soon, I was sure I saw snowflakes. No one believed me.

Until - it started picking up and sticking to the ground! And it got to the point where it was freezing on roads and they had to shut a few down!
So enjoy some highlights from my trip, and I hope you had a very Merry Christmas yourself!!

It wasn't much, compared to snows I've seen in Colorado Springs, but this was the most I had ever seen in the Dallas area where I grew up, and to top it all off, it was actually snowing ON

Christmas Eve!

This is in my sister's backyard in Aubrey, TX...

This is at my sister-in-law's childhood home in Plano, TX...

Christmas morning at my brother's apartment!!

Christmas morning - my brother showing his daughter Allie some of the gifts from "Santa"...
Allie with the snowman she built (with her Uncle Tim's help) in their backyard on Christmas Day...
An up close shot of the snowman - I just couldn't get over the cowboy hat!
My dad learning about a make-it-yourself Crayon maker Allie had gotten.
And Allie with Kat (her mommy/my sister-in-law) and my mom after completing a puzzle Allie got for Christmas...

And I'll leave this parting shot - my brother, in Target, the day after Christmas, pretending to be a cheerleader. Don't ask - it was hilarious!!

Catch-Up

Ok, so I didn't post last night like I said I would but I'm posting now! Here's a quick photo catch-up of what I've been up to the last week...not much, but some fun things!

Last Sunday, Justin and I decided to make our own guacamole! I was a little afraid, because making it from scratch made me worried that we wouldn't do it right and we'd get sick. Well, we must have done it right because we're both still here!!

Here's Justin cutting open the avacados...I didn't want to because you have to get semi-squishy ones for the perfect guac, and the squishiness grossed me out!

Then he had to gut them and mush them all together - like I said, gross!

While we were making it, it appeared that a snow storm was rolling in. This was as bad as it got - not one snowflake fell!

Don't worry - I did help! I cut up all the ingredients to put in. We had onions, cilantro, tomatoes, and lemon and lime juice.

Then when I wasn't in the kitchen, I was busy making this (just the cross-stitched part in the middle) for a co-worker to give as my final Secret Santa gift. Came out well!

I also stitched some more things for family Christmas gifts, but in case any of my family members still read this, I don't want to spoil the surprise before they get the gifts, so I'll post pictures of those later this week!

And as a parting shot, here's one of my favorites of Bailey - he dreams when he sleeps! Pay special attention to his mouth; I think he's barking in his dream, and it's the cutest thing!!!

It is Christmas yet?

It's my favorite time of year - and its actually the time leading up to Christmas more than the day itself sometimes! This year I can't wait to finally get to Texas! The anticipation is killing me!


A while back, I told them I couldn't make it because I couldn't get a ticket. Then they rallied together and chipped in for a ticket for me (read original post here)!!! It was an amazing feeling to know that they wanted me to be back there for Christmas that much!

In the meantime, I'm waiting for Justin's parents to visit because they wanted to give me my presents before I left. And then tonight, I'm going with my parents to the movie theater at the Broadmoor to see White Christmas! (And I think I've even convinced Justin to go!)

I promise one more update today as to what I've been up to recently - it would appear that I don't blog very often if it isn't National Blog Posting month! And there will be pictures!

A Saturday Night Live Christmas!

BEST......SNL......CHRISTMAS SKIT.......EVER!!!

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/snl-sweaty-balls/3125655456

*Warning - not visually graphic, but you may not want kids in the room.