1st Anniversary of 29

Just a few days ago, on December 25, John turned 30.

John doesn't seem to be too affected by this seemingly monumental occasion, which is good. You are as young as you feel and act, and judging by John's birthday plans and gifts (paintball with the guys, and PS3 & XBox games) I'd say he's definitely still in his teens! But seriously, John is a great Man, a great Husband, and a great Dad to the fur babies (and I'm sure he will be a great Dad to a real baby someday too). We had dinner tonight to celebrate at The Oasis with friends.

Happy Birthday Dear, I love you!

Is there a Meatball in there?

Friday was a busy day for us. After work (I had to work, John is off the rest of December) we got ready and went to the Downtown Round Rock Holiday festivities with Pinky, Val and her two boys. We had free hotdogs and walked around among the masses of people. We watched a little play, the boys got foam rockets, we saw the horse drawn carriages go by, and we stood by the fire for a bit. It was great fun for us. Then I changed clothes and we came to downtown Austin for my work Christmas party at the Blanton Art Museum . We got there really late, but we had fun mingling with the people that were still there. We stayed until it was over and walked out with a couple of my co-workers. We discovered an "Exhibit" of what looked very much like a bunch of hanging noodles!! We all ran through them and hung and swung on them and just had the best time! What fun... we might need one installed in our back yard!

John Rocks Before Christmas

Last week John got our Christmas decorations down from the attic and put out all the decorations that go inside the house. We were really hoping to get a black tree from Garden Ridge this year, but both stores in Austin are sold out (if you happen to find a 7 foot black tree at a Garden Ridge near you... please let us know!!). Anyway, John did a fabulous job putting everything out. We are going to the Paramount Theatre today to watch It's a Wonderful Life and really kick off the Christmas Season!!

John also Rocked yesterday by spending time with me doing a little Merry Christmas to Myself clothes shopping. It was fun - I found two pairs of shoes, and 5 new shirts (all on sale)! Woo Hoo!

Thanksgiving

We have successfully hosted our first large gathering at our new house! We had 19 people here total for Thanksgiving (plus the 2 dogs and 2 cats, and the rest of the zoo). We did not attempt to cook the turkey this time though... fortunately my Dad cooked one on his grill for us and it was wonderful!! John baked pumpkin and pecan pies and I made a apple/Snickers dish that is very easy, yet very tasty. Everyone brought other dishes and it was all fabulous!! We still have lots of leftovers in our fridge. It was very exciting for us to get to use our new big table. We were specially pleased to have John's family and my family all together. We hadn't all been together since our wedding three years ago! Here are some pics of the feast!