Sunday, September 27, 2009

Go Eagles! Prosper Homecoming 2009

My baby brother, who is growing up much too much quickly, had his first high school homecoming experience! Homecoming is a much bigger deal in Prosper than Plano... So Trev was delighted when he, along with all the other Prosper school kiddos, got out of school at noon on Friday so he could attend, along with the rest of the town of Prosper, the homecoming parade... Later that night, everyone-- and I do mean everyone, turned out to watch the Prosper Eagles slaughter the Decatur Eagles 49-10.
Trevor at the parade with friends

Trevor took Hillary to the homecoming dance, and this is the garter she made for him. He was so cute with it on!


This is the mum we made for Hillary... Momma and I had a lot of fun working on it! It is so great to create things! :)

Everything below is thanks to these two people... Brother Fisher and Sister Ophar made sure all the priests and laurels went to homecoming and were able to do so in an environment where there was no pressure to have a date or drink or have any of the other dumb pressures that accompany high school dances. These two are amazing!

This was the dinner mom and I made and served to the kiddos... It started off with a spinach artichoke dip, then progressed to a mixed berry and candied walnut salad. For the main entree, we served chicken cordon bleu with garlic mashed potatoes, French-style green beans, III Forks creamed corn, and Lion House rolls. For dessert, we served a blueberry mini tart. Everything was beautiful and very delicious :)

Here are the boys...

And the group... They all look so good!

Trevor and Hillary

The group with the hummer Sister Ophar and her husband were awesome enough to provide to the kids with their 'magic carriage' for homecoming. They loved it!

Go Eagles!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

The Bigger the Better...

Just to give you a taste of what we do to our highschoolers here in Texas around homecoming, I submit to you a picture. The second girl from the last on the right is Kelly, Trevor's homecoming date who goes to Plano West. My mom and I made the huge mum she's wearing, and it fits in perfectly with the other mums. In fact, I would say its superior to the other mums!


Yes, this is what we do to our girls in Texas... Its one of the many wonderful signs of fall :)

Blessed

So, I was "blessed" with really weak teeth... Luckily, I was really blessed with an uncle who is an amazing dentist, and a family who has the means to get my teeth in 'working order'.

After a hellacious experience with a dentist from our ward in Plano, my parents decided to fly me up to Arizona to get my teeth mission-ready with my uncle's help. When he told me another apicoectomy would not be necessary and my other tooth would not have to be pulled, I just about cried because I was overwhelmed with joy. Dr. James Hamberlin with Red Mountain Endodontics redid the two root canals on the right side of my mouth. Uncle Scott did the rest. The total was just under $3000-- a lot of money, yes, but THOUSANDS less than what the dentist in Plano was saying things would cost.

Because I had such a miserable experience with the left side of my mouth (barbiturates, throwing up, crying while hoping to die on the cool tile floor by the toilet, sinus fluid draining through the hole in my gums, not remembering a full week of my life, etc.) I packed mostly pajamas, planning on being out of commission for the entirety of the week I would spend in Arizona... But I was wrong, which was a definite blessing- because we did a lot of great things that week!

I spent the first half of the week at TickTock's house. It is here I discovered her AMAZING Broccoli Salad and red chicken. She's quite the chef! I also watched the Martha Stewart Show and learned how to bake croissants... Who knew it was such a lengthy and involved process!?

Grandma, Beau, and I went to Applebee's for dinner on Friday where we took advantage of their 2 entrees with an appetizer for $20. What an awesome deal! This picture was taken after we ate!

The second half of the week, I spent with PapaBama, and we wrapped and finished up what little preparations we had left to get her all ready for Christmas! On the 16th was Grandpa's 1 year anniversary of moving on to his immortal state, so we went to Mesa Cemetery where we met up with Kim & Eric, Tyler & Kristen, their kids, Blake, Wes, and Mack & Lisa. We placed roses at his grave site and sang "Families Can Be Together Forever". We also visited the graves of Clinton, Clayton, Hannah, Charlene, and Alan Mark where we left roses as well. I feel so blessed to know of the plan of Salvation, I feel so blessed to understand the eternal nature of families, and I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family that I will always be with.

Here we are at IHOP- After discovering this awesome restaurant in Dallas, they were eager to take me to the one in Mesa!

We had a lot of fun, and at last, my dental evaluation is filled out and sent into Salt Lake!

It shouldn't be much longer 'till I know where the Lord wants me to go for the next year and a half! I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to serve a mission... Truly blessed :)

Monday, September 7, 2009

One year older and wiser too...

My mother had a landmark birthday this last weekend, she turned 29! It was a wonderful weekend... It all began Thursday when our dear family friends, Richard and Jessie flew down for the weekend to cheer on the mighty BYU cougars. We welcomed them to Dallas by treating them to some yummy Mexican food at Chuy's. Friday morning, David and his wife Cara drove down from Oklahoma to cheer on their OU Sooners. We had some delicious Texas BBQ from Rudy's for lunch! Saturday morning, we had a big breakfast to prepare everyone for the day of hardcore cheering they had in store-- it was during this meal I discovered one of my new favorite recipes: Maple Pecan Bacon... Thanks Southern Living! While the bacon (and just about everything else) was a success, the peachy rice pudding wasn't quite hacking it. I've tried making rice pudding twice, and I've failed twice. Lame.

Richard, Daddy, and David have been friends for 30+ (ish) years. How great is that?!

This is a better shot-- one that shows better how the weekend was. It was filled with jokes and reminiscences, we all had a lot of fun!

Sunday, everyone left. and that's when we had cake and presents to mark mom's 29th (ish) year on this planet!
"Happy Birthday to you..."

There were presents... Lots of great presents! The following pictures sum up the night!


(oh, and that's a laugh... not a sneeze.)

Happy Birthday Momma! Thanks for all you do- you are truly an example of truth and righteousness, and I am really glad you are my mom!