Christmas Party with Friends

On Friday night we had a White Elephant party at our house. We had about 20 adults come, it made a fun night.  The white elephant gifts were hilarious this year. By the end of the night my legs were killing me, I don't think I had sat down all day to get ready for the party. We had bread bowls, soup and salad.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to get the camera out and snap pictures of everyone, I didn't want to be annoying with a camera. But... it's kinda sad that I won't see a lot of these people again after we move.  Rich and I have not fallen in love with the state of New Mexico but we LOVE  the people here. It would have been a very long 27 months if we wouldn't have met such amazing people. 

Jenny and Kerry
They'll be here for another two years. They plan on going back to Alaska when he finishes his residency.  Jenny is the only one I could get to run a half marathon with me this year. I had a lot of fun running with her.

Theron, Lisa, Natalie and Antoinette.
Theron and Lisa will be here for good, they have a dental practice here. Such a fun couple to hang out with, Lisa is the most thoughtful and giving person I've ever met. She would do anything for anyone.
 Natalie is born and raised in New Mexico, she's crazy about green chili!
Antoinette is our neighbor, she's the BEST! She plans on leaving NM the end of next year sometime.

The Spragues
Marjorie has 6 kids, people like her are meant to have that many children. She's a really good mom, I really look up to her. 

Heidi - I have gotten to know Heidi better this year because I watch her daughter 3 times a week.
Shawn and Cami  are such great people. They'll be leaving NM when Shawn finishes his PHD.

Heather Hollbrook. We missed her husband that night, he had to work. They'll be moving soon when  Brad finishes his residency. Heather is the one who started  our recipe nights. We hold them once a month and rotate houses and themes. Something I look forward to every month. Heather always has great recipes. 

Rich and Katie.
I've posted about them before. I love Katie to pieces, and I think  my Rich has found his second half. Him and Rich are a lot alike. They text all the time in the middle of night.  I know that Rich is going to miss this guy a lot when we move. 

Dana and Shane
Dana is really sweet and super crafty, she can make and do anything. 

Shawn won Rich's white elephant gift. Lucky him! 

Rich won this brownie pan.
 His favorite dessert is brownies and the crust is his favorite.  This pan gives each piece a crust. Rich scored big time.
 I got a bottle of gross pig feet for my gift:(

Weston is 6

Weston turned 6 on Monday. We did a little family party this year. I can't believe how much this kid is growing.

A few tidbits about Weston...
1. He is very tender hearted and thoughtful.
2. He loves to brush my hair when we watch movies.
3. He's usually the first one to say thank you after I make a meal for everyone.
4. He wants to be strong like his dad. I often catch him doing push ups and bench pressing the barstools:)
5. He is really funny about making sure he has protein in the morning with his breakfast. We try to all have protein with are meals now to help with Brooklyn's blood sugars. If I ever forget to give him some kind of protein he will always remind me that he needs it.
5. When I ask him what he wants to be when he grows up, he wants to build houses and take care of sick of people.

First birthday cake I made with using buttercream frosting and a piping bag. Don't look too close, it's not perfect.  I went to a cake decorating class at the church and had so much fun with it.  My friend Antoinette printed out this edible picture to put on the cake, Weston thought it was pretty cool to eat his face:)

Table for 6

I finally started a food blog, Rich was noticing that I was posting more recipes on our family blog then the kids:)  So I thought I would separate the two. Who knows if anyone will ever read it...but it's been helpful to me to start organizing my recipes that I use a lot. I don't have a fancy camera or do I know how to take really beautiful pictures of my food, but if I post the recipe on my blog it's a recipe that we really enjoy. So you'll just have to trust me!

 http://teri-tablefor6.blogspot.com/

Thanksgiving Day

We had a nice Thanksgiving this year. We started off the morning with the kids doing the Turkey Trek run. They have been practicing on my tredmill for two weeks.  I love how when Weston runs he watches his shadow off to the side, he likes to see how fast he is going. I'm surprised he didn't run into anyone because he doesn't look ahead of himself. After the race, I finished making my part of the meal for Thanksgiving and we headed over to Lisa and Theron's for Thanksgiving. They always throw great parties. 

Antoinette invited the Elders to join us. She loves these boys. I think this must have been their 4th meal in the day, because all they ate was pie. 

Played some games on their xbox. Had a little dance off too:)

Lobos game

Went to a Lobos basketball game last month. Our friends Lisa and Theron invited us to sit with them in their box seats. They really do spoil us by inviting us to things like this. Thanks Lisa and Theron:)

Lisa and Theron
 He is the man that put braces on teeth and gave me straight teeth again! Lisa is one of my most favorite people here in New Mexico. She's been a really good friend to me.

Rich and Katie
It's always fun hanging out with these two.

Scating with Brooklyn

Me and Brooklyn went rollerscating with some of her soccer friends a few weeks ago. It's always nice to just focus on being with one of my kids for afternoon. We had a great time, I love being a mom to Brooklyn. She's a special little girl. 

New Mexico...The Land of Enchantment

What's kinda cool about Albuquerque is that when I walk my kids to school in the morning we always see hot air balloons. I have tried to find the beauty in living here, I struggle with the xeri-scaped yards with no grass, and all the dust in the air from living in a desert. But... I do have to say that I do think seeing hot air balloons this close to my house is very enchanting. I will miss seeing this in the mornings when we move in April. 

Halloween

Carving the pumpkin an hour before we left for trick-or-treating. Normally I am not a procrastinator, but with carving pumpkins I am. 

She makes the cheesiest smiles sometimes.

Went trick or treating with Antoinette and Noah. 

I think we have enough candy to last us a year. Brooklyn has the most amazing self control when it comes to sweets. I think if my boys were diabetic it would be really hard for them to eat sweets in moderation. They could seriously eat their entire bucket in one night. Brooklyn ate 3 pieces of candy this night and was totally satisfied. 

Not one, or two, but 4 lollipops at once.

10 minutes before the trunk or treat I dared Rich to wear this TIGHT wet suit. I thought he looked hilarious, but he said he wouldn't wear it unless I wore one. 

Mine was not nearly as tight as his.  I have not dressed up since I was a kid. The minute we pulled in the church parking lot I regretted this!  The kids thought it was fun, but I was self conscience all night.