Christmas at the Gaylord

We went to the Gaylord Texan on Sunday to look at the decorations. THe boys had on their Christmas outfits and they loved looking at everything Christmas!

checking out the trains

more trains...

FINALLY...a family photo!

by the fountain...

Dave's 5th (and likely last) Marathon

Last Sunday Dave ran the Dallas White Rock Marathon. He started out 3 years ago saying he was going to run 1 marathon, just to say he'd done it. Oh, and he wanted to do it in less than 4 hours. We've figured out that up until this point, he has had the WORST luck when it comes to marathon weather. His first, the Cowtown (Fort Worth) was nearly a dust storm-- it was SO windy! His second, Marine Corp, actually wasn't too bad, but it was a bit warm. His 3rd, Chicago, was HOT HOT HOT. When he finished that one (which is in October) it was 80 degrees! His 4th, White Rock last year, was SUPER windy again and very warm. So, this year we were really praying/crossing our fingers that the weather (and his legs) would cooperate. We were skeptical the night before as the forecast was for it to be unseasonably warm. But God answers our prayers and it was the perfect day! It stayed overcast the whole time. It was cool, but not freezing (which was nice for us spectators!).

Here are a few pics of Dave (and a few of some fellow runners):

It's like "Where's Waldo" except it's obvious because Dave is 2ft taller than everyone else! This is at mile 4 when it's still a sea of people.

Mile 9.

William made a friend while we were waiting for Dave at mile 14. He was a 6 month old Great Dane. Already 75lbs, with another 50 to go! William LOVED him.

Mile 14. Feeling good.

NOT Dave!

A group of guys (obviously) dressed up a Michael Jackson ran the relay. He had these little boom boxes attached to their waists playing/singing Michael Jackson songs the whole time. We saw them several times, and it was hilarious!

Mile 20. Starting to feel a little tired!

about 100 yards from the finish!!!! And, if you're wondering about the red on his shirt-- ya, it's blood. Dave forgot to put bandaids on his nipples, so they rubbed themselves raw! O.U.C.H.

about to cross the finish line! The clock said 4hr01min, but he was 6 minutes from the start, so his chip time was 3hr55min30seconds!

So, he's saying that this is it for marathons since he FINALLY reached his goal of doing it in less than 4 hours. We were VERY excited for him, and we're looking forward to having him home on Saturday mornings now. Yeah for no more long runs!

My Superheros

Hudson Family

When we were in Oklahoma we had our family picture taken. It's not often that ALL 12 of us are together, so we had to take advantage of being all together, and being at the house where we grew up.

The "blue truck" as we call it, has been around since I was 4 years old. It's a Chevy 1984...and it's still going (barely). All 3 of us kids learned to drive (stick shift) on it... when I was about 5 or 6 years old I remember he would be in the back of it throwing hay out for the cows and I would be the driver. He'd put it in 1st gear, and I would take the wheel. We were excited to have it in our family picture. The pond behind the truck also has lots of memories-- one of which was dad pulling us on a sled behind the truck when it was frozen over.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

We got back from Thanksgiving in Oklahoma to find that winter had arrived! It has been SO cold. In fact, Wednesday morning, we woke up to a nice little layer of snow on the ground. I had to quick take the kids out to play in because we knew that it would be melted by lunchtime (and it was). Hudson wasn't a big fan mainly, I think, due to the freezing temperatures outside. William, on the other hand, had a grand time.

Hudson preferred to watch William from the comfort of his warm home. William was outside throwing snowballs at the house!

That night we made our annual trip to Home Depot to get our REAL Christmas tree. Dave is a real stickler about getting a real tree. I tried to convince him that maybe we could get an artificial one for the years that we won't be home (we'll be celebrating in Lookout Mountain this year), but he said that we might as well not even celebrate Christmas!

Decorating the tree. The boys had SO MUCH fun finding the perfect spot for each ornament.

One of the perks of having a near 7ft tall husband: no need for a ladder when it's time to put the star on top!

My great friend Cindy and I at our church's annual progressive dinner (last night). It was a blast, as usual: one of the highlights of my year.

So far, it's a great start to the Christmas season. Next weekend I have a Christmas brunch at church and Dave is running the Dallas White Rock Marathon.  Stay tuned...

Thanksgiving Part III: faces

Thanksgiving Part II: The pig roast

Yes, we roasted a WHOLE ENTIRE pig for Thanksgiving. Never fear, we also had a deep fried turkey, which was SCRUMPTIOUS! For those of you who know my brother, Trent, you know how hair-brained and crazy he can be. Plus, he comes up with weird, wild ideas that he insists on carrying through with. Well, doing a pig roast for Thanksgiving was one of those very ideas.

mr. piggy still in the box.

fully stuffed.!

mr. piggy wrapped in banana leaves and chicken wire and sealed shut!

lowering the pig into the pit (apparently this is a "sucker rod" that my dad used to weld it together making this device)

on the fire. we proceeded to cover it with more fire, tin sheetmetal, and then dirt to completely seal the fire in the hole.

carving the pig.

So, the pig was fairly tasty, but one side wasn't completely done. It didn't get nice and crispy on the outside like we were hoping.  But it was super fun, and I have a feeling it's going to become a tradition when we are all together.  Plus, since they didn't perfect it this year, it's like a challenge now. How to get the perfect pig roast.

Thanksgiving Part 1: Horses

This is the first of my Thanksgiving posts. We had a jam-packed week of non-stop activities. The kids were in heaven: getting to run around all over the farm without a care in the world. Hudson was able to follow around "papa" for a week. He helped him do things like: feed the horses, drive the tractor, drive the blue AND red trucks (incidentally, I learned to drive in the blue truck), get "sucker rods" (whatever those are) for building a rack to roast the pig on (that will be it's own post), hammer countless nails into the renovated playhouse, and the list goes on... William and Keira loved having the freedom to run wild, play in the playhouse, gather up millions of tiny rocks, ride horses, drive the truck, ride in Uncle Trent's Land Cruiser, etc. We've discovered that William is a future pyromaniac: anytime Papa was burning brush or any sort of fire for that matter, William was there, front and center.

My dad managed to borrow a couple of horses for us to ride while we were in Oklahoma for Thanksgiving.  It was SO much fun for all of us, and especially for the kids as it was their first time to ride horses.

It's Official!

I'm a soccer mom.

The storm has only just begun...

Starting with my birthday (October 30) there is a storm... no... a hurricane of birthdays. This lasts until one of my niece's and my sister-in-law's birthdays-- Feb 26. And it happens on BOTH sides of our family! All the while, we have Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years to empty our pockets celebrate. Here is a rundown:
My birthday: Oct 30
Keira (my niece): Nov 9
My dad: Nov 11
Bill (Dave's dad): Nov 13
Jeff (our brother-in-law): Dec 22
Grandma Dennison: Dec 22
Hudson: Dec 31
Tasha (my sister): Jan 3
Ami (Dave's sister): Jan 9
Dave: Jan 13
Trent (my brother): Jan 22
William: Feb 1
My mom: Feb 17
Emery (my niece): Feb 26
Paige (my sister-in-law): Feb 26

And in case you're wondering, yes, we buy birthday gifts for every single one of those people!

Thankfully, we draw names for Christmas.  And this year, since we won't be with my family at Christmas, we aren't even going to bother with presents. Although, I'm sure I'll manage to get something for my nieces.  Who can resist???

Crazy, isn't it?

I love these guys!

Here are my 2 little people the other day:

This picture totally captures their personalities. Hudson is a laid back, happy-go-lucky kid. William is a clown (i.e. his Uncle Trent).

Trick or Treat!

I'm not sure how William learned it, but we overheard him, at one of the houses last night, saying "Trick or Treat, give me something good to eat." Who is teaching him these things????

We had a bunch of friends from church over to go trick or treating in our neighborhood. It was SO MUCH fun! We re-convened at our house for snacks/appetizers, and the kids gorged themselves on their gobs of candy. It was a blast. I'm thinking this will become an annual tradition.

The cutest Mickey and Minnie you ever saw!

The cutest Raggedy Ann and Andy you ever saw!
William and friends. Blaine (pirate), Mia (iCarly), Emily (cat), Gracie (butterfly), Keira (Minnie)

Hudson (Raggedy Andy), Blaine (a pirate) and Emery (Raggedy Ann)

William and a few of his friends (Mia, Keira and Gracie)
I'm pretty sure William was saying "I already have Nerds. Do you have anything else?"


All four kids with Mimi and Papa.