Pool Party: November 2016

The month of November in one post?? Let's see if I can do it without it being a novel!

Nina kicked off the month of November with shoulder surgery. She was SO ready to get it over with and behind her, and I can't blame her. I went over to check on her before surgery. They were running behind- of course. And you wanna know what? 80 year old ladies with broken shoulders who haven't eaten in 12+ hours can get a little grumpy! I did my best to brighten her spirits with Snapchat filters and selfies. It didn't help a lit, but I did get her to smile a little bit.

This was the best I could get from her.....

Macie came home with this paper from school....

No instructions or explanation.... just this. I couldn't help but laugh at the last one...pot. hhhmmmm??Is it the kind you cook a turkey in? Or the other kind?? HAHA!

I took Macie, Maylee and Brenna to Landry Pryor's birthday party. It was a costume party! And once again- Macie chose a different costume! A girl after my own heart....can't be seen in the same outfit twice! LOL

Landry the pig, Maylee the bunny, and Macie the cat!

Sweet sweet friends!!

Hayride fun!

Brenna handed me this picture the night before the election.

I couldn't help but laugh! She was very in tune to everything she heard this year about the election. She was always asking questions and telling me what she heard at school. I liked her predictions- but was nervous about the actual election outcome.
On election night, we opted to go watch the Peaster Volleyball playoff game in Azle instead of watching the news all night long.

It helped pass the time for sure! Luckily- in the end it turned out in our favor! The game AND the election!
The kids had to come to school with me one afternoon when their school got out early. I happened to have two empty boxes in my room, so they enjoyed playing IN them and drawing on them! Simple entertainment- I love it!

My birthday weekend!
Josh and I started off on Friday night with a dinner date! Much thanks to Dad and Kathy who kept the girls so we could enjoy some adult time!

We had a wonderful steak dinner at Ruth's Chris. I had heard about it before, but we had never been there. The food and atmosphere was really good, and we enjoyed it a lot. But I think that if I am going to pay that much for dinner, I would rather go to Del Friscos.
They did bring this super cute dessert out for my birthday! Too bad we were so full we couldn't hardly take a bite of it!

Rule of thumb...always dot your I's and CROSS YOUR T's! haha!

The next day was volleyball tournament day! I was so proud of Brenna and her new team. They worked so hard this season to learn to play together. It was a rough start, but in the end, they left their hearts on that court and came in with a 3rd place win!

I love this girl.

After the tournament, we celebrated with ice cream at DQ!

Sunday morning started out quiet and slow. I captured this sweet moment of Macie reading to her babies.

Josh was working- so the kids and I headed to Dad and Kathy's for an afternoon of fun! Dad kept the girls while Kathy took me for a pedicure! It was heavenly!

We had a yummy grilled dinner and enjoyed just relaxing and visiting. It was a great time!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!
Monday was my birthday! I used to get excited about birthdays... but somehow after having 37 of them- they have lost their thrill. It's still nice to be spoiled and pampered by those who love me though!
Josh sent me these beautiful flowers to work!

Then he fixed me homemade lasagna for dinner. YUMMY!!! The girls gave me a gift card to buy new shoes...because new shoes are the way to my heart!! :) And Josh gave me tickets for us to see Reba and Brooks and Dunn when we are in Vegas in February! I can't wait!!!
Then they surprised me with turtle cheesecake for dessert!

I love these little people!!! And their amazing Daddy who made my birthday wonderful. While 37 feels a little too close to 40 for comfort... it feels good to be me at 37. I am blessed beyond belief!

I got to go up and surprise Macie at her Thanksgiving feast at school! I love that I have a schedule at work that allows me to be a part of these little things with my kiddos.

We were all looking to having the whole week off of work to just enjoy being together!
Macie started the break off with loosing her first tooth! (well- the first one that wasn't pulled by the dentist at least! She wasn't too thrilled about it, but she recovered quickly. The tears were short lived. :)

On Sunday night, we went to the Ft. Worth Parade of Lights! It never disappoints. And this year, the weather was amazing.

My loves.

A hug for our favorite Shriner in his little yellow Barbie car!

"Girls smile for a picture with Pops!"
I said WITH Pops! Not in front of Pops!

After the parade, we joined Pops and the other Shriners for dinner at Los Vaqueros. We were all starving!

THERE'S POPS!!

We spent most of the week just hanging out at home and getting our house ready to host Thanksgiving dinner. But in order to do that- I had one very important task to accomplish that I had been putting off for years... I had to learn to make the dressing. I'm not a big fan of turkey and dressing. But IF I am going to eat it- I want it to be my Mama's dressing. I was always the official taste tester when she was making it, but I never made it on my own. So I decided that it was time to learn, and asked Nina to teach me.
I bough all of the ingredients and headed to her house on Tuesday for my lesson.