FineWineClub

The #pps Fine Wine Club had its first meeting of the year at the Penns' newly constructed (and BEAUTIFUL) home. Cue all the laughs.

Each couple brought a couple of bottles of good wine for a tasting.  That magnum of Yellow Tail was an extra surprise from Mike. Sadly, we didn't open it but I'm sure the Penns are saving it for the next meeting. HA!

The other wines, a lot of Napa Valley goods, were A.MA.ZING.

And Jill had the most perfect set-up for a full wine/cheese pairing. I guess I can't serve Domino's pizza when its our turn to host. ;)

We talked and sipped all night, sans kids, and did I mention there were lots of laughs?! Five lawyers and an architect walk into a room... 

Plus, how fun are these nicknames on our glasses?! Literal Jill, Raider Red [coincidental that I dressed the part], Kelley from Sugarland, #nobodycares, wespenn.com, and Weekend Mike. And Weekend Mike was in full no-work form.

Last weekend, we spent a lot of time just chilling at the lake house, cooking great pizzas, tossing bean bags, and playing games. Cole might have been the King of backgammon.

Mike and I were even able to sneak in a date night: sushi and martinis followed by "Patriot's Day" at the theater. Oh.My. That was a TOUGH one to watch. Intense.

Sometimes it's nice to not have a lot going on. To sit back, relax, and take it all in.

Because we're about to hit it full throttle with spring soccer, baseball, t-ball, piano performances, school, work, BH 20th Anniversary Fundraising events, home renovations...

Found this little gem last week when I was looking through some old photos. 90s ski jackets just like these are back in style. Lord Help. We rocked them back in '92 (this is in Keystone), but I'm not sure I can pull off this look in 2017.  But we'll see... T-minus two weeks to Mike's birthday ski trip. WHOO HOO!

Here's to laughs, friends, and a not-so-Manic-Monday!

xo,

Lindsay

Times Two

We celebrated Tate's birthday with a trip to Medieval Times in Dallas. Five Kindergartners, below-freezing temps, 4-hour round trip car ride, and swords. Lord Help. 

The Rat Pack: Steele, Cam, Tate, Jet, and Collier

Shana (Steele's mom and the aide in Tate's class) says these five are inseparable at school. Tate, Cam, and Collier are in the same class this year, and Steele and Jet are in another class together, but apparently these five are the playground jocks at recess (no surprise there).

We loaded up in the car [sans Cole because (1) it's not his birthday, and (2) all the seats were taken], and headed up to Dallas. We stopped at a Pizza Hut in Kaufman on the way for lunch and cake. We had planned to take pizza to a park to get some wiggles out, but it was just too cold out. It ended up being great, though, because no one else was eating in the Pizza Hut dining room, so we had the place to ourselves. The little monsters ate and then sang HBD to Tate and dove into some big pieces of cake! 

You know our baker, Mandy, always outdoes herself. This year, she once again created the perfect cake for Tate's Medieval-themed birthday.

The boys all thought the sword was so cool!

 I don't even like cake, but I will eat Mandy's cakes. Not only are they super cool, but they are DELICIOUS. I've had to hide the leftovers from Mike and Tate today so they don't make themselves sick!

We arrived early at the castle, and the boys had plenty of time to look around, and hit up the gift shops, of course.

We let them each pick a small favor: Cam and Jet chose old-style wooden swords; Collier chose a neon light-up sword; Steele and Tate chose knight/dragon figurines.  We made our presence known. LOL.

This is what a family birthday portrait looks like when taken by a 6 year-old boy. HA!

The boys loved the show, especially the last hour when the "real" sword-fighting takes place, and they ate a second lunch of roast chicken, corn on the cob, and potato wedges.

It seems like yesterday when we took Braxton, Breckin, Cole, and Jett for Cole's seventh birthday. The crew we had yesterday was just as fun, but we've grown wiser and picked an afternoon show this time so we didn't have to spend the night in Dallas with 5 boys like we did three years ago.

Two of the boys fell asleep on the way home - always a sign of a good day! The moms all texted me last night, each saying their son had the best time and that I deserved a glass of wine. So... I had a glass for each of those texts.  Mike toasted to the fact that we've been twice and NEVER HAVE TO GO AGAIN. ;)

Our family celebration on Thursday was less eventful, but just as fun. We had pulled pork tacos, re-fried beans, and popsicles for dessert. No one loves a birthday more than this kid -->

How cute is he?! And ready to hit the slopes in Utah in March!

He had a great day a school, a fun celebration at home, an exciting trip to Dallas with his four BFFs. It's good to be the Golden Child. It's good to be six. Happy birthday, Baby!

The #Big6

Another day, another holiday. But this one is BIG. 

Tate turned six today. SIX.

He is athletic, artistic, thoughtful, meticulous, stubborn, competitive, intelligent, reserved, and charming. 

To us, he is everything.

He amazes us with his quiet strive for perfection, handwriting and art skills, and hand-eye coordination. He challenges us with his tenacity, strong will, and unwavering opinion on what he will wear!  He typically uses good manners and has never been in trouble at school, but has been known to whine to his mama and often gets hangry.

Tate's report card for the Second Quarter came home with all the highest marks and this note from his teacher. #swoon
In the interest of keeping it real, Cole forgot to bring his report card home. In fact, he forgot to bring ANY OF HIS HOMEWORK home yesterday. #sigh

I took donut hole and fruit skewers during regular snack time today for Tate's birthday treat. Y'all... these tinsel toppers were not easy to make. I almost burned my fingers off with the hot glue. Mike surprised Tate in the lunchroom, and we will eat pulled pork (his choice for birthday dinner) and open family gifts this evening.

We will be taking Tate +4 friends to Medieval Times Jousting Tournament in Dallas this weekend.   Prayers for safe AND SANE travels appreciated. ;)

Before the big 0-6 today, we celebrated New Year's Eve at a party at the Westbrooks' W6 ranchette.  Cole was visiting the Leevers in Houston, so 3/4 of us attended the Frito-pie/Firework/Family Frenzy. Fun times with friends! The fireworks were AMAZING (shout-out to Brad, Mike, and James for the show!!), but the photos I snapped weren't good because it was really foggy outside.

We stayed the night at the lake and woke up to...

Now THIS is the right way to start 2017.

We are slowly getting some art on the walls and finishing touches with decor out there. The new wooden topographical map Peggy gave us looks perfect (and that guy with his TTU shirt and guns up is pretty close to it, too ;)). 

Happy start to the new year, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the amazing #TateO!

xo,

Lindsay

One We Won't Soon Forget

I don't even know how to start, so I'll start from the beginning. Christmas 2016 is one for the books.

Mike had to work, so the boys and I set off for San Marcos on Friday morning with a car choc-full of gifts and cheer.

20 minutes in, I had already threatened the two whiners in the back seat that I'd return all those gifts! Only 3 hours and 45 minutes to go...

We arrived in Central Texas (albeit late), and enjoyed a good lunch at Grins with Mimi, Papa Jim, and Baca. We went back to Peggy's to exchange a few gifts. A little certain someone was happy to get #cashmoney from Great Mamaw Cass!

I didn't get many pics because all of the sudden we heard honking outside. We rushed out to find... 

Clay, Sabina, the twin, Sabina's sister Christina, and her two kids pulling up in their camper! A total surprise to everyone that they made the two-day journey down from Denver to spend Christmas in Texas.

Christmas Eve was nice, Sabina wasn't feeling well, but Lucas and Lala, who had been vomiting on the way down, were all smiles. One of the twins, who had been sick earlier in the week, was also perking up. There was some fun hair-braiding, game-playing, and then a visit to the nursing home where John resided for several years.

Cole and Tate both played the piano for the residents, and then all the kids passed our cards we had all made that morning.

Giving is truly the meaning of Christmas, and I was so proud of these littles for doing just that.

We attended Christmas Eve service at First Lutheran, and Cole even helped with the manger scene during the service. Peggy played bells -- all the music was lovely.

We went home and, and it was a bit of a circus with 12 people (half of those under age 10) opening gifts. I snapped just a few pictures the first few minutes, but then put the phone down to enjoy the moment.

Peggy gave Mike and I this awesome 3D topographical map of Lake Jacksonville. We love it!! This is not a good pic because prior to opening gifts, Peggy started a new tradition of a candle-lighting and reading to remember John and others not with us, including Christina's husband who is a helicopter pilot deployed right now. Cue ALL THE TEARS.

The boys started right in on LEGO sets, and I am not sure how they even knew who's set belonged to whom because it looked like a LEGO factory in one-half of the living room and a Shopkins/Glitter Nail Studio in the the other! :)

Each child picked out a cookie for Santa, and Tate helped set them by the chimney.

Some Christmas mornings are picture-perfect, with plaid pajama-clad children waking up early and racing to see the goodies Santa left...

and others start out at 5:30 am with both of your children projectile vomiting on you.

As I scrolled through my Facebook feed on Sunday morning, I kept seeing photos of children in front of trees, families decked out in red and green and grinning from ear to ear. Somehow, our first 12/25 photo wasn't like the others... 

The boys were SO sick. They barely peeked around the corner at their gifts, and I am not sure if they ever went through their stockings. Neither could keep even a sip of water down for hours.

And then another one bit the dust... 

Sweet Kasia did not have the stomach bug, but started running a 102 fever. Half the kids down. 

12 people, 3 sick kids, three-bedroom house, intermittent rain, Christmas gifts everywhere, and one particular cat toy that apparently had no "off" switch. LORD HELP.

Despite the sickness, we had some great times. We played games (and I am not the only competitive one, so this was fun!!), had a wine-tasting contest, laughed and sang and danced, tossed a few games of cornhole, and ended up making a really wonderful traditional Christmas lunch!

And Cole did hop on the new go-kart -- for 30 seconds anyway. 

Monday morning was better for most. Christina and I started out with scratchy throats, but the kids were all back to 100% so we all hugged it out until next time, and hit the road back home.

Well, most of us went home. Mike went to the Big D for Monday Night Football with Chris and Bryan.

These studs had FRONT ROW SEATS and also enjoyed the VIP Club. They are all VIPs in my book, and it was a well-deserved getaway for them.

Peggy texted this morning saying the stomach bug hit her. Ugh. Praying it passes quickly and that no one else gets it.

Above all, this Christmas was not what we envisioned, but it was one filled with family, giving, and sharing. Next year, I just hope we share something other than germs. :)

Here's to a bright 2017 for all! 

xo,

Linds