mine's BiGgEr than yours . . . .

ok . . its true i have fallen behind. i seem to get sidetracked and won't sit down long enough at the computer to BLOG. to say that i have been busy, sick or just plain lazy would just about sum up why i have posted in a while.
so where do you begin when it has been so long. i guess i should go back to that chickie weekend...
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the date: Dec. 8 - 10
the place: frisco, tx
the peeps: 2 blondes, 1 redhead and a grammy
the crime: shopping til we drop


this year was the first anuall chickie weekend. art's mom decided that the girls of the family were in titled to a girls weekend. so as are first place, we decided on frisco, tx. there are nice malls, at least 4 targets and 2 walmarts in the area. not to mention a HUGH IKEA.
we all decided to fly there. we had to get up very early but by 10:00 am we were all there and ready fo some serious shopping. when we did get there we got a big surprise. the weather was a bit cooler that we had planned. the temp in the rental car said 29 but it sure felt colder than that. the wind was bitter and we had to bundle up each time we got out of the car. it was quite different from the weather that usually at home.
we did manage to hit a few stores before our 3:00 check-in time at the hotel. i think on that first day we were finished shoppind by 4:30 and planning our dinner. we opted for a small lunch so we were getting pretty hungry. a friend from work suggested we try a mexican chain, uncle juleos. after making the block we found it and were pleased with the food. we all left very full.
early saturday morning we started out, making it to ikea shortly after they opened. now we didn't have to go far for that cause it was nearly in the parking lot of our hotel . . . .LOL it is much bigger than the one in houston. we walked through and spent nearly 2 hours, but there was just too much to look at. after we left we had to pick another place. i'm not really sure where we actually went next but i do think it is funny that we traveled so far to make a few stops at the local targets and walmarts. i guess it is true what they say about, sticking to what you know.
after a shop til you drop day we stuffed ourselves again on mexican food (again) and made a few mad dashes to target and walmart again.
i had a good time ladies. i'm looking forward to our next trip.

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Dec 13 BYU vs LAMAR


thats right... byu came to beaumont to play lamar. we toook the kids and joined the other byu fans and packed the house with navy blue. . . . .ok so it wasn't a packed house. but there sure were a lot of us 'mormons' there. ther was even a local celebrity there, tracy bird . . .lol

byu did give lamar a run for their money and there was even overtime, although lamar won in the end. the kids had a fun time.

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dec. 15 - williamson 3rd ward christmas party aka: LDS airlines

this year the activities commity went all out. i must say
it was quite the production.
it had a christmas around the world feel.


when we arrived at the church we waited in a 'lobby' and then had to check in and get 'passports'. we were given seat numbers and had to walk through security. then we boarded our 'plane'. ( it was actually the hall way with poster board on the walls, primary chairs, and rope lights.) the flight attendants took us to ours seats and then we were giving out safety guidelines and introduces to the pilot. the flight attendants passed out pretzels and the 'flight' was so smooth we were there in no time at all....lol. after exiting the plane we made our way around the church building stopping at different countries collecting stamps for our passports.

it was interesting learning about different christmas tradions. after making our way around the world, we returned to the usa. we shared a potluck dinner and enjoyed some good 'ol entertainment. we had a good time.

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dec. 21 - caleb's christmas party at school

this day art anda i were both off and able to enjoy caleb's christmas party. the room moms picked the theme - an ol' english christmas. therefore the treats were somewhat tradtional. there served the kids scones and 'hot tea' (which was actually waszel).

caleb's teacher made little ' crackers ' for the kids. inside was a treat and toy and a hat for them to wear. the kids traded gifts. they were 'secret santa' gift and if was fun to find out who had who. caleb's gift was from his friend garrison. they have really bonded since they were the only 2 boys in class last year.
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dec. 24 ~ 25

of course these couple of days are a complete blurr. mostly mixed together. we did the christmas thing at my parents house on christmas eve around 3 in the afternoon. we exchanged gifts and talked while snacking.

then it was off to the o'quinn's. we have been married for almost 10 years and have not missed a christmas eve yet. there is always lots of goodies to make you sick and good food. sheila cooks most of it and then begs us to take some home. we share stories from the year and exchange a few more gifts. once we have stuffed ourselves we head home. get the kiddos in bed and try to get to bed ourseves so santa can come.

christmas morning is always fun. santa has yet to dissapoint our kids. they always seem to get what they ask for. we really enjoyed it.

after gifts and breakfast we're off again. we eat at my and art's parent's houses and by the time we get home the we can't eat anymore and the house and car are trashed. . . LOL
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dec. 29 just a little operation

at about 12:30 on this day, art called me on my cell phone. i was getting to my car to leave work early to head over to grammy and poppy's. he told me not to leave he was one his way with caleb. caleb had been playing with a 'jewel' nad put it in his mouth. forgeting it was there he then took a drink. of course he swollowed it and art was gring him in. i just happend to be working with dr. hicks that day so i called back in to see if he was still there, and he was. he sadi he would take a look at caleb and decide what needed to be done.
i met caleb and art in the ER and brought caleb up to surgery to dr. hicks. he decided it would be best if we went down to radiology and have an XRAY to see if it was still there. poor caleb was in alot of pain. we spitting in a cup and white knuckling the chairs in admitting. after sitting in admitting for over 2 hours i finally had to say something. "we are checking your insurance ma'am" "i WORK here". i was pissed. then of course they were nice and got us over to xray. there we found out it was still there . the radiologist called dr. hicks who was still waiting and then it was up to surgery. dr. hicks put a scope down and pulled it out. caleb did great. wasn't scared at all and as soon as we returned he wanted to know if he could still go to grammy's house for presents.

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dec. 31 NEW YEARS EVE

this year was quite uneventful. i had to work. i only work one holiday a year and this was mine and 3 days at that. we stayed home and art took the kids outside for a few fireworks. we enjoyed chips and dip, pigs in a blanket, and cookies. bed time was before 10:00. . . pretty sad huh.
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so prtty much i have fallen behind and hope to get better with the new year . . .LOL
well see what i can do.

jess :-P