Decorating for Christmas

Last Friday night, Joe and I went to Cracker Barrel to eat dinner and as usual had to browse in the gift shop. We found this lovely nativity scene for 40% off so we bought it. We brought it home and covered a board with burlap so the figurines would set on the hearth without falling over on the uneven brick. Then it made us want to decorate the rest of the house. We're just beginning.....

Here's the outside, partially done.

A closeup of the things we like to do best at Christmas, ski, skate, wish for snow, sled and go the Nutcracker (but only if they have a live orchestra!).

I visited Kohl's and got some cute placemats for the table.

Along with a new runner for the Hoosier cabinet and a new pillow for the chair.

I replaced the mums in the planter on the hearth and put in poinsettias. Along with another nutcracker. For those of you who have seen the infamous "The Nutcracker - Jondahl Style" video, you know why we cherish nutcrackers.

And Joe got the tree down from the attic and it's still sitting in the living room floor. Just waiting for someone to put it up. Of course there are about 15 more Christmas boxes up in the attic just waiting for someone to go up there and bring them down so we can finish decorating. Maybe this weekend....

Flashback Friday - 1998

This morning I was digging through the drawers getting all my Christmas card stuff out and I found this picture. It was sent in our Christmas cards in 1998. Kristen was 10 and Kaitlyn was 7. That previous summer we took a vacation and went to Dubois, Wyoming to stay with some friends that Joe had worked with years before. The cabins are part of land that the man's grandfather had homesteaded a long time ago. It is on the only privately owned lake in Wyoming. On the way home, we went to Yellowstone, Devil's tower, Mount Rushmore and to the Cabela's flagship store in Kearney, Nebraska. Kristen and Kaitlyn caught their first rainbow trouts (they were about 20 inches long). This was "back in the day" when I could still get the girls to occasionally dress alike. Fun times!

Saltimbanco!

Last night we went to see Cirque de Soleil's Saltimbanco show. It was good, some parts of it kind of dragged, especially the mime/clown who made the noises. He was funny, I just think they drug it out too long. The music was outstanding and all the acrobatic stuff was wonderful. Most of the stuff they did was riveting; I couldn't take my eyes off of them. That was the first Cirque show I've ever seen live. When we went to Las Vegas last year, we didn't go to any shows and I think they have 3 or 4 there.

Black Friday

Well, it's "Black Friday" but I'm not going shopping today. I have to work at Kohl's tonight so I'm not interested in getting in the throngs of people. We had a nice Thanksgiving yesterday with family and not much leftovers, which is good for my weightwatcher's diet. Today, I'm just relaxing. Tomorrow and Sunday I work too so I'm going to take advantage of the little free time I have. Kristen had to go in today at 5:30 AM at Victoria's Secret. She gets off at noon and she said she was going home to sleep. I took the picture above yesterday, both girls were dressed up for Thanksgiving.

I'm gonna party cuz It's My Burfday!

Last night we went to the OKC Thunder game. Joe had the suite so he had all his brothers and a couple of friends there. This is a picture of his brother Drew Smith (on the right), and his half-brother, Jason Smith.

Here's a picture of the Smith brothers (from the left) Drew, Joe, Steven (Drew's son) and Jason. The only one missing is Christopher. He is currently living in Colorado and did not come to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving.

And here's the Smith sisters-in law: me on the left and Cindy Smith (Jason's wife). It's unusual but Joe and his brother Jason are both married to Cindy's and they have an Aunt Cindy. How unusual is that? Cindy and I were sitting in the suite with the volume up on the TV as loud as it would go so we could see who won Dancing with the Stars. Unfortunately, the Thunder game was over before the winner was annnounced and the suite attendant ran us out of there. So I didn't find out who won until this morning.

This morning I went to the nail salon where Jann had paid for me to have a "deluxe" manicure and pedicure for my birthday. So I leaned back in the massaging chair and read a magazine for an hour enjoying every minute. This evening, we're going out to dinner (I want Mexican). Meanwhile, I'm baking pies and making my cranberry relish for tomorrow's feast this afternoon. Tomorrow we're having Drew and Steven, Jason and Cindy, Kristen and her boyfriend Kyle, Kaitlyn and her boyfriend Matt, Joe and me for Thanksgiving dinner along with anyone else that may stop by. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, I know I will.

Saturday and Sunday Pictures

Joe is having so much fun this week while his brother Drew and Drew's son Steven are here. He gets to do "manly" things like go to sporting events every day (sometimes more than one sport a day even). Here's a picture of Steven and Joe at the Blazers hockey game yesterday. Steven plays in a hockey league in Texas and loves it. Now if we could just get him a try-out for the OU team..... I love this picture.



Here's a copy of the final score from the OU vs Texas Tech game Saturday night. What a great game!

A picture of the press box after the game.

Joe's family pic. Top row is Jennifer (Joe's little sister), his brother, Drew. Bottom row is Eva, a friend of Jennifer's, Steven, Joe, and Joe's mother, Chris. They had a great time at the pre-game parties.

Here's a picture of Drew and me before they left for the game and I left for work. I thought we looked good together with our OU gear on.

Big Day in Sooner Nation

Today's the "big" day in Sooner Nation. OU plays Texas Tech in a HUGE game. ESPN Game Day was at the stadium this morning and Joe, Drew and Steven went up there and took some pictures. The Bloomin Onion Blimp from Outback has been flying over the stadium since yesterday. I can stand in my back yard and see it from there. Here's some pictures from this morning.

Lee Corso put on the Sooner Schooner hat and picked us to win. Go Sooners!

Here's a picture of my nephew Steven, and his Uncle Joey outside the stadium.