No, it's just the photo shoot the girls did for Bill's father's day present this year. He wanted this picture frame from Target that looks like computer memory. I had the girls dress up in nerd wear and put a picture of them in the frame. But it was so hard picking just one picture. So, here's the montage of them all....
We have this really awesome cafe downtown called Spoons, and for Valentine's Day they had a special dinner that included decorating a cupcake or ice cream sundae. The girls and I had a great time!! Okay, the guys did, too (papa got to come with us)...but well, you know...
So, on Saturday, we drove up to Okla to meet my parents and get the girls back. We weren't too sure how they would handle the news of Bill losing his job. They actually cheered (obviously they took my "now, don't worry" speech a little too much to heart) and Hayley's first words were, "Does that mean no 360?"! LOL! On the road again, we headed back to Texas and to Nana's to spend some time with Bill's brother Steve and his family. We hadn't seen them since August, so it was nice to visit with them again. I can't believe how much Baby Gavin has grown. And Grace and Gunter played with the girls like they hadn't missed a beat. It was a very good visit, and hopefully we can see each more often than every 6 months!
After getting up at a reasonable hour, the girls dove into opening their presents. They were very surprised with a keyboard for the whole family and a Gerbil (they almost immediately named her Carly)! We played around for a bit then headed to Nana and Joel's for more presents and a delicious dinner! We got to meet their new Yorkie puppy named Jacques who the girls would not leave alone. We took a new family picture and then headed home to bed so we could battle the day-after-Christmas crowds...except there were none. Anyway, we hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and has a good year to come. Enjoy the video...
So, you've just started a new job and your kids now have a week off for Thanksgiving. What do you do??? You thank your lucky stars that your parents are retired, and that gas is super cheap again, and beg them to come stay with your children so you don't have to shell out $100s of dollars on daycare! Let me just say....I love my parents! ;o) They came down on Sunday before Thanksgiving to stay with the girls. They had lots of stuff planned and actually hardly spent any time at home. Bill ended up being sick, so he stayed home on Tues and Wed. My dad took on some "honey-do" items for me one of which included installing a new light fixture in our kitchen as the nasty flourescent light died on us.
One of the bribes for getting my parents to come stay with the girls, was the promise that I would provide Thanksgiving Dinner. I had never cooked T-Dinner before, so this was exciting...lol! My mom helped me shop and picked up the tab for some of the items. My MIL came with her hubby and my SIL with her two kids. And, I invited our dear friends the Marchal's over. So, we ended up with 16 people at our house. It actually turned out really well. The kids spent most of their time upstairs in the game room playing Sing Star and HSM Sing It on the PS2. I even got Marchal to do a duet with her oldest daughter. It was fun!
After everyone left, the girls and I settled in for a game of Uno Attack of which Sydney was the queen! Then we headed to bed so that Bill and I could be at Kohl's at 4am the next morning...whew! 
So, I have been busy, and we all know why. I am going to try to catch up on the blog today as I patiently do some laundry (you'll find out...).
To start us off, I have some more Halloween pictures to share that my dad took. Enjoy!!!
We had a pretty calm Halloween this year. My parents were in town to help out with my first day of work, so we all just walked the neighborhood for about an hour or less. No big thing. Emyley was a bat, Hayley a vampire, Sydney some kind of diva dressed in black and I put some silly make-up and false eyelashes on with my witch's hat. We didn't get a ton of candy, thank goodness, but the girls had a good time.
Today was Sydney's 5th Grade Graduation....kind of a mixed bag of emotions for us all. I can't believe she has grown up so much already and will be starting middle school in the fall. At the same time, I am so excited for her because I know some of what lies ahead for her! She was so beautiful today, and we are so proud of her. I hope you all enjoy the video. The longest part is the song by the Music Makers (she is in there on the 2nd row, 3rd person in), so feel free to skip ahead once that starts. Also, the girls all got their hair cut yesterday afternoon, so be sure to check out their new 'dos in our family picture at the end.
My parents came down this weekend for a little visit. They had planned to come in January for Bill's birthday and to go to IKEA. But I got sick, so they delayed their trip until Valentine's Day. We all went out to eat at Boston's for dinner then came home and exchanged gifts. We got each of the girls a Webkinz and my parents gave them stuffed bears and Hershey Kisses...yum! I didn't get Bill anything (I'm mean), but he got me a Webkinz (it was free at Hallmark for buying 3) and a game for my DS (we are so romantic). And then, Sydney gave my parents their Christmas presents! You see, she had bought them gifts at the Colt Corner Holiday Shop at school, we took them with us in January when we went for Christmas, but they came right back home with us! LOL! So, they finally got them. And then, I gave dad a Christmas present from me, too! The one I had given him (a handheld Kakuro game) didn't work well. So, this time I gave him a huge flashlight that sits on a tripod. Much better! And he will be able to use it while he is redoing their house. So, we had Christmas and Valentine's Day all in one! Not bad! We spent the rest of the evening putting on a SingStar concert for mom and dad....so fun! ;o)
So, it's the new year. The holidays are behind us, finally, and the kids have gone back to school. This is my last semester to have Emyley all to myself. I am pretty excited about that now, but ask me in about 7 months, and I may tell a different story.I am sure there are many others, but off the top of my head those are what stick in my mind the most. I went to the library today and since I couldn't find any good fiction books (SHOCK) to read, I picked up a couple of recipe books and a finance book. I'll be sure to pass on any tips and recipes I find.
This past weekend we made the trip to Chandler for Christmas with my family. But because my parents are re-doing their kitchen, my oldest sister, Cara, volunteered to have dinner at her house. We usually do sandwiches for our Christmas dinner, but her stepdaughter, Tiff, wanted the whole she-bang. So, we did it up with Ham, Chicken and all the fixin's you could imagine! I made Ms. Shimek's Texas Truffles, my sister made Grandma Gilliam's No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies and there were many, many pies for dessert. It was a great time with family, conversation, lots of food and many, many presents! I did manage to get a few pics, so enjoy the show!! The picture here is my parents van loaded down with food (under all the presents) and lots of gifts!
We all had a very Merry Christmas at the Mullen house! Santa brought the girls bikes and the Bratz that they wanted. Bill and I got each other bikes, too....so look out neighborhood!! ;o) We got up around 6:30 to open presents. We ate chocolate chip pancakes at around 8:30 and by 9:00 we were hitting the streets. It was pretty chilly, but we had fun. Sydney's bike didn't come with training wheels, so she got to learn how to ride. She did really well. Hayley was a little apprehensive, even with the training wheels, and Emyley just rode her bike like an old pro. I took lots of video, so once I figure out how to edit, crop and all that other mumbo jumbo, I will be sure to post it for all to enjoy.
Sydney and her I-CY Penguin for her Zune!
Emyley and her Dora CD Player!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Mullens!
Because we were going to be travelling the weekend after Thanksgiving, we weren't sure when we would get to putting our tree up. Our tradition is the Saturday after T-Day. Well, Friday (day after T-Day) right before we left for Okla I hurriedly put up the tree. It is one of those with the lights already on. Then on Sunday when we got home, we put the ornaments on and hung our stockings. I am feeling very bah-hum-bug-ish this season, so we only did the tree, stockings, wreath and a couple of table decorations. I just didn't want the hassle of putting so much stuff back up after Christmas!
