Another Great PTA Art Night!!

Thanks Minshew PTA and Mrs. Smith for another AWESOME ART Night!! We were so glad that one of our girls got to try out the pottery wheel this year...and the finished product isn't that bad! ;o)

Introducing Peaches!

After my parents lost their dog, Sissy, they felt a huge void in the house. So, when their mail lady's mom offered a free Malte-Poo, they new it must be fate and jumped at the chance!! They both thought of the name Peaches and so it was decided. They all came to stay with us while Bill was in school in Colorado, so we got to meet her. She is really cute and funny. In this picture she is playing with her water bowl.

Poor, poor Leo!

This is what happens when impatient drivers don't pay attention at RED lights! Your pretty little car ends up with $6200 in damage to its rear-end!! And the impatient driver?? Took one look at Leo's damage and sped away! Yeah, as if we needed anything else going wrong right now, right!? Luckily, Bill was alone in the car and only had minor aches and pains the next day.

Emyley's a Daisy!

Emyley and her Daisy troop participated in the traditional Investiture Ceremony where they officially became daisies. It was so cute! Each girl said a line from the Girl Scout Law. Emyley's line was "Make the world a better place and". She was being very bashful that evening, and recruited big sister, Syd, to stand up with her throughout the entire ceremony. ;o) Afterwards, they sang "Make New Friends" and "I'm a Little Daisy".

More Christmas at Nana's

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!

While the Girls are Away.....again

...the parents will eat out and try those restaurants that the girls never want to try!

Sunday night, we went out with our dear friends the Marchals. We dared to try Cafe Malaga in downtown McKinney. It is a Mediterranean Tapas Bar, and we actually enjoyed trying the different Tapas available. We sampled: Artichoke Tapenade, Mojete, Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus, Goat Cheese-Stuffed Piquillo Peppers, Wood Grilled Hanger Steak, Pork Tenderloin, and Chicken Kebabs.

On Monday night, we went to Aparicio's Mexican Restaurant again in downtown McKinney. We had actually been here, but it was nice to go without hearing any complaints and whining! Bill had the Bandera Plate which is 3 Chicken Enchiladas with 1 red, 1 green, 1 sour cream sauce with Rice and Beans, and I had a Spinach Enchilada with sour cream sauce, Cheese Enchilada with Queso along with Rice and Beans! YUMMY!

Tuesday took us to Boston's where we both sampled some of their yummy pasta: Bill had the Mama Meata® Bow Tie Pasta and I had the Chicken Milano. It was really good, but the service was horrible.

Wednesday was New Year's Eve. We both had to work and decided to wait to decide where to eat until that day...it is hard to make reservations when you don't know what kind of food you will want to eat that day! Anyway, we managed to find availability at Mama Emilia's in downtown McKinney. Oh, my, I really think this was my favorite of the week. The atmosphere was very nice and the food was delicious...well, once we adjusted to the marinara being sweeter than we are used to. We can't wait to take the girls here and let them sample the Mac & Cheese. Bill had the Chicken Casesar Salad with Lasagna, while I had the Mama's Italian Salad with Manicotti.

Thursday, we went with a family tried and true favorite, the Texas Roadhouse. Can't go wrong with their salad and sweet tea. Throw in a couple of steaks and you got a great meal! It was fantastic as usual!

And finally on Friday, even after the crushing blow about Bill's job, we decided to continue our quest and ended up at Cadillac Pizza Pub in downtown. We were there too early for the evening entertainment (thankfully), but we did enjoy some yummy food: nachos and a really good pizza that I can't recall the name of, but we liked it and the crust was great! If only our girls liked pizza, we could take them and try something else...like Tabasco Hot Wings or the Escalade pizza (the works in laymen's terms)!

More Bad News...

So, Friday, January 2nd, Bill works most of the day and then is let go from his job! There had been some personal issues with his new supervisor, but nothing that we felt warranted his being let go. After 5 1/2 years, you would think they would put more emphasis on job performance...but anyway, we are now looking for bigger and better opportunities. Who knows were this little bump in the road might take us...hopefully not too far from our great friends!! Anyone need a network administrator...shoot Bill an email! LOL!