Red River, New Mexico!

this year we headed to Red River, NM with the Hinz family - 3 car loads to be exact! The drive was about 9 hours and Evie did unbelievably well - thank heavens! of course she had every movie under the sun - (thanks, Molly!) and was happy as a lark. the night we arrived, the snow started falling. it was so beautiful and added to the excitement of Christmas. the next morning, evie, her cousin, reese, and papa headed out to explore in all of their snow gear. many snow angels were made and we were lucky enough to borrow some sleds to pull the girls around. we spotted a hill not far from our condo and spent quite a bit of time there sledding down and climbing up. it was so fun to watch!

Christmas morning was quite a special time...seeing the kiddos with all of the treasures from Santa and watching evie play with her new toys - I mean, her cousin, davis' toys. she was definitely more into what he received. doodle read the story of Christmas as well as the traditional Right Family Christmas story...such fun!

It truly was a blessed Christmas and we are grateful for so much - especially the gift of Jesus.

the cutest little reindeer

Ah, a day I've looked forward to for a long time...Evie's school Christmas program. They wouldn't open the doors until 10:30 for the 10:45 performance, so I showed up at 10:25 only to realize that the doors had been opened since 9:15. UGH! I walked in feeling completely defeated, until my sweet friend, Zoe hollered to tell me she had saved seats. HALLELUJAH! Evie came out wearing brown antlers and a red dot on her nose. It was so sweet how she ran from her class line to come and give me a hug. I was so happy at how she sang the songs and didmost of the actions. Me-Maw, Aunt Dana and Hampton came to watch her big performance and then we headed to Olive Garden for a celebratory lunch. These are the days that couldn't get any better!

Hampie and Evie

baking Christmas cookies - 2010

Thus, another year of the wonderful day full of Christmas baking at my sister's house. Most definitely a day I look forward to every year and especially now that Evie can join in on the fun. This year I have to say, we totally figured it out... "pure pfeffernusse perfection". Those of you who have ever baked pfeffernusse know what a long process it can be. Anyway, after 15 years of baking with my sister for Christmas, we finally have it down! The girls enjoyed decorating the beloved snowman cookies and having a day together to play for a good 9 hours. Tradition is something I love about Christmas and I have to say, this is definitely one of my favorites.

christmas baking

every year evie's preschool hosts a baking day for all the kids and parents. it was so fun to be with her around her teachers and friends. the teachers spoke about how evie is so happy and pointed out how she constantly skips from place to place. we spent time in the kitchen making christmas cookies and then spent more time working on crafts together. it sure was a fun morning!

mom and evie

evie and her friend belle

the gingerbread house tradition continues...

hope & evie 2010

last week, meghan and hope came over for our annual gingerbread house building fun. this year, however, we not only built a gingerbread house but also a gingerbread train since evie is totally into the polar express. we have so much fun doing this together and always complain how the picture shown on the front of the box is definitely not possible. seriously! that icing is never easy to work with, let alone put those super cute polka dots on with. oh well, we gave it our best shot and i have to say, they always turn out super cute! and it's so fun to look back at the previous year pics to see the changes not only with our artistic abilities but how the girls have changed. traditions are what make the holidays so special!

evie & meghan hard at work

evie and hope 2009

dear santa...

"christmas tree shop"

dad and evie 2010

we ventured out last monday night to the, as evie calls it, "Christmas tree shop". it was such a fun night...and one that has quickly become another tradition for our family. especially the snapshot of evie on top of the car with the tree. she probably won't be so hip on taking the same picture when she's 16.

dad and evie 2009

evie 2008

giving thanks...

this thanksgiving we were so lucky to have rich, renee and sallie stay with us for a couple of days. it was so fun to catch up and especially watch evie and sallie play together. we headed over to eldorado to my parents for the afternoon and shared it with most of the morris family. we ate too much, as usual and mapped out our plan for black friday. It is definitely a day i look forward to as it is the traditional, super early, shopping day with my sister, renee and this year we were joined by my cousin amy. we headed out at 2:30 am and shopped until we literally dropped. we arrived home shortly before 1 and i headed straight back to bed for a long winter's nap!

the kid's table

the 3am shot

all finished!

build a...

bunny!

today we ventured to build-a-bear for evie's first bear building experience. hampton has been there a few times, so she was sweet to show us the ropes. both girls chose the same bunny and evie, of course picked the most blue outfit she could find.

right before the stuffing went in

kissing her bunny's heart

all dressed and ready to go!

such a fun afternoon! looking forward to making many more memories together!

radio city....ROCKETTES!

What a treat to make it to the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular! So much fun to be with "just the girls" and dream about what it would like to be able to kick like they do! Joined by Dana, Hampton, Mee-Maw and Doodle, we sat on the floor and had such a great view of the entire show. Evie loved every minute of it..and so did I!

dance class

today was a day i've waited a long time to arrive. the opportunity to go watch my daughter in her first dance class. she has been going since august and today was her first observation. of course i arrived with camera (& took too many pictures to count), video camera and sweet mee-maw. evie was so thrilled to know we could actually come into class with her. oh my, she was quite the little entertainer and obviously is not afraid of a little attention. i'm not sure if that's good or bad. ah, is there anything cuter than a little girl in her leotard and ballet slippers? precious!

lucy and evie - how fun they get to do this together!

the girls and their proud moms

happy halloween

this year's halloween was super-fabulous! complete with a visit from papa and doodle, a trip around the neighborhood, a costume party and topping the night off with the traditional time at my sister's house, for yummy chili and more trick-or-treating, of course. evie had

THE BEST time and is already talking about going trick-or-treating "next week". i have to say, she makes the most beautiful butterfly, don't you think?

carving the littlest pumpkin

evie decided she wanted to carve the pumpkin she picked at the pumpkin patch and I have to say, I was fine with that! especially because it was the smallest pumpkin we had and since I ended up doing most of the work myself. she wasn't really into the 'pumpkin goo' and quickly lost interest after touching it. hoping for more carving fun next year!

pumpkin patch trip

Ah, the first big school field trip - and definitely one I was excited about - especially since it was Evie's first official field trip and to a place that screams, "fall is here"! Unlike last year when we went, the temps were just perfect and Evie wasn't afraid to ride the tractor-trailer and the can train. She was determined to find a cute "little" pumpkin in the patch and was happy to take the first one she spotted. I, on the other hand, was bound and determined to find the perfect one. What a fun morning!

"I can pedal!"

What a big day last Monday was when Evie finally perfected, or should I say, figured out how to pedal her tricycle. I was so excited for her and knew she was so proud of herself. Now she not only rides outside, she insists on bringing her trike inside, too. She just can't get enough!