Science Fairs and Field Trips!

Jesse's CLUE class is beginning a lesson on the study of canines and all their many uses. Hence the field trip to the MPD K-9 Training facility. Lance accompanyed him on this trip and glad he did. They had a blast watching the amazingly trained dog respond to commands and attack the "intruder." Much learning was done and much fun was had!

Jesse completed his science fair project and was proud of his final result! He actually received a 3rd place ribbon and was thrilled about that. Way to go Jesse!

Well, lots going on with both the kids, so promise to post again real soon!

Gretchen

Fun in February!

Well, the month has started out on a roll! Lance had business in South Florida this week.....Hollywood, Fla to be exact....and I tagged along with him for this trip! Glad I did, because that happens to be wher Margaret, one of my best and oldest friends lives! We are so lucky we had her and her husband around to show us around.....

A blast was had! Well,I just had to include this picture of the car in the mall.....down here we have the usual Hondas, Fords, etc... on display in our malls. Not this one....only Ferrarris will do! Too funny! Anyway, I told Lance that would be an acceptable Valentine'sGift, but he just grunted...so I guess that's a no. Oh Well!

This was my view for most of the day while Lance was cooped up in meetings....poor Lance.

Margaret and her husband took us to this huge complex called Hard Rock Casino....it's on an Indian Reservation, so it's got a ton of shopping, restaurants, bars, and a casino. I lost very quickly! This picture is hard to decipher, but the complex has this monstorous TV thing that wraps around the complex and plas music videos and concerts. Very neat!

Having fun....with no kids around!!

Also, I've benn doing a little sewing for Ms. Claire. She loves this funky fabric!

Well, we are also in the midst of Chinese New Year. Claire dressed up for Chinese New Year to show her class. She felt very proud and also brought treats for her class to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit. Great times were had!

Here are the almond cookies Claire and I made to pass out to her friends. She even had enough to pass out to a few neighbors and family members.

Sorry, had to show one last pic of the view from our room at the Westin in Hollywood. Oh well.....back to reality!!!

Lots going on soon! Promises to post again soon!

Love, Gretchen

Super Fun Snow Day!!!

We had a great Snow Day on Monday! The kids stayed out all day long with the exception of lunch time! They sledded, had snowball fights, built a snow fort, and just had a great day! Lance was able to work from home, so we had a great time with him at home as well!

Our cousins, Dylan, Patrick, & Keri came over, as well as some neighbors, and a major snowball fight ensued. It was a riot!

Jesse was one of the victims......

We used our neighbor's hill across the street for our sledding pleasure all morning yesterday...as did half the neighborhood! Keri having a blast on the hill!

Claire packing her snowball good and tight to throw at her brother.

I assure you, our yard looked this good for about 5 minutes.....

The Reason for the Season.....

Well, we had a wonderful Christmas Season surrounded by family and friends.......just a few pictures can not capture all the wonderful times we head!

All the Hollingsworth cousins at The Hollingsworth Family Christmas....all live in Memphis now, and it's been great!!!

Gretch & Lance escaping the kids for a quick picture on Christmas at our home...where we hosted the Crawford side for Christmas lunch.

Claire giddy with excitement after discovering Santa had brought her a hair salon! Now....to figure out how to match that to my decor....

Jesse just waking up and checking out his loot....he was really hoping to use that sled on Christmas Day!

Gretch and little brother Tommy at mom and dad's house Christmas Eve after Mass at Holy Rosary, which was just so lovely!

Jesse and cousin Keri tried their hand at ice skating on Thursday and got the hang of it, after many spills....note Jesse's pants!
Well, we certainly hope everyone also had a wonderful and relaxing Holiday season! Love to you all and will post again soon!

Love, Gretchen

Such a Wonderful Week!

Well, the week was jam packed with Christmas festivities. Today, Jesse had his last day of school, and his Holiday Party. It was a blast and celebrated with his classmates with games, lunch, snacks, and a gift exchange!

Today, Claire and Lily spent a special day together to celebrate Christmas, instead of a gift exchange. They come up with a thing to do together, and have a blast. Last year they did lunch and Build a Bear....this year they chose ice skating and lunch at the zoo. They had a blast (moms too!) and had the entire rink to themselves......such a special day for 2 very special friends!

This was their lunch date....he wanted something other than lettuce I think......

Our little skaters...

Barb, Lily Grace, Gretch, and Claire....quite cold, but had a great time! Claire and mommy fell, but at least there weren't a ton a people to witness it!!

Wednesday was the annual Christmas Party thrown by Lily Grace and her mom. Of course, there was great food, company, and gingerbread decorating! We all had to try the cany out before decorating of course!

A quick group photo before getting messy!

Also this week Claire had her Christmas Party at Preschool and the little ones really enjoyed all the stations and Nativity Book afterwards. I think everyone is ready for Chirstmas now!!

Happy December!

Well, we've had a wonderful December so far, filled with wonderful times and memories! To start off with, yesterday Claire performed in her 1st Christmas Program at her preschool. She was very timid and shy up there, but sang all the songs and did a great job! Here are a few photos from the program!

Here's Claire with great buddies Elliot and Lily Grace after the program!

Our nephew Dylan celebrated his 17th Birthday here this week surrounded by all his cousins and aunts and uncles! Happy 17 Dylan!

Breakfast with Santa was a great time also at church last weekend. The kids arrived a bit early and were able to have some good one on one time with Santa.....of course, Jesse could only remember 1 thing he wanted by the time he got to sit on Santa's lap!

Claire was quite nervous being on Santa's lap, but managed to whisper out a few things on her list.....

Claire and Jesse after decorating the tree.....the bottom half at least!

The kids picking out their favorite ornaments for hanging!

Merry Christmas!!!

The Kitchen is Done!!!!

Just a few pics of what the kitchen looked like 3 weeks ago.......

And now.........

After 3 weekends, we are done! I still have some decorating to do, but I'm going to have to ask Santa for a for items (fabric covered magnet board, white glass cake stands, etc....), so I need to be patient! I'm thrilled how much we did on our own and love my newfound counterspace and just cleaner look of it all. It looks so cheery in here during the day with the sun streaming in through the kitchen and hearth room windows.

Next project to come in the Spring.....the backyard! I've got to get in the right frame of mind to tackle that job!