The Holiday Season

The Holiday season has been filled with family. We kicked of the weekend before Christmas with the San Antonio Roberts' family---Steve, Lori, and Spencer. Soon after, Cami came from New York. After 2 days, Steve and the crew left and Liz came. I declared it a Roberts' Christmas. From overflowing stockings to onion dip, we attempted to do everything in Roberts tradition. Unfortunately, I do not have access to the pictures we took during that time. They are in the computer at home.

Currently, the girls and I are in Corpus with the Kemple family. We drove down and stopped in San Antonio for a nice 2 1/2 hour break. We had a great time with Lori and Spencer. Steve even got away from work to hang out with the girls and me. It really was so much fun to stop. And it was much needed, considering the length of the drive.

We finished off the drive by heading down to Corpus. When we arrived, the girls went nuts kissing and hugging everyone. It was cute to see how much they had missed Mama and Papa. Heidi, Anita, and Dan weren't home. They were out getting manicures and pedicures....must be nice. While we waited for them, we exchanged a few leftover gifts (some too large/costly to ship).

Yesterday was my parents' 37th anniversary. So we took them out for a yummy breakfast. It was great to sit around and talk during my family's favorite meal of the day. And since we overate, we were in desperate need of some exercise. Which meant that we needed to go shopping....so we did! (It seems to just be getting easier and easier to come up with some excuse to go shopping.)

I love spending time with my sisters. It seems like it is so rare now that we are all living in different states. I think that that is one of my favorite things about the Holidays.

I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas, filled with good food, friends, and most importantly, family. Have a wonderful New Year! Hopefully, I'll have Christmas pictures by then.

The Week in Review: The Heidi Trip

This past week, Heidi came to visit us here in good old Coppell, Texas. We have had a great time with her. Tomorrow, she will be flying down to Corpus for Christmas. We will be staying in our home for the first time ever! We will be heading down on the 29th. I will fly back up for 2 days and then head back to the family in Corpus.

So here are a few pictures from this week of fun with Heidi.



Today, Heidi and I went downtown to go to the museum and have lunch with Ian. We went to the Nasher Sculpture Center. I have been before but it was Heidi's first time. It was also my first time without kids. So we were able to fully enjoy everything. It was nice to read about each piece and really get to look at every sculpture.

We went to the Capital Grill for lunch at the Crescent. The last time I was there was for our 5 year anniversary 3 years ago. It was all so delicious. And the best part was just being with Ian in the middle of the day (without kids--what an odd concept. We really need to try getting a babysitter more often.)

We really had a great time. What a fun day!

Heidi infront of another sculture.

The girls having fun with Mommy's swimsuit and Heidi's new heals (oddly, Jenna is really good in heals--and I mean high heals). This was way to funny not to show you all.



We took Heidi to the Galleria. Us Kemple girls love to shop. While Mommy and Heidi were shopping, the girls and Ian hung out at the playscape.


A nice man working at the Verizon stand offered to take a picture of us infront of the mall Christmas tree. We had a good time listening to the live brass orchestra playing and watching the ice skaters. It is a fun mall to be in during the Holidays.

Reagan is sporting the cool earrings and Mulan hair scrunchy that Heidi brought her. Obviously, she loved them.

And of course, Jenna loved her gifts too. Who doesn't love a tiara and an great pair of hanging earrings!

We have had so much fun with Heidi. I am afraid that the girls will be going through Heidi withdrawls once she leaves. We are so glad that she came.

And finally #5 and #6

So on Thursday night, we finally went to Ian's work party. It was "Holiday Chic" at the new Ritz. We had a great time getting to know new people and just spending time with friends. The food was amazing, not to mention all of our surroundings. We had a 5 course meal. The steak was like butter. I mean, I didn't have to hardly chew the thing at all. It just melted in my mouth! It was so nice to be alone with Ian (and all of his coworkers) again. I think that has been my favorite thing about all of these dinners and parties, being on a date with him.

There was one thing that was pretty bad...valet. They got all of the cars mixed up. They brought us a silver Mercedes. Of course, I was glad to take it. Unfortunately, Ian wanted our actual vehicle. So much for that Christmas wish. :) So it took about 30 minutes to get the car. There were so many people waiting for their cars. Some waited 45 minutes. And one girl waited an hour and a half! If you can believe such a thing. Supposedly, The Ritz has been having major problems with valet. So the moral of the story is: If you are close enough to walk from the office, park there and walk!

Christmas party/dinner #6 was at partner's house (he is a member of our church). He had invited other church members from the firm also. This dinner was kid friendly. And since the kids already knew each other, they had a blast. The girls didn't even want to leave at all. The food was great and the company was to. It was a nice mellow evening, especially compared to all of the other gatherings.

So we are done until New Year's Eve.

#3 and #4

Sunday night was Christmas party #3. It was a dinner party for Ian's section (Corporate Reorganization). The Managing Partner of the firm hosted it at his house, as is tradition. So Ian and I drove down to University Park and had an amazing dinner. There was a French chef cooking for us in the house. And the party was staffed so no one had to lift a finger for anything. Everything was very nice. And it was fun to finally meet Ian's coworkers.

Well, after parties #2 and #3 on Friday and Sunday, we decided that party #4 (on Monday) didn't exactly sound too fun. We decided that resting at home one evening was so much more exciting. So we skipped out on the Dallas Bar Association's Christmas Party.

Tomorrow night is the big #5---firm party at the Ritz. I'll let you know how that goes in a few days. I can't wait for the brake in between Christmas parties and New Year parties. I need a vacation from celebration!

Christmas Party #2 (the ward party was #1)

On Friday, Ian and I went to a crazy Christmas/White Elephant Gift Exchange Party. When we first moved into the ward, we were told that it was the party of the year. It is a traditional party that is put on by several couples in our ward. They take turns hosting it each year. It isn't a ward party and no children are invited (which makes it less stressful and more fun). The "amateurs," such as ourselves, brought kind/normal gifts. But those who have been around, plan the whole year to bring the perfect gift. We learned that there are several traditional gifts that have been circulating for a few years. For example, there is a frozen piece of meat that if you win this "mystery meat," you must keep it in your freezer until next years party. At that point, you wrap it up and pass it on. Someone brought a live mouse. The woman that opened it started screaming and dropped the box. It was hilarious. There were bedpans, lottery tickets (no one admitted to purchasing those considering the crowd was LDS) (they won $5), a stapler in jello (for all you office fans), love dice, and so much more.

All in all it was a fun night. Somehow, Ian and I were able to avoid the crazy gifts. We made it our goal to get our safe gifts. And with some scheming and trading, we were able to accomplish our goal. It was a great party. We can't wait until next year . . . we already have some fun ideas.

Fa La La La La, La La, La , La!

One of my favorite things about Christmas is the Christmas Tree. Saturday morning, Reagan and Ian went to Home Depot and picked out a tree. Despite the fact that the branches had not fallen yet, we decided to decorate the tree.




The girls loved everything about decorating. Reagan was so careful with every ornament. She had so much fun looking at each one. And of course, Jenna enjoyed being nude.



Before we decorated the tree, we went to a Nativity Display at the Carrollton Stake Center. They had over 500 nativity scenes on display. It was really nice. Even the girls enjoyed looking at all of the different nativity scenes (Reagan loves nativity scenes). It was all very impressive. For those who live close by, I recommend attending next year. There were nativity scenes from all over: Ghana, Hong Kong, South America, Russia, France, there was even and Native American Indian nativity. My parents are planning on visiting us the weekend that the Carrollton Stake puts it on again next year. Seeing as how my mother collects them, I know she will love it.

Party Girl!

Reagan went to a birthday party for the little girl across the street. They all went to Libby Lu's and got their hair, make up, and nails done. It seems as though it was a very fun party. Reagan had a blast and felt like she was the prettiest girl ever! Her favorite part was the hair. They put a clip on hair piece in the back of her hair. Needless to say, she had a blast.