ROES Staff Party

We hosted Trav's school for their annual staff holiday party. We loved having everybody over...what a way to kick off the holiday season!!!

One of the highlights of the party was a copy machine pinata. Apparently, River Oaks had a REALLY old copier that was a nightmare to work with and they finally got a new copier before the holidays. Inspired by the movie Office Space, Travis and a couple other teachers decided to have a copy machine bashing session. It was amazing how excited these teachers got about hitting this pinata. I was surprised that there were not any accidents!!!

I am pretty sure that Andrew had the best technique!!! Great shot!
Diana is such a sweet, kind lady...but she sure let the pinata have it!

Andrew, Trav and Nathan with the beat up copy machine. They were very proud of how it all played out!

There was a white elephant gift exchange. When I asked Trav what I should get, he said that he was told the gifts should be "ridiculous". I must say that the staff did not disappoint. We have since found several of these gifts hidden in closets around our house...the gifts that keep on giving :)

Visiting with Friends

My good friends, Ab and Jamie came over to have dinner and catch up a bit. It is always so much fun to get together with these girls (and their families). I cannot believe we have been friends for this long!!! Ab and I have known each other since middle school (20+ years????) and Jamie and I have been friends since elementary school (yowzers...you do the math :) Our lives have changed a lot since our elementary, middle, and high school days...but, I still love having these ladies in my life!!! Jamie and I...Ab had already left for the night. Little did we know, but Ab was holding on to quite a secret that night. She will be welcoming her second baby in June!!! Next time, we will make sure we get the whole clan :)

Jamie's precious girls, Ella and Zadie with Emma. The girls love getting together and playing!!! Oh...and the long lost sister, Rapunzel :)

Fall Folliage...I LOVE it!!!

Our backyard had many trees that make me look forward to fall!!! Ahhhhh...soooooo lovely, but it is sooooo short lived :( Until next year...

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Emma wrote a letter to Santa this year. She copied his name, drew the picture of the teddy bear she wants, wrote her letter, and signed her name. I am surprised that all she wants is a teddy bear. She has been asking for a teddy bear from Santa for weeks. That's easy :)
Santa reading Em's letter.

I thought it would be cute to have Emma take her Santa pic in her footie pjs.

Asking her standard Santa questions...she seemed a bit awestruck!

After Santa, we decided to ride the train around the mall. Emma thought it was GREAT!!!

Standing in front of the train in her jammies...it was our own mini Polar Express. We ended the night with Chick-Fil-A and a cookie. It was a lot of fun to watch Emma take it all in. This is going to be a wonderful Christmas!!!

On the Hunt for the Perfect Tree

We went to the Elgin Tree Farm again this year to look for the perfect tree. We knew we hunted and hunted and had a hard time finding a tree that was 8+feet tall. So, we decided that we would cut a small tree for our dining room and then we would go get a taller tree at a christmas tree lot. We ended up finding a BEAUTIFUL tree and had a great time decorating it that night. Emma and Travis hauling away the mini tree :)
Emma and Travis standing next to the tree that Trav picked to cut down.

Hmmmmm....I wonder what she is thinking????

Sooooo sweet!!!

Emma thought THIS was the perfect tree for us :) I told her I would take her picture with it, but we were going to leave it there for everybody to enjoy :)