Sunday, December 28, 2008

Multi-Chem Christmas at the Gaylord Texan - Dec 19th-21st

This year Multi-Chem (the Company my Brother and I work for) decided to throw a Company-Wide Party to celebrate the 15th Birthday of the Company by hosting a celebration for all of it's employees at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, TX.

We were given Friday (the 19th of December) off to travel down to the Gaylord Texan. Chris and I rode up there and back with some really good friends Jon & Janice. It made for a relaxing and enjoyable ride.

Once there, we all settled into our rooms and had until Saturday night to do whatever we desired. So, the four of us decided to join up with 3 other couples for dinner at PF Chang's. My Brother and his wife were also among the couples we ate with. After dinner, we decided to go meet up with some other couples we knew at the Glass Cactus. They had a band that played 80's Music. We stayed there for a bit, then decided to walk around to see what all the Hotel had to offer. There was so much to see, we didn't know where to start. The scenery inside was amazing! There were several restaurants and tons of shops! This place was almost like a town!

We got up on Saturday mid morning and decided to go to the Grapevine Mills Mall. After eating, and plenty of window shopping, we decided to go back to the Gaylord Texan to take some daytime pictures of all the neat things. (It was really hard to decide what pictures to show you, since there were so many neat things, but please realize that ALL of this is inside the Hotel...)
The main walkway in the center of the Hotel. It leads to the shops and restaurants.



One of the many train tracks they had going on inside the Hotel.
Me in front of some Poinsettias along one of the many paths.

This is only one of the valleys along the paths...

Here is another one...

This was one of the many restaurants inside the Hotel. The balcony to my room faced this restaurant.

On the way to the Celebration, they had many set ups with our company names and pictures. Here is one of them.

Cocktail hour began at 6:30, then at 7:15 the doors opened to the Texan Ballroom and Dinner was served at 7:30.

They had a photographer there to take our pictures as we came in. Since we don't get those back until Jan 9th, here is a snapshot of Chris and I (taken by me lol..)



Following dinner, Collin Raye (with Guests, the Wilson Sisters) played while many danced.

Here is what the room looked like behind me from where I was sitting. We ended up being two rows back from the stage and to the right. As you can see, it was huge and we had over 1100 people packed in it.




One of the many shots I got of him while he was singing.



Another side view of the stage.




James Archer (the owner of Multi-Chem, along with his Wife Lois) sang a song with Collin for us. I managed to record it. He did very well and you can tell that Collin thought so too... I wanted to upload it on here, but the file was too big. I will try to find a way to link it into this so you can enjoy it too.

At the end, they did have a mechanical bull for anyone who wanted to ride. I never did get on it, but I was told my brother rode it 4 times and Jon rode it once. Even one of the Executives of the company rode it.

It was a late, but very fun, evening amongst friends. Everyone I talked to seemed to have had a blast, including Chris and I. Thanks Multi-Chem and the Archer Family!

On Sunday morning, Chris and I met up with Christi, a very Sweet Dear Friend and Co-worker for breakfast, then on to the Ice Show. We had heard about it so much, we had to check it out for ourselves! It was freezing cold, since they had to keep the rooms at 9 degrees to keep the ice from melting. I took a ton of pictures (go figure :P ), but I worried it would be too long, so I decided to make it into a slideshow. (Feel free to check it out by clicking on the picture of Chris and I below).


Willy Wonka (The Musical) - December 14th


T and I went to see Willy Wonka put on my the San Angelo Broadway Academy on Dec 14th with some friends from our bible study group. It was a musical mix of the Movie Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory from 1971 and the newer version Charlie and The Chocolate Factory from 2005. They really did a great job. My favorite character is still the Oompa Loompa's:

These are the ones from the original movie, but the kids they had acting did look just like this and did a GREAT job!

T loved it so much, he wanted his picture taken with Willy Wonka. Cody Manning did a wonderful job as Willy Wonka!

I was trying to get T to take a picture with an Oompa Loompa, but he was a little scared (0even though I kept telling him they were kids his age).

If you get a chance, go see one of the other great musicals the San Angelo Broadway Academy will be doing in 2009:

Peter Pan - May 22nd-24th
Disney's Beauty and the Beast -June 26th-28th
Disney's Alice in Wonderland - July 24th-26th
Scrooge the Musical - December 11th-13th

Friday, December 5, 2008

Christmas Tree Time

Well, I finally caved in a decided to get a real tree this year. When T and I went to the Christmas Tree farm in Christoval, he fell in love with the idea of a real tree and picking it out himself, instead of the tree we have used for the last four years. So, after some coaxing from my Dad and my Son, I decided to make another trip to the Christmas tree farm and let him pick out our tree. So far, the house continually smells like pine and we are enjoying the tree, along with the cats....

Here is the tree T picked out for us:

It was very interesting getting it off the top of my car and into the house by myself..T kept saying "Mommy don't break it...mommy be careful..." I was so glad once I got it in the house ans settled into the stand. We decorated it and everything looked great, for a litle while. That is, until the new kitten discovered the newly added tree in the living room and up the tree she went. When I went to take her picture, I scared her and out of the tree she flew, throwign the tree to the ground and breaking about half of my ornamnents that were on the tree. Luckily, we had more ornaments that would fit, so all was ok after I ancored it to the bar behind it. Since then, the cat can get into the tree without any more heart attacks for me.

Here is our beautiful tree:

Now that the house is decorated and the lights put up outside, the only thing I have to worry about is the continued question "Is it Christmas yet??" Lol.....

Monday, December 1, 2008

Time With Daddy

T went to his Dad's for the first part of the Thanksgiving Break. His school was out the entire week, so he left on Friday to go to the ranch with his Dad's Family, then I picked him up on Wednesday and we went to Ingram to spend time with my side of the family.

He had so much fun at the ranch with his Dad, that he and his Dad wanted to share their time together with you.

Here is what his dad sent me to share:


These two deer, T (my hunting guide) and I shot a few days before Thanksgiving.



They are both 7-points(Cull Deer). He told me: "Daddy when I grow up I am going to shoot big bucks like you." He even helped me gut them and it didn't gross him out. He thought it was "cool." I am also sending a picture of a big deer I shot for Tristan to put in his room.


Happy Turkey Day, 
Spencer

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Let us be Thankful - SACA Play 11/21/08

Well this week has been eventful. Last Saturday was the fundraiser dinner at SACA, this past Wednesday was the field trip to the Christmas Tree Farm and Friday was their Let Us Be Thankful... performance. Every grade level performed their own songs, skits, or play. It was neat to see the kids showing how Thankful they are for their families! They all did a marvelous job! I did get to film the Kindergarten's performance and if you have time to watch it, I think you will be amazed at how well they did memorizing their lines. They did their on The Pilgrims' First Feast by Brenda B. Covert





Currently, T is at his Dad's house in Fort Stockton until Wednesday and then I will leave my Parent's to go get him and take him back with me to Ingram for the rest of the week. I am sure I will post while I am there, so keep checking back.

We hope you all have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

SACA Field Trip to the Christmas Tree Farm 11/19/08

Today was a wonderful day in God's Country with a Bunch of eager children! I decided to use one of my many remaining vacation days to spend the day with my son. Today was the day he was looking forward to for months and I wanted to be there when he got to experience it for the first time. Today was his school field trip to the Christmas Tree Farm. It was a very eventful day and I managed to take a few pictures here and there to share with you.

Our day started out at the school at 8am. After Chapel time, we promptly left to go to Eldorado to our much anticipated destination. Once there, all the children (Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade) all circled around the flag pole to honor our Country by saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

Then once we divided into two groups ("The Elfs" were the Pre-K and K, while 1st and 2nd were "The Reindeers"), we went for a hay ride around the while farm so that they could explain to us how they plant, water, and care for the Pine Trees they grow. The kids really enjoyed the ride!

Here is a small portion of the tree farm. You can tell which one were planted three years ago versus one year ago.

Once the ride was over, we went to see the owner of the farm and he let the group plant a pine tree since they all managed to guess the things a tree needs to grow properly; water, soil. fertilizer, sun and air. Of course they added a few things like music and hugs which gave us all a giggle.

Meet "The Elfs!" They were so well behaved!

They had a "Dress the Scarecrow Contest" too! It was so cute and the kids thouroughly enjoyed it. There were four small groups and they all had their own area and clothes to use. They turned out great!
The finished product....
These llamas were new to the Tree Farm this year and 95% of the kids had never seen one before. They all learned what llamas eat and asked a handfuls of questions.
In the midst of feeding the llamas, we decided it was about time to eat lunch, so we roasted Hot Dogs and had Smores for dessert. Most of the kids had never cooked anything over an open fire, so they enojyed the fact they could prepare their oen food without the help of an adult.

Shortly after lunch, we loaded up the school vans to get the kids back so they would still have time to take a nap. The whole van ride back tot he school, T kept asking me when we were going to go back and begged me to get a real tree this year. We will see, I would love to get one, but they are a pain to clean up after (especially with two cats that will love to play).

I hope you day was a wonderful as mine. I love to be there to experience T's "Firsts!" But for those of you who can't, that is what this blog is for. Have a great evening everyone!

Hiding Turkeys From Farmer Brown

Over the weekend, all the kids in T's class were given a Turkey to disguise so that Farmer Brown wouldn't recognize them and try to shoot them for Thanksgiving Dinner. When I heard what Little Man wanted his to be, all I could think of was "How are we supposed to do that...????..." Then one thing led to another... I drew, T cut things out, and we ended up with:



Here are some snap shots of the other kid's turkeys. I snuck a few pictures of them when I went to pick T up from school on Monday after school. They really turned out cute! These kids, though still young, have a wonderful imagination. I would love to give Kuddos to the parents for helping their kids make it happen the way they pictured it! Out of fourteen kids, they all turned out different and unique. See if you can guess what they all are disguised as....




Monday, November 17, 2008

San Angelo Chrisitan Academy Fall Fundraiser 11/15/08




Snowflake Showcase

I am so excited to announce that the Snowflake Showcase this weekend was very interesting and fun! I have really been enjoying my side business. If you haven't had the pleasure yet of checking it out, please visit my Crafting Haven when you get a few minutes.





























I was extremely lucky to be placed right next to one of my dearest friends for the exciting event! For all of you that attended, your support was greatly appreciated! If you saw anything you like, please contact me to come by to see it again in person. Pictures never show the products true beauty! Also, I will be updating the web page this week with all the remaining new stuff that was at the Showcase this last Saturday.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

End of Season Soccer Party/Awards

As most of you know, I am a very proud Soccer Mom! To finish off a very successful season, Coach Cortez had all the boys meet at Neon Jungle for an awards ceremony and a few rounds of indoor put-put golf to celebrate their season. We are all so very proud of them!

When I told T that his awards party was in fact today after school, he said he wanted to take his Coach some flowers to say "Thank You" for teaching him how to play. He also wanted to get her an award, but since I didn't have time to come up with something, he settled for a gift card for movie rentals instead. He is so thoughtful and it is too cute that he always wants to get people something. He picked the flowers and the card out all by himself and was so proud that he didn't even spend all the money I told him he could, that he said I could buy something for myself with the left over money. It love it!!

He did let me snap a shot of him carrying in the flowers "like a big boy does" and he was grinning ear to ear when he told her "I picked them out myself and Mommy didn't even argue with me. Do you like them, if not Mommy can have them." It was funny. She told him she was very excited about them and asked if she could keep them instead. Of course, that made both his dimples pop out when he smiled with delight.


He is so excited about his trophy that he kept jumping up in place until she called out his name. He jumped up there so fast and turned immediately away and ran for me to show me. I couldn't help but laugh and wonder if I was that excited when I got my first trophy. I love to watch his excitement over the things in life. It makes all the long tiresome days worth it!

GO KNIGHTS!!!



**I am also proud to announce that I will soon be Upgraded to a Basketball Mom at the end of this month. Tristan will be participating in Upwards Basketball.

My Surprise from Chris

Yesterday, the 5th of November, was our six month anniversary. We had been talking to each other for a while before that, but officially it has been six months now. Time sure flies...especially when you are happy. Anyway, I had just finished tutoring for the evening when Chris surprised me with flowers, dinner from Steak Express, a Movie and two cards. It was so unexpected and too sweet for words!

Here is a picture of my flowers. Tigger,one of my cats, loves to rub up against the leaves on flower arrangements....it is so cute to watch him just keep rubbing back and forth....

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Knights Last Game

Today was the last game of the Fall Soccer Season. The boys did very well. They won four games and lost three. Here are the pictures from today's game. I was very proud of T! He ran hard and kicked the the ball really well several times today. It is so hard to remember to take pictures while cheering, but I managed to get a few. The awards ceremony and party is this Thursday to celebrate a great season. He can't wait to get his trophy. He is already counting down the days...






I am so very proud of Little Man! He has really come a long way from not knowing much about Soccer when the season started. He is already signed up to play again in the Spring, along with all the other boys on his team. Keep watching the website, because he will start Upwards Basketball (Church League) in December. I love being a Sports Mom, but I know sometimes he thinks his Mom is crazy since I cheer so much...