Exciting Goings-On

Between Christmas parties and Brady's debut as Principal, we have had a very exciting beginning to winter.  The boys have been having so much fun, and Jeremy and I are so happy to see how well they are adjusting to our new town.  Life is good!

Super Fun Fall

This fall, we actually had trees that lose their leaves, which meant me actually got to rake leaf piles to jump in.  Add in a visit from Uncle Blaise, and I don't think Fall could have gotten much better.  The Osterstock Southlake house is officially open to visitors...please come!!!

Now, let's talk about Winter...it started with an amazing gingerbread house building party, and has gotten better from there.  More to come!

Christmas Card Rejects: 2012

While I firmly believe that my boys always look handsome, here are a few shots that didn't quite make it onto the Christmas card this year.  I think the boys would have loved to print the booty-shakin' shot, but I informed them that it simply isn't in the Christmas spirit.  As everyone knows, butts are always funny, so maybe we'll send out the butt picture at a later time just to give friends and family a pick-me-up.  We'll see.  Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a very Happy New Year to everyone!

Let's Catch Up!

We moved to Dallas (Southlake, actually), Brady and Carson both started at new schools, our friends have visited, we celebrated Halloween, Carson and Brady have made some new friends, and Carson partied with new and old friends to mark the coming of his 4th birthday.  Has it been a busy few months?  Yes.  But the boys have been troopers, and have picked up right where we left off in Houston.  Brady's new teacher is amazing, and the best word to describe his year at school is "thriving".  He is learning so much, and so quickly.  I'm so impressed (AND HAPPY!) with his progress.  Carson loves school, and can't wait to go.   He is so creative and funny.

Well, that about sums it up.  Here come the holidays, so many more pictures to come!

Disney Trip Highlights

Our trip to Disney World was the first time that I have completely planned a vacation by myself (pretty much) from beginning to end, so I was nervous that, if we didn't have a great time, it would really be my fault.  Well, the kids had a blast, and I (humbly) label this vacation as a huge success.  We enjoyed several dinners with different characters, where the boys whipped out their autograph books to have signed (on a not unrelated note, Carson repeatedly commented on the fact that he liked to smell the signature after each character signed.  They signed with a Sharpie that I brought...Umm, should I be nervous yet?).  In addition, it was a "Star Wars Weekend" at Hollywood studios, so the boys got to see tons of their favorite SW characters.  We could not possibly have packed anymore into the 4 days in the parks, and we wouldn't change a thing.  I think all of us are going to remember this vacation!  We can't wait to go back...maybe in 3 or 4 years.

Disney Trip: Jedi Training Academy - Brady Fights the Dark Side

Brady will tell anyone who asks that this experience was his favorite of our trip.  What a cool thing for a Star-Wars-Loving boy to be able to do.  As you can hear at the end, I cheered super loud, just like I will when he plays lacrosse or stars in a play (or whatever).  I was quite proud!

Brady Gives it His All

In all fairness, it was pretty warm that day. Brady may have jogged, then ambled his way to first base, but he got tons of encouragement (what every man seems to need) going from third to home, and suddenly became super speedy! It makes me happy that he seems to be having a lot of fun this year.

Carson's First T-Ball Game!

I know I'm a little biased, but this kid has talent.

(Note the direction that the runner is coming from.)

Carson's Rodeo Parade!

My little cowboy sang and danced his little heart out this morning at his rodeo parade! It was so fun to watch, especially after each song, when he checked to make sure I was watching. I love him!

Sorry....... Just a Couple More

"I'm trying to be very serious"

"You can say it...... I'm cute!"

"Did anyone else catch that?"

Definite Tara face

Passport Rejects - Carson's Turn

Not to be outdone, Carson offered a few gems as well. By this time the antics were pretty much in full force, and we were lucky to get a couple that didn't involve using the Force on mommy.

As I reflect on these pictures, I offer a selection of movie and music quotes. See if you can match the picture to the caption.

- Fatboy go home..... you bin here 4 howr

- I have a feeling, somebody's watching me

- You talkin' to me?

Passport Photo Rejects - Brady

So we are planning a trip to Costa Rica in a couple months to visit some friends, and Brady's passport from when we were in Europe expired. One would think it would be easy to get one little 2" x 2" photo of your 5 year old son. If one thought that, then one would be wrong.

These are the ones that we decided not to submit for the passport for fear that our son would be detained when trying to enter any country outside of the planet of Naboo (Star Wars). Captions for the first three photos (in order) would be 1) let me think of all the things I would rather be doing right now, 2) lock up your daughters, and 3) ET phone home. At some point we just kinda gave up.

The Race Team

I absolutely, positively, most definitely have the most wonderful family in the entire world. Today was a huge day for me...my first half-marathon that I have been training for for months, and my awesome husband and boys helped me every step of the way. We all woke up at 4:30 in the morning so that they could drive me downtown. Jer didn't want me to have to worry about finding parking, etc. so he packed up the boys in their PJs, then dropped me off and took them to breakfast. They all bundled up and managed to make 3 stops to see me along the race path (in the pictures above, you can see what happened when they took their hats off). Then, they met me after the race with huge hugs and kisses, even though I was sweaty and stinky. When we got home, we climbed into bed, and all of my men took a 2 and a half hour nap.

I also need to give a shout-out to my "coach" Tony and my wonderful friend (his wife) Natasha for being so supportive. How do people do these things for the first time without guidance? Well, I didn't have to find out.

A little bit of Carson logic: "Mommy, why don't you ride your bike...you will go faster?

AND

"I am going to ask Santa for a race car so that I can follow you on your race."