Blogging LEAVES you happy!

We had so much fun over Thanksgiving break we forgot to take any pictures!

We had a great time in Phoenix with Mama and Grandma Winckle. The food was excellent, the company was nice to see, and the kids had fun with their cousins.

We have no pictures to remind us of how much fun we had around the dinner table, playing Farkle with Great Grandma, braving the black Friday crowds, or sleeping on the airbed snuggled under lots of blankets!

When we got home, we found that almost every leaf on our tree in the front yard had fallen off. I am working on our annual family calendar and thought a picture in the leaves would be perfect for November.

The girls weren't too thrilled, Clay was at work, and I was freezing. We got a few good ones to put on the calendar. Good thing I went out there and raked up the leaves when I did. The weatherman is calling for wind tomorrow, no more raking necessary. I hope the neighbors don't notice they have a few 100 extra leaves! I saved a garbage bag, the neighbors got extra leaves, and the wind did it's job! Happy Fall!!

Paper Piecing Party!

I am so addicted to yet another thing! I have problems. A friend of mine showed me how to paper piece and now I'm completely obsessed!

I'm making a tree quilt. I have two trees for each month of the year. I have every month but November done. I can't wait to see what the final outcome will be!

Alex never reads the blog until it's already published in the family book so I'm going to share a secret with you. She's getting her own sewing machine for Christmas!! Now we can have paper piecing parties while we watch project runway! My mom scored big on black Friday, she was able to get everything we needed including Alex's Project Runway edition sewing machine! I'm so excited. I can't wait for Christmas to come so Alex and I can sew and sew and sew!!

Sydney turns 11!

Sydney celebrated her 11Th birthday today. Her big day started off with presents in bed!

She was sooo thrilled with her new birthday outfit, she just had to wear it to school!

After school it was time for more presents!

Along with countless other gifts, one of her favorites was her new basketball!

Sydney is only 11. That little tid bit of information must have slipped my mind when I was ordering the cake. I'm a dork, Happy 11Th Sydney!

Sydney in her new birthday jammies. Nice warm fleece jammies for the cold winter nights that are headed our way.

Sydney's birthday fell on a Monday this year. We celebrated the weekend before. Sydney chose Sonic as the place she wanted to go for her birthday dinner. We love Sonic and their Tots!

Then she chose to visit Nana and Papa over all the other choices we gave her. We headed to Benson and spent the day with Nana and Papa and of course, Uncle Will! Papa got a new Harley so we all got to go for a ride.

After a busy weekend and a fun filled day at school, Sydney decided that this was the best birthday ever! Happy Birthday Sydney, we love you!!

Veterans day

This year, we got Thursday an Friday off of school for Veterans Day. We celebrated the holiday on Wednesday at school. Every student in school made a hand print to make our banner. The high school band came and played....
The Cub Scouts presented the flag....

They did a great job. They were seasoned pros at raising the flag.

The breeze kicked up just as the flag got to the top of the pole. It was a neat sight. It was calm and quiet, then the flag unfurled and the national anthem was sung. All the adults were wiping their teary eyes afterwards.

Sydney was one of four students picked to read the names of Veterans who could not attend our ceremony. Lots of the names were of Hispanic origin but she did an amazing job pronouncing the names correctly. It was a Veterans Day to remember that's for sure!

The whole school was in attendance. The ceremony lasted a little over an hour. The breeze was cold, the seats were small, but still the kids were reverent and listened, even the kindergartners. Our school did an amazing job, I think the Veterans were really impressed.

Thank you Veterans!

Taste of Home cooking school

A friend of mine invited me to go with her to the annual Taste of Home Cooking School. Tickets were $10 and we got tons of freebies. We saw lots of ladies (and one man) we knew. There were booths set up, free food from My Big Fat Greek Restaurant, and gift bags for everyone in attendance. Plus they gave away tons of door prizes. Our seats were way in the back. They had big screens set up so we felt like we were right up front. We didn't win any prizes but we left with lots of goodies, recipes, and cooking ideas! I can't wait till next year. This is our new annual ladies night out!

It's that time of year

The first window scraping of the season! Early mornings just got a whole lot more fun. Thanks to Grandpa Dozier, Alex stayed nice and warm and toasty on a cold night! She loves her Snoopy long johns!
Bring on the winter!

Cochise College Basketball Buddies!

Today Sydney went to Cochise College to shoot some hoops with the basketball team. Alex and I tagged along. I didn't think there were going to be many people there since only 6 kids from the Boys and Girls club went. When we showed up there were already 90 kids there! It was amazing. We knew lots of kids from school, all different ages. Sydney was very nervous in the beginning. She hurt her pinkie finger earlier in the week and it was bothering her a little in the beginning. By the time her butterflies flew away, her finger had been taped and she was making baskets!
They worked on everything from passing, defense stances, offense strategies, and conditioning. I think it really helped the kids with the basics. It was amazing to see these tall six foot something guys working with kids as young as kindergartners. It was entertaining to say the least!

At the end of the session all the kids sat on the sidelines and watched the team do some exercises as a team. When the team was running passes the kids started cheering and stomping and slapping the floor every time they made a basket. The big boys were so impressed with their basketball spirit.

Then it was time for some fun, as a team. They showed off some moves and the kids went wild. On the way out of the gym the College Team lined up and high fived each and every kid on their way out. Each kid also got a shirt. The Boys and Girls club provided Gatorade for the kids. Sydney had a great time. I let her ride to and from the College with all her friends in the van provided by the Boys and Girls club. She said the music was awesome (party rock anthem, and grenade were some she mentioned), and all the kids were talking like crazy. Glad I took my own car!

Sydney also received a free pass to a college game and a coupon for free soda and popcorn at the snack bar. Guess we'll be going to a college basketball game soon!

Sydney starts basketball!

Sydney started basketball today. The Boys and Girls club is offering it. She has practise 2 days a week and games on Thursdays. I'm glad she's willing to try all the sports offered to see if she likes them or not. She loved doing Tennis and so far has enjoyed Basketball. Most of the kids go to our school, and some are even in her class. I'm glad she has lots of friends to shoot hoops with. This Saturday Sydney gets to go to Cochise College and get one on one help from the college basketball players. Alex and I are going along to watch and support her. I hope she sticks with it, she's so tall. She would be an excellent dunker! Next year she'll have the opportunity to play at school.
GO SYDNEY!