New haircut. December 11, 2009

A new haircut for the New Year to come. Thought I would take a picture of my new haircut....it's a good one.....and I can show the picture to my hairdresser next time.

Ward Christmas Party. December 5, 2009

Austin is so excited for Christmas! This year we got our tree the first weekend of December. Austin put some extra stockings on his feet, like boots, and then he put a Santa hat on his head...he was pretty funny.

Saturday we had our ward Pioneer Christmas, and that was fun. It was a pot luck dinner and then Santa came. Austin even decided to sit on Santa's lap (Bro. Clark) this year and I got a picture. I also took a picture of the Ferris kids with Santa.


Chuck enjoyed the party and was able to visit with others while I hung out with the Jensen's and McLemore's...Stephanie came and brought her baby, so I got to hold him. He's a cutie!

Snow Day. December 4, 2009.

It snowed here on Friday! Austin was so excited on Thursday when he came home from school. Apparently the teachers all told the kids it was going to snow when they woke up the next day! When we woke up Friday morning it was hazy and trying to rain...it think it was 34 degrees or so. So by the time Austin got out of the shower it started to snow.

Austin really hurried (for once) and got dressed really fast so he could go outside and feel the snow fall on his face and try to catch the snow flakes.



Within 10 minutes it was done snowing. I went to class, and right before English was over. around noon it started to snow really hard and big snow flakes, it stopped again in about 30 minutes. Austin told me that at school they let them go outside and run around in the snow. It did snow again really hard about 3 pm, but again for about 30 minutes. Nothing stuck to the ground, there was a small layer on the top of the cars, roofs, trees. Then it cleared up and the sun came out! The next morning I had to go to work, and it got down in the 30's that night, so I drove very slowly on the big overpass at the beltway and 249. You could see the tire marks where the cars had gone and frost on the side of the roads. Other parts of Houston, around us got 2 inches or more. So that was our snow day!

Happy Thanksgiving. November 26, 2009

Thanksgiving this year was pretty crazY! Austin had school on Monday, and I also had class. Monday night Austin and I picked up Cory from the airport, and it was really good to see him. Cory had been in North Carolina for a few days to see his roommate Matt and to see someone get baptized. From the airport we went right to the Jensen's for Pie Night. I made a chocolate chip pie to take and it was pretty good.
Tuesday morning I put Austin on the bus and then Cory went grocery shopping with me...that was fun! Then the two of us headed to the airport to pick up Lindsie around noon! I was so happy Lindsie made her flight, otherwise I was going to have to fly up to SLC and turn around and come back with her! After we picked her up, the three of us went to Willies Ice house for lunch. And on the way home, Cory had to stop and buy the new Beatles Rock Band, so that he and Lindsie could play it all week long!

Austin was so excited to see his brother and sister when he got home!
Sometime during the early morning hours, Grandma and Grandpa Martin pulled up in the motor home. They didn't want to wake us up, so they stayed in the motor home and then came inside after Dad got home about 730am that Wednesday morning. Chuck had been in Lubbock, Texas for a few days working.
The weather was in the low 45's in the morning and then stayed in the 60 during the day, so it was a great cool weather for Thanksgiving week.
On Wednesday we made pie and got things ready for Thanksgiving dinner.

Grandma, Dad and Lindise got busy and made some Swedish rolls.

Then on Thanksgiving morning, we watched the Macy's Parade while we got all the snacks out for the day.
Lindsie, Cory and Austin all helped in the kitchen and that was fun to have some helpers with me, we sure did miss Ashlie.

As we cooked we watched lots of HGTV that I had recorded on Thanksgiving foods and leftovers and decorations...Linds and Cory played lots of rock band and Dad got involved in that also. And Grandpa kept busy making rounds with everyone.


Then when it got close to sit down and eat, Dad and grandpa worked on some deep fried turkey. I know Mel will miss this! Wish he was here, but I know he is having a nice time in EWR with Kate and the kids.
Then around 4pm we had dinner....and it was yummy!

It was nice to have some fresh green beans from the garden. And once again, Dad made the perfect gravy.

And here are some of those perfect rolls!
Later that evening the Elders came over and had pie with us, with lots of options to choose from. Grandma brought, pumpkin, pecan, and apple. Then I made Blackberry and Key lime pie. I think the Elders had one of everything! Dad sent them home with some left overs too.

Then Friday morning we had the annual Black Friday Adventure! Linds, Cory, and I got up at 430 and were at Wal-Mart by 520am....it was packed! We got a few good deals on movies...that's about it. Then we went to Kohl's and got lots of good stuff, then Target...great items for Austin. Then we went to the mall and hit a few stores there and were back home by 1230. No one was home when we returned, they all went to the property to check it out. Grandpa caught a few bass out of the pond, and Austin drove his 4 wheeler around for a bit. Later that evening we ate left overs and headed upstairs to watch Star-Trek, the movie just came out on DVD...it was awesome!

Saturday was pretty leisurely and not much going on, video games, HGTV and rock Band, and lots of pie! And of course a nap!

Grandma Martin helped pass the time with some knitting.
Sunday morning I had to take Cory and Lindsie to the airport to catch the 945am flight back to SLC. I was so happy that they made the flight. Then we went to church. On Monday morning Grandma and Grandpa got things together, and after Austin got on the bus they headed back for Missouri. It was a great Thanksgiving, and I was so thankful to have the kids home, and to have Chucks parents come down and share it with us all. We are so blessed!

Here's Sister Ashlie Martins's Thanksgiving in a nutshell:
Thanksgiving was really good. we had a good zone breakfast with biscuits and gravy! then we watched Madagascar II, Moto-Moto reminds me of an Elder in our zone :) Sister Jordan and I still laugh about that one. Then we went to two Thanksgiving dinners. One was really laid back and fun, and the other was a little more formal, the people were nice. They have a daughter out on a Mission so i think they really liked having us over. We also were sent home with lots of leftovers :) then we went back to our house and watched movies in bed for 4 hours!!! 7 Brides, Prince of Egypt and Anastasia! Best night ever!

Happy Birthday Cindy J. November 14, 2009

Saturday night was the adult session of Stake Conference. They always seem to be the best meeting to attend. Afterwards, we went out to eat and celebrate Cindy J's Birthday!



Joining us in the celebration was the Aitken's, Greenwood's, Corrington's,and McLemore's.

We had dinner at Texas Roadhouse, and their traditional Birthday celebration is on a saddle...Yippee!

Happy Birthday Chuck!. November 4, 2010

I can't find a picture of Dad! I remember taking a picture of him with Austin and the breakfast we made him, but I can't find it!
Dad's birthday was a work day this year he seriously kept busy working from dawn to dusk. Austin and I got up and made him an omelet for breakfast. But he ended up being to busy to eat much of it. I hope he liked the streamers Austin and I put up on his office door!

A funny thing happened a week after Chuck's birthday... Austin asked Dad when he was going to take his streamers down, that Dad's birthday was a week ago. Dad asked Austin if it was okay if he left them up. Austin replied, "yes, your a grown up."
It was pretty funny!

Also a big Happy Birthday to Mel, on November 8th. He is up in New York area with Kate and the kids, I hope he had a great birthday, and that he got my birthday card!

Halloween! October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween! The second best day of the year is finally upon us! Every Monday, before Halloween, we carve our pumpkins for FHE. Austin doesn't really like getting his hands messy, but he and Dad suffer through it to make me happy!

Austin is a little older this year, and very excited to carve out his own pumpkin. I gave him a few tips, a safe carving tool, and he was on his way.

Here are our pumpkins, carved and ready to scare those who come to visit.

After classes on Friday, Kelly came over to help me get ready for the Halloween party that night. She helped me make clam chowder and a bean dip, and we also hung a black spider over the kitchen table. I think it turned out pretty good.

Here are some decorations by the front door.

And some decorations over and behind the kitchen sink.

Then after a few finishing touches, I changed into my vampire outfit and was ready for the evening.

Dad had to take Austin to soccer practice before the party, and afterwards they stopped at the store for punch and dry ice. Soon after, the party began with food, some Halloween trivia, and a game of catch phrase. It was nice to have friends over, the Anthons, Laws, Lymans, Solgeres, McLemores, Mauss', Corringtons, and the Ferris'. We had a good turn out, and I think everyone had a good time, I know I did!

On Saturday morning I had to work and Austin had a soccer game. But later that evening we got ready for Trunk-or-Treat at the Church. This year Chuck actually dressed up in full costume as a vampire. Here is a picture of the three of us all dressed up. I should of had Austin dress up as a vampire too, but he wanted to be a pirate.

And what a fine pirate he was!

Austin, you AAARRGGG so cute!

Austin had a great time hanging out with Michael, Spencer, and the other kids!
After Trunk-or-Treat we went home and ate Carmel apples. I stayed up and watched Halloween 20yrs later, and Dad was watching something (anything else) upstairs. I talked to Linds and Cory, and they went to some 'French' subtitled scary movie on campus, and then they had a ward Halloween parties to go to, so I think they had a great time. Sister Ashlie Martin had a weekend jam-packed full of fun!! They had a sisters activity on Friday, another sleepover!!!! So they did not work on Halloween morning, instead they ate pumpkin pancakes and chatted, but then they worked from 1 to 5 and then they had a zone party that night!! Ashlie's email said: "I love my mission!! it is going to me a SWEET Halloween!"
I think we all had a SWEET HALLOWEEN!

Sister Ashlie Martin's Birthday! October 27, 2009

Today is Ashlie's Birthday...22nd to be exact! She is on her mission in Ogden, Utah, so we sent her a package for her birthday, and some money so she could buy some warm boots (seen above). Here is the email she sent me after her birthday.

Sister Ashlie Martin:
Thank y'all so much for all of the birthday emails I love them! I also love the package and cards, thanks grandma and grandpa I really liked that card! I think about y'all a lot and hope things are starting to look up, I love you! :) Mom I love the scarf and thank both of y'all for the b-day money! Dad I loved the card! they made me laugh, thank you. i also got a package form the Robinson's too. they sent me a card the showed where all of them are and a sweater that I almost bought last week. thank y'all! Lindsie, thank you for the email! I am sorry you are so busy with class but I am glad you had time to email me.
Well today is full of shopping and then the Thurgoods are taking my comp and I out to dinner! So I got a birthday day surprise this morning.... the first day of snow :( I am going to freeze! Good thing we will be inside most of the day, well I guess we will be walking to night but we will see what we can do about that.

Picture on my b-day the Thurgoods took me to dinner and later that night, because it was freezing we went there for hot coco before we had to be home.

Happy Birthday Ashlie, we love you!

FISHING! October 23, 2009

At 4:30 this morning, I meet Brother Richmond and 2 other guys from the Klein Ward to go down south/west of Galveston, to Matagorda Bay and go fishing!!! They had a spot open up, and Dean was kind enough to invite me. I'd never been to Matagorda Bay, and it took us a little over 2 hours to get down there. We grabbed some breakfast, made a trip to the restroom, and we were in the boat by 8am.

The fishing guide brought all the gear and bait (we used cut up mullet and then blue crab when Dean caught some). They supply some pretty sweet rods and reels...but they don't let you cast the gear, because it's a bit tricky. I'm sure the guide didn't want to untangle line all day! I had about 5 other fish take my bait,but I wouldn't wait long enough for the fish to swallow it before I jerked the line, so they just spit it out or took it! The guide was getting a little upset with me, but Dean and the other guys were pretty supportive; they weren't catching much at the time.

My first fish was a RED, and he put up a good fight. Dean, and the other guys in the boat were also catching fish. One of the Klein guys had a black tip shark on his line and was able to fight with it for a bit. Eventually, the shark swam under the boat and the line broke. The water was only a few feet deep, so we got a good look at the shark. It was amazing how you could watch the water on top, and see that something was headed for the bait!

Here is fish number one! Yeah...I didn't want to go home empty handed. Later in the day I also hooked a shark, but it bit through the line in about 15 seconds! But that was way cool!

This is my biggest fish yet! This RED was 28 1/2 inches, but we weren't able to weight it.

Here are the three REDS I caught! I did catch the biggest fish of the day!!! It was 28 1/2 inches long. And I caught an alligator gar (alligator looking snout on a fish with lots of sharp teeth)they didn't hang it up.

Here is a picture of the 4 of us and the REDS we all caught for the day. It was a great fishing trip! Only thing that could of made it better, was if Chuck was there too! I did text him while I was fishing to let him know what I was catching, and sent him a few pictures. It was very sweet of him to trust me to go fishing with 4 other guys,in the middle of who knows where; not many men could do that!

The guide stays out until everyone on the boat catches a couple of fish, and we didn't finish until 5pm (and boy did I have to go to the bathroom!). It was a long, cold, windy day...but it was so worth it! When we came back in with the boat, they clean our fish and bagged em for us. Yum...can't wait to have fish for dinner, and try that alligator gar. Now I need to book a trip for next year, when Chuck and I can go together!