ShannonAlbert.com - June 2009

We always put up our Christmas tree and decorations the first weekend of December. Having an artificial tree that's prelit makes it much easier for the kids to jump right in and start hanging ornaments. Some pics....






We have a tradition of baking cookies when we're putting up decorations. This year, the kids decorated cookies that are in Christmas shapes.





Our version of an advent calendar is 25 little stockings, each containing candy that the kids have every evening.

Went to Amanda's house on Friday night for good food and fun with a few friends.

Our kids love snow (as most Texas kids do since they aren't used to seeing it) and Payton took a few minutes on our one snow day to go out with Ali and catch some flakes in her mouth.

Every day between now and Christmas, I'll be posting a sort of materialistic Advent calendar containing gift ideas that I think are nifty.

Cupcake Courier

First up is a genius creation called a Cupcake Courier. Cupcakes have come en vogue a lot lately with entire bakeries being dedicated to making nothing else. The issue with getting the beautiful cupcakes is how to transport them. A stay-at-home mom (and cousin to Jenna Fischer, actress on The Office which is my favorite show on TV) has created the ultimate item to transport them in style so they arrive looking as good as when they left. In addition, the Cupcake Courier can be used to transport cakes. Available for $32.99 plus shipping and handling at http://www.cupcakecourier.com.

Universities and school districts were out today (although not Payton's). Andy stayed home because the weather was supposed to (and has) get worse as the day wore on. Fire is going, soup is cooking in the slow cooker and it's a very cozy day to be inside.

We recently had the kids' picture taken. Payton looks 14 and Blake looks mean. I hope to get individual shots of them taken soon as well.

Today, Payton had her first appointment in preparation for getting her braces next week. They put the spacers in which is one of the toughest parts of braces since it does make your mouth really sore. Andy and I have both had braces so we know how she feels. One week from now, she'll officially be a brace face and hopefully will let me snap a pic.

Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be a high in the 30s after having recent highs in the 70s everyday. I've got ingredients for a soup to warm us up and lots of firewood to burn all day. There's also a chance of precipitation which could be dangerous especially for Texas drivers who aren't really used to it!

It isn't even December yet and I've already gotten my birthday gifts from Andy and from my parents. Tonight, Payton wanted to make a cake so she baked, iced and decorated one that was for me and Andy's early birthdays. Not sure what we'll do on my real birthday. :-)

We needed to give Payton time to get better and opted not to leave on Saturday as planned, instead leaving on Sunday. We did manage to sneak in a very late night of poker on Friday night and a night of Pitch w/my parents on Saturday but mostly laid low other than that.

Good vs. Evil

Made it home around 10:15 on Sunday night w/everybody (especially Blake) loving to be back home and in their own beds. Payton's still sick and won't be going to school on Monday but she's doing much better than a couple of days ago.

Have a good week everybody!

So we were off to meet up with people who were going to the Chiefs game and get there early for tailgating. There were 30 of us going so it was a bit of a coordination effort getting our caravan on the move but we got there and got off to a good start with some more good food. Payton had started feeling sick just before we left and Andy thought she was being dramatic because she didn't want to go so he said she needed to go. Nine times out of 10 he would have been right but this was not one of them. She was so sick and once she was there, she had to tough it out for several hours.

Some pre-Chiefs game football throwing at Dan and Katrina's house before we left...



Tom immediately jumps into action and starts up the grill. Tom and Maria coordinated and cooked all of the food for the group and we really loved and appreciated them doing that. Once again, more yummy food.



Pimped out tailgate, complete with TV to watch other football games

Someone even brought a bean bag toss!



Finally going into the game...there is nothing quite like being at Arrowhead Stadium. Although I'm not the hugest fan of football, I'll always like going to Chiefs games because the atmosphere is really electric and loud. Arrowhead is the loudest stadium in the NFL which you'll often hear announcers mention during games and you'll often see opposing teams using other means of communication since they can't talk to each other about plays.


Red...

Red...

And even more red...



Despite the fact that there were quite a few Broncos fans there, the Chiefs still managed to pull off the win putting them in possible contention for a wildcard spot. Go Chiefs!

We had our Thanksgiving meal at my mom and dad's house (where we were staying also) and although I had gotten up early to help, I only ended up making the vegetable dishes as mom had it all under control. And, as usual, it was so good. My brother and his wife (another mom-to-be - we have nephews and nieces due in March, April and May next year) and his daughters also came over as well as my Grandpa.

Table set w/winter-themed china



The girls eating at their own table

But Blake is stuck with the adults so we can keep an eye on him

Coral and Lindsey (who was not feeling well)

My brother the rubberface

We only had a little while to stay there after we ate because we had a much anticipated Chiefs game to get to!

On Wednesday night, Andy's parents, his siblings (and their families) plus an aunt thrown in for good measure got together at Dan and Katrina's house for a few different reasons. It was Dan's birthday, we had a surprise sports-themed baby shower for David and Liz since we won't see them before the baby is born and it was just good to get everyone together. Just having parents, siblings and an aunt there meant 27 people were in attendance.

Eating good party food (I believe Dan, Katrina, Maria and Tom provided all of the food which was really yummy)



Mom of three (Nicki) talking to mom-to-be (Liz)

Boys laughing at David's birthday gift to Dan...baby Micah learning how to be ornery early

Officially time for birthday festivities...

Mommy and Joey counting how many candles they've got so far - 35 is a lot!

Nearly catching the house on fire



David pretending to be sweet

Once that festivity was finished, it was time for the surprise baby shower for David and Liz. It was originally just supposed to be Chiefs themed but they actually got a few different sports teams represented in their gifts.



Then it was poker time!


We ended our night very late but there wasn't time to sleep too much as my alarm was set to wake up the next morning to help my mom for Thanksgiving and a very long day ahead of us.