Deck the halls with dogs and dnalrag...

This year my decs are on a slightly different pallet - but I have to say it all turned out very well! I am feeling quite jolly, and making our house all lit up inside makes me feel that way too.

okay, I posted a close up of the garland for a reason...look closely...merry christmas is spelled backwards!!! That's what you get for 75% off after christmas sale :) I was going to fix it, but we decided to hang it up anyway to remind us that imperfection can still bring us joy...

...and our eyesight is starting to fail and we can't really read the words anyway.

no room for a big tree this year - so we're sporting my little outdoor tree, complete with foot-stomp light switch. :)

doves mate for life

wine buddies!

and last but not least...russell is not the only cold body in this house.  we frequently find norms with his little ol' nose buried in his bed. 

confession: I give the boys a hard time for being cold, but I have been cold too!! it's 70 degrees right now in the house, and I'm wearing a sweatshirt, 2 shirts, and soft pants.  I'm going to FREEZE in kansas.

hey there special person

ok let's be honest. we all like to celebrate and have an excuse to make everyday things just a little more spectacular. Enter - the "you are special" plate!  Every time one of us has a special day, we get to use this kick-a plate.   The maiden voyage is T minus 2 days from now...on Saturday morning for a very special birthday breakfast!  :)  yay!

Aggie Ring dunk

This weekend we went down to college station to witness a long standing aggie tradition....a ring dunk! For those of you who don't know (hello my family) when a student at A&M reaches a certain academic status, usually when they are seniors, they are eligible to have and wear their Aggie ring.  Usually a "ring dunk" ceremony occurs, which means the ring is dropped into a pitcher or beer, and the ring-wearer has to drink his way to the ring. :)  This is Clayton's (my new cousin-by-marriage) ring dunk ceremony.

PRE DUNK

me and dawn, clay's girlfriend.

 I was trying WAY too hard to fit in...nothing quite prepares you for feeling like the "weird old people" until you surround yourself with college kids. were were so happy when clayton's parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents showed up so we had someone to talk too :) 

THE DUNK 

POST DUNK

see his ring? It's in his teeth!!

Russell and Clay's aggie rings

MINI BIKE

nuf' said. of course russell rode it. several times :)

 the next words out of his mouth were "can I have one for christmas?"

contact

love to eat turkey

I just gotta brag on my awesome hubby - and his mad turkey skillz. 

This beauty is a cajun style butter ball-o-heaven.

the king of turds stuck again...

Lawd hammercy my dog ate ANOTHER deck of cards. time to call intervention.

On an unrelated note, I think this is the one. Yes, we are going to try and re-create this image for our christmas card. it's perfect. worlds best dog dad. defintely a label russell would wear with shame pride. :)

mmmmm good

I am having alot of fun honing my cooking skillz and made my first batch of homemade italian cookies.  I am addicted to biscotti and I want to eat it everyday. 

Ps. if you get a little bag of these for Christmas, act surprised. :)