It's been forever since I blogged, but not because life has not been full - quite the opposite. I'm not going to try and recap the past two months, but just post a couple of collages to give a small peek into our wonderful Thanksgiving we spent with our family in New Mexico and Texas...

 A bit of a hike in the Palo Duro Canyon

Sights of Texas and hanging out with family...

We were so blessed to enjoy Todd's sister, Joy's family, Grandmom and Peepaw, and extended family from there... And talk about yummy turkey! The marinated, fried turkey was so juicy and flavorful... I'll have to figure out the injectible marinade! We got to introduce Keeley to her cousins and meet the newest cousin/niece, Morgan! MUCH squealing, dressing up as princesses/fairies etc, between Sarah and Hannah... Grandmom and Peepaw even braved having them in their room for a sleep over!

 So there's this giveaway off of Fabulessly Frugal for the cool new site I'm eyeing... Vinyl decals for the walls that are so cute, but I've got to see where I can put one! Just wish I'd found this site before painting Keeley's name on her wall... I would've ordered a Large "K" instead! Thinking that the monogramed "L" with est. 2003 would look nice in our front entry way.... What do you think?

Studio JK vinyl

I just became a follower of a new blog named: Room Remix and have really enjoyed it! If you're kind of a decorating (ahem, H.C.)/DIY junkie like I am (that is when we have the budget for it) you might like it too... Right now they're doing a giveaway of a $35 gift card to a number of stores (Pier 1, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.) and if you become a follower, you can enter too! Check 'em out... 

Preschool - noun

Pre-school - adjective

Problem solved! 

Thanks Mom!

Sarah's 1st Day of Pre-School 
(Preschool? Pre-school?)!

 

(Note Sarah holding Keeley's ear... What a goofball...) 

I was so excited to have Sarah get into this pre-school and I really like their set up - ESPECIALLY the mini-toilets they have in the bathrooms that are in each classroom. (Seriously, this was my main reason for choosing this pre-school.) Things seemed to go pretty well. She marched right into the classroom  and neither Mom, Dad, nor Sarah shed a tear... well that is she was fine until another kid came in crying and, having always been a sympathetic crier in the nursery at church, got a concerned look on her face and she joined in for a while... (The teacher told me when I picked her up.) Not really surprising to me... But a successful 1st day! She'll go Thursdays and Fridays of every week from now until May... Didn't get as much of a "break" with Keeley as I thought I might (she "napped" in the car a whole 7 minutes and then wouldn't really nap after that...), but I've got all sorts of ideas of how I can spend hour and a half breaks in the future!

It was a fantastic day for a hike, so we did!

 

Both girls did really well. Sarah's getting so good at climbing, we really have to hold her back! A few falls because she's pretty confident, but nothing more than a scratch... We weren't sure if she'd be more tired from practically running two miles or talking the WHOLE way! Keeley was a champ and seemed to really enjoy the hike, had a few little fussy cries, and then zonked out on the way back from the falls... A dream day...

Lockwood "Zen-isms"

The trees are growing without making a sound...
(Sarah hiking today)

The color of the breeze crossing the ocean...
(Todd copying Sarah's theme)

It's the sound of a flower blooming...
(Sarah sometime in the past few weeks)

Do you feel more relaxed already?