Home for the Holidays!

So I've gotten myself in the holiday festive mood, I suppose. Instead of a Christmas Tree this year we got a Holiday wreath to hang on our bedroom door. It smells of Christmas downstairs and I love to wake up every morning and get a sniffle of that wonderful wreath. I just can't help but get all festive and excited for Christmas! We have been busy with so many things. As you know we are not in our rental home anymore, we are in Chase's parents basement. Dang basement dwellers. Any who we have been working hard at trying to find a house to buy so we can get out of our dungeon and out of his parents way. We have never gotten any where near getting any of the houses we put an offer on until recently. We put an offer on a HUD home and we ended up being the first runner up. So we got all excited thinking well we made a little progress lets keep the ball rolling. We found a few really cute houses but one that was our favorite was a short sale. dun dun dun. I know short sales are just no fun. So we figured, eh why not at least just try, right? So we put an offer on the house knowing that we probably wouldn't hear anything for a month of so. But... to our surprise, they called that day to say that we would know the very next day if our offer was accepted. Plus # one! We wouldn't have to wait long just to find out we didn't get it. Wahoo! Then they called us back the next day and.... they .... accepted ..... our.... offer!!!! YAAAAAY! Plus # two! Man we are on a role. So after about a year of searching and rejections we finally got accepted. They like us, they really really like us. :) Ha ha. So of course there is always a catch when dealing with the dreaded short sales. They have a second mortgage. Poop. So instead of having to convince one bank to take a hit we have to convince two banks. So it might be a while before we even find out if our offer even gets accepted by the bank. So we aren't holding our breath on this house. But we don't care! We are just so stinkin excited that we got this far!! We are saying our prayers that it will go quick no matter what the outcome. Kael has been loving being at Nan's house. He gets to see at least one cousin everyday. So he always as a buddy to play with. He has been feeling pretty crumby though cause he is teething again. This poor kid doesn't just get one tooth at a time. His first six came in all at the same time and now all his molars are coming at a few others. I just feel so bad. He is a good kid and such a trooper but these teeth are really kickin his but this time. At least he's got his awesome cousin's to distract him and keep him busy. All 29 of them. :)

Picture Nazi

*Warning..... Start from the bottom of this post, it's backwards, and I don't have the time to switch it (see previous post).*

Kael and his Great Grandma Alice.

Poor grandma can't remember anybody's name, but she did remember Kael's name the whole time we were there. :)

Such a beautiful Temple

We took the opportunity to go to the Las Vegas Temple while we were there. Oh my gosh. The celestial room glows when the light comes thru the windows at just the right time. It seriously took my breath away when I walked in.

Driving the big boy car

Kids took turns playing in the leaves

I guess I know what Kael is getting for Christmas. He sat in this toy car for so hours. He loved it!

We got to ride it Talon's cool dune buggie. I think that's what it was. It was freakin fast. no joke I about peed my pants.

It was really loud while they were playing games so Chase took a nap with Kael in the grass.

This is also for all yall texas family who wasn't there this year in Vegas with us. Just wanted you to see everybody and how much they've grown. It was so empty with out. Loves.

Cynthia and Amber this is for you.

Kael loves his bath time and now he has fun toys to make it even more fun. Thanks. Miss you guys. Loves from Kael.

He crashed the moment he was buckled in to go home. What a good first birthday.

no clothes, surrounded by toys.... thats the life for me

time to clean up

ramped it off the cake... wow check out that air.

He found his car candle and decided it needed a drive. He he, such a boy.

The first bite

He didn't really like us singing to him

He got so many gifts. Thank you everyone who got him stuff. He loves it all.

Kael didn't like his clothes. Ha, ha. He would throw them anytime we would put them on his lap. Silly boy has never like those confining things.

opening gifts

Kael's cake

daddy making birthday boy his breakfast

Kael's blanket I made him for his birthday

(my first blanket I've ever sewn)

So I've always known that I'm a picture freak. I have wanted a camera since I was little but wasn't aloud to have one until I was 12. My mom was smart and didn't want me wasting film. Cause you know back in the old days you actually had to by film and wait to see what your pictures looked like, and if they turned out. I remember the year I got my camera I would set up my barbies, yes I played with barbies when I was twelve, and then take their picture. I would make my family 'smile' and 'say cheese' too. It was this ghetto little box camera that you had to manually load and I remember it was a deep purple too. But I loved it and I love taking pictures. My next few cameras were 35mm and a little more high tech. (no manual turning required) Then the best invention ever!! Enter the digital camera. I think this is the coolest thing ever. No more waiting to see your pictures. So I get mine and I had the thing f...or....ev...er..... It was a pink kodak. My best friend. Enter the digital SLR!! Dun du da dun! I gotta have one. hum.... crap.... no money. So I hold off and keep using my pretty pink camera that I'm pretty sure I've had for like five years. I told you it was my best friend. Well it finally took a crap recently and my sweet hubby let me buy my sweet Canon Rebel XSi DIGITAL SLR camera. Whoop whoop. Hello new best friend. I did take two years of photography in high school and a semester of it in college. But I'm no expert photographer. I don't consider myself educated in the subject either. I just love love love taking pictures. So now that you know my silly story consider this my formal apology for the over load of picture taking. Over the past week and a half, no wait it was only on the weekends so technically only five days, I have managed to take 360 pictures. Yeah. Call that an accomplishment? I do. Holy crap. Was the camera glued to my face? Ha, ha. Well I'm not going to show you all 360 but I probably will have a lot to show you so...... Sorry and enjoy.