Santa Rocks....again!

Santa placed the presents in a different spot and Carly thought Santa didn't come! I told her it was because she forgot to put out cookies.

Sofie got a rawhide bone from Santa

(I'm not sure Santa accurately checked the naughty list).

But it certainly made her happy.

I think Carly really liked her pj's and robe that she opened on Christmas Eve. Her old robe would have made a great film prop - it was perfectly worn and tattered - right down to sleeves that hit her just below the elbow!

Love ya Sweetie.

Looking very festivous in red!

Kenny got AppleTV which skeptically we hooked up and

were slightly amazed how easy it was- No phone tech support required!

Carly reading her clues from her countdown box #25.

It looks like it was dark outside but it was just cloudy with snow flurries.

In Carly's words "this is my 'I'm excited' look"

when she opened her ipod Touch and iTunes Giftcard.

Merry Christmas #2 - as Carly was calling it.

a lake house christmas

We had our traditional Lake House Christmas the weekend before Christmas.

It is a great way to kick off Christmas week.

I fell down a little on picture taking this season. Not sure what happened.

No matter, this is one of my favorites of the season.

Aren't they sweet?

Carly got a 2011 World Records book.

Amid the Christmas chaos, I caught her numerous times just like this - wrapped up in it.

Nonna having baby time.

John Camp opening more Star Wars toys-

when this kid likes something, he REALLY likes it!

Doug (looking a lot like Carly) enjoying his photography book.

Kenny with his new antler handle grill tool and apple wood chips.

Lib modeling her new scarf.

Nona gave Carly one of her BIG wishes - a Vera Bradley duffel bag.

She was really excited to see that green box!

A couple days later, she was even more excited to pack her new duffel

for a sleep over at a friend's house!

day 23...house decorating

day 23....or should I title it house eating?

since more decorations are consumed than used for decorations!

day 22....friends

day 23....celebrating with friends

nothing like a last minute evening with friends

Carly had just opened her gifts from her friends -

that super cute head band and the "love" tile necklace.

Dinner was good but it turned out to be a bad fire pit night {too much wind}.

Love that Ginny and I gave each other Mississippi shaped pottery pieces.

day 21...never say never

day 21...eat breakfast at Starbucks

yep, I did it.

This non-coffee drinker, non-lover of coffee smells took her daughter to Starbucks.

why? because according to her they have THE BEST carmel spiced apple cider.

The blueberry scone must have been tasty too.

fa-la-la-la-la

Carly chose chorus as her fine arts elective this year.

She had her Christmas concert this week.

(squeeze that into this crazy holiday season!)

They had ordered dresses and tuxes to wear during performances this year,

but they did not all come in on time.

(insert lots of frustration here, especially since I already had Carly's dress altered)

So, the day before the decision was made for them to wear Christmas attire.

(thankful that we had Christmas attire to wear!)

The concert was a combination of 5th/6th grade, jr. high, and high school choruses.

Carly looked nervous but said she had a good time.

game 2...first lost

21-23...it was a close one

game 1...first win

wordless wednesday :: the countdown

It's game day!

wordless wednesday :: hunter's moon

We had Thanksgiving lunch at Mom & Dad's today {Tuesday},

so the hunters can go to the woods for a few days. Kacey brought us all happies. How cute are they?

Carly and I dressed alike

{since it got so warm, it was literally our coolest outfits} Carly showing Finn the blog on my iPhone.

What do you think she thinks about that technology? Amazing to think what she has seen in her lifetime!

Daddy filling his plate with Thanksgiving goodness

{chicken, dressing, sweet potato casserole, butter peas, cranberry sauce and roll}

Carly and Aunt Donna Sue waiting on everyone to serve themselves.

Thanksgiving Good Mail

{Carly mailed postcards from MamMam's post office.}

just like Peter Cottontail

Picking lettuce out of celeste's lettuce patch!

good morning sunshine

[Carly enjoying D's world famous pancakes] .

Slept late. Woke to beautiful sunshine coming in the window, sounds of kids playing downstairs, and smells of bacon frying.

Happy Thanksgiving

Celeste is putting the finishing touches on wise thanksgiving dinner. Chin-chin

Watch out

These will be mine. All mine. So watch out if you try to get one, you could draw back a nub!

Thanksgiving week

I love Thanksgiving week. We start at the lake house with kenny's family and then move on to my family. I will be sad when I don't think I can take Carly out of school on Monday and Tuesday anymore. It is a wonderful long break without any pressures of time (there is no choice but to leave the to-do list behind). Of course, I don't have to cook or take care of visitors. In fact, right now I'm hanging out on the porch swing enjoying a beautiful day and reading my book.

basketball season is here

A couple of weeks ago, Carly tried-out and made her school's 5th grade basketball team. They have been practicing 3 times a week from 7:30-9:00 (how crazy is that?) and today they scrimmaged the 6th grade team. It was a little rocky but it was good for them to shake the jitters. Their first game is the Monday after Thanksgiving. They will be playing other schools in our conference which will mean some traveling to away games. Plenty more to come from the basketball court!

Game * Set * Love

This past weekend, Carly played in her first USTA tournament. I can't imagine in our area there is a better place to play than the indoor clay courts at Tunica. Added bonus that when it is cold, windy, and rainy on Saturday, I was sitting inside watching a little tennis!

Because Ms MM had a birthday, her and Carly were not in the same bracket. Carly was in the 10 and under and Ms MM was in the 12 and under. Carly played at 4:00 on Friday and Maggie didn't play until 8:00. So they got to spend a lot of time together in between. Carly lost her first match in a third set tie-breaker 1-6, 6-4, and 0-1(8-11). The first set was tough. Carly looked like she was scared to death or that she might throw up any minute. She played a lot better in the 2nd set but just couldn't hold on in the tie breaker! Saturday, Carly had enough of our {constructive} criticism, so

Kenny made her a sign cheering her on. Saturday, we had to wait on the results of a morning match to know who and when we were playing. So, Carly didn't start playing until 5:00. 5:00 didn't seem too late until after Carly finished the 3 hour marathon match! Carly won the match 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-4), 1-0 (10-8). Yes, that is 3 tie-breakers! Sunday morning, we were back for Carly to play in the finals of the consolation bracket. She won that match with ease and ended up with a trophy for winning the consolation bracket. Carly's excited that now when she is registered for another USTA tournament, you will be able to click on her name and there will be some tournament history. {When we opened the brackets for this tournament, she was the only player registered that did not have a tournament history}