A girl and her dog...

Dogs are funny.... I really haven't ever bonded with an animal.  I blame it on the German Shepherd that attacked me and my sister or cousin (I forget) when I was little.  Since then big dogs have always made me nervous.  

The hermit crab that my sister got as an answer to prom did little to foster animal bonding.  He just wasn't very fun to play with.  I remember taking home stray animals with the plea.... "Can we keep him Mom?"  But since my mom was "allergic" we never got one when I was growing up.  I think it was that she was raising 8 kids and she had little time for an animal... 

I don't blame her..... now!  :)

Megan and Pippin pretty much bonded instantly.  There is no doubt about it... He is her dog.  He is very protective of her and will jump off the lap of anyone holding him to get to Meg.  The feeling is mutual... Meg will pass every one else when she gets home to go and get Pip.

My favorite part of Christmas...

This year for Christmas we figured out (got better internet) so we could skype with Zack!  It was so great to see him as we got to talk with him.   He looks and sounds great!  His mission is going well and he is loving it!

I bit the bullet and Megan and I took a couple of hours and made pajama pants for everyone this year!  It has been a long time since I have actually made the pj's... but it was fun sewing with Megan and they turned out pretty cute too!

Grandma and Grandpa Steeneck and Aunt Sandy came up Christmas Eve to party with us!  So fun.

Catie came over early... 5am... and we got to open presents with them, then they went to Catie's house then back here to talk with Zack then down to Grandma Thomson's for a visit.   It was a busy day but very nice!

At my mom's new condo she had some home movies playing in the background.  It was fun to watch the movies of when I was growing up and laugh with my family how silly we were.  On the way home I was thinking about how my dad wasn't in most of the films... He was doing the filming....  It made me miss him even more.   It has been hard for me to blog or even take pictures since my dad's passing almost two years ago.  I thought about this and him most of the ride home and I decided that I wanted to do better at documenting my family and our exploits this year.  (My first goal for the New year!)  So hopefully you will hear more from me and our family this year!

What a HOOT!

October FHE was at Erin's... it was sort of our Halloween party this year since we couldn't find a day that we could all get together before Halloween.  This is our attempt at a themed group costume.

Ben's B-Day

Ben turned 22 in October!  Way too much cake and goodies in October!   He chose Chocolate Chip Cheesecake with choc. chip cookies.  

It's official...

It's official...

Ben and Catie got engaged last night!

We are all so excited for them both!

Meg's 18!!!

Meg turned 18 onWednesday!  She choose TGI Friday's for her birthday dinner.  Parmesan crusted chicken with mozzarella sticks for her appetizer.... YUM!

Because of Meg's bowling class Wednesday night we had her cake Thursday!  Dark chocolate cake with mint chocolate chip icing and peppermint ganache!!!!  Even I risked a stomach ache for this one!

Happy birthday Meg!

Vampirene

My kids think she is creepy... but I think that she is my favorite Halloween craft so far this year!  I love her necklace.