Nothing in Particular

So this weekend was very lazy - for me, anyway. I spent time with my most favorite hobbies: books and movies. Saturday Kenan and I went to see Avatar because it's been out for two months and the crowds have died down (relatively speaking) and we wanted to see what the fuss was about. Believe me, now I get it. We saw it in 3-D IMAX, and it was an experience not to be missed. We're thinking of seeing it in the theater for a second time, and we've only done that two other times in history (Walk the Line  and The Departed, which, not coincidentally, are two of the posters in our media room). So if you haven't seen Avatar yet, get thee to the theater before it's too late! This year we have a goal to see every movie that is nominated for Best Picture. There are 10 and we've seen about half of the list so far.

Also, Kenan was hard at work on the garden today - here he is doing some welding with this past year's gift from Santa:

 Putting the cap onto the fence post

 

Grinding down the edges of a cap - see the sparks flying?

You can see the flame from the welder really well in this one

 

The love of my life

We clearly need at least one new vehicle around here - you all saw my post when my car turned over 100,000 miles, but we have a new milestone that tops that one for Kenan's truck:

 

The irony is that I will be the next one to have a new vehicle, not my darling husband - but don't blame me. Seriously, I tried to convince him he was next in line, but there's some odd bond between men and their trucks that I can't seem to process, so I'm not going to complain. I already have it narrowed down to two different models ;)

A week from tomorrow and February will be gone! We leave for St. John in 46 days!!

Gardens and Mesquite

This weekend Mom and Dad came to visit and we had lots of excitement: our breakfast area furniture delivered and Kenan's garden tilled up. Here are some pics of the fun:

 

  

Here are the breakfast table and benches. They are made entirely out of mesquite - the table legs are made out of tree trunk sections. It fits the space very well and I'm so pleased with it

Here is the start of our garden this year - I did a picture from this angle and the one below to show the size of it - it's really big!

 

  

Kenan dumping some dirt into our clay-like soil to get the ground ready for planting

Kenan tilling to mix the soil together (that's Daddy on the left)

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Unless you're living in a cave (I take that back - ESPECIALLY if you're living in a cave), you're aware that we are currently having record-setting low temperatures in the Texas Hill Country. We bought Madison a very soft blankie for Christmas and she wears it around like a cape - it's so cute! I took this picture below last night - a dog warm and snug in a bed and a nice crackling fire is my idea of heaven on a cold night (yes, that is a book on the hearth - what's a fire without a good book to read?). Snuggle up!

Funny

I had to share two of my favorite comics from this year's calendar:

It's especially funny when you have a dog and a doggie door - they look just like that when they go in and out, like it's the greatest thing ever invented

This one is Kevin in about eight years - hilarious!

Boys With Toys

Kenan and Daddy OD'd on the manliness during our visit to Caldwell: fishing, chopping down trees, buying guns - Mom and I just cooked and watched the entertainment. Oh, and I spent plenty of time by the fire and ate more in three days than I can remember in years. Lucky for me, I haven't stepped on a scale and I don't care :)

We also got to visit with Kurt and we were so happy he was able to stop by.

Can you guess what Kurt got for Christmas from Santa? ;)

The tree that Kenan and Daddy chopped down - the biggest cedar I have ever seen, hands down

Figuring out the plan of attack

Madison observing

 

 

I love capturing moments like these - this is why Kenan is going to make a fantastic daddy one day

More planning

Daddy on the AGCO pulling the biggest pieces

Did I mention boys with toys?

Kenan and Kurt launched the boat to the right place where Daddy wanted to sink the branches

Daddy had to explain to me the purpose of this to me - the big branches give the fish a place to hide and basically, it's good for the pond's ecosystem. Pretty cool, huh?

Madison and Driller playing

Kenan and Kurt sinking a branch - they did this several times with different branches

The boys (including Driller) fishing

Bubela Christmas

We went a-visiting during this past week and had a wonderful time with our families. Christmas Eve we had our usual get-together with the Bubela family and had a fantastic time. I got to have my favorite thing that Momma Bubela makes - dressing :)

 

 

Madison conked out about halfway through presents

 

But Aaron didn't :)

 

 

Kevin encouraging the mayhem :) It was so cute; Aaron would pop it and the noise startled him but he wanted to do it again

Kramer Christmas

We had Christmas with my side of the family this weekend in Caldwell and it was very fun and relaxing. Mom made the best dinner ever of a bone-in prime rib (I am going to try it!) with all kinds of wonderful things to go with it. We had lots of fun eating and relaxing and opening presents. Here are some of the pictures:

Kenan and Richie opening presents

Daddy starting in on one of his presents - I try to make sure he opens the books last :)

Mommy! :)

Yours truly (my shirt says "I Only Kiss Aggie Fans")