Christmas Past...But Not Forgotten

I do really well at keeping up-to-date with the blog, and then I slack off.  So sorry.  Hope you don't quit reading just 'cause I'm shirking my job.  Anyway, here's some new pics for you and I'll try to keep up.  We've got some major (birthday/baptism) events coming up and I'd hate to get around to posting the news for a couple of months.  Thanks for being patient with me!

Anyway, Christmas with just the Collotons was quiet.  I think the kids actually enjoyed the day with just us.  It was a bit different without cold or snow (yeah, Linda mowed the grass a couple of days before Christmas).  But we still had some of the traditional favorites like oranges in the stockings.  But to prove the love of their gifts, Shawn was able to capture a few moments on "film" before the battery died.

One of the biggest hits of Christmas morning were the hand knitted socks from Grand Grammy!  The kids love them so much it's what they wear to bed to keep their tootsies warm.  Jack will even try to wear them with his shoes, even if they don't fit the same as regular socks.  He loves them!

John got his very own ninja watch! It has little helps to aid in telling time.  He's been so good taking care of it.  He's gotten more interested in accurately telling time now too!  Ah, anything to help in education...but still retain the joy of learning too!  Oh, and John got to open the Kinect for the xBox 360 games.  He was so excited!  We'd already been playing regular games with the system but now our bodies are the controllers.  The girls love their games and even Jack has gotten into playing Fruit Ninja (Apple Juice game to Joe).  It's fun to see them jumping, punching, cutting, and having a great time.

Kelsey loved the coloring books, animals, and new church dresses.  She wanted to get dressed up as soon as she saw them.  We made her wait until washed, but Sunday came around and that was her dress of choice.

Bekah's been coloring, glueing, painting, and decorating her walls with one-of-a-kind art pieces from her art kit.  She was a bit distracted from presents after opening the kit.  She wanted to go color, and so did everyone else.  Well, I guess I can't fault them for wanting to enjoy their gifts.  I can laugh at the goofy smile, right?  But sometimes pure joy doesn't have any other kind of expression.

Jack also became distracted after he opened his bulldozer and excavator.  Both needed initiated into the backyard sandbox.  But he had to settle for clearing a path through the wrapping paper in the living room until we were finished opening gifts.  As soon as we were done, though, he was outside in the dirt having a great time.

And Joe's gifts have been the favorite of bath time since Christmas.  He's a good sport and shares well with the other kids.  It is rather funny to see five kids try to squish into one tub.  There just aren't enough bubbles or space to go around some nights.  One of the great presents (which turned into a lifesaver) was a pillow pet we got for him.  He lost his pacifier Christmas day and the only thing that saved us during the weaning process was Bear Bear.  He slept on that bear, cuddling with it when he felt like he needed his paci.  Whew!  Thank goodness for fuzzy friends!

Shawn and I enjoyed the day.  He put together most of his new computer and I made an awesome dinner.  It was a great day!  Here's hoping you all had an enjoyable holiday season as well!

Happy Birthday, Bekah!

Is it already December?  I guess it's taken me by surprise because the cold hasn't arrived (well, not like in the mountains) and there isn't any snow. We're aren't bundled up like Eskimos every time we get into the car...just to pile the coats in the cart once we get into the store.  Ah well, it's still that time of year!

Bekah had a wonderful 5th birthday!  She got to watch me decorate her rocking horse birthday cake and even taste some of the frosting.  She was so excited!  And when she got some ponies and other horse toys to play with, she was even more ecstatic!  What a happy girl!

And They Said It Couldn't Be Done

Before, just weeds & dirt.

I am here to prove that you can, at least for one season out of the year, have soft, emerald green grass in the state of Texas.  We took our dry, barren and hard-packed dirt in the front yard and created a soft carpet of green.  Granted, there are some spots in the greenery that need filled in (I don't have a professional seed spreader) but it's green!  And once the seeds get a firm hold on the ground, they don't need watered much!

First planting's results.

The entire process took quite a bit of effort on everyone's part.  I dug up the yard; the kids removed rocks and debris.  Then, we chopped down the dirt clods and raked it smooth.  Once we had a more level surface, we spread starter fertilizer and grass seed with our gloved hands.  Some spots didn't get as much seed, so we've had to go back through and reseed some spots.

This is a perennial rye grass that survives through the cooler months of autumn, winter, and then sleeps all summer long.  It should come back next fall as the summer grass is dying off.  The plan right now is to plant some different grass seed in the Spring when the temperature increases.  But we're happy with the yard.  Much happier than when we first moved in!

Second planting and starting of third.

I'm still working on spreading some of the grass throughout the existing Bermuda grass (horrible stuff that spreads and leaves pockets of dirt underneath that when cut and raked away, leave massive spaces in the yard).  And I'm working on putting grass on the other side of the driveway as well.  Let's pray for some rain too!  I get tired of moving a hose all day long...but it's worth it to see such a beautiful color of green!

Our Firepit

We found a pit in the backyard and Shawn immediately had an awesome dream/vision of what we could put in it.  Sure, we could fill it in and put grass on top; but that's mundane.  Everyone's done that.  How 'bout we put a ring of rocks around it and put a fire in it?  Say!  That's an idea!

Remember those stepping stones from the front yard?  Well, they had to move from there when I decided to put some grass in the dirt.  Then, they had to move from their temporary home by the side of the patio when I expanded that.  So, why not ring the pit?

Sounds like a plan.  So, after a couple of days of hauling sand to make it "a bit" more level (it still dips and rises in places), we had our very own firepit.  We've cleared out dry brush that was just sitting at the side of our house begging for a stray spark or something to catch it on fire.  And then we chopped down a bunch of fallen trees that were leaning against the fence.  Three different fires; hot dogs; marshmallows; and that all equals some happy kids and parents.

Happy Veteran's Day

John wanted to send this picture to all of the veterans, or at least one of them, in our family.  I thought the easiest way to share and keep a bit of the memory for ourselves, is to post the picture on our blog for all to see.  Hope you don't mind.  John's really trying to understand, and yet celebrate all of the wonderful things our veterans do for our country and our family.  Thanks so much for all you do to ensure our freedoms!

Happy Trunk or Treat

Halloween saw a busy time this year for us.  We were working on projects around our new house and seeing Daddy off to work at night.  So, we missed Daddy during the annual collection of candy. But I got some pictures to send to you and so he could see the kids in their costumes.

We actually had a ward trunk or treat at the church parking lot the Saturday before Halloween.  The kids enjoyed playing some games like cake-walk, pumpkin bowling, and eating donuts from a string.  Joe's candy pouch was filled with powdered doughnut remnants because he was more than willing to pick up the donuts that had fallen and consume them with relish.  Several of the youth that were helping man the games were concerned with his desire to clean up but it was a bit challenging for me to watch four kids and keep him from eating fallen food at the same time.  Ah well.  A little old-fashioned dirt never hurt anyone.

Jack loved being the cowboy for Halloween.  Everyone smiled when Jack said, "Howdy, partner." and then shot them with his six-shooters.  But we walked the neighborhood looking for houses with candy.  Unfortunately, we found loads of houses but our area doesn't have many kids in it.  We decided to end the evening after Joe fell into a patch of grass that was filled with stickers (everything in Texas has sharp edges to it...thorns everywhere and stickers too!).  But we had plenty of candy.  And the kids will still pass houses and declare,


"That's where we went Trick-or-treating!"

Happy Home Depot Bear

The last project we did before moving, Jack submitted his name into the local Home Depot's Build-a-bear drawing.  And he won!  You can't tell from the picture, but he's really very excited!  He named the bear Polah Bear.  I wasn't about to argue with him that Polar Bears are white.  It was enough just to get him to look at the camera.

Can you believe it?!  He's loved that bear ever since.  Just thought I'd share his good fortune and let you smile at his frown.