Yes today I turn 30 and I am not afraid to admit I am not happy about that.

I must admit that my twenties were exceptionally kind to me:

I married my soulmate, we moved to Texas, we bought a house, got a dog, had a beautiful daughter, got out of the Air Force, got civilian jobs,  had another beautiful daughter, bought river property, sold a house, bought another house and sold river property - you know among other little but still important things.

 I can no longer blame my little mistakes or my VERY rare, yes I said rare - just go with it, tantrums on being a "baby".  Is it officially time for me to grow up?

The other day Sydney asked me how old I'd be on my birthday and I told her 30.  She oh so kindly told me that was old but at least I'm not going to be 100.

I hadn't looked at it from that perspective but she's right.  In the overall scheme of things I'm still young and I have SO much more life to live!  I don't know what my 30's hold for me BUT I do know that I am embarking on this journey with my husband and our children and that makes it slightly less scary.

We'll see what happens...

to EVERYONE!!

We had a wonderful morning together.

*Up at 5 to open gifts - okay I could have done without this.

*Unfortunelty Daniel left for work soon after all the gifts were open

 *A yummy breakfast for the kiddos and  Rosco (yes he stole my breakfast - he is lucky it's

Christmas or I would have sold him already today).

*Skyping with everyone at Mom and Dad's and watching them open their gifts

*Now the kiddos and I are hanging out playing with all their new toys.

Here are a few pics of the girls this morning...

                                                                    

Santa's Note to the kids - never mind how feminine his handwriting looks...

Santa dropped a gift for Sydney on his way up the chimney and it is the first thing she spotted BUT she didn't even see her dollhouse from Santa and it is as tall as her...

Looking through their stockings!

Hot Chocolate for breakfast...

Merry Christmas to all of you and your families.

and we enjoyed every minute!!

I had to work until 9:30 this morning but I came home and got straight to work in our kitchen.  I made 48 more Red Velvet cupcakes (most went to the neighbors) and then I started on OUR Christmas dinner. Daniel has to work Christmas so we have to do it a night early.

We decided to fry a turkey again this year and once again it was the BEST turkey - so full of flavor and juicy as can be.  PLUS it only took 40 minutes outside in the fryer as opposed to 5 or 6 hours inside the oven.  I don't know that we will ever cook it traditionally again!

It was VERY windy so he had to do it on the back patio against my best judgement

but he watched it closely and it all worked out because here is what we got 40 minutes later!

I guess the food is better if they sit in the same chair and eat off the same plate...

Then it was time for them to open their Christmas Eve gift.

 They opened Operation, the game, and LOVED playing with it.  Sydney was surprisingly good at it and I think Casey thought the nose was supposed to be red with an irritating "EEEEEEEEEHHHHHH" nose coming from it.  But we all had fun...

Casey kept messing with the camera and when I went to turn it off I accidently took this picture of her.  She is so funny and pictures like this capture moments I don't want to forget!

Then it was time to get Santa's treats ready!  This year we gave him a cupcake, homemade rice krispie treat, some "Bacon & Eggs" and, of course, milk.  His reindeer couldn't be left out so they got Magic Reindeer mix that Sydney made at school, apples and carrots!

Then off to bed with sweet dreams they went!  Both so excited for tomorrow morning that couldn't hardly stand the wait.  Now if only we didn't have to get up at 5 am so we can open gifts before Daniel goes to work!

We were in the kitchen cooking some yumminess and decided that we would turn on the laptop and talk with everyone at mom and dad's - since they are all there getting ready for a white Christmas and we are here (I'm not bitter at all).  We ended up talking for about 1 1/2 hours.

We were making a few different things - A Pecan Fudge Pie, a Pumpkin Pie and as you can see we made some Red Velvet Cupcakes.

Sydney was so concerned that I was making spaghetti sauce cupcakes...

I love the color...

And they are SOO yummy!!!

Casey was taking a nap and you could see the boredom plastered on Sydney's face.  I wasn't feeling too hot and Daniel was taking his finals so I broke out the Gingerbread house and let Sydney go to town!

She LOVES being creative and what better to create with than sugar laden icing and candy!

Last night we put the kids in their jammies and drove over to Windcrest to check out all the Christmas lights. Last year Casey was asleep before we even got there and Sydney was asleep soon after so Daniel and I drove through for ourselves. This year both kids were wide awake and SO excited to check out all the lights! These people put some BIG money into their light displays and the streets are PACKED with everyone trying to get a peek at all the houses.

All ready to see the pretty houses.

She kept screaming out her window

"Santa, where are you? Come here!"

Sydney had her Christmas party at school today and apparently it "was the BEST party ever!"

They had junk food galore and made some really cute crafts that she is VERY proud of.

It was all a surprise to us so when she came home I was just as excited as her to go through her bag and check it all out!

Sydney and her class with the Man in Red...

A Handprint Santa ornament that Sydney made for her Pink tree!

I LOVE this ornament.

It is her handprint and each fingerprint is decorated as a snowman.

It is things like this I will look back on every year when we put up the tree and smile!

Click below to see the message Santa sent to Sydney.  She was amazed with it and decided he MUST be real (older kids at school are being horrible and trying to expose Santa - I wish there was a way to scare them without spending time in jail!!!)

Sydney's Santa Message
(Click on this line above even though it doesn't look like a link - it is - I promise)

Oh and on a much sweeter note...
Tonight as I put Casey to bed she reached up and put her little hands on
either side of my face and said
"Mommy you my BEST FRIEND and I weally love you"
It is moments like that that make me feel like I am doing something right with my girls.
And then Sydney bust trough the door and told me the dog "tooted" and it seemed to ruin the little bubble I was in - crazy how that works!

Not in the mood to make cookies Sydney and I came to the idea of making Bacon & Eggs today...

We haven't done this together before but she was a great little helper when she wasn't sneaking treats for herself.

  

Sorting the Reese's Pieces looking for only yellow - our egg yolk...

Melting the almond bark...

Putting the "yolk" in just the right spot...

So proud of our finished product...

Doesn't it look yummy???

Nothing better than a candy cane, a tinsel pom-pom, brown pipe cleaner, some googly eyes and the burns on mommies fingers from the hot glue gun to make a cute little treat for all the kids in Sydney's class.

 

I remember making these in Girls Scouts with my mom.  I loved stuff like this and apparently so does Sydney!