Millie and Jade in the Princess Room

Jade wanted to hold Millie.  Millie didn't seem so sure about the plan.

Well, for just a second maybe. :-)

Lights at the corner

We walked to the corner during Jade's December 28th visit to check out the neighbor's Christmas decorations.  Do you see Jade among the snowmen?

Jade visits the nativity scene.

Hey!  What's Santa doing on my motorcycle?  Oh, right.  We have the same initials!  Do you see Jade?

Trains!

Just like cousins Otis and River, Jade loves trains.  She played with hours on December 23 with the Thomas the Tank Engine set we had on hand from Otis's December 2012 visit.

Trains were a big hit again on December 28 when Jade spent the evening with us.  The engine she named "Ella," after a friend at Montessori school, needed some battery attention after being accidentally kicked off the tracks.  Papa Tom showed Jade how to use the screwdriver to open the engine and replace the battery.  She named another of the engines "Eva" after another school friend.

Christmas dinner at Jan and Jim's

Yummy Christmas dinner at Jim and Jan's with Hannah and Charles; Kirk, Jim, and Sarah; and Grandma Evelyn.

Papa Tom and his Mom, Grandma Evelyn, outside Westminster Manor on Christmas night.

Merry Christmas from River, Piper, and Mya

Sweet River, Piper, and Mya are ready for Christmas.  And lucky Santa!  Look at those cookies! (Thanks, Brandy, for another great photo!)

Dame un beso, Chuy's pescado!

We joined Papa Jay, Lala, Anjanette, and Jade for dinner at Chuy's after the December 13, 2013 Montessori school holiday program.  Jade kissed the Chuy's fish "adios" after dinner

Merry Christmas!

Emma performed a Christmas concert with the Youth Chorus of Texas on December 15, 2013. The chorus gave a televised performance the following day.  Love to hear your beautiful voice, Emma!

One of my favorites as performed by Aaron Neville

As he pointed out at his show, doo-wop is the lost, innocent music.  I love this version of "Stand by Me."

Aaron Neville at the Paramount: December 10, 2013

Sharon Reed and I have been friends since our days at the Williamson County Sun in the late '80s.  We're having pizza and salad at our house before catching Aaron Neville, one of my favorites, at the Paramount.

Sharon and Papa tom in the Paramount lobby after the show.

Sharon and TOS (The Other Sharon): that's me!

Fox's holiday program: Friday, December 13, 2013

Do you see Fox with her jingle bells?

Fox with Anjanette, Lala, Papa Jay, and me while other classes are performing

Click your heels three times . . .

Our newest kitty cat is . . .

The kitty cats invited Paula Possum to dinner.

Fox with blox and green sox

In the building room at the "jumping place," as Fox calls KidzNPlay.  

So c-o-l-d!

Neither rain nor snow nor sleet nor ice shall stop a Texan from grilling!  Thanks, Papa Tom, for braving the cold to grill delicious chicken and burgers!

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!

How could it be anything but the best, with our own Emma as Grace Bradley, the pastor's wife who must transform  a passel of rowdy kids into the Holy family, wise men, and angels before they present the Christmas story to the congregation?  Assisted by her coach's whistle, she got the job done!

A very special backdrop to the performance was a series of restored stained glass windows created by Louis Comfort Tiffany for a Swedenborgian church in 1902 and hidden away for years after the Cincinnati, Ohio church where they were displayed was demolished in the 1960s for a highway project.  The windows were rediscovered in 2001 and underwent careful restoration to treat metal fatigue and distortion, and remove built up dirt.

Cast party at Papa Rollo's!  After pizza, was time to take on the bad critters in a video game.

In the small, small world category:  Miss Linda, who directs the Waco Children's Theater, told Papa Tom about her high school gym teacher back in Arkansas who was named "Mrs. Cloninger." Turns out Miss Linda's gym teacher was Papa Tom's Aunt Nancy.

Jim's in the house!

Sarah and Kirk kindly let us play with Jim for several hours on Saturday, December 7, 2013, while they saw the second film in the "Hunger Games" trilogy.  He's such a sweet kid!

His favorite toy?  The empty egg carton with bath toys where eggs used to be.

Irises

When the temperature dipped below freezing this week, it was time cut the irises and bring them inside.  Not sure if they would have survived the cold.  We enjoyed them in the kitchen until they started to shrivel and drop purple "ink."  Yikes!

We're in Austin, Texas!

Ended the Thanksgiving holidays on Saturday, November 30, 2013, visiting with Al, Joyce, and Emma in . . . can you guess where?  We met for lunch at Joyce's favorite Mexican restaurant, El Patio, then headed to Starbucks so Emma could have internet access for her science project:  a memory test in which Papa Tom and I were subjects!  We didn't get to finish the test because Emma's friend Lily was having her 13th birthday party in South Austin that afternoon and the Horns had to skedaddle.  Tom and I also had to run; we were going to meet Brandy's Mom Cheryl, her friend James, and Grandma Evelyn for dinner at Chuy's.  One can never have too much Mexican food in one day!

Emma's in her Longhorn burnt orange!

Dinner with Cheryl: Saturday, November 30, 2013

Brandy's Mom Cheryl was in town from Asheville.  We all went to Chuy's so Cheryl could have the chile rellenos that just aren't the same in Asheville.  She and Evelyn are best buddies.

Thanksgiving dessert: November 28, 2013

Jan and Sarah

Evelyn, me, Jim, Jan, and Mary

Jan with her Mom, Mary, who was visiting from Ohio

Evelyn, me, Jim, and Sarah

Gran-Jan and Jim with his blocks

Thanksgiving dinner

Well, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving in Austin without a longhorn grinning down at the table, all ready to celebrate Christmas.

Evelyn, P. Tom, and I tried to catch Threadgill's down home cooking for Thanksgiving dinner.  Looks like many, many other people had the same idea.  There was an hour-and-a-half wait!  So we ended up at Texas Land and Cattle. 

Evelyn and I enjoyed toasting in front of the fireplace.

Happy Thanksgiving from Fox to you!

Fox's last day at school before flying to Portland to see Daddy for the Thanksgiving holidays was November 22, 2013.  Can you guess why she made colorful hand prints?  Have you ever done this at Thanksgiving?

Driveway art

Our Austin autumns aren't filled with flaming oranges and reds and golds,  but we do get driveway art from our falling pecan leaves.  Our theory is that the sap bleeds into the concrete.  Any other ideas?