From Mrs. H: Welcome 2010!!!

Where do I begin????

What an amazing New Years' weekend and it's only Saturday! Kevin helped me hang the curtain rods over the three windows in the living room Wednesday night; I finished all the cleaning Thursday morning, and then I began prepping for the big New Year's Eve dinner. Cameron had new ear tubes put in early Thursday morning - praise the Lord, everything went well! - and Neama, Stephanie, and Cameron got to the house around 5:00. Because the Monajami's had gone to Pittsburgh for Christmas, Cameron had not opened his presents yet. So he sat in the middle of the floor and said, "oooohhhhh ahhhhhh" on everything. He got some really cute outfits for spring/summer and three sports-theme hooks for his bedroom.

Christmas at Aunt Co and Uncle Kebbie's

Notice the new curtains in the living room!!!!

Heather drove up from Houston and got to house around 6:00. Heather is originally from Morganfield, Kentucky and we used to play golf in high school together. Though we were competitors, we are great friends and I'm so blessed that she "tracked me down." She had my old telephone number, but luckily got in touch with my Dad who gave her my new cell number. What did we ever do without cellphones?!?!?!?!

Dinner was awesome. I forgot the thinly sliced red onions for the spinach salad, but it was a huge hit and the roasted pork loin was wonderful and perfectly cooked. I even made extra cheesy mac-n-cheese for Cameron, who said, "Mmmmmm, Aunt Co!" That was just too cute.

Cameron reading to Uncle Kebbie

Heather fit right in with this crowd; as much as Kevin and Neama dished out, Heather dished back. We had a really fun time, with lots of laughs. Heather and I introduced the card game of "progressive rummy" to Neama and Stephanie. They complained at first, but enjoyed it. Neama and I were fighting over cards, but that's nothing new! While Steph put Cameron to bed, Kevin took her spot and I (generously!!!) saved Steph from getting 300+ points on the hand. I think Stephanie ended up beating all of us though, darn it!!!!!

Pineapple punch and playin' cards!

Afterwards we played "Spades" and I - the idiot from Webster County, KY! - just did not get the gist of the game. Kevin ended up taking over my hand. We played "Cranium," a boardgame that Heather brought with the Guys vs. Girls. It was hilarious. None of us had ever played the game before, but we had a blast. I had to draw a toupee with my eyes closed, Steph was body-boarding on the kitchen floor, and Kevin was doing his best James Bond impersonations!!!!!!

The "turd" on the plate is actually Play Doh!!!!

New Years Day was pretty chilly and Kevin woke up early to go roping in Alvarado. Heather and I left later because she wanted to attend Mass at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Cleburne before we went to Alvarado. It was a beautiful service and I'm glad I went with her. We got to Diamond W Arena before noon and watched Kevin rope. His partners were pretty crappy though; out of 6 partners, he only had one time and that header missed in the final round - UGHHHHH!!!! But at least Heather got to experience a team-roping event while she was here!

After Heather, Stephanie, and I participated in some retail therapy in Mansfield, Heather and I drove back to Joshua to get Kevin before heading to Fort Worth to meet Neama, Stephanie, and Cameron for an evening of FUN: bowling and arcade games at Main Event and dinner at Fuddrucker's. Kevin has been bragging about this "outstanding bowling ability" and he sucked wind - - with Cameron's help he managed to score above 50!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Neama barely edged out the win over the rest of us, I think he cheated. Cameron had a blast though, he loved rolling the balls down the lane and playing arcade games. The rest of us had a pretty good time as well, between air hockey, motorcycles, and derby races we were all entertained!

Heather and I got up this morning (Saturday) and drove to the Fort Worth Stockyards. We made it just in time to see the Fort Worth Longhorn Herd make their trek down Exchange Avenue. It's always neat to see the longhorns and mounted cowboys walking down a bricklane through the Stockyards. We had lunch at Cattleman's Steakhouse, walked around the Exchange Shoppes and drove past Billy Bob's, the world's largest honky tonk. Maybe on her next trip, we'll go to Billy Bob's and find her a real Texas boy, maybe even Wild Bill Hickok!!!!!!!!!