Adventures in Dallas

Bill & Ellie took Papa on lots of adventures during his time in Dallas.  One place they wanted to show him was where the Cowboys play in Arlington.  AT&T Stadium is home to the Dallas Cowboys, and within line of sight is the stadium where the Texas Rangers play baseball too!

Papa and Ellie outside the stadium

Happy Girl at yet another stadium on her whirlwind tour this year!

Next to the 'football players' in the Pro Shop

AT&T Stadium in Dallas

Arlington Stadium where the Texas Rangers play baseball

Black Friday begins with a list

Ready to go to church on Thanksgiving morning!

Ellie's Christmas List .. of course ...

I've been asking her to keep a pad near by when she's watching tv or flipping through a catalog so that she can make a note of all the things she randomly shouts out as potential Christmas gifts.  I thought the list was funny so I'm adding it right here!

Christmas Wish List
1. Twin Lava Lamps
2. Goldie Blox and the Movie Machine
3. Follow Your Nose game
4. Mr. Root Beer home brew kit
5. Purple Sparkle Shoes - size 13
6. Make Your Own Hot Sauce kit
7. iPod Touch
8. Dr. Dessert Science Experiment Kit
9. DIY Bubble Gum Kit
10. A family Christmas ornament
11. American Girl doll - Isabelle
12. a puppy
13. Headphones (purple Dr Dre Beats) Don't even think about it .. they are $199!!
14. Fit Bit - to track her steps )I told her to just count as she steps.  She didn't laugh ..
15. Boogie Board LCD Writing Tablet
16. Screwdriver for Daddy
17. Syclone (puzzle)
18. PicWits game
19. Mine for Gems science kit
20. Fizzy Drinks Science kit
21. Rootvue Farm (see what you've planted!)
22. Candy Chemistry
23. Just Dance 2015 for Wii
24. Just Dance Kids for Wii
25. Cook it in a Cup kit
26. Pairs in Pears letter game
27. Yoga mat for Mommy and me


Isn't she funny?  She loves her MindWare catalog .. which is great because it focuses on science and learning.  Truth be told she takes right after her mom and loves Barnes and Noble and Michaels.  So gift cards are always a good thing!

Thanksgiving!

The twenty pound bird finished up in a tidy 4 hours ... leaving time before serving dinner to get the rest of the sides in and out of the oven!  You could certainly say it was a feast .. for the four of us!

Some old favorites and added new to round out the offering.  Couldn't consider it Thanksgiving without the mashed potatoes, corn casserole and dressing.  Added in a new recipe for sweet potato casserole and roasted brussel sprouts with dark cherry balsamic!  The gravy turned out magnificently and the pies were delicious as well!

I'd say it was quite a success!

And here's the photos to prove it ...

Happy Girl with the turkey!

Family shot as I was discovering that the bird needed to go back in the oven!

Papa and his right-hand girl ... on the left!

Mariano's La Hacienda

We tried a new Mexican restaurant over the weekend actually in Dallas - and we were very pleased with our visit!  Lots of sharing at our table of brisket tacos and fish tacos, Mariano's Special Queso and chips!  Both the inside and outside of the restaurant were charming - filled with lots of interesting authentic Mexican decor.

Happy to have another win under our belt - along with our lunch!  We'll put this one on our list to visit again!

Brave one

Ellie's back is to us in the center of the video.  The 4th graders are all in their Whitt Wolf t-shirts, and as a 3rd grader she is with them to perform at the end of the assembly!

Ellie had the opportunity to sing again at school.  On Friday they had an assembly, which they call the Wolf Holf - because their school is the Whitt (Elementary School) Wolves.  And the 4th graders were there to sing a thank you song to their teachers before going on break.

Ellie got to sing her solo!

Since I was out of town in Bloomington last week, this was my opportunity to hear her sing in person.  And wow, did she sing!  She is an amazingly brave girl!

Leaving the stage with the 4th graders after singing her song!

The season comes to an end

Yes, these two crazies all bundled up in hats, coats and gloves to watch Ellie's soccer game in Texas!

As with everything else, there is a beginning - a middle and an end.  Ellie is not good at endings.  You may recall I'm reminding her pretty often to "smile because it happened, don't cry because it's over!"

Some things just don't change easily.

Her team, Pink Sprinkles finished the season 8-1-2.  Eight wins and two ties through yesterday.  Until today.  They lost to a team from the next age group up from hers.  And one of their strongest offensive players was home with a hurt foot.  They were at a huge disadvantage.  And yet they played on.

They are tough these 8-year old Pink Sprinkles!

Oh, and did I mention how stinkin' cold it was??  It was 38 degrees with blowing wind and spitting rain.  And they played on.  And all three of us are likely to get sick!  But they stuck it out until the very last whistle!

What an amazing season they had!

Yes, it does get cold in Dallas

Yes, she played with her hat, gloves and leggings all day!

For the final weekend of soccer, Ellie had a weekend tournament.  And, remember, this is TEXAS.  Three games on Saturday and potentially two games on Sunday ... 11am, 4pm and 8pm games.  That may not seem so bad .. until it was 34 degrees and windy at the 11am game, misty rain and 44 degrees at the 4pm game and continued rain and 42 degrees at the 8pm game.

These girls were tired by that last game.  They had won the first (2-1), tied the second (3-3) and you could tell coach Tony was playing for the tie in the third game.  It had been a LONG day and a tie would get us into the next round on Sunday.  So as the seconds ticked down without a goal having been scored ..... we held our breath!

A tie.  No score.

The girls were so excited to be moving on to the next round on Sunday!!  What a team effort and what a team celebration when the game ended and they knew they would be moving on!

Veteran's Day concert

Here's Ellie at her school concert ready to sing her solo performance!  

It was in  honor of Veteran's Day .. with a repeat performance at the next Wolf Howl - Whitt Wolves' Elementary School Pep Rally!

 I was telling a friend in Bloomington how amazed I was of Ellie, and how I had no idea where she 'found her brave' that night to sing in front of all those people.  She asked me to look in the mirror.  I quickly dismissed the thought saying, 'but I wasn't brave at age 8!" 

My very smart friend said to me, "Here's the thing.  She didn't see you at age 8, she sees you now.  That's how she knows to be brave!"

I am so blessed to have smart friends AND a brave daughter!  I couldn't be prouder of her and her amazing ability to sign in front of the audience!

Joe's Station House

Joe's Station House
Italian beef roll

One of the great things about traveling to Bloomington is the feeling of going home!  As I flew in Tuesday afternoon it was this awesome feeling ... the streets were familiar, the people were familiar and it has a comforting feeling of knowing what to expect.

And, of course, the places we loved - when we lived there!

I enjoyed a new place that came highly recommended on Wednesday night, Bayern Stube the German restaurant about 40 minutes from Bloomington.  It was delicious!  I had convinced my Italian/German boss, Dean that it was highly recommended and he was all in!  We often swap stories of food and growing up in NY - even though we both live in Texas!

He was as thrilled with the restaurant as I was ... and we took a couple of my co-workers to enjoy the meal as well.  A wonderfully welcome dinner out away from the work and the noise of the meeting.

A trip to Bloomington wouldn't be complete with a visit to Joe's Station House for me.  The Italian Beef Roll is to die for.  And not to worry I got an entire one all to myself .. and I brought the leftovers back to my room just for the smell of garlic and beef!

Mommy takes flight ...

I traveled to Bloomington this week for an all leadership meeting in my department.  It was awesome to be able to meet my virtual peers in Atlanta, Bloomington and Phoenix ... so many awesome people in the same role with different people all over the country.  Lots of 2015 planning taking place in order to come back home and get ready to implement those plans in a little over 6 weeks!

While I was in Bloomington, Dallas as a bit cold too!  As you can see from this photo Ellie found her winter coat and made sure she had gloves for a cold Dallas morning!

Saturday lunch

Face still showing remnants of the delicious ribs she had for lunch!

On a Saturday trip to Allen we decided to check out Rudy's BBQ before going to the Shops at Watters Creek.  It had been recommended to me by a couple people at work, and most recently someone mentioned they have amazing breakfast tacos - brisket, eggs and potatoes!

Well, we went for lunch .. and Ellie had the ribs .. which she loves.  It was a great place with lots of choices, relaxed atmosphere and delicious BBQ!

The shopping expedition wasn't very successful, but lunch was amazing!

Making Pancakes

As I headed to the store this morning Bill and Ellie got busy in the kitchen making a week's worth of pancakes .. for breakfast and for breakfast every day during the week! They work well as a team, and there is so much yield from their efforts!

Without a doubt one of the prettiest faces you'll ever see!
And hungry too!

Awards Ceremony

We got notice that Ellie would be receiving an award at the Friday assembly and we were invited to attend!  Off we went with camera in hand, found our friends Brian and Natalie there to watch Kalayna also receive an award!

Ellie received three awards!  She is on the honor roll, Perfect Attendance through the first nine weeks, and being on-time everyday!

Zebra Student

Sitting at the assembly - waiting for her name to be called!

Ellie and Addison - such a sweet friend!

Brian, Natalie and me - watching our kids get awards!