ME, JUST REMINISCING

Here is a pic of Hannah at 9 months old in this adorable strawberry sweater set:


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And here is Kylie at ten months in the same sweater set:


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I can't believe how fast the years have gone. Wow....so yeah, its just me feeling old.........thanks for going down memory lane with me!

CITY LIGHTS

Here is the blog about City lights.....I received the pics so I will hold up my end of the bargain....tehe

City lights was a spectacular night. Again, cheek to cheek with people we did not know but everyone was in the Christmas Spirit.........yes, I know. Its not even Thanksgiving yet, but ya know.......you do what ya gotta do! Sorry Turkeys!!!

So for those who did not attend I will explain. Neiman Marcus put on this awesome Holiday Lights Display where they light up the whole downtown area with Christmas lights (which by the way was like being in NYC), but they have a countdown to the actual lighting of Neiman Marcus along with ten, I think, different trees designed and decorated by children who had won the christmas tree decorating contest. Got that? heehee
So anyhoo, we kicked off the festivities with face painting and meeting the furry snowman! And I'm not talking about the ameteur face painting here. This was hard core. The lady was a professional who I assume did face painting for big shows. She was painting whole butterflies on children, spiderman and his web, just extreme things. So anyhoo, after waiting in line an hour (we were fifth in line, mind you) we were finally going to go next. This is where things got a little interesting. Hannah starts saying she needs to go potty. Uh, I don't think so little girl. There is NO WAY I am going to leave this line after waiting a whole hour! So I keep telling Hannah that we're almost done, her turn is next, just hold it PLEASE!!!!!! So, like the champ she is Hannah keeps holding it. I am hoping that the painting will distract her. I ask Hannah what she wants so I can just tell the lady. Hannah's only request was PINK> cool, easy enough. We get up on the stool, and I am praying that Hannah's little two year old body does NOT confuse it for a toilet, and tell Ms. Extreme Face Painter that we just want a simple pink ornament. So.....in true fashion, Ms. Exteme goes on to throw out other ideas and examples all the while I am shouting at her in my head to hurry the heck up!!!!!!!!!!!! So we convince Ms. Extreme to take it down a notch, for petes sake, she is only TWO. So after she finally finished I swoop up Hannah and race her to the nearest restroom (Thank you again Iron Cactus!!!!!). That girl peed FOREVER........I thought she would never quit. I was so PROUD of her!! **Oh ya, by the way, her painting was cute**
Along with that craziness Hannah got to meet Mr. Snowman who was walking around and entertaing the children. And every time Hannah would get a glimpse of Mr. Snowman she would wave at him (which was a gazilion times). Also, she got to see all the blow-up Snowmans and Santas. She loved it. It was quite windy and rather chilly for Texas but it was fun. After we did all that we gathered downtown by Neiman Marcus to watch the Grand Entrance of Santa Claus. Boy of boy do they go all out!!! Santa came whipping down on a zip cord with fireworks going off.......it was quite the production. Apparently everything in TEXAS is bigger........ I think Hannah liked it, I was so amazed by it I forgot to look at her. That and my dang camera wasn't working properly. Then all the lights came on and it was beautiful. Although I was confused with the butterflies they chose to use as decorations. I guess all the snowman, candy canes, mistletoe, etc are overrated......hmmm.
So all in all it was a great, fun FREE evening. And there is a lot more happenings on this month and next but no worries!! I will only post pics and not bore you with all the going-ons!!! haha Trust me, coming from a small town that had NOTHING to offer to living in a city that has everything to offer, you best bet I am going to be toting my family around so they get the best holiday memories. Plus, who wouldn't want to see Santa whip down on a zip cord???

LAUGH ALL YOU WANT........

So my AWESOME BFF/SIL would LOVE for me to share some more, well, funny experiences that we, well, experienced. I will start off with The City Lights. That is all I'm sharing.....until I receive the pics from her......heehee Yes, thats right! I am holding the story ransom for the pictures. HOWEVER....I will share with you the L-O-N-G ride home......you see, there was this really bored looking guy at the parking garage who we asked directions from. He looked quite lost and not so sure about his surroundings so of course we followed his advice!!! BIG, HUGE, MISTAKE!! We were doing laps literally around Arlington......he had no flipping clue which highway we should have taken. We were sooo totally on the wrong road the whole entire time!!! But, we did get to see some interesting things on our lazy ride home (ahem.). Such as the road "The Road To Six Flags". No kidding you. That was the name of the road. And oh yes, we quite enjoyed our 20-something tours around Six Flags.......quite lovely I must tell you. And who could forget the Jail Bonds store I so totally thought I had been by on my way to the court house........not so much! I know only Autumn will understand....so I'll stop sharing! heehee But yes, we finally made it home.

Another, well, interesting story is me, of course, making a fool of myself! So, it is only the first full day that I am driving around in Autumn's rental SUV. So ya, I am not a mechanic or a die-hard fan of cars. I'll admit it. I don't know make and models or really pay attentions to colors.......especially ones that look silver at night, and blue in the daylight. Big Deal. Obviously, I need to pay more attention!
Autumn drops me off at wal-mart to run in for two simple items. No biggie. She'll wait right outside in the front parking lot. I run in and immediately notice a guy who is obviously ready to check out. He tries to make eye contact and say hello. I zoom around him and race down the aisle I need. I hear him turn his cart around to try to follow me. Not gonna happen buddy. I lose the loser (heehee) and get what I need. I head to the self-checkout and notice him way down at the other side, finally, checking out. Whew! So anyway I race out of the store and immediately go to the first SUV I see. I believe it was white or silver....same color in my mind. Anyhoo, I go to the passenger door and pull the handle. Nothing. It is locked. I look inside and give an impatient "okay, unlock the door" look to a girl I assume is Autumn. Ummm, NOPE! It is a girl our age with brunette hair who apparently was listening to her I POD but is now clearly scared out of her mind and giving me a "what the heck do you want" look! OOPS!!!! So, in true fashion, I whip around and start looking for Autumn. Yup, there she is two cars down.....dang....it..........
So, without saying an apology or anything to the mistaken driver I practically run down to Autumn who at this point is laughing hysterically....can ya blame her??? I hop into the correct vehicle. Then the poor girl I just scared comes racing out of her vehicle and says "You scared me! I didn't know what you wanted." And I in reply I announced while laughing "I just wanted a ride!" Yup, I don't skip a beat!

CITY FUN

While Autumn was visiting us here in Texas we decided to do alot of fun city things....we are becoming so "city savvy"!!! I must say that coming from a very small town in the middle of nowhere to moving into the center of so many amazing opportunities has been such a major plus and life changing experience for my family. There are so many family friendly activities and exhibits around us....life is good. So anyway, like I was saying, this past weekend has been a busy one and a really fun one....

Our first stop was the Botanical Gardens....So pretty and fun. TOTALLY going to bring my Mom here....heehee! She would love it.
The girls, had a great time exploring covered wagons, teepees, pumpkins, water fountains, and a cute little house just their size! And of course flowers upon flowers!!
But like most two almost three year olds, Hannah gave us a run for our money! She has been having a listening problem which we are constantly working on.....poor Autumn probably thought the day would never end! But all in all it was a fun experience! At least for me, I am use to two toddlers and to expect the unexpected......not so sure about that Aunt Auty!



The next day we went to the Dallas World Aquarium which was awesome!!!!! They had a rainforest inside that had so many flamingos, monkeys, huge spiders, and of course Diego's Jaguar (according to Hannah)!......alot of different things to look at. And then in the aquarium they had manatees, turtles, seahorses, huge colorful fish...I could go and on......and they also had a huge shark aquarium that you could walk under and observe the various sharks above and to the sides. And lucky us, we came right when they were about to feed them...so ya, we got to watch the sharks devour innocent fish thrown into the tank...poor things! Totally gross, but very cool!!!! After that we went to go watch the performers dance and play music in a really tiny area which was really cool...who knew that being cheek to cheek with people I did not know would be a great experience! heehee It was really neat to watch them do their tribal dance and we got to take a picture with them which Hannah wanted to do but you so would think we forced her to do if you look at the picture! All in all in was an awesome fun day...thanks Autumn!!!






Stay tuned for more city adventures with the Gallahars'.........

KYLIE SHAKIN' IT UP

WOOT! WOOT!

Break out the champagne........or the handcuffs!!! heehee Danny has passed his written final and is now a recognized Law Enforcement Officer in the state of Texas!!!!!!! We are so proud of him!!!!
Now he has to finish the academy (tons of hands on training and simulations) and he will be an official Dallas Police Officer!!!!!!

Lil Chef Kylie

Kylie is aspiring to be a chef, just like her Mommy!!! She is taking notes discreetly behind me....heehee






Here is a video of Kylie at the dinner table....she is so incredibly tired. Must be from all that cooking and note taking!!!!

Dress Rehearsal and Curtain Call

So today Hannah wanted Kylie to dress up with her.....no big surprise there. However, this time Kylie cooperated......she usually screams and cries and tries to crawl away whenever I try to put her into just normal clothes so you can just imagine the fight I get when I try to put her into fru-fru dresses!
The girls were really cute dressed up, and yes Hannah loved it, she is just SO over me taking out the camera and trying to "capture the moment". Kylie, on the other hand, hams it up!!! She doesn't know any different yet!






Here is a video (since a certain Grandma who lives in MI has been asking) of one of Kylie's favorite games. And yes, she will sit and play with the curtains all day long if she could! But usually she sits on the floor, not on the couch....promise! And she is usually blabbing away......they never do it when you want them too!

Wow........

If you are in need for some TERRIFIC thanksgiving ideas, this page has it!!!

School is in Session!!!

So this whole month Hannah will be learning all about Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims and the Native Americans....and I couldn't be any more excited!!!! She doesn't know yet, but by the end of the month I hope to help her master her Turkey Day History and........her name!!!!!!!! I printed out this little book that Hannah will make called "Thanksgiving I see" and it has eleven different thanksgiving related pictures that she will color one day at a time. And at the bottom of each picture there is the elementary lines where she will be practicing her name. I must say she already knows how to write her "H" and "a" but hopefully she will be able to write it all very soon!!!! And NOT go running the other way every time I whip out the pencil for her to practice.