Update on Katy

I received three long stemmed roses on Friday night (the two foot long stems). Unfortch it's not going to work out. But I did trip and fall this morning only to be laughed at by someone in a car.

Dakota - no, not the state

I GOT A PUPPY! She's 7 mos. old and I've named her Dakota, after the county in MN where I grew up. We call her Coda for short (musical term for those who didn't know that), and she is ADORABLE! Very friendly - I like to call her my cuddlebug. She's all about snuggling up and giving kisses. And chewing her rawhide to smitherings. WOW that dog can chew!

I've got more pics of her on my blog at http://keepingupwithkate.blogspot.com, but here's one for now! =)

If you can't tell, I'm rather excited. She's a cutie!!!

Baby Countdown

Oh yeah, new babies are about to be had in the family! We've got about a month until Piper has a new brother or sister. Angie looks fabulous for being so close to giving birth. Little Liam is due in less than two months. Other than extreme morning sickness for most of her pregnancy and a bout with kidney stones, Alicia's feeling great and looking just as FINE!

I'm praying for you guys! Let the fun begin!

Go Colts!

If anyone was watching the game yesterday, then you saw what an amazing comeback that was. You also probably noticed just how much passion the Colts put into the game. I mean, it's that kind of passion and intensity that wins games....such as the upcoming Superbowl. Katy, bring it on!

GO COLTS!

I think this would be the perfect opportunity to have a little family poll. Respond to my post if you're rooting for the Colts; respond to Katy's post if you're rooting for the Bears (boo). :)

Just for a little motivation, here's a photo of a great team leader.

Go Bears!

GO BEARS GO BEARS GO BEARS GO BEARS!

Such an exciting game yesterday. It's been a LONG time since I was invested in a SuperBowl team. It's been what? Over 10 years since the last Cowboy SuperBowl victory? It's a joy to actually care about one of the teams in the SuperBowl. Yay!

I'm sure I'll have a few rivals from the family. Some of you have lived in Indiana. The Colts will be tough to beat but what an awesome game! There's nothing quite like the Bears fans!

Port Aransas

Steve and I arrived last Thursday, January 11 in time to attend our first of the year high school basketball game. Girls played OK and won; boy played three good quarters and lost.

Weather is 36 here today, not as windy as yesterday, but a very damp chill in the air. Those in Dallas are in a world of cold that those of us from Minnesota/Illinois can only smile at the thought of. We check the internet every morning to assure ourselves that it's 50 degrees colder at home than it is here. That keeps us warm.

Once the weather clears up we would love to see any of you that would like to make the trip. We have a guest room with its own bath and a water view that we think is awsome. The restautants in town and nearby are terrific. Walks/runs on the beach can supplement working out at a wonderful fitness center. Or we are particulary good at sitting around sipping wine.

Happy New Year to everyone,
With love to all,
Mary Anne

This is a test...

Angie and I were wondering how many people are reading this blog on a regular basis. We do and would like to hear from more people. SO please respond with a, "Here!" if you read this. Thanks!

Merry Christmas!

I want to wish all of you a safe, restful, peaceful and joyful Christmas & New Year! I am so thankful to have such a loving family.

I also want to say thank you for taking initiative and making our family blog fun and informative! I love hearing about each of your lives!

Be sure to respond with your favorite Christmas present you're giving or received this Christmas! I won't reveal any family gifts at this time, but I have to say that I LOVE the present Janell & Jessie gave me. I have the collector's edition of Pride & Prejudice. You know, the five hour version with Colin Firth! Andrew knows what I'm talking about. I made him watch it with me once and kept saying, "Andrew, you'll be a better man for it!" Look at him now! I'm right!

I love you all! Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

To your left is Indy, who was visibly embarassed to be dressed up in her $2 Christmas outfit from Target's dollar aisle (love the dollar aisle, by the way). But like all top models, she just dealt with what she was given and worked the camera. I mean, just look at that face.

Anyway, I just wanted to say happy holidays to everyone. I hope you all have a great time in all your respective states.

We still have no snow up here in Minnesota, which is kind of sad. I like a nice white Christmas -- we'll see if we get any of the white stuff this weekend. The nice part about no snow is that it's not really all that cold outside -- maybe in the 40s, which isn't too bad for up here.

Well, have a fabulous Christmas and Happy New Year! Here's to good health, some more happy & healthy babies to join the family, and hopefully some more opportunities to get everyone together in 2007.

"Rebirth" at House of Blues

Kyle, Jessie, Janelle & Josh

Josh & Angie

The Wrigleyville Roommates

Here are some pics from the House of Blues in Chicago where Katy's comedy group "Rebirth" performed last Friday. It was a hilarious. Katy did a fabulous job... especially as the adultress. Katy, don't forget us when you're famous!

Guess Who!

Let's play a game. Who can guess who this man is? First one to guess right wins. GO!

Carol Cocktail

Thanks Heidi!

How to make a Carol Cocktail:

How to make a carol

Ingredients: 1 part jealousy 3 parts crazyiness 3 parts instinct

Method: Combine in a tall glass half filled with crushed ice. Top it off with a sprinkle of curiosity and enjoy!

Username:

Personality cocktail
From Go-Quiz.com

Newest Branches of the Family Tree

O.K. All - Honesty required.

Driving down the highway, Mary Anne and I had a "discussion" about the names of all the grandkids. Of course, she could name them all (but one from your branch George). I was able to name my own two and then began to stumble. I said to her that I bet all the girls, I mean, women of the next generation could name them all. She replied that everyone from our generation could name them too.

No way, I replied. I won't embarrass anyone but myself here; but a quick phone survey confirmed my assertion. Now the test. All generations welcome. Try to name all the newest generation, Angie & Josh's and Alicia and Patrick's excepted. I will be very impressed by any male who can get them all. Chauvinist that I am.

Happy Holiday's to all. Steve

SNOW! Kind of...

Growing in up IL/MN snow was a yearly thing - happy at first, then annoying as I had to scrape my car everyday. Here in TX it's a rarity, but I got to use my scraper today! My kids were thrilled over the flurries we had (not really anything I would consider full-blown snow, it was more like sleet that couldn't decide WHAT precipitation to be) and their eyes lit up. They lit up so much they were almost unable to concentrate on the songs we were singing! And I do not have a window in my room. I do not envy those with a window - nothing got done today in the classrooms. Though the teachers figured it out... "If you're good and we work hard for the remainder of the period we can go out side for the last 2 minutes of class". I couldn't bear the thought of herding children when the bell rang (not unlike herding cats), especially when they would have been enjoying this rare phenomemnon - I would feel guilty. So instead I made them stay in. I know, I'm the kind-hearted teacher you've always wanted. =)

Happy Birthday Mom!

I want to wish my mom a Happy Birthday! I did wish her happy birthday on her actual birthday but I thought I would post it here too in case you want to send her birthday wishes through comments, calls or whatever.

I was celebrating her life yesterday and rejoicing that I have such an incredible mom! Thank you to you all for being such a huge impact in her life and therefore all of our lives. She gives us many reasons to celebrate!

Love you Mom!

Family Photo History

Family -

I am currently working on scanning family photos to have a digital copy. Here are a few that I have found that are fun to look at. Enjoy!

Patrick & Alicia

The Blogging Bandwagon

Soooo... several of us have taken cues from KatyO and her genious mind and created our own blogs for our friends, our families, and ourselves! Heidi's you have been made aware of. Now Alyse and I each have one. If any of you lovely family members have your own blogs, please let us know! I know I love checking up on everyone on the links to the Mueller Blog, Super Connor, and all the other links that "link" us together (HAHAHA - punny teacher comment there). Keep us updated!

Alyse's Blog: http://alyseinaustin.blogspot.com

Kate's Blog: http://keepingupwithkate.blogspot.com

We may take awhile to come anywhere near the greatness of blogging as perfected by KatyO, but we'll take a gander at it!

Fall Pictures of Josh, Angie & Piper

Here are some of our latest photos. Enjoy!!

Dog park etiquette

Since everyone else has cute baby pics and baby stories, I thought I'd share a story about my baby (Indy, the chocolate lab puppy). This is a picture from when I first got her at 8 weeks -- now she's 9 months old!

Anyway, I had quite the time at the dog park the other day, so I thought I'd blog about it. Check out the blue blocker lady story on my blog.

I ain't a playa hata, I'm a playa maker!.It's a Boy!

Team Lindsay,

Alicia and I found out Tuesday that "the player to be named later" in our lives is going to be a boy!

We are excited for this great family he is going to be a part of. The rumor mill has it that Connor is a little nervous now that some of his thunder is going to be stolen (p.s. - he knows he is going to get beat up by this new addition one-day).

The due date is March 16th so be praying for a great continued pregnancy. Alicia is an all-star and is doing fantastic. She is beginning to glow!