Saturday, January 8, 2011

Can't take my eyes off of you...

Now that my new baby nephew's in the family, holidays take on new meaning and we pretty much just sit around and watch him.  Not that anyone's complaining.  He's just so darn cute.  Of course, we might be biased...

Here's some pics from Thanksgiving week.


"Why can't I pull your glasses off like normal?? "


Encouraging a love for books already!


"I'm ready for Thanksgiving!!!" (Don't worry, we were not far behind :)




One year soon I'll have to share our chocolate and pecan pies with Holt....


Love this pic as Holt plays with Me-Ma Holt's bangle bracelets. 


We're all thankful this year for this happy boy's addition to the Booker family.
 p.s. Post title is actually from a Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons song, but all his big hits are in the musical "Jersey Boys" so it counts!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

I've got the sun in the morning

Here's an effort to fill in some gaps of the last couple months.  They've been full of some great experiences which remind me of the following lyrics....

"Got no diamond, got no pearl,
Still I think I'm a lucky girl.
I've got the sun in the morning
And the moon at night.
Got no mansion, got no yacht,
Still I'm happy with what I got.
I've got the sun in the morning
And the moon at night"

Halloween weekend I got to travel with my Me-Ma Booker to attend my cousin Tracy's wedding (and if you're paying attention - that was her sister that got married in Sept - 6 weeks before she did!)  It was a "destination wedding" in New Orleans and I'd never been.  We made a whirlwind 24-hour trip but got to stay in the French Quarter, eat AMAZING food, and make sweet memories.

Lovely weather for outside courtyard dinner at....

I chose SHRIMP & GRITS.  They were delectable and the grits tempered the almost too spicy Creole flavor!

Me-Ma and her 3rd grandchild Tracy

The hotel had a great courtyard, too, and the weather stayed truly perfect for a Sat morning wedding.


The happy couple!  Both lawyers married by a judge!

The Bookers in attendance

It was a short wedding with an incredible buffet reception. 
We had a few hours to kill before we flew out so opted for riding the classic streetcar
through the Garden District to see a few sights
(plus the Halloween crowd & Steelers fans in town for the game!)




















Two weeks later I tagged along with my friend Jenni to see our college roomie Sara W in Colorado Springs! (Jenni was going for a conference later that week so I cashed in frequent flyer miles and scored a "free" weekend with friends in the mountains!)  Sara was 8 months pregnant and has a 3 and a half year old so this was not a ski trip - just a delightful relax and chat trip.  Old friends are the best and there is never enough time...but we relished what we had!



Jenna joined the big girls for a hearty breakfast at one of Sara's favorite hole-in-the-wall places literally nestled up in the mountains.  It was a sunny day but COLD for this Texas girl!  Jenna was a good sport (yes, in her princess dress) and spent the whole wait time working on the *Highlight magazine activities.  I didn't even know they still made those - what a fun flashback.





I had to dig out layers of clothing because it was still so warm in Texas in mid-November!











 Check out this amazing breakfast!!! 
That's 2 eggs, 2 slices of bacon, Country Potatoes and a cinnamon roll french toasted. 
And I ate. every. bite.

 

It was so beautiful...
 
 The pond had mostly frozen over and I had never seen ducks walking on ice before!  They weren't completely graceful, but they wanted the bread crumbs Jenna was throwing so the brave ones made their way closer - slipping and sliding!




Two pictures to end with just for fun:
1) When you rent a car in Colorado, this is what's in the front seat.  I've seen these creatures before, but have only used them a handful of times in my life.  We didn't have snow, but I was thankful to the rental places for thinking ahead.
 2) I've flown to/from Colorado before and noticed the farms out the window.  This time I had my camera and took lots of pictures - are those not wonderful examples of fractions in real life or what???? :)  Yeah -the math curse strikes again...


 Sorry for the long post!
P.S. The post title is from "Annie Get Your Gun".



Tuesday, January 4, 2011

You Oughta Be in Pictures

Mom bid on a sitting with a family-friend professional photographer...back in March.  We did the last week of December.  Many of the pics turned out really well and we're glad we were able to capture this moment in time with a range from almost 9-months old to two 80-year-olds and an 85-year old!  I do love my family so much.  We were also together for Thanksgiving and took our own group photo. 




Click on the link to see a slide show of the professional photos.


P.S. Cheating a bit on this title but Follies were a prelude to Broadway musicals, so I'm using it!  From the show "Ziegfield Follies Of 1934"