Our Christmas Card!

2010 proved to be an exciting year for us Ormsons! Jon passed his boards this year with flying colors! The countdown continues as we get closer and closer to the real world (scary!)! He also got a wish granted with an addition to the family in the form of a yorkie named Belle. Kat checked multiple things of her “Bucket List” this year by completing the MS 150 (a 2 day and 150 mile bike ride for multiple sclerosis), competing in her first sprint triathlon, and first (and second) 5k runs! Sevy is still a little smarty pants! She learned how to swim this summer and was the ultimate beach babe. She is learning how to take care of Belle and is in charge of taking her out to go potty so Mommy doesn’t have to! Teik suddenly grew into a little boy! He is a complete pest to his sister and tries to do everything she does. He is a terror to Belle, but loves her so violently it’s funny! The poor dog has to hide so Teikers won’t get her! Belle, the newest member of the family, is by far the smallest! She is still just a puppy and at under 3 lbs, she’s about the biggest she’s going to get! She wreaks havoc in the house, but the kids love her!

Merry Christmas!

WAY behind!

I feel like I'm way behind on my blogging. As a result-here is the edited version of what's been happening in H-town--in reverse order!

Last night, this is how we found Teik. I thought it was just too cute not to post!

Also last night we made "gingerbread" houses at our friends house!

These were the end results! The kids had fun eating everything, but Sevy did a good job decorating hers! It's the one in the front row on the left!

Jon and his "shark" house!

The Houston Zoo opened up their new African Forest exhibit which has been in the works since we moved here. I must say, it is fantastic!

Here Sevy is smiling with a chimpanzee! And yes, that's me in the reflection!

The drums in the African Forest. I'm embarrassed to say that as a percussionist, I suck at these drums, but the kids were AWESOME!

Being Christmas, we figured we had to visit Santa! At Outdoor World, you get a picture with him for FREE! This sold us on going! I have to say, the Santa was adorable!

Running down to see Santa.

The cutest Santa ever! He sat and chatted with the kids for like 5 minutes! I was super impressed!

The beginning of the month, Mom and Dad came to visit!

Mom and Teik at Brazo's Bend. Sadly, we only saw 1 alligator.

Dad, Sevy and Teik at the air museum in Galveston. Yes, it's December and Sevy is wearing shorts. It was a beach-worthy day!

That is basically the update! Sevy has her school Christmas program tonight, so there will be another update soon!

Our newest family memeber!

We don't know what possessed us to do it, but we got a dog! Well, it's more like a puppy! She's a Yorkie and the kids are in LOVE! It's Jon's fault we got her! He's wanted a dog for a long time and I think it was love at first sight!
Sevy has named her Belle. We don't know if it's short for Princess Belle, Ladybelle (she sounds just like Lady on Lady and the Tramp when she's in her kennel!), or Tinkerbell. Or maybe Isabella--Sev's favorite Fireside Girl from Phineus and Ferb! Sevy's jobs with the new pet is to make sure she always has food and water, to take her outside and try to get her to go potty, and to take her on walks!
Teik started out frightened with her, and now I have to force him to set her down and to leave her alone! She doesn't seem to mind! She is a little princess though, insisting on laying on the couch snuggled in the pillows! She's basically fully grown too! What have we gotten ourselves into?!

Juliet Rose Lofgran

I'm heading up to Idaho for the funeral of the cutest little angel. My heart breaks with this tragedy but I know Heaven needed our little diva. She is loved and will me terribly missed. Keep her family in your prayers.

Zoo Boo!

Friday morning we went to Zoo Boo! Being a weekday, I thought it would be a little less crowded. I guess it was, but we still had to park forever away and walking with two kids in costume passed a golf course and multiple parking lots, was not fun.We took this right as we walked in. Can you see how tired they already are?! Yeah--dang walking! Teik's boots need a little fixing, and we lost them a couple of times while I carried him, but the overall effect is awesome!
My little garden gnome, eating grapes--on the ground--in the middle of a sidewalk. At least he's happy!
My little Tinkerbell! She was very particular about her hair, and I couldn't quite get the "ball" she wanted on her head! Oh well. It was so hot, that I'm glad it was at least slicked back because she was sweating!
They had a cute area called The Pumpkin Patch, where the kids could go in and decorate their own mini pumpkin. Poor Teiker's hair is all wet from the sweat. After growing up wearing coats over our costumes, I fear my poor kids were going to melt in theirs!
Sevy at the Pumpkin Patch. You can see the cool "tatzoo" she got at one of the booths.

I liked this little test-run of the kids costumes! I now know I need to add some snaps instead of hooks, and do something about Teik's boots to keep them in place. Zoo Boo was pretty fun. Will we do it again next year? Probably not! (Aren't I a terrible mom?!) I just wasn't that impressed, but that may be the heat and exhaustion talking!

Dream Shoes

If I had money to burn, and I'm talking A LOT of money to burn, I would buy these shoes. I first found them in my Octobers InStyle magazine. One word: HOT! But I'm a fairly reasonable person who doesn't really wear gold that often. So then I found this version of them:
Yeah, I think I may faint! I'm so in love with these shoes. The major "ugh!" moment comes when I look at the price: $1,285. I don't think Jon's car is even worth that much! Sad. So if any overly wealthy person is out there and takes pity on a poor mother-of-two-married-to-a-dental-student, this is what I want for my birthday. It can count as Christmas also. And maybe the rest of my birthdays until I'm 50! Hmmm . . . I think I'm drooling over the gold ones again!

Hacked

My email has been hacked multiple times now and I'm getting really annoyed. Thanks to the hacker, all my friends, family, coworkers, and church associates have been sent an link to a sexual enhancement drug straight out of Canada. Awesome. Looks like I'll be getting a new email soon. On the plus side, I'll probably get to clean up my email address list which is embarrassingly long and I don't remember half the people on it. Look at me and my positive side!

Race for the Cure

I finally did it! Read about my latest event here!

Crafty Crafty

I've been in a crafting mood lately and am never short on projects. I picked up these tea towels and fabric when I was in Idaho, and finally finished dazzling them up. Here are a few of my favorites.

Love me some stripes!

This was my first one, I still actually like how it turned out, although there are things I would change . . .

Okay, to explain this picture. This velvety beauty was found at Goodwill with a lovely peach matte and a regular wood frame. So I did what I do best and changed it to suit my needs . . .

And thankfully after some mod-podge, spray paint, and a different picture, it turned into something I actually like! I LOVE spray paint! I changed a terrible green/gold frame, a yellow frame, and a couple wood frames to finish off the 8x10 frame needs I had! I think the grand total was $15 for 4 frames plus paint!

This was another Goodwill frame find. I spray painted it white, then the top half is metal (another Idaho find) and I made the magnet from a brad. The bottom part is cork board that I painted and added stickers. I doubt I'll ever use the cork board part, but I like how it turned out!

This last one is just a book I made for a friend. The cover is awesome with this velvet textured paper. Simple yet not. I love it!

This is only a small selection of what I've been up to lately! I'm currently looking at fabrics for a dress for me, a dress for Sevy, a skirt for me, and Teik's Halloween costume!
(anyone know where I can find a fake beard?!)
Also I made a terrible mistake of picking up the latest DIY Magazine (totally a fav of mine!) and have a wood craft I'm excited to try! Now to find a jigsaw . . .

really, the rest of the road trip!

On our way back to Houston, we stopped of at Willy's Crossing, in Wyoming to visit my parents on their mission! The kids were so excited to see Gran and Pappa and had a great time! The trailers in the background are what they have been living it all summer. Basically the size of their bathroom back home!
The kids somehow got Gran and Pappa to give them rides in handcarts! They were loving it!
There is a little school house on the property that the kids had a lot of fun in. Sevy enjoyed drawing on every slate, and sitting at the teachers chair!
My parents were so kind to let us take their Jeep out and explore the trail! They even kept the kids which made it even better!
This was the path we were taking. Yeah, it makes me glad I was not a pioneer and could take a jeep instead of a handcart up this trail.
This is the way we roll to a reception! When we got back to Amarillo, Jon took advantage of having keys to the Ormson's Jeep!
My pretty girl at the botanical gardens in Amarillo where Kris and Ashley had their second reception!
This is Sevy's "model" pose. She gave me lots of shots like this and was crackin' me up!

The rest of the road trip!

After Idaho, we headed down to Utah. I got to meet up with most my girlfriends for lunch. I'm sure Zuppa's wanted to kick us out with our toddlers running around and being terrible while we talked and laughed, but we had a great time!

Then we got to go visit Sevy's bff Kenzi! They were so excited to see each other!

They lead a hard life! Jaxson and Teik are so cute side by side, but they don't exactly get along!

We got some raspberries from a farmer's market and made the most delicious milk shakes. I'm still craving them!

The girls again!

Jeni and Kenzi!

Cousins Nyah and Sevy! I love what good friends they are!

My cousin Traci! I hadn't seen her in years and was so excited to meet up with her for dessert!

Sevy loves her aunt Torrie, and naturally she looks more like her than me!

An actual picture of Jon and I (not even taken by Jon or me!)

Bride and Groom

Two of my LOVES!

I just love this picture

Beautiful bride and darling girls! They all LOVE her!

Daddy/Daughter dance! How cute are these little girls?! Momma O has some mad skills!

Sevy is my little pretty girl!