Go, Marquette! GO! GO! GO!

Marquette finally came back down to NC this year - to kick NC State's butt! We had a dinner reception with about 120 Marquette alumni and then had box seats to watch the game. We had an extra ticket, so we decided to bring Brett too. He LOVED it!!! He had such a great time, maybe almost as much fun as daddy!

Christmas picture attempts...

We decided to just do our Christmas card pictures at home this year rather than fighting the craziness at our favorite portrait place. The kids weren't really as gung-ho on the idea as we would've liked them to be, but we managed to squeeze out a few good ones!

Kate's curls...

Ever wonder why Kate has massive amounts of curls in the back of her head? Check out my mom (aka Memere at our house) around 1958 or so at Cousin Charlotte's wedding. That girl with the red curly hair - that's her! The other little girl is our Aunt Mary. If I remember, I'll scan a picture of me in around the same age - it's basically the same curly red hair too! Sorry Kate - I think you're doomed to have curly hair too!

Santa hats, Black eyes, and in between

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!



Peek-a-boo! I see you!



I'm hiding... are you hiding too?



Ta da!



Brett's hiding his black eye from the camera



There it is - show it off proudly!

So, how did he get this black eye, you ask? Well, the black eye is actually about a week old and still looks like this! I (Jenn) was putting him to bed one night. Like any other night, we picked out which stories we would read and then he climbed up into bed while I walked around the other side. In the process of adjusting the pillow, and the covers, and the blanket, he rolled right off the bed and hit the corner of the night stand with the corner of his cheek bone and eye socket. Within literally 30 seconds (no exaggeration), it was black & blue and swollen. Fun times. He actually only cried for a couple minutes - what a brave little boy!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

With our 16th annual party only 3 days away, it's crunch time at the Lopez house! We've been cleaning and decorating like crazy! The Christmas tree is in it's 3rd different location in 4 years - and I still don't know if I like it where it is! I really like being able to see it from the street when you drive by, but I may have to get over that. We'll see.





I've been trying to get my wrapping done early this year. So far, so good. Everyone's presents are bought and wrapped except for mine and Todd's. I'm not quite done shopping for Todd's Christmas/birthday presents, so I'm not sure what he's getting for Christmas versus birthday. I absolutely cannot wrap his BIRTHDAY presents in CHRISTMAS paper, so it takes careful planning! I have a "helper" this year too! She likes to sort bows for me.

The end of the trip...

It occurred on me that I never uploaded the rest of the pictures from our trip! Thursday, Thanksgiving day, we hung around the house with Grandma & Grandpa and had a low key day. The kids slept while the adults enjoyed a peaceful, quiet meal. Friday, we went shopping while Brett & Kate hung out with Grandma & Grandpa. We bought a new washer and dryer, courtesy of some great Black Friday deals! We love them - who knew that you could wash and dry 25+ pairs of blue jeans in under an hour and a half?? Sweet!



We also visited our friends, the Molina's, and their new baby girl, Gabriella. She is absolutely precious! It was good to catch up with them, even if it was only for a few hours. They have a little puppy, Lola, too! Kate loved her... Brett wasn't so sure.





Friday night, we went to Todd's 15 year high school reunion. I actually recognized a few of them from the 10 year. It's sad that I've been to TWO of his high school reunions, one college reunion, and NONE of my own! Oh well...

Saturday was travel day #1... Rockford to Cincinatti, with a stop in Normal, IL to visit more friends, the Hobb's Family, and their new baby girl, Reagan. Reagan is so tiny and so sweet. She LOVES to be bounced on the enormous bouncy ball that Brett and Kate were trying to play with. I'm sure you can imagine how well this went over with Brett & Kate! Jeff's mom & brother were there as well, so it was great to catch up with everyone (and get out of the car for an hour).



Saturday night, we stayed with our friends, Shellie & Jason, and their two girls, Lauren & Kelsey. They were so understanding of how chaotic it can be to travel with two little ones! We REALLY appreciate everything they did for us!



Sunday was travel day #2 what a fiasco it was. Let's just say that I won't be sad if I NEVER drive through the state of West Virginia EVER EVER EVER again! It was a disaster, and Virginia wasn't any better. It should've been a relatively easy 8-9 hour trip. Thirteen hours later, we finally pulled into our driveway. I do have to give the kids massive amounts of credit because they were such troopers!

That wraps it all up. It's back to the daily craziness now - work, school, Christmas parties, etc. Stay tuned for the story of Brett's black eye!