Madison turns 2! I can't believe she's no longer a baby. We had an ice cream cake for her and afterwards, Mackenzie helped Madison open her presents. Sometimes a little too forcefully. It was a good lesson for Mackenzie to have to watch someone else open presents. She realized that if you want someone to share with you, you need to share with them, too. Happy Birthday Madison!

Happy Birthday to Dave, Happy Birthday to Dave, He's still in his thirties, Happy Birthday to Dave.

Christmas Day 2007 in Texas. We got to have our own Christmas together before taking off to the airport. This year we had the Christmas tree (minus the middle section) set up in the formal living room. It worked out very well in keeping the ornaments out of Madison's sight, and therefore, attached to the tree and unbroken. We had a great morning and then packed up and took off for Alabama. The Huntsville and Tennessee pictures were actually after this.

A Tennessee Christmas. This was our first year without Grandma. We miss you! It wasn't the same without her. I still can't believe she lived to be 77 with all the health problems she faced. She was determined not to leave us, I guess. We had the family reunion at Deana's church building and then met back up at Grandma's house. Me, Dave, Wade, Stacy, Wendy, and Jon and Wade's boys all went for a walk up to the old plantation house. Dave got to see the old graveyard with headstones citing dates as early as 1776. It's hard to believe there were people settling the area by then. After that we had the gift swap at Grandma's house. We missed Mike and Chris as they had to leave that morning to get back to work. But everyone else was there this year. Somehow I didn't get a single picture of Deana - the planner of all things. How is that possible??? It was a really fun reunion, especially with Wade, Stacy and his boys there. They don't get down to Alabama that often.

Christmas time in Huntsville, Alabama. We all got together at Dad's house and had a ball. It's the first time in many years all 3 of us kids and our families got together. I learned how to play Guitar Hero and got hooked. Nicholas showed me the ropes and we played against each other. I asked Jon, the true guitar pro, what I was doing wrong and he gave me some good stance tips. ROCK ON!!!

The girls first picture with Santa! Early December 2007

Grandma Cooper came to visit us in early December for Christmas. We had such a fun time seeing the Christmas lights and even went to see Zilker Park. On the way to Zilker, Mackenzie decided she wouldn't dance in her recital, mom forgot the bag she packed, and Dad lost his wallet at Chik-fil-a. It was full of hurdles, but the lights were beautiful (and luckily, Dad got his wallet back)!

Grandma gave Mackenzie a super cute doggie and carrier with lots of accessories and gave Madison her first real baby doll. Thanks Grandma!!!

I know I am biased, but the girls took exceptionally cute school pictures this year. Especially together. That photographer must be magical because I can't even get them to look at me when I'm trying to take a picture!

Pictures from our Thanksgiving walk down to the cabin in the greenbelt behind our house. The boys needed to run and it was so nice that mom watched Mackenzie and Madison!

WooHoo! Finally a blog to post to. Thanks to Conni Chavez for teaching me how to do this. Thanksgiving 2007. Wade, Stacy, Nicholas, Luke, Devin, and Emory drove out from Arizona. Mom and Steve drove down from Arkasas. And Wendy and Jon drove up from downtown (it was a long trek!) Austin so we could all spend Thanksgiving together. It was so much fun. The kids played and ran around. The adults ate and talked and laughed. I will always remember this Thanksgiving as such a wonderful time. I never thought I'd get to spend one with both my siblings and my mom since we all live so far from eachother. What a neat occasion!