Gingerbread House

The kids had a large time assembling and decorating the gingerbread house. They each did one side, and then the ends together. Of course, the favorite part was eating the leftover candy!

Quilting

I made 2 rag quilts for KatieLynn's school auction. The black one is for her class, and the red one is for the other first grade class at her school. Her school has a gala each year, and every grade has to have an auction item, with part of it being student involved. The first grade is donating a weekend getaway to Lost Pines, along the school colored red & black quilts that the students handprinted. Whomever bids the highest, can choose to keep all three things, or they might put one or both quilts back into auction for someone else to bid, and the school to make more money.

I enjoyed making the quilts; I hadn't really sewed in a couple of months, and it felt good to be productive on the sewing machine!

Pre-K Christmas Program

Dean had his Christmas program at pre-school. He was a little nervous, but seemed comforted by the fact that Daddy and his grandparents (& of course KatieLynn & I!) were going to be there. Once he got into his classroom, he was hyped up and ready to go. His class is split evenly with girls and boys, but for some reason, lots of girls popped up for this pic!

You can tell that Dean is nearly a head taller than most of his class; actually he's about the same size of most of KatieLynn's classmates. Dean and friends sang 5 songs, and even though he didn't sing all five of them, he stood nicely on stage, did the hand motions, and sang 3 of the songs. I was pleased with his performance!

Christmas at John Deere store

The first weekend in December we went to the John Deere store in Navasota. The kids got to window shop, race, visit Santa, and eat! Below they are waiting for tractor races to start. Early on, Dean is in the lead, but his wheels start spinning as he drives through the loose gravel.

KatieLynn missed the gravel, so wound up coming out ahead. Dean wasn't that disappointed that she beat him, but he did miss getting a prize.

KatieLynn drives!

Dean asked Santa for a train set, and KatieLynn asked for Bizus. Santa asked what a bizu was? Katie laughed and said it's a bracelet-animal!

Haying the Cows

We went with Darren to check on the cows. We were looking to see if we had any new baby calves, and decided to give them some fresh hay while we were there. Dean didn't wear his warm coat, so wasn't up for riding on the tractor, but KatieLynn was willing! Miss KatieLynn strikes a pose
Dean still loves digging at the dirt pile!

Happy Halloween!

This year KatieLynn wanted to be a pirate princess (from Jake & Neverland Pirates), and Dean picked construction worker. We tried to talk him into being a pirate too, but couldn't convince him -mostly I think he just wanted to wear his regular clothes, plus the hat. We went trick-or-treating on 3 blocks in Emma and Aiden's (cousins) neighborhood, and wound up with tons of candy. They probably ate more than they should have that night, but the next day, I had them pick out 12 things to keep.
They love riding those bikes!!
They trick-or-treated with the fairies! Emma is in the middle green. I didn't get a pic of Aiden, but he was Peter Pan -very cute!

Party

Dean had a terrific birthday party. It was a full week after his real birthday, so he had extra time to look forward to it, which made it even sweeter.
There was digging (of course!)

All the kids got to decorate their own hard hat.

Playing in the sand box!

Bobbing for apples

a Pinata!

The next day, I enjoy playing with some of my new toys.

Having More Energy: My New Job

Almost 3 months ago, I began taking this supplement: Ageloc Vitality to help me feel younger. It is all natural, with ingredients: mushroom, pomegranate extract, and ginseng. I have energy to accomplish my to-do lists when I get up in the morning, and it lasts through bedtime. I don't have any 'crash' time, even if I miss a day.

Previously, I took the 'Energy' ONE-a-Day vitamin. It also gave me energy, but it was because one of its ingredients was caffeine. And if I forgot to take it, I had a very SLUGGISH day.

Vitality supplement gives you more physical energy, mental clarity, and raises your libido. I know several people who take it, and along with these benefits, they sleep better at night. I have nearly always slept good, but it seems like in the last 2 weeks, I have started having more dreams. After taking Vitality, you may see the difference as early as 3 or 4 days, or it may take 6 weeks.


This heatmap illustrates gene expression of three groups:
1st column: Young Gene Expression,
2nd column: Old Gene Expression,
3rd column: Old Gene Expression taking Vitality supplement (notice how similar it is to the Young).



I wanted to use this product daily, and decided to become a distributor so that I could get the wholesale price. I would be happy to give any of friends or family that same wholesale price of $50 per month. It is satisfaction guaranteed, and you can get your money back if you aren't completely satisfied. You may leave me a comment or email me: nfriedel@hotmail.com if you are interested or have any questions.



Thanks! Nicole

Teddy Bears

This year for Dean's birthday, KatieLynn wanted to give Dean some clothes (that I made) for his bear. Denver (his teddy bear) is Dean's favorite stuffed animal. It was given to him when he was born by my brother and his wife; we named it Denver because that's where it came from. I first looked to see if I could buy some clothes, but didn't find anything I thought would work, so I made him overalls. I only had a little fabric from her bedding, and since I didn't have a pattern, I decided to use some of KatieLynn's bedding fabric to make my practice overalls for her 'TinkerBear' (also given to her as a baby from my brother) that is similar in size to Denver. She was really excited about this, especially because the day after Dean's bday, KatieLynn was having 'bear day' at school. I also made Buck (the deer :)) and John Deere bear some collars (to match the one I made for Denver when he was little). Dean could not have been more pleased when he opened the present!Here's Denver and TinkerBear together!

Happy 5th Birthday Dean!

Dean turned 5 a couple of weeks ago. I know I say this at every birthday, but I truly can't believe it's been 5 years since Dean was born! He requested brownies for after supper, and since I couldn't draw a picture on the brownies, we used construction cone candles.

I brought chocolate chip cookies and ice cream to Dean's class to celebrate. He was beaming!
After we picked up KatieLynn from school, we got Daddy, and then headed to Mountasia. The kids loved trying to spray each other on the bumper boats (Darren & I sat that one out), the go-carts, and even miniature golf.

The kids were very pumped about playing mini-golf, but found it a little difficult to get the hole where they wanted. At the third hole, Dean was pretty frustrated, so Darren tried, and his first hit pitched the ball into the water.... I think Dean enjoyed watching the ball move down the little creek even more.

KatieLynn and I lasted until 9 holes, and then we were ready for something else.

Here's my big man.

He adores his big sister!

Dean's Favorites:
Books: Nonfiction equipment and Franklin
Games: Uno, Toy Story Yahtzee Jr.
Toys: legos, construction, tractors, trucks
Stuffed Animals: Denver (teddy bear) & Buck (deer)
TV: Swamp Loggers, Harvest, Ice Road Truckers
Cartoons: Franklin, Curious George
Bible Story: birth of Jesus
Outside: Digging in dirt pile or sandbox, riding bike, or helping Daddy
Food: Macaroni
Dessert: Ice Cream
Color: Green (surprise!)

Special things about Dean
He loves his family, and is completely devoted to us.
He shares whatever he has.
He is a hard worker, whether it's digging in the dirt pile, pulling weeds, or picking up sticks in the yard.
He always tells me thank-you (I hope he tells others too!)
He is usually easy-going, and will go along with whatever KatieLynn wants to do.
At home, he is kind, gentle, and helpful (again, I hope he will do this everywhere).
He takes good care of his stuffed animals.
He is a homebody.
He is a good snuggler.