Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas here at the Trinks.  The boys got all they asked for and more.  We ate a TON of food and since the weather was BLAH we watched movies and ate some more.  The boys had a blast with their new Airsoft guns and would head outside during every lull in the drizzle.

Today we went shopping to spend our gift cards.  I was pleasantly surprised to find the stores not crazy crowded.  All in all it was a great few days.

Tomorrow we get back to the real world.  No more eating butter and sugar for every meal.  Working out is going to be a MUST :).  We are looking forward to New Year's Eve and hanging with good friends.

New Christmas Tradition?

So every year on Christmas Eve, we read Twas the Night Before Christmas.  My dad used to read it to us when we were kids and we have continued the tradition.  Once all the boys could read we started all taking turns reading a page.  I love this tradition and hope the boys continue it when they have kids.

Tonight we started a new tradition.  Aunt T brought us a surprise and I really hope we continue this tradition as well.  Take a look:

Yep - it's Christmas Mad Libs and it was a blast!  We laughed so hard!   You can totally tell that there are teen and pre-teen boys in this house LOL.  

Merry Christmas everyone!

Can Christmas really only be 3 days away?!?

Hard to believe that Christmas is almost here.  Are we ready?  Is anyone ever really ready?  I still need to grab some groceries for Christmas dinner and I may need to grab a couple of presents too!  But I will not stress (I will not stress, I will not stress lol).

Tomorrow we are going to bake cookies and other goodies.  The boys always decorate cookies with Grandma (who will be arriving tomorrow).

Here's an oldie but a goodie of me and my sweet sister with Santa.  We are probably 3 and 5 years old.  I will miss seeing her and her kiddos and my folks this Christmas but hopefully they will all be here next year.

Merry Christmas everyone!  XOXO

Fun with neighbors and friends

We are blessed with great friends and neighbors.  We started our Christmas break with a fun gathering at one of our neighbors.  There was lots of yummy food and drinks and a hot chocolate bar for the kiddos.  We continued on Sunday at our house for the Broncos and Patriots game and went to another neighbors for Monday night football.  It is so great to have wonderful people to be around especially when your family is not as close as you'd like for the holidays.

Magoo was Happy Hour-ed OUT! :)

It's the little things

Want to know what made my day today?  Only having to do one pick up at middle school today.  No basketball practice for the oldest boy.  Like I said...it's the little things :)

Christmas Crack is Crackalackin'!

Made this last night:

It has been referred to as "Christmas Crack" on Pinterest and now I know why!  The recipes comes from  The Girl Who Ate Everything and it is DIVINE!!  Super easy and only 4 ingredients.

P.S. There is nothing healthy about this recipe.  It is butter and sugar and chocolate, OH MY!

Christmas Card and Letter

Friday I mailed out our Christmas card and to some people our Christmas letter.  I opted not to send our letter to everyone.

Why did I do this?  Well I figured I could save some paper and printer ink because most of our friends are also our friends on Facebook or they read our blog.  They are more connected and up to date on our lives than I could possibly include in a one page letter.  For those of you who didn't get the letter but would like to waste a couple of minutes of your life - here it is (be forewarned - this is some riveting stuff lol).

GT is 14 years old and in 8^th grade.  Next stop for him…high school (GULP!).  He continues to do well in school and sports.  He is counting down the days until he gets his learner’s permit (YIKES!).

BMan is 11 and ¾ and is a newly minted middle schooler.  He is doing great in school and still loves baseball.  He plays the saxophone in the school band and is quite wonderful at it if I do say so myself.

Magoo is a 3^rd grader and almost 9 years old.  He is doing awesome in school and seems to have his teacher fooled into thinking he’s an angel.  He loves ALL sports and is turning into quite a catcher. 

Mr. T recently celebrated his 40^th birthday. We went on a trip to Jamaica to celebrate his birthday and our 15^th wedding anniversary.  We had a great time and got to celebrate with some wonderful friends – what more could we ask for?  In November, Mr. T ran the San Antonio Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon.  He ran it so fast that the boys and I completely missed seeing him cross the finish line.   Not bad for an old guy :) .

I am the volunteer coordinator at the elementary and middle school.  Can you say crazy?  Oh and I also serve on the school district’s PTA Board.  I think I need to learn how to say no:).  It has been a busy year for sure but I’m fairly certain I wouldn’t want it any other way.

We are gearing up for a fun filled 2012.  We have lots to look forward to including our annual ski trip in February.  This year we will be heading back to Durango, CO.   In November, we will be celebrating our beautiful niece C’s wedding.  We look forward to breaking in welcoming Z to the family. 

We wish you and your families the Merriest of Christmases and a Joyful and Prosperous 2012!

And here's the Christmas Card:

My beautiful niece and handsome nephew

I was lucky enough to talk these two into letting me take some pics of them.

Big Canoe Thanksgiving Trip

We spent Thanksgiving in Georgia this year.  We drove out there last Saturday and after some traffic issues (U of Alabama game traffic - dislike!!) we rolled into the folks place at 11:30 ish.

On Sunday, we met some of our favorite people for lunch.  The kids got to hang out with their oldest friends (love you Ross boys) and I got to catch up with two of my best friends!

Later that afternoon we took the boys to see the Falcons play the Titans at the Dome.  We had great seats and it was a fun game.  Much better than freezing your tush off at Fulton County Stadium but I digress.

On  Monday, Mr. T, the boys, and I headed up to Big Canoe.  We rented a house close to the golf course and it was AMAZING (http://www.vrbo.com/318013).  We highly recommend it if you are ever in the area.  My parents, sister and her kids joined us on Tuesday and the fun continued!

We hiked.  We ate.  Mr. T and GT golfed.  We hot tubbed.  We ate some more.  We walked up a bunch of stairs at Amicalola Falls and then had a yummy lunch in Dahlonega.  We had fabulous margaritas from my new Margaritaville Margarita machine (thanks Mr. T).  It was so wonderful!!!

On Friday, we hugged and kissed everyone good-bye (lots of tears shed on my part) and headed home.  The ride home was smooth and uneventful!  Even though we planned on stopping somewhere along the way, we decided to push through and boy were we happy to sleep in our own bed.

Here are some picture highlights - enjoy!

San Antonio Half Marathon

Mr. T and his sister, Aunt T, ran the half marathon in San Antonio this weekend.  We went down on Saturday and took Aunt T to the Alamo because she has never been before.  We had a yummy Italian dinner and then called it a night.

On Sunday, we caught up with Mr. T at mile 10 but we were super bummed that we missed him at the finish line.  He was too fast for us :).  We all cheered Aunt T on as she headed up the hill at mile 13.  They both did great at the race and the boys and I were happy we were there to cheer them on.

Here are some pictures of the runner and their biggest fans:

More of Jamaica

The waterfall

My darling husband in the gazebo

The beach

Mr. T resting

View from our balcony

The Dunn's River Falls