He's Lucky He's Cute!!!

Christmas Day 2008

I would just like to say how perfectly blessed we are. We are blessed to have such a healthy and loving family, we are blessed to have a supportive and loving extended family, and we are blessed to have such an amazing friend family that now extends from Houston to Las Vegas, from Austin to Canada! ( wink, wink Vicki) We are blessed to have the Gospel in Our lives and there is not one day that I take for granted all that means to me!

Having said that, we were once again spoiled this Christmas, the kids got everything they could have asked for, hinted at, or wished for. It was a PREFECT morning!!!

We had a blast visiting my Family in Houston and spending time with them, but we also missed the Ostler side and our friends.

We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas!

WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Christmas Eve 2008

We have two traditions in my family that we like to keep every Christmas Eve. The first one is the opening of matching Christmas PJ's from my Parents. We then ALL put on the PJ's and go look at Christmas lights. If we want to get technical we go to ONE house, Andy Richardson's in Richmond, TX. My sister, Erin, became really good friends with her and we go there EVERY YEAR to see what tom-foolery they are engaged in. Here are the pics from this year.....well the ones that turned out! A 12 Ft. Po, from Kung-Fu Panda!
The Simpson'sWal-E, complete with a Santa Hat Wearing Cockroach!

Logan had a blast playing with the grape scented bubbles blowing out of the bubble machine!

Sierra enjoying the bubbles, AND mortified that Grandma was run over by a Jet-Ski...this year. Thanks Richardson's for another AWESOME Christmas Eve, and the free candy bars didn't suck either!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Today is my Momma-Jo's B-day!

Happy Birthday to the most amazing Mom a kid, and Grandkid, could ever ask for!!

I LOVE YA MOM!!!

HAVE A HAPPY HAPPY DAY!!!

Going Green!?!

Sierra bought her friend Ashley a gift and wanted to give it to her, she also wrapped it all by herself in a beautiful gift bag. When we went to pick Ashley up for their playdate Sierra gave her the gift.

When we got to Ashley's, Sierra jumped out of the car and went to the door, she knocked.... they anwered.... Sierra bestowed her gift..... and then I heard Ashley's mom, Stacey....Laughing. I'm thinking Oh! No! What did Sierra say, or do?

Stacey comes outside and tells me what Sierra said..... here is the interaction as best as I can recall.

Ashley: Hi Sierra!

Sierra: Hi! Here....

Ashley: (takes gift bag and proceeds to pull out a wad of TOLIET PAPER!!!!)

Sierra: I'm going GREEN this year, so I decided to use toliet paper to wrap your gift with!

My child is a hoot!

Hijacked Blog!!!!

What..... a wife tag?? Are you kidding me, are you serious, are you kidding me, are you serious??

So, I got challenged to do a wife tag, and Rand has not let me forget for the past 72 hours that if I really loved her I would do the tag. With undying devotion here I sit at the computer ready to go. I am not much of a wordist... so I hope this makes sense.

1. She's sitting in front of the TV; what is on the screen? Either the Food network or the HGTV. If it's cooking or crafty, she is all over it.

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does she get on her salad? Rand loves the Caesar Salad. Usually if we go out, I'm already half done with my meal to realize she is even eating...the kids are screaming, and we just want to get out of the restaurant.

3. What's one food she doesn't like? Breakfast. It's not a food, I know, but she is notorious for having a sandwich for breakfast. She's not real big on sweets (more for me), she likes salty and tangy.

4. You go our to a bar, what does she drink? Who are we kidding the only liquid she drinks would be Diet Pepsi.

5. Where did she go to high school? Kempner High in Sugar land, TX. How do I know that, that's a long story......

6. What size shoe does she wear? Flip Flops....

7. If she was to collect anything, what would it be? Lately, it's scrapbook shows on the Tivo...

8. What is her favorite type of sandwich? It depends on what time of day it is... turkey, tuna, or veggie.

9. What would this person eat every day if she could? Chuy's. It's a Mexican restaurant here in Austin.

10. What would she never wear? Lingerie....... sorry about that one.

11. What is her favorite sports team? The underdog, she doesn't watch sports. When she does, she will root for whoever is behind.

12. What is something you do that she wishes you wouldn't do? wear lingerie... that is a joke, I am not serious, that was a JOKE!!!!! For reals this time: She hates it when I ask her how much does that cost... or do we really need that????

13 How many states has she lived in? 4 Utah, North Carolina, Texas, and Nevada, and sometimes la-la land.

14. What is her heritage? Chinese, African American, and red neck. I totally love her. This is kind of an inside joke, and the explanation to that question could fill pages.

15. You bake her a cake for her birthday; what kind of cake? Cake???? Chips and Salsa, did we not see the previous question???

16. Did she play sports in high school? No, but she was a playa...

17. What could she spend hours doing? Scrap booking, sewing, and talking on the phone with her friends.

So, that's pretty much her in a nutshell. She is quirky, funny, and the best friend I could ever ask for. Seriously, I totally love her.

Is there any one else brave enough to take the wife tag challenge??????
Hijackers unite!!! Long live the testosterone!!!!

Now, how the he#$ do I post this....?

Tagged...Well Sort of!

My Sister Emily, technically she is my Sister-in-law, posted this neat tag about her hubby. She then proceeded to tag everyone! So, because I like these things, I decided I would do it too. But, I kind of twisted it by using other questions I found on my friend Nikki's blog. Hence, why I say I was tagged, kinda sorta!

This tag is all about your sweet significant other... (and since me and David Schwimmer are still on the down low), I am going to talk about Paul!!! :)

1. He's sitting in front of the TV; what is on the screen? Well, that depends...mostly if I am there we watch stuff that we recorded on the DVR, but if he is all by himself....THE GOLF CHANNEL. He would watch this 24/7! He's watching it has I type this!

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? He loves to mix Ranch and Catalina, or Thousand Island

3. What's one food he doesn't like? AVOCADO!! It is more of a deep routed fear. I am beginning to think that Paul's brother's tortured him in a field of them somewhere. Come on guys fess up! I literally can not cut an avocado on a cutting board and then cut up another anything, he won't eat whatever it was I cut up after the avocado. It is quite funny!

4. You go our to a bar, what does he drink? Water, or Sprite.

5. Where did he go to high school? Paul went to a private school and was also home schooled!

6. What size shoe does he wear? 9 1/2

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Shot glasses! I know, ironic because he doesn't drink alcohol, but we have had some AWESOME water taste tests in those things!

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? PB & J! or Grilled Cheese, with miracle whip, mustard, and pickles.

9. What would this person eat every day if he could? Pop Tarts, and my Green Chili Chicken Enchilada Casserole. YUMMO!

10. What would he never wear? A Pink shirt of any shade, ever! If I ever buy him one it's grounds for divorce!

11. What is his favorite sports team? If I had to say a team it would be The Chicago Bears! We had great friends in Vegas who turned him into a moderate football fan. Thanks Kurt! But, really his favorite sports people are his golfing peeps: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Adam Scott, etc.

12. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? Eat out so much. He is getting his wish because I am going to be joining a weight loss challenge in January, you will hear more about it later.

13 How many states has he lived in? 3, Utah, Texas, and Nevada!

14. What is his heritage? European Mutt

15. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? I don't Bake.. I cook.. I don't bake! Therefore his favorite cake is a Ice Cream Cake from Baskin Robbins. It is a family tradition on birthdays

16. Did he play sports in high school? Not in High School, but he did play Basketball in Junior High!

17. What could he spend hours doing? Ummmmmm Golfing,...and he does! I sense a theme.

Now if anyone else wants to do this, go ahead- it is a lot of fun! I would love to see what everyone else says about their sweeties!

No Time!!!

I am blogging only to say that I have no time to blog!!

What is that about?

I am too busy being Santa's Elf, and working on finishing my kids Pj's and quilts that "Santa" is bringing them for Christmas! I am also working on packaging some VT doo-dads to give to our sisters that we Visit Teach.

And That is just tonights assignments.

This is not even putting into account that I still had to feed my children and get them off to bed.

Seriously, where does the time go? Why does it take 3 weeks to make some blankets and some PJ's. I am enjoying the learning process {thanks Melissa} but I am ready to be done!!!

Anyone else wishing Santa's Elves would form a Union?

A Night in Bethlehem!

There is a little town about 45 minutes away from us called, Burnet, TX. The special thing about this town is that every year, the Baptist Church there hosts an event called, "Main Street Bethlehem". This church has taken a city block and has built a fort like structure. Where, Once inside those walls, you feel transported to that Special, and Sacred night in Bethlehem. It was amazing! Everyone was dressed up, and acted in character. The Roman Soldiers were just as mean, and ornery as one would picture. It will for sure be one of our ," Ostler Family Adventure: Christmas Edition", traditions!

Awaiting the Doors of "Bethlehem" to open! The line to get in was a block and a half at one point. Luckily, we got there early!

Sign outside of the entrance. I loved how it set the tone for the entire evening...

Campers inside the walls of Bethlehem!

Inside the Synagogue, this young boy was silently lighting the Menorah. It was amazing how authentic everything looked, down to every last detail. These ladies were inside a building, building baskets. We were stunned at how warm it was inside of those buildings!There were Camels...real Camels. I mean seriously! They had me at authentic candle making, and leather making. The Bethlehem Bread was to DIE for, fresh out of the wood burning stove, and the authentic blacksmiths were amazing as well.

But my kids, FLIPPED at the REAL LIVE PET-ABLE CAMELS!!!

(We felt the spirit we swear!)

This was where all the people went to pay their taxes, and if they hadn't or they couldn't the soldiers marched them off to jail! Sierra nearly got run down by one of the guards shoving some drunk into the Jail. It was after this near miss that she turned to me and said, " Mom this was TOTALLY worth the wait."

The inn keeper. He was telling everyone that he had no room in his inn, but that we could warm up by his fire. I thought I would take a picture of him. Why? Because he looks just like who I picture in the movie in my head when I read the scriptures.

They even had a star rigged above the manger, in this case it was a cave, to let everyone know where the Baby Jesus was. They even had shepards running around the town, telling everyone to go see the Baby Jesus!

The reason for the Season!

It was so nice because as soon as you got close to where the "Savior" was, there was a sign to stay quiet. I don't think many people saw the sign, everyone just naturally got quiet and peaceful! It was a beautiful night! Thanks Burnet, TX!

Merry Christmas, From all of us, To all of You!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I can see Clearly Now...

Last week, Sierra came home early from school with what the nurse called. " a migraine leaving Sierra blind in her right eye!" I made a Doctor appointment and rushed over to the school. After talking to Sierra I realized that this was another one of her episodes that she has been having of late, where she reads and then gets a headache and then her vision gets blurry. I cancelled the Doctors appointment and instead took her to the Opthomologist to get her eyes checked out.

Well, after her exam the Dr says to me, " Well she is going to need some reading glasses!"

"GREAT!! I say, I will run right over to Walgreen's and buy her her very favorite pair of reading glasses! What am I looking for +1.0 or what?"

"Oh! You can't buy these over the counter, she needs a +.50, they don't make those over the counter! She will need prescription reading glasses."

Of Course she will!

So, off we went to Target with prescription in hand. They fortunately were having a great deal on lenses so we were able to get them for a steal! But, they had to send them to the lab to finish, so Sierra has had to wait a week to get them.

Finally, last night, Sierra got the call from Target that her glasses had arrived. The way she was jumping up and down you would have thought Santa had made an early delievery!

On the way home, Sierra "Suggested", like the good daughter of an obsessive blogger would do, that we should take a picture and post it for all of you to see!

Doesn't she look Studious?As a bonus:

Logan has been pretend sleeping all over my house. I finally caught him on my camera doing it. I don't know if you can see it, but it still sounds funny! Enjoy!

Let It Snow!

This morning we woke up to some good ole' fashioned

Texas Snow!

Doesn't it look beautiful dusting the tops of all the homes?

Unfortunately, it isn't so pretty close up!

Chemically Speaking it is more like 80% ice and 20% snow!

But, hey! Here in Texas we can't get too picky now can we?

O Drama Tree...O Drama Tree

Every Year Paul and I have the same conversation on Thanksgiving Night:

Me: Oh, Honey look, at Michael's tomorrow from 4:00- 4:15 a.m. I can get a fake $2,000 tree for only $40. We should get one.

Paul: No. I really want a real tree, it is our thing, we get real trees!

A week later we load the kids into the car, crank up the Christmas music and head out to find our Perfect Christmas Tree. Here are the steps to finding the Perfect Ostler Christmas Tree!


Step #1 THE SEARCH
After arriving at Home Depot, Lowe's, HEB, Walmart or wherever has tickled our fancy, Paul starts channeling his Father, ( love ya Dad!) " What! $30 for a tree, are there any cheaper ones? What if we just got one for the top of the table, how much would that be?" He knows they are $25-30. They have been since we started this tradition 9 years ago, but he still needs to ask!


Step #2 THE "WHERE THE HECK IS THE TWINE DANCE"
Paul has to ask every Tree attendant if they are sure they have twine...at least 4 times! And every year, I have to tell him that they already said the had it, and every year Paul has to turn to me and say," But Randi, if they don't have twine I can't get the tree home." I would just like to point out that the tree has always come home...that same night!
Step #3 THE BIGGEST LOSER
While tying our tree to the car, Paul must make his prediction as to which father is going to lose his tree on the way home. This is quite hilarious!

Step #4 EAGLE EYE
Paul has to say over and over, this phrase...ALL THE WAY HOME!!!
" Has the tree moved....Where is the tree.....Has the tree moved....Who's supposed to be watching the tree....Has the tree moved....."

Step #5 IT BEGINS....
Pine Needles all over my carpet. Nuff said

Step #6 THE WATERING HOLE
Sierra and Paul fill up the tree stand once it is in place...again Nuff said!

Step #7 TREE GESTAPO
This is me!
I am the decorating police.
It is not pretty,
I do not wish to elaborate.

Step #8 VICTORY!!!
After the tears have been wiped away, the bruises are iced, and the cuts have been bandaged we step back and admire our work...
Now I know why they invented Eggnog!

For your blogging enjoyment:

Sierra and Logan decided that they wanted to be the tree, so they took the plastic netting laid on the lawn and wrapped themselves in it. I really can not explain them other than to say that I was raised by Psychologists....It's genetics people!