Recapping the Holidays

Hello and Happy New Year!


I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season.  I definitely did.  This year, I got to go back to KC and spend an entire week with family.  It was so nice to be back in Liberty and stay for longer than just a day or two.  We got in just in time too - as we pulled into the driveway on Christmas Eve, it started sleeting and then the snow fell until the next morning, which means...we had a white Christmas!!  woohoo!  Now, I was very curious how Lucy would handle the snow - she was rescued in East Texas and then brought to Dallas so I doubt she ever saw snow.  Well, it turns out she LOVED it!!  I took her out that next morning and she just ran and ran and played and loved it all.  At one point she would throw her head in the snow then try to lick the snow off her nose.  It was too cute.  Truman was also very curious about this snow stuff so I let him out on the front porch to see what he would do.  He was a little hesitant at first, but he was very very intrigued.  I think he really liked it because the rest of the week when I would head toward the door to take Lucy out, Truman would be there waiting to go outside, too...haha.  As for Baloo, he had no desire to be outside. Instead, he spent his time inside and staying warm while also snooping for any people food that might have fallen on the floor.


We didn't  have too many things planned over the break, but it was just nice to relax and spend time with those I don't see often.  Anne's mom and my mom also threw an engagement party for Dom and Anne on New Year's Eve, which was a lot of fun.  We had a chance to meet more of Anne's family and I have to say I love them.  They are a fun family with a great sense of humor.


I thought I'd share with you some pictures of our time with family this Christmas.  


I hope all of you also had a Merry, Merry Christmas and fantastic start to the new year! 

The weekend before Christmas and before we headed back to KC, we went down to Granbury to have a mini-Christmas with Adam's family.  It was a fun time, however, it also wasn't the same without Nick and Laura, who were spending the holiday in Cape Cod, MA.  The picture above is of Helen's dog, Charlie, or as he was called that night, Santa Charlie.

This lady is Helen Kramer, an incredible woman who raised five incredible men.

This is of Adam and Luke and Kaela's dog, Julian.  Julian often stays at our place when her mom and dad are out of town.  She's crazy, but also so sweet.

This is of Kaela and Luke.  We were at their new house in Granbury - it was so homey and cozy!  

Here are the Mr. and Mrs. Kramer of Plano, TX.  They will be welcoming a little Kramer boy here in just a few more weeks!

This is of Dom and Anne at my parent's house on Christmas Eve.  It was time to open presents!

This picture here is of Grandma Hogan.  We left Dallas early on Christmas Eve so that we could stop by Bartlesville and pick her up.  She braved the trip to KC even though we had to go a little out of our way due to the weather - better than getting stuck in an ice storm though...

It's VERY hard to get a picture of my mom and when I do, it's usually because she doesn't know.  She was pretty happy with one of her gifts as you can see above.

I'm not quite sure what Adam's expression is saying here.  Maybe he is in awe of all the Christmas gifts..hahaha.  Whatever it is, my dad seems to be looking at the same thing.

Meet my Uncle Jimmy (or Uncle J, as I like to call him).  He came up to KC to spend a few days with us and to take Grandma (on the right) back to Oklahoma.  I don't get to see Uncle J or Grandma too often so when I do, I always enjoy visiting with them.


Alright --- NOW, for all the PET pictures!!  As most of you know, I have two cats and a dog, and yes, they all rode in the car to KC for Christmas.  Dom and Anne also have two cats, but no dog.  Their cats' names are Toaster and Trudy (yes, you read that right -- Toaster).  Then, of course, we have our family cat, Miss Shirley-o.  She is by far the oldest of the bunch and all the pets (even Lucy) respect her, even though she is also by far the smallest of the bunch!  So at one point this week, we had all four cats and Lucy staying at my parent's house.  I'm sure some of you are thinking that's crazy, but they actually all got along pretty well or minded their own business.  Because I'm such a pet lover, I couldn't not share pictures of all of them.  I'm also including a sequence of photos I took of Lucy running in the snow.  I can't say it enough - she just looooved it.  We need snow in Dallas for her to play in!!  That, and boy do I miss the days of sledding...

Miss Shirley-o.  I can't believe she is 17 years old now.  She is small, but fiesty.  However, I will say she has mellowed out in the last few years.  All five of the other pets definitely respected Miss Shirley since it was her house an' all.

Miss Trudy just kickin' it.  She's quite shy.  In fact, I think she stayed with us last Thanksgiving, but I never did see her.  She's making strides every time she comes to town.

Toaster, or as I call him, The Toast, really needs no introduction.  He's quite a big boy (you should see his paws), but acts like a little baby.  I woke up one morning thinking I heard a baby crying upstairs, but alas, it was The Toast.

Mr. Truman-o, the nosey, just had to go outside and explore the snow.  I didn't expect him to go under the bushes that our near our front porch, so when he did, I thought "uh oh, how will I get him out now?"  My second thought was, "I better not let Adam know he got under those bushes" -- I could already hear his reaction..."Why did you let him under there?!"...haha.  As you can see though, a few minutes later, he came out of the bushes without my coaxing.

I had to include this one.  This is Truman's window when we come to visit.  This is the window he always looks forward to looking out.  It's the front window in my mom's formal dining room.  Whenever Truman comes to KC, he claims that dining room as his.  If I can't find him in the house, he's either, a) got locked in the basement, b) got locked in the garage, or c) is sitting looking out his window.

Here's one of Mr. B and Truman taking an afternoon nap together.  I didn't get a solo pic of Mr. Baloo on this trip since he's not a huge fan of having his picture taken.  Since he was a good boy on the ride up (he hates traveling), I thought the least I could do is spare him of all my picture taking.

As you can tell, Lucy Bear had a good ol' time playin' in the snow!

Now, very last, but never least, I must add one more note to my post.  Not only was Christmas significant for the obvious reason, but also because it is my little cousin, Sofia's birthday!  Yes, Sofie was actually born on Christmas morning and is thus a Christmas baby.  On the Saturday after Christmas, we all got together to have a little cake and celebration as she turned the big 02 (2 years old)!  Here she is with her Uncle Vince at the party:

Good night!!  Have a wonderful week!!