You may now refer to me as Allyson, the award-winning blogger...

Thank you to Lindsay Woods for the award! It was very sweet of her!

The Lemonade Stand Award

The rules for this award are rather simple. All I have to do is answer the following questions with a single word answer and then pass this along to five bloggers.

1. Your Cell Phone? iPhone

2. Your Hair? Colored

3. Your Mother? Godly

4. Your Father? Caring

5. Your Favorite Food? Chocolate

6. Your Dream Last Night? Unknown

7. Your Favorite Drink? Coffee

8. Your Dream/Goal? Lose

9. What Room Are You In? Den

10. Your Hobby? Reading

11. Your Fear? Lost

12. Where Do You Want To Be In Six Years? Ranch

13. Where Were You Last Night? Home

14. Something That You Aren't? Perfect

15. Muffins? Rarely

16. Wish List Item? Organization!

17. Where Did You Grow Up? Hamilton

18. Last Thing You Did? Dishes

19. What Are You Wearing? PJs

20. Your TV? on

21. Your Pets? PupPup

22. Friends? Great!

23. Your Life? Rewarding

24. Your Mood? Good

25. Missing Someone? Matthew

26. Vehicle? Uplander

27. Something You Aren't Wearing? Make-up

28. Your Favorite Store? Target

29. Your Favorite Color? Red

30. When Was The Last Time You Laughed? Today

31. Last Time You Cried? Unsure

32. Your Best Friend? Paula

33. One Place You Go To Over And Over Again? Bed

34. Facebook? Time-waster

35. Favorite Place To Eat? Kool Beans

And the Lemonade Stand Award goes to...

Tiffany - Tiffany is my wonderful sister-in-law who inspired me to become a blogger. I enjoy reading her blog and keeping up with their family.

Sharon - Sharon is a Hamilton friend whose son, Carter, is Bradley's BDF (see blog for details!). I enjoy reading her blog about Carter, Dakota and the fabulous Miss Maya!

Wendy and Jeff - Wendy and Jeff are Peter's cousins who live in Maryland. They have the best blog! You never know if you're going to learn something or laugh until you cry.

Liza Jane - I went to HS with Elizabeth, so I've known her for a long time! I really enjoy reading her blog and seeing what she is doing in her photography business.

Hayley - Haley is a friend from Cleburne who now lives in Abilene. I enjoy reading her blog about her kiddos. It's just fun!

And this next part I am stealing from Lindsay who stole it from Carrie...it was too fun not to pass on.....

I would love for each and every one of you to pass on the blog award and continue this "chain letter" phenomenon. So please know that if you do not continue the chain, one or more of the following things may happen.

1. Hair loss
2. Constipation
3. Permanent loss of the ever-elusive "luck factor"
4. Weight gain
5. Nausea
6. Compulsion to purchase Beanie Babies

I don't make this up, people. The facts are the facts.

Go have fun!

'Guru' is my nemesis...

Guru...that's all it took for Bradley's dream of the National Spelling Bee to come to an end...As soon as the moderator gave the word, a feeling of impending doom swept over me. The lights in the auditorium appeared to dim as one single light shone on Bradley's face...my brain cried out, "NOOOO" as I heard the letters..."g...e...r...u..."

Seriously, Bradley kept a pretty cool demeanor even having the presence of mind to ask for the word to be used in a sentence. He and the boy two seats to the right gave each other a knuckle bump when Bradley sat down after spelling his first word correctly. It was really cute. Of course, then they kept whispering and cutting up a little, and I was worried that they were going to get called down onstage in front of the entire 3rd through 8th grade, but they stopped! Maybe next year, Bradley...

A day with Carter...

A few pictures of a Sunday afternoon spent on the Ranch with Bradley's BDF (Best Dude Forever), Carter...


Plotting...

My attempt at being the Pioneer Woman...

Tree monkey...

Where's Carter?

Building a bridge...


Testing the bridge for weight load...

Fire power!

Fording the river... (Remember Oregon Trail?)

Best Dudes Forever!

Heading home...

Ballet and Tap

Right before the holidays, Laurel Ann started a ballet and tap class. She originally started taking ballet in Hamilton last year; however, that class was not offered this year. She really loves dancing around and wearing tutus, so we signed her up and she takes with her friend, Chloe. The following pictures came from their last class before Christmas. Her teacher, Ms. Melissa, invited the parents to watch as they showed some of the skills they'd been learning.

Stretching before class...Laurel Ann is on the far left.



In line to chasse...I'm not sure if Chloe has her in a wrestling move...they are the ones who got in trouble for tackling at preschool...

Jumping the puddle...unfortunately she landed right in the middle of it.

On to tap...

I'm a little teapot...

here is my handle, here is my spout...

tip me over and pour me out.

This Spring, her class will be doing a recital...I cannot wait! She's already talking about it and is very excited as costumes will be involved!!!

Spelling Bee Champ!

I don't have a picture to post, but Bradley won the 3rd grade spelling bee! He was the only one who did not misspell a word. He now gets to go to the Countywide Spelling Bee where he will compete against 3rd through 8th graders from Hico and Hamilton (he's the only 3rd grader from Hamilton). He's a little anxious about competing against older kids, so I've been talking up the beauty of being the underdog! I must say though, I can't pronounce some of the words on the spelling list he's studying...

Tea Party

On this cold, wintry day, Laurel Ann and I had a tea party. Here you see Laurel Ann and her baby preparing the table.

As she was getting our table ready, Laurel Ann informed me that there are rules that must be followed when at a tea party.

#1. Always have a princess teapot. (Fortunately, we have more than one to choose from!)
#2. Always act like a princess. (Got that one covered!)
#3. Always have a teacup. (That is helpful.)
#4. Always have tea. (Uh, yeah.)
#5. Act polite and kind. (Apparently that is not how Princesses act, since it had to be added!)
#6. If you're bleeding at a tea party, you have to have a Princess band-aid. (Got those too!)
#7. You must have a beautiful table.
#8. A good tea party always gives to others. (Maybe she means the hostess.)
#9. Nothing should be dusty. (She better find another venue for her tea parties then.)

The two following pictures go together. She is showing me how to nod.

I think she could give Martha Stewart a run for her money!

Poor Bradley was home with us, but he was in his bedroom trying not to be sick.

She's learning...

I informed Laurel Ann that she would have to take some cough medicine before she goes to school tomorrow morning. She then informed me that she only told me she liked that medicine because "I didn't want to disappoint you." Her words- but where did she learn them?!?