So, Last saturday my Dad's side of the family celebrated Christmas. Yes, a little late, but it was the first time we could all get together. Madison was the highlight of the party and entertained us with her great dancing.

Here she is looking as gorgeous as ever. Everyone always asks me if she has lipstick on, but the answer is no, she is just graced with those beautiful lips.

Here she is bagin her head to "Bohemian Rhapsody" We all know the part, the one Wayne and Garth made famous.

You've Lost that Lovin Feeling.

On the track with "The Year of Carrie" I spent last Sat night out with friends. We went to a new dueling piano bar in Corona called "At My Place". A bunch of us gathered to celebrate Lisa's upcoming bday. Well, if you donate money with a request, the piano players will gladly pull up your bday guest of honor and make their day extra special. In doing so, the piano players were positive that Louise and Lisa were twins. They had them both come up and then asked for about 10 men from the audience to come up and sing to the two ladies. A gaggle of men proceeded to sing "You've lost that lovin feeling" while they sat atop the pianos. I think the girls had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I was not able to get all of Lisa in the photo, but you get the gist.

My sister and her husband Chris even came out to partake in the fun.

The "twins"

Lisa and me!

The Year of Carrie

Last night was a ton of fun. I decided that I was not going to do my typical- watch movies and sleep- to ring in the new year. No, this is is a whole new year with many things to look forward to. I am titling it, "The Year of Carrie" This is gonna be my year. Just watch. I partied it up last night and I feel like change is in the air. Lulu is in a wonderful mood today, just proving further that this is going to be a great year. Oh, it also doesn't hurt that the Trojans ripped Penn State to shreds. Already things are going great.

Here is Lulu showing what fun she is willing to have today. If you cannot tell, she is jumping in the air trying to catch the flash.

Ellen, from TV

I don't know why I failed to mention this in my last post. The best part of Christmas this year was Madison receiving a butt load of toys. When you ask her who brought all the toys to her, she replies, "Ellen", ask her who Ellen is and she replies "Ellen, from TV" The story is, my sister went to a taping of the Ellen Show. It was the day before Ellen's Twelve days of Christmas and I guess Ellen felt sorry for the audience because they were missing out on the loot. So, she gave every audience member 500 dollars worth of Christmas toys from Vtech. All of the toys were appropriate for Madison's age group, so she was the lucky recipient. She knows who to give props to, in her mind Santa is now Ellen from TV. Katie, I hope I used apostrophes correctly! By the way, the woman with Maddie in the picture is my oldest sister Cheryl.

Christmas Day!

Christmas this year was alot of fun. It is always great to see my nephew and nieces open all of their presents and enjoy the holiday. They are getting so old so quickly. I can still remember everything about the day Tyler was born. He was the first boy in my family and all of us girls smother him with love. He is a true sweetheart and will someday make a very good husband. I know I am thinking way too far into the future. Here he is messing around with the younger kids toys. He was very happy with his new cell phone he received from Santa this year.
Katie is my niece and she is so much fun. When she is around we are always laughing about just about anything. She is ten years old and is the dancing star of the family. She has been dancing since she was 2 years old. She is so good at dancing that the owner of her dance studio has asked her to do a solo for competition. That is almost unheard of at the age of 10. She really is an amazing dancer. Katie was most pleased with her new Juicy watch and Nikon camera she received from Santa. Oh, she also loved her Uggs from Grandma

Madison is the youngest and she has the biggest personality on any five year old I have ever met. When she walks into a room she commands your attention. As the youngest she often gets her own way with everyone around her. It is very hard to say no to her. Madison's favorite toy this year was her doll. She was also pretty excited with her High School Musical dolls.

When Madie is tired she will sleep just about anywhere. Here she is underneath the piano. I guess this was the most quiet place she could find in the midst of the Christmas celebration.

Dog Day Afternoon

Sunday was spent with my family at my moms house in Riverside. The house my mom lives in is the house I grew up in. It was built the same year I was born and we moved in when I was 4 months old. Obviously I feel strong ties to the home and everything in it. My mom was always very good about having pets for me and my sisters. Recently our favorite dog of all time, Captain, passed away at the age of 13. He lived a great life and made us all very happy. A few years ago, my mom decided to get Captain a play mate. Morgan is a standard poodle and just turned 3 years old. We bought him in Ohio and because we didn't want him to be shipped my mom flew me to Ohio to pick him up. He flew home the whole way on my lap (they let you get away with more in first class) I look at him now and cant imagine him ever fitting in my lap. Here he is taking a snooze.
Since Captain passed away, Morgan needed a companion, so of course my mom got online and found Riley. Riley is a Goldendoodle and is only about 4 an a half months old. He is so much fun and full of energy. Obviously, he wears Morgan out quickly.

My sister brought both of her dogs up too. This is Cha Cha. She was found at the pound. My sister chose her because she was the only dog that didn't bark at her, she just sat and stared at her. When they first brought her home, she was skin and bones, and now she is fat and healthy. She is one of the ugliest dogs I have ever seen, but also the sweetest. So sweet that the ugliness disappears.

Last night my prinicipal had a fabulous Christmas party. It was alot of fun, however, it would have been more fun if I didnt have to concentrate on not drinking too much. Here is Louise, a second grade teacher and Kaitlyn who is a sixth grade teacher and Kaitlyns boyfriend Adam. Oh, and if you are wondering who the little hand that is pulling on Louises hair belongs to, it is my other team member Jills extremely well behaved baby. He is gorgeous too!
This picture is of me and my good friend Karen. Karen and I went to college together and just happened to end up teaching at the same school. Karens husband is currently in Iraq for the second time. She holds it together so well.