Maverick (minus Goose)

Brooklyn was invited to do a gymnastics performance at half time of the Dallas Mavericks game the Saturday after Christmas! How awesome!?? Our plan was to come home Christmas evening, unpack the presents, get a good night's rest, and arrive before the game, to prepare for the massive audience. HOWEVER, God and the Oklahoma Blizzard of 2009 had something else in mind. Plans...who needs 'em anyways right?? We left Shawnee Friday afternoon, and after 5 1/2 hours of driving had to stop for the night, only halfway home, to thaw out! Keep in mind, it only takes 4 hours to drive ALL the way home from Shawnee. We woke up early Saturday morning, shoveled a snowpath and ice skated home. We threw a tutu on Brookie, unloaded the massive amount of presents packed in the back of Hubby's truck, and out the door we ran to the game. We arrived in just enough time to usher Brooklyn through the VIP entrance, and into the Maverick tunnel. A few minutes later, Brooklyn paraded onto half court of the Dallas Mavericks court waving like Miss America. She performed a flawless beam routine in front of thousands of people at the American Airlines Center! She even had enough courage to check on CHAMP, the mascot, after he performed his ever so funny beam routine "THE NUTCRACKER"! I was so proud of MY CHAMP that day, and that proud Momma smile never left my face!

On the jumbotron @ American Airlines Center....Not bad!

Who loves Champ??? WE DO!!!

Told you I was proud!

The fam enjoying courtside seats! WOO HOO!

The Nutcracker - Dallas Mavericks Champ: 2009

Santa Baby

Santa came to see me early this year! Monday we found out we are having another Buchanan BOY! What a gift it was to see, that not only was our baby healthy, it was a HE! Both girls were with us during the ultrasound. Brooklyn said "Yaaaay", and Britain cried. She wanted a baby sister!! She has since gotten over the trama, and is excited. I bought my first baby boy product, first of many I am sure.

Tuesday, we left for my Mom's house. It is a 6 hour trek, and with 3 kids, pretty exhausting. We stopped in Eufaula to get my Meme, and have (of course) a snack! We arrived at my Mom's CoMPLETELY Exhausted, but glad to see Namma. On Wednesday, Meme watched the girls while Mom and I shopped. It has been a while since I got my Mom all to myself. Usually the girls take ALL of her time and attention. It was a BLAST, and we got some good deals, and great stocking stuffers. The plan on Thursday was to take Meme to her doctor's appointment, and head to my Aunt Thurza's in Shawnee, where we were meeting the husband for the Christmas celebration.
We left around noon, and should of arrived at 2 pm. My Dad drove the kids and me in my car, and my Mom followed us in "THE SLEIGH". She has a car the size of a bathtub and it was packed to the brim with Christmas presents. We made it to Eufaula, about 1/2 way, where we dropped Meme off because in her words "She is too old to do stuff like Christmas". That is when God decided to send down a massive amount of snow! We were driving so slow that I believe I, even 5 months prego, could of walked faster than our car. The closer we got to our destination, the snowier it got. We were having to stop every 10 or so minutes (which was about every mile) to bang the ice off of our windshield wipers. When we stopped, the long train of cars behind us stopped for a de-ice break as well. After about 10 miles, my windshield wiper blade had completely dismantled from the wiper, and Dad had to reattach it with a pony tail holder! GEEEz! We FINALLY cruised into Shawnee about 6:45 that evening, to what seemed like a scene from a movie about the end of the world. There were abandoned cars in the middle of the street, no street lights, stop lights, or people. My cousin and his wife rushed out, all dressed in warm gear, grabbed the kids and the presents in a wild rush and we FINALLY sat down to relax.
The hubby eventually arrived, and we drove a few miles accross town to spend Christmas Eve with his family. It took about 30 minutes, and numerous detours due to us maneuvering around deserted cars. I felt like we were in a strange video game, and there were dead ends around every corner. I kept waitng for Zombies to lurch out of the darkness and get us!! LOL Good thing Hubby is such a good driver, because we SHOULD of gotten stuck more than once!!!! Grandma Toni had pizza, coke, and cheese dip waiting. All our favorites, and all present at every family gathering. We enjoyed visiting, food, and enough presents to clothe and entertain a small country!

Us @ Grandma Toni's House

The next morning, I woke up early to have coffee "the adults". My Aunt wakes the kids up super early every year to see what goodies Santa brought. One year, i do believe it was 5 am when she scooted them out of bed and into the land of presents. This year, we made it until sunrise.

The kids, as usual, got everything they asked for! Tony, who when asked what he wanted said " I DUNNNOOOO", got sports gear, clothes, and a skate board.Bre Bre (my beautiful niece), got Webkinz, and a Wii. Brooklyn got the DS she had been begging for, and Britain got a kitchen. "I always wanted a kitchen, and i finally got one" was her reply to the giant box when she peeled away the paper.

All the kids got snuggies, and my mom even got a snuggie for the dog, we are ridiculous i know!! They got a ton of other things, and spent the rest of the morning ripping open boxes and begging Poppa Luke and Daddy to put stuff together. Christmas dinner was amazing, as usual. My Aunt is a GREAT cook!! The only thing missing was Meme. This is the first year since I have been alive that we haven't all been together on Christmas morning!


After lunch, we went outside to build a snowman, and have a few snowball fights. The Tonys and Uncle Adam played some football, and shoveled snow! Adam even broke the shovel...SHHH...Don't tell Uncle Robert!

TRADITIONS

 The last few years, we have started celebrating Christmas on December 1. I started a family tradition called 'the christmas box'. I got the idea off of the Bachelor (i KNOW, do not laugh), where they have a date box. It always has a note about what is to come on the date, along with something cute! The Christmas box may have hot chocolate, a game, snack-making ingredients, activity etc. I rack my brain
 trying to be creative, and the kids (even my almost teen) LOVE it!!!!

My husband has a tradition that he started with Little Tony. Every year he takes the kids to pick out an ornament to hang on the tree. The only rule is that is has to be something you like.  Its fun to talk about what was going on that year when unpacking past years' selections. This year, Tony (big) got a silver B, simple enough. Especially since last year he got a red, white and blue patriotic ornament the size of my head!!!!

 Brooklyn got a pretty pink, sparkly gorgeous ornament...typical. Britain got a cake...of course she did, but she broke it at the checkout counter, and we couldnt find another. She later settled for a cell phone!!!!

 Little Tony took his Dad's place in tacky ornament winner, and got a huge red "thing" with a large gold and red tassle! Yes, its as ugly as it sounds. I couldnt find an appropriate choice, so I opted out this year. I will get to pick 2 next year, one for me and one for baby, so I will save up!

 

Im not sure if its tradition yet, but i talked Tony into taking us to the Parade in downtown Dallas. We got up early, dressed warm (bc it was 30 degrees), packed snacks and hot cocoa, and ventured out to brave the crowd. Selena Gomez was going to be there, she is one of Brooklyn's favorites, and her Daddy could not resist making her day!! We stood with 4 million other Texans in the freezing cold, and yelled "SPIN SPIN SPIN" when the huge parade balloons passed us. If we were loud enough they would stop in front of us, and spin their balloon float around in circles. Sounds silly, but it was oh so fun!!

Happy Halloween

We had a pretty fun, busy, and entertaining Halloween this year. We went to the Disney Store, where the girls were torn between which sparkly, fancy Princess costume to choose. It was such a hard decision, but they finally agreed on Minnie Mouse, and Belle. They begged for weeks to wear them, so they were MORE than excited when the "big day" finally came! We started the festivities the Saturday before, at "The Little Gym" where we enjoyed games face painting, cotton candy, and fun!! My son, at the last minute, decided he wasnt too old for a costume and talked me into buy him a Michael Jackson get-up. It was complete with a mullet-ish wig and infamous one glove. He didn't even wear it long enough for a pic. Note to self: No matter how convincing he sounds, your son is too old for costumes at Halloween.

Sunday, our neighborhood had a Halloween festival, so we got the kids all dressed up, and headed to the park. We enjoyed bounce houses, hotdogs, a cake walk, and even a costume contest. They asked my hubby to be a judge (big mistake). Britain stood in line during her age group, and I immediately noticed she was doing the Potty Dance. All the other kids were smiling and acting super cute, Brit was just crossing her legs and biting that bottom lip. Soon, they announced Minnie Mouse as the winner!! She won a pumpkin lantern, and a trip to the bathroom!! Next was Brooklyn's age group. She put on the charm, and flashed that  Miss America smile. She was up against some pretty stiff competition...a few vampire girls, and a zombie skater...NOT a match for my beautiful Princess. She kept  looking over at her Dad, giving him that oh so sweet Daddy's girl face, secretly knowing she would win. They asked Tony (of all people) to announce the winner!! "And the winner is...(Brooklyn still smiling, thinking she had it in the bag) ZOMBIE SKATER!" WHAT!!?? Her face changed suddenly from sweet princess, to one ticked off little devil! She immediately started bawling, and Daddy ran over to console her. I could tell it broke both of their hearts!!!!

On Halloween, we headed over to have a trick-or-treating party with our small group. Jason and Kippy live in Pantego, and about 15 of us were planning on raiding the neighborhood's candy bowls. We had cute kids, so surely they wouldn't mind. After some yummy food, and a few photo ops, we loaded up the kids in strollers and wagons and hit the streets!! Little Tony made friends with sweet Caroline, almost 2, and the cutest butterfly ever....she wouldnt leave his side. I think this was his secret plaan to get candy without a costume!! SMART KID! Brooklyn and Brit hijacked a wagon, and made our poor friend Max pull them around. I think them jumping out before the wagon was stopped almost gave him a heart attack! His sweet lil' girl, Brianna, waited patiently for the wagon to come to a complete halt...we will have to teach that girl!!!!

During all of the hustle and bustle, I could not help but think how different it will be next year. We will have a baby to add to the craziness of it all. I am excited, and scared to say the least. I will be ZOMBIE MOM....and I won't even need a costume!!!

Things that make you go hummmm????

I got the surprise of my life the other day when i found out that.......WE ARE PREGNANT...AGAIN!!!!












I left a lot of space there...because I was simply speechless! I am a religious pill-taker, and take proper precautions when I am even an hour late taking it in the morning. So, to say the least, we are having a miracle baby. We were not planning this, but apparently God was! It has been stressful, hard to accept, scary, and wonderful all at the same time. I am due April 5, 2010. I was 3 months along, when I figured it out.....who does that?!?!!
4 kids...6 people in the house..we should just keep going until we get a baseball team! Looks like we will be the Buchanan 6 pack from now on!! GEEz!

MY ALMOST TEEN!

Every birthday, my kids (and husband) get breakfast in bed! Its a tradition I started on Little T's 3rd birthday, and have continued every year. They all look so forward to the treat, and I hope they NEVER get too old for it. We started Tony's 12th birthday off that way, and continued to IHOP for lunch before Daddy headed off to the night shift.

We then headed home, packed a picnic and spent the rest of the day in the neighborhood pool. We enjoyed the sun, snacks (ofcourse), threw the football, played games, had swim races, and "dolphin rides"! It was a relaxed, magical day to celebrate the last year of our house being teen free!!!!

LOOK....A DOLPHIN

We are saying 12...can you see it?

                                              

 Dear Tony,
It is ca-razy how much you have changed since I first met you. 10 years ago, you were a little blonde boy who i could BARELY understand when you talked. I always had to get your Daddy to interpret. Now, I can tell what you are thinking, without you having to say a word!! We have so many inside jokes, and moments to share that only the 2 of us understand...we even finish each other's sentences at times. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your life. I'll NEVER forget that spring day when you asked if you could call me MOM...you have been melting my heart ever since. You are growing to be an AMAZING young man, and I am so proud of you!
Love,
Momma

BACK TO SCHOOL BLUES

My kids look SOOO ready for school!

Brooklyn-1st grade

Tony-6th grade

Britain-3 yrs old

Walking BUBBY to class

COWBOYS AND INDIANS!

As a kid, we took an AWESOME antique train ride to the Grand Canyon! I decided to take the kids on one, except to equally exciting Fort Worth, TX! We were running right on schedule, until Tony decided we could not take a train ride with a dirty car, and we pulled through the car wash. Then, our GPS misguided us and we got lost in Grapevine! GEEZ! The tickets were non-refundable, and we pulled into the station 1 minute before our departure time! We grabbed our huge bag of snacks (can we go anywhere without snacks?), and rushed to the train depot. The lady at the gate, couldnt find our tickets! GEEZ!! Tony got mad, thinking this was a wasted trip, and went to wait on us in the car. In the meantime, our tickets were found, and we went to find a seat on the train, minus DAD! I had the car keys in the snack bag, and the train was pulling out of the station for our ALL DAY adventure. I cringed thinking of him waiting for us at the train station for 6 hours....in Texas....in the middle of July! The train was packed, the kids and i snatched the last 4 seats, and we were off, still, minus DAD!

There was a "robbery" scheduled midway through the voyage, and if Tony was somewhere on the train, I certainly did not want him to miss the kids' faces when all the excitement happened! Little Tony walked the train, with no sign of Dad. UH OH!! Just then, I heard gunshots, looked out my window to a herd of horses with real-live cowboys! The kids went ca-razy! The cowboys went throughout each train car, giving away money (fake of course). Britain even got a bullet as a souvenir. The hold up was awesome, but i was a little sad dear Dad missed it. When the cowboys left, the girls and I went walking through each car, until I found Dad, pouting in the front of the train. Britain's sad face convinced him to join us for all the fun in the back. We broke out the snacks, which seemed to cheer him up, and we had a nice relaxing ride to Fort Worth.

We arrived at the crowded station, watched a few cowboys putting on a show, and spent time sight seeing at the infamous STOCKYARDS. Dad even treated us to lunch at Billy Bob's! He knows how to make up for being cranky....with FOOD!! All is forgiven!

With a visit to the cute little shops at the stockyards, and a pretty awesome candy store, we boarded the train for our venture home. The conductor told us the previous riders got 1 million people to honk on the way home. He challenged us to beat the record. We all screamed HONK at every car we passed...and of course with loud mouths like us....the record was toast!! What a fun, crazy, eventful day....could you expect anything less from our crew?????

Lookin' fine in july 09'

July was a busy month!! We tried to savor every last day, because its the big kids' last month of freedom before school starts. It was our first 4th in TEXAS, and it was a BLAST. We started celebrating on the 3rd, had an great dinner with my amazing, beautiful friend Justin. She is such a sweet, kind girl whom we have adopted as a member of our family! She is affectionately known around here as wife #2!!

(told you she was BEAUTIFUL!)

Then, we went to Lone Star Park for some fun! I thought I had the perfect evening all planned out, and after spending $20 on wristbands, they announced the kids' activities would be closing in 5 minutes! WHAt?? That was NOT on the website, or was it???? The girls did have just enough time to pet a llama! Yaay...at least our money was not wasted!!

Finally, we went out to the parking lot, and  joined half the state of Texas in a pretty impressive firecracker show! I was immediately taken back to summertime as a kid on Lake Texhoma. We always spent the holiday at the lake with my Meme and Papa. Papa would drive miles around that lake SKIING us kids, and spend hours untangling fishing string during our 5 am fishing trips. I can still remember the smell of fried potatoes cooking when we showed up with an ice chest full of fish to fry!

Waiting on the show!

Can't you see the firecrackers going off??

We got up on the 4th, and went downtown to the parade. Lawnchairs, kids, snacks, drinks, and two dogs later...we got to sweat our buns off in that famous Texas heat! I say it was worth it, the hubby was NOT impressed!! Still, we made the most of it, and at least pretended to have a blast!!