Have I ever?

I saw this list on someone else's blog last week, and thought I would do it here too. I bolded everything that I've done (or have done something very similar) sometime in my life.

1. Started your own blog – right here :)

2. Slept under the stars – yes, when staying at a state park/camping with the youth group in high school

3. Played in a band – Does high school marching band count? ;)

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland – not yet, but I have been to Disney World

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo – for church youth group in high school

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris – haven't been to France (yet)

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch – Depends on what you consider "art." I have taught myself several desktop publish and graphic art software programs, including Photoshop.

15. Adopted a child – only at Christmas through an angel tree or the Headstart program

16. Had food poisoning – I think so...

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty – need to go to NYC to be able to do that. ;)

18. Grown your own vegetables – I helped my mom in her garden when I was growing up.

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France – see #12

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight – many times

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill – Who hasn't? :)

24. Built a snow fort – we don't get nearly enough snow to do it now, but I did build a few growing up.

25. Held a lamb – Kind of. I've petted one and it was kind of jumping around on me. :)

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse – yes

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset – yes

31. Hit a home run – I believe I've hit a triple before, but no home run

32. Been on a cruise – Does the Missouri River Queen count? ;)

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person – I really want to someday.

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors – since my family has been in America for a while, I guess I can say yes to this one. :)

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language – I've learned both Spanish and sign language over the years, but I never taught myself those languages.

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo's David

41. Sung karaoke – yes

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt – Would be really neat to see, but no. :(

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris – See #12

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain – yes

53. Played in the mud – yes

54. Gone to a drive-in theater – yes

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies – yep, several times

62. Gone whale watching – Does SeaWorld count? :D

63. Got flowers for no reason – yes

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check – Sadly, yes, but it was when we were moving to DFW and transferring banks

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy – yes, I have several stuffed animals and other toys at our house

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial – yes

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt – no, but we have a few that my sister has made for us. (Thanks, Diane!)

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job – thankfully no :)

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone – yes, both of the lower bones in my right leg. Needed surgery to repair the damage (all from walking in the rain!).

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person – yes

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car – yes, my Malibu

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper – many, many times, but that's what happens when you work for a newspaper. :)

85. Read the entire Bible – close, but not all of the books

86. Visited the White House – yes

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox – yes

89. Saved someone's life

90. Sat on a jury – yes

91. Met someone famous – several basketball and football players that came out of OSU and many college coaches

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one – yes

94. Had a baby – yes

95. Seen the Alamo in person – yes

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone – yes

99. Been stung by a bee – I believe so.

100. Read an entire book in one day – yes

Professional Courtesy?

Apparently, it doesn't exist anymore. At least not where John and I work. But we'll grow, move on, and hope that we won't make the same mistakes because we'll remember how it feels. We can also hope that karma comes back to bite people in the butt – hard. :)

Christmas!

Christmas was really fun around our house this year. Mara was really excited about Santa coming to her house, and I think he lived up to all of her expectations.

I haven't had a chance to download all of our pictures yet, but here are a few from our Christmas weekend.

Santa came!



Trying out her new scooter and helmet from Santa.


Doxy wants to see what all Mara is getting.


More Cars cars!


Opening a My Little Pony


Opening one of her favorite presents this year – SeaWorld trainer Barbie.





Mara & Lani riding on their Christmas presents.


Helping Granddad unwrap his new wooden walking cane.


Opening another favorite present – her pink Nintendo DS.


Mara showing off the quilt Aunt Diannie made for her.


All of the various quilts Diane made for Christmas presents.


Playing on her DS in her Christmas PJs.


Showing off her new hat from Grandma.


Josh opening our present from us.


Hannah opening her present from us.

Tracking Santa

Mara has really gotten into Santa this year, so I thought I'd post a link so everyone can track Santa here.

Have a merry Christmas!

The Sights and Sounds of the Season

We originally planned to drive around and look at Christmas lights Sunday night, but shortly after we started our journey, Mara fell asleep in her carseat. So, we postponed our adventure until last night.

We wanted to go up to Frisco to see their town square area because they have the lights set up to music. It was really pretty and not nearly as crazy busy as last year (the first year they did it).


We also discovered the Frisco Heritage Museum, which isn't too far from the town square. Outside, they had an old-time engine decorated for Christmas.


We then decided to head to the Frisco Fire Department's Fire Safety Town, which was right down Main Street from where we were.


I forgot about their Holiday Lights event, so we were surprised they were open when we got there. Despite the freezing cold temperatures, we decided to get out of the car and explore the little town. I felt bad for Mara, though. We weren't planning on getting out of the car during our adventure, so she didn't have her hat and gloves, but she endured and had a fun time.

While there, Mara got a gingerbread man tattoo and her nose painted red like Rudolph.




She also got to play on a real firetruck that they've converted a little to make it a permanent part of Fire Safety Town.





And after multiple opportunities throughout December, Mara finally got close enough to talk to Santa and tell him that she wants a DS for Christmas. She wouldn't really get close to him still, but she would pose with her daddy to get a picture. The guy manning the area was nice enough to allow me to get in a picture too.




And here are some random pictures from around Fire Safety Town. They have miniaturized versions of Wal-Mart, the Dallas Morning News/WFAA building, houses, a bank, the Frisco Police Department, the Frisco Fire Department, Babe's Chicken, and several more buildings that I can remember right now. It really is a cute place for kids to go.

Christmas Newsletter

Usually I'm rushing around trying to get our Christmas newsletter out to everyone, and typically it ends up being late. I'm trying to be on top of it this year, but it seems like I'm still behind. In fact, it looks like I finished our newsletter on the same exact day as last year. :)

Hopefully you'll receive our Christmas cards before Christmas this year. In the meantime, here is our annual Christmas newsletter for your viewing pleasure!

Blood Results

I got a call from my doctor a little after 7 last night, and she said that all of my blood work came back clean, which is what we were expecting. I asked her if it could have been my ovaries since I ovulated on the same side with both miscarriages, and she said it thankfully wasn't that because it would be that much harder to treat. She does want me to take baby aspirin just in case because it won't hurt anything.

So, that's good news because it means that both of my miscarriages were pretty much flukes. I would have been nice to have answers, but at the same time, it's good to know that there's nothing wrong with me. Now we just play the waiting game to see when we get pregnant. My doctor said that hopefully she'll get to see us soon, and that this next time, I'll get nice and big and have a full-term baby.

"I'm like a little rubberband."

*giggle, giggle*


Oh, the things that Mara says and does.

Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

My name is Mara Haley, and I am three years old. Thank you for the dollhouse, Legos, and stuffed monkey you gave me for Christmas last year. I have been a good girl most of the time and have been learning lots at school.

For Christmas this year, I would like the following items:

• Pink Nintendo DS
  
• Pink or purple DS case (because they're my favorite colors)


• SeaWorld Trainer Barbie


• Scooter


• Thomas the Tank Engine helmet


• Thomas & Friends Trackmaster sets


• Big Ariel doll with legs and a tail


• Pink Legos


• Ponyville roller coaster set


• Princess dress-up clothes


• Telescope

Hopefully next year I'll have a little brother or sister, and I'll help him or her write a letter to you too.

I'm going to leave cookies and milk out for you Christmas Eve. I'll even include carrots for your reindeer. Hope you have a safe trip!

Love,
Mara

Note from Mara's mommy & daddy: This is a list of what Mara wants for Christmas (with some revisions – she said she wanted "everything" and we chose to omit that). We have inside information from Santa that he may already be bringing her some of this stuff, so please don't use it for ideas without consulting with us first. :)

A SeaWorld Holiday

When we got our season passes to SeaWorld last year, I knew that I wanted to come back in December to see San Antonio and SeaWorld all decorated for the holidays. It was definitely worth it. (Warning – picture overload!)

On Friday, we went to the Riverwalk for dinner and took one of the boat tours again. Even though it was chilly, we ate by the river, and Mara loved feeding the tortilla chips to the ducks. The Riverwalk looked amazing with all of the lights.




We spent both Saturday and Sunday at SeaWorld. This was only the third year that the park has been open in December, and it's the first year they actually decorated for Christmas and had a few holiday shows.




Shamu Claus


We got to feed the dolphins and sea lions, which Mara loves to do. Both days we got to the park shortly before it opened, and the dolphins were pretty hungry. They were especially hungry Sunday because even after we ran out of fish, they were still popping up out of the tank and getting pretty close to people. As a result, all three of us got to touch a dolphin. And I'm not just talking about accidentally brushing it like what's happened before, but we got to touch them multiple times. There are still a few young dolphins in the tank, and we're pretty sure that those were the ones that were more willing to come up to people even if they didn't have food.





Feed me!


Yummy fish!


Cheese!


We even stopped by and fed the lorikeets. We hadn't done it before, but Mara was really interested and insisted that we do so.



We also attended all the shows. Here are some pictures we got of the holiday Shamu show called "Miracles."





And here's a series of one of the whales doing a jump.







Mara wanted to pose with the whale statue outside of Shamu stadium.


She even decided to give it a kiss. :)


Mara enraptured by one of the shows.


One of the highlights of the trip was that we signed up to be kissed by a beluga whale. Each one of us got down and got our picture with it.




Since we have season passes for next year, we're already talking about going back next December since it was a nice way to experience the holiday season. :)