Thanksgiving in South Carolina

John and I spent Thanksgiving in South Carolina on my extended family's farm.







One of the highlights of our trip was feeding the cows. Their tongues are much larger in real life than they appear in the pictures!



Richard lauging at a cow that was sniffing out more bread to gobble.







This was the largest Thanksgiving dinner I have ever attended. Believe it or not, I'm related to nearly all these people! I took this picture just before our hay ride to the cow pastures.
Josh tried riding the cows, even if for a split second! I snapped this picture just as the cow bumped him off.








Lizzie and I were really excited to discover a beautiful flowering shrub (we thought it might be peonies, but we're not sure) behind our great grandmother's house.

Me posing near one of the ponds on the farm...

...and John in the same spot.
John with Uncle Jimmy, my grandmother's younger brother...

...and mom with Aunt Dot, my grandmother's younger sister.

Tommy's Steak and Seafood

Last night I went to Tommy's Steak and Seafood with my mom and Richard. Tommy himself brought us some grilled oysters to sample...of course just Mom and Richard tried those since I do not eat nothing of the sea. The grilled wedge salad with blue cheese dressing and sliced New York strip on top was fabulous, though!


Mom liked the wine. She's actually just tasting mine in the picture, but it still looks funny!





The last time Miss Trout will visit Tommy's before becoming Mrs. Newsom!

Tripper and Skipper

I was over at Lizzie and Josh's again last night
and took some pictures of Tripper and Skipper performing one of their best tricks. They will hold a treat on their nose for just about any length of time, until you tell them they can eat it. Even Georgie can't do this trick. It's pretty impressive!







Aren't they adorable? I love my furry nephews!

Dinner with Lizzie and Josh

I had dinner at Lizzie and Josh's house last night. Those two are so cute...they cook dinner together every night! I watched while they worked at the stove together, figuring out which spices to use and how to season the vegetables and what to toss with the pasta. And it all turned out delicious!

Lizzie will probably kill me for using this picture, but it's just too cute not to share.

Faith Presbyterian Celebration

I spent the day at our church in Baytown, Faith Presbyterian, helping out with their big Celebration day to honor the opening of the new building a few weeks ago. Luckily, the weather as nice and cool and very fall-ish. There were hot dogs, popcorn, and snow cones, a cake walk, a moon walk, face painting (which was the station I helped with), and two live bands. It was a lot of fun.

Here's a picture of my mom working the face painting table while I took a break.

Dinner at Antonio's

Tonight I shared with my mom and Richard their Friday night tradition of going to Antonio's for dinner. They are regulars at this place and are greeted by their first names by the owner when they arrive.

Tonight we all ordered the special which was Rosemary Chicken stuffed with parmesan and topped with a creamy asparagus, spinach, and tomato sauce with whole wheat pasta. Despite the fact that my sinus cold took over my sense of taste half way through the meal, it was still wonderfully delicious!

Dinner at Lizzie and Josh's House

I made it to Texas today and spent my first evening at Lizzie and Josh's house. We had a delicious dinner...

...and then spent the rest of the evening playing "The Beatles" version of Rock Band on the Wii. We may look pretty dorky in this picture trying to be like cool rock stars, but we sure had fun!

Lizzie and Josh's Wedding Day

Lizzie and Josh were married on July 25 and had the most beautiful wedding ever!



Lizzie looked so stunning in her wedding dress.

















I love this picture of my mom and me helping Lizzie get dressed.

Lizzie with all her pink ladies!

Caroline, Lizzie, Brandon, and me acting silly.

Leslie, me, and Dad before the wedding.

Caroline with the angelic flower girls.

My sweetie, John, and me.

Jeff, CJ, and John dancing to "Billie Jean". CJ is one of the best dancers I know!

Lizzie and Josh after the farewell...leaving for their honeymoon!

Santa Monica Beach with the Family

John's family met us in Los Angeles over the weekend for his show. The day of his show we all got to spend the morning together at Shutters for breakfast and then out on the beach for a few pictures.


Joe, John, and Andy
Look out Hollywood!












Joley and Cassie outside of Shutters











Despite the gray weather, we still had fun walking on the beach. Here's the Santa Monica Pier...











...and right next door is the Casa Del Mar where we stayed. This is the view from the beach.
I love these pictures that John and I took of each other on the beach. Big Red and Little Red!

Chrismas in Oklahoma

We had a wonderful Christmas with John's family in Oklahoma. This was our first Christmas to spend with John's little neice which made it even more special and fun.

Chef Claire created a delicious Christmas lunch with turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, three bean salad, and cranberries, mmmm!

Bon Appetite!

We had a lot of fun opening presents. Joe looks really happy in his new scarf from John and me.

Joley and I pose in our new earrings from Joe and Claire.

Andy and John look really cute in their new winter caps.











The most fun was watching Amira open her presents!

Amira got to open the biggest present of all...

...Elmo's Restaurant!

Uncle John enjoyed one of his favorite pastimes with Amira...naptime!

The day after Christmas we had a fantastic dinner at the Vintage House in Burlington, Oklahoma.

It was a truly memorable and special Christmas at the Newsoms!