bella dancerella

dreams come true
Bella has finally started taking Ballet lessons...

after lots of searching and prayer for an affordable option
we found a perfect ballet class
right down the road at our neighborhood rec center.
(Thanks for the tip Karen!)

I signed her up the evening before the first class!
So I got to tell her before she went to bed that the next morning we were going to a dance store to pick out special ballet slippers for her, she flipped out! For the next 30 minutes or so she was either blissfully dancing and flitting around the room, or jumping up and down squealing with glee, Yay- I'm going to ballet!

She made her first friend, Carla, before class.
Violet wanted to be right with the big girls. She kept trying to put on ballet shoes and tutus when we were at the dance store fitting Bella's slippers.

the littlest one is Pamela and she is really good... they say the 5 ballet positions aloud as a class when they practice them and she is the first one to say it and gets it right every time!

Bella's teacher is very sweet and wonderful with the girls.

Thanksgiving with Chrastina Family

We all enjoyed a nice yummy meal together with everyone gathering in our home. Janice got to relax this year and supervise Lisa, Barbara and I put together the final preparations for all the food. Lisa & I brined our first turkey and really like the way it turned out.
There was plenty of the famous Pumpkin Praline Pie for dessert.

Please note: you may click on any of the photos to enlarge them

All the grandchildren together

silly little Violet

Heather and Paige

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The girls brought some of our Thanksgiving meal to Uncle David and
Aunt Arlene while they were in the hospital that day.

Turkey Day Classic 08

So the morning of Thanksgiving we got the boys ready to go and took all the kids
to the neighborhood park for a little football game.

Got some family photos...

Nate & me with the kids

Jeremy & Lisa with their crew

now it's time for some football... Blake is ready to go

As the boys play, the girls do their usual chatty thing
I just didn't know we started this routine so young :)

cousins

Aunt Barbara, Justin, Heather and her boyfriend Cory even joined us for the second half!

Then we headed home to meet Grandma & Grandpa at the house and finish preparing our Thanksgiving meal together.

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Day at the Arboretum

We took Grandma & Grandpa to the Dallas Arboretum on a beautiful fall day in mid-November.

Here we are on a bench near the Pioneer village
where kids can play in little houses made just for them.

Nate with his parents.

Found a great spot for a picnic overlooking White Rock Lake.

Inside the pumpkin house built just for the fall festivities.
The outside is covered in real pumpkins.