N'awlins....

Roger and I got to have a husband/wife weekend this past week and we headed to THE BIG EASY! Since it was the week of my 32nd birthday and Cowboys vs. Saints were in town on a Saturday night it was the perfect excuse to go! We got into town Friday afternoon and check into our little boutique hotel...it was so cute then we headed to the MOST amazing restaurant we have ever eaten, it literally was Top 3 meals of my life....check it out Cajun Soul Food, i had a myer lemon salad with fried Hog jaw....FAB! We had fried alligator and hushpuppy boudan, yum with turnip and black eyed pea gumbo! If your ever in NO we highly recommend it! Its in the warehouse district www.cochonrestaurant.com :) We met up on Frenchman street with Terry and Whit for some liv jazz later that night. Saturday was breakfast in bed, shopping in the market and on Royal and then bloody mary's ,margaritas, and oysters with the cousins. Saturday night we hit up Lucy's and then Tommy's Wine Bar for th Big Game! COWBOYS WIN!!! What a way to end our trip with a victory and the Saints fans were very gracious and we all mingled in harmony, hehe :) Sunday was a little sleeping in and back to our sweet boys ...

My mom and Gigi kept the boys and they had a blast! They hit up McD's a couple times went to see all the town Christmas lights and Mimi got roped into a few trips to Dollar General to toy shop :

We are so excited about Christmas this year and Airey is just counting down until Santa's..... arrival

ho ho ho....

The Cole Patrol have had so much fun doing so many holiday things this season from decorating the tree, seeing santa, teaching the boys about giving and baby Jesus and the REAL meaning of Christmas. It has a whole new meaning this year....Airey is so into it! He is excited about celebrating Baby Jesus birthday and his own in a few weeks too :) Pops got the whole family into the Can food Drive at Kroger this week and Airey loved giving all the food to santa and making sure all families had food to eat on Christmas. We have also enjoyed riding at night to see Christmas lights and Campbell just shouts...ooooooohhhh.....ooooohhhhh....We visited the journey to the North Pole where the kids made reindeer food for Rudolf and adorable ornaments! He loves seeing Fedex airplanes at night, he thinks they are santa's sleigh flying over to check on him and Campbell and the red blinking light is Rudolf's nose :) They love our tree and to our surprise they haven't broken a single ornament and just love looking at it! It Airey's job each morning to turn on the lights and we do the "drumroll" ( a personal shout out to Christmas Vacation!)

Another LARGE event in our home this past week.....Two weeks ago we told Airey that he had to be using the potty for Santa to visit and be on the "Nice" list and he went full force! We quit wearing diaper about 10 days ago and we have an accident here and there but He wakes up dry and hasn't had an accident at naps or anything. He has problems when he is playing and still hates to stop to potty so we learned to put him on the potty about every hour and half and we can avoid accidents all together! Yipeeee! Having just 1 in diapers is the best Christmas gift a mommy could ask for :)

Ho ho ho and happy holidays!!!

Campbell with his John Deer Tool Box off the fix something!

Airey's 1st ever homemade Christmas Ornament

Th Whole Cole Gang!

yummy ice cream!

The Cole/Thomas Cousins

a very thankful year...

Well as many of you know Papa Pete sends out his annual Christmas letter updating those far and wide about his ever expanding family and the generations he has created. This year Roger was asked to sum up our 2009, It was such a great summary of why we are so thankful this season, i wanted to pass it along...

Sarah Ella, Roger Jr., Airey and Campbell have had a very eventful
2009. Campbell started walking in November and is into everything
within reach for a 15 month old. He loves playing with his older
brother and constantly tries to keep pace in every activity. He is a
daredevil, mostly acting first and thinking later! Airey, who will be
3 in January, is all boy and loves football, soccer and basketball
with a little cars and 4-wheelin thrown in on the side. He continues
to expand his vocabulary and carries on full-fledged conversations
with anyone that will listen to him. Sarah Ella has her hands full as
a full time mom and part time entrepreneur. She has her own
stationary business and distressed frame business which keeps her busy
during the few moments she has to spare with two toddlers. She loves
to cook and entertain for family and friends and has put together her
annual Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas parties this past
year. Roger Jr. is going on 4 years with FedEx in the pricing
department and enjoys golfing and running whenever he has time. He
ran his second marathon in Nashville this past April and has taken on
a new hobby, fly fishing, after Roger Sr. and Mary decided to get
their fabulous vacation home on the Little Red River.

What a great year and we look forward to 2010 with great optimism and I'm sure it will be full of memories as 2009 was....Hope you all had a blessed thanksgiving. Much Love.

The Coles

Mimi and GiGi came in town for a brunch I hosted the day after thanksgiving for mine and Roger's family and The Glenn's and their brood....We even had Uncle Terry and his fiance Whitney with us! A great time we had and afterwards GiGi and Mimi took us all to see Santa and out to shop and eat....as you can see Campbell was not a big fan of the Ol'Clause but Airey stepped right up to tell santa he wanted a motorcycle and leaf blower for Christmas. On a side note Santa asked GiGi what her "little Lady wanted for Chritmas" and asked her to "sit on his Lap", LOL....Hope Mrs. Clause doesn't find out...whoopsie....he had the hots for GiGi, haha!

Airey at Bass Pro Winterwonderland mailing his letter to Santa

Campbell coloring and Airey enjoying the Choo-Choo set!

Our Big Boy Walking!

Our sweet little Campbell has finally taken his first steps...its bitter sweet....im so happy he and Airey can run and play together now, but it reminds me he is no longer a baby and that makes m a tinge sad :( But all in all I couldn't be prouder of my lil man. He is saying about 10 words now and saying something that sounds like "Miami" when he wants somethings, haha! He understands so much....for example Kitty said I like your new shoes campbell and he looked and pointed at them and giggled and smiled, he is a little sponge of knowledge! Its crazy to see how far he has come in 15 months. We love you baby boy!

enjoying a kit cat bar mommy gave him for th car ride...whoopsy daisy!

his first steps

getting the hang of it

WALKING Nov 24,2009

alluvian and the backyard

The girls headed to the Alluvian for our 2nd annual girls trip this weekend! We got there Saturday by 9am and had massages, steams and mani's in the spa which was FABULOUS! We all got treated like queens for the day! We left the spa around noon and headed to the really delicious and cute Delta Bistro for lunch and by the way a fried green tomato BLT with roasted pepper pimento cheese, YUM!.....Shopping, shopping and more shopping.... Then we proceeded on to the awesome patio for afternoon beverages and had a grand time! Love my girls!!!! Then we had a really lovely din din at Gardenia's with our own private booth. Sunday we got up early and headed to the rooftop breakfast which was to die for. Cleveland was next on our list and we got to see Marybeth's new creative shop Locals that is carrying her art and my frames, so proud of her! Then on to the Open houses in Cleveland to get in a little more shopping and back to our sweet kiddos and SWEET husbands for holding down the fort, thanks Rog! The boys while we were gone hit up the literal fort at the Big Back Yard with aunt Katie and Uncle Ed and the nephews along with Pops and Kitty. They had a ball!!! Dad also took them for Gibson's donuts Saturday morning and as Roger said he got to make memories with his son's and it was priceless. Hope you all are well, we will chat soon!

Boating at the Big Back Yard

the boys at The Big Back Yard!

Me and Bon after getting beautified at the spa

At Giardina's Hallie, Marybeth, Me and Bonnie

The gals in our booth! CHEERS!

Halloween Mariachi Style!

We had a mucho fun weekend! We all got dressed up for trick or treating as a Mariachi Band! Airey and Campbell love the one at Chipultapec on Friday night so it was a perfect family dress up idea :) Rog and I had just as much fun as the boys and just really enjoyed seeing the boys hav so much fun running (and campbell wagoned, ha) from house to house, but even Campbell learned to grab the candy and say "tic teet" and "tank you", so cute!!!! I cant believe this was Campbell's 2nd halloween, wow a lot has changed since last year. He is pushing the bar stools around and anything that will move with him, he will be walking SOON. I cant wait to see him and Airey running around together. Hope you all had a fun halloween as we did with all our friends and fam!

Sunday Mimi and Gigi decided to keep the boys for the night so Daddy and I got the night off. We enjoyed going to Brookhaven and watching the Cowboys win and having bloody mary's and being a dating couple again, it always reminds me again why I love this man and my life so much! We then were lazy all afternoon and got up and headed to Huey's that night for din and drinks. Monday we got to sleep in and the house was SO quiet....so peaceful and in a way we haven't heard it in 3 years.....but also we missed them like crazy and I could wait to see them Monday afternoon!

trick or treating!

my men, love the staches!

the 4 man band!!!

the 1st house!

the cha cha's


my sweet boys!

Haircuts and Happenings

The crew at the Rendezvous for Rogers 32nd bday!

Campbell having a Meltdownn at his 1stt haircut, awww :(

ALL done! Yay! sucker in hand :)

Well I had to bite the bullet and go get Campbell's haircut for the 1st time. I have nevr had to take Airey because since its curly I can trim it myself and you cant tell if I mess up, haha. Well, Campbell had a full on MELTDOWN, he wanted no part of bribery i.e. suckers, treats or anything! He wanted no cape, and no scissors near him! Eventually he sat in my lap and with his head on my chest for her to give him a sweet bowl cut. Enjoy these pics!

My sweet better half celebrated his 32nd birthday on Tuesday and we had friends and fam to the Rendezvous for Rog's annual FULL order of ribs! Thanks Pops and Kitty for a great dinner! I made my 1st homemade cake (a fishing bobber!) Turned out pretty cute, even though a few thought it was a christmas ornament (now thats an idea for later....) We also celebrated the big day by going to the river with Pops and Kitty and Rog and his Dad, got to go out Saturday with Matt Milner, a great fishing guide in Heber( check his blog on my page-FISH ON) and they "tore up" rainbows and browns! Happy Birthday my love! We wish you a great year and many happy more to come!

catching up

we had a fun filled weekend of catching up with friends! Saturday the Johnston's had us over for some football and chili along with the Van Epps. The 6 boys had a blast together and Im sure Brian and Kristy are STILL cleaning up the mess that ran room to room! We enjoyed catching up with the adults while the boys enjoyed playtime and had my "pink" pumpkins for dessert....long story....of course I buy food coloring to make orange pumpkin cookies.....and of course it somehow doesn't make it into the pantry....and of course I find it as soon as I used the only food coloring I had "red" to make pumpkins.....haha....story of my life! Sorry about getting off track....back to the weekend. Sunday we had the Pattersons over to grill out and see our Godson Gray and his lil sis Hazey :) Boy did Gray, Airey and Campbell have a great time squealing and chasing each other all over the house! Hayes was so sweet and is just getting bigger by the second. Campbell is SO close to walking now that he had to play catch up all weekend with the big boys, so it wont be long :) Great catching up with our old "highpoint" friends over a great bottle of wine and good convo. Until next week.....Take care....love, the cole patrol!

the cousins

Airey and his goggles painting! He is crafty like Mama!

airey and jack with the nerds!

side hug only, haha

hello to all! We had a fun visit this past weekend from my brother and his fam! Jack and Joey had so much fun playing with Airey and Campbell and boy did Campbell keep up! I was so impressed. Jack even to got sleep in airey's room with him and they actually fell out about 10pm. I would check on them and they were in their beds... but talking to each other until then, sooo cute :). We cooked out after the boys went down and enjoyed hearing all about my bro's new restaurant Champy's and all they they have been up to. I babysat Monday so Seth and Crissy could go to meet friends and I was impressed how well I handled all 4 of them for 4 hours, LOL everyone survived! The boys played in the cove and rode Joey's dirt bike, the golf cart, and our mini 4 wheeler was a hit too. It is just amazing to see them all grow up together and just love each other so much, reminds me of being little and how much I enjoyed my cousins :). Campbell is now saying "Moooo" for a cow and "Tweet" for a bird and says Mama and Dada all the time. He points to his nose now which is so cute because in Campbell fashion he puts his finger UP his nose when he points. Airey is busy being independent and learning how to challenge us for sure. He is obsessed with riding(aka) pushing his bike, he cant quite pedal but he loves it anyway. He sings all the words to Big Green Tractor which cracks us up and also loves The Fireman by George Strait (but has to wear his fire helmet to sing it). He bosses Campbell around saying "Do you hear me-Campbell!" The best lately was Uncle Seth said "Hold your Horses" to him wanting candy and Airey burst into tears....."I WANT THE HORSES, I WANT THE HORSES......HILARIOUS! We all fell out on that one! He got some binoculars from Pops and is now a bird-watcher which is adorable and is loving to paint like mommy. Enjoy the weekend! Take care! A special HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR GODSON GRAY today!!!! We love you GRAY! Have a Happy day!!!

buddies with Bully

MY men!!!!

enjoying playtime at The Junction

going deep......

I took the boys on Friday to see the new Teton Trek and this is right before he ran into it and I had to buy at new wardrobe at the gift shop, LOL

We took the boys to their 1st together Bulldog game this past weekend. We had to rival with the Shelby's since Jason went to GT, Bon -MSU and Rog MSU.....and well we all know how that ended....but we had a great time :) The boys loved playing football at the tailgate and playing with all the other kiddos. They really surprised us how well they did all day and and with no nap, they even made it through the 1st quarter, whoo! Airey was obsessed with his Pom-pom and watching every move Bully made! He is still talking about BULLY. We may have even turned a corner on CJC hating his car seat b/c he and airey slept the whole ride home, hooray! They are just becoming best friends and enemies as brothers should. They love to love and also have started to love to fight and take each others things! Im sure I am in for it being a mother of two boys, but love every minute :). Campbell is cruising and wanting to keep up with Airey so I know it want be long b/f I am chasing too.....as Mam-Maw said "Lord help ME!" Life is great and we hope all is well with our followers! Until next time......

lately...

Roger and his Godson Cole

the front row, LOL Mary Robinson, Thomas, Airey and Campbell

the baptism

hey to yall, as I like to say! Sorry it been a while since a family post, so here we go with the cole family breakdown. We have been in town and have been enjoying this amazing weather! We celebrated our newest addition to the fam "Baby Cole" as Airey calls him, baptism this past weekend with all the Thomas klan! Roger is the Godfather so we are so proud he can lead his name sake to a life of always loving and looking to the Lord :) We took the boys to play putt putt and we made a trip to the zoo to see the new Teton trek which was fun until Airey decided to rush into the geyser of water and had to buy a change of clothes in the Zoo gift shop, hahaha....We have grilled out a lot and enjoyed the nice weather. We dined out at Jarretts with the Shelbys and caught up and shared a bottle of fine wine (thanks POPS!). I surprised Roger Thursday night with a covert operation that started with meeting the girls for margarita's at Salsa (which was fun!) but i exited early and Pops and Kitty were in on the plan and were the "babysitters in waiting"/"visiting" Roger thought. I came back and walked in a said "change clothes put on your boots" and I will give you more clues on the way, then as we got closer I asked "where did we meet"....his response "we are going to NEWBYS!".....right....then next clue (even though he missed it) was Charlie Robison playing on the itouch the whole way there! So i played our song El Cerito place that he sings and said "how would you like to hear our song live?" HE WAS SHOCKED! Loved the priceless excitement on his face :) I said Happy Early Birthday! So we went to see Charlie, but after 3 hours he was sooooo late, we had to head home :( We got to see a cool opening act and share cold beer and play darts, but never got to hear Charlie......BOOO But we had a blast being together and We will CATCH him next time hopefully! We are headed to Starkvegas tomorrow to root on the Bulldogs and take the boys to their 1st game live! Cowbell here we come!

delta girl distressing

i have started a new blog for the frames and furniture I have been distressing and here it is, please follow it too :) http://deltagirldistressing.blogspot.com/

just chillin...

Canoeing at the house in Heber with Lewis and Airey

Airey's 1st day back to St Louis MDO

Just Chillin this weekend, watching Cars

Paige and her Bay!

campbell chatting it up

airey and baby cole

me and rog right after I kicked his butt in Spades!, Nice cigar honey :(

Terry and Whit

It was so nice this past weekend to stay home just chill out! We have been traveling the last three weeks and it was relaxing to watch football, grill out and have a nice glass of wine (and hubby ....a cold beer, ha). Airey and Campbell have started MDO back and have LOVED it! Airey is singing his ABC's and 1,2,3's and is just so smart! His memory is amazing, he NEVER forgets anything! Campbell is pulling up on it all and has said his first word "YES" hilarious! He looks at you and says YES...haha. They learn so much from the other kiddos and its nice for Mommy to have a break too. I got to lunch with Emily and Hayes and catch up on all things girl and decorating related (thanks em).

For Labor day we had so much going to Heber and spending time with the whole fam....we had Katie,Ed and their gang, our cousins from Dallas Mike and Mary Bevel, Paige and new fiance Brad, Terry ,Whitney, Uncle Tip and Kevin, and of course Pops and Kitty :). The boys played in the blow up bouncer non stop, well except to drive the gators and go canoeing. The weather ended up being so nice and we grilled out every night and watched OPENING weekend of College Football, HOORAY! Roger got a chance to do some fly fishing on Sunday and caught about 20 between him and Kev, what anglers they are, So PROUD! its always great to spend time with family especially since these boys and cousins are changing so fast and growing up tooooo quick, we all just try and savor every moment. PS: Dont even THINK about mentioning the Bulldogs loss to Roger....he is still in mourning :(....but YAY COWBOYS WIN!!!!!