Let the Sleep-Overs Begin...

Sleep-Overs (aka Slumber Parties back in the day!) have always been a huge part of every girls life!! Our girl included! She couldn't wait until she was old enough to have friends sleep over. Finally, the much awaited time came for her and her buddy Libbie! The girls had big plans and with much anticipation and a little reluctancy, the big day was here! It was complete with pillow fights, baking cookies and late night chats. I think it was all they had hoped for! And to think this is only the beginning of many...





Patiently waiting!

Priceless....

Training for a marathon... running over 500 miles over 13 weeks!
Running a marathon... Focus and Determination
Finishing a marathon... Priceless!

Garry ran and finished Wellstone's White Rock Marathon this past Sunday, December 9th, along with 15,000 other runners! The temperature was a chilly 43 degrees and he ran through rain, sleet and strong winds as well! My mom, the kids and I waited with much anticipation at the finish... the kids with signs held high that they had made the night before! We were squished in like sardines with about 60,000 others waiting for finishers as well! I have never been more proud as I watched him approach the finish of his 26.2 mile journey! What an awesome accomplishment! And in a mere 4 hours and 5 minutes!! His "running" buddy, Doug, is also in the picture! Doug is in white and Garry in red! They trained together and finished together!

Before the race!!

KidStuff!!!

Kidstuff Sundays are always so much fun! It is the first Sunday of each month and introduces the virtue the kids will talk about for that month! Well... Garry and Kaleb participate frequently! Here are just a few pics of Garry as he performs the 3 wise men's rendition of the song "Jump"!! (hence the blurriness) Being silly as always! And a quick video of Kaleb singing a solo! He did such a great job!! We are very proud of him! Enjoy!!!

"Deck The Halls!"

Karsyn takes dance at the School of the Arts at the church. Yes, dance in the Baptist Church! Don't tell! Anyway, she got to participate in our Deck the Halls services at church! ALL 3 of them! The girls did great in all of the services, however, my favorite was the last service. Karsyn had spotted her friends, McKenna, Libbie and Ashton sitting in the balcony on the opposite side of the worship center! She would soon end up in that area for a short time while the big girls danced and then was to join with them to finish! During this brief interlude, she proceeded to get her friends attention by jumping up and down and waving! Luckily they waved back and she was able to finish her routine! It was too funny!! They were all so cute!

Run Kaleb! Run!

You know how Forrest Gump just kept running??? Well... Kaleb is not far behind! Let me start from the beginning! Kaleb and Garry had signed up to run the Believe Race here in McKinney! Kaleb signed up for the 1 mile fun run and Garry for the 5K (3 miles)! The races started at the same time and the trails were marked for each run! At the word "GO", they were off! At least 150 runners! My mom, Karsyn and I were anxiously awaiting our boys to cross the finish line. The race began at 8am and we expected Kaleb at about 8:15 and Garry not far behind at 8:20 or so! Well, 8:15 came and went and no Kaleb! 8:20 came and went and still no Kaleb! Garry crossed the finish at about 8:24 and said he had passed Kaleb on the 5K trail, but didn't realize it was him until a little later! What??? Yes, he had gotten off of the mile trail and somehow stayed with 5K group!! Our little runner crossed the line at 8:39 after running what started out as 1 mile and turned into 3!!! He couldn't believe it! He just knew we were going to be worried sick! Garry ran down the hill to meet him and they ran across the finish line together! Priceless picture! We are so proud of both of them! Kaleb just wishes he had signed up for the 5K so he could have placed! Next time!!

Family Pictures!

So, it is always a chore in itself to get everyone ready and out the door for pictures! Add an unexpected drop in the temperature and lots of wind!! However, the elements were not going to stop us from getting a head start on the holiday season! (i.e. Christmas card pics)! Our wonderful friend Lea was a trooper as well as she posed us and snapped over 50 pictures! Thank you! Lea! We love you! Here are just a few!

Trick or Treat?

Just a quick post to let you see our hippie and "pajama girl"!! We experienced a "first" in the Gorman household tonight as we went trick or treating! We usually hit the Fall Funfest at church, but since they didn't have that this year, we hit up some of our friends around town to enjoy the night! The 2nd pic is of Kaleb and his long time buddy Jackie!

Pumpkin Carving...

The boys suprised the girls with pumpkins and carving kits! We made our places in the kitchen floor and began the task... Karsyn especially enjoyed putting her hand inside the pumpkin and pulling out "the worms"! She also enjoyed slinging them all over the kitchen! She always has her own agenda. Kaleb wasn't as sure about the slimy insides as she was! They disected pumpkin seeds and each helped cut out the faces! The final products are awesome! We all had so much fun!!!

Baking with Karsyn...

So Karsyn and I set out to make pumpkin cookies!! This concept in itself is pretty entertaining if you know Karsyn! We prepared the batter without any major disasters, however the kitchen may never be the same after Karsyn got her hands in the flour! I don't know what was more fun, rolling the dough, cutting out the cookies or patting our floured hands together to make "rain"!! I am sure you can figure that out by the pictures!! We enjoyed some quality "girl" time and the final product actually looked great too! And of course we heard no complaints about the taste either!

Longhorn Football....

This football stuff is pretty intense! The Longhorn team has made the playoffs! They are #1 in there division and #2 in the League! We will begin playoffs on Saturday, November 3rd.

Birthday Junkie!!

So... I am a little behind posting, but I warned you all of that when I started! Anyway, Karsyn is officially 6!! It is very hard to believe... it seems like just yesterday that we were holding the little 5lb 8oz bundle in our arms! Long gone are those days! And she is quick to inform you of that! She began celebrating October 1st, even though her birthday is the 7th! She is a bit like her father in the birthday & Christmas categories!! We celebrated on Friday at school with cupcakes (no sprinkles of course!! hee! hee!) Then on Saturday, we celebrated with family and friends at Bath Junkie on the square. They closed the place down, and the girls had full reign! They all got to make there own salt scrub and bubble bath. They even got to pick the scent and the color!! This place is addicting! Everyone should try it out! As you can see in the pictures, even Daddy enjoyed it! She got awesome gifts and had a great time with her friends. The following day was the REAL day, and we spent it with Nanny (my grandmother), Aunt Connie, cousin Michelle and Nana of course! They traveled all the way from Amarillo to celebrate! She even got a surprise visit from Uncle Chad and Aunt Emily! We had a great weekend! Karsyn was sad to see it come to an end!

Election time already??

So Kaleb decided that he would begin his political career and run for Bennett Student Council... As any politician, he began his campaign well before the "actual campaigning" time! He floated in and out of conversations about "who" was running and who was voting for who! He came home with useful info everyday! He prepared his speech and hung his poster with care! The day had finally arrived... he gave his speech, (ending with, "Oh! And I will see what I can do about getting colder water in the drinking fountains up here on the 2nd floor too!"), and returned to his seat to listen to what the other candidates promised! The votes were in!! And they waited! And waited! Two whole days they waited! I think we may need to talk to administration about that... Finally, Thursday was here and the announcements (which are televised) began! He did it!! He is now a proud member of the Bennett Student Council, and for those of you who know him, he has a mission!! Here are a few pics of him taking his oath at a school assembly this past Friday. I am not sure if this is a look of intent, or a case of nerves!! Whatever it is, he is such a cutie!

Surprise...

Don't you just love surprises?? Even better, surprising your kids with something that you know will make their day! My brother, aka "Uncle Chad", was going to be in the area and we kept it a secret. It was priceless to see the look on Kaleb's face as he practiced football, and realized that Chad was standing there watching! And Karsyn, by that time had already claimed him as her personal jungle gym. We had lots of fun with him while he was here! Hope he comes back soon!!

This football thing is hard...

Football just wears Karsyn out! Things got quiet after we got home from the game and I found her asleep in our room sitting in "the big blue chair!" Had to capture it! Isn't she a cutie!

Sweet Victory...

The football season has officially started! Kaleb had his first football game today, so we all put on our burnt orange (much harder for some than others! Garry sported his OU hat with his Longhorn shirt!) and went out to support our team! And what a team they are... Kaleb had some awesome tackles and a couple of QB sacs! His coach calls him the human wreckingball! However, he prefers BRUISER as noted on the back of his jersey. We (the Longhorns) played the Cowboys, and won in double overtime, 7 to 6! Wow! Kaleb started the game and never came off the field except for half-time! We have a great team and the guys play very well together! Kaleb was tired to say the least... but not too tired to enjoy the rest of the day with a couple of his long time buddies and opponents of the day, Caleb and Jon! We decided that when they all get to Jr. High, they will make a pretty sweet football trio! Enjoy the pics!

Putting the Labor in Labor Day!

Garry really took this Labor Day thing seriously!!! This is him finishing a 10K this morning. For those non-runners in the group... that is 6 miles!! He finished in 55 minutes and 3rd in his division! We were at the finish to cheer him on! We are all so proud of his accomplishment, and can't wait to see him at the finish line of the full marathon he will be running in December!

Summer Fun....

What started out as playing with water guns, slowly moved toward the sprinkler and quickly turned into a drenchfest!! What a way to enjoy your Sunday afternoon! They were having so much fun, I had to capture it!

Welcome to Bennett!

So... 3:30 finally arrived and I waited at the end of a hall filled with what looked like giants compared to my little Kindergartener! She never looked so small! She had a big smile on her face and a big hug for me. Kaleb met me soon after her and we all left to go get some ice cream to celebrate a great 1st day! Kaleb asked if we could pretend everyday was the 1st day!! Smart boy! They both talked non-stop... I think I caught about 1/3 of it all. From "going on a bear hunt," & Junie B. Jones to the new student in 4th grade that is from Japan and speaks no English, the car was filled with stories! Karsyn also informed me that she needs to take nap stuff because she needs to rest! Mrs. French said that she was the only one that fell asleep during rest time!! Maybe because she got up so early!? Anyway, the day turned out good for all, and we are off to football practice and then home to prepare for day #2!

Anxiously Awaiting 3:30....

Wow!! How time flies... sometimes! I have watched my little ones grow up before my very eyes, yet today, I sit here alone, watching time creep by, awaiting the tales of the day! Yes, we have ventured upon one of those momentous occasions in the Gorman Household that many of you can relate to. Karsyn started Kindergarten! We have been talking about this occasion for sometime now, and she has waited patiently for the BIG day! She has been looking forward to going to "Daddy's school" and to being able to see her big brother in the hallowed halls of "her" school! She went to bed early and rose early as well! She put on her new clothes, packed her backpack, posed with Kaleb for a few pics and we were off to Bennett Elementary! Now, for those of you who know Karsyn, you will be oddly suprised that she was a little hesitant this morning! She let me know that she was "frightened" and didn't really need any new friends! She held tightly to my waist (which wasn't making it easier for me!!) and kept saying she didn't want to make new friends! Won't she be suprised when she finds out that school really isn't just about making new friends!! Hopefully that lesson will not come with any trips to Daddy's office! I finally got her to sit at her seat and asked if I could snap a picture! She finally agreed to it, but wouldn't look my way...
As for Kaleb, he walked his sister to Kindergarten and as the 1st bell rang, told her to have a great day and he was off to his new domain on the "2nd floor" to begin his career as a 4th grader! How cool is he to get to move upstairs? That is evidentally BIG! He, of course did not need my help to his class, but will come home full of stories that I can't wait to hear as well! So until then, I wait....