The Houston Household

The Night Before Christmas

2011-12-18T12:05:00.001-08:00

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

2011-12-18T12:04:00.001-08:00

Sleigh Ride

2011-12-18T12:03:00.001-08:00

Dixieland, Royal Garden Blues

2011-12-17T18:58:00.000-08:00

This past semester the Jazz Band had the amazing opportunity to work with Dr. Steve Call, a Jazz professor from BYU (and actually, Dr. Fullmer's former jazz professor). Dr. Call taught the kids much about jazz, but especially about his particular specialty, Dixieland (see Jazz for Cows). The band performed a Dixieland song at the boys' Christmas concert, and Christian, being the multi-tasking musician he is, had the privilege of being featured on clarinet alongside Dr. Call (who played the double bell euphonium--yes, there is such an instrument), and boy was that kid wailing on his clarinet--we were quite proud. :)

Frosty the Snowman

2011-12-17T18:51:00.001-08:00

Nothing beats a little jazz at Christmastime:

Summertime, George Gershwin

2011-12-17T18:33:00.000-08:00

Thirty minutes before the boys' band concert, several jazz combos performed. Christian's was saved for last--because it was the best of course--here is Summertime, by George Gershwin, with Christian playing saxophone:

How the Boys Spent Their Thanksgiving

2011-12-01T15:33:00.000-08:00

Poor Christian and Sean could not be with us for Thanksgiving... of course, I really shouldn't say poor Christian and Sean, because you know where they were? HAWAII. Yeah, not feeling so bad for them anymore, are you? :) The Timpview Marching Band had the opportunity this year to travel to Pearl Harbor with two Utah veterans and play at several memorials and remembrance events--what a wonderful opportunity! It really is quite an amazing thing to see a 14 year old and 17 year old (just turned 17 the day they left for Hawaii!) tear up when talking about Pearl Harbor--truly something great to see their hearts touched like that.

The band marched in the Waikiki Parade:

Played at the Polynesian Cultural Center, (below is a clip of them playing an Armed Forces Medley--not gonna lie, the Marines Anthem is still my favorite):

and performed "Eternal Father" at the USS Arizona Memorial, among other things. This last one, according to the boys, truly was a spectacular experience--for one, they received special permission to be there and perform (it's a pretty big deal), and of course, not to mention the content of where they were--they seriously can't talk about it without getting choked up:

Once I get my hands on some pictures, I will be posting those as well. :)

Marching Band 2011

2011-11-30T15:32:00.000-08:00

At the boys' Fall concert, the Marching Band played--all of them, all up on stage (and down around it)--boggles my mind how they can all fit them in that auditorium).

CYBER MONDAY SALE AT TINKERANNIEBELLE!

2011-11-27T21:20:00.000-08:00

For the first time in my life, I braved the Black Friday sales--I discovered that Black Friday success is all about tag teaming (go Kelli and Mom!), that Roberts customers are actually quite nice at 6 in the morning, and that JoAnn's customers are rather rude no matter what time of day it is--anyhow, now that Black Friday is over, I am in the mood for a much easier, less dangerous holiday sale... CYBER MONDAY!! You don't even have to leave the comfort of your own home--now that's my kind of shopping! :)

So, starting at midnight tonight and all day Monday until midnight, everything in my shop is 20% off! Just use the code "CYBER20" at checkout to receive your discount. It's the perfect time to get some early holiday shopping done before the rush, so head on over now--happy shopping!

Happy Halloween! (Danny Elfman style)

2011-10-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

An excerpt from the boys' recent Fall band concert:

Gotta love those boys

2011-10-29T17:13:00.000-07:00

Christian and his friends started and completed a large and time consuming school assignment this week (about procrastination, how ironic)--a movie--and after filming late into the night (in order to get it done in time of course), this is what happened:

Christian's Dance Party from Kellianne Houston on Vimeo.

This is why I love my boys. ;)

(Thank you to Christian for discovering hidden movie editing software on my computer)

Homecoming Dance

2011-10-24T21:22:00.000-07:00

The moment we've all been waiting for... PICTURES! I mean, that's why kids go to dances, right?--for the pictures... forget the date, we just want pictures to show off. :)

So, without further ado... I give you: Christian and Chrissy!

Oh, and not to toot my own horn or anything, but guess where Christian got his awesomely beautiful wristlet for his date??? Yup, I made it--but of course, I have to give star credit to Grandpa Karl--where else could we find bright blue flower THAT gorgeous??

And in case you're wondering, Christian had an absolutely WONDERFUL time. :)

Question and Answer

2011-10-23T17:18:00.000-07:00

Sixteen, such a lovely age.. driving (eventually) and dating! That's right, Christian asked to his very first dance--Homecoming!

Unlike most high school boys, Christian actually has gone on dates himself before this (as far as I can tell, teenagers NEVER date unless there's a dance--so sad--but Christian does!), but now he was going to a DANCE. Yup, he's growing up. ;)

So, I was pretty pleased with his creative asking:

"Hey Chrissy (written with Hershey Kisses), now that I've kissed the ground you walk on, will you go to homecoming with me?"

Yup, pretty clever.

But of course, his soon-to-be-date wasn't to be outdone in the creativity department. Late one night as we were sitting at home, quiet, lights of, watching an intense episode of Psych, there was a startling pound at the front door--I almost wet myself, it was very shocking. Sean opened the door to find a banana on the doorstep. A banana? What the heck does that mean? A few minutes later, there was another knock, this time at the back door--another banana. Throughout the next hour there were knocks coming from all over the house--front door, back door, windows, random passers by ("Hi, um, someone told me to give this banana to you..."), the bananas just kept coming.

Lots and lots and lots of bananas (which eventually turned into some yummy banana bread). But nothing but bananas... then, a long break--they stopped knocking... was that it??

...

Nope, one more knock at the front door...

"ORANGE you glad I'm not a banana? Of course I'll go to homecoming with you!"

Pretty cute, right?? We thought so. :)

(Dance pictures soon to come!)

Timpview SWEEPS Rocky Mountain Marching Band Competition

2011-10-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

As you may have guessed by the title, the Timpview High Marching band made a clean sweep of the awards at the Rocky Mountain Marching Band Competition--FIRST PLACE IN EVERY CATEGORY! It was hosted at the BYU football stadium, so we actually got to go! Hence, the AWESOME pictures. :)

First up, soldier Sean--never breaks attention, not even for a second!

Playing multiple instruments and running around the entire show:

and second, Christian, our Sexy Sax Man, running around like an insane maniac (at parents' night you can shadow the kids--we've all tried it and failed. Those kids sure book it on the field!):

Go Timpview! :)

Home on the Range

2011-10-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite song from the boys' Marching Band Show this year:

Happy Birthday Sean! #14

2011-06-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEAN!!!

For Sean's birthday we had a scavenger hunt--involved lots and lots and LOTS of goodies, including delicious European TWISTS (yes, we finally found a store here that sells them!). Of course, these gifts didn't come without some effort--each prize came with another clue leading to the next:

My personal favorite was the narwhal clue--we all got to watch the youtube video about narwhals (newly introduced to me in the past few weeks--um, interesting....)

The last clue was attached to Sean's baby, Dolly--that was fun. Poor girl thought she was in trouble.

Dolly led Sean to the awesome movie--MEGAMIND! :)

and of course, no birthday is complete without a cake--or in this case, cupcakes--this year's theme? Sean's two favorite animals: Narwhals and Penguins!

Four Months!

2011-06-09T06:57:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? Little Heather is FOUR MONTHS OLD! Want to know the best part??? SHE'S COMING TO VISIT IN A MONTH! :)

Okay, and since I missed posting her three month old picture, here it is--I couldn't pass it up, it was just too cute. :)

Band

2011-05-21T18:18:00.000-07:00

And the boys have both had several wonderful band concerts--I am continually amazed by the talent these kids have!

Sean's middle school concert blew me away--I played the flute in our middle school band, there were three of us, and the other sections were much bigger, and we really didn't play anything all that exciting. At Sean's concert they had several different bands (beginner to advanced, percussion included--we didn't have ANY percussion... they have an entire section, and an after school percussion ensemble!), they played difficult yet entertaining repetoire, and they even played a QUEEN tribute medly. It was pretty dang awesome:

The next week we attended Christian's Jazz Band Pillow Concert--much different than his usual concerts, very interesting, but quite entertaining as well, and you can tell that the kids really had fun with it. They played songs like the theme from The Incredibles, The Pink Panther, Nacho Libre, etc. Christian played an awesome solo for The Pink Panther (sorry about the sound quality, they were having issues with the sound equipment and the audience was a bit loud):

Now they're done with band!--haha, for like a week, then on to Marching Band! :)

It's been a while...

2011-05-20T12:13:00.000-07:00

My word it's been a while since I've posted--not that life at the Houston Household is just that, on the contrary--it's because it's just been so busy! The end of the school year seems to do that... between band concerts and awards nights and Summer band rehearsals and graduation and sewing lessons and dogs and who knows what else, it's been a crazy few weeks...

So, Kellianne did officially graduate from BYU!!

And mom made the most beautiful graduation dress for the big event!

Carolyn's little baby Heather was blessed--also in a Melissa Snow Houston original--gorgeous blessing dress, right?? and the baby isn't half bad either. ;)

Such a cute little girl!

Oh, and our sweet little baby Heather (again in a Melissa Snow Houston original from the Summer line) is now three months old--can you believe it?? I can't, she's growing up so fast! Good thing that we FINALLY get to see her this summer!

ADORABLE!

2011-03-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

Two months--it's been a whole two months and we still can't get over how adorable little Heather is. <3

Featured at the Tattered Tag!

2011-03-11T06:23:00.000-08:00

One of our Etsy items was featured at the Tattered Tag--now this really made my day!

Check out the link here:

http://thetatteredtag.blogspot.com/2011/03/homespun-market-day-simply-white.html

Stunning White Bridal Peony

[Tinkeranniebelle]

Thanks Christina!

P.S. After our sewing conference last week we are hard at work creating and making lots and lots of wonderful things--check out our Etsy shop soon to see! :)

Making Chocolate Treats

2011-01-05T18:28:00.000-08:00

The boys are great helpers--most of the time. ;)

Somehow Kelli got them to assist in making chocolate dipped pretzels for Christmas.

Lots and lots of pretzels...

Music in the Air

2010-12-20T06:59:00.000-08:00

Last week the boys had their Christmas band concerts. Unfortunately I don't have any photos from Sean's--the Centennial auditorium is a scary place, let's just leave it at that... --but he was awesome! Sean seriously was amazing--he was on a different instrument for every song, sometimes switching in the middle of a song even. Incredible. And did you know that he's on the band council? I had no idea. He's pretty amazing. :)

Next was Christian's band concert at Timpview. First up he played a solo in his jazz combo:

And then he played another solo for the Jazz Band performance. He was a soloing fool! ;) I love their jazz band, they are so much fun to listen to!

And of course, it wouldn't be Christmas without Santa Claus...

Merry music Christmas!

Clear the Road

2010-11-29T06:21:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it, but it's true: Christian is officially 16! Crazy, right??? They grow up so fast.

Christian didn't want a birthday cake--he wanted a birthday cheesecake. Just like his dad. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Naptime

2010-09-04T21:51:00.000-07:00

There are three dogs there--can you pick them all out? ;)

Must Love Dogs or Something

2010-08-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time Kellianne got a dog named Sadie.

Sadie got old so the family got MacGyver, which suddenly made Sadie young again.

Then somehow Dolly came into the picture.

Then Dolly had puppies--little Vera now keeps the Houstons entertained. So many dogs--yet so much fun. :)

We must like dogs or something.

Grand Parade

2009-07-08T12:19:00.000-07:00

Heck yes, he was amazing. Happy 4th indeed.

We were caught in a downpour by the time I tried to shoot video, but you can still get the gist of the band:

Children's Parade

2009-07-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th everyone!!! While Christian is diligently marching in the Grand Parade this morning, I am posting pictures of last week's parade: THE CHILDREN'S PARADE. While not quite as large as the Grand Parade today, the Children's Parade was still a lot of fun--if you ask me, it was the perfect length, with the perfect size audience (you could actually find somewhere to sit and watch!). The kids in the parade were adorable as usual, scurrying around like vultures trying to snatch the candy that the adults were throwing to the audience. Of course, our favorite part was the Timpview Band, but we might be a little biased. ;)

Strawberry Days Parade

2009-06-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

It was a cold and blustery morning, but as they say: the show must go on--and that it did! Strawberry Days would not be stopped by a little rain and wind (and when I say a little, I mean a lot). Although wet and cold, the Timpview marching band stayed true to the end--and there's Christian, right in the middle! We are so proud of him--doesn't he look handsome??? Gotta LOVE a man in uniform.

Christian now plays more instruments than we can keep track of. He started out with the clarinet, then upgraded to the bass clarinet. Sadly though, there are no bass clarinets in marching band, so in just a few days Christian had the joy of learning a whole new instrument--the tenor sax. For just picking it up a few weeks ago, I must say he is kicking some serious musical butt.

The End of the Road

2009-06-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

It's the end of the line for our dear old Wasatch Elementary School. The last time we will ever watch the kids braid the maypole--yep, Sean has graduated from the sixth grade! Onto bigger and better things. Speaking of which, Christian is also moving up in the world--HIGH SCHOOL!!! One in middle school and one in high school. They grow up so fast!

It's the end of the line for our dear old Wasatch Elementary School. The last time we will ever watch the kids braid the maypole--yep, Sean has graduated from the sixth grade! Onto bigger and better things. Speaking of which, Christian is also moving up in the world--HIGH SCHOOL!!! One in middle school and one in high school. They grow up so fast!

Cuddle-Bug

2009-05-09T20:34:00.001-07:00

Flower Baskets

2009-05-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

Well, we (Mom, Carolyn, and Kellianne) have officially completed Wilton Course 2! In this particular course we learned a wide variety of flowers, reverse shell border, rope border, and the basket weave, and for our final project we put everything into action. Didn't our cakes just turn out beautifully???

Mom's cake

Kelli's Cake

Haha, Kelli's bee was the only one that still had antennas by the end of the night! ;)

Carolyn's Cake

The Smart Ones

2009-04-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year; the flowers are blooming, the air is warm, the sun is shining, and the zoobies are GONE! Ahhh, such a relief... though not quite the same this year. Our two favorite zoobies have up and graduated this week and are moving far far away to the distant land of Michigan... sniffle... but they are moving on to bigger and better things. As the brainiacs they are, Carolyn graduated in Dietics and is headed off to a medical internship this fall, which should be pretty interesting, while Daniel graduated in Physics and Computer Science, and will be researching at the University of Michigan, working towards his PhD (told you they were smart). Wish them luck!

Dietetics Graduation Reception (These are all the seniors graduating in Dietetics--ALL GIRLS!)

Aren't they precious???

Let Them Eat Cake!

2009-03-31T11:50:00.000-07:00

Cake Cake Cake! It's everywhere this week! Or so it seems. Because of Kelli's surgery she was not able to attend her final Fondant and Gum Paste class, which ended up with Melissa and Kelli both making their own separate final projects this time (usually they do a joint project). Then of course we still have Carolyn's cake, and in the end that's three whole cakes that need eating! I hope the family doesn't get sick of cake, because once Kelli gets feeling better she will definitely be coming up with more yummy creations looking for hungry mouths. Somehow with two growing boys I don't think that will be too much of a problem.

Kellianne's Cake:
Mom's Cake:

Carolyn's Cake:

Music Magic

2009-03-19T19:08:00.000-07:00

Christian playing the bass clarinet

Sean playing the clarinet

Christian and Sean's band concert--let's just say that personally, I was blown away. I never expected to hear that high of a caliber from elementary and middle school bands. My elementary school band consisted of four members--yeah, so pretty much I was awe-struck by this the whole time. Wow. If you don't believe me, check out the videos--it was quite the experience.

ODE TO JOY: Combined choirs--all the elementary schools, middle school, and high school played together in the finale.

LIBERTY BELL

NETTLETON

and my personal favorite, ROCK CREEK ADVENTURE. This one totally takes me back to Disney's California Adventure--I love it!

Real Men Wear Tights

2009-02-20T19:13:00.000-08:00

Today was the 6th grade medieval feast at Wasatch Elementary, and you know who the king was??? Our very own Sean Patrick! So of course, what's a king without style? Gotta love a man in tights!

Forget love, I'd rather fall in chocolate!

2009-02-16T21:42:00.000-08:00

What a Valentine's day party! This was by far the funnest v-day yet--you can't beat a day celebrated with making beautifully delicious treats--chocolate in particular, it's a definite must-have. Melissa, Kellianne and Carolyn are all taking a cake decorating class together this month, and Valentine's Day was our first class in which we made an actual cake--look at how pretty they turned out!

Jackson Pollock

2009-02-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

If any of you know Rebecca Armond, then you know of her amazing cooking skills. Fortunately for our family, Brother Armond is our home teacher, and Sister Armond is Mom's visiting teacher, so we are blessed with many yummy goodies. One of our favorite of her fabulous creations are her delicious brownies--the best brownies that I have ever tasted. They are gourmet, that is for sure. Well, being the wonderful person she is, Sister Armond decided to share her recipe with us, and we tried it out for ourselves. It was a little more effort than Kelli's mint brownies, but the finished product was just as good. Of course, spreading the ganoush was a bit tricky; Mom wasn't very excited about the brownies appearance, but I (Kellianne), being the humanities major, was ecstatic about it--it's a Jackson Pollock work of art!

Jackson Pollock: Autumn Rythm

Melissa Houston: Chocolate Tempo

Bath Time!

2009-01-25T11:45:00.001-08:00

"The most affectionate creature in the world is a wet dog." ~Ambrose Bierce

Magnetism?

2008-12-29T11:23:00.000-08:00

We were playing Cranium the other day, and Sean was chosen for Charades. His objective was to portray magnetism. He's quite the actor. :)

Christmastime is Here Again!

2008-12-28T12:25:00.000-08:00

Christmastime is here again, and boy did we have a fantastic day! Sean of course was decked out by penguin-themed presents galore, while Christian enjoyed playing with our favorite early-Christmas present, Macgyver the puppy. It was a day full of smiles and happiness all around!

Merry Christmas from the Houstons!

2008-12-27T09:22:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Houstons! Behold, our first "family picture" in years! Take advantage of this, because it almost never happens!

King of the Rock

2008-12-01T17:37:00.000-08:00

I don't know why, but Guy's favorite nesting spot is the top of the couch... not the most comfortable if you ask me, and I just know he's going to fall off one of these days, but it is pretty cute.

Little Guy and Little Girl

2008-11-30T17:12:00.000-08:00

They were a bit tentative at first, but Sadie and Little Guy are beginning to warm up to one another. Although Little Guy has much more energy than our dear old dog Sadie, at the end of the day they bond with their evening naps.

A New Addition

2008-11-29T12:54:00.000-08:00

We proudly welcome to the Houston Household our latest addition to the family: Little Guy! Little Guy was an early Christmas present for the family--he was just to cute to wait another month. He is a Yorkshire Terrier, or as we like to call him, a Yorkie-Kong--he's a little bigger than your average Yorkie. He's so adorable though! and so sweet, he fit right into our family, and melted right into our hearts.

Happy Birthday Christian!!!

2008-11-25T07:59:00.001-08:00

As is custom, for Christian's birthday we all headed out for a delicious meal at the infamous Brick Oven, complete with the traditional chocolate mousse pie and M&M cookies. It was a fantastic party, and an adventure for Kellianne who was trying to get the "perfect" picture--didn't quite happen, but instead she ended up with some fun ones and many memorable moments. :)