Tooth Fairy...Be Prepared

Our sweet little princess finally got her first tooth!! I was getting a little worried there for a minute. He-he. Teething thus far has been relatively easy. I didn't even know it was happening until her little tooth just popped out one morning. Check out the picture of her pearly white (it is there...I promise).

Smile Haley...we love you.

Manual Labor vs Shopping

It is amazing how much fun Justin has doing something I hate...and vice versa. This past weekend he donated his time to helping my dad clear the lot down by the creek. He was giddy like a little girl at the chance to work with his hands and get a little dirty. I only got a few details here and there about what went on; something about chain saws, falling trees, poison ivy, fire, and did I mention chain saws. He had a blast and managed to make it through the weekend with relatively little wear and tear on his body. I spent my time shopping and sleeping late. Oh, what a joyous weekend!

Thanks Granny and Poppy for a great weekend.

Sloppy Joes

Haley's first experience with sloppy "sloppy" joes in pictures...

Say Cheese!

I have always loved taking pictures but have never had much time for it. I have had several point and shoot types since digital cameras came about but have never been very pleased with the quality. After much internal discussion I finally decided to treat myself to a new camera. I bought myself a new Nikon D3000. So far it has proven a great choice for the beginner like me. The pictures are amazing and should only get better as I learn how to move from auto into the world of manual. It will take alot of work, and alot of bad pictures, but hopefully I can master the manual adjustments within a few months. Get ready Haley and Justin as I am quite positive ya'll will become my favorite subjects.

Migliore Pizza Mai

The English translation is Best Pizza Ever!

This past Saturday Justin and I offered our house up to our friend, and my brother's girlfriend, Agata for a day of Italian fun. She is from Sicily and has been living in the US for just over a year now. It is always a lot of fun to get together and hear all her stories of home. Since all of our gatherings typically revolve around American fare we thought it would be fun to have one dedicated to Agata and her Italian roots. The pizza process started early Saturday. First we had to make the dough so that it had time to rise..

While we waited Kurt handled the Parmesan...we needed quite a bit since there were going to be six pizzas in our future. When the dough was finally ready we all had a chance to get involved with making the crust. We made it into a little competition and I have to say that mine was definitely the best.Once the crusts where ready we loaded on the toppings. At first I was a little worried that I might have bitten off more than I could chew since her chosen toppings included anchovies, artichokes, and potatoes. Let's just say not my favorite ingredients. However, after a brief 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, I reminded myself that it is a new year and I am going to be more open minded. Good thing cause the pizzas were delicious!!Potato & onion, ham & artichoke, and tomato & anchovy. They were all spectacular even though I have to admit I picked off the anchovies. Open mindedness has it limitations. He he.

We finished off the evening burning calories to hit songs like Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and I Like to Move It Move It (our lives are consumed by the Wii these days).

All in all it was a wonderful day and one we will talk about for quite a while. Thanks everyone for joining in the fun and helping to eat all the pizza. Now lets start the badgering for lasagna.

Grazie Agata!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Buskirks!

Our holiday was full of wrapping paper, tissue, good food, family, and colds. We are recovering nicely.

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and have a blessed New Year.

Road Trip

Justin, Haley, and I packed up the vehicle and set out on a Thansgiving road trip to Nebraska. We set out Friday afternoon around 2:00 and made it to Nebraska early Saturday morning without stopping for sleep. Let's just say everything ran smoothly excluding one major blow out...from Haley. She was such a trooper and handled the trip much better than I could have imagined. We had a DVD player which she loved. I am not big on her watching tv but it was a real life saver.
We spent the whole week in Nebraska just hanging out and spending time with family. I wish Haley could be around her Nebraska cousins more since she had such a wonderful time playing with them (actually she just sat a stared mostly). Haley got to celebrate her first round of Christmas gifts. She got a interactive house from her Grandma and Grandpa that I really loved. She really loved the wrapping paper! Justin went on two of the best pheasant hunting trips of his life. I think over the course of the week they got over 30 pheasant. I even got a chance to pick out several new quilt projects which I hope to start soon. When Saturday rolled around my husband some how convinced me to pack up again (a more full vehicle this time around) and attempt the 20 hour road trip again without an overnight stop. Around 2:00 am we were both rethinking our choice but somehow found the strength to push through. We arrived back in Houston Sunday morning with non-alcohol induced hangovers. I was recovering for an entire week. It is always nice to be home but sad to know it will be several months till we see our Nebraska family again.