Sunday, December 12, 2010

Hoggard Family Christmas



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Today, the Hoggard side of our family got together to celebrate Christmas. Our 'traditional' Christmas dinner includes chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy and more trimmings than you could possibly imagine.[ It reminds me of when my brother and I were in high school and on Friday mornings, before the big game, my dad would make steak for breakfast. The coaches got a kick out of asking my brother what he had for breakfast. I think they were hoping to one day be invited.] This was definitely a Texas style Christmas dinner. My dad cooks the steak outside and we prepare the feast inside. I think we could actually feed the entire neighborhood if we wanted. There were 23 of us and we had 48 steaks!

After our stuffing, we exchanged gifts white elephant style. I don't know if any other family does this, but it certainly makes for interesting gift giving. We have come to find many women in our family would prefer knives and tools to all the sparkly foo foo stuff most women want. Also, we are not afraid of stealing other peoples gifts. The best gifts are frequently stolen and end up with a third owner for their final destination. If you don't put your gift away quickly, it might just get hidden in order to go home with one of its previous owners. Some of the gifts this year included a set of knives, a jig saw, an electric griddle, a warm fuzzy blanket, jewelry and a set of bowls.

Hosting our lively bunch is always a treat. We love that they are all willing to come back each year.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Hoggard Family Reunion











Last weekend, we celebrated the Hoggard Family Reunion. The day started with a trip to the Bar-H Dude Ranch near Clarendon, to watch a cowboy action shoot. John's dad is a part of the group that was there for the day. It was great to see him shoot. We got to meet some cousins that came all the way from Tennessee. What fun to meet these great kids that had never been to Texas before. What a welcome! After watching some serious shooting, we traveled to Hedley for the Hedley Cotton Festival. The big town of just over 200 celebrates the fall cotton season with a parade, BBQ, Bingo and craft and game booths. This year, there were about 10 booths participating. That is about double the booths of last year. The weather was much colder and rainier last year. After celebrating the cotton festival, we went back to the Bar-H Dude Ranch for dinner. Talk about the BEST BURGER in the Texas Panhandle, this is hard to beat! Dessert was my dad's famous peach cobbler and homemade ice cream. It was a great day and beautiful weather!

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Buff-a-Rama





West Texas A&M held its annual Buff-a-Rama today. Free hot dogs, free shirts, free cokes, free ice cream, lots of stuff and all for free. Lots of fun was had by all!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Welcome to Las Vegas!











Well, what happened in Vegas isn't staying in Vegas. John and I went to Vegas for the weekend. We had a great time! There is so much to do and see; we didn't even come close to seeing everything.
Friday night, we had dinner reservations for Bobby Flay's MESA Grill inside Ceaser's Casino. WOW! The food did not disappoint. The Bourbon Ancho Chile Pork Tenderloin was incredible. We kept saying, "mmm, mmm" the entire meal. It was so good. To end our evening, we watched the fountain show at the Bellagio Casino.
Saturday, we tried the CSI Experience. There are three crimes to choose to solve. We chose the Waitress found by the dumpster crime. We solved the crime and got a diploma to prove it. (not to mention a FREE shirt.) We strolled the strip and went to Le Burger Brasserie inside the Paris Casino for dinner. We split a burger and fries so we could enjoy a little dessert. The burger was delicious. It was perfectly cooked and served on a fresh grilled onion bun. We decided on the dessert sliders for dessert.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Wonderland Park


Riding the Cyclone behind Hayden


A big giant swing for you and 24 friends


They were smiling because we hadn't hit the water yet.



She quickly passed the phone to me to go in my purse to stay dry.


A bird's eye view



Not near as fun with your parents


What is better than going to Wonderland Park? Going to Wonderland Park for FREE! The kids had a great time! Okay, the kids under 12 had a great time. Kate was more concerned with getting to Target and finding her size in low top black converse tennis shoes on sale. What does it mean when you take your kids to Wonderland without your husband? It means you get to ride the rides with your 8 year old son. Bumper cars, the Pirate ship, Cyclone... only a few bumps and bruises for the day.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Future Eagles!



Hayden participated in the Eagle Football Camp this summer and as a result, got to run onto the field at the first home game against Lubbock this week. He talked about this event all summer. He was ready! The whole family went to the school night game on Thursday. Hayden was ready. Not only did he have on his camp shirt, he had on his newly acquired Eagle jersey that a friend of mine gave him. They should have had a sign for them to run through that said "Future Eagles". Those boys were so excited to be in Kimbrough stadium for opening night of the 2010-2011 kick off to high school football in the Texas panhandle. To tell the truth, so were we! We love high school football. And we love being back in Texas! Bring it on! (in the third picture, Hayden is on the 42 yard line- dad, I know you'd be looking for him)

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Texas









Last year, our friends Molly and Caroline came to visit and we attempted to go see the musical drama "Texas". Attempted is the key word. A horrible storm came in and we got rained out. We got our tickets back and thought we might be able to see it again another night. This summer they came to visit again and we had a great time. It was a little warm, but not a storm cloud in sight. So glad we got to see it this year. It was fabulous!

Driver's Ed, Here We Come...





Well, our little girl is growing up. She just turned 15. What does a 15 year old want for their birthday? To be 16, so they can drive. So, parent taught driver's ed is in our near future. Happy Birthday my beautiful daughter!