Our 2004 Holiday Season

Here's what transpired in 2004:

We had a wonderful New Year. Alison ate her Barbie cake that Keith made for her, after we ate dinner at TGI Fridays (her choice). This cake was awesome, it looked like a doll with a hoop skirt. Keith did a marvelous job and Alison could not have been happier. Of course, when she woke up on January 1st, she cried because she wasn't going into Kindergarten that day. ("When you are 5, you get to go to big school," Mom and Dad said.) Well, she was 5 - and had to wait until August!

Valentine's Day was good. Brian & Alison made Valentine mail boxes, decorated them, while mom used the glue and scissors. They were so proud of their boxes and even more excited when they were able to open them and get the goodies.

Easter was so exciting and special. The Texas Dugger Family went to Missouri to see Keith's brother, Vic, retire from the Air Force. He retired on Good Friday and it was a great ceremony. Brian & Alison were worried, though, that the Easter Bunny wouldn't find them in Missouri, so, when their cousins, Jackie and Dusty, were at Wal-Mart, they made sure to tell the Easter Bunny where to find the children and that they needed to find some eggs. So, the Easter Bunny and his helpers filled eggs, made baskets and hid about 56 plastic eggs at Vic's house, all while the children took a nap. When they woke up, everyone went outside to find the eggs, and it was a blast. Next time, the Easter Bunny and helpers need to make a map of where all the eggs were, because one was left outside, but was found by Alison :). Also, on that trip, Vic was able to get the entire family to see the B-2 bomber up close an personal. For those of you who know Katie LOVES military aircraft - we all think she passed cloud 9.

May seemed to have come and went so fast. Katie turned – 33. She has been trying to figure out where the past 3 years went. Mother's day was great! We all just spent time together, enjoying our time and each other. On Memorial day, the family spent time talking about the meaning, America, and exactly what our soldiers fought for and those who died, what they mean to us today.

June 3rd was a difficult day. Brian finished 1st grade and Alison graduated from Pre-K at Animal Quackers. She looked so beautiful in her cap & gown. She had quite a proud family, also. Brian took a picture of her, and mom & dad took plenty as well. They will be posted soon. Of course, they cannot call Alison a big "bad" kindergartener, because she is good, so she is a big "good" kindergartener. During the summer, the children are participating in Animal Quackers Summer Camp called "Quack-a-lot of fun". It is well worth it, no matter the cost. They get to do so much more than they would have done if they stayed home :). June also brought about Keith's 34th birthday and father's day. The Duggers had a wonderful time. Katie, Brian & Alison surprised Keith with a sign on the garage door when he arrived home from work on the 15th (since he was home on the 16th, they wouldn't be able to surprise him then) and they had a cake waiting. Katie was a little devious and produced relighting sparkler candles :).

July - On Independence Day, The Duggers went to a neighboring town - Frisco, TX - and enjoyed the Taste of Frisco (all the local restaurants provided their "specialty" for a "fee"), the children participated in some events, played on bounce houses, visited with some clowns, firefighters and police officers. Around 6:00 PM, the Duggers claimed their spot infront of the main stage, drank a lot of water and waited for the show to begin. Stevie Brock (a teen sensation that Mom and Dad knew nothing about) came on stage and did a show. When he was done, KC & the Sunshine Band played. The first song is Alison's favorite "Shake Your Booty". Because Alison doesn't like Port-a-Potties, the family left early and went to Wendy's for a bite to eat. They finished in time to stand next to their car and watch the amazing firework show from about 6 different cities/establishments. The children were in awe and enjoyed the night thoroughly.

August - To end the summer vacation, the Dugger family and their friends, the Sanders family, took the children to Chuck-E-Cheese. They all had a blast (even the parents) when all was said and done. Then, Brian started 2nd grade and Alison began her first year in school as a Big "GOOD" Kindergartener (Per Alison, "I am NOT a BAD girl."). They both had such a great first day. All the mother's Katie has talked to agree that God made it easy for them to hide their tears. It rained quite a bit, but Katie held strong. Then, 2 days after school started, Keith and Katie celebrated their 11th Anniversary (2nd for the year). It was wonderful. On 22 Aug, Keith and Katie tricked Brian into thinking they "forgot" his birthday, only to have Katie make a Spongebob Squarepants cake for him and put presents in front of him during dinner. He was very happy and surprised.

September - Brought about a month of change. Katie decided that the children really need her more at home, so she and Keith decided it best for her to stay home. The children would get home around 6:00 PM, do homework, eat dinner, bathe and go to bed. Notice anything missing in there? No family time. No wind down time. After that decision was made, Keith decided to post-pone school until January. He also received a promotion at work. Things just started falling into place.

October - The family enjoyed a nice 3 day weekend for Columbus Day. The children begged Katie to do home school with them on Monday, October 11. They decided that reading and crafts were in order for the day. Then, on the children's 4th day off, they wanted more home school, so Katie took the morning to find a lot of worksheets for the children to do. They were more than excited, and couldn't help arguing over who could do what and how. On the Friday before Halloween, Katie will assisted the Little Elm Community Library in a Haunted Library and Children's Carnival. She was beside herself. She was a psychotic Raggedy Ann - slaying her puppets (that hung from the wall). Some said that was the scariest part of the Haunted Library - but Katie is too modest to think that - she thought she was horrible. The Saturday before Halloween, Katie took Brian and Alison to the Halloween Carnival so they could play games. Both the Haunted Library and the Halloween Carnival were fund raisers for the Public Library's new integratec computer system. On Halloween, Katie and Alison made a birthday card for a neighbor. Then, the children stayed with a friend while Keith and Katie went to a movie (woo hoo - a date at last). After the movie, the children went home and got dressed for Trick - or - Treating and Katie drove them to Lexie's (a friend and who the children stayed with) house to get some goodies. It poured on them at Lexie's house, but there was no rain in the Dugger neighborhood (1 mile away). Talk about good luck. Alison was a cheerleader and Brian some skull demon. He picked it out himself. Katie and the children took 3 other children on the venture of the neighborhood for lots of candy, and they received SOOOOOOOOO much. All in all, October was a wonderful month.

November - Wow - November already. Hasn't this year just flown by? This month graced Katie with the presence of Keith. He had 2 weeks off, right in the middle of the month. They really enjoyed being together. Keith was able to share 3 days of Brian's and Alison's Fall break with them. The 22nd and Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving. The entire family had a wonderful time. Katie, Brian and Alison went shopping for Thanksgiving dinner and had a blast doing so. Brian and Alison were very helpful, but wanted EVERYTHING in sight that looked "cool". On Thursday, Keith and Katie made Thanksgiving dinner - of course, it didn't go as planned, Katie had to go back to the store (thank goodness it was open) to get some extra spices (which Keith and Katie KNEW were in the pantry - the ghost must have done some cooking of his own) and makings for a last minute idea. The Dugger family had turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes (special recipe), dressing (Keith's Mom's Recipe), fruit salad (the last minute dish), corn, green beans, and rolls. During the day, they snacked on olives (green & black), nuts (mixed), cheese and crackers. Yes, Katie forgot to open the can of cranberry sauce. She is the only one who eats it, so it was the last thing on her mind. For dessert, Katie bought a coconut cream pie for Keith and the kids and attempted to make a lemon meringue pie (hoping it would be just like her Grandmother made for her). Well, let's just say it didn't turn out the way she expected. Maybe next time it will be better. The meringue was perfect, the filling lost its form. The weekend after Thanksgiving, the Dugger family traveled to Oklahoma City to see Keith's Aunt Cleo. It was a nice visit.

December - Well, today is the first day - not too sure what is going to happen (believe it or not, neither Keith nor Katie are fortune tellers). The first freeze of the season happened over night, which left Katie trying to get the ice off the car before taking Alison to school. Brian - has his first flu/bug (other than an ear infection) so he stayed home and watched cartoons in between trips to the bathroom and sleeping. Katie started being the "crafty" person. She made fabric magnetic bookmarks (sold some, too). She also made a few scrunchies (sold a couple of those as well). Her next venture is to make cylinder shape heating/cooling pads with rice, birdseed and dried lavendar in them. She also fixed her sewing machine (helps if all the I's are dotted and T's are crossed - so to speak). The middle of December was a difficult time for Katie, the Town of Little Elm and her family. The Town lost their first Police Officer. He was a wonderful man, who smiled. Most people who were cited by him said it was the most pleasant experience, because he kept them feeling at ease the entire time. The other event was the loss of her siblings's father. That was the span of about 4 days. Then, Alison's two front bottom teeth are loose AND she is gong to turn 6!!! So, to try to ease the sadness, she helped out with the Public Library's fundraiser. A Winter Wonderland Carnival. It was a blast. She stood by the road, dressed like a reindeer (just pick one - Vixen maybe?) waiving people inside. Once there, they chose from 4 games and 4 crafts. Most people did all, some just played the games. Keith brought the children up, and they used their own money to enter. The event raised $85. Just 4 days after that - on December 22, Little Elm accumulated 4-5 inches of snow! It was beautiful and the children had a blast. That was the day Katie was to take the children to see Santa at the mall, but between that and her falling down her stairs (she should have been named Grace - 'nough said), they waited until Thursday to see him. Pictures will be posted soon. Keith was even told to work from home that day. The snow was supposed to have ceased by 1030 AM, but didn't until late into the evening. The freezing temps remained through the week, and although it was in the 40's on Christmas day, all the Dugger family had to do to have a white Christmas, was look in their backyard. It was still there. December 23rd Keith and Katie found themselves with the other 1000 shoppers looking for "last" minute items. (For them, it was the first and last shopping trip). They found everything, and it was added to what Katie had bought online earlier in the year. The children were so surprised on Christmas Eve, after their "nap" (yeah right, if they were napping, the house is infested with Kangaroos and Laughing Hyennas), when there were more presents under the tree. They tracked Santa with NORAD for a while, until they went down stairs to wind down, and they wound down too much. Both fell asleep on the floor. So, Santa and his helper filled the stockings and placed the gifts while being "computeralized" (ask Brian and Alison, they'll tell you what that means). They got a lot of great gifts. That list is posted on their site. The day after Christmas, the Dugger family walked around the mall (Barnes & Noble) and returned 1 item at Target. Katie started cleaning the office closet and almost has it complete. She is trying to turn it into her "craft" studio (yeah, right, in her dreams). Her biggest obstacle is what to do with all the children's school work and art she has accumulated over the past 6 years! Then, Keith went back to work on the 28th only to work until the 30th. He is off for New Year's on Alison's birthday. The 28th, Katie took Brian and Alison to Target so they could use their gift card ($10.00) on something cool. It took over 2 hours but they did it! They found their perfect items. The Target brand Kool Toyz. Alison bought a superstar stage set with 4 Bratz type dolls and all the accessories and it plays music for $7. Brian bought a robot (Cosmic Robot), that has sound effects and walks for $7. Katie should have hit that isle first. Of course, she wanted the aircraft carrier, but decided she was a little too old for a toy :). Alison's Birthday: Alison woke up, promptly on December 31 and ran into Keith & Katie's room. Before Katie opened her eyes, she said, "Happy Birthday." as the door opened. It was a shakey day, not knowing if Keith had to go into work to assist a co-worker. Thankfully, all turned out well. Katie took Brian to Target so he could buy something for Alison. He bought her Yu-Gi-Oh cards and Bratz sticker cards. He was very pleased with his purchase. Katie & Brian took lunch home to Keith and Alison. After lunch, Brian & Alison played outside while Katie wrapped presents. Then, Alison helped Keith & Katie make her cake. Once everything was made, frosted, wrapped and everyone was washed up and dressed, they went to a friend's house to celebrate her birthday and the upcoming New Year. To find out what she received, check out "Alison News" on her's and Brian's page. The Duggers, Sanders, and friends brought in the New Year together. See 2005 to find out more...

Until then, may everyone be safe and blessed..