Happy New Year!

Georgia allows us to shoot off fireworks for New Year's! So we headed to the Wal-Mart and picked up a case of fireworks. The girls had a good time lighting sparklers and some torches.

Our Top 10 For 2010

1. Received orders to move off the rock.

2. Flew to Georgia and bought a house in 5 days flat.

3. Vacationed in Hawaii.

4. Packed up and moved across the world to another continent.

5. Bought two automobiles and furniture for said house.

6. Spent holidays with all our family (first time in 8 years).

7. Kids attend public school.

8. Made it through a year without deployments or tdy's.

9. Had our 16th wedding anniversary.

10. Embraced new technology.

Merry Christmas From The Starnes

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Smoked Christmas Turkey

We smoked a turkey breast for Christmas dinner. It smoked for about 6 hours using mesquite wood chips. Oooo it smelled so good. I bet our neighbors were so jealous.

Sandy smelled that yummy turkey too. She just waited for a piece to drop.

Merry Christmas!!!

The girls woke us up at 4:30 Christmas morning. I don't think they ever actually went to sleep Christmas Eve. I think they stayed up and had a slumber party in Jasmine's room (which is a pretty cool thing to do when you are close sisters).

They passed out the presents.

They were so happy with their gifts.

Maya talked non-stop about this shirt after she saw it.

This was Kiera's favorite gift. The girls have played it ALL. DAY. LONG.

Jasmine got more cozy pajama pants.

We all had a great Christmas and hope you did too.

Christmas Cookies

The whole family joined in and made Christmas cookies to take to our family party.

The girls decorated the cookies with their own designs and were proud of their cookies.

We made so many cookies that we ended up giving them away. They were a big hit and everyone complimented on them.

Tanglewood Park Lights

We gathered the family and headed to see the lights at Tanglewood. Everyone warned us of the massive crowds and traffic jams we would encounter. But we never saw them and enjoyed ourselves as we drove through the park.

We were greeted at the gate.

There were pretty water features.

And snow fell from the sky.

Lights illuminated our way.

And covered bridges guided us.

There were dragons and pirate ships.

Along with Christmas bells that rang in the night.

We really enjoyed it. It was nice to stay in our warm car and listen to Christmas music on the radio as we passed through the park.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

While we were home in NC, we all got to see it snow (just a little). It was so pretty comming down. It was enough to get everyone excited and play outside in it.

Sandy loved it.

The girls looked so pretty in it.

We watched it fall nearly all afternoon but it never stuck.

And the Fire is So Delightful

When the fire was lit, Sandy was always sitting by the fireplace. She would lay her head on the harth and sleep all afternoon. She found her favorite spot in the house.

update soon

Yes, I've been away far too long. I have lots to share and pictures to post. But at the moment our internet is out (sure picked a fine day to go out) and won't be back until I can call them on Monday. For this post is being made from my phone. It's not as fun nor as easy to do than from our home computer. So hopefully on Monday we can be back online and I can update all of our Christmas experiences.

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Snowing In Georgia

We had quite some excitement when we saw snow falling today. Moving here we knew it would get cold but never thought it would snow. Growing up, I rarely saw snow in NC. But for about 15 minutes tonight we were able to run and play in the snow before it all melted away.

It was so pretty falling.

The snow started to really come down.

This is our first Christmas with snow in our new home.

The girls were so happy to see the snow.

What's Christmas Without a Parade?

This weekend Maya rode a float in the Warner Robins Christmas parade. She happened to be spending the night with a friend whose mom was apart of the American Cancer Society and they made a float for the parade. It was cold so I made sure she bundled up. She said she rode half the way and walked half the way. I didn't go to the parade but was able to watch it online via live stream. Tonight it is going to replay on tv. When their float was up, the tv broadcast did a close up of Maya and her friend. Hopefully, I can get a little video snippet of it tonight.

Christmas Cookies

Tonight we made Christmas sugar cookies, YUM! Originally, Jas and I were going to make them together and have some bonding time, but....the movie Groundhog Day come on and she just couldn't steer her eyes away (just like her dad). So Kiera, her friend Cate and I decorated the cookies together.

It was Cate's 1st time with the royal icing and only Kiera's 2nd time.

But they really enjoyed it and were proud of their masterpieces!

One of the Christmas trees:

My candy canes:

It's Santa!!

Pe-Paw is Santa's helper again this year at the mall. He makes a great Santa. Here he is with our friend's daughter and nephew. I'm hoping to get a picture of him with our girls this year.