Pre-Christmas December Highlights

Dear Friends and Family,

This has been an eventful year for us! Cory graduated from the University of Michigan and is keeping busy with a new job. We are excited to own our first home and feel settled here in Texas. Lorin loves second grade. Izzy's cancer treatments continue to be very effective and she is growing up happy and strong. Ryan's got us all laughing non-stop.

We hope you are having a great holiday season. We miss and love you!

Love,
The Costleys
Cory, Kerri, Lorin, Isadore, and Ryan
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So yeah, the Christmas card didn't make it to everyone's mailboxes, but we do love and miss you all--please accept the blog card as proof :)

Ok, I kind of wish this shot had been taken in time to make it on the card. My brother, Lane, flew in and brought us all cowboy hats--informed us we can't be true Texans without 'em.


So having my Mom here for the first 2 weeks of December was a Christmas wish come true. She brought that Christmas magic that I remember growing up. These are outfits she made for the girls (one of about 49 projects her and I completed).
Ryan, after sitting on Santa's lap (very hesitantly at first) opened up her goody bag and said "There's no Cinderella Dollie in here!" She was pretty sure that the thing she asked him for would magically be in the bag he gave her post-lap time.
The Neiman Marcus parade was amazing!

Izzy's 5th Birthday happened on the 18th. It really hit us that we questioned, last year, whether or not we'd see this day for her--our cancer survivor! (her blog has b-day details and pics)
Here's the rest of the fun shots!

Quick Family Shots

I had my cousin come and help me with some quick snapshots of the fam hoping for one worthy of a Christmas card--thought I'd post a couple. We have been having so much fun together!

Happy Halloween

Comments from the girls after the trick-or-treating (with a plethora of good friends) was that Halloween was even better than they thought it would be! 2 of these costumes have been warn for a couple of months straight now, one was last second...can you guess? :) Love these hooligans!


Lorin has got her poses down to a science--even the eyebrows have to say "Superman" or she's not satisfied.

Highlights 1,2,3, & 4

#1. Ryan's dress-up Joy School party. I said "show me your pretty make-up" and this was her response. (for full story see Ryan's blog)

#2. Izzy posing and pumped to go on her Pre-School field trip.
#3. After a tag-team effort by Dad and Izzy on Lorin (accused of stealing Ryan's blankie)...to the Insta-Care she went. Not stitches, just some glue. (for full story see Lorin's blog)#4. A peak into Cory and my not-so-distant future. He's 30-sumpthin' and I've got artheritis--we're practically there. FYI not real...apples!

Having Grandma Here...and Ryan again

Another Ryan story first...so going out to the garage...Ryan waiting for the garage door to be opened so she can go around to the other side of the van...Izzy close by...I push the button and turn back to grab a bag and close the door...I hear a pretty intense wimper...turn to see Ryan almost to the top, hanging on for dear life to the bottom of the garage door...Izzy sucking her thumb almost directly under Ryan as she watches her go up...not saying a word. Luckily I got there just in time to bump Izzy (still staring and sucking) out of the way and grab Ryan before her fingers gave out. I tried to scold Izzy for not hollering (contrary to the norm in our family, we have to actually convince her to open her mouth and say things every now and again), but she just kept smiling with her raised eyebrows saying, "Mom, did you see that?!!"

Anyway...Grandma got to come for 2 weeks and it was awesome. Cancer appointments with help!


Landscaping with a lady who's brilliant at it (and who did most of the work--go mom!). We also decorated my house finally and played lots of games. What a great break she is :)
Going to Chillis at 8:00 p.m. for dessert was a blast!
Izzy started Pre-school today!!! She's so excited!!

Ryan has been going to Joy School for a month now. Loving it!

Lorin loves it when we come to school and have lunch with her...cute sisters! Notice the leftover healthy stuff...saving room for the ice-cream treat I allotted :)
Finally, while my Mom was here, Cory and I got to go on a couples retreat sponsored by Cory's job. A weekend in the mountains of West Virginia hiking, kyaking, getting Swedish massages, horse-back riding, fancy dinners each night followed up by some intense game-playing with our homies, and to top it off the best fireworks (choreographed to music) I've ever seen directly above our heads as we ate desserts around the pool on the golf course. We felt pretty spoiled to get to do that! Thanks Mom...again :)


I should have carried my camera around. But thanks to Katie Baird, my good friend who went horse-back riding with me, I've got this one to show for it.

You want more Texas?! (Funny Story included :)

We have found some creative ways to stay cool here in Texas. Washing the car seems to be the favorite and it's a win for Dad too :)




Taking cool baths is fun too! Nice positioning of the toothbrush, don't you think? FUNNY STORY TIME: So I loaded up the 3 girls' plates with mandarine oranges which they love. As Lorin, Izzy and I were turned taking care of the spaghetti on the stove, Ryan climbed up and ate all of them much to the other girls' dismay. When I questioned her about it her response was "It's okay, I'm on steroids!" Soaking up her surroundings like a sponge, my friends :)


Lorin started school--she has loved the first 2 days and thinks her teacher is the nicest in the whole school. The first day was like we were going to an amusement park. 900 kids each with two doting parents and maybe a sibling or two made for some excitement at the cross walk and getting into the school. Go Wildcats!! We live close enough for her to ride her bike and be there in about 2 minutes. We are loving where we live!

Proud to be TEXAN!

I thought this an appropriate time to break from Izzy's blog and make the move to our own family blog, Texas style!...

We set out from Boise with the Quest packed as tight as we could--proud to say Cory agreed to make room for my High School Prize Winning Rodeo Art Piece (note the importance as I capitalized each word :) and my 5-tiered Graples artifact (now holding our fruits and veggies). After a 15 hour day and anther 10 (also within inches of all dying of car stiffness) we finally made it to our new home!
Flower Mound, TX!!!!
From a Michigan winter to Texas at 110 was quite the shift. Nothing that Popsicles in the shade of our hand-me-down trampoline won't fix :)
A Texas-sized rain storm (very common here) welcomed us in along with my cousin, Mindy, and her family (daughter, Claire, in the middle). They live just down the road--yeah!!! Probably won't let them run in the rain during those anymore, however. We're pretty sure a lightning bolt caused some sparks on our back porch shortly after this shot! Yikes!
Oh the Cory poses/faces! We are now the proud owners of all the necessary lawn equipment to weed, mow, trim, edge, till, dig, rake, hoe, and whack! I'm lovin' the yard work--takes me back to my roots :) Cory is loving it too apparently!

So as you can see, the Texas pride is taking root. We are completely enjoying our first home and excited to see what adventures are in store for us down yonder! Lots of thanks to all our peeps who put up with us all summer invading their space. A tribute (in photo form):

Launch

Launching