Second Time Around...

Long overdue update...

2010-08-06T11:04:00.000-05:00

Life had been crazy, busy, hectic, weird....did I say crazy?? Lets see....
I was sent to the ER, admitted to the hospital and had surgery the end of February.
We had a bridal shower for Brandie, here at the house, the middle of March.
The end of March we bought a full size travel trailer and sold our little pop up.
Our house was FULL of family the weekend of April 24th....Brandie and Davy's wedding.
May came with the usual craziness that the end of the school year brings.
We spent the first weekend in June at the race track....Craftsman truck and IRL race weekend.
The first night we were home from the track Emily got sick....and stayed sick! She started with H1N1 and ended up with pneumonia! She barely moved from the couch for a solid week she was so sick with the flu. When she developed the cough I took her BACK to the doctor....well, that's a whole story of it's own! I'll just skip to the point where I took her to the ER....one week after being diagnosed with the flu. They admitted her, started her on IV antibiotics and kept a close watch on her. She just got worse! On our 4th day in the hospital they did surgery to drain the fluid from her chest, clean up a very sick lung and insert a chest tube that would continue to drain fluid for the next 4 days. It was a long, crazy, scary and very emotional 10 days for Momma!! We were told when she was released that she would still be a sick little girl for a while. She is so much better, but still has a difficult time if she out in the heat much for long periods of time.....these 100+ degree days in Texas do NOT help! The thought of sending her to school is more than a little frightening to me!
However....it helps to know that because of a new job I just landed this week, I will be able to keep a closer eye on her at school!! I will be working for the school district we live in....at the school were Em goes!! I'm so excited to be going back to work!
As if all that wasn't enough...we made a few camping trips, went to Emily's dance recital and have made a few trips south for visits.
Now it is time for VACATION!!! We are pulling our travel trailer to a local campground next week and will spend time playing in the water, going to the zoo, hitting some golf balls and going bowling. We are all excited. After that it is the start of my new job and then back to school for the kids. They are excited and ready to get started....after vacation that is!!
I will be posting pictures soon.....and of course will have lots more after our vacation next week! Stay tuned....

Changes are coming.....

2010-08-05T15:32:00.000-05:00

It's been a loooong time since my last post! Life has been crazy these last few months....lots to blog about. It also looks like some changes have been made on blogger! I will be updating/blogging/adding pictures soon!

More pictures from Snowday 2010

2010-02-12T23:10:00.000-06:00

It's been like a winter wonderland around here....which is rare for Texas! This snowstorm actually broke a long time record. The Dallas/Fort Worth Airport reported 12.5 inches of snow! I figure that gives me a good excuse to go overboard posting snow pictures!

Charlie had fun playing in the snow too.

I took this picture Thursday morning...

and again Thursday night.

A couple more from Thursday night.

Our neighbor....Smores

View from the back porch

And from the front porch

The birds were hungry

A view from the road

A look down our road after leaving our driveway

The kids playing on Friday

Momma even made a snow angel

Fogged up glasses

The kids took turns taking pictures

A rather droopy Mopar Man!

Cowboy snowman got a fresh layer overnight

Snow Day 2010

2010-02-11T21:06:00.000-06:00

At 6:30 this morning when I took Charlie out, we had enough to make everything white. It has not stopped snowing all day...and it's now past 8:30! I got the call this morning that school was dismissing early. After hearing all afternoon about all the BIG districts in the metro-plex (Dallas being the biggest) closing tomorrow, we finally got the call a couple of hours ago that our kids will be home tomorrow too.
After picking them up early today, we came home and got bundled up to head outside to play in the falling snow. It is the perfect snow for packing! Within 30 minutes we had 2 snowmen built and were ready to come in to get dry and warm up. We had a great time though! I haven't measured it, but if I had to guess I would say we have 8 to 10 inches on the ground now. We are setting some records with this snow!
I have more pictures, but these are the ones from this afternoon. I'll get the others resized and posted tomorrow.

Rolling enough for the base

Our Cowboy Snowman

Snowman #2...the Mopar Man ;)

Wyatt's giant snowball!

Emily taking a break

This one gives an idea of how much it was coming down...and it was like that most of the day!

Emily is 7 years old!!!

2010-01-14T11:56:00.000-06:00

She is growing up way to fast!! We celebrated with cake and ice cream while we were at Granny and Pawpaws a couple of weeks ago.

She was serving cake and ice cream at her own party!!

Charlie

2010-01-14T11:32:00.000-06:00

We've been talking for some time now about getting a new puppy. Jeff and I decided we wanted one that would stay on the small side....mostly because I wanted an inside dog this time and while I loved Bailey, he just was too big to be an inside dog. A small dog will be a bit easier to take camping with us too! So I've been searching petfinder.com and checking out craigslist. Last weekend we took the kids to a few places to look at some puppies. Of course they wanted the first one we saw....and all of them after the first one too!! We ended up at the same shelter I adopted Lucy and Gidget from. That's were we found Charlie! He is a 3 month old Dachshund mix....with some Jack Russell Terrier we think. So far he is a very good puppy. He does very well in his crate and has obviously had someone working with potty training. He wants so badly to play with the cats, but of course they are NOT so thrilled with him! Gidget is getting used to him and will actually come nose to nose to check him out occasionally, but Jade stays far away and as HIGH as she can get! He has been very entertaining for us this week.

Scooter time...

2010-01-14T10:16:00.000-06:00

We went to visit mom and dad a couple of weeks ago. They have something we don't....a concrete driveway! Even better than that....the place next to them is vacant!! A huge drive to ride bikes and scooters and not have to listen to momma telling them to stay out of the road!! We didn't take bikes this time, but they had a great time with their new scooters.

Parade pictures

2010-01-10T11:40:00.000-06:00

Just some random stuff

So I'm a goof...I think some of the buildings in Dallas are cool looking.

Some of Dallas' finest

Cotton Candy anyone?

Had to have some of the kids too!

Emily in front of the FOX float...

Wyatt chillin in truck

I just thought this was a cool shot of people watching from the top of this parking garage

Fun at the New Years Day parade!

2010-01-08T09:22:00.000-06:00

Jason Castro hitched a ride on our local FOX news station float...we happened to be lined up right next to that float in the staging/line up area!! I just couldn't help myself...I HAD to have a picture!

Another post with more info and pictures is coming soon!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

2009-12-31T22:44:00.000-06:00

We are headed to Dallas early in the morning....pulling a float in the parade again. Hopefully I will get some good pictures to post here. Check back in a few days!

We had a WHITE Christmas...in TEXAS!!!

2009-12-26T14:00:00.001-06:00

The kids loved it....OK, so did momma!! It was a cold morning, but we had such a good time playing in the Christmas snow. It was not good packing/snowball/snowman kind of snow, but it was fun all the same!

View from the back door.

The front yard.

Making snow angels

Emily, admiring her angel.

Time for play in our "sled"...hey, when you live in Texas, sometimes you have to be creative!

Hard as she tried, it just wouldn't pack into a good snowball!

Christmas morning pictures

2009-12-26T12:46:00.001-06:00

After Santa came

Checking out the stocking!

A beautiful dance shirt

He's a Colts fan!

A new baby

They both got a scooter!

Jade had to be in the middle of things too!

A new school spirit shirt

A cool new hat for Em...

and Bubba....

and Sara!!

Sara also got some jeans...that momma has to take back! Got the wrong size!

The new baby has a wet diaper.

After opening these presents, we went out to play in the snow for a bit. Brandie and Davy came shortly after that. I will post more pictures soon. I took a bunch of snow pictures!! I couldn't resist....not a normal thing to have a white Christmas in Texas!!!

The 1st graders went on a field trip to the Christmas Tree farm

2009-12-11T09:57:00.000-06:00

Emily and one of her best friends...and her partner for the day.

Playing in the hay barn.

Roasting marshmellows.

They have an open maze....

and a more enclosed wooden maze.

The HUGE tree house.

Determination

2009-12-09T22:29:00.001-06:00

Emily had learned to ride her little bike. When she got a bigger bike for Christmas last year, she pretty much stopped riding. The bike was just a bit too big...I think a bit intimidating to her. She would ride as long as daddy helped her get started and she could (literally) run into him to stop. Even then, she did it because we bugged her about it, not because she wanted to. A few days ago she came running in telling me I had to come watch her! She had been practicing, on her own, in the driveway and could take off and ride her bike!! She was so excited! Of course I grabbed my camera and snapped a few.

Not as innocent as they look!

2009-12-06T16:00:00.000-06:00

Actually they have had me wondering if the tree will make it til Christmas day! We came home the other night to ornaments all over the floor. Needless to say, I keep a spray bottle close by! I thought this was a good picture to post though.

Pictures from the Christmas parade

2009-12-03T22:24:00.000-06:00

Again this year, we had a good time! It was a bit different though. We pulled the float Santa was riding! There were parts of the float that caught on some of the trees heading up to the parade route. Because of this, I ended up riding on the back of the float to make sure we didn't lose anything. Mrs. Claus and I had our hands full at times, holding on to a couple of the towers that were loose. We made it to the end with everything still intact.

This was one of the buildings in downtown. I thought it was neat the way they had it lit up.

Backseat conversation

2009-12-03T08:38:00.002-06:00

While I heard the kids talking this morning on the way to school, I wasn't paying attention to the conversation. Until I was brought into it....
Suddenly Emily says, "Right Momma"?
Ummm, right what, I ask.
"The moon, it only fills up once a year, right? Cause I remember you saying that one time".
Huh?
"You said the moon only gets full once a year"!
Oh, well actually, we have a full moon once a month kiddo.
"Oh, yeah, that's right...once a month, Bubba"!
I thought the way she was thinking was cute, but wondered what had led them to such a conversation. We had clouds last night so there was no moon to view. On my way back home after dropping them off, I realized what had brought about the moon talk....it was still very big, even in the daylight sky!!

Maybe a stylist?

2009-12-02T14:46:00.000-06:00

Sara let Emily "fix" her hair! As far as Em is concerned, more is better!!!

Sara came for a visit....

2009-12-02T14:21:00.000-06:00

and Momma snapped a few pictures!!

Some pictures from our camping trip last weekend

2009-11-08T22:04:00.000-06:00

We had a good time. We didn't take the kids trick or treating, but we had plenty of candy and we had a great time decorating our campsite.

The kids played.

And jumped in the leaves.

And of course I took some random pictures.

Daddy is much better at brushing than Momma!

Even in Texas you can find some pretty colors in the trees this time of year.

The lake was REALLY high after all the rain we've had! We saw lots of this....picnic tables under water.

Cool kids and pumpkins

2009-10-29T20:58:00.000-05:00

So I got lazy this year and decided NOT to carve pumpkins. Instead we went with the "Mr. Pumpkin Head" decorations....that's not really what they are called, but what I have been calling them. Emily was thrilled, Wyatt not so much. He thought HE should get to carve his own. When he finally realized that I would not put a knife in his hands and that he could choose the face to put on his if he took my approach, he gave in pretty willingly. This is the end result....I thought they looked pretty cute!

This is Red Ribbon (drug awareness) week at school. They play it up by doing/wearing something special each day. Tuesday they could wear their sunglasses. It was also the day for the pumpkin parade. They kids could bring their carved/decorated pumpkins and join the parade at the end of the day. I snapped a few pictures of my cool kids with their pumpkins before I took them to school!

Just having some fun.....

2009-10-26T21:59:00.000-05:00

Decorating cookies....YUM!!

Playing in a bounce house.

Emily danced again this weekend

2009-10-26T10:16:00.000-05:00

She is absolutely loving her dance classes! She seems to have plenty of confidence in herself until she goes on stage and then she feels the need to keep an eye on the other girls to make sure she is doing what she should be....I guess it will all come together in time. She did one dance this weekend that she did a couple of weeks ago and Jeff and I could see a real improvement in what she was doing. Practice makes perfect, huh? Here are some pictures from her latest performance....

Emily in costume for her first performance this year

2009-10-19T08:42:00.000-05:00

Hmmm, this doesn't happen often. Usually the camera is in MY hands!

She might be a bit prissy!!

Puppy sitting

2009-10-18T14:30:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago some friends of ours ask if

we could keep their puppy for the weekend. Of course we took advantage of that opportunity!! We had such fun with this little guy. Romeo is a miniature Yorkie with a HUGE personality! He loves to be held and loved on, but he also loved playing with the kids....and the cats! :)

Busy Times!

2009-10-18T13:16:00.002-05:00

I know, not really a good excuse...but that's all I've got! We really have had a lot going on in the last few weeks though! Let's see.....the kids went to a birthday party, we've had lots of school stuff going on, Emily has had a dance performance, the kids and I made a trip south to see Mom and Dad and Brandie got engaged!!! (OK, well maybe I shouldn't claim that last thing as an excuse for not blogging, but in my defense we have been dress hunting.) That's just a bit of what we've been up too. We have that much and more coming up in the next few weeks!
So the birthday party the kids went to was at Build A Bear. They had such a great time! Emily picked a kitty to stuff and then dressed her in a ballerina outfit....very appropriate! Wyatt stuffed a dog and found a NASCAR outfit....he was thrilled!

School has been good for both kids so far. We haven't had any absences yet (knock on wood!). Wyatt is signed up to do safety patrol. They do six week rotations and he can't wait till his turn comes around. Emily is on the student council this year. They had their planning meeting last week to discuss the projects they will be working on this year. Between that and dance, she is going to be one busy little girl this year! Along with her tap and ballet, she added a jazz class to her schedule. She is also in a performance class on Wednesday afternoons. In that class they are learning short routines that can be performed on fairly short notice. She had one such performance a couple of weeks ago and has another next week. They will then spend November learning a new set of dances to do for Christmas performances in and around the community. She is really enjoying her dance! As if she doesn't keep us busy enough, Wyatt will start basketball in about a month.
We've had lots and lots of rain to deal with in the last few weeks! The temps have cooled off nicely too, but with all the rain, the kids have been stuck inside more than they like to be.

In the next few weeks we have the fall carnival at school, the kick off for the canned food drive for student council, 2 planned camping trips, Jeff's birthday and Wyatt is going to the NASCAR race with Sissy (shhhh, he doesn't know about this!!)

A future Leader?

2009-09-26T09:13:00.001-05:00

We had a family night at school this week. Actually, we've had them the last two weeks....each grade level is having them on different nights. It's nice, they are taking an opportunity to give parents information about report cards, testing, curriculum....and basically what the students will be working on this year to be promoted to the next grade level. Anyway, this week was for the 1st grade parents. So Emily's teacher catches up to me and says she has the cutest story about Emily she has to share with me.

To start the story off, you should know that the kids school has a student council. I believe in kindergarten each teacher selects a student from their class to participate (at least that's how it was when Wyatt was in kinder...as he was a member), but I was under the assumption that in the other grade levels the selection is a bit different. At any rate, Emily and I have had discussions about the student council and she decided she would like to be a member too. I told her she would need to ask her teacher about it. Apparently she has done just that! It's my guess that maybe she is driving her teacher a little nuts about it. Okay, knowing that, here is how the conversation with her teacher started......"So Emily has been asking me about being on student council and I think she would be perfect, I'm going to put her name in"! Then she goes on to tell me about their discussion in class....they are learning about their leaders. In this discussion, she ask the kids if they could tell her who one of their leaders are. She was calling on students who had their hands raised to answer. She said she got to Emily, who was being very patient, and Emily's response was...."I know TWO leaders, YOU and ME"!! She laughed and said that was a story she went home and told her husband about! Something tells me that Em will make a pretty good little leader with that kind of confidence!! Should we be thinking future Congresswoman, Senator or even President??? :)

Miss Independent

2009-09-23T13:48:00.003-05:00

Yep, that's my girl! She doesn't want my help with much anymore....especially doing her hair! "I can do it myself" is what I hear when I try to help. This is one of those things where I've decided to "pick my battles", so to speak.....on the weekend, when we are just hanging out at home, I let her do her own thing. On school days, as long as it doesn't look too bad, I let her do her own thing then too. On days when she decides that more is better....as in pony tails AND clips AND head bands AND anything else she can get in her hair....yeah, Momma takes over on those kind of days. For the most part, she does pretty good though. Here are a couple of pictures I took last week while she was pulling it back into a pony tail.

How would you make Freckle Juice?

2009-09-11T09:36:00.001-05:00

Last week the third graders were reading "Freckle Juice" by Judy Blume. Wyatt came home with a note from the teachers inviting the students to make their own freckle juice and bring it to school to share. He was determined that whatever he made, it had to have grape juice in it! So I pulled out a cookbook and we found a punch recipe that sounded yummy. It didn't need many ingredients, but grape juice was included. He measured and poured and we mixed and sampled. He was satisfied with the results so he eagerly took it to share! He was so excited when I picked him up the next day. He had sampled several other concoctions and his had been sampled by others....he was a happy camper!

So again, how would YOU make freckle juice? This
is what Wyatt used....

Do you have/use Tupperware?

2009-09-01T09:30:00.001-05:00

Or maybe you need some new stuff? If you have not seen a catalog lately, you should find one! They have some really nice stuff in fun new colors. I know exactly where you can get your hands on one....and where to place an order too!! Brandie has recently become a consultant. So, if you would like to see a catalog and/or place an order, just let me know and I'll get you in touch with her!

I have beautiful kids!!

2009-08-29T17:26:00.003-05:00

I love this picture....I don't get many of these! I took this at Sea World last month, but didn't post it with the others.

You might be wondering who the extra one is. That's Davy, let's just say he is with Brandie....

Summer 2009...some pictures not included in another post

2009-08-28T20:53:00.004-05:00

Playing catch

Ummm, yeah....momma nixed this particular hair day!! The boys finished their buzz cut and Emily settled for ONE of her accessories.

I do occasionally allow a picture of myself...

Some pool pictures. Daytime and night swims...the kids really like the night swims because we put all the lights in with us! They have both been like little fish this summer!

This is our neighbor....his name is Smores.

The kids learned to play solitaire this summer.

School has started!

2009-08-28T13:53:00.000-05:00

Wyatt is in 3rd grade this year and Emily in 1st. They were both so excited about getting this year underway. Of course, as I am typing this, Emily is laying on the couch....the nurse called to say she was sick! On a more positive note....Wyatt brought a note home yesterday to sign up for the safety patrol squad. 3rd graders are the oldest kids on campus this year so they get the honor of looking out for the younger kids. He was so excited! Of course this means getting up and leaving 30 minutes earlier than usual! It's only for 6 weeks though so I guess we can manage that.

Here are a couple of pictures from Monday...the first day.

We got another camping trip in before school started!

2009-08-28T12:39:00.006-05:00

And again, we had a great time. No fishing this time, but the kids did get to play in the lake. That they had to do with daddy....cause if momma can't see her feet, she doesn't swim in it!! :) Jeff's best friend, Jeff (we call him Bodine and the kids call him Uncle Bodine), brought his daughter out and spent Saturday afternoon with us. The kids got him in a round of Limbo! Daddy brought his air soft pistol and (under his supervision) the kids took turns shooting at a target they hung on a tree. We also roasted marshmellows and made smores...yum!! If not for being invaded by ants, we may have decided to stay!!

Lesson learned?

2009-08-19T16:10:00.002-05:00

I think probably NOT!!

My little bug catcher just came in from outside....screaming like a maniac!! "It bit me, it stung me"!! I ask if she might be referring to the bug she had captured.....yep. OK, this is the reason we tell you not to mess with bugs...and snakes...and anything else that you feel the need to capture and force to become your friend!! If you leave them alone, the chances are better they will leave YOU alone! I fear this is not the last time we will go through this....I just hope the bites and stings do not become more severe!

Some sites from our visit to Sea World....

2009-08-09T11:31:00.005-05:00

The kids had fun playing in the water.

I don't get to see this very often....all 4 kids together!!

We all enjoyed the dolphin and beluga whale show.

Camping pictures

2009-08-01T22:55:00.007-05:00

These pictures are a long time coming. I have been trying to upload them for a few days now without success...finally they are on here!

Gone fishin'. They each caught one. Notice the boy keeps his pole at a distance and his fish is lying on the ground. He did finally hold it long enough for me to get a picture of him. Emily wanted to touch and hold all that we caught...she settled for throwing them back in the lake for us!

They had a really good time with the walkie talkies! They "explored" the woods behind our campsite and always took their radios with them....even though they usually stayed together. We also kept one close by so we could talk to them...or call them back to us!
Cooling off!
One of the visitors to our campsite. The other was a raccoon, but I didn't get a picture of him.

Better late than never?

2009-07-16T14:30:00.001-05:00

OK, so I'm still being a slacker! But I do finally have a few pictures. These are from the 4th.

The moon...before the fireworks began

Waiting for daddy to shot off the parachutes.
Fun with sparklers.
Uncle Jeff enjoyed the roman candles too!
I just thought this was a neat picture. I know, I'm a goof....but I am just a mom who takes pictures ya know!
The moon after fireworks! This picture doesn't really show just how hazy it was.

We went camping last weekend...I need to get those pictures ready to post. The kids and I will be going to Sea World soon. I hope to have some great pictures from that trip to post!

Hope y'all are having a wonderful, fun summer!!

Long time no blog!

2009-06-28T15:51:00.002-05:00

It's been a month since my last post! For me, it's been a LONG month! Let's see, a trip to the ER (the second trip in 5 weeks), 2 surgeries, countless number of tests being run, needle sticks and blood being taken....in other words, lots and lots of time at doctors and hospitals in June. The bright side is that I think I'm on the mend now....lets hope! I still have a couple more doctor appointments in the next few weeks, but they are just standard post-op appointments. In the process of all this medical stuff, I have become very anemic. Once the surgery got rid of the second round of kidney stones...thus alleviating that pain, the anemia is what has been the biggest problem. I've been getting lots of rest and taking extra iron supplements in hopes of getting my energy level back up to par. I'm still not 100%, but I'm feeling better every day.

Unfortunately, with everything else going on, I have not had my camera out. Even if I had, the kids have been shuffled between Granny, Grandma, Sissy and Freda (our neighbor) for most of the month! (I owe a HUGE thank you to all of you for helping us out!) Needless to say, I have tons of work ahead of me in the next few weeks....just to get caught up on "summer 2009" pictures! :) We still have just under 2 months before the kids go back to school and we have lots of plans for fun before then...so ample opportunity for picture taking. I guess what I'm trying to say is.....I'm planning to post a lot more (pics included!) in the next couple of months! Until then, I hope all is well with you and yours!! Happy Summer everyone!!

Emily went skating

2009-05-31T14:42:00.004-05:00

As a reward for having fewer than 3 color changes for the entire year, the school takes the kids roller skating. Emily was very exctied...even though she had never been to the skating rink! She made a strong point to rub it in to Bubba that she was going too....lets just say he had more than 3 changes! :) She actually did a great job skating and had a great time!

Field day pictures

2009-05-27T21:59:00.005-05:00

Yes, I realize I'm being a slacker by adding pictures and not blogging. Just know I have a lot going on at the moment. When life slows down a bit, I will be back to blogging....in the meantime, please enjoy the pictures. :)

Pictures from Wyatt's field trip

2009-05-25T20:30:00.000-05:00

Hula dancing

2009-05-21T18:21:00.004-05:00

There was a volunteer appreciation dinner at the kids school a couple of weeks ago. I knew it was coming up and, because I volunteer, I knew I would be invited. A couple of weeks before it was happening, I got an email from Emily's dance teacher. She was asking for volunteers to quickly learn a new dance. She had been contacted by the school and they were hoping she could get some girls together to provide entertainment for the dinner. Oh sure, what the heck! Emily is taking classes, she might as well take full advantage! The girls had 4 or 5 extra rehearsals to learn how to hula....not a lot of time, but they all did a great job! We had a fun evening, good food and great entertainment!

Kidney stone....

2009-05-18T14:55:00.002-05:00

First one ever. Trip to the ER. Poked, prodded and bruised! Not my idea of a great Mothers Day....or the few days after it either! Enough said?

I have other things to post about, and pictures to go along. But at the moment I am still playing catch up. Hopefully you'll see new pictures of the kids soon!

The craziness that comes in May...

2009-05-10T01:04:00.003-05:00

We have been a bit busy around here. There is the typical end of school stuff going on, extra dance classes for Em and of course just life in general. We are looking forward to school being out...more playing, later bedtimes, swimming, movies...all the wonderful things that come along with summer break!

Until I have more time to post, here is a picture I took of the kids while playing a game a couple of nights ago.

Happy Mothers Day

2009-05-10T00:53:00.003-05:00

Especially to you, Mom!!

And to all the Moms who read, I hope you have a fabulous day!!

A visitor

2009-04-27T18:50:00.002-05:00

My cousin, Dave from New Mexico, was visiting Texas last week. Mom fixed dinner for him...so we headed south and enjoyed her lasagna too! We had a great visit...even if it was a short one. Emily fell in love with Dave. Who could blame her...all she had to do was want something and he was getting it for her. If we lived closer, they would be quite a pair! I couldn't resist snapping pictures of moms lone rose. She said it had just popped that morning...it was so pretty.

While I was snapping, I had to get this too.

Emily has been wanting to plant something...anything! She got a container from Granny, filled it with dirt and Dave showed her how to strip the seeds off some grass she found that had gone to seed. She was thrilled! Saturday afternoon she planted some flower seeds in some pots I have on the back porch. They are not going to sprout fast enough for her though!

This is the only shot I got of Wyatt on our trip south this time...but it's a peaceful one, don't you think? A bit uncomfortable looking though!

Family picnic and kite flying

2009-04-26T10:10:00.000-05:00

In celebration of Earth Week, the kids school had a family night. Last year I forgot to take my camera and kicked myself for such a mistake...I missed snapping some beautiful sites! There were so many kites in the air at the same time, it was just awesome. I was so looking forward to snapping it this year. So much for that idea....the wind was soooo horrible that day. A few kids were able to get their kites up, but for the most part they came crashing down pretty quickly. Wyatt had his up a few times, and fought really hard to keep it up...he managed to have a good time with it.

Emily gave up and handed her string over to daddy....and she would chase after it when it came down. She also found one of her friends to have fun with.

Even with all the wind, and very few kites to see...we had a good time watching the kids run around and enjoy themselves.

Our lastest visit to the.....

2009-04-22T09:59:00.000-05:00

The kids had a great time running around, petting the horses and miniature donkey. They even went to the pond to look for snakes.

Emily decided that Lisa should come live with us....and that Uncle Philip could (and I quote) "get his own wife"!! Yeah, she kinda likes Lisa!!

Time for the parents

2009-04-20T11:40:00.003-05:00

Most afternoons when we get home from school, the kids barely make it in the door to drop their backpacks before they are back outside to play. At that point we, as parents, are an after thought. We make our kids stay in our yard to play....we have an acre, that is plenty of space! Other parents in our neighborhood aren't as particular about such things. This usually means that our yard is where everyone ends up playing. Fine with me...I know where my kids are and what they are up too! Now, with that being said...and as I pointed out earlier, we parents are just an after thought when our yard is full of kids....Imagine our surprise last week when Wyatt took the time to play catch with Daddy. On another evening, Emily picked some lovely "flowers" and brought them to me....please excuse the hair, it was a really windy day!We found and vase and displayed them proudly! Hmm, maybe they do think of us once in a while.

The herd

2009-04-15T09:35:00.000-05:00

A moth got in and they were chasing it. They were all going nuts! It escaped to the ceiling, but even that almost didn't stop them. Silly cats!

Flat Stanley came to visit

2009-04-15T09:06:00.000-05:00

The kids had a great time showing him around our area....he came to visit us from California.

We took him to Six Flags.

He attended a dance class with Emily.

The kids took him to see where they go to school.

Of course we HAD to take him to see the beautiful bluebonnets!

We couldn't let him return home until he had seen a longhorn.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-11T23:08:00.002-05:00

Some pictures....

2009-04-11T20:44:00.005-05:00

of our trip to the State Park a couple of weeks ago.

Birthday boy pictures...

2009-04-11T16:56:00.003-05:00

He ask me to bake his cake again this year....chocolate with chocolate icing and lots of sprinkles! He has needed a new tire for his bike so that's what we got him. Sissy gave him a new book. He got cards with cash in them from Granny & PawPaw and Grandma & Grandad. He's going to pick out some new (much needed) summer clothes with his birthday money. I think he had a great day.

Can you hear me screaming??

2009-04-06T20:21:00.002-05:00

I have birthday cake pictures....really, I do. However, they are stuck on the memory card in my camera. And once again, my camera and my computer are having issues with one another!! They seem to be feuding more than the kids these days. I'll be seeking help tomorrow! Stay tuned for cake pictures. In the meantime, here is a bluebonnet picture for you.

Wyatt is 8 years old today!

2009-04-04T08:28:00.000-05:00

He's been excited about his Birthday all week! I just can't believe it has been 8 years since he made his way into this world....screaming loudly!! He is a smart, high energy, bossy (especially to his little sister!), rather impatient and very passionate about things he loves (racing, basketball and reading to name a few) kind of kid.

Happy Birthday, Bubba!! Momma loves you!!

Finally...a few pictures

2009-04-03T08:58:00.001-05:00

Playing inside....playing outside....

A couple shots from our trip to visit Granny & Pawpaw

This is a pile of "stuff" the kids were gathering for a "clubhouse" idea while visiting Granny & PawPaw

Lucy is learning to love Wyatt

Such an awesome dad!!

2009-04-01T19:48:00.004-05:00

First of all, the kids have already been warned about getting out of bed for anything, after bedtime (which is 8:00) tonight. They have been trying everything lately to stay up a little later....happens every spring after the time change! So at about 7:45 this is what I hear between father and son...

Jeff to Wyatt.....
"Tell you what, you can stay up as late as you want tonight. Tomorrow I will stay home from work and we will go to Six Flags."

Wyatt....
"OK!!!!"

Jeff.....
"April Fools!! Now, go take your medicine and go to bed!!"

Yeah, Wyatt had been "April Fooling" all afternoon and thought it was sooo funny! Not so much after that though!!

April Fools!!

2009-04-01T09:26:00.002-05:00

Happy April!! All jokes aside....my camera and my computer are communicating again!! YAY!!! The trouble is, I'm working all week....so I can't take the time to re size pics and get them on here right now. I'll get to them soon though. In the meantime....y'all have a Happy Fools Day!! :)

A beautiful day

2009-03-29T10:32:00.002-05:00

Spring left us for a couple of days...but it is back today! The skies are blue and not a cloud in sight. It is supposed to be around 70 degrees. We are loading the kids up and heading to a local State Park. We're taking kites, golf balls & clubs and whatever else might ooze fun...and of course my camera! Eventually I will have pictures on here again!! Wild flowers are so pretty right now, so I'm hoping for some great pictures! I hope your weekend has been a great one!!

I'm such a bad blogger!

2009-03-27T09:19:00.002-05:00

It's been a week since my last post. I still have NO pictures. I love my laptop, but I HATE computer problems....almost ranks up there with car problems! Without pictures, I just can't seem to get motivated to post....I know that sounds lame, but it's just how I am. I've been in contact with Canon via email. Obviously I have yet to solve the problem so I guess I'm going to have to call and see about phone tech support. Oh yay....long waits on hold, doesn't that sound like such fun. If they can help me figure this out, I guess it will be worth it. We'll see...for now I need to get ready to go have lunch with the kids, run some errands and then Em has dance class this afternoon. Oh, by the way.....anyone local who reads this, if you are interested in seeing her recital let me know. It will be in early June.

I've been MIA

2009-03-20T14:56:00.002-05:00

This week was spring break for the kids. I packed them up and we headed south for a couple of days. Had a good visit with mom and dad. The kids had a great time! They live in an area loaded with kids...I think most of them were in mom and dads yard one afternoon while we were there! I spent a big part of one day trying to figure out what might be wrong with (or between) my camera/computer....and I still haven't got it figured. I guess I'm gonna have to break down and pay someone to fix it. Anyway, I'm still taking pictures so when I can download again, I will have plenty of new pics to post.

We have had perfect weather this week. And from the forecast, it looks like it will continue. We have some yard work to do this weekend. Bluebonnets are in bloom so I think we will take a drive Sunday and find a good patch to take pictures in. So what are y'all gonna be doing this weekend?

Happy GREEN day to ya

2009-03-17T07:30:00.001-05:00

More than a little frustrated!

2009-03-16T22:24:00.002-05:00

There is a reason I have not posted any new pictures recently. I have yet to figure out if the problem is my computer or my camera...although I'm thinking it has to be a computer problem. It doesn't want to recognize my camera when I plug it in. Most of the time it just does nothing! I have been and will continue to work on it, but in the meantime there will be no new pictures. I'm just glad I have several memory cards!

That's all for now. The NON sleeper is sound asleep...on the couch. I am going to bed and hopefully heading to dreamland myself. Goodnight!

I should be sleeping....

2009-03-16T02:25:00.002-05:00

yet here I am pecking away at my computer.

I have, what I like to call, a NON sleeper. I joke, that I could count the number of times on one hand, that she has actually slept through the night in her six YEARS of life. But seriously, that is not far from the truth. Most nights she actually goes to sleep in her own bed. It is rare that she stays there. Most mornings I find her snug as a bug on the couch. That's fine...whatever works...she didn't wake me to get there. Don't get me wrong, I am a sympathetic mom...sometimes. Like on the nights that she makes her way to my side of our bed crying...because she has had a bad dream. Yes, she has been having bad dreams since before she outgrew her crib. She will actually tell us about them, so I'm very confident that she really has them. On those nights, I feel for her. I am sympathetic and comforting. I actually let her crawl in bed next to me and I hold her close until I can tell she has drifted off, or until she starts to thrash around...at which point I make my way out of bed and onto the couch.
But then there are nights like tonight....when for no obvious reason, she comes to me crying. Not whimper-like crying, but wake (almost)everyone in the house-like crying....actually, wailing would better describe it. And when I say (almost), what I really mean is ME. When I ask her what is wrong, she cries louder. When I try to explain that I can't help her if I don't know what the problem is, she gets even louder! (At which point everyone else in the house really should be awake...but it's still just the two of us.) I ask if she has had a bad dream....wailing, she shakes her head. At my wits end and very un-sympathetic, I explain that it is the middle of the night. Everyone else is sleeping and she should be too. I tell her to lay down, close her eyes and not another sound! Amazingly she does just that...and soon she is asleep. And here I sit....wide awake and pecking at my computer. Oh the joys of being a momma....and I wouldn't trade these nights for anything....almost!

Here's hoping that you got a great night of sleep!!

He's such a thoughtful boy

2009-03-15T17:28:00.003-05:00

Sara is here for a visit. We took her to lunch for her birthday. As she was deciding where she wanted to go, Wyatt was being a tremendous help! He thought Peter Piper Pizza sounded like the ideal place for us to celebrate his 20 year old sisters birthday! Isn't he just the sweetest thing!? Yeah, well....lasagna at the Spaghetti Warehouse was so much better than the pizza he would have had us eating!

Happy Birthday Sara!!!

2009-03-14T23:28:00.003-05:00

My second baby is turning 20!! Not sure you will see this Sara, but I hope you have a great day! I love you!!

Quick update...

2009-03-10T22:50:00.004-05:00

Between me not feeling well and Emily being sick and very, very clingy....well, I have done nothing (except be a pillow/soft place to waller)! I felt much better today than I have in well over a week. Emily is finally on the mend also. She has missed 3 days of school (with strep and the flu bug), but will return tomorrow. Anyway, that is my excuse for not posting. I haven't even had my camera out of the bag. I have a disgustingly dirty house and piles of laundry so guess what I'll be doing the next couple of days. Maybe by the weekend I will get some new pictures taken and be back to posting...in the meantime, have a great week!!

Sick Momma = Sick Kid

2009-03-06T08:35:00.001-06:00

I could have done a Nyquil commercial this week. I even took a dose of it....and I HATE that stuff!! I'm feeling better today, but wouldn't you know it, I have passed the crud along to a kid. Since it's Friday, I'm not taking any chances....we head to the doc in just a few minutes. She was feeling so bad, when I told her if she didn't go to school she couldn't go to dance class, she said OK! Yeah, that's when I took her temp. You guessed it, she was running a temp. She is thrilled to be laying on the couch doing NOTHING right now...I'm such a mean mom!

Here's a picture of her playing Go Fish with her brother (and feeling much better) earlier in the week.

It was a chilly weekend to camp!

2009-03-01T21:22:00.002-06:00

But we were there anyway! We had a good time...just kicking back around the fire and watching the

kids play and have fun. Of course I took a ton of pictures. Enjoy! We didn't see much wildlife, but I did get this shot of a roadrunner. We have dirt loving kids! They were filthy Saturday night.

Playing catch.

Fun with the hula hoop.

Practice on the roller blades.

This is not going to be good!

Could be a looong summer!

2009-02-24T21:50:00.000-06:00

It was 80 degrees here today. It made it up to 90 just a bit west of us. We are supposed to be warmer tomorrow. I admit I'm ready for winter to go away, but I'm NOT ready for summer! The kids are loving it though. They get home from school and barely make it into the house to drop their backpacks before they are outside playing....and we have to drag them back in as it's getting dark. A cold front is supposed to come through sometime on Friday....aah, back down into the 60's.

So, what kind of weather are you having??

A picture only post...

2009-02-22T17:25:00.001-06:00

Gidget thought she was helping the kids with their Valentines

She also thinks my computer is HER computer

Emily has been practicing...and getting so much better!!

Did you know there is a Blog Conference?

2009-02-16T10:25:00.001-06:00

Actually, more than one. But there is a specific one that Kim is hoping to get to. It's the BlogHer conference in Chicago. You can read about it here, if you're interested. Anyway, Kim, aka Prairie Mama, is a finalist in a contest to win her way to the conference. We can help her get there simply by voting for her! Click here and she will take you to where you vote! See, it's that easy! While you're there, you should look around her blog. She has an etsy shop where she sells things she makes...yeah, she's crafty like that! She also has a beautiful family that she blogs about...kinda like I do here! Even if you don't have time to check out her blog, could you help her get to Chicago??

Awww, what a sweet kid....

2009-02-13T13:40:00.000-06:00

sometimes! This morning she bounces out of bed all excited about passing her Valentine cards out at school today. She's in the middle of babbling on about it when all of a sudden she breaks into "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday"...umm, sorry Em it's not today! But it's Valentines day! Nope kiddo, not till tomorrow. She wasn't thinking that they are passing out Valentines a day early because of tomorrow being Saturday. She was a bit disappointed that it's not my birthday today...but decided that was okay, she could sing tomorrow! Add to that the "thanks for dropping us off, Momma" as she got out of the truck at school this morning and you could almost consider her downright sticky (sweet)!! When she wants to be....ONLY when she wants to be!

A FUN giveaway

2009-02-10T09:22:00.002-06:00

Or maybe I should say a F*U*N*K giveaway! Actually, it's The Great F*U*N*K Giveaway over at Simply B, Simply Me. She is giving a lovely *made by her* purse!! Seriously, this bag is beautiful! Go on over, leave her a comment letting her know what you have in your purse and you are entered. Of course there are other ways to add more entries for yourself...but you'd be taking away MY chance at winning so keep that in mind!! Good luck to all!!

She's my girl!

2009-02-09T06:55:00.004-06:00

This is what I heard coming from Emily....sitting in the backseat of the truck yesterday.

1, 2, 3...99, 100...108, 109, 200!

201, 202...208, 209, 300!

301, 302...308, 309, 400!

Just to be clear, the dot, dot, dot is just me skipping ahead. She really did count the numbers that should be there. She just did a lot of skipping between 109 and 200, 209 and 300...well, you get the point! It went on like this until she reached 1009. As you might guess...she then hit 2000!!! The thing is, she really can count properly!! I guess she just wanted to make it way up there and this was a pretty quick way of doing it.

Before this awesome counting, I was taking some pictures of the kids playing outside. I had called for Em to come to me and she was not happy about it....you might see a hint of *pout* in her face.

A wonderful start to the season!!!

2009-02-07T21:35:00.003-06:00

Oh yeah, that was my driver in winners circle tonight!!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

2009-02-07T10:34:00.002-06:00

Please be patient while I attempt to work on codes to make some changes I'd like to see on here. Taking a break now....Jeff is taking us to lunch!!

Out of the mouths of babes

2009-02-06T10:34:00.001-06:00

At dinner last night, Jeff and I were attempting to have a conversation. Emily starts with "Momma...Momma....MOMMA"! I stopped talking and looked at her. Instead of taking that as a *chill out a sec, I'm talking to your father*, she assumed it was her cue to speak. "Did it hurt to get Bubba out of your tummy"? She was quickly reminded that it is rude to interrupt when someone is talking. That conversation was safely delayed for a while longer!

As far as the boy is concerned, because of that dinner last night....I am THE "best mom ever"!! His words, not mine. Only because I fixed a meal I almost never fix. We had fat, juicy hamburgers, french fries and grape soda! In my own defense, the french fries were actually baked not fried. I've been hungry for a good burger and don't the best ones come from home anyway?

Who are you and what have you done with my children?

2009-02-05T16:00:00.003-06:00

It doesn't happen often, so when the kids are getting along and being nice to one another....well, it just sorta freaks me out! And to make it even more strange, they are not fussing with me!! Of course it might, maybe, possibly have something to do with the fact that I let them have candy *gasp* for their snack today. This sweet treat is compliments of our neighbor. She brought them each a Valentines treat the other day. Overly nice children and the following pictures are the result of said treat! Thanks Freda.....they loved it!! :)

My 100 year old kids

2009-02-05T08:37:00.003-06:00

They were so excited about today! I found each of them a pair of glasses that looked suitable enough and they each had a cane. Wyatt wore his slippers and a warm sweater. Em had saggy stockings and I put her hair in a bun. I thought they looked pretty cute, but more importantly THEY thought they looked old!!

I guess this is his *old* face??

The crowns....that's story enough for a whole nuther post!! :(

If you were 100 years old...

2009-02-04T09:01:00.002-06:00

What would you wear? That's the question of the day! Tomorrow is the 100th day of school in our district. They will celebrate being 100 days smarter by dressing as if they were 100 years old and wearing a crown (that we will make tonight) that has 100 things drawn or glued to it. I'm thinking...hair in a bun, funky horn-rimmed looking glasses and droopy stockings for Em? Pants pulled a little high, a cardigan type sweater and old glasses for Wyatt? Any other ideas?? Please, I'll take all you can give me...just leave them in the comment box! I'm off now to see what I can find...hoping the dollar store might have some funky looking glasses. Wish me luck and leave me a comment!!

Nuff said....

2009-02-01T21:21:00.002-06:00

Steelers 27

Cardinals 23

Getting ready for spring--clean up

2009-02-01T13:51:00.005-06:00

Yes, I realize it is early...but I can't help myself when I see my spring bulbs coming up! This is Texas after all. We are having spring like weather today so what better time to get outdoors, enjoy the weather and get some work done. I pulled a bunch of stuff out of my flower beds that was left from last summer...yes, it has been dead and brown for some time now! I have daffodils and hyacinths that have been up for more than a week...can't wait to see those blooms. My rose bush also has several new shoots coming on. January is over....it had it's chance to snow, it didn't now I'm ready for warmer temps! Of course I'm not naive enough to think that we have seen the last of winter. So we loaded up our wood pile again...preparing for another fire at a moments notice.

The kids enjoyed their time outdoors too. They rode bikes, shot baskets and made sure the swings still worked....they do! OK, so they do all those things year around here....but it's more fun in the spring.

Now we are preparing to watch the BIG GAME!!! We have a divided house though. The boy is sucking up...I mean siding with Momma. Jeff and Emily are cheering for the Cardinals...mostly because they are the underdogs, I think. Honestly, if it weren't for the Steelers playing, I would be with Jeff and Em. But since I have been a Steelers fan for as long as I can remember...GO STEELERS!!!

Whatever you happen to be doing on this first day of February, I hope it is a great day for y'all too!!

Been an interesting week

2009-01-29T19:51:00.005-06:00

I tried to post this late yesterday...Thursday...not sure if the bigger issue was my connection to the net or blogger, but whatever, this is a day late being posted!!!

The kids got out of school early on Tuesday and didn't go at all on Wednesday...thanks to the ICE! I was so hoping we would get at least a little snow so that we could play in it.

Today I went on yet another field trip. The kindergarten classes went to the stock show...yes, Emily and I walked around the stock show for a second time this week! It was fun though. I think it must have been "school day"....there were big yellow school buses lined up forever to unload. So we got to see some things that we didn't when we went with Daddy and Bubba. I did something I almost never do...I went withOUT my camera today. I did this on purpose! I decided to actually enjoy the trip WITH Emily instead of through my view finder...it was nice.

Our week will finish up with Em's dance class tomorrow evening, Wyatt's basketball game Saturday evening and finally the Superbowl on Sunday!! GO STEELERS!!!!!

On a blog note....

I got an award!! lagirl from Sweet Tea passed this along to me! You can click here to go visit her blog, or she is also in my blog list, over there -->> on the side bar. Now the rules indicate that I should pass this along to ten friends on my blog list, but since I have only recently started following more blogs (and have very few readers myself) I am going to leave it here and let whoever would like to have this award on your blog grab it!! Thanks again, lagirl!

The only picture I have today is one I took when it was so cold the other day. Actually I took several pictures, but I just posted similar shots a couple of weeks ago....and come on, ice pictures are ice pictures!! It's not great because it was taken from inside...through the window with a screen. I just love watching my cardinals come to the front porch to eat!!

I just got the call

2009-01-27T09:15:00.005-06:00

"Due to the inclement weather, all campuses will be dismissing at 1:30 today". I expected the call. I assumed it would be an earlier dismissal. I noticed just before the phone rang that we have ice on our porch. If we were gonna have school closing weather, I wish it were snow....at least we could go out and play!!! Oh well, I think I will go get my nails done before it's time to pick up the monsters. If we're gonna be stuck inside, I might as well have pretty nails! :)

Because sprinkles just make it more fun!

2009-01-26T14:30:00.003-06:00

I'm trying to be more healthy...really, I am! More veggies and lean meat, brown rice instead of white...you get the picture. But honestly, giving up chocolate is just NOT going to happen for me! I can say I will cut back, but that's not likely to happen either. Anyway, with that said, you will understand how easy it was for me to oblige when Emily requested chocolate cake as a "yummy treat" for tonight. The child wanted chocolate cake, the child (and her momma!) will have chocolate cake. And yes, the sprinkles will make it so much more fun for little Miss!!

Besides, how was I supposed to say NO to this??? (the little monster has been striking this pose whenever she has seen me with the camera lately!)

Wanna be cowboys...and cowgirls

2009-01-26T10:24:00.005-06:00

We didn't make it to the Stock Show a week ago as planned...that's when the boy was sick. So we went yesterday. The weather was perfect! The kids had a great time in the petting zoo and riding ponies. We walked through the exhibit buildings...saw lots of things I could have spent a bunch of money on! Went through the cattle, sheep and swine barns. Saw some adorable baby animals and (of course) the horses. By the time we left, the kids were exhausted...they both went to sleep on the way home! It was a fun day. I snapped a few pictures in the petting zoo and at the pony ride.

What language do you speak?

2009-01-25T15:44:00.002-06:00

We (mom, Aunt Linda and myself) are planning a road trip to Indiana this summer. As some of you know, I usually don't spill the beans about such things until the last minute....just to avoid some of the crazy chaos that comes from the monsters (otherwise know as Wyatt & Emily). This being such a big trip and me being so excited about it....mmmm Pizza King, Dog n Suds & The Frozen Custard!! OK, yes I am looking forward to seeing family too!! Anyway, this being such a big trip and all, I knew there was NO way I was going to keep this one under wraps. So I was telling Wyatt all about it. Of course I was bombarded with questions..."how far is it? how long will it take us to get there?"...you know, the usual kids questions. Except for these... "Momma, how will I talk to our family in Indiana? And how will they understand me?" HUH??? "Well, what language do they speak?" Ummm, son, we are simply going across a couple of state lines....not to another country!!! Yep, that's my goofy kid....I'll blame it on his dad!

Countdown to Daytona!

2009-01-22T12:17:00.001-06:00

Create Your Custom Message

Sick kid...but I'm not the only mom dealing with it.

2009-01-20T17:13:00.002-06:00

A very creative mom on another blog I read posted this today. I'm not much of a creative type, but came up with a comment for her blog that went something like this...

Stomach flu here too.
We should own stock in Lysol.
Quick grab the bucket.

No fever today.
I feel a break coming soon.
To school you must go!

Yep, it was this same sick kid that kept us from going to the Stock Show on Sunday. He was upset be we assured him that we would try again this weekend.

Some pictures from our drive around Dallas

2009-01-19T19:34:00.007-06:00

We pulled a float in the MLK Jr. parade, so it was literally our drive around Dallas. We were stopped for all of about 1o minutes in front of City Hall while waiting for our turn to take off. When it was over, we had to get home for Wyatt's basketball game. We have a list of things we would like to do and see in Dallas. We plan to start crossing things off that list soon.

Just couldn't resist!

2009-01-17T20:49:00.004-06:00

So, as I finished the last post, I look up and Jeff points to the couch. Emily, who had just been bouncing around the living room, was all snuggled up and fast asleep! I had to snap and then download all I had taken today. I'm not taking the time to re-size and post my Dallas pictures...and I did get a few good ones....but here is the best one of the day!

Time for another change!

2009-01-17T20:26:00.003-06:00

In honor of one of MY favorite holidays!! ;) I think we shall keep things rather festive with pinks and reds for a while.

We were in Dallas this morning. I took pictures, but they're not on my computer yet. I'm sure I will take a couple more at the stock show tomorrow. I will post new pictures soon. That's all for now....just wanted to make things festive! Have a great night.

Hmmm...

2009-01-13T19:37:00.004-06:00

I've been adding some songs to the new toy on my blog...by the way, how do you like the PLAYLIST? Anyway...adding new songs. I ask Jeff if he remembered one of the songs. It was played at our wedding. Wyatt ask "Momma, when were you married? In..like..1975 or something"? Well son, I was only 9 that year...your dad was old enough to marry, but NOT me!! (Love you, Hun!!) ;)

It's Stock Show time

2009-01-12T20:20:00.004-06:00

This can be a pretty big deal for a lot of people in Texas...you can check it out here. We haven't been in several years. I was telling the kids this morning that we might go this weekend. Both of them were asking a bunch of questions. Wyatt remembered a bit from the last time we went. Emily wondered why it was called a stock show. I explained to her that farm animals are also called live stock. She was OK with that answer and I didn't think any more about it. At dinner tonight, while we were discussing what we might see and do at the stock show, Emily tells Jeff "and I'm going to ride a stock while we're there"! He gave me a strange looked and ask "HUH"?? I had to explain to him our conversation from this morning....she knew what she was talking about, whether he did or not!

On another note....my knitting is progressing! Slowly, but progressing all the same!!

His first Erector model

2009-01-09T08:30:00.003-06:00

With lots of help from Daddy! They were pretty proud of it...as well they should be, it looks really cool!

"Excellent" behavior when it counts!

2009-01-08T18:07:00.003-06:00

A few days ago I posted about Wyatt and I "butting heads". I have been trying hard to be more patient with both of them...for the most, I feel like I'm succeeding. We/they still have our moments, but I can see things improving...even if it seems slow at times. OK, so this is what is going on at home. School is a different story. Report cards came home today. They both have an "excellent" for their conduct grades. I expected this with Emily...she has not had 1 "color change" (this is a method our school uses to determine/grade conduct) this year. Wyatt has had a few color changes. They have been for pretty minor things, but color changes all the same. I guess the important thing here is that both kids do a fine job of behaving themselves when it really counts....when they are away from Momma and Daddy!
As for the rest of their report cards, they are both doing great in all academic areas also! They seem to be following in both their big sisters footsteps. Wow....we are lucky parents!!

Info overload?

2009-01-08T14:21:00.003-06:00

OK, so in my quest to become more "crafty"...specifically, learn to knit as mentioned in a previous post...I was given an opportunity I just couldn't pass up! I'm sure many of you will understand what I'm talking about. You know the gimmick..."Join now, receive all *this* for 1 penny each plus the shipping cost". Yes, it went on to say that I would need to purchase X number more in the next year....blah, blah, blah. Nope, I just couldn't resist!! But just look at all the beautiful books that will teach me all I need to know!!! Yes, it looks like I will be crocheting too! Wish me luck! And Mom....maybe, just maybe, I will be doing better by the time I come back down for a visit. :)