Matt's B-ball pics...FINALLY

Well...as always, I'm running a bit behind on posting. But here they are finally....some pics from Matt's last b-ball game. They had a GREAT season. They only lost twice out of 7-8 games. And the losses were not from lack of hustle or effort! These boys hustled!!! Matt did an awesome job this year. He did awesome at defense and was much more aggressive. And made some baskets along the way :) We are very proud of him!!







Yes, Brayden made it into the b-ball pics cause on THIS particular day he wanted his picture taken. And if you've read any previous blogs...you know that this DOES NOT happen often!! :)

I have some more pictures to share either later today or tomorrow...so be on the look out :) Have a great day!

...more funnies...

Brayden's had a few more funny sayings that I thought I'd share....

His asthma got fired up again and he's just been coughing his poor little baby head off. Day before yesterday he'd been coughing so hard on the way to get Matt that he had tears in his eyes. When Matt got in the truck he said, "Mafew...I got coffee!" (translation: Matthew, I've been coughing) :)

Brayden also has another term for his coughing...hiccups!

I told him yesterday that we were going to the doctor and he says "the train doesn't have worms anymore?" ........this one took a while to figure out....like probably an hour later of him saying this....then I figured it out. When I took Nat in for her yearly checkup, I told the boys not to play with the train set at the doctor's office because it was in the "sick kid" waiting area and had germs on it. So, Brayden was asking me if the train doesn't have GERMS (not worms) anymore :) When we got there the train was just calling his sweet little name! So I gave in since there were no other kids there (odd, but great for me!). And he examined all the choo-choo's and then he ran over to me and said "..nope, there's no worms anymore...can't see em" :)

Ducks and Penquins!

Our littlest man of the house keeps us laughing. Sometimes he's trying to be funny, other times he's serious. For instance...

On Saturday we are heading to Matt's game (which they won..and YES...I forgot the dadgum camera AGAIN). We are at the end of the subdivision where a house has a pond in the back. This is where the deer and turkey frequently congregate. And this morning there were 27+ turkey out in the field. Jim tells the kids "Hey guys...Look..." And Brayden hollers out "........DUCKS......" :) We all fell out laughing.

Yesterday I went to the car wash while Nat was at piano lessons. No mud on the truck...WOO HOO...just regular ole road grime from the wonderful 1.5" of rain we got on Saturday. I go to the drive thru automatic car wash. The lady tells me to select my wash...and I do. Then she tells me "please enter a payment". Brayden says with a heavy question in his tone..."enter a penquin?" ......Matt and I were in tears.....

Hope this provided you with a good laugh for the day :)

The Party - The Flu - Basketball - The Perfect Picture

Ok, going in order of the title...The Party

Brayden and Natalie's B-day party was at the Little Gym. It was a scaled down gy to meet the needs of the little guys...though only a few little guys got to come. And my little guy almost didn't get to go due to the Flu. They had a great time and it was so great to see everyone! Here are some pictures that Lindsey was so kind to take for for me (since I pulled the bone head move of the year and left the camera and video camera at home!).









Thank you to those who were able to make it. We love having you all!

The Flu...

The flu entered our home thru the most unlikely host...Matthew. He honestly just never gets sick. I've said it a jillion times, he's my rock! But my rock got hit hard with the flu at 4am Wed. before last. Plus the poor guy got a sinus infection. we got him all better with this wonderful medicine for the Flu called Tamiflu. That stuff rocks!! And little did I know that I was going to be getting a prescription filled for the other 2 kiddos within the days to come. So next year...yes, we'll get the flu shot!! All is well now and everyone's healthy again...woo hoo :)

Basketball...

Matt had 2 game back to back last Saturday and he really shined! He made 3 baskets in one game and hustled big time in both games. The first game was kinda a blow out, but the second one was a nail biter. There was bad calls by the refs, fighting amongst the teams, swapping turns ever basket with who'd be in the lead. But at the end of the game the other team won and that gave us our first (possibly our only) loss of the season. Matt and all the boys did great! As for b-ball pictures...look for those next week.

The perfect picture...

As I've mumbled and grumbled in the past...I just can not get a good picture of Brayden. He is just not a ham for the camera like the other kids were (are :)). So it was a total shocker to me that when I went to grab my camera to take pictures of the kids outside playing....that I was about to get my perfect picture that I've been wanting for so long!!!

Nat had a sleepover last Friday and these are her friends Shelby and Summer. They were having "archery practice".


Matt was doing his scooter tricks and really needed me to take some pictures of how awesome he is :)


He's pretty awesome alright!!!



Brayden tackled Matt and I had no clue that this was gonna be such a GREAT picture. This one will be going on the wall!


Here's Matt at what he does better...clowning!


He called the electric scooter his Harley. Both he and Nat love to ride them this way. I think it makes them look like little apes :)


And here it is...my perfect Brayden picture...it's already on the mantle :)


...and here's what I typically get when I take pictures of him....


It's bad...BAD I tell ya :)


Hope you all have a great Valentines Day!

OMG...she's like 13!

Yep...I have a teenager in the house now. Laugh away :) Her birthday was last Wednesday and I know I'm late on the posting...forgive me Nat :( It's just been a whirlwind around here. But hey, when is it not!?!?!

She "only" got 2 gifts this year, but when you see what gift #2 is...you'll probably know right away why...

She got her ...boots with the fur... (but she DID NOT get the apple bottoms jeans...for those of you who know the song I'm referring too :))




Gift #2...the one that brought a tear to her eye, and Mom and Dad got a hug that felt like a tackle (something that we've become accustomed to from Matt...not Nat :))....drum roll please...it's the Wii!!!!!!!!!!!! In case you didn't already know, you CAN NOT get these in stores. Some might be able to, but they are either extremely lucky to have gotten the 1 and only one and it just came off the delivery truck...or they are one of those that waits in line for the store to open and hope that they are at least 4-5th in line!! I could have paid an excessive amount at Ebay and a few other sites like that, but I said no way. Regular price was more than I cared to pay! But thanks to my brother Billy's suggestion, I tried Craigslist.com. There were several overpriced ones there too. And they were ussually gone in an hour or 2 after they posted. I lucked out and found a guy in McKinney that was selling his for the price he paid (even provided the reciept)!! And this picture shows that it was all worth it!


We had a b-day party for my 2 Jan. b-day kids this past Saturday. That'll be another post. So I'll leave you with this cute picture of the 2 of them. Please note that he's looking at the camera AND smiling! That is a major feat! So...please just try to over look the fact that he has crustys all around his mouth :)

Brayden is 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's unreal....but my little baby that I just brought home from the hospital is 3! I thought staying home with this child would make time go slower..NOPE! It's been great though. It'll make you nutz at times, but it's been pretty great overall :)

This past Friday was his birthday. We are having his party this coming Saturday...along with Big Sis. I had not planned on doing much on his actually b-day besides letting him open presents. I wanted to save all the fun stuff and CAKE for this coming weekend. But that sweet little baby had other ideas :) He woke up on his b-day and I said "Happy Birthday"!! And he draws in a big breath and says "my birthday? I get CAKE! My balloons??" Well, it might have not been in my plans for the day, but it was now :) I wasn't gonna let that baby down. After I got the big kids from school I went to the store and got the "fixins" for rice crispy squares (aka "the cake") and a Dora/Diego arragment of balloons....that are now floating along the top of the dining room ceiling :)

As soon and Pop-pop, Grandma, and Daddy got to the house that evening...the fun was on. It was finally present time!!! Here are some pics of Brayden tearing into the gifts. Please note that he doesn't look at the camera for more than 1/2 a second (literally) so it is near impossible to get a shot of that sweet face. He does say "smile"...but it's while he's looking away. Rotten little toot :)

This is his birthday loot :)

He LOVES to plays with Bobby and Chanda's girl's cash register..so we HAD to get him one of his own!

Many years ago Kim and Gary had gotten Matt a Home Depot set of play tools. Brayden had been playing with the small remainders of thst once large set. So when we saw this play Black and Decker set at Lowes...for $4.00...we HAD to get it! And he LOVES it. He's currently standing beside me with his hard hat and tool belt on...but no, I can't get a picture cause as I continue to write this he's already at the other end of the house ;)

This is a car road/train track table. And it is a HIT! And I love it cause it keeps the mess out of the floor...Woo Hoo. It's a Win-Win!


He had a great b-day and we are so blessed to have this guy in our lives. Love you baby boy :)

**Side note - Just in case you weren't thining of commenting...please note that it sure does encourage us bloggers to continue to blog when we get comments. Even if all you write is "Hi"...we at least knew you read our blog. And by "our" I mean me and Jim's :) Now being tacky ;) Just need encouragement from time to time :)

A Funny from Natalie

Natalie just sent this one to me....

old lady & cops

An older lady gets pulled over for speeding...
OLD LADY: Is there a problem officer?
OFFICER: Ma'am, you were speeding
OLD LADY: Oh, I see
OFFICER:Can I please see your license?
OLD LADY: I would give it to but I don't have one
OFFICER: Don't have one?
OLD LADY: Lost it, 4 years ago for drunk driving
OFFICER: I see... Can I see your vehicle registration papers then?
OLD LADY: I can't do that
OFFICER: Why not?
OLD LADY: I stole this car
OFFICER: Stole it?!?!
OLD LADY: Yes, and I killes and hacked up the owner
OFFICER: YOU WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!
OLD LADY: His body parts are in plastic bags in the trunk if you want to see
the officer looks at the woman and slowly backs away to his car to call for backup. within minutes 5 police cars circle the car. a senior officer slowly approaches the car, one hand on his gun holster.
OFFICER 2: Ma'am, step out of your vehicle please!
the woman does as told.
OLD LADY: Is there a problem officer?
OFFICER 2: My deputy has informed me that you don't have a driver's license, stole this car, and murdered the owner.
OLD LADY: Is that so?
OFFICER 2: Would you open your trunk please?!
woman opens her trunk to reveal nothing.
OFFICER 2: Ma'am, is this your car?
OLD LADY: Yes, here are the registration papers
the officer is stunned!
OFFICER 2: I assume you have a driver's license then?
the woman digs into her handbag and pulls out a clutch purse and hands it to the officer. the officer exams it and then sighs.
OFFICER 2: Ma'am I apoligize, it's just that my deputy told me you didn't have a license, stole this car, and killed the owner.
OLD LADY: Bet the liar told you I was speedin' too.
don't mess w/ old ladies!

Hope you all have a great day!

My Silly Boys

The other day Matt came up with a good joke...

What does a Spider do when it gets lost?
A "web" search

Not bad I thought :)

Day before yesterday (just me and him at home) Brayden comes into my room and stands in the corner and says "its no my fault". I ask "What's not your fault baby?". He then tells me "I cry...I hit me, I fall down, I make me cry *sniff* *sniff*". :) It's pretty bad when you just can't trust no one....not even yourself....poor guy :)


Side note: If any of you haven't already, hop over to Jim's Blog. He's put up a few new ones also.

Woah am I behind........

This may be long...I warn you...but I'm gonna try to hit highlights :)

As you all know we sold our home (in a record breaking 2 weeks..."record" for us due to the time of year and where we lived...just wasn't supposed to happen). Anyway, sold it to a great couple with 4 boys from Washington (state). We are all settled in into our new place and are really happy with it. Still have some pictures to hang and a few things to do outside, but all in all we are settled. As I write this, 6 deer are eating in the backyard. This is really neat. We don't have the view for miles like we used to, but so far I feel this is a good trade :)

I want to send out a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you that had me in your thoughts and prayers. We FINALLY have answers. This whole roller coaster ride that started in June has come to an end. I had a diagnostic laporoscopy(sp?) 2 weeks ago to try and find the source of my pain...and they found it. And is is NOT cancer :) WOO HOO! That was the first thing my dr. told me as I was coming out of anesthesia "Merry Christmas Angie, you don't have cancer!" I have Interstitial Cystitis. This means that the protective inner lining of my bladder is "eaten" away in places. So I have "raw" nerve endings and cells. And it's all just very inf lammed and the raw nerves are what was causing the shooting pains and hot iron poker sensations....and the blood that was always present in my urine...TMI...I know! But now I'm good. I still feel occasional little pangs, but they aren't anything in comparison! I have to alter my diet to eliminate things like coffee, chocolate, acidy foods, processed meats, artificial sweeteners...theres more, but you get the gist. Plus I take a med 3x a day and that helps heal me up. So thank you everyone...thank you for thinking of me and for praying for me...I know it did the trick :)

We had a wonderful Christmas with all of our family and friends. Lots of travelling, but so,so worth it. My kids got spoiled rotten...as if that were any more possible :) But it is so fun to watch them enjoy what we got for them, along with everyone else's wonderful gifts.

Natalie will be starting up softball again in March, but for now...no sports for her. She is still doing awesome in art and piano and still loves them both! She's doing so much better with Math and has much more confidence. She's always been an all A student. So it was a real blow to her that Math in Jr. High was so much of a challenge. But she's back to a-b honor roll and we are very proud of her!

Matthew is in basketball and will have his first game on the 12th! He's pumped! Dad's not the coach this year, but Jim really likes the coach he has and is looking forward to being a spectator :) He had his UIL number sense competition right before Christmas break. So we don't know the results. But regardless, we are so proud of him for not only making the team, but sticking with it!

Brayden is....Brayden! I feel that "Brayden" should be a new entry in Webster's. Cause he's something else. He is 2...that's for sure!! His terrible twos hit very late in the 2nd year. He'd give the Tasmanian Devil on Looney Tunes a run for his money. He's like the Tasmanian Devil with Octopus arms and the screech of a holler monkey!! .......I'm NOT kidding either :) We do love that baby though. He keeps me on my toes...speaking of which...it's scary quite in the house right now...and I better go assess the damage...could be he has the Sharpie marker (again)...or he's standing on the table preparing to fly...you just NEVER know :)

Hope you have a fabulous New Year!

#6

Well, Reagan (Jim's Little sister by proxy :)) used to do her snake count. well, I am doing my scorpion count....and it's now #6. And 6 in 3 years and 2 months is not bad. EXCEPT WHEN #6 WAS FOUND CRAWLING ON THE NECK OF MY SONS SHIRT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the crazy thing is that I was able to see it. I was being lazy this morning and didn't even take the time to put my glasses on. I go into Matt's room and grab his clothes that he laid out on the floor and help him put on his shirt and socks (normal routine stuff). Then we head to the kitchen for breakfast. As he was standing at the fridge deciding was frozen item I could nuke for him I see a freaking scorpion crawling on the neck of his shirt (now mind you I am 20/200 without vision correction...in technical terms - Legally Blind!!). Never-the-less, I saw the S.O.B.!! I tell him to just freeze...he has no clue..and that was probably for the best! He just turns to look at me (just as the things about to get on his neck) and says "what...why?" I firmly say "STAND STILL"!!!!!!!! I couldn't think of anything but to blow real hard on it and hope it falls off of him. It got off his neck and I blew again and it fell to the floor. I holler at Jim to bring a shoe and the crisis was over. I just cannot believe how many opportunities that little sucker had to sting Matt and it didn't. Whew... what a way to start the morning. Thank you to the good Lord above :)

Halloween and other happenings

Sorry for the delay in posting the Halloween pictures. We didn't take many this year cause they kinda wore the same thing as last year. the big kids had tole me that they weren't going to dress up this year. I asked several times and they said that they just wanted to get to walk Brayden up to the doors to T or T. So I left it at that and I just LOVED Brayden's costume from last year and was delighted that it still fit. Well as i got him dressed to go out the big kids decided that they wanted to dress up. Pickings were slim, so this is what they came up with.

They all looked cute and got LOADS of candy in a very short am out of time! We really look forward to get to hand out candy in the new house this year. The kids have always love to give out...maybe even more than getting the candy :)

Sunday was my 34th b-day. Thank you for all of you that sent B-day wishes. Beth I hope you had a great b-day!! (Hers was last Thursday and I lame brained and forgot to tell her:(). We all went to the Ft. Worth Zoo and then to eat at Pappasitios. It was a great day to go and I think my parents had as much fun as the kids :) The food was great, but I was in complete misery for the rest of the day. They NEED to offer a 1/2 size of those dang fajitas!! :)

And we finally found out what the crap was on my arms! I was called into my drs office on 10/24 and he dropped a mini bomb on us. I supposedly have Sweets Syndrome. What that basically means is that the crap on my arms actually had nothing to do with my skin. Those "lesions" were an indicator that something is going on internally. The 3 main causes that makes Sweets appear is: malignancy, infection/inflammaition (Crones (sp?), Rheumatoid arthritis, etc), or a drug reaction. I have had a slew of tests done to rule out cancer. The 3 main types of cancer that make Sweets appear are: leukemia, breast, and ovarian. Well we know for certain that I don't have breast or "external ovarian". I have a CT scan sometime this week to completely rule out ovarian. My blood tests that were "tumor markers" all came back normal...woo hoo! The oncologist feels that it very well may be from all the drugs that I had been on to cure the crap on my legs...but can't give a "for sure". But he felt pretty strongly that if this was caused from a malignancy that my lesions would still be flaring up and...they aren't. They are almost all gone!!! So that's great news. Once all the cancer avenues have been explored, we'll move on to the infection/inflammation issue. If nothing shows up there then we just move on. Cause there's supposedly a 50% chance that you never find out what caused it. It's been one hell of a roller coaster ride and I'm ready to but this thing to bed!! I know Jim is too!

Everyone else is doing good. Me, Matt and the baby have allergy crud...but that's nothing a little Zyrtec can't knock out.

I hope you are doing well! Have a great week!

Yowza am I behind....

So sorry for my leave of absence. It's been kinda crazee around here! So if you have time...get comfy cause this is a LONG one!

3 weeks ago today we put our house on the market. We got an offer on Monday!! Unreal! This house was not "supposed" to sell for possibly 6 months cause it's the wrong time of year to sell AND cause of the dirt road. But we definitely defied the odds. So on Dec. 6th we are moving to the west side of Decatur to a beautiful wooded subdivision. I'll attach the picture from Realtor.com, but I don't think it will come out very good.

The kids are excited and happy to learn that they don't have to change schools. And they are both at the age that, that is something VERY important to them. And we respect that :)

Another part of the craziness that's been going on around here has been me! Back on 9/20 I started this funky skin rash thing. I passed it off as bug bites for several days, but then it started to all get a bit out of control. I went to the first dr. and she told me it was filliculitis (sp?) (something that everyone gets from shaving at one point in their lives), just a more severe case than usual. She put me on steroids and it all seemed to get better. Then, a week later it all flared up again...and with a vengeance AND with some new funky symptoms. So I popped into the Minor Emergency Clinic on Denton and the guy said that the stuff on my legs was a bad staph infection, the stuff on my arms was chicken pox?!?!?, and that all of this was affecting my heart (the funky symptoms I mentioned) and that I needed to get an EKG ASAP! Scared the crap out of me, Jim and my parents! Deep down I knew that my heart was fine, but that dr. had me worried that I just didn't know my body that well. My EKG test all came back fine. That dr. said that the steroids that the original dr. put me on were too big of a dose and that caused the heart issues. He said that what I had on my arms and legs was staph, NOT chicken pox! He tells me to follow up with my regular dr. in a day or 2. I don't have a regular dr., so I opened the phone book and tried to find a dr. that didn't just scream out "QUACK". So I go to the (hopefully non-quack) dr. 2 days later and he says that I have a bad staph infection that has gotten into my blood stream and I need some antibiotics strong enough to kill it, but with my long allergy list it was gonna be tough. He really was kind of a jerk and really didn't seem to want to have to deal with me. He tells me to take what he's prescribed along with what the hospital dr. prescribed and I should be fine in about 5 days. By day 5 things were sucking petty bad so I went to a dr. I used to go to back when we lived in Justin. In high hopes that he will figure this crap out!!!!!!!! He tells me that the boils on my arms should have been tested for staph and couldn't figure out why no one up to this point hasn't tested me for staph. Since none of my lovely boils were oozing when I saw him, he couldn't get a sample. He just went under the assumption that I had a resistant strain of staph and that if he gave me a shot of steroids mixed with some other stuff that would help the antibiotics get to infection better. Within 30 mins I felt like a million bucks!! No redness, itching, inflammation!! Woo Hoo, I'm healed!!! Then 4 days later it's all freaking back on my arms (legs are still good minus one smal boil). So I call my guy in Justin last Friday and they are out for the weekend. So I call the jerk dr I went to before the Justin dr. and he tells me I need an additional antibiotic to kill this staph. He just call in the meds and tells me to expect my sweat and other fluids to turn red. But it's normal. Thru the weekend I got increasingly dizzy, sick to my stomach, I couldn't keep a straight thought, and my joints and head killed! By Monday I was in bad shape and the bumps on my arms were the least of my worries. So I went to another new dr. and just prayed that THIS time I'd found the guy that was finally gonna help me! He DID! He told me that all the combined meds that Ive been put on thru the last several weeks were making me have all these side effects. He told me to discontinue all of them right then and that this stuff on my arms is not staph and the stuff that was on my legs was not staph. He told me that I needed to get to a specialist ASAP and he got on the phone right away to try to get me into one of his friend in Ft. Worth. That dr. said get down there in a hour and so we were on the road. That dr. confirmed that everything over the weekend that I was experiencing was all drug side effects. And that I don't have and never did have staph. That is itself was the BIGGEST relief EVER! I'd been washing everything I touched daily, bleaching, cloroxing everything I came in contact with. Keeping the kids at bay so I didn't infect them. Jim sleeping in another bed so I didn't infect him. Covering up in long sleeves in 88-90 days so I didn't get stared at in public!!! It has been soooooooooooooo frustrating. And with that one sentence I felt so much freaking relief. Just knowing that I wasn't contagious...whew! That dr. was so sweet. He grabbed my arms and rubbed up and down on them and said "see, I'll even tough you" :) They took some biopsies of my arm and threw some really big words at us. But bottom line was..he said "I will find out what this is!" We will go back on Monday and get my test results and stitches out. But ya know, I don't give a crap WHAT those results say cause I feel SSSOOOOOOOOOO good now. Nothing hurts, nothing's itchy (he gave me stuff to put on the bumps), I'm not foggy head anymore, and I AM NOT CONTAGIOUS!!!!!!

Told you this was gonna be long!

In other news, Nat did GREAT in her last CC meet. She finished in the middle of the pack and there were still girls finishing well past 10 mins after she finished!! Still doing art and piano. She'll have another recital in a few weeks and I can't wait to she how much she's improved :)

Matthew has made the UIL Number Sense team!! We are so proud of him...and he's pretty proud of himself :) Jim and Matt also just got back from their annual trip to the dunes in Kermit. They had a good time and NO ONE needed stitches...woo hoo!

Brayden is 2! And some days he is REALLY 2!!! But he's also become one smart little toot. He can count to 6! English and Spanish....thank you Dora and Deigo!! And last night he was recognizing the 4-5 primary colors. And he talks so good...it floors me some days how well we communicate! Then there are the melt down days when our communication breaks down to just screaming....ack :)

And in sad news, Jim's Pop passed away on the 4th and his services were on the 6th. Cancer won again :( I talked to Jim's Mom yesterday and she is doing good. And I pray each day that the rest of the family, especially his Granny are coping ok.

Future news...we are going back to the beach next Thurs - Monday. BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!

I think I covered all the news since I last blogged. Hopefully I didn't miss anything. If I did, I'll make up another blog later this week.

Cross Country

Nat had her 1st cross country meet this past Wed. in Ponder. Let me just say...it goes much quicker than I'd thought and WAY more girls run in this than I'd thought. There were 203 girls in the meet! Nat was 142 and I thought that was great. She was bummed that she didn't do better, but I told her that this was her first time. Now she knows what to expect. But the fact that she got out there and did it is what makes me the most proud. Out of the 60+ girls in 7th grade athletics, only 5-6 7th grade girls are on the team.

Here's some pictures...this was my first time to take pictures of a CC meet...so next time I'll better too.


The coach is giving the girls some last minute pointers....


She's still holding strong and almost at the 1/2 way point.


They finish up running their last 300 on the track. She's just did a "kick" to get in front of some girls and about to get on the track.


She saved up for one last "kick" right at the finish line! Way to go Nat...we are all so proud of you :)

Happy to you Maf-U

As most of you know last weekend was Matt's birthday party....weekend before that was the actual b-day.


Now some of you might be thinking that I did a type-O in the title, but that's what Brayden said to Matthew to tell him Happy Birthday. Very cute!

This year we decided to do the party at the house since he never gets a good turn out when we have it in another town. Let me just say...it was a hit! We rented a 60' obstacle course that ended in a water slide. It was delivered at 10:30am Saturday morning and I don't think the big kids stayed off it till 7:30 that night. (Minus the 2 hour break we had cause we lost electricity!! It came back on 18 mins after the party started.) It started off looking like the party was going to be a bust, but despite the HOT day...it was great! We had about 30+ guests. Here's a shot of Granny, Carolyn, James, and a few of the parents chasing the shade. (Anyone who's ever been out here knows that trees are kinda hard to come by :))

Billy, Tina, and Tayler had found their shady spot and were smart not to move too much cause it was dang hot and the breeze was as hard to come by as the shade!

Here's Matt at his finest...I "think" he had a good time :)

I also am fairly positive that Nat and Tyler had a good time...and the way they all almost fell asleep in the dinner plates that night didn't lead me to believe that :)

I'm not sure who was enjoying themselves more...big kids or little kids :) I think EVERYONE was bummed when I said it was time to deflate :(


Matt made on heck of a haul at his party!! Thanks to all the VERY sweet parents for the thoughtful gifts!!

This was the one "must have" gift Matt wanted for this b-day. And we kinda tricked him to think he wasn't getting it. But made his day when he opened his last present and low and behold...Mom picked out the right board and EVERYTHING! Woo Hoo :)


It was a great weekend. That you so much to all the family that came for Matt's party! It meant so much to all of us! It was a great time!

Day 2 & 3

Here's some shots I was taking before the school bus came on Day 2.




As I we were waiting I saw a truck & trailer start to pull up the drive. Low and behold...it was the Pop pop!


So Dad go to help us see them off for Day 2. (Dad dropped by to drop off some fuel to Jim.)

After everyone left I went back into my office. As I looked out the window I noticed Marbles had a buddy on the front porch....only he didn't know it was there and it didn't know Marbles was there....


We have these HUGE toads all over the place...and they aren't afraid of much! But they'll sure surprise the heck out of you when you walk up on one unknowing that they are there :)

Both kids had good second days. Matt's teacher had a bad phone call about her father's heart surgery and she had to leave out immediately to Arizona to be with him. All Matt knows is that problems happened in the surgery on the heart and then they had to do emergency surgery on his brain. I asked if he was sure and he said yes. I doubt he was pulling my chain on this cause he was very heartbroken for his teacher...as were the other students. He said almost everyone was crying when Mrs. Martin was crying. So...here's another request...please add her, her Dad, and her family to your prayer list.

Nat's day didn't have near the emotions. It was just a good day that ended with a HARD workout. Nat said she did her best and really tried hard. I told her that's what coaches like and to just keep it up. She's on team "A" for the tryout practices...but not sure that, that signifies anything.

Here's some quick shots from this morning (Day 3)that I got in right as the bus was pulling up....not the best, you can tell I was rushed and so were they.



Hope everyone else has a great Day 3!

First Day of School!

I don't know if I've EVER seen my kids more excited to start school! Matt was asking us to please just put him to bed 10 mins before bedtime last night (and he just repeated that request just now)!! Guess their summer was not as exciting as it typically is. But, what ever boredom they were experiencing...it's over now. They both bouced off to school today with the biggest cheese eating grins on their faces.





It was COMPLETE maddness at Matt school this afternoon. So instead of waiting in line to pick him up, I parked and walked up to get him. This worked out great for me cause I got a wonderful shot of him and his teacher Mrs. Matrin...which we are blessed to get for the 2nd year in a row. He(we) are so, so lucky!! Matt hass all the same classmates as last year (since his teacher asked all the parents form last year if they'd like to be in her class again sine she was moving up to 4th grade). He's so delighted and could hardly contain himself when he was telling me about his day.


Here's Nat leaving her 1st day of Jr. High (which is in the old high school bldg)...she's a big shot now. She was really worried that she'd be stressed out today, but she told me that after we got her schedule straigtened out this morning that everything else went pretty smoothly. And she said that the boy who has the locker abover her was really sweet and that is a pleasant change from last year when she was surrounded by rude locker neighbors.


Here's hoping that tomorrow is just as awesome for the kids. They'll be back to morning bus riders tomorrow. And Nat will experience her first after school workout. She's trying out for the volleyball team. We'll find out after next Tues or Thurs if she made the team. They take 24 girls, but supposedly a ton are trying out. Cross your fingers :) I hope all of your kids had great first days also!