First Camping Trip

This past weekend we FINALLY got to go on our first camping trip! We went to Fort Richardson State Park in Jacksboro. Only about 45mins-1hour from the house. But ya know, once your in the park you have no idea that your that close to home. It's like being 100 + miles away. It's really beautiful! Lots of cool trails and creeks/springs. I will let the following pictures tell the rest of the story.

When you first enter the park you pass the fort..then you head down into the lush greenery and where the river is.

Here's the kids checking out the hospital. You can't go in any of the buildings, but you can see inside. They have replicas that give you an idea of how everything looked.

This was the Guard Station. The kids are in what's left of the cells.

Matt is standing in front of the what's left of the flour mill. You had to cross the river (which we didn't wee where you could do that) in order to get to it.

Here's one of the few spots where we could cross the river without being up to our waists in water. It was so nice to see a flowing river...instead of a dried up dusty one!

After we crossed the river I HAD to take some pictures on this rock and tree!

While the big kids fished, Brayden (and his new found freedom from the stroller) took Jim for a walk :)

Truly HAPPY Campers!

I got to capture a picture of Matt's first (and only) catch of the day.

You'd thought that he'd just reeled in a shark the way we were all going on!

Nat had caught a perch before I got there. No picture of the fish..just one of a happy fisher girl :)

Brayden's delighted to be freed from the stroller! He wants to explore too :)

Brayden and Matt were complete monkey at the slide!

Nat thought that the wild onions was like the coolest find. She really wanted to know if we could eat them...I tried to discourage this :) Can you eat them??

Brayden's camp past time was riding and falling of the tricycle!

We had a great time and wish we'd had ONE more day. But that's pretty much how you feel with any trip/vacation...isn't it :) We would highly recommend this park to anyone! Hope everyone had a GREAT weekend!

Various topics

Ok..catch up time. I'm gonna cover different topics and I will not be posting pictures this blog, but I will next blog...so stay tuned.

Yesterday we received reports cards and the kids both were on the A-B Honor Roll. We are very proud of them! Matt and Nat also had their final segments of the Taks test (like all Texas students...of age). They are very relieved to have them over! I just got an email from Matt's teacher saying that she will be nominating him for GT (gifted and talented). She has raved how he's got such strong math skills. Nat was told by her Science teacher yesterday that she's a Soaring Eagle in his class. I'm not too sure what that means, but I know it's very good :) I have also received a letter for her to be nominated for GT. I am so blessed to have such intelligent children.

Brayden is loving MDO (Mother's Day Out) more and more each time he goes. He didn't cry when I left the last 2 Thursdays. And this Thursday as we pulled into the parking lot of the church he said "Go friends?" (that's what he calls MDO). And he sleeps really well there and eats good too! I was very apprehensive to take him at first, but now I know it's good for him...and fun too :)

Last weekend we (and Jim's Granny) went to Midland for Chloe's birthday. She turned the big 7! We had a very nice visit with them. We went to James and Phyllis's on Saturday for burgers and cake for Chloe. Everything was so good...I definitely was NOT counting points that day :) Brayden really enjoyed himself (along with the big kids of course) and it was so neat to see him understand who everyone was and to call most everyone by their names! Brayden really bonded with Granny since they got to spend Friday morning playing :) While we were out there, Jim and Matt took a trip out to Kermit to ride the dunes for a bit. I know they wish they could have spend more time there...but I think they were happy with what they could get :)

This week there has been no softball due to Taks testing. But we start off full swing next week with 3-4 games. 1-2 of them being for the Opening Ceremonies that got postponed due to rain.

Nat will be going on her first band trip to Sandy Lake this coming Friday and she's pumped. I hope I can go...I'd love to hear them and I know she'd love to know one of us could go. She also has her first piano recital next Sunday. She's very excited to have us hear her play. She told me that in Art she's starting a sculpture and it'll be a bust "of a real human" :) This girl stays busy and loves it!

Matt will be going on a field trip this coming Thursday to the museum and then on May 4th they are having a Cinco De Mayo celebration. Big fun! And I have become the appointed room Mom for his class and I'll soon be helping them get stuff organized for their carnival and end of school parties.

This weekend we are headed out (finally) for our first actual camping trip. We have stayed in it once at Mom and Dad's we when for Easter, but this trip is the real deal :) We are ready to go too. Looks like it's gonna be windy, but no rain and nice temps...so we are pumped. And it'll be pictures that I take from this trip that I'll post next week.

Lastly, I will not be posting weights for a while on the Biggest Loser. Not to say that me or Jim are straying from WW, we will still work to maintain our weight. Just gonna stop posting about it for a while. Everyone who has done this with us...keep it up! It feels so good to accomplish this goal and so crummy when it all comes back on. If anyone feels they need to post to keep themselves in check, just let me know and I'll hook you up :)

Have a great weekend!

Call it quits?

Ok, time for a change (for me anyway) on the Biggest Loser. I need input... Shall we call it quits for a while? Or is there something we can do to change up the "dynamics" of this "game"? Something needs to change...cause my hubby's about to stop by Jack int he box for me and I'm thinking I "might" go over in WW points?!?!?

Please let me know your thoughts either thru Blogger comments or just email me.

I have stuff to blog about, but I'll need more time....so look for more later....

Week 15

name....weight...lbs lost...week %...lbs lost...total %

Jim.........229.......1............0.43..........8.........3.38
Beth.......187.......-2...........-1.08...........4.........2.09
Angie.....168.......-1............-0.60..........7.........4.00
Reagan...135......0............0.00............2..........1.46
Barbara..176.....-2............-1.15..........-2........-1.15
Billy.........(no info this week)
Tina........(no info this week)
Bill...........201......0.............0.00...........2..........0.99
Karry......160......-2...........-1.27..........-7........-4.58

Still a little late posting...sorry about that. Been getting slammed with work. Everyone did great this week...especially since it was Easter weekend. NO one gained more than 2...so that in itself is a major accomplishment :)

Week 14 weigh ins..a week late :(

Week 14

name....weight...lbs lost...week %...lbs lost...total %

Jim.........230.......0............0.00............7.........2.95
Beth.......185........1............0.54............6.........3.14
Angie.....167........1............0.60.............8.........4.57
Reagan...135......0............0.00............2..........1.46
Barbara..174......1.............0.57............0..........0.00
Billy.........245....-7...........-2.94...........9..........3.54
Tina........(no info this week)
Bill...........201......0.............0.00...........2..........0.99
Karry......158......-2...........-1.28..........-5........-3.27

Sorry for the major delay this past week. I'll do better this week. Keep on trucking everyone :)

Beautiful day, beautiful kids!

After being a bit windy earlier today, this afternoon turned out really nice. So outside we went...

Here's some great shots I got of the kids playing. Brayden wasn't in the portrait mood...so I got what I could when I could get it :)












































Uuhh...I'm not sure what this caption should be...but OH MY that girl is freaking beautiful!!!

Matt's got such a great smile! I tried to get him to do some "GQ" poses, but he can't hold back those (semi) pearly whites :) ...and he was much more interested in me catching his actions shots.

Brayden was on the move being the independent guy he's become...so these were what I was "allowed" to take of him. The second is probably my favorite and I REALLY worked hard for that one :) But the 3rd one's pretty cute too.. shoot, I love them all! Pictures and kiddos ;)~~




























Hope you all have a Wonderful Easter!

MY weekend adventure :)

If you've read Jim's blog, you know all about his and Matt's weekend adventures. Well...here's my weekend "adventure"....

I've been doing a lot of "after hours" work for my contract guys this past week. By the time Friday came I was a feeling a bit frazzled. Plus knowing that I had a pretty big job coming in last weekend to top it off....just added to my frazzledness (is that a word??). I was feeling like it was time that I had some me time. Typically this might be: getting my hair done, a pedicure, shopping...something along those lines. But no, I thought I'd go inflict some pain upon myself.

For well over a year I've wanted to add onto something that I have on my body....you don't hear many women say they like to ADD something to themselves, but you'll see where I'm going with this in a minute. Some of you already know that I have a small turtle tattoo on my back. I got it..oohh.. 3 or so years ago while at the beach. My brother got one that vacation also...same spot, different design. We also share the same armpit mole...in case you didn't know that :) Anyway, I've wanted to add something to represent my husband an children. I've had several design ideas, but never went and had it done...for whatever reason.

So Friday, in a warped state of mind (I guess...why else would I want to have so much pain??) I decided that the time is now. I emailed my other "freak" friend to see if she'd be my support coach...and she was "heck yeah"!!!

I got to the tattoo place at 12:10 had him draw up the design, tweaked it a few times and got started at 1:20. Finally finished at 3:15. The outline KILLED! I honestly thought at times that he was cutting off pieces of flesh! ...this pleased my husband (that I had pain) cause he's not so find of tattoos and them being on his wife. But he loves me and so he tolerates my bizarre wants and needs :)

Here's a pictures my friend took with her camera phone once it was done. She took several pictures during the whole process so I could see how it was looking....and to help keep my mind off the pain :) You'll see that the little turtle inside of the big turtle is quite faded. Yes, it needs to have a touch up, but that'll HAVE to be at another time. Didn't have anymore pain tolerance to spare :)

Week 13 Weigh Ins

Week 13

name....weight...lbs lost...week %...lbs lost...total %

Jim.........230.......2............0.86............7.........2.95
Beth.......186........0...........0.00............5.........2.62
Angie.....168........3............1.75.............7.........4.00
Reagan...135......-1...........-0.75...........2..........1.46
Barbara..175.......0.............0.00.........-1........-0.57
Billy.........(no info this week)
Tina........(no info this week)
Bill...........201......0.............0.00...........2..........0.99
Karry......156.......0............0.00..........-3........-1.96

So this week I was the Biggest Loser. I'd be more "woo hoo" about if IF I had lost "real" weight and not the dumb weight that I call "weekend" weight :) Good job everyone to having no real gains this week!! I foresee a great week of weight loss for everyone this week :)

3 Weeks...awh man!!

...that's the phase that we are all saying. Earlier this week it was "4 whole weeks?? ...awh man" What am I talking about? Well, if you read 2 posts ago I mentioned going camping with my parents at Junction and how we all had such a great time. Well that bug stayed with Jim and I all the way home and for the next several days. So we went to a local RV lot to just see what they had, if they had one to accommodate what we want, and (most important) if it could fit into our budget. We found one that met our needs and our price. We figured that we should still at least attempt to shop around before settling down on the first one we liked. So we went to Denton to FunTime RV. It was a SEA of RVs!! I was excited to see more variety. What we weren't excited about was that you can't just browse around. All the trailers were locked and you had to go get a salesmen...from the sales floor...cause they DON'T come to you! So Jim drove us to the main bldg and asked for a salesmen and the guy tells him "we're closing"....okey dokey then... So with basically a boot in the a--...we leave and decide then and there that we are buying from our local guys and their family owned business.

The big kids weren't in on any of this and they didn't get to see the trailer till Wednesday when we went to go pick it up. They were beside themselves with excitement! They got along better than I've seen in a long time...and that's saying A LOT!!! It took about an hour for them to add a brake adjuster to my Suburban and to hook up this special hitch thingy. Then Jason (our salesman/co-owner of the place - Smith RV ...we get $200 for any referrals...hint, hint) took Jim and I through every inch of the trailer telling us how it all works and what we gotta do to keep it all working. LOT of info and I'm so glad that Jim's such a sponge when it comes to that stuff. My brain was hitting OVERLOAD before we even stepped outside to start on all that info!!

The trailer is home now and will stay here...parked...for 3 more weeks! This is where the "awh, man..." comes in. It'll be 3 more full weeks till we are able to get to go on our first camping trip. We don't care WHERE we go....just get us there :)

Here's some pictures I took as Jim was pulling up into our yard with our first trailer ever!

You'll see in this picture...there's a soon to be BIRTHDAY BOY! Best looking thing in this picture :) He'll be celebrating the big 36 tomorrow. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABE!!!!! We love you tons!!!

Week 12 Weigh In

Week 12

name....weight...lbs lost...week %...lbs lost...total %

Jim.........232......-1..........-0.43............5.........2.11
Beth.......186........3............1.59............5.........2.62
Angie.....171.......-1..........-0.59............4.........2.29
Reagan...134.......2............1.47............3..........2.19
Barbara..175.......1.............0.57.........-1........-0.57
Billy.........238.....-3...........-1.28.........16.........6.30
Tina........159......-1...........-0.63.........12........7.02
Bill...........201......0.............0.99..........2..........0.99
Karry......156......3.............1.89..........-3........-1.96

Way to go Karry! You are this weeks Biggest Loser. Tina - you still remain the overall Biggest Loser!! That's awesome :) Here's hoping that everyone has another good week!!!

Yeah! ...he's 2

Yup! This little baby is 2! Captain Destructo, Octopus Arms, Dr. Oc, Pschyo...he's got a LOT of nick names right now. But above all else...he's my sweet baby! And DANG he's cute!!

No pics of the big kids since they are on Spring break with my parents in Junction. We took them down there last Friday night and camped ( by the river) for 2 nights and then headed back. The kids and Jim hiked a huge mountain (hill) and Brayden and I napped. Then all 7 of us headed out to the State Park and Mom and Dad walked with the baby while the rest of us went on a hour + hike. I was fun! Then we came back and the kids and Jim fished. No luck, but they were gonna try once more on Sunday. Me. Mom, Dad , and Brayden hung out at the campsite while Jim and the kids headed out to the State park to try and see if they were any more lucky out there...nope. Nat got a nibble though and she was ecstatic! once they got back we gobbled down some lunch, gave tons of hugs and kisses, and we hit the road.

Jim will get the kids tomorrow and I'm sure there will be tons of stories to tell :) I will post more later. Have a great day!

Week 11 Weigh In

Week 11

name....weight...lbs lost...week %...lbs lost...total %

Jim.........231......-1..........-0.43............6.........2.53
Beth.......189........0...........0.00............2.........1.05
Angie.....170.......-2..........-1.19............5.........2.86
Reagan...136......-2..........-1.49............1..........0.73
Barbara..(vacation)
Billy.........(no info this week)
Tina........(no info this week)
Bill...........(vacation)
Karry......159.....-2...........-1.27..........-6........-3.92

And the biggest loser this week is: BETH!! Way to go! It was a rough week for all and that's just gonna happen from time to time. Hang in there guys :)

Week 10!

So sorry for the delay guys! And Beth, I couldn't find where you replied to my email on Monday..so I just posted the same weight. Please let me know if that # is wrong.

Week 9

name....weight...lbs lost...week %...lbs lost...total %

Jim.........230......-1..........-0.44............7.........2.95
Beth.......186........0...........0.00............5.........2.62
Angie.....168........0............0.00............7.........4.00
Reagan...134.......0............0.00...........3..........2.19
Barbara..176.......1.............0.56.........-2........-1.15
Billy.........235......5............2.08..........19.........7.48
Tina........158.......3............1.86...........13........7.60
**Congrats on entering the 150's..I wanna come too :)**
Bill...........202.....-1...........-0.50..........1..........0.49
Karry......157.....-1...........-1.64..........-4........-2.61

Awesome job guys!! This week's Biggest Loser is: BILLY! And our overall winner is TINA for the 2nd week in a row...Dang...you GO Tina! :) Everyone is doing great! Keep on trucking...shorts season is just about here :)

AnnaMarie Katherine

...and our wonderful visit with her family :) (I warn you now...this is a long one)

We had a wonderful weekend this past Saturday and Sunday! When we first found out that Matt's makeup b-ball game had been cancelled, we were bummed. But I was soon excited that we'd get to go see AnnaMarie Katherine. She was born on Valentine's Day! This is my 2nd niece to be born on this very special day :) I'll first share a few pictures of her and then tell you about the rest of our visit...

As you can plainly see, she is ANOTHER beautiful girl! Good job Mom and Dad :) They have made some gorgeous girls!! And she's so sweet. Very laid back. And I got some great snuggle and kissy time with her. Me, Brayden, Chanda, and baby hung out at the house all day Saturday just visiting...playing...loving on baby! It was really nice. The kids, the Dad's, and Becky (Chanda's step Mom and recent co-birthing coach) took the kids to see Joe Scruggs along with some other entertainers. Nat got to help in a magic show, all the kids got to slide down this enormous Lighting McQueen (from the Cars movie) slide, and Joe Scruggs did a live show that the kids and adults thought was just hilarious. Here's some shots Jim took. I wasn't there but from the stories all the kids and the Dad's told....it was a great time!

On Sunday we went back over to visit with Bobby and Chanda and the girls one last time before hitting the road. The kids chilled for a bit watching the DVD Bailey got from the show. They all were having such a good time doing the hand motions and they ALL knew the words...already :) Before we left I had to get some pictures of all the kids together. And we had to capture some pictures of Bailey and Chloe's TRULY amazing hula skills. Chloe would like her parents to build her a stage in the front yard so she can perform for the public and they pay her...of course :) I know it sounds funny, but her and Bailey could pull it off. They really are incredible Hula Hoopers!

Who could resist those kissable cheeks?!?

After leaving Bobby and Chanda's we went out to see James and Phyllis and their new house. Bobby and the older girls went too. It was a beautiful day on Sunday (especially after that horrid wind on Saturday). Here's some last shots of the kids playing at James and a few pictures of my kids with James. Plus a great one of all the guys. Thanks for the great visit Bobby, Chanda, Bailey, Chloe, Delaynee, AnnaMarie, James, Phyllis, and Snickers :)