Happy Birthday Nana!

December 2nd was Linda's birthday and I wanted to do something special for her. It was on a Wednesday so I knew it would take some strategic planning. I picked up the kids from daycare and we rushed home. I had their dinner all ready to go so they started eating. As soon as the kids finished eating I hurried them to the big table to sign their card. I love that they are old enough to actually "sign" their own names. We signed the card and loaded back up in the car.

They were really excited about Nana's birthday. I told them we were going to surprise her at work and sing happy birthday. They practiced singing the entire way through Ft. Worth and into the parking lot. When we arrived I had to figure out how I was going to get a small cake, balloons, a big bag and two toddlers in the building safely. I had my hands full but managed to hold Ethan's hand and I ask him to hold Paige's hand. They held hands and we all walked in a line in the door. It was about the cutest thing I have ever seen!!!

The building is always on strict lock down since she works in an Alzheimer's facility but the receptionist was very nice. She let us go up and walk onto her unit. It took us a minute to find her but we shocked the crap out of her! Of course when we actually got up there they would not sing with me but they were very happy to give her the cake and card. I think she only got to look at the balloons but we all knew those were never really leaving the kids hands. Ha!











It was a great surprise and definitely worth the extra trouble. We headed back home for bath and bed time and Nana went back to work knowing she was loved.

The big 60

On December 5th, Wendy and I hosted a 60th birthday party for my Mother. This summer Mom had emergency surgery that could have turned out much worse than it did. I really wanted to celebrate her life and how lucky we all are to still have her with us.

We invited all the close family and a few friends of Moms and all met up at my house for snacks, cake and a good time. This was the first time I have ever hosted an event without Dallas at home. It was definitely more difficult without his assistance but with the help of some great friends I pulled it off. Remember this was the first weekend in December so I had to get all my Christmas decorations up as well as clean and such. It was all worth it for Mom!


Our little Lily pie. Mom and her friend, Kayla.


The newest twins Lily and Lauren with their grandma, Sharon and their mom, Krissa. I am so glad we had a set of girls added to the bunch. They are so adorable.


I love this picture of my brother and Lily. Miss Abby had to make sure she kept all the balloons safe throughout the party. Little stinker kept moving them in front of her face as I tried to take her picture. Ha!


Its fun to pull the decorations... until they come down.


Mom got some really good cards but Nikki's Star Trek card was the def. winner! Ethan had to help her open and look at every card.


Happy 60th Birthday Mom, Grammie and Cynthia! Cake time!!!


What a great picture! (I don't know which twin either one of them is, isn't that awful.)


This would have been a great picture too but I only got Lily in it. Crap!

My Granny and Pap Paw with all 11 great grand kids! Wow!!!

Lily, Paige, Ethan, Jake, Weston, Abby, Austin, Alex, Jake, Lily and Lauren.


I had bought some fun party blowers for the kids and I had forgotten all about them. Austin and Alex found them near the end of the party and ask to have one. I passed them out and they were a huge hit! All the kids LOVED blowing them over and over. Lily was not too happy when they all came flying at her on Grammie's lap.


Austin and Alex were the only ones that could blow hard enough to make noise. Thank goodness, HA!


The kids all marched around in a line blowing their noise makers...

around the Christmas tree...

through the hall and around through the playroom.


It was seriously the cheapest party favor ever and they could not have loved them more.


Ethan fell into a chair while running at daycare. Doesn't he just look wonderful for the entire family to come over. Ha, oh well.


My Mom, brothers and I.


Mom with her sister and parents.


Thought this was a cute picture of my brother's family.


Some of my favorite men. My other favorite man, Dallas, was out of town.


Lily crawling all over her Grammie.

It was so nice to get together with our entire family and let the kids play together. It was amazing to celebrate my Mother's life and what she has meant to all of us. We love you Mom!
Thank you so much John Mark and Wendy for supplying all the food and cake! I could not have done it without you.

Thanksgiving w my fam

Our last Thanksgiving celebration was with my family at my brother's house. Paige was not feeling well at all and had fever. I was really upset that we might miss spending time with my family so Dallas offered to keep her at home. She was getting over an ear infection at the time but she was extremely too miserable for that to be the only problem. Turns out she had another ear infection in the other side and a fever virus. I did not want to cancel the entire gathering but I knew Paige could not be around all the other kids.

My younger brother, Brandon, drove in from Austin and we rode together since I had room in the car. Once Ethan woke up from his nap we headed out. I felt bad leaving Daddy and Paige at home but I knew he was very capable of taking care of her.


Of course the kids wanted to go outside immediately.


Push faster Uncle John Mark


Wendy taught her kids to swing on their tummies so she did not have to push them all day long. Genius if you ask me! My poor son could not figure out how to do this for the life of him. He did not understand the running and pushing off but Jake and Abby sure have it down.


He quickly remembered where to go to dig in the dirt in their backyard only Uncle John Mark had gated off the really messy part.

Carving our first fried turkey!
Lily wondered why Ethan was messing with HER toy but she did not protest.


Grammie playing with Lily. I told the kids to stand together and smile for a picture and they actually did it. Too bad it is only three of them but I will still take it.




I love this one of Ethan and Abby reading together.


Doesn't Abby look tired. I hope our kids remember Pap Paw when they are older. He is such an amazing man.

We missed Dallas and Paige but we had a great time visiting! Thanks for having us all over John Mark and Wendy!

Thanksgiving w Nana & Grand Daddy

On Thanksgiving day we celebrated with Dallas' family at our house. Linda cooked an entire Thanksgiving feast and they brought it all with them. It was so yummy! We had a wonderful time visiting, eating, watching football and of course playing.


Grand Daddy brought the kids a set of stack able buckets with pictures on them. You would have thought they had just won the lottery. They loved those buckets in fact they played with them all day long.


Nana preparing the salad while Paige tried to help. My camera kept fogging up from being out in the cold car.


Paige was really interested in the carrot she was eating and had to tell everyone.


Stack them up, knock them down, stack them up, knock them down,
walk in them. It's the gift that never stops giving. To this day they fight over them. I guess Grand Daddy needs to find another set, ha.


The boys attacking the feast.


Nana and Ethan playing night, night.


Wake up time.


Paige wanted to participate as well but she chose to sleep in the hall. I just happen to capture this heartwarming picture of her loving her baby bear.

Thanks again Nana and Grand Daddy for the amazing turkey dinner and good company!

Having some laughs

Just a random night when April stopped by with Reese to play.
They were being so silly!









My little man was sick one day and stayed home with Mommy. I just had to share how darn cute he was watching TV in his sleeping bag.

Thanksgiving w/ Grandma BB & Grandpa John

November 21st Grandpa John and Grandma BB came to visit for Thanksgiving. My older brother, John Mark, was is Taiwan and Dallas was in Killeen so we decided to all meet up at one house. Wendy brought her bunch over to my house and we all enjoyed a day together playing. The kids talk about Grandma BB and Grandpa John more and more with each visit. They love how excited Grandma BB gets over their little games. They are all so lucky to have yet another set of wonderful grandparents.

Playing with Grandpa.
Jake had all the toys in the ball pit and was standing on top of it. Ha!


Good times with Grandma BB. The kids are obsessed with Halloween and love to play trick or treat.


Miss Abby and Jake going crazy on the car bed.


Lunch time!


Ethan loves these stretchable dolls he got for Halloween.


Abby is such a little collector this day it was ducks. I love it!


The cousins having a tea party, adorable.


of course they invited Grandma


Miss Lily so stinking cute! The boys were tired from playing so hard.

Thanks again for making the long drive to visit us Grandpa and Grandma!

Thanksgiving at daycare

I really love that my job allows me to attend the kid's little class activities. The daycare invited all the parents to come have Thanksgiving lunch with the their kids. It wasn't a party like for Halloween it was just lunch. I was the only parent that showed up in our class and my kids were thrilled I was there. I sat on my knees between Ethan and Paige and enjoyed a turkey dinner with them.

They had made turkey place mats earlier in the week, too cute.


Do you see Paige with her arm out? All she wanted was more milk. She was not thrilled with the plate of unfamiliar foods. I think she only ate the mashed potatoes and fruit. It is so frustrating that she is such a picky eater. Ethan on the other hand, ate two plates of food.


Of course the picture I had one of the teachers take of Ethan, Paige and I did not take. I guess she did not hold it down long enough. I was so disappointed when I noticed later.


My son ate Thanksgiving lunch with no pants! HA! He had messed them up right before lunch and did not have any extra clothes. Maybe we should all do that and just skip the pants next Thanksgiving!


Ms. Debbie was filling in for Ms. Amanda that day and she wanted a picture of the group. None of the kids were thrilled since it was nap time. Paige was not happy at all! She had figured out I was about to leave without her.

I ran home to get Ethan some pants, took them back to the daycare and then it was time for me to get back to work. I really enjoyed lunch with my babies!

Cheyenne's birthday

Saturday, November 14th we got a babysitter and went out for Cheyenne's birthday. It is rare that we all get to go out together anymore. Since we all have kids now it seems we only get out for birthdays. Honestly that is enough for me, I am so old!

Chey wanted to go to Pete's Piano Bar in Fort Worth but it was a really busy night. A large group of anesthesiologist had rented out the entire middle of the bar. Chey's mom spent all day on the phone trying to reserve us a table. She finally got us booked because of a cancellation, way to go LeAnn.


One of the best friends I have ever had, Ms April.


Chey, Dallas, April and Keith


Keith messing up our girls shot, boys!




Of course Dallas and I had to tell them it was her birthday. She threatened and pleaded but we did not care. She was a good sport and played along while they embarrassed her in front of every one. Hey, what are friends for!

Happy Birthday! Even our old friend Mike D was able to come.


Pretty girl :)


Cheyenne had no idea we had a cake for her too.


Me and the other best friend I ever had. This girl is amazing on the electric fiddle. She stands on the piano and belts out The Devil Went Down to Georgia. She does it for every night's show and it is just as impressive each time.


The entire group.

It was a great night!

A much needed break!

Going to keep my post short and sweet so I can catch up. This one was already written yea.

Dallas has been working so much that I have been with the kids alone. I am not complaining because I love spending time with my kids. However since Paige's allergies have been acting up for the past month, I have been up with her coughing from drainage. The audit at work has been dragging on for weeks and Halloween wore me out.

Dallas' brother got a pair of tickets for the Cowboy's game the Sunday after Halloween. I could not tell Dallas that he should not go since he lives and breathes Cowboys. I called Nana and Grand Daddy and ask them if they would mind coming over on Sunday and watch the kids for a few hours so I could rest. They did one better and ask to keep them all day Sunday! I could have kissed them!


Big man looks so cute in Grand Daddy's hat




The kids were only allowed to go outside in the wagon because of Paige's allergies which later was discovered was an ear infection. Shocker huh.


Oh how we love leaves.


Poor Paigey was just not all there.


Cutie pie :)

Playing in the curtains and Toby's cage. They love that cage.


They also love to make a big mess of their room.


We are so lucky to have such wonderful grand parents!!!

Trick or Treating 2009

I don't know who was more excited about Halloween this year the kids or me? I was convinced that this year would not be the disaster every other Halloween with the kids has been. In the past two years they would start screaming and crying because they were too tired by 7pm. Last year we thought we were going to make it and by three house they were done. It was 7:30pm! This year they were older and we had been talking about trick or treating for a month. We had already had pictures in our costumes so they were used to wearing them and really liked them. I had to hide the football, helmet and pom poms for weeks before Halloween because they wanted to play with them everyday. I wanted every thing to still be intact for Halloween.

Dallas had to work Saturday so I was at home with the kids alone. I wanted to take the kids out to do something but I was too afraid of wearing them out. I did not want a Halloween meltdown on my conscience. That morning I took the kids over to play with Reese while April and I went to visit a friend's new baby. I was a little nervous leaving all four kids with Mike but we were only going to be gone about an hour. I figured they would play and he would be okay. When we showed up Aunt Jen, Mike's sister, was there. Yeah! I felt so much better leaving four kids with two adults opposed to one.

We had a wonderful time seeing the baby and headed back to get the kids before nap time. Jen is a teacher and had herself a regular daycare going on while we were gone. She fed them lunch, sang songs, read books and played. I think they all had a really good time together.

Playing dress up. Reese is such a character. Ha!

I put the kids down for nap and it was time to get busy. I had to make, cut and package a lot of rice krispie treats for that night. I still needed to get every thing ready to go trick or treating too. The kids only napped for a little while and I was quickly finding myself behind schedule. I called Dallas' dad who was coming over to go with us and ask him to come early. He showed up right at 6 and took over feeding the kids dinner while I ran to get dressed. We were walking out the door at almost 7 when Dallas walked in. He helped me load the kids and then him and his dad road together to Charlotte's house.

We have made it our Halloween tradition to go to my boss' sister, Charlotte's house and trick or treat in their neighborhood. Diane lives on the same street and it is only about 5 minutes from our house. The houses are high dollar and the people are very nice. Charlotte and Mark, her husband have improved this gathering every year. This year they even had a covered pavilion for the food which was amazing. They had taquitos, queso, enchilada casserole and much much more. I love that we get to see all of Diane's family and friends too. It is one of the only times a year I am guaranteed to see all three of my flower girls. They are all getting so old so quickly.

We arrived right at 7pm and it was already getting dark. I got the kids out and the madness started. They were both running different ways looking at all the decorations and people. I was trying to find a place to put all our stuff and control my two kids. Debbie wanted to get some pictures of the twins since we had missed the group picture. This is what you get when you take a picture right after you arrive...


Too much to look at! Even Jennie tried to show them how to pose but they were so distracted.

After a couple pictures I went back to our pile of stuff to get situated. Paige was standing right by me but Ethan was no where to be seen. I start rushing around dragging Paige to find him. Thankfully he was being taken care of by Jennie. He had apparently touched one of the spotlights right after the pictures and burned his finger. She was standing right there and grabbed his hand as fast as possible. She touched the light herself to see if it burned him and sure enough she said it was very hot. I found them holding ice together by one of the water coolers. I was so happy Jennie had fixed him up for me. He never mentioned his finger again. Along with the ice the kids discovered the mini water bottles and they were set. They have a serious obsession with drinking out of water bottles. I guess they feel like big kids when they do.


Miss Emily with her favorite twins.


Then it was time to head out trick or treating...
On the way to our first house.

They both did so well! This was our first official trick or treat house. We have never even made it to a door in the prior years.


Next house... I absolutely LOVE this picture of all my Cowboys!


We all found it funny to see Paige carry her bucket over her shoulder. No one told her to do it. All the sudden she just flung that thing over and marched to the next house. Ha!

Love this one!
They were so excited and totally into the trick or treating. They even said Thank you every time.


Dallas being dragged to the next house which was Diane's house.


Her grandson, Evan was handing out candy at that moment. I cracked up when I saw him and Ethan looking at each other.


Come on Mommy hurry! The kids were so funny saying, "Wait guys, I'm coming"!


The only meltdowns we had were over houses that did not have lights on or did not answer the door. They will learn the Halloween etiquette eventually. We walked from Charlotte's house down the street to Diane's and back up until we came back to Charlotte's. All the older kids went on but we decided to take our perfect trick or treat experience and run with it.


Walking back up to the party. Charlotte's daughter Dawn and her hubby Matt passing out candy.


Miss Katie all grown up. Yes that would be my husband in the background watching football on a tiny TV. I swear it is always about the football. Ha!

We decided to hang out for a while since we had missed the party prior to trick or treating. We got something to eat and sat around talking. The kids played and had a little snack too. We finally decided to head home around 9pm. We could have stayed longer but Paige had been coughing and I was certain that the cold air was not good for her health. We got home, put the kids to bed and we were all asleep within an hour. I could not have been happier with our Halloween fun this year!

School Halloween Party

The Friday before Halloween the kids' daycare had their Halloween party. It started at 3pm which is usually when I get off on Fridays and I was thrilled to get to go. All the parents had signed up to bring treats for the kids in their class. I bought bright orange ghost plates and napkins, made rice krispie treats with sprinkles and put together little treat bags for each kid. It was my first 'class' party and I was really excited.

I sent the kids to school in their Halloween shirts and they looked adorable. I was in such a hurry to get to work I forgot to take a picture. Of course by 3pm Paige had gotten poo on her shirt and she was in her extra clothes. Amanda knew I would be disappointed but you can't just let the kid wear poo around all day. Ha!

We ended up leaving work a little early since the auditor left early. I had time to go home and put on comfortable clothes. Yeah! I headed up to the school and when I arrived the teachers already had the table set up for the party. The teachers added the other treats brought by the other parents to my treat bags and tied each with a Mylar pumpkin balloon Zoe and Curt's mom had brought. The table was quite festive and the kids were very excited.


It took Ethan and Paige a little while to understand that I was staying and they were not leaving. The parents arrival always symbolizes that it is time to go home. They both watched me like a hawk the entire time to make sure I did not leave without them. The party started with the trick or treaters. The older kids went from class to class collecting candy and the younger kids gave them the treats. I was surprised that not one of the two year olds tried to take the candy or leave the room.




See Paige putting candy in the bag. Amanda dressed up as a bee and won the contest between the teachers. She is so funny.

Then it was time to party!

This is the kids doing the hand song they sing to keep their hands in their lap.


So cute, wish I could remember how it went. My big man in his ghost shirt.


Look Mom a krispie! I told Amanda that they had never had a Capri Sun before and she could tell. They downed it in seconds and wanted more.

Janie, she likes to get into things w Paige.
Food and drinks are on the table and the kids are happy.


Emma being adorable and Ethan showing his teachers what he is like at home.


Adam and Ethan are best buds. Hunter has always had a thing for Paige. He has finally excepted the fact that she doesn't want to be touched. Ha!

Adam was happy to have his 'cubcake".
Ms Krystal used to be one of our teachers but she is with the younger two yr olds now. We still get to see her since she is in an adjoining room.


Paige getting hugs from Amanda. Ethan's new favorite spot...


He is constantly standing by the bathroom door taking his pants off since he started potty training. He has even went a step further and started stripping.

After everyone was done with their treats, I helped the teachers wipe off all the kids. The kids were all going nuts because of all the sugar and excitement so Amanda and Camille started doing songs. First up was the ants go marching...


Down... down... down...down. Shake those maracas Paigey.


Reach up high!!! Ta da, all done Mommy.


I think this is the bee song and they are wiping off their bumble bee.


By the end of the party the teachers were literally running the kids in circles to wear off some of that sugar. I love our teachers so much! They are so good with the kids and have taught them so much!

I was really glad I was able to come to their party. I was the only parent in their class and all the other classes had at least one parent. I took a lot of pictures and put together a big poster with them for the class. It is hanging in their classroom right now but I will take a picture of it soon and post it. I had so many complements on it and the other parents appreciated getting copies of their kids pictures.

Happy Birthday Allison & Rylie

Sunday, Oct. 25th was Allison and Rylie's joint birthday party. We have not been to see them in a long time so I was looking forward to the visit. Dallas had too much work to do so I took the kids by myself. Allison was turning 3 and Rylie was turning the big 1. The last time we saw them Rylie was not even crawling yet and now she is walking. They just grow up too fast!


Present time... look at that girl go.


Notice my kids going through everything. They did better than I expected with waiting to see the new toys.


Miss Rylie with her big sis's barbie.


Oh a squishy ball! I just like this pic of Rylie.


Ethan was so cute feeding the baby and his Daddy wasn't there to have a problem with it. he he Allison's big gift was a new bike.


Then Ethan had to make sure her bike was safe. Paige had made her way to the play room and helped herself to Allison's crayons and new coloring book we bought her.


Rylie danced and Allison cried as we sang happy birthday. It's funny how sisters can be so different.


Safe to say she liked her first cake.


Allison won't petal her bike yet but she loves sitting on it while you push her.

After everyone left we stayed to play a little while. Allison is a different child when she feels comfortable. Her and Paige had such a good time playing.

and getting into the ice~


Thanks Nancy and Ed for having us over and Happy Birthday Allison and Rylie!!!