Christmas Jammies

Aren't they cute in their Christmas jammies?

Tucking In

By far the best part of parenthood is tucking the kiddos in bed!!  We snuggle, sing songs and talk about the day.  

I got to Zach tonight after he'd already fallen asleep, but this didn't stop us from talking.

I come in to hug him.

Zach: Who's there?

Mommy: It's Mom.

Zach: Ok

I lean in closer to give him a kiss.

Zach: (Forcibly) Who are you?

Mommy: It's your Mom.

Zach: Oh, ok.  (Excitedly) I love you!!  You're a good girl.

Mommy: I love you, too.  You're such a good boy.

Sweet dreams, my sweet boy.

Wild, Wild West

Team Building

I love team building when it involves paint and beer!

Hungry, Hungry... Fishies?

Took some time to feed chips to the fish and turtles.

Relaxation

Deep breath in, deep breath out... Enjoying a relaxing walk around the lake after a long, hard week.

Modern Day Aesop's Fable

Boys are playing football on the school playground and another boy decides to interrupt the game by shaking his butt and dancing around.  The football boys didn't like this.  So the red-haired, freckle-faced quarterback fires a dart at the dancer.  The dancer recovers and throws a failed attempt back to the quarterback.  The quarterback, also a part-time pitcher, locates a tennis ball and quickly puts an end to the dancing by bringing the heat and giving a game ending red welt in the gut.

Moral of the story... don't piss off my kid when there is a tennis ball nearby.

From Mug Shot to Glamour Shot

Now That...

is some fresh apple juice!!

Cute Kiddos

Quiz Time!!

I just finished my posting and read through my screen of posts.  Do you see what I see?!?

A First for Everything...

There's always a first for everything... like taking bluebonnet pictures in Texas.
And why has it taken so long, you ask?!?  I'm that paranoid mom that hasn't stopped by any of the beautiful roadside fields because of the crazy images that race through my head of a driver losing control and crashing into my kids.  As if there aren't already enough, another great thing about Frito-Lay is their field of bluebonnets nowhere near a road!! 

SD Spring Break

The family packed up for a Spring Break vacation in South Dakota to visit with Grandpa and Grammy.  The weather was not fit for skiing, but it allowed us to hike, picnic, and see Needles Highway (and it wasn't even "The Season"!!).

Zach standing on frozen Sylvan Lake



Does this look familiar?  Have you seen National Treasure 2?

I enjoyed the Harlem Globetrotters the best and it's awesome to see them in a smaller venue where you can get autographs and take pictures after the game.  I think Grandpa and I laughed the loudest with Lainey right at our heels!!  Zach had a good time too even if he said, "Mom, this isn't a real basketball game" during halftime.

Spring Sports Summary

Well, I know you are all suffering from withdrawal because I haven't posted a Zach sports update.  I'm one to please... so, YOU'RE WELCOME!!


The Rattlers started out hot this season with an opening record of 11-0, bringing home championship wins in our first two tournaments.  Just when you think you can't lose, you get bounced after the first Sunday game for the next three tournaments.  Boo!!


2nd tournament win - Travel Sports North Texas Season Opener

Flashing the hardware

The Dallas Texans enjoyed a great Spring season winning the division with a record of 7-0-1!!  Our tie (which is a win in soccer aggregate scoring) came against our toughest competition, the Dallas Tigres.  What a great group of boys and families.  It was a fun season.

Zach played GREAT in his last game scoring two goals and making a wonderful stop in goal.  His first words to me after the game were "I made a OBJ save!!"  The smile on his face as infectious.

Now, I know that a few of you in the audience are of the older generation and may not know what or who OBJ is.  Odell Beckham Jr. (former LSU player) rose to fame with a spectacular catch against the Dallas Cowboys that will forever live in the hearts of young boys.  I am sharing the picture below to help illustrate just how AWESOME Zach's goal save was.

I hope that this quick summary of our spring sports season will help tide you over until I get something posted again...

The End of an Era

Gosh - things have been so busy that I haven't had a chance to post anything!!  And what GREAT busy-ness!!

My time with Mission is over (yeah!!) and my career with FritoLay has begun (yeaher!!)!!  Maybe I still have rose-colored glasses, but the phrase "the grass isn't always greener" doesn't apply here... because "it really does exist"!!  The workload, the office morale, the commute are ALL better and I'm happy for the change.

Cousins

Aren't these the cutest cousins you've ever seen?!?

Donut Day

Throwback Thursday

Wow!!  Look at these pretty girls ready for the 8th grade dance!!

Beautiful Night

It's a beautiful, but chilly, night for baseball practice.  The hectic pace of Spring baseball is almost here!!

Garden Ridge Dribblers

Zach joined the Garden Ridge Dribblers this year.  It's an after-school program for 3rd - 5th grade students where they learn advance dribbling skills (a.k.a. dribbling routines).  We had our first "show" during halftime at a recent Flower Mound High School varsity basketball game.  We had no idea what to expect, so it was a fun surprise to watch the kids perform.

 

Pop Quiz

So... I saw this post idea in Facebook and thought it would be fun to see what answers I'd get.  Without ANY prompting, I asked these questions:

1. What is something I always say to you?  I love you

2. What makes me happy?  Reading

3. What makes me sad?  When me and Alaina are bad

4. How do I make you laugh?  Tickling me

5. What was I like as a child?  Nice... I don't know

6. How old am I?  39

7. How tall am I?  I don't know!!  6'2"

8. What is my favorite thing to do?  Read

9. What do I do when you're not around?  Sleep

10. What am I really good at?  Reading

11. What is something I'm not good at?  Giving me money for claw machines

12. What do I do for a job?  Design bags for chips and tortillas.

13. What is my favorite food?  Potatoes

14. What do you enjoy doing with me?  Having fun.

Answers by: Zachary

Age: 8

1. What is something I always say to you?  I love you.

2. What makes me happy?  Hugs and listening.

3. What makes me sad?  When me and Zach aren't listening.  And when you have a hard day at work... well, I think.

4. How do I make you laugh?  Tickling me and doing stuff funny.

5. What was I like as a child?  Sometimes you said bad words, so Grammy and Grandpa had to clean your mouth with soap.  And a little bit good and a little bit naughty.

6. How old am I?  38

7. How tall am I?  8"

8. What is my favorite thing to do?  Read, that's obvious!

9. What do I do when you're not around?  Do laundry, watch TV, take a nap, and then read.

10. What am I really good at?  Sleeping and reading.  Oh, and saying bad words.

11. What is something I'm not good at?  Making the Star Trek hand split thing (illustrated by Lainey) 

12. What do I do for a job?  Obvious!!  Make sure words are on the bag.

13. What is my favorite food?  Can you give me a hint? (with the sweetest smile on her face).  Wait!!  Pickles!!  Am I right?

14. What do you enjoy doing with me?  Going to Market Street, playing with you, and napping with you.

Answers by: Alaina

Age: 6

Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut...

This one's for you, Grammy!!

Name Game

We're huge fans of car games... or at least me.  Lainey asked the other day why we even play car games.  It kind of breaks my heart to think that the kids are growing older.

But, enough with a mother's reflection, and on with our newest car game.  The Name Game!!  The rules are easy (you'd think) - you only need to name a musician who's first name starts with letters in the alphabet.  What names would you pick?  Here's our list.

A - Ariana Grande
B - Bobby Brown
C - Chris Brown
D - Diana Ross
E - Eminem
F - Frankie Avalon
G - George Jones
H - Harry Styles
I - Iggy Azalea
J - JLo, Jessie J, Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z
K - Kesha
L - Ludacris
M - Mariah Carey
N - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
O - Otis Redding
P - P!nk
Q - Quincy Jones
R - Rihanna
S - Sheila E
T - Taylor Swift
U... unsure.  Any ideas?

And then we arrived home, so the list wasn't finished.  Now the challenge is yours.  Can you complete the alphabet?

Color Me Mine

A New Year's Eve play date took us to Color Me Mine for painting pottery.  The kids also enjoyed free cookies and sparkling apple juice to ring in the new year.  So much fun!!

Cheers!!

Ella, Finley, and Lainey toasting the New Year.

Before

After

Deja Vu

New Year's Eve déjà vu.