April 2010

In April, we went to the race track with Daddy. The pictures didn't turn out, but we had a great time. Some of our friends went with us, which made it lots of fun for the kids. The race track is a great place to take kids...they can be as loud as they want, they don't have to worry much about messing anything up and there's fast cars to watch.

We had Cousin Ariel over for a sleep over and they all looked so cute for church that I grabbed a couple pic's.

These two are two peas in a pod...cousins 2 months apart. They have grown up SO MUCH.

Preschool Art Show...JT with his master pieces.

By now, you know JT likes trains...choo-choo trains that is. Well, did he hit the mother load. A friend from church has a older son that had ALOT of the Geo Tracks trains. Since he had out grown them, he wanted to pass them along to a younger boy who would love them like he did. That would be JT. He was SO excited and thrilled. If we set up all the pieces, it takes up the entire dining room with the table pushed over. Needless to say, it doesn't stay out all the time. I'm sure Sissy, JT and I will be rebuilding the train town this summer.

Easter 2010

Easter is always special...we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I'm beyond words grateful for Jesus' sacrifice so that I can be saved. And, even though this is the reason for Easter, we always end up with pictures of mostly the "bunny" part of Easter.

Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Day at our house -- we had friends join us for the hunt and lunch. Here they are checking out their loot.

Easter Morning...going to the Lord's House

Aren't they adorable?

They dress up nice, except we couldn't get JT to wear his church shoes.

Pretty Girl

Goofy Pic...there's the kids I know

Easter treats after church...CANDY!

Another one from hunt in our backyard

Every Easter, our church has a celebration for the kids. The kids wouldn't miss it. Egg hunt, animals, games etc... Their cousins & friends joined them...too fun.

The big girls posing.

Ready to go get eggs!

How does the youngest one end up with the most eggs?

The big kids...ready to go "hit it"

Spring Break 2010

For Spring Break this year, the kids and I went to visit my parents in NM. The road trip was an adventure. My friend's parents live in a nearby town in NM so we decided to travel together to see our folks...2 Moms, 5 kids, 1 new puppy (not ours). It went really well...much better than my friend and I imagined. It didn't take long to discover I was fortunate to be the driver. My friend was the "snack lady"...every few minutes it seemed, she heard from 1 or more children that they were hungry or thirsty, or needing assistance in some manner. If we go on another road trip together, we decided there will be designated snack times.

The Roadies

We made it to my Mom's...Mimi, as the kids call her. We stayed with her and SO enjoyed our time visiting with her. Sissy and JT love her backyard. Mom has a talent growing things, especially beautiful roses.

Mimi bought them each something from "Wally World" to play with at her house...Sissy, the artist, got sidewalk chalk and JT got a baseball bat & tee.

We tried out several parks around Mimi's town. Grandad joined us for lunch and the parks.

My parents can still act like kids. It was fun playing together.

We went to my Dad's house...he only lives about 35 miles from Mom. The kids had a blast. Dad and Jackie know how to entertain kids.

They have a karaoke machine, which they love to sing on, especially Sissy. JT even did his *Metallica* version on B-I-N-G-O...which he learned from his Daddy.

Grandad even had a "Mountain" in the living room for the kids to climb and play in. And, I quickly emphasized to the kids that "NO, we will not be getting a mountain in our house."

My Dad...retired Army Lt. Colonel

love you Dad

Here's the old railroad bridge that they still use and my Dad used to play on when he was a kid. JT loved this...train obsession and all.

Cool park by the river

View of the river and bridge

Grandad also has his own golf cart, which what we rode around in to the golf course, park and river. My kids loved it; they think Grandad ROCKS. He even let them drive..a little scary.

Grandad has a golf course as his backyard, which is really nice and fun for the kids. And, "NO" again...we're not going to "get a golf course" either.

March 2010

March was a fun month for us with several special events...

Sissy and I went to see *Phantom of the Opera*, which was the first time we had seen the musical. We love the movie and sound track, but it was fantastic to see it on person. I'm so glad we went since the tour of 17 years wraps up this year. You should have seen Sissy's face during the show, especially when they first dropped the curtain. LOVED IT!

Sissy was in her school's 2nd Grade Program. She's on the left, mid way up.

Other pic's didn't turn.

Some of JT's art from preschool. His 'clouds' are straight and 'rain' uniform.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Love that kid. LOL.

Daddy went and qualified for *Pinks All Out* while they were in Dallas. He ran FAST, but unfortunately, they didn't choose his bracket for the race. At least, he can say he's done it.

We also went on a road trip during Spring Break to see my parents...see the next post for pictures.

January-February 2010

I'm still playing catch up and still doing things backwards. Sigh. Here are some pictures from Jan. & Feb. of this year. Enjoy...more to come.

Sissy's Art was featured for her school at the LISD Elementary Art Show.

She's still quite the artist...amazing some of things she draws.

SNOW...We got more snow in January; it was so fun playing in it!

Aren't they cute?

Last year, we started a tradition of getting together with friends for New Years. The kids get pizza and a movie. The adults get Beef Wellington made by my friend, who is a fantastic cook. We feel so privileged to get to have this fancy and tasty dinner.

At Christmas time, there's a model train exhibit. We went on New Years Day to miss the crowd. Yeah! And, it was great. JT did not want to leave...as you can imagine if you know how much this boy likes trains. We all enjoyed it and voted to make it a tradition.