Foto Friday

"Picnic" lunch

Thanksgiving - Gobble, Gobble =)

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving break - lots of fun and got a lot done =)

Movies (Harry Potter, Secretariat, Tangled) - not all together, different groups to different movies but we definitely did our part this year in the Thanksgiving movie weekend!

Motorcycle ride, mountain biking, indoor playground and "The Grinch" musical. Indoor and outdoor decorations up and new exterior lights (thanks babe!).

New tradition of family games on Thanksgiving morning - so fun! But best of all, wonderful food with family on Thanksgiving capped off with the Aggies beating Texas made for a fantastic day!

Ok, so family games was a hit - we played while watching the Macy's parade.

Especially bingo where everyone got to enjoy being the caller =)

I didn't do a good job of taking pictures of the family meal but we had my parents and sister Kath over and it was really great. Amber and Sam fell asleep on the couch after the game - so cute!

Thanks to the kiddos, well the older boys, we got the lights done quickly outside. Amber "helped" us by giving the plants a trim =)

Riley, our 8 year old pup, watching us work =)

Before and after of the lights. One of our original lights was broken (the one by the basketball hoop, hmmm...) and we couldn't find one to match, so we switched them all and we love them! Now those boys better not throw towards the light!!

We capped off the week with a surprise trip to see "The Grinch" at the Hobby Center. The Grinch was played by the same guy who is Ronny Rotten in LazyTown (kids show, aimed at the toddler - kinder set). He did a great job and it was really fun, very audience interactive. Now it's back to the regular schedule at least for a few weeks =)

Happy Birthday Thomas!!

Thomas celebrated his 7th birthday at the zoo. This year we started celebrating birthdays by taking the kiddos somewhere special. For the older boys we surprised them (Sam's is coming up, so he doesn't know yet where he is going =) ). Thomas starting asking to go to the zoo this summer, so we knew exactly where to take him. The weather was gorgeous and we had a great time! We got to see the new baby elephants, a 5 mo. old boy and a 7 week old girl. So cute!!

Happy Birthday Thomas!

Boys of Fall

Sam and Thomas played their first season of flag football this fall. They both really enjoyed it and it was fun for us to watch. Here are some shots...

The Perfect Day

Every once in a while, one of those perfect days just happens. For us it was mid-October on a beautiful day. I don't know how it happened but we had a free day (no crazy schedule) and Brian decided to cook out. He headed to the store and came back with yummy cheese and wine to start it all off. My parents stopped by with some fudge from a craft fair in Richmond and I persuaded them to come in and try the cheese and wine. They ended up staying for dinner, kids got in the pool, played football with Grandpa and corn hole with Grandma and I got some hot tub time in too. The dinner was delicious (beef kabobs, asparagus, corn) and the company and pace was wonderful. Truly it was a perfect day =) - Did I mention that I didn't have to cook a thing? =)

Beautiful Morning!!

The boys have been wanting to ride their bikes to school and today was the first day we tried it. It's a little over two miles and it was fun for them and good exercise for me (yes, that is how sad my exercise routine is - although I was pulling Amber in the trailer). The weather was perfect, cool and crisp. Amber and I decided to follow the ride up with a picnic breakfast at the park and some princess coloring. Best morning ever!

Reminder - click on the pictures if you want to see it bigger. If the video is uploading slowly, just hit pause and let it load a little bit before you watch it.

Toothless Wonder

Thomas lost his first tooth!! Check it out...

You can see the permanent tooth pushed that baby tooth out. He was really excited about losing a tooth. First visit from the tooth fairy - finally his turn!

Love Bugs

Thomas is just sweetness. Wednesday night after Amber went to bed, he made a little gift of jelly beans and a "love card" as he called it, for her. He left it on the floor outside her room with one of her My Little Ponies next to it so she would see it when she came out. When she saw it, she oooh'd and awww'd like little girls do and said "Thomas is my best friend!!". Too sweet!

Lucky - loved - girl

Feast or Famine....Denmark and Croup

Ok, I was doing well there for while with the posts and then things got a little crazy =) Schedules became busier, Brian went to Denmark and people got sick. Brian is back, people are healthy and I have a minute so here is the latest...

Michael kicked his first sucessful field goal!! Under the coaching of Grandpa, he refined his technique and kicked a beauty. Check out the yellow circles for the ball, the kicker and Michael's favorite part, the coach celebrating!

He looks so grown up here. #42 =)

Just for Fun

We saw these chairs at Sam's - they are huge! I'm not sure why anyone would ever buy one but they are pretty funny. The arm rest's have 3 drink holders each. =)

The Hair Fix

So Amber had the second professional haircut of her life today, the first one was almost 2 years ago. She loved it and hopefully we convinced her that letting a hair stylist cut it is the way to go =) The stylist wanted me to let her go shorter and do a real bob but I wasn't ready for that. I think it looks cute - the shaggy mullet is gone =)

My Daughter the (bad) Hair Stylist - I Need Advice!!

So Amber has done what so many before her have done - she's cut a little of her hair. The problem is that she's done it too many times. At school, at home - I've been confiscating and hiding scissors but somehow she is finding a way. She has managed to sculpt her hair into a quasi-mullet. I'm telling (comforting) myself that the fact she did it in a 70's shag kind of way, that it looks slightly more stylish than the standard mullet. Sadly, even I'm not buying it. I probably need to take her to a professional and try to make something out of it but I'm sad that she will lose the long hair that she has. Finally I have a girl - someone who will have long flow-y locks, and of course, she's the hair cutter in the group! I need a second opinion - support - whatever you want to call it - but I need honesty. Should I get it cut, evened out? I think it would end up some kind of a shaggy bob because as you can see in the pictures, she wasn't timid. A lot of the chunks on both sides are like 3 - 4 inches long at most. Ugh. Sad.

First Middle School Football Game

Last night the Bobcats took on the Jaguars and although they lost....soundly, it was so much fun to watch. I had seen parts of practices and I wasn't sure how much football the boys were picking up - but they looked great. It was really cool watching them move down the field and make tackles. I will admit, it's a lot harder watching them take the hits though. Never bothers me watching the NFL - hit harder boys! But when it's little people you know - it's a whole different feeling. Michael had a blast - he played offense, defense and is the kicker. He scored the first touchdown, running the ball about 15 yards in to score. He was so proud last night =) He's sore today, he has a bruise in the shape of a part of the helmet on his arm - yeesh.

Getting ready to make the kickoff at the beginning of the game. He's #42, the second guy back.

Celebratory cookie cake - not gourmet, I know - but he thought it was cool!

Triathlon Triumph

The boys all participated in the SugarLand Kids Tri yesterday and it is one of our favorite events of the year. I start to tear up every year when the first kids (yes, ones I don't even know) get out of the pool and come running towards transition. I am so proud of all of them for doing something that takes endurance and perseverance. Michael and Sam have done this triathlon 4 times, and Thomas twice. Amber has to wait until she's 5 - she'll be ready - she's tired of watching already! If I don't do one before she's 5, everyone in my family will have completed one before me - I better get motivated!

Gear all ready to go night before.

Everybody waiting to line-up for the start, chips on ankles.

Swim done, Michael is off to transition and bike.

Sam waiting to swim.

Swim done, here he goes!

In Thomas goes -

And he's off!

(This kiddo was so excited about the Tri that he woke up, got dressed and came in to wake us up before the 6am wake-up time)

Bike done, now race to the finish. Note the transition area full of bikes in the background =)

The three triumphant triathletes!

We love this event - it's so great that they compete in this as individuals, strategizing transition techniques (socks in shoes, belt unlatched, etc). We are so proud of them for doing it. Now they want to do a Duathlon in October that they heard about at this race - bike, run, bike.

Moment of clarity in the midst of madness =)

Usually the afternoons are a rush of homework, snacks, practices, dinner and then bedtime. And sometimes (ok, more often that I'd like) several of us are grumpy about it all. Today as I was cleaning the kitchen, I looked out into the living room and instead of just glancing at the kids and thinking ahead to the next task, I really saw them and it hit me that those little people and those piles of laundry are not always going to be there. I just loved seeing it. Silly as it is, the picture is such a snapshot of my life and the love in it. So I grabbed the camera and tried to capture it for always. Here it is...

Immediately, my daughter heard the click and posed and asked if she looked "pretty with her cup". Ha ha ha, the boys, playing video games of course didn't even notice. Then she ran in and hung off the counters with her little fingers, looking straight up at me and if she hadn't moved so quickly, I would have taken a picture of that as well. Another view I will miss some day =) Here is the pose with the cup...

Fantasy Worlds...

This last weekend we had a draft party at our house for the Horizon Fantasy Football team Brian and I play on. It is the third season we will be doing this and it's really a lot of fun! It was great seeing all these friends that I see only a few times a year. Here is a shot of some of the draft action:

I feel really good about the team I put together...we'll see if that changes after the season starts!

Thomas was so helpful during the day, putting out napkins and plates, bringing in groceries, etc. We thought he was done helping, when he called us in to see the "cool football tower" he had erected (this is what happens when our little T is focused)...

We loved it!

And finally in other fantasy news....Thomas built a car for two....and Amber made a huge, but fun playdoh mess =) All in all, a very fun weekend.

New Dancing Shoes!

Amber loves all things girly and has been talking about ballerinas lately so it seemed like a good time to try out a dancing class. She is going to start a weekly dance class at Little Gym where she'll do a little tap, ballet and gymnastics. We went shopping today (as girls like to do) and got her shoes and a leotard. She is in LOVE with the outfits!

By the way, the "I'm wishing, I'm wishing" she sings at the beginning is from Snow White =) and I lose her at the end to her Daddy arriving home. "Surprise!"

And here she is in ballet shoes:

Back to School!

Everybody made it off to school today without a hitch. We were a little nervous because Thomas stood in the hall for the first 15 minutes of "Meet the Teacher" night. I thought he might do the same this morning but he went right on in. We now have a first grader, fourth grader and a seventh grader - yikes!

For the first time, Sam has two great friends in his class. Right now they all sit at the same table - I'm hoping it stays that way but I won't be surprised if there's a change before the weekend =)

Michael also has his first day of football practice after school. They are all growing up so (in my head, read "too") fast. I hope they come home happy!!