Addie's loves Horses

Her obsession with horses never really went away. She is old enough now that it was time to see her dreams come true. Well half of her dreams (we don't actually have a horse in our back yard) but she gets to ride horses every week. We found a ranch that will teach her how to care for and ride horses. I thought our little princess would scoff at the thought of cleaning and grooming horses but she actually loved it. She is learning how to tell the horse what she wants it to do without saying anything. Naturally she took to the horse and it took to her and she was so beautiful up there riding it I shed a few tears of happiness for her (under sunglasses. I cant let people see my softer side). She is looking into horse camps for the summer. I think once a week isn't enough she wants to see a horse every day. But it will have to do for now. And its better than nothing. We are so lucky to have such a unique child come to our family.

Derek's Birthday

The day after Halloween. Poor guy, no matter how hard I try his birthday always seems to be shadowed by Halloween. Especially this year after the big party for Dallin. We went rock climbing and once Derek got about half way up the rock climbing wall and started to cry, we realized he is afraid of heights. Not the best birthday party idea for that fear. But it ended up being super positive because we kept pushing him to get to the top. He went up several times and asked to go back down when the fear became too much. He finally over came his fear and reached the top earning himself a Lego set. He was so proud of himself!! We were all so proud of him too. The next day we made a rainbow birthday cake and Dallin made his name with Legos as a cake topper. Derek fixed the K and then blew out the candle. He is still the sweetest little boy. Not sure if he will grow out of it but every one loves him. And every one comments on his red hair. Dallin admits to picking up on girls that think his little bro is cute. Its so funny.

Halloween Part 2

Dallin is getting older and wanted to throw a party with his friends this year. We agreed and some how Addie had to add her friends into the mix. They went trick or treating and my mom came up to hand out candy at the front door. We played really fun games. The kids loved murder in the dark (except one) and begged to play again over and over. I have to admit I can rock a party if I put a little planning into it. You should ask my sister Annette about the parties I don't plan out very well.. Any ways It was truly a fun time. I have video of the jello rat eating contest up on our youtube account I will post a link at the bottom. In the rush I didn't get a pic of Derek in his costume. The little Devil ran off with his friends too quickly. Olivia went to her friend Ashley's house for most of the night. We missed our kids but its better that they have fun with their friends than we insist they stay with us.

Halloween Part 1

The month starts off with Halloween packages from Aunt Net. Full of candy,Halloween t-shirts,flash lights, pumpkin carving kits, glow sticks, and crafts. They love getting the package so much that I usually hold them on top of the fridge and give them a list of chores that must be done before they can open them. My sister would gut me if she knew this, but I have to utilize these golden opportunities when I can. We went the school Halloween carnival for the first time this year. Andrew tried homemade tamales and feels like he has now had the full Mexican experience. We won TWO cakes in the cake walk...Go big or go home right? And we bid on the class baskets but thankfully lost (I did not bring cash but I wanted our kids to think we are high rollers). A week before Halloween we carved pumpkins and the kids did really well. Derek's pumpkin is too cute. It looks just like him. He sat there never made a peep and carved it alone with out any help. I love how cool all the pumpkins turned out.

Lego Love

I hate hate hate hate hate HAAAAATTTTEE!! Legos. Seriously, they are all over my house they are never organized. One year we bought those rubbermade drawers and sorted all 52 Billion legos by color. One week later all the hours spent sorting were thrown down the drain. I hate Legos SO SO much!! When you buy the $100 lego set complete with instructions your kid builds it ONCE and then NEVER builds it again. So that means an additional 200 more Legos for you to step on on your way to the bathroom, half asleep, in the middle of the night. Its the worst! I scream and yell and throw fits to get the boys to pick them up. Worst thing that could happen is a few years ago they started making them for girls! God is trying to tell me he does not like me more and Karma is over in the corner laughing like "I gotcha back bitch". Cause all my kids love Legos. One day.... a cute adorable Red headed little boy with the sweetest of hearts and the big front teeth, came up to his mom and said "I made this for you cause I love you most in the whole world" and then he handed me a Lego heart he made. How could I possibly hate Legos after that? I will keep this heart forever! I love legos. The end!

40! Andrew is 40!

He still has not had a mid life crisis. I am guessing accountants don't do that sort of thing cause it usually involves frivolous spending. He has been working out more. He had a little bit of a belly ..but with his high metabolism he just has to eat a carrot and do a few biceps curls and he is back to normal. I hate this about him. He works for a smaller accounting firm now called Weaver. We both decided it would be better than staying with the big 4 and having to move around. I moved a lot as a kid and it was the worst. Especially in high school. Dallin will get to have his grandpa coach him and get the kind of perks he needs to possibly play football in college. He likes parts of his new job and doesn't like other parts. I know he made the sacrifice to take the new job for our kids well being. Over all me and the kids are so thankful for all the hard work he does to provide for us. We have a wonderful life because of him. My job mainly covers my shoe obsession and my Starbucks addiction. He provides everything else. I really feel lucky that he has a college education and has afforded us so many luxury s. He doesn't go hunting or golfing or have expensive hobbies. Here is to a happy healthy life Andrew! Thanks for all that you give for all of us every day. We went to Mighty Fine Burgers. The kids loved climbing the light post to see who could place their sticker higher. After that bowling and yummy Lemon cake.

A boy and his watermelon

Derek saw a pic of a watermelon on a shelf at the home depot. He loves watermelon. Like more than life. He asked and I told him it was a watermelon plant. He begged for me to buy it. It was one stem and one leaf. Super small. It looked like it was already dying. It was only $1. So I said sure and never gave it a second thought. He went out with his dad and planted it. Life gets hectic and busy. I remember thinking I should probably go check on the back yard, I had not been back there for three months. Maybe pull a few weeds. I looked over and was shocked that a watermelon had grown. He was watching and loving it all this time. He is so happy and so patient. I am not surprised at all that he got what he wanted. I usually kill anything I try to plant in the garden. Its like my impatience seeps out of me into the soil and spoils everything. Andrew picked it yesterday and it was delicious. Way to go Derek! Our little happy guy. He loves everything and everyone and everything and everyone love him right back. Even plants.

Addi turns 10

Yes ADDi she decided this year that she wants to drop the "e" off the end of her name cause she is a tom boy. Her tom boy stage has really gotten worse. I thought it was almost over but I found myself back to school shopping in the boys section with her. She also wanted a basketball and a basketball hoop for her bedroom door. I have actually done really well at coping with this. Right before summer I gave up on trying to have their rooms look like they should be in a design magazine and let them buy posters and pic out whatever bedding they want. This drastically reduced the ugly looks I usually get from Addi every morning. She is still very smart, independent, strong willed. These things will never change. She is obsessive over Elsa. I mean just go follow her on instagram. She wants to be Elsa for Halloween and finding the costume has been a nightmare. I think she is a lot like Elsa. She is mean to her sister. lol. Fact. And she doesn't see the need for prince charmings...etc. Happy 10th Birthday Mrs. AddI. For her birthday Annette picked up Peyton in OK and flew down to help us celebrate. It made her feel extra special.

Dallin turns 12

Its that age where you don't know what to get them. So we went with money and he loves money so he was happy. We gave him $$ in a bank account and debit card. His aunt Annette made him a money cake. He also got some cool clothes which is really important going into junior high. He has gotten so tall he is now 5ft 6 inches which is taller than me and 130 lbs which is also heavier than me (lol j/k). He has been trying out some quarter back moves with his trainer and runs one of the fastest miles in school. He was too big to play Pop Warner this year and the middle school does not have a 6th grade team, so no football this year. I am super depressed about it.. but I also think he needs a break from all the pressure. He is mowing the lawn for us every Wednesday earning his own money. He has tons of friends and is a very happy kid. I always tear up when I talk about him cause he is my best friend. We seriously joke around all day and laugh at each other. He is very very funny. I love that he has an adult sense of humor. I am beyond upset that he is growing so fast but also so excited about his future. I really do think he is special and we will see more of his talent very soon.

Summer 2014

We had a really fun summer. I loved spending more time with the kids. It was hot but fun. My favorite thing was when we made a fairy garden. I have another one started cause they are so cute. I am glad the cool weather is blowing in now. But this summer was so much fun.

Texas swimming holes

I wanted to get out and do more than just the local pools this summer. So we went to a couple of swimming holes. I promise you the pics don't capture how gorgeous Texas is. I felt like I was in a fairy tale with the crystal blue water and the massive trees. It was so much fun. My favorite was Wimberly. I have to go back there next year for sure and go to some new ones.

Back to the Graffiti Wall

Before Annette left town we had to revisit the famous Austin graffiti wall. This time to make our own art. It was cool cause there was new art covering the art we saw last time we were there just one week before. This art still blows me away. And I was pretty impressed with the art me kids made and how long one $3 can of spray paint will last. Lots of amazing summer memories

4th Of July 2014

Just Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Net. My brother and his family moved to TN and Becka is in OK now. Pretty chill morning with Firworks at night. My favorite part was the cookie pizza. Me and Annette get a bad wrap for being not so good at cooking. But we blew every one away with the cute/ delicious cookie pizza. I seriously crave another one. The kids favorite part was getting spoiled at the lake. Annette bought them light up toys, balloon animals, and space ships made out of coca cola cans. These are things Andrew and I will normally say no to but not aunt Net.

Visitors-Austin

Andrew's sister and her family came to visit Austin. The kids have not seen their cousins in 5 yrs so we had to make sure to pack in the fun. There was a lot of hanging out and playing video games. And a lot of swimming that I didn't get pics of but I tried to take pics of the big fun stuff. First day we went to Barton Springs and Chuys. We also saw the tower on the UT campus and the famous Austin greeting mural. On Thursday night the adults went out and did the live music scene. Mike bought a giant pizza on 6th street and fed a homeless man. Too funny!

Visitors-Fredricksburg and the Rodeo

What is a visit to Texas without going to the Rodeo. We found one in Fredricksburg and drove out. Its a gorgeous small town with shops and antiques and gourmet Texas food. We walked the shops a bit but with kids that gets old really fast. So we stopped for lunch and then headed over to the Rodeo. It was awesome. I love how we honor our flag and our country in Texas. They started with cowgirls riding around with flags. The star spangled banner followed by a prayer for our troops and not a dry eye in the stands. We treat our military men an women like gods. And rightfully so. Then they did your typical horse bucking, cow roping, muttin bustin, and BULL riding. It was exciting and entertaining and our visitors got to see the best of Texas.