Summer 2016

BSR Cable Park Summer 2016

I started a new job working the night shift. When I get home at 6:00 am I sleep and sleep till about 2-3pm. Which left Dallin without a ride to football camps this summer. He got up every morning and walked to camp and walked home which added an extra two miles to his already tuff workout. I was so proud of his dedication and commitment that I decided to take him and his two best friends to the fun giant water slide in Waco that shoots you up into the air. They loved it and we went back a month later with aunt Annette and the little kids. I did go on the slide once and it is very much not something you do when you get older but Its more fun watching him have so much fun any ways.

TRACK-Dallin 7th grade

I think everyone in the family thinks Dallin is a decent athlete. But he really blew all of us way. I mean I was shocked he could run that fast!!. Hot damn this kid has potential. It was one of the most exciting thing I have ever watched. I loved the whole track season and was beyond proud of him. Hopefully he will be just as strong this year. If not better

Addi and Basketball

She started obsessing over basketball months before she started playing. Addi was at the same sleepover that the coaches daughter was inited to. He came to pick up his little girl and saw Addi and asked her to be on his team. Its a select basketball team so I was nervous that she wouldnt play as good as the other girls. I warned the coach she never played before and he told me "she is tall I cant teach height, but I can teach her everything she will need to know". And with that we became basketball parents. And they are ever bit as crazy and raging lunatics and the football and baseball parents are. She listened and did exactly what she was told. She learned a lot and became a good little player. She cant wait for next season

10yrs for Olivia

She has only been on the planet 10 yrs. Aunt Net paid for her to get pampered- GEL Mani and Pedi. And. She got to shave her legs for the first time ever. She was rocking a new bikini and rubbing her smooth legs, as she admired her cute pink nails and she turned to me and said "mom I am looking FIERCE right now" Diva's gotta Div. I love how confident she is. She has every reason to be. She is smart and beautiful.

So so Pretty

The girls had a school dance they went to followed by Addi's piano recital the next day. It was a chance for them to actually wear a dress. They almost never wear dresses. They wanted me to curl their hair for the school dance and I have to say it took FOREVER ..it was the most god awful 2 hours of my life. Now that their hair is super long its utter hell using a curling iron. I kept burning my fingers and screaming profanities. But DAYMN they looked so pretty in the end!

Little Scare (surgery)

Dallin had this tiny bump on his forearm that the doctor noted last year in his physical. The following year when he went back for another physical it was much much bigger almost tripled in size. The Doc wouldn't sign off on his physical till we got it looked at by a pediatric surgeon that specializes in cancer. Obviously your heart drops when you hear that word. I couldnt even begin to out into words how scared I was. The specialist said it definitely didnt look good, and need to be taken out right away. They did the surgery and he had to stay away from track practice (physical activity) for 2 weeks which was driving him nuts. We waited on pins and needles for the results to come back that its wasn't malignant. It was a tumor that was benign. Now we just do a check up every 6 months to make sure its not growing back. But we have a healthy happy boy again. My heart really goes out to parents of kids with cancer. Our little scare was nothing compared to what they go through but it gave me a taste of the kind of fear they must live daily and I think it is the kind of hardship no ONE should ever have to endure. Its one thing to be sick yourself. Its whole other kind of hell watching your kid be sick. All that being said as you can tell from the picture Dallin was very upbeat and had a great sense of humor about the whole thing.

Baseball Season 2016

Derek had a good baseball season after the winter break. I cant say red heads look very good in Orange..but his dad was helping coach so #bonding. And his Grandpa would pick him up on Sundays to teach him throwing and bating technique. I hope he realizes how lucky he is to have so many people helping him achieve his goals. I think this is when he started fallin in love with Takis (fuego) and ever since he can eat those flaming hot chips like nothing I have ever seen. I am truly concerned about the affect it might be having on the lining of his stomach.

Playing Catch Up

I havn't posted in a while. I know most every one is done blogging, but my kids love to look back at old photos and stories. So I am going to keep it up. Or at least try to. (anyways) While we were on the cruise Andrew changed the upstairs loft area into a bedroom for Olivia. So all the kids have their own rooms now. I will post before and after pics later. I got a new job working at one of the busiest hospitals in the US. I work in the ER and I love how crazy it gets. It makes the time fly. We are a level one trauma center so we see some pretty horrific stuff. I do administrative work with insurance and if a patient is helicoptered in we try to figure out who they are asap to call family. I still teach at the gym. In fact I just trained in a new format called UJAM and I am super excited to launch it at 24 hour fitness in March. Dallin and all the kids are growing like weeds. Even my girls have the same size shoes as me now. Dallin had a pretty epic track season and won the MVP award he was so fast. Andrew was promoted to partner at WEAVER and moved to a really nice three story apartment close to downtown Austin. He decided the partner path isn't for him so he is looking for CFO roles right now. We co parent really well together. The kids like having him take care of them while I am at work. He is really good at home work and making spaghetti. I am more the reckless parent that does the crazy stuff with them. We had a blast this summer swimming and Pokemon Go hunting. I really hope they have as many fond memories as I had in 2016

Disney Cruise 2015

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Christmas 2015

This year was over the top amazing. Andrew won some bonus money at work for being a really hard worker and he spent every dime of it on the kids. We try not to spoil them but some time we are like, why no? It makes all the hard days at work seem worth while. (maybe next year we will give them nothing to make up for it) We started off with our usual traditions, singing, and ginger bread house making. The kids came up with new fun ways to add to the songs and stayed positive when the ginger bread houses fell apart. We went on a Disney Cruise with Annette and had the best time! They even got to watch the new Star Wars movie on the ship which was a big deal cause they have been tripping over this movie for over a year now. They got the coolest BB8 robots from Annette and money to spend on the ship. Its one of those pinch yourself moments cause I felt so lucky to be with my kids and sister making memories. When we got back it was 7 days till Christmas and we just enjoyed the time off. The kids were over the moon with everything their dad had gotten them. I hope they understand and appreciate how much they have been afforded because of their fathers hard work. It will be a Christmas to remember thats for sure.

Halloween 2105

As always we had fun handing out candy on the front porch with all the Halloween decor we have managed to accumulate over the years. We played around with some make up last minute and Derek and Andrew had these cool skeleton faces. Scared a ton of little kids. Ate homemade chilli and the kids got to go trick or treating with their friends. Couldn't ask for more. My favorite was the Elsa pumpkin Addi carved. She has to be the most fascinating child I could ever parent. She does these amazing things and then I try to act like its no big deal but inside I am totally geeking out that she belongs to me.

Football 2015

Dallin played football for the middle school 7th grade A team this year. Very different from playing pop warner. He did really really well. We loved watching him play. He is extremely talented and has a lot of potential as an athlete. I hate bragging about my boys. So its hard to know what to say here. My dad was very impressed with him and how he played. These next few years are going to be big as he figures out if he wants to play in college. I really hope he keeps a strong work ethic, stays humble, and keeps playing this way. If he does the sky is the limit. Derek played Pop Warner this year as well and I cant say enough about his positive attitude and willingness to learn. He is a very fast and has a lot of raw talent. Cant wait to watch him grow into the sport. Right now I have to admit its just too adorable to take it too serious. Their little heads bobble back and forth as they struggle to keep their head up with the weight of the helmets. Most of the tackles come from getting tripped or just being to top heavy to run very far. Its the best part of being a parent watching my boys learn how to play sports. They gain so much character and determination through the whole process. I love football.