Beach Trip 2015

We usually do an annual beach trip but skipped last year cause Andrews sister was visiting and we wanted the money to go towards hosting them. We really missed the beach and were sure to get it in this year. And we out did ourselves this time. We got a much nicer hotel and we stayed 4 days instead of two. The hotel had beach access so we could just walk right to the ocean. We wore shirt to protect our skin and NO one got sunburned. The kids had pink cheeks but nothing as painful as the burns in 2013. We woke up and swam every morning and built sand castles. The hotel served breakfast which was soo sooo very nice. Then we hung out in the hotel and played games till the sun died down and went back out to the beach late afternoon. The hotel pool was nice cause we could swim for a few minutes to get the sand off and at night they lit the pool up with colorful lights and played party music. And the hotel had a fire works show at 9 pm Fri and Sat night and it was a pretty cool! We went sand crab hunting at night with flashlights and cups. It was hysterical. Those little suckers move so fast. They are adorable till one comes right at you and then we all were screaming and flipping out. We caught three sand crabs and then put them back the last day. This year we rented Jet Skis and the kids had an absolute blast riding on/driving them. We found a really really yummy Italian restaurant that put the Olive Graden to shame. South Padre Island is the sand castle capital of the USA so we got to see some really cool sand castles. Every one got to shop and buy little junky toys from the local gift shops. And we rented a nice big van to drive down in with a dvd player so we didnt hear one peep out of the kids the whole drive back. Sweet Success. Every year our beach trip just gets better and better.

My BIG Boys

We have a giant sized ruler in our office. Its one of the very few things I actually made from Pinterest. I measure the kids and write down the date to show how fast they are growing. My boys are getting pretty tall! You always know they are about to hit a growth spurt cause they eat and eat and eat. Nothing tides them over. Derek is going through one now. Its costing me a fortune to feed them. I took some pics with them after a baseball game just to prove I actually attended one this year. I didn't go to hardly any games which I am sure Andrew and the boys loved cause I can be that crazy mom in the stand sometimes. It takes the pressure off when I am not there. Andrew doesn't push them to go hard at all. He thinks the soft teddy bear approach is best... I won't share my opinions on his approach cause I don't want to be negative here, but I can say Thank GOD they have me or there would be little to no success (lol).. uuhhh .. Check out how big my 12 year old boy has gotten. He is 5ft 9inches and still growing! If Derek follows his big brother he will be pretty tall too. I really hope my boys are tall. My dad always said never date a guy under 6ft 3" cause he wanted his grand sons to be big boys. I did at least listen to him on that one. My brother Jed however..not so much.. His wife is under 6ft 3" so we will see how big his boys end up. Sorry Bro I am going to win this time!! ha ha

Field Day 2015

I was able to attend field day this year. I didn't go last year. The school they used to go to had real crappy field days. Lame games so I just opted out...nothing to see. Addie begged me to bring them lunch so I did and then decided to stay. It was so cool. They really fun obstacle courses and three legged races etc.. And the speech the PE coach gave before the tug o war was epic. He basically said all the math and reading they do all year long doesn't matter as much as the tug o war. And that if they win that memory will last forever! My kind of guy. I was a little frustrated cause I didn't get to see Derek. Apparently the younger kids did field day first thing in the morning. They were watching a movie at lunch time so I didn't even get to sit with him for lunch. But he has a few more years to go so I will catch him next time.

Baseball 2015

So far a ton of games have been rained out. But the few that the boys have played were fun to watch. Derek is so into it. He loves the game and he tries real hard. Derek is really really good at catching pop flys. Dallin is playing with 14 yr olds and is kicking butt. He is a really good batter. I hope he hits a home runt his year for his momma. After this year they start claiming its for their girlfriend.

Olivia's 9th Birthday

I will NEVER do a sleep over party again. It was fun until 3 am when little girls are still awake and you have to get nasty with them to fall asleep. They loved the games and making sleep shirts and flip flops. I did the best I could considering how busy I was and how much I hate throwing parties. I know she loved it so that makes me happy. She picked the weirdest cake. I am still laughing about it but hey if its your birthday then you get what you want. She is such a cute sweet girl. I hope she has a fun year.

Job #2

The reason I have not blogged in forever is cause I got a second job. It was perfect cause it kept me busy while the kids were in school, which meant I went out to eat less and shopping less. I saved money and we made some big strides financially. I went to work for a friend from the gym in a day care. It was pretty run down and looking ratty. I got to go in and decorate the rooms with themes. It was so much fun. I did a DR. Suess room. An under the sea room. A monkey room. A cute bear room for the babies. The hungry Caterpillar room. And a rainbow room which ended up being my Pre-K room. I wish I had pics of all the rooms. They were so so cute but I didn't get pics. I am off for the summer now to spend more time with my kids. I still was working at the gym so it was pretty busy. I will continue to work at the gym. This week we launch the new Grit series at 24 Hour Fitness and I am soo freaking excited! Its the best workout ever and I feel so lucky to be healthy so I can teach and motivate people. Its like the best job ever. I do have a pic of some of my art work in my rainbow room. It was hard cause they wouldn't let us paint the walls so I had to make do with butcher paper and staples.

Christmas 2014

It was a really good Christmas this year. We were very blessed to be able to give a lot to our kids this year because we were very smart and responsible with our money all year long. Now we are trying very hard to make sure they keep it real and don't become spoiled brats. One of my favorite things about this Christmas was my kids participation in our evening singing time as a family. We usually read a Christmas book or have pop corn and watch Polar Express. Anything to get them away from their video games and spend time together. This year Dallin and Addie presented stories about giving and the spirit of Christmas. The stories they picked were really touching. And the coolest part was one night Olivia and Derek announced they made up a song for all of us. They sat together and Derek introduced Livyy then she sang this made up song. It was actually pretty good. And shocker Olivia can sing! Holy cow I did not see that one coming. It was really cool. I hope she joins choir or does something with that talent one day..(maybe I should help her look into that)