All That Sassafrass

Avery's first day of MIDDLE SCHOOL!

2008-08-20T12:54:00.005-05:00

OH MY WORD!! I have a middle schooler!! Avery started her 6th grade year at her new school today. We are sending her to a Christian school in hopes of smaller classes and good influences. Avery was VERY excited and a little nervous, but overall could not WAIT to get there this morning. I was so afraid of her waking up crying not wanting to go, but she was all smiles.

6 fingers for 6th grade (Yes I made her do that!! :)

She was SO cute last night telling me that a cool thing that middle schoolers and high schoolers are doing is tying a ribbon around their ponytails. I had noticed this before, but never thought twice about it. She asked if I would do a "half way up" and tie a ribbon around it. She picked her outfit out and had it all laid out last night. She wanted biscuits for breakfast and made a biscuit sandwich for lunch (one of her favs).

I have been praying for her all day and trying not to stress out. She is just so precious to me and I don't want her to ever hurt, ya know. I am hoping her middle school career isn't like mine. I hope for better for her. I can't wait to hear about her day!!

A Free Week

2008-08-06T09:07:00.004-05:00

Last week, my mom kept my kids for 6 days straight. Glen was on vacation from work, I took off from watching the kids (the ones that I didn't birth), and we had no appointments or schedule for the entire week. I had in my head that I would clean the house, have a few lunches with friends, do the things I NEVER get to do.

Well, the week was AMAZING, but I really didn't get to do everything I had hoped. I did other WAY FUN things! This is what we DID do.

1.Went to see the new Indiana Jones. It was pretty good. The alien thing threw me WAY off.

2.Went to see Step Brothers (Will Farrell's new movie) with friends. Umm. I laughed SO hard at things that are SO inappropriate that I SHOULD be embarrassed, but for some odd reason I'm not. What's really weird is that usually I don't think those kinds of movies are funny at ALL, but I think with the kids gone I was too care free to worry about the F word in every sentence. I know - BAD! I have a favorite line, but it is too nasty to put on here, so e-mail me if you want to laugh all day. :)

3.Went to see Dark Knight. I LOVED it, but was sad the whole time thinking about Heath. GREAT movie though. The best of the 3.

(Yes we saw 3 movies. We don't get to go OUT to the movies much, so we took advantage)

4.Went on a double date to the Beehive downtown with some friends and stayed up till 4 in the morning playing games. (That was a fun night!!)

5.Went to the pool twice without kids. Once BY MYSELF!!! HEAVEN!

6.Got a pedicure with my friend Autum. My toes are SO cute right now!! LOVED it!

7.Read 2 books. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, and The Good Guy by Dean Koontz. Both really good books. I am officially addicted to Twilight. I get the 2nd one on Thursday (borrowing from a friend) and I can't wait!

8.Slept in EVERYDAY. Staying up late reading, watching tv, and playing games really took a toll and I slept in till at LEAST 10 every. single. day.

9.Went out to eat with Glen for ALMOST every meal. Not quite EVERY meal, but a lot. I'm not talking Olive Garden, but you know Jason's Deli, Rick and Carolyn's, Joe's, that kind of eating out.

10.Shopping!!!! We didn't spend a ton, but Glen OFFERED to take me to the mall!!!! HIS idea! I'm telling you. I married the best man alive. So I got a few new things. Dillard's was having a great sale, so that was fun! Can't pass up a bargain!

11.BE WITH GLEN!!!! This had to be my favorite thing! We have never really gotten time alone, just us. We had Avery 6 months after we were married and so it has NEVER been just US. We had such a good time hanging out just being with each other. I love my husband!!!!!!

******I have a few thank yous!!!******

Thanks to my parents for offering to keep my 4 children for days on end when you are trying to pack and move houses! It's official! You are the BEST Grammy and Grandy!

Thank you to my brother, sil, and niece for helping with the kids and being so fun that my kids want to live with you!

Thank you to UPS for giving my husband a much needed and deserved break!

Thank you to Summer and Amanda for giving me the week off!! You are the best people to work for!

Things are back to the norm this week. I am glad to have my kids back, that's for sure. It's good to get back to the normal days of summer, even though last week CANNOT be topped. It was good while it lasted. :) Happy Summer. At least for a couple more weeks.

Ride Like The Wind

2008-07-21T13:08:00.000-05:00

As we all know, Jude LOVES horses. There is just something about horses, ropes, ANYTHING cowboy. So a friend of ours, Erin invited us out for Jude to ride their horse Peaches. Erin is AWESOME with kids. She just graduated from high school and is coming to ACU and cheering for them too! She is one of Jude's favorite people. Jude talked about riding Peaches everyday till we went. So on Friday we went about 30 miles out of town. Jude could not WAIT!!!

Gun: Check
Boots: Check
Rope: Check
Hat: Check

He was standing at the back door for a good 5 minutes like this waiting for me to get everything together. Usually he would've been complaining about having to hold ALL of that, but I didn't even ask him to do this. THAT's what was SO cute. I'm telling you. A total cowboy at heart.

I teared up a little when taking this one. They started walking off and I could hear her talking about what he needed to do to guide Peaches and he just looked SO big up there.

She led Peaches around this huge field. He was in heaven.

Then Erin got on with him so they could go faster. Erin said that when they were galloping, he yelled, "Ride like the wind!!!"

SO happy!

That look is priceless! Definitely worth the 30 minute drive out.

Riding all by himself. My big boy. She taught him how to turn and back up. He was eating it up!

Afterwards, they unsaddled Peaches and this is him carrying in the blanket, you know the stuff REAL cowboys do. It was heavy too! He loved it!
Jude got to brush Peaches after riding, with a little boost from Erin.

Then we jumped in their pool for a swim. Jude liked it.....just a little. :)

She just started teaching Jude to swim on her own. He learned SO much just in that 45 minutes. She is amazing! Thanks Erin for such a fun time!!

Giving another "talk"

2008-07-17T13:22:00.004-05:00

Today has been a little different. Not because I am have a total of 9 kids in the house, that IS a little different but that isn't quite what I'm talking about when I say different. (The kids are napping if you are wondering how I am blogging right now.)

*****TOUCHY SUBJECT - READ AT YOUR OWN RISK*****

I have felt for the past couple of weeks that God was inching my heart closer to telling Avery about something I have been DREADING. Last summer (before her 5th grade year), we had THE talk. The one where she was SHOCKED and yelled, "You mean you and daddy have done that 4 times!?" (Cause I told her that is where kids come from) Yeah, THAT talk. S.E.X.

So like I said I really have felt God prodding me to tell Avery about............homosexuality. I know. Touchy, right? It is SO hard for me to talk about. I want to shelter my kids from all worldly things. I'm just like that. I probably shelter them too much, but as a mom that is my right. They are MY kids. I know with Avery going into middle school, she needed to have some true answers about the subject. After telling God no for the last few weeks, I gave in. Believe it or not it was because of Kathy Griffin. The tv was on a commercial for her show and it just hit me like a TON of bricks. (She talks about gay people a lot on her show) Don't ask me how. God spoke to me though. I knew it was time.

I took her to the laundry room and we sat on the ground. I started off talking about last years talk and how God made us to love each other no matter what. Everyone sins, but it is how we handle those sins that make us who we are. Then I began to talk about what it means to be "gay". She thought that it meant happy!! I LOVE that. I told her that it DOES mean that, but now adays when it is said it means that someone is a homosexual. She was a little shocked at what that meant, but I could see it soaking in within the context I had started the conversation.

I started crying talking about someone that we know is gay. I love this person beyond words and so does Avery. I told her that I didn't want to tell her about it until she loved our friend for WHO she is, not WHAT she is. She IS a WONDERFUL, CARING, BEAUTIFUL, GENEROUS, and LOVING friend. I have loved her for SO long, it is impossible to NOT love her. Avery felt that and cried along with me. That moment was VERY special to me. It will be a lifelong memory for me and her as well I imagine.

I am SO proud of how Avery reacted and handled the WHOLE conversation. It really can be an awkward thing to talk about, but she was more ready to hear it than I thought that she would be. She is so much more spiritually mature than I was at that age (11) and I am just proud of the little prayer warrior she has become. She really motivates me to be a better person and Christian. It is fun to look up to your daughter on a spiritual level. Strange, but really enjoyable too. Pretty soon I will be looking up to her in a different way. She is about 5'3". CRAZY!

I told Avery that if she EVER has any questions about it, to ask. She has already told me she has thought of one. I have so many questions MYSELF about it, I pray I have an answer for her.

It is what it is??

2008-07-11T11:26:00.002-05:00

At my house we have a little pet peave with the saying, "It is what it is". Glen and I always look at each other when we hear anyone say it. It's just a funny saying. I am always so surprised at WHO says it too. I have heard some VERY smart people just throw it out there like it is something smart to say. That''s when Glen and I look at each other like, 'Did you catch that one'? and then of course we roll our eyes at each other. It's just a "thing" with us.

I have a few questions.....Where did it come from? Who started it? What does it mean? Do you or anyone you know say it?

I just think it is one of the funniest saying around and truly just don't get it. But I guess it is what it is, huh?

FUNKED!

2008-07-08T16:41:00.003-05:00

I have a few more back posts to do, but for right now I am taking a SMALL break from it. That means that I will probably do it tonight. Ha.

Today has just been a day. I have been keeping kids this summer 3 days a week and I have been loving it! I actually have a little spending money this summer which has been awesome! Plus, my girls are SUCH helpers! I am paying them $2 each a day for helping me, which they have LOVED!! They each gravitated towards one child and that is who they are "in charge" of. Kind of like the Duggars mom does. You know she is the mom with 20 or so kids and each older child is in charge of a younger. Anyway. That is how our summer has gone......until today.

This week the girls are in Arlington having a blast at music camp. So...I am here alone this week keeping an additional 4 kids + Jude. The kids are GREAT kids. Really. I'm not just saying that! I LOVE them. But .....they TOTALLY outnumber me and if I'm not on top of my game, I get railroaded with fussing, fighting, and tattling. Today, I was NOT on top of my game. The kids were fine, I just was in a strange funk today, so....it was just a hard day.

Glen even stayed up (he drove all night) to help me, but I still missed my girls. We just have a routine, ya know. Bailey holds the baby while I make the bottle, while Ave puts one to bed, while Parker gets the mat out for another. We just have it down to a science!! Today it didn't QUITE happen that way. My point is.....I TOTALLY miss my girls!! All round, I miss them.

I DID make it through the day!! BUT my funk is still here. So, instead of moping around the house and trying to keep Jude quiet, WE are going to the pool. Get this! I am even going under today ya'll. Yep. It's a getting my hair wet kind of day.

Just keeping it real. Sorry if this sounds gripy!!

Happy Birthday America!

2008-07-04T00:22:00.009-05:00

We had a busy 4th of July. First we went to Glen's family's celebration they have every year. I've posted about it before, here & here, but it really is a neat experience. My kids really look forward to it each year.

Here is a picture of Glen's Grandaddy giving the Flag ceremony talk. Look at that hat. We take this holiday very serious in our family.

Jude before helping carry his flag out

Sadly this is the best picture I got of the flag ceremony. We did it a different way this year and they all came out at once. I just couldn't get a good picture. Sorry.

That night, we went to the Sheets house for dinner and to watch fireworks. They live about 3 blocks away from the big event and had a GREAT view of all the action.

Jude being "the man" pushing his sister around. She seems to think it was fun. Not sure about Jude.

These are all of the kids doing sparklers. They had a blast spraying fire around. ha. Freaked me out a little.

Avery and Sydney - This is one of the kids I keep and the one that Avery has claimed. I literally have to tell her to put her down, not this night obviously!

This is where most everybody watched the fireworks. There were a few of us on the ground, but a lot of people watched from the boat.

Bailey during the fireworks

Parker posing for the camera

Parker wanted to take a picture of me and Glen and this is the one that she took. She loves to take pictures.

If you want to see a picture of the whole group, go here. Boat and all.

Happy 4th Everyone!!

Parker turns big #7!

2008-07-03T23:55:00.002-05:00

Parker's birthday party was this weekend. She wanted a Hannah Montana sleepover, so a HM sleepover is what she got. She had 3 of her friends and one of Avery's. When I asked her why she was inviting Bethany(Ave's friend), she said that she wanted Avery to have someone there too. I'm not sure if that was selfish being that Avery and Bethany would leave them alone or what, but Bethany came too.

I want to thank LB for teaching my kids that you can slide down the stairs on sleeping bags!! :) They LOVED doing this. Squeals galore! Sorry for the red eyes!

The home-made Strawberry birthday cake (my first time to make that one). I have to admit, when I usually make their cakes, I use a box. I know, I know! Don't judge me! Even though this took more time and effort, it was fun and it made me feel like I was being a good mom. Don't ask me why. I know it sounds dumb, ok?

Me and the birthday girl (missing 6 teeth!) with her cake

The birthday crew (without Bethany - Parker's plan worked. Ave and B were playing outside!)

"Happy Birthday to you...." Blow out the candles!!

This picture is SO funny, because she was SHOCKED and SO excited to get this Hannah Montana doll!! Can you tell??? Ha. Thanks Cindy!

I love this one because she looks SO happy. She loved everything that she got.

Parker is such a fun loving, happy, life of the party girl. She was the first of my kids to get a dimple. I remember when the nurse said," She is pink as a little pig! AND she has a dimple on her left cheek!" I tell her that story often and we both laugh. Well, she laughs while I tear up. I love her so much and am so proud of who she is. And did I mention I think she is GORGEOUS?? I know I'm her mom, but I just had to say it, OK??

Ruidoso Family Reunion WARNING!! (LOTS OF PICS!!)

2008-06-30T17:10:00.008-05:00

This past weekend we went to Ruidoso, New Mexico for a little surprise party for my grandparents. (Dad's parents) We went to celebrate their 61st wedding anniversary. We had family from Utah AND Arizona there, so it was a really fun get together!

My Nanny and Grandaddy

I just love the Gaines side of the family! They are goofy, loud and SO fun!! Everybody makes fun of everybody and everybody laughs. All. The. Time. It is never a dull moment with these people. Ever. When I leave them, I already look forward to seeing them again. I guess that's the way it is suppose to be, but I really feel blessed because I know not everyone has a family like mine. And it all started with Nanny & Grandaddy. Nanny's laugh is SO contagious. Even if you don't know why she is laughing, you just laugh. It's funny. SHE's funny. Grandaddy is quiet until he thinks of something that turns out to be the funniest thing you've ever heard. Then you can hear us a mile away.

THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE:

This is the BEFORE picture: 4 generations!!

And this is the AFTER: This is one of my favorite pictures of the weekend. It is the perfect example of how we are as a family. Laughing all the time!!Mine and my dad's face makes me laugh sitting here. You might be thanking me for no sound for this picture. It's just loud and I LOVE it!

We had a surprise dinner for them Saturday night at Cattle Baron.

My dad gave a sweet talk thanking them for how him and my aunts were raised and how they did a great job. It was so neat to hear some of the stories he told. It was really emotional at times. We also got a 30 min. video together with pictures from their childhood on until today's time. It was put to some really fun music - it just turned out great.

Aunt Tamra and Uncle Jim

Aunt Dana and CRAZY Uncle Gene (AKA-Egor)

My Aunt Dana made an autobiography about my Nanny (she already did one about Grandaddy) and gave a copy to everyone. It was really cool to read.

That night when we got home, we all got changed, then not knowing what everyone else was doing we all were reading Nanny's autobiography. Glen thought that was SO funny that he took a picture of us 3.I had NO idea why he was taking a picture, hence the cheezy grin.

Cousin Kailee and Mr. Jude

Bailey and the favorite cousin Ryan!! He is a BIG kid. Seriously. That's why we love him so!

Avery (AKA RED EYES!!!) and Kailee

Trace(AKA Bailey's crush) , Taralee (Isn't she the cutest mom - EVER!!??) and Baby Brody

Miss Danica and her hubster Cody

Parker and Ainsley

Momma and Daddy

Russy Rus and my Daddy (And yes, he did that face on PURPOSE!! He's just a LITTLE goofy! Pretty Par for my family.)

My bro Bradley and and sil Little Debbie

We celebrated Parker's 7th birthday and Brody's 1st there at the cabins. Mom made Parker's cake and it was SO cute. It had a big mirror on it that said, "Look who's turning 7!" Seriously adorable! She is SO creative! She puts me to SHAME!

Birthday boy Brody. He is a GREAT baby!

Parker in her new tutu, bow, and necklace - seriously though, isn't she C.U.T.E!!!???

Aunt Tamra brought a Pinata and the kids had a BLAST smashing it open, or trying to.

Avery's turn

Jude takes a swing. (with a smile of course!)

Birthday girl gets a chance to whack it!

My neice Ainsley was a little slugger

Jude just loved the pinata head!!

THE family we all came from. Grandaddy, Nanny, Daddy (front)
Aunt Dana, Aunt Tamra (back)

My crew

The family portrait of my family - as you can tell, none of us knew we would be taking a family picture. It was a spur of the moment thing. Ha.

All the cousins. We have a picture of a few of us when we were little doing this, but with 7 (mostly adults) doing it - it was FUNNY. I have a "better" picture, but this one is SO funny! We were all cracking up - the people taking the pictures included. Maybe you had to be there.

Of course we HAD to go ride the horses while we were there. It is really just horses that go in a circle, but to Jude - they were horses and he was the cowboy. Nothing makes him happier! Avery and Parker rode too, but I am SO tired of loading pictures.

I can't forget about my AWESOME cousin fixing a HUGE problem with my car, just cause he can. RYAN!! You Rock.

My baby turns 4!!!

2008-06-21T23:21:00.004-05:00

We had Jude's 4th birthday party this weekend. The preface to this birthday weekend is that I fell at the pool and hurt my back, AGAIN. So...my mom came in town to save the day and help with the kids and make the birthday. She made the birthday cookie and everything. I don't know what I would do without her.

We had a pool party, but with a cowboy theme, I guess you should say. With my back hurt I really didn't care all that much about the party as bad as that sounds. I was just thankful that we were having a party at all and that I had such great help.

Mom and Dad gave Jude this horse for an early birthday present the night before the party. Jude went upstairs and put his boots on and his cowboy hat. My little cowboy!!

Mom and Jude with his cookie she made. She was so sweet to make the cookie for me. It had a red bandana and his name on it. She is SO creative! Thanks Grammy!!

The whole party clan

Glen waiting to give "five" for blowing all the candles out.

Cindy and Dennis gave him this tool set. He's ready for tool time!!

He got Spirit the movie (his favorite) and a cowboy book. He was in heaven. Can you tell??

All the kids at the party. It was a small group and I was thankful. We only invited 4 kids. So I guess half came. Ha. Thanks Spell kids!!

I truly cannot believe that my baby is now 4. That just blows my mind! Happy Birthday Little Man!

Parker's Kidquest

2008-06-13T22:38:00.000-05:00

This was the first year that Parker got to go to ACU leadership camps. When you are going into 1st grade, you get to go to Kidquest. Parker has been waiting so long to go. Avery and Bailey have been going since they were her age and it just seems like forever that she had to wait.

She was so excited to have Kimberly Lewis as her counselor. That is who she was hoping for so she lucked out on that one.

She had the best week. Her friends Landry and Kennedy also went that same week. Keep in mind that these girls are the same age. Parker looks 2 years older, at LEAST!

Calling for Willy!!

On Friday they have a little program for the parents. They show us all that learned throughout the week. One of those things was the wildcat warm-up. They call Willy the Wildcat out to lead them in this.

Jude is so scared of Willy. This is where he was while Willy was doing his warm-up. (under his chair)

This is part of the warm-up:

Balance... balance.... (on one leg)

Brush - Brush - Brush (pretending to brush hair)

It is awesome that my girls get to spend a week around good Christian counselors at camp. My kids are blessed by their example and I am thankful!!

Gladiator Breakthrough 2008

2008-06-08T12:52:00.002-05:00

This weekend I was SO blessed to be able to be a group leader at our church for a weekend retreat for middle schoolers called Breakthrough. It is really a weekend to allow kids that have finished 5th grade to get to know some middle school kids and what the middle school youth group is all about. You know, breaking through to middle school. I can hear the ahas now. Our theme was becoming Gladiators for Christ. And that we all have "gladiators" in our way of following Him and we have to just keep fighting them. Avery got to go and so I loved getting to "check on her" throughout the weekend.

Me and Suzanne led the group together. She is going to be a Senior this coming up year and reminds me SO much of me at that age. Just goofy and fun and not afraid to make a fool of herself. Ha. No. The kids LOVED her and even though she made fun of me the whole time and told me I was old, I LOVED leading a group with her. She is AWESOME!!

They had us make up names for our groups and I had gotten these blue bandanas for all the girls (to match our Breakthrough shirts). A few of the girls had the bandanas tied around their heads and someone in our group had the BRILLIANT idea to cal us The Blue Unicorns. We turned our bandanas around to make a point with the end of the bandanas, and The Blue Unicorns were born. We thought it was so clever and cute, but needless to say, I'm not sure anyone else did. Ha. But it was SO funny ALL WEEKEND!! My girls LOVED it!

We gave ourselves the most creative group picture for this one. ( I'm serious. All weekend we were SO creative and NOONE gave us the credit, so we just gave it to ourselves.) We rocked it OUT!

Avery got to go and so I loved getting to "check on her" throughout the weekend. Her group leaders were Sylvia and Bailey (not mine of course) and she had a BLAST!

Bethany, Avery, and Sydnie

Part of the weekend was getting to fight some real life Gladiators. They were dressed up in all kinds of outfits. I am sad I didn't get a picture of them, they were awesome. So Avery got to fight on the joust with one of them. One hit and she was DOWN. She got a big strawberry on her foot which she still has a scar from. She was upset and embarrassed, but got up and was fine.

Remember the Alamo!

2008-06-05T20:42:00.007-05:00

This week we went to San Antonio for a little spur of the moment vacation. We stayed with one of my favorite friends, Allison and her husband Matt. I met Allison at Kadesh 8 years ago this summer. She was actually in the room when Parker was born, so to say we are close is nothing but the truth. Ha. They were SO sweet to let us come stay with them. Their home was beautiful and it was the perfect getaway, WAY better than any hotel. Their precious kids Hudson and Harper are the cutest things you have ever seen.

The first day they went with us to Sea World. They go a lot, so they went to show us the ropes. They were so helpful and told us what to do and what NOT to do. We had so much fun with them.

The kids in front of the Sea World fountain

One of Jude's favorite things in the world is horses. He loved getting to see the Clydesdales at Sea World. We went back several times to see them. Jude's souvenir was a stuffed horse and he carried that around the whole time.

Here's the crew waiting for Shamu. The picture after the show would have looked a little different. We were ALL soaked. Baby Harper and all. I guess that's why they call it the splash zone. Dodo me didn't think that it would be salt water. I know. Duh Nicole. It is the water that Shamu swims in!! It was seriously sticky. Who knew?

Me, Bailey and Parker in the little kids water park - I promise I'm not choking them.

Allison took us to a really cool mall called La Cantera that is outdoors. It is just like any other mall except the roof covering the walkway was not covered. It was all open air and it had the best stores there. It was fun to just hang out and shop. I of course was going for some MAC. :)

Parker with her new sunglasses and the Judeman shopping at the mall

Getting 6 kids to all smile proved to be too big a task for us. So this is what we got. It TOTALLY doesn't do them justice!! Her kids are GORGEOUS!! (BTW-It was hot and REALLY sunny that day. Not that I'm making excuses. :)

We ate at the Rainforest Cafe on the River Walk. It was a great experience for us and the girls.

Jude on the other hand freaked out every time it thundered. He would crawl under the table and do this. Nice.

On the River Walk

My 4 favorite people!!!

The kids were looking forward to seeing the Alamo. I guess they had learned about it in school and it was something that they REALLY wanted to see. I'm telling you though. San Antonio is a VERY hot place. The best time to see anything there is in the evening. NOTE TO SELF!

The last day we went back to Sea World. We got to feed the dolphins, ride more rides and swim at the water park they have there.

This is the only picture I have from the water park. It was over cast and Glen took the girls on all the slides while Jude and I hung out at the wave pool, so there wasn't anyone to take pictures. So you get this goofy grin from Jude - but really. What more do you want!! Ha.

It really was a fun vacation. I am so thankful for Allison and Matt for letting us stay with them. They were amazing hosts and made sure we had everything we needed and more. I feel so blessed to have Allison in my life. Her friendship is one that doesn't come along too often and I cherish it more than words.

I love New York!!

2008-05-16T19:51:00.003-05:00

Glen's parents took Glen and me to New York City for a special summer treat. They wanted to take their boys to see a Yankees game while they were still playing in the old stadium. For me, it was a trip to NYC!!! Yippee!! We met Glen's brother Jason and sil Sara there because they live in Colorado. It was so much fun taking a trip with just the 6 of us without kids. That doesn't happen that often as you can imagine. :)

Roye Sue and her "fellas" at Grand Central Station

The first day it was raining but we still went looking around went over to Canal street. It is a street where you can buy knock-off purses, watches, and all kids of what I would consider goodies. (Glen would NOT describe it as that. ha) The rain really took a toll on us and after being out in it for several hours, so after it got dark we headed back to the hotel.

The whole crew before the Yankees game

The guys thought this would be funny. I thought it was cute. I have one of them turned around, but I like this one. The 3 baldies.

The next day we went to the Yankees game. Glen's family are HUGE Yankees fans. Glen had looked forward to seeing them play his whole life. That day we went to the Subway series with the Mets, but sadly we lost. It was still such a blast. The weather was PERFECT!! I had a blast just people watching and enjoying the atmosphere and weather. It really was fun.

We ate at the fanciest restaurant that night in our Yankees gear. We all thought it was funny because this policeman recommended it to us knowing how we were dressed. We could feel the stares as we made our way through the place. Glen also almost crawled under the table when I asked for ketchup for my filet mignon. I guess our classiness was evident from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. Ha Ha.

We met my cousin Rustin and he tried taking us to a cool place that had dancing and pool, but we couldn't get in because Glen had on shorts and Jason had on sandals. (THANKS GUYS!!) So we walked FOREVER trying to find a place to hang out. We ended up at Gavin DeGraw's bar. It had live music and Rustin and I got to swing dance together. It was SO much fun and a MAJOR workout!! We also watched 2 people make out a foot in front of us for 15 minutes. It was nasty AND funny. Everyone around us were taking pictures. I am still not sure we weren't getting punk'd. (Yes. I DO know Ashton Kutcher. And yes he might punk me - OKKAAAY!)

The girls

We went to the Statue of Liberty. I had seen it when I was there before (I was 16), but it was fun to be with Glen when he saw it for the 1st time.

Rustin took us to a place called The Shake Shack and it was one of my most favorite moments of the trip. The weather was cool and pleasant, the food was amazing and I loved getting to hang out with Rustin. He is SO funny and it is always so fun to be around him. He always makes me smile!!

Me and cuz Russy Russ again

Rustin took us back to Canal Street for more goodies. I got a blister on my foot from walking in the rain in flats, so I took my shoe off and went bare foot. Glen and Rustin were GAGGING out! Rustin even took a picture, but honestly I STILL don't see what the big deal was. My foot hurt, I didn't want it to hurt, so I solved the problem. I ended up buying some really cute soft boots and my foot felt great after that. But it was funny to see them look SO disgusted with me.

Me and New York's Finest

You KNOW I had to go to the MAC store. I made a special trip the day we left JUST to go there. I think they should have a new slogan. Original of course. It should be MAC. Nuff Said. Catchy huh?? That's my slogan at least. :)

THANK YOU BOB AND ROYE SUE FOR AN AWESOME TRIP OF A LIFETIME!!!

YCW program

2008-05-12T14:10:00.000-05:00

We had our end of the year program at YCW. So glad that it is over, but it turned out REALLY good. I was told that my class did GREAT and that made me feel awesome! I was really proud of my 4 year olds.

Me and my little man before the program. We had shirts that were ALMOST the same. His letters were all in zebra and mine were different animal prints, but he still felt like twinkies. He LOVES his shirt!!

Jude's 3's class was so cute. They say down to sing, but Jude wasn't in the most singing mood. He sat and smiled most of the time.

He did a few motions, but for the most part watched himself on the screen behind the class. I think next year we are doing away with the big screen.

It is more of a distraction to all the children than something that enhances the parents view. Jude sure had a good time watching the back of his head though.

Whitney and Landon's reception

2008-05-10T15:11:00.000-05:00

Our sweet friends Whitney and Landon Sheets had their wedding reception at the zoo tonight. They are getting married in Colorado in June, so we were excited to be able to celebrate with them at the zoo. I never think to have any get together at the zoo, but let me just tell you. It is awesome. There is something for the kids and then the adults can talk and not worry about if the kids are getting into something they are not suppose to. We tried to take some family pictures there, but it is a MAJOR task to get 2 adults and 4 kids (heavy on the kids part) to ALL look good in a picture. But these are the ones we came away with.

This is a little fuzzy, but seriously it was as good as we got.

My girlies doing the "cuckoo" thing from Sound of Music

Me and my girls

I got this one of Jude while he was not wanting to take a picture at all. He was sliding down this hill on his bottom and while he was doing that I snapped this picture. Can I just say that this is one of my favorite pictures of ALL time!! Kool-aid stain that he had just gotten on his shirt and all. It just captures who he is to a tee!!

I love this one. Glen is always turning and doing this when we are taking a picture together and I usually laugh like I did this night. He is just SO sweet!!

Bailey turns 9!!

2008-05-09T14:01:00.004-05:00

We had Bailey's birthday party. We always try and think of something creative to do and somehow seem to come back to some of the old things. I try and give my kids a choice on what kind of birthday party they want. One of the choices that I gave Bailey was an ALMOST sleepover. She ended up thinking that was a good idea. Of course I loved it because I didn't have to have any extra kids spend the night, but still let her feel like they did most everything except sleep that a normal sleepover would have.

Bailey chose Hannah Montana party, so her cookie said Pump up the party cause Bailey's 9! My kids have been on a roll with picking a cookie instead of cakes. Easy for me, so I'm not griping.

We decorated pillow cases for part of the party favor/activity. I love choosing party favors that actually count as an activity/game for the party! It really helps with my stress level. :)

They watched the movie Meet the Robinsons and ate pizza. I couldn't believe that they would be into the movie that much, but they were GLUED to that tv.

Then they all got glow sticks and went to jump on the trampoline and play outside in the dark.
It was really fun to watch them and hear all their little squeals. They are holding up 9 fingers for Bailey turning 9.

Carrie Underwood

2008-05-07T15:26:00.000-05:00

Glen's mom called me at school and asked if I wanted 2 free tickets to see Carrie Underwood in Lubbock on the next day. I jumped on those tickets so fast. Carrie Underwood is one of Avery's favorite singers, so I was SO excited. One of my mil's co-workers had won the tickets and couldn't go because of other plans. So the deal was if she gave me the tickets, I had to get her a Carrie Underwood shirt at the concert. To me, that was a GREAT deal.

I picked Avery up from school and asked her to name her top 5 favorite singers. The very first one out of her mouth was Carrie!! When I told her that I was taking her to Carrie's concert, she thought I was joking. I told her that I AM the best mom ever and it was her 5th grade graduation gift. (I know - I have already thought about when the other kids graduate from 5th grade and I am setting the standards REALLY high. - Any ideas?? Ha)

I picked her up early from school on Wednesday and we drove to Lubbock. We ate at a really good Italian place and then went to get ready at my mom's house. Of course my mom was out of town, so we just borrowed her house.

Josh Turner performed first and he was great, but Carrie was AMAZING. She sounds just as good as she does on the radio.

One of the cutest things was how Avery just could NOT understand why we could not talk to Carrie. Our seats were so close to the stage that I guess she figured that we should be able to go up and meet her. I loved getting to go to her first concert with her. It will be a favorite memory for sure.

We got back LATE that night and both of us had school the next day, but it was SO worth that $30 shirt (+ our $30 shirts + gas + dinner - ha ha) I bought for the co-worker.

Cowboy Round-up

2008-04-20T14:14:00.001-05:00

At YCW we had a Cowboy Round-up for all the kids and it was SO much fun. One of things I love about teaching there is that I get to see Jude during the special activities we have every so often. I love to watch him interact with his class and see his face light up when he sees me watching him.

There were several activities that all the kids got to do. One was make a cowboy frame.

He also got to throw horseshoes.

Branding the cow was his favorite thing to do. I think he went back several times just to do it again.

He really was concentrating on making himself some trail mix. I found out later that he was using his hands and he was suppose to be using scoops. Nothing like spreading those germs in the food that everyone is going to eat. :)

Easter

2008-03-23T02:11:00.003-05:00

My favorite Easter picture of my babies

We had a great Easter holiday. We went egg hunting at Glen's grandmother's house like usual. It was pretty cold and so it was challenging trying to hunt for eggs and get good pictures outside. Of course we had already gotten their outfits before we knew it would be cold, so their clothes are not quite weather appropriate.

Bailey finding a sneakily hidden egg

My little man on the hunt!

Avery giving me the "don't take a picture of me" look

Parker showing off her loot

Starting the back blogging - Spring Break

2008-03-17T13:34:00.005-05:00

So this is what I'm going to call back blogging. It is where I don't blog for months at a time, and then try and catch up with some quick little posts. It is also where I feel nothing but guilt that I have not made time to do this until now. Where I look at the date that I posted last and feel like I have SO much to remember and wonder what I'm going to forget. I actually feel like crying right not, but I'll push through and get this done. If there is a story I was suppose to blog about, hopefully I'll remember it. I am going to try and get this done this week because the girls are gone to music camp and I might get a little bored. OK - here I go. Where to start? Hmm.

I'll start at Spring Break.

The Crew

The kids and I went to the cabin in Ruidoso for most of the week. Mom and Dad were there on their Spring Break also, so we got to hang out with them. We took Avery's best friend, Bethany with us so it was a special trip for us. It was our first trip with a friend so I was a little nervous, but Bethany is one of the sweetest girls that I have ever met. I am so thankful that she and Avery are such good friends.

Ave and Bethany

My kids favorite thing to do at the cabin is STILL going for a hike. We did and Bethany got a little sick. There is nothing like taking another child 6 1/2 hours away from their parents and them getting sick!!! She was and always is SO sweet. I just hated it for her. You always want your mom when you don't feel good and so I really felt bad for her.

We went to our favorite park and the kids really had fun playing. It was especially fun since Ruidoso was still in school and some of the 5th graders came to that park after we had been there for a while. I think my kids were feeling just a little cool that they were out.

Another thing the kids did was play fusball. We had some major matches going on, but sad to say that noone could stand a chance against ME!! Ha Ha. It is so fun beating little children. :)

Pottying, Ainsley, Water, Tests, & Rocks

2008-03-12T11:10:00.020-05:00

WARNING!!

Blogger is TOTALLY messing with my fonts. I have been working for over 15 minutes trying to get it right and I am now giving up!! SO sorry for all the weird fonts. The were not done on purpose.

POTTYING:

Top News of the day!! Jude is officially potty trained!!! I am done with diapers guys!! It took some time and patience, but we did it. We meaning Jude, me and Jude's teachers at Mother's Day Out, Ms. April & Ms. Lori. Jude started going potty at school for them, but still didn't want to at home. I kept trying with no results. Ms. April and Ms. Lori took him every time they took the other children and he would most of the time be successful. After each successful potty at school, she would let Jude come tell me in my class. (ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT I WOULD EXPECT FROM ANY TEACHER!!!) So, after all the encouraging words from Ms. April, I made the last run for diapers about a month ago and swore that it would be the last. AND IT WAS!! Woo Hoo. I am so proud. Don't ask me why. Every person in the world learns how to go in the potty, but I still am just so proud of him. Yeah Judeman!!! (and Ms. April) :)

AINSLEY:

My niece came to visit for a week. We had SO much fun with her. She fits in our little household SO well. She is SO smart and sweet, I just LOVE having her with us. She is 5, but very petite, so she even got to come to my school and be in my class (I teach the 4's class). We have 2 girls and 9 boys in our class, so the girls are ALWAYS excited when Ainsley comes so there is extra estrogen in the room. And again, she fits in our class perfectly!!! I took this picture at the house when the girls were at school. I can't wait till she comes back to visit. We were already talking about the next trip before she left.

WATER:

Glen thinks that I am insane because I found a new water that I am in love with. He thinks that all water is the same and that the water out of the tap is just as good. Well, I do like water out of the tap, but I found my most favorite water EVER!! Actually I found it about 4 years ago in LA. It was different looking and I tried it and liked it. I had never seen it before, so I totally thought that it was an LA thing.

I have since come to realize that IT'S NOT!!! It is right here in my little Texas town. I just love the taste, the size of the bottle, the look of course (HA), and mostly love that it helps me drink something that I usually have a hard time being motivated to drink. The funny thing is, I keep seeing people on TV drinking this water. I have stopped the tv several times and run it back to show Glen and of course he laughs and tells me I'm crazy! So... here it is.....my new water!! It is called Fiji. LOOOOOVE IT!

TESTS:

Update on Avery and Bailey's tests are that they both felt confident about how they did on the test. That was a blessing in and of itself. They both finished before lunch, which made me feel even better. Thank you to all who prayed for my girls that day!! We'll know if they worked in a few months.

ROCKS:

We went to watch Bailey's soccer practice yesterday. Jude and Parker usually get out and play in front of the car during the hour practice. Well yesterday, Jude got in the car with his shorts around his ankles. He was trying to get them around his shoes to take them completely off. I was on the phone, so I was trying to give him hand gestures and evil eye him to make him stop. I guess I need to work on the evil eye thing cause next thing I knew, he was in front of the car with JUST HIS UNDERWEAR ON!!! I got off of the phone pretty quick after that. BUT....while I was still on the phone, I grabbed his shorts and I barely could lift them. Sure 'nuff, my child filled EVERY pocket full of rocks from the parking lot and they COULDN'T stay on. THAT'S why he was taking them off. He really wasn't TAKING them off, they were FALLING off. So.... like any good mom, I had my camera handy and took these LOVELY pictures. I wish you could have heard some of the soccer girls gagging during practice at having to see Jude in his underwear. There are probably 10 eight year olds that will be scarred for life (or so they think!)

TAKS again.

2008-03-05T08:57:00.003-06:00

Well, today is the reading TAKS day. It has been the day that our house has been dreading/talking about/getting ready for...for weeks now. Actually the girls have been preparing at school all year, but Avery has really been focused the last couple of weeks. She has been tutored by a great friend, Kate everyday after school for a couple of hours. Kate has been AWESOME for her. She feels safe with her and Kate has a way of being patient AND loving AND firm. She gave Avery the sweetest card yesterday with some Extra gum (Avery's FAVORITE treat!) It is SO neat to see their relationship grow the past few weeks. *****(BTW-Kate is a grown up, not a kid. She is actually in her first year of teaching, so she is GREAT with kids. ALL my kids love her, but Avery feels especially close to her.)*****

I am not so worried about Bailey, but please say a prayer for her too today. You never know how stressed they might be during the test. I pray they both take the time to read and visualize what they are reading. That God bless their thought process and guide them to the right answer. I pray they don't feel the pressure of the test and that they KNOW I love them no matter what and that God created them perfect no matter what they get on this test!!!!

I totally started crying when I was saying bye to Avery. She is just so special to me. Well, they all are, but she needs my prayers today the most it seems and seeing her walk away from me was hard. Knowing she was going to have such a focused and intense day broke my heart. I know she'll do good. Bailey too. I just ask that everyone pray for them today. PLEASE!!

PS. I have so many posts to write and I promise this week/weekend I will get caught up!! But for today, I am focused on my girls!

My Man is 30!!!!

2008-02-21T21:28:00.003-06:00

Today is Glen's 30th birthday!!! I have been teasing him all day that I am so bummed about being married to someone that is in their 30's. It is partially true. Even though I turned 30 two years ago, I felt like I could hold on to the 20's a LITTLE bit since my husband was still in them. NOT NOW!!!! THANKS GLEN!!! :)

I have also been teasing him that I married him when he was a boy (he was only 18!!) and now he has turned into a man before my eyes. We both died laughing this morning when I brought that up.

Glen seriously is the best person I have ever met. I know people say that about their husbands, but I truly think that there couldn't be a better man out there. I guess lots of people feel that way though, huh?? I guess those of us that feel that are blessed, because I know not ALL women feel that way.

I am SO lucky that I am the one that ended up with this man. I am so proud of him and the way he has worked his REAR off for our family. Everyday he goes to not the easiest job and busts his rear FOR US. I am so thankful. We have been through ups and downs like every couple, but I am thankful for him and love him more everyday. This is sounding mushy huh?? Oh well.

I get compliments on him SO many times from the most random people. Today a lady that Glen delivers to (he drives for UPS) came up to me and told me how sweet he is and goes out of his way to help her with things, when most delivery guys are always in a rush and won't help. Glen has always been about helping people and would give you the shirt off of his back. It just makes me feel SO good to know that I am not the only one that sees how fabulous he is. THEN my mom almost started crying talking about him today. She adores him and couldn't ask for a better sil. Our whole family just feels blessed by him and loves him so much.

So......Happy 30th Birthday Glen!!! I love you!!!