Merry Christmas

Gingerbread House

I bought this kit to make a gingerbread house because it looked fun and fairly simple. I opened the box and thought why are the directions a booklet? After we finally figured out the basics we started to mix the concrete, oh I mean icing. Putting it in the bag to spread was not easy but it was still easier than trying to spread it from the bag. Assembling the house while using the icing as glue sounded so much easier than it was, I finally left the room for my sanity. The children eventually got a tub of frosting from the cupboard to use instead of the concrete. The final product turned out well but it was quite the path to get there.

Snow

Today was a very nice 70 degree day but it has been cold here for about 10 days. At the start of this cold snap we had some surprise snow. The weather man said that we would not get any rain or snow but we woke up to big fluffy flakes. Since this is about a once a year happening the kids went outside to check it out before school. I was nervous about Stephany driving but it didn't stick to the roads so we were okay. It was all gone by the afternoon but it was pretty to see for a little bit. My favorite kind of snow it leaves quickly.

Homecoming

This was homecoming week for Saginaw Highschool and it has kept us busy. This was Stephany's last homecoming so she participated in all the festivities. Monday was the parade and she carried a banner with the Posse. Friday she wore her mum, which if you are not from Texas it is a huge flower and ribbon creation that is personalized to them. She was part of the pep rally that day. The big game was that night and Steph was cheering on the sidelines. I worked the stands doing the 50/50 raffle as a fundraiser for class of 2010. We won the game by a good margin. Saturday night was the homecoming dance and she looked beautiful all dressed up. My baby is a Senior so I want to enjoy every minute of this year.

Twelve

I can't believe it my babies are 12 years old. It seems like just last week that they we were wondering when they were going to walk. Now Ally is an independent, beautiful and tenacious young lady. Matthew is a sweet, mature boy who is slightly addicted to video games. Now that they are in middle school all I think is they are growing too fast and will soon be like Stephy looking at colleges. I am so not ready for that but I also have no desire to start over again. :)

Back to school

So this week was back to school with all the craziness that comes with it. I started back 2 weeks ago so at least I was already in the routine. This year is our last year of highschool for Stephany and the first year of middle school for Matthew and Allyson. They are getting so grown up and I am feeling a little sad about that. It is also exciting with all the changes going on and it will be a big year for all the kids especially Stephy.

Saturday exploring

We spent the Saturday checking out things we haven't seen before. We picked up my nephew Caleb to go along with us. Our plan was to start at the Dinosaur Park in Glen Rose but on the way we saw this outdoor museum. We stopped and listened to a gentleman talk about local history, we also explored the tipis, stage coach and other things from the Chisholm Trail.

We got back on the road to Glen Rose and soon made it to the Dinosaur Park. You can walk the riverbed and see the fossilised dinosaur tracks. There are 2 distinct set of tracks and you really get a feel for the size of these animals. We explored for awhile but it was hot so we headed out.

We went into the town of Glen Rose and checked out the historic downtown. Stephany loves old architecture so she really liked this. At this point we were hungry so we had dinner in the nearby town of Granbury. We then checked out Granbury Lake for a little while and it was very pretty.

It was then time to go to the drive in, Granbury has one of the only drive ins left around here. We watched the movie G Force first and it was awful it got no stars from me. The second movie was UP and it was great, 5 stars from me. We finally headed home about 1am, it was a fun day.


other

New wall portraits

We went to the Ft Worth Botanical Gardens today to take some new pictures for the photo wall in the house. It was a 105 degrees so the kids didn't last long despite all the shady areas but we still got some great pics.

Independence Day Celebrations

This weekend we celebrated all weekend. On July 3rd we went to Lone Star Park for horse racing and fireworks. Dorothy, Jason and Stephany really loved betting on the horses. Steve and I placed 2 small bets and won on the second and stopped. Steve is switching jobs right now so we were being frugal. The other 3 were hilarious to watch planning their next move and the good news is they broke even or came out ahead by the end of the night. The fireworks after the races were fabulous and coordinated great with the music.

The 4th of July we started with brisket at our house and then a big group headed out to an area on the Trinity River. The set up was not quite as good but they did have yummy free watermelon. The fireworks did not start until the minor league baseball game ended, we didn't go into the game but still had to wait for 13 innings before the fireworks started. It was about midnight when that happened and it was an okay show but not as good as the night before. We still had a good time hanging out with everyone. Now today is all about rest.

Joey, Caleb, Matt, Stephy and Ally enjoying snowcones.

Donna, Dorothy and me just hanging at the races.

Ally and Dad waiting for the fireworks

Chris and Stephy just goofing around.

Father's Day

Today we had a pretty good Father's Day. Steve spent the morning just relaxing and then the whole family came over for a barbeque. Steve did the grilling because he does it best. After we ate we took out the slip and slide Grandma had bought for the kids. They had a blast playing on it and I even gave it a try. Overall it was a nice easygoing day.

Graduation

This has been one crazy busy week. It has been the last week of school and we have been trying to get that all wrapped up. The kids headed off to New Mexico on Saturday so they had to be packed up. The biggest part of this week has been preparing for my nephew Chris' graduation. We had a scrapbook to finish and various other details to help my sister with.

Graduation night was wonderful. Chris was so handsome and he was a Texas Scholar. We were a very large and proud family cheering him on. We were very happy and looking forward to doing it again next year with Stephy.

Rangers Game

Today we went to a Rangers game. It was a beautiful day and a perfect day to be outside. The Rangers beat the Angels so that made it even better. The girls and I should have worn some sunscreen but we really thought we would get seats in the shade like last year. We will recover and remember next time. Steve took the kids swimming at my sisters this afternoon so it was a fun rounded out day.

Casual family evening

Tonight we spent some time just hanging out in the backyard. It was a beautiful evening in the low 80's and the only day we have had no rain this week. We were suppossed to have a baseball game tonight but the swine flu scare has shut down all extra curricular activities in the town. We grilled some turkey burgers and just relaxed. Steve even got on the trampoline with the kids but not mom she is on day 5 of a headache. It was a good night and a great way to avoid all the hysteria that the swine flu is causing.

Prom

Last night was senior prom for Saginaw Highschool. Stephany is not a senior but a friend of hers who is a senior asked her to go. They are not dating but went together as friends. We had so much fun dress shopping and it really hit home that my baby girl is growing up. The day of prom Stephy had hair issues. It was really humid outside and her hair wouldn't hold a curl so at the last minute we had to change styles. My nephew Chris came with his date, his friend Justin and his date along with Stephany and Brandon to get pictures taken. They all looked great and had a fun time.

Spring has sprung

The bluebonnets are blooming again in Texas. I really needed some new pictures of the twins for our wall so we headed out today. I managed to get some pretty decent shots of them even though they were acting pretty goofy.

San Antonio day 3

Steve was supposed to work today, so the two of us got up early to drive him to the San Antonio shop. He went inside but told me to wait a minute so he knew where to put his stuff and after about 5 minutes came out and announced he had the day off. We went back to the hotel and they were happy and surprised to see daddy. After eating breakfast we began the packing up of the room. I have gotten better about delegating so all the kids managed to pack their own bags. Yea!

After we packed up we made a last minute decision to try and go see at least one of the many missions in San Antonio. We ended up at Mission Concepion which is over 250 years old and took some time to explore the grounds. The chapel is still in use and it was very beautiful. Stephy loved the old architecture but the twins were kinda bored. We figure though they still absorbed some of it.

We then headed to Sea World again, it was finally in the 80's and it was crowded. We went on the water log ride and I finally joined them. The girls rode together and Steve, Matt, and I were together. The girls did not get real wet but you can pay to squirt people so somebody soaked our log. We then went to see the sea lion show again because the animals were not cooperating the day before and we wanted to see if it was part of the act. We found out that the show was longer and better when the animals do cooperate. We headed over to see the Viva dolphin show and Steve stood in line for drinks while we found a seat. After 30 plus minutes in line for a soda Steve discovered they wouldn't let you in the show even if they are just 1 minute into it. Poor Steve missed the whole thing. Sea World was now wall to wall people so we decided to leave.

We went to eat an early dinner and then it was time to head home. First we had to drop Steve off at the hotel where his crew was staying. It was sad because we won't see him for 2 weeks. After battling horrible traffic in San Antonio we actually blazed through Austin which is a miracle. We were finally home at about 10pm. We had a great time and I am glad we went.

San Antonio day 2

We are on day 2 of San Antonio and it is time for Sea World. Steve is having to work a lot in San Antonio this year and Sea World is having a promotion of pay for one day then get the whole year free. We are hoping to make it down there at least one more time this year.

We arrive at Sea World right as it opens and of course my family wants to go straight to the roller coasters. Unfortunately for them we have to wait 40 minutes for it to open so we go check out the penguins for awhile. They ride the Steel Eel and then the Great White twice and I then declare it is time to see the animals. It is finally starting to warm up as we head off to see Shamu. We then watch the sea lion show and the kids feed the sea lions. We head over to the dolphins and run into our neighbors. We didn't know they would be there so it was a nice surprise. We hung out for a few minutes with them and enjoyed an adult beverage. After we left them we headed over to check out the shark reef. We spent a lot of time just watching the fish in the aquariums. At this point we decided we would go to the Riverwalk.

After some time at the hotel to get refreshed we went over to the Riverwalk. The river was dyed green for St Patricks Day. We walked over to Hemisfaire Park and hung out a bit. We then made our way to the Alamo but it was closed. We have been inside a few times before so weren't too upset. We just wandered around the Riverwalk before we headed to Spagetti Wharehouse for dinner. By the time we made it back to the hotel we were exhausted.

San Antonio day1

So much happened in 3 short days in San Antonio that I am going to break them down to each day. We got up and left early on Saturday, then made our usual stop in West to get kolaches. We were making good time in fact a little too good. Steve received a ticket for speeding in Austin.

After Austin we ventured off the highway to go by the Guadalupe River. It was a beautiful place and we saw the coolest house, it was built narrow with 8 stories and looked like a treehouse on the river. We then went on a hike on a trail near Canyon Lake. It was a great experience even though it was only 50 degrees and a little drizzly. We were going to picnic by the lake but decided it was too cold so we just folded down the seats and ate in the car.

We made it to San Antonio just in time to check into our hotel. I was outvoted on activity choice so we went to Six Flags. It was cold but the gang had a great time riding the rollercoasters. I sat out most of them which is fine usually but it was a cold wait. After 6 coasters I declared the day over so we went to dinner then crashed into bed so we could rest for day two.

Letter jacket

Today was the day that Stephy finally got her letter jacket. They were ordered before Thanksgiving and were due by Christmas but it took till now for them to actually arrive. Don't ask why everyone in charge has a different excuse. She was hoping they would be here soon and her cousin came in to 6th period wearing his so she went off to locate hers. The school buys the jackets but they must pay for all the upgrades which she did with her own money. She received the jacket because of the "Posse" which is the spirit team. She also has a debate patch and will order a National Honor Society patch. She looks so cute in her jacket and we are proud of her.

Crazy twin thing

There are some days when these two drive me absolutely batty. They can be each others best friend and ready to rip each other apart all in the same day They are alike in that they are both well behaved at school and good students. Their teachers also say they are both creative and amazing writers. At home they can be so different though. Ally gets her stuff done but she can really argue a point. Matthew needs to be prodded and he is quite the comedian.

The danger is when they are on the same wavelength. It must be a twin thing but sometimes the games they play only they understand even after they explain the rules to us. They still rely on each other during thunderstorms and like to bunk down in the gameroom together on the weekends. This picture is from their strong person contest the other day. They took turns carrying each other around and then compared their muscles. It was such fun to watch them be silly together that I will be so sad if they outgrow this.