Going to the Lodge

I decided on Friday knowing that the boys were getting out of school at 12:35pm that I would take them away for the weekend to the Great Wolf Lodge, Grapevine Texas. It was a surprise! All they needed to do for me in order to find out where we were going was successfully get a seasonal flu shot. Successfully means no fussing or loud screaming, mostly from Stone. He did amazing. The tears started to come, but he pulled them back at the thought of not finding out where we were headed.



Way to go guys! Success!

This place was absolutely amazing. There were so many activities for us to do as a family.


The place is like a little city in a HUGE hotel.
There is even a MagiQuest interactive game that you play all throughout the hotel going from clue to clue, solving riddle after riddle to fight the dragon in the very end.
You just point and shoot your magic wand to gain access to the next quest.
Time consuming-yes.
Fun-YES!



The boys even had their own little wolf den complete with a flat screen TV and bunk beds inside what is designed to look like a pile of rocks a wolf might sleep in. I was tempted to get in there and snuggle up too!


And of course
THE INDOOR WATERPARK!


I think the boys thanked me just about every ten minutes. They are so sweet and so grateful just to have some time being together. I am more and more thankful everyday that I have the boys that I do. They are becoming such nice young little gentlemen.

I don't remember who I was talking to recently that told me that every stage in their children's life seemed like their favorite...I think it was Mrs. Smith from work. You know, when they are babies, you love that dearly, but then when they are toddlers and able to say words, you love that. And then they grow a bit older and can do things with you and it no longer requires you to carry them from place to place, then you love THAT stage the best. I think I have to agree with Mrs. Smith (I'm thinking for sure it was her). I love EVERY stage and can't wait for each stage of life still to come.

Treat Yourself

These past couple of weeks have been so hard around our house.
There are changes coming for the boys and I.
I know that I have not been myself lately and I just hate that.
I want to take every opportunity to let the boys know that even though things will be different, I will always love them and work hard forever to make them just as happy as possible.

My FAMILY means the world to me, has since day one.
This will NEVER change for me.

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs was such a nice movie! Maribel and I took the boys to see it in 3D. WOWZA are they getting good at this 3D stuff now!... no more red and blue lenses. Just AMAZING.

We always wait just a few days after a movie has been out before we go that way we can be just as goofy as we wanna be in the theater!


I'm serious when I say the good days have been so few lately, but when you are having a good one why not go for some ice cream?!


We were especially fond of this banana man! What a job!
He may have been a little humiliated,(you could tell) but all of the laughs we had driving home just because he was there were wonderful!

That place is always hoppin! The weather wasn't even nice.
And no, I could NOT stomach the ice cream even though it looked delicious, so Maribel was a good friend once again and took care of it for me.

OINK!
Maribel has been staying with us until she heads out this coming week to Norfolk, Virginia where she will be at a new command. Good Luck to her. She has been a great friend to me. I'm not sure what I would have been these past few days without her. I will miss her dearly. WE have found a true friend in her.

Happy Birthday Stone

It's six days after his birthday and I haven't posted in awhile.

We went to Lubbock to celebrate Stone's 8th birthday! As usual the trip was fantastic and seeing everyone was AWESOME!

I now have two eight year olds. It's like this for a month and a day and then Sam turns a year older. They grow way too fast. I hope that I remember every little thing about every single day with Sam and Stone and I hope they remember me in everyday as well. There is nothing more important than these two little boys. They are perfect. So kind, sweet, and beautiful in every possible way.



Happy Birthday Stone! You are such a big boy now!



The best part about going to Lubbock is that we get to see all of the cousins! Family...the reason I would agree to move to Texas in the first place.

Celebrating a birthday is so special when you are a kid and even more special with a bunch of people who love you.

Hunter, JT, Daphne, Haylee, and Brandon. Thank you for being there!

And Sam and Hunter, I had no idea how great you two would look with this hairstyle!

Let's let it grow out now that we know how good it will look!

I took this picture of beautiful Haylee blowing bubbles. She is absolutely gorgeous! Makes me wish I had that little girl I always wanted, but I guess the hugs and love I get when I see her and Daphne will have to do! I am NOT COMPLAINING!


Have you seen a more perfect baby than Jackson? I could love him, hold him, and kiss him on those cheeks forever! He smells great too!

It was such a good time and thank you Ninny again for being such a wonderful hostess...
AS USUAL!
It was so nice seeing everyone.

Finally

Now that the 2nd week of school is in full swing. (And just by the skin of it's teeth too for Stone. He was feeling awful all weekend long. He had a fever starting Friday evening and it lasted into Sunday. This morning he was ready to get out that door!) I can finally rest easy with a schedule in hand!

I signed both Sam and Stone up for the school's IZONE program this year today. It's an after school care program where the kids from school get to play games, watch movies, and do activities until their parents come get them sometime before 6pm. I'm feeling pretty guilty about this, but I needed to do SOMETHING. I am in such a bind. I am at my office until at least 3pm. Just when school lets out. There is just no way I can make it on time, GUARANTEED, every single day. I'm hoping they like it enough to not complain to me about it anymore than they already have. Breaks my heart. I just need time to do things, time to myself, and time for the gym.

Finally posting a few of the pics from the Simply Skin Med Spa event I was asked to photograph recently. I think they turned out pretty well. I was just a fly on the wall.

A lot of everyone just doing their own things and me snapping in the middle of it all. I hope they like them. Thanks again, Simply Skin, for having me! It was really fun!

Can't wait to get my lips done!
or maybe get that fat wrinkle between my eyes taken care of...
or maybe fill these laugh lines...
or maybe get this beard that I'm working on over here taken care of...

Richelle and I both needed a break it seems. We've been going pretty strong for some time now. It seems like I am at work every day (I know I'm not, but it seems like it) plus I am SUPER excited about starting to write some things for Dallas/Fort Worth Child Magazine! So hopefully I will find myself busy from doing that as well.

Where did we go?! What did we do!?

CASINO baby!
I snapped these...



Winstar World Casino in Oklahoma has been doing all of this construction. It's practically quadrupled in size since I first moved here to Texas and I think the outside looks pretty unique aside from trying to emulate some of the world's most recognizable landmarks. Fun stuff!

First Project

It was the second day of school and already we have a project to work on!
We like to knock these things out as soon as we get them so they don't get lost in the mess of everything else that we do daily.
So like I tell the boys, "Just because it says you have til (fill in time here) doesn't mean you wait until the day before to do it!"
Procrastination makes me worry! I'm not comfortable doing it. It makes for more stress than you need.

It was little project this time! A writing folder with a few neat little things to label on it like friends and family, what you like to do and interesting things that have happened to you. From what Sam tells me the folder sort of assists you with ideas throughout the year on what he can write about if he can't think of anything at the time.

Serious credit goes to these teachers that think up the BEST mind expanding tasks for kids to do EVERY SINGLE DAY!


And this gave me a smile when I saw it at pick up time!
HOG HEAVEN!
Maybe not as good as the Redneck Woman (previous post). I don't have any idea what this one means...
Is it for a sports team? Is it an inside joke? Is Kennedale, Texas REALLY Hog Heaven?!?

It's that Time Again

The first day of school is upon us! The boys have never been in such a good mood as this morning. They are just so excited about going to school and seeing all of their friends, working with their new teachers, buying lunch on Fridays and learning new things! Really they are!...On the way to school this morning Sam was telling Stone and I all about how this year he is going to learn all of his multiplication tables!
Alright Sammy! I cannot wait to see!



Remember when you were little?
The first day was so special partly because you finally got to take out all your new things and wear them. The boy's school is a dress code school (which I totally agree with and love) so the clothes are kind of same ole same ole, but this year, they got their first pair of JORDAN's. They'd been wanting them since basketball season last year!

This was a bigger deal than you may think and for those couple of moments this morning when Stone thought they weren't going to fit, it was just like TORTURE!

and Slimer from Ghostbusters backpacks!


Can't wait to hear all about it boys! I'll see you at 3:00PM.
5 1/2 hours left...

Chopsticks

We ate at Ton's. Its this great Mongolian grill thing. Stone was so cute trying to use the chopsticks. He eventually decided it wasn't for him since he could barely get it on a fork!
Both of them are better at it than I am. I am so not cultured!
Heaven knows I need to put the fork down

To Stone, his fortune read: "You are going to the store to get a surprise."
I took them to Target and bought them some wrestlers.

My fortune read:

I am taking it for what it says.

After finishing up some school shopping we went for some well deserved manis and pedis!
Sam especially loved it.
Stone was trying to figure out how he could get one of those chairs in his room at home, but didn't enjoy having to have his pedicure done by a man and refused the manicure.

Here's to Dreaming in Color Tonight!

I was asked and given the opportunity to photograph Simply Skin Medical Spa in Mansfield, Texas at their "Champagne on Ice and Everything Nice" event. It was very fun! The place is beautiful and everyone on staff was so professional and sweet. Thanks for having me Simply Skin!
***I hope to be able to sit down to edit on Monday. I'll post some pics then.

Shackler's Revenge

The boys LOVE Rockband.

If I let them, they would play morning, noon, and night. It would never end. They would play it while eating breakfast, in the shower, feeding the dogs, cleaning their rooms, while they read books, and while they swam in the pool. They would take the guitar and drum sticks to bed with them every evening when they finally passed out from Rockband Exhaustion. (I know the condition exists because I can barely get through one song on the drums-It's some work!)

Thank goodness I am not willing to let that happen. When school starts it is back to the old routine...

• No games during the school week.
• Bedtime at 8pm

and their absolute favorite...

• Lawn Biscuits every Saturday (use your imagination here)

Anyway, the boys have discovered this little girl Piper, at Piper's Picks and now have this "YOUTUBE kid star" idea in their heads. So when the whole band could be together, Daphne, Sam and Stone, I told them I would record them and put it up.

I am a woman of my word.

This is going to be the best to watch when they're older...

On vocals, Sam

and Stone!

H E R O

This afternoon at work I experienced something that I hadn't before. I know that people are giving their lives for this wonderful country that we live in. I know that families are losing their brothers, sons, sisters, cousins, daughters...

But how often do you think about it? Maybe we should all take a moment or two or three or longer and really be thankful for the HEROES that ensure that we are able to sleep in our beds each evening without fear.


This HERO, US ARMY Sergeant Gregory Owens Jr was brought home to be laid to rest today. Sergeant Owens was the oldest of four brave soldiers killed during the same incident in Afganistan on July 20th, 2009. He was 24.


Who are all of the motor cyclists accompanying The Fallen Soldier? Patriot Guard Riders. Please take a moment to check out their website. This organization has done such good and I cannot begin to imagine all of the sadness they have seen. I thank them for taking time from their lives and displaying such respect to our military and families.


I hope to never be a part of something like this again.