Golf and The Living Desert

As a recap for our trip due to Paul's company's Executive Summit Retreat, Tuesday was a traveling day, plus we went out to dinner and a movie...very rare these days. Wednesday we went on the tram up the mountain and had an opening dinner for Parsons, the company. Thursday, Paul started his business meetings while I went shopping at the outlet mall and made lots of fun new friends from all over the country. We also had a fun sports theme dinner where we wore our favorite sports team shirts...I wonder what sports team is our favorite?! Friday, Paul had morning meetings, went golfing at the resort's amazing golf course, and I went to a zoo/botanical gardens called "The Living Desert". We all were bused to eat with smaller departmental groups at really nice restaurants that evening. Today, Paul had meetings all day and I got some things done in the hotel room, plus went to a beautiful park to eat lunch. Tonight we are having a more formal dinner all together to end the retreat. Palm Springs has been wonderful and such a great memory for Paul and me!

These palm trees were HUGE!

Typical view of Joshua Tree (cactus) in Palm Springs Valley

Palm Springs and Desert Valley
(The taller peak is the mountain we went up to)

Saw some animals of the deserts around the world...this one is a porcupine

Desert plants and vegetation

An oasis along the San Andreas fault line...typically where palm trees live and water comes out.

Hummingbird

Cheetah

Me in front of a huge model train collection

Thanks Parsons for a great time!

From Desert Sands to Snow

The foyer area of our hotel

Our view from our breakfast table

Mommy and Daddy say, "Hi!!!" in the rotating tram up to Mount San Jacinto State Park.

The tram that we ride in up the mountain

Look closely and you can see our car down behind the tower...we are getting very high!
The Palm Springs desert valley seen from 8,516 ft. and 30 degrees colder.
The famous windmills

The view at the top of the path to go see the snow

From desert sands to snow...amazing!

See the tree cut in half to stay on the path?

Mommy and Daddy's Trip

For the first time in over 4 years, Paul and I are able to take a trip together without the kids. It has certainly been a mix of feelings so far; I almost have to convince myself that it's ok to give myself a break from everything. It has been a fantastic trip so far and we wanted to show the kids some pictures of what Mommy and Daddy have seen so far on our trip. All we can say is "Thank You!" to our fantastic family members who so graciously are taking care of our precious children. It's nice to know that they are being loved just as we would love them. We hope that we can show you how thankful we are for your most helpful, loving gift to our family! Hugs and kisses!

Mommy and Daddy love you, Kannon, Alexa, Braden, and Logi-bear!

I...will...post...

I can't believe it has taken me this long to get another post on our blog! Later on, this post will be deleted...I just wanted to let those that actually follow our blog know that I will be updating the blog bit by bit and all the way back from April so it may get confusing. I will also try and keep up to date on current events for our family, as well. I found my little camera's battery charger finally so I got pictures off of it. No luck on finding my nice camera's charger, but I did get those pictures, too. So finally, we're coming back! Aren't you excited?

Chopped!

Well, I've gone and done it. I chopped my hair off today. I don't even know how many inches it was. I would have pictures of the before and after, but I can't find the cord to upload pics from my camera onto my computer, and my other camera I could have used has run out of battery life and I can't find the charger...hence the reason why I am also not caught up on the blog. Ugh! Life! We've also had a busy May! I'll put up some pics soon and show you. As for my hair, well, it used to go to or past my shoulder blades, and now it's much shorter...much, much shorter. It was not supposed to be this short, but give it 2 months and it will be exactly right, right? That's how it usually goes with my haircuts, and then I don't get one for a year and it's way too long, the baby grabs and eats it, you get spit up on it, it gets scraggly, it has no style, and it just needs some refreshing. So I went and cut it today after about a year of not cutting it. Crazy! It's fun and funky, easy to take care of, and Logan can't grab it as much. Alexa's turn is coming tomorrow!! You'll just have to wait for pictures!

*edited...to add pictures...even though as I'm typing this, my hair is now getting closer to the original length again!*

(Before)

(After)

Kudos to Aunt Catherine!!

My kids' Aunt Catherine (Paul's sister) received a very special award today! Paul and I were able to go to the dinner they served for the honorees and their guests. We felt very special being able to see Catherine get her award for being the Outstanding Senior in her major of Telecommunications Engineering at Texas A&M University. We are so proud of her accomplishments and are so excited for her graduation, too! She has worked really hard and I know she will be remembered in this major at A&M for a very long time. Way to go Aunt Catherine!! Gig 'Em!

Houston Fun!

My friend Jennifer suggested we go see the Houston Firefighter Museum and I jumped at the chance when we could tag-along with Paul on one of his business trips. Braden LOVES anything to do with firefighters and firetrucks. What a great little museum; it's a little hidden gem in the big metropolis of Houston. Immediately when you open the front doors of the old firehouse, large antique firetrucks welcome you into the inviting building. One in particular, the kids can climb all over. They have a mock set-up of the front of a firetruck where you can touch and push all the buttons and turn on lights and sirens, plus dress up as firefighters, and slide down a firehouse pole. It's a wonderful little place to go and learn about these wonderful men and women that help us everyday.
When Paul finished up his meetings, we then visited the Houston Children's Museum. What a fantastic museum, too! There were so many things for the kids to do and they even have a place to eat, which saved us from utter meltdown. Paul and I had a lot of fun! Ok, the kids did, too. It was so large, we only got through the downstairs, so we hope to visit again and enjoy fun times together. We are now finally realizing the close access to Houston we have and how many opportunities that are now opening up to us. What fun we see in in our future!

May Day

What a beautiful festival May Day is! To celebrate this welcome to Spring, we were invited by our friends, the Samuelsons, to go to their past Waldorf school in Houston and join in the festivities. When we arrived, we created crowns of flowers and vines all from everyone's gardens. We were able to bring some pink roses, rosemary, thyme, and lavender to share with everyone. Then we heard a little story about this new season among us and practiced singing some songs to go around the Maypole. Then we all gathered around the Maypole, took a ribbon, and danced (walked) around singing our songs. It was so beautiful to see the children walking with their ribbons until the pole was all wound up. Afterwards, we all sat down to have a wonderful meal together with food that everyone brought and the children played on the playground. It was a pretty hot and humid spring day so the kids were exhausted by the end...those are the kind of exhausted days I love, though.

Over the Hill!!

It's fun being 30 when you get a party thrown for you. Paul put together a little gathering of some friends and family to celebrate the fact that I'm getting older and can now kiss my 20's away. Ugh! I am now looked at by people moving into our ward as one of the "older" young mothers, if that makes any sense. The party was a lot of fun, especially since one of my best friends from high school (Melissa) came all the way to see me, plus other really great friends and family that I love so much. Paul had delicious food set out for us, fine bakery breads with meats and cheeses, plus other fun things to munch on. I guess Paul wanted to make me feel young by having his mom tell her birthday "cowboys and indians" story, which is usually told to younger crowds. It was hilarious to watch everyone yell out the sounds that go with the words as she told them...cowboys say "yee-haw!" and make a lasso movement with our arm, indians say "ahhh" as we pat our mouths repeatedly, horses we pat our legs to make the galloping sound, and when she says birthday, everyone starts singing the Happy Birthday song. It was great fun, and of course the "30 sucks" lollipop was proudly displayed on the finely decorated table. Oh joy!

"Thirty Sucks"

The kids now refer to lollipops as "30 sucks". Paul came home the other day with decorations for someone's special 30th birthday and a large lollipop with those words largely displayed on it and now that's what the kids think we're supposed to call them. Love it! The kids have no idea that what they say is really not something we would want them to say...unless of course, if you're me today, and it's your 30th birthday! So why not let them run around the house saying "30 sucks!"

So far so good, I don't feel too much different, but do look forward to the surprise Paul has put together for me. Today was also Stake Conference for our church and afterward we were invited to Catherine and Zach's (Paul's sister and her husband) home for a fun lunch. They had pizza dough from Double Dave's so that we could make our own pizzas. The kids got to put on their own sauce and toppings, plus they served me with a wonderful cake to celebrate the special day.
It was a beautiful 30th birthday for me and I feel so very blessed to be where I am today. I still wonder how I could already be 30 because I still feel 18 and some days I wake up and wonder where these 4 kids came from. It's so surreal! Being 30 may "suck" at times, but most of the time it sure is sweet!

Belated Easter

On my birthday morning, the Easter Bunny decided to come visit us, since he couldn't come when we all had the flu. Such a great surprise for me! He left some bunny droppings leading from the hallway door to the dining room table where all the baskets were filled with Easter goodies. The kids were so excited that Easter morning could still come to us, even when it was after Easter. Paul and I told them the Easter Bunny knows his stuff and would probably surprise us soon. Boy were we right. Afterwards, the kids dressed in their Easter dress clothes for Stake Conference which made me feel better about missing all of Easter. What a beautiful day to again reflect on the most precious gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Bleeding Maroon

Yes, we do bleed maroon in our family! We like to indoctrinate our children early. We took the kids to the Maroon and White Texas A&M football game with my parents and sister. It was a lot of fun to see the Aggies play against each other and wonder at what may happen in the next season. After a while, though, all we were waiting for was the promised fireworks at the end. If you have never been to a Texas A&M football game, I guarantee you will never forget the experience. Gig 'Em!

Bee Good!

It's not every day you look out your window and see a ton of bees flying around in the air in your front yard. I couldn't tell what I was seeing. Then we looked closer and found what looked to be a possible beehive. It turned out to be a bee swarm. The bees were moving homes and were surrounding the queen by hanging onto each other. It was amazing to see! We had a friend from our old ward at church to come over since he is a beekeeper/farmer. He was really excited to possibly be able to get the bees and add them to his collection. When he came he brought us his all natural honey from his own hives. Soo yummy! We woke up the next day and the bees were gone, so our friend did not get them, and we wonder where they went. What an amazing sight to see in real life!



In the picture to the right, can you find the bee swarm?>>>>
Hint: Look up!

Texas Bluebonnets

Being full-fledged Texans all our lives, Paul and I wanted to get some family pictures in the bluebonnets, I think for the very first time. Crazy, huh? I know we've taken some individual pictures of the kids in the bluebonnets every once in a while near Easter time, but never have we had pictures all together. Logan is also 3 months old and we wanted to preserve this wonderful moment in time. On April 8, our little family traveled to Navasota, a short drive away, and had heard about Washington on the Brazos (where Texas' constitution was signed) having good bluebonnets every year. I think we got there after they had a good mowing because their normal bluebonnets weren't there, plus we didn't have time to hike to an open field where they might have been since we were losing daylight. Bummer! We did, however, find a little patch near a ditch and they ended up being just right. I got a good workout running back and forth from the camera to the family to take our group picture. It was hilarious and the kids got a kick out of it! Afterwards, as we watched the sun set, we had a little picnic and let the kids play on the little playground there. We also walked over to the edge of the park where there is a drop-off to take a peek at the Brazos River. It was a wonderful and beautiful night to be together as a family. I'm so thankful for our great state of Texas, the Lone Star State. I love that we can take such beautiful pictures because of our state flower, the bluebonnet!

Friend Day

Alexa was able to take a friend with her to dance class today. We had been talking about this class for a little bit with her friend, Gwendolyn, so Alexa thought it would be fun to have her come with her and try it out. Annie is also in her class so Gwendolyn would have another friend in there, as well. At first Gwendolyn was a little apprehensive to go in...I would be, too, with a whole room of new people and loud music on...but she soon warmed up and I know Alexa sure loved having her there. They got to do some fun dancing around to music, play dress-up, use pom-poms, play games, and just feel like a princess.

The brothers got to come and watch, too, of course!

Braden is 3!!!

Braden turned 3 on Saturday, the 12th of April! It just doesn't seem real that he is now 3. What a precious 2-year-old he was. We have a little jokester on our hands for sure. He was definitely sent to Earth with a sense of humor. Our family has been non-stop cracking up at Braden over the last year. I'm going to miss his 2-year-old years and hope for the best in the 3's. My kids (and their parents) usually have a harder time in this year. Ahhh! Wish us luck!

Paul was at Youth Conference for church on Braden's birthday, so Mommy tried to make a wonderful day for her precious son. When Braden woke up, the table was set up especially for him as a surprise. The birthday ring was set up in the middle with his crown and cape nearby that he could wear the whole day, plus a package that had come from Grammy and Poppy. (Our presents are to come later so it was nice to have something there for him to open.) Later that day we went to the library since Braden had read about it in one of Curious George's books and asked to go there again. We got to check out some books and have some fun reading time. Then after naps, we went to Chuck E. Cheese's for some dinner and fun times. Braden loves this place and after putting coins into some of the games, he would come back and tell me they weren't working. How funny that ALL the games he put money into "didn't work"! He also was surprised when some mail came for him from GG and GPa and 3 dollar bills all his own to put in his new piggy bank! Both sets of his great-grandparents are pretty special! There were also numerous phone calls and people singing to the birthday boy. Sunday, when Daddy was home, we made some cupcakes together, and then on Monday, we actually went through his birthday story and he finally got to blow out his candles after the "Happy Birthday" song. For those of you who are interested in the birthday story, I tell of Braden being an angel in Heaven before he came to Earth and his guardian angel who was always with him by his side. Then the little angel comes down to Earth, by way of the Rainbow Bridge, when he is ready, and meets his parents and receives a name, I light a "life" candle, and from there I go through the consecutive years until his current birthday year telling of the things and accomplishments he has gone through as I light a candle for each one. Then on the current year, Braden's 3rd, I light the 3rd candle and then we sing "Happy Birthday" and he gets to blow the candles out. It's really a neat little story and really makes the kids feel special.

His birthday celebration will actually continue as Memaw, Papa, and Aunt Kimmie come into town this weekend. We are looking forward to that, as I'm sure Braden really is. Braden is so very special to us and we love him very much. Happy 3rd Birthday, Braden!! XOXOXO

You choose!

Wow, these posts are getting long! Here's a fun one. Since I'm talking about Paul, thought I would let our audience choose. He is not liking his picture on the blog so much, so I went to look for some more and realized I need to take more of him. Well, here are some of the choices. Please choose wisely to help Paul feel good about his picture that is out there for the world to see! LOL!! (This means Laugh Out Loud, for those that are still learning web lingo...Mom!) Love you, honey! Tee hee!




#1 Original



















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And to be fair, here's a crazy bad one of me! Enjoy!

My hubby, my best friend

I want to clarify about my post about being a mom, that I did not want to come off as being negative or that I didn't like being a mom. I LOVE being Mommy! It's the one thing I dreamed about as I grew up. I wanted to do the same things my mom did. I'll never forget the memories I have with my mom as she lovingly did the best for my sister and me, as she wanted to spend every minute with us. In fact, I was such a joy that another baby didn't come along for 5 more years. LOL! She said I was like her little best friend, going everywhere with her. Well, now I have 4 little best friends tagging along with me. After 3 miscarriages, I was certainly worried about not having children as I had dreamed. So when Kannon came, and then Alexa, and then Braden, and now Logan, you can see that I am overjoyed with thankfulness to have these precious children. I never thought I would be able to have 4, and that is also a reason that they are so close to each other, because we want to have them now rather than wait until later when it may be too late. I have chosen to be home with my children because I adore them so much and we are in a situation that helps me stay home.

So that's where it comes to my husband. Because of Paul, I get to live out the dream that I wanted...to stay home with my kids. He is the hardest worker and provides for our family so very much. I love him with all my heart and am glad to say that he is my best friend. Our children are a part of him, so I love my kids that very much more. Many may not know that Paul has a fantastic voice. His singing is so good that he could probably have earned a mighty good living with it, but he chose to do the normal route of family life and career. Before we dated, he was working on a CD project, and then we started dating, and well, now you know where that led. His voice is partly why I fell in love with him! I am now trying my darndest just to get him to sing for other people more often, like at church. He really only wants to sing to our family and write lullabies for our children. How wonderful for us!

His job now has been a wonderful blessing...he works with some very close friends and many of them are members of our church. I have watched him grow in knowledge and understanding of the business world, even the medical world. Every time we have had a baby, he can name every piece of medical equipment in the room and then proceed to talk about it with the doctor or nurse while I am delivering...how fun!! After an almost move to Nashville (after some last minute changes with his future employer, we chose not to go the day before he was supposed to be there), I watched him choose to honor his friends and co-workers instead of choosing a higher salary and move up in the medical field. Paul has also loved being an entrepreneur, becoming a mortgage loan officer and owning our own mortgage company, buying homes to rent, and now in the process of building a mini-storage, which the land purchase it is on is a story all its own. He has been building up our future so that he can spend more time with us now. I feel very comforted to know all of the hard work he has done, even when there were times that were very stressful for us as a young family.

Paul tries in every way just to make me happy. Even amongst the chaos he may come home to, he does his very best to bring things back together and help me with the dealings of our home. He is a fantastic Daddy and there is not a day that the kids will allow him to leave the house without a hug and a kiss and a wave at the front window. I feel blessed to have the power of the priesthood in our home so that when our baby is struggling to breathe because he is coughing so hard from having the flu, Paul can give him a blessing. So in spite of my prior post about how hard it was to be Mom, I want to say that my husband does everything he can to support me. He makes me a better person and I am so grateful for him and our almost 10 years of marriage! He is my very best friend and I love my Paul!

True and Everlasting Happiness - Being MOM!

On Sunday, we were able to watch General Conference on the computer and I absolutely loved the last 2 talks of the 2nd session that day. Elder M. Russell Ballard's talk was a direct answer to prayers for me and I knew then that I am doing my very best for our family, even when times get tough. I felt so loved and honored to be a wife and mother. A lot of times our work goes without thanks or recognition and we feel so tired, ragged, like we can't catch up, or we have to compete with the other mom or wife, or have to put our kids in so many activities to make them who we want them to be. Elder Ballard helped me see that the chosen path we have decided for our family of having less to have more is the right thing to do. We're trying to limit the kids' activities so that our family can have time together. We have cut out TV all together, which I highly recommend, so that we can focus on each other and have less meltdowns from the kids. If we want to get the news or watch my favorite show, "Lost"!!!, we can still watch it on our computer when we want. It was wonderful to hear a general authority, one of our apostles, tell us that women are very special and have a very special purpose here and that we should be told more often. I complain sometimes. It IS hard! Elder Ballard said being a mom was hard and it made me feel all the much better because he was also telling all of the husbands and fathers this, too, that they would never understand how hard. I felt validated for all the times I've cried to Paul about my hard life at home. I love being able to stay at home with my kiddos, though, and am so thankful that I can. I wouldn't trade it for anything, well, ok, maybe for the occasional break to get a treat for me like a spa pedicure, or shopping trip, or time out with some friends...hint, hint, Paul!! I can't wait for the Ensign to come out so that I can go back and read through Elder Ballard's talk again. I'm sure I will be looking to it often for reassurance and help from our leaders.

I'm so thankful for a living prophet today that can guide the world and the church in the ways we should go. I miss President Gordon B. Hinckley terribly. He was a wonderful man and the day he died I cried a moment, and then smiled, thinking of his reuniting with his precious wife and how I'm sure the reunion in heaven with everyone was a joyous occasion. How wonderful, though, to know that I could sustain our new prophet, seer, and revelator, President Thomas S. Monson, this weekend. It was so great to hear the first conference with him as the prophet and to think of the years ahead. I know he feels such a heavy load on his shoulders, especially following in the footsteps of such a loved prophet, but I know he is called of God in this calling on Earth. I love how he asked us to pray for him as he will for us. Of course we will pray for him and believe that his words and teachings are direct counsel from the Lord to help us get back to him and be happy here. I'm so thankful for a religion that leads me to true and everlasting happiness.

Thanks to one of my friends for her quote on her blog (Heather), this sums up what I feel as I am thankful today to be MOM!!!

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived. " — Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Here's a link to Elder Ballard's talk...ENJOY!!

I love them!

Just a little outing to a school playground and a few spur-of-the-moment pictures and I got these precious pictures of my little ones. I love these kids and wish I could describe the joy I feel when I look at them!

3 Months Old!

Logan is now 3 months old! I can't believe how fast time flies! I am in love with my little man! He is still the most easy going baby ever. His cries are changing from newborn cries into baby cries. He loves to smile at everyone and sometimes will give a little bashful shrug or tuck his chin into his chest whenever someone oohs and ahhs over him to get him to smile. He is very ticklish and instead of laughing, he gives little squeals. It is so funny! He is so alert and loves watching everyone and everything around him. Logan loves to stick out his tongue and will occasionally give little zerberts as he's "talking" to everyone. His eyelashes are also growing in long Torres fashion. Love it! He is a very happy baby and I couldn't have asked for an easier baby as a 4th child. You can tell he adores his siblings, too, as they adore him. I just can't believe that Logan is already 3 months old.

Catching Up...doing much better!

Finally, we are all doing much better and trying to get back into the swing of things. It's been very difficult to get back to some kind of normal. I was going insane...our house was a wreck, the kids had been going crazy, I guess because of being cooped up for so long, Paul had to turn in paperwork for our upcoming investment mini-storage so he was stressed and not able to take care of everyone, I still wasn't all the way feeling well, and I still had to (gladly) take care of a little baby. Ahhh! The life of a mother, wife, woman. This week has been wonderful, though, and I feel like things are looking up. We have been getting back on a schedule and doing our wonderful rhythms (routines) of the day and week. For school we've had wonderful circle times, stories, and perfect weather for playing outside. It just feels so great to feel whole again!

Jinxed!

I have the flu...nuf said!

Bah Humbug!

What our Easter feels like!

No, not really bah humbug! Our family loves Easter so much, but this year, we are in the throes of the FLU!! Aaaahhh! It has not been fun at all, and it seems that I may be the only one not to get it yet, although I'm sure I just jinxed myself. My hands are so dry from washing them all the time. I've tried not to cry because our beautiful week and our beautiful Easter day is spent inside giving doses of medicine, wet washcloths on heads, warm baths, lying on couches and beds, and literally watching EVERY movie we own...literally! I had to go rent about 10 more videos to help our family bear with this event because we have chosen not to have cable for a while in our home. Because of how young Logan is, I've had to be very careful when I just touch my other kiddos. I love them so much and it's so hard to see them this miserable and not be able to hug, squeeze, and kiss them as much to make them feel just a little bit better.

Kannon has had a fever for a week, and finally we are seeing an end in sight for him, although I'm sure there will be a lasting cough because of his asthma. Alexa is doing better, too, but the excessive whining and crying is an indication that it's not over yet. Braden and Paul came down with it about the same time on Friday and it gets worse before it gets better. There have also been very high fevers here.

As for the flu shots, the doctor told us that this year they got the wrong strain, obviously. We've also had the variety of flu symptoms...high fever, stuffy, runny nose, cough and congestion, sore throat and chest pain, headache, body aches, and even stomach troubles. I'm just so tired of this...I've been stuck in the house for the week and I'm about to go insane. I try to look at the positives, though, and I must say that I have certainly been blessed! I have been taking care of everyone and yet I still have not gotten this illness. If I do, it will be after everyone else has gotten better and Paul can help with Logan. That is certainly a blessing and one that I am very thankful for. I was able to go to the grocery store, as well, which we were in major need of. So in this Easter season, I am very thankful for my health.

As the new season has shown up, we will definitely be able to feel the old gray days become glorious and golden because our health will be restored again hopefully soon. It's a time filled with flowers, green grasses and trees, butterflies, and the flower fairies and root gnomes that help bring about our Aunt Spring by pushing up those marvelous Spring flowers. We've missed celebrating the Spring Equinox with waking the flower fairies on a bell ringing walk. We've missed our usual egg hunt and treats from the Easter bunny, although he told me last night that when everyone is feeling better, he will make a surprise visit just for us! We've missed being with our family and friends and celebrating Logan's first Easter. We've missed going to church, especially in our new Easter clothes.

We do remember the blessing of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, though. I can feel the love that Heavenly Father has for me as I know, in this trial our family is going through, that he knows us each individually and sends abundant blessings just for us. What a wonderful gift the Atonement is so that we may be able to one day be with both our Heavenly Father and our brother, Jesus Christ again. I'm so thankful for this knowledge. So wishing everyone a wonderful new Spring and a beautiful celebration of Christ's resurrection at Easter! Happy Easter, happy Spring, happy new beginnings!

Good days to come, though!

Whoop!!

Let's see, which one did I root for? I wonder?....

VS

Gig 'Em Aggies! Our boys are moving on in the basketball tournament. We still have faith in them! The score was A&M 67 BYU 62. Good game! Whoop!!

Our Spring Break! (Part 3) - Here Comes Peter Cottontail!

My parents (Alli's) and sister came to celebrate Easter on Saturday since they will be out of town for the real thing...they are going snow skiing without me! Wah! We had an Easter egg hunt and a wonderful dinner together, plus we celebrated my dad's birthday with cake and ice cream. It's so fun to have Memaw, Papa, and Aunt Kimmie come to visit! The kids get spoiled quite often, but the love that they show us by coming to see us often really is the best! It was great to watch the kids hunt for those eggs. Braden slowly looked carefully while Papa helped him and nudged him in the right direction. Kannon and Lexi just went all out, even climbing a pole and on the playset to get those eggs. There was one egg left under a riding toy and we played the hot/cold game with them and finally Lexi threw the toy over and there it was...except big brother Kannon...well just watch the video, you'll see. There was a brawl in the backyard until the confetti eggs came to save the day. It just wouldn't be Easter without those confetti eggs, or if you're from San Antonio like I was at one time, those cascarones!

Kannon looks a little scared to go on an Easter egg hunt! Who knew?

Bound and determined to get that egg!

Braden found one in our blooming irises!

Yea! Confetti eggs!

The loot!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Our Spring Break! (Part 2) - Everybody Jump, Jump!

Thursday of Spring Break, Kannon had a friend over and we decided to go to The Bounce in College Station. It's such a great place to get kids' energy out as they climb, slide, jump, play in balls, and run around all over this big room of inflatables. I carried Logan around in our sling, but he was congested so that didn't last very long. It was pretty busy that day so trying to keep track of 4 kids with a little one in your arms was a bit crazy. Many times, though, one of the kids would come sit next to me panting for air saying they were tired and then within the next few seconds they would jump up and run away again. The Bounce also has a little diner in it with some fun foods like hot dogs, mac and cheese, etc. So we decided to just stick around and eat there, plus have some more play time. Trying to take pictures was a joke, too. I had my camera on the wrong setting with red eye reducer so there was a double flash and it was very slow. So basically all my pics were of blurry children. I guess it shows how much activity was going on. I barely could get them to stop for a few seconds to get a picture. We will definitely be going there again!

Our Spring Break! (Part 1)- We're Going to the Zoo!

Since the schools had off for Spring Break this last week, the kids and I decided to have one, too! What's fun to realize is that we can do these fun things anytime we want, but it's so much better when you get to go with close friends. On Wednesday we went to the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco. It was Logan's first big trip anywhere and luckily we had some good friends to help out. It was just the perfect size zoo to see everything and play at their beautiful playground. The kids and I had a blast!

The howling monkeys; the Gibbons

King of the Jungle in the background

A shot of all 3 kids right next to a lion, even though you can't see the lion.

The aquarium; notice the little stream next to the window. Not sure if that was placed there to deter the kids from getting up next to the glass or not. They all ended up jumping into it and playing in it!

The otter...Brett (my cousin) would love this!

An elephant!

This was so fun...a slide that goes into the water of the otter exhibit.

The beautiful playground...I want this in our future backyard!

Brand new boys

(This was done end of Feb) We decided the boys needed haircuts after trying to grow it long...thought it would be fun for the summer being the cute surfer boys look. I couldn't take it anymore and on a whim Paul and I took them to chop it. I had to take a before and after pic so I could remember what they used to look like. I like their new clean cut, but sure wish I could hold out to see what they would have looked like...here's my brand new boys!


Before (Surfer boys w/cute beach babe)




After (Smooth and clean)

Snow Day...in March!

I absolutely had to add our snow pictures. It takes me a while to upload the pics off my camera, but this was so much fun. We had the largest flakes I have seen in a while, but they immediately melted when they hit the ground. Luckily we had received a phone call (from whom, we still don't know) at 7 a.m. and finally looked outside to find this great surprise. The kids are still in their pj's and were woken suddenly so excuse the groggy eyes and little protection from the cold. What a wonderful gift to have on a beautiful Friday, March 7th morning.

Nature...through a child's eyes

The other day, when the weather wasn't so wet, we went on a nature walk in our neighborhood. Kannon brought along his kid digital camera, hence the lower quality, and took some pictures. I was really interested to see how they would turn out. He was really proud and so was I. It's great to see through a child's eyes every once in a while!

The start of our nature walk...A rolie polie on Alexa's finger, even though you can't see it.


Our street


Standing in front of a yellow flower blooming bush.


A dandelion...we all blew the seeds everywhere!


One blooming daffodil!


I love this picture Kannon caught...the red berries of a youpon holly.


This was supposed to be a comparison of trees starting to bud and a dead one that was losing its branches.


Our neighborhood park


Our neighbor's beautiful garden!

The Luckiest

Well, I've been playing around with all the features on Blogger and had to add in a little music! I put only one song on right now because I just love this song so much. You may have to scroll down a little bit to get the song to automatically play. "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds of Ben Folds Five, was introduced to me by my sister-in-law and I have been in love with it ever since. I feel like I am the luckiest woman. Every time I listen to it, I think of my family and everything that they mean to me. Of course there are hard times and plain terrible days when it seems nothing is going right. In the end, though, I remember what is most important. All I have to do is go look through all of the pictures of my children on my computer and I remember what life is all about. My wonderful husband is my best friend and works so hard to make sure our family is taken care of. I love them with all of my heart! I am the luckiest!! So enjoy listening...

I'm 2 months old!

2 months old!

Logan now is 2 months old and is such a joy! He is smiling so much...has done the real thing since he was 2 weeks old. I don't know what else you would call it when a baby stops in the middle of eating, looks up at you with his beaming eyes, and gets a huge grin on his face. I had to stop looking at him to get him to start eating again. He is also doing some baby talking already. Here's a video just showing a glimpse of what he does every time he looks us in the face. Sorry it's a little crooked...Logan would stop and watch the camera so I had to film from the side. Hopefully his temperament will remain with him after he's 15 months. That's when my children's true colors shine through! Logan has slept through the night 3 times, and other times he only wakes up one time. What a blessing as a fourth baby! We just can't believe it's been two months already...wish we could slow time down a little!

Logan's stats (done 3/18, almost 11 weeks old):
Weight: 13 lbs, 4 oz.
Length: 23 inches

Logan's Blessing!

Today was Logan Blake's blessing day where he was given a name and a blessing in our sacrament meeting at church. It was a wonderful day! Paul gave him a beautiful blessing and I just found out that a dear friend wrote some of it down for us to remember. So many family members were able to come and made us feel very loved for this special occasion. Logan had aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and even great-grandparents! How exciting! I think it's so interesting that we were all color-coordinated in either blue or red/black/white. How funny! After church we had a luncheon at our home and all the cousins had a fun time playing together. Wish I had gotten more pictures of that. Logan looked precious in his white clothes. He also had fallen asleep in Paul's arms right before his blessing and slept through the whole thing. Very peaceful! For Logan's blessing, we feel very blessed!

Our Valentine's

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Ok, so we're a little late! I guess that's what happens when you have 4 wonderful children! It was Logan's 1st Valentine's Day and we just love him so much. He was also exactly 6 weeks old on Valentine's Day. I had to take pictures so here's a few. We also made a picture for Daddy for his office of all 4 kids. Hope you enjoyed your love day. All our love to everyone!

Yea! I'm finally doing this!

Finally...we are getting a family blog up and going. I'm so excited to post more and more to help our family and friends see glimpses into our lives and stay in touch, plus help me keep some sort of family remembrance. I'm not too good at scrapbooking even though I have a to-die-for amount of supplies. So here's to our blog! Hope you enjoy!