Easter weekend 2009

For Easter this year we decided to camp out in our backyard. The girls loved helping Ryan set up the tent.

They gathered sleeping bags and bakpacks filled with pajamas, special sleeping blankets, and a flashlight.

I cooked tinfoil dinners inthe oven and Ryan set up the TV outside so we could watch a movie while we ate. The girls thought it was so cool to have our TV outside.

Channing said, "This is the best night!"

The girls participated in not one,

not two,

but three Easter egg hunts.

It was a beautiful Easter weekend in which we were able to reflect on the sacrifice out Savior made for us and the blessings we receive from that event.

With the Wave of a Wand

I had to fill out a questionaire with each of the girls for the spotlight they do in primary and this is the conversation I had with Chloe:

Me: Chloe what do you want to be when you get big?

Chloe (in a very excited voice): a Bus Guy

As I typed the answer she sat very quietly and then asked: Is the tooth fairy going to make me into a bus guy?

Me: No ( a little confused)

Chloe: Well then who is going to make me into a bus guy.

Me: You are.

She looked up at me with her eyebrows crinkled and very firmly said: I can't! I don't have a wand!

Happy Day! She Got It!

Channing learned to ride her bike with no training wheels. Ryan took her to the church parking lot one afternoon and 45 minutes later she was riding her bike. She took to it very quickly and loves her new found freedom.

Christmas 2008

We had a great Christmas with Wes, Kate and their kids. The girls were so excited that Logan and Benny got to spend the night at our house on Christmas Eve.

They decorated cookies for Santa and ate a few too.
We sprinkled food on the driveway for the Reindeer.
The Christmas Story was told, songs were sung, and all the kids were off to bed like good little boys and girls. Yahoo!!

Christmas Morning: The kids all got a lot of fun toys. Each year we give the girls new pajamas on Christmas Eve and this year I decided to make them. The girls got new dolls from Santa and the dolls were wearing matching pajamas. Santa must have seen me making them and had his elves make matching ones for their new dolls. The girls thought that was so cool! Way to go elves.

Then....Logan and Ben got to stay at our house for a week while Wes and Kate went on a cruise with Kate's family. The boys went back and forth between our house and Grandma and Papa's house. We played hard and had a lot of fun.

We rode bikes and took trips to the park

We walked a couple miles around Brazos Bend State Park to see and touch alligators.

We put all the kids to work raking leaves and then we had to play in them, of course.

What a great Christmas vacation!

Nutcracker Ballet

I got tickets for Channing and I to go see Ballet Forte's Nutcracker. 2 of her friends and their moms went also. She was excited to get dressed up and have a special mommy-daughter date. I wasn't sure if she would like it or not, but she loved it. About 15-20 minutes into the ballet she turned to me and said, "Mom this is really fun. Thank you for taking me." That made my day. It will be fun to take both girls when Chloe gets older.

Through the Eyes of a Child

Every year our Stake puts on a really nice Christmas Concert. This year I decided that we needed to go as a family and enjoy the beautiful music. It was 1 1/2 hours long and the girls actually did a great job sitting still. I love that they sat and listened, while only having to be slightly entertained. I didn't bring our regular church bag of tricks, instead I pulled an envelope and a pen out of my purse and gave it to Chloe. After drawing for a few minutes she handed me this:

And said this, "Mom, I drew a picture of you...MAD!"

Uhhh, what does this mean? Is this how she sees me, with psycho eyes and an intense mad mouth? There's nothing like getting a mood check from your 3 year old. I thought about the day and how it had gone and I guess she was slightly justified in drawing "mad mom" Twice that day she had gone running to the bathroom in a panic, only to make it as far as...right in front of the toilet. One of those times she had her dress on ready to go to church. ARGHHH!

After seeing this sad drawing of myself, I realized I need to try and be more patient with her. Life can be so short and I need to sit back and enjoy every day. I try to remind myself that these are the easy days compared to what's ahead. I hope next time she draws a picture of me it's a little different.

Thanksgiving Day Memories

Ryan's Aunt Janet, Uncle Mark, and 3 kids from Houston joined us in Sugar Land for a memorable Thanksgiving Day. From the top: Sheriee getting sick, and still being a gracious host and cooking Thanksgiving dinner for us. While we ate, she layed in bed, chilled and terribly nauseous. At one point she got out of bed and fainted. On the way down she caught the edge of the nightstand with her head. So off she and Vern went to the emergency room to have it looked at.
While they were gone, the boys went outside to throw the football and Sam, the youngest cousin at 8 years old, threw the football through the dining room window. The pane must have shattered into a thousand itty bitty pieces. It took 4 of us almost 1/2 hour to get it all cleaned up. Sam was so upset. This is him shortly after the incident, you can tell his face is still red from crying. Sheriee got out of the Emergency Rooom with a bandage instead of stitches.

And to top it off, while in the middle of an intense game of Zilch, a really fun dice game, Chloe started yelling my name from the bathroom. I was in the process of rolling what I thought was going to be the winning roll and yelled for Ryan to go check on her. He goes to check on her and starts yelling for me to come and see. I go look and Chloe had made a mad dash for the bathroom only to make it as far as, I bet you can guess, right in front of the toilet.

Despite all the craziness, we ate delicious food, spent quality time with family, and expressed thanks for the wonderful blessings we have in our lives.