A Culinary Celebration!!!

Kari and I have the only summer birthdays in the group, so this year we combined them and went to a cooking class/dining experience--it was fabulous!! We went to the home of this lady who is a chef. Her home was like a Santa Fe resort and she was so much fun. She put us to work......here are Kari and I chopping fresh rosemary from her garden for our chicken dish. FYI...we found some little spiders in the rosemary and just added them to the mixture for extra protein. We didn't tell the chef!!
Look at the skill.....watch out Giada!!
Look at the concentration on their faces...they are putting goat cheese in baby bells.....so yummy!
Look closely and check out this trick.....when cutting an onion, light a match, blow it out, and put it in your mouth. The smoke from the flame blocks the onion fumes. Pretty cool, huh?
Finally, we get to eat the fruits of our labor. She had a beautiful tablescape set up for us and we all agreed that we must come back again!!

Pantry Raiders

So, the other night after the boys had gone to bed, I opened the pantry to get some popcorn for me to pop. I noticed this myserious bowl full of odd things. I knew exactly who was responsible for this....Drew, the collector of odd things. There were some goldfish, a piece of a brownie, a pack of bubble gum, and some random toy. All the things a boy would need, right?
So the next morning, i questioned him about it and he fessed up saying that he just wanted a snack bowl in the pantry for him so he could snack all day long. Then, surprise!! Jackson sheepishly walked to the pantry and reached behind a few boxes and pulled out his own snack bowl that he had stashed in there as well!! I guess his brother is rubbing off on him.....

Par for the Course

At the beginning of the summer, I asked Jackon what he was looking forward to the most this summer. He said golf camp. He has asked me every week if this was the week for camp and finally it was!! Jackson and his friend Jack look like they're getting into mischief on this cart. If I turned my head, I wouldn't be surprised if they drove off for a spin!
Jackson's grandparents got him some new golf clubs this year and they worked great!
The little brother.....he wants to take part in golf camp and even noticed that one of the kids was "littler" than him and he couldn't believe it--it just wasn't fair!!! He was just happy to get to sit on the golf cart...that's as close as he got to golfing but he was happy.
We've encouraged our kids try many things thru the years and golf and basketball seem to be coming to the forefront for Jackson. It's been fun to see his skills develop and become his own---not just something his parents have made him do :)

Birthdays and Fireworks!

Jason's parents came to celebrate the 4th of July with us. Both of their birthdays are in July, so we decided to celebrate. The boys were super excited for them to open their presents.
Getting some extra help opening the gift....
For the 4th, we went to our friends, The Valles' house to celebrate. The Goodnough family was there as well, so we had 7 boys and 1 girl!
Here are the boys anxiously awaiting the fireworks that G-pa had gotten on the roadside on his way to Dallas. He went to one of those roadside stands, so basically we had our own fireworks show. We were a little worried we might get kicked out of the Valles' new neighborhood with all the noise we were making.
After the fireworks, it was off to the pool and then smores to end the night. I looked at my watch and it was 10:30 and all the boys were still going strong. So, we wrapped it up and the boys were out by the time we pulled out of their driveway. Poor Brooke, she missed all the fun......she was sleeping upstairs the whole time. Maybe next year she can join the fun!

Fashion Emergency!!

For some reason, I like to pick out what my kids wear. I like going into their closet and getting something out that has been neatly folded and smells fresh. Not that the boys are fashion plates, but just being able to pick out what t-shirt and shorts they wear satifies me...I know, it's weird. Anyways.....this is what I get when I tell them to go up and pick out their clothes. Seriously!!! Apparently, he doesn't have an eye for fashion and doesn't care either :)

VBS 2009

Evey year, the boys look forward to VBS and I am so thankful. They had a great time this year and loved the "space" theme. On Thursday night, after a long week of memorizing bible verses and homework, they got to celebrate at the carnival and spend all the tickets that they earned all week.
Here is Drew on stage....they asked for volunteers to come on stage and sing the songs and he was off as fast as he could. Jackson didn't move an inch and would barely sing the song. True to their personalities.....

They were excited to get their picture taken with the characters from the skits.....and hang with their buddies, Powell and Pierson.

Then we headed to the carnival. Drew wanted to get his face painted. The line was 45 minutes long!! He didn't care, but Jackson did. He just wanted to play games. So, he patiently waited for his brother to get his face painted...he was such a nice brother.

Here is the end result. Was it worth the time spent in line when we had to wash it off an hour later to go to bed? It was worth it to Drew. He loved it!

Jackson got to pick the games he wanted to play since he waited in line so long with Drew. He went right to the golf game. They spent their tickets left and right and had a great time.

Wedding Festivities!!

I am so happy. My sister married a great guy this weekend! They are so perfect for each other and I was so honored to be a part of all the festivities. We started out the weekend with a bridal luncheon at the Culinary Institute in Kansas City. All the little girls brought their American Girl dolls........Amanda did too :)

My mom hosted the event for all the girls!!

Here are all my cousins on my mom's side. It was so fun to see everyone who had traveled so far to celebrate!

Here is my aunt and cousin-in-law from Dallas.....we see them all the time, so we weren't as excited.......totally kidding!!

Finally, at the end of the night at the rehearsal dinner.......the boys had had it!!

Here's the problem......I did not take my camera to the wedding, so I am at the mercy of others to send me some pics. Obviously, there was a wedding photographer, but I can't get those pictures. Keep checking back to see some pictures of the actual big day. What a celebration!! Amanda and Ben are on their honeymoon in Ireland for 2 weeks!! Congratulations!

End of the year!

We officially have 2 kids in elementary school! We have a kindergartner and a 2nd grader!! I cannot believe it--what has happened to these boys? They grew up right before our eyes :)
Drew had a spectacular year with his teacher Mrs. Stephens. They clicked right from the start and we couldn't of asked for a better teacher for him. What other teacher prays for your child? She was super special!


Brooke and I came up to Jackson's end of the year party. All the girls were all over Brooke (like she was a little doll) and Jackson proudly showed her off by holding her at his desk. She loved all the attention!

Jackson had Mrs. Arnet this year and she was such a nurturing and calm teacher. She has 3 boys of her own so she had a special knack with the boys and kept them under control. Jackson loved going to school every day and learned a lot.

Memorial Day (late!!)

Spring really is beautiful in Texas. The weather is mild and there are so many flowers. On Memorial Day, the kids and I went to one of our favorite places....the Grapevine Arboreteum. Many people make the trek down to the Dallas Arboreteum, but I don't have time for that!!! This little park is small and so quaint. It has rugged trails behind all the flowers that the boys love to explore. So we headed out for a couple of hours of fun!
This suspension bridge is the crossover into the woods......
The other thing I love about this garden is that it has a play area which the kids loved. Check out this spider web.....I had never seen something like this!
As you can see, Brooke LOVED the flower gardens :)

And finally.......what we all came for...a picnic!! The weather was great, we found a perfect spot, and it was a fun day to be a mom :)

Enjoy...

Fun Pics!

These boys LOVE their sister!! One of the things I was surprised about when I had Brooke was how the boys responded to her. They absolutely adore her.....and in different ways. Drew is such a jokester and loves to make her laugh, sing funny songs, and kiss and hug her a lot. We have had to have some talks about personal space with him because he loves to be in her face :) Jackson, on the other hand, has become a caregiver. He wants to hold her, help her if she's crying, and just cuddle with her. He's very gentle with her. Both boys are great big brothers and when they walk in the room, her face lights up!
We just had to shoot a couple of pictures with her this weekend when my parents were visiting.....
Here's my mom with her..
I didn't get a good shot because the cat was moving too fast, but Brooke has discovered the animals and she loves them. She thinks they are so funny and will just belly laugh and get all excited if they just walk by. Her eyes follow them wherever they go....it is so cute.

Funny Farm

Drew got an any farm for Christmas and has been waiting to get his ants. So, we finally sent off for them and they came in the mail yesterday.
Here he is carefully opening the tube that they came in. He almost wouldn't do it because there was a big sign on the tube that said "Caution: Ants will bite!" I talked him into opening it and pouring them in.
I don't know why this picture is here!!
Safe and sound in their little habitat, the boys have been checking them out all day long!! Soon, they will make little tunnels all around their habitat. Today, it looked like we might have some goners and the other ants have put them in a pile. It is so weirdly fascinating to watch them.
So, this picture has nothing to do with the ant farm, but I just thought I'd throw a recent one of Brooke in there. This is last weekend when we went back home for my sister's bridal shower.

Random moments in April....

I haven't taken many pictures this month--I'm not sure why, but here are some random ones from last week. Jackson took these as we were getting ready to take a walk. I think Brooke needs her own shades....she liked having his on!

As you can see, Jackson lost a front tooth. Actually, he had to have it pulled. Here he is proudly displaying his new look!

Do you know your mom?

Here are some questions that have been floating around facebook that you are supposed to ask your kids to see how well they know you.........here it is!

1. What is something your mom always says to you?
J: You lose computer today.
D: I love you

2. What makes your mom happy?
J: When I help you
D: Doing stuff for you

3. What makes mom sad?
J: When I don't behave
D: If you lose something.

4. What was your mom like as a child?
J: You liked horses
D: A kid or a human

5. How old is your mom?
J: 36
D: 65

6. What is her favorite thing to watch on tv?
J: I don't know
D: The news or Today show

7. What does your mom do when you're not around?
J: go shopping
D: check emails

8. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
J: Being a cheerleader
D: For being cool

9. What is your mom good at?
J: Cooking!
D: playing games like marbles

10. What is your mom not good at?
J: baseball
D: balancing balls

11. What does your mom do for a job?
J: You're a mom and you help us and get food for us and kind of babysit us!
D: Be a mom

12. What makes you proud of your mom?
J: When Brooke is crying, you help her not cry
D: I'll just say "making lunches"

13. What do you and your mom do together?
J: go on vacations
D: watch Food Network together

14. How are you and your mom the same?
J: We're both humans
D: We both like games like marbles

15. How are you and your mom different?
J: I'm a boy and you're a girl and you like to shop and buy food and clothes.
D: By our hair and I don't wear earrings or lipstick

16. What does your mom like about your dad?
J: That he makes money for us
D: That he's cute!

17. What is your mom's favorite place to go?
J: any eating place
D: PeiWei

18. How do you know your mom loves you?
J: Because you buy stuff for us so we don't go naked
D: Because I'm still your baby

Easter 2009

We traveled to KC for Easter this year. The weather was super cold and we were not prepared, but had a great time in spite of the chill...
The kids decorated eggs with their cousins and here they are lining up for the hunt...youngest to oldest with a count of 10 in between.
Jackson was all business as he scaled a tree to get an egg!!
Finally, here we are at church. We were right on time and the place was packed, so we ended up sitting in the coffee shop in the church and watched the service on a big screen. Not exactly the way we planned it, but just as well......we had a great message while sipping on coffee. All was well!