what we've been up to....

well, once again I have found myself not keeping this blog as current as I hoped to. I think it's been about 2 weeks so that's not sooo bad, but thought I better get these thoughts up and counted for before Easter comes and then I am really behind.

So aside from the daily grind which keeps us busy enough and the kiddos recuperating from the AWFUL stomach bug that is getting almost everyone , we had a pretty fun weekend. Spring break rewind is still to come- we definitely were busy and had some fun do-ings there.

So let's see, our poor babies got sick last week and we were dealing with the un-pleasantries of stomach viruses on and off for most of last week. Poor baby Cole got it Sunday morning, the day before going back to work, and unfortunately spread his little germies to his sister and well, almost everyone else. It took down Riley, got the best of their Nee Nee, and made friends with Abishai and Candice too who flew in to have some fun with us. So when I say almost...Brian and I escaped. Yeah, I know, I probably just jinxed myself but we somehow avoided it. I have no idea how that happened. I will take credit for the million germ encounters I have daily at school and well, Brian just got lucky.

So thankfully the kiddos were back to normal by the weekend because Cole was in desperate need of a haircut. He was becoming Mr. Fuzzhead so my mom and I took him for his first experience in a barber shop. How cool- I found a winner ( Hargrave's) and we will go back and the best part? Super cheap.

There is something cool about the old timey shop with the men laid back in the chairs getting shaved with straight razors and the spinning red, white, and blue classic barber "thing" outside the door. So we walk in and Cole is cool, calm, and collected. We waited a few minutes, the place wasn't packed but more so than I thought. I figured for sure this was going to involve some bribery to get in that chair with clippers. Nope.

I was so proud. No lollipop or anything ( ok, he had the paci but he didn't need it). He climbed up, sat down, and sat perfectly still. Who is this kid? Seriously, this went way better than I imagined. Way better than the three previous attempts at haircuts in his life. So he got his "high and tight" and we went on our way. Yeah!

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We spent the rest of the afternoon celebrating sweet Rowan's birthday at Lupe Tortilla's. Love.that.place!!






These girls have so much fun when they are together.






The kids had a great time- and we enjoyed the friends and weather outside on the patio. Cole was a bit gun shy of the sand at first- his toes did not like that. I don't blame him- I HATE sand in between my toes. Y-u-c-k. It's only suitable at the beach.

But Riley jumped right in and little man eventually warmed up it too so we all had a good time. And I'm not sure what it is but they loved the concrete statues. I was more worried about them falling off. Kids have no fear- they climbed on, grabbed the ears, and made friends with the cow, the donkey, and Pancho Villa.

Rowan had requested a hot pink dinosaur cupcake "cake" which was super cute and super pink. The kids had pink teeth, pink lips, pink fingers, and even pink poo. Yep, sorry if that is too much TMI but it caught me by surprise too. You know as a mom at some point, you have talked about your kids poo with someone and you've definitely seen a fair share. I had no idea what was wrong when I got surprised and then Brian reminded me...pink icing! I thought it was the return of that dang stomach bug. Just when I thought I had seen it all, I hadn't.

So I will leave you with Riley and Pancho Villa.

Be back sooner rather than later with Easter when the bunny hip hops to our house.

( Ok, that was corny, but I am out of thoughts. That was bad).

Hope you all have a great rest of the week!

rodeo

Saturday afternoon we took the kids and my mom to the rodeo- the kids had never been and now that they are getting older and able to understand more things, Brian got us all tickets to Blake Shelton. We spent a couple hours walking through the arena with the kids and made a long stop at the petting zoo where I think we all had a good time.

We paid a small price for the feed, which they give you in ice cream cones, and send you on your way. Well...nobody tells you those goats and llamas practically chase you down for that feed. The signs I remember reading said these are docile & cud chewing animals so they are calm and relatively clean. Great!! We were busy chasing kids and making sure we didn't lose them and I got some practice refining my skills of not getting trampled by hungry animals. They mostly just followed you until you gave them something, but I had many climb up onto my lap just desperate to get a bite.

Thank you to this nice llama for being somewhat polite- until I turned my head and he bit off half of my cone. That was the end of his turn and onto someone else. Thankfully he didn't spit on me either ( which they do tend to do over food).

The goats were much sweeter (some of them- namely the bigger ones...the smaller ones were desperate to get a bite) who let Riley get a hold of him.

This is what happens when all your feed is annihilated and you need a refill in your cone. Just a quarter and a turn of the machine is what you need, until the goats heard the turn of the machine and it was like a kid in a candy store! There is no waiting patiently- they came over to stick their tongues up the gumball slot and lick away half of your "refill" before you even get it out of the chute! It took me about 3 times just to get enough to refill our cones. And then I was out of quarters, butmaybe that was a good thing. We were dying laughing, this really was very funny. ( See the hand? That was my mom...she was the lucky one who got licked and slobbered on). Hee hee.

One of the "puppy ogs" that Cole found. His knowledge about animals is pretty simple: the goats, sheep, llamas, and pigs were all "puppy ogs" and bigger animals like a horse, a cow, and maybe the donkey were all "moo's".

We did take the kids to see the grand champion steer and Cole wanting nothing to do with him. He stood there, made some "moo's", but would not come near him. No way. I guess he thought having his conversation with the steer from a few steps back was good enough.


We made sure to get the kids a good rodeo dinner: french fries, funnel cakes, dippin dots, and oh yeah, more ice cream, which is what these "hats" were for. They were actually ice cream bowls. Don't worry, there was a hot dog in there too somewhere.

Determined...

What do you get when you have a very determined little boy (who LOVES going outside) and just can't seem to reach the door handle?

It seems my little boy managed to finagle the toilet brush onto the handle of the screen door at Nee Nee's house and use it as leverage....now, I know he is mine and I love him so I am biased BUT! if you ask me- (which you didn't but are getting anyway), that is really clever for a child at his age to realize it has just the right size opening to insert onto the handle. Sorry if I'm bragging on him but that was smart. Out of all the things he could have found to help him on his way, he chose the toilet brush.

So as if that wasn't enough, once he did get the chance to go outside, he made sure to grab the plunger and run and chase the dog with it. (That's not clever, just funny and gross).

I know all you germ-o-phobes are probably eww-ing right now...(it's ok, I did too because I am one. I always have Lysol wipes attached to my hip) but this is priceless. And let's face it, it's not nearly as bad germ wise as eating kitty bon bons or other things, which have happened to mine and other friends.

( No offense Linds- as long as we're talking about germs and what our kids have done- that was truly priceless).

our weekend

Last weekend was a busy one and I love those, but I also despise them too in another way. It means that we're busy and have fun things to do, but it also means that it goes by so fast it's over. Although, I can say that spending last Saturday with friends and family was just what the dr. ordered after the going through a rough week of emotions after losing my dad.

And, don't get me wrong, those emotions still catch me, but the days are getting easier and I am keeping my feet moving forward. (Thank you again to all of our friends and family who sent cards & flowers, called, emailed, and was just there to give me a hug and say you care...even though it made me cry, you have to be thankful that they care enough to want to do something for you.)

So back on track...last weekend was b-u-s-y. Our kids woke up early as usual, because let's face it, they seem to know when the clock strikes 6 or 7. They make their way downstairs and come and bother us. I am thankful they can both get out of their beds, make their way down the stairs, and find the couch. And the couch = cartoons. No more screaming behind doors because they can't get out. We're loving that.

So we headed to a birthday party to celebrate Jake's 2nd birthday and the weather was great. You couldn't have asked for it to be prettier. We ran, chased, climbed, and then repeated. Yes, that would be us doing all that after the kids...because they were doing it too. It's safe to say that it took both of us to watch after them but they had a blast running and playing. So when one goes one way, you follow and hope your hubby has his eye on the other. The true reality of having two kids who are very active. But the party was a success- lots of fun- and good times with friends. Of course on the way home, Riley crashed and Cole didn't. I have no idea where the boy gets this never ending energy but there was no way he was about to take any shut eye on this gorgeous day.

I did take many pics but I'd be sitting here all night waiting for them so here's just a few from the park:

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A couple hours after we got home from the party we headed back out to have dinner with my mom's family. We all went to dinner to celebrate birthdays- my grandmother, Oma, was 81 on Sunday! She looks good, feels even better after her knee replacement, and had the smiles to show it. I can only hope I am still around at 81 and as healthy as she is.

This is my Opa & Oma, my mom's parents- so happy after all these years. They met on the day my dad was born, 11.28.49, and have been together ever since. WOW! That's 60 years for those trying to do the mental math. He is 84 and still so sharp. I love you both very much.

This was our attempt at a four generation picture- pretty good I think.
Riley and her great-grandmother. (I didn't manage to get one with her and Cole but he is the 1st boy in our family in 46 years! I'm hoping that is accurate- maybe it's 48).

Riley and Aunt B ( who came in from Ft. Worth)- this is really a great picture but it's even better because every time Riley sees her Aunt B, she can't talk to her for a good 10 min. She clams up, attaches herself to my leg, and hides. Go figure. But once Aunt B works her charm, there is no getting her away from Aunt B. She tricked her into talking about her dress. She fell for it.

Now, any of you who are around Riley often enough know that she can talk the paint off the wall...she must have gotten that from her daddy. Ha! (and I bet he won't know I just said that)and when she gets going, so do the hands and facial expressions. She can be so emphatic.

The other thing I love about this picture is her smile! She can be so ornery when taking a picture it can be exhausting trying to get her to show that sweet smile. She defintely got that from her daddy too. And I'm not picking on him, this is very true.

So that was Saturday and Sunday was a whole 'nother busy day...bathroom reno is in the works. Daddy and Boppy banging around, being noisy, and covering themselves in lots of sheetrock dust. I wish I had snapped a picture.

Well, stay tuned for more pics to come this weekend. We are venturing to the rodeo with the two kiddos and hoping to entertain them with Ag Venture and Blake Shelton. Should be fun! (and exhausting).

Adios...

My Daddy...

Most of you know my dad lost his battle with cholangiocarcinoma on Friday. Losing a parent is by far the hardest thing I have ever experienced, but he fought a really brave battle and slipped into the arms of Jesus very peacefully. And for that, I am so thankful that he is no longer suffering and is now set free. I know that he is up there in Heaven shining down on us and will get to see us all the time in his perfect form. So while I struggle with maybe not seeing him for decades, I know it will seem like moments to him.

Thank you dad for instilling in me a love of the outdoors- hunting and fishing- and for making that our special thing. Let me just say too that this man was a PHENOMENAL bbq-er. No lie...he could smoke some of the best ribs. (This is no small exaggeration when I say this, I think it was his calling and he missed it.) But I find some peace in knowing he is up there in Heaven chasing hogs, catching fish, and eating some good ole grub, laughing and loving being with all those who have gone before him. I will forever miss him and his stubborn ways...

I can't write too much without crying buckets (just when you think the well is dry, it fills up again!) so I will leave you with a few of my favorites from childhood- these are some that I will always cherish:

My uncle took this picture at the deer lease when I was probably about 6- it is my favorite and I think was my dad's too. He had it framed next to his bed until the very end...

This is one of the best I have of my parents & I.

I received one of the sweetest cards today that made losing him a little easier:

" Perhaps they are not the stars

...but rather openings in Heaven,

where the love of our lost ones...

pours through and shines down

to let us know they are still with us."

Frank L. Thayer
11.28.49-2.26.10

I will forever miss you.