Back to what we call Normal!

After our crazy week of birthdays - last week was not so crazy. We were back to a normal week of practices, games, practices, homework, and more practices...
I am looking forward to my trip next week. I get to go to California and meet up with Kristen and Kelsey.....off to Disneyland we go! YEAH!!! I'm ready for the break. The past few months have been one of those "calgon, take me away" kind of times...I'm sure you know what I mean.
Donny is currently in Washington finishing up training before he goes to Afghanistan the end of April. He is excited....I just say let's get it over with and get him home safely!
So yesterday, the boys were "being boys" and beating up on each other. I told them they both had to go into the kitchen and sweep the floor. (as punishment) Then I told them they had to say atleast 5 nice things to each other....you would have thought I tore both their arms off....what torture for them to have to actually say nice things to each other. Mom and I were sitting in the family room listening to them...first I hear Chase say under his breath....."your a good sweeper." I reminded Chase that he needed to say, "CODY, your a good sweeper!" with a happy, loving voice. The next thing I heard was cody say, "Chase your a good sweeper." The next two compliments were just them copying what the other had said. So finally I said that they couldn't copy what the other person said. It was so cute! In a happy, excited voice I heard. "Chase, I love the color of your eyes." and Chase said, "Cody, I like your smile."
Mom and I were dying laughing! Of course as soon as they both said 5 nice things they said...."we are done!" It was nice to hear them complimenting each other.....maybe one day they will do it without being forced too! It was a great punishment!

Party, Party, Party!!!!

After Valentines Day on Thursday, we had more fun coming Friday night! Since Jordans birthday was on Saturday she had some friends from school over Friday night. I took them to see Step Up 2. They really wanted to see it, but honestly so did I!!! Yes, they all loved it and came home practicing their dance moves. (keep practicing girls) :-) When we got home, we had some banana splits with lots of whipped cream, of course.

cute group of girls!!!
Here all the girls are piled on Jordans bed....there were four of them that stayed the night. It was hilarious to see them all try to fit in her bed...none of them wanted to sleep on the floor. Have you ever seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory??? Remember the grandparents who all slept in the same bed? Well, that is pretty much what it looked like. It was so funny! When the girls finally decided they were tired of smelling each others feet, two of them gave in and slept on the floor.
Lucky for us we woke up EARLY Saturday morning to a BAD hail storm!!! I pretty much thought we were being attacked...it was beating on the windows so loud. Rick and I were up, the kids were up, it was crazy! Of course, I ran and got my camara to record the event. Lucky for us we get to have a new roof put on the house...yeah....(not really though - it would be great if my deductible wasn't so huge) but it's one of those things that needs to be done. (by the way, for you McKinney friends....I know a great roofer if you need one too!) The Suburban and Ricks car were parked out front, so they definately have battle scars.....not sure that we will fix those though.
This is a picture of the hail out back....it almost looks like it snowed. I wish that would have happened instead.

Teenager In The House!!!!!

Saturday the 16th was a great day! It was Jordans 13th birthday! She had a great time with her friends friday night. We woke up to the crazy hail storm, headed off to a NART class (volleyball workout class), had lunch with friends, then we got to go to a "late" lunch with family that was flying through Dallas. We love to see Chris, Megan, and cute Kennedy. We didn't have long to see them, but had a great time! I felt kind of bad, because as Jordan and I were driving home, she said it didn't really "feel" like her birthday. I kept asking her why, and she would say she didn't know.....little did she know what was coming that night!

SURPRISE!!!!!! Her friends at church threw her and a friend of hers (Kayden) a surprise party. They both have the same birthday and were born only 30 minutes apart. (or close to that) Kaydens mom and I told both of them some story about needing an interview from the bishop, so we both arrived at the same time and they walked in together....it was perfect, and neither one of them had a clue!
We had a great time with the kids....what a great group! First we took them to Wallmart, where they were going to have a picture scavenger hunt....well, that didn't last very long because the undercover cop stopped them. The kids were a little scared....us moms teased them a little and told them they were going to Wallmart jail! It was definately an experience all the kids will remember. Once we got back to the house, they played games, opened gifts, had cake and home they went. It was so much fun!
The teenagers!
I'm so grateful Jordan has such a great group of kids to hang out with. When we were headed home I asked Jordan if it felt more like her birthday now....she smiled and said, "yes"! I can't believe I have a teenager....she has grown up so fast....it seems like yesterday we were watching Pooh Bear videos and playing with her big purple Barney doll....I'm so grateful for Jordan and the beautiful young lady she has turned out to be. I'm so blessed....I've always considered her my special angel, for many reasons! Happy Birthday sweetie!! Thanks for being you!

Partying Still !!!!!

The party was still going on....the 18th Cody turned 5! I can't believe my baby is 5 years old. He is so cute....he said, "I don't want to turn 5 because that means I have to go to Kindergarten." Cody had a fun day....he got to hang out with dad in the morning, then lunch at McDonalds (of course), and off to school. He was okay with that because he got to take brownies with chocolate frosting and sprinkles...YUM!!! He didn't want a huge party, so he just invited a couple of friends over.

What a cutie!

Cody got a birthday crown at school....he wore it all afternoon. His friends Brandon and Nathan came over to celebrate with Cody. He was excited because he got a nerf gun and lite-saver from his friends. They had a great time playing together. The only thing Cody asked for was the movie, Air Bud - snow puppies....(easy to please..) He also wants to go to Main Event....we can probably handle that!

Happy Birthday Buddy...I love you!

Valentines Day!

We had a great day! Cody and I made it to Chase and Paiges Valentine parties at school.....yes can we say, complete sugar overload! Besides getting all their valentine candy there were sugar cookies galore! The fun part was seeing the kids go through their valentines. I remember doing that as a kid and having a blast. We always have a big dinner on Valentines day. This year we had to push it back to a "late" dinner. Chase had soccer and Jordan had volleyball, so we didn't actually sit down to eat until after 8:00. The good news was that all the kids were so hungry - they ate everything. Hope you all had a great day!!!!

Chase's box was full! Paige loves showing off her little brother to her class!

all the kids got Webkinz for Valentines day....it's actually getting pretty easy to buy them gifts...all they ever want are webkinz. Will there ever be a point when we will have too many????
for dessert the kids all got their own personalized sugar cookie. They were huge! They will definately be munching on those for a few days.

Valentines Dance!

Friday night was the kids Valentines Day dance at the elementary school. It was the 10th anniversary, so they wanted everyone to dress up...the kids had a great time. Their favorite part was eating the cookies and drinking cokes. Jordan had a dance at the middle school, so she went to that with her friends. It was fun watching them get ready...I had four girls upstairs in the bathroom doing their hair and make-up....you would have thought it was prom!

mom with the kiddos!
The boys were so cute all dressed up....Cody actually was excited to wear his "new" shirt (passed down from chase, but new to him) and tie. He asked all day when he could get dressed. Funny coming from a boy who battles me on Sundays because he has to wear a "button" shirt. Maybe the tie thing will get him more excited. ?????

Yes....we have decided Chase needs a longer tie!!!!!!!
Jordan had another tournament this weekend.....She did great....her coach has deemed her as the permanant labero. For those of you who don't know that is the position in the back row. She is in charge of pretty much digging out all the low balls and returning everything that comes to the back row. She is doing great and had an awesome tournament.

Nerd Nite!!!

Tonight for youth night at church the girls had a daddy daughter "nerd" dance. At first Jordan and Rick weren't really sure what they were going to wear. Then while we were eating dinner Rick said he was going to tease Jordan and dress up like she does when she goes to volleyball. He came out of the room with "short" shorts on rolled over about six times. His shirt tied in the back with his belly hanging out and his knees wrapped. I seriously fell to the ground laughing so hard - that I wet my pants. When Jordan saw him, she was "of course" completley embarrassed! Needless to say they decided to go as workout nerds! Rick added the long johns under the shorts for church and covered his belly. They had a great time!!! Jordan was voted as the nerd "queen"!!! What a fun night!

Ready, Set, "Workout"!!!!
slow dancing
dancing to the YMCA
Rick and Bishop Ogletree
The whole gang!!!

Oprah!!

Okay, so I never have time to watch Oprah, but today I did! The topic was on Anti-Aging....it was sooo interesting that I wanted to pass it along. There was a lady on the show that was 60 and she looked WAY younger than that. The basic topics she and "Dr. Oz" talked about were:

• food (eating antioxidants)
• excercise (we all know about that right?)
• meditation (stretching/yoga and prayer)
• sleep and *** :-) (did you know *** could keep you young?)
• vitamins (this was awesome to know exactly what we should be taking)

all these things will help you stay/feel young ....along with being more healthy. I just loved it and got some really great tips. Oprah.com has the information on the show or the website: http://www.oprah.com/download/pdfs/health/oz/oz_antiaging_checklist.pdf shows the checklist.

Just FYI.....let me know what you think!

Bunko Anyone????

We had such a great weekend. It started Friday night when we had some friends over for a "pre" Valentine party. We had a great time "eating", talking, "eating", playing BUNKO, "eating", and ending it with guitar hero! I dug out my chocolate fountain I bought about a year ago and was never brave enough to try. It was a hit!!! The kids loved dipping strawberries, marshmellows, pretzels - pretty much anything they could find. I have a feeling the chocolate fountain will be used much more now! It was a mess but fun. The kids headed off to my parents house to party, while we partied at home. We have such awesome friends! From the pictures, you can tell we had a great time!
Saturday was a little bit of an emotional day....we were able to watch the wonderful funeral for the prophet of our church - President Gordon B. Hinckley. He was such a wonderful man. Over the past couple of days we have had the opportunity to have many different discussions with the kids. I feel so blessed for the spirit that has been felt. It just confirms my feelings about the church and the savior. As a family, we also had the opportunity to attend a baptism. This was neat because Chase was able to see what he has to look forward too!
What an awesome weekend!!! One filled with such great emotions!!!

The GIRLS!!
The GUYS!! my chocolate fountain!!!
me with my handsome guy!!!

Fun Times!

Later in the evening Aprille and Tiare were trying to figure out guitar hero. Hopefully they will put on a second showing for those of you who missed it! (I wish I had it on video for blackmail material - it was that hillarious!) With a few more late night practices they will be genuine rockers!!!

We had such a great time playing bunko...when someone got a bunko they got to wear the bright pink, sequin covered hat. A perfect addition for the guys!@!!

Good Friends...

We are so lucky to have such awesome friends! Thanks guys for keeping life fun!

Trevor and Aprille
Dave and Wendy
Billy and Jessica
Bruce and Misti
Justin and Nissa-Lynn

not pictured: Dave and Tiare, Rob and Melissa