Happy Birthday DAD!!!

Today my dad turns 63!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!




I am so lucky to live close to my parents! Yesterday we got to spend the day with them and celebrate dad's birthday! Dad lucked out and got two cakes!!! Or maybe it was all of us who lucked out, because we got to eat two cakes! We had a great day! Mom and Dad put together food for our "annual" Labor Day BBQ! For those of you who have been fortunate enough to be at our house on Labor Day or Memorial Day know what I am talking about. YUM YUM!!!! We played games and of course did lots of swimming! Who needs to go to Sea World - we have Shamu in the backyard! Dad, I love you so much! My whole life you have been someone that has always stood right beside me - no matter what!! Your are an amazing example of what a father, husband, grandfather, and friend should be. Thank you!!! I love you dad! Have a great day!

Congratulations Jordan!!!

Friday night was finally the end to a very LONG week for Jordan. Volleyball tryouts started on the first day of school and continued everyday until Friday. I'm not exactly sure the number of girls trying out, but I did see a girl wearing number 123! Their goal was to pick 36 girls....so yes, a lot were trying out for very few spots. The competition was even tougher this year because with the rezoning of middle schools, we gained a lot of great volleyball players from Scott Johnson.
Fortunately Jordan was among the group of girls chosen!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS JORDAN!!!!
We are so proud of her...she has worked so hard with her volleyball. I can't wait to watch the games. They are so fun! I was never really a volleyball player growing up and didn't know much about it, BUT I have grown to LOVE it!
Great job sweetie!!!

First Day of School!!!

Okay, so today definately makes my lifetime list of top 10 worst most depressing days! Today my baby went to Kindergarten! I have been home with one or more child for 13 years and today I was alone!!!! Rick did work from home today, so I wouldn't be totally alone. The school adventure started last night, when the kids couldn't fall asleep. One by one they would come downstairs explaining to Rick and I that they couldn't sleep. We started with Chase in our bed and when I woke up this morning, Cody was in my bed. Jordan was up first at 6:00...excited and ready for me to curl her hair. I went and woke the other kiddos up at 7:00. While I was upstairs I heard Rick say, "Jordan are you okay." I came downstairs to find her leaning over - head in the sink.....yup you guessed it! Puking!!!! I walked into the kitchen and she popped her head up and said, "I feel better now!" We will chalk that up to nerves! Not only was it the first day of school, but also the first day of volleyball tryouts! She brushed her teeth, grabbed her bags, and off she went! Once the little kiddos were ready Rick and I loaded them all up and off to school we went.......
But not before we took our first day of school pictures!!!! Aren't they all so cute!
We dropped off Chase first, next Paige, then we were off to the Kindergarten area for Cody. Yes, it was packed of parents waiting to say their goodbyes! When it was time for Cody to walk through those Kindergarten doors it went something like this:
"Okay mom I will give you a fake, somewhat concerned smile, but I'm not really sure that I really want to go to Kindergarten. Whatever happened to home-schooling me????""I can't believe I have to give up my care-free life of playing with mom, watching cartoons, and eating fruit snacks all day. Maybe if I hold on to Dad's hand tight enough he won't make me let go.""I better give mom a "fake" smile so she won't cry and so she thinks I will do okay" "School wasn't so bad!I had a great first day! I got to play with playdoh that changed colors. I guess I will go back tomorrow!"So why was my day so bad??? After I dropped the kids off at school I headed to Walmart. ALONE! Some might be happy about this, but it was quite sad. I didn't have my little man telling me he was thirsty and needed chocolate milk to drink while we were shopping. I even heard a little one throwing a fit in the next aisle over...I wanted tell the mom...it's really not that bad. Enjoy this, soon they will be at school. I figured she would probably think I was nuts though! Once I got back into the car, there was nobody to talk to! I did have fun at lunch with some girls that used to babysit my kids. One is now married with a baby of her own. (how old do I feel??) Then home and a couple of more errands before picking up the kids. I know that right now I am finding it all very sad, and probably next week I will be over all of this. It is just very sad when you realize your life has completely changed overnight and your babies are growing up. I told Rick we were either going to have to have another baby or buy a dog.....he didn't answer, but I'm sure the answer would be NEITHER! :-) Maybe we could just borrow someones baby every once in awhile????
Overall the kids did great! They all love their teachers and deep down, I think they were excited to be back at school. Jordan had a great first day at volleyball tryouts....if you notice she was number 79 out of about 120 girls.....they will be taking only 36 girls.....it will be really tough, but I know she will give it her best!
Jordan, Paige, Chase, and Cody....I am so proud of you! You are great kids and I know you will have a great year! I know in about a week or so, I won't be lonely....according to Cody I have a lot to do...one night I was laying with him in bed and asked, "what am I going to do without you home?" His response was, "CLEAN!" I said, "oh, what will I clean." He said, "the closet under the stairs is a mess. I can't even walk in it."
So there you have it - it seems I have a lot of cleaning to keep me busy!

Party Girls on the GO!!!

On Friday one of Jordan's best friends had her birthday party!!! If you can believe it for the party they cruised around town in a bright pink LIMO!!! Imagine 5 teenage girls standing out front excited and screaming when the limo pulled up! Kendall wanted pink and pink is what she got! The girls were so excited...it was sooooo cute! They posed for some pictures outside the front and when they opened the door to the limo we heard, "how cool," "oh my gosh", "awesome!"
They loved that magic screen that went up and down between them and the driver, the tv, the long seats, and all the room!
It was so fun to see these girls so excited. They were headed to somewhere to stop and get a drink. (that way they could get out of the limo and people would think they were famous.) Then they drove around town and ended up at the mall! All the girls had a great time. Paige was with me when the limo drove away....she looked up at me and with a big smile on her face asked, "how much does that cost for a birthday party?????"

San Antonio and ShAMu!

Last weekend we decided to do one last getaway before school started! So Friday afternoon we left Dallas (along with everyone else in the metroplex) and headed south. There was a ton of traffic, but we managed to find some back roads and made it in about 6 hours...we were pretty impressed. (considering all the traffic) Ricks older brother Stewart drove his family out from Farmington and his nephew Matt, also met us there. Friday night we had a great time on the Riverwalk...I love that place! We ended up doing the little boat tour...so informative! I would highly recommend it. Saturday morning the priority was SEAWORLD! Apparantly all those people leaving Dallas were also heading to SeaWorld as well...the line to get in was CRAZY! We decided to pass the first exit for SeaWorld by and move on to the next one...I can't say we didn't make a few illegal turns, jumps, and swerves, but we made it inside!
SeaWorld was packed!!! People everywhere! We hadn't been to SeaWorld since Paige was 6 months old. So all the kids were excited! We went on a couple of rides, but Shamu was what the kids were waiting for. I am always so amazed at these animals...just watching them jump and do all that they do is awesome. Paige now wants to be a "whale trainer". You know Paige and animals! Of course we had to sit in the first few rows so we would get wet...well, that was an understatement. Four whales lined their tales up right in front of us and we got SOAKED! They can splash that water for sure! And all in rythem together! AMAZING!After Shamu the kids wanted to ride more rides...it didn't matter to them that there was an hour and a half wait! It actually went by pretty fast! We spent a lot of time in their water park being lazy on the lazy river, and diving waves in the wave pool. Cody was a maniac diving into those waves. I of course was a nervous wreck. The pool was so crowded...kids everywhere. I felt like I had no control over where my kids were...I don't know how the lifeguards could even tell if anyone was drowning! The kids did great and loved ALL the rides...Cody even got a little daring and went on some big rides. But we did travel to the little kid area and take advantage of their cute "shamu" rollercoaster.We spent the whole day at









SeaWorld...and had a blast! You almost need two days to see and do everything. There were a couple of things we didn't get to do, but maybe next time! It was fun spending time with family and the kids had a great time! We told them they could all pick out one thing to remember SeaWorld and they all picked out a stuffed animal. (because we don't already have enough at our house). But I guess you can't go to SeaWorld and not come home with a whale or animal of some sort right? Hopefully it won't be 9 years before we make it back there again! Sunday we met for "brunch" at Farmers Market in San Antonio. It's crazy that I lived there and never went to Farmers Market before. It was pretty neat! I felt like I was in Mexico! Rick said "this is pretty much what Mexico is like, but a lot cleaner!" We ate at a yummy resaurant that seats 600 people an hour! Can we say MONEY!!! The food was yummy, but what was cool was the way everything was decorated! Pinatas and sparkly things everywhere! There were guys singing and playing pipes out on the street, lots of vendors, and of course little shops everywhere. The kids favorite thing they saw were these cute marionettes. They were so cute...they had all kinds of animals and they look hilarious when you walk them. Ricks brother had never been to the riverwalk, so we walked downtown San Antonio for awhile. Sadly we had to say our goodbyes and start heading back. We had a great time seeing Stew, Tracee, Laura, Shada, and Matt!!! Thanks for spending the weekend with us! We all had a blast! There is just something about San Antonio! A great place to visit...Hopefully we will make it back soon! I am so sad the summer is over...I love it when the kids are home. We have no schedule, get to sleep in LATE, and we have a lot of fun together. This year is especially hard because ALL my kiddos will be in school. AHHH!!! I miss them already!

Is it ME or is it HIM??????

Okay, so Cody will be going to Kindergarten next week. If you ask him if he is excited to go he says, "No, and I'm not going because my mom is home schooling me!" I quickly informed him I am not home schooling him, but I would volunteer in the classroom. "Every day???" he immediately asked. Again, I responded no! But I told him I could eat lunch with him. "Every day????" Again, the answer was no! Being the last of four children I realize that we have probably "babied" him more so than the other kids....not on purpose, but I think that last one, just naturally stays the baby....forever! I love cuddling with him, giving him what he wants, making him happy and I find myself trying to keep him little. But I have come to the realization that my baby will be going to Kindergarten....that it is inevitable...he has to grow up...That is a terrible thing as a parent to see your kids grow up so fast.
So Tuesday he had his Kindergarten assessment...we got there and sat down. They had a name tag for us to write his name on and stick on his shirt. One thing Cody does not like is stickers...funny huh! It was all I could do to talk him into putting the sticker on...as we waited for the teachers we had a talk about how much fun he would have and how brave he would be. The teachers walked in...most of the other kids jumped up and went straight to the teachers..Cody just held on to me tighter and tighter. We walked over to the teachers and the tears started flowing. (from Cody) I looked at the teacher and told her....just take him and he will be fine once you get to the classroom. I felt terrible, for myself, Cody, and the teacher. After about 45 minutes the kids came back....thankfully I was told he stopped crying after just a couple of minutes. The first thing he did was tear off his sticker and give it to me. I'm hoping he realized it wasn't all that bad!
So Kindergarten will be here before I know it and I have no idea how things will go that first day of school. I am sure it will be quite a scene. Cody will be crying because he won't want to go, and I will be crying because I don't want to send him, but know I have too. It should be interesting! It's funny because Cody took his speech classes at this school. He was also up there with me all the time volunteering and eating lunch with the kids. I thought he would feel perfectly comfortable there. So....as the first day of school approaches I am trying to think of a way to make him more excited! Mostly have the first day of school be as least tramatizing as possible...any ideas!!!?????? Any help would be greatly appreciated...I love my little guy and will miss him so much! I am wondering....is it Cody that needs to cut the cord or ME!!!!! I will keep you updated!

Good Ole' Fishin!

This weekend we have been having fun getting to know my cousin Davey's fiance. Her name is Kristi and she was a hit!! The kids all loved her! Saturday night we decided to take the kids over to a local pond to see if we could catch some fish. It seems that just this summer we have been doing more fishing then we ever have. (don't be fooled...what I mean is this is our third time going) This little pond is great because my kids are the type of fisherman that like immediate results....none of this sitting around and waiting stuff! This go around we decided to buy some worms for our bait. We (I mean Rick) got Chase's pole ready and before we could even count to ten he was realing it in! Rick was a little jealous Chase caught one so fast, so he had to give it a go....NOPE, they didn't bite his as fast.Jordan was not going to have anything to do with touching the worms or the fish! She caught one right after another, but had no interest in getting anywhere near the fish. Her screams everytime a fish would even come close to her where so funny! We had to beg her to put the fish this close to her for the picture.Cody had tried to catch a fish and for some reason they weren't biting his line. So the awesome dad Rick is - secretly caught a fish and said here Cody, why don't you hold this pole...we let it sit in the water for a minute, then Rick said Cody see if you have anything....Cody had the biggest smile on his face...HE CAUGHT A FISH! After that, they just kept on coming....he caught three in a row!Rick's job was to put the bait on the hooks and take the fish off and throw them back in....we only had one fish that completley swallowed the hook...I'm not sure that one made it! I was very happy not having to touch anything and having the job of photographer!
Paige-my little animal lover was just as happy as could be playing with the worms...it wasn't until we were all ready to go that she decided we couldn't leave until she caught a fish...by this time they weren't biting like earlier, so we were all trying to bribe her with leaving. She stood firm and finally caught a fish!We ended the night by heading to Frisco to the Double Dip! Okay - if you are a local and have never been there it is so yummy....my parents discovered it. And now we love it! Nothing is better than fishing, family, and frozen custard!!!