Chase got his WOLF!

It seems that lately EVERY week has been a busy week! This past weekend we had our children's program in church. It was a lot of preparation in planning songs and parts for 100 children, organizing seats and hoping and praying it all would flow together....AND......IT WAS GREAT!!! I work with the best ladies and they helped make it a huge success! The children did such a fabulous job....they sang loud, they memorized their parts, and they were so reverent sitting on the stand. They were AMAZING!!!
The highlight of the week was Chase receiving his rank of Wolf in scouts! WAY TO GO CHASE!!! He has worked so hard and seems to really enjoy scouts. At the pack meeting he received 2 beads, 1 gold arrow point and 7 silver arrow points, and of course his wolf badge....HE has been a busy boy! He still has another couple weeks before his birthday, but it is nice to know he is ready to move onto BEARS! Poor guy had been home from school for a couple of days, and I'm not sure he was feeling that great, but he was a trooper! We have a wonderful scouting program led by great people. They always make the awards a big deal for the boys, which makes it special. Chase got his wolf print painted on his face by his leader, then had a chance to pin on the "mothers pin." It's so cute because the cub master tells the boys they have to kiss their moms....oh man - Chase did that as quick as he could...it's pretty painful for him to do that in front of people. :) He is not your "PDA" type of kid. Pack meetings are fun because they are for the whole family! Even Grandpa came to support Chase. What an awesome Grandpa....he drives straight from work, about an hour to come support the kids in their activities!
It was a great night....and because I have followed in my mothers footsteps and have to take pictures of everything, I wanted a nice family picture of us with Chase....Seriously....can we get just one good picture without someone smiling funny or being goofy??? Usually it is the kids - but nope....it was the adult. Now I know where Cody gets it from!That's better!!!!

Dances, Art, and Fun!

Last weekend Jordan had her "Halloween" Dance at church. I'm actually really glad they wore costumes. This meant we would actually know what Jordan will be for Halloween this year a few weeks in advance instead of hours before going trick or treating!!!! We were trying to decide what she could be and a friend of mine gave me a few costumes. I told Jordan I had a flapper dress...she said, "what is that?" (Okay, obviously we need to have a history lesson.) She decided that would work, we got her all fixed up and she looked great!She always has a fun time with her friends at the dances....you know Jordan - anything to be with friends. I'm so glad she has good friends!!Paige also had a "Mommy and Me Boot Camp" Activity for activity days. We dressed up in our camo - ready to be put to work. It was so cute! The idea was to teach the girls all that their moms do...they made the girls their own aprons and had them cook dinner. They also had them run through an obstacle course changing a babies diaper, folding laundry, sweeping, and reading. It was a super fun night! I'm glad I had some one on one time with Paige!
Paige has also been busy painting!! This is her most recent painting. She was inspired from a Monet print. I love this one! The reflection is my favorite part. Your amazing Paige...I think it is awesome! Cody has been my little creative guy lately. We had a great big box in the garage and he decided he wanted to make a car. He had a little help from Paige. They made a steering wheel that Rick bolted on for them. They cut out windows, Cody drew knobs in the car, and they even put a license plate on the car. He has been so cute strutting around in his car. He even turns the steering wheel when he wants to turn..(as if it really works.) I love it!!! Thanks Paige for helping your little brother!

1st Choir Concert at Boyd!

Tonight was the first of many choir concerts at Boyd for Jordan. It was a bit long, but the choirs were all very good. Rick and I had to divide and conquer tonight. All but Chase went to the concert...luckily Jordan was the first one to sing, then Rick and the other kids left to head over to Chase's baseball game. Since we had so much rain, the games are getting rescheduled - which means we have almost one game a night.
One great advantage of the concerts at the high school is that there is plenty of seats for everyone. And really in that auditorium - there isn't a bad seat. We got there a bit early, so I was able to take some pictures of Jordan and her friends before the show got started. Jordan is so funny....she doesn't really "LOVE" the choir dresses, but I think they look great on the kids. Jordan is very lucky to be blessed with lots of good friends in choir. I'm sure that makes it much more fun! Jordan had called and invited dad to the concert. Mom and dad are always so good about supporting the kids in their activities. Mom is still in Colorado, so dad is still flying solo! BUT - he was sure to make it tonight to support Jordan. Afterwards the three of us headed over to Dairy Queen for some yummy desserts...isn't that what you are suppose to do after a concert???? I love this picture of the two of them. We had a great time talking and laughing...mostly at Jordan! She can be so funny!! We were the only one's in the restaurant - in fact they were pretty much sweeping and mopping around us. When we went outside to leave, Jordan turned on the car and turned up the tunes. (Heaven forbid we be next to or in the car and not have the radio on :) One of her favorite songs came on, so she started showing us a dance she had made up. Well, I joined her in the dancing....she was pretty embarrassed, but I was informed it was okay, since she didn't know anybody around us. It was so funny because the workers in Dairy Queen were just staring out the window watching us. By this time Jordan was hiding in the car, dad was laughing histerically, and I was dancing for the world to see!!!! We had a great time!!! Once we got home, it was already 10:30 - but like all teenagers, Jordan wasn't concerned about the homework she still had to do. It was her outfit for the next day she was worried about. Apparantly she will be meeting a friend in the morning that has a cute "guy" friend - so she needed to look cute! You can imagine my surprise when she came out of my room with a shirt of mine asking if she could wear it! Does this mean I have "some" cool clothes?? Yeah for me!! Then again...I have noticed lately a lot of things missing...hair brush, mascara, socks...and the list goes on! There is definately a teenager in the house. I kind of feel like I am back in high school having to share everything with my sisters. It's AWESOME! Today was a bit of a crazy day...Thanks Rick for helping drive kids all over tonight. Thanks Jordan and dad for a fun night out! It was a good night...I'm enjoying the feeling of "coolness" right now from my teenage daughter. I better enjoy it now, because I'm not sure the cool factor will last for long. You never know from day to day :)

Phillips or a Standard?????

Chase is just around the corner from receiving his "Wolf" badge in scouts. We had a few things we needed to finish before the pack meeting this month. So.....we got the family involved. Chase needed to talk about some different tools and know what they were called and how to use them. Rick pulled a few things out of the garage and we had a training session followed by a little hands on practice! All the kids were very interested - even Jordan a little bit! Each of them tried using the tools and hopefully can now recognize needle nose pliers, different wrenches, hammers, file, saw, and the most important the difference between a phillips screwdrivier and a standard or flat screwdriver. (I always get those mixed up!!!) During this great lesson a wonderful idea popped into my head. Jordan is close to getting her learners permit to drive. Which means the real thing "the drivers license" is just a short year and few months away. SO - I decided it would be a great idea that for ALL our children...they can't get their drivers license until they know how to change a tire, check and change the oil, check water levels, and even CLEAN the car! Both Rick and I thought the idea was the best of the day!!! Jordan curled her nose a bit, but is ready to accept the challenge! We figured Cody should have it all down by the time it is his turn....he would have gone through it all atleast 4 times!!! So, the next training session will be how to change a tire....that should be interesting!

Chris and Megan come for a VISIT!

Last week we were so lucky to have my nephew Chris and his cute family come visit us. We love to have visitors!!!! They drove from Farmington and spent the whole week with us! I loved it because that meant fun for me all week long! :) Basically that meant shopping, playing, eating, and more shopping. Chris and Megan recently bought a house, so they were on the hunt for some home decor stuff and I was happy to tag along. There aren't a lot of shopping possibility's in Farmington, so she also wanted to shop for clothes. Again, I was happy to tag along. We hit the outlet mall first. Made a trip to the regular mall, Sam Moon's, Kirklands, and Charming Charlies! I felt bad because last week was super rainy, but that didn't seem to stop us. Rick and Chris even managed to fit in a golf game. Chase and Cody were excited to show off their athletic skills to Chris and Megan, but because of the rain all 3 baseball games were cancelled and Cody's soccer game was cancelled!
So to get the kids out and running around, we decided to take the kids to the zone so they could play, eat, and jump on the bounce houses....I'm not sure who had more fun....the kids or the adults. I was so sure Rick was going to tip over the huge slide, and was a little nervous of coming out alive in the obstacle course. (yes, Megan you beat me!!! I admit it....I'm totally out of shape!)We had so much fun sliding down the slide, running down the slide, and doing flips down the slide.....Megan and Jordan win for the most "burns". Rick and Chris win for "pegging the ball the hardest", and Chase wins for the craziest hair!! The kids also got a few tokens to play games...Kennedy was so funny playing ski ball....she decided it wasn't worth it to roll the ball, but rather just walk up and put the ball in the circle.
Friday night, we figured we needed a date night....so we left Jordan home with the kids and headed out for a night on the town. We wanted to see the movie "Couples Retreat", so we headed to the Studio Movie Grill. What an awesome place. You get to sit in nice comfy leather seats, order your dinner and watch the movie! It was awesome! Then we took Chris and Megan to play whirlyball with some friends.I love whirlyball...even though you get totally bruised up...it is worth it! We had a great time....Megan and Chris fit right in! Throwing, crashing, bashing, yelling......all the must do's in order to play the game! And we loved every minute of it!! I also managed to talk the guys into letting us play lazer tag for FREE!! WAHOO! So we strapped on our guns and headed to the "lazer tag arena!" We didn't find out our score, but I'm sure the girls beat the boys!:) It was a great night!
Saturday was another fun day!!! Chris and Megans one year anniversary was
October 11th, so they spent the day together shopping and went downtown McKinney to a great restaurant! They found some great things for the house!!! Happy One Year guys!! Thanks for spending it with us!!! Since the weather was nice and cool with no rain outside, we couldn't help but start up the chimnea!!! Our favorite thing to do when the weather gets cool....make smores and have hot chocolate! (and yes, the girls got their groove on!) Bring it on Chris!!!Rick and Cody getting the fire started!Me and my man enjoying the fire!!Paige getting her marshmellow nice and warm!Kennedy was so fun....the kids loved playing with her and chasing her around the house! Paige loved to make her laugh, Cody loved "teasing" her and Chase was nick named...."that boy!"Cody got a hold of the whipping cream and decided to be "rudolph" for the night!We had such a great week....thanks Chris and Megan for coming and visiting. We had so much fun with you!

What a WEEK!

WOW! What a week! where do I start.....I guess let's start with last weekend. In my previous post I mentioned how last week was homecoming week for Jordan. Last Friday she had sent me that cute text about the "mums". Well after I got it, I thought - eventhough she isn't going with someone to the dance, she should still have a mum! I rushed to hobby lobby, and of course the lady told me it was too late to have one made. (which was actually fine - because they are pretty pricy!!!) SO - I gathered up everything I would need and made her one myself. I must say for my very first mum - I thought it was pretty cute! I had it hanging on the front door for Jordan when she got home from school. I think she was pretty excited to see that she had her very own mum. Now the mum traditional seems to be native to Texas, so when Rick saw it, he couldn't believe how huge it was. Yes the girls actually wear these things pinned on their shirts....Jordan was telling us how some girls had mums even bigger and with 3 flowers. CRAZY!!!!! Anyway, I'm glad she got her mum!! Friday night she went to the game and had a great time!
Bright and early Saturday morning, Jordan and I headed to her softball tournament. She is having fun playing again, and I must say - I love watching her play.... We were at the ballfields for the whole day! She started with pool play, then her first bracket game was at 1:30. Her hopes were that they would win two games right away, so she could come home and go to the homecoming dance with her friends. She had it all figured out, so she could be home to get ready and be to the dance at 8:00. WELL.......it didn't quite happen that way! They won some and lost some, which put them starting a new game at 7:30. I felt so bad for her, she was pretty disappointed. They actually started the game a little early, so it was over and we were driving home by 9:00. We got home at 9:30 (no, I wasn't speeding :) And I told her, if she could hurry - she could be at the dance by 10:00 - that way she would have an hour and a half there. HOLY COW - I couldn't believe it - she was showered and dressed with makeup on by 10:00. This was a world record for her! Granted her hair was dripping wet - but she didn't care, she just wanted to get to the dance! She made it to the dance, and had a great time! I felt so bad - I wanted to make it a fun night for her, so I told her that I would take her and her friends to IHOP after the dance. Just for fun. Now - here I was thinking I was the cool mom....I would take them to IHOP, and let them stay out and have some fun. I had just showered, and had put on my pj's. I figured - it's just IHOP at midnight! WELL - we got to IHOP and I think everyone in McKinney had the same idea. We waited for close to an hour for a table. Here I was sitting with these cute girls all dressed up, in my pajamas, glasses, and my blow dry look. I was totally embarrassed! I should have known better!!! Thankfully Jordan and her friends didn't care a bit! Once we finally got a table it was close to 1:00 AM!!! The girls were wired. I'm not sure if it was because they were so excited or because they were way past tired and moved onto hyper/silly! So what do you do when it is early in the morning and you are waiting for your food?????Try to stick spoons to your nose of course!!!Finally the food came - and it tasted pretty darn good!!! I couldn't believe how crowded that place was.....I will definately remember that next year! I told Jordan, next year we will just make breakfast at our house!
After we ate, we drove around a bit - stopping and taking pictures around town. I love this picture of the girls!True ANGELS!!!!And here we have proof of what time it was when we got home. 2:15 AM!!! What a long day! I was totally beat! I think Jordan was too! We had church the next morning bright and early at 8:30 am! I came home from church not feeling so great! I laid down for a nap and napped almost the whole day! Monday I wasn't feeling so great either....Tuesday the same, so finally I went to the doctor. YEAP - the FLU!!!! Wow - it totally knocked me out....today is Saturday and finally I can say I am beginning to feel better. It has been so frustrating all week. Just being so tired, not feeling well, and not being able to do anything... I never thought I would say this, but I am actually kind of excited to get the house clean. It is frustrating to have so much to do and not be able to do anything. Thankfully, Rick took the kids everywhere they needed to be this week and took over! I'm looking forward to a week with more energy!!!!
The other kids were busy this week with their own activities and projects. Paige finished another awesome painting. This one is going to my neice for Christmas. She loves "princesses" and so Paige painted the Cinderella carriage for her. We have also been into "bugs" at our house lately. Paige is my "bug girl." She loves bugs!! Jordan had a project at school where she had to catch live bugs, kill them with "poison", and then pin them. A friend of mine gave us all kinds of bugs from her backyard where she has a butterfly farm. So we also got a lot of caterpillars, and some chrysallis'. The kids have LOVED watching the transformations and we are all convinced in the spring we need our very own butterfly garden! Chase is keeping busy with soccer and baseball. He had stopped playing baseball for a few seasons, but is really enjoying playing again! His team is the Texas Rangers....how appropriate!
My little Cody has been learning a lot in school and everyday comes home with a new thing he has learned. His class has been talking about weather. This seems to be very interesting to him. He came home telling me all about tornados, earthquakes, and then continued describing something else. He said, "you know that one thing where there is a hurricane in the water. And the waves get really big and there is lots of water. A SALAMI." At first I was completely clueless as to what he was talking about....he said, "you know a salami or something?" OH, A PSUNAMI!!!!

I love the tornado picture with the people inside the tornado! Thanks to my family for keeping me smiling even when I don't feel well!!!!