Halloween at the ZOO!

I took a lot of pictures and I have a really hard time just picking a few. I need to learn how though, because it took a long time to upload all of these.

After a late night and early morning full of games, we were all a little exhausted. So this is naptime on the way to the Zoo.


Family Picture before we got started.



Trick or Treating at the Zoo! This was great for the older kids. The Zoo is a little more exciting when there is candy involved. Although, they seemed to still get excited when they saw most of the animals. The reptiles, the birds, the sea lion that poo'ed in the water, the active tigers taking a swim where their favorites.


This was perfect, because Lauren wants to be Snow White for Halloween.


Ethan and Lauren crawling out of a cave.


An Otter enjoying Halloween. It was cute to watch him play with this pumpkin.


The kids pretendng to be fish.




These little guys were having fun playing hide-n-seek in this pumpkin.


Matthew trying to be SPOOKY!


We liked the Fiesta Bird. He gave us Candy!


Photo Opp with the Giraffes and Uncle Ryan.


The little baby giraffe enjoying its Halloween.


The Twins with The Twin Baby Elephants.


I think we hit every Trunk or Treat Stand there was.


I don't think Rachel will ever get this close to a snake again.


I thought this was a good picture. Too bad you can tell it is not really out in the wild.


We had to have a picture with the clowns.


This is Lauren not wanting her picture with the clowns.


Getting eaten by Lion for a drink of water.


All of us with the Pumpkin Head!





This is just so we could feel like we were in downtown Houston.


These poor goats. I think they were done by the time we got there. They we were all hiding behind the chained fence not wanting to come out.



The kids thought it was funny to see a goat sitting in the hay trough.


The ground hog tunnels!


I'm not sure what is going on here!


Your the best, Uncle Ryan.


Cooling off before we headed home. Ethan and Matthew played tag for along time and never had a fight. Lauren just kept dancing the whole time in the water. Rachel got a little wet and then was done.




I think we were done and out of there, but had a great time.



We made BBQ Pizza with Rootbeer for dinner that night and Sunday we had Carnitas and Homemade Ice Cream and Chocolate Chip Cookies. After church we played Apples to Apples and a few games with Uncle Ryan and then his friend came to pick him up and take him away. We miss him already.

Weekend With Uncle Ryan

We got a phone call last week from Uncle Ryan in Utah saying that he had a (free) ride to Texas and wanted to come and visit us. It has been four years since he has been to our house, but we did see him last Christmas. He spent the first part of his trip with my parents in Decatur and then flew down here to stay the weekend with us. We were all excited. And we all had a great time.

Ryan got right to his Uncle duties, playing with the kids. They loved it Ryan. Thank You!!

A little bit of Football
A little bit of Chess

Our first big event with Uncle Ryan was Matthew's Baseball Game. Matthew did a great job and the they won. Matthew has become the only team catcher, since the other boy just broke his finger.




Jason's Deli for Dinner after the game. There's nothing like free ice cream and yummy food.

Saturday Morning we went to Rachel's Soccer Game. It was a beautiful day and although the Gators didn't win, it was an exciting game.
Nice Hair Uncle Ryan
After the game we headed to the Zoo!

Happy Birthday Aunt Amy!

These are just a couple of pictures of Amy always entertaining the cousins with her fun ideas. Here we are at Cousin's Camp and she is giving them instructions on how to tie dye their Camp Shirts. Thanks Aunt Amy for being such a great Aunt and We hope you have a Happy Birthday.

What's Lauren been up to lately?

Here are some pictures I have taken of her lately doing her THING.

Hanging out at her brother's football game.

Everyone Monday I watch the cutest little boy, Andy, and here he is with all dressed up Lauren. Yes, I know she is laying on the counter by the toaster.

She found some fun little friends to entertain her at her other brother's baseball game.


While Mom is making cakes....

Helping Mom make cakes....

Little Gabby just got a new little brother, so she came over for a while to give her mom a break. I could just gobble this cute little thing up. She is so adorable. Lauren loved playing big sister.

Ella came over yesterday after preschool to play and here they are with their show-and-tell cats. Ella said her cat's name was Clover. Lauren said her cat's name was LoWee.

They have so much fun playing together. I think their teacher has to sometimes separate them, because they have too much fun. (These pictures are for you Marci.)

BP Picnic @ Gordon Ranch

BP planned a day full of fun for our family. I think the best part of it for the kids was that it was all free. They couldn't believe it. Matthew had about 7 snow cones and Ethan had quite a few bags of popcorn(It showed when he threw it all up that night).

We had one of the best BBQ's we have had in a long time, chicken, brisket, sausage and all the fixin's.

The whole family got involved in playing BINGO. We had about 12 cards between us all. And it payed off when Steve won a $50 Gift Card to Academy.

Lauren found her place with the clown that she said had lots of makeup on. They danced, did hula hoops and other fun games.

Ethan was the first to discover the cartoonists and so we all had our turn.








There were batting cages, a rock wall, pony rides, paddle boats, miniature golf, a rope walk, tractor ride and a bounce house.

Rachel, Ethan & Matthew

My favorite part was when I climbed the rock wall. After a few other women had tried, I thought I had to try it. One lady who had just been watching and really cheering everyone on, said, "People can do so much more than they think they can". I think she was a personal trainer. As I was getting ready I said, "It is probably harder than it looks." But up I went. It was HARD and if it wasn't for my pride and this lady cheering me on, I wouldn't have made it to the top. After having my knee surgery, I really haven't put myself into too many strenuous activities. This was great for me. When I got to the top, Steve said the battery had died on our camera, go figure.

But I will never forget this experience and what this lady said, "People can do so much more than they think they can". We really can and this applies to so much more than rock climbing.

We all had a great time on BP.

I Feel Like I Won a Million Dollars

Okay, I had the best day at CVS. I spent sometime today working on this whole coupon thing a little more. I got all my stuff together and headed to CVS and found some even better deals.

They had some makeup on clearance that was priced less than what some of my coupons were for, which means they were free and I got money back. That is cool! I realize that I really didn't need all of this but when I get money back for buying it, why not.

I paid $19.42.
I saved $157.81.

Happy Birthday Uncle Shawn!

Look at Shawn now. This last year, Shawn worked fulltime, went to the Executive MBA program at BYU, became a first time dad with the cutest twin boys , Graduated with his MBA, searched and searched for a new job and for his birthday he gets to start a new job.

Happy Birthday Shawn and a BIG Congratulations on everything.

My Pink Envelope!

My Pink Envelope is finally here. It as supposed to be mailed on September 15, no worries, I've just been waiting patiently. You may have noticed my Pink Christmas button over there on the side. I made my donation to participate in a good cause and it is turning out to be really exciting for me. I know, it sounds selfish.

But the money that has been donated to Pink Christmas is going to help a family of 6 from West Africa have a better Christmas, I can't say more than that because it is a surprise.

Money has also been donated to Nie Nie Recovery, if you are a true blogger you will know all about this.

And Pink Christmas also made a donation to Morrow's Tomorrows.

I am feeling a little bit better now after typing that. But I am still excited about my pink envelope. It was full of all kinds of goodies and discounts from various talented women, like vinyl lettering samples, magnets, beaded bookmarks and more (you can go here to see a list of all the sponsors and the fun stuff they create.)and I received the name and information of the secret "girlfriend" I get to give to this year for Christmas.

There are a few guidelines, but the most important one is that when you think of the gift to send your "girlfriend", you think about the connection we have as women and what it would be like to sit across a round table and hand it to your secret friend. The gift does not need to be expensive or take more time than you have, but to be a gift you can't wait to watch someone open and see the expression on their face.

I love to give gifts. I love making things. When I see that someone has made something, I think, "I can do that." I usually try to make the Christmas gifts I give to family and friends, putting lots of thought and time into them to make them extra meaningful. I know how the gifts that have been made for me make me feel and I hope that others feel the same. I am looking forward to putting this Pink Christmas gift together. SO, I will keep you posted. We have to have them mailed by Dec. 5 and I have to wait till Christmas morning to open mine. That is going to be the hard part for me.

PAY IT FORWARD!

"Tis the Season" is slowly, or should I say quickly, approaching. So what better thing to do than an act of kindness just for the fun of it. I was the lucky recipient of an act of kindness.


I just recieved a few of Marci's favorite recipes - Marci's Tortilla Soup, Tortilla Beef or Chicken Casserole & Hearty Lasagna Soup. I am really looking forward to trying out the Hearty Lasagna Soup. You can check out more of her recipes at What's on My Menu. Thank You Marci!

This is how it happened!

The PAY IT FORWARD exchange focuses on doing an act of kindness without expecting anything in return.
The recipient will, in their turn, pass the kindness along and "pay it forward".

Here are the rules:
I agree to send along some goodies to the first three people who post a comment on this entry. In turn, those three people post this information and "Pay It Forward" to the first three people who comment on their post. You must promise to mention this on your blog, link to me, and send off your goods to those three people so that this continues. As soon as I have my three lucky bloggers, I will email you a request for your shipping address. Hmmm...what will will be coming your way? That's all part of the fun! :)

The Fanciest Fairy Party Ever

ALl that you need is faith, trust and pixie dust.
Close your eyes and hold on tight
Ileana's 5th Birthday will be out of sight!


The girls were invited to the Fanciest Fairy Party Ever.
*The invitations were adorable.
*Check out the really cool tree that just sprouted up in the middle of their dinning room floor that was covered in special fairy land.
*And the benches around the tree were made just for the fairies along with the pretty pillows for our precious fairies to sit on and the chairs around the room were covered with a fairy something.
*Even the birthday girl's wings, skirt and shoes were made by the fairy mom.
*Each of the girls made their own fairy halo and were given a homemade butterfly wand and cute goody box.
*Lauren's favorite part was the pixie dust. She managed to get plenty of it all in her hair and all over her arms. In fact, it is still in her hair. I can't get it out. She must be a true fairy!





Just thought I would share this so we could all feel a little less than adequate when it comes to preparing for our own children's parties.
It was really exciting for the girls, they loved it.

Wordless Wednesday-Matthew or Mattie?

Happy 30th Uncle Scott!

Scott is my third youngest brother. He is one of nicest guys you will ever meet. He will give the shirt off his back and more for anyone. I always love being around him. He is a very hands on Dad and Uncle and we love him mucho. We hope you have a great day Uncle Scott. And can't wait to see you again.

Donuts with Dad!

Lauren heard about Donuts with Dad before preschool ever started and has asked about it many times. The day has finally come. Lauren's preschool had a special day with Dad's this morning before school started and it involved yummy donuts. Steve said it was nice to spend the time with Lauren but the devotional was a little "interesting." Lauren of course loved the donuts and had Steve bring home the rest of her second donut to save for later.





This morning after everyone was gone and off to school and work, I finally got time for a shower. So I locked the doors, turned the water on and was about to get in when I heard a man's voice say, "Hello, Hello." I have never been so scared before in my life.

Well, Steve came home to drop Lauren's donut off on his way to work. My heart didn't stop beating for like 5 minutes, just about as long as Steve was laughing.