Not sure if Fabulosa is a word but whatever... Fiesta is happening here in San Antonio....which Duke says is a reason for his trades to not work and drink...it is actually to honor the fallen Texans at the Alamo and celebrate the Victory over Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto....which I personally find really funny that a huge portion of the people celebrating this are Illegal Aliens from Mexico or from Mexican decent....and this is celebrating a battle they LOST...whatever when in Rome right.
So Reid was so excited that he got to be the Leader of his Day Care parade and ride his 4 wheeler, his was a tribute to the longhorns....Macy and I assisted on another ATV, hers was Disney Princess's and Dale had a parade at school and had a super cool float in that as well, he wanted the Battlefield video game so we went in a support the troops direction...
Reid had his soccer game on Saturday and scored 7 of the teams 10 goals....His coach asked him before the game " So am I gonna see you score 4 goals today? " his reply "No...MORE!," He tried to set up his friends to score too...It worked 2 times....but at least he is being a team player , and he is having a ball. He is so shy when we get to the field and he does not want to go practice or leave my side ...eventually he does and then the game starts and he all into the action....yep he is weird and he is all mine. Here he is with Luke his teammate and buddy goofing off with sunglasses.
So here is my little soccer stud... Reid had a soccer game on Saturday and he scored 6 goals of the 9 .... he loved it, .....it cracks me up that he will score and then rest his hands in the pockets like joe cool...almost to draw attention away from himself.... anyway here he is with a goal. It is fun to see him get passionate about the game.
My kids being goofy in the car.
Macy looking oh so sweet in her picture dress.... showing me her smile. Ok I am sure all of you have seen the email where the everything is jumbled and you can read it... if not here it is > THIS IS AMAZING! I READ STRAIGHT THROUGH.
fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too. Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. See if you can read this...i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch atCmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are,the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer bein the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raedit whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and Iawlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
Yes, I figured we have become accustomed to reading and can figure this out....so I pondered at what level this ability might occur since kids learn to find a part of the word they know and read out or turtle talk and go really slow. I called Dale over....my 7 year old who only began reading in the fall, and he read it...only missing Phaonmneal and Cambridge....WOW I was shocked....that is pretty cool that even a novice reader can get it. Here he is in the dog bed reading a book..
Over the past 3 weeks we have had the yard torn up and it is all complete. Here is what it was ..... Pokey nasty bushes that I hated....plus they got a funk every year b/c it was too shady for them.. no grass to speak of...we had 13 trees on our city lot = a ton of shade....which is great but not so great for grass growing, and the trampoline sat in the middle of the yard and "ate up" all the space. My craptastic pool which is gone now.... the brick pavers out front, and rosemary and paver wall... the Oleanders on the side that froze every winter and the NASTY metal edging on the beds.
The new deck but with POKEY NASTY mean shrubs at the end....that I tore out
No good grass growthBrick paver wall at front bed Side yard....eeww metal bed trim... White trash pool and quick crete retaining wall...
Here is what it is now...talk about a world of difference....
Retaining walls out the wazoo...but the front yard and back yard are SOOO much more level and usable...and the trampoline now lives up in the kid-topia area leaving the yard to feel huge. And the new grass is awesome and with all the trimming on the trees will grow and be lush. and no more metal edging anywhere on the lot... all the walls match
Kid-topia
Grass...ahhh Flat back usable yardFront retaining wallSide wall with red tipsRetaining walls and bedsWalls and beds Front of house
Which all adds up to a happy ME.... I think the yard looks great and Duke agrees.
The boys also went to the Jeep Jamboree and had a ball....no major carnage, camped out and came home DIRTY and tired so a good weekend was had by all. Consider yourself lucky this is my post and not Dukes as this segment would be REAL long....
Reid also had his first soccer game this weekend and is an ALL STAR.... He began and had his hands in his pockets and I was thinking...ohhh man he is not going to do it....and started shy and slow...but by the next second it clicked....with no practice he was leading the ball down field and scored the only 2 goals we had, and had the ball there 7 times...and played hard he was all over the field....like he had a clue of what he was doing without ever being told...he played defense and jumped in the goal of the other team to kick it out numerous times...this is not something they practice but do not prohibit....Duke and I were looking at each other jaw dropped in amazement at how good he did... He was so excited b/c other parents were yelling for him and did not even know him. I forgot the camera so I have no evidence and I hope it is not a one time thing and can get footage next week...so fun!
We are off to ride 4 wheelers....I swear the activity here NEVER stops!
Today is Macy's 3rd Birthday. I can hardly grasp that she is 3.... seems like yesterday that we were so blessed and were at the hospital with our sweet baby girl. She is so amazing and fun, my neighbor called her the queen of the rag-a-muffins yesterday and it fits. I love how she loves all things girly and carries purses with style, and play make-up all the time and yet loves to take rides on the 4 wheeler and play in the dirt too....usually while wearing a dress and with a giant bow in her hair! Her is a recap of her first 3 years....This morning I said Happy Birthday Angel....and she hugged me and corrected me saying I am a Monkey mommy....its the monkeys birthday.
Ok so we are watching Enchanted....the princess gets pushed into a well, goes through some water and pops through a man hole in New York a real human. This all confused Macy... "why did the mean lady do that...what happened to Gisell, how did she get real?" So we said "the mean lady was the princes step mom, dressed up, and she does not what the Prince to get married, b/c she could not be the boss anymore, so she pushed Giselle in well that went to the magic hole and it sent her to the real world." "So that is how she got real....through the magic hole?" "Yes that is right." "Is that how I got real...through the magic hole?...And Dale and Reid too we came through the magic hole?" Duke and I look at each other and grin and say "yes that is how." Macy adds...."Daddy too right." and Duke said "yes but a different one." So she is ok with this answer and is now convinced she and Dale went through togeather....he held her hand underwater.... I guess my birds and bees speech is done...totally wrong and so messed up but done....
A few weeks back Reid asked How did Tanya get the baby in her tummy...I said she prayed with Scott to God to give them a baby, and took some special vitamins. Macy then terrified looks at me and asked "How did she open her mouth that big to swallow the baby." So we went throught how it starts small and grows big. Open can number 2 of worms....Reid asked "How do they get the baby out?" I told him she will get a really bad tummy ache and go to the hospital and the Dr.s take out the baby....HOW....he persues. Well you know your belly button...through there...it opens up big and then they tie it closed...that is how the baby and mommy are attached by belly buttons. He looked at his belly perplexed....I jumped in and said it ONLY happens when you are pregnant with a baby. A little relieved we dropped the convo and went on to something less permentaly destructive on the psyche. Again Birds and Bees speal botched....I am sure there will be more opportunities to mess this up again and again.... Dukes dad had him convinced he could lay eggs...and he turned out kinda normal.
We have been busy having fun here. This past week we started a rock quary in our front yard.....not really but that is what it looks like. We now have new retaining walls in the backyard and frontyard, and side yard, and new garden beds..... it started much smaller and we were going to do a couple walls and then it looked so great we decided to do another part and then had one bed/wall that was different and my OCD kicked in and Duke said Ok have them do it too and make it all match... So now we will have a much more level front and back yard and some great looking rock work, but the levelness will make the yard so much more usable and play friendly. So the sprinkler guy and landscaper will come this week.... weather permitting at the end of this week we will have sod. This is a huge high for me as I am tired of DIRT on clothes, in hair, on the floor...the dirt smell that has invaded my house...eeeewww... but all worth it in the end. I am sure my neighbors will be releived too as their kids have been playing in it and they have to look at the demolition.
Momma Sam came and gave us our Easter gifts that included Season Passes to Fiesta Texas, so on Friday...good Friday....we went. It was fun, but crazy crowded....much more than I think the park expected. They were very understaffed, and were closing food stations at 3:30 b/c all their minor aged workers had reached their hourly limit for the day. There was a 2 hour wait for just about every ride....which is torture for a child....and pretty rough on an adult too. Reid got in line for so many rides and we made it 30 mins and he said lets go I do not want to wait....we did this about 3 or 4 times. Macy fell asleep in one line and ended up sleeping on jackets by a building....actually not too bad...in the shade and clean so we took turns sitting with her and waiting in lines... the passes will be wonderful in the Summer on weekdays when we can go and enjoy with out all of San Antonio too. The Easter Bunny also delivered a bubble machine, giant hopper balls, playdough, hollow chocolate bunnies, sleeping bags, shoes, camping lantern, and stuffed animals and the Bee movie....good stuff... here are a couple shots of the egg hunt....Macy got a head start, then Reid and Dale....all found a big load of eggs filled with candy and money!
Reid has become really good on the 4-wheeler....he is convinced he is a stunt man....here are a couple of his latest jumps off a ramp Duke made for him....side note Duke also used the jump last weekend ....on the 50 cc motorcycle. Mind you Duke looks like a schriner on the motorcylce to begin with....he has to ride with his legs out straight infront of him and then is a foot off the ground....so he decides to take a Jump....obviously his brain was on vacation at this moment. He jumps... lands...feet hit the ground, knees get stuck in the handlebars....so he cannot turn....the bike keeps going and his crotch hit the rear tire and tore his leg up....and he falls to the ground....then jumps up and said TA DA....yes TA DA....no real damage road rash to the knee, torn jeans , and torn up thigh....could have been much worse....back to Reid ....here he is landing his jumps.
We also celebrated Macys birthday....a bit early so I am going to make you wait to see her AMAZING CAKE that my friend and co-worker made her....no kidding so much work went into that cake....it was so outrageous. Rewind....I started a tradition of having Macys cake match her dress, and doing a 2 tier cake....so when she was 1 it was pink and white, 2 multi-colored dots, and this year was this cute pink outfit with black and white gingham accents and a antimated Paris scene on the top....Sarah recreated the whole thing....WOW....she should do it professionally...really outstanding, and even named the cafe she drew as Macy's Cafe.....soo soo cute. And to top it off it was great cake too!....ok here is a picture of the cake
That is some searious detail on the cake....a perfect match to the outfit....traditon still in place...more birthday pics soon...and landscaping pics too..
Duke and I and our family are celebrating our families 10th birthday. This is how we choose to celebrate our anniversary....a family birthday. SO 10 years ago this is was us.
Unfortunately we did not have the digital age then, so I had to manually scan in those photos....so there are not very many...Wow times have sure changed. That night was awesome...great party, great friends, great beginning. Duke and I said last night that we hope the next 10 years is just as good as these 10 have been. Duke and I are going to go out tonight and this weekend we are all going to IHOP for the family celebration....huh IHOP you might say....this is where we ate our first married meal....at 2:00 a.m. we walked 3 blocks in downtown Austin to eat, we were starving, as the the Reception meal that was packed for us did not make the limo and we had champagne and m&ms in the room and that was not going to cut it....so our IHOP tradition was born and how lucky for us b/c the kids eat great there!
I have been pestering Duke to take the kids to a 4-wheeler ranch to ride. So this Sunday we did it. We went to Buffalo Valley MX. Wow the boys had the best time riding their 4 wheelers, over little jumps, and in mud holes, short trails. We were on the very tame end of the spectrum as there were bikes and 4 wheelers flying through the air like you would see at a motocross show. Reids little face when he saw a 4 wheeler fly over a jump was priceless...then he says...I wanna do that. So Duke took him out and he did a little jump and caught about 2 foot of air unintentionally and was sooo scared he stopped mid track and Duke had to convince him to keep going...and he did and loved it. He also found a mud hole and rode all day through it...over and over and over....with a HUGE grin. Dale was so scared but wanted to ride the motorcycle again, so we did it once with me on the back with him and then he did it alone.... sans the concrete wall, and he did great....not a pro yet and not ready for anything other than do not fall...but he is getting it. Macy also had a great time riding with Duke and I and the boys gave her small rides around the truck and thru the mud. I have no pictures as we figured no evidence would be best in case there was ever a CPS filing...no I forgot it, but Duke and I were very impressed with their focus and awareness of surroundings and other vehicles....I am sure there will be more of this soon to come as Reid is already asking when he can go get his 4 wheeler dirty again. Also I got a great gift this weekend....not one I would have picked had I had the choice but will love and use .... a new washer and dryer. They are on order since my old big washer crapped out on Monday/ last week.....I do have my other small unit so I am not out totally but am certainly crippled a bit, anyhow it was cheaper to buy a set rather than separately.... a whirpool duet front load washer and dryer for 799.98...or just the washer for 799.98 no negotiating ....and the cheapest other front load washer was 599.99 and it was smaller in capacity...that the small one I have....and anywhere else the Duet is 1200-1300 bucks...so well worth the price, so I can rival a small Laundromat with my soon to be 2 washers and 2 dryers again...
Ok we all know I am NO rocket scientist....Scott and Brad stop laughing...but I felt really stupid at the primary voting I did. I went in and the lady said what ballot...kinda off-guard I said a party....(we will keep all parties nameless)...."OK sign here," ....."take this to that man," .... I go to the booth and he pulls up a ballot...I see my ballot....THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANT! Too late now.... so I voted only for that party....which I did not want to do I wanted all the options, all the candidates, which is what I assumed would be there, so I could do a few Democrat a few Republican....I like to see all the names when picking the ones I like best for the offices...example: Wilbur McDoorstep I would pass over for Police Chief but would go for Colt Fastdraw. My question is am I really in the HUGE minority of idiots in not knowing that my party affifiation statment limited my options? I think you should be able to truly choose who you think would be best regardless of party affiliation? Not every Republican is the best for every job and same hold true for Democrats, but I had to pick only one side blindly. I know that the clear winners will go on and that you have the chance at the general election to vote either candidate but think a fairer way would be able to hand pick your dream ballot or the lesser of all evils ballot and submit it for thus by giving all a fair shot to all to get on the ballot. Duke said I should have said Independent and then I would have been given the ballot I wanted and option on all candidates....have not researched that, but he is a whole lot smarter than I so I assume he is right. And feel a little better that a friend of mine, who I think is really smart, did not know that to be an option either...., and if this is an option than it should be offered to you...what ballot Democrat, Republican or Independant. I think we have seen that the general public is not all election brainiacs and clearly I am not one, lets recall the "chad" fiasco....all the more reason to overly educate the public and tell them. But none the less my goal of going in to record for posterity that honestly I am not sold on any candidate, but really think it will come these 2 and if so, I want this one....FOR SURE NOT THAT ONE, never happened b/c I had the wrong party ballot to do so. But the right ballot of who I would like to ultimatly get it just a hair more, which is I guess is ok that I "voted for my team," although not my mission, b/c I think there is a snowball's chance in Hell it will happen, so if "THAT ONE," makes the ballot I will be ticked that I did not have to opportunity to share that I did not what them there...which as bassaquadards as this all sounds was my goal, and it TOTALLY MAKES SENSE IN MY OWN HEAD, so whatever and what if Colt Fastdraw was on the other ticket and I had no chance to see his cool name and honor him with my support and instead had to pick Shi Thead...b/c he ran unopposed on my ballot....get it Shi Thead...s h i t h e a d ...just a laugh to end this on....lets see what the rest of Texas said, b/c in November I might move to England!
What...ok I will explain. since I know this makes sense in my head, but you are not in my head....are you??? SO we have great neighbors...no news there....one has 2 boys that ride dirt bikes...the oldest is almost 15 and really talented on his bike....so Reid has an idol, and younger of the boys is in 5th grade. They have been riding so several years and have gotten pretty good, Dale learned to ride a 2 wheel bike uhhh 2 months ago and is still very much a beginner at that and a never ever on a motorcycle. We do own a small dirt bike....but the boys have not ridden it since they could not ride a regular bike and enjoy the 4 wheelers. The neighbors boys were riding the little 50 bike this weekend just for fun, and actually was good for the bike since we really have never ridden it in the 1.5 years we have had it. Dale decided after seeing how cool the older boys thought the bike was that he too wants to ride it now... did I mention he was a never ever on the motorcycle...ok so I am chatting with a neighbor....the one whos kids ride and Reid is riding a 4-wheeler...all is pretty good ...then I see in our front yard Dale, Duke and the motorcycle....ok...litterally all in like 30 seconds Dale guns it on the bike and is FLYING, Reid is rubbernecking to see and it not looking in front of him and there is a car backing out down the street, I holler at Reid who avoids the car and stops and Dale well he did not stop until he NAILED a 2 foot tall concrete wall on the other side of the driveway next to our yard...and flys off....Thank GOODNESS for Helmets...he was unharmed, a small bruise on the leg, huge shot to the ego as the older boys were watching him and he was embarrassed that he did not ride like a professional on his first time. So all the motorized things were put up for a while, but Reid did make a ramp with some plywood and a block of wood and did stunts and jumps off of that ALL day on his bike and on a razor scooter...which is nothing really new for Reid as he was doing "stunts" and "wheelies" on his foot powered 3 wheeler since he was 1 yr old, only difference is he is actually getting a little air off his jumps and stunts now...and the helmet is actually necessary rather than something to make parents giggle at their walking bobble head kids. Hopefully in the next few weeks there will be great pictures of so new landscaping to our yard...hopefully Rock walls, leveling, new sod and plants and I was going to price a hot tub but think that will have to wait from a cost standpoint as the money tree I planted never took, died and gave a fungus to all the plants around it.
Take 16, 4 and 5 year olds to the zoo, and try and organize the chaios that will ensue.... I think this is VERY similar to trying to organize crickets.
We had a great time and saw some really cool animals. The day was beautiful and for the most part the crickets were tame. None were stepped on or eaten and all returned with us so that is a huge success. We found out where the siren came from...these monkeys...WOW loud and pretty cool.
Here is another group ski video I forgot to post and it is one of the best ones....go figure
Yea...I did I am now the proud owner of Space Bags. I actually got them at Bed Bath and Beyond for our ski trip to try and minimize the baggage that ski stuff takes up and I have to admit I am impressed. I now have all of our ski stuff packed and stored in half the space and that is impressive to me....and they are dust free and downy fresh and will be next year when they see air again. We had a FAST trip to Austin this weekend for a baby shower and Bepaws Birthday that is actually not until the end of the month but they are all tied up the next few weekends. I have to say I love baby shower gifts. Now that mine are out of the cute bibs and all...go figure to want what you can't have....not that I want another child. I love mine but starting over again would be so HUGE, we are at the point of no diapers, naps optional, all can entertain themselves....so to be at M and go back to A....no thank you. We also ate at Toyko Steakhouse in Roundrock....Yummy, a bit of a wait and crazy cold while he was cooking but great food, the boys at salad, tried new soup, and ate their dinners really well and then CHOWED on Bepaws ice cream we got for his birthday...no kidding Reid ate 3 bowls, Macy and Bepaw shared theirs and mine, and Dale had at least a few and tons of fortune cookies...they just kept appearing....crazy, then we did and fast stop at momma sams to deliver her valentine flowers and pick up they items she has for the kids and blazed home. Sunday we really did nothing, the kids played I ro-organized the playroom, and put up the bookshelves that we gave Scott and Tanya 4 years ago that they now have no space for so they are in the playroom....MORE Storage YEA. And that wrapped the weekend, Dale is off this friday for a work day and Reid and I go to the zoo tomorrow with his pre-school class, so more to come soon.
The clan...notice Duke's eyes or lack of.... Snow Fun More Snow Paul stuck ...
Ekks almost a month has passed...my bad....here is what you missed
Healthy, for the most part Susan has a kidney stone....she has to pass it....it hurt, there are more but they are small....
Kids : good, healthy, happy
Duke...his parent company TOUSA filled chapter 11....ekkk...but his job is secure.....as secure as it can be in this type of situation, and we both feel we will come out stronger on the other side.
We are morning the lack of good NEW TV shows, and plugging along...that was January for the most part.
Feb.... Susan is having WAY too much fun with Tanya's diaper cake....so excited to throw her a shower in March and also de-baby-fy my home and gift it to her:) Great news Troy and Carolyn are moving to Dallas in July......YEA back in Texas finally.
Here is the good stuff ....SKI TRIP..... just got back from an amazing ski trip to Telluride. Us, Sam and freinds had the very best time. If we were ever going to play the lotto this would have been the week. First we get an upgrade on our accomodations from a 2 bd with loft in the ski village that would have been great to a log home on the mountain. WOW this house was better than great, ski in ski out....not for the faint of heart but very dooable. Our own hot tub, total privacy, soo much snow, heated garage, tons of space....great suff. Upon arrival to the airport in Montrose we pick up the car...upgrade from mini van to Suburban for free....the roads are bad and they want more 4x4's on the road...uhhh OK! So we got to drive a 2008 suburban with DVD which Duke was pretty excited about, as this is what he wants for my next car. Arrive in Telluride no problems and even found snowboots for Macy on sale for 16 bucks....at a shop in the ski village...this NEVER happens. Also the ski shop honored our cupon for free kids rentals...for a 200 dollar savings! Also to top it off friends, Paul and Brandy and Jake were able to join us for a few days. We had 2 blunders....Sam fell and strained her thumb, and Duke got an awful case of hives....that made him swell up and itch like crazy, he looked like a wrinkled puppy around the eyes. Most folks would take a steroid shot and move on but Duke is allergic to steroids so he had to do a concoction of over the counter items that seemed to help by day 3...and upon arrival home he was tons better. It was really an awesome trip both the boys are turning into great skiiers. It made my heart swell to watch them tear down the mountain, so fullfilling to have them love it and be successful at the sport. We skiied 4 days....day one...beautiful and sunny, Day 2 started good but had some searious snow and wind....no kidding we came over the top of a hill and all hit a wall of snow and wind soo fierce it stopped you and pushed you back...luckily a restruant was 100 yds away and co-co called ....you could not see the lift 20 feet infront of you! Nuts, but fun. Day 3 snowy but great, and Day 4 the very best ever sunny, clear and gorgeous.
The Hot Tub
The Reid-Deamon....the skiing champ...check out the parallel ski's downhill!
My Boys Skiing with the boys....it is sleeting here our goggles were totally iced over!
Paul, Brandy, and Jake
Momma Sam and Macy on the Gon-bo-la Macy and her snow ball
The white-out....that is the lift on top of the restruant...
Our view from the back deck...we saw more stars than you can imagineThe Log Cabin main room
V and her BFF
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This is how I imagine V and her Boy friend just like a
old married couple.
They are so cute together.
They really get one another with out saying one word...
Macy looking oh so sweet in her picture dress.... showing me her smile.
Brick paver wall at front bed
Grass...ahhh
Flat back usable yard
Front retaining wall
Side wall with red tips
Retaining walls and beds
Walls and beds
Which all adds up to a happy ME.... I think the yard looks great and Duke agrees.
The Log Cabin main room
videos will be here soon
