The Piano

It is a little late to be blogging about last Christmas, but I never told the story of the greatest Christmas gift of 2010!!

Early in the Christmas season, a giant present appeared at Nana and Poppy's house. The boys had spent some time in Granbury and came home telling big stories about the biggest present ever. The problem with the biggest present ever was that it didn't have a name tag on it. And Nana's lips were sealed . . . she would tell no one who the present was for!! This led to speculation from everyone under the age of 18 that it belonged to them!!



So, we all go to Nana and Poppy's for Christmas and everyone under the age of 18 is crazy excited to see who gets the present . . . all sure it is for them!! Here's Lexie . . . hoping that it's hers!!

As the night goes on and the presents are opened, it gets to the that part of the night where everyone is down to one present. Imagine my surprise (and everyone under the age of 18) when Poppy said the present was for me!! It had never once crossed my mind that that would be mine. I had no idea whose it was, but I absolutely knew it wasn't mine . . . I had never entertained the idea. And, of course, I had no idea what it could be. My dad had built a wooden crate around it to give it some shape (so it could be wrapped) and that only confused me more!!

Here I am feeling it thinking . . . what the heck is this thing??!!

Finally, I open it and am totally shocked, but so excited!!! This is an amazing instrument and I was/am thrilled to have it!! Here's Mom, reminding me how to play it!! :)


And here she is at home now. I absolutely love playing it . . . . it brings back lots of memories from my younger days and is an amazing reliever of stress!! I love it and am so thankful for it!!

Best Christmas Gift . . . . Possibly Ever

This little beauty was quite possibly the best Christmas gift ever!!

Maybe this weekend, I can actually upload the pictures from my camera and tell the tale of how it happened!! It's a great story!! And music is an incredible stress reliever!!

Can you say HAIRCUT??????

This boy and his hair . . .

He has always had great curl/body.

It is a blessing and a curse.


He just wants to get up and brush it and go.


It just doesn't work that way.



But he does it anyway!!

I gave up cutting it myself . . . now, it's a job for a professional!! :)

Fourteen years . . . First stitches

With fourteen years and four boys, it's a miracle that we're just now experiencing stitches!!

Alex had an accident with the hedge trimmers back in April and here's how it happened . . .

This is pretty GRAPHIC so fair warning . . .

Alex decides to pull back some of the tall grasses of the plant he was trimming with his left hand while simultaneously using his right hand to trim the grasses. It didn't work out too well for his left middle finger!! I go and get him from Scott's to take him to CareNow. He is extremely pale, shaky, and has already thrown up twice!! Poor guy!! :)

His finger was just a mess of little cuts on top of little cuts . . . no straight cuts to be found!!

FOURTEEN stitches later . . . . he's almost as good as new!!


We return 10 days later to get them out. Here, he's planning on the pain that he's going to feel when they remove them. What a dork!!


I don't have a current picture of what it looks like now, but it healed up really nicely! I was very impressed that it looked as good as it did!!

Lesson learned . . . no more hedge trimmers for Alex!!

Road Trip 2011

The Summer of 2011 proved to be a Summer of new things!

I decided late into the summer to take the boys on a little road trip. So, we loaded up one day and headed south to San Marcos to do a little tubing on the San Marcos River. I work with a lady who has a home down in the area and she was invaluable to me as I planned an impromptu getaway for the boys and I.

The trip down was great until we got off to take a quick bathroom break on the side of the road and when we started back up again, the gps decided to take us on a little adventure. I wish I had taken a picture of the gps because the little purple line was just a huge zigzag . . . .the craziest thing I'd ever seen!! Alex took the gps in hand and began to call out directions and I was a little concerned!! At one point, I snapped this pic and hoped we would be able to find 35 again soon!! Thankfully, we did!!


So . . . we arrive at our hotel where we have reserved a suite . . . . 2 Queen beds with a couch/sleeper thingy. We are told that there are no more of those kinds of suites even though we have a reservation for such a suite as that. The manager is called out . . . softly mentions "Celebration Suite" to the lady helping us and the next thing you know, we are give the key to the biggest suite in the hotel!! It was basically 2 hotel rooms put together with a King bed/huge bathroom where 1 normal hotel room would be and a kitchen/table area/couch/TV area as big as another hotel room!! It was sooo awesome!!

The boys had already seen a Luby's on the way in and they were PUMPED to get to eat there!! So . . . who am I to say no to Luby's?? (Or Arby's, as Landry called it!) And the best part ??? The next night when suppertime came?? Guess where these little grandpa's wanted to go?? Luby's AGAIN!!! We had Luby's both nights we were there!!! :)


We went back and had a little fun in the pool . . .

And then headed to the river the next morning.

You really can't take your camera on the river if you want it to survive so there aren't many shots of us actually tubing down it. It was a nice, easy float . . . well, it could have been if the boys weren't boys!! We moved along nicely . . . and stopped to swing from some ropes!!


(that could have been Luke and Landry, except I didn't have my camera!!)

After about an hour of floating, you arrive at the "Dam," as the girl who gave us our floats so eloquently called it. It is a dam that has a small opening in the center that you can ride your float down. There are actually 3 little dam/waterfalls, each getting a little less "violent" (another word the girl used to describe it!!). With that kind of description, there were a couple of us who weren't completely looking forward to that part!!

Here are the boys the next morning standing right in front of the dam/waterfall.

The first waterfall . . . very fun!!


Looking down at it . . .

Looking down to the second and third waterfalls . . .


This part of the river was super fun!! Landry was the most hesitant, but after sitting up on the dam watching for a few minutes, he was good to go!! In fact, he wanted to stay longer when most everyone else was ready to go!!

The next morning, we stopped by Aquarena Springs and took a trip in the glass bottom boats. This was really interesting . . . I learned a LOT about the area, the springs, and the plant/animal life there. I know . . . sounds boring, but it was really cool! I think even the boys would agree!!

Landry hanging out the window . . .

They had a little boardwalk thing that went out over a wetlands area. The guide had told us to look for the tilapia who had laid their eggs in the shallow water. He explained that when the baby tilapias got frightened, they would immediately swim into their daddy's mouth!! So if we saw a big fish that looked like he was eating a lot of little fish, it was probably ok!! It didn't take long before we started seeing the little areas the tilapia had carved out for themselves . . . very cool!!


One last pic at Aquarena . . . . such genuine smiles!!! So pretty and green!!

And what's a road trip without stopping at the Texas Stop Sign?? Dairy Queen Blizzards always make for a great trip!!

All in all, this was such a great trip!! I'm so glad we could do it!!

BOYS!!!

I should blog more often . . . . in a 3 month period, we've had 2 trips to CareNow for stitches!!

Recognize these broken parts??

Larry, the Kirby Guy

Interesting little story . . . .

Tonight, we were enjoying a nice evening. The boys were doing their thing, I was working on supper, a meatloaf was in the oven, Emily was hanging out, and the doorbell rang. We assumed it was a neighborhood boy, but quickly I was called to the door where I was met by a man with an interesting proposition. He had a new vacuum cleaner and he wanted to clean a room in my house with absolutely NO obligation!!

You may know where this is going and you would probably be right but, at this point, I was thinking about the fact that within the last week, I had been on my hands and knees scrubbing carpets AND had considered renting a carpet cleaner thingy to perk up the dull floors. This man was telling me he'd do it for free with no obligation and just a few minutes of my time.

It honestly NEVER crossed my mind that he would throw out a full-fledged sales pitch that would include nearly TWO hours of my time!!

Here's what I learned about my new friend who, by the way was very nice, in the time he was in my home . . .

* He grew up in Hurst and graduated from L.D. Bell.

* He's married with 2 kids . . . a son and a daughter. His son looks like Tom Cruise with clubbed thumbs and his daughter married an Aggie and hasn't given him any grandkids.

* He loves meatloaf (which I have in the oven) but his wife doesn't and won't cook it for him.

* He's lived in the Houston area, Sugarland specifically, for the last 30 years and has worked for Kirby for 40 years.

* He fell off a ladder a few years ago and crushed both of his heels into 40-50 pieces!!

* He's a Dallas Cowboy fan, but they drive him to drink!

And this is only the beginning!!

The tricky part is that as he continued talking, vacuuming, shampooing, polishing, and cleaning, the meatloaf was near burning, the potatoes waiting to be mashed were quickly turning to potato soup, and we were all getting hungry!! I was supposed to meet my neighbor to walk at 8:00 so I started trying to work around my vacuuming friend. First, I mashed the potatoes. I cooked the green beans. I finished the meatloaf. I sat the boys down to eat and all the while, the Kirby man kept talking. Finally he started talking numbers and we quickly reminded him that we were teachers and as much as we'd love to have one of his machines, it wasn't going to happen!!

One of the best parts is that because I was having to save dinner, Emily took the brunt of his sales pitch and she knew from the beginning I should have never let him in!! That worked out ok because while my vacuum was a piece of junk, apparently, her system is WAY worse!!! :)

He continued talking while he began to pack up and Emily and I sat down to eat. He finished, took his stuff to the porch and told us that his ride would be by in a few minutes. Imagine our surprise as we watched him plop down in the chair and continue to talk to us while we ate!!

To say it was an awkward moment would be an understatement. I wasn't sure what to say or do. I asked if he needed anything and he declined . . . .just needed to take a load off!! So, basically, I have a vacuum cleaner salesman just hanging out in my house!!

I found myself thinking . . . this is one of those situations where you just don't have any idea what to do!! A very nice man is in the house during suppertime, has taken way more time than promised, and I have somewhere I need to be!

I'll leave you with his motto . . . . .If the Kirby goes, the dirt stays. But if the Kirby stays, the dirt goes!!

The Original Dream Teams

Found some old pics . . . and yes, I realize I have PLENTY of current things to blog about . . . but these are awesome!!!

This is a great group of friends, circa 2005, I'm guessing. We loaded up a team and played for WSYA . . . .these were pre-Upward days!!

Jordan, Meagan, Baylee, Reagan, Matthew, Ben, and Alex

with an incredible coaching staff of Ryan, Tim, and Shane

Aren't Reagan and Alex totally rocking the headbands??!!?

It's all about the trophies and goodie bags for Jordan and Meagan!! How cute are they!??!

And speaking of Dream Teams, here's an oldie but goodie!

There wasn't much these four brains couldn't do when they put their minds to it . . . .

. . . . even though it might have made us a little craaaazy at times!!!

Brace Face

We dove into the world of braces last week with Alex. We love our orthodontist, Dr. Mik, and are hoping for super straight teeth in a few months!!

Here's the happy boy . . . before . . .



during . . .





and after . . .

Good times and sore teeth straight ahead!!

Mastering the Self-Portrait

I've been given a little trouble lately about the serious neglect of the blog and I would have to agree. I thought I'd jump back into the bloggy world with a fun post about myself and one of my favorite people.

Deneise and I had the awesome privilege to take a weekend trip to Seattle back in May. And while the pictures and stories of that trip will have to wait for another time, we did have a really fun time trying to master the art of the self-portrait. (Is portrait really the right word for this??!) I have seen many a person reach their arm out to take a picture of themselves, usually with very good results. I have seen MANY a picture on a blog or facebook where it is obvious that is what is happening, again with good results.

Why Deneise or I thought we were capable of this skill escapes me, because we obviously aren't capable. Though I should say, I think I was the only one who attempted it, so maybe it's just me!!

Prepare to be amazed . . . . .

From the Space Needle . . . .

Yikes . . . .






Not exactly . . . .
Better ?? . . . .

Didn't get faces or the water in the background . . . . .

Almost . . . . we forgot to tell our faces we were taking a picture . . . . .

At least I got Deneise's glasses in this one . . . not much else though . . . .

And this one has to be my personal favorite . . . . maybe our best picture of all time . . . .

wait . . . . . .

wait . . . . . .

It was a bit windy at the top of the ol' Space Needle!!

And the most interesting part of this little story is that people were constantly passing us as we were trying to take our own picture . . . . and not one time did anyone stop to ask if they could take a pic of us!! It's a touristy place people!! If we can't work together at the top of the Space Needle to get our pictures made, where can we??

All in all, a super fun trip . . . . with a lot of funny pictures to prove it!!

Lots o' Ball

After an all-too-brief break from organized sports, Opening Day came bright and early today. With three out of four boys playing baseball, it's going to be a busy Spring!!

Luke and Landry drew the short straws and both had games at 8:30 . . . in the morning!! They both played hard and I ran hard back and forth between their 2 games. When it was all over, Landry's team came out on top and Luke's team took a loss. Luke took the loss pretty hard which, interestingly enough, pitted the Rangers (Luke's team) against the Giants. Just like in the World Series, the Rangers came up short!

We had a nice break at home then headed to the baseball field to watch Alex play later in the day. Alex hasn't played baseball in a couple of years so I was kind of interested to see how he would do after such a long break. He did well, making a couple of great catches and hitting the ball. It was a great day for baseball . . . until the cold front (that most of us missed the memo about) rolled through.

The funniest thing I heard today was spoken in the car. Landry (who won today) and Luke (who lost today) were talking about their games and how they did. Landry matter-of-factly says to Luke . . .

Luke . . . I bet if my team played your team, we would definitely win yall!!

Luke respectfully disagreed!!

Say What??

I have been reading way back in the ol' blog ... back to 2007 ... and I have laughed so hard at the stuff I'd forgotten!! This blog ... it's a good idea!! Here are a couple of my favorites from tonight .... Parker was making me laugh back then too (12/12/2007), Landry was just a little 2 year old learning some crazy stuff about his body (12/2/2007), and a good reminder that you can't say "thanks" too often (11/2007).

My computer is sick ... really sick ... so there won't be any pictures until it gets better.

But I was reminded by reading back that early in the bloggy days, I would just write a quick story or tale of something someone said that was funny ... or just something I didn't want to forget. I think I'm gonna try to do that more often!!

Parker ... interesting boy that he is ... uses his post bedtime moments to make some pretty serious choices about his life.

For example, a few weeks ago, long after he should have been asleep, he came out of his room all cock-eyed and messed up, and said, "Mom ... don't be mad ... I HAVE to tell you this!! I have finally decided what I want to do with my life!!!" I say, "Awesome ... can't wait to hear it."
Parker - "I'm going to be a professional hockey player!!!"
Me - "????"
Parker - I know, I know .... I don't know how to ice skate but I'm going to learn. Will you take me?? Can I take lessons??
Me - Say what??!?!


Then tonight, another night of having trouble falling asleep, he comes out and has some more exciting news to share.

"I need vocal chord surgery!"

Say What???

"Well, yeah ... I think I wanna be on America's Got Talent and my voice really isn't that great, so I'm gonna need some surgery to fix that!!"

Dream big, baby .... dream big!!

Wrestlin'

I am not a big fan of letting the boys wrestle.

If I was, they would do it 23 out of every 24 hours. It's the perfect occasion for the saying ...

It was all well and good until someone lost an eye!!!

It just never seems to end well!!

But . . . when Ryan comes to visit, wrestling is a given . . .especially where Landry is concerned. In the days preceding his visit, Landry begins the smack talk.

This is how a phone convo might go . . .

"Hey Ryan! When are you tumin to my house?? . . . Ok . . . . Ummm . . . Ryan . . . you're goin DOWN!! No . . . uh-uh . . . YOU'RE goin down!! Nooooo . . . YOU are!!!"

And when Ryan finally arrives, he does not disappoint!! These were taken at Thanksgiving . . .

Landry's usually the first . . .

But he always get some help . . .

Everyone always feels like they won . . .

Thanks to Ryan for being such a good sport!!

(Wrestling is hard to get good pics of ... amazing photographer that I am!!) :)

It's sooooo COLD!!

Obviously, we got snow and ice. But the temperatures are what are so stinkin crazy this time around!! I went outside to snap a couple of pics and realized very quickly that I would not have any playtime in the snow today!!

It's like crazy cold ... and windy ... and just cold!!

Enough of that . . . here's all I got!!

Notice that only ONE of those pictures was actually taken outside!!! :)

And . . . we get to do it all over again tomorrow!! Wooo-hooo!!!