Brooklyn's Blog

Frontier City

2009-08-14T13:29:00.006-05:00

The fam just arriving at Frontier City. It was crazy hot and muggy so please excuse the excessive sweating---I mean, glistening.

On of about only 3 rides Boston could do.

The girls on the log ride. They LOVED it!

It rained for about 30 minutes so we took a dinner break. I was shocked at just how gross the food area was. Even so, we ate some chicken strips and burgers.

After the rain the girls rode this and got to spinning really fast. I was sick just watching (my motion sickness you know!).

They had several of these little houses and the kids loved them. They probably could have played in them the entire time and been perfectly happy.

The kiddie roller coaster was a HUGE hit. Jorge rode it with them the first time to see how rough it was. Look at his face posing for me!

If you can make this next picture bigger you should. Check out Ava and Stella's face. It describes their reactions perfectly. Ava was terrified (but still rode 3 or 4 times). Stella was completely thrilled and loved it. She rode at least 6 times in a row!

Stella on a lone trip.

Poor Boston spent a lot of time in the stroller. At Disney World he rode everything Stella could so this was very different for us.

Jorge and Stella on the log ride. Ava paid a quarter to squirt them and was laughing hysterically!

OK, this was by far the scariest ride for me and I didn't even ride! I can NOT believe that Ava and Stella were tall enough to ride this grown up roller coaster. Stella rode twice, Ava once.

Here is what it looks like.

On the ferris wheel. Or as Stella calls it, the "rolley".

This was another pretty intense ride that I was shocked Ava and Stella rode. Jorge had a good time doing some "grown up" rides!

Cale's bday and taking kids to Bricktown

2009-08-14T13:14:00.004-05:00

My in-laws were so nice to let us use their pool for my nephew's (Cale) birthday party. It was so fun. I'm not used to being around so many 10-12 yr old boys and how crazy they are in the pool. There were flips of all kinds...I was so nervous! Here is Cale in the red shorts.

I made them pose for this picture. I think they are all on the same baseball team too. They will love this when they are graduating!

I made Cale an OU/baseball cake. The party was a huge hit with hot dogs, swimming, and cake and presents. The only downer was towards the end of the party. One of the little boys slipped getting out of the pool and chipped about 6 teeth, including half of his front two teeth! I felt so bad for him! However a week later my big brother informed me that his parents said he was fine. In fact, he apparently likes his "new" teeth much better than his old ones. He says they aren't so big--how funny!

Ava and Stella got to have their friend Samantha over one day this summer. They enjoyed dressing up and playing Pretty Pretty Princess.

Jorge and I decided to take the kids to Bricktown one day. We had a lot of fun riding the boat on the canal, going to Bass Pro Shop to look at the fish tank, and eating at the Marble Slab for ice cream. Here we are on the boat.

Stella said the boat ride was her favorite part of the day, Ava said it was her worst part. Go figure.

Ava was fascinated with the giant stuffed bear at Bass Pro. They didn't really get into the fish tank though. After this, Ava said loudly to Jorge, "Daddy, let's go look at the GUNS now!"

Last day of summer "school. Ava and her best bud Madison, Stella and her friend Riley.

Boston in his room at cdo.

Hello, Strangers!

2009-07-26T21:26:00.002-05:00

Wow, I have been so slack in getting on here! Ever since being introduced to Facebook I have been spending less and less time reading and posting blogs. Sorry out there! I'm going to try to keep up though.

Today I had fun getting to go to my dad's house for my nephew's birthday lunch. We had a lot of fun. My dad asked Stella how much she loved him and she answered, "64!" He said "really?" and she said "no, I mean 67!" She is a strange little gal!

Also Ava told me that for her birthday she wants a Segway. So if I come into an extra $5,000 I know how she would have me spend it. She has been riding them at the Science Museum.

Little Boston has become such a screamer and it is driving me crazy. I am hoping it is a phase because it is NOT pretty. However I am looking for a pterodactyl costume for Halloween for him since that is what he sounds like when he screams.

More later!

Where does milk come from?...

2009-06-30T12:10:00.003-05:00

I had a fun conversation with Ava today in the car. It went like this:

Me: Ava, do you know where milk comes from?
Ava: Cows.
Me: And where does ketchup come from?
Ava: Tomatoes.
Me: Where does cheese come from?
Ava: (Long pause) Orange juice.
Me: And where does bread come from?
Ava: Factories.
Me: And do you know what ice cream is made of?
Ava: Ice.
Me: Yes, what else?
Ava: Sugar.
Me: Yes and what else?
Ava: Sprinkles. (pause) Is the moon made of cheese?
Me: No, who told you that?
Ava: Daddy.

Summer Fun (so far)

2009-06-25T10:46:00.007-05:00

The girls making a fort in the living room with all of their blankets. They had fun and even tolerated Boston messing it up.

Jorge and I went to the drive in movies. We took the truck and put an inflatable mattress in the bed of the truck. Then we take blankets, pillows, ice chest of food, and a radio and just enjoy the evening. They show new releases so we watched 2 movies that night and then went home at about 1:30 in the morning.

AJ's party. Here are Stella, Ava, Ellarie and another of Ellarie's friends getting ready to swim.

Same day but later was Samuel's party at the bowling alley. All of the kids had a great time. Here is Ava and Sam.

And Stella and Eli.

Ellarie and Araeyah.

The baby boys, Boston, Atticus, and Benjamin.

Jeremy was the brave dad helping the kids bowl.

Ava making a moustache.

Breaking out the slip and slide for the 1st time this summer. Ava got it right away, Stella mostly just ran down the whole thing and then might accidentally fall and slide.

Boston's new 'do.

VBS was a busy week and we all enjoyed it. Thursday night was parents night and the kids always put on a little musical/skit show. Ava is front row, 3rd from the left.

Here is the whole group of kids.

After the kids performed there was a ventriloquist. Ava thought he was hysterical and laughed her head off the whole time.

My cousin Landon is getting married in July and we had a family wedding shower for him and his fiance Jennifer. They are both so sweet and we are happy for them.

On the way home from the shower Boston was enjoying one of his socks. For quite a while now he has chosen socks as his "lovey". He only likes his socks not anyone else's and he likes to rub them on his nose and around his mouth. He particularly likes them right after they have come off his feet. Weird, I know.

Then last weekend Jorge's nephew got married in McAlester. I realized later that I didn't get any pics ofthe bride and groom but the photographer took lots of pics and we will get some I'm sure.

This is Jorge's brother Jeff and his wife LeAnne and one of their daughters Ashley w/ our 3 kids. They live in North Carolina so we are always happy to see them when they come to OK.

Isn't Jorge a handsome man! Can you tell how excited he was to be at the wedding? Just kidding, we all really did have a great time. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was fun too.

The next few days the kids got to spend time with Rebecca and Ashley before they went back to NC. Most of that time was spent in the pool.

Ava has been doing really well this summer. I have taken her to the deep end many times and had her swim from the center of the pool to the edge. Once I even talked her into jumping into the deep end and swimming to me on the other side. I was so proud of her for doing that because she is actually very afraid of the deep end (even though she can swim now!). Silly girl.

Stella is not near as scared of the water. She loves going down the slide.

This last week after watching her cousins jump off the diving board she finally decided to try. I didn't' really think she would but she hopped on there and jumped right in. It is now her favorite thing to do in the pool.

Also last week I took the kids to meet up with my friend Guyla at the Jump Zone. I think they had more fun on the swing sets in there than the inflatables! Here are the kids with Caleb.

And this is the picture Ava took. Notice the sock in Boston's hand.

To top off last week we went to the Melting Pot with our friend's the Smiths. We each have 3 kids so finding a sitter for both of us on the same night and also a night Jorge was off work was challenging...it took almost a month to work it out. But we had a really good time and enjoyed our 3+ hour meal. It is a really fun place to eat--I highly recommend it! Heather and I are accountability partners and we try to meet up for cokes once a week to catch up. It was nice to include the guys for once!

5, 3, and 1

2009-05-30T15:14:00.003-05:00

Each year we get the kids pictures taken on/near their birthday. I may have posted Ava's pics but I know I didn't do Stella and Boston. Here are just a few of each kid.

Ava 5 years old (3/10/04)

Stella 3 years old (4/13/06):

Yes, that is Bubby in every picture. We figured we may only have a few more years left with him and wanted to include him in the pics. He is practically family now! Stella still cannot go to bed with out him although she doesn't carry him around during the day as much anymore.

Boston 1 year old (3/17/08):

Ava's dance recital

2009-05-30T14:23:00.006-05:00

Ava was so excited for her 1st dance recital. She was a pixie. Here she is trying on her costume before we get ready to go to the theater.

The under 7 kids sat with their families during the 1st part of the show to watch the older girls dance. She loved it and said later that she wants to be the best dancer ever just like the big girls. As for Stella, let's just say I'm glad we brought the leapster. No really she did pretty good too but was a little antsy.

Before the show really starts they have the oldest girls on stage w/ a few bars and Miss Marjorie comes out and has them warm up in front of everyone while she explains what they are doing. Even with the littlest dancers she uses all the ballet terms so Ava comes home saying stuff that I have no idea what she is talking about! 'Arabesque' and "Plie" I know, but 'Pas de chat' and 'Rond de jambe' I have no idea! So watching them warm up was very interesting.

At the first intermission we got her all ready and sent her backstage with the big girls. They take care of the little ones (let them color, have apples and juice, etc.) after they dance while they wait for the next intermission.

(I tried to upload the video of her dance here but after 30 minutes of waiting I give up!)

After the dance Miss Marjorie gives each dancer a rose and they curtsy/bow to each other. Minus the rose, that is also how they end each class. Ava is the far right. After the little kids danced, the oldest ones came back and did a mini ballet about 15-20 minutes. It was very good.

Stella sat with my Mom, Grandpa and Grandma during the 2nd part of the recital. They had to sit in the back so my Grandpa wouldn't have to use the stairs so Stella had more room to move w/out bothering anyone. They all brought Ava flowers so Stella is giving them a look over first.

Julie was so sweet to come to Ava's recital! She is such a good friend and is wonderful w/ our kids. Ava was excited to see her. Actually Ava is excited to perform, period! She loves being on stage/attention. This is after the show.

Ava finally got her flowers. She was about as excited about that as she was anything!

My dad and step mom also came but Ava didn't see them until it was in the same room as the cake and punch. Guess what won? So I didn't get a pic with them but they came and brought Ava some flowers as well. Here are the girls eating some cake. Ava said this was her cake face.

Ava had a big cheering section! Her Grandma Judy came too. Here they are at the reception.

Here is her teacher, Marjorie Kovich. She is a former ballerina and continues to choreograph for the Norman Ballet and other things. She is a very good teacher, stern but kind. Ava really enjoys her.

Can't wait till next year. Stella will be taking as well. That ought to be interesting! :-)

Mother's Day, Graduation, and other stuff

2009-05-23T22:29:00.006-05:00

I'm not going to say a whole lot about this since it was several weeks ago, but I do feel incredibly blessed to be the mother to such wonderful children. They are all three bright and loving and full of adventure and excitement. They love to talk (that would be from MY side of the family) and they bring so much joy and energy to my life. I am so thankful for Jorge. I couldn't be at home raising our kids if it weren't for his love and support and the sacrifices he has made for us. My life sometimes reminds me of that old song...'count your many blessings, name them one by one...' I need to remember this on days when we are cranky or tired or in general in need of some love and PATIENCE! (Can I get an 'AMEN'!)

That evening we took my mom to the Cracker Barrel for dinner where Ava insisted on posing with my mom and this little statue. My mom is such an awesome cook but I didn't think it would be right to ask her to cook for herself on Mother's Day. We enjoyed getting out, which we don't do that often with my mom and Jim since we all prefer her cooking!

The next Thursday night was girls night and again I forgot I had my camera with me. This time though I remembered as I was leaving. At this point it was just Cheryl, Erin and me so I snapped a pic of them literally as I was walking to the door! They are two amazing women that I am happy to call my friends. This particular night they really encouraged me in something that had been weighing on my mind for weeks. God uses people when we let Him. Thanks girls!

The next night I was so glad to have dinner with one of my very best friends, Vicki. We don't see each other as often as we used to so our time together now is even more cherished. Here are our girls having a tea party after dinner. Vicki made them real tea and served it in real tea cups. They thought it was pretty neat.

Then last Sunday was the Awana's awards night at church. Here Ava and her friend Haley are waiting for it to start. Haley's parents are good friends of ours and she is such a sweet little girl. One funny story... Ava kinda gasped and looked startled when one of the little boys went up with his dad do get his award and noticed that they looked alike. (And I mean they REALLY look alike!) She said, "oh my goodness, he has the same head as his daddy!" It was so funny!

Then this Thursday was her pre-school graduation. I am sorry to say that I wasn't making too big a deal of it, I mean its pre-school, its expected! lol Anyway Ava was very excited and they had been working on this for awhile now so I was excited for her. It was actually a very cute ceremony. They sang several songs and all had speaking parts. Then they asked each one what they wanted to be when they grew up. Lots of ball players and teachers and ballerinas. Ava said she wanted to be a Mommy *sniff, sniff*. Then they showed an adorable slide show set to music (the first song on my blog is one of the ones they used--I loved it so I added it here). They showed pics from throughout the year and then a each kid had a baby picture and their picture in cap and gown. Afterwards my little brother Dylan said, "It's like they wanted everyone to cry!"

She is the farthest one on the right.

Ava with her "diploma". When the little boy right in front of her got his diploma he turned and shouted "I did it, Mama!" It was hysterical!

One of the songs they sang was "Oh I'll go to Kindergarten when I'm 5" This is only 1 verse because it had about 5.

Me and Jorge with our soon to be kindergartner.

I don't know how this got turned sideways but afterwards at the reception they had this cute little cake with cutout pics of all the kids on it.

These 2 girls are Ava's 2 best friends at school. The girl on the left has been her friend since she was 1 and started coming to cdo. They will also both be going to CCS next year. The girl on the right made out the trio this year almost from day one.

This is Ava with her teacher, Ms. Amanda and with the gift Julie (aka Ms. Haskins) got for her. It was so sweet of Julie and Ava was very excited!

Not at all related but I took the kids to the science museum again the other day and here is Boston playing with the toys. He is so cute!

Coming soon....dance recital pictures!

Wedding Shower & Science Museum

2009-05-08T21:46:00.005-05:00

My sister in law LeAnne was in town from North Carolina for a couple of weeks with her girls (and my brother in law but only for a few days). I just love spending time with LeAnne, she is a lot of fun and a great Christian. She was in town for several reasons, one of which was to help throw a wedding shower for our nephew. We did a garden themed shower and stayed up till midnight the night before making cupcakes, decorating, potting plants, and most importantly making these fantastic hats! They were for the bride and groom to be to wear during a game. But after making them and being very tired, we had to give them a try first!

These are a few of the cupcakes we made. And by "few" I mean these are 8 of the 3-4 dozen we decorated.

Here are Henry and Leigha. They will be young when they marry in June, Henry is finishing his freshman year in college and Leigha is finishing her senior year of high school! However they have dated for about 5 years I think and are very committed. They are both also gifted musicians/singers.

And here are the rightful wearers of the hats. Notice the kids watching closely on the left.

A few days later we took the kids to the Science Museum of Oklahoma (aka Omniplex). Jorge was really wanting to go see an exhibit they have until June called "Dangerous Medicine", which displayed the medical testing/eugenics/euthanasia the Nazis did during WWII. Medicine & History...right up his alley!

Then the kids got to play in the kids zone. They LOVED it. I was really surprised that after almost 2 hours they were totally bummed when we had to leave.

Jorge took the girls for a spin. And if you've ever ridden this then you know I was a little scared for the girls to be on it. I can remember in junior high I went so fast that I flew right off of it!

Good times, good times.

Soccer & Baseball

2009-05-08T21:34:00.004-05:00

I know I have posted several soccer pics but these are just too cute. Here they are during warm ups.
This is them during the actual game. Super happy--not much soccer happening.

Jorge and Ava.

This is a sweet pic of the teams giving high fives after the game. There are only 2 games left (thank goodness) so this little experiment will be ending soon. They are both very excited about ballet next year!

For Jorge's birthday (April 17th) I got him tickets to the Redhawks, the AAA baseball team here in OKC. They had this sign from Wrigley Field and since Jorge loves the Cubbies I had someone take our picture in front of it.

I got us really good seats, 6 rows up right behind the plate. We got a babysitter and really enjoyed our date night out. He will be 40 next year so I will have to plan something really exciting for that! Happy birthday, Jorgie!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Stella!!! (Belated)

2009-05-08T21:25:00.003-05:00

Sorta feelin' guilty about not posting this on time! Stella turned 3 on April 13th and we had a mini party that morning. We stayed up late decorating and this is how it turned out:

Stella's door:

After the goldfish debacle that was Ava's bday gift, we decided to get Stella new game for her Leapster. Much safer.

Stella was sooo excited about her dog cake and also for all the balloons and decorations. I am so glad we started this tradition, the kids love it and so do Jorge and I.

Not birthday related but I thought this was cute. Right now all 3 kids take a bath together. Boston gets very angry if someone is bathing and he is not included. He has come to really REALLY love the tub. Stella and Ava generally like having him in with them. Initially Ava was concerned about him peeing in the water but she got over it. Also, one time Jorge put him in the water covered in shredded wheat from breakfast and Ava really freaked out about that. She was so grossed out she could hardly look at the tub. It was hilarious!

Easter Day

2009-05-08T21:07:00.002-05:00

Yes, I know Easter was weeks ago but I have been crazy busy and haven't had a chance to post some stuff. So this will be the first of daily posts for the next few days until I get caught up. (And lets hope my computer doesn't crash for a 4th time--I'm getting a little too familiar w/ the geek squad personnel!)

We had debated doing the whole "Easter Bunny" thing but Ava began talking about a week and a half in advance about what the Easter Bunny was going to bring her. So....

We just got the kids a few toys/candy and called it good.

Then it was off to church. It was very cold so the girls put on t-shirts under their dresses. At least their shoulders were warm. (weird....)

Sometimes I feel like Bubby is our 4th child, so here are our 4 kids.

After church we went to El Reno to see my dad's side of the family--or as Ava calls them "her OU family". We are such a large family now that we no longer go to my Mimi's, instead we go to the 4-H building in town. One of my younger cousins brought some new baby ducks to lunch (not to eat, just to play with) and Stella loved them. She kept asking me to take a picture w/ them on her shoulder.

One of my cousin's wife brought this little walker for her girl but Boston loved it so much he used it most of the time. He just zoomed all over the place.

Then we had our own little egg hunt for our family.

Not much hunting involved, you couldn't move w/out stepping on one. Boston got in on the action too.

Later that afternoon we went over to Jorge's parents. This is my nephew Josh playing with Boston. I wish Jorge didn't have to work that day but this means he will be off next year. Yippee!

Egg Hunts

2009-04-17T09:03:00.004-05:00

Saturday morning rolled around and I had planned on taking the girls to our church's egg hunt. However as we were leaving Ava said she wanted to go to the one at her school, which is my mother-in-law's church. Apparently they had been talking about it at school that week and her friends were going to be there. When we got there I was glad we came. It was much smaller and geared for the younger preschool age kids. Plus we were indoors half the time. They had games, "tattoos", crafts, cookies, etc. Ava was very excited!

Her group went first but somehow she ended up with the over 6 group. It didn't really matter...she was on a mission to get eggs! She is in the white below.

After it was over they took stock to see if they had any "prize" eggs. Nope.

Then we had a visit with the Easter Bunny. I always find it strange that churches are the biggest pushers of egg hunts and bunnies?.... Anyway, they liked the big fuzzy rabbit.

Stella should have gone with the older kids because when it was her groups turn she was with the youngest kids and they told them to stop after 10 eggs so all the kids would have some. Good luck trying to get Stella to stop! She was just like Ava--on a mission to get as many eggs as possible! I finally just stopped trying to stop her. When it was over we noticed some really little ones (like just over 1 yr probably) that had just a few eggs so Stella went and hid some of hers for them to find and keep. I thought it was so sweet of her and she was happy to do it. Well, actually, she hid them but then "helped" the little ones find them but in the end she did hand them over with a smile!

Even after giving some away Stella had 2 prize eggs so she gave one to Ava and we headed to the prize table. It was pretty picked over by then but they each found a stuffed bunny and were quite excited.

After a quick lunch at Grandma Judy and Grandpa John's house we went to egg hunt #2. Ginny told us about it that it was good for younger kids. Here are her kids and mine. Impossible to get a shot with everyone looking the same way. This one has only Ava and Attikus looking!

Ava and her buddy Ellarie.

Stella and Araeyah. This picture cracks me up...Stella with a bucket on her head and Araeyah with her hands in her pocket.

I think it goes without saying that the girls loved hunting the eggs. Both of them had to dump their buckets half way through to make room for more eggs.

After it was over Ginny, her mom Kathy and I helped the girls look for prize eggs. The added fun was that the chocolate in the eggs had melted so we were all covered in chocolate by the time it was over. Lovely. We had 2 prize eggs this time (and later at home we found another--oops).

After that was over we went to my mom and step dad's house in Chandler for Easter Dinner. My Grandma and Grandpa were there along with my uncle and 3 of his 4 kids. His daughter Sierra (in the uniform) hid eggs for the girls after dinner about 5 times. Then Ava and Stella tried hiding them for her. As soon as she came out to start looking Stella took off. She wanted to help so she gathered all the eggs she had just hid, plus a few extra. We kept trying to stop her but we were laughing so hard it was no use. She's not real big on patience.

We also tried to let Boston get these 2 eggs but every time he got close Stella would come and "help" him. After trying 5 times we finally gave up and let him just play with the rocks.

Ava took this picture of my Grandma. We had a good time sitting outside in the nice weather.

Soccer, Singing & Swimming

2009-04-16T23:01:00.002-05:00

On April 3rd the girls had their first soccer game. Let's just say that the 'soccer experiment' is not going so well! During the 40 minute game, we made 4 trips to the bathroom, each during the time that they were on the field. Stella didn't want to play, period. Ava was excited at first. Her first time in she is on a breakaway (ok, somewhat breakaway) and is getting closer to the goal and then the ref comes up and takes the ball away from her. Apparently he blew the whistle a while back for something that no one heard. Ava thought she was getting in trouble for doing something wrong and ran off the field crying. It took her a while to collect herself because then she was embarrassed and after that she had no desire to get on that field again. Long story short, we will be sticking with ballet!!

At least they look cute!

Last Wednesday the 4-5 yr olds and 1st-2nd grade children's choirs sang for the church. Ava loves children's choir and this was the first time in the new sanctuary so she was really excited. She is on the bottom right in the black & white dress.

I do the 1st & 2nd grade choir and I was a little nervous for them. I was afraid they might get nervous in the gigantic new room but they did awesome! Jorge took this one of me.

Friday night my cousin's twins had their birthday party at the aquatic center in Kingfisher (birthplace of brooklyn!). They have it here every year and it is a lot of fun! Boston had a blast. It is a graduated depth and he would take off until the water was to his chin and I had to go get him...I think he would just go and go! Yikes!

Ava enjoys going under the water "tree".

Stella was pretty excited to be able to stick her face in the water. I am looking forward to a summer of swimming!

Ava & Stella's birthday party

2009-04-06T21:04:00.005-05:00

We decided to do a joint party for the girls this year. I don't think we will be doing it again though because it was a little hectic! They didn't really have a theme. I made their cakes to match their outfits and then we had Extreme Animals come with 6 animals for the kids to see. Here is Stella's cake w/ her matching dress on the right.

And here is Ava's cake w/ her dress on the left.

Our house is not that big and with a lot of people here it felt really small! But it worked out ok. The original plan was for the kids to play outside on the new swing set but it was really cold! As a matter of fact, we thought we might have to cancel the party b/c a huge snowstorm came through the day before! But it went north and west of us so other than the extreme cold it didn't affect us much.

We made 2 piles for gifts and had them take turns. Because there were double the gifts at the party it took forever to open them all so Stella was bored halfway through opening hers! That is the ultimate sign that we have too much! Maybe next year we should say no gifts.

The cold weather made us change our plans with the animals too. We were supposed to do this outside but had to move it to the garage. I'm so thankful that Jorge keeps the garage clean!

The animals were a huge hit. Ava is not exactly an animal lover, although she has come a LONG way from how she used to act. Here she is actually touching an animal, a tortoise. All the kids got to stand or sit on it.

Next was a giant python, and that is my nephew Cale holding it. Half the kids thought it was cool, the other half wouldn't go near it!

Stella on the end and some of the other kids holding the snake.

I had requested the baby alligator because that is Stella's absolute favorite. But after the snake the kids wanted a cuddly animal so she brought out the bunny. This is as close as Ava would get.

Stella loved holding it though.

Next they had a bird, maybe a parrot? It would let you hold it like a baby. Again, that is as close as Ava would get.

Here is Stella holding it.

Everyone really liked the next animal, a lemur. You know, from Madagascar..."I like to move it, move it!" The birthday girls got to have it on their shoulder, the rest of the kids fed it apples. I think it goes without saying that Ava did not let it near her. She threw her apple at it and ran away. Stella liked it though.

Ava got to pick who could have it on their shoulder instead of her and she picked her daddy! The lemur gave Jorge a kiss in the nose! (Notice I said "in" not "on"!!)

The highlight of the party was the baby kangaroo. It was only 7 months old and so adorable! Here is Ava again at her closest and safest distance!

Stella fed the kangaroo a bottle. She love loved it! And yes, the kangaroo is wearing a diaper.

About 45 minutes after the party was over I got a call from the animal lady saying that she had left the kangaroo in our garage! Sure enough in a pouch hanging from the garage door was a kangaroo! We brought it inside and let the kids play with it until she came back an our later! Boston was dying laughing when he would pet it.

Stella sporting some of her presents, sunglasses and a new nightgown.

And her is Ava in her new nightgown playing a new game with daddy called Pretty Pretty Princess. Doesn't Jorge look cute with his jewelry on?

What a great day! Happy Birthday Ava and Stella!!

Fun Times!

2009-03-30T21:08:00.004-05:00

Here's the birthday boy! March 17th is his actual birthday, St. Patrick's Day! I got him a shirt that says "I'm A McCutie". So true!

His birthday was also the 1st day of soccer practice for the girls. They are playing on the same team through our church. They only play 5 games so I thought it would be a good intro to soccer to see if they liked it.

Surprisingly Ava is the one who really likes it. She is getting after it and being pretty aggressive (for her). She is usually my girly-girl who doesn't like to sweat or get her hair messed up. Apparently she is getting over that!

Also surprising is that Stella is not as aggressive. She isn't quite catching on to the "no hands" rule and gets upset when the other kids "take her ball away". I tried explaining that that is the point of soccer. We'll see at their first game next Saturday if she catches on. Their first game was supposed to be this last Saturday but it got snowed out.

Boston enjoys the practices because he can be outside, his favorite place to be.

The next day I took the kids to the mall to play on the indoor playground.

Boston waved at everybody who walked by.

Since we were on a roll, the day after that I took them to the Jump Zone. It is a giant warehouse type building with about 7-10 giant inflatable toys. Ava and Stella absolutely wore themselves out.

Here are some of the inflatables. After they were exhausted we left to go home for dinner but they talked me into taking them for pizza instead. Pizza Hut is right next door so I took all 3 by myself. Crazy, I know! It was the first time I had taken all 3 of them by myself to a restaurant that didn't have a playground and I was a little nervous. But they all did fantastic! Even Boston! They were polite and had good manners and we had a really great time.

For their birthdays (yes, all 3) Jorge and I got them a swing set. Here is Mr. Gorton working on the assembly of it. With my dad's help it only took like 5-6 hours.

Its not a big fancy one but the girls love it. They have been playing on it nonstop since we got it. What a great purchase!

Birthdays and other stuff

2009-03-22T11:56:00.010-05:00

Boston loves to sort through things, namely the "shoe basket". Here he is, doing his thing.

He also loves to eat crackers.

The girls latest thing is to do my hair. Basically they just try to see how many clips they can put in my hair. Ava did my hair and then took this picture.

Ok, so I am a bad mom and am way behind in posting this. Ava's 5th birthday was March 10th. The night before we decorated the house and set up the table for a birthday breakfast. Her actual party isn't until the 28th (joint w/ Stella) so we wanted her actual birthday to be special.

We got her some flowers and her present was a goldfish.

Can you see him near the surface?

We decorated her door so that when she woke up she had to walk through the streamers and balloons. She thought it was very neat!

She was so surprised in the morning! We had covered the fish w/ a sack.

She was pretty excited about the fish and named him "Reddy Fish" because he was red. Later she changed his name to "Reddy-Whitey Fish" and then again to "Jack Jack" (after watching The Incredibles). Sadly the fish lasted less than 12 hours and as I am writing this we are working on Jack Jack 4.0. We are debating how long to keep this up!

A little cupcake for breakfast!

Fast forward to evening. Jorge had to work and Ava wanted to order a pizza to be delivered. She insisted on delivery and not pick up so she could tell the delivery guy it was her birthday. Boston reallllly loved his 1st pizza.

Wow, how the time flies! Here is Ava last year on her 4th birthday.

And here she is on her 5th birthday last week.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!!!

Then last Thursday we went with my dad's side of the family to a burger place that serves gigantic burgers. We ordered 6 of these burgers and fries:

We had such a fun time but there were lots of leftovers that I took to Jorge at work for his co-workers. Here are Mimi and Boston chowing down.

Then Boston's birthday party was last weekend. He turned 1 on St. Patrick's Day. I made his cake the night before.

We served hot dogs and the fixin's. Here are the fixin's.

Some of the kids enjoying lunch.

Boston had a huge stack of presents and was in such a good mood during the party. He was just a little doll and had a great time.

The cake table. His party was just a "blue" theme. People wore blue, had a blue cake, decor, etc.

Some of the fam and a few friends.

Boston was trying on a new hat.

And opening more presents.

After all was said and done, a simple ball was his favorite gift. Our friends little boy Sam had him laughing playing catch.

He is such a mama's boy but actually I really love it!

For like 2 seconds I tried to put his hat on him. He was not a fan.

As soon as I took it off he was happy and ready to eat some cake.

He had no problems diggin in to the cake.

Here is Boston the day after he was born.

And here is the big boy 1 year old!

Happy Birthday, Little Buddy!!!

Disney World Day 7

2009-03-20T12:44:00.006-05:00

Day 7

Brrrrr. This was another cold day. I'm glad I threw in pants and long sleeved clothes at the last minute of packing. By the last day of the trip we have figured out that the kids want to spend a majority of the time in Fantasyland at MK. We walked up at just the right moment when Alice in Wonderland came out.

We rode the carousel, which we hadn't done yet. A classic that I find kinda boring but the kids always love it.

Boston was enjoyed the spinning.

The girls try to pull the sword from the stone. No luck. Jorge tries using brute strength. No luck.

Ava and Stella really really wanted to see Peter Pan again today but this apparently was a good enough runner up. Ava was so funny showing Captain Hook her own "hook" (her finger) and making pirate faces and noises (Arrrrrg) at him. Stella had a Tinkerbell jacket on that they both pretended to be very upset about.

We actually had a very nice lunch at the Harbor House. We had ditched the strollers early on this day b/c we were riding so many rides back to back. This made for a lot of carrying Boston around. My arms were so tired I was glad to have a place to rest. It wasn't crowded so Boston got to walk around a bit.

After lunch we rode the jungle cruse. The best part about this was the boat driver/speaker. His tour was pretty funny and he and Jorge had a good time. He was telling Jorge after the ride that it was pretty much all scripted for him but his delivery was great and he added some stuff too. Jorge was so cute wanting a picture with him--I didn't even have to ask! (I think he is catching on!)

I think we spent a small fortune on snacks at DW. Here we are getting some popcorn.

At the very beginning of Main Street there is a barber shop that we took the kids to for some "crazy hair". As you will see, it involves paint and a giant handful of Mickey confetti. Here are the results:

By now it was so close to parade time that we decided to stay and watch it yet again. While waiting we saw Daisy. We hadn't seen her yet so I'm glad we got to see her. Not so glad that she got Stella's paint on her arm (or would that be wing??).

The pre-parade festivities were a huge hit again. Its amazing how we go on this elaborate vacation and the kids get as much enjoyment out of jump ropes and hula hoops as they do some of the rides!

I just though this was cute of the girls playing some ball game with the castle in the background.

Its almost parade time!! I must say, Stella and her crazy "I can't believe what I'm seeing this is so awesome" scream during the parade is more fun than the parade itself!

Some recipients of her adoration, Belle & the Beast.

We returned that evening w/out Judy or Boston and took the girls back to see the fireworks one last time. Of course we had to ride the teacups again. It was very important to Ava that we get a yellow cup. Ahh, sweet victory!

I saved us a really good spot for the fireworks on the Tomorrowland Bridge. Not only did we have an awesome view of the castle and fireworks, but we were directly below the line where Tinkerbell flies to start the show. She was directly overhead and waving her wand...it was really neat! Stella loves the show, not a fan of the noise though. It doesn't scare her, I think it just hurts her ears.

Ok, this shot is really day 9 of the trip and we are getting ready to leave for Downtown Disney one more time before heading to the airport. This is right outside our condo and I thought it was really pretty.

We wanted to get all the kids some mickey ears this last day but it didn't go so well. Ava wanted the princess hat (see below), Stella threw a fit b/c she wanted a toy, and Boston was fussing to take a nap. Let's just say that it was a short visit to DD.

When we got to the airport our flight was delayed, which made us miss our connecting flight in Dallas. We were all sooooo incredibly tired that I didn't think we would make it another 4 hours before the next flight. Fortunately we were able to get on standby with a flight only 2 hours later and made it home, completely pooped, just before 10.

Home, Sweet Home!

Disney World Days 5 & 6

2009-03-17T12:42:00.006-05:00

(My computer is going to be fixed this afternoon & it might take a couple days to get it back. When I get it back I will do the final days of DW and then post about Ava & Boston's birthdays....I am soooo behind!)

Day 5
We made it for rope drop at Animal Kingdom on day 5. My mom made the girls these cute Winnie the Pooh outfits that were jungle-y print. Ava has gotten very into posing for pictures lately.

It was so dead that morning that we rode this Triceratop Spin like 3 or 4 times completely by ourselves.

Jorge and I took Ava to ride Dinosaur next. (See her posing again?) Anyway, once the ride had started I was reminded of how rough it is. It is very bumpy and dark and scary. Half way through she said "Mom, these are just robots, right?" I felt bad for taking her on it! But afterwards she said she liked it and it was fun. Go figure.

After that we went to see Finding Nemo the musical. Very good show. I would definitely recommend it. Its kinda long (40 min) but even Boston was entertained the entire time. After the show we went to eat at Yak & Yeti's. It was a different restaurant but the food was some of the best we had on the trip.

We used our FPs for the Safari after lunch. When Jorge and I did this ride several years ago I didn't think it was that great. But this time around I loved it. We saw tons of animals up close and the driver was very entertaining.

The ride was incredibly bumpy but Boston wasn't feeling well and fell asleep.

Jorge gave LOTS of shoulder rides on this trip!

Ava & Stella love the Jungle Book and were excited to see King Louie and Ballou.

Jorge & I went and used our FPs for Expedition Everest while Judy took the kids for some ice cream and cokes. It was an awesome new ride. The kids were glad to get to sit for a while and see the giant tree (behind Ava in this pic).

When we left AK we went swimming at the resorts pool. It was really neat with a lazy river, and other stuff. We only swam this one time...next time I'll remember to allow more time for this.

Well, what is vacation w/out a trip to the doctor? Boston had had a bad cough that was getting worse every day. So this night we finally took him to a doctor. They said he had croup. Its a virus so you just gotta let it run its course.

Day 6

Day 6 was by far the worst day of the vacation. We arrived at Hollywood Studios and it was FREEZING. The girls had on dresses and were not happy.

It was also ESPN the Weekend at HS so there was a lot going on there.

Jorge liked watching the broadcast--they talked about OU basketball a good chunk of the time we watched.

As you see, the pictures end here for me. Boston was feeling really sick and coughing up a storm and I was very frustrated at that and the cold. So I took Boston and went back to the condo while Jorge and Judy kept the girls at HS. Boston slept almost the entire day! I was really bummed about missing the day at the park but he was feeling a lot better the next day. Phew!

Disney World Days 3 & 4

2009-03-15T20:59:00.008-05:00

Day 3
Well day 3 started at Epcot and I must say that I did not do a very good job taking pictures that day. We rode Soarin' (awesome!) and Test Track and some other stuff then headed over to the World Showcase after lunch. We were so fortunate to run into Mary Poppins just as she was coming out. Ava & Stella just love Mary Poppins so they were very excited.

All of the face characters always stay in character, accents and all. She was great.

The characters come out intermittently throughout the day at various locations and as we walked around the circle we seemed to just miss them by a minute. As soon as we would walk up to get in line they would cut us off and say they were going to a break and be back in 5-15 minutes. Well at this point in the afternoon all 3 kids were quite tired and cranky so we just passed up on waiting for Belle & the Beast, Dopey & Snow White, and there was one other that I can't remember.

Fortunately we got to see one more before rest time. The girls have only seen Mulan once or twice but were still very excited to see her. Mushu the dragon left right as we got there (again!).

Sleepy guy was was ready to go home and take a nap!

That evening we went back to MK to see the SpectroMagic Parade and watch the wishes fireworks. Like I mentioned before, they CMs organize all sorts of games for the kids to play while the parents save spots for the parade. Here they are playing Duck, Duck, Donald (get it?). It was very funny to watch. Ava of course knows how to play and Stella usually does but she was a little distracted that night. When she got picked (by Ava) to do the chasing she just sat there. All the kids were cheering for her to get up but she just sat there and smiled at them. Since it was Ava who didn't get chased, she went and told on Stella to the lady running the show. Like I said, it was pretty funny to watch.

Give Ava 2 minutes with someone and she acts like they are best friends. It happened several times on this trip. Here she is sitting next to a lady (yellow hat) who had better seats for the parade than we did. She asked Ava if she wanted to sit by her and of course Ava said yes. She sat there the whole time and chatted like they were best buds.

For those who don't know, this parade is a beautiful nighttime parade with thousands of lights on all the floats and characters. It is really something to be seen.

The lights don't show up well in pictures but of course Stella is waving to everyone again.

After Spectro, we hightailed it to a different spot to watch the Wishes fireworks. The kids were so excited! OK, so I was excited too! Can you see the castle behind Stella?

Again my kids made some friends. These people were from Vermont and their kids and ours sat on blankets together and talked and played games while we waited for the show to start.

I didn't get any pics of the fireworks but they were AWESOME!!! A major highlight of the trip.

Day 4

We got to the MK for rope drop and the opening train parade/show. Again they are always prepared w/ something. Ava is actually starting to get the hang of the hula hoop. She can go for a few seconds before dropping it.

The kids were wearing outfits my mom made for the trip. Aren't they adorable? Again, I bet 15 people asked me if they were twins! And Boston looked very cute too!

The opening of MK! See the streamers shooting out in the air? Ava was so funny about getting those. As soon as she saw them she scampered off like a little mouse to get as many as possible. What is really funny is that 3 days after we were home she was STILL playing with these shriveled little pieces of streamer. I finally threw them away when she was sleeping. Silly girl.

First ride, Astro Orbiter. Sort of cold for Boston but we did all ride it!

In line for Monsters Inc. Laugh floor. Jorge and I thought this show was hilarious! We went back a few days later. It was funny for Ava and Stella but also for adults. Jorge and I still get pretty tickled when we talk about it!

Ok, so Boston didn't get the jokes, but he did like watching the monsters!

Minnie's house was a big hit for the girls. I think they would have stayed for an hour if we had let them. Next we rode a little kid's roller coaster, Goofy's Barnstormer. Ava was more "scared" on that than any of the grown up rides she rode! Stella loved loved it...I think she is going to be the thrill seeker!

You can't do Disney World with out riding the famous Teacups!

I thought the girls might not like it but boy was I wrong! Jorge had them spinning CRAZY fast but they were just laughing and smiling and saying "go faster"!

Lunch was the real plan for the day. We had lunch at the castle...Cinderella's Royal Table. First things first, you go in and meet Cinderella! She was so sweet to the girls.

You go upstairs in the castle where there is an eating area that is actually fairly small. There are pretty windows looking out over the park and you really feel like you are in a castle. They give the boys swords and the girls magic wands. Then they all get a magic "wishing star". Here's Boston testing out the sword.

This is not a buffet, you choose between 5 meals. They also bring out a really neat appetizer tray and dessert at the end. And like Chef Mickey's the characters come to your table while you are eating. Which is both exciting and hectic! All of the characters visit with the kids and adults in character and are extremely good at it! First up: Snow White.

Then Princess Jasmine.

Then Princess Aurora (aka Sleeping Beauty)...Ava is a huge fan!

Belle was next. I think the girls were wishing she was wearing her pretty gold dress, but this was okay.

At the end of the meal they ask everyone to hold up their magic wands/swords and wishing stars and close their eyes and concentrate on a wish. Then when they open their eyes they flash the lights and stuff. Stella was really concentrating hard on her wish!

Ava was just excited to have the wand.

We rode some more rides and then went home to rest. That evening we went to downtown Disney to get some souvenirs. One of the stops was a Lego store. That dragon in the water is made out of actual legos!

We ended up getting shirts and some other stuff instead but I had to get a pic of Boston in some Mickey ears.

What a day that was!!

Disney World Day 2

2009-03-12T23:37:00.006-05:00

Day 2 of Disney was especially fun b/c for breakfast we got to go to Chef Mickey's with our friends the Whombles! Ginny's mom Kathy made all the kids matching outfits, the older girls had Daisy Duck dresses, the younger girls had Minnie Mouse dresses, and the boys had Mickey Mouse shirts. The girls even had matching bows. They all looked soooo adorable!

Ava and Stella have the shirts on under their dresses. Stella still had her BBB hair from the day before.

Ok, so he doesn't look thrilled to be here but he really did have a good time.

The kids all played while we waited for our table. Attikus is in the foreground.

Jorge and I were laughing at how crazy it was with 6 kids running/crawling around.

Every 1/2 hour or so they play a song and everyone waves their napkins in the air. Here are the girls joining in.

Some of the characters we got to see at Chef Mickey's: Goofy,

Minnie,

Mickey,

Mickey came over to give Boston a kiss,

then Donald Duck,

and Pluto.

Because all 6 kids have birthdays very close together and about this time, we celebrated all of their birthdays! They brought out cupcakes to all the birthday kids and they got to wear a special button. All day long CMs would say "Happy Birthday, Boston!, Ava, Stella, etc.

Song time again!

As fun as it was, it was actually very hectic and kinda hard to eat. Between getting food for all the kids plus ourselves, feeding the babies their food, then trying to run back when you realized Mickey was coming to our table next, then chasing the younger girls around, and on and on, you barely have a chance to appreciate the great food! Towards the end Ginny and I made it to the actual eating.

Boston loved his cupcake.

After the meal we went back to the condo to rest before heading to Hollywood Studios for the afternoon/evening. We got to see Leo from Little Einsteins.

Then while we waited for Playhouse Disney to open up we saw Handy Manny.

Ava and Stella really really enjoyed the PHD show. It was very cute!

Next we saw the Little Mermaid Show and ate dinner before going to Fantasmic! It was a loooong wait in a huuuuuge crowd. Not my best plan of the trip. And although the kids enjoyed it, they thought it was a little on the scary side. Still, it was a neat way to end the day.

More tomorrow!

Disney World Day 1

2009-03-11T21:54:00.010-05:00

(Side note: These are only my own pics. We have a lot of really cute pics w/ photopass that I will add later.)

Ok, so our first day was really a travel day. Here we are still in OKC at the airport. We arrived in Orlando late that night and went straight to bed. The kids did pretty good on the planes. Judy had the girls and Jorge and I had Boston.

Day 2 was our first day at Disney World. If you want to ride Dumbo-do it ASAP! We got there at rope drop and got to Dumbo pretty fast. There was only a 5 minute wait. Later in the day it gets to be a 2 hr wait! Crazy! Here is Jorge & Stella.

My girls are C-R-A-Z-Y about Ariel. She was by far their favorite character. Again, thanks to TourGuideMike.com we knew when to get there for a minimal wait and got right in to see her. Stella was fascinated with her seashell bra and almost every picture we have she is either grabbing it or staring at it. It was so funny!

Per Daddy's request this was our 1 and only ride on Its a Small World.

An unplanned stop provided our longest wait of the entire vacation! We waited over an hour to see these 3 guys! But it was also one of the best interactions. Ava and Tigger danced for a few minutes (we got it on film!) and it was so cute! She loved to hug all of the characters. Stella was a little unsure at first but after this stop the rest of the trip she loved it. Boston fell asleep as we waited in line.

'Story time with Belle' was very cute. Its a small setting that most people seem not to know about but it was wonderful.

There was music playing over speakers around the castle and Ava loved to dance to it. She stayed for a long time dancing until we finally had to pull her away.

We stumbled upon the Fairy Godmother behind the castle and hardly anyone was there! Stella had a meltdown (due to 2 days of no nap-yikes!) but Ava liked it.

The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique was an absolutely fantastic experience. Its inside the castle and a "Godmother-in-Training" fixes the girls hair in 1 of 3 styles and then sprinkles a generous amount of "pixie dust" in their hair. Add makeup and nail polish and we are good to go. Ava chose the "princess" style. Shocker, I know. And Stella chose the "Diva" style. Another shocker, lol.

They make a big deal about turning them around to the mirror when they are done. Here she is calling over a photographer.

The finished look.

Stella getting her nails done.

Stella was so excited to have 'curly hair'.

Here they are all finished. The best part about the whole thing is that for the rest of the day other people and especially the workers (aka cast members) make a big fuss over them where ever we go. Everyone ooohs and aaahs and calls them princess and even bow. Ava was eating it up! She would curtsy to people and say, "your majesty". It was so precious!! The worst part about it was getting it out!

Boston was a good sport through all this girly stuff. He just sat and watched. Judy and Jorge filmed the whole thing.

After BBB, we watched the show in front of the castle. The crowds were so light and we had a great spot to watch.

After the show we stopped for some ice cream.

The girls loved everything, not just the rides and characters and shows. They also liked watching the street performers.

There is a place at MK where you can go and take pictures after BBB. There is a photopass guy there so I only took a few on my own camera but this gives you a taste.

While we were waiting on the parade to start, Jorge, Judy and I saved our spots while the girls played games led by the CMs in the street. Here they are leading in the DW version of red light, green light.

Waiting on the parade. The parade was awesome!!! It had all the characters and princesses. They all do a great job of making eye contact and making you/your kids feel like they are singling you out.

Judy was so good about videotaping everything. I love to take pics but if she or Jorge wasn't filming it wouldn't get done!

I'm sure Ava & Stella's arms were tired after the parades because they waved throughout almost the entire thing.

Also, you know those old videos of the Beatles getting off a plane and the fans screaming and reaching out their arms?.... ok, cue Stella. She went berserko over some of the characters and was screaming and acting like that. ARIELLLLLL!!! It was hysterical!

We went back to the condo to rest for a few hours after the parade. That evening we met up with our good friends the Whombles! Ginny & her parents and kids were there and we met up at Epcot to watch Illuminations together. We also did Turtle Talk w/ Crush (adorable!) and rode the Nemo ride.

Somehow Jorge ended up leading the way to Nemo with Stella and Araeyah. If you know these 2 girls and you know Jorge then you see the humor in this! lol.

The girls in a shark head. They thought it was quite funny.

Me and my kiddos.

Ginny is one of my closest friends and also one of the sweetest ladies I know. I'm so glad our families were down at the same time! Here she is holding Ava with during Illuminations after some rude person came & stood right in front of Ava. How did Ginny end up with the biggest kid on her shoulders?

Surprisingly Boston really loved the fireworks. The noise didn't bother him at all and he was kicking and smiling through the whole thing.

Jorge with Stella on his shoulders. Stella really loved the fireworks but did not like the noise. She didn't ever say anything about it but almost every time I looked she had her fingers in her ears.

It was a perfect ending to the first day!

Home Sweet Home!

2009-03-06T13:05:00.002-06:00

We are back from Disney World but I am still very tired. As soon as I get the house back in order and some decent sleep I will post all about it. Sorry I have missed everyone's blogs for awhile...I'll be back soon!

He can crawl!

2009-02-12T22:49:00.003-06:00

CORRECTION: It should read "geneologies" not "chronologies". I think I was combining geneologies and Chronicles (where they are located). Also I am a dork.

What a day! I have been frantic today cleaning, cooking, shopping...you name it! My dad came over to watch the kids so I could go to our mom's night out at a friend's house. It was so much fun (as usual!). The group is getting so big I can't even visit with everyone! God has really blessed me with WONDERFUL friends. Rich or poor matters very little unless you have love of family and friends. I laughed so much tonight I got one of those laughing headaches. What a way to go...

My dad was very brave tonight taking on all 3 kids and he did great. They were bouncing off the walls when I left (Stella was saying/screaming "Poppy, watch me eat this grape!!"). Clearly they are attention starved. When I got home at 10:15 they were still up (aaaaugh!) but were sooo happy laying on a pallet listening to Poppy tell them a story. Poppy and Grandma Judy have a hard time getting the kids to bed but its hard to be mad when the girls are having such a good time! That's what grandparents are for, right? Ava and Stella love their grandparents so much and I'm so thankful all of them are involved in their lives.

Oh, and some big news with Boston....he is crawling!!! Yep, at 11 months the boy decides its time. When I picked him up from church last night Carla (who was watching him in the nursery) said he had crawled. I didn't believe her so she put him down and off he went. How crazy is that!? He has been cruising furniture for a while, will walk with a walker or just holding your finger, heck, he will even stand alone for a long time. But, no, he didn't want to crawl until now! What a stinker! He is sooo cute watching him move around.

For those of you who do not watch the news or live in OK, we had a really bad storm the other night. Jorge was working in Yukon that night and they got grapefruit sized hail. It shattered the back windshield on his car and left some major dents as well. Also water got in the car from the busted window. And we got a roof leak. Good times, good times. I hope we can get it fixed before we leave for Disney (1 1/2 weeks away!!!).

Last thing for tonight...Jorge and I are reading the Bible through chronologically this year and have been really enjoying it. We read it aloud and I was cracking up reading through the chronologies. When you read to yourself you just skim over the names but reading them out loud was so funny. At one point I was practically crying I was laughing so hard. Maybe its just me being a weirdo but I found it quite funny! However, it has been a while since I have read straight through Exodus (like never) and there is some really weird stuff in there. Why was God so specific in how Aaron's robe was made, why does He give rules on how to treat your wives (as in plural)??? I think I'm going to need to do some extra research for this!

Boston's 1st Haircut!

2009-02-07T22:21:00.003-06:00

Last week my little brothers came over for dinner. They are both good sports to use them as guinea pigs for new recipes! They live together in an condo in Norman (they are both at OU right now) and I think they get sick of frozen pizzas all the time! Here is Noah with Boston (I think Boston looks a lot like Noah).

Here is Dylan and Ava. The girls were going crazy they were so excited to see them!

Last weekend was my friend Vicki's little girls birthday. It was a "pink" party. Here are my 2 girls with her 2 girls. Ava was very excited about her "party hair" and glitter make-up. Ava just loves Samantha. She doesn't get to see her as much since our friends go to a different church now, but she talks about her constantly!!

Then last week was Ava's 2nd open practice at her dance class. She did so great! I just love it when she would look over and wave at me during the practice. It reminds me of myself. Of course I was in junior high b-ball and still waving at my dad in the stands. Maybe its not so cute then. lol. Let's just say I was not concerned with being "cool". :-P

Ava is second from the left.

Tuesday we went to have lunch with Guyla and her boy Caleb. Caleb is so polite and quiet. I'm always reminded how loud my family is when I am around other people who are "normal"--ha! They had fun playing while Guyla and I talked some Disney talk. This other girl in the picture is a girl Ava knows from church.

The other story that day was that on my way to meet Guyla I got pulled over for speeding! I wasn't going much over (as in, it won't affect insurance or go on my record even) but I did get a ticket. As the policeman is walking to the car Ava asks me if she is going to jail. Then if I am going to jail. I tell her no, I'm just getting a ticket. So when he comes back to the car a second time Ava wants to say hi to him. So he pops his head in and visits with the girls for a few minutes. They show him their animals/babies they had with them and talked about Boston. I'm glad they found the visit so enjoyable...I certainly did not enjoy my $49 donation to the City of Moore!

I had been debating over getting Boston's 1st haircut at DW or before we left. Well it was getting pretty shaggy so we got it cut yesterday. Here he is pre-cut.

He was pretty good for the most of the haircut. This is about half way through and he is still doing okay.

Things took a turn for the worse when she got out the clippers. We ended up having to hold him down.

Then she spiked up his hair really cute. Its sort of hard to see in pictures because he has such fine hair but you get the idea.

After the haircut we went to the zoo. In keeping with tradition (and the demands of the girls) we stop at every bronze statue for a picture. I think they enjoy this more than the animals!

Jorge and Ava. They love riding on his shoulders.

Today was party central. Ava got invited to a princess party for a friend at church. There was even the "real" Belle there to sing, put on make up, etc. I only stayed for a while because we had another party. Our friends the Voglers youngest was turning 1. So I took Stella and Boston, as well as Ginny's little girl Araeyah to Benjamin's party. (Ginny stayed with Ava and Ellarie.) It was such a cute safari party. "Bezer" is such a smiley little boy. I left my camera with Ginny so I didn't get any pics from the Voglers party but here are a few pics of the princesses. Ava is Sleeping Beauty, aka pink dress, in the middle with her "party hair" again.

Ready for this ice to melt!

2009-01-28T22:29:00.005-06:00

This was day 3 of being trapped in the house due to the ice and I was getting a little stir crazy. We have had fun but I needed to get out. So today I took the kids to meet up with Cheryl and her boys at McDs. When we got there, 2 of our other friends were there w/ their kids so we all sat together. The kids played for 2 hours and had a blast. I was so bummed to see that school was canceled again tomorrow. Ava and Stella are ready to go see their friends!

Ava keeps telling me to look how tall she is and see how much she is growing. I can't believe she will be five in March. I'm glad she is old enough for games now because we have had a blast playing games these past few days.

Before the weather hit we had a playgroup at Ginny's house. Here are the 3 littlest boys of the group.

Last week Jorge and I went to Hideaway with our friends Kevin & Lisi. We always get the Paradise Pie (which is awesome!). This was a rare day for both of the guys to be available for lunch on a weekday so it was a special treat.

Last Saturday before the ice Ava and Stella were invited to Ava's friend Carson's birthday party at the Little Gym. They had so much fun and Stella is old enough now to follow directions and not be a maniac. lol. Ava was always so sweet to her to guide her if she started to get distracted. Ava really likes playing with Carson. She told me and Jorge a while back that she was going to marry him. Jorge asked her what if Carson didn't want to marry her? (Nice, I know!) And Ava answered, "Well, he's my friend so why wouldn't he want to marry me?" Well said. So Erin, Ava has officially called dibs.

These are the super cute hats, coats and leg warmers my mom made for the girls. I know many of you have heard this story but it is too cute not to post. If you can't tell, they are fur coats. My mom has a very very large German Shepard named Hoss. When Ava opened her gift she said, "Um, where is Hoss? And what is this fur?" It was so funny! She was a little concerned that my mom had skinned Hoss to make her coat! ok, ok, I will stop telling that story now. But I save these blogs for my personal reference and I just had to document that!

Last Sunday the girls were not the only stylin' ones; Boston was very handsome, too. Here he is playing with some toys. And as a side note, I am giving up on getting him to crawl. He just rolls to get where he needs to go and that is fine with me. He has been standing alone more and more and today he stood for a long time. He will also walk behind a push toy. I think he is just going to skip the crawling thing. What a stinker! Isn't he precious, though!

Jorge took the girls out in the yard to play in the snow. But when he got out there he realized that it looked all soft and snow-ey, but it was actually just ice--sleety frozen ice. Not exactly snowman making stuff. Stella was bundled up in some ski wear so she looks very large here! lol.

But suprisingly Ava was the one who wanted to stay outside all day. Go figure. (If you know her then you know why I say that!)

Please be in prayer for Jorge & me, as well as my family. Satan is in attack mode.

Phillipians 4:6-8

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Girls Night & random political thoughts

2009-01-23T10:39:00.003-06:00

Last night I had such a fun time getting together with some girls that I used to work with. We all started at KPMG at roughly the same time but now there is only 1 of the 7 still working there. Last night only 4 of us could meet and we went to Sarah's house for dinner and some talking. I was so bummed when I got in the car to leave b/c I realized that I had forgotten to take a single picture! Next time I will really try to remember. Last night was the first time I got to see Sarah's daughter, Claire. She was soo precious! She just turned one and is walking all over the place. Stephanie is expecting child #2 and Melanie is "engaged". Why the quotes, you ask? Because they have set a date and are taking a premarital class at their church but the groom-to-be has forgotten one small detail...the ring! I think it is in the works though. Ring or not, they are engaged as far as I am concerned! I am so excited for both of them!

And here are some other thoughts I have been having....

#1 Why do we have separate laws declaring "hate crimes" to be illegal? For example, isn't it ALREADY against the law to kill someone? Is it somehow less bad if you kill for, say, money or jealousy, or anger? I say no. Also, aren't ALL crimes "hate" crimes? Are any crimes done in love??

#2 Our new president and congress seem to be ready to pass another $800+ Billion stimulus package, part of which would be in the form of tax cuts. However, some of them aren't sure that would work because--get this--they are "afraid" that instead of spending the money to stimulate the economy, people would choose to pay off debt or save it. What?! Am I the only one who thinks these people are crazy?! Something tells me that they are NOT Dave Ramsey fans! lol. Let me see, if I have debt and/or no savings and I get a chunk of cash which would be better for me? Pay off debt, nope. Save money, nope. Its much better to spend more money! Because if I am in debt then clearly what I need to be doing is spending more money! Oh, wait, that's right! Our federal government is the best example of trying to spend their way out of debt. Way to set a good example, guys.

2009-01-14T22:13:00.004-06:00

Ok, so this post is really about nothing in particular, just this and that. I seem to be the worst at playing catch up! I didn't realize how long it had been since I had posted. Christmas was a blur, then we were sick, then it was back to school and before you know it here we are.

I seem to always be in a blur though, because New Years Eve day my friend Ginny asked me what I had going on for the night and I had no idea what she was talking about! Jorge had to work so I ended up taking the kids over to Ginny's parents house for a party. Ginny's mom Cathy is always great to have us over, even though the kids demolish her play room (but they have fun!). Our friends Jeremy and Cheryl went with their kids too. Because Boston was such a grump I didn't think we would stay long but I was way wrong! He fell asleep and we stayed till after midnight playing games and eating and having a good ole time!

After that we finally all got healthy so Jorge and I were able to go out for our anniversary. Jeremy & Cheryl's anniversary is really close to ours so we went out the 4 of us to the new theater nearby. They have balcony seating that is really neat. You sit in gigantic chairs with seat warmers and have waiters and a full menu during the movie. Anyways we had a blast getting to go out with them.

Since then we have been enjoying some relaxing time. The kids have been playing outside a lot. Ava likes to climb on her house in the back yard. Stella can't do it though so it creates a bit of an issue.

Jorge took Stella out to ride her new bike. She doesn't really seem to be getting the hang of it yet so we'll have to keep working on it. Ava loves to ride and she is pretty good. One of these days I guess we should take the training wheels off and start really teaching her to ride.

Boston is really loving table food--stew in particular! Judy fed him some of her stew the other day and he ate a ton of it! He is such a gentleman though--always eating with his mouth closed. However his kicking the table when he wants more probably cancels out the good chewing manners!

Ava has a little friend at school that she has been friends with for 3 years now. She is really sweet and her and Ava have always played so well together. Her birthday party was this week at Chuck E Cheese and she and Ava stuck together the whole time. It was so fun to watch--she is growing up so fast! They got in one funny discussion about whether the mechanical mouse on stage was a robot or not. Quite funny!

one more thing: I have my curious george cake up on my other blog.

one last thing, really: i am officially obsessed with planning this disney trip. i can't help it. jorge says i need help!

Brooklyn's Cakes

2009-01-03T16:12:00.004-06:00

When Ava turned one I ordered her a cake from Wal-Mart and was very disappointed in how it turned out. I decided that I could do better so I fixed it and from then on I have sort of taught myself how to make cakes. Usually I just try to copy a napkin or something but they usually turn out ok. Anyway, I have started a blog that I'll post my cakes on from now on. It is on my blog list on this page called Brooklyn's Cakes (http://cakesbybrooklyn.blogspot.com/). I am doing a two layer Curious George cake this week for a friend's little girl so I'll post it soon. Here is a sample one of my cakes for a friend's baby shower in 2007:

Happy Anniversary, Jorge!

2008-12-30T22:23:00.004-06:00

OK, I know that this is the 3rd post in 1 day but I had to break them up or it would have been a mile long. Check out the previous 2 posts if you want to catch up. Its mostly pics.

Anywho, I wanted to say I LOVE YOU to my husband. If he read my blog it would be more meaningful but since he doesn't then I will just tell him when he gets home from work in an hour. Today we have been married 8 years! I don't have any wedding pics on this computer but here is a pic of him the night he proposed to me. I can't find the whole uncropped pic of both of us be he sure is a hottie!

8 years ago when we got married I came down with a cold the day before our wedding. So it is only fitting that I am sick now! This last week has been kinda rough because Stella, Boston and I have been pretty sick. I've coughed so long and hard that my ab muscles are sore! The kids are all on steroids and albuterol and breathing treatments. I'm exhausted just thinking about it! But even though life is crazy sometimes, I am always thankful for the gift God has given me in Jorge. He isn't perfect but neither am I and he loves me anyway. I can't wait for me to get better so we can go out and celebrate!

Here is a pic of us 2 years ago in Tulsa at the Incredible Pizza Kitchen.

Merry Christmas. Too tired for words...pics say it all

2008-12-30T21:48:00.007-06:00

Pre-Christmas play date! Ginny brought her girls over to play a few days before all the madness began and they had a great time. Before we knew it they were all wearing Ava's PJs and asking to have a sleepover. Ginny and I decided that we would soon let them do that. Yipee!

Christmas Eve we go to my Dad & Janice's house to exchange gifts and then to Janice's mom's house for her family's Christmas. I took 116 pictures from our first Christmas party here until our last one at the Gortons so I chose only a few.

I thought this was a good one of my Dad and Boston.

Stella loved her new umbrella.

Boston was quite the mama's boy this holiday season since he wasn't feeling too good.

Dylan and Boston (sporting his new OU hat).

Jorge and I stayed up late preparing for Christmas morning.

Boston getting into his stocking. (No really, I think he would literally fit INTO his stocking! lol)

Ava had asked Santa for a toy mermaid and he delivered. Thanks Santa! Surprisingly she has enjoyed her new Leapster much more. I have to practically pry her away from it so we have had to set a limit of 30 minutes a day. I--I mean, Santa--got it for her to make the trip to Disney World easier for Mom. Mission accomplished.

Stella loved her new bike but I gotta say her favorite present was the 5.99 toy broom!

Jorge got to enjoy Christmas morning with us but then he had to go to work so we took him some goodies before heading off to my Mimi's. Almost all of the pics I took there were crazy because there is like 40 of us and it is just madness. Anyway, I did get this pic of Boston just finishing up a cupcake (cake only). He went bonkers for it and was squealing and kicking the table. After that he wouldn't eat anything else!

Day 3 of the Christmas celebrations was at my Mom's house. We always do a breakfast brunch. She makes quite the spread and it was awesome. Here is Jorge with a full tummy.

My mom is a seamstress and made the girls these absolutely amazing cute fur coats with hats and leg warmers. This is not the best pic so I'll get a better one later. They are adorable!

The girls chillin'.

Day 4 of Christmas was at the Gorton's. Jorge's brother from NC flies in w/ his family every year so it is fun for all of the brothers to be together again. Jorge was the big winner of the best gift this year. His mom got him some Hulk hands that make noises when you punch people. Technically Ava picked them out when they were shopping together, telling her grandma that "Daddy always plays with these when we go shopping!" True. Sad, but true. He was so excited and he and Ava both have been using them a lot. And mostly on me and Stella.

A Gorton Christmas always involves 2 things. Playing cards:

And singing songs around the piano.

Merry Christmas!!!!

4 fun things

2008-12-30T21:27:00.004-06:00

Judy got Ava and I tickets to see the OKC ballet performance of The Nutcracker. I was a little concerned Ava would get bored or fidgety since it was 2 hours long. Boy was I wrong! She absolutely LOVED it! She was mesmerized and afterward even could tell me most of the story.

Afterwards Braum's sponsored a milk and cookies treat for the kids and you could meet some of the ballerinas. This young lady wasn't one of the main ones but she did have a duet. Ava was sooo excited to meet her!

That evening Jorge and I went (withOUT kids) to meet my brothers and sister in law for dinner. My brothers and I have a tradition of going out to eat every year for Christmas instead of exchanging gifts. We don't bring any kids and enjoy getting to hang out with each other and visit. This year we went to Shiki, which is one of those hibachi grill places. It was a lot of fun. We stayed so long that eventually the restaurant shut off the music and turned the lights fully on (it was previously dimmed) to get us to leave! I am taking the pic but here is the rest of the group.

The next day was Boston's baby dedication at church. In the baptist church we do not believe in any spiritual event taking place for the. It is really more of just us as parents pledging to the church that we will raise our child to know and serve Christ. They in turn will pray for us. It is a special day for each of our children. (As you can see, Stella saw her Poppy and Grandma B in the congregation.)

My mom and dad and Jorge's parents came.

The last fun thing we got to do was go see the OKC Thunder play. It was awesome even though we lost. We had great seats and we also got to see Labron James play so that was fun. I wish I had remembered to take my camera!

Stella's solo, Ava's speech.

2008-12-19T21:04:00.009-06:00

Wednesday night at church was the children's choirs performance and Ava was very excited to sing on stage. She is on the front row third from the right in the stripped dress. I was trying to take pictures and video tape at the same time since Jorge had to work and I could just kick myself because the whole time I was recording the camera was actually on pause!! I am a doofus! I was so sad that I didn't get it on film. My dad did though so I'll get a copy from him later.

Then on Thursday morning the girls had their Christmas program at Ava's preschool/Stella's CDO. It was just PRECIOUS!!! Stella's class went first since they are the youngest. Her class sang 3 songs and she did so good. Then the teacher put her on stage by herself to sing a solo! She sang Jesus Loves Me by herself and it was just the sweetest thing you've ever seen! Her teachers just told me about it the day before so I didn't know if she would really do it.
Ava also had a special program because she got to say the welcome. She worked very hard to memorize it and say it slowly. Then she had another little speaking part. After that her group was joined by the 3 year olds and they sang like 8 or 9 songs. She really sang out and had a good time. I was so proud of her!
Here are the girls in fellowship hall before the program.

Here is Stella singing her solo. (She starts out with Jingle Bells for a few words before she remembers she is supposed to be singing Jesus Loves Me!) ps. you'll have to pause my music first.
Ava singing a song. I recorded her welcome speech only on the camcorder, not my camera so I couldn't download just that one piece. So instead I just did a clip of her singing.

Ava just finishing her smaller speaking part.

Ava singing.

My mother in law is the choir director at the church where the girls go to school and she played the piano for the program. She is on the right and the school director is on the left.

Me, my dad, Judy, and Jorge with Ava after the program.

Jorge and my dad with Stella after the program.

Julie (aka Mrs. Haskins) came to the program. She is so sweet to my kids! Thank you, Julie. Also Boston is in this pic.

Later that evening we met up with the Haskins and my cousin Courtney to make our annual trip to Chickasha for Jake's and Lights. (See previous post.) We had a great time eating and seeing the lights. This is the first year we have had to take two cars because of the car seat situation but it was still fun.
Here is Courtney with the kids.

And Brian and Julie with the kids.

And Jorge & I with them. At this point we haven't even left the parking lot!

The girls and Boston.

On the cool bridge. There were tons of ducks and geese in the water.

Bryan and Julie....awwwwww.

Me and Court. Love you, girl!

Julie spinning Ava under the giant lighted tree. Since she took a bad fall last year after spinning, I was a little concerned here but it all worked out. Safety first, Julie! lol

Jorge spinning Stella. She was so excited.

Boston was totally content during the walk. Not so much in the car though.

Julie and Courtney trying out the doubles spin.

THANKS FOR THE FUN NIGHT!!!

Christmas Tag

2008-12-19T20:22:00.004-06:00

Here's to you, Julie! I got tagged for a Christmas questionnaire so here goes...

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Both. I love egg nog (cut with just a little skim milk to not be so thick) with some nutmeg sprinkled on top and I like hot chocolate with lots of ready whip on top.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Santa has hired me (pro bono) to wrap all presents every year. What a deal. I leave some stocking stuffers unwrapped though--per Santa's request.

3. Colored lights on house/tree or white lights?
I prefer colored lights on everything. I do like the white lights, just not when every single house on the block has them.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Nope. It creates all sorts of awkwardness for the UPS guy. ;-)

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Sometime around Thanksgiving. Or as I like to call it, the Christmas warm-up party.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding desert)?
Holey Moley, where do I start. Green bean casserole, dressing with cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes with gravy. Also my Mom does a Christmas brunch and it is awesome. Pretty much an all inclusive breakfast buffet.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
Going to my Mimi & Papa's. The year it snowed really big.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
Around 3-6th grade, I think? My big brother Jordan woke me up around midnight and let me peek through the crack in his door that showed our dad and step mom getting everything set up. I was devastated. Thanks a lot, Jordan!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Nope. Jorge and I don't really do a lot of gifts for each other so we save it for Christmas morning.

10. How do you decorate your tree?
Until this Christmas we had about 7 ornaments on our tree. Pathetic, I know. But just this year alone the girls have made so many ornaments at school, church, etc that we now have quite a few. Not exactly Pottery Barn, but its got a lot of love!

11. Snow! Love it or dread it?
I love it! I love the cold, the ice, the snow, all of it. (Not a fan of driving on it though.)

12. Can you ice skate?
Yes. I'm no Nancy Kerrigan but I can keep dry!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
The year I got a "Real Baby" baby doll. Oh, and last year when Jorge got me Phantom of the Opera tickets. That was great.

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Remembering why we celebrate. The Word becoming flesh. The humility it took for God to take on human form for me. Some ways we keep that focus: Our church's Christmas Choir Program, reading the Christmas story to our kids and talking about it throughout the weeks leading up to it, and attending church on Christmas Sunday even if we miss out on family activities. But the biggest way is in our gift giving. We try very hard to not go overboard with our kids or our friends and family. Our kids get 3 gifts each. Period. We also set monetary limits and stick to them. How does it honor Christ to spend a month's salary on "stuff"? or to take out debt for this "stuff"??

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
I really like all of it so much. I love love love bread pudding. I also like pecan pie, chocolate delight, and Christmas cookies.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
So many.... Obviously going to my Mimi & Papa's, my mom always makes something everyone (she is an amazing seamstress), getting my mom's basket of homemade food goodies, and going to Chickasha. Jorge and I have gone every year since we've known each other with our friend Courtney. This year and last year Brian and Julie have gone with us too. For those who don't know, in Chickasha there is a really great restaurant called Jake's Ribs and then a wonderful lights thingy called the Festival of Light. Also my brothers and I all go out to eat with out any of our kids instead of exchanging gifts. Its great to visit with them.

17. What tops your Christmas tree?
An Angel. Not a real one, its just a decoration.

18. Which do you prefer-giving or receiving?
Love them both. I enjoy receiving when I know the person loved me enough to want to give me something, not because they feel obligated. I also enjoy giving because it is fun to see if people like what you got them. Its also a little fun to watch them squirm if they don't like it but try to pretend that they do! lol.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Truly I enjoy almost all Christmas songs. The silly kid songs are always fun but even more so this year now that the girls are singing along all the time. But I also like the traditional worship songs, Holy night, Silent night, Joy to the World. I do love to sing along with Wham! on "Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart". Yes, I know I'm a dork.

20. Candy canes-yum or yuck?
Not so much.

21. What do you want for Christmas?
So easy...some peace and quiet. But since that would take a mighty act of God, I'll settle for some hugs and kisses.

22. Do you attend an annual Christmas party?
Just our SS party and our family's parties. We don't usually go to Jorge's work ones.

23. Do you dress up on Christmas or wear PJs?
PJs in the morning but I put on some casual clothes for my Mimi's house.

24. Do you own a Santa hat?
No

25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with?
Some neighbors and some old friends from high school. What?! NO, this is a silly question. Like all normal humans I spend it with my family--my husband, children, parents, grandparents, siblings, in-laws, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

I tag Ginny and Robin.

My singing career

2008-12-14T22:39:00.002-06:00

This week confirms it. I could never go on tour as a professional singer. I know that both shocks and disappoints most of my readers, but its true. This weekend I performed 3 nights in a row with our church choir. This is not to mention the many, MANY hours and nights of rehearsals this week. My throat is dry and I am pooped, not to mention my poor kids who are exhausted from the late nights and hectic schedule this week.

That being said, I really had such a great week! I am not what most might call a "great" singer (heck, I'm not even really a "good" singer). But I do really like to sing and really enjoy worshiping through music. Our Christmas program was called "Have No Fear" and it was really awesome. Tonight was the final performance and as usual it was the best one.

I also got to go out to El Reno today to see my Dad and Janice and Noah. I also got to see my Mimi so that was fun. I was afraid I would get snowed/iced in this week so I wanted to get out there to see her just in case we did.

I also found out that for the orange bowl the entire team gets to go and also everyone gets to suit up! WAHOO for Dylan! He is not normally on the travel squad (in case you didn't know, there is only a small number the the NCAA allows to travel to and suit up for away games.) Anywho, I was very excited for him to get to go. I was NOT excited, however, to have to turn down Orange Bowl tickets!!! Since we are going to Disney World in Feb. we just didn't think it would be a good financial decision to go. Plus, Boston is still breast feeding so that makes ball games challenging even for home games, much less the national title game.

And speaking of college football....way to go, Sam Bradford!!! Heisman Trophy winner 2008!!

A belated thank you (and another Ava/Stella story)

2008-12-08T22:16:00.004-06:00

Well, here I am again trying to decide whether to catch up on blogging or just saying forget it and moving on. I'll be quick in my catching up.

The funeral for my Papa was really beautiful. It truly captured the spirit of the great man that he was--a simple man who loved God and his family and didn't need the material things of this world to be fulfilled. The graveside part was especially special because he had a military burial. It was sad but also neat to see the flag over his coffin and here Taps being played.

The day after his funeral we all got together again to celebrate Thanksgiving. Obviously it wasn't quite the same this year but our family is very close so of course we still had to get together. We laughed and cried and gave thanks and still managed to have a nice Thanksgiving. I was so wrapped up in the day that I didn't take a single picture there. Bummer! Thank you all for praying for me and my family. And a HUGE thank you also to those who sent cards, flowers, emails, and calls. And to John, Judy, & Julie for coming to the funeral and my Mom for watching the kids for us so we could go. I feel so loved and blessed. Thank you, God, for such precious friends and family!

Then next day when we had Thanksgiving with Jorge's family I took this cutie patootie shot of Boston.

No, he is not walking or even standing. I got him to balance for half a second to snap the shot and then he fell sideways on the couch giggling.

On a brighter note, I got to meet a new blogging friend, Guyla. (I don't know how to do those links in here??). Anyway, we got together for lunch with all the kids at, where else, McDonalds. I had such a great time getting to know her but I think I talked her ear off. I hope I didn't scare you off, Guyla!!!

Later that night we put the tree up. Since we only have like 5 ornaments and the girls hung them right next to each other, it went really fast!

Also last week was extra fun because I got to go to 2 really fun things, girls night and our SS Christmas party. We had movie and pajama's night with the girls. After the movie we talked and laughed so much that I went home with a completely happy heart! Then at our class party we watched the Sooners destroy Missouri for the Big 12 Championship game. I have 2 words for you...BOOMER SOONER! It was a lot of fun and now we get to cheer our guys on for the National Title. Yipee!!

But as much fun as watching that game was, I must say that it didn't come close to the OU/Texas Tech game a few weeks before. I have been going to and watching OU games my entire life and I must say that that game was the BEST game I've ever been to. The best part was when they started playing "Jump Around" and everyone went absolutely bonkers. Everyone in the whole place was jumping. It was the craziest thing I have ever seen at a game! Here is a little taste of it:

Oh, and I also have another funny story for today. This evening my cell phone broke and I had to go get another one at the mall. The girls were DYING to see Santa but I wanted to wait until Jorge was with me. So we compromised...I let them go talk to him and sit on his lap but we didn't take any pictures. So anyways they are talking to Santa and this one has a real beard. He asks Ava what she wants for Christmas and she says she wants a mermaid. Then he asks Stella and she says, "I want a real beard--just like yours!" It was sooo funny! He didn't know what to say and was trying not to laugh. He just said, "Well, that might look kind of silly on a little girl. Don't ya think?" She just looked at him and said, "No. I want a beard."

Good times, Good times.

Goodbye, Papa.

2008-11-23T20:48:00.002-06:00

Harold Floyd Hughey went to be with the Lord at 10:15 this morning. We celebrate his life and are blessed to have known and loved him for so many years.

Please pray for my Mimi. She has loved him her whole life and as hard as this is for us, it is 100x for her.

Why smoking is bad for you

2008-11-19T23:00:00.003-06:00

The following conversation took place while driving down the road the other day. The car next to us had four smokers who would occasionally tap the ashes from the cigarettes out the slightly cracked windows. I thought it would be a good opportunity to teach Ava about the dangers of smoking.

Ava: Look at those people in that car. That is bad what they are doing.

Me: Yes, it is. Smoking is really bad for your body and for those around the smoker. God wants us to keep our bodies healthy.

Ava: What? No, I mean they are sticking their fingers out the window and that is bad. They could accidentally roll up the window and break their hands.

Me: Um....what?

Ava: And then the aliens would have to come get them.

Me: ?...?...?...?...?

Ava: And then they would have to go to the hos-ti-pool to go see Daddy so he could help them.

Me: **Light bulb** You mean the ambulance would come get them!

Ava: That's what I said. Aliens.

Maybe I should save this "teaching opportunity" for another day.

Papa and more

2008-11-14T21:50:00.002-06:00

UPDATE on Papa:

Well, some bad news but also some good news. Yesterday I went up to visit Papa for a few hours and he seemed to look a little better and mentally is almost back to himself. But he had something wrong by his old surgery incision. A few hours after I left him I got a call from my dad that he was going to have an emergency surgery. They didn't expect him to make it out of surgery. But he did! He came out and is stable. However he is back in the CCU so a little bit of a backwards step but he is still with us. I am so thankful God gave me such wonderful grandparents who have always been such a rock and blessing to me. Even from when I was a little girl I always felt like they thought I was special and very loved. I'm sure all of my cousins feel that way because they are just that awesome!

After all of that emotional roller coaster of a day I decided to go ahead and go to our girls' night. This is several months now where we meet at Erin's house every 2nd Thursday and I must say that I have come to REALLY value these nights. This time we had a larger group than usual and we had such a sweet time together laughing and sharing stories. Some of these girls I know well and others I am still getting to know but they are all sisters in Christ so I love them. And I so appreciate them letting me cry and talk last night about my Papa.

Another thing this week that was so fun was on Wednesday. For lunch that day I had arranged for some girls from our Sunday school class to meet with our old teacher. (I mean former teacher--she's not old!) Her name is Toni (I think I've mentioned her before) and she came with her girls and we all went to Mazzio's buffet. Toni and her husband led our class for several years and have been such great teachers for us. God used them to show me so much about spiritual growth and maturity that over the past few years my eyes have begun to see just how much I didn't know that I don't know. And Jorge and I have looked so many times at their marriage and how they are raising their children and we are amazed. But they aren't just "good" people. They have a true hunger for the Truth of Christ that encourages really anyone who has a heart open to receive it. We had a great time getting caught back up and laughing. She even made all of us banana bread that was awesome.

And in keeping with my last few posts, I'll end with another downer. Last night after girls night (& after Vicki and I stayed up talking till 11:30) my throat was sooo sore. Then sure enough I woke up and could barely talk and it hurt to do anything. So today I was bummed b/c I wanted to go see Mimi and Papa but couldn't, wanted to play with the kids but couldn't and wanted to go to choir rehearsal and couldn't. But isn't it funny how God works because it enabled me to get to hang out w/ my little brother, Dylan and talk with him awhile. I can see God working in his life and I'm excited to see what the future holds for him.

Phew! I'm done.
Goodnight friends.

Psalm 139:7-10
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

All is good on the western front.

2008-11-11T21:31:00.002-06:00

UPDATE:

Yippee Yeah! I have a lazy baby! :-) The doctor said he is doing just fine. She said since he is sitting up so well and can hold himself standing at the couch (even just for a few seconds) that she is not worried at all. She said that he seems to be a very laid back and content baby (my thoughts exactly) so just enjoy this time of no mobility. No doubt I love this stage and I'm glad to have it prolonged. The sitting up and playing but not crawling is one of the easier stages to be in so if he's going to linger in a stage, I'm glad its this one! (Let's hope he doesn't linger in the potty training stage though!) Its just so strange to me because the girls were always very verbal and very mobile. Clearly, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! lol. Looks like Boston is a little more of his Daddy.

Boston & Papa

2008-11-10T22:45:00.004-06:00

Normally I do not get worried about my kids' development. By the 3rd kid, I realize that they all learn to walk & talk eventually. However I am a little concerned about Boston so I am taking him to the doctor tomorrow. He is almost 8 months old and doesn't show even the tiniest sign of wanting to crawl. That alone is certainly no big deal. But he won't even really hold his body up for more than a few seconds. He started rolling over around 4 months but after a few weeks he just stopped. He has not rolled over either way in at least 2 1/2 months now.

That being said, he is a VERY happy baby. He is content most of the time and he responds to social cues much better than the girls did at this age. He responds with laughs and smiles to just about anyone who smiles at him or shows him any attention. He laughs at peek-a-boo and anytime his sisters are acting silly. So while I'm not freaked out or anything, I just want to make sure that physically he doesn't have any problems. Hopefully he is just lazy! (Ok, there is a sentence I never thought I'd say about one of my kids!)

Even though I have my concerns, I am so blessed to have 3 happy and healthy kids. This has been a rough month for me with my Papa being so sick. He is out of CCU and at a "rehab" facility. It's similar to a nursing home and trains him to be able to go back home. He is still very sick and still having problems not being himself (i.e. not recognizing people, thinking he is a kid again, asking for his deceased siblings & cousins, not knowing where he is, etc.) but I believe he is on his way. The doctors say that it is only temporary (NOT Alzheimer's or dementia, PTL) and a result from being so sick and on so many pain meds.

It has been so hard on my dad and his siblings and my Mimi. But they love him and are happy to be able to be there for them. One of my aunts was trying to tell Mimi not to come up as much while he was acting strange because it can be really upsetting. Mimi said, "Hey, I'm the one who picked him and I'm not going anywhere!" I thought it was such a sweet thing to see her commitment to Papa...in sickness and in health....the way God intended. I know he will be with the Lord and probably someday soon. But thankfully, its not today!

For those of you who know this situation and have prayed for me and my family, thank you, thank you!

Well, this was an upper of a blog! I didn't mean to lay on the health issues, I'll try not to mention every cold that comes along this winter! ha!

Happy Halloween! (and some ballet, too!)

2008-11-04T21:34:00.008-06:00

Well, the Halloween festivities started the Saturday before and just kept going. After weeding through what seemed to be thousands of pictures (lol) I picked a few that had some family in them rather than just people dropping candy in their little bags. Ava was Dorothy, Stella was Cinderella (2 diff. costumes of Cinderella--thanks Vicki!), and Boston was an elephant.

Here are the kids w/ my dad in El Reno. That is where I grew up and they always have a thing Saturday morning where the downtown businesses pass out candy. The girls like it, plus my dad, step mom, and brothers get to see the kids in their costumes.

This is my 2 younger bros w/ the kids.

The next day we went to my in-laws church for their Fall Festival. It is also where the girls go to CDO and preschool so all of their teachers and friends were there. This is always crazy because we have to hurry and get back to our church in normal clothes in time for choir and Awana's. Here are the kids w/ Judy. (P.S. Jorge had to work these 2 days.)

John w/ Ava at the Festival.

Boston was the cutest little elephant ever! He was so mellow when he had the costume on...I think he felt restricted b/c he hardly even moved once it was on!

On Tuesday we went to the Zoo for the Haunt the Zoo. It was really fun and cute. I'd never been and didn't know what to expect. It was much better than I thought it would be. The girls loved it. Only one of the people scared Stella and she walked right up to him and said, "HEY, you're scarin' me!" So he took his mask off. I think he was Dilbert??

Jorge with the kids.

Me with the kids.

Boston finally getting tired.

They had so many little "props" set up to take pictures with and yes, we stopped at every one! Here are a few:

(Ava commented on the 'cute fish'--its Jaws)

Stella seemed pretty taken with the decorations.

Halloween day (or as I like to call it, the longest day ever). The girls wore their costumes to school. Ava eating breakfast in her skibbies. :-)

This is Stella's other Cinderella costume. She loved twirling in it especially after my mom made her a poofy skirt to go under it.

My Papa is in the CCU (he is not doing very well...prayers needed!). They let us go in w/ the kids to show their costumes and Papa was awake so that was nice. Here we are with my Mimi.

After the hospital we went to Jorge's work. They have this really cute thing for the employees, serving dinner and having activities for the kids.

Next we went to our own church's Fall Festival. By this point we are tired and sugar shocked.

No pictures for this but next we went around our own neighborhood to trick or treat. I was surprised at how the girls really enjoyed going door to door. Stella would ring the doorbell continuously until they answered! Oops.

The last 2 stops were at Julie's house and my in laws house. Julie had gotten the girls these little metal scarecrows with candy in them. They were so cute and the girls are still playing with them.

By the time we arrived at Judy's house the girls were bouncing off the walls from all the sugar. Sooooo, we dropped them off to stay the night and Jorge and I went home to a quiet house!! :-) yipee! (Thank goodness for grandparents--we were pooped!)

OK, so on a different note, on Monday nights Ava takes ballet but parents aren't allowed to watch so this week we finally got to watch their practice. It was absolutely adorable!

Here is Stella showing her own dance moves!

Ava did so well! Here she is doing an arabesque. Isn't she cute?

Practicing jumping over a pumpkin.

Stuff.

2008-10-30T10:36:00.008-05:00

Ava drew a picture last week of our family. You'll notice the "rainbow" looking "C's" coming off of each person. I asked her what that was and she said it was sound from us talking. Very smart kiddo. (Maybe a little weird!? ha ha)

I had an Uppercase Living party last week b/c I got two things earlier this month and really liked it. Here is what I got:

This is on the back of my minivan. Yes, I know it is dorky. But hey, you only get to do this once!

This is the other thing I got. I put it in our kitchen over the door that leads to the pantry and then the garage. I love it!

Ava had her first children's choir program at church last Wednesday. She is in the stripped shirt second from the right on the front row. She was sooo cute! She kept waving and was smiling so big. She also sang loud enough for me to hear her. She loved being on stage. I'll see if I can post some video later but its on my camcorder not my camera so I'll have to see how to do it.

We finally painted Stella's room and hung some pretty curtains. Jorge also put up a white chair rail to divide the colors if you can see it. It turned out so good but Stella didn't like it at first. She said she wanted green paint like Ava.

A few weeks ago (yes I know I'm late posting it.) the zoo had a family fun night. It was really a fun time. They had free carousal and train and tram rides, a dinner meal of a hot dog, chips, cookie and drink for only $2.50. They also had a free fin and feather show, free Krispy Kreme donuts, free "tattoo's" and lots of various crafts booths, also free.

Here we are at the fin and feather show (sea lions and birds).

Here are the girls showing off their sand art necklaces. The loved making them.

Here are the girls and Jorge posing for a picture.

Boston really enjoyed getting out. He loves being outside.

Stella loves the donuts!

A few nights ago Boston was in such a happy, laughing mood that I just had to take some videos. There are 2 of them below the picture.

Video #1.

Video #2.

Ava-isms

2008-10-20T22:19:00.003-05:00

3 Things Ava said this week:

(After reading the story of the fall of man.) Ava: "The serpent wasn't really a snake, so who was he?" Me: "It was Satan, the Devil." Ava: "So is Satan a robot?"

(While listening to a song that says "And Jesus grew in wisdom, and stature, & favor with God & men.") "Man, I wonder how Jesus grew in so many places!"

(While talking to Jorge.) Ava: "I can't wait to go to heaven and see God. I'm going to sit on His lap and give Him a hug and a kiss. Then I'm going to bite Him." Jorge: "What?! You can't bite God!" Ava: "But you bite me." Jorge: "I don't bite you, I nibble you." Ava: "OK, then I'll nibble on Him."

These were so cute! They reminded me of some other things she has said in the past year or so:

(While we were headed to the doctor's office.) "Me: Let's get in the car so we can get going. Ava: Are we going to the promised land?"

(While handing me a picture she had colored and rolled into a scroll.) "Here you go, Mom. It's a message from the Lord."

Some random stuff

2008-10-18T22:35:00.002-05:00

Ah, the roller coaster of life. Last weekend Jorge and I got to go out alone for the first time in what feels like ages. We went to the new Warren theater by our house and sat in the balcony. For those who don't know, the balcony seating costs extra but they are so big (practically Lazy boys-minus the footrest) and they have seat warmers (which is good b/c I always freeze in the movies) and you can order food/drinks. You push this little button on your armrest and a waiter comes out and takes your order. And the food is good...very similar to Chili's in menu selection. And there is a little table in front of your chairs. Jorge & I got there 40 minutes early to eat and enjoy some time alone before the movie started. It was such a fun evening. Our waiter looked like the bad guy from one of the shows we like to watch and we couldn't stop giggling when he would come by! Good times!

But then wouldn't you know the next day the high was over. We watched our Sooners in their failing efforts against our arch rival--Texas! It was hard to watch near the end and I'm still upset about our touchback being called on incomplete pass. Oh well, you can't win 'em all. Today was a much better outcome. Boomer Sooner, Baby!

I had a busy week this week. Jorge had to work 5 days this week :-( so I am a little worn out now. Ava and Stella have really been playing well together. For some reason they are both REALLY into books now. It is great and I love reading to them but its just strange that they both just sort of woke up one day and decided that they wanted to read more.

Oh, and Ava has informed me that she no longer wants to have 100 babies when she grows up. She now says she doesn't want ANY babies because, "Babies poop and spit up on you." So true, so true... Then today she asked me today if I had her before or after her daddy and I were married. I told her after. She asked me is it better to have babies before or after you get married. I told her after. I don't know if that is strange for a 4 yr old to ask but I panicked and just told her she would get spankings if she had a baby before she got married. That seemed to work for now. ;-)

She also got her report card for the 1st 9 weeks. Yep, they think she is a genius! Just kidding, but it was all good news. I didn't go to preschool as a child and never would have thought they have report cards! Ha! (FYI, I misspelled "genius" above and had to have spell check fix it for me....clearly I am not a "genious"! lol)

Stella is on the verge of being completely potty trained. She is now a full time panty wearer during the day and can stay dry during naps as well. She has had very few accidents but the really exciting part is that SHE is telling ME she needs to go instead of the other way around. So that is the good news. The only 'bad' news is that any time she goes "#2" she starts sniffing her nose in an exaggerated way and says loudly, "Hey, I smell my poop!" People have to beware of passing gas in her presence...she is very likely to say (also loudly), "Hey, I smell your poop!" What a little lady.

In keeping with the ladylike demeanor, she asked me yesterday if she could eat some popcorn. (Mind you it was popcorn that had fallen out of our neighbor's trash can and was in the street and had ants on it. She found it while we were outside playing.) I told her no and she asked why. I told her because its disgusting to eat food that came from a trash can and was on the ground covered in ants. If I had a nickel for every time I had to say that....I'd have a nickle.... Anyway, after I was grossed out, I thought to myself that at least she asked me politely and said please instead of just digging in. You have to find the positive I suppose! Never a dull day with Stella!

Boston is finally outgrowing his Mama boy phase. For a couple of months there he would insist on being with me and only me. My arms are glad to get a break! He is sitting up now and his happy disposition is shining through. He is such a joy!

My friend Julie C. invited me to fill in a spot w/ her Bunko group. It was a lot of fun and my dad came and stayed with the kids. Julie lives in my neighborhood so that was convenient. It didn't start until 8 pm so it was a late night. I came home after 11 to find my dad and the girls rolling around on the floor laughing and having a good ole time. It was so sweet to see them having such fun that I didn't mind my dad keeping them up over 4 hours past bedtime. (Yikes!)

Well, that is enough random thoughts for this evening. Here's to a great Sunday tomorrow!

Cat Woman

2008-10-06T21:43:00.002-05:00

As many of you know, Stella loves all animals big and small. Especially cats. Well Ava takes ballet on Mondays and there is always this orange cat out in front of the studio. Ava screams and runs inside while Stella is hugging and kissing it. (Fortunatly Stella listens to me when I tell her to leave the other skin-diseased black kitty alone

Anyway, because of the intensity of Stella's, um, 'affection' for the kitty, I am constantly reminding her to be gentle, don't squeeze the cat, let go of his tail, don't pick him up by the head, etc. Well, today was no different as she loved on the cat while I dropped Ava off. Forty-five minutes later when we returned to pick Ava up, Stella immediately ran to the cat, hugged it and said, "I missed you, kitty cat. You're my best friend!" It was so sweet. And so she continued to hug and pet him and on and on this went until finally poor little "Buddy" had had enough and bit her hand (with a little hiss to go w/ it!).

Stella was totally stunned. She jumped back and cried and held her hand. It didn't even leave a faint mark or anything so I think it was just a warning bite. I tried to tell her that Buddy didn't like being smothered and she needed to back off. I don't know if this makes me a bad mom, but I was just the teensiest bit glad that it had happened so she would learn her lesson. I knew that this little incident would probably help me out in the end because she would back off and it would be easier for me to get Ava w/out having to herd Stella into the van & away from the cat each week as well.

Clearly I underestimated Stella's love for all things furry. Within about 90 seconds she was back to the cat hugging and squeezing and saying, "Its OK Buddy, Its OK. You're my best friend." If it weren't so darn cute I might have been frustrated. I guess I will just have to resign myself to wiping cat hair off her sticky fingers each week and letting the lovefest continue

A Day At The Zoo

2008-09-25T11:22:00.007-05:00

Man, I am way behind on posting this but I took the kids to the zoo with my friend Ginny and her kids last Tuesday. A good time was had by all. However, I found out that Disney could be very interesting because the girls refused to walk! They kept fighting over the stroller. I only took the double and Boston has to be in one of the seats. I thought Ava and Stella both might want to walk since their friends are walking. Nope.

So yesterday we took them again and this time I didn't give them the option. I only took a single stroller, which Boston was in. Ava did great! She didn't complain and enjoyed walking. Stella was ok for about 1/2 of the day. After a while, she told me to make Boston walk because it was her turn! What a stinker

Here are pictures from both zoo trips:

The girls checking out the giant tortoises.

The boys chillin'.

The rhino was a hit.

Hey, Ginny! I had fun!

This latest addition to the OKC Zoo is really neat.

They were looking for grizzly bears. Also, there was an Elk there. On the most recent trip, Ava asked where the 'Elk-boy' was. So strange.

Pretty waterfall. Getting them to all look at the same time was quite challenging!

They enjoyed the animal statues even more than the actual animals! We had to stop at each and every one.

Boston did GREAT! He loves being outside so he was a happy camper the entire time.

1st group Photo Shoot

2008-09-25T11:18:00.005-05:00

Last week we took the kids to have pictures taken of the 3 of them. It was the first time and it was a little challenging. Ava kept doing her "fake" smile, Stella wouldn't smile at all--she wasn't fussing, she just kept staring blankly--and Boston was crying. We got a few good ones so I guess it all worked out. I was sweating by the end!

Also, Boston started sitting up last week! The day after his 6 month check up where his doctor said he should be doing it by now. He is much happier now that he can sit up and play instead of laying down all the time. My baby is growing up!

Mackenna's Birthday Party

2008-09-24T22:29:00.006-05:00

My oldest brother, Jordan, has a son and daughter. His daughter Mackenna turned 3 last weekend and had a huge party. At the end of the party this company came and brought 8 animals for the kids to see and hold. Stella L-O-V-E-D it! She was going bonkers for each and every animal that came out. She was hogging them and we had to literally pull the animals away from her so the others could see them. It was sooo cute. Every animal she was hugging, and kissing (gross!) and squeezing. And believe it or not, Ava even really enjoyed it. Between this and the pony I think she may be warming to animals. She only screamed once but generally had a great time. Mackenna was so cute with the animals too. The birthday girl gets to do some extra stuff with them.

Here is my nephew Cale with Stella. He is just the sweetest little boy you've ever been around. He is so sweet with the girls and isn't too cool to give his aunt a hug!

Cake first!

Here are 2 of my aunts and my Mimi and Papa.

Ava petting a baby crocodile. She also rode a giant tortoise.

The baby crocodile was Stella's favorite by far. We could hardly pry it away from her. She kept saying "He's my baby sister."

The parrot could "play dead".

Stella put the fox in a headlock during her hug.

The ferret was Stella's least favorite but she still held it. It stunk.

This is my oldest brother, Jordan.

Ava petting the ferret.

This lemur was toooo cute! The kids were singing "I like to move it, move it!" from Madagascar. Each kid had a piece of lettuce to feed it. Stella got hungry and ate hers before it came out but Ava passed hers along. Thanks Ava!

They weren't really supposed to feed the kangaroo but Stella found the sweet potatoes and insisted. Fortunately the trainer was great and didn't mind. Let's just say that she knew Stella's name in the first 5 minutes!

Cale and my 2 younger brothers, Dylan and Noah.

After the party. Mackenna is in the stripped dress. We had such a great day!

After the party I went with my Dad to the ER. He had been having chest pain for a few days but wouldn't go! Ultimately they said he had a minor heart attack but I think he is going to be okay. Praise God he was okay. I pray that he doesn't wait the next time he has chest pain and goes to the ER immediately.

The Great State Fair of....OOOOOOKLAHOMA!

2008-09-24T22:10:00.003-05:00

Jorge and I always look forward to the State Fair every September. We have gone every year since we have known each other. Yes, we enjoy the food. But we also like walking around and doing games and rides and looking at the booths. There was the fiasco of the rock climbing wall in 2000 but lets not go there.....I'll just say that my humiliation still lingers!

My friend Erin gave me this idea of "painting" with soapy water. I used it they day before we went to the fair and the girls loved it. Thanks, Erin! I love new ideas. Especially when they aren't messy!

OK, I know this looks bad but really, they wanted to! (We also told them that morning that we couldn't go to the fair until the kitchen was clean!)

For the record, NO, I did NOT photo shop this picture. Yes, that IS Ava actually touching an animal and not screaming. She really wanted to ride the ponies and the camels so we let her pick. Both of the girls loved it but I was shocked Ava really went through with it. Here is the proof.

Jorge had to leave after an hour so Judy came to help me let the girls ride rides. Here she is w/ Boston.

Stella was right at 36" which is the cutoff. So we got her a wristband and went to the 1st ride. They wouldn't let her ride! She was so disappointed. After that I just carried her in and we had no problems. She really enjoys the rides. Ava likes them too but Stella is much braver. To make matters worse (for Ava) they were on a little train ride when it 'derailed' and jerked to a stop. Ava smacked her head against the side and was crying and scared. Not helping, fair people!

Then later in the week I had a choir thing and Jorge had to work so my Dad came and watched the girls. When I came home at 10:00 pm they were still awake! Here they are being silly. They had a great time with their Poppy.

Recap of Great Wolf Lodge (warning--lots of pictures!)

2008-09-16T21:06:00.010-05:00

Well, it was a whirlwind mini vacation and then when we got back we hit the ground running. Is there ever a time to relax?! No, I wouldn't have it any other way (most of the time!). We started our trip going to 6 Flags Over Texas. My nephew, Cale, and my dad went with us to 6 Flags. It was a fun day, although it was really hot.

Since we are going to Disney World in February this was a great trial run in seeing what I would do the same and differently. #1 on my list to do differently is NOOOO adult rides while the kids are at the park. I thought it would be okay for my dad, Cale and Jorge to go ride a ride while I let the girls play in the sprayground. I mean, I am becoming an expert in managing 3 kids by myself, this should be no problem for 30-45 minutes, right? I couldn't have been more wrong. I had 2 strollers, so walking around is not possible. Then Boston wants to be held if we are not moving. Then the girls are running in opposite directions. It was extremely stressful. My conclusion--kid leashes! ;-) No really, while we are all at the park we are there exclusively for the kids. Jorge and I are planning on a day or two by ourselves (Jorge's mom will keep the kids in the condo) to go ride the grown up rides. #2--no pop. Too sticky, makes a mess and dehydrates the kids. #4 Bring a change of clothes. Fortunately I did this so when the girls were soaking wet after the sprayground, our day was not over. #4 No flip flops. I think this one speaks for itself.

My dad and Cale drove home that night but we were staying to go to the Great Wolf Lodge. Let me just say that all 5 of us sleeping in 1 open room was "interesting" in and of itself. And by "interesting" I mean miserable. Stella is a force to be reckoned with when she is excited. Anyway, the next 2 days were spent at the Great Wolf Lodge. I HIGHLY recommend this place to all families (with or without kids). The kids had a BLAST (we had to practically drag Ava) and Jorge and I did too. The only down side if you want to call it that, is that there are 2 big rides that require at least 2 people. Therefore, if its just you and the small kids you don't get to ride them. We were fortunate to be there at the same time as the Voglers so we traded kid duty while the others rode the biggies. The Howlin' Tornado was awesome!

On the trip back Stella wasn't feeling too good and was running a fever. Kinda a bummer way to end it but that's the way it goes sometimes. Anyway, sorry for the barrage of pictures but I had a hard time narrowing them down. Hope you like them!

P.S. After only a 3.5 hour trip in the minivan w/ the kids, I am feeling REALLY good about deciding to fly to Orlando instead of drive! :-)

Here we are about 1/2 way to Dallas stopping for a diaper change break.

Cale was so sweet with the girls. He rode lots of rides with them and they really enjoy being around a "big" boy.

For those of you who know of Ava's deep deep fear of characters you know what a feat this picture was. And she is actually smiling! I had to convince her that it is really just a person in a suit. It took some doing but she finally believed me. So she walked slowly up to "Bugs" and asked him, "Are you really just a person in there wearing a suit?" He shook his head 'yes' so she went right over and posed for me! What a stinker!

Is it just me or does Scooby look a little menacing here?

Boston did super good despite the heat. What a trooper!

Jorge & Stella riding the bouncing boots.

Dad watched Boston a lot that day because he doesn't like to ride rides much so the rest of us would go. They even had matching hats (Boston's fell off right before I clicked the pic).

Enjoying the day with the little guy.

Stella getting a lift and Cale being a goof w/ his hat. He is so sweet; I'm glad he came with us.

We stopped so I could feed Boston and the girls were listening to some real twangy bluegrass music. Surprisingly Stella REALLY liked it and wanted to stay for a long time.

After the sprayground.

I was a little nervous letting Stella do so much alone but she actually did great. She is a lot braver than Ava on the rides, although Ava did almost everything.

Oldy but goody.

Is it time to go home yet??

They thought this was pretty funny.

We went to Build A Bear at the mall in Grapevine. Ava is bathing her new bear. Stella is bathing Bubby.

I didn't take pics the first day of swimming at the lodge but that evening we went to the little kids craft corner there. Here is Stella staring down a little frog.

Ava coloring a bag.

Heading to the waterpark again at 9 am.

The fam.

In the kiddie pool.

Stella l-o-v-e-d this little slide. She was like a machine doing it over and over again. She also did a pretty big slide several times. I went down first and it was so fast! When I got to the bottom I tried to stop them from sending Stella but it was too late. She loved it though so I guess no child endangerment law suites today. (Whew!)

Boston got in the water on day 1 but not day 2. He liked it okay but there is really no reason to have a soggy baby all day unless you have to.

It was so deserted during the week that we had the run of the place. That made it so relaxing because I could see the kids and not stress if they wandered off.

This thing was so fun. It is a giant bucket that dumps over every 5 minutes. When I stood under it it would almost knock me over with the force of the water! The girls and Jorge just liked to stand in front of it and get little sprinkles.

Ava really enjoyed the wave pool. Here she is waiting for the bell to go off and the waves to start.

With our friends kids at lunchtime.

Jorge w/ Jeremy & Cheryl.

Jorge really enjoyed the craft room. I hung his picture on the fridge when we got home.

I love this picture because it looks like they are sharing peacefully. (Emphasis on looks like.)

Jorge-y watching some football in the craft room.

I know this was a super long post. Thanks for letting me get it all out!

Las Vegas Churches Accept Gambling Chips

2008-09-11T13:37:00.001-05:00

This may come as a surprise to those of you not living in Las Vegas, but there are more Catholic churches than casinos. Not surprisingly, some worshipers at Sunday Services will give casino chips rather than cash when the basket is passed.

Since they get chips from many different casinos, the churches have devised a method to collect the offerings. The churches send all their collected chips to a nearby Franciscan Monastery for sorting and then the chips are taken to the casinos of origin and cashed in.

This is done by the Chip Monks

You didn’t even see it coming, did you?

P.S. Thanks, Jordan, for the email! Loved it!

So much fun, but so tired!

2008-09-10T13:02:00.005-05:00

Well, we just got back from our mini vacation last night and I am pooped! Here are a few pics (and a video) of the kids playing from BEFORE we left. I'll get to blogging about the trip when I get some rest first.

Fun with the girls!

2008-09-05T12:54:00.007-05:00

Last night I had the most fun time getting to go out with some girlfriends! When I used to work at KPMG there was a group of us who all started around the same time and became friends. Some of them knew each other from college, some did not. Anyways, only 1 still works at KPMG. The others are off doing other exciting things in the world of accounting, while I am the only one to not work anymore. They are all just the sweetest girls you'd ever meet and I enjoy our time together. We aren't able to get together as much as we used to (which always happens as families and careers grow) but it is fun when we can.

Last night 6 out of our group of 7 went out to the Melting Pot for cheese and chocolate--two of my favorites. I was so bummed when I realized that I forgot to bring my camera! :( The Melting Pot is a really fun "fondue" restaurant that I have only been to a few times but really like. If you have never been, I HIGHLY recommend it. Come hungry though...there is a LOT of food!

I had to rush home to feed Boston and put the kids to bed. My husband was such a sweetie to watch all 3 so I could go out but unfortunately he cannot breast feed. See, even the best of men have their limits! But the plus side was that I got home in time to see the last day of the Republican National Convention with Cindy McCain, Tom Ridge, & John McCain. As usual, it was awesome. Maybe not as awesome as Wednesday night but still pretty good. Wednesday night was really great with Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, & Sarah Palin. Jorge & I had such a hard time going to bed; we were just giddy talking about the election.

Well, that's all for now. Be sure to watch the OU game tomorrow...Dylan gets to suit up for the first time as a Sooner! Look out for #57! Boomer Sooner!!!

(FYI--I am typing this while listening to music and keep typing the lyrics....does anyone else do that?? Once when we were moving I was packing a box and labeled it "tacos" because we were talking about going to Taco Bell for dinner. Weird, huh?)

In the words of Stella...Old Mac Donald had a farm and Bingo was his name-o!

2008-09-01T20:50:00.009-05:00

Here is a universal "sorry" to all the blogs out there that I usually read and post on. It's just been one thing after another and all of my good intentions go out the window. My only good time to get on the computer is after the kids go to bed and lately I have been cleaning/sick/tired/busy/you name it. Here is what has been consuming my time (in no particular order, because I am way too tired to think that much!)

1--being sick. I got bronchitis and couldn't shake it. However that isn't the sickness I am talking about. After the Fantasy Football draft, me, Jorge, and Ava all started throwing up. Mine lasted 2 days, Ava 1 1/2 days, Jorge 1 day. It was awful! It was Ava's first time to be sick and wouldn't you know it would be when Jorge and I were sick too! Anyways, that was super fun.

2--the draft. Or as Ava calls it "the boy party". This was actually before the being sick part. Jorge and 9 of his friends have a fantasy football league and the 24th was the draft. He gets a projector and screen, snacks and then go 10 rounds to pick teams. One of the guys didn't show up so guess who is the 10th man this year? I'll give you 3 guesses.....ME! My first year so I hope I do good. There is a (rather large obnoxious) trophy involved that the winner gets his name on and it gets passed around every year to the winner's home.

3--politics, anyone? Its the Superbowl for political junkies such as myself. I have been spending hours and hours watching political news coverage, debates, conventions, town halls, etc. I love it! I am a pretty strong conservative (not just on social issues, but on economic and foreign policy issues as well--my one exception is maybe gun control??) However, if that is not you--its OK! My mom and several of my friends/family members are not of the same mind set and we have some interesting discussions. As long as you can agree to disagree at the end of the day, I love to talk about it.

3--OU football. This Saturday was the season/home game opener vs. Chattanooga and it was awesome. I didn't think I was going to get to go but we did after all and had a blast. We left at half time when we heard the thunder and saw the clouds. Unfortunately we waited just a tad to long and walked in POURING rain for 10 minutes! It was so fun though. Dylan didn't get to suit up but his name/number was in the program so that was neat. Noah said today that he is missing it and is thinking of going back to the team. I don't know if he meant this season or next though. Regardless....BOOMER SOONER, BABY!

4--children's choir. It is taking some major planning on my part this year to do children's choir. I enjoy doing it, really, but I had no idea I was going to be in charge of all the planning and I am really in need of some ideas. I am open to suggestions for games and/or crafts or any other group activities for 1st and 2nd graders.

5--Disney planning. OK, I'll admit I am going a little (lot) obsessive with this Disney planning. My friend Ginny got me hooked on tourguidemike.com and now I am spending tons of time there. This week I booked our Cinderella castle lunch so I think I will back off for a while. You have to book it 180 days in advance so I was anxious to get that done.

6--a bunch of other stuff. I'll describe it on the pictures below.

Made a cake one night. Here are the girls "helping" me by licking the beaters.

Took the kids to Chuck E Cheese. We ran into the Voglers there so that was fun. Also Grandma Judy stopped by for a while to play while we were there. Yipee!

Ava with her winnings of the day.

Aaaarrrrgggg! She's pretty scary looking, huh? I'd hate to run into THAT in the open seas....

Oh, this is great. The girls have WAAAAY to many toys. They are taking over our house, our sanity, our lives. So I had the great plan to organize. This little plan took me an entire day to fulfill. What I did was get ALL of their toys out (except books) and make 5 piles. Each pile has a little of everything, dress up stuff, baby dolls, whatever. Then I put a number in each pile (#5 is below) and took a picture of the toys. Then I put the stuff in plastic bins, labeled the bin with the number and taped the picture of what was in the bin to the outside. Brilliant! ;-) I rotate them on the 1st of each month and store the other 4 in Ava's gigantic closet.

So far, here is my most calm baby....

The girls after I drugged them. Just kidding, they are both REALLY tired here and were watching Cinderella before bedtime.

Ava drew a picture of herself at church. She gave herself glasses because she said she really wants some someday. She also gave herself "a bottom" and toes (that slightly resemble claws). A few days ago she drew a picture of me. When she was done I looked at it and was a little shocked as she explained that it was me "getting ready to get in the shower". Yikes!! I did NOT include it here.

What a sweetie!

They really do love each other and most days enjoy playing together....

....and with Boston.

Awww, Boston loves his Daddy kisses.

In his Sunday best!

And the rest of the kids getting ready for church.

Oh, last week I had my 2 younger brothers over for dinner. We had such a great time and the girls had a BLAST with their uncles. They were completely bonkers that night and it took a while to calm down for bed! :-)
Dylan w/ the girls.

Noah w/ the girls.

The end... (for now)

Lots of Pics

2008-08-17T22:43:00.006-05:00

Wow, so lot to say and so little time (because I'm tired!). I'll do my best to keep it short and sweet. A few weeks ago my friend Ginny invited me and our other friend Cheryl over to swim. It was the first time the 3 of us have gotten together this summer because we have 9 kids between us. Obviously, logistics are not easy for us. Here are some of the kids after swimming.

Ginny (and her mom) has been so sweet to have us over so much this summer and it was really great to see Cheryl. I used to work with Cheryl's husband and that's how we met. They are both fun, Christian girls to be around so we had a good time. (Little side note...we are going to Great Wolfe Lodge in a few weeks and coincidentally that is when Cheryl and her family are going. Also, we are going to Disney World in February and that is also when Ginny and her family are going! How funny is that!?)

The next day our Sunday School class had a swimming party. It was a blast! Almost everyone could make it and we had a great time talking & laughing, swimming and eating. Here is Jorge on the way to the par-tay.

Some of the crew swimming:

Okay, there were like 6 of us girls chatting and then when I went to get my camera they scattered! Here are Erin and Amy. Erin is just about the best mom ever! Just being around her encourages me to have more patience. Amy and her husband are in our class but are also "mentors" to us. They are just a little older and have 3 really great kids. They also teach a parenting class that has been sooooo helpful to us (Growing Kids God's Way).

Last Monday was Ava's first day of ballet. She was soo excited to have her "outfit" on but mostly she was excited about wearing her hair in a bun. She was just about bouncing off the walls after I fixed it and that night she wanted to sleep in it. Later she told her Grandma Judy that she liked the bun but didn't like that I pushed pins into her head. Sorry, that's the way it goes little girl! :) No pics though. Parents aren't allowed in to watch.

This last Thursday was the girls' first day of school. Ava started preschool (sniff sniff) 3 days a week and Stella is going to CDO 2 days a week. When I picked them up I asked Ava what she did at preschool and she said she didn't remember. We weren't even in the parking lot so maybe she needs some memory medicine! She also informed me that it is pre-K not pre-school. Stella did not have the greatest day. OK, actually she got sent to the office! Yikes! She is only 2!! Well, its not as bad as I am making is sound. She was throwing a fit during nap time and woke up all the kids so she had to take her nap in the office. Fortunately she had a much better time the next day.

That evening was the girls night out at Erin's house again. I forgot my camera...bummer! But we had such a great time. It started storming and the lights went out but we just kept on chatting. It reminded me of high school sleepovers! We talked about kids and books and the olympics and my hair (ha ha...long story). I am so glad Erin started this monthly outing.

Friday we all went down to Norman to help my dad some more getting my brothers' condo ready. Here is my dad and Stella and Boston taking a break.

Um, Boston looks a little scared here:

My little Ava is growing up! She wanted me to curl her hair so I did and she was so excited. She called it her Shirley Temple hair. (Not to be confused with her "Dorothy" hair--2 braids--or her "baby Alexis" hair--side half ponytail. She likes to name her hairstyles!)

She has such a sweet smile!

Today was a busy day today at church. It was promotion Sunday so Ava and Stella went to new rooms. Ava no longer stays in SS but instead comes w/ us to "big church". She stays for the opening songs and then the 4-6 year olds leave for children's church. The preacher dismisses them while he starts talking and they cross in front of him to leave the sanctuary. She made if half way there by herself but then realized she was right in front of the preacher so she stopped, looked around and came back to me. It was so cute! She finally went and loved it.

Stella was okay at first when we dropped her off but when I went to get her after church I was told to find Andy. Apparently halfway through the morning she saw her old SS teacher, Mr. Andy, who she REALLY REALLY likes, and had a meltdown. I think she got scared of her new room so she wanted him. So he went and held her in the hallway to calm her down. He said as he was holding her, he began to feel really warm. Yep, you guessed it. She peed on him! He had to go home and change! He was telling me about it and was laughing but I felt bad. Nobody wants to get peed on. Luckily he is such a Godly man who loves children and didn't mind. He has served in the nursery for several years and he and his wife are just the sweetest.

Then tonight we started back with Awana's and choir. I am glad to get back into everything. I am not the best singer but I love to sing in the choir.

Oh, and today Boston is 5 months old! Wow, how the time flies! How can you not just love that grin? I let him try some cereal this last week and the girls were hilarious. Ava was making fake gagging noises, Stella was yelling "That's disgusting!" and they were both yelling, "Don't do it, Boston!" But he loved it anyway!