Matt and Marlie

Sic'em Bears!

2012-01-02T13:04:00.000-08:00

Last week we headed down to SA to celebrate Christmas with Doug's family and to watch our Heisman trophy winner in the Alamo Bowl! The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins. Marlie said she didn't want to grow old because then she won't have any cousins to play with. We promised her that her cousins will still be around even when she's old too!

We were excited to see the Zunker's and Hatter's at the pregame party! I've known those families so long it's funny. The kids are all so cute! Matt had fun playing with Parks and Marlie was so excited that she remembered Hayden and said "yeah Mom Hayden is my friend...I love Hayden"!

Then it was off to the game! Shawn and Cale came with us. M&M were so excited about their signs. Matt literally held his sign up about 95% of the time we were there. He wanted to be on TV so bad. During the 4th quarter Doug gave in and told Matt he saw him on TV. He had the biggest smile on his face! He was not on TV but it broke our hearts that he was trying so hard and where we were sitting, there was no way he'd be on TV. Thank you to the not so smart people who designed the Alamodome with horrible seating!!

Also, check out Matt's hat. Dad came up with the idea and then Matt did shortly after too. We put an "R" and "III" on either side of the Green Bay "G". On the bus ride home another Dad asked Matt if he could take a picture of his super cool hat. Matt smiled big!!

It was a great game that lasted slightly past midnight!! The kids did good considering. Marlie went delirious in the 3rd quarter and started dancing and cheering like crazy. An older gentlemen was leaving at the end of the game and said "well your daughter sure had a good time". She was hilarious! Congrats to RGIII! There's not a more deserving guy in college football!

The Best Christmas Yet!

2011-12-27T20:01:00.000-08:00

This was the best Christmas yet. For many reasons but primarily because the kids had so much fun searching for that perfect gift and were so excited to give it! The kids picked out their Angel gifts for the trees at church and at school. Matt carried a gift in every day for a whole week and thought that was so cool!

We enjoyed working on our lists for Santa. Both kids had a hard time coming up with things they wanted but both thought it was important to put their age so Santa would know. Matt's list was pretty interesting. Football sheets? Yes that was his idea. Football cleats? Well, we helped him with that one. And the last item is a book. Perfect for my awesome reader!! We heard that Mrs. Claus searched high and low for the Optimus Prime transformer truck. She doesn't like Walmart and ended up in 3 different Walmarts! The last one she had to run into before the last one was gone. Santa asked her if she had to knock anyone over and luckily she didn't but she might have.

Marlie's list was cute. We saw a "Hello Kitty Nail & Body Set" at Macy's in October and she wanted it so bad. I told her she had to remember it and put it on her list. 3 months later she remembered exactly! And 3 months later...no Hello Kitty Nail & Body Set to be found! Mrs. Claus was going crazy and managed to find something similar which she loved but said was not the same. I'm not sure where the Hello Kitty suitcase or Rapunzel sleeping bag came from but she was excited about these too.

Matt was very excited to go to the Santa shop at school. He came home and was so excited and wanted to give us our gifts right away. When I told him he had to wait, he couldn't stand it. He was also very excited to go shopping for a gift for he and Marlie to give to Dad. He insisted on a Baylor RGIII Heisman shirt and we found one online. On Christmas, Matt insisted that Dad be the first to open a gift and gave him the box with the tshirt. Matt couldn't wait to give me a velcro wallet with peace signs that he bought at school. He even had a dollar and 2 quarters in it and showed me the secret pocket. It was awesome. You will see the velcro wallet in use in my Coach purse!!!

I took Marlie to buy a gift for Matt. He said he wanted the board game Sorry so I figured that would be perfect. Marlie talked about buying a football all the way to the store. I told her he had one already so the game might be better. We picked up the game and as we were headed to checkout she stopped me and told me that was not what she wanted to get for Matt. We went up and down a few aisles and then she spotted it...a Texans pillow pet! She jumped up and down. It was Matt's favorite gift of Christmas.

We went to children's mass at church on Christmas Eve. It was packed but we got to see all of our friends and the kids got to sit upfront which they loved. We came home and snapped a few photos before the festivities began. We had a great meal and cupcakes to celebrate Jesus' birthday.

We started off with an intense game of gift card exchanging where Marlie was the happiest person ever stealing a Red Lobster gift card from me. She was literally screaming...that would have been a great Red Lobster commercial. Matt had fun stealing a Toys 'R' Us card from Uncle Jay. Marlie (and I) were really pumped about the cotton candy machine Uncle Jay bought for her. The kids were excited to find that they are going to Disney World!

As if it couldn't get any better...Santa did make a stop at our house. Matt said he heard him come down the chimney!! You can see him running down with his pillow pet in tow!

Matt loved his Baylor Alamo Bowl shirt, Uno and his books. He got his transformer, football cleats and football sheets too. We got a note from Santa that the elves are still working on his special Texans jersey and Matt thinks it might be taking long because it has his name on it...smart kid. But Matt's favorite gift was a guitar Santa brought. Santa wasn't sure if he'd like it, but he is already talking about taking lessons. Of course as you guessed, our singer and performer quickly grabbed the guitar and started playing too!

So what did Marlie think about everything? Well she would have been happy if Santa had just brought this monkey. It's name is Cutie Monkey and it goes everywhere. She was a bit excited about the Rapunzel sleeping bag.

Here she is inspecting the Hello Kitty Nail & Body Set that looks different than the one she spotted 3 months ago.

And here is the Lalaloopsy doll that Mrs. Claus also searched high and low for. She could have cared less to be honest. I'll tuck it away and bring it out in 6 months and she'll love it!

Maybe the second best part about Christmas was that we spent the entire day in our pj's playing games and resting with our pillow pets and animals. We hope you had a wonderful Christmas too. One of my favorite parts of the season is getting all the wonderful Christmas cards and watching all these adorable families grow. Happy Birthday Jesus!

Medal Ceremony

2011-12-24T08:40:00.000-08:00

I like for Marlie to take gymnastics for at least one session during the year and I figured Matt might as well take a class while we're there. It's nice to be able to take them to one place and both can participate. Matt actually loves it and thanked me when it was over for taking him. Marlie loves it too! She told her coach towards the end that she could teach the class. Oh boy...another chance to boss everyone around. When we go back next year she will be 5 and will get to go into the big gym which will be nice. She'll be scared I'm sure.

Here are some cute pics of the kids with their medals. Marlie was Rudolph at school that day and insisted on keeping her red nose and antlers for gymnastics. Oh my. Matt jumped off the medal stand so fast that I missed him.

Houston Texans

2011-12-23T19:22:00.000-08:00

We have had a great football year with both the Baylor Bears and Houston Texans doing well. Good thing because Matt just LOVES football. We promised if he did well in school that Dad would sign him up for the winter flag football league so we'll start that in January. He can't wait and even asked Santa for football cleats for Christmas.

Dad bought us all an early Christmas present and we were very excited about going to the Texans game last Sunday! Unfortunately they lost but it was fun being there. Matt knows all the players and positions. He was so excited that he just sort of sat in awe for the first half watching intently. Marlie was excited to watch the cheerleaders although we had to explain they were more like dancers and hopefully she'll get to see real cheerleaders at the Baylor game when they play in the Alamo Bowl!

I have to point something out about the picture below...look at Matt's hat. He has always worn his hats like this and I don't know why...but it's his thing. He tilts it off to the side just so slightly. It reminds me of Joe Manor who use to run track with Doug at Baylor (and if I remember correctly he played football too). The look is sort of ghettolicious but I just have to laugh because it's always like this.

Here are my Texans! Thanks Dad for taking us to the game!

Winter Recital

2011-12-20T18:34:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we were all so excited about Marlie's Winter Recital! It's held at the dance studio and pretty low key which is great so the girls can get some practice before the big recital in the spring.

I realized after the recital that I think Marlie was much more nervous this time. She didn't have that silly smile like she did last time but it peeked out a few times.

Here's Marlie and Lauren taking pictures with the paparazzi!

We then moved into the prep room and here are Marlie and Emilie...two nervous girls. But aren't they so cute??

The girls walked into the recital room and I saw a quick smile from Marlie.

Time for the show!! Marlie did great. She really looked like a little princess out there!

The girls were so very cute! But the best moment of the day was when Matt ran out to give Marlie a big hug when the performance was over, along with a rose. Marlie loved it, although as you can see she still looks nervous in this picture.

After a few pics Marlie fell apart. She said her costume was itchy, tights were itchy and she just cried. We managed a few forced smile pictures with Mrs. Patty and Lauren...

Marlie and Nene...

And the three girls!

Marlie you practiced so hard and we are so proud of you. Mom is going to have to figure something out so we can wear this costume for a few hours for the spring recital!! Yikes!!

The Polar Express!

2011-12-18T19:43:00.000-08:00

Last year we all went to Grapevine for lots of Christmas activities at the Gaylord Texan and to take a trip on the Polar Express. The hotel was absolutely amazing but the Polar Express was not as exciting as we had hoped. So this year, 11 families headed up to Palestine to try the real Polar Express. It was lots of fun and the kids loved it!

Most families spent the night and as usual we made the most of our 3 hour drive to Palestine. We ordered dinner in at the hotel, had some wine and tried to take some pics of the kids before we left. It was like herding cats!! They were so cute in their pj's and SO excited to get to the Polar Express and stop taking pictures!!

Lauren brought Marlie this cute little fox and she held onto it for dear life. I managed to get a cute pic of Marlie and Lauren and one with Hayden too!

So we were off! We found another great spot for photos when we arrived and this was the best I could get. Matt was so happy that Samuel and his family came with us this year!

The 3 other families that joined us arrived after that picture was shot and I knew the kids (and probably parents too!) would have kicked me off the train if I would have tried to get everyone up there again. So off we went!! The kids were so excited waiting for the train.

They allowed our group of about 40 to board first, which did not make some people waiting in line very happy, but I was glad that we all got to sit together. The little people sat on one side and the big kids on the other. I managed to get a picture with ALL the Moms since we are always behind the cameras and we can show our kids that yes, we were there too! When I asked Doug to gather the Dads he looked at me like I asked him to take me to the moon, so no pics of the Dads.

I like that last picture because almost no one is related to each other!! The train conductor came and punched the kid's tickets. We had hot chocolate and cookies and everyone was very excited when we came to the North Pole! However there were lots of questions why there was no snow and why the reindeer had lights on them...hmmm....

Santa boarded the train at the North Pole and the kids went crazy when he came into our car. They started chanting, "Santa, Santa" like he was a rock star. It was hilarious. He gave them all bells and they thought that was the greatest thing ever!!! Oh we had so much fun!!

It was late but we still had some wine and the hotel sold ice cream so the party went on! I managed a few pics of M&M and H&H (Hannah & Hayden) when the kids had reached the point were they were so tired, they were delirious.

What a great weekend! We are blessed to know such wonderful people! Thanks everyone for making the trip so much fun!!

My Turkeys!

2011-12-12T18:26:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful, fun and very relaxing Thanksgiving! We headed down to McAllen to visit Papa and Nona Lisa and stayed in Mr. Mark's (Nona Lisa's brother) lake house which was gorgeous! We quickly made ourselves at home and Matt fished morning, day and night! Matt caught at least 9 fish, maybe more. I've never seen him so calm for so long. I like the picture in his pj's sitting on the pier bright and early in the morning. And of all the fishing poles we had, it was the lucky batman fishing pole that caught all the fish!!

Marlie and I fished a little bit and then found this nice hammock to snuggle in!

Thanksgiving day was great with lots of great food, family and of course football! Marlie and I layed on the couch together and watched the entire Macy's Parade. Matt couldn't wait to play football and organized a game in the backyard with all the adults. He had a blast!!! I played a little too...quarterback of course...and was 3 for 3. 3 passes, 3 interceptions!! Marlie cheered for us on the sidelines!

We went to visit the Butterfly Garden which was amazing. It was all outdoors with tons of butterflies free to come and go as they please! Marlie liked getting close enough to try and touch them.

Thank you to all our family in McAllen for such a wonderful Thanksgiving. Marlie cried hard when we left. We wish Papa and Nona Lisa lived closer!

Doug and I enjoyed attending the Thanksgiving Feasts at the kid's schools. They worked really hard on their outfits and were so proud! Take a look at these turkeys...

We have so much to be thankful for and there's not a day that goes by that we forget that. To have each other is beyond great, but to have wonderful family and friends is icing on the cake! May God Bless us all!!

No More Soccer Saturdays

2011-11-18T13:29:00.000-08:00

All of us, except maybe Marlie, are very sad that soccer season is over. Matt had a great year, as expected. The last game those boys were passing and scoring. Matt would kick the ball in and it practically went to the other side of the field. We saw so much maturity in the boys this year. It's fun to watch the same kids play together every year and see how much they improve.

Matt had his end of season party at the Houlton's house and the boys played football for about 2 hours straight. They had a blast!! The boys were excited about their trophies but more excited to go back and play. Thanks to Dad, Coach Joel and Coach Mike for being great coaches!

Marlie started off the season like a rock star. We were so proud of her. Then game 3 came and she fell and her teammate completely trampled right over her. It was pretty much over from there. After about 2 games of not much action I asked why she wouldn't kick the ball and she said she was scared to fall down and get hurt. We finally hyped her back up and by the last game she was almost back to normal. She blocked several goals and was very excited about that. We will try again next year but the potential is there. We just have to find a way to get her about half as fired up as Matt is and she'll be awesome!

Marlie had her end of season party at our favorite Chick-fil-A! The girls had so much fun and were SO excited to get their trophies! Thank you Coach Greg (who gets the prize for having an amazing amount of patience) and Dad for helping these girls!!

There are more pictures in the slide show. I did attempt to take a few videos so hopefully I can post one or two soon. I just get too excited and forget to record!

Taylor Swift

2011-11-15T17:08:00.000-08:00

So I heard Taylor Swift was coming to town. The kids and I listen to her music in the car all the time and we sing like crazy. But Marlie is only 4 and it just seemed ridiculous to spend lots of money for tickets. So I didn't. But 3 days before the concert one of my sweet friends Aseena (that knows how much we love TS) told me about a group that had several tickets and they were so inexpensive. The tickets were way at the top, but who cares? I jumped on it and was lucky enough to get 4 tickets! I told Marlie and she was SO excited. We invited Hannah and Mrs. Traci to go with us. Hannah was so excited too!

Hannah showed up all decked out and brought glitter makeup for Marlie too. Marlie was so excited!

All 4 girls were giggly and ready to go! Check out these smiles...

The girls sang all the way there and all the way back! We stood in crazy long lines to get in and for tshirts. Once TS took the stage they were just sitting in awe. After the first song they finally starting singing. Marlie danced like crazy for one entire song. Both girls told their Mom's early in the show that they wished they were sitting closer! How funny!!

It was an amazing performance. She played multiple instruments and every song had a different setting, costumes, etc. Her song writing is beautiful and yes I cried when she sang "never grow up". We had a wonderful evening! Maybe next time we'll sit closer!!

Happy Halloween!!

2011-11-06T12:37:00.000-08:00

Halloween was extra fun this year because Marlie understood dressing up and getting candy!!! We started off the festivities at Matt's school. I remember as a kid we always had a Halloween party at school and it was so much fun. Well...I guess Halloween is not PC anymore but thankfully the Kinder classes secretly participated by having a "character parade". The kids were to dress up as a character from a book and bring the book with them to march in the parade. I think the "characters" were supposed to be typical children's book characters but Matt insisted on being Tom Brady because that's who is in his book "Perfect Passers" that he likes to read. He begged his teacher and she gave in too!! Tom Brady it is...what a cute Tom Brady he was. All the kids looked great and I got to take my picture with Tom Brady - wohoo!!

Now Marlie had a real Halloween party and party it was! The room Mom went crazy and the party was awesome! I have not seen that many cute Halloween treats ever!! At the end of the party Marlie was screaming, "this is too much chocolate" but they all had fun with their crafts, singing pumpkin songs and eating their treats! In case you didn't see the blog posting a few weeks back, Marlie insisted on being Izzy from Jake and the Neverland Pirates against my numerous attempts to try to get her to be a Texans Cheerleader or Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

Halloween night was a blast as always. The kids looked great!

We start with the usual coolest party at our neighbor's house. I think Carmen thought of not having it this year and we told her she didn't have a choice. The kids eat and play before the big trek into the neighborhood. I didn't get a picture of all the kids this year but managed one shot of the girls. Here's Marlie with Lyla and Mya.

We headed out early with the Patton's. The kids were running as usual from house to house and the girls were trying hard to keep up.

Luckily our house was one of the first stops...can you see them attacking my Mom? They are IN the house. It took at least 5 houses before they got the message that you cannot go INTO the house! By the end Marlie was saying "Mom I did not step foot in the house". Luckily we know most of our neighbors!

M&M thought this black cat was awesome and had to take a picture with it...

Along the way we tried a few beverages made by our friendly neighbors...candy corn and jagermonster shots. Adults and kids always manage to have a blast on Halloween night. Our neighborhood is awesome and we see kids from other Fall Creek neighborhoods in ours. On our last stretch there was so many people out in the streets. It looked like a mini Mardi Gras with everyone dressed up. Even the Dads dressed up...funny that there was no planning to this. Everyone was sad not to see Doug is in his track suit this year. Maybe next year we'll come up with something more revealing!

Dewberry Farms - Take II

2011-10-28T09:53:00.000-07:00

Our sweet friends, the Patton's, planned a fun day for several families at Dewberry Farms. Marlie was so excited to take her brother and show him all the fun things. Matt's friends Caden and Micah came and the boys had SO much fun!! Marlie had partied hard the night before at Nene's house and woke up at 6:00am so she was dragging but still managed to crack a few smiles.

We started with the corn blasters. The kids shot corn out of these machines trying to hit the targets. The boys LOVED it!

Then it was off to the giant slide...Marlie decided to try it this time too!

Then it was off to the Pumpkin Holler where it was very dark and inside there were hundreds of carved pumpkins. The kids liked it so much that they had already convinced the lady to let them go in again before we even came out!!

We found Micah and the boys had fun swinging on ropes into bales of hay. Then we headed for these swings!

Then we headed over to the zip line which I think was the most fun...at least fun watching. The kids loved it and Dad did it too! Marlie wanted so bad to do it by herself but Dad stayed close just in case. I could have watched them go back and forth all day with those huge smiles on their faces!

Matt actually said rolling in this thing was his favorite. Marlie tried it and wasn't too excited so she decided to get out and push with Coach Joel. The boys were tumbling around in there like laundry in the dryer and they were laughing so hard the entire time. I can't imagine that was fun??

Are you tired yet? We were but the boys kept going! Then it was off to the jumping pillows which are like trampolines. Marlie was a little scared she would get bounced off so it was probably better that she opted for a break.

From here the boys raced on the tricycles. I'm pretty sure Caden made it around the track twice the number of times Matt and Micah did.

While the boys raced, Marlie enjoyed a bubble gum snow cone that was bigger than her!

Finally we took a little break and boarded the big wagon for our ride out to the pumpkin patch! Marlie was excited to find Lyla!

We meticulously picked our pumpkins (again) and loaded them in the wheel barrow. Matt and Caden had fun running through the patch and playing pumpkin soccer with a poor pumpkin.

These Dads are not dipping...I promise it's sunflower seeds!!

We tried to get all the kids together for a picture but it was like herding cats. I thought this was cute of Marlie and Lyla.

Although we were exhausted Marlie wanted to show Matt the awesome corn maze and Dad wanted to go too. So off we went. This time I knew the trick so we were out in 5 minutes and everyone thought it was still fun.

What a fun day! Matt could barely walk back to the car he was so exhausted and Marlie definitely had to be carried. Thanks Gayle for planning this!

Pumpkin Carving!

2011-10-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun carving our pumpkins last weekend. The kids were very helpful and excited about it this year. First we pulled the guts out...they were grossed out at first but then had fun getting their hands dirty.

The kids picked out patterns for their pumpkins and we taped them on. Then they helped create the outline with the crayon. They pulled the patterns off and Mom and Dad helped with the carving. We ate pumpkin seeds afterwards!

Dewberry Farms - Take I

2011-10-20T14:17:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to take Monday off and go with Marlie and her class to Dewberry Farms! The kids were so excited that they got to ride on a yellow school bus!! Here are Marlie and Emily waiting to get in!

Our friends wanted to go on this big slide and Marlie was scared so she pulled me to the corn maze. We were in there for about 20 minutes and right about when I started to think we would spend the rest of lives lost in that maze...we saw an opening and were greeted with these beautiful flowers!

We finally caught up to our friends and had fun playing in the hay with Lauren, Luke and Hayden.

Then we took a wagon ride to the pumpkin patch. The girls found their pumpkins right away!

It was a wonderful (and tiring) day. Somehow we managed to get Marlie's class together for a picture afterwards. They had so much fun! Thank you Mrs. Lisa and Mrs. Melissa for planning this!

Our First Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-18T15:18:00.000-07:00

It was a crazy weekend with a good ending...a trip to the pumpkin patch! Here are some funny and not-so-funny things that happened:

Matt gave Doug 20 cents for being a good Dad.
Marlie potentially has strep so we are on meds. The doc was amazed that she was reading Green Eggs & Ham by herself while we were waiting.
We think Matt got a mild concussion Friday night. He hit his head hard playing soccer at Marlie's practice but didn't complain a lot until bedtime. We thought he was overreacting until he threw up in his bed! The only time he really cried during the entire episode was when he realized he was not going to be playing in his soccer game the next morning. He was crying so hard, he couldn't catch his breath! :(
Matt's school had their Fall County Fair and the kids had a blast despite sicknesses/injuries. Matt won 12, 2-liter sodas and was so excited! We donated some to the school because my kiddos don't drink soda!!

We decided that since the pumpkin crop isn't great that we'd hit the pumpkin patch early this year. We LOVE going and the kids were so excited. We went early after mass and no one was there!! We made the mistake of getting a wagon and before you knew it, it was filled with pumpkins! The kids insisted on getting pumpkins for everyone and how could we say no? Here are some cute photos...

Matt and Daddy always like to get the biggest pumpkin they can find!

Marlie and I like the little ones but she found this good one for carving.

Then I told them to find the silliest pumpkin in the patch and this is what they found. They thought these were hilarious!

This is Marlie...this picture says it all!

Oh we love our pumpkins! They were so excited to take pumpkins to their teachers on Monday. Who knows maybe you will get a pumpkin too! I'm sure you'll get to see carving pictures next week! Happy pumpkin hunting to you!

Soccer Fans

2011-10-08T19:51:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had lots of fans here to cheer on M&M...Gram & Papa Howie came to watch...

Nene was here, but Nene is almost always here to watch...she's like me and doesn't want to miss a second!

Grandpa and Uncle Jay were here and Uncle Jay sported his Fairy Ponies shirt! Marlie thought that was awesome!

And of course the biggest fans, Mom & Dad!

Matt has had good competition these last 2 games. He scored 3 goals last week and 2 goals today. He works so hard out there and we are so proud of him. His teammates are also doing really well and scoring goals too!

Marlie has lost a bit of fire but did score a goal last week and was very proud of herself! Today her game was at 1:00pm which is usually nap time so it's understandable that she was not too excited. Mrs. Patty brought an ice chest FULL of snacks and she mostly enjoyed eating those! But she did run to the goal and blocked the other team from scoring. They finally ended up getting it in but she was still so proud of herself! And then I think she might have been talking smack to the girl who scored. Yikes...I saw her mad face and she was chatting. I couldn't hear so hopefully it wasn't bad. Oh my!

Other than soccer we are busy with school! Matt is reading like a champ. Honestly I can't believe how well he is reading and I've never really worked with him at home on letter sounds or sight words. I owe it all to his teachers starting in PreK-4! Marlie and I read a book today and she was trying to read too. She did pretty well!

We are getting excited about Fall Festivals and Halloween. Matt wants to be a football player which is perfect because Santa brought us football pants, a helmet and a jersey so we are all set! I tried to get Marlie to go as Dorothy (from the Wizard of Oz - she would make the cutest Dorothy ever) but no luck. So then I tried the Texans cheerleader route because M&M would look adorable together but no luck. She wants to be a pirate...Izzy from Jake and the Neverland Pirates. It was Bat girl last year. I don't think she'll ever want to be a princess. She told me the other day that "princesses are boring". Sigh....

Soccer Saturday

2011-09-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

We couldn't wait for Soccer Saturday! Although I don't have pictures I have a funny, funny story!!

But first let me tell you about Matt's game. I think he scored 3 goals in the first 5 minutes so he sat out for awhile. I think he ended up with 6 goals but I'm not certain. The BEST play though was Matt diving into their goal so that they wouldn't score. He was a second too late but the effort was unreal.

Marlie played on the field with Katie, our ringer, so she might have had 2 goals but I think it was actually Katie who kicked them in. At one point Marlie was playing defense, standing by the other team's goal and she motioned like an umpire calling someone safe and said "this goal is not open". When the other team did score she ran back to the center of the field, looked at the sidelines and with hands on hips, scrunched down and a mad face said, "This is not funny!". I have no idea why she said that but all you could hear was laughter from our sidelines. Oh my!!!

I will "try" to get some of these things on video so I can share them with you. Doug and I are LOVING this!

Soccer is Here Baby!

2011-09-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

There is so much to say and so much excitement around this topic that I don't even know where to start! For sure our favorite part of the week is Saturday morning when BOTH of the kids have their soccer games. Doug and I look forward to it all week!

Let's start with Matt...we have our entire team back from last year with one new addition. Doug and Joel are coaching and although we got stuck with prisoner orange uniforms, we're making the best of it and we are the Dynamo! Our first scrimmage was a bit rough. They had a kid who was awesome and we couldn't stop him. But we had our first game yesterday and the boys (ALL of them) did great! Almost everyone scored. Matt scored 14 goals! No joke. He wanted to score 11 because that's his number this year and he couldn't even believe he scored 14. It was pretty amazing. I think Caden scored just as many so I'm pretty sure we won.

The new highlight this year and is that Marlie is playing soccer too!! We weren't sure how she would do, but this girl has a lot of fire!!! It's awesome! Her coach is Coach Greg and Dad helps coach too. Her BFF Lauren plays on her team and she has met some new girls too. Some of the girls wanted to be the Fairies and others wanted to be the Ponies so they are the "Fairy Ponies". We definitely won't make shirts with our team name on them!! :)

The first scrimmage Marlie played as if she has been playing for years. She did not score but 4 times she stopped the ball from going in the other teams goal. She ran up and down the field just like her brother. And she's fast too! She would make this sort of "mad" face when the other team scored. But at our first game yesterday she scored 2 goals!!! I wish I could describe what happened after she scored. I'd give anything to have it on camera. She looked at the sidelines and with a Tiger Woods double fist pump, mouth wide open she screamed like she had scored in a World Cup game. Then she ran as fast as possible down the field to her coach with her arms straight up in the air. Everyone was clapping/laughing! As I'm writing this I'm laughing and crying at the same time!! It was priceless!!

Here are a few pictures from the big day...

All of Marlie's friends were out on the soccer fields. Here is Marlie with Lyla (who was too young to play on our team) and we found Hayden too!

Let the games begin! Here goes my little Sweet 16!

Marlie and Lauren!

I saw Marlie standing way across the field giving me the thumbs up! She did this after she scored too!! She has so much personality it's unreal!!

We are so proud of both of you! We don't care how good you do as long as you try your best and you both played your hearts out. I am so proud of Daddy for working like crazy to coach both of your teams and I'm so proud to be a soccer Mom! We can't wait for next Saturday!!!

Happy Birthday Matt!

2011-09-18T05:59:00.000-07:00

Matt is officially 6! I got to visit him at school during lunch to celebrate with his class. The kids all ate ice cream and then they sang Happy Birthday to him on the playground. It was so fun to see him in this new environment. This little girl is named Kennedy and she was adorable. She reminded me of cousin Maggie.

We "dined" later that night at Matt's choice, Chick-fil-A! Then we came home and had cupcakes from one of our favorite places, Sugarbaby's! It was a great day! Happy Birthday Matt! We love you so much! We wish we could add some time in between birthdays so it doesn't go by so fast!

Some of Matt's closest friends have also celebrated birthday's recently. His best friend Caden turned 6 2 weeks before Matt. We all had so much fun at his baseball party! Here are the boys - Samuel, Matt, Evan & Caden! And Marlie looked SO cute when it was her turn to bat!! She did great! Happy Birthday Caden!

And just a few weeks after Matt turned 6, Hannah turned 7!! The kids had so much fun at her cooking party at Chefs2b! They made pizza and cupcakes and loved eating it all!

At church a few weeks ago I had this vivid flash in my mind of Matt and Hannah standing at the front of the church getting married!! I know it's probably wishful thinking but it was so real! So any chance I have, I snap pictures of them together. Matt is always shy about it but look at his smile! I love these 2 shots!!! Happy Birthday Hannah!

Matt's First Day of (Public) School

2011-08-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

Matt and I enjoyed a week together of hanging out while Marlie was in school and he had not started. We surprised Marlie on Friday and brought Chick-fil-A and had lunch with her. She was so excited. As we were walking with her back to her classroom we saw the first grade class in the hallway. Everyone's eyes lit up when they saw Matt. And then his friend Sean said "Matt we miss you!". It broke my heart. So on the way home I asked if he wished he were still at SMMCS and he said no. I asked if he was excited about going to Fall Creek Elementary and he said no. He said "Mom I just want to go to school with Caden".

I've talked to Caden's Mom and Samuel's Mom and the 3 boys are all off to a rough start this year. These boys have always been excited about school but miss their friends. Doug and I are also struggling with our decision to move to public school. We know so many parents that love Fall Creek Elementary so we are going to give it a try. We have been so impressed with the principal, the teachers and how organized the school is. The school is beautiful and they have a lot of technology that SMMCS doesn't have.

The really good news is that Matt has the BEST Kinder teacher - Mrs. Grady. God seems to bless Matt with great teachers and I'm so thankful. He doesn't know many people in his class but he is making friends. By Thursday he came home with a smile on his face so each day is getting better. He's learning the routine and Matt loves structure so that helps.

He was so nervous on the first day and Doug and I were too. But he kept that amazingly gorgeous smile on his face!

Thank you God for Mrs. Grady!!!

A Visit from the Wisconsin Family

2011-08-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately these snowbirds have their seasons mixed up and came to Texas in August when it's too hot to even step foot outside!!

The kids were so excited to see Great Grandpa, Great Aunt Donna and Cousins Mallory and Kelly. However they might have been most excited about the one person who is not blood related - Duy. Duy is Mallory's fiance and they are getting married next year!

Our weekend got cut short due to our rush to the ER and Marlie's concussion (see previous post) but we still had fun visiting. So glad you guys were able to come and visit!

Marlie's First Day of School and First Concussion

2011-08-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

What a crazy weekend! Marlie started school on Friday. We had a bit of drama. We did not get Mrs. Melissa, the wonderful teacher Matt had in PreK-4 and Marlie's close friends Lauren and Hayden are not in her class either! Honestly it was more upsetting to me than Marlie. Marlie was too excited. And I tried very hard to be too.

We are in Mrs. Lisa and Mrs. Alex's class. They have been teaching together for a while now and are a great team. Marlie came home with The Kissing Hand book on her first day and she was so excited. She went on and on about her day and Mrs. Lisa said "she had a VERY good first day." Marlie told me she helped clean all the centers (which is so hard for me to believe). So all is well. Lauren's Mom, Patty, told me Lauren woke up crying because Marlie was not in her class. Luckily the girls will see each other at recess and they are doing ballet and soccer together this fall.

Matt was so excited because he didn't have to go to school. But when we walked by the hall where he used to go to Kinder and he saw his friends lined up ready to go into 1st grade he got teary-eyed. I was not expecting that at all. He started blinking trying to hold it in. I stopped and asked him if he was ok. He said "Mom I'm just tired", which he never says. So I started crying too! We left school and Matt and I got to spend a wonderful day together, just he and I.

Saturday morning we were excited to go to Andrew's b-day party. It was at the movie theater which was a great idea! Afterwards we were walking out and Marlie, Lauren, Ashdin and Sam were playing. They were having so much fun playing pirates that we didn't want to leave. 20 minutes later we heard a loud thud followed by lots of crying. It was mine. Marlie and Ashdin ran into each other while running and she went down head first on the concrete. She's a tough cookie but she was pretty hysterical.

I called the pediatrician as soon as we got home. I noticed she was pale and she couldn't keep her eyes open. It also seemed like she was still in a lot of pain. Pediatrician asked if she was vomiting and I said no. Asked if it hurt to touch it and I said yes. She said that it was best to be safe and take her in. Luckily we did. I had just sat down with her in the waiting room when she started throwing up...a ton!! I completely panicked assuming the worst. I yelled across the waiting room that we wanted to see a doc immediately. When no one jumped as fast as my friend Aseena had when we heard the thud, I said it again. I think Doug was yelling at them too. When she finally stopped Doug grabbed her and took her back. I think he ordered a cat scan on his way to the room!! I couldn't move because I was completely covered.

Oh my...thankfully it was nothing major. But she has a concussion. Later that night she was very perky as if nothing happened. Doc said to watch her for a week so I am trying hard to keep her still but that's like bathing a cat. So we are watching more cartoons this week trying to be still. Thank you God that it was not worse.

M&M's Birthday Party!

2011-08-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

So this year we decided to have Matt & Marlie's (aka M&M) birthday party together and it turned out great! We wanted to invite all our friends and family so we decided to rent the pool in the neighborhood. It was smoking hot outside so in the water is really the only place to be to avoid melting!

Nene kept the kids the night before and brought them to the party. By the time they arrived Papa, Nona Lisa, Doug and I most everything setup and they were SO excited!!

Marlie had a blast playing with all of her friends. Here are her classmates and BFF's Lauren and Ashdin. And Marlie got to play with Annie too. Gosh we miss Annie now that her family has moved in town.

Matt was so excited that Samuel, Caden and Evan were at his party along with all his other friends. These are his schoolmates that he has really bonded with this year.

I can't believe Matt is 6! Well I guess not officially until August but he begged me to let him be 6 as of the party date. We had cookie cakes with M&M's with M&M ice cream too! The kids got to take home personalized M&Ms that had Matt and Marlie's picture on them too! They were pretty cute I must admit!!

The kids had so much fun celebrating their birthdays with all their friends and their cousins. Thank you guys for coming! You can see more pictures in the slideshow!!

Pools & Parties

2011-07-28T18:16:00.000-07:00

So when we're not at the pool this summer we are at parties! And Matt and Marlie celebrated their birthdays at a pool party! More to come on that for sure...

Marlie's new BFF, Lauren, had a Fresh Beat Band party at her house. The kids had so much fun dancing! Most of my pics were blurry because they were moving like crazy! Marlie and boyfriend #1 - Ashdin!

Look at Marlie and Lauren in the back following the dance and laughing. They had so much fun!

Ashdin and Sam are dancing too!

Then Marlie found boyfriend #2 - Hayden to sit with and eat cake!!

The girls had so much fun! Here they are all sweaty with frosting still all over them! It doesn't get much better than this. Happy Birthday Lauren!

The next party we went to was lots of fun too but VERY sad. It was Iva & Alena's going away party. Not only have I grown attached to these girls but I have really enjoyed getting to know their Mom, Sarah too. They are off to Florida and I hope we get to visit them when we go to Disney (if we ever do!). Here's the crew that has been in school together since they started. Next year they all go their own different ways. It breaks my heart!!! Great kids, great parents! Sarah your family is on our prayers as you begin a new adventure! We will keep up with your blog so don't slack!!! :) Matt and Caden still plan on going to prom with Iva & Alena so at least we'll see you then!!!!

Where are the Maziur's?

2011-07-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

I'll do a little catch up here. We've been here and there and always moving! I thought this summer would be nice and relaxing but it's just as busy as usual. Crazy fun!

Doug had a meeting at the JW Marriott in SA a few weeks ago so the kids and I tagged along. It was really nice and relaxing and we got to see all our grandparents, cousins and the Hatters too! The pool and water park were great and lots of fun but I think our favorite part of the trip were our morning picnics. Doug was off early but the kids and I would wake up leisurely and watch cartoons in bed. Then I'd throw a pool towel on the floor and we'd eat breakfast in our room. Typically our mornings are getting up, getting dressed, shoveling in something for breakfast and running out the door. So this was a really nice change. I didn't take the camera out until we were checking out the last day so I missed capturing our fun, but here are a few.

Matt and Caden went to baseball camp and then Matt went back a few weeks later for a hitting camp. The hitting camp was in the mornings so he got to come to work with me in the afternoons. Everyone enjoyed meeting him and he loved all the attention. His comments to me were, "Mom all you do is print at work" and after the third day, "Mom I don't want to work when I grow up. I just want to play baseball." So apparently he was not impressed at all! Matt is also doing Camp Primrose and is so excited that he gets to go on field trips on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Today they went to the Museum of Natural Science which is one of my favorites! I still worry a little but the kids wear bright orange (hideous) tshirts so it would be really difficult for one of them to get lost! In the evenings we practice our reading. I can't believe how well Matt is reading! I'm so proud of him!

Marlie is also going to Camp Primrose but they stay on campus! Ashdin and Lauren are there too so they have fun together. She sung the cutest ABC song tonight where she says the letter, the sound of the letter and a word that starts with the letter. But as she's singing, she's doing these movements too. I'll have to get it on video. Marlie's biggest news is that as of last Friday, she swims like a fish! We bought her a new pair of goggles that fits better and it was like a night and day difference. She swims like a mad fool and isn't scared at all. Luckily we still have some time this summer to keep practicing. I'm officially the only family member that doesn't know how to swim!!

We went with our friends the McCready's last weekend fishing down in Galveston. Traci cooked us the best hamburgers I've ever had on the boat and the kids had a blast fishing. We also got to spend some time with the Steinbring's. The kids just love Mr. Scott! Matt and Trevor played baseball the whole time. Neither of them can ever get enough baseball! And Marlie loved that Mrs. June put 2 braids in her hair!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer! I can't believe it's going by so fast!

Marlie is 4!

2011-06-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

My baby is 4! I can handle this one, but next year on June 11th you can bet on me being a complete disaster! I have taken the lead from another great friend and this year we are having a joint birthday party for the kids in July. So today was just our day to have fun. We started the morning off getting pedis! I know that's insane, but if you read my blog post from last year I took Marlie once and she LOVES getting her toenails polished. She has been asking to go back so I promised we'd do it for her birthday. Her friend Lauren came with us and Lauren's Mom and I had so much fun too!

We "lunched" at Chick-fil-A and then we were off to our friend Avery's bday party. When it was time for cake I noticed Avery's Mom, Heather had a small extra cake. I thought maybe it was Avery's very own cake (like the kind you get your 1 year old) but then I realized it said "Happy Birthday Marlie". That was the sweetest thing and Marlie talked about it all night! Thank you so much Heather.

Nene joined us for dinner and I made special M&M cupcakes. I let the kids decorate some too which they really enjoyed. When Marlie blew out the candle I asked if she made a wish. She said "I wish we could all stay together forever" and if that wasn't cute enough she looked at each one of us when she said it. Our hearts were mush!

We opened a few gifts afterwards. Marlie got some clothes and leotards and a new bike from Mom & Dad. Matt was so excited to give her a pink soccer ball. When she opened the card from Nene she was excited that there was money in it! The first thing she said was "I can put this in the basket at church!". So maybe as parents we are doing something right?? She is a very special kid with a very big heart! Marlie we love you SOOOO much! We thank God every day for you, even when you're a little feisty!!

On Sunday we were in for another treat. We went with the McCready's out on their beautiful (and spotless I might add) boat. The kids had fun and we did too! Thanks McCready's for an awesome day! Matt and Hannah picked on each other and I thought it was hilarious because most of the time she would outsmart him. Hannah also takes VERY good care of Marlie. It's awesome. Marlie & Hayden had fun too! I'm totally thinking arranged marriages here...

Baseball - Spring 2011

2011-06-03T14:38:00.000-07:00

I found the perfect song for this post and for some reason my music won't start when you open the blog! So scroll to the bottom and hit play. Then you can read this! HA!

Matt and the rest of the family are so sad that baseball season is over!! We had a fun year!!

This year we played with a league here in Humble. It was coach pitch and Joel decided he was going to coach. It was a draft so we were lucky to get picked on Joel's team. Dad decided to help and we were all set to go! We were the Diamondbacks and we met a whole group of new friends! Matt was Lucky 7 baby!

Matt did so well that we tried to get everyone to come up and watch! Grandpa drove up from SA several times just for the game. And even cousin Tim came to watch too!

Matt did really well! He played short stop most games. He only struck out a few times all season and the first time he did, he held back his tears and hustled right back to the dugout. We couldn't have been more proud.

I forced myself to take a few videos. Sorry you will get sea sick watching these. Look at how focused he is! Matt wasn't the best on his team but there wasn't a kid that tried harder. Coach Dan nicknamed him 110. We nicknamed him "Tucker" because he is ALWAYS tucking in his shirt. One of the Dad's said Matt was the only kid on the field who had every part of his uniform in the right spot...even the dirt! Matt doesn't like Tucker so I guess it might not stick!

The kids learned a ton this year. Coach Joel did great teaching them fundamentals and Dad worked with Matt a lot. He made some great plays, caught a pop up and scored at almost every at bat. Honestly I embarrassed myself. I couldn't stop yelling at the games. It was all positive but I couldn't stand to keep quiet which made taking a video extremely difficult!! Our team ended up 7-5 which was great. 3 of those games we lost by 1 run and probably should have won them. The kids wanted to know the score at all times and wanted to win. I didn't realize they had such a fire at this age.

Matt, we couldn't be more proud of you! And I couldn't be more thankful to have such a wonderful Coach, and wonderful Dad and wonderful parents and kids to be around! You can see a few more pics in the slide show!

Turks & Caicos 2011

2011-05-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

We have been planning this vacation for months so we would have been really excited when it finally arrived but the Wellmann's couldn't come because Melissa is in the middle of chemo, the McCready's cancelled because her sister recently passed away, and the week before departure Jenny's boss asked her to please cancel her vacation for work! Moral of the story is maybe it's bad luck to plan a vacation with the Maziur's!

So off we went by ourselves! First stop was the big city. We were laying over in NYC and excited to take the kids into the city and see my friend Genieve and her family! I have never met her husband or her kids so it was such a wonderful evening! Matt got to go to the official Yankees store (where it took about 30 minutes to pick something out) and we took the kids to the M&M store so Marlie could get a little treat too! What a great start to the week!

Then it was off to Turks! The resort was as great as we imagined and the beach was gorgeous!

We were like kids in a candy store...literally!

The Sesame Street characters were all at the resort! The kids got to bake cookies with Cookie Monster and Explore the gardens with Grover. Marlie fell in love with Abby!

We had a great time playing on the beach! Marlie could have sat in the sand and built sand castles all day! Matt learned how to snorkel and it was neat because he got to see lots of fish! Matt and Daddy could have played in the water all day!

I enjoyed walking on the beach and just tried to take it all in so I could remember it when we were back home! This is what my Heaven looks like...except the sun won't be quite as hot and you won't have to put on sunscreen! And while I'm at it, maybe my skin could be like Matt's. It's amazing how tan he is from this trip and we use sunscreen like crazy! It's the most beautiful honey brown color.

We only left the resort one day. Dad planned a wonderful trip for us. We boarded our own "ship" (as Marlie called it) with Captain Alex and Alido. They were great. Alido took better care of my kids than maybe we would. He was so careful with them every second. He chased this kids around on the boat and was so cute! If you ever go, please go to Silver Deep and request these guys. Money well spent! We decided we wanted to do some fishing. Matt caught (or I should say Alex helped Matt catch) lots of fish and Dad and Marlie caught a few too!

I think Marlie had more fun throwing the fish back in rather than catching them!

Then it was off to a beautiful beach to look for sand dollars. This beach reminded me a lot of Great Exuma and I could have stayed here all week! Matt was the only one of us that found a sand dollar. Alex and Alido found about 10 for us and the kids were excited!

On our way back to the marina we saw JoJo the famous T&C dolphin! He was swimming offshore and Capt Alex sped up the boat, got him right in the wake and JoJo put on a show for us. The kids were so excited to see him jump out of the water. It was the perfect day! Thanks Dad for planning that trip for us!

We spent time in the evenings at the shows and surprisingly Matt was the one who was ALWAYS on stage. The kids danced like crazy and Matt dragged Marlie up there anytime he had the chance!

We did a photo shoot on the beach too and I will cherish these pictures. These are my favorite...

We had a really wonderful time! I spent time studying the kids and learning their similarities and differences. Marlie is a homebody! She was ready to come home on day 4. Matt could have stayed forever. He made friends with lots of kids, even those that didn't speak English!! Matt loved the camp and Marlie just wanted to be with us. Matt is going constantly and Marlie will tell you when she wants to take a nap. But at night, Matt is out like a light and Marlie tosses and turns for at least 30 minutes. Matt wants to do everything on his own, but Marlie wants help reaching the toilet paper in the bathroom! Marlie is thankful for everything and Matt sort of expects everything. We need to work on that! But both kids love vacations, love dancing and love shrimp! They must have eaten shrimp for every meal except breakfast! It was so much fun! There are some more pics in the slideshow. I can't wait to do it again!

K Grad

2011-05-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a wonderful vacation in time for Kindergarten Graduation. I'll update you on the trip later!

Matt's birthday is 8/31 so he is the absolute youngest in his class. Next year he will repeat Kinder at Fall Creek Elementary. So I never thought we would attend this year's Kinder Graduation. BUT...the teachers and parents said it was going to be great and so literally at the last minute I figured why not? We have already explained to Matt that he will go to Kinder again next year at a new school and he understands.

I'm really glad we went. The kids sang the cutest songs and the teachers put together an awesome video with pictures from the year. The room was decorated with these cute profiles of all the kids. Funny I spotted Matt's right away. I guess both he and I need to work on our posture!!

They walked in so proudly and took their seats. Alphabetical order blessed Matt with Hannah McCready on one side and Alena Kozul on the other! Lucky guy!

Then it was his turn to get his diploma! He was so proud!

They were most excited about throwing their hats off at the end of it all. Surprisingly only 1 went flying really high and it wasn't Matt's!

Our fabulous room Mom got all the kid's fingerprints and had this cute pot made for Ms. M. It was funny because Matt sort of took over presenting it to her like he did it all himself! Oh goodness.

I love this picture of Matt, Caden and the girls! Somehow we missed Hannah in this pic. After graduation Sarah (the twins Mom) said Alena was so sad that "the fun boys" (Matt and Caden) won't be at their school next year. And Caden got very sad too that he will also be going to a different school. Unfortunately that school is not Fall Creek either! Well...I am REALLY sad about it all too. But I know we will see Caden a lot and the girls live in the neighborhood so we will make a point to see them too. Plus Marlie thinks the world of them! And we like the McCready's way too much to not hop down the beltway to see them!

Afterwards, the kids wanted to go to Chick-fil-A to celebrate so we all went! The owners treated them to milkshakes and the boys had fun chasing the girls. I am really going to miss this group of kids and parents!! What a wonderful year it's been. I feel very blessed and know God put you all in our lives for a reason!

We are so proud of you Matt for working so hard this year. You learned how to read already and add and subtract. You write beautiful stories and draw great pictures. You have made such wise choices in friends and have behaved pretty good all year!!! We love you more than you will ever know!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2011-05-05T18:55:00.000-07:00

Hola amigos! The kids had their Cinco de Mayo performance at school yesterday. They were too cute! Instead of a cute pony tail with a bandana I decided Marlie was going gangsta style! It's too cute. I think her and I will have to wear them more often.

Here's Marlie getting ready for the big show with her friends.

And here's Matt with Isabella (who he admitted was one of his favorite "girl" friends recently) and Cyril. I was trying to get a pic with just Matt and Isabella but Matt was way too shy and Cyril jumped right in!

The show was great. We have learned that Marlie loves the stage. She was singing her heart out and doing some sort of Mexican alphabet dance. Matt did good too but since he's on the tall side, he got put in the back and we could barely see him. Urg...oh well, the kids had fun and it was cute seeing everyone dressed up!

Marlie's First REAL Recital

2011-05-02T18:01:00.000-07:00

By far the highlight of our weekend was Marlie's first real recital. She had a recital last Fall but it was small. This was a big one at the gym at Kingwood High School. Uncle Leon (or should I say Great Uncle Leon) came down from Wisconsin and Grandpa came from SA.

As you guessed I was pretty nervous. Marlie nailed her routine at rehearsal but she has never performed in front of that many people! As soon as we walked into the gym she said "my tummy hurts". Bless her heart she was nervous. But she did GREAT! She sort of went into "deer in headlights" mode a few times but then picked back up quickly. She was so adorable. We could not have been more proud.

Doug posted the video on YouTube so we could share with everyone. It is so cute and so funny!! She is the last one to walk out. A few cute things...notice how she puts her hand on her tummy before and during the show. Those butterflies were really working! Also notice how she smiles real big when she puts her hands on her box to arabesque. Then watch how she just nails the beginning and end like she's way older than 3. Marlie you were gorgeous and adorable! I can't wait until the next recital!!

We went home to take a nap after lunch at Marlie's choice - Pei Wei. When we were laying down she said "Mom thanks for taking me to ballet every day". I'd take her every day!!!

Matt's Field Trip to the Aquarium

2011-05-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun going with Matt on his field trip to the Aquarium. However...Marlie also had a field trip on the same day. PreK-3 was walking to the park so I had to chose one. Horrible for the school to make a parent have to do that! I knew a few Mom's that would be attending the PreK-3 field trip so I decided Marlie would be ok. I'm still not ready for Matt to go without Doug or I to an open place like the Aquarium. I just see him running off and getting lost (although I know that most likely would not happen). As I dropped Marlie off that morning I wanted to cry and luckily pulled myself together. Apparently she attached herself to Mrs. Traci and even begged her to take her home at the end of the day. Traci sent me a pic and a text during the day to tell me the kids were having a blast. A true friend! That made my day! Traci sent me some really cute pics but I cannot seem to download them from the Kodak Gallery!

The kinder kids had a blast at the Aquarium and I did too. Here are some of the usual suspects...

I was so surprised when Matt wanted to go on this ride that takes you way up high and drops you down. I asked Caden if he would ride with Matt and there the boys went. I thought for sure he would cry when he got to the top but he was smiling like crazy and the boys stayed on to ride again! He is much braver than I and I'm so thankful for that.

Matt asked Ms. Marchesani if she would ride the ferris wheel with us. She reluctantly said yes and it was so cute because she was a bit scared. Now this is a huge ferris wheel so I was too. She sat next to Matt and asked if he would hold her hand. He was in heaven and loved every minute of it! To think this school year is coming to an end and we will have to have a new teacher next year makes me want to cry AGAIN. This young Baylor grad is awesome. It was so fun to watch her interact with the kids during the day. I learned a few tricks from her. Thank you Ms. Marchesani for organizing a great day for everyone and for all your hard work! We are so blessed!

Don't You Want Some Bunny To Love?

2011-04-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

Easter is such a special holiday. As with Christmas, often times we forget what we're celebrating. But Marlie knew that Jesus died and rose on the third day. Sister Mary taught her well! The kids also decided to give up gum for lent and when I forgot and asked Marlie if she wanted some she said, "Mom I gave up gum for lent." Now first Matt thought about giving up chocolate but when Dad told him that meant Oreos, chocolate ice cream, etc, he said "maybe I'll give up vanilla". Somehow they both decided on gum which is good because they ask for gum every time we hop in the car.

We went to the Movie Tavern and saw HOP with a bunch of friends. The kids couldn't wait to paint eggs so we came home and did that too. We made every color we could and even made some glitter ones too. They had a blast!

We had a quick, but really fun weekend in SA with the entire family. Matt woke up early to go potty and found his basket. He was SO excited. Marlie...not so much. Maybe she was so tired from not sleeping and punching me in the face all night (I don't know how you crazy parents sleep with your kids but your missing out on some great sleep!). And it was Matt who was so excited about the Easter egg hunt. He couldn't wait!

And here are all the cousins getting ready for the hunt. We missed Tim in the first picture so I had to take another of him and Matt. Since these are the only boys they have so much fun together. It will be fun to watch them as they get older. They already had a blast playing Tball in the backyard. Matt got to "coach" and he loved that. Later T said, "Matt I love you". How cute is that?

We had a really great Easter and I hope you did too! We got to swing by the Hatters house on our trip and see them for a bit and that was just icing on the cake. They are way too fun and we always have so many funny things to talk about. We love you guys!

Blog Slump - Need Prayers

2011-04-13T15:18:00.000-07:00

No I don't need prayers for my blog slump. Let me explain. There are 3 important women in my life that need prayers. I've been busy lately trying to turn worry into prayer. I don't think I've prayed this much in my life. But I'll keep doing it.

If you read my blog you know Melissa, Caden's Mom. Melissa was diagnosed with Stage I breast cancer in February. When she told me I immediately got a knot in my stomach. I remained somewhat composed until we got in the car and I lost it. I lost my appetite and couldn't sleep. Imagine how she felt? Fast forward to now. Her PET scan showed the cancer only in one spot. Huge blessing. She had a lumpectomy last Wednesday and will start chemo in a few weeks. This will most likely be followed by a double mastectomy and reconstruction. It's a long road ahead, but she's being strong and positive. The positive of this is that we got to kidnap Caden on Sunday and the boys had fun. Caden is really sweet to Marlie too. Please keep Melissa and her family in your prayers! We want them to be ready for another trip to Great Exuma next year!!

You also know Traci, Hannah and Hayden's Mom, from my blog too. Traci's sister, Tami, passed away a little over a week ago from cancer. She was 43 and had 5 girls. Matt and I have been praying for "Hannah's Aunt Tami" for so long now. She has been sick for some time. That night when Matt prayed that she get better I had to tell him something. So I told him that his prayers worked. That she is better because in Heaven no one is sick. And in Heaven she can be the Mom she wants to be and watch over her girls. I told him that now we have to pray for Ms. Melissa and keep Ms. Stephanie on our list. He asked lots of questions and I didn't use the word "cancer" but explained about them having "bad cells" in their body that we have to pray go away!!

Traci is back in Houston now. I haven't had a chance to talk to her much and I'm not sure if she's ready to talk. It broke my heart because when she did talk about Tami I could always tell that Traci was so hopeful. Even the last few weeks when Tami was on life support. Please keep Tami's family and Traci in your prayers!

And lastly, if you haven't read my blog posting from last December about the "Pink Christmas" you should read it! Ms. Stephanie had surgery to remove the cancer that had moved into one of her lungs. She has been waiting to start chemo but her white blood cell counts have been too low. She was back at MDA this week. I texted her that morning praying for better cell counts. She texted me back that they had found three more spots on her lower left lung. My heart sank.

I don't know if I have the right words to describe Stephanie. When you see her, you would never know she has Stage IV breast cancer. Her face almost glows...she has the best skin and looks angelic. She's always running around with her 2 small children. She is always concerned about others. She has been a huge blessing for Melissa in giving her advice. I'm so happy they know each other. When I go to visit and take her food or little surprises she always has something for me too. She is my inspiration to keep moving forward no matter what life throws at you. I am a better person for knowing her and I thank God everyday.

It's been a very emotional few months. In a way it has helped me to get perspective on life. I worry less about the small bumps in the road. However, I also find I am insensitive to people that complain about the little things or people who are just plain mean. I have lost my patience with my little ones because sometimes they fight over the smallest, most ridiculous things. I'm trying to do better with that one because in their world those things are important. I've learned to pray better...yes more meaningful prayers.

What has kept a smile on my face while trying to support these ladies are my wonderful friends. There are my daily "quick" emails from Laura and Jenny who always make me laugh. My walks with Heather every night help to get any stress out and talk through ideas. These girls are supporting all 3 of these women too so we can share in our heart breaks and in the blessings of our lives. My Mom has taken the lead with Team Stephanie and I know through our team she will be well taken care of. And my coworker Ann who reminds me to keep praying. Thank you ladies!!

Peace & Blessings to you all! Please keep these amazing women and their families in your prayers.

Yee-haw!

2011-03-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

Well we barely made the rodeo this year! We rolled in on the last day and as always had a blast!! We set a record this year. 6 hours! Yes we were at the rodeo, really just the fairgrounds, for almost 6 hours. Here are my cowkids all ready to go!

Our usual routine is to get there when the doors open. While we're waiting for the carnival to start we get in a pony ride and visit the petting zoo. They both love riding the ponies. And they hop on and ride like they do it every day.

I think the entire family is scared of the attacking goats in the petting zoo. So we typically move towards the smaller guys and then we're ok.

Then it was time for the highlight of the day...Matt was really excited about Mutton Bustin'. So Doug signed him up. Here he is getting ready...

Then we could tell he was terrified. But he didn't say a word.

Here he is in the shoot, getting ready!!

And then well, I have to be honest...I think of his group he was the first to fall off. He didn't like the dirt all in his eyes and mouth when he fell either. I could see he was holding back tears when they took his helmet off. I was glad he was brave and tried. We told him we were proud of him for trying and that got him more excited. When they walked the kids out at the end, he was smiling and waving as if he won!! Too cute!! Maybe we'll try again next year??

Then it was off to ride some rides!!! The faster it was, the louder Marlie screamed. She loved it all. Here are a few pics on the roller coasters.

Then Doug made me go with the kids on the slide, which he knows I don't like. Last year I think my back was out of whack for a few weeks after this slide. But it was fun and I'd do it again to hear Marlie scream all the way down!

The kids were excited when we spotted Ashdin and we got to go on a ride with him too!

It was a great day! Thanks Dad for taking us to the Rodeo!!! Yee-haw!!!

Thankful for Thursday

2011-03-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

Doug and I both took off work on Thursday but unfortunately didn't coordinate too well and we ended up going in different directions. But we all had fun!!

We were so excited that Hannah spent the day with us. Matt very proudly told Caden the day before that he and Hannah were going to the zoo. Like it was a date! Doug took them and had just as much fun as they did. You can tell from the pictures that they had a great day! They loved the baby giraffe and baby elephant. Doug said after 3 hours they were exhausted. Matt (still recovering from baseball camp) could barely keep up with Hannah!

We finally took Hannah home at 6:30 that night and I wouldn't have cared if she stayed all weekend. Her and Matt played so well and he was so much calmer than normal! He even talked in a more quiet voice. They love to wrestle and played board games. When Doug told them they could watch a movie they sat right next to each other on the couch. Too cute!! Hannah left this cute note for Matt...I love it!

Marlie and I had some errands to run but our prize after our hard work was going to Addison's party at Build-A-Bear. Marlie built a bunny and picked out a cute pink dress and shoes and then named it "Mr. Bunny". That last only until she got home and brother harassed her about it being a "Mr.". So now it is Ms. Bunny and they go everywhere together! Happy Birthday Addison and thank you to the Conner's. The girls had so much fun!

A Note for Dad

2011-03-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

So we are home today and Mom is catching up on chores. Marlie is down for a nap and Matt is watching some cartoons. I went to straighten up upstairs because it looked like a tornado had blown through...and found this note on the chalkboard...

Is this the cutest or what? Not to mention that Matt wrote it all by himself. Doug please be surprised when you see this tonight. It was just too special not to take a picture and post on the blog.

Spring Break Baseball Camp!

2011-03-18T09:18:00.000-07:00

While everyone else is traveling the country, we are at home for Spring Break! Doug and I are working but we are still managing to sneak in some fun here and there.

We were excited when Uncle Jay said we could go to Baseball USA for camp. Caden came with us and even Evan met us there too! The boys were all very excited.

I however (no surprise really) was emotional. This was the first camp where Matt's friends could join him AND the first camp where we would drop them off and leave for the day. I know that sounds ridiculous but it's a big step for a parent. I was in tears until we pulled into the parking lot and I saw Joel (Caden's daddy) and John (Evan's daddy). I figured I better pull myself together or they'll think I'm crazy...which they might already but anyway...so there were all 3 boys. Cute as could be and super excited.

Even better that Uncle Jay was working the camp! It made them feel special that he knew them and gave us parents some comfort that they would be okay!

So I left, hoping to get hugs and a kiss from Matt. But Evan looked at me like "lady, I am way too old and cool to be hugging you" and Matt gave me the quickest kiss he possibly could. I figured at this point I wouldn't embarrass Caden too so he got a pat on the head.

The boys met other kids and day 2 when I picked them up, they already had another friend that was planning on coming home with us. Unfortunately I had no idea who he was or where he lived so that plan didn't happen.

After 3 days they were completely exhausted. I thought they might have been "baseballed out" but it just got them more excited about playing. They wanted to come home and play and they are excited to go back to practice. Thank you Coach Jay for your help! It was a blast!

The Good Life

2011-03-07T19:39:00.000-08:00

We had a big treat on Saturday night. We were given great seats from an even greater family to the Rockets game. As we were there I couldn't stop singing this song by One Republic - The Good Life.

I knew the seats were going to be good but didn't realize how good until we got there. We had prepped the kids and they knew this was a special treat too. They were excited and in check!!

We strolled down to our seats which were right behind the Rockets bench. Again a reminder to the kiddos that they had to behave or they would kick us out and send us way to the top of the arena!! We weren't in our seats 5 minutes when the team trainer/doc came over to the kids to bring them goodies. He gave Marlie a Chuck Hayes bobble head doll and gave Matt NBA wrist bands and a headband. Could they be more excited? I don't think so.

Surprisingly Marlie was good ALL night. In my last post I mentioned we are struggling with Marlie. We even half joked that we should take her to see Father Mike to get blessed!! She was SO good. She sat for the first half with the bobble head held tight and was in awe...

Matt was pumped. I would try to talk to him during the game but he was too focused. He watched the entire first half with eyes on the ball at all times. He didn't even ask 20 questions. Just focused. If you happened to see us on TV, you can see him bobbing back and forth as the game moved from one end of the court to the other.

And if you thought the kids were excited, you should have seen Doug and I!!! I'm not sure if I was more excited about the game or watching the players and coaches on the sidelines. Then the announcer said there was 2 minutes left. I couldn't believe it. It felt like we had just got there. We didn't want it to end!!

Thank you, thank you...we had such a fun night!!

2011 Watch Out - Marlie Maziur

2011-03-03T18:50:00.000-08:00

If you don't have your volume on please turn it up! We love this song by Taylor Swift but it's 100 times better when Marlie sings it. And she can sing!!! Every night she makes us sit by the fireplace or on the couch and we have to listen to her. Most of the time she makes up her own words and she dances too. Sometimes it's adorable, sometimes it's hilarious and sometimes it's really sweet. Maybe one day she will be a "Taylor Swift" and I will live vicariously through her since that is my dream job!!!

Marlie is in PreK-3 and is also at SMMCS with her big brother. She is learning a lot and has really grown. She used to be shy to start something new but not anymore! She marches right into places like she owns them. We are going through a tough stage with Marlie right now. She's feisty (maybe it's that red tint in her hair!) and can get really frustrated. But she is also very loveable too.

We are busy with ballet and gymnastics. She can do a really good bridge all by herself. Some days she takes it all very seriously and other days she is just a hoot. I am always approached by all her coaches/teachers with funny stories. We also spend a lot of time at brother's activities and she is so supportive of him. She always tells him when he does a good job.

The best part about a 3 year old is that they say the funniest things. Here's a few:

"Mom I know what anteaters eat. They eat fire ants for our freedom."
When she was sick last week she got up in the middle of the night and told me "Mom I forgot how to sleep."
Shortly after that she said she was "wondering how ants kiss". It was 4:00am so I didn't come up with a good response.
At dinner that night I asked her if she figured it out and she said "well I don't know if they lick you a kiss or bite you a kiss."
She came out of her gymnastics class Monday to tell me a secret. She asked "Mom when I get big can I go to work with you?" Then darted back into class and jumped back on the beam.
When we were home sick we were sitting at the table eating lunch. She put her hand on mine and said "Mom I love you even when I'm sick. I love you everyday!" Which I thought...you better because I was up all night! :)

We still have a long road ahead of us with Marlie. And from what I see now, I am already praying for God to give us strength and guidance to make it through the teen years!!! I see a lot of me in her which is fun, but also scary. She seems so strong willed but we know how sensitive she is too. I love how she cares about everything and everyone around her. I love how she thinks her brother is the greatest person ever. I love how she gets excited everytime we pull in the driveway and Dad's truck is there. I love how she tries so hard at ballet and gymnastics. I love how she gets mad at people for saying "can't" because that's a bad word. I love, love how she sings and dances like no one is watching. I love her hazel eyes, freckles and strawberry brown hair! I love how she always follows me at home trying to be a helper but really isn't. I love how proud she is every day when she gets happy faces at school. I love when she gets in trouble and is crying big dinosaur tears but still says "yes ma'am" and "I'm sorry Momma". I love how she always talks about wanting to go to work with me!! And I really love when you say God is good, Marlie shouts ALL THE TIME!

I had to post this pic of Marlie and Hayden on SuperBowl Sunday. They had so much fun!!

2011 Here I Come - Matt Maziur

2011-02-27T13:12:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile. We've been busy and I keep forgetting my camera!! I thought I'd start the year with an update on the kids.

Matt is 5 and is in Kinder at St. Mary Magdalene. God blessed us with another great teacher. Ms. Marchesani is a recent Baylor grad (yes a Baylor grad in a Catholic school) and is WOW amazing. She's fun, yet strict and she has taught Matt so much already.

Starting in January he came home with books to read for homework. The first time I planned on this homework activity taking awhile so I allotted plenty of time. We had 2 books to read...about 15 pages each. Doug and I couldn't believe he could read all by himself! Sure he'd look at the picture to figure out some words, but read most of it on his own. Now when we're driving he reads signs and as always, asks a million questions. After Valentine's day he wanted to have a box of conversation hearts that one of his classmates gave him. So I said yes but he had to read them to me. He got about 90% correct but one that he got wrong said "Sweet Pea" and Matt said "Sweat Pee". He had a funny look and said "like you're peeing?". I couldn't help but laugh so hard!!!

Matt recently had baseball tryouts and worked like crazy getting ready for them. Dad took him out to the fields to practice and Matt is just relentless. He could practice all day without complaining or getting tired. It's sort of unreal. He started to get nervous as tryouts approached. He was having trouble throwing the ball. He asked Doug what happens if no one picks him to be on their team? Doug told him he would get picked as long as he hustled, listened to what the coaches told him and said "yes sir" to whatever they asked. It was okay if he couldn't throw. So Matt kept working. He also would pin Coach Joel down at school and ask him to please pick him even if he didn't do good! I thought this was a great teaching moment so I taught him Joshua 1:9:

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

That seemed to help because he rocked it at tryouts!! Coach Joel happened to be pitching when it was Matt's turn and Matt nailed a line drive right back at him and poor Coach Joel jumped and fell in a push-up position to the ground! We were thankful that Coach Joel did get to pick Matt, and Doug will be helping coach too. We've started practice and it's going really well. I think ALL the boys are having fun!

When I think about Matt I can't believe he has grown up so much. He's not perfect, but the years of discipline and great teachers have really turned him into a neat kid. I love how he takes his sister's hand and walks into school everyday. I love when he is sad and looks at me with those big, beautiful blue eyes with long eyelashes. I love that he's already embarrassed when I try to kiss him at school and he laughs when I give him the biggest kiss possible. I love how he runs like an 80 year old grandma - shoulders up, arms bent with his fists to his shoulders, with the smallest steps you can imagine. I love how he helps me and Doug and Marlie with pretty much anything - how he wants to get the trash can on trash day, how he helps me and Marlie clean around the house (because Marlie is not much help here) and how he loves to take care of our dog Hannah. I love how he loves to go to Nene's house and help her in the garden. I love how he comes home and immediately turns the TV to channel 33 - ESPN, and watches it. I love how he gets crazy excited when a team makes a big play when he's watching a game. I love how he says his prayers at night and tries to get all the prayers in before it's my turn. And mostly, I love how he looks at his Dad like he is the greatest man on earth. No matter how hard Doug is on him. Thank you God for Matt!!

Here's a recent picture I took of my "sweat pees" on Go Texan day! They looked adorable!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's 2011. Seems just yesterday we were thinking about the year 2000 and all the technology chaos that would happen. Time goes by fast. I can't believe Matt is 5 already. And although Marlie is only 3 you'd think she was 5 too. As another year goes by I am so thankful for my family and my friends. Doug and I have great jobs (in case you didn't know he starts a new job with KPMG tomorrow so keep him in your prayers!) and we are blessed to work with wonderful people. God is great!!

You may have seen these pictures before. I was so proud of myself that I took them and they turned out great. Of course I had to take million just to get these few, but hey...as with all of us, we just try to get better every day! One step at a time!

Baylor is in the Texas Bowl!

2011-01-01T18:50:00.000-08:00

So after 16 years Baylor made it to a bowl game! And lucky for us, they were invited to the Texas Bowl that was played here at Reliant Stadium. So we had to go!

The kids were excited! Dad surprised us all with new Baylor shirts for Christmas. He got us seats up close so Matt could see the game easily and Marlie could see the cheerleaders. It was super cool!

I know we should not have had high expectations but we always do and then get disappointed. It's stressful being a Baylor fan. Although the bears lost we had a blast. The highlights of the game were 1) that Marlie danced, like no one was watching, the entire time the Baylor Band was on the field. Everyone around us was watching and laughing. Some of her moves were really good and others...well she must have learned them from Dad! 2) Dad got to see Kascie and Brandon, good friends from Baylor that he ran track with. As Doug was trying to introduce Matt to them, Matt was bothered and just wanted to watch the game. He has an unhealthy obsession with football right now and so he loved being at the game. Thanks Dad for taking us!!

Christmas is here!

2011-01-01T18:38:00.000-08:00

Our highlight this Christmas was in my last blog post! We had a nice Christmas Eve at our house. Doug and Uncle Jay fried the fish the boys caught on their trip and it was SO good! Not your typical Christmas Eve meal but Matt was excited to eat the fish that he caught!

The kids put the "reindeer food" out on the lawn that Matt got from his teacher (she is awesome - looked like oats with a little bit of green glitter so the reindeer could find it).

What was really neat this Christmas is that the kids were so excited to give each other the gifts they picked out for the other. Marlie spotted this Ironman figure at the store and knew it was the perfect gift for Matt. We wrapped it and she was excited to show Matt all the buttons on it. Matt got Marlie a Ken Barbie and she thought it was funny to have a "boy" Barbie.

This was the first year we were at home for Christmas so it was nice to see the kids come down the stairs Christmas morning and see that Santa had stopped by. He ate most of the cookies we made and even left a note!

Then it was off to SA to spend the holidays with the rest of the family. Matt really wanted a football uniform for Christmas which he was lucky to get. And he wanted to make sure cousin Tim got a Texans jersey too.

Gram bought each of the families a karaoke machine and it was a huge hit! All the kids had fun singing. Marlie and Tim were reluctantly taking turns...she has been singing Taylor Swift on the mic every night!

We did something else different this Christmas too...we stayed downtown at the Hotel Contessa and took the kids to the riverwalk and of course on the boat ride. Of the million times we've been back to SA we have never done this. It was lots of fun! Here are all our cousins waiting to get on the boat!

I love this picture of Matt and Maggie. They are close in age and used to fight like brother and sister, non-stop! Now they have fun together and it's so fun to watch!

It was getting dark and the Christmas lights came on. I love the riverwalk at Christmas. It brings back lots of good memories. I was so glad the kids got to see it this year.

We also got the special treat of an adults night out and we got to hang out with our friends that we've known since junior high - the Hatters! The kids loved that Grandpa came to the hotel to hang out with them and Grandpa was more than happy and came with cookies and popcorn. It was a win-win for all.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Thank you to Jesus for letting us share this special day with him!

A Pink Christmas

2010-12-31T19:23:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve night turned out to be awesome. Let me explain why...my Mom met Stephanie in her breast cancer support group. Stephanie is a young Mom with a 4 and 1 year old. She was diagnosed with breast cancer early this year and has gone through chemo and radiation. Stephanie lives in the Fall Creek neighborhood but I don't know her personally. I have kept up with her through my Mom. My Mom takes her to doc appointments and cooks for her family. As always when you hear stories like this you assume someone or some group is taking care of them.

It was just after Thanksgiving when my Mom was giving me an update on Steph when I decided I should ask, "is anyone helping her?". Of course, people here and there, but there was no organized effort. So I told my Mom that we needed to do something and the plan was in action.

We set up a CareCalendar for her and have meals already scheduled for her twice a week through March. And it's as if God was putting Team Stephanie in motion because a few days before Christmas she got test results back showing that the cancer had spread to her lungs. Although I don't know Steph well, we have been praying for her every day and this news was heartbreaking.

So my Mom organized a team to decorate her neighborhood in pink so that Christmas morning she would have a surprise from Santa too. At 10:00pm Christmas Eve about 25 people, most who do not know Stephanie, gathered for prayer and decorating in the rain and cold. The only way to describe that night was like the excitement your kids have Christmas morning when they realize Santa came and brought presents. We were all so excited. My brother, my Mom, Doug and I and my dear friend Laura and her au pair hung signs and balloons in all the yards while the others decorated her house and tied pink ribbons throughout the neighborhood. Then at 5:00am the next morning Doug and my Mom and I went back out to fill her yard with more pink balloons.

Stephanie said when her Mom told her to look out the front door, her 4 year old, Garrett said "Mom how did Santa do all that so fast?" She said they all cried and later her and her husband went walking through the neighborhood to see it all. They ran into several neighbors who told fun stories of the previous night.

This is what Christmas is all about. Please pray for Stephanie and her family. And next time you hear of someone in need, take it upon yourself to help! Don't assume someone else is doing it! I have learned my lesson and I wished I would have put Team Stephanie into action sooner. Thank you to all the wonderful families in Fall Creek who are helping Stephanie's family with meals, childcare or carpooling. What a blessing to live in a neighborhood with such caring people.

I love these pics that Steph took on Christmas morning...

And this is the picture I have in my mind at all times when I'm praying for her. These are her little ones who I know are fighting with her!!

So many people are praying! Please pray with us!!

Matt is loving his vacation!

2010-12-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

So Matt is having the best vacation. Uncle Jay called with lots of exciting things to do. On Sunday the fun started with a trip to Baseball USA to meet Hunter Pence. Doug convinced Matt that Hunter was his favorite player (instead of Lance since he bailed on the Stros) and it seemed to work. Matt was pumped!

Then the boys were off to Rockport for a fishing trip. I'm not sure really who had more fun, Matt, Dad or Uncle Jay. Sounds like they had a blast and Matt loved that it was just the guys and they could "do whatever they wanted". To make things better they caught tons of fish! Matt even caught several!

I am still not sure how Matt managed to stay on a boat with no sides and not fall off! I'm so glad you guys had fun. If anyone needs a guide in Rockport, Doug said Tim was awesome!

Good thing Matt has tons of energy because when they got back Monday night it was time to rest and get ready for baseball camp. Last minute Uncle Jay said Matt could go to baseball camp on Tues and Wed. As usual he loved it. He tried so hard to keep up with those older boys. I am always so proud at his level of determination. It amazes me and I'm thankful he gives it his all!

Thanks Uncle Jay for such a great week!

Merry Christmas Take I

2010-12-28T18:58:00.000-08:00

The kids had their Christmas program at school and it was pretty funny really. We rushed from ballet to make it and while most kids were all decked out in whatever sort of attire they were supposed to wear, we were just happy to be there on time with something sort of appropriate.

Marlie's class went first. Yes, that is a "halo" on her head in case you're wondering. Marlie was front and center and did she put on a show! Someone told them in practice that they had to sing loud so the people in the back of the church could hear them and she practically screamed all the songs. Her face had a happy/mad/angry look to it. Everyone was laughing and we got lots of funny comments afterwards.

For those who have heard her talk about her boyfriend Hayden...this is the man!

Since Matt is 5 now, he is a little too cool for these things already. He did go through the motions but not with near as much spunk as his little sister or as much as he had last year. I noticed most of the other boys had the same expression on their faces..."do I really have to do this?". And he was a Shepard but I'm sure by the fancy costume which consisted of an over sized brown shirt and some old sandals from Hawaii you can tell!

The kids had their class parties and again I played the running back and forth game. I timed it all horribly and managed to miss both of them opening their gifts. Oh well, they didn't seem to mind because they know so many other parents that were there too. I didn't get any good pics at Marlie's party. Probably because they are 3 and getting a good picture with her friends is like trying to herd cats. But I got a few cute ones at Matt's. Here's a pic of Matt and Hannah giving Ms. Marchesani a book they made for her. It was a cute photo album with a monogrammed "M" on the front. Inside they drew pictures for her and also put dessert recipes and gift cards. She loved it and they were SO excited to give it to her. FYI...when asked if he had a girlfriend this Christmas Matt would respond "yes" and said it was Hannah. Hannah and Hayden are brother and sister. Hmm...a double wedding could save us money :) AND we like their parents!

Marlie's First Recital

2010-12-19T19:21:00.000-08:00

Marlie has had a lot of "firsts" this year but this one tops them all. She had her first recital! The girls did 2 dances and Marlie knew the steps to both without any help. I wish I could post the video on the blog but I need to learn how to cut it shorter and I haven't gotten that far yet! She was so excited and did great. She smiled and wasn't scared or shy at all! It probably helped the her friend Avery was with her. These two girls are adorable. And yes...I had to fight tears for the performance. Silly, but I have dreamt all my life of having a little girl to do these things with and it is more than a dream come true. It's a huge blessing from above.

Of all the pictures I think Marlie was most excited to take one with Miss Jasmine her teacher!

Afterwards we headed back to the school for the Gingerbread Extravaganza that Melissa worked like crazy putting together to raise money for the Annual Fund. She did an amazing job and the kids had so much fun decorating gingerbread houses. I didn't get a shot of the room all decorated but it sort of looked like the Gaylord Texan it was so nice!

And here's the kids with the Great American Cookie who was one of the event sponsors. Thank you to Melissa and Joel, all the parent volunteers and our sponsors for helping with this event!!

Christmas in Grapevine

2010-12-18T11:04:00.000-08:00

Rewind back to the weekend of Dec 3rd. We headed up to Grapevine, TX with the Wellmann's, the LaBorde's, the Kade's, the Patton's, the Molloy's and the Nieland's for a Christmas adventure. We stayed at the Gaylord Texan where there were numerous Christmas activities for the kids. The hotel was decorated just beautifully and we had such a GREAT time!

We were the first to arrive so the kids started taking part of all the activities. We started with Rudolph's Reindeer round-up where we had to search for all the reindeer in the hotel using our secret decoder.

Then it was off to elf-yourself where we pretended to turn into elves and help in Santa's workshop!

The Kade's and Molloy's arrived and the kids were excited. We toured the hotel with them, saw Santa and had a nice dinner on "the riverwalk" in the hotel. They were so excited that it was hard to get a decent picture!

I love this one with Ashdin kissing Marlie. For the record I think she kissed him first. Still teaching the "play hard to get" tactic.

Everyone arrived later and the girls had "girls night out" once the kids were in bed. At this point I'd like to tell some crazy story that involves dancing on tables and carrying someone back to their room, but let's be honest...we are all working Moms and way too tired to put forth that much effort. So we had drinks and desserts at the coffee shop overlooking the beautiful atrium. It was so fun and relaxing!

Saturday we had a big day planned. We were at the ICE! exhibit at 9:00am!! It was amazing. The theme this year was A Charlie Brown Christmas. I don't think the kids appreciated it as much as the adults but they loved the ice slides. It was 9 degrees in there so needless to say Marlie was not too happy with her multiple jackets and the cold. She didn't get much sleep the night before because she spent most of the night kicking and punching me (which is why our kids never sleep with us at home!). She would not be happy that I'm posting these pictures of her, but looking back it was kind of funny. I think she was the only frumpy one of the bunch though and I was proud of all the other kids for being good sports!

By the time our family came out Coach Dan already had hot chocolate waiting for the kids! We had to warm up because then it was off to the SNOW! exhibit. The kids had so much fun tubing down the hills. I would say this was probably the highlight of the weekend for them. I didn't get great pictures because it was dark, but you can get the idea!

After a nice lunch and a little nap it was time to get the kiddos in their PJ's for what we were most excited about...a trip on the Polar Express to the North Pole! The kids were pumped and I think we adults were too. We had a quick bite to eat on Main street which had tons of wonderful restaurants and shops. We didn't have time to shop but did manage to find a cupcake place with amazing cupcakes.

This was our attempt to get all the kids together for a picture but as you can see we failed miserably. I think all the Patton kids are missing as well as Ashdin and Daniel.

The kids were ready! We gathered in a large tent before boarding the train and the kids got to all go on stage and sing. Avery ran right to the front. You can see Marlie, Brady and Daniel on the far right and I think the boys are somewhere in the back. They sang their hearts out!

Then it was time for the Daddy Dance-off and we managed to get them to pick Coach Dan to put on the stage. He was awesome and a great sport and ended up winning!! Surely Doug will put the video on YouTube. He is the one in the middle - not in PJs. I really don't think the adults are supposed to wear PJs.

So we boarded the train and well...were pretty disappointed. There was a man trying to get everyone to sing Christmas carols who was as excited as my kids are about eating squash. There was no Polar Express story or even an attempt at a makeshift North Pole. But we had to laugh about it all and the kids still thought it was very cool! They did get to see Santa and were very excited about that!

The guys had "guys night out" that night and I'm not sure what exactly happened. Apparently "what happens at the Gaylord Texan stays at the Gaylord Texan". But they looked pretty good the next morning at Breakfast with Charlie Brown.

Breakfast with Charlie Brown was good because the food was amazing! The kids loved the chocolate fountain and I loved pretty much everything else they served. It was the perfect ending to a great weekend.

Thank you to Melissa for coming up with the idea to take a trip there and for all our amazing friends for coming with us and sharing in the fun. I still can't believe how good the kids were and how easy it was coordinating 30 people. We will have to do this again. Marlie keeps asking when we're going back!

Lots of Turkeys!

2010-12-06T20:28:00.000-08:00

Turkeys in the fryer, turkeys in our house!! Thanksgiving was so fun! We celebrated on Saturday and had all our family over!! Doug was so excited to fry turkeys and they turned out awesome!! The kids had a blast with all their cousins!!

Funny the most exciting part of the day for them was a trip out to the street to see the very scary ice cream truck.

We are so thankful for our family and our friends!! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving too!!

Soccer Season is Over

2010-11-18T15:29:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday was our last soccer game...in the rain...and we had our end of season party. I am SO sad that I won't get to watch Matt play soccer on Saturdays. He is so good and it was always the highlight of my week. He asked Dad when the next game was and Doug told him the season was over. The look on his face was priceless. It went from smiling to so sad that I thought he might cry. But then Doug and I couldn't help but laugh because it was so cute and that made him laugh too.

We had such fun as always with this group of awesome kids and super cool parents. Thank you all for making it a wonderful season and thank you to Dad and Coach Joel for coaching!

I thought these pictures were too cute...

And the boys were so proud to get their trophies! I enjoyed the cupcakes!!

Trick or Treat?

2010-11-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

Hmmm...sometimes I feel tricked by all my family members but mostly they are a treat! We had a fun Halloween weekend. It all started with the kid's Halloween parties at school. All the kids were adorable. I had "fun" running back and forth from both parties. Here are the cupcakes I made for Matt's party which I thought turned out pretty cute...

When I walked into Marlie's class her and Ashdin were dancing like fools while they sang Monster Mash. It was hilarious. Her class wore Halloween PJs which makes it easier than kids being in their costumes all day. They loved eating their Halloween cupcakes too.

Matt was allowed to wear his costume but it was so bulky that I thought it might be best not to wear it all day. So the night before we scrambled and actually did great with a baseball player costume. He looked adorable and his friends did too. Hopefully Hannah will hand us down her costume for Marlie. It was cute!

After our parties we met a few friends at the park. It was a beautiful day and I figured they could run for awhile since they were on a sugar high! Papa and Nona Lisa came to visit and surprised the kids at the park. Marlie practically jumped out of the swing to run to Papa.

Saturday morning we were all excited about going to Matt's soccer game. We played a great team and the game was amazing. The kids all played so hard (but I think we won...who's keeping tabs...well me). Matt scored a few goals but he had to really work for them. Again...a very proud Mom. Melissa and I were yelling on the sidelines like it was the final match in the World Cup. I am embarrassed that I yell "go get'em" at a 5 year old soccer game.

After a nice long lunch at Tin Roof with our tribe and the Wellmann's we headed home for a quick nap. Then it was off to our neighborhood Fall Festival. The kids had a blast and we got to see lots of friends. Afterwards the kids decorated small pumpkins with Mr. Potato Head pieces. Matt's was a pirate and Marlie's a princess of course. I thought that checked the list on pumpkin decorating but Doug was still up for pumpkin carving. So after church on Sunday they carved pumpkins. The kids reluctantly helped clean them out and Dad and Papa did the carving. Marlie was very specific that she wanted heart eyes, an oval nose and 3 teeth. Matt just wanted a mean pumpkin.

After another quick nap it was time to get ready for Halloween! Matt wanted to be blue bat man this year so of course Marlie wanted to be bat girl. I tried so hard to convince her to be a princess of some sort but she didn't want anything to do with that. They were cute...Marlie's costume turned out cuter than expected and she loved it! She made this funny mad face, flexing her muscles in every picture. My little girl!!

It was off to the Hidrobo's 2nd annual Halloween party. They do such a great job with scary and fun snacks and treats. It was awesome and the parents had fun too. Luca plays on our soccer team this year so they invited the whole team which meant we got to hang out with our neighbors and all our soccer friends too. It was a blast. I love this pic of Avery and Marlie...

And here's the rest of the neighbors. I couldn't get everyone in of course...

Then it was time to trick-or-treat! As I suspected the kids RAN from house to house. Luckily Marlie could keep up a little better this year but not completely. We had a huge group of kiddos with us...the LaBorde's, the Wellmann's, the Patton's, the Giffhorn's and the Anthony's. So each house got slammed with about 15 kids all at once! Here's Cole, Marlie, Caden, Matt (sort of) and Avery.

And here you can see Ryan, James, Austin and Braden.

And I saved the best for last...Doug and Larry have been talking for years about wearing Doug's old track uniforms on Halloween. Well since Baylor beat UT, Doug couldn't resist. It was only slightly embarrassing and mostly hysterical. I'm surprised Joel, Melissa and Gayle got in the picture with Doug!

I love seeing these kids dressed up and the excitement in their eyes as they walk up to each door. This is always such a fun holiday in our hood! Thanks to our awesome friends!! So glad Papa, Nona Lisa and Nene could participate in this crazy night with us.

Pumpkin Patch Take II

2010-10-24T19:12:00.000-07:00

So we decided to hit our usual pumpkin patch for some pictures this morning. This patch usually has the best pumpkins, but I guess it's true that the pumpkins were not so good this year because we struggled to find that perfect pumpkin!

We managed a few good shots and the kiddos picked out a few to take home. We're hoping we have enough energy to carve some this year. Seems that we are always up to something!

Matt's First Love Letter, Marlie's First Boyfriend...Mom & Dad's 1,000th Grey Hair From Kids

2010-10-24T19:03:00.000-07:00

So Matt got shy all of a sudden the other day when he was pulling out his school work from his bag. He said, "Mom someone sneaked this in my backpack." I think it was his first love note and included a phone number too!!

Maybe it's supposed to say "Matt is my friend" or "Matt is funny"...not really sure but I thought it was so cute. I emailed Hannah's Mom and Iva & Alena's Mom hoping it was one of their girls (the arranged marriage idea doesn't seem so ridiculous anymore). Seems that Alena sort of admitted she did it but apparently she was shy discussing the topic too! For all I know it's from a boy, but either way it's adorable.

My friend Traci (Hannah and Hayden's Mom) stopped me at school the other morning to tell me that Hayden had told her that Marlie asked him to be his boyfriend. So that night at dinner I asked Marlie if she asked Hayden to be her boyfriend and she just smiled and shook her head yes...and had that look on her face like of course, why wouldn't I? I asked her what he said and she said "he said sure and then he was very happy". I have no idea where in the world she got the idea to ask him to be her boyfriend. I will try to pretend it's cute now because fast forward a few years and I'll take the key and lock her up!!! I know kids today grow up fast, but they're in PreK-3!!! I guess next year I'll have to teach her how to play hard to get!

Nene's 60th Surprise Birthday Party

2010-10-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

Our Nene (as the kids call her) will be 60 this year. We had a surprise party a few weeks early. It was a cupcake coffee/tea party at Sugarbaby's Cupcake Boutique in town. We started the morning with pedis at the spa. Marlie too of course and we all loved it...I think Marlie did the most. The girls in the spa think she's adorable and she sits there like she's been there millions of times. This time she got flowers on her toes and they were adorable. I couldn't say no. I know...ridiculous. I'm still mad at myself for ever taking her, but secretly I love how much she enjoys it.

The girls had lunch and then Marlie and I had to dash off to get ready for the party. As you know with all events it can be a little crazy. We picked up flowers and balloons and were hurrying to get in the car. Well the vase with roses tipped over in my car and there was a puddle of water in the driver's seat. We were late already and I was so frustrated. That's when my saving grace reminded me that "Nene will still love the flowers if there's no water in them" followed by "Mom, it's only water it will dry". Yes common sense from my 3 year old angel. So I calmly found the napkins stashed in all places of my car and dried my seat off best as I could. Then I found a bag that I used to sit on, so my bum wasn't soaking wet! All was good!!

My angel was the perfect little hostess during the party. My Mom's friends from the neighborhood came as well as some family. My aunt flew in for the occasion and we all had so much fun. The place is adorable and the cupcakes were good! But I mostly loved seeing my Mom (Nene) so happy and Marlie having so much fun playing the hostess role.

I got a few pics....was a bit frustrated because this place is super cute and and I didn't seem to capture it that well. That's why I stick to counting beans for a real job!

My Mom's friends are adorable and most importantly...hilarious! They laughed so hard and I loved hearing their funny stories. She is lucky to have such sweet ladies in her life!

Nene was pleasantly surprised and we all had a really great time. Happy 60th Nene! Let's do this again at 70!!

Marlie's First Field Trip

2010-10-20T20:37:00.000-07:00

I was so excited last Friday to go with Marlie on her first field trip!! We headed out to Old MacDonald's Farm and although we had been there several times before this was different. This time we had all our new friends along and their awesome teachers and moms! The weather was beautiful. God couldn't have blessed us with a better day. Here's Marlie and Ashdin...I love these 2 together. They are not afraid of anything and have so much fun.

And they loved the bunnies! I love how Marlie is sharing her food with Lauren to feed them. The bunnies were not interested so Lauren decided to pick one up! She is adorable.

I love this picture. We were waiting (forever) for the train. Honestly every time I ride this train I'm singing "I think I can" all the way around. Somehow it always makes the circle but I'm not sure how.

Finally on the train! These 3 piled right in and never looked back for their Mom's!

Last but not least the kids got to pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. Marlie and Lauren were VERY proud of the ones they picked. Marlie specifically ordered me to take a picture of just the pumpkin without her in it. Pic turned out kinda cute!

Along with watching them at all their activities, these are the days I live for!

Kinda Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-17T22:08:00.000-07:00

I love our yearly trip to the pumpkin patch. It usually turns out to be the cutest pics of the kids for the year. This year I found an orchard that also advertised a good pumpkin patch. So we gathered up some other families and off we went. This was on the calendar for at least a month so the boys reluctantly left the Texans game early to join us at the Matt Family Orchard with all our friends! Unfortunately the pumpkin patch was not the greatest but we had such a great time. Here's part of our crew with their pumpkins!

The kids had so much fun decorating their pumpkins. There were stickers everywhere!! Much easier than carving at this age!!

Then they made candy necklaces. I was surprised that they didn't eat all of the candy before finishing their necklaces, but they were all pretty determined.

Then it was off to the orchard to pick persimmons or as Marlie calls them "percinnamons"! As you can see Doug had fun leading the pack. Interesting how he balances a beer in one hand the entire time! Even little Lyla was helping!

Along the way the girls stopped to see if they could pick each other up. Even Marlie joined in. Marlie LOVES these big girls and they are so very sweet to her.

Heading back after a long days work!

Then it was time for our hayride. The kids had fun and we saw all sorts of funny things along the way, including each other of course!

After that we had a picnic dinner. The kids ate fast so they could play. This was the best tire swing I have ever seen. Marlie was on it with the girls for awhile and then the boys finally got their turn too.

I'm not sure how long the girls were on this swing but I think they could have stayed here all night!

Last but oh not least...it was time to roast marshmallows and make smores! I'm going to be honest...this was the part I was most excited about. I couldn't wait!

I think the night ended with all the girls chasing the boys and all got caught and tackled to the ground. So despite the not-so-good pumpkin patch and the fact that I didn't get those favorite pumpkin pictures you can see we had a really, really good time. With this group it's hard not to. Thanks guys for coming!

Busy Bees!

2010-10-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

Due to technical difficulties (meaning I was too cheap to purchase a new computer and we've had ours since 2001 and it gave up on me - finally purchased a new one!) I am behind on my blog posting! So be prepared for lots of info because as always...we have been busy!

Rewind to last Friday, the 8th I believe...this kids had off from school that day. I had bible study and lots of errands to run but last minute, literally, we decided to scratch everything and meet up with some friends at the zoo. We had so much fun!! Our crew was down there first and since the weather was beautiful all the animals were out. The 3 of us had so much fun!

But we were happy when our friends arrived. Well...honestly Matt was shy initially around the girls as always but he warmed up. Iva & Alena joined us....

Then Hannah and Hayden joined us too. Funny you would have thought I posed all the kids in different positions for this picture but that's just how they decided to pose!! Too cute!

We fed the ducks, fed the pigeons, chased the pigeons, rode the train...

rode the carousel...

and pet some creatures too!

But as everyone started to get tired and cranky the Mom's decided we needed a break and we went to sit in the bleachers at the sea lion exhibit. The kids were playing in the grass for awhile and we wondered what they were up to. They were talking and being so good. We realized they were collecting acorns in their zoo cups and having the best time of the entire day. No fighting, no crying, no whining...they were having a blast. Next time we decided to find a park with acorns!! As we were walking back to car I was thinking of how tired we all were, how I was sad I missed my bible study that day and all the errands I still had to fit it sometime over the weekend. Then Matt said, "Mom, that was the best day ever!"

Saturday was soccer and we finally met our match. The team we played was good so Matt really had to work hard. He did manage a few goals and was excited about that.

Last minute also...the boys were invited to the Texans game with Mr. Kevin and Owen. This is the first year that Matt is into football and Doug is loving it! So Matt was so excited about the game. They left early enough to "tailgate" which literally meant the kids were drinking juice boxes out of a cooler on Doug's tailgate. But they had a blast.

What was not last minute was our family trip to the pumpkin patch. It turned out different than what we expected but we had so much fun. That trip needs an entire post to itself so we'll get to that soon....

Cute Soccer Pics

2010-10-04T15:21:00.000-07:00

What beautiful weather we had this weekend for soccer!! Matt and Caden got to play together this week and although they did not cooperate with each other entirely well...Caden did pass the ball to Matt twice and Matt scored on both passes. It was pretty amazing really. And even better that both kids got excited about the play.

Matt and Caden both scored so many goals. Then when they were out, little Cole Patton stepped up and scored a few too. I felt so bad for the other team but was so proud of our kiddos. They try so hard! This week I told Matt to make sure he got excited when his teammates scored. So there was lots of high-fiving going on and I loved it!

Grandpa came into town so I had to post this picture. Funny...Caden jumped right into the picture as if he's family too. Well...he is. So Matt moved from standing next to Grandpa to standing by Caden.

Hannah also had a game at the same time as ours so we got to see the McCready family. I love this picture of Hannah and Matt. You should know though that it took lots of convincing to get Matt to take this picture with Hannah. He is SO shy around her which is funny because he sits right next to her at school and has been in class with her since he started PreK-3. Maybe he has a little crush! But it didn't take but a second to get Marlie and Hannah to take a pic. I guess it was too sunny but I love how they are holding hands.

Can't wait for soccer next weekend! Each week gets even better!

Party City

2010-09-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

These past two weekends we have been partying! Last weekend we got to celebrate with Gracie and Emma. Both are 3 and we had so much fun at each of their parties.

Gracie's party was at Stacey's Dance where Marlie takes ballet. They had fun dressing up, getting their nails painted and dancing! I like this pic of Gracie. She is too cute!

Then it was off to Emma's party at the Little Gym. Emma was so excited the entire time. She lived it up! It was so cute.

This weekend we went to a Mad Science party. It was Ryan's 6th birthday and the kids had SO much fun. The boys loved all the experiments and they looked so cute in their lab coats and safety goggles.

Even the parents were excited and wore the 3D glasses too!

After a very hot soccer game poor Marlie was so tired. We literally had to pull her out of bed and dress her while she was sleeping. So after the Mad Scientist was done we all went outside and she finally perked up. I got some cute shots of her playing on the swing set. The pic with her and Annie is so sweet. I love the last one with her and Cole. You can tell she loved the chocolate cake!

I snapped this photo of Caden and had to post it here because it's so cute!

Our final party was today. Last but not least...Hannah turned 6 and we went to Juergen's where the kids take gymnastics to party! I loaned my camera to Hannah's parents so I don't have too many specific shots of the kiddos. I thought this pic of Hannah and her Momma was cute. And there's my little Marlie going as slow as possible in a "race"! She's not in a hurry for anything and Matt is for everything!

Happy Birthday to all! We had so much fun celebrating with you!

Have we started soccer!

2010-09-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

Soccer season is officially here and we are up and running full force. This weekend was our second game. Matt has scored so many goals in both games and he is counting!! Today was 6 (I think). I lost count at some point.

This year we are playing with a new league. It's 3 on 3 with no goalie. I think this works out best for this age group. More action for all the kids and less meltdowns in the goal box when the goalies miss the ball! We have a great team again with most of the usual suspects and of course the best coaches in the league...Dad and Coach Joel. These guys should get paid.

Marlie is the best cheerleader ever and LOVES these boys. The other day we couldn't leave the house for practice until she had gotten a picture to take to Caden. And she is already talking lots about Alex. How she sees him at school and how he did good in the game...too cute.

Here are some pics. There are so many I want to post but I'll wait until the end of the season and put a nice slideshow together. Oh this is too fun!!

SMMCS Annual Fund Drive

2010-09-18T12:04:00.000-07:00

A few parents from the kids school and I are working on the school's first Annual Fund Drive. Don't worry I'll be asking you later for money. But today I wanted to share a picture that I just LOVE! My friend Sarah went to the school to do a photo shoot so we can select some pictures for the brochure. She snapped this one of Matt, Caden, Hannah, Alena and Iva and I just can't get over how cute it is. I had to share it. I'm guessing it probably will not go in the brochure (since there is absolutely no diversity in this pic) so I'll post it here! I thank God every day for introducing us to such wonderful friends.