Busy Bees!

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

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

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!

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

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. 

The Hatters are Here!

After a long drive Friday night the Hatters arrived!  We have had those long journeys back and forth to SA, so we know how exhausting they can be, and with 3 kids the Hatters still came to see us!  We were so happy! 

The kids were so excited for Cale and Hayden (we ended up combining them into 1 person and calling them Caden because we're use to that name) and Baby Livi to come.  I planned for an easy weekend since the kids outnumbered the adults but you would have never known that 5 kids were in my house!  They were all so good and played together well. 

We spent Saturday morning at the pool and the kids had fun!  Hayden loved the slides and even Baby Livi was kicking like crazy.  When I asked Cale if I could take him down the slide he politely responded "no thank you". We took a nice long nap afterwards and later that night went to Tutti Frutti to make our own froyo! 

I took the girls for a walk in the wagon.  It was one of the highlights of the weekend for me.  They were so cute!  They talked the entire walk about what I like to call "very important nonsense".  It's like they had known each other forever!

In this picture it looks like they are all actually playing this game.  I don't think they were but they were so cute and amazingly quiet. 

We tried to take a PJ pic but this is as good as it gets.  Although Matt has his eyes closed in the second pic I love Hayden's expression as her and Marlie exchange glances.  

Other than my walk with the girls, here's what else I loved about the weekend:

• Adult conversation until 2:30am with friends we have had since junior high!
• Matt said his favorite part of the weekend was when Cale was trying to tackle him.  I was so proud that Matt was so sweet and gentle with him.  That's not my typical Matt so I love to see that. 
• Cale called Matt "my brother" all weekend.  Sunday morning I asked Cale if I could help him with something and he said "no thank you, my brother will". 
• When I ask Marlie if she wants a little brother or sister she does not hesitate to respond with a definite NO.   And just in case you're wondering...no we are not having 3!  But Marlie was so good with Baby Livi.  She brought her toys and would try to hug and kiss her.  There was no personal space so Baby Livi had Miss Marlie up close for a good part of the weekend!
• Matt also attached himself right to Mr. Shawn.  Matt was his shadow. 

Thank you Hatters for coming to see us.  Your kids are adorable and we had so much fun!

Ok Matt is officially 5!

So today was really the big day although I'm not sure anything could top the party on Saturday.  For someone who loves baseball to have a baseball party...Matt was in heaven!! 

But we celebrated at school.  I made 24 baseball cupcakes again...and some how by the time we got to school some of the frosting had slid off the cupcakes!  I have no idea what happened but oh well.  The kids loved them so all was good.  Dad came with us and we snuck Marlie out of class too!  I don't know if you can tell from the pics but this classroom is spotless.  And this was the end of the day.  I'm afraid Ms. Marchesani might be a little OCD like me!  I love it!!!

You can see Hannah in this picture.  Poor Hannah sits next to Matt in class.  I hope he doesn't drive her crazy.  I'm pretty certain he does but her Mom is too nice to tell me!

And here's Matt with his teacher.  She is doing a great job and we really like her.  Not just because she's a Baylor grad!! 

Thank you to Matt's teacher and class for making this day special for him! I have some birthday pics in the slideshow.  Check them out!