Port A!

July 18-21, 2010

We headed to Port A for our annual trip! We don't know how many years we have gone now, but we do look forward to it each year! We also enjoy that the trip now involves my sister and her family. We even got my parents involved; however, they didn't get to join us this trip. :( I know dad really wanted to be there to go fishing with the guys!

We left on Sunday, but first we headed to Austin to go visit dad....all four of us went for a short visit. Then we headed to Port A. The kids did pretty well, and slept about half of the way. We went to the condo and unpacked. Then the four of us went out to eat for dinner before making a quick run to the grocery store. My sister and family arrived about the time we returned.

Monday was the day at the beach. We got there around 11 am and left around 6 pm. The kids had a BLAST! We set up canopies, and made a day of it! Austin enjoyed it too...he of course tried to eat the sand. He never really napped, except when my sister left for a bit! I don't know how he made it all day like that! Then we headed back and rinsed off. I gave Austin a bath, fed him, and put him to bed. The guys worked on dinner, while Renee took the kiddos to the pool for a while. It was a FUN day!

Tuesday was the day the guys got up early to go fishing, which was a great success! My sister and I loaded up the kids and headed to Corpus. We took them to the Aquarium, which was a lot of fun! I think they really enjoyed it. Then we went to eat on the water at Joe's Crab Shack! That was fun...Corbin made the waiters dance again as he kept requesting it! Small world as a canyon kid was our waiter, and one of my former students was the bartender! Fun to see that! We headed back for more swimming in the pool while the guys grilled some of their fish that they caught! YUMMY!

Wednesday left us getting ready to pack up and head home. However, since my sister wasn't leaving yet, we did not have to rush out of there. So, we headed to the beach for a few more hours. Alyssa had more fun on the boogie boards this day as she and Corbin even raced some! We headed back to get ready, and Alyssa enjoyed some more swimming while we cleaned and packed up! She has definitely gotten better at swimming, and even a bit more confident. Thanks also to Aunt Renee for her swimming lessons while we were there! The ride back was VERY peaceful....the kids slept almost the entire time.

Another trip to the beach....great memories with great family....just too short, as usual! I do have to say that I look forward to the days when the kids grow up and don't argue about such 'petty' stuff....please tell me that will happen. I know they love each other, but why can't they just 'PLAY' instead of testing each other, and arguing over silly stuff???? Thanks to my sis and bro-in-law for getting the place for us....we had a LOT of fun!

Happy 12th Anniversary!

July 18, 2010

I can't believe it has already been 12 years! This anniversary was not anything major for us. We have both been so busy, and consumed by so much that we didn't do too much. Our anniversary fell the day after the parties, and the day we were leaving for the beach. So, it left us with cards and dinner at an 'okay' restaurant. Of course....it was spent with my family, and that is what matters most!

I am so blessed to have Chad in my life. He puts up with a lot from me, and I am so greatful for that! We are so blessed with two beautiful children, a beautiful home, loving families, and amazing friends. We are so thankful that God brought us to NB where we have made some amazing connections. We are sometimes in awe at the life we live daily....

I love you Chad, and I look forward to many more years full of wonderful memories!

Time for Birthday Parties!

Saturday, July 17

Little late on this, but will backtrack...

We got up early to finish getting ready for Alyssa's party.
Swim Party at the YMCA - 10-12 am with iCarly theme
Alyssa seemed to have a blast!!! She had some friends join her at the pool. They swam for the first hour, while I pretty much entertained them in the pool! (another story...poor new girl that was assigned to our party!) Then we got out of the pool to enjoy pizza and carrots. After that, we sang Happy Birthday to Alyssa and dug into her cake. She had requested a chocolate cake with white icing and the number 6 had to be on it! It was delicious! Then she opened her presents before everyone had to go home. I think she really enjoyed her party. She spent her day with her closest friends: Kinley, Ainsley, Sidney, Ryleigh, Mikaylee, Corbin, Ryan, Logan, Hope, Prestley, Meghan, Kendyl, Karsyn, Kolby, Madyson, and Austin. She was also joined by her aunt renee, momo, granny, grandpa, ms. cathy, ms. lori, and carly! THANKS for everyone making it a GREAT party!

After Alyssa's party we headed to the house to prepare for Austin's party.
We did a monkey theme at our house from 4-6 pm.
I couldn't have made it without my sister, mom, and my inlaws! They helped me get so much done! THANKS!!
We picked up sandwiches, and made some chips and dips with fruits and veggies for all to enjoy! We invited some of our close friends over to enjoy the big day with us! Basically the kids all played in Alyssa and Austin's room while the parents mingled for a while. Then we let Austin dig into the cake. He didn't go to crazy with it...he was very mild with digging into his little monkey cake! We tried to let him open presents, but he was not too interested. So, Alyssa got to pretty much open all of his!

It was a LONG day, but a FUN day! I haven't even got to look at all of the pictures yet! I do know that we are truly blessed to be surrounded by such amazing family and friends!

Happy 6th Birthday Alyssa!

Happy 6th Birthday my sweetie! I can't believe the day has come and gone already! You had such an awesome day that it ended with you saying, "I wish everyday was my birthday!"

We woke up, got ready, and opened up a couple of presents. You loved your iCarly 'messenger' backpack, and you enjoyed playing with the magnets (that I bought at my nerd conference!). Then we went to pick up breakfast at Shipley's - you LOVE your chocolate covered donut with some donut holes, and don't forget the sunny delight! We dropped off Austin at daycare, and then on a whim we went by to pick up your BFF (kinley)! The three of us headed to the bahn for the day - 6 hours of fun! The first thing we did was ride the black knight - you guys loved it! We just played, ate, swam a lot and played some more. Then we headed to our house to get ready for dinner. You chose to eat at Olive Garden. So the five of us went to eat, and then headed to get some dessert. You enjoyed your chocolate chip cookie, and then we dropped off your friend. We headed home where you opened up a couple more presents - clothes for your zhu zhu pet and an iCarly radio with microphone. WHEW! What a fun day!

Some things that come to mind (that I haven't said recently):
-you don't like to wear a swimsuit that shows your stomach for some reason???
-you don't like to ride rides like the congo river because of all the 'noises'
-you do like roller coasters
-you can still be shy at times, but you have truly come out of that shell and don't cling to my leg quite so much
-you are very much a 'pleaser'
-sometimes I wish you would just 'relax' more and 'play'
-you get your feelings hurt VERY easily
-you want to be the one to come up with ideas
-you LOVE your little brother more than I can explain
-you are very patient with Austin
-you like to watch the Bachelorette and Big Brother with me - I probably shouldn't admit that - probably bad parenting on my part but oh well!
-you LOVE to watch TV - especially Hanna Montana, iCarly, and Suite Life

I love you so much, and I hope that you have MANY more AWESOME birthdays! I love you to the moon and back....a bazillion times.

Happy 1st Birthday Austin!

I can't believe it! You really are 1! On Monday we went to Schlitterbahn and had a great time. Chad made the comment, "One year ago we were at the hotel down the road." (the hospital) So crazy to think that! It has truly flown by. For your birthday yesterday we were BUSY! Alyssa went to VBS. You went with mom & dad to do some shopping...even for your present...because I am so behind on things! Then we picked Alyssa up, and went to have your birthday lunch at Chili's - Alyssa's choice. From there we headed to Target to do some more shopping. Then we were on our way to get cupcakes...and you were OUT!

So, we headed to Dollar Tree to get some party stuff while you slept in the car, picked up cupcakes, and headed to the park. You seemed to enjoy digging into the chocolate cupcake. (we took off the icing this time...sorry) After cleaning up we rode the train, and played in the park for a while. You had a great time!!

Some things about you....

Another tooth has popped in on the bottom - left lateral incisor

You LOVE your pacifiers....now you want two when going to sleep

I haven't yet tried whole milk...will get to that this week

You have the most beautiful blue eyes (along with your dad & sister)

You enjoy Schlitterbahn and splashing in the water - although you weren't sure what to think about 2 rides on family blaster... :)

You have the cutest smile & I love when you wrinkle your nose

You are waving hi and bye a lot now

You are walking all over the place

You LOVE other little kids....you tried to go hug one boy yesterday in Chili's

You LOVE playing with your big sister (and she LOVES taking you down slides!)

You are pretty much saying mama and dada....sounded like you said sissy one time and kitty once at Momo's

You were pretty excited about your new slide for your birthday

You have enjoyed walking in to check on Popo when we have been over there

You LOVE the phones and remotes

I love you sweet boy, and thank you for being such a wonderful blessing.

Uploading some pics...

my favorite pic of my kiddos...

my kiddos with their cousins and their momo & popo

kiddos with Popo...praying for you Popo!

The Latest & Greatest on our Family!

Well...so much to report about from the past two weeks! First of all, Chad and I went on a much-needed all-adult, all-inclusive get-away last week! It was absolutely amazing. We stayed at Excellence Playa Mujeres....what an awesome place! The rooms with a rooftop terrace and pool absolutely made the resort! It was great for us to have some time, along with some relaxation and sun. The kids stayed at their grandparents, and my sister's too. Austin officially took off walking while we were gone. The first day back at our house he had fun just walking from room to room! I think he thought he was big stuff. On Saturday, July 3, I also discovered a tooth on the bottom right...in the back...maybe a molar?? Which is crazy because he still has the same 4 on top, 2 on bottom, plus this one! Austin has found the little car 'coupe' at my mom's house - he LOVES it! Although he gets VERY frustrated when he can't get the door to stay open. He likes to scream a bit when things don't go just his way. Not sure where he gets that from???? :) He is all about the remote controls and phones! He even points the remote at the TV to turn it on. And, he will start to chatter with the phone up to his ear! He is absolutely precious...his hair is getting a bit lighter, and he looks like he could use a haircut again. I can't believe he will be one in less than a week! I get sort of sappy at times thinking that this is it for the baby stages since we say we are done. I think about having 3 and that it would be nice, BUT then the reality of me trying to balance all that slaps me in the face! I would not be very good at balancing more than two...I struggle now!

Alyssa is counting down the days until her pool party....she is SUPER excited! She had a lot of fun while we were gone. She even collected cans to earn some cash while we were gone! Hopefully she wasn't drinking any beer from them....she was with my sister so who knows....J/K! She has, unfortunately, picked up one of my addictions - playing card games on the computer or my phone. She loves to play solitaire or spider! We have been to Schlitterbahn a couple more times with friends, and we have visited a couple libraries. We also went to the farmers market a couple weeks ago, and she enjoyed that. Alyssa LOVES to take her brother down the slides at s'bahn or the park. She wants to hold him all the time now too. She is also into putting on some of my jewelry, and playing 'office' with the computer and her notepad. It's pretty cute! I do have to admit she is not too much fun to play games with sometimes. If she is losing, or loses, it is NOT pretty. She is not a good loser! Definitely some more 'sassiness' creeping in as well...definitely tests me! She has already picked out her cat to take from my parents - it's name is Mittens! How am I going to adjust to this...we always had cats growing up. But, I don't know how to make it an outdoor cat? And what if it runs away? So, do we just keep it inside? UGH!!! I guess if it runs away...there are about 15 more to choose from at my parents!

My dad is doing okay. The chemo is taking its toll on his body right now. He is very tired, weak, and having lots of stomach cramps. So, we continue to pray for him and his strength.

We are really looking forward to our upcoming beach trip with the whole family...should be lots of fun! Can't wait to see Austin soaking up the water and sand!

Alyssa & Austin...I love you both so much! We enjoyed our trip, but we missed you both. It was so great to see you when we got back! When we talked on the phone, you told me...'Everytime I think of you mommy, I cry.' Oh, my love....I hope you will always feel that way about missing me! :)