A Birthday Party

We helped Aaron celebrate his 5th birthday by playing outside and going on a hayride! Will found himself a girlfriend and I caught them holding hands...hehe!

Potty Training

Nana decided it would be a good idea to buy Tate some big boy underwear to get him interested in potty training. I think he looks so funny in them because he's very skinny for his age and has no behind! He loves his underwear and has also become interested in dressing himself. You can see why we avoid letting him choose what to wear if we are leaving the ranch and have to actually see people.

Spring Break

I haven't had a chance to update my blog since Spring Break. We had a wonderful week and enjoyed the beautiful weather, which made it very hard to go back to work yesterday. The kids and I went to Abilene to visit friends and family. While we were there I got to hold sweet Ava Kate, go to dinner with Mom and Lexi, and take the kids to the zoo. It was a nice relaxing few days. When we got home, Porter stayed the weekend with us, so we played outside the majority of the time. I was excited to get to mow my yard and enjoyed the beautiful mornings with my coffee on the back porch. Our view is amazing!

Enjoying the Weather

We love spring!

A Girl Day

Lexi and I had a fun day shopping for Summer's wedding gown and other dresses in Fort Worth with Sally, Summer, Teryn, & Katie. The dress Summer chose is absolutely gorgeous and we can't wait to see her in it on the wedding day! By lunchtime, we were all starving and enjoyed fajitas and margaritas at Uncle Julio's before hitting the shopping trails again! We always enjoy each other's company and wished we all lived closer so we could do this more often. Here are some photos from the day, but I'll be careful not to ruin the surprise of Summer's wedding dress..by the way, the one pictured isn't the dress she chose.

Two Surprises!

I always wanted a surprise party growing up and this year, I got two! I turned 30 yesterday and my husband was going to take me to dinner, or so I thought. We met Becky and Calan for a drink when Jerrod's phone rang and he announced that we had cattle on the highway so we needed to leave a.s.a.p. We loaded up to head back this direction and SURPRISE, my friends were waiting for me at home for another birthday bash! What a thoughtful husband and friends I have. I can't imagine my life without them! My house was full of delicious food (thanks girls!), precious cupcakes (thanks Nat and Kasi, who by the way, have attended and helped with both parties and are probably very glad that my birthday is over!), and lots of laughter! What a perfect way to end my birthday! I forgot to mention, that I was also surprised by my coworkers and friends with cupcakes and a gift certificate at school, and came home to a very deep cleaned house, courtesy of Becky and Suzanne (what a gift)! I am truly blessed beyond measure.

Blessed

The only word to describe the way I feel about my life! I will be 30 this Friday, yes, 30! It's so hard to believe! This past weekend I went to Abilene to meet my new nephew, Ben, go to Caroline's 1st birthday, have Tate's 2 year pictures taken, and help get Aubrey to her surprise party. I thought it was going to be an insanely hectic weekend, after all, when my family is in town there are only 14 people staying at my parent's house! It was anything but hectic. Friday evening, we ate, cuddled baby Ben, and watched the cousins play happily together. Saturday went smoothly, everyone taking care of their obligations, kids running everywhere, and a photo shoot by sweet Kimberly! It's so awesome to have a family that loves each other so much! I mentioned earlier that one of the reasons I had come to town was for Aubrey's surprise party. Well, I was responsible for getting her to the location which was no easy task in itself. Kimberly drove us, knowing the plans all along. When we reached the party site and were walking down, Aubrey realized what was going on. That was when I said, "Yes, it's a party for you!" Kimberly replied with, "Surprise to you too!" It took a minute for everything to register, but saw that Green and Kasi were there and that it was, in fact, a party for the two of us! We've celebrated our birthdays together for 17 years and have had big parties for the very important ones. This was a perfect way to ring in the 30's! Our dearest friends and families were there, Aubrey's Uncle Nathan played, the kids danced, and we had a wonderful time! Aubrey's husband is so thoughtful and had everything planned perfectly, including the slide show of memories that dated back to when we were in 6th grade! We have a special relationship, knowing without a doubt, that when we have nothing else, we have each other. It was so funny to see how the party was planned and who all was involved..my poor sister-in-law had to lie to me alot this weekend. Apparently, I was being very difficult! Thanks to all of you who came and helped put on this special celebration. Thank you, Kasi and Aaron for driving in for it, dear friends! After the party, we all went back to my parents, visited, drank wine, and let the kids stay up WAY past their bedtime. We are all still recooperating! Here are some pictures from the whole weekend.

A Love Note

Will loves his friend Landry. They play together everyday after school and have a very sweet relationship. In fact, the first few weeks of school, they didn't play with anyone else on the playground! They also provide lots of comical relief in the afternoons. Yesterday was particularly special. Will had already taken up for Landry once on the playground and was feeling especially fond of her. He expressed his desire for a kiss and she offered him a hug instead. I was in and out of the classroom when I was overhearing their conversation and noticed this little note that Landry had written on the board for him. Precious! If you can't read it too well, it says, "Iloveyouwithallmyheartwill". She will always hold a special place in our hearts and he never forgets to pray for Landry at night. Don't you wish life was always this sweet?..and she's an incredible speller!

Evenings

I love the ages of my kiddos right now! No more sleepless nights and chasing kids, just enjoying watching their independence. Going on walks, climbing trees, working on our garden, these are the things we love right now. I know this will all change shortly, when we're going from practices to school and church..I'm trying to enjoy the simplicity of our lives!

A Fun Weekend With Nana and Papa

We had a wonderful weekend with Nana and Papa, who came in for Cowtown. Zach, Nat, Tatum, and Tripp came over for dinner Saturday night and we had a fun, relaxing evening together! It's so fun seeing how much the cousins love each other!We missed Tyler, Lauren, and Ben!