Kindergarten Round-up!

A picture with my sweet kindergartner:)

A close-up just in case--ha! Yes, I am camera happy:)

Daddy and his kindergartner

Bubba (aka Chubby Cheeks--nickname from Abby:) and Sissy---that's what they call each other!

Reese went straight to the hamster! He is gonna love having a class pet--that's right up his alley:)

IT'S ALL GOING TOOOOOO FAST! I keep telling the kids to stop growing but they are not obeying:) Tonight was Reese's kindergarten orientation--next year he is gonna leave me forever! *sniff sniff* It's days like this that I wish we had at least 10 kids!
*You know when Greg and I were talking about getting married I told him I wanted 5 kids....well actually 5 boys so we could have a complete basketball team...I mean seriously how cool would that be?:) Well of course things don't always go as planned and having a girl first threw us for a loop! (for the record I love my little girl and wouldn't trade a hundred boys for her!)
Well anyways back on topic:) Tonight was a success! Reese got to explore life in kindergarten and play in one of the actual kindergarten rooms--he thought that was SUPER cool! He told us after I left him in the room that he was about to "almost" cry but then he saw Abby come into the room and it was all better! (Abby was sitting in the cafeteria with us for the meeting and then she decided she would rather go be with Bubba--what a sweet sister!)
Afterward we went for ice cream to celebrate (we are always looking for reasons to celebrate around here;)
Well, Reese was walking a little taller tonight, a little prouder and seemed a lot older--he's so excited he can barely stand it.....now he only has to wait until August 23rd for school to start! Geez---that must seem like a lifetime to a little kid!
~oh if time could only stand still... I am gonna need a therapist next year I just know it!!!! :)

Sweet Friend

me and Alisha---so great to see her! I am so blessed by her friendship!

Group picture with Miles (Alisha's son really wanted to be in a group picture with us:) So precious!

this is all of us --minus my brother and his family:( ~they had to go home a few days early! They were missed!

me holding Molly....5 week old bundle of goodness! I was in heaven. Don't plan on anymore kids but sure love me some baby:)

Seaport Village was so awesome! They had entertainers all along the harbor and the kids both got to hold a parrot---they liked this very much!

I also held one....thankfully he didn't poop on my shoulder like he did my nephew Tobey--pretty funny!

The Lord has blessed me with so many great friends all over the world....and I mean ALL over! I guess going to a private Christian college is to blame---tons of journeymen and missionaries! Anyways after high school and college we all just scattered and it's so fun when I go on vacation because I always check and see if anyone I know lives where I am vacationing! I found out we were going to San Diego about 6 months ago and I couldn't wait to tell my friend Alisha (friend from high school in Lee's Summit, MO) that I was coming to town/city:)
Alisha was so sweet to be flexible with us since we had 13 of us there in SD I had a hard time figuring out a time to bring the whole group for a visit:) We ended up meeting her at Seaport Village and we had a great visit while the kids climbed trees! I loved catching up with her and so miss our talks! I have so many great memories with her and it was awesome to build on that by meeting her there in SD! Thanks Alisha -you are missed and I will continue to pray for you and your family as you adjust to SD and a new sweet baby girl!

It's never ending....:)

I feel like the pictures are endless and my time lately has been limited soooo as I get time here and there I will post a few good pics from the trip.
Will she ever get through them all??? Don't hold your breath! Ha!

Sea World...I think I had to bribe them for this pic:)

Me, my sister, Christi and my brother,Tim---I don't think we have had a picture together like this in years....I love it!

All the cousins together at Sea World!

Back from Cali!

We got back from San Diego on Saturday and we were welcomed with a cold snowy day! What in the world? Do we live in Texas because I am confused:)
Well anyway thankfully Greg greeted us with love and our winter jackets since our flip flops and shorts were NOT gonna do the trick!
I have tons of pictures from our week in Cali and plan on slowly blogging about all the fun we had with my family!
I always hate when I can't blog much while I am on a trip because I come home tired with lots of laundry and LOTS of blogging to do--so be patient with me and I will hopefully catch up by the end of the week:)
One of Abby's favorite things during the week was going to the beach. The temperatures were in the 70's and 80's but the water was freezing! Though that didn't seem to stop Abby or Tobey (my brother's son) they were crazy!!!
They had a blast jumping in the waves and getting soaking wet! **Now that I think about it maybe that's why Abby had to go to the urgent care on Friday with an ear infection and strep throat? humm there could be a connection here?:/
Well as I said before this was Abby's favorite thing but didn't mention Reese because this was NOT his cup of tea. Now, I'm not saying he didn't try to enjoy it but after he fell in and was rolled over by the waves 2 times he had made his mind up....He HATED the ocean! Poor guy was a mess! He was soaked and freezing and it was after sunset so it was super cold too! He also had a cut on his foot from a few days before and the salt was burning so bad that we couldn't get him calmed down! OH and we hadn't planned on getting IN the ocean so we had no towels and no change of clothes! Reese had been crying for about 15 minutes and I just had to get him out of his clothes and dried off so I ran into the closest beach store and bought a $16 towel....yep, that's right I didn't care how much it cost I just needed a towel and I needed it NOW! (Dave Ramsey would be ashamed!:)
I ran back with the towel and I was surprised to see Reese wrapped in another towel and he had a band-aid! Some sweet ladies saw all the drama and gave Reese their towel! So nice huh?
Well this was early on in the week so Reese didn't set foot in the ocean again all week but he did enjoy planning in the sand--so at least that's something right?:)
The rest of us enjoyed the beach though and hopefully by the time we go on our cruise this summer Reese will have a change of heart because if not he isn't gonna enjoy himself very much!!
Well anyways enjoy the pictures and try not to be too jealous:)

We love the BEACH!!

Aunt Christi, Tobey and Abby in the ocean---she is braver than me:)

this is what Reese wrote in the sand....I love Mom---awe, he's such a doll!

Reese playing in the sand because the ocean is no fun:( poor Reese!

Reese all wet from the ocean....he was NOT happy that I took a picture of his misery....sorry buddy!

Abby and I burned to a crisp....yes we had sunblock on but we just couldn't put it on fast enough!

Legoland!

**My Dad picked up a card reader for my mom's computer (she's the only one with internet connection) so I can blog....yay!! Thanks Dad!

On Sunday our first stop was Legoland! There were a ton of things to do there and I was pleasently surprised we didn't just have to sit around and play with Leogs all day...I mean seroiusly you gotta admit it gets kinda old after a few hours right?:)
Well anyways we did have fun and rode lots of rides and ate some really great food! They had these apple fries that were amazing--it was good eats:)
One of the highlights of the day was this ride that looked like a robot arm and we can't remember the name of it but it was an insane ride! When you got to the front of the line they asked you what level you wanted to ride from 1-5--5 being the most intense! The kids were only allowed to ride level 1 or 2 so when we got done riding with the kids my sister and I decided to go give level 5 a try. It was hilariously crazy! The arm thing goes round and round, upside down and every which way. You can't control your arms and legs and laugh hysterically the whole time---it's the best ride! Chrisit and I rode a few times and after our brains acutally hurt...do you think that means it's not so good for us? Nah! If you ever get a chance to go to Legoland this ride is a must!
Here are some pictures I took....they can always tell the story better than I can! Enjoy!


Abby, Trevin and Reese excited to go to Legoland! ~I guess Reese didn't get the memo that he was supposed to act excited:)


my son picked a wildflower for me and I thought before he (and I) got arrested that I would at least get a sassy picture out of it--ha! ~no we didn't get arrested:)--Reese sure thought we would though:) Lately he has been going through this "will I get arrested for that" phase and has a deep fear of policemen so it has been a handy discipline tool when I need it---I know that's terrible but sometimes you gotta play the card if you got it;)

My wonderful sister and I--we have had a great week spending time together--I just love her to pieces!!

nice kids...you do look just like that tree:)

This is my neice Eden---no, your eyes are not decieving you she IS the cutest little baby ever!

She looks just like a pink pom-pom...LOVE this girl!

Mom and Dad--they both got in a picture together...wow, now that never happens:)

I thought I should get a picture of my dad--isn't he cute?:) His glasses are finally in style....way to go Dad! He has been wearing these glasses for as long as I can remember and now he's finally participating in a fad--yay! HAHA!

Well anyways, He never makes it in any pictures so here you go....yes Dad we have it documented you were in San Diego with us:)

all over the park they had these signs...and we found it odd--No, Christi you can't have any water no matter how thristy you are:)

There were lots of different Lego statues around the park and the kids had fun posing by a bunch of them.
~this is Trevin and Abby (Trevin is my sister's son)

They had this place called Minitown and it had all the major cities in the country made of Legos...it was pretty cool...lots of detail!

living it up at Legoland:)

roller coaster with the cousins and Aunt Christi....I had to ride alone...sniff sniff:)

crazy robot arm ride! This is us at the beginning of the ride....after we didn't look so thrilled:)

Spring Break!

We are in San Diego this week! On Saturday the kids and I (reluctantly) left Greg in Texas (because he couldn't get off work) to meet my parents, my sister and her kid and my brother, his wife and 3 kids in San Diego for spring break!
The kids and I had a really great flight. The kids were angels which is pretty normal of course:) but they were abnormally prefect for the plane ride this time! They were excited to fly again because since we moved from DC we haven't flown much so they have been missing it! Nothing too excting happened on the flight...well except Reese spilled his whole apple juice in my purse and all they had were those silly square napkins...I guess that was kinda eventful right? Ha!
It was nothing like the time Abby was potty training and Reese was an infant. Abby had to go but they had that 30 minute rule when landing and taking off that no one could get out of their seat (around 911) and when I asked if she could get up and go they told me she would have to hold it. Well you can imagine how that went over....when she started to pee in the seat (she didn't have a pull-up on which thinking back now I have NO idea why I didn't put her in one?) but all I could do was stick her blanket between her legs and pray it wasn't a "big" pee:) Well it was a big pee and it started spilling off on the floor and those little square napkins were NOT doing the trick! *note to self--stick a roll of paper toliets in my purse next time I go on a plane:)
Well anyways...when we got to the airport we successfully found my family, which was a relief! My mom rented a 15 passenger van so we could all ride together like one big happy family so we are travelling in style for sure--ha!
Today we went to Legoland and I surprised that there was so much to do! It was much more like Six Flags than I thought it would be and the kids LOVED it! We hope to go back again later this week since we are staying at Legoland--it's pretty cool:)
I was unable to get internet access for my computer without paying a fortune here at the condos so I won't be able to download any pictures until I get home next week:(
I just wanted to check in and let you "all" (whoever you are:) know we are alive and having a blast here in California!
Hopefully I will figure out a way to get some pictures on here....keep your fingers crossed!!!

Abby's Open House

Mrs. Piland and Abby

I can't believe I got a smile out of her....she was NOT thrilled to take this picture:)
Behind her she had made a cowgirl and on the paper next to it she wrote:
I love Texas because I love to swim. I love Texas because of Dr. Pepper and BBQ. I also like Texas because they have slushes.
(Not sure about the slushes but the other reasons are good:)

She traced her foot and made a horse out of it....cute huh? She is such an amazing artist!! I think she got that from my dad because I can't draw good at all!!!:)

This weekend her homework was to make a WANTED sign with her picture on it. She wrote that she was wanted for riding her horse too fast and the reward was $1,000 or free horseback riding lessons!

This is all her work she has been doing for the past few months.

Abby's room is decorated with fish (how prefect is that since her room at home is fish too:)
Reese and Abby are climbing up into the reading loft here...pretty cool! I also used to love to read in little reading nooks when I was a kid! I love it!

Last night Abby had open house at her school. She had prepared a ton of things (crafts and stuff) for us to see and she was so proud to show us around. She was super embarrassed that I was taking pictures of everything but she got over it....well it was easy because before I could take more my camera died--boo:)
Anyways she is doing awesome at school! Her teacher says she has improved in every area and is a model student and is already reading above grade level! Way to go Abby!
I have to tell you I don't feel old enough to have 2 kids in elementary school NEXT year--wow!
I get pretty sad thinking about it but also it excites me at the same time. I really feel like next year, since I will not be going to work, that my ministry will really begin. I always want to meet with girls, have coffee, and such but it is hard with Reese still at home. I feel like a lot of doors will open up for me once they are both at school. I will also get to be up at their school A LOT! I plan on being room mom again for Reese's class and will be available for EVERY thing they do--what a blessing that I don't have to work!
I can't imagine missing a thing and I am so grateful! Thanks Greg....my sugar Daddy! ;)

Let the Party Begin!

Friday Greg came home with a dozen cupcakes to celebrate the first day of my birthday week! Ha!
My actual birthday is March 12th but ever since I can remember I have always made a big deal about birthdays which of course would include making a big deal of mine too:)
So Greg thought he would be funny and start the festivities early!
I love, LOVE, LOVE cupcakes and was so happy when I opened the box to find 12 different kinds--one of them was a chocolate peanut butter cupcake and I am in love:) Seriously it's the best cupcake ever!!!
So far I have shared a few with the kids and taken a bite out of every other one...I needed to try them all:)
I'm not sure what else we have planned for the week but if it includes more cupcakes I think my waist line might be in trouble!!!:)

The 24 Clock!

Ok so this sooo cracks me up and I just have to share!
A few days ago a friend of ours came over and helped me make my screen saver the 24 clock---you know the ticking clock from 24 (TV show) anyways I am a huge fan! I love this show so much I actually have dreams about it and sometimes during those dreams I even hear the ticking of the clock from the show....pathetic I know:) Anyways since putting this on my computer Abby and Reese have loved it!!! Today they got some ice cream and stood in front of the computer and watched it tick away! They were so excited to hear Jack Bauer say, "The following takes place between 3pm and 4pm"---it's hilarious! (and yes if you look at the clock--they did stand there for about 30 minutes...crazy!!!:)

Silly Little Man!

We went to eat at Steak and Shake last night because we got some coupons in the mail. The kids loved it but Greg and I don't plan on going back for a long time....anyone need some coupons?:) Ha!
Anyways here is a funny picture of Reese being his silly self! Greg and I like to argue about where he got his sense of humor...of course I say me and you can imagine what Greg thinks:)
~By the way do not be confused, We DO NOT like the Red Sox---this is Reese's shirt from little league....just wanted to clarify:)

My Little Cuddle Bug!

Lately out of no where Abby has been wanting to cuddle. Now this is a big deal because this has been an "issue" since she was little--she never wanted to be held and when she got hurt she would run away from us, not to us....crazy huh? Well anyways she has been asking for me to fall asleep with her at bedtime and as you can see I took her up on it a few times!
Anyways, I am loving this new found love for cuddling and plan on milking it for all it's worth!:)