Where to Start.........

As you can tell by the date of my last post, it has been a while! Our family is finally getting settled after what I would describe as a whirlwind summer. Yes, I know it is November, but summer is where it all began!


At the end of last school year, Mike and I had a long conversation. We decided to make a GIANT change for our family and move back "home" to be closer to family. I started the process by applying in school districts nearby and packing up the house. We painted, repaired, and updated our house while waiting to hear about a job opening. That was not an easy process, but with a lot of help, it was slowly getting done.

The summer was slowly passing by, and I was beginning to give up hope on our big move, when all of a sudden, my mom received word of a possible opening at a nearby school. I called, book an interview, and was given a job offer within a couple of days. This was it! Our lives were about to change.


Our first home!



We finished odd projects around the house and got it on the market late one Friday night. I felt very blessed when we had a contract by Monday! Now, we were all set…well, not exactly! The kids and I had started a new school, we had found a new house, but for the time being, we had no place to live. My parents graciously took in and fed, Mike, myself, C, M, our 2 dogs, cat, hamster and tree frogs. It was a tight fit for a while, but it all worked out in the end.



Pajama day at our new school! 

We are now into November and the boxes are still being unpacked. We all miss our lives in SL very much. We left behind friends at great schools, our family traditions, and our first house, but, slowly, we are feeling more and more at home in LP.  We are blessed to have a wonderful new house, and family very near to us.  It can only get better from here!

Our first Halloween in our new home.  Cousin D came with us!

Oh What a Difference

I have been the mother of a sweet little girl for 8 years.  A little girl whose personality can be every little bit of me. C's personality has always been shy and timid. (Okay, maybe not every bit of me...)  She loves all things girly!  She is very motherly is loves trying to take care of M.  C is my partner in crime.  She drives to and from school with me, shops with me, and our favorite, gets her nails done with me.

Trying on my old prom dress.  

New haircut with fancy curls.  Can't you see the excitement in her face!?!

And then there is M.  Nearly four years ago, I became the mother of a boy.  A boy who is every bit like his father.  Who has NO fear and loves all things fast!  M has always had a special love of creatures.  This summer, it has reached a new high!  We currently have about three lizards and nine toads living in our back yard.  Every day, M heads out back and has to catch at least something!  At one point I came out to find about five large toads stuffed into one small bug catcher and M trying to figure out out to open the hatch and stuff the lizard in his hand into the box with the frogs.  At that point, we had to set down some rules.  

And I thought 2 fat frogs in a small box was a lot...

Today I took M to the pet store and he chose some crickets to feed the frogs and lizards that he has been catching.  I see it as an apology for the torture M gives them on daily basis and a plea for them to stay.  As soon as we got home, we went straight out back and the lizards and the frogs were right there waiting.  M wasted no time reaching into the bag, grabbing the crickets, and letting them go. It was quite a treat to see the frogs gulping down some crickets, but it was even more exciting when M caught a lizard, who just so happened to be munching one of his crickets.     

Watching the lizard eat.

 

A New Hobby Maybe...

  

Poppy knows a guy that runs a fishing charter and they decided to give it a try with Mike and the kiddos.  They pulled out of the driveway and headed for Baytown by about 6:40am loaded with Dramamine, life jackets and high hopes!  When Mike texted they were back already by about 10:30,  I honestly thought the worst.  I had no idea I would walk outside to see an ice chest full of fish.    My sweet C not only pulled in the first fish, she pulled in the biggest! M had a great time and can't stop talking about his new friend who has a boat.  (By the way, if anyone needs a birthday gift for M, he wants a big fishing boat!)  By demand of the proud fisher girl (and her proud daddy, too), we will be headed to Gander Mountain  later today to buy the kiddos their first official fishing shirts.  

Lone Star Yogi

Any of you remember the days of Yogi Bear on TV? Well, believe it or not, he and his buddies are still around.  This past weekend we went "glamping" with Grammy and Poppy and the whole family at Jellystone Park in Waller.  We stayed in one of the cabins on site and had a blast in the pools, slides, and fishing.  My babies wore themselves out climbing stairs and riding slides.  Thanks Grammy and Poppy!

Birthday Tradition

C and her Aunt Lala have a tradition of going to Sweet N Sassy for her birthday.  This year Lala outdid herself with a video.  Hope it works!  (Birthday blog post to come!)

Ladybugs!

We happened to come across two bags of fun for just $9.99 a piece.  That is 2000 ladybugs for $9.99!  We of course had so much fun letting them go we brought more to Easter!

Wish this was clear...M chasing C to put a ladybug down her shirt.

Easter 2012

This year we started Easter a week early with an egg hunt at the Enchanted Gardens/ Enchanted Forest.  My friend and I didn't communicate too well and we ended up at two different places. She with her family and C and us with M.  After we hunted we all met up and life was good once again.  I have to say on the real Easter I was a bad mom.  The camera came but never came out of the case.  So I guess these pics will just have to do! 

My man has style

    

A New Smile...

At least for a while.

It Wouldn't be Spring in Texas...

if you didn't stop and pose with the Bluebonnets!

C and a friend.

My Girl Makes Her Mama Proud!

My sweet C was recently chosen for a special honor at our school... Gator of the Month.  The teacher chooses a student who is a good example for others, follows school rules, and can always be counted on, etc.  They then get out of class a little early for a celebration with snacks and games. 

We couldn't be more proud! 

Disney Dream... Not sure what happened to this post!

I have to admit that I am one of those crazy Disney people.  As much as I like vacations to other places, I still love a good Disney vacation.  2011 was the year of Disney!  We started in September on the Disney Dream with Grammy, Poppy, Auntie Quita, and cousin D.  The trip to Orlando was C's second plane ride and M's first! They did great thanks to apple products and Mike's laptop!  (Not sure how people traveled before iPads, iPods, and portable DVD players.)  Next we hoped on the amazing Disney Dream which will be sailing out of Galveston here shortly and headed to the Bahamas.  A little swim with dolphins and we were off to Disney's private island.  We all ate well, played hard, and thanks to Grammy and Quita, had adorable outfits, too!

We hop on the boat and who do we see, Goofy!  

Our rooms were on the very back of the boat.  The doors to all three rooms opened up so the kiddos could run back and forth from to play.  It was AWESOME! 

My Princess

M said, " That's not an elephant, that's Dumbo!"

That is M's we go home tomorrow face!  

The shower was a tight fit, but it worked!

 One of the nights was Pirate night on the boat.  Grammy worked very hard to create a pirate look for each one of us.  Every where we went we received compliments.

The Disney Island Post Office. 

Playing on the Disney beach.

M on the plane.

Having fun at the Harley store waiting for our flight.