November 26, 2008

Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving

Zachary's school performed a cute play with the above title on Thursday night. Zachary did his part well and we were very proud of him. He was adorable dancing with his partner to their version of the Cotton Eye Joe.



Sunday night we attended our church's annual Thanksgiving dinner. Here was my contribution:


I hope your holiday is wonderful. We have MUCH to be thankful for.



Happy Thanksgiving!

November 20, 2008

Pilgrim's Pride

Yesterday Zachary's school had their Thanksgiving feast. These are the cookies that I sent for dessert. (I will admit that they weren't as easy as they look and they didn't turn out as cute as I hoped!)

Today at lunch we went to Trent's Thanksgiving program. He had all the grandmothers, Aunt Christy and me there to cheer him on. Trent had other plans beside singing on stage. He put his hat on beforehand to show us how cute he would have been had he decided to perform.

But, he most definitely did not. After much crying, this was Trent's idea of how to spend lunch.

At least, he looked cute doing that!

Tonight we are all going to watch big brother's program. We are all hoping for better results.

November 18, 2008

More Camp Talk

I thought of several things that were said during our weekend that I wanted to share.

Once we arrived at the cabin, Brandon asked Trent if he liked the cabin. His answer, "I LOVE the refrigerator."

I roasted Trent a hot dog over the fire. He took one look at it and said, "It's lookin' awful." He then lead me inside and pointed at the microwave. The hot dog cooked indoors pleased him.

Zachary and PawPaw found some cane growing while exploring the woods on 4 wheelers. They chopped one down to make a fishing pole with once they returned to Texas. Zachary has been so excited about it and hasn't quit talking about his "McCain pole."

What a fun weekend!

While I am writing the cute things said, I want to add this.

At Zachary's program tonight a mother of one of his buddies gave him a belated birthday gift. I didn't witness the exchange so when we got in the car I was questioning him.
Me: "Did you say 'thank you' to Mrs. D when she gave you that?"
Z: "Yes."
Me: "Zachary, are you SURE?"
Z: "Yes, Mama, I heard myself!"

May I never forget their sweet voices at this age.

November 17, 2008

Camp out

Brandon and I took the boys to the Beaver's Bend area this past weekend camping. [I use the term 'camping' very loosely.] We had a wonderful weekend of family time staying in a cabin, riding 4 wheelers, sitting by a campfire and going on nature hikes. Brandon's parents met up with us on Saturday night and cooked yummy steaks for dinner. Zachary said it was the best "bacation" he ever went on.

Here are some pictures from our get away. I must preface them by telling you about a few. There is an adorable shot of my boys on the edge of a cliff. I told Brandon to put Trent up there with Zachary and then STAY BY HIM. He apparently only heard the first part of that because moments later my child was tumbling head over heels down a small mountain!!! The next few pictures in the slide show are of Zachary and Daddy's reaction. You can tell how terribly worried they were about Trent's well being. There is also a shot where you can see how filthy Trent got from his little fall. Thankfully, he had so many clothes on that he was padded from the accident and wasn't hurt at all.

November 12, 2008

About to Erupt

A few weeks ago Zachary received a birthday package in the mail from my friend, Jamie. Because she is a dear friend to me, she knows that my lack of patience is occasionally an issue for me. I am reading into this a bit, but I believe that she decided to help me with this ongoing struggle with her gift to my child. She sent a wonderful volcano kit where you get to build, paint and eventually make your creation erupt. Zachary had a grand time with each step! It did turn out pretty cool and we've gotten it out several times since it was completed to fill it with baking powder and vinegar for another eruption.

Mixing up the plaster

Patiently waiting for our volcano to hardenOut of the mold...time to paint

Painted productEruption!
I do still love my friend and am thankful that I have people in my life that are "just trying to help" me with my inadequacies. The lack of patience is something that she cannot relate to...just click on her name above and check out the pinata she and Rhett are making. Seriously?!

My other best bud from LR also sent a gift that is testing this mama. The saleslady told her that it wasn't suitable for a 5 year old and would be something more for the birthday boy's daddy. Becca knew she had found the perfect gift and quickly snatched it up! I have been hit with more tag balls than I care to admit since receiving it. I also have found the small balls all over my impeccably clean house. (Joke for all of those who know me well!)

[Sidenote, TAG BALL is a super cool toy if you have boys on your Christmas shopping list. My 5 year old loves it, but it would be appropriate for boys much older.]

It's a good thing that there was also a happy birthday surprise for me in both of these packages or I might have to reconsider these friendships!

Love you girls!

Country Boys

There is nothing more that my boys love than being outside all day. We jumped on an invitation to spend the day at the cabin of Brandon's aunt and uncle a couple of weekends ago. The boys had a great time and stayed until they both fell asleep. The only regret Zachary had was that we didn't get there until lunch. He said, "Next time, let's go right when we wake up!"

Here are some pictures of the things we enjoyed throughout the day:

Paddle boating and fishing
Hauling wood for a camp fire

Splitting wood
Enjoying lunch on the front porch
Helping Uncle Monty build a pump house

Four wheeling

Driving a BIG tractor
Playing with cousins
Making s'mores


There was also a hayride to conclude the night! What a fun day!


[Daddy is missing in all the pics because he was off having his own 'country boy' experience in a deer stand somewhere in South Texas]

Thanks, Monty and Judy, for a great day at the cabin!!!

November 7, 2008

More snacks

For all of you bursting to know what day 2 and day 3 snacks were, this is for you. On Wednesday the kids made American flags. I sent graham crackers, white icing, Twizzler pull aparts, and star shaped cereal. I don't have a picture because the kids assembled them at school. Ms. Sherri said she took some cute pics of the kids making them so I'll post them when she shares. Thursday I sent fruit salad and pretzel "sparklers." Zachary said that they liked them, but he sure brought a bunch home!

Z posing with the sparklers he help make

Grapes, cherries and marshmallows


Even though our favorite candidate didn't win, we still feel so blessed to live in America!

November 4, 2008

Election Day

What an exciting day today is!

This is our week to take snacks for Z's class. I was thrilled to have an easy "theme" week to follow along with. (Last time we were assigned the week that they studied the mail system...try making cute snacks for that!) Anyway, election day snacks were fun to do. Check out day one's finished product:



While we are talking election talk, let me make it clear that I would never be so bold as to support my candidate through this unbiased, objective blog.

But, fashion? Now that's a whole different story. I just want to share with you the cute shirt I am sporting for this historical day.


Cheap shot? Me? NEVER!:)

November 1, 2008

Prices' Party

We attended the Prices' annual Halloween party last night. [Brandon is enjoying a weekend of hunting so I am playing single mommy.] We had a really rough start to the night because of two tired kiddos--that explains the missing costumes. Once we were at the party, both kids had a blast. There was great food, games, and trick or treating. Thanks, Mike and Teresa, for having us!
cup blowing game

group shot

Is this the funniest thing you've ever seen? The kids loved riding on it!

And can I just say, Mr. Halloween...I am so over you! I'm all pumpkin patched-trick or treated-costumed-and-candied out. See you next year.