The Milam Family

All Trent

2011-04-11T16:32:00.011-05:00

We love our Trent so much. He is just his own little person and so full of fun! He makes us laugh more than anyone else in our family does and doesn't care a bit what anyone thinks of him. He is not easily influenced, he doesn't conform, and is difficult to persuade! The things that we love most about him are also the things that make us crazy! Here are just a bunch of pictures that I had of him on my phone.

Trent loves Mac. Mac loves Trent. They are the best of buds and I hear Trent talking to Mac continuously while they play outside. This is IN my bed. Mac is an OUTSIDE dog. The two of them apparently forgot that information. But look how cute....how can you get mad?!

This picture reminded me so much of my brother growing up. He never got tired of this trick and as the adoring little sister, I never got tired of laughing at it! Trent thought he was the 1st person to ever think of doing it and was extremely proud!

Brain Gym's Thanksgiving program is always so cute. Here T is speaking in the microphone to say he is thankful for "going hunting." He has a "turkey" hidden under his shirt here. He told me after the program that it was really just a balloon. :)Dancing with his cute little dance partner, AveryOne day while shopping in Walmart I kept hearing T say he was hot. I looked over and saw this....T was a biker dude for Halloween. Every time he dressed up he added something or changed his costume up a bit. Z chose to go hunting over trick or treating and carnivals. Trent probably would have chosen that too, but I forced him to stay with me!This was at Brain Gym's annual Halloween Luncheon. T was a great server and had lots of customers, but I stayed busy and got only ONE picture. Here he is with my sister. I think that was his first customer of the day.This picture gets no explanation...because really, there isn't one. He was playing with my return address stamp one day....:)

Never a dull moment with our little TJ around!

The Big D

2011-04-11T16:18:00.003-05:00

My kids were discussing when moms and dads "break up" the other day while driving down the road. I was listening and loved Zachary's explanation...

T: If Daddy and Mommy break up, one will take one kid. One will take the other.
Z: Mommy and Daddy can't break up. They are married.
T: Yeah, but I mean if they decide to...
Z: It's not easy to break up when you are married, Trent. It's a BIG DEAL! You have to buy another house and it's not good for the kids and you can't see your dad everyday and you have to go to court and a lot of other stuff. AND, it costs A LOT of money! Isn't that right, Mamma?

This is where I stepped in and did my best mom answers and tried to assure them that daddy was stuck with me; however, I really wanted to answer: "Yes, son, it would cost your daddy A LOT of money. More money than he has got now or will ever have. Please remind him of this if he gets any ideas" but I refrained. ;)

Zachary turns 7!

2011-04-11T14:47:00.003-05:00

Zachary wanted to have a camp out at our cabin for his 7th birthday. He very nicely explained that moms (and little brothers) do not go to camp outs. Brandon and his friend Rick took 5 boys for the night. I went down for a little while to take a few pictures (fewer than I wanted bc my camera died after about 5 pictures!) They all had a great time and Brandon handled the night without me...even when one kid woke up wheezing and having a coughing spell! :)

Buying this cake was painful for me, I must admit. There will apparently not be anymore "cute" birthday parties for my Zachary :(He loved it so much though! And his little brother wants one JUST LIKE IT! I sure hope he forgets by the time June rolls around!All the boys.

They each had their own 4 wheeler to ride for the night which they loved!

The birthday boyLandon KellerZ and Jabo

They roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, road 4 wheelers, went hiking, shot bb guns, and played on the rope swing. The next morning they were all worn out....especially the daddies!!!!

Cute Quotes

2011-04-11T13:46:00.005-05:00

Been a while since I've done one of these....I MUST DO BETTER!!

Z while flipping a coin: "Heads or Toes??"

T to his brother: "You are talking so mean it's making me want to throw up!"

Z: Mom, do you like to wear jeans?
Me: Yes
Z: Do you like to wear tights?
Me: I guess, why?
Z: Because did you know they make denim tights? G had them on today and they are denim and they are TIIIGGGHHHTTT! I think you would like them.

T: Mom, you look pretty.
Me: Well, thank you baby.
T: But you would look very pretty if you would brush your hair and put your make up on.

After having a discussion about a child in his class that is overweight Z: "J is very, you know, you know, umm....overweight. But she has a good heart, Mamma." While I was patting myself on the back for my excellent mothering skills, he adds: "I am not really her friend, but I am nice to her. I told her if someone is mean to me on the playground I will come get her to sit on them."

T: I brushed my teeth with Crust at Grana's. {Crest}

T has 2 little girls that both claim to be his girlfriend. One cold night at the ballpark he had his bag full of equipment and I watched him get one pair of batting gloves out for Kit and let her wear them to keep her hands warm. He then reached in and got another pair for Kate to wear. While my friend and I were telling him what an absolute gentleman he was he pulled out some baseballs. He looks at both girls and says, "Now which one of you wants to play with my two balls???" :) Such a man!

Fall things....

2011-04-11T12:56:00.011-05:00

Quick trip to LR to celebrate Jamie's bday. Miss these girls SO MUCH! Happy birthday, Jamie!

Crazy hair day at school After a hard day work at the cabin

Zachary and Keller on dress up day at Brice. They were just happy the singing was over. At Zachary's school during one of our visits

Zachary's turkey for his turkey assignment. Hunting theme...of course!

Cute boys after the Thanksgiving program at Trent's school

Each kid said what they were thankful for. T said "Going hunting."

Fair field trip

Brain Gym field trip to the pumpkin patch. Trent is front right with his head down crying bc he didn't want to pose for a picture. I love how Livi is looking over at him! Halloween Keno...the Kardashian Sisters

Went to eat lunch with Zachary at school one day. He and Keller thought we needed a picture

Megan & Clayton's Wedding

2010-10-03T13:01:00.010-05:00

We were honored for Zachary to be invited to be the ring bearer in Brandon's cousin, Clayton's wedding. The wedding took place in dowtown Ft. Worth on September 11th. It was a beautiful setting, great weather and the reception was a blast. We had a great weekend celebrating!

The rehearsal dinner was at Joe T Garcia's. Delish!

Our first time to see Raegan since she became a college girl!

Trent and DaddyMy boys with Clayton I thought Brandon was having a good time??!!Lauren and Kelli are 2 of Brandon's cousinsRylan and ZacharyZachary was THRILLED to get to wear a tuxedo. (We were nervous about that because it could have gone either way!!) He loved every little piece of it. He loved getting it all on and checking himself out in the mirrorTrent was pretty proud of his blazer too. He was slightly jealous that he didn't have a bow tie!This pic is dark, but I loved it because Zachary was so proud of his suspenders. Our preacher wears them every Sunday and he said he looked like Bro. Clint.Before the ceremonyGrana and Pawpaw Trent was asleep before the bride made it down the aisle. He slept through the entire ceremonyZachary and Lexie were perfect! They stood still and acted like angels. I was very proud of Z!Congratulations Megan and Clayton!!! Thanks for letting us be a part of your big day!

Randomness

2010-09-23T18:09:00.007-05:00

Quick post to help get me caught up.....

We have loved going to the home football games and riding a float in the Homecoming Parade. They were so proud of their eye black!!

This is the first time that Trent has written his whole name without tracing it. I just love that E!!!

I bought Trent this blazer to wear to our cousin's wedding. When I purchased it, I thought that it would probably take a miracle to get him to wear it. He tried it on when I brought it home and seemed very interested in it. Here he is showing it off on the first day that he owned it. (He added the baseball cap for added effect) The next day my mom called and invited us to lunch. When I told him that we were going to meet her he disappeared for a few minutes. He came back sporting this:

Please notice 2 polos underneath. That's a spirit ribbon from Zachary's school on his front. I'm sad that I didn't get his feet because he was wearing camo boots. He wore this to downtown MP for lunch. He got LOTS of looks!!!!

My kids spend the majority of their time outside. I took my camera out one day while they were on the trampoline to get some pictures of them playing together. I love that Mac Dog walks up the ladder and onto the trampoline every time they get on.

Dirty, sweaty little boys...I love 'em!!Notice hospital bracelet still on arm...at least 3 days after incidentMac enjoys ANY attention. Even if it means little boys climbing on him, pulling his ears or tail, burying him in the sand, dental exams, etc....Zachary loves the peace signs right now. He is always flashing some sign to us. Trent wants so bad to know how and what he's doing. I love his little one finger sign and the fact that he's looking at big brother to try and figure out his "cool moves"

A Little Headbanging

2010-09-22T21:37:00.004-05:00

On Wednesday of the first week that both of the boys were in school, we made Trent's first visit to the ER. Both boys were standing on the couch in a boxing/wrestling/jostling /karate match. Zachary gave Trent a swift kick to the stomach that sent him sailing. The back of his legs hit the arm of our couch and it flipped him completely upside down onto the hardwood floors directly on his head. I am not a panicker because my boys are very rough and we have LOTS of injuries around here; however, Trent's cry was a unique one and the look on Zachary's face (the only witness) told us that it was a bad fall. Brandon sat him in his lap as we were trying to get him calmed down and he went from a full on loud cry to basically sound asleep. I ran to grab the phone to call his pediatrician and by the time I got his number and got him on the phone, Trent had begun vomiting. Scary!!

We rushed him to the ER where Dr. Stagg had them prepared for our arrival. They order a CT scan immediately. Brandon and I were freaking out about that because Zachary had one once that almost ended with all 3 of us having mental breakdowns. Trent was so lethargic that he basically slept through the entire evening. He laid perfectly still and hardly made a peep during the test. Honestly, I would have rather he have been screaming because his little lifeless body was really, really frightening!
The tests came back perfectly clear. Thank you, Jesus! He stayed home with me the next day just so I could watch him. He wasn't as active as normal and complained of a headache, but Dr. Stagg had warned me of that with concussion patients. By day 2, he was back to his wild self....with the hospital bracelet still attached. He wore it until it rotted off!

NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE COUCH!!!!

First days 2010

2010-09-22T20:33:00.004-05:00

This sweet little guy started FIRST grade a few weeks ago. He was nervous, excited, dreading, giddy, apprehensive...about going back especially since he started a new school this year. He was up and ready to go on the first day by 7. He picked out his clothes, shoes, and backpack on our back to school shopping trip.This much desired (and tacky!) necklace was his first day of school prize.Too cool for school!Our last few first day of school pics had another yellow lab posing in them. Our new guy acted like he knew it was part of his duties. He was happy to get a rub while posing. Zachary was all smiles and excitement until I attempted to actually leave him in his classroom. He literally clung to my leg and was pulled off my his teacher. I was totally shocked and so very sad. The great thing about having several friends who work at his school is the reassuring text messages that I got throughout the day letting me know his sadness was short lived and he was having a great time.

Trent (and I) cried when we got back in the car because he couldn't stand to see Zachary so sad. He asked about his older brother all day long and worried that he wasn't having fun. Trent wondered about him having lunch, if he cried in the afternoon, and was so excited when I said we could go pick him up.

Zachary got in the car and proclaimed that his day was "AWESOME!" Music to this mama's ears!!! He promised he would never cry again. He stuck to his promise and only got teary eyed for the next couple of days during drop off, but allowed me to drive through the drop area and he jumped out by the next Monday. He has done great at his new school and tells me all the time how much he loves it. His only complaint....McDonald's is too close to the school and he doesn't have time to eat his breakfast between the restaurant and drop off!

Trent was very excited to go back to Brain Gym this year as one of the "big boys". He didn't shed a tear and has a great first few weeks. His teacher says he has really shown off at being in the older class and showing the little ones how it's done.

It's really a good thing he's this cute. The dimples get him out of a lot of trouble...at home and at schoolHe picked out this camo backpack and lunch box. He attaches them as shown EVERY day before and after school. Loves it!Trent's school started a week before Zachary's so I got to spend a few days with big brother by ourselves. When we dropped T off at school on the first day, he was not even close to crying yet Zachary was worried to death that he may cry. When we got in the car, I thought Z was going to cry because we left him. He asked several times how much longer until Trent was out and at one point he said, "Trent gets a lot of days without me, but this is my first without him. I don't like it." I just love their brother bond. May they always stay so protective and attached to one another.

2010 school year is off to a great start!!!!

Boating fun

2010-09-22T20:18:00.006-05:00

Zachary has gotten really good at water sports over the summer and LOVES being behind the boat to show off. I haven't posted pics of him skiing on 2 this year or his new hobby: wakeboarding. He looks so cute out there!!!

Skiing on 2 is just sooooo easy for him now!:) We were able to take the ropes off the skiis that hold them together by the end of the season. He thinks he is ready for the slalom. I think that will be our goal for next summer. Part of skiing and boarding is falling. He usually doesn't mind, but sometimes those falls HURT! Sad to see those carefree summer days end.

Lake day

2010-07-26T19:07:00.006-05:00

My brother, Tripp, came into town this weekend and got to go for a day on the boat with us. He loves water sports, but doesn't get a lot of time on the water. He was dying to get some pictures of him barefooting. My dad taught him when he was 12 years old!! He hasn't done it in years, but was confident he could...

Up on a slalom and stepping off...

Did not end as planned!On his second time, he stepped off beautifully.Then he just got cocky!Back in the days before kids, and when we all lived in the same city, Brandon and Tripp spent LOTS of time on the lake wakeboarding. This was Tripp's first time back on the board in a few years. He was okay, but I was sure disappointed he didn't show off his back flip!He skiied too...this was his warm up for the barefooting.Brandon skiing. I am usually driving the boat so I don't have any pictures of him in actionRaegan slalomingTrent loves to kneeboard. He will just drag on his tummy for days.He sits up on his knees when he feels inclined to do so.Zachary considers himself a professionalHe loves to cut and then tell us all about it play by play when he gets in the boatLast year, he wanted so badly to do a 360. Here he is saying he will try it in 'onnnnnne more minute'Going for it
AlmostLong stretch for those short little armsSo close....Smile of SUCCESS!
He did 5 in a row after figuring out he could do it!
I couldn't be shown up by all those boys. :)

**Zachary skiied too on 2 skis, but I didn't have my camera with me to get a picture of that.

Granny-Great is 85!

2010-07-26T18:59:00.003-05:00

My grandmother turned 85 on Friday. We celebrated with a family dinner. She is so special to us and makes me laugh EVERY time I talk to her. She looked so pretty for her bday dinner. The highlight of my night is when she ordered a Mike's Hard Lemonade!!!??? I just busted out laughing! Where in the world has she heard of them?? Unfortunately for her, they didn't serve them as this particular restaurant. Guess we'll take her to a bar for her 86th?!

DESTIN 2010

2010-07-26T14:53:00.017-05:00

We had a GREAT time in Destin again this year. The weather was perfect and the beaches were beautiful. Thanks to Grana and Pawpaw for a wonderful vacation!

Loving the fountains at Destin Commons

We had several hours of just us on the beach=PEACE!Brandon=all smilesDinner at Harry T'sFeeding the fishThese boys loved playing in the sandTaking a breakThe water was beautiful and clear...except for the 1st day when there were millions of jelly fish. Literally everywhere you looked!Two cute blondesTrent is recently obsessed with his spiked hair. He puts LOTS of gel in, continuously feels it to make sure it's still standing and asks if it's messed up every few minutesIt is pretty cute, I'll admitAttempt one at family pics on the beach:Trent was afflicted with a terrible eye condition and screamed and cried that his eye hurt?!We threatened, spanked, bargained and bribed with riding go carts....NOTHING worked.

Mama was a litttttttle frustrated.During dinner, Trent (after miraculous healing of his eye occured coincidentally at the same time the camera was put away) began to tell us how much he LOVES getting his picture on the beach. And how he really wanted to get his family's picture made on the sand, and he was going to smile so pretty and look at he camera and his eye would never hurt again...and in short....REALLY wanted to ride go carts. He went around the table and kissed Brandon and I and each of his grandparents and told us how much he loved us!

And because Mama REALLY wanted pics on the beach...we tried again:Guess who was in a bad mood this time?!UGH!!!!

And with that....I gave up!!!

We did, at least, get a good one with their grandparents

Zachary showing off his 'cool' poseTrent showing how sweet he can be.Trent took up boogie boarding this year...he wore Brandon out!Pawpaw loves to play in the water with the boysTrent did not like the feeling of wet swimsuit/ sand combination. He changed clothes 10 times a day. These Buzz Lightyear pj's are his favorites and made an appearance on the beach at one point.Zachary was a pro boarder this year, but I didn't get any cute pics of him doing it???He met a friend from Louisiana and they played for hours.For 2 days, they played so well together and Zachary was sad that he would never see him again. When I asked Z what the guys name was he said, "I didn't catch his name." :)EVERYONE wants to know about the oil and the clean up crews. We saw ONE tar ball the whole 5 days we were there. The crews came by a few times while we were on the beach. We loved their set up. The port a potties on the trailer made me laugh! And I loved how they gathered up under this tent like they were at a funeral.

Fun, fun vacay!! Looking forward to next year already!!!

FOUR!

2010-07-02T11:53:00.008-05:00

Trent turned 4 years old on the 28th of June. I simply cannot believe he is 4! I was just getting use to the fact that he wasn't 2 anymore!!! We had a swimming party at Grana and PawPaw's house to celebrate his big day.

I decorated with and had candy themed party favors.

[Thanks, Jamie, for the tags!!]

Grana and PawPaw gave T a new bike that he was crazy about. It is a 'real race bike'...in his mind.As everyone started to arrive with his gifts, he just had to open the presents right then. He had the presents opened within 10 minutes of the party starting!Trent asked me, "Mamma, do I get to take all of these toys home???" This is our second go round with the toy chainsaw....Some of you are remembering Zachary's incident that was caught on video with our first one.:)He loved these huge blow up baseball bats. Mr. Corey was the first victim.After he opened his presents he was ready for everyone to sing to him. He was very confident as the birthday boy and I heard him say to his friend, "It's my birthday party and I can say what I want." [They were discussing who he would marry.]And these are the top 2 marriage prospects at this point. Kit (left) is who he claims is his girlfriend...most of the time. Kate (right) is who proclaims that she will marry him one day. Her sister even confirmed her decision by telling her, "Trent is the perfect man for you."He loved everyone singing to him and blowing out his candles.The cupcakes were delicious.......and messy!!Collin and Trent spent the majority of the party inside playing with all the new toys. I don't think Trent ever got back in the pool after he discovered all his gifts. These two had a blast hanging out. At one point I saw them both deep in conversation, holding their lollipops in one hand and tt-ing in the grass side by side. Some of the mammas relaxing under the umbrella

A few of the kids in the pool. We counted 32 kids in the pool at one time!!I think the big kids (teenage cousins) enjoyed the slide more than the little guys.

Trent woke up on the morning of his party and said,

"NO training wheels, NO floaties, NO pacies, and NO hair!!!"

That pretty much sums up four for us! What a great few years it has been. Trenton James has added so much to our family. We love that little guy to pieces!!

Summer Cuts

2010-06-26T14:38:00.004-05:00

Review of hair before summer cuts:And now the summer look:

They were not being very cooperative when I was trying to take pictures of their new hair. But you get the idea....very short! They both love their 'dos. I agreed to let Brandon cut Trent's when he was 4. He will be 4 on Monday so I caved a little before. I think he looks adorable, but am looking forward to those blonde locks growing back!:)

Funnies

2010-06-26T13:56:00.002-05:00

Z: Some people wear shoes in their house. We don't. That's not how we roll."

Brandon to Trent after church. "You acted horrible in church. What was the deal?" T: "I was trying to sleep and those brothers were talking too loud." (As in Bro. Clint, our preacher, and Bro. Tim, our music leader.)

T: After getting his head shaved, "People won't know my name."

Zachary spent the night with Grana for 2 nights, T said, "I thought he was going to be Grana's kid."

A friend of ours asked Trent what he wanted for his birthday.
Trent: a bb gun
Tim: Well, that's really something your parents have to buy you. Anything else?
Trent: Ummmmm, a real chain saw.
Tim: I'm sorry I asked.

Zachary walked out of my bathroom with a feminine product in his hand, "Mom, why do you still have these?" Me: "Sometimes mommies just need those. Go put it up." Z: "Girls understand it, boys sure don't." AMEN!

Me: "Who do you want to invite to your birthday party?"
T: "Everybody we know who has little kids."

Overheard conversation:
Z: Have you ever seen anybody kiss?
Keller: Yea. My dad kisses my mom.
Z: No! Like somebody whose not married?
Keller: Yes on tv.
Z: I saw Freddie and Sam kiss on I-Carly.
Z and Keller at the same time: SIIIIIIIICK!

Somebody called to inquire about our rental property. Z said, "Do they want to rent it?" I told him that it was a possibility. He said, "If they do, that will be a dream come true for me." Didn't realize the rental property was part of his dreams?!

Zachary and I were discussing God vs. evil. He said, "I bet hell is so happy everytime I get in trouble." Then as we continued in the conversation about God being able to overcome evil, he slightly missed the point when he said, "He comes over evil to me a lot." I asked what he meant and he said, "You know, like everytime I get in trouble!"

Rivercats T-ball

2010-06-26T12:45:00.007-05:00

Zachary had a great year in t-ball. (His last year!) His team was called the Rivercats. He really improved so much from last year. We love watching him and he loves playing!

I never do get over how cute he looks all decked out in his uniform! Big throw!
Cute!

Giving his buddy, Zack Tyler, some direction

World's Best Daddy---World's Best T-ball Coach A little last minute prep talk

Lining up

Great hit!

Highlights from this season that I don't want to forget:

Zachary hit his first (in the park) homerun this season. When he rounded third to come home he had the biggest smile on his face. I have never seen him so proud of himself. He received the game ball as a result of his great hit. After the game we walked over to the other fields and told EVERYONE we came in contact with about his homer. We discussed it play by play on the car ride home. We called and text every person he could think of to tell. When we got home and he got in the bathtub he asked, "Why have y'all quit talking about my homerun?!" :)

The next morning on the way to school he said, "Mamma, let's talk about my homerun some more."

Zachary caught several fly balls, line drives and made an unassisted double play this season, too. After the double play (caught a line drive and tagged a runner who didn't tag up) he and the first baseman celebrated so much that they almost missed the next batter's hit!

Brandon said all season that Trent was going to get some playing time during the last game. He practices with Zachary all the time and was ready!!

He started off in the outfield. He got tired after the first batter and decided to hang up his hat....

And take a little break. But when it was time for his at bat, he was pumped up! He could hardly wait his turn!

He hit a hard hit all the way into the outfield!

And he was off.....

High five from Coach David at his arrival at first.

Run, run, run!

"I'm biggest as my brother."

My three favorite guys. I am so blessed.

Kindergarten Graduation

2010-06-22T17:12:00.004-05:00

It is so hard to believe that just 9 short months ago, Zachary started Kindergarten. I remember all too well the nerves, the uncertainty, the insecurity and the excitement. He had a great year and was blessed with a very special teacher. He has matured, gained confidence, and learned more than I ever thought possible in one short year. We will always look back on his first year of school with a smile.

He had a small speaking part in the graduation play. He was not excited about it at all!:)

Getting his diploma from principal Mrs. Walley

A hug from Mrs. Sammye

Looking so cute in cap and gownWe celebrated the end of the school year with a fun day. The kids had a blast.Zack Tyler, Zachary, Jabo and Mrs. Sammye

A GREAT YEAR!!!

Shooting lessons

2010-06-22T16:44:00.003-05:00

Zachary has been asking to shoot skeet for months so we finally took him out for his first lesson. His two instructors were FULL of information and pointers

He is one lucky little boy to have this daddy who adores him so much.My dad, Jackpaw, is a hands on kind of teacher

After trying for a few moving targets, it was determined that Zachary should start by hitting a stationery target. Here goes:

Ready....Aim....Fire!!Sweet smile of SUCCESS!

Brain Gym Program

2010-06-22T16:19:00.003-05:00

Trent's end of the year program was adorable.

He was a straw 'peddler'. He took his part very seriously:

STRAW FOR SALE. STRAW FOR SALE. 50 CENTS A BALE Mark and Trent peddling straw
Cute piggy Reese

and little Alexandra singing her heart out

Kit was an adorable pig too.

Great year at Brain Gym!

Rae's Prom

2010-06-22T16:03:00.003-05:00

Raegan ended her high school career earlier this month. We have had such a special few years being in town for her sophomore through senior years. We have loved being able to attend her sporting events and other activities, watching her mature these past few years and just getting to be around her more than the occasional visit. She is so special to Brandon and I. We have so many memories of her as a child and through the years and it's hard to believe she will be leaving for college in just a few weeks. I know that God has big things in store for her and we are excited about getting to watch the next chapter of her life evolve.

I took pictures of her and her buddies before prom and just wanted to post some of my favorites. She is as pretty on the outside as she in on the inside........A group of great kids:Raegan and Claire...heading off to Texas A&M. Hard to believe!

Caldwell Zoo

2010-04-16T16:26:00.002-05:00

Trent's school took their annual field trip to the zoo on Thursday. We were blessed with beautiful weather and happy kids. My camera is out of commission so I just took a few pictures with my phone while we were there.

Trent and Alexandra loved the birds!

Alexandra, Hayden and Trent
Kit and Trent
Kit, Trent and Alexandra
He looks pretty happy to have those pretty girls hugged up to him, doesn't he?!

What a fun day!

Chatter

2010-04-07T14:44:00.002-05:00

As Trent would say, 'It's been a lot of days' since I last posted some of our favorite quotes. I've been keeping a list and I have some good laughs:

Walking into a hotel we were about to check into, Z said : Let's go see what this hotel is all about.

Trent yelled from the backdoor: Mommy, guess what I got you...it's yellow and shaped like a flower.

Zachary insists he will never get married or have children. I was explaining to him (and pleading) that he would change his mind. I said, "What in the world would Daddy and I do if we didn't have our boys???" His answer, "Well, you could get a job!"

After seeing a commercial on television, Z said: "Mom, that's exactly what you need: weight loss medicine."

Trent: "How many days after He died did he rose from the Devil?"

Zachary got his first half dollar for selling cans to the recycling center. He told Trent: "This is half dollar, half coin."

While placing our order at Sonic Zachary noticed a very large carhop skating to a car near us. He said, "I don't think that big chubby boy should be skating. That seems dangerous."

Trent said to the dog one day: "I don't want to listen to that crap." {sounds like me, I know!} After explaining to him that he couldn't say that, he said, "Remind me not to say that, ok?"

Trent yells from the backseat of the car one day: "Look at all this hair on my legs. I am growing BIG!"

The boys are in a big Lego phase. Zachary begs me to build with him and I really DO NOT like it. One day I told him, "I am just not good at Legos. I can't build like Daddy can." He said, "Mommy, I wasn't very good with them when we first got them either. I had to practice and watch Daddy a lot to get good. You can watch me and every day you will be a little better at them."

Trent heard the name 'stupid idiot'. [Not my fault this time...Thanks to the movie Home Alone] It was his favorite term for a few days and finally resulted in some soap in his mouth. About a week after he finally stopped saying it, he was playing in his room by himself and talking. [He NEVER stops talking!] Brandon and I both heard him say 'stupid idiot'. I said, "Trenton James!" He came into the den and said, "You did not hear me say that! I said it quiet!"

Zachary pulled a lemon out of his drink and said, "I am not a fan of lemons."

One day as I was humming, Trent said, "Mom, don't do that...just say the words."

Trent was headed out to play and said, "I'm going outside now." I acknowledged he said it, but he still just stood there and stared at me. After a moment he said, "You can tell me you love me now."

Zachary hit his first every HOMERUN in his first t-ball game of the season last week. We went crazy when he did it, we celebrated with snowcones after the game, we recalled every detail of it several times, we told everyone we saw and even called a few people. Once we got home and were getting baths and ready for bed, Zachary asked, "Why did you quit talking about my homerun?" The next morning on the way to school he said, "Let's talk about my homerun some more."

GOSH, I love these kids!!

Easter 2010

2010-04-07T14:26:00.004-05:00

Easter was a great day for us again this year. We woke up to filled baskets and new skates for Z and a new scooter for T. We enjoyed a beautiful FULL church service in our new building and then we hosted lots of family at our house for our annual lunch and egg hunt.

[It's official that we no longer believe in the Easter bunny...don't leave me mean comments if you think we are terrible parents.]

Before church: I've given up on family shots. Even these individual ones are questionable.

We had a blast with a house full of family.

Jeni, Trace and Zachary getting ready for the egg hunt.

(yes, Zachary is wearing eye black...you can't risk the glare of the sun getting in your way of egg hunting!!)

Thomas put an ENTIRE package of gum in his mouth. I was sure he would choke on it at any moment so I was trying to capture his last moment.All the hunters:
Cullen, Thomas, Lexi, Jeni, Trace, Katie, Zachary and Trent

Uncle Rex was at the the starting line....

And they are off!

There were HUNDREDS of eggs. The kids filled and refilled their baskets. So much fun and then they had more fun opening them all to see what was inside.

It was a fun day and when everyone left my entire family took a 4 hour nap! Perfect way to finish a wonderful day!

He is risen!

Black Eyed Peas

2010-04-05T21:49:00.001-05:00

Our sweet Raegan is graduating from high school in just a short few weeks. We asked her a while back what she wanted to do for her graduation gift and she chose the Black Eyed Peas concert. So on Friday of our spring break, I loaded up Raegan and her friend, Claire, and we headed to Dallas to stay with my BFF Nancy for a night of F-U-N!!

B - E - P

Upon arriving to Nancy's apartment the girls became acquainted with Mary Kay...the strange mannequin that lives on her bar.Jennifer, Nancy's roommate, was the make up artistRaegan and Claire--the finished products.

Don't let the cute looks fool you...

And yes, they attempted to find the FLASHIEST shirts possible...they were sure that Fergie would spot them in the crowd and ask them to come on stage.

With their SUPER COOL chaperones, Nancy and IBefore the concert we walked to Mi Cocina for delish Mexican food They actually made Nancy hold up a menu to have the perfect lighting in this pic...We looked like we were trying to take professional shots at our tableThen we were off to the concert..... This is our shout out to Kirk who got the tickets for us. See the enthusiasm?!We had a TOTAL BLAST at the concert!! We danced and sang and laughed all night. [Nancy and I were given cd's a few weeks prior to the concert so that we would know all the songs.] Ludacris opened for BEP and we even enjoyed his performance. [Our most uncool moment was when we asked if Ludacris was a man or a group....and btw, we never got an answer...they just laughed at us....RUDE.]

We all decided Fergie is the coolest thing ever!

Will.i.am and FergieThe concert was sponsored by Blackberry so they let people text Will.i.am messages. He later rapped the messages. Claire and Raegan wrote him a message about us that we never really found out the content of...Thankfully, it was not chosen as one he read!

Highlight of the evening was when the girls found a guy selling questionable tshirts outside of AA for half the price of the tshirts inside the concert. They were pumped, busted their money out and were quickly scammed! They got shirts, but I think they ended up paying double because he ran off with their change...Life lesson, girls, life lesson.

They loved the shirts nonetheless.

Aren't they F.I.N.E.?! They told me themselves that they were...????

Nancy's roommate has an entire set-up for karaoke and the girls took full advantage of it. They went out on Nancy's 2nd floor balcony and put on a full concert for passersby on the busy street.

The next day we headed to lunch (after prying them out of bed) and to a movie before giving them back to their parents.

Nancy and I had so much fun with Rae and Claire. Fun, sweet, crazy, hilarious, and full of energy....they reminded us so much of ourselves just a FEW years ago.

We promised them we would have one more weekend at Nancy's before they take off to college. Looking forward to it! Love you two little Betseys!

We love our Okies

2010-04-05T21:23:00.007-05:00

We kicked off spring break with a trip to Norman to see my brother and his family. We had tons of fun playing with cousins and watching some softball. (My brother is one of the coaches of the Sooner Softball team). It was a chilly few days, but we loved being there.

Zachary couldn't wait to get Uncle Tripp to teach him yo-yo tricks. This was at midnight on the night we arrived. Serious lessons....

Welcoming the team out of the clubhouse

Cute Sooner fans

Trent
My nephew, Jack

It was so nice to have Brandon to ourselves for a few days

My SIL and I trying to stay warmMy nephew, Trace, and TrentAll the boy cousinsWe got to one game just in time for nap for Trent...and my niece, Ali We ended the night with some swimming at my mom's hotel

After 2 days of fun, we left Norman and headed to Dallas for a night--much to the dismay of my SIL. She apparently wanted us to stay the entire week!

The indoor pool was a big hit again.

We spent the day shopping and ice skating. I was terrible at skating and wasn't much help to my poor child

It was a fun mini-vacay and a great way to kick off spring break!

Thanks for hosting us, Tripp and Holly. Can we come again?!

Hospital Field Trip

2010-03-17T16:06:00.005-05:00

Trent's school took a field trip to the hospital last Thursday. It was a very informative and fun field trip. The helicopter was a huge hit. A few brave ones even got in.Alexandra preparing for the siren.The kiddos loved looking at a baby who had just been born a few hours earlier.
Then we were off to see the ambulance. The stretchers are super cool.Hayden had a little spill in the mud while we were outsideDr. David taught us about bones, x rays and casts. The saw that cuts the casts off was the kids' favorite.
Dr. David and HaydenWe were able to go into an operating room as well. Will was so brave and let them put heart monitors and oxygen on him.

We walked from the hospital to the pediatric dentist office across the street. Dr. Becca welcomed us into an examining room while working on a patient.
Dr. Kenny showing us all his tools out of the sanitizer.

Then we were off to school with loads of goodies from each stop.

****Just realized that my child is only in one of the pictures that I took. He is checking out the baby wearing an orange tshirt.*****

Making Muddy Memories with MAC

2010-03-17T15:20:00.005-05:00

We enjoyed a very muddy weekend at the cabin a few weekends ago. It was Mac, our new dog's, first visit. I think you can see from the pictures that he enjoyed himself immensely.

[We lost both of our beloved labs in the past few months...I will post about that sometime :( ]

Trent, Mac Dog, and Zachary

I looooooove me some Mac. He is so perfect!
ALL my boysHe tried to wipe his face with his sleeve. oops

Muddy cuteness

Mac hasn't learned that he shouldn't run BEHIND the 4 wheeler yet
Brandon was SO proud of my driving skills in the mud. He was even more excited that the 4 wheeler was stuck in reverse after this small incident and he was forced to drive backwards down muddy trails back to the cabin. It was very entertaining for the boys and I to watch.

What a fun, MUDDY weekend!!!

Snow Days

2010-02-22T14:22:00.008-06:00

We loved having a few days of snow in East Texas last week! It was Trent's first time to get to experience it, and I don't think Zachary can remember our snows in Little Rock. What a treat!

This little guy became an expert at making snowballs. You can see it still snowing in this picture. We thought (and hoped) it would never stop snowing

Emma came down and played with us
ALLLLLLL bundled up. Trent and my miniature snowman--sporting a Baylor cap

Snow angels

He was yelling, "Emma and Zachary won't share the snow!!!"
On Day 2 of the snow Brandon and I and our boys and Jon with his 2 girls headed to Dellwood park to sled and play. Brandon and I took Raegan to this very hill before she ever started school and now she's a Senior!! And she's still as much fun!!

They loved sledding
Emma and Trent
Brandon, Jon and Corey built this snow fort and then engaged in a snow ball war with all the neighborhood boys. I didn't take my camera to the park so this was taken with my phone. The big boys (men) had more fun than the kids, I think.
The guys also built this 8 foot tall snowman that the girls made into a snowgirl. Please notice the miniature carrot that Trent packed in his coat pocket from home.
Such a fun few days. We were sad to see it go away. But, now we are ready for SPRING!

Basketball!

2010-02-13T13:45:00.004-06:00

We attended Senior Night of our favorite CHS basketball player recently. We CANNOT believe that Raegan will graduate in the Spring. It's been so much fun to be back in MP for her last 2 years of high school.

Karen, Raegan and Jon

Warming up Introductions

The half time entertainment was special too. The Elementary students showed their ball handling routine. Zachary flashed a big smile for all of his fansEmma's age group performed as well

Fun night to be a Red Devils fan!

We love Monster Trucks

2010-02-13T13:33:00.003-06:00

Brandon and I took the boys to see the Monster Truck show in Shreveport in early January. Zachary had been once before, but it was Trent's first time. They loved every minute of it!

Serious concentration LOVED his new ear protectors

But of course, the boys' favorite were the motorcycle tricksters. They stressed me out so bad!!
SO dangerous!!!!

It was a fun weekend away--except that the fire alarm in our hotel sounded on and off for 3 hours throughout the night. :( Thankfully the boys only woke up once during the whole thing.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-19T17:16:00.007-06:00

We had a fabulous Christmas filled with family and fun! I am so far behind on blogging that I am just going to post some of my favorite pictures from the holiday. (That's all anyone cares about anyway, right?) All the cousins

Daddy had this game as a child and was so excited about it...the kids---not so much.

Trent loved this and named it 'rockclimber" until Kent (next door) called it a dune buggy. Now we are all required to call it that. What Kent says is the gospel!!!

Kid's table at my mom's house

This is Trent's reaction after Jack told him to feel his muscle. I love it!!!

My brother, Tripp and his wife, Holly

My sister, Christy and her daughter, Katie

The aftermath of the madness!

Fishing with Uncle David

And what a treat that Ben came this year, too!

'Tis the Season

2009-12-19T11:23:00.008-06:00

The busy-ness and wonderful-ness of the season has gotten in the way of my blogging. Here's an update on our last few weeks.

Brain Gym took it's annual field trip to the Christmas tree farm. It was the coldest day of the year, I believe. The kids loved it! They picked the perfect tree and cut it down to take back to school.

Everyone got a turn with the sawThe mommas and the daddies were the coldest!Kisha, Nicole and I headed to Dallas this week for two FULL days of shopping. We shopped until we dropped...literally!! Here they are after our first mall stop. After another stop...getting pretty full
When we arrived at our hotel at 1 a.m. we convinced ourselves that our car would definitely get broken into in the parking lot so we unloaded our entire car (except for the large items)!
The finished product!

We had a ball!! And, if our husbands will allow, we will make it an annual trip!:)

Thursday night Brain Gym held their little Christmas program. Here's my favorite little student singing his heart out.

Frosty the Snowman got an "old silk hat they found...."

"...and he began to dance around."

That deserves a big bow!

At the conclusion of the program, each boy went and got his mom and each girl went to get her dad to dance with. Look who my son picked:

After their dance he announced, "My dad didn't do it right."

Serves that boy right...Lesson learned, I hope.

Trent and Ms. Sherri We love this lady to pieces.

Friday was Zachary's last day of school and his class party

They each brought an ornament for an exchange.

Zachary loved the Santa ornament he got

He has been blessed with a wonderful teacher that we all adore.

It's been a very full and fun few weeks. The boys are out for 2 weeks and we are looking forward to a great break!

Sister is 40!!!

2009-12-13T14:01:00.005-06:00

My (much) older sister turns the big 4-0 today! Hard to believe, but it is the truth! She has a horrible memory (probably old age) so I have listed 40 of my favorite memories of her. Without a doubt, she won't remember half of them...

{If you are not part of my family...this will be the longest, most boring post you've ever read!}

1. Has twisted her hair for her whole life. I was once sitting behind her at a redlight and didn't realize it until I saw that the person in the car in front of me was twisting her hair...recognized her immediately! Thought maybe she would grow out of it, but not a chance! My dad is MUCH older and he still does it!

2. When I was a toddler she lit a candle and held it to my nose to smell. Of course I burned my nose! She says it was my fault, but when I wanted to try it with her toddler--she changed her story.

3. I told my best friend Rebekah that Christy would bite her if she got near her. I didn't want Rebekah to play with her while at my house. She actually believed this for a while!

4. She is one t-shirt making fool! She has painted me more t-shirts than I care to admit. She also made them for my cheer team one year and matching ones for all my bff's when matching your friends was a cool thing to do.

5. When she was a teenager she would stick her head out the car window after leaving the beauty shop because she hated how her hair was fixed. Every time.

6. Loves Winnie the Pooh. She won't admit it, but trust me on this one.

7. Had her room decorated with the 'coolest' KISS and Poison posters throughout high school.

8. We have had an agreement for years that we tell each other what my mom gets us for Christmas. Every year. Sorry Mom.

9. I spent lots of time cruising the strip in the backseat of her car. Felt like I was SOOOO cool until she yelled for me to duck!!

10. Dropped a can of corn out of her pantry on her foot one time. Mom was visiting me in Waco when she got the emergency call. Oh the drama....

11. Owned a curling iron with bristles. For reasons unbeknownst to me, she told me to touch the metal part. For more reasons unknown to me, I did it. And cried.

12. Believed in home treatments of hair as a teen. I remember one night in particular where she colored her hair SEVERAL times trying to get the color she desired. I seem to also remember an unfortunate incident with a home perm.

13. Worked at a children's clothing store while in college. Once while my mom and I were visiting the store she caught a shoplifter. She followed him and got the clothing that he had taken. She then asked, "Is that all you have? You promise??" Because everyone knows that a shoplifters promise is as good as gold.

14. Owned EVERY color ribbon belt in high school. And nothing would make a sister madder than for her little bratty sister to wear it on the day that she desired to wear it.

15. Actually, one thing would make her madder. Wearing her Polo socks. She finally sewed small blue threads on the toes of hers so we could tell ours apart. I'm serious. True story.

16. Once called my mom in a panic because she thought that she had thrown her boyfriend's senior ring out the window in front of the school. My mom and I rushed up there to help her search the side of the road. I was suddenly stricken with blindness and walked up and down the road at the entrance of the high school as the entire student body was leaving using a yard stick as my cane to help navigate my way. I still can't figure out why I annoyed her so badly???

17. When she graduated from college I yelled, "Way to go, SisTOR!" as loud as possible in the quiet auditorium. She was so proud.

18. She snorts if she gets too excited. Sorry, Christy...it had to be disclosed. Only few can make her snort. I am one of the few.

19. The day I was brought home from the hospital she and my brother attempted to build a brick tree house. A brick was dropped on her head. As if having to share the spotlight with another girl wasn't hard enough...

20. Came to my sorority presentation at Baylor. Several people told me that my LITTLE sister was so cute. She hasn't gotten over this.

21. Green means go to her. Floored her car when the light turned green, but forgot to make sure the car in front of her had moved. Nailed him! I voluntarily took the floor board that time.

22. Pushed my cousin down the stairs in our house in a wheel chair. They had it planned perfectly except for the part about the stairs turning half way down. I think there was still a hole in the wall when we moved out of that house.

23. Took me for a ride in her truck while I had a broken leg at age 8. My crutches were in the back of the truck when it started raining. I yelled "Get my d**n crutches!" She just stared at me and said, "DO NOT tell Mom you said that."

24. 'Pumped' me many miles on the handlebars of her bicycle.

25. Received a diamond ring from her first serious boyfriend. The stone fell out, but I was sworn to secrecy because they were going to have it replaced without him ever knowing. When he was over one night and she got up to go the bathroom I rushed in and blurted the news out. It was just killing me...couldn't wait to tell him!

26. She had a Snoopy phone that she adored. I drew a belly button on his belly with a sharpie marker. She didn't appreciate it one bit. I still don't see why...doesn't Snoopy have a navel?

27. Christy and her best friend, Buffy, followed my school field trip bus all the way to Florida and chaperoned our trip. Her tie dyed romper was stolen out of the hotel room. She should have known to lock that baby up in the safe..I mean, tie dyed and a romper? You can't take those kind of chances.

28. Her first year of teaching was my senior year. I was her teacher assistant for one of my class credits. She went with me to the principal when my dad made me go apologize for skipping school on senior skip day. Gah Dad.

29. She moved me from my dorms to my apartment when I was in college. Still not sure how she got forced into that, but she did it--with a smile.

30. She wrote to me almost EVERY week of my freshman year at Baylor. I still have every letter that I received that year...it made the homesickness bearable.

31. She had the meanest dog ever born. He bit a chunk out of my nose AND chewed up my never been worn Sam & Libby's.

32. Has what my stepdad has named a "travel stomach". We can just start talking about taking a trip and she gets an upset stomach.

33. Helped me build a beautiful bear out of snow one year...only to wake up the next morning to find that some idiots had made him into a boy with all the male 'parts'.

34. Attempted to prepare the dressing for Thanksgiving a few years back. No one told her to actually cook the cornbread before putting it in the mixture.

35. Got her Cavalier painted blue while in college. She picked a navy color and we showed up to pick it up, it was bright turquoise!! Redo!

36. Has met EVERY traffic cop in our area. Some on several occasions.

37. Opened the door to her car with a little too much excitement just a few days before her wedding. She wore stitches in her eye along with her wedding gown.

38. Decided to glue false nails on one year while visiting my Meme in Mississippi. She had a panic attack in the middle of the night and spent the wee hours of the morning prying them off her hands.

39. Has got a thing for overalls that I will never understand. She would STILL be wearing her Guess overalls from high school if they hadn't completely fallen apart.

40. Had her 40th Surprise Birthday party cancelled because of a bad stomach bug that attacked her Katie. Boo!!

Happy Birthday, SisTOR!!!

Looking forward to making many more memories!!

Please don't grow up!

2009-12-06T14:02:00.002-06:00

Z : Mommy, did you know that T smokes? (T was a boy on his football team)
MK: No, I didn't...did he tell you that?
Z: No, but did you hear his bad cough???

Trent has 2 different ladies who have babysat him named Beverly. Ms Beverly is a precious black lady that works at our church who loves him to pieces. There is another Mrs. Beverly at our gym who he adores that is a white woman. One day when leaving the gym, Trent said "That Ms Bevie is a different kind of Bevie."

Overheard while Trent was walking around naked, Zachary: "Trent, come wrestle. But, put some clothes on because I am NOT wrestling a naked person."

Trent while marching on his tippy toes: "Watch mama, I'm walking on my hippy toes."

I asked Trent to bring me a coke from our refrigerator in the garage one day. He came back with it opened which surprised me. He explained, "I opened it with a flat head screw driver."

While walking thru the woods at our cabin, Trent: "Daddy, if I see a deer, do you want me to drop it?"

Trent and I love to go on a breakfast date on Friday mornings. We recently went to Whataburger to find out that it is quite a hot spot. While standing in a very full restaurant, Trent announces to whoever is interested in hearing: "My dad's not black. Just his hair is."

I say to Trent: "You're my boy." He either answers "You have to share me with Daddy" or "And you're my girl"

The boys and I were passing by my parent's house one day and noticed that Jackpaw was using his front end loader out front. They were dying to watch so we pulled over to spectate. It did not take me long to realize that Jackpaw wasn't in a real good mood and his project wasn't going real smoothly. We watched him for a minute (with windows rolled up so we couldn't HEAR what all was being said) and Zachary said, "I think Jackpaw just lost his mind."

I said to Trent, "I love you to the moon and back, to the stars and back, to the sun and back" while laying in my bed one night. He answered, "I love you to the den and back."

I collect Nutcrackers and have several of them sitting on a block full of toys that I moved into the boys bathroom. Upon noticing this, Trent said, "Why did you put all those graham crackers on my toy box?? I can't get my toys out now."

I had the boys with me while shopping for food for a family that our Sunday School class helped out over Thanksgiving. I was trying to explain to them why we were buying the food and how blessed we were. Zachary was very inquisitive on the family's housing situation. I told him that they had a house, but it was in need of a lot of work and that Daddy and the other men were going to work on the house soon. We left the grocery store and delivered the food to one of the couple's in our class house. When driving up to their beautiful house Trent said "This house is a GOOD house."

What did we ever laugh about before we had these little people living with us?!

Go Bears!

2009-12-05T12:58:00.005-06:00

The Saturday after Thanksgiving the Baylor Bears played at the new Cowboys Stadium against Texas Tech. We planned a few months back to take our kids to their first ever Baylor game. We have some friends in town that are die hard Tech fans so we decided to make it a day. We drove up early Saturday morning to go through the Gaylord's ICE! exhibit. It was COLD, but neat.

Everything in the entire display is made from ice...so in order to keep it frozen, they keep the rooms about 9 degrees...BRRRR....

Silly boys

Cold MamasTrent took the prize for looking the cutest in the provided parkasBrandon and I with the Grinch. Trent said the Grinch is really 'rude'Going down the ice slide. I took this picture hanging over the side of the slide and it kind of appears that he is going up the slide.CutenessAfter our first visit to Steak and Shake (we give it a big thumbs up!) we all loaded up to head to the game. This is about as close as you can get to the action!We were thrilled with the tickets that Brandon's friend gave us

The highlight of the night for Zachary was when Rowdy Red (my Tech friends said I could not refer to him as 'the big red cowboy") took his Baylor hat and turned it inside out. He thought that was SO cool! Cute Baylor fan
This camera man took a likin' to our kiddosAnd look who appeared on the big screen!
That screen is even more impressive when your child's face is on it!:)
FOX sports tried to get this little guy being cute, but he wouldn't have it.
Love this picture
Best Buddies
We ended up with a whole crew of friends in our suite. Even though the Bears couldn't pull out the win, we had a great time--a fun-filled Saturday.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-05T12:31:00.008-06:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. I am so behind on posting that I am going to do one post for all things thanksgiving...

Trent's school held their annual program the week before the holiday. He has NEVER participated in any play or singing performance so we didn't figure this year would be any different. He did tell us before the program that he was going to stand on his spot and dance and sing. I guess he made up his mind because he did great!

Three cute turkeys

My little dancing turkey

Singing

He even went up to the microphone and said what he was thankful for: friends.

Zachary's school had a corn feast. An entire meal made up of all things corn (or corn products)

All the kinders lined up feasting

Zachary also participated in his school's annual turkey trot. He raced against other kindergartner boys and did well. He loved it. There was also a parent/child race that he insisted we participate in. We do not have a win to report, but we did have fun. That is, if you count running across the gym floor several times in front of a huge crowd fun.

No pictures of me running because Brandon was videoing instead. I really should have never watched the video...it honestly didn't do much to help my self image :)

The week prior to Thanksgiving was our week to supply snacks at Trent's school. I sent this turkey one of the days. I got the idea from another mom at Zachary's school. It turned out cute and the kids were impressed!:)

Several weeks before Thanksgiving all the kindergartners were given a feather to decorate for their class turkey. They were instructed to decorate it in a creative way and write what they were thankful for. This is Zachary's:

In case you cannot read it, he is thankful for 'deer, hogs, my cabin and God."

I made a new version of my thankful trees for each of the family gatherings we attended. Here is the finished product from KK's house. LOTS to be thankful for...

A Little Cabin in the Woods

2009-11-09T12:14:00.005-06:00

Brandon and his dad have wanted to buy a cabin on some land or find a good lease for hunting since we moved back to Texas. Brandon has said many times that some of his best memories as a young boy were made on the lease they shared with his grandfather and cousins. Early this Fall they found and PawPaw bought the perfect place. It's only about a 40 minute drive from our house which I love! The boys- especially Zachary- have been so excited and counting the days until we get to go spend the weekend there. What I've loved even more, though, has been seeing the excitement from the bigger 'boys'. I am so blessed to have a husband and father in law that adore my kids and spend so much time doing fun stuff with them.

Here we are all loaded up to head out for the weekend:

The perfect cabin. I want to come up with a good name for it...suggestions welcome.
The boys love to build a fire and sit by it. I do too!

Cooking their own dinner

Dinner by the light of a lantern

Gathering more wood Saturday morning. Zachary cut down 3 trees by himself for more firewood. He was in heaven!

Trent has the eye closing down when spraying the bug spray. Apparently he's gotten OFF in his eyes one too many times.

We rode 4 wheelers a lot over the weekend. This picture was taken at 8:30 on Saturday morning and I was the only person with him....so guess who got to get him unstuck!
We popped 4 bags of popcorn over the fire during the 2 days that we were there. My kids love it!

After an unsuccessful morning in the deer stand we decided to take a hike through the woods to see what we encountered.

Please note the duct tape on Brandon's boots...

Dear Santa, Need new boots.

Yes Trent is holding a machete. He was the official path clearer.

I love this picture

Surprisingly we saw nothing on our hike. Can't believe it...you could only hear us coming from a mile away! Trent reminded us to 'whisker' a hundred times. Not only can he not pronounce it, he can't do it either!

Best buddies

I enjoyed lots of relaxation. We had a great nap fireside after our hike.

What a fun weekend enjoying God's creation and spending family time. Brandon's parents joined us on Saturday evening and James cooked a delish meal of chicken fried deer steak and fried potatoes. I made an early exit that night and the big boys (including Zachary) stayed one more night. Trent and I went home to the comforts of our house.

There were no animal casualties at the cabin over the weekend, but I do have one to report on the home front. Bo, our old as dirt Lab, took our rabbit count from 3 to 2 on Sunday. Busted his old head right through the cage door and took Thumper to his/her death. Trent and I were home alone and it won't go down as one of my favorite parenting moments. He briefed KK on it this morning, "Bo deaded our rabbit." He also told me, "I'm so mad at that dog. We should take him to the pound!!" I am not real crazy about watching the helpless animal die, but I do have to admit that I'm OVER the rabbits. When I texted my friend to let her know about Thumper's death, she replied "I can't think of anything good that has ever come from a rabbit."

I'll have to agree.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-04T19:41:00.003-06:00

Our family had a fun and busy Halloween this year. We took the kids to the festival at our church and then headed to The Price's house for their annual party. Teresa made the cutest snacks and decorations this year.

Trent dressed up as a pirate. We were planning to be an entire family of pirates, but....

Zachary decided to be a hunter (with IPOD)

Corey and Nicole as Mr. and Mrs. Clown. Corey's tie squirted water and he was very proud of it.

A Fairy, a Clown, a Pirate Momma, an Angel and PocahontasThe kids jumped in the bounce house, played on the giant slide, rode a hayride around the neighborhood to trick or treat, ate lots of junk and had a BLAST!

Teresa fixed goody bags for all the kids and Trent loved this disguise that was in his bag.

Another great Halloween!!

Hippity Hop

2009-11-04T19:18:00.004-06:00

Our bunnies are still part of the family. We have gotten them out and given them a little more freedom. Luke is very interested in them, but hasn't attacked...yet

Halloween School Festivities

2009-11-04T18:51:00.003-06:00

I helped with the Halloween rotation at Zachary's school last Friday. The kindergarten classes rotated between each class and did a fun activity with each teacher. The kids in our classroom made a mask. Here are some of the kids in Zachary's class:

Trent went with me for the afternoon. He loved making and modeling a mask, too.

Eventually he got his brother's nap mat out of his cubby and took a long nap.
These are the treats I sent for Z's Kindergarten buddies

I made these rice crispy treats for T's classmates. That is white chocolate with food coloring on the top of them.

Halloween Luncheon

2009-10-30T17:32:00.003-05:00

Brain Gym's annual Halloween luncheon was on Thursday. This was Trent's first year to be a server at it. [It was a little strange to not have Zachary there.] Trent did a great job and looked absolutely adorable while doing it!

He took a cookie break while serving Grandmother. He had 8 customers in all (family and a friend) and was an excellent waiter. He lost interest as his last customers came in, so they didn't get the wonderful service that his first ones did. BUT, he did have a great time and loved having all the company in his school.

Moving Thru My Thirties

2009-10-30T17:09:00.003-05:00

I turned 32 over weekend....didn't I JUST turn 30?? I had an awesome birthday--I really think it was the best one that I can remember. Nicole and Corey joined Brandon and I for a weekend in Dallas. We stayed at the Westin in the Galleria and shopped and ate--can't complain much about that. On Sunday, Brandon and I went to our first game at the new Cowboys stadium. It did not disappoint and the Cowboys won! Fun weekend with great friends!

This is the only picture I have of us with friends from the weekend. We took another in front of our hotel, but Corey said I smiled WAY to big so I guess I deleted it.

This is the only picture I took at the football game. I really rocked it with the photography!

Before I left for my weekend of fun, I had lunch with some of my best buddies on Friday. They treated me to mexican food and then Nancy treated me to a pedicure and eyebrow wax. Should I be offended that she offered to pay for me to have my brows shaped?!

I can't believe it, but we didn't get a single picture of us at lunch!

Kaye treated me to lunch and presents on Thursday where she shocked me with this gift:

It's my blog in book form! I seriously was ecstatic!!! This blog has been my kids' scrapbook for the past 3 years. I never print pictures, I've quit journaling except for very personal things, and their baby books went to the wayside a while back. This book is the perfect gift and I was/am THRILLED about it!!!

I also got lots of other great gifts from other family members and friends. Brandon surprised me last week before my tennis match with a new racquet and bag. I mean, I racked up!! Great, great birthday...seriously the best ever!

Thanks to everyone who helped make it special. I am blessed.

SIX!

2009-10-30T16:42:00.005-05:00

Zachary had a wonderful 6th birthday. Much to his dismay, it fell on a weekday so he had to go to school. I did take him lunch and we had cookies with his class during afternoon snack time. Then for dinner we had a family party that he enjoyed very much. I just cannot believe he is SIX!

Early morning birthday presents. He got all kinds of hunting paraphernalia...but the new Ipod was the biggest hit!His name on the sign out in front of his school Cookies at school for his big day

The package was delivered to him at school, but he made me promise I wouldn't tell anyone who it was from!!:) [a girl!!]

LOTS of family came to El Chico for a birthday dinner

Surprised and thrilled by a new Nintendo DS
All the cousins checking out the new game
Singing HB

He acts so embarrassed but when the wait staff came around the corner with the hat, he jumped up and down raising his hand!

Special birthday for a very special boy!

Pets and Pumpkins

2009-10-28T11:44:00.004-05:00

Brandon brought us home three new pets on Monday. Rabbits. Thank you, Dear. So far the boys (and Emma) have loved them.

Zachary and Bambi

Trent and Hot Shot

This is Thumper- Emma's bunny who shacks up with the boys' rabbits
They all look just alike so we put their initial inside their ear with a sharpie so we could tell the difference between them. I'm pretty sure that's what professional bunny breeders do, right?! AND...we have no idea on the gender of them so if you are interested in Easter bunnies, I will be taking orders shortly...I feel certain.
We also carved our pumpkins this week. Brandon and Zachary were serious about theirs.

Yes, that is a Bowie knife...we don't mess around

Finished product

Trent was my partner.

He like stabbing his with the knife...a million times.He just wanted his name carved..no face. He thinks his name is T. Anytime he sees one, he'll say "There's my name." That made my job much easier!

Love this time of year!

Cuteness

2009-10-27T17:07:00.003-05:00

Zachary has a tendency to point out the things that Trent cannot do or is not big enough to be a part of. I try to encourage him to build his little brother up and focus on the things he can do and things he is really good at. When they were coloring one day and Trent was scribbling all over his page it was irritating Zachary. He finally said, "If there was a coloring contest for babies, Trent, I bet you would win it."

Another day they received a package in the mail from their great Aunt Martha. Inside along with lots of goodies were two fake stones with crosses on them. Trent said, "Momma, is this the rock that Jesus died on?" Zachary answered, "He really is a smart kid."

Trent to Brandon: "Daddy, you need some skinny jeans."

Trent spent the night with my mom last weekend. He said, "I slept with my eyes closed like this." (squinted his eyes real tight)

Brandon: I love you, Trent.
Trent: I love you too. A LOT of people love ME!

Zachary was telling us about an author who came to his school to talk. He said, "His in-law brother was at his house and he was raised in a barn and didn't know you were suppose to shut doors...."

Game on!

2009-10-26T17:29:00.006-05:00

We celebrated Zachary's 6th birthday on Friday night with a bowling and laser tag party. He invited 3 sweet friends and they had such a great time. We had cake and opened presents at home before heading out for games. Favors with cute bag tags by KK

Zachary didn't want baby brother to tag along so he stayed with Grandmother. (Thanks Mom!) He saw the cake before he left and I felt so sorry for him that I cut him a tiny piece out of the back. We sang and he chowed down...so he didn't miss all the action.

Singing Happy Birthday

He blew them all out with ease...I forgot to remind him to make a wish

Zachary gave Zack Tyler the biggest hug after opening his gift.

Doesn't he remind you of an old man smoking a cigar with his arms crossed?!

Love that 6 year old boys come in all sizes

Little Zack and my Zac ready for some laser tag

Preparing for battleGame facesBrandon on the move

I think it was everyone against BrandonHaving a ball

Then we were off to bowl a game

A few video games

They are so protective of Little Zack. I just love how they watch out for him and even carry him around if needed.

I love the pure joy on Zachary's face

And then more laser tag

Zachary had a great time and the little guys that joined us were such neat kids. We delivered them to their parents and came home to pass out! Wore us out!!!

Happy 6th Birthday Zachary!!

Our Pride

2009-10-16T17:39:00.004-05:00

Zachary has been out of school ALL week with the flu. He is feeling much better so we were able to attend the Principal Pride awards assembly this morning. Zachary was surprised and thrilled to be awarded the Citizenship Award for Ms. Sammye's class.

Mrs. Walley, his principal, giving Zachary his awardMrs. Sammye, his teacher, congratulating him

So excited about his award...he really was...I realize this picture does not portray his excitement very well.Posing with the other students who received awards

By the way, the school was having a PINK contest. Zachary's teacher does not sport pink hair on a normal day!:)

We are so proud of our little student. He is a very sweet boy. During our conference recently, his teacher said that he is a helper, a good friend, and is very concerned with others' feelings. May he never grow out of those traits.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-11T16:50:00.005-05:00

Brain Gym took their annual field trip to the local pumpkin patch last week. It was very muddy, but we didn't let that damper our spirits at all...in fact, most of the kids thought it was an added bonus. The kids geared up in rain boots and we enjoyed everything they offered.

Trent liked the hayride and loved looking at the Brahmas. They decorated the pumpkins that they picked out

Shopped for gourds

Listen to Ms. Sherri read a book about pumpkins

Enjoyed snowcones with friends
Ruby lost her balance near a mud puddle in the hay maze.

Thank goodness for Dads who were there to rescue!

We played tug of war.

Last year my team lost and I was in it for blood this year. Thanks to Trent who is standing behind me and is SO much help in my effort to win!

Ms. Sherri's team was defeated in 2009! I'm pretty sure it's because she was sporting a skirt...who can win tug of war while sporting a mini?!
And the favorite every year is the hay tower (or mountain as Trent calls it.) Trent loved it and talked about it after we left, but was in a little distress in the picture. Mr. John is holding him on the far right.

What a fun day!

Cancer Crusade 2009

2009-10-05T16:36:00.008-05:00

Nancy, Amanda and I before the big day began

**Last year Amanda was battling cancer...this year she is a SURVIVOR!

A few weekends ago we held the 2nd annual Mt. Pleasant Cancer Crusade. It turned out to be a beautiful day...an answered prayer. We had 105 runners in the 5k race and a bunch of kids enjoyed the kid's fun ride. It was a ton of work and a huge success! I was proud to be a part of it. We surpassed last year's amount raised and our this year's number was $16,7000. WOW! That money will be split between St. Jude Children's Hospital and our local cancer center, the Patty & Bo Pilgrim Cancer Center.

And they're off.... Zachary loves riding in the fun ride.Trent rode his bicycle this year, tooChapel Hill Cheerleaders did the face paintingMPHS cheerleaders cheered our runners onCuddles the Clown made balloon animals...HUGE HIT!!! Lots of friends came out to support us.

Thank you to all the volunteers, donors and participants. Looking forward to next year!

DAX

2009-10-01T15:33:00.003-05:00

A beautiful day and a happy baby called for an impromptu photo session recently. Have you ever seen anything more adorable?!

Daxton is my bestie, Nicole's little guy. Isn't she one blessed mama?! And he's just SOOOOO good. Not good for me to be around if we intend to only have 2 kids.:)

Fair Day

2009-10-01T15:09:00.004-05:00

Today both boys went on a field trip to the fair. Thanks to some help from our KK, we were able to pull off being on both field trips for the duration of the time at the fair.

This is Zachary showing off his field trip t-shirt before school

two cuties!
My sweet little buddy

I loved seeing them all sitting there paying attention to the juggler

Ruby needed a little assistance getting up on the bench. Ally was happy to help

We laughed and got pictures, but we did help the poor child in the end.

Then Z's little group arrived.

This is Jabo--Z's best school buddy...they were trying to make funny faces, but I never got a picture of them both doing it.

Zachary liked the juggling man too.

I think tonight we'll go back and ride some rides. That's my excuse for going, but I'm really just going for the junk food! Funnel cake for dinner!:)

Friday Fun

2009-10-01T14:53:00.004-05:00

My friend, Kayce, and I took her sweet girls and my wild Trent on a playdate to Longview last Friday. Shhh...don't tell big brother who was at school. We played at Pump It Up and then had lunch at Chick-fil-A. The kids were perfect and had a fun day out.

Trent loving the slide down!
Emerson LOVED the slide and was a pro on it
Kate was perfect. She never made a peep the whole day.
Friday night we headed to the high school football game. We try to go to as many as we can, but we couldn't miss this one because the youth football league got to run through the huge TIGER before the game. My boys think that the Tiger is the best part of the game so Zachary was thrilled to get to do this. Here he is in action:

Z has on a green shirt and black and white track pants.
(PLEASE, Santa, bring me a zoom lens)

Heading thru the cheerleaders

Little brother got to tag along too...Daddy held onto him tight so he wouldn't get trampled.

The highlight of the event was that on Sunday morning Zachary and his best buddy were on the front page of the paper running across the field. AND...that little friend had spent the night with us, so they saw it together. ECSTATIC!!! Hopefully I will get it scanned in so I can share it with you. It was an adorable picture!

What's been going on?!

2009-09-17T15:33:00.005-05:00

I ran into one of my loyal readers (there's only about 3 total!) in Longview yesterday and she expressed some disappointment in the lack of recent posts. Carolyn, this is for you!

The start of school has kept us busy and we feel blessed to have so much going on. However, it leaves little time for documenting our lives. Hopefully I will find balance soon...

This is Zachary's first year to play flag football. His team, the Jets, had their first game last Saturday. I don't think they moved the ball an inch down the field during the entire game. Oh well, we are just learning the basic principles, right?!

Zachary is in the middle of that pile somewhere...he is on the green team and he is kneeling--if that helps locate him. Daddy is on the sideline in all black.This little boy, Coen, was serious about the blocking. During this play, they were on about the opposite 30 yard line and his team had already scored. The play was dead when I took the picture. He wasn't letting up though....Trace and Trent cheered Zachary on during his game

During the week before Grandparent's Day both of the boys' schools had a Grandparent Breakfast. I didn't take a single picture at Trent's. Ugh! Grandmother (my mom) spoke to Trent's classmates about why he is special. I don't know what all she said, but Trent told me that she did 'very good'.

This is a picture of our group at Zachary's special breakfast. Three grandmothers and a grandfather. I hope he someday realizes how blessed he is!!Emma ate breakfast with us too.Of course, Trent was hogging PawPaw the whole time.I let my little-est person stay home with me today. He just needed a little extra mommy time. We met my mom for lunch and enjoyed the day doing NOTHING!

Isn't he the cutest little thing?!

At lunch, he was picking the pepperonis off his pizza. My mom asked him, "Do you not like those round things on your pizza."

Trent answered, "They are pepperonis, Grandmaw. That's what they are called. Pepperonis."

I told her that we had been cleaning out our car. He added, "Because we were over it!"

Cancer Crusade this weekend. Looking forward to another great event. Praying for a break in the rain!!!!

T.G.I.F.

2009-09-04T13:58:00.003-05:00

We've had a great week and welcomed with love the cooler temperatures. Brandon and I celebrated NINE years of marriage on Wednesday with a little date night. We were reminiscing about our wedding day...it was a record breaking 109 degrees on the day we got married. Why couldn't we have had a cool front like we did this week for my outdoor reception nine years ago?! It didn't matter to us then...we had an absolute blast at our wedding!

Zachary has had a wonderful week at school. The few hiccups have been smoothed over by having Aunt Karen at the school he attends. He has had to have a few hugs and words of encouragement from her when things get overwhelming for him. LOVING having her at his school!!!

Here are a few funny discussions we've had this week:
Me: Are there any pretty girls in your class?
Z: No!
Me: None?? What about L?
Z: Nah, well....she was pretty on her birthday because she had sprinkles on her eyes.
Me: Oh, how cool! How about the little girl who sits at your table?
Z: M?
Me: Yes
Z: She is pretty to a spanic (Hispanic), but not to me because I am an Englisher.

Z: T lifted up his shirt and showed me his tummy yesterday.
Me: Really? Why did he do that?
Z: He was showing me that he has rolls. He has three. Boom, Boom, Boom. (motioning to his stomach)
Me: Hmmm.....
Z: I was like 'What's cool about that?'
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One day when we picked up Z from school he was having a very negative day. He just kept complaining and I finally had enough. I told him that I didn't like his attitude and that he needed to chill it. Trent joined in and said, "I don't like your attitude, too!"

I accidentally switched the boys sandwiches when making lunches one day this week. When I picked Trent up he said, "My sandwich had meat and musTRED on it. I love musTRED sandwiches. Can you make me another one of those when we get home?"
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Looking forward to a 3 day weekend with my favorites guys. We have got very little planned and are anticipating some rest!

Too Cool for School

2009-08-26T15:53:00.002-05:00

I picked Z and a friend up from school today. This is the conversation as we drove out of the carpool line:

Z: Mommy, I want a different backpack.
Me: WHY??
Z: Because when I carry this one in my school, I feel dorky.
Me (after regaining composure): Well, what kind of backpack would you like?
Z's friend: Just a different one.
Z: Maybe like a hunting one.

OMG! I can't have my kid feeling dorky on just the first week of Kindergarten!! What in the world?!

Welcome Home

2009-08-24T21:05:00.003-05:00

Our neighbor, Kent, was given a warm welcome back to Mt. Pleasant on Saturday afternoon. We have not seen him since our visit in late June, so the boys were very excited at his return home. One of our neighbors suggested that we all decorate our yards and mailboxes. I wish I had pictures of the whole road because it was really neat. Here is the sign that was in our yard:

Here is a super cool sign that was in his yard.

Neat cakeThis is the boys' reaction at seeing him drive into the driveway. Zachary was clapping with excitement.

He seemed overwhelmed, but also thrilled to see a big crowd in his driveway.

He kept the biggest smile on his face...

The boys were tongue tied after all the anticipation, but they have gone back to visit him without the crowd (and I'm sure talked his ears off!).

We are happy to have him back in town and looking forward to his next step of recovery. His spirit remains strong and he is an inspiration to Brandon and I, our kids, and so many others.

Welcome Home, Kent!

Back to School: Part 2

2009-08-24T20:52:00.002-05:00

We survived Zachary's first day of Kindergarten. Zachary was so excited about going. He and his daddy went and had breakfast together this morning before sunlight. After a few pictures in the yard, we all headed off to drop him off. The drop off will not go down as one of my favorite Mommy Moments. SOOOOO glad Brandon was with me because I don't know that I would have been able to pull myself away. He didn't cry and I didn't either....until we got in the car. My heart hurt!!!

Zachary and Mrs. Sammye

I had a pretty busy day, but must have looked at the clock 1000 times before it was time to get in carpool line. When I saw that little pumpkin come running out to my car, I wanted to go swoop him up. He climbed in the car with the biggest smile on his face.

He said he really liked school and recess was his favorite. I had a Capri Sun in the car for him to drink and he sucked it dry before we got out of the parking lot. He said they had played outside for a long time and that it was "terribly hot!"

I am praying for continued days of happy beginnings and endings....

Headed for Kindergarten

2009-08-20T20:40:00.004-05:00

Why does this little guy...
my best buddy...

and constant companion for the past 5+ years...think that he's big enough...
to start Kindergarten??
It's NO laughing matter for this momma!!

We went to open house tonight and met Zachary's sweet teacher. She seems perfect! He is thrilled to death and told me tonight that he LOVED Meet the Teacher. Monday is the big day. He is SO ready. Guess I better get that way, too.

Back to School: Part 1

2009-08-20T17:39:00.003-05:00

This little person started school this week. He was thrilled about a new backpack and lunch box, but not so much about going to school while Zachary stayed home (Z starts next week.) He had a great 2 days. We played hooky on day 3. Just not fair to send him while we stayed home and played!:) Next week will be the official back to school--no more skipping--get in a routine week.
He is so very excited that his lunch box attaches to his backpack...it only takes him 10 minutes to get them snapped together.

These boys had the best summer together. I am sad to see it come to a close.

Seniors 2010

2009-08-17T16:28:00.007-05:00

Brandon and I, along with his parents, hosted a senior party on Sunday for Raegan's class--the class of 2010. I think they had a fun time and seemed like a great group of kids.

KK made these neat keychains for each person

CHHS 2010

They hung out...

They tubed...

and boated...

I heard the boys were really showing off on the wakeboard, but I missed all that.and jumped off the deck....

They played on the slip n slide...

Some couldn't stop

They rode the waverunner

They ate delicious food prepared by Jana and JamesIt was a fun afternoon that only ended because we ran out of sunlight.

CANNOT believe that this will be Rae's last year in high school. I am going with her to tour Baylor campus on Wednesday. Hope she falls in love with it!:)

Houston visit

2009-08-17T14:24:00.008-05:00

The boys and I headed to Houston last week to visit some of my college friends. Blakely and I met our freshmen year at Baylor and have been buds every since. I love me some Blake. She can make me laugh like very few can! We both have 2 boys each around the same ages and when we only had one each we always tried to get together twice a year for a few days. We had such fun trips...until they both were 2 1/2, I had a newborn, and she was very pregnant. It was a total disaster and we decided during that visit that we would get together again when they turned 16. We got brave sooner than we thought and gave it another try...AND it was a blast!

Here we are at Lupe Tortilla's enjoying dinner

Whoever came up with the idea of a huge sandbox at a restaurant was pure genius
Bought us a lot of eating and chatting time
Blakely, Colton, and pet frogs and turtles
Boys played Mario Kart on Wii for a long time

It wasn't long until a full out wrestling match started

Zachary being dogpiled by Colton and Caden

The Milam boys taking on Colton

These boys played PERFECTLY together. Made great buddies!

I would love to have heard this conversation

Everybody is entitled to a grouchy moment

Three other of our sorority sisters with their kids came over to swim one afternoon. There were 10 kids between us. MY, MY how times have changed!

They swam, jumped, ran, screamed, rode, laughed, fought...it was wild!Sarah and baby Kameron

And her other 2: Erin and Brooke

This is Sarah's twin, Rachel and her boys, Tyler and Drew

Rachel is married to one of Brandon's college roommates and fraternity brothers.

Sara and her Drew. She sang in my wedding.:) Sara, Blakely and I laughed and had a great time just discussing LIFE!

After a full day of fun at Blakely's, we headed to Katy to stay the night with Brandon's Aunt Jane. The boys loved being in her house for the first time. They were in her pool by 8:15 the next morning.

Shark attack

Aunt Jane and Trent

We had a really great trip and will definitely do it again. It was so fun to see all my girlfriends that I hadn't seen in WAY too long. Thanks to Blakely and Jane for being great hostesses.

Blake, hope your neck is better...you should really learn your limits when trying to prove your coolness to our children. :)

Few more funnies

2009-08-09T13:00:00.002-05:00

Z: "Mom, you're so 2000 and late!" [Grandmaw, these are lyrics from a popular song. :)]

After being on the back porch with our old dog, Trent said, "Bo was getting nervous!"

Before going on our trip to Little Rock, I was talking to Zachary about swimming at the hotel. I said, "Even Grandmother is going to bring her swimsuit...do you think she wears a bikini?" He looked at me as serious as could be and answered, "Surely not."

Z: "Pawpaw doesn't like to fly because he's afraid of hikes."

After football tryouts Brandon was talking to Zachary about all that they did. Z said, "I liked that obstacle course, but the sprints were irritating me. The grass was aggravating."

T asked: "Can we give my orange (battery powered) 4 wheeler to someone and get me an automatic (gas powered) one like my brother's?" [He's three and had that orange one for exactly one month! Geez!]

After my boys got their school shots Grana bought them both a prize for being so brave. [No tears for either of them!!!] I was talking to Zachary about how grateful he should be that he has a grandmother that will do things like that for him.
Me: "Do you know how neat your Grana is for buying you that nerf gun?"
Z: "No, how neat?"
Me: "Well, lots of little boys don't have grandmothers that will just buy them something so great for getting a shot. You have 3 grandmothers that are all very good to you."
Z: "Yes, she is SOOOO nice. I told her thank you 2 times."
Me: "That is good, but I want you to remember how special it is that she is willing to do that for you and your brother."
Z: "OK. But Mamma, I still don't know how neat she is???"

Always a laugh!

Under the Big Top

2009-08-07T14:18:00.005-05:00

The Milam and Price families took a road trip to Dallas for the circus this week. Such a fun mid-week treat.

Trent gets a free ride

5 year old boys are so much fun!

Trent's favorite were the elephants

He also said he loved the giraffes...but no one else saw those!
Trent sat with his popcorn for 2 1/2 hours and never moved.

Zachary loved the motorcycles. No surprise there.

Mamma's boy
Another mamma's boy. Daxton's 1st circus...not sure he was that into it!

More obnoxiousness
Loving the show!

Natalie had a blast, too

Notice Corey staring at the over priced toy he just got suckered into buying.
Pretty sisters, McKenzie and Natalie

The boys picked these huge suckers for their circus treats.

Fun times with great friends!

Say it ain't so!

2009-08-05T13:57:00.003-05:00

I've been keeping a list of funny things said around my house all summer. Now I have so many I'll have to do several posts. Here are a few:

After picking up our very old dog from the vet's office, Zachary asked, "He didn't get too a-stressed, did he? 'Cause you know he's so sensavov."

Zachary woke up one morning whining and moaning about something. Trent yelled from the bar where he was eating his breakfast, "We don't want to listen to that mess!"

I was getting help from Zachary on loading up the boat and letting the lift down. He kept asking me when he could turn the switch. I put him off long enough when he finally said, "Mom, I think you are getting sidetracked...."

Trent asks, "Are we going to (insert whatever's on his mind here) in a little while? Or a bunch of whiles?"

Overheard between Zachary and his friend, Natalie:
N: "I saw a picture of my aunt KeKe from a long time ago dressed up as Micheal Jackson"
Z: "Did you see it on Youtube?"
N: "No, it was on Facebook."

Trent got is very own (battery powered) 4 wheeler for his birthday. No more hand-me-downs for that boy. [Way before his birthday he said, "I don't want Zachary to 'hand me' his old 4 wheeler. Poor 2nd child!] Anyway, when we surprised him with it a few days after his actual birthday he said, "This is very good." Then he rode around on it for a minute and came back by to say, "I'm good at this!"

Sweet, sweet boys. Time, please stand still.

Houston County Lake

2009-08-02T14:08:00.012-05:00

***EDITED to add a few pictures

We joined the Ellis family at their lakehouse for their annual family weekend at Houston County Lake. We had perfect weather and a great time!

The South Girls

Jana (our Grana), Jane and Judy

Me, Karen, Raegan, Kelli, and Yvonne
Zachary, Garrett, Rylan, Raegan, Lexie, Emma and Madison

...with the addition of Trent. He is always so cooperative with group pics.

Early morning on the porch

Uncle Jon and Trent's breakfast plates

Rylan's catch

The boys

The girls

The kids spent the majority of their time like thisChilling

Megan and Lilly sunbathingCooper enjoyed his weekend at the lake, too

Trent found a friend...

Tucked in for safe keeping
Showing it off to Clayton...

Whatcha got in there??
A frog!

Loved the relaxation station

Aunt Jane and Trent

Trent was the keeper of the sunscreen

He takes application seriously

One week in Chicago + one week at cheer camp + weekend with the family at the lake = one very exhausted Raegan

Hot dogs and Burgers for dinner

The kids just adore their older cousins and would have loved to stay a month with them all. Thanks for being great hosts, John and Jane.

**John, Jim, Kevin, Brandon, and Jon were all there for the weekend too. No pictures of any of the men--guess we'll try to get them to pose next to the South Shore sign next year!

***Kelli sent me some additional pictures:

I love how excited Z looks in thisPure joy!
Bless my heart!:)

Quick trip to Little Rock

2009-07-28T19:35:00.009-05:00

We had a wonderful (but short) visit to Little Rock. My mom was so much help...thanks, Mom, for tagging along.

Sweet Alexee

Crosby-the perfect babyPals Rhett and Zachary
Jamie is always the best hostess... Jamie and Alexee
I love this pic
Trent and Alexee--she will not appreciate this pic one day:)
Still getting use to the fact that I can't pick up and meet her for lunch at a moment's notice:(
My boys loved our hotels' indoor/outdoor pool
Grandmother swam with them Room service for Grandmother and the boys........so Mamma could have a nice dinner out with great company
Me, Becca and Jamie
Olivia and Zachary chatting at breakfast
William while being scolded for hitting...isn't he a cutie?!
Olivia playing at the Wonderplace
I love this little guy
Rhett making my kind of ice cream cone Ali met up with us too
Ali and Liann have added to their fams since I left town. Maylee and Lindy are both precious!
Becca has her hands full! William and Ann Katherine are so much fun!
The boys hard at work on the sand table.

Zachary, Trent, Rhett and LawsonGrandmother and Trent working on the neat scarf tubes

After our playdate we ALL went to McAlisters to eat. I can promise that restaurant will NEVER be the same again...

Such a fun time. Bittersweet as always!

84 and ready for more!

2009-07-25T17:02:00.004-05:00

This week my Granny celebrated her 84th birthday. She is in great health and has the most amazing social life. In fact, when we went to visit her on her big day, we had to make sure we arrived after her morning Bunco time. :)

She is just great and I hope to be as happy and alive as she is at that age. My boys think their 'Granny-Great' is pretty special, too.

We took her some Pittsburg Hot links and she was just thrilled. (By the way, that was the first time I had ever been in that establishment and I cannot believe people actually eat those things and live to tell about it!) Before we left she told my aunt and I that if she dies tomorrow, just know that her 84th birthday was the best ever!' Sounds like a good day to me...and I'm glad because she deserves it.

Granny got a new van recently. Here we are posing in front of it. Is it just me, or does she look like she just won it on The Price is Right?!

Everyone got a turn posing in front of the van...

My favorite boys and their favorite Granny-Great.

(and yes, she requested that I take their pic in front of the van!)

The top two pictures will always make me smile when I look back at them, because when I called her that day and asked what she was doing, she replied, "Just sitting here in my shorts." I cracked up because I was not aware that "sitting in your shorts" was an actual activity. I guess when I'm 84 I may count it as one.

Happy Birthday to a precious grandmother! Wishing her many more...

2009-07-16T09:29:00.004-05:00

Nicole, Kisha and I took all the kids out for a day on the lake last week. I have driven the boat and pulled skiiers, tubers, etc. hundreds of times over the years, but I've always had Brandon with me as my safety net. This was the first time I took friends and their kids out alone. We had a wonderful day! We had picnic lunches poolside and spent ALL day going from the boat to the pool.

McKala, Lexi, Natalie, and Zachary

ALL on the tube!

Lexi is the coolest thing to these little people. She is absolutely precious! She lost a tooth while tubing....thank goodness it was already loose and she somehow caught it!!!
Kai liked to tube for just a bit...as long as his mom was with him.

Nicole, Kisha and I ....they wore us out, but we had so much fun!

Trent and Baby Daxton (6 weeks old) were there too. Dax stayed inside and Trent joined us for bits and pieces! Bonus of the day was that Grana was working from home so the little ones napped inside while we played.

Except for an unfortunate incident that involved the boat completely under the dock resulting in the total loss of the front light (OOPS!), we had a perfect day!

Trot line

2009-07-11T12:46:00.003-05:00

Brandon and the boys went trotlining before the 4th of July to try to stock the freezer for a fish fry for the 4th.

The live minnows for bait

Daddy had his hands FULL in a flat bottom with 2 wild boys, hooks, and live minnows along with trying to paddle his boat.

Trent only lasted for a few minutes...it wasn't near as fun as he imagined.

So sorry that I didn't get pictures of their catches. 2 large turtles and one fish. We decided for burgers for the 4th festivities.:)

Happy Birthday, USA!

2009-07-11T12:32:00.003-05:00

We love watching the fireworks that a local church does every year near the 4th. We met my brother's wife and kids, Nicole and Natalie, and Grandmommy to watch the show.

Jack wasn't sure about the noise. Here he is trying to find some safety in Grandmother's lap.

Cute boys!

Enjoying the show...they moved closer and closer as the display progressed

Trent, Zachary, Jack, Natalie and Ali

We had a FABULOUS 4th with lots of great company and great food! We invited friends over to the Milam's house on the lake to enjoy swimming and boating. We had a great crowd...at one time I think I counted 13 kids in the pool. Brandon pulled skiiers, kneeboarders, and tubers until dark. Then we loaded up and watched all the fireworks around the lake from the water. It was an awesome day and I'm sick that my camera didn't join the fun!

Happy Birthday, USA! We are blessed to live in such a wonderful country!

Circus Celebration

2009-06-29T15:17:00.010-05:00

We celebrated Trent's 3rd birthday with a circus themed party on Saturday. We had water slides to help beat the heat and circus treats...popcorn, snow cones, nachos, and cotton candy to go along with our birthday cake and cupcakes. The kids had a blast!

Three!

Popcorn was a hit!

No circus is complete without cotton candy
Trent requested cupcakes instead of cake

Fun cake

Zachary quickly figured out how to make the slide more dangerous
Coming down the "Cyclone"

My niece, Ali Grace
Birthday Boy

Splash!

Kayce and Emerson

Dakota

Brayden talked his daddy into joining him

Grelyn

Rustyn

Emma having a break with a snow cone

Nicole and baby Daxton

Ready for some cakeHe loved the singing Family effort to blow the candles out

Trent and Granny-Great who allowed him to poke his fingers
all in the cake because it was "his party!"

Enjoying the tables that Uncle Tripp built usTrent and KK were in deep discussion over cake and nachos

Cousins, Jeni and Lexi finally got on

And Raegan, too

My nephew, Jack loved his green cupcake

Present time

"It's my party...."Trace and Zachary

Raegan and Thomas
More sliding....

Daddy couldn't resist

The party was not without injury [SURPRISE]...Zachary took another hit on his already dark, dead tooth. He was a trooper and continued to party amidst the blood and tears after a quick oral exam from a dentist in attendance!

The party was a huge success...by my standards. Unfortunately the birthday boy told us on Sunday that he was still 2 and wouldn't be 3 until he had a B-I-I-I-I-G party. (????)

Three!

2009-06-28T22:36:00.004-05:00

T: Terrific brother; Talkative; Tatoo lover; Story Teller

R: Rambunctious; Really funny; Ridiculously adorable; Ready for adventure

E: Entertaining; Energetic; Enjoys life; Easy to love; Endless supply of hugs and kisses

N: Naughty and Nice, too

T: Turned THREE Today!

We celebrated Trent all weekend. He has added so much fun and love to our family in his three short years of life. We thank God that he's a part of our little foursome...we cannot imagine life without him. Happy Birthday, Baby Trent!

Summer Days

2009-06-25T16:55:00.003-05:00

We have spent the entire summer at the pool. We've enjoyed the water at both of the grandparents, at friends' houses, at my aunt's house, at our cousins' house and at the country club. My boys cannot get enough of it. They are so easy this year because they can be in the water without me so I don't mind taking them everyday.

This morning we headed to Grana's for some pool time with a friend and then we came indoors for the rest of the afternoon. For some reason I decided to attack my craft closet for a much needed clean out. I wish I had taken a before and after, but I was too embarrassed of the shape that it was in.

Seeing all the craft stuff in plain view got Trent in the mood for painting. He sat at his little table and quietly worked for a long time. I love to see his little mind at work.

While I was busy at work in the closet, I felt something wet on my leg. I kept asking Zachary what he was doing and he was giggling. I truly had no idea that I was the proud new owner of this...I'm playing tennis tonight and I'm pretty sure all the other ladies will be interested in knowing where I got such a classy piece of art on the back of my calf!

Trent and I were working on dinner and Zachary was so quiet I had to go check on him. He was in the door of his bedroom...

It was a nice, quiet, productive afternoon inside!

Some things aren't for sharing

2009-06-24T19:16:00.002-05:00

As we drove away from our house today, I noticed that I forgot my wedding ring. I said aloud, "Oh Man, I forgot my ring."

Zachary asked, "Why do you always wear that ring?"

I began to explain how wedding rings are a symbol of your love and show everyone around you that you are married. I told the boys, "Like if someone who didn't know us were to walk into Daddy's dealership and see him wearing his wedding ring, they would know that he already has a wife."

Zachary said, "Then some girl won't ask Daddy to marry them."

I laughed, "Yeah, because he's our daddy, and we aren't sharing him!"

To which he replied, "Yeah, and if someone tries to take our daddy, I'll pop a cap in 'em!!"

Consider yourself warned.:)

All Stars

2009-06-22T14:44:00.003-05:00

Mt. Pleasant Tball National Team

Before our first game
Cuties
Zachary was SO proud of the black under his eyes!
They introduced each player and then they all lined up for the national anthem. They were all a little confused...definitely should have practiced it! But, once they figured it out, they thought they were BIG TIME!
After the tournament....everyone's worn out...especially coaches!!!
We survived our first t-ball all star tournament over the weekend. Our kids had a great time, but were the youngest team there and it showed. We were out matched in both games, but really did pretty well in the second game. [The first game was brutal!!! Our team only got ONE out the entire game and it was because one of their runners ran out of the base line!!!!] It was a good experience and we will be ready for next year!!!

Daddy's our HERO

2009-06-22T11:44:00.003-05:00

Our daddy is stronger, braver, smarter, and more special than any super hero...

He is the best daddy in the WHOLE UNIVERSE!

Happy Father's Day, Brandon! The boys and I are so blessed to have you!

Visiting Kent

2009-06-17T21:55:00.005-05:00

Today I took the boys to Dallas to visit our special neighbor, Kent. He leaves tomorrow for a rehab facility in Denver so we really wanted to see him before he left. Honestly, I was a bit concerned about how my kids would do in the hospital under the circumstances. I prayed a lot about it and talked to them about what to expect.

They were perfect! Our visit could not have gone better. Kent's 22nd birthday is Saturday so we took one of Grana's pound cakes (Zachary's pick) and some homemade gifts. Kent was so gracious and sweet to the boys.

Kent's attitude is amazing!! He actually told us that this accident 'was the best thing that ever happened to him'. Can you imagine?! He asked us to pray over him and we were honored to do so. His testimony is and will be a very inspiring one.

Here he is styling his hair before pictures. Gretchen, be proud!

Trent with his BEST buddy

Melt my heart

After visiting Kent we had our first experience at Shenanigans. The boys had a blast playing laser tag, bowling, playing arcade games and watching Raegan climb the rock wall. (Zachary wasn't big enough for the harness--he was so bummed!)

When we got back to MP, the boys jumped directly in the pool. After all the fun we had today, I asked Trent what his favorite part of the day was. Without hesitation he said, 'KENT'!

Mine, too!:)

VBS 2009

2009-06-16T21:30:00.003-05:00

Balloon toss

My sweet class

My boys and I on bandanna day

Playing a didgeridoo

Very intent

Cutie pie!

Bro. Clint before taking his pie in the face...
And after!

We had a GREAT week on the Boomerang Express at Vacation Bible School last week. I taught the kids who are going into Kindergarten next year. I just love that age! Zachary was in my class and after much wailing, Trent was too. We had a lot of fun and hopefully we planted lots of seeds in our little people.

As always, the boys and girls competed to see who could bring the heaviest offering. When the numbers were looking small during midweek, Bro. Clint offered a challenge that if they brought 600 lbs of change combined, he would take a pie in the face. That did the trick. There was over 1000 lbs of money brought by Friday. He kept his word and the kids went berserk to watch their preacher get creamed!

Prayers for Kent

2009-06-10T07:16:00.004-05:00

***Kent's sister, Kara, sent me the information for his caring bridge website so we can all follow his progress. Click here to read her entries.***

Our neighbor, Kent, who we have all come to love since moving here, was in a horrible motorcyle wreck yesterday. He was flown to Parkland in Dallas and is in very serious condition. He sustained back injuries that could be life altering. If you are reading this, please stop and say a prayer for him. I know that he and his family would very much appreciate it.

My boys and I are praying every time we think of him...Praying for a full recovery! In Trent's words, "that bof his legs get fixed and he will come to my house to play."

AMEN!

T Ball Party

2009-06-09T13:14:00.003-05:00

The regular season for T ball ended last week and so we celebrated last night with a swimming party at my in-laws. The kids had a great time swimming, eating hot dogs and enjoying cupcakes.

Here I am posing with my guys before the last game. Trent wore his full uniform for that game.

The boys were so pumped to get these "huge" trophies

The cupcakes were a hit...with kids AND adults.

We had a great set of kids this year on our team and we ended up League Champs! Way to go Padres!

Now on to All-Stars. I am not kidding. T-ball all stars!!! Brandon is coaching since our team ended up with the most wins. Tournament is mid June. I'll keep you posted on that madness!

Our Graduate

2009-06-01T22:05:00.004-05:00

Zachary graduated from preschool on May 28. I have been trying to download pictures that my sister took for me since then and still can't! I copied these 2 off of her blog--so it's all I've got.

Their graduation program was Edward the Emu. Zachary was the zookeeper and loved his job. Here is he announcing, "It's 9 o'clock. The zoo is now open."

Here's the cutie decked out in his cap and gown. If I hadn't been dealing with an unruly 2 year old, I would have been emotional. I was very sad on his last day of school. NOT READY FOR KINDERGARTEN! I mean, he is---just not me!

He told the audience that when he grows up he will be a car saleman (with no 's') like his daddy.

I wrote Zachary a letter for him to open at his high school graduation. (My mom and KK did the same.) I have a feeling that day will come sooner than I can imagine...in the blink of an eye.:(

We've had a great preschool experience. Asbury in Little Rock was wonderful for Zachary and he has really blossomed at Brain Gym over the last 2 years. I am so proud of the little person he has become.

Here is our other child.

Don't let the cuteness fool you--he acted horrible. I've said it a million times, but it's a good thing he's cute! I tie dyed these shirts for all the kids playing monkeys in the program. This monkey never made it on stage!

He said next year he was going to be the man with all the keys (zookeeper like Zachary). I'm sure after his stellar performance this year, they'll hand over that lead role with no questions asked. Crazy kid!!