4/30/12 - Pillow Monster

I love taking pictures of the silly things my kids do.  I want to be able to remember these funny little things that my kids did when they were young.

Andrew put this pillow on top of his head.  He thought he was so funny, and I guess we did too.  He thought he was a monster and he kept saying "roar" and bumping into us and falling down.  He actually kept bumping into everything and falling down.  Goofy kid :)

4/29/12 - Sidewalk Chalk

Carter got some sidewalk chalk for his birthday.  I hate sidewalk chalk.  I'm glad the kids like it and have fun with it, but it's SUCH A MESS!  They come in covered in the stuff, they stain their clothes, they write on the house with the stuff, and they walk through it and track it into the house until the rain washes it away. 

I'm glad they love it and have fun with it, but I am not a fan :(

4/28/12 - Keep The Party Going

Nick took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese in the morning and I took the girls to the Kemah Boardwalk.

All the girls ended up going on the big roller coaster, "The Bullet."  All but one went on the terrifying "Drop Zone."  The lines were long but we all had a good time anyway.  The girls were sad to go home, but I was ready.  Halfway through the day I started to feel the soreness in my shoulder from all the rides.  I became a supervisor and spectator at that point, but my goal was to make sure the girls had fun, and that mission was accomplished.



4/27/12 - !Surprise Party!

Carter's birthday is April 30 and Kennedy's birthday is June 28 but we decided to do a double surprise birthday party for both of them today. 

Nick took all 3 kids to the store to look for a little basketball hoop.  We decorated the house and waited for them to come home.

When they got home Kennedy came in first and was VERY SURPRISED, but also really confused. 

Kennedy moved to the side when Carter came in because she thought the surprise party was just for him.  Carter was equally surprised and the look on his face was so cute.  I had to go up to Kennedy, give her a hug, and explain that the party was for both of them.

Carter blew out his candles and I was able to convince Kennedy that one of the cakes was also for her.  LOL!

Carter got a football, basketball, playdough stuff, sidewalk chaulk, color wonder stuff, and a new scooter.
Kennedy got a new pair of MissMe jeans, 2 shirts, a Hunger Games Mocking Jay pin, and an iPhone.  She has been asking for an iPhone for about a year.  We told her she couldn't have one until she turned 16.  She was sooooo surprised when she opened it.  It was great!

After our pizza party and cake and ice cream I took the girls to the mall for awhile and then they went home to change into their pajamas and I took them to see, Hunger Games, at the movie theater.  We got home from the movie at 2:30 am and then I tried to convince the girls to go to sleep so everyone would feel good when we went to the amusement park the next day.  That didn't work.  I was finally able to fall asleep at 4:00 am.

4/26/12 - Who Needs Eyebrows

Drew loves to shave the hair off Nick's legs with an electric razor.  Nick is a good sport about it too.  When he vanished into the bathroom for a few minutes after shaving Nick's legs, Nick went to see what he was doing.  Oh.....just shaving off his right eyebrow.  Stinker!!

Later that day we went to Carter's baseball game.  Everyone noticed my little boy with one eyebrow.  Anyway, Mrs. Tallerine (Carter's school teacher) came to watch Carter's game again.  She is so wonderful and supportive.

4/23/12 - Earth Day

Grandma Sue came over to help the kids make a treat for earth day.  They crumbled oreos on top of chocolate pudding and then threw some gummie worms on top to make their own little "cup of dirt" treat.  Grandma is so fun!!

4/20/12 - Peas In A Pod

Andrew and Kennedy have become thick as Thieves lately.  Kennedy is so good to play with her little brothers, but Andrew is especially loving it.  They do all kinds of crazy things around the house together!

4/19/12 - Carter's Baseball Game

We got to go to Carter's baseball game tonight.  He was so cute and did such a good job.  Sometimes Carter doesn't want to cooperate and do what he's supposed to at his baseball games.  You never know what Carter will show up for the game.  He did great tonight and listened to every direction.  It was so nice!  He had a very helpful buddy helping him from the Klein Collins High School baseball team, his name was Nick.

4/16/12 - Gamers!

 Other then taking the kids to parks, our main activity was playing games together.  Hillary and I played scrabble, Dominion, Hand & Foot, and Settlers of Catan.  All together, by the end of Hillary's 2 week stay, we ended up in a tie for the most games won.  We will pick up our game competition again in July.  We are very competitive and that makes the games fun to play.  We have also started a competition with our husbands to see who can loose the most weight.

Hillary was a wonderful help and ended up making all the food we ate for 2 weeks.  She really helped me pass the time I had to spend with my arm in the sling.  I know it was a huge sacrifice for my sisters to come help me out and I am eternally grateful!

4/15/12 - Trampoline

The kids love the trampoline.  Kennedy was so nice to play games with all the little kids on the trampoline.  They love her.

4/14/12 - Water"Park"

Nick put up our water slide for the kids to play on and we decided that this would serve as our water"park" for the day.  Holland was the only one to use it.  She learned to climb up on her own and she slid down a few times and then she was done as well :)  Then the kids were off to play basketball and fly kites in the front yard.

4/13/12 - Houston Temple

We went to the Houston Temple and had a picnic lunch on the grounds by a nice fountain.  The kids did good and were pretty reverent.  It's a beautiful memory.

4/12/12 - Zoo Park

We went to the zoo with the younger kids so they could see the animals and play on the playground there.  That was our park for the day.

4/11/12 - A "Sparkling" Day

Every morning the older kids went to school, Andrew and Holland would stand at the door and wave goodbye....so cute.

Kennedy got to miss some school to get her braces on.  She looks great with all the bling in her mouth.  We feel like we just bought a set of diamonds for her teeth :)

Our park for the day was the Springbrook Park.  This is a new favorite of mine because it is covered and has lots of fun things for the kids.

4/10/12 - Turtle Rescue?

One of my favorite parks is in our old neighborhood, Windrose.  It is the Eagle Lake park.  These pictures were taken along the path that encircles the lake.  We found fun bridges to play on and even a rope swing in a tree.  On our way back we also found......

A TURTLE!  Their was a turtle caught on some branches in the water.  Hillary fished it out with a stick and we discovered it had a hook through its jaw.  We decided to take it home and cut the hook and remove it.  Along the path we met a man fishing with his son and we asked if he had wire cutters.  He didn't, but offered to try to remove the hook with some monster pliers.  Reluctantly.....I handed the poor little turtle over.  The man tortured our little turtle, twisting and turning and pulling on the hook.  I tried to get him to stop (just try getting a man with a tool to listen to a woman!!), but I failed.  When the turtle was handed back to me, the hook was gone, but the turtle's neck was twisted around and he was not moving.  I put him in the water and shook him a little and the turtle did start to move (with his head in the same position).  Then I handed him to Drew so he could let it go in the lake.  Hillary and I were both very silently upset with the fishing BUTCHER who "helped" us.

4/9/12 - A Beautiful Day To Play

Our park of choice on Monday was the Spring Creek Oaks playground near the elementary school.  It was beautiful weather and we were surrounded by nature.  We found a beehive inside one of the trees, a friendly squirrel, and Kennedy found a big, fuzzy caterpillar.

Later on that day the kids played outside again and started making a fort in a pile of cut down trees on the empty lot across from our house.  I loved to do things like this as a kid in the fields by my house!

4/8/1 - Easter

Easter morning the kids all got up and opened checked out their baskets.  My kids were all up first and then Hillary's got up a little later because both her girls were sick and coughing all night.

Then we had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard for the little kids and Kennedy had her own egg hunt in the front yard.

Then it was off to church with everyone in their pretty new Easter clothes.  Kennedy played her cello in sacrament meeting with some other string instruments while the other primary children sang.  It was beautiful and Kennedy was thrilled to get to perform at church.

It was an Easter without husbands and dads.  Hillary's husband Jaret was at home in Montana and Nick had to work that day.  Unfortunately, we are used to Nick missing a lot of holidays.



4/7/12 - Easter Eve

Our next park to visit was the little play area at The Woodlands Mall.  The kids were having a great time until Drew needed to use the bathroom.  The restrooms were not close.  I took Drew and Hillary stayed to watch the rest of the kids (minus Kennedy who had gone to get an ice cream cone).  Well, Carter saw me go up the glass elevator with Drew and decided he would follow us.  Hillary was shocked to see Carter going up in the glass elevator by himself and made a dash to grab her 2 kids and head for the elevator.  She ended up catching the next ride up and when she got to the 2nd floor and out the doors.....Carter was nowhere to be seen.  She finally caught sight of him and threw a child under each arm and started running.  I guess Carter saw her running and decided to run too.  Oh boy!  She did catch up to him and got them all back to the playground before I ever returned with Drew.  It was a really crazy day and we were all ready for a nap by the time we left.

That evening I helped the 3 older kids decorate Easter Eggs while Hillary made us a nice dinner.  I was running around trying to help everyone with one hand and Hillary was trying to make dinner at the stove with a crying baby clinging to her legs.  The kids managed to have a good time with the eggs and even ate a few.



4/6/12 - A Park A Day

We decided we were going to try and take the kids to a new park to play at each day.  This park was at the Northside Christian Church across the street from our neighborhood.

4/5/12 - Hillary Comes to Town

Hillary, Holland, and Brooklynn came to help out the day before Callie left.  I was finally starting to feel better and also able to do more with my arm. 

We put a little pool on the porch and watched the kids play outside.

4/3/12 - We Need A Fun Day

I had to take Callie to do something fun before she left the Lonestar State, especially after spending the entire week sick with her taking care of me, my kids, the meals, the dishes, laundry, cleaning, etc.  So, we took Morgan and Andrew to the Houston Zoo.

We had a really nice relaxing time.

Later that day, Nick watched the kids while we went to see the movie, "Mirror, Mirror."  It was nice to spend time with Callie and I will never forget the service she performed for me.  I hope I can return the favor for her some day.

4/2/12 - Scripture Study

I am really grateful that Callie captured this picture of me having scripture study with the kids.  It's one of those I always want to remember.  We have some of the best moments during this half hour spent together each morning.  I love reading the scriptures to my kids and watching them learn and grow.  I feel like I am helping them put on their armour each day as they go out and face the world.

4/1/12 - General Conference

By Sunday I felt well enough to come out of my dungeon, but all I could do was sit in the living room all day and watch general conference.  I love conference.  I don't think I got as much out of it as I would have under better circumstances, but I recorded it so I could watch it again another time.

Anyway, my niece, Morgan, was adorable!  I wasn't able to hold her very well or very long but she was precious and a really good baby.