Weekly Update 8-19-12

On Monday, we went to our usual hangout. This week Troy was out of school so he joined us. It always takes Alivia a minute to warm up to people. By the time we left she had found herself a new friend. I remembered to take a couple of pictures.

Joanna had asked me to make some things for a friend of hers that is expecting a baby boy soon. I was so excited to get started on it. When I got home from Hawaiian Falls and got the kids down for naps, I immediately got on my machine. Here is what I made.

Today was the first day I had ever broke a needle on my machine. That was interesting for sure. Scared the crap out of me. I guess it's a good thing Avery and I went on our escapade last week. Tuesday after Talan's soccer practice I ran to Joann Fabric to find some more fabric for some more onesies for Joanna. These were baseball themed onesies and I had seen some fabric that I thought would work out great. On Wednesday, I did a little bit of work on the embroidery machine. Marsha, Randy's step sister was in town and she was coming over to go to the lake with us. It had been since Christmas that we had seen her. Her and her husband Michael have moved to New Mexico so it's not like we get to see them often. She is so amazing with the kids. I really hope that this try for them works out with them having a baby in the end.

This was Kendall's first ride on the tube. It took everything I had in me to say yes, but we went super slow and she loved it. She just sat there in Randy's lap dancing most of the time. It was very cute. On Friday, we loaded up and went to Schlitterbahn in New Braunsfel. Randy and I went about 9 years ago. We figured Talan was big enough to ride most of the rides and it would be super fun. We invited Debbie and Paul to go. I wanted to take Kendall, but knew if I didn't take someone to watch her in the kiddie area, I wouldn't get to do anything. We got to the hotel around 2.

We changed and had lunch before heading to the water park. We decided to go the pool water side today. We found a bench in the shade and went to enjoy some rides. Debbie took Kendall to the kiddie area. When we came back from riding a few rides this is what we found....

We rode all the rides we could before the park closed. We went and had dinner at Chili's. Troy, Debbie, and I all decided to have a margarita with dinner. Well, they ended up being a little on the strong side. Before dinner came, Debbie had to go outside and walk around a little because it had gotten to her pretty quickly. I'm sure it had to do with chasing Kendall around the kiddie park for 4 hours and being tired from the drive. LOL It was a good time for sure. On Saturday, we got up early to have our FREE breakfast at the hotel. It wasn't bad. They had waffles, bagels, oatmeal, fruit, cereal and eggs. We got to the park as soon as it opened and it was already packed. We decided to post up on the pool water side again but in a different area. We found a better kiddie area for Kendall. We found a nice shaded bench. There wasn't a line for one of the tube rides, so I stayed with Kendall while Randy, Talan, Troy and Debbie went to ride that and another ride. I figured Debbie would appreciate a break from babysitting. Afterwards, the boys and I rode the shuttle to the river water side to ride those rides. We did a slide, the not so lazy river, a speed slide and a tube ride. At the speed slide, we told Talan it was a race. At the end, he was upset because Randy and I beat him. Little does he know that we outweigh him by a ton and that's why we won. Not a good thing... On the tube ride, we got all the way to the top and Talan decided he didn't want to ride. We told him the only way down was on the tube. It was soo funny because I could hear him crying the whole way down the tube. It was about snack time so we headed back to the other side. We had some snacks and rode around the lazy river a couple more times before we packed up to head home.

We ate dinner at Cracker Barrel on the way home in San Marcos. It was tax free weekend and that outlet mall looked beyond ridiculous. I did secretly want to go shopping. Once we got on the road, Kendall cried for about 45 minutes. She finally fell asleep for about 30 minutes. We ran into a crazy storm on the way. It rained on and off for most of the way home. Sunday, Talan had a soccer game at 11:30. After soccer we were heading to Mom and Dad's house. Joanna, Billy and Parker were in town. I had brought my embroidery machine with me to do some work for Joanna. She has a couple of friends expecting babies. While I embroidered, Talan played the wii with Mom, Joanna hung out with Parker and Kendall.

I know I always talk about how we are going here and there, but I wouldn't have it any other way. We will always have these memories. I hope I never look back and regret these times.

Weekly Update 8-12-12

On Monday of course we went to Hawaiian Falls. I always leave thinking I should have taken pictures and never do. I guess I will try to do that on our next couple of trips. On Tuesday, Talan of course had soccer practice. I have been kind of frustrated the last couple of practices. I want Talan to be learning new skills and practicing those skills. Instead he is playing mock games with kids he doesn't play on a team with and learning bad habits in my opinion. Hopefully we can get back to learning some new things in our next practice. On Wednesday, Avery and I were crazy enough to drag 3 kids around on some errands. I was going to make Alivia a birthday shirt and needed some new software for my embroidery machine. There is a place in Plano that sells Brother products. I had called a couple days before and they had the software in stock. Don't you know that when we got there, they were sold out. While we were there I bought a couple of things I needed anyways. We went to Hobby Lobby after that. After this trip out, I again don't know how my mom did it with 4 girls. Here is a picture of us all on the way home.

Later that night we went to the lake. Debbie, Paul, Joshua and Zachary came with us. Randy threw them around the lake on the tube a little bit. They both tried to wake board. I am sure that they were not going to be able to feel their arms the next day. After the lake we had dinner at Chili's. Avery text me later that night and said "note to self and friend...don't get on the scale after you have stuffed yourself at dinner". I told her I felt like there was never a time I wanted to be on a scale. LOL On Thursday before work I made Alivia's birthday outfit. I think it turned out really great.

On Friday we had dinner at BJ's before Randy's soccer game. My favorite place. I was quite disappointed in my mini pizookie. It was like eating raw cookie dough. I am all for eating raw cookie dough, but not in this instance. It's like expecting one thing and getting another. BOO! Saturday I had to work. Sunday we went to Talan's soccer game. They won 7-4. Talan scored 4 goals. He played so well. He really understands the game. I don't want him to grow up too fast, but I can't wait to see what his future holds. After the game, we went to Alivia's birthday party. It was at Avery's aunt's house. Talan got to go swimming for a little bit. He really enjoys swimming. Alivia got a bunch of goodies and looked super cute in her birthday outfit.

We came home and watched our favorite show Falling Skies. There is only 1 more week until the season finale. The season seems like it just started.

Weekly Update 8-5-12

On Monday, Avery and I met for our weekly playdate at Hawaiian Falls. We had free buddy passes with our season passes for today. Andrea came with Ethan and Lilly. And Alec came as well. Calvin, a friend from work and his 2 kids were there. It was super packed today because of all the free buddy passes. We got there at 10:30 and couldn't find a table near the kiddie part. We sat under a hut with some lawn chairs near the kiddie area. Around 12:30, we noticed the lifeguards making everyone exit the kiddie area. Someone had pooped on a bridge. We kept trying to figure out how we missed some kid doing that. At that time, we decided it was time to pack up and go. Kendall had her 15 month well visit today at 2:00. She weighs 22.5lbs. (50%). Dr. Khouri said she is perfect, but I already knew that. She did have to get 2 shots. Talan always gets protective at this point. He always tells the nurse that he doesn't want Kendall to get shots. She in turn asks if he will take them for her. He always says no. She takes them like a champ. She might cry for a minute, but she gets over it pretty quick.

That night we were going to the Ranger game. I was on a team at work that had won a contest. Randy and the kids joined us. It was super hot and our tickets were directly in the sun. We sat in an air conditioned grill until about the 3rd inning scoping out the 1st base side to see where people weren't going to fill in. We finally found a section along the right field foul pole that was almost empty. We ended up sitting there in the shade for the rest of the game. It wasn't bad in the shade. We had an awesome view of Nelson Cruz which always makes Talan happy. The Rangers lost 15-8 (horrible), but Nelson Cruz hit a home run for Talan!!!

On Wednesday, we didn't go to the lake for recreation. There were some scratches on the bottom of the boat. Randy and Troy figured out that the boards on the trailer were rotted and the staples were scratching the boat. They took the boat off the trailer and redid the boards and carpet. The boat rides much better now. Kendall and I took the boys pizza for dinner at the lake. On Thursday, Talan had swim lessons and soccer practice. Randy and Troy played softball. After the softball game, Randy, Troy, Paul and Talan went to the deer lease to do some work. Debbie brought Kendall up to work to have dinner while I closed bar at work. The boys filled up the feeders and checked cameras. Talan keeps talking about Troy being the "spider killer". The spider webs were crossing over the "road" and Troy was put in charge of knocking the down with Paul's cane. Talan also said that a nasty spider was crawling on Paul's leg. If you know Paul, you know he HATES spiders. Randy swatted at the spider until it either died or ran off. Randy said Talan was a trooper, they didn't go to bed until 3:30am.

On Saturday, Talan had swim lessons. After we went to Ken and Sam's housewarming party. They have a beautiful new house. We left and took the kids to David and Melinda's. Randy, Troy and I went to see The Dark Knight Rises. It was a great movie, however, I spent a lot of time starring at the exit door and watching people get up and walk around. A few weeks ago, a crazy guy shot up at theater in Colorado. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Aurora_shooting Unfortunately, this incident will haunt people for a long time. On Sunday, Randy and I both had to work. Mom and Dad met Randy to watch the kids for the afternoon. They went by to see Grandma. I wish she was well enough to know them. I wish she was well enough for them to know how awesome she is. I just hope we can get some pictures of them with her so I can tell them all about her. I hope them going over to see her gives her some joy. We had a great dinner at Mom and Dad's. Of course, we came home and watched Falling Skies. Only a couple more weeks before the season finale.

Weekly Update 7/30/12

On Monday, Avery and I took the kids to Hawaiian Falls again. We finally figured out what makes Alivia happy...the lazy river. There is a little area where the kids can jump off of a ledge and the water is only about 1.5 feet deep. She loves to do that. Kendall just sits and watches her and Talan. Later that evening Randy decided to repair the sheetrock he had cut out in the laundry room and closet. All looked good until..... Tuesday morning I woke up and Troy was drying something in the dryer. It wasn't even hooked up to the wall. I noticed the tile was wet. Somehow the valve did not get completely shut and water dripped down the wall in the laundry room all night long. The wall was wet again, paint was chipping. I thought at this point we were going to have to replace the whole wall. I put the fan back in there and left to go to soccer practice and work. Luckily we had not replaced the carpet in the closet yet because that would have been wasted. Here is a pic of what my clothes looked like all week....

Wednesday we went to the lake. Avery, Alec, and Lloyd went with us. Lloyd decided he wanted to see if Randy could throw him off the tube if he rode by himself. We ended up with a little bit of an injury. Here are some pictures of our night.

Thursday was a busy day as usual. Work, swim, soccer, and softball. Friday the guys came to fix the carpet in the closet. Later that evening we went to the laundromat to get caught up on laundry. 2 hours and $25 later we were done. I was annoyed because obviously Kendall and Talan did not want to be there, but I was happy to have it done so quickly. Randy had a soccer game at 11:30. They blew out the other team. Saturday, I worked. It was ridiculously slow. Randy, Talan, and Kendall went to Baylea's birthday party. They also went to see David and Melinda for a bit. They had been in Alaska and hadn't seen the kids in awhile. After work I went to the mall (by myself) to get some new jeans and clothes for the kids. On Sunday, Talan had a soccer game at 1:00. He did so awesome. The team won 7-4 and Talan scored 4 goals. We went to Dairy Queen after for our weekly treat if Talan does good at his game. I told Randy that we were going to have to make a different deal becuase my belly can't take much more ice cream..... Randy needed to do some work, so I went to Mom and Dad's with the kids. Grandma hadn't seen them in some time since she has been quite anxious anytime the kids are around. Mom and Dad haven't been bringing her over for Sunday dinner so Mom and I took the kids to see her for a bit. Mom thinks she knew who I was, but I'm sure she doesn't know Talan or Kendall. I kept trying to tell her about them and who they were. Sometimes she tried to talk to me but it was hard to understand most of what she said. I know it meant a lot to my mom for us to go over there. I wish I could go more often, but it is hard with the kids, and it's hard to go and watch her not really be there. After we left, we had dinner with mom and dad. Unfortunately, this week we did not get to end our week with Falling Skies. It was on a break this week.

Congrats to Ashley and Jay

Ashley and Jay told us the day we went to Cedar Creek that they were expecting a baby "lime". They had not made it public until this past Sunday. It was definately a shock to us all because they kept telling us they weren't trying. They have a trip planned to Europe in September. They kept saying they wouldn't try until at least after that. It was a great surprise. I am soo excited to be an Aunt again. I am happy that Jayme and Ashley can share in their pregnancies like Joanna and I did.

Congrats to Jayme and Jeremy

Jayme and Jeremy told us they were pregnant but wanted to wait and have a gender reveal party to find out whether it was a boy or girl. They had Becky take the envelope from the sonographer to Party City to fill up a box with either pink or blue balloons. They had cut the tape on the top of the box and I saw Jayme's face. She had seen a balloon and knew before the opened the box. I just knew they were having a girl. We are soo excited for them. They have been trying for a little while to make this happen. Baby Juliet is expected to be here in mid November.

Weekly Update 7/23

On Monday, I decided to do a couple of things on my embroidery machine. There were a couple of projects that I have been wanting to do and finally got to them. The first one was a sundress for Kendall to wear to Talan's soccer games.

After I did it, I wished I would have done it in more girly colors. I also wanted to put Talan's name on it, but oh well. I will do the next one differently. I like it enough to not redo right now. The next project was an "in the hoop" project. It is all done in the machine hoop which scared me a little bit. There were only 7 steps. My first attempt I missed the most important step. I was supposed to move the zipper to the middle of the hoop after step 3. I didn't realize this until I was completely finished and couldn't move the zipper. I was kind of mad, but knew there was a reason I bought 2 zippers.

It's a mini zipper case. I use it at work for my change while I wait tables. It is pretty cute and super convenient. On Tuesday, we had soccer tots again. I really liked our practice with Coach T and Coach Corey today. Talan learned some new skills that I feel will really push him passed the kids he is playing with. We just have to keep practicing outside of Tuesday practice. Randy took Talan to swim lessons while I worked. On Wednesday we went to the lake. Micah, Cindy and David joined us. It was a beautiful day. Cindy and I decided to take a spin on the tube. It has been a year since she and I did it. Last year I had Kendall and she had knee surgery. We went flying off the tube. I had an instant migraine. My back is still killing me a week later. We went and ate dinner at Chili's afterwards.

Thursday brought on another busy day. I had to work. Talan had swim and soccer practice. Randy couldn't play softball tonight as it was at the same time as soccer practice. Friday started off as a good day. I was able to go and get a manicure and pedicure. I have recently found a lady named Karen to do my nails. It makes me a little sad to not be going to Andy anymore. I had been seeing him for almost 13 years now. The drive to Arlington every 2 weeks just seemed to get longer and harder. As the day went on and 5 loads of laundry later.......we ended up with a puddle of water in the closet. It was about 20 minutes before we had to leave to go to Randy's soccer game when we noticed it. I soaked 3 towels trying to figure out where the water was coming from. I was seriously freaking out. After arguing about staying or going, we left. I was expecting to come home to a flooded house thinking a pipe had burst. When we got home, Randy figured out the washing machine had leaked somehow. He had to take out the carpet and mat in the closet. All of my clothes are in the bath tub. He pulled the baseboards and cut some of the sheetrock. I went to Walmart to buy a couple of fans to try and dry out the concrete and walls.

On Saturday, I had to work in the morning. Since Talan has soccer on Sundays, I am working on Saturday morning. That evening we had been invited to go to the Mesquite Rodeo with some of Randy's clients. We took the kids to Debbie's. We went for a few hours. We were in a suite. It was catered with bbq for dinner. It was a good time, but not something Randy and I felt like we needed to do again anytime soon. On Sunday Talan had soccer. It was a very intense and evenly matched game. They tied 6-6. Talan scored 5 goals. He scored the game tying goal with 26 seconds left. I was climbing walls and Randy was kicking them on the other side of the arena. We had soo many opportunities at the end of the game. Randy and I couldn't have been happier. Talan really understands the game and is just as competitive as we are. We got to go to Dairy Queen for ice cream as that was Randy's deal with Talan if he scored 5 goals. After that, we headed to Mom and Dad's. Mom and I were going with Jayme and Jeremy to help them add some things to their registry for baby Juliet. It was fun getting to be a part of that. It can be pretty overwhelming. We had yummy dinner and ice cream at Mom and Dad's. Randy took the kids swimming for a bit after dinner.

Thanks Jay for the pics. Obviously to end our week we came home and watched Falling Skies.