A resolution...

I can not lie. 

Our New Year's Day did not start out so well. The PLAN was to wake up, eat a yummy breakfast, get dressed, meet my parents at Radley at the bowling alley, have lunch, tell my parents bye, nap and then play games and eat dinner. 

What happened was this. 

My girls woke up and weirdos - they basically threw the fresh, soft, yummy, gooey, monkey bread back in our face. See? Weird. So instead they had cereal. 

We did get dressed and meet my parents at the bowling alley at 10am... just like they (the bowling alley people) said it would open. But, IT WAS CLOSED. 

Precisely.

So, I knocked on their doors, told them the situation, and got free stuff from them since my parents had driven "all the way from Waco" for this. 

Instead of eating lunch out (since it was now only 10:15am), we headed back to our house where my children acted like Idon'tknowwhats until they were all in bed taking naps and I declared that I would be cooking nothing but cereal for the next month.

Yep. That. 

Then.... 

They woke up humans again - complete with smiles. And off we went to bowl!

(Side note - I really wanted to buy these shoes for Emmy to wear all the time. Seriously adorable.)

This kid plays like a pro - he strategizes (is that a word?) and is totally out to win.

And then kinda just shrugs when he gets strikes.

This girl does not mess around - she grabs her ball and pushes it down the ramp as hard as she can.

This girl refuses help or the use of the ramp. Her bowling ball barely makes it down the lane. 

But she was an AWESOME game face. And clearly has no use of watching how many pins she knocks down.

This chic is hopeless. But loves it!

And I even got a STRIKE!

When it was all said and done - these were the final scores. Radley won by 3 (with a potential accidental gutter ball and miss on the last two frames from Daddy). Landry almost beat me. 

We had a blast and still have some free passes to use up this month - maybe we'll start a bowling league!

(and in case you were wondering - I was serious about the cereal... but that's a whole different blog post).

Happy 2014!!!!

Golden Super Heros...

Ryan and I decided that it was time for Emmy to participate in her first "activity" outside of school. We picked gymnastics because, well, it's what I know and I think she will love it and be a pretty awesome gymnast. We signed her up for a class that was at the same time as a super hero class for Radley which is always a win-win for my "contained and entertained" philosophy.

Here they are... future Olympian and current Super Hero ready to go!

Now, as outgoing and spunky as Emmy seems in my stories and pictures - it takes her a while to get to that point. I knew that she would be less than thrilled once her sweet coach took her hand to begin class. I also knew that she would opt for taking the stairs over the giant super slide. 

She also promised me she wouldn't cry, so off she went with Coach Sabrina.

Where she sat on her carpet...

And did not move...

at all during the warm up.

Then Sabrina took her hand and that's when she **almost** teared up because she walked into a room where she couldn't see me. But I could certainly see her and something clicked...

And then she looked up and spotted me and I got a smile!!!

From that point on, she ROCKED it! She was laughing, and giggling and having so much fun!

She did awesome and I was super proud of my sweet girl!!!

She was the ONLY kid in her class whose mom didn't have to come down to assist. 

Y'all. 

Well - I won't say anything. 

Except that she's wonderful and can't wait to watch her for the next six weeks! 

Meanwhile, Super Rad was gearing up for his class. 

I died when I saw that they got capes. 

DIED.

And was actually pretty jealous that I couldn't join in the fun.

They scaled walls...

and someone just kept going...

and going...

They went through the crazy tunnels after bad guys...

They played on the rings and then they ended on a high note....

They got all suited up...

and got to "fly!"

(or technically just bounce really really high)

and it was AWESOME!

Excited about Tuesday nights in our house this summer! Be looking out for Emms in the Summer Olympics in 2020 and if you are in danger call on Super Rad anytime!

Where two or more are gathered...

Let there be a party!

(Just kidding ... I know that's not the end of that sentence)

(Mostly because I hung out with some baptists this weekend - I know they let us hang out with them!)

I talked about how amazing dotMOM was a few weeks ago. One of the best parts was the new friends that I got to meet from Cindy's Sunday school class (see baptist joke above). I was thrilled to get to know these women as we not only absorbed lessons on this crazy ride of mommyhood but also to worship with a new group of friends. 

Fast-forward a couple of weeks and an evite pops up in my inbox from one of my lovely new friends inviting us to her parents ranch for an Easter Egg Hunt. We knew that the kids would love it and of course made plans to attend. 

The ranch is beautiful - sheltered among layers of trees and winding roads. As soon as we entered their property Radley and Emmy were convinced it was heaven - dirt, sticks, and a giant playground complete with a splash pad - yes this was a "ranch" for my people. ;) 

 Melissa and Jennifer's dad had let us know that they had a heated pool so we brought the swim gear just in case.  I was not; however, convinced that anyone needed to actually get in the pool. It was a gorgeous Texas spring day but really windy.

Guess who won that battle...

and....

Guess who was the smart one and didn't try to get in...

About 17 seconds later they decided it was cold and they were going to die from hypothermia. 

These are my kids, afterall... we do love a good exaggeration. 

We quickly gave them a big fat I-told-you-so and dried them off. They ran back outside to play and make new friends, eat some home made deer sausage and yummy southern sides from all the party goers...all the while patiently awaiting "the hunt".

Melissa and Jennifer stuffed and hid easily 200+ eggs and the kids LOVED it! They had a hunt for the little kiddos...

Landry didn't qualify since she refuses to walk.

And then the big kids were lead out in "the woods" for their turn.

(please note the stick in Radley's hand. We now have enough twigs and branches in our backyard to start a fire big enough to melt the remaining icebergs).

 Radley almost didn't get to compete after an immediate injury due to a run-in with a cactus. But I lovingly told him to suck it up shake it off and he forged ahead...

I may have to adopt Easter as a year round event...

They could hunt eggs for hours.

After the eggs were all picked up from obvious view found - it was time for the kiddos to test out that playground they saw on the way in...

Mills was the only HMM to sit still long enough to let me snap a pic!

We had a great day with some new friends...

I'm so glad for this small community of people that He has given us and thankful for the blessings of new friends...

and old, too! 

(Not as in you are "old" Cindy...just a seasoned friend!)

:)

I carry your heart...

So I have a confession. 

I don't love Valentine's Day.

At all. 

I know, it's weird. I think it's the high maintenance part of me that believes you should show me your love every day and not just when Hallmark tells you to. Maybe.

;)

BUT... my kids love it. And I love my kids, so there you go. We took a little trip to Hobby Lobby last week and I found the cutest mailboxes on sale and thought that it would be fun to let the kids decorate their own so we could leave sweet messages to them in February. 

So yesterday afternoon after naps we got to painting. 

(Ryan and I left Abilene early so we could let my parents get home and spend time with the kiddos). 

Emmy wanted to paint hers purple of course, and we did't have "dawk pul-pel" so we had a quick lesson in mixing paint and then got going. 

She also picked purple for her "E". 

:)

I'm not sure if the two inches of paint she used was enough.

I think it was the most I had seen her concentrate ever.

Radley picked "spring colors" for his mailbox.

Aqua, yellow, red and white. Clearly my kid!

I love how much he loves these kinds of projects. I also love that kids see beauty in everything. It doesn't matter if the paint goes on "perfectly" they are automatically proud of their work. They aren't self-conscience of their abilities. It isn't until Ms. Shraunk gives you a "B" in art that you start to lose faith.

Hypothetically speaking, of course.

One more layer of aqua and done!

Emmy wanted bright pink for her flag. Such a girly-girl. 

We let Landry get in on the fun, too. But then she tried to eat the sponge, so I finished for her and let the big kids pick the colors for her mailbox.

(Sorry, L...maybe next year!)

I LOVE that Ryan does these projects with us. He isn't afraid to let his inner-crafter get busy and often gets way more "into" than me and the kids. 

We let the first coat dry while we did baths and dinner. 

Which consisted of cereal. 

Don't judge. We were out of town all weekend. And I put bananas in the cereal.

Then it was time to personalize their creations with stickers they had picked at HobLob.

"I love you to the moon and back" is perfect for Rad since he falls asleep telling me he loves me "from Earth to the Moon to Jupiter to Mars and all the way back!"

You are loved, sweet boy! More than you will ever know!

Emmy quickly put 15 stickers on her mailbox before I could stop her. 

And L just tried to eat them.

And done!

They are now sitting nicely on our kitchen table waiting to be filled with {LOVE}!

I just LOVE the way they turned out! And I already put a note in them for after school..I think I may like Valentine's Day after all. 

But I'm still mad at Hallmark. 

:)