Little things

It really is ALL those little things that make this life so interesting.

We played Kimber up so that both boys are on the same baseball team this fall.......after keeping up with two different schedules during spring ball this is quite the relief. 

Nana and Gramps made it to a game!

Such a cutie.

Post game snacks

Today, during our fact sheet portion of our math lesson, when each boy gets to do his sheet on a clipboard wherever he wants, I peek into the living room and those sweet boys are snuggled up together in my late grandmother's recliner working away...and I honestly don't believe they were even collaborating...just snuggling.

Between my own thrifting and my sweet mother in law's thrifting I have amassed quite the collection of cloth napkins.  There are certain favorites that make me smile....every single time we use them.  We keep a loaf pan on our dining table filled with these little beauties and those of you that know us know we are NOT fancy but they are used at almost every meal.

WEATHER, we just finished our third week of school and EVERY DAY this week we got to spend a considerable amount of time out of doors.  Mostly 70's and 80's all week.....we are definitely not in Texas anymore Toto!  I think the boys favorite daily activity is read aloud time in the treehouse, it just might be ABSOLUTELY IS my favorite too!

Back to School

The little monkeys started preschool last week.  

They were more impressed with their big boy backpacks than anything

and kept asking for me to "cheese" them.

 He is no longer capable of a normal smile these days.

 It was a perfect cool rainy fall day and getting to wear their raincoats totally made their day.

Tornado Marathon

On the 27th of April, our community was struck by a string of tornadoes that left a huge path of destruction across the area.  Thankfully our home was spared but many we not so lucky.  Many power lines and substations were completely obliterated so we were without power for 5 days.  Thankfully, we are campers and stockpilers, we had cooking capabilities, plenty of propane and an abundance of food.   We lucked into a couple of defunct generators a year or so ago that W used to create one functioning one so we were able to keep both fridges and both deep freezers running as well as charge phones, laptops and gaming toys for ourselves as well as the neighbors.

A few observations I made during our house-camping adventure.

1) Little boys LOVE flashlights and are under the impression that it being dark is not a prerequisite for their use.
2) While I still don't think I am high maintenance, I do LOVE my microwave, hot water heater and dishwasher.  I am not sure love is a strong enough word but lust seems silly when talking about appliances.
3) We thoroughly enjoyed our 5 whole days together, I am truly blessed by all the boys that are in my life.
4)  4 nights might be too long to go between baths.
5)  I need to start stocking up on batteries.
6)  Our new picnic table is the perfect size....for us and 2 other families.

TEXAS ON MY MIND

        Just want all of our friends and family in

                              TEXAS 
 
      to know that we are praying for you every day!

Christmas 2010

Once again we spent Christmas in Alabama and can I just say how nice it is to wake up in your own home on Christmas morning!  While we do miss our family and friends it is such a relief to not have to travel with these little people.  Willie's parents came in for the holiday and we all had a great time catching up.  The coolest part, we woke up to a snow covered wonderland on Christmas morning.

Nana and the boys playing with their new blocks.

 Kimber trying out big brothers new big boy bike.

 Staying warm during the Christmas Eve stump grinding festivities.

 Observing

 Christmas Eve 2010

 Santa came...

 Willie testing out the tee-pee,                                                             and Kimber too.

Quite impressed with their new garbage truck.

 And tools too.

Snowman building

               A snow angel and...                                                                      some snow covered broccoli.

 Warming up with some Sudoku with Gramps

....Gonna Soak Up the Sun.....

Finally....after what seems like weeks of cold, sleet, snow or rain we got a few days of warmer temperatures and sunshine. We took advantage in a big way.

The first nice day was spent at the park with some friends. We fed the ducks and fish and of course admired the tractors working on the Art Museum expansion.

Over the nice weekend we picked up "sticks" from a tree Willie cut down, watched Willie splitting wood, installed my new sink/potting bench in the shed, cleaned off the back porch and had some friends over for fajitas.

It is amazing how a little change in the weather makes EVERYONE in this house OH SO HAPPY!

Feeding the ducks...and fish.

Enjoying the sunshine...finally!

Watching the tractors.

Matthew and his "lady friends".

Smiley-drooly faced baby Kimber.

Chillaxin'

'Bama Snow

On Saturday morning we woke up to a beautiful dusting of "snow". After spending many days skiing the mountains of Colorado it is hard for my southern self to call what we got "snow", but alas that is what it was. It was white, cold and crunchy and Matthew and Muppet enjoyed playing in it before it all melted away.

I remember as a child visiting my grandparents and being thrilled when it began snowing, in fact my dad tells a story of us three kids going outside in our PJ's to frolic in the flakes. My grandparents lived in the panhandle of Texas and they got REAL SNOW...snowman making snow.

Here are a few pictures of our snow day....Kimber was in his bouncy in the foyer looking out the window....in his knit cap of course!

Crunch, crunch, crunch....

Alabama Snow Day

I really and truly thought that Matthew would see his first snow in Colorado, on a ski excursion...but alas this was not the case. We woke up on Sunday morning to a gorgeous blanket of snow all around us. Of course it had completely disappeared by noon but a little fun was had when we finally made it outside.

First footsteps in the snow.


Walking with Dad on the trailer.

Muppet acting nutty.

Our snowdude

Matthew and Muppet with the snowdude.

Muppet all warmed up again.