The Kelley Family

Happy Birthday to You!!!!!

2011-12-30T20:28:00.000-08:00

A Visit to the Texas State Fair 2011!

2011-11-15T17:37:00.000-08:00

Some of our highlights from this year's fair!

The famous pig races (yes, I'm being facetious!)

One of the many floats from the nightly parade

George enjoying a spicy jalapeno and cheese corny dog

This year's butter sculpture

Walls and walls of photographs

Cases of this year's canning contest

Entering the Midway!

Dad, George and Katie waiting for the ride to begin

Very happy at the end of the ride

Calvin, Mom and Katie standing beside a ginormous tractor

George and Katie in another pose

We had a fun time! It was a school night and we decided to head over with Dad after work for a couple hours. It was a short visit, but absolutely worth the trip. We were glad Dad could come with us.
The kids and I also visited the fair two weeks previously with Aunt Tiffiny and her new baby Sophie, visiting from California. We also had a great time then. Unfortunately, we lost all the photos to prove it.

Happy Birthday Jared!!!!

2011-11-02T18:17:00.000-07:00

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T19:56:00.000-07:00

Calvin (wouldn't put on a costume, just the glow stick), Samuel as Dracula, Emmett as the Incredible Hulk, Reuben the Ninja, George as Darth Vader and Katie (who really just wanted a reason to put on makeup) dressed as a Princess.

The pumpkin line up

George's scary creation.

Katie's spooky Jack.

My "little mother"

2011-10-29T10:02:00.000-07:00

This is going to be one of my all-time favorite memories. As I walked past our back door this summer, I came upon this adorable scene. Katie and Calvin were cold from playing with the back hose and Katie, seeing that Calvin didn't have a towel, wrapped him up with her. I absolutely adore how much Katie loves and cares for her little brother. And I love how Calvin looks up to her, and even turns to her for a hug when he needs one. It makes me happy.

George Turns 9!!!!

2011-10-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

George decided on a Star Wars themed party this year. All his friends came dressed as Star Wars characters. They had a huge backyard battle before sitting down to pizza, bread sticks, cheesecake and light saber cupcakes and pretzels. The kids had a great time!

George and Katie Play Fall Baseball

2011-10-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

Jared and Calvin playing as they watch the game.

This year with the Dallas Little League, George was old enough to play on a kid-pitch team. He has always wanted to stand on the mound and pitch the balls, so this is pretty exciting for him.

George at bat.

Katie was on her own team for kids her age. Here she is running home, and below, giving the coach a high five. By the way, she's the only one in a skirt. :) She's funny. I can rarely get this girl to wear pants.

Tiffiny, and her new baby Sophia, came for a visit from California. Here's Katie with little Sophia.

Calvin taking his usual position on the ground, rolling his cars and trucks around.

Katie giving a smile from the dugout.

Preschool Outing to the Zoo

2011-09-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

Calvin had his first preschool outing while George and Katie were in school. We went with his little buddy, Sawyer, and two other friends, Cienna and Coen. I love the new addition at the Dallas Zoo! It's so incredible how close you can get to the animals!

And of course, a picture of Calvin with his two favorite things: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in one hand and a car in the other.

The First Day of School!

2011-08-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

It's the first day of school! Katie started kindergarten and George is in 3rd grade. So hard to believe!

4th of July

2011-07-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

I just need to play catch up!!! Haven't posted anything in a while. We went out to Forney where Matt and Liz live for the 4th of July. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins. I LOVE watching fireworks, but I haven't been to a real show in a long time--you know, the kind with music playing, both fireworks in the sky and on the ground. I just think that fireworks are so much more fantastic when you've got them shooting into the sky with "The Star-Spangled Banner" playing in the background. This year was great though. A resident who lived across the street from this park was blaring his patriotic music from his home stereo! So I finally got my music and fireworks!

T-ball Spring 2011

2011-05-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

George had his first baseball game of the season. George did a great job! He's getting better at his catching and throwing--even got a couple kids out on the other team! Fun to watch! Reuben and Samuel were able to come and watch too (of course, they played hide and seek with Katie the whole time).

Only lost the game by one point :(

A Surprise Outside!

2011-05-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

After the kids had dressed for church, we went outside to leave. The Easter Bunny had left an unexpected surprise outside! The grass was covered with chocolates, stuffed animals, toys and Easter eggs. George said, "It looks like an Easter wonderland!"

Somebunny really loves us!

Easter Morning 2011

2011-05-30T08:24:00.000-07:00

Building a "Snow George"

2011-02-10T06:11:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a resemblance! Good job George!
Katie is inspecting the face. Well, she's probably eyeing the carrot nose. This girl is always hungry! After she started nibbling on the snowman's carrot nose, we made her go inside to get her own bowl of carrots to munch on.

George is getting those last buttons on for the snowman's mouth.

George and Katie are very proud of their hard work.

George needed to borrow the coat back from the snowman. It was getting cold without it.

Snow!!!

2011-02-04T13:51:00.000-08:00

It has been absolutely freezing here!!!! School was cancelled four days in a row. It's been a nice break for George, and extra fun because of all the ice and snow.

Katie is bundling up to play outside. We realized this morning that the kids have outgrown all their boots.....so we improvised with plastic bags. Katie needed convincing, but she finally agreed to put them on. Worked great!

Calvin loved the "white snow." He didn't mind being cold at all. Even though his pants kept sliding off, he was happy the whole time.

George and Katie ganging up on dad. He was a good sport during the snow ball fight.

One of the down sides to wearing glasses during a snow ball fight!

There!

2011-01-18T22:46:00.001-08:00

Have you noticed several posts in the last few nights????
After two years of not blogging, I've hit the main events from the last 3 months. I'm going to call it good and hopefully be better at staying on top of things from here on out. So. . . I'm considering myself caught up!

Katie turns 5!!!

2011-01-18T21:59:00.000-08:00

Katie was set on having a build-a-bear party this year.

We made a trip to the build-a-bear store where she picked out her very own puppy. She stuffed it, fluffed it, dressed it and named it. She loves this store!

Here she is printing her new puppy's birth certificate. She named her "Dallas" and put her in a shiny red, poka dot dress.

The cake needed to go along with the build-a-bear theme, of course. Katie was very particular about the details.

Opening presents with all her favorite play mates. Katie was SO happy to have her cousins and best friend come over for the evening. Travis and Ashley brought the kids all the way from Austin (thank you!!!) and Matt brought the boys from across town (so glad it worked out!!!). And her best friend, Rachel, was back in the area, just in time!!! We ordered pizza and had a great time playing.

Calvin's 2nd Birthday!

2011-01-18T20:59:00.000-08:00

We can't believe our little baby boy is TWO!

By the time Jared got home from work, it was dark outside, but we still wanted Calvin to see his gift. Jared wheeled the ride-on tractor out of the garage and we walked Calvin out to see it. Calvin was absolutely stunned. He stood with big eyes and a gaping mouth for several minutes. Then he finally smiled, pointed and said, "tractor!"

He finally realizes it's his very own tractor!

George, Calvin and Katie, just before cutting the cake. I was VERY sick the day before and had no preparation time to make Calvin's cake, but I refused Jared's idea to pick up a bakery cake. I have always made their birthday cakes and I wasn't about to change things! It took me thirty minutes to slap the icing on, and I'm emabarrassed to show it, but at least it was homemade!

Christmas Morning 2010

2011-01-18T19:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning was spent in Humble, TX with Jared's parents this year. We really enjoyed ourselves and loved having some one on one time with Grandma and Grandpa.

This is Calvin's favorite thing in the whole world, a stuffed giraffe, which he calls "dee dee." He loves to chew on his nose and carry him around like a puppy dog. If Calvin doesn't have a car in his hands, then he's got this little giraffe.Calvin found a comfy place to sit and chew on his giraffe.

Katie's new sleeping bag from Grandmother and Paw Paw.
More beyblades!!!! This last gift George opened totally made his day. The second grader with the most beyblades wins!!!
A dragon skateboard made and delivered by Santa.

Katie is showing Calvin how his new Hot Wheels race track works.

Katie is holding a couple zhu zhu pets from her stocking. Her Easy Bake from Santa is behind her on the chair.

Here, Calvin is trying out the new track. He loves to watch the wheels go around and around.

George is very excited to have his very own bb gun to use out at the farm.

Winter Break

2011-01-18T19:19:00.000-08:00

During the winter break, we visited Jared's family in Houston. Grandma and Grandpa took the kids to a nearby park. The weather in Texas can be so beautiful in the winter. It's so great to still be able to get outside and play!

Calvin

Katie

George

A (Very) Late Happy Holidays to Everyone!

2011-01-18T19:14:00.000-08:00

George plays at the Dallas Cowboy Stadium!

2011-01-18T18:58:00.000-08:00

During the fall, George played flag football through the YMCA. Towards the end of the season, all of the teams organized through our local YMCA were able to play a game in the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium. They split the field into 3 "mini" fields and had three games going simultaneously. The place was amazing! Absolutely huge! The kids had a great time.

My newest sewing project!

2011-01-16T20:26:00.000-08:00

At our ward's super saturday activity we learned how to make these super easy skirts. I was so proud of myself--I've only ever made bibs and blankets. It was so great to see Katie wearing something I made!

George's Baptism

2011-01-16T20:18:00.000-08:00

George was so excited to be baptized. General Conference fell on his birthday so we waited until the next weekend, October 10th (10/10/10). It was so wonderful to have family come for the occasion. Uncle Matt and Grandpa Roger gave talks on Baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Dad baptized and confirmed. George had a wonderful experience and it was a great day for him.

George turns 8!!!!

2011-01-16T20:02:00.000-08:00

After receiveing birthday money in the mail, George begged to make a trip to Toys R Us where he bought a very large lego set: the Slave 1. He worked all day and completed it all by himself. He was so proud!

Calvin's 3-month-old pictures

2009-04-27T15:52:00.000-07:00

Katie's 3-year-old pictures

2009-04-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

Count George

2009-03-31T17:19:00.000-07:00

George loves boxes. Whenever we buy something, or receive something in the mail, George always has some creative use for the box. Sometimes he turns the box into a robot head, sometimes into a time capsule (that I had to stop him from burying in the backyard), but this time we had a great, long box and he decided to pretend he was a mummy inside of a sarcophagus......I think he looks more like a VAMPIRE!!!!

Some of My Favorites

2009-03-18T16:55:00.001-07:00

Calvin is growing like a weed! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the last 11 weeks.

March 12th, 10 weeks old, George and Katie love to kiss "Calvie" (also known as "Cali-fu-na")

Calvin loves to smile at us when he has a full tummy.

Calvin thinks it's pretty entertaining to watch George and Katie run around the house.

Katie loves to get right up in Calvin's face!

March 8th, 9 weeks old, Calvin is being held on his blessing day by Grandpa Roger.

February 24th, 8 weeks old, Calvin has learned to turn his head to look into our faces. Here he is cooing at George.

February 4th, 5 weeks old, Katie STILL won't leave Calvin's side.

February 2nd, 5 weeks old, Calvin is my little, sleepy baby.

January 21st, 3 weeks old, Grandma Carolin says good bye and heads for home...mommy is left alone with 3 kids!

January 25th, 4 weeks old, Katie mimics us and does everything to her dolls that we do to Calvin.

January 4th, 5 days old, so tiny and new!

Happy 3rd Birthday Katie!

2009-02-27T11:53:00.000-08:00

Calvin was born just about a week before Katie's birthday. My plan was to postpone celebrating for another week--I just needed a bit more time to organize a party and bake a cake. Well, Daddy didn't remember the plan and when she found out it was her birthday, she wanted her party by the end of the day. I explained to her that I wanted to invite her friends over for a party with cake and games, etc. and that if she wanted to do that she would have to wait a few more days. Without any hesitation, she just said, "No thank you. I just want a party today with my family. I want Daddy to come, and Mommy, and Calvin and George." And later, when she found out we were picking Grandma Carolin up from the airport, she said, "And Grandma Carolin can come too."

So, we went ahead and threw a party together. Daddy was sent to the store to pick up a cake topper and party supplies. After which he picked up Grandma from the airport. Mom stayed home to bake and ice a cake (which was a frustrating experience with a newborn--we should have just bought one!).

Katie loved to be the center of attention. Here she is blowing out the candles.
George thought Calvin needed a party hat too.

Grandma flew in to help Mom with baby Calvin. We were glad she got there just in time for the party too!

Katie opened her presents and then we played Hungry Hungry Hippos and Pin-the-bow on Hello Kitty. Katie actually had a great time. And I must say, it was much easier than throwing a big party! I initially just figured that George's parties had been so elaborate in the past, I needed to do the same for Katie. Apparently not! Katie is such a sweet little girl. We are so glad to have her in our family.

Calvin's arrival! (Yes, I know he's almost 2 months old)

2009-02-27T09:34:00.000-08:00

Calvin arrived Dec. 30th at 10:44 am. He weighed 6 lbs. 13 oz. and was 20 inches long.

George and Katie were both so excited to see their new baby brother!

The whole family!

Glen Rose, TX, Camping Trip

2008-11-26T15:13:00.000-08:00

George's persistence finally paid off. He's been asking us for the last two years to take him camping. Living in hot, hot Texas can be tricky though. Who wants to go camping when it's 100 degrees outside during the day and it only cools down to 85 or 90 degrees at night. So you either go early spring or late fall. Well, George's soccer season ended Nov. 1st this year, so the first available weekend was Nov. 8th--seemed a bit late in the year to go camping. However, the temperature was averaging around 70 degrees in the day, so I said, "Let's just do this thing!"
Everything about camping was so new and exciting, especially for Katie, who had no idea what a tent, lantern or camping stove looked like. As soon as it got dark, the kids started asking if they could go to bed (they were really excited about this sleeping bag idea). Well, the temperature started dropping, so settling down for the night sounded quite nice. However, that was the beginning of the longest night of our lives! Little kids roll around SO much at night. Jared and I were up every 30 minutes, ALL NIGHT LONG, putting George and Katie back into their sleeping bags and under their blankets. They were freezing all night because they wouldn't stay put!

When the sun finally came up, we decided to forget about "trying" to sleep. So we got ourselves dressed in multiple layers and ventured out. It was freezing! Pour little Katie's hands were bright red. We built the fire back up and that helped a little if we stood right up against it. The hot chocolate helped a bit too. We made pancakes and sausage for breakfast and the kids snacked on Smores Pop Tarts as a treat. We were all SO cold though. I felt a little unprepared--I should have brought the kids hats and gloves. Luckily, we brought a game along and that helped to distract us. Here George is pointing out his first win.

The sun finally started warming things up around 10:30 in the morning (we had been up for hours by then). Here, Dad and Katie are playing around.

We took a walk down to the river. The sun felt great! The kids wanted to get their swimming suits on, but the wind was still a bit chilly. Instead, we skipped rocks and enjoyed the view. The kids had fun collecting rocks, sticks and shells.

After packing up, we drove over to an animal reserve park called Fossil Rim. It was so neat! Most of the animals came up to the car to eat right out of our hands.

George reached out to feed one of the animals.

The giraffes were not shy! George and Katie were shocked at first when the giraffes leaned down to meet us. It was nice to have a sunroof and they reached right inside for a handful of food.

This is my favorite picture! Katie stood half way out through the sunroof. It was an amazing experience to be so close to animals that are usually behind fences at a zoo.

Go Jets!!! Fall Soccer 2008

2008-11-26T11:01:00.000-08:00

George finished up another great soccer season!
George was a great goalie this year. He was jumping in front of the balls, bouncing them off his knees....it was awesome! Here, he stopped the ball and is throwing it back down the field.

Katie and Wyatt are playing in the dirt--not so interested in the game.

Hmmmm.....George playing in the dirt. George and his teammates are waiting for the next quarter to begin when it will be their turn to run out on the field.

After a game, George walks through our tunnel for high fives.

George and his buddy, Jonathan.

Aggressively going after a ball.

October Activities 2008

2008-11-26T07:39:00.000-08:00

On October 2nd, George turned 6 years old!!! George decided to have Mom make him a Halloween birthday cake this year. And instead of a big birthday party celebration (last year, we went a little overboard), he went to see the new star wars: clone wars movie with his cousin Reuben. They brought mini light-up light sabers into the theater and bought popcorn, soda, and candy.

Jared and I experimented with some new Halloween decorations for the house.

Decorating silly pumpkin pancakes turned out to be lots of fun and they tasted yummy too!

Fun Halloween packages started showing up on our door step. These hilarious glasses arrived from Angie, Jordanne and Tayler.

For Family Home Evening, we made haunted Halloween houses out of chocolate graham crackers, orange icing and lots of candy! George and Katie didn't stop decorating until ALL the candy was gone (and then they asked for more!)

Katie was very pleased with how her little house turned out. Or maybe she's just on a sugar high--she is such a candyoholic.

We took lots of different trips with lots of different friends to the Dallas Arboretum. Fall activities at the Arboretum included a pumpkin patch, kindermusik (singing time), crafts, face painting, a hay maze and a small petting farm. Here, George and Katie are in the pumpkin patch.

Painted Faces!!! From back left: Ephraim (cheetah), Lindy (fairy), George (dracula), Hayden (small pumpkin), Jace and Katie (dog).

Katie experimented in front of the mirror. After that, she walked around the park with her lip curled like a growling dog. George, the dracula, is behind her watching. He was pretty shocked when he saw his face--wasn't sure if he liked it or not.

George and Katie in front of the great pumpkin house.

Different and unique varieties of pumpkins on display.

On another visit, Katie and her friend Rachel got their faces painted. Rachel as a princess and Katie as a clown.

On yet, another visit, Katie in the petting area. I think she gave all the animals a good brushing.

Katie and her friend, Zoe. Sitting down for a picture before they took off running through the hay maze. Katie is so protective of her younger friends--I'm sure her hand is over Zoe's lap to make sure she doesn't fall off the bale.

Halloween night has finally arrived! George is dressed as Indiana Jones, while Mom is painting Katie as a clown.

All the cousins arrived to trick-or-treat together this year! From left to right: George (Indiana Jones), Wyatt (batman), Reuben (pirate), Samuel (pirate) and Emmitt (bumble bee).

Now it's the girl's turn for a picture: Katie (clown) and Kailyn (raggedy Ann).

Katie is happy to be a clown with so much attention on her!

Out trick-or-treating. The kids liked to occasionally stop on the side walk to check out the goods.

Back at home, sorting out the candy.

George has his candy separated into neat, little piles. He could have stayed out trick-or-treating for another hour and a half, but his little cousins were either getting leg aches or falling asleep.

A "Real" Date!

2008-05-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

Jared and I left the house and went on a REAL date this last Friday night!!! It has been forever since our last date (I honestly can't remember when the last one was). Usually we'll rent a movie, make dessert, or (since Jared is no longer a student but has a real job!) we'll order take-out after the kids go to bed. But this time we called a babysitter, went to the movies and then out to dessert. I even dressed up a bit (consequently, Jared did too) since I don't know when this will happen again. It was great!

--Real movie theater to see newly released movie, Indiana Jones (not the dollar theater this time): $22

--Small popcorn, 1 bottle of water (I smuggled in my own water-wish I would have thought to shove another one in my purse for Jared), reese's pieces: $13.25

--Appetizer, dessert, and waiter's tip at Macaroni Grill (luckily had a gift card given to us at Christmas, thanks Robyn and Christian!--pretty sad that it took us 5 months to use it): $18.75

--Babysitter for 4 1/2 hours: $25

--the grand total:$79

Although very nice to get out of the house, I think this is a good reminder of why we don't go on "real" dates anymore!

Viv and Mike's Visit to Texas

2008-05-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

As soon as Becky (I mean, Vivian) and Mike got off the airplane from Utah, we drove straight to downtown Dallas to pick up Jared from work and then on to "the farm" (a 3 hour ride from Dallas, just past Crockett, TX and basically in the middle of nowhere). The farm is a piece of land where Jared's Grandfather, "Pawpaw", was raised. Currently, Grandmother and Pawpaw don't live there, but they make weekend trips to check on the cows and the property. We love our visits there and this time we heard that wild blackberries were blooming all over the land. I LOVE this picture of Viv...After picking for hours, it looks like she's on a commercial selling blackberries from some little country farm.
At one point we had to jump across the creek and climb up the hill to get to the next meadow. The blackberry bushes were just covering the ground! We picked bowls and bowls--mostly so Grandmother could store them and make blackberry pies all year long!

Here, first thing in the morning, Mike and George are waiting patiently to pick blackberries--grandmother (at the door) is insisting to me that we take sweaters.... And you can see that we are very ambitious blackberry pickers--Mike has quite the stack of bowls!Near the end of the day, we decided to go fishing in one of the farm's ponds. Katie really loves to do anything that she sees her big brother or daddy doing. It's so cute to see her with a pink strawberry shortcake fishing pole!

George and Katie waiting for a bite at the end of their lines....

Pawpaw, who still has energy to make the fishing trips with the great-grandchildren.

Daddy, giving a little lesson on fishing. We'll see if the two-year-old listens!

Oh, I have to mention one more fabulous detail about the farm--besides the cows, the horses, the wide open spaces to play and work in--the best food you will ever eat is made by Grandmother! We arrived late on Friday and had the choice of chicken and dumplings or chicken and sausage gumbo. The next morning our day began with homemade biscuits, jelly and preserves, sausage and eggs. Dinner (what we call "lunch") is just a few hours later and consists of roast, carrots, salad, purple hull peas, mashed potatoes and rolls. And supper (or "dinner") is a continuation of the previous meal, usually after we get back from fishing or doing some work around the farm. Oh, and I don't want to forget to mention that dessert is served after both dinner and supper! Yep, you definitely could have rolled us out to the car!

A Visit to the Dallas Arboretum

2008-05-18T20:03:00.001-07:00

During one day of Vivian and Mike's visit, we planned a trip to the Dallas Arboretum. We packed a picnic and spent a few hours walking around its pathways and viewing the gorgeous flowers and trees. Here, Katie is sitting on the grassy hill as we finished up our picnic. The kids and Mike had a fun time running up and down the hill and when that got old, they "tried" to catch birds....and Katie, who is a magnet to any random baby she sees, found a little one-year old to follow around.
I thought this little hut, completely made of flowers and grass, was so gorgeous!

The Dallas Arboretum has a fun area with an old western town. It's fun for the kids to play around in the "kid-size" replica houses--there's a school house, a church and lots of little houses, each complete with beds and props to play with. Here Viv and George are in the fort.

Katie in a rocking chair, just her size.Looking out from the window, Mike and the kids are inside the church.

Typical pouting pose of George--He was tired of walking and it was getting too hot!

There's always a fun display for the month. This time cows and horses made of grass and a flower-covered wagon! The kids loved it!

Mom and the kiddos.

Bath Time

2008-05-17T14:17:00.000-07:00

Silly hairdos are always a fun part of bath time. George and Katie expect daddy to come up with some new hairdos for them when he's helping out!

A Big Gap!

2008-05-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

George lost his first tooth! It's a bit funny how it happened....His tooth had been wiggly for a couple months, but when I sent George to bed for the hundred millionth time this night he went into his room growling. He got on his bed, put his blankie in his mouth and tore his mouth back and forth in anger like a wild animal. The tooth popped out on his bed and a very excited boy came running back into the living room--he was literally shaking with excitement! After we got his mouth cleaned up there was no problem with him staying in bed. The tooth fairy was on her way!

Just a side note.....

2007-11-16T11:27:00.000-08:00

JARED PASSED THE BAR!!!!!!! We are so excited. Way to go DAD!

Go Bulldogs!!!

2007-11-01T00:07:00.000-07:00

Pictures from George's 2007 Fall Soccer Team

Jack-O-Lanterns

2007-10-31T23:19:00.000-07:00

Dad's Vampire and George's Monster (designed completely by himself). Great job boys!!!

Halloween Night 2007

2007-10-31T21:59:00.001-07:00

A Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-31T20:44:00.001-07:00

Our very busy "little mama"

2007-10-23T11:24:00.000-07:00

Katie is such a sweet "little mother". She works all day long taking care of her little babies; she walks them around the house and consistently remembers to change their diapers throughout the day. She is always very, very busy--a great multitasker--notice the phone up to her ear. She sure does watch every thing we do!

I often find her cleaning the house, as well: she loves to wipe off the table and cabinets, she's always eager to soak up any spills, and she is diligent about vacuuming the carpet along side me or daddy. Katie also loves to empty the dishwasher, but you've got to watch her closely or she'll lick all the spoons and forks before putting them in the drawer. Don't you want to come over to our house for dinner?

The Celebration Begins (and Never Ends)!!!! George's 5th Birthday

2007-10-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

So....first off, you have to understand that George's birthday celebration lasts about a week. It begins with a family gathering. This year we met at the farm near Crockett, TX. The presents were opened just as soon as Grandma and Grandpa arrived that morning and walked through the front door. George was so excited. He had not opened a present since Christmas and 10 months is a long time for a little boy. Grandmother and PawPaw gave George some new cowboy guns, Papaw came with pirate toys, and Grandma and Grandpa bought George his first star wars toys (a light-up light saber, a Sith fighter ship, and a few small figures). George was in toy heaven!
Then we had a big family feast with barbecued chicken and ALL the fixin's. The food was wonderful, as usual. George got to blow out a candle as we all sang "happy birthday".
This however, was only the Saturday BEFORE the big day.

No photo editing here - it really lights up!

Tuesday, October 2nd, his actual birthday! We took cupcakes to preschool in the morning, made his favorite for dinner - grilled hamburgers. We sang "happy birthday" over the grilled hamburger so he could blow out a candle. We then hurried off to a soccer game with another round of cupcakes and blue Gatorade for the after game snack.

Friday night: The BIG STAR WARS PARTY!!! Every kid we invited actually came (and their siblings and parents)! Needless to say, we had SO many kids in our little backyard, it was pretty chaotic but tons of fun! We tried to keep the activities going constantly to keep them busy.

When the kids walked in the door, we had costumes ready for them. The girls pulled on their white Princess Leia gowns and the boys donned a brown Jedi knight robe each tied with a golden cord. Then the Jedi training began......We learned which characters should be trusted or avoided by playing a "Star Wars cake walk" to the sound of star wars music. They walked around in a circle over pictures of Star Wars characters until the music stopped. Our next training required learning how to fly a fighter plane so that we would be able to destroy the Death Star - we played pin the x-wing on the Deathstar. Then we played red light (saber), green light (saber). Afterall, a Jedi must be able to follow directions. At last, kids were deemed ready to be given a real light saber (we cut pool noodles in half and taped duct tape and electrical tape on one end to make a handle). George's Daddy conducted the light saber training which included dangerous but essential moves for a real Jedi knight, such as "Yoda's twist" and "Obi-wan's surprise attack." While Daddy secretly snuck away to dress himself as Darth Vader, we practiced our new moves by popping bubbles made by a very handy bubble machine. Next, I had all the kids sit down as George led them in a rousing rendition of the Imperial march (a.k.a. Darth Vader theme song). George insited on this activity after seeing a version of it on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqTi0ZFDawY). I said, "Every time you hear this music, it means Darth Vader is COMING!" and from behind them, Darth Vader appeared. All the kids jumped up with their light sabers in hand to fight the evil Vader; of course, some kids jumped up and ran to their mommies crying. After all the kids got their turn facing the evil lord, they all ambushed him at once, and he fell to the ground dead. (Poor Daddy).

We took a break for some cake and ice cream and to sing "happy birthday" (once more--what a spoiled Georgie!).

It was getting dark and we still had a storm trooper piñata to beat in the front yard. After everyone had his fill of candy, we all went inside the house with sticky fingers to watch George open his presents (sadly, it was too dark to open presents outside--I'll have to plan that better next time). He got an R2-D2 mini laptop, a transformer, a Nerf gun, Star Wars comic books, a Crayola art pack and a couple star wars figures. All the kids opened the packages and enjoyed playing with the new toys together. What a mess!

Anyway, George and his friends had a fabulous time!!!! Mom and Dad were very tired. It felt like an hour and a half long whirl wind that started in the back yard, moved to the front yard and ended in my living room!

When asked why my cake wasn't a detailed R2D2 replica, I said, "Hey! I was busy making light sabers and costumes!"

2007-10-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

Today is the happiest day of my life! Katie's hair is long enough for pig tails!!!! Hooray! (Obviously not one of Katie's happiest days)

Room for Four!

2007-09-14T22:23:00.000-07:00

Cousins, Reuben and Samuel have moved to Dallas! George is having such a great time playing super heros with Reuben. Katie and Samuel, both being under two years old, are trying to get along and "share."
Bath time was lots of fun! They had just come in from playing bare foot outside...and you can't imagine how dirty that bath water was when they got out!

A Walk in the Park

2007-09-02T21:47:00.000-07:00

On visits to Houston, grandma and grandpa always make it a point to take the kids outdoors for a little adventure. This time time we went to a great park with plenty of playgrounds, a duck pond, and even an area with caged buffalo (crazy, I thought)!

Katie's usual wide-eyed, open-mouthed stare! Soaking it all in! And George, of course, working on his super hero qualities, a light speed throw, landing a piece of bread far into the pond (for the poor little duckies who didn't get a taste yet).

IT STOOD!!!!

2007-08-29T22:18:00.001-07:00

This last week was a bit hectic for our family. I was asked by a friend from church to make her son's wedding cake. I was a bit nervous but accepted.....I am so glad that Jared was home and available to help out (still waiting for the bar results and hunting for a job). The whole week I worried and worried. I knew I could bake a cake, I knew I could decorate a cake, but I wasn't so sure about transferring the cake across town, or stacking the cake without any help. And then I kept imagining the whole thing crumbling or collapsing...what if the whole thing fell over during the reception? I'd be so incredibly embarrassed! However, all went well and it actually stood! Phewww! I stayed at the reception and had a miserable time though. I kept looking over at the cake to make sure it hadn't fallen over yet. I was so glad when I got to pull the whole thing apart to cut and serve it!

Disneyland

2007-08-12T21:51:00.001-07:00

While daddy stayed home and studied for the bar, mom and the kiddos took a trip out to California to visit the family. Our first stop was Disneyland! We had a big group: Grandma Carolin, Aunt Angie and her girls, Jordanne and Tayler, Aunt Tiffiny, Aunt and Uncle Viv and Mike (the newly weds), Me (Sarah), and George and Katie. We spent two days and had a great time. Then it was on to Sea World in San Diego, also fun, but by now we are a bit over stimulated. Didn't stop there though.....we drove back up to the Sacramento area to visit friends and family....then over to San Francisco to visit Tiffiny's new apartment and to do some sight seeing...then drove to Fairfield for a cousin's baby shower...then back to San Francisco....then back to Roseville....Can you tell we spent a lot of time in the car? We were exhausted! The kids were throwing fits on a regular basis. By the time we returned home, we needed a vacation from our vacation!

Graduation Day

2007-06-20T18:05:00.000-07:00

Jared's graduation from Southern Methodist University was May 19th, 2007. It was such an exciting day for us. Although, the whole day we kept thinking to ourselves, "What now?". Jared spent so much time studying at school, he felt like he was losing his second home. Of couse, studying wasn't quite over....the bar exam was just a couple months away!