Helotes Rodeo and Cornyval

Some pics from our evening at the Helotes Rodeo and Cornyval a few weeks back...

Started the evening off with some pony rides. The kids LOVE this part. For some reason, I didn't get a good pic of TJ- seems I say that a lot lately.

The Roberson family came out to join us in the fun! I thought this was a great pic of Grant and Travis.
Does it get any cuter than that? They were loving it- horses, cows, cowboys, tractors- I mean what's not to love? It was so fun having our best buds with us- Alli and TJ just adore their Grant and Jakers!

After watching a few events at the rodeo and letting the kids chase after some calves in the calf scramble and get nowhere near them, we headed to the carnival for some rides and games (I love this part). I'm sorry, but I just don't think you ever get too old to enjoy riding rides and playing games for prizes.

Those are the popping a balloon with a dart prizes in their hands. That little black and white puppy has not left TJ's side since that night. He's never really been very attached to a stuffed animal before now, but he is serious about this one. He gets a little panicky when he wants it and doesn't know where it is - and so do I :-)

More rides! So much fun now that they are both big enough to ride alone. Notice Alli holding on to TJ's swing keeping him close.

I love that they always want to sit right next to each other!

Fish Funeral

Had a fish funeral this last week. Tears were shed. Lots of questions were asked about why animals have to die. And now we have this grave in the backyard. Alli said "The decorations are love. He needs more decorations." She's so sweet. That's a drawing of Conrad on the bottom. TJ added all the other little marks.

Our Easter

Back in April...

This year we dyed and glittered our eggs. So fun. They didn't last until Easter morning though. They didn't even last until the end of that day. The kids played egg hunt with them all day and they were almost all cracked by evening. I think I found one intact about a week later.

Easter morning egg hunt. The kids were really into it this year.

Posing by our neighbor's bluebonnets. I was so excited about the wildflowers this year.

At church. We weren't able to get a very successful family pic this year. Oh well.

I did however get some pretty cute pics of Alli and Jack. She sure does miss him since he went off to kindergarten. We just don't get to see him often enough anymore.

And then we headed out to Stockdale to spend the day with my Nana and she took us to the city cemetery to see the fields of wildflowers. They were breath-taking. The indian paintbrushes were so thick and beautiful!

Alli loves to pose, but I couldn't get TJ to look up at all. He kept covering his eyes- he's not a fan of the sun shining in his eyes at all.


At the cemetery, Alli especially had lots of questions and wanted to read all the different head stones. I was very impressed with how mature she was about it all and how careful she was to follow the rules I gave her about how to respect the grave sites when walking around. A really great learning experience and deep conversation starter that I would not have thought to expose them to, so I was glad for the unexpected opportunity.

Garage Birds

We have had birds trying to build a nest in our garage for a few years now, but they would always try to build right on top of our shoes or would get shut out at night and would never be able to finish the job. Well, they found a way in and out even when the doors are closed and were finally successful...

That's mama bird sitting on her eggs in the nest that is resting in our car wash supply bucket. Oh well- guess we won't be able to wash the cars for a while (which is not a big deal since we are in 2 rentals right now, but that's another story).
And those are the tiny baby birds the day they hatched. I was so excited when I walked out there expecting to see the eggs or the mama bird and I saw those little beaks instead. Hi babies!!
Is that not the cutest ugly thing you have ever seen? They grow up so fast.

Turns out there are 6 of these little guys. We were pretty certain there were 5 until today when I could clearly see 6. I guess one has been hiding under the others. Mom and dad have been very busy flying back and forth taking care of them.

I just love checking on them everyday. The other day I found one outside the nest, so Dwaine carefully put him back in using a paper towel so mama wouldn't smell human on him. Not sure how he wandered out but it's a good thing all those car wash mits were there to catch him. We used to talk about how stupid those birds were for trying to build in our garage, but maybe they aren't so stupid after all.

Inquiring Mind

While inspecting a scrape on his foot, TJ says

"Where does the skin go when you hurt yourself?"

Lake LBJ 2010

Some pics from our annual trip to the "blue house" on Lake LBJ...

Stopped along the way for a roadside bluebonnet pic. This was in March when they had first started blooming and they were so thick and beautiful!

Lots of boat rides.

He loves to go super fast!


This trip was special because all the grandparents got to join us for a day too!

Relaxing by the lake.

Childcare so mom and dad could do some real fishing.

My dad checked drive a boat off his bucket list.

The kids got lots of extra attention.

It really was a win-win-win situation!

Thank you Grandma, Pop, Grandma & PawPaw! Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Perch fishing off the dock.

The fishing wasn't as good as it usually is out there, but we were at least able to fill an ice chest by the end of the trip.

Alli taking her turn at the wheel.

More perch!

We look forward to this trip every year and I think it will only keep getting better. Such great family fun!

Fun Videos

Just some cute videos (or bideos as TJ says) that I wanted to share...

We had quite the rainstorm a couple weekends ago and it left a flowing creek in the back yard. The kids had a blast running, splashing and floating their boats all the way down it. It's not often that we get to play in the rain around here. Sorry about the loud background noise- Dwaine was pressure washing the back patio- thanks Travis for letting us borrow it!

T-ball practice. Not bad considering we rarely do this. Maybe we need to start doing it more often!

TJ's awesome dance moves!

Kindergarten Round Up

Well, it's official. Alli is enrolled to be a Helotes Bulldog next year. And if the way I handled registering her for kindergarten is any indication of how I will handle the first day of school, then I will be in need of some serious therapy on that day. That is a warning for my friends and family. Let's just say more than a few tears have already been shed.

I can't even go into all the emotions and thoughts that are swirling in my mind, but in simple words, it is the end of an era. Not to mention the beginning of so many new things that I'm not sure if I'm ready for yet. I am just having a hard time with the idea of dropping her off and being away from her 5 days a week. And what will TJ do when his full-time playmate is out of the house so much? Okay, so maybe I can go into some of the thoughts, but there are many more. My sweet baby girl is growing up and I want to push "pause" but I can't.

Alli, on the other hand, is so thrilled about it all. She absolutely LOVED the school and can not wait for this next step in her life. I even shot a video of her standing in front of the school after registration saying things like "This is my new school and surely I am so excited about going to kindergarten because this is the best place I have ever been." I mean she went on and on and was speaking as if she was standing in front of an audience. It was adorable! Well, I accidentally erased that video from my camera. Oh yes, I did. So hopefully, we can recreate something similar on that first day. You better believe I'll try!

The most adorably sweet, smart, funny kindergarten student-to-be in front of her big new school. Can she really be big enough for this?

The Dement Ranch

Back in January, we bought our very own ranch- something we've been trying to make happen for many years now. The wait was well worth it because this particular piece of land is so much more than we ever imagined we would have. It's almost 150 acres near Camp Wood, TX and it has a little bit of everything- scenic hills, 2 Indian mounds, lots of dry creek beds, some beautiful valleys, 2 deer feeders, and lots of places to hike and explore. And it's just a few miles from access to the Nueces river and some really nice parks.

Dwaine and the kids standing on an overlook point.

Same overlook, different view.

Ranch hand in training watching daddy work on the first task after signing the papers- posting some private property signs. It took a while for it to really feel like it was ours, but lots of hard work later, it has sunk in! Getting our name on it helped...



Dwaine and I worked long and hard getting this gate entrance erected one weekend and then Corry helped with some finishing touches on another visit when the Westinghouse family was able to spend a day at the ranch with us.

Alli and Autumn having fun striking some movie star poses. I love this pic!

Alli and TJ posing for some pictures in one of the creek beds.
A picnic in the valley- this is my favorite place to relax and have lunch.

Autumn, Alli, TJ and Shelby celebrating after a little rock climbing- they made it to the top!

This fallen tree created the perfect picture opportunity.

The boys being boys.

More ranch hands in training.

Helping feed the deer.

Stay tuned for more pictures and updates as our cabin is almost complete! We have had lots of fun camping and the kids enjoyed sleeping in the tent, but having a bed, some recliners, a front porch and a fireplace will be a nice change.

The Easter Story as told by Alli

Palm Sunday...


The Last Supper and the betrayal...


The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ...


I'm not sure if she learned all the details at church, school, one of her bible CD's, or from us reading her Bible, but I was pretty impressed with how much she knew!

Reading Material

Upon seeing that we got a magazine in the mail, TJ said:

"Is this for my bathroom or your bathroom?"

HA!

It was a National Geographic just in case your wondering.

Alli's First Arrowhead!

Alli found her first arrowhead on our family camping trip at the ranch this last weekend. She's making daddy very proud!

The Difference Between Men and Women

A few months back I was amused by a conversation between Alli (then 4) and TJ (3) that showed a difference in the way a male and a female handle things even at such a young age...

The conversation was about some over aggressive geese ("ducks") that we encountered at a roadside park we had stopped to have lunch at. Needless to say, we ended up doing lunch in the car instead. Much later while thinking about it, Alli started...

A: Those ducks were mean, like when they bit my arm and made a blood spot.

TJ: We should run over them.

Alli, being a typical girl, just wanted to express her feelings and talk about how it scared her.
TJ, being a typical boy, offered a rash solution.

I had to laugh.

Future Rockstar

I think we need to add singer/songwriter to Alli's list of aspirations...

She never actually ends. I just stopped recording eventually. It gets pretty funny if you hang in there and watch. The only problem with this video is that it was recorded at 10:30pm. I could hear her singing in her room long after I put her to bed and after she had already been out of her room to sing to me in person. She finally fell asleep shortly after this.

Alli in her cast

Alli landed wrong after being tossed on the bed Sunday night and it resulted in a broken left radius. So, it has been a very long week with an ER visit, a trip to the orthopedic surgeon's office and surgery at the hospital. Yes, surgery. Apparently, the location of the break generally requires a pin to be placed in order to set right. That was a shock that caused a great deal of stress and angst for mom and dad, but she was a champ through it all...

The x-ray for those of you that are interested.

The morning after the ER visit in her temporary purple cast and hospital gown. Did you know they give those away "free"? She was pretty excited about all the "free" stuff she got from her hospital visits.Following doctor's orders and keeping that arm elevated while watching morning cartoons. She carried her own pillow in the living room and set herself up. Apparently she was listening during discharge instructions.

A few hours after surgery in her new light blue cast to match her eyes. Those little bumps are spacers to allow for swelling and will come out at her follow up appt next week. The pin itself is completely internal and will be removed in about 4mos.

We were instructed to keep her resting with her arm elevated for 48hours. Easier said than done. After about the second movie, Alli said "Kids are supposed to play! I don't want to rest anymore." Getting her to take the yucky pain medicine was another impossible task. In her defense, that stuff was awful bitter.

So, this was the best we could do most of the time. She loves her new coloring book! As you can see, she has been all smiles through just about all of this.

Some things we have learned:

-We have to be a lot more careful. Turns out, kids can break.

-Alli is hilarious under the influence of Versed, otherwise known as happy juice- wished we had that on video. Just imagine a drunk 5 yr old slurring "Those doctors are crazy. That medicine didn't work. I didn't fall asleep. HOORAY! Look at those fans falling from the ceiling..." All the while trying to sit and stand up in bed, but falling back down. At one point she got real quiet and zoned out but then her eyes lit up and she said "They should call it quiet medicine."

-There is a point at which Alli gets tired of watching TV after all.

-Most importantly, we are surrounded by God's love in the form of family and friends who prayed, visited, called, encouraged, supported, sent gifts and offered help of all kinds. We are truly blessed. Thank you all so much.

Hopelessly Devoted

Dwaine had a beautiful, sweet, kind hearted date last Friday night and she wasn't me. He took Alli to their 3rd ever Father Daughter Dance. They had such a great time at the first two, so they were both really looking forward to it again. Alli was doing a daily count down in anticipation.

I'm really a little bit jealous that I don't' get to be a part of it, but I know that if I was it wouldn't be the same, so I just look forward to getting her ready for her special night. We even had a special shopping trip with Grandma to pick out her dress this year. And here is the happy couple ready for the big night...When Dwaine got home, he said they had a good time but also mentioned that this was the year he lost her. She was really excited to see all the other little girls she knows and had fun socializing with them. I was a little sad for him, but when I asked her about the dance she said she was "as snug as a love bug with daddy." Her time with him was still very important to her and she really cherished being with him. I think it was just extra fun for her to be able to see all her friends at the same time.

Something else that made the dance extra special this year. Our close friends, the Westinghouse's were in town and Corry got to take his 2 beautiful daughters, Autumn and Shelby too! This pic was taken when they all got home. They came home screaming, squealing and dancing with excitement and apparently had done so all the way home in the car with Dwaine. I think he needed a little stress relief at that point! Three giddy girls can be a bit much to take especially in a confined space.

And while the girls and Daddies were away at the dance, Miss Steph and I took TJ to eat at El Chaparral and apparently he liked it, cause now he says that's where he wants to have his birthday. I'm sure that has something to do with the fact that somebody was celebrating a birthday and did the whole sombrero and song thing while we were there. He's so funny sometimes. He still keeps reminding me and telling other people that is where he is going to have his birthday. Crazy boy cracks me up.

A Budding Artist

Remember when I said that Alli wants to be an artist when she grows up. Well, she has stayed true to that, still consistently says that is what she wants to be, and has been practicing a lot. She loves to draw...

A unicorn (drawn back in November).

One of her most recent creations and one of my favorites- a bird. Is that cute or what?