Thanksgiving Feast

The kids had a Thanksgiving feast at their kids day out program this last week and it was sooo cute...

TJ making that headdress look so good!

Alli's class was in full-on Indian costumes while another class was dressed as pilgrims...
Little Fawn (aka Alli) waiting to say a prayer before eating.

She was so proud that her daddy was there (he was the only daddy in attendance). She told him about it the week prior saying "...and you can come too! Will you come daddy?"

Daddy didn't hesitate saying of course he would be there. It's not often that he gets to see these fun events.

The Indians teaching the pilgrims some songs after the meal. I think Alli was having a hard time controlling her excitement.

...Gobble gobble gobble (or goggle goggle as Alli says), fat turkey am I
I'm not here for living, I'm here for Thanksgiving...

Is that not hilariously cute?

Squirrel Whisperers

A couple months ago, we took a day trip out to the Nueces River canyon. Daddy was going to dig for Indian artifacts while the kids and I played in the river and hiked around the property. As the kids and I were exploring, we happened upon this...

A baby squirrel that had fallen out of the nest. Is he not just the cutest little thing (ok, you might not think so, but I do)!

Listen closely. You can hear him snorting.

Not sure what to do, but pretty sure we would be playing animal rescuers, I went to get Daddy. Daddy picked him up, the squirrel immediately relaxed in the warmth of his hand, and at that point our hearts were in it.
So this is where he spent the rest of the day in the front seat of the Jeep, curled up in Daddy's hat and covered with a t-shirt for warmth. Alli and I decided "Tiny" was his name.

So we took Tiny home and made him a little nest in an old aquarium. I think he liked it. Then the research began- what would we do without the internet to tell us how to take care of rescued baby squirrels?

A few weeks and countless number of puppy formula syringe feedings later, he was growing, his eyes had opened and he figured out how to escape. Thankfully, he wasn't interested in going far. This is how I found him when I walked out into the garage one day- just chilling.

Playing with the kids. He liked Alli just fine, but not so much TJ. It was probably all the loudness and jumping around. He would kind of run and hide when TJ came around.

Getting some practice time outside.

He wasn't sure about hanging out in the grass at first. He preferred to crawl up in our laps or even more preferably down our shirt or up our pants. And it was hard to get him out- those little claws are very clingy. When Dwaine would set him on a tree, he would just hang on for dear life until his little body started shaking so Dwaine would grab him... until one day he started running up the branch. Thankfully with a ladder we were able to get him back down (he was not ready for the wild yet).

One of the many syringe feedings...

Now Tiny is all grown up and living in the chicken coop out back eating nuts, sunflower seeds and fruit. He's plenty old enough to live in the wild now, but we thought it would be kind of cruel to release him right before winter. So for now, he seems to like his home. He doesn't so much like to be held anymore but will still take food out of our hands and let us pet him while he eats. Maybe next spring, he'll get to join the other squirrels running free in our backyard.

If we seem a little proud, it's because we are. We have rescued a handful of baby animals before and Dwaine has probably tried to rescue countless animals in his life, and none of them have ever made it into adulthood. We were sure to prep Alli with this sad fact when we first brought Tiny home, but thankfully she didn't have to see it firsthand.

When they grow up...

When asked right now, this is what the kids want to do when they grow up:

Alli (at 4 1/2 yrs)
-Artist
-squirrel watcher
-bird watcher
-killer whale trainer
-babysitter

While this is a long list, I have assured her that I am pretty sure she can accomplish some of these simultaneously (especially before killer whale trainer was added to the list after a recent visit to Sea World). I mean who doesn't love a good squirrel painting?

TJ's list is much shorter, but maybe a little harder to accomplish...

TJ (at 3 yrs)
-Spiderman
-Scooby Doo

Looks like we may need to have a talk about earning potential before they grow up :-)

Fishing on Medina Lake

A family fishing and boating day on Lake Medina back in October...

That tree line is the normal lake level. This summer's drought was really rough. We've never seen the lake this low before, but are hoping it will be back up next summer after a wet winter and spring.

He's really getting the hang of it except that he keeps thinking he caught a fish when he sees his lure approaching the boat. Fishing with a lure is new- really cute.

Alli didn't hold an interest in fishing quite as long as TJ did, but she still really enjoyed the whole experience. They both wanted to stay on the boat the whole day and were not very happy when it was time to go. I just love days like these!

TJ after a long day of fishing. What a rough life. There's nothing like a good nap on the boat- I know 'cause I've done it more than a few times after early morning fishing :-) The warm sun, the gentle rocking, a nice breeze- it's just perfect.

Gymnastics

Alli has been wanting to take gymnastics class for a while and I finally got around to signing her up for a free trial class to try it out. I decided to let TJ try it too so I wouldn't have to entertain him while she was in class. They both did so good and had a lot of fun. And I was more impressed with the class than I thought I would be. I am definitely going to sign Alli up for classes and I would really love for TJ to do it too (mainly so I don't have to figure out how to occupy him while she is in class), but not sure Dwaine is on board for that.

Always into something...

That's mommy's expensive face lotion.


It's a good thing that face is sooo darn cute!

Sleeping Beauty

She insisted. And why not?

Dad's 60th Birthday Bash!

In July we celebrated my Dad's 60th birthday at the Kemah boardwalk with lots of family and had a great time!
My mom and dad- married 40yrs!!! It's not often that we are ALL together with kids AND husbands, so this was a very special and worthwhile occasion. In this picture: Alli Jean, Me, April, Marcie, the birthday boy, Gavin and my mom with TJ. So apparently the husbands didn't make it into any pictures, but they were there!

Pawpaw leading all his grand kids out to the patio to watch the boats.

Cade and TJ enjoying the music and dancing at Joe's Crab Shack. Cade is such a sweet boy that loves to play with and guide the younger kids.


Okay, this video is so my dad. He has always been tons of fun and loves to make others laugh. And those dance moves haven't changed much :-)

It's moments like this that make me wish Alli and TJ could live closer to their cousins. How sweet is that?

We were chased out by some nasty thunderstorms and I was really bummed that I didn't get to ride the roller coaster with my dad, but we did catch a great street performer that TJ just stood and stared at in awe (hope he wasn't getting any ideas), and all the kids had fun petting the stingrays at the aquarium.

Most importantly, we were together enjoying each other's company, having fun and celebrating the man who made it all happen together with my mom. Thank you Daddy for being such an awesome dad and Pawpaw. Thank you for everything that you taught me, the values you instilled in me, and all the love and support you have offered over the years.

I love you!

Wonderfully Made

But Jesus called the children to Him and said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

Luke 18:16

She was able to do this with no help or prompting after just a couple days of listening to her new bible songs and stories CD at bedtime. Wow- their little brains are capable of learning and remembering so much more than we realize!

She started randomly singing this the other day after having been at Kid's Day Out. I thought it was hilarious!

Fun in the Backyard Pool

Our Movie Adventure

We went to the movies a while back to catch one of the free family features only to find out that they were sold out. The only other kid's movie out was UP in 3D, so I decided to fork over the money (3D movies are expensive btw- those glasses are not free- thank goodness TJ was)....

So here's how it went...

-The kids spent a lot of time covering their eyes to not be scared of the pack of vicious dogs and the evil man with a sword.

-Alli kept commenting on how loud it was and that they should really turn it down.

-Alli did not want to wear her giant 3D glasses and so I worried about that fact that she was staring at a fuzzy screen the whole time.

-I cried a few times about the man's deceased wife.

-And TJ BALLED when the man finally let his house go with all the memories of his wife (wow- I never thought he understood the plot as much as he did or was so emotionally invested in it).

All that being said, we stayed for the entire movie enjoying our popcorn and snacks, had a great time and would highly recommend the movie (unless of course your kids are afraid of dogs). It was a really touching story and a fun little family adventure.

You Don't See It

TJ approached me as a I was checking emails at the computer with the chocolate syrup and a cup in his hands and requested chocolate milk. As I followed him to the kitchen, he said...

"Don't see that spill, mom"

"Uh oh," I thought.

"Did you spill something, TJ?"

"No, momma, don't see the spill. You don't see it momma."

But I did see it- milk on the floor in front of the fridge.

It was a nice try, but the power of suggestion was not enough. He's going to have to get a little more creative hiding his oops in the future.

Aqua Man

He rarely ventures off of the steps into deeper water, but he's prepared just in case.

A Great Idea

After coming home from kid's day out, Alli decided she wanted to turn their crafts from that day into hats. So, that's what we did. She was very excited about how tall her hat was.

July 4th Weekend

This year we spent the July 4th weekend with our perfect family match, the Westinghouse family. I call them our perfect family match because Dwaine and Corry are good friends and grew up together, Steph and I have been good friends since junior high and our kids are almost exactly the same ages. Everyone has a friend and we all get along great. The only problem is that they live about 4 hrs away and we don't get to see them as often as we would like. So, we really enjoyed getting to spend the holiday weekend together...

And, because Shelby's birthday is on the 3rd, we also had the privilege of celebrating her birthday with her!

Yummy cookie cake.



Shelby and TJ playing Littlest Pet Shop. Who says they are only for girls?

Autumn and Alli looking so adorable in their matching dresses.


Lots of fun was had by all on the water slide.

And I don't just mean the kids...

I love the action shot of Autumn trying to avoid getting wiped out by Corry.

Now that's hot...

I mean the grill of course!

Who likes fireworks?

What's better than celebrating the 4th with the Westinghouse family. Celebrating with 2 Westinghouse families!! Derik and his kids were able to join us for some fun too!

From L to R: Audrey, Autumn, Shelby, Travis, Alli, TJ & Dwaine

What an awesome, fun group of kids!

TJ doing his best to protect his ears and not be scared of the loud noise.

We also got to head to Pearland to spend some time swimming and visiting with my family.

Lainey putting as much style into her jump as possible. These girls are little fish and absolutely love swimming which is great for Alli to be around 'cause then she gets a little more brave in the pool.

Having fun with Lainey. She is one of the sweetest little girls ever!

Dwaine imitating one of Alli's crazy jumps.

My big girl doing her best to keep up with Maddy and Lainey. We were so proud of her and she had a BLAST!

Pawpaw having a little fun of his own spraying all of us while he was manning the BBQ pit.

"Aunt Julie, watch this!"

Loving on all my girls.

TJ enjoyed all the attention from Aunt April.

Then we went back for round 2 of fireworks with the Westinghouse clan and a bath before bed.

Everybody had so much fun. As a matter of fact, Alli asked if we could just buy their house and live there and I'm pretty sure she meant friends, toys and all.