Cornyval

Cornyval is an annual Dement family tradition that we all look forward to. Pony rides, games, rides, lights, music, prizes, cotton candy, kettle corn, funnel cakes...what's not to love? Well, there's the crowds, dusty dirty ground, germs and trash everywhere, strange carnies, port-a-potties, waiting in lines, and ridiculously priced everything! But we manage to look past all that and always end up having a great time and making great memories...


So much to say about this pic- the glasses, the face... Well, the glasses were just a random choice on her part. She has a ...umm... let's say unique fashion sense sometimes. About the face, apparently the horse squished her leg against the bar right before they got started. Ruined the experience for her just a bit.

Looks like TJ was having a great time though.

Allison was determined to meet up with her friends from school so she was super excited when we found them. She really felt like a big girl hanging out with her friends and riding big rides. Poor TJ felt a little left out though when she ditched him for friends. He's not used to that.



Back to being best buds again after Allison's school friends went to eat. Just like old times! Although now they think a lot of the rides are "babyish" including this one according to TJ who says he was embarrased to ride it. One of the highlights of his night was riding the giant ferris wheel with Dad - it better have been after their 45min wait in line. Thankfully, Charlotte was snoozing in her sling while Alli and I hunted and hunted for cotton candy but were never successful. Still can't believe we couldn't find cotton candy at a carnival! She managed to spend her money on some other assorted crafts and stuff though. And I picked up some cotton candy at the dollar store the next day since I had promised her some.

A day and a half later on Saturday morning at the parade. The kids had the opportunity to be in the parade with the school and chose to do that instead of watch it, so Dwaine took them while I stayed home with Charlotte. Apparently it was long and very hot as evidenced by the way Dwaine smelled when I went to pick them up :) The kids enjoyed it but I think we'll opt to watch in the future.
That's Sophia in the pic with TJ - let's just say he likes her a LOT and talks about her often!

Allison on the float



By far the best parade float! That thing is crazy cool!

Backyard Fiesta!!!

To kick off summer just a little early, we recently invited friends over for a backyard BBQ and some swimming fun. We also figured it would be a good way to celebrate Fiesta (being that we live in SA) without actually having to go downtown with the masses - we had our own little fiesta instead...

All the kiddos- TJ, Luis Enzo, Stella and crazy Allison

Even the Daddies decided to join in the water play. The kids have been begging for awhile to put the pool up so they were super excited when it actually came time to swim. And having friends join them just added to the excitement.

Not sure what Luis Enzo enjoyed more- the pool or the Gator! He LOVES driving around on that thing!

Allison playing with Stella who came from China to her forever home with Eric and Marie on New Years Eve! She is super sweet and is starting to adjust to American culture - she must have eaten her weight in Cheetos!

Beautiful Sweet girls!

Our Family



April 2012

Charlotte in March



Big enough to play in her bouncer- she loves it!

Dwaine affectionately calls her "loudy". She is very vocal (in good ways and bad).

3 mos old!!!

TJ is always good for a laugh. She really thinks he's funny.

Doing my best to get a pic of all of them. Not sure what the wide-eyed look is about. She probably wants to make sure I don't go far.

"Mommy, help me please!"

Allison gets a kick out of making her stand up.

Love those dimples!!

Trying to get a 3 mos pic with her, but she didn't want to look up and my 7 yr old photographer wasn't being very patient.



Big sister keeping her happy by reading to her. She was very interested and I was loving it!

More reading with dad- I think we may have a smart girl on our hands.

Fiesta Fun and Fitness Day!!

The kid's school holds an annual Fiesta Day that is lots of fun...

TJ's shoebox parade float - the Alamo! It was a pretty good hit. Helps that big sister Allison was cheering him on. All the other grades (and a few proud parents) watch the kindergartners as they parade down the hallway with their floats- pretty stinkin' cute.

Not sure what TJ's friend is doing - giving a noogie I guess. Let's just say he likes TJ a lot more that TJ likes him. He can be a bit much to take and gets in trouble often.

Allison and friend Juliana. Still so cute and sweet - man, I don't want her to grow up!!!

Cascarones!!!

Some of the many fun activities - egg in the spoon race, the bunny hop, face painting, the dunking booth, obstacle course, the nacho and snow cone station, hockey, and various other activities!

Looks like I need to change the setting on my camera to catch all this action better!

He scored a goal as I was taking this picture.

Look at that form!

And thanks to Allison and TJ's kindergarten teacher - mommy (and a sleepy Charlotte) made it in a picture! I absolutely love getting to enjoy these school events with the kids - being a stay at home mommy is such a blessing!!!

Oh and if you haven't seen me in the last couple of weeks, you might be wondering what's up with the hair. The grays were screaming to be covered up, so I decided to try something new while I was at it. Took a little getting used to (seeing my reflection in the mirror was a little freaky for a few days), but I'm loving it now!

Charlotte in February

Yes February, before I move on to March (hopefully it won't take a full month to do that). It's hard to keep up with a growing baby on the blog while taking care of that growing baby -priorities you know :-)

Snoozing with daddy- looks like daddy could use a little sleep too!

She has discovered her hands and she loves to chew on them.

Mommy with Charlotte at about 2 mos.

Gotta love that dimple!

Must have been a tiring day.

Holding her fancy rattle from Grandma.

Silly kids- those are socks tied around her with a ribbon and a flower clipped into her almost non-existent hair. Good thing she's pretty tolerant of their shenanigans.

Charlotte on Valentine's day. We had a lunch date with Daddy.

Alli decided to do a photo shoot with her one day. She had all kinds of props and interesting poses- most were too silly or fuzzy to share, but she got some cute ones too...

Notice all the blankets, stuffed animals etc. - all part of the staging.
I thought this actually turned out sweet - Charlotte was starting to fuss and she caught me shushing her.

At 2 mos, you weigh 11 lbs 4oz and are 23 1/4 in long. You are becoming more vocal and are cooing, smiling and interacting with us. You enjoy staring at and occasionally "talking" to the ceiling fan. You really like diaper changes and you LOVE bath time. You are truly a water baby! You are very much a momma's girl and rarely spend much time being held by someone else before you're ready to return to mom. You're still a little uncertain about daddy and what he might do to you like tickle or growl at you. We spend a lot of time walking around and bouncing especially in the evenings when you tend to be fussy. You like to be upright and able to look around and see the world. You enjoy the outdoors and being out and about, but unfortunately you HATE your car seat especially for any prolonged amount of time. It's amazing how fast you are growing and changing already. We are having so much fun loving on you and are so grateful that God gave us you!!

Spring Break

The kids and I started the week off with a fun day at home. We were supposed to have friends over to play and dye eggs but Alli woke up with an ear infection, so we cancelled. Thankfully we did because the next day, she had pink eye too. We quickly got some antibiotics from the doc and continued with our spring break fun.

After dying eggs I got the idea to try to tie-dye some shirts...
They turned out great and the kids thought it was awesome. Unfortunately I have since discovered that egg dye washes out of clothing, so it didn't last. But, we will definitely be trying it again with fabric dye. It was super fun and easy!

Then, we headed out to the ranch for a few days...

Dwaine's parents joined us and we enjoyed lots of hiking and digging for arrowheads. The mountain laurels were in bloom. They looked and smelled amazing!

Alli accidentally whacked TJ on the head with her walking stick right before this pic was taken which explains the ugly face.

That's better.

The kids gave Charlotte a cute "hat" and thought it was hilarious.

TJ practicing his shot with his BB gun. He's getting pretty good. I love the looks of concentration on his face.

After we got back from the ranch we spent one day at home to rest, and then on Saturday we headed to Enchanted Rock for more hiking.

Happy St Patrick's Day from E-Rock.

Finally inside the park after spending an hour in the very long line of cars waiting to get in the park. In hind sight, maybe a spring break Saturday was not the best day to go to such a popular state park, but the kids were actually pretty patient and we had a great time once we made it in!

They literally ran up most of the way while Dwaine and I were getting winded just walking up. We used to be in much better shape when we did this on a regular basis.

TJ was posing to have his pic taken at every scenic rock or view. I've never seen him quite like that. He was cracking me up.

They love feeling like they are on top of the world.

The view from the top. A perfect place to stop for a snack. I forgot how beautiful it is here.

Charlotte's first Enchanted Rock experience that she will never remember.

Good thing this little girl likes being outside cause we don't give her much of a choice. You get a lot of stares and looks when you're hiking with a baby strapped on- not sure how many were in admiration and how many were in judgement. But she seems to love it(she usually sleeps through most of it) and we make sure we're extra careful with her in tow.

Now that's a big rock!!

Have I mentioned how excited I am that the wildflowers are in full bloom this year?

After lunch in town and a quick wardrobe change for the kids, it was time to attempt some pics at the wildflower farm...

Getting all 3 kids to cooperate at the same time is not easy- no surprise there! I didn't quite get the perfect pic I was hoping for, but I will still cherish the ones I did get.

And I might just try again a little closer to home and maybe a little earlier in the day, and not when everyone is tired from a long hike.