A Goal Accomplished

Well after months & months of training, lots of hard work, sweat and probably a few tears (more on my part than his) and completed his first 1/2 Marathon. The kids and I could not have been more proud. It was a cold & rainy day and was not what Andy envisioned for his first big race. But after a lot of planning and taking into accout all the factors at hand, Andy headed out weather proofed as he could be to the starting line.

Terez came and sat with Luke and the big kids and I hit the race course (warm & dry in our minivan) and followed Andy along the course stopping ahead of him, staking our spot and cheering him on! The kids were great little cheer leaders and got very excited to received a high five & kiss from a very soggy Daddy.

More cheers were to come when he got home and showed off the medal.. and now the running bug is firmly implanted and the planning has begun for the next racing season... Go Andy go!

Katie's Birthday Celebrations

Turning 5 was a big deal in our house... you are now a whole hand old! So as usual I wanted to make a big deal about this event!

Her actual birthday party was held very early to make our very hectic December a little less so!

One of Katie's best friends at school, Ethan, was not able to come to her party. So to make up for this we invited Ethan and his mom Emily over for lunch after school. They were so adorable together, everyone had a really nice time! I can't find any pictures now, but I hope to find them soon.

On her actual birthday her friend Samantha came home with us from school I and took the girls (and Jack of course) to Chili's for lunch. I have so much fun watching Katie with her friends interacting out in the real world and watching others reactions to them as well. I know someday I will be sad to go out in public and not have people tell me how adorable my kids are, so for now I like to soak up all the compliments!

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Christmas Pictures

Well this is one session we will never forget! Portrait sessions tend to really stress me out! Worrying about the kids cooperation, timing for naps & lunch, outfits.. you name it and I worry about it. This time was no different so I made sure we were extra prepared. All outfits had been laid out the night before, bags had been packed so we would be ready for out 10 am departure which was even going to be in sync with Luke's nap.

Well go to get Jack dressed and the pants are way too big, will not stay up and the boy does not own a belt! Thank goodness Meme was here and quickly came to the rescue with a needle and thread. OK all is good, crisis averted. I even decided to back the car out a few minutes early to make loading easier.. uh oh, car wont start! The kids had left an overhead light on when they were playing bus driver the day before and the battery was dead! Our neighbor Ken came to the rescue with jumper cables and we actually only ended up leaving the house about 10 minutes late.

The actual session went really well! The kids were very cooperative and gave lots of smiles thanks to our photographer's husband/assistant! At one point while Andy and I were having our shots taken we look up and her husband is holding Luke in one arm (not an easy task) and running while pushing Jack in the stroller keeping them amused! I would say that was beyond the call of duty! We think the pictures came out really well.

Thanksgiving 2010

Once again we were invited to the Woodcock's home for Thanksgiving! We had such a wonderful time and are so thankful for our hostess for having us. The kids LOVE their Aunt Sherri and it has nothing to do with the fact that she always has such sweet presents for them!

We enjoyed hanging around outside by the pool and much to Katie's delight, Thanksgiving dinner included macaroni and cheese! Jacks dinner got a little spoiled for all the cookies he was sneaking from the dessert table beforehand!



Meme and Papaw stayed with us for the weekend and lucky for them we got our Christmas tree up and decorated! The kids also got new inflatables for the front yard. The Santa and Snowman were a big hit and we found ourselves inflating them during the day just to amuse Jack.

Katie 5th Birthday Party

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Katie had such a wonderful birthday party! So glad we did it a few weeks early since December is such a busy month for us and since she has been talking about her party for months! Katie was a good little hostess and had such a great time with all her little friends. I think her favorite part was the special birthday chair that she insisted we move across the room so she could sit at the table with it!

Happy Halloween

Well I fully took advantage of being able to manipulate the kids once again this year. Katie wanted (with some gentle persuasion) to be Princess Belle this year. We had purchased the dress over the summer as a treat to wear to the Beauty and the Beast production. So after a lot of internet and catalog searching, I found an appropriately sized Prince Charming costume for Jack and what Princess would be complete without her little frog.. here comes Luke!

Trick or Treating was A LOT of fun this year. Katie was very grown up about taking Jack with her to the door of each house. It took Jack a couple of times to get it, but once he did he could not get to the next house fast enough.

Happy Fall!

I just love this time of year. The weather is just fantastic and there are so many family friendly activities around town that it is actually hard to hit them all. We were a little reserved this year and did not make it to as many as we would have like, if we had poor little Luke would have never been out of his car seat!

We did make it to the Houston Zoo for "Zoo Boo". This is a family favorite and we had a great time!

































We went to Sugar Land's Baptist's Fall Festival. The kids played lots of little games in exchange for Halloween candy, they jumped in the bouncy castles and enjoyed sausage on a stick (yes even Katie tried it!)