Vacation Begins

I am planning to write and post a lot in the next few weeks...as I think I can evenutally turn this blog into a scrapbook. Our family left big D and has headed to the Moutains for 3 weeks. Gordon is flying back to get us in 3 weeks..and we might hit the beach on the way home if we are not worn out from having the kids out of their daily routine and normal sleeping enviroment by then. The kids did great in the car for the long journey. The portable DVD players helped a lot. What did we do when we were kids??!!

We didn't waste any time stopping to meet my new nephew, Colton Joshua. He is 3 weeks old now, the kids however were more interested in my brother's dog Ily....but they did locate Colton's nose!

And I tried to get a "picture perfect" Memorial Day photo, but no cooperating subjects! But these pictures are so funny to me...and remind me to strive to be imperfectly perfect!

Memorial Day is beautiful in the moutains! We left baby girl with Nana and Poppa and took the boys to Gatlinburg to ride the Sky lift or the "swing high in the sky" as they called it.

After their ride high in the sky we hit the Old Smoky Candy Kitchen. More temptation for me I think than the kids....but they enjoyed looking at lots of candy before deciding how to spend their dollar. On a side note, I find it "interesting" they usually pick the same thing.

The boys are also enjoying riding with Poppa on his tractor. I saw the funniest T-shirt at Cracker Barrel that said "I'll trade my Sister for your tractor"


Being with Nana and Poppa has given us the opportunity to take the boys out alone to do some things that would be hard with 3, Ava has enjoyed some one of one time with Nana and Poppa (and Shadow) So we had our first go at Putt-Putt. They did pretty good for a couple of holes, but then decided they just liked running up all the hills...thats ok too, b.c the most important thing to us was that they are having fun.

Tuesday...Gordon's heading back to Dallas to work and I am heading to Atlanta to visit my cousin Amber and do some fun shopping!

Baby Dedication....Oh the Memories!

Ava was dedicated last Easter of 2008. Those of you who know me well and know how picture crazy I am know that I was shouting praises of Joy, when I found out a professional photographer was covering "First Baptist Dallas Easter 08" There was a huge lens right in our face...snapping away during her dedication. I couldn't have been more happy. UNTIL....I started the trail of trying to find the pictures. I found out the files had been misplaced. I was so very sad. One very sweet media staff person was really trying to help me, Lori. One day she was very excited and saw me at church and exclaimed " We found your files!" YEAH! So today, finally I can post these pictures....one year later! I am very famous for getting pictures posted fast...and this has to been my longest delay! HA! Thank you so much Lori, for helping me get these pictures! You are just precious...and your starbucks (my favorite thank you gift) will arrive soon! Oh, and there were close to 100 pictures that had been taken on the CD I was given:) Not all posted. HA!

An Invitation

came in the mail today....from Shadow, my parents dog. The boys have been totally obsessed with Shadow since they first visited my parents Tennessee home. One day, by mistake I told Z that he was seeing "his shadow" in his dark bedroom. He jumped out of bed, thinking that Shadow was downstairs waiting for him. Every time he talks to my dad or mom on the phone, he wants to know what Shadow is doing. The invitation is from Shadow for them to come ride Poppa's tractor soon. We are leaving to spend 3 weeks in Tennessee this weekend!

You can follow this link to hear Levi "read" his invitation that I got on video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrBVVNtYPIY

Tiny Tots Tuesday

Today is gorgeous! The Dallas Arboretum sponsors Mommy and Me Mondays and Tiny Tot Tuesdays....petting zoo, face painting, kindermusic, and so much more! They also have the story book houses on exhibit right now too. We only make it through 2 houses today, so we'll do that another day. This is one of my very favorite things to do with the kids. We have been trying to get out there for about a month now, but today has been the first rain free Tuesday in a while. Thank you God for your creation for us to enjoy.

Horse Swing.....in the Country

A Day in the Country

Today we had an amazing day in the Texas country. The boys were able to run and play to their hearts desire. They were able to ride on a tractor right in the middle of a cow pasture. We were hosted by a dear friend of mine who I met several years ago when I taught her 2nd grade granddaughter. She has been so kind to stay in touch with me and love my kids as if they were her own. We enjoyed snacks, lunch, and even a bath after playing in the mud! I took almost 60 pictures today...and have put most of them on facebook.

Meaningful Art

I know we all struggle with the decisions about what Art work is "storage worthy!" I went to my cousin's house this weekend...and she had a gallery of amazing artwork done by her kids using their hands and feet on every single piece. Some of it she had made into magnets and some of it framed.

I am not sure if you can tell from the pictures, but there is a white hand print in the corner as a cloud. A foot print became a chicken and little thumbprints became baby chicks.

I am going to do some research and see if I can get my hands on a book of ideas for this. This takes a little more time to do with your kids...especially 3 of them..but I know I will cherish seeing them grow and having valuable art work to save.

And if you have a good idea on saving art work...pass it to me!