Field Trip to the Fire Station...

Parker's class went on a field trip to the fire station today. The children always enjoy seeing the fire station and seeing the firemen dressed in all their gear.

Parker & Presley

Parker and his buddy John

Parker & Kate & Presley

A Good Daddy....

As most of you know one of Parker's favorite things about summer is swimming!!! Everyday he asks if we can swim yet, and he usually resorts to swimming in the bath tub. Today we were hoping it would be warm enough. We checked the temp. of the water and it was still to cold. Our neighbors have a lovely swimming pool and they regularly invite us over. We have a wonderful arrangement when they go out of town we water their plants and feed their fish and swim. We are very fortunate e to have such nice, caring, and fun neighbors). So we decided we would go and buy a pool and hopefully Parker could swim later in the afternoon. He was so excited, it was a very loud & energetic trip to target. Once we got home Daddy started airing up the pool and the agreement was that Parker would lay down and rest while Daddy set the pool up then when he woke up the pool would be ready. I was in the other room and Casey walked in and asked where Parker was. We started looking and he was laying in his bed as wide eyed as possible. I asked him what he was doing and he explained that he needed to "take a rest so his pool would be ready and he could swim when he wakes up". A very precious moment. Well, it did take a little while but he did fall asleep ALL BY HIMSELF. So while he was sleeping Casey and I began the task of warming the water in the pool. We filled 5 gallon tubs with hot water.
I went to the kitchen and Casey went to our bathroom and we made trips back and forth to the pool. While this was taking place we also boiled hot water on the stove and on the burner on the grill outside. So for over an hour we made probably 50 trips to the pool trying to warm the water so Parker could swim when he woke up. The only request Casey had was that we turn the game on every TV so he could watch a little as he carried water to the pool. So every TV (inside & outside) was on the game. In between trips I looked at Casey and told him what a good Daddy he was. Not many dads would spend over an hour during the NBA finals game 7 transporting hot water in tubs and pots outside to a pool just to warm the water so their kids could swim. Well, Parker woke up and we all had a wonderful afternoon outside. Parker and Daddy enjoyed swimming. Paxson and I spent a lot of time under the umbrella (poor little guy he is so fair skinned). It was a great afternoon! Then to top of our day we grilled out for dinner and watched Superman (during another game....Casey is recording it we will watch it later this evening). It is to easy to forget how blessed I am. I get so busy in daily routines and adventures I sometimes forget to let Casey know how proud I am of him as a father and how much I love him. Today was a great opportunity to remind him how wonderful he is!



He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.
Proverbs 18:22

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God. 1 John 3:1

Parker Conversations

As usual Parker has been on a roll saying funny things, asking funny questions, and telling funny stories.

The other day on the way home from school Parker said "Mommy do all little girl dogs have boobies?" I replied, what do you mean? He said "you know like our Lizzie dog has boobies do all other little girl dogs have boobies?" My response, well yes I guess they do. Why are you asking about this?? What made you think of it?? Who were you discussing this with?? "Nothing mom I just wondered if they all have boobies." Okay Parker sounds good.

Then while baking cupcakes the other night he looked at me and said "Mommy why are we baking these if we can't eat them?" Well Parker, mommy needs them for her friends. "What about my friends?" Well Parker, we will bake more for your friends later. "But mommy my friends only like this kind so I guess we will have to bake more for your friends later."


He was playing with Lincoln logs and he came running in the living room and yelled "Mommy I have a great idea look what I can do!" "I can build houses!" I replied yes you can Parker. That is very neat, you should be proud. "Mommy I can build houses for people who don't have house, you know like the people at the Mission (a shelter that we drive by daily, we have very interesting discussions about the people there and generally involve them in our prayers) that don't have any houses. I can build them a house and put really really strong glue on it and then they will all have houses!"

Mothers Day Gifts...

We made flower pots for Meme and Gigi for Mothers Day. They turned out so cute. I made one for myself too. I think we may start a tradition with these. Then when the boys are big we will all have a great collection of flower pots. (LOL)

I was so happy with he way they turned out. I used their fingers for the grass, hands for the flowers & fish, finger tips for the dragonflies, big toes for the bees & ladybugs. Parker loves to paint and was a great helper. Paxson was a little more tricky. I think our neighbors may have heard him screaming at one point. By the end he decided he liked it so he painted by himself (on paper).

Cutest lunch bags ever...

I have been meaning to share this with everyone for a while. I found the neatest lunch bags at Market Street. (Market Street is one of my personal favorites I could go on and on about that place!) Anyway I found this lunch bag and a flat iron case there one evening when I ran to pick up eggs and muffin mix. Imagine that getting side tracked at Market Street. Most of the bags are made ECO friendly which makes them even cooler.



KOKO is the brand









The pictures don't do justice!
The inside is lined with
thermal material and really keeps things cold.
It is also really easy to wipe out and keep clean.

Ride Em Cowboy...

The father of a little girl from Parker's school brought 2 of his horses to school for the children to see and even ride a little. I told him that he probably didn't have any idea how much taking the time to do this meant to all 300+ little children. A lot of them like Parker are "town" kids and don't' have the opportunity to ride a horse very often. Parker was so excited. That morning he insisted that he wear cowboy boots. I reminded him (again) that he didn't have any cowboy boots he could simply wear his Harley boots. He reminded me that he was going to ride at horse at school today not a motorcycle. That was certainly not good enough. He pleaded with me to call John one of his friends because (John told him he has a lot of boots and that he could borrow a pair). I explained to Parker that I really couldn't call John's mom and ask her to do that. He was pretty upset. So I showed him some pictures online of cowboys riding horses that didn't wear boots. He decided that his Harley boots were okay. So once we finally got out of the house and headed to school he asked if I would please go and buy him some cowboy boots. He explained that it was okay for today he would wear his Harley boots, but he really wanted some cowboy boots. So.... that is what I will be looking for. :) When we walked into the school we ran into Anslie's daddy and Parker stopped him and said Anslie's Daddy I don't' have cowboy boots so I had to wear my Harley boots will that be okay? Anslie's Daddy (Mark) reassured him that his boots were just fine! It was a pretty cute moment!!!

Paxson visiting the horse!

He liked petting it but being up high wasn't his thing!

What was little funny about the whole BOOTS ordeal was the shorts...how many cowboys do you see

wearing shorts? But that didn't seem to bother him. LOL

Park Day at School for Little People

His face was painted to be a "Bad Guy"!

















Water station fun

He loves climbing on the big tires!

The art station

Parker's Friend Presley

Parker's good buddy John

Brett & Jacob chasing bubbles

Parker's friend Kate

Paxson at the little park at our school!

Worlds Greatest Phone

My brother would say the iphone is the worlds greatest phone but I would have to disagree. A few weeks ago I made a reference about my poor abused phone. Well, I would like to elaborate a little. I should be a spokesperson for the Samsung D807. Yes it is a very old and outdated phone but I could honestly say it is the BEST phone in the world. I have had it for over 2 years but I will not replace it until it completely stops working. My poor phone has been thrown, slobbered on , chewed on , and dropped on a daily basis. It has been buried in the sand and makes a gritting sound when you slide it up. Then a few weeks ago we were getting ready to leave for church and I couldn't find my phone. When we returned from church & lunch I began looking for it again. I called it and heard ringing coming from the bathroom. It had been submersed in water for the past few hours. (Paxson loves to throws thing in the in the bathtub. Anytime we are missing things we generally check the bathtub first.) I took it apart and let it dry then a few hours later I put it back together and it worked. It has a funny line going through it, the battery doesn't' seem to last as long, and if it dies it is hard to get it turned back on but other than that it works great! I am so impressed with this phone I think I will probably buy the new version once it finally decides to retire.

Swine Flu Scare 2...

Okay so maybe I was wrong about things calming down a little. Another elementary shut down and everyone seems to be a little on edge. I suppose it is better to be extra cautious. We are still steering clear of public places as much as possible. Casey was off today so Parker spent the morning alone with daddy for some special daddy time while Paxson and I went to school. After school Paxson and I joined Parker and Daddy and helped with yard work. We spent the afternoon working mostly in the backyard. We also worked on our mothers day gifts for Gigi and Meme but I can post any pics yet or it might spoil their suprise. While outside in the front Parker and Paxson pushed their dump trucks up and down the sidewalks scaring me to death.
I have to laugh because when it's your first child you buy EVERYTHING. It works out really well for Paxson because Parker has 2 or 3 of just about everything so Paxson can always join in. I suppose it really is a good thing you go a little overboard with your first especially since we are living on one income now and have to be a little more sensible our our spending. :)

We did make it out for a few more photo shots this afternoon.

Swine Flu Scare.....

Swine Flu Scare............I am so glad things are calming down a little. Everything was put on hold and everyone seemed to be in the beginning stages of panic. Here in Wichita Falls nearly every store was sold OUT of bleach, hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes, etc. It was crazy the shelves were empty everywhere. I always have AB wipes and hand sanitizer but I even begin to think maybe I better stock up......then the stores were empty. I even looked online and actually thought about ordering somethings then I realized I was beginning to over react a little. I called my mom and asked if people in OK were going as crazy. We have not eaten out at all since the scare started on Monday and that is a pretty big deal for our family. So I decided that the best thing for us was to just try and stay away from public places as much possible and wash our hands every 20 seconds (LOL --well it seems as though we do.) It was very gald to hear that the reports from the children that attend Southern Hills Elementary came back negative. Maybe things will get back to somewhat normal. I do believe it is important to be aware and cautious but not to overreact. Anyway I am hopeful that people are being more careful about their hygiene. Hand washing is to easily forgotten or dismissed. There really isn't anything that disgust me more than watching someone use the restroom and leave without washing their hands.

Since we tried to steer clear of public places as much as possible this past week, we had to try and think of things that we could do to get out of the house for a little bit. One afternoon we drove around and looked at all the beautiful bluebonnets. While looking at some of them I couldn't resist taking a few pictures. Well, the pictures sure show that the boys not in the most photogenic moods. hahahaha


I plan to take them out again very soon to try and get some more pictures!















This is my favorite, this was the last shot I took! :)

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:12

A Good Evening......

Tonight was a great evening! It is so fun to watch Parker & Paxson play. They are getting to where they really enjoy playing together. I mean really playing not just sitting around doing their own things, but really playing. There are moments when Parker has to settle down and be a little softer but I guess that is part of being boys and being brothers. Paxson is going to be one tough little guy! They were playing chase with the balloons this evening and it was one of those moments that every mom has. I had to simply stop and say thank you JESUS! I love standing in the kitchen preparing dinner watching them run around and laugh. It reminds me why we have lived in our house for almost three years and I still have tons of decorating that I would like to do. Between Parker, Paxson & Daddy things often get broken around here. So far we have been through three lamps in the living room and kitchen. Therefore, I have given up on lamps and coffee tables (to many falls they get in the way of the chasing paths) in our home, at least for now. :)

Hope everyone is having a great week and has a wonderful weekend. Stay well!

Proverbs 17:6

Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.

First popsicle...yummy I think he likes it!

An old pro at eating popsicles!

Mom of the year.........NOT

Okay so I am not winning the mom of the year award for the past few days. I have been a little under the weather with allergies the past few days. I never get sick. I am so fortunate I think I must have the immune system of a super hero. Maybe that is because I have been surround by little curious germ sharing children for the past 17 years. However the ragweed finally caught up with me. Zyrtec D and Flonase has helped and I am feeling better! :)


.......Back to my mom of the year reference. Well our usual routine is to come home from school and Paxson pretty much goes straight to nap then Parker and I have lunch and play for little bit then he rests and I have a few minutes of "mommy time" before Paxson wakes up. (It would be nice if they both slept at the same time so I could have a little longer to try and get things done but then it takes away from their personal time mommy. I feel it is so important to get good one on one time with each of them daily if possible.) Well since I wasn't feeling well on Monday and Tuesday I laid down to take a nap with Parker. So when we got home from school I explained that mommy didn't feel well and we could just watch a movie instead of playing and even have a picnic and eat lunch in bed. I asked him what he wanted and offered him some choices. He thought for a minute and said he wanted chocolate chip muffins and a Spiderman popsicle. Rather than explain why that might not be a good healthy lunch I simply said sure just grab what you want and lets go lay down. Then on Tuesday we followed the same routine and I told him mommy was still sick and she needed to rest so he looked at me and said "don't worry mommy I will get my own lunch, you go to bed." So I said okay and I went to go lay down. I was very curious to see what he was going to get for lunch. A few minutes later he jumped into bed with a bag of powdered donuts and a V8 Fusion. I just smiled and thought oh well at least he is getting his veggies with the drink. So to conclude why I will not be receiving the mom of the year award... my three year old had muffins and a popsicle and powered donuts and V8 fusion for lunch! Good thing I only felt bad for a few days. :)

My little brother is growing up...

Jesse and his girl.... Haley

I can't believe my little brother is old enough for PROM.

They road the "Party Bus" to OKC for dinner at The Spaghetti Warehouse.

He was so sweet, I texted (how do you spell the past tense of text??)him while they were at dinner and he said how beautiful Haley looked. Haley is such a sweet girl. I am glad Jesse spent Prom with her.

Haley & Jesse Prom 2009

Feeling A Little Old...

As I was checking out at Wal-Mart earlier today. I stood there in line gazing through a magazine, looking for something in my purse for Paxson to chew on and explaining to Parker that it really wasn't safe to THROW things on the counter just to watch them land and slide down to the check out lady, I noticed the girls in front of me. There were 3 young girls checking out they were laughing and discussing their plans. I then took notice of the items they were purchasing and compared them to the items I was purchasing. In my cart, diapers, Popsicles, butter, milk, eggs, brownie mix, garlic bread. In their cart, 1 new tall plastic white trash can, 3 brightly colored plastic Margarita glasses, 8 boxes of jello, 3 gallon jugs of fruit punch, and 4 bags of ice. Now who do you think was going to have a more exciting evening. Ohhh the college days!!!



(Not to say our evenings are not priceless, but oh do I remember those times. LOL)

School Pictures

Here is a link to view a few of Parker & Paxon's school pictures. The photographer is actually the mother of a child that attends School for Little People and she gives a portion of her profit back to the school. Her son is in the four year old program so he may start kindergarten next year which means SLP will surely miss this benefit. (Maybe they can talk her into continuing her generosity!) She also took my "belly" pictures when I was pregnant and they were precious! I hope to schedule an apt. for springs shots in the bluebonnets. She is so good at capturing special moments.
http://www.pictage.com/client/eventPhotos.do?event=634652&folder=1694981&photo=850

Fotoby DeEdra Photo [E] Motion

Anniversary Program

A few pictures from our school program.
Parker's class preformed 5 Little Flowers.

The anniversary programs are always adorable!

BIG Kodak moments! (I will upload the video soon. )









Kate, Jacob, Parker, Jannick, Presley


"There are clouds in the sky!"

My class (2 year olds) preformed The Little Green Frog

One child decided that it was to overwhelming to go on the stage, and one child hid down low during the song and popped up at the very end!

It can be pretty overwhelming to preform for over 300 people. :)