March 27, 2011

When we returned home from spring break, Claire had to do a timeline project for school.  The other kids did the project in class, but we were traveling those days....so homework on a Sunday it was for us. 

March 26, 2011

Ally and Claire - packed into the back seat and ready to go!  We are lucky that our kids are great travelers.

March 25, 2011

The Embassy Suites in Dallas had two resident swans (Barron and Queen).  Every time we went to the lobby, the kids had to say 'hello' to the swans.  On our final day at the hotel, the breakfast chef gave the kids a plate of lettuce to feed the swans.

March 24, 2011

After much searching, we finally found a Mongolian grill restaurant in Dallas.  We had eaten at a really good place when visiting friends a year ago.  The friends have moved and weren't around to direct us, so we found the Genghis Grill on our own.  It was pretty good, but a little chaotic (considering we have to help at least 2 younger kids get their meal).  It's one of those places where you load your plate full of raw meats and veggies and the chef's cook it on a giant stone.  All in all, a neat experience.

March 23, 2011

Pappasito's is one of Randy's favorite restaurants, so we HAD to eat there during spring break.  The most memorable thing about our meal wasn't the food though...it was the ginormous stain on the back of Max's shirt.  The waiter accidentally poured bean juice down Max's back as he was serving us!  :-)

March 22, 2011

We made quite a haul at the outlet stores in Dallas.  This was a few of our bags from one days.  My Emily is quite the shopper...the other kids not so much. 

March 21, 2011

Dinner at the Rainforest Cafe.  This was Max's first time at the restaurant...he loved all of the animals. 

March 20, 2011

It takes a lot of luggage when the six of us go on a trip!  We try to pack everything in as little luggage as possible, but it still takes up space.  This was the back of our SUV as we left on our spring break trip to TX.  I don't think we did too bad...3 suitcases for 6 people for 1 entire week. 

March 19, 2011

One of the perks of Randy's job is shopping at the company store.  We went this morning and hit the jackpot in food items (we're not usually lucky enough to find anything other than household goods). 

March 18, 2011

I had the final part of my healthy heart testing done today...a CT scan of my heart & arteries.  I received all of the results from the tests and everything looks good (just need to work on lowering my cholesterol).  So thankful I did all of the testing...$100 was worth the peace of mind (considering our family history).  Just wish I had thought to buy this set of tests for my dad - would have been a great gift. 

March 17, 2011

Lemon flavored cookies for St. Patrick's day.  Just having fun playing with different flavors and shapes. 

March 16, 2011

Love this pic of Max's shoes!  He likes to put his shoes on all by himself.  He was outside playing and I noticed that his shoes were on the wrong feet.  Must not have bothered him as he had worn them nearly all day like this.  :-)

March 15, 2011

Yet another evening of CAP conferences...this time for our middle daughter, Allyson.  She elected all pre-AP classes (except math...which is frustrating to her since she's very good in math...school decision).   She will also continue with orchestra next year (yay!)



March 14, 2011

Cookies for Claire's school choir.  They had an after-school party to celebrate their final concert.  These cookies were our treats.

March 13, 2011

I like to give the kids in our church children's choir a treat every now and then.  I knew we wouldn't see them on St. Patrick's day, so I made up these little bags on Sunday.  I just printed off my own topper and filled the bags with Lucky Charms (of course!).  These were a hit with the kids.

March 12, 2011

I have grown to love McDonald's coffee.  I would drink it every day if I could.  Unfortunately, it's only a rare weekend treat though.  When I *do* get to have it, I order a large black cup of the stuff, and drink it as slowly as I can.  ;-)  Oh, looks like I might have had some sort of greasy breakfast with it on this day too huh? lol  Really...it's the coffee I truly love!  (no affiliation with McDonald's)

March 11, 2011

This $200 check is our "refund" from the adoption agency.  This is our FINAL piece of paperwork from Max's adoption - woohoo!!!  This refund is given once the child has been readopted (check!), we have a new birth certificate (check!), and we have his US citizenship certificate (check!).   All done!

March 10, 2011

Claire performed a solo with her school choir this evening.  The choir performance was the same evening as the school's ballet program (Alice in Wonderland).  Since Claire is in both choir and ballet, she had to wear her ballet attire while singing (we think she's pretty cute!).  Claire is on the right in this photo.

March 9, 2011

One of Randy's weekly tasks is to drop off and pick up his dress shirts at the cleaners.  This is just a mundane thing we don't normally think about, but it's part of our daily life.

March 8, 2011

Emily's school band had a very informal (& very brief) concert for the parents this evening.  The band played 3 songs, but they did them all very well.  This may be one of Emily's final performances since she is dropping band from her schedule.  She has held onto the first chair position all year...I'm sure the girl in second chair will be happy to see her go! lol

March 7, 2011

Can't believe we have a child who will be in High School this fall...Yikes!  We visited the high school for Emily's CAP conferences.   Emily already knew which classes she wanted (she's on the honor track with all AP classes).  We were sad that Emily wanted to drop band (which means she can't ever get BACK into band in the future), but since she was selected for the advanced women's choir, she had to give up something this year. 

March 6, 2011

Allyson just recently said that she thought Justin Bieber was cute.  I guess it became "ok" to like him after one of her friends said she liked him too.  :-)  I thought it was funny that Allyson just happened to know all of these facts about him (so I had to take a pic of her art).  :-)

March 5, 2011

As stated on my other blog, Max recently celebrated his 4th birthday.  Here he is with his cowboy cake.

March 4, 2011

Max loves to watch cartoons while he eats breakfast.  His favorite show is "Bubble Guppies".  Max also likes Dora and Max and Ruby...but he could watch the guppies all day!

March 3, 2011

I think I've found another hobby...making cookies!  :-)  I wanted to make cookies for Max's birthday party (to use as thank you's).  I found a great recipe for cut out cookies, and learned how to make royal icing.  I didn't have a cookie cutter for the boot and horse, so I made a template and cut around them with a knife.  I also didn't have the correct food colorings on hand, so I ended up having an orange-y looking horse...but overall was pleased with the outcome.  The cookies looked so cute bagged and tied with ribbon too!  I have already bought a bunch of new cookie cutters now and have plans to make more yummy cookies in the future.

March 2, 2011

Claire's class wore their PJ's to school in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday.  We have had this "Cat in the Hat" costume for several years, so I convinced Claire to put it on for a quick pic before she left for school.

March 1, 2011

I did something unusual today...I actually went to the doctor! lol  I really dislike going to the doctor, so this was a pretty big step for me.  Our local hospital was hosting a "healthy heart screening" program (at greatly reduced rates) and I signed up.  I have a VERY strong family history of heart disease, have had high blood pressure for probably 20 years, and was recently told I have high cholesterol.  Those things put me into a high risk category and a prime candidate for this type of screening.  I had an EKG and blood tests done today, and will go for a CT calcium scan next week.

February 28, 2011

With 6 people in the house, we are pretty busy.  I don't know how we would survive without our calendar.  We don't write EVERY activity on the calendar; just most of the bigger time commitments that I don't want to forget.  Some of our recent weeks consisted of:  piano practice x3, band concert, orchestra concert, school ballet performance, CAP conferences x2, after school choir practices, tumbling class, choral contest, cheer meeting, basketball games, upwards concessions, church choir practices x5, fine arts night, eye exam appointment, dental appointments x3, and 2 birthday parties.  Whew!  No wonder I'm exhausted!

February 27, 2011

Our kids love when we spend time playing games with them.  A few of their favorites are Scrabble, Monopoly, Sequence, and Uno.

February 26, 2011

Just another indication that we now have a boy in the family...lots of matchbox cars!  Max totes these little cars all over the house in any container he can find.

February 25, 2011

Claire doesn't enjoy reading, but we make her do it anyway (plus it's always school homework).  At least once a week, she reads aloud to us.  On this day, she was even wearing her eye patch while reading.

February 24, 2011

Not a great photo, but this is part of our daily routine.  Max is almost four, and still takes a nap.  He is so good to ask if it's naptime.  He usually sleeps for at least 2 hours...sometimes, I have to wake him up.  I think Max just plays so hard that he needs the rest.

February 23, 2011

My kids (especially Emily) LOVE their grandma's homemade chocolate pies.  I love the coconut. :-)  Every time we visit grandma for Thanksgiving and Christmas, she always makes sure to have at least one chocolate pie hidden away for Emily.  If I'm lucky, I get a piece of coconut pie before my brother and stepdad get to it. 
I decided to try making the pies using mom's recipe...and they both turned out great!  Of course, I used store-bought pie crusts instead of the yummy homemade kind that mom uses.

February 22, 2011

Gas prices are soaring!  We stopped to get gas one day while we were in Fayetteville shopping.  The price of gas was 6 cents/gallon higher than it was in our area.  We were running on empty, so we had to fill up.  We paid $3.04 a gallon.  Now though...gas is even higher than that.  :-(

February 21, 2011

Emily got her driving permit in late December.  She drives each time we go to a school basketball game, or to church.

February 20, 2011

Every Sunday, we meet in this room for Sunday School.  Our class is called the "Bible Searchers".  It's a great class and we learn something new each week. 

February 19, 2011

It's tax time!  We have used the same tax service for over 20 years, and love their service.  Randy's parents used this agency for many years before recommending them to us...glad they did.  (I think this photo was taken earlier in the month, but it was definitely a Saturday.)

February 18, 2011

We try to spend one-on-one time with each of the kids, but it's hard with our busy schedules.  This was one of Claire's dates with mom...she chose Braum's and a yummy Reese's sundae.

February 17, 2011

After 20+ years of marriage, I *finally* got the hang of making Randy's mom's famous strawberry cake!  My sister-in-law and I have been making this cake and getting close, but 'not exactly right' for years.  It didn't help that dh's mom left out one VERY important step in the recipe! lol  Once I learned the trick, I've been able to make the cake successfully.  The picture doesn't do it justice...this cake is the best thing ever!

February 16, 2011

Ugh.  Laundry.  This is what greets me every day in our laundry room.  With 6 people in the family, we use a lot of towels (even though we try to be earth concious and use towels twice).  The white hamper is usually full of clothes too.  I do at least 1-2 loads of laundry every day...fun!

February 15, 2011

I am a big list-maker, as is my dd Emily.  My lists contain a little bit of everything.  Emily will sometimes even start a list of things for me to do 'for her', and I just add to it.

February 14, 2011

My valentine's!  Emily surprised everyone with a cake she made.  I made a card for each of the kids (so NOT a card-maker!).  The kids all got a bunch of sweets too.

February 13, 2011

As much as we loved the beautiful snow, we didn't love what it did to our house.  The weight of the 23" of snow was too heavy for our roof apparently.  We had some water damage in our kitchen/family room area.  Lovely picture huh?  This must have been some strong paint as it held the water in these big bubbles...even on the side of the wall (didn't think to take a pic of that one before we had to pop it).  Guess we'll be talking to the insurance company this week. :-(