Aaron, Jessica, Aaden, and Rylan Grace Thomas

I'm a QUITTER!!!!

2009-11-01T17:51:00.002-06:00

Just a short update on the life of the Thomas House.
I am in school and working part time, both kids go to school full time and are enjoying TOT, Aaden is playing soccer, and Aaron just started a new job. Sooooo basically, we are swamped!
As you can already tell, I will probably not be blogging any more because it is way too time consuming. If you want to keep up with us and the going ons of our family just find me or Aaron on facebook!
Facebook is a much easier and quicker way for me to stay in touch with people via the world wide web.
So, for now, this is good bye! So long blogspot. It's been real, and it's been fun, but I just don't have time for you any longer!

I Don't Camp! (Or Do I??)

2009-07-23T23:15:00.002-05:00

So a good friend of ours decided that our small group should go camping. Well, after all was said and done our small group camping trip turned into 2 families! I was NOT looking forward to this outdoor excursion; I did not think that it would be fun. Boy was I WRONG!!! I did not realize that I was going camping with "Lori the Camping Queen"! This woman is a camping professional, and made the whole trip amazing. She had everything we needed to prepare wonderful meals, and she even arranged for her brother's friend to come out to the lake with his boat so we could enjoy some boating fun on Saturday. So, I, Jessica Thomas, am a super-camper!
Here are some of the pictures to document our great weekend!

Aaron, Aaden, and I

**Please excuse the icky camping hair and no make up**

Hank with his fish! He caught two fish...Aaden was too impatient and would give up.
(That's Brian, Lori's brother, fishing with the boys.)

Rylan and Hank swimming in the lake.

(Our campsite was right on the lake, and it was shallow, so the kids were able to pretty much swim until they could swim no more...with their life jackets of course.)

Aaden and Me at our awesome campsite.

(We were at Johnson Creek at Lake O' the Pines. Very nice and I highly reccomend it!)

Jason (a friend of Lori and Chris) brought his HUGE jetski

over to our campsite, and all the kids got to take a ride.

Here they were just posing for the picture.

That's right! That's me. I know, I'm awesome! (Ha ha ha!)

I tried and tried and tried to wakeboard but was unsuccessful.

I am, however, determined, and I WILL wakeboard one day!
(Oh, and I don't have a picture, but Aaron was an awesome wakeboarder!)

Aaron and Aaden tubing behind the boat. You pretty much just hang on for dear life.

The kids both thought it was so so so much fun!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-15T19:47:00.002-05:00

All About Aaden

2009-07-09T20:09:00.003-05:00

Aaden got to go to summer camp for the first time this year. This past week he and his daddy have been going to Winnsboro, TX to Camp Deer Run. It is this awesome Christian camp out in the words with hiking, swimming, crafts, water games, story telling, and bible stories! Aaden had a blast! We are so proud of our little PeeWee (what they call the day campers)!!! Aaden and Aaron on his [their] first day of camp.

Aaden was so excited to be going to Camp Deer Run where his daddy went when he was little, and worked when he was in college. They had a great week, and I am sure this is the beginning of a long standing tradition for these boys (and Rylan when she gets older).

NOW SOME EXCITING NEWS!

5 years ago on June 24, 2004 we were blessed with our first child, a beautiful baby boy. We named him Aaden Scott Thomas. Aaden was born in College Station about 6:30 in the evening. I was in labor for 12 hours, and it was worth EVERY second!

We recently just celebrated his 5th birthday! I can't believe it! Wow, how time flies! He started out as a perfect and beautiful baby boy, and he is quickly growing into such a little gentleman. He is funny, somewhat shy, and very very loving. He already loves the Lord, and has a very sweet heart. I am so proud of my big boy!

He will be starting Kindergarten this year at ACA, and he is super excited! I love watching him grow and learn new things with each day.

Such a proud daddy holding his baby boy for the very first time!

I just love this picture! You can see his perfect little round head, his pink cheeks, and his tongue curled up as he cries for the very first time.

We decided not to have a party this year with friends because we wanted to go to the lake instead. We made the trip to Tow, TX (6.5 hours away) to Lake Buchanan. There was Meme, Poppy, Great Nana, Aunt Sissy, and Uncle Seth (my parents, grandmother, sister and brother in law). We left Friday after school and came home Sunday afternoon. It was a VERY quick trip, but well worth it! (This was a few weeks ago, by the way. Better late than never!) Aaden told Meme that he wanted a non-glutenfree (so regular) white cake with white icing and spider man! Here is what she and Aunt Sissy came up with. Pretty good I think!

Blowing out his candles!

Uh oh! They're trick candles! Keep blowing!

Everyone had to blow to get the candles all out! Ha ha ha Poppy!

Happy Birthday Aaden! We love you!!

Summer tiiiiiime...when the livin's easy.

2009-05-21T16:02:00.002-05:00

Last night was ACA Graduation 2009. Aaden is no longer in Pre-K, and Rylan will be headed to the "big kid" class.
The program was a 50's theme, ACA Soda Shop. All the kids looked amazing. Here are my 2 precious ones dressed and ready for the show.

Also, we had that problem of unwanted guests in our house brought in by an uninvited rat sooooo, we decided to get a dog to guard the yard for us.

His name is Ike, and he is a super sweet lab/chow chow mix. He is about a year old and the kids just love him.

So school is out and we are officially into our summer. ACA starts back for summer June 1, so we have a week and a half off. Our days will be filled with sleeping late, big breakfasts, pajama days, and lots of playing outside. Happy Summer Everyone!

Shoo Flea Don't Bother Me!!!

2009-05-12T18:53:00.002-05:00

The NIGHTMARE seems to be over! What nightmare? FLEAS!!!! That's right little itty bitty tiny black bugs invaded our home and our lives! It was HORRIBLE!! Here's the crazy part! We have NO pets. None! Not one! Animals got under our deck (which we used to love, and now we loathe) and spread fleas into our yard, our bodies, and our house. There must have been millions! They were everywhere! We even stayed in a hotel for two nights to get away from them. It took about a week to get rid of all of them, and there is even still a few stragglers.
Bug Busters came and sprayed our deck, our yard, our house...and they were still there. They then came and sprayed again...and they were still there. We then had all of the pine straw picked up all around the house, and then I spread granules...and they were still there. Then Aaron came home and we raked out from under the deck...and they were still there. We then started to tear the boards off our deck...and we found a huge dead RAT!!! Ugh! (Aaron accidently touched it with his bare hand and I thought he was going to puke! He HATES rodents.) We removed the rat, they sprayed the deck and the yard again, and...they are almost all gone. Seriously, a NIGHTMARE!!! I would not wish fleas upon my WORST enemy!
I'm just glad it's all over...I pray it's all over!!!

Soooo Busy!!!

2009-04-23T18:58:00.002-05:00

Spring is arrived and so have our busy schedules. The end of the school year is approaching, and with that come many activities. There is school (as in ACA), and the 5k (coming up in a week, May 2), BSF, soccer, ACA graduation, and preparing to start school this summer. I have a very full plate right now (hence the non-blogging), but I hope to have things settle down some this summer.
I hope to post more (pictures and all) about Heart and Sole 5k and Fun Run after it happens. We are all very excited and have a busy week ahead of us.
Wanna Pray?? Please please please pray for a Sunny Saturday May 2!!!! We need beautiful weather for a successful event. Hope to see you ALL there!!!

Heart and Sole 5K and Family Fun Run

2009-03-23T18:40:00.002-05:00

http://www.acaheartandsole.blogspot.com/

Please look at this blog, and add yourself as a follower. Also add it to your blog so others can see it.

Thanks sooooo much!!!

Pollen

2009-03-22T14:23:00.003-05:00

I HATE pollen!!!! Ugh!!! Yellow yellow everywhere!! Our cars are yellow, our porch is yellow, our sidewalk is YELLOW!!! There is yellow pollen all over EVERYTHING!!! Today we are cleaning up all the YELLOW!!! (Ok, not all of it. Washing our cars would be a waste of time until the pollen stops falling.) The kids are washing the porch. I am spraying down the front of the house, and will mop the whole house before the day is through. (Our dark vinyl floors also seem to have a thin film of yellow accross them.)
Hopefully after today our house will look cleaner and brighter! (Until tomorrow that is, Ugh!)
Did I mention that I hate the pollen!!!

Happy Birthday to Rylan!!!

2009-03-03T21:19:00.002-06:00

Today, March 3, was Rylan's 3rd birthday. She has been excited about her birthday for a month. We've gone to other people's parties, and she was disappointed when we got there and she realized that it was not for her. Well, today was her day!!

We had a really fun party at The Mud Hut!
Here she is blowing out her candles. (A close up of barbie is a little further down.)

The star of the show painting her tile with her friends.

So excited to be at her party!!!

The second star of the show. My dear sweet friend Christy made the most amazing and beautiful cake I have ever seen. Barbie's dress is all cake and icing. Christy, you are amazing!! Thank you so so so much!

The birthday girl!

Happy Birthday Rylan!!! I hope your day was as special as you are!!!

25 Things

2009-02-26T21:33:00.002-06:00

On FACEBOOK there is this "note" going around where you name 25 things about yourself, and then you "tag" people and they have to do the same. Well, I did it, and then I totally was thinking of more things to put on my list. Sooooo, here is my attempt at a 2nd "25 Things List". I am going to write 25 things about myself (all different from my original list), and if you read it I just want you to consider yourself tagged. (Ha! So, if you are reading this you can now do your own list!)

1. I LOVE LOVE LOVE chineese food. I could eat it EVERY day. (Sesame Chicken is my favorite!!!)

2. I make my bed every day. Even if I don't have time in the morning, I will make it later in the day. (This drives my husband crazy!)

3. I think rice cakes are good. I buy them and eat them because I like them! YUM!

4. I almost never wear sandals or flip flops. I have several pairs, but I prefer REAL shoes...cute shoes!!!

5. I am almost always wearing heels. (See above.)

6. I rarely wear t-shirts outside of the house. I will sleep in them and work out in them, but I don't like wearing them out.

7. I enjoy dressing up. I love dresses and skirts, and I wear them as often as is appropriate.

8. I do NOT go out without make-up.

9. When I was little my hair was as straight as a stick! As I have gotten older is has gotten wavier and wavier and even curly.

10. My hair is two completely different textures. The underneath is kinky and super curly and the top layer is softer and just wavy. (I know, wierd.)

11. I am coaching 4 and 5 year olds to play soccer. (Our team is the Mad Dogs...GRRRRR!)

12. I love to read, but only fiction.

13. I watch t.v. shows and movies that I am too old to watch. (Nickelodeon and Disney Chanel)

14. I LOVE LOVE LOVE kids! I originally wanted to have 6 kids, but I have decided I can help more children by teaching.

15. I pray all the time. I pray for big things and little things. I pray for silly things and serious things. I pray for God to change the traffic lights, I pray for my children, and I pray for strangers walking on the road. I am CONSTANTLY praying.

16. I have prayed with people on the phone. It is an amazing and peaceful feeling.

17. I eat my apple pie with cheddar cheese (the sharper the better). I melt the cheddar cheese over the pie and it's the best breakfast. Mmmmmm. (Don't knock it 'till you try it, it's SUPER good.)

18. My favorite flower is roses, but I HATE rose bushes.

19. I have a very very black thumb. Plants and me do NOT get along.

20. I love to stay up late...like, really really late. 2 or 3am is a peaceful time for me.

21. I hope to and plan to graduate from college some day, and then get my masters. I think that education is important.

22. I am already planning on my children attending Texas A&M University. If they choose not to go there I think I will be disappointed.

23. I like to sew. I am not very good at it, but I enjoy it.

24. I randomly do projects around the house without telling Aaron. I have made and hung curtains, recovered chairs, painted various walls or rooms. I just decide one day, and then I do it.

25. When I was in high school and college I got LOTS of speeding tickets. I don't know how many exactly, but I know it was alot! I am much more cautious now that I have children (although, I did get 2 tickets in 1 week over Christmas...different offenses though, and different cities.)

So, there you have it. 25 things about me that you may or may not have known about me. I hope you find them interesting, or atleast amusing. Maybe I will see some interesting things about some of YOU!!!

My Three Cuties

2009-02-18T18:14:00.002-06:00

Today was a glorious day! Anything special?? No. Just a wonderful Wednesday that began with BSF (Bible Study Fellowship), followed by a quiet afternoon with my sweet kids, and now we are getting ready to leave for church. God has blessed our family with so much! Some days I feel overwhelmed by the awesomeness that I have in this life.
Now I just want to share a few pictures of my wonderful family, and what we've been up to.

Rylan is into sleeping on a pallet in the living room. She has done it over night a few times, but here she is napping one afternoon. She says that she wants to sleep on her map (ha ha! she means mat). She goes and gets her pillows and blankets and everything. It is very precious.

In this one you can really see her set up on the floor. Oh, what a sweet baby God has given me!!!

Here is Aaden at his KinderTOT performance! That's right, I said PERFORMANCE!!! We made the trip out to Hallsville and these awesome ACA KinderTOT boys were the halftime show! They did all different basketball skills to a song. It was precious! I am so proud of my T-O-T boy!!!

Here he is cheesin' it up while we wait in the hall for the show to start.

And my third cutie is my husband. At school we had a "Are You Smarter Than A Kindergartener?" program. The kinder class were up against the adults, and Aaron got roped into going up and trying to answer the questions. The kinder kids beat the adults like 60 to 10 or something rediculous like that. "I am not smarter than a kindergartener!!!

An Afternoon at the Farm

2009-02-14T13:34:00.002-06:00

My friend Phyllis invited us out to her house for the afternoon. She had a fun list of things to do all ready when we arrived. We got to swing on the barn swing, play on the tractors, brush and ride the pony, go on a treasure hunt (nature walk), feed the horses, climb on the hay, make coffee mug cakes (chocolate cake you make in a coffee mug, and bake in the microwave), eat home-made popcicles, excercise the baby deer, and chalk in the driveway. We took alot of great pictures of our fun, and Phyllis made this AMAZING collage out of all the pictures. It was such a fun afternoon. Thank you Mrs. Phyllis for sharing your house with us!!! WE love YOU!!!

BSF

2009-01-14T16:57:00.003-06:00

WARNING: This post may be boring to many of you, but I just thought some of you may be interested.

I want to take a moment to explain to everyone what I do on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Many of you know I go to bible study, but that's all you know. BSF stands for Bible Study Fellowship. It is an incredible bible study which is a training tool for life using the bible. There are 7 studies total, and we study one entire lesson over 9 months (September through May...just like a school year). This ensures that each topic is studied slowly and thoroughly. BSF is an international program, and each class around the world studies the same study at the same time. There are many "layers" (as we like to call them) in this study. First you do your own study each day at home over a one week period of time. Then you go to class and have a group discussion on the questions you just answered. Then you hear a lecture on that week's lesson, and lastly there are notes that you take home and read. That way you are going through the lesson 4 times in one week.
Why does this take 2 days out of my week?? Because I am privaledged to be a part of the leadership in this program. In fact, I am a children's leader! I know, I can see the shocked faces...ha ha. (There's a children's program??? Yes, I'll touch on that in just a second.) So the leadership meets on Tuesdays to do training and our own version of the group discussion, then we go on Wed to lead groups, or in my case lead a class of children.
Ok, now the children's program. This is NOT a childcare service. The children are taught the same lesson as their parents are learning at the same time. So each Wed while the moms are having their bible study the kids are hearing the bible story being told, singing songs that coordinate with that story, and even having a quiet prayer time. It is amazing to see the kids learning so much. They truly retain the word of God in some incredible ways. Both of my children go on Wednesdays, so it is exciting that they too are learning the same lessons that I am studying. The program on Wed morning is for 2 year olds through 5 year olds. (There is an evening womens class and an evening mens class which teaches kids all the way through 12th grade.)
So that's what takes my time on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I just thought everyone might want a better explaination than the one I usually give (which is that I have a meeting or a bible study to go to).

"Mater...like ta-mater, but without the ta"

2008-12-27T16:20:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-24T20:30:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!!

(Pictures taken by Maggie at the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at Alpine.)

'Tis the Season

2008-12-16T18:45:00.002-06:00

We are all ready for Christmas!!! We have our tree up and gifts underneath, lights are on the house, and the wreath is hung by the door. What do these things have to do with the real meaning of Christmas??? I love the fun and celebration as much as the next person, but the decorations and shopping somehow swallows the true meaning of Christmas. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ our savior! Without whom we would all be lost souls.
I am having trouble teaching my children the story of Jesus's birth. They seem to lose interest when I am telling them or reading it to them. We talk about the nativity characters, but they still call the baby Moses and just want to play with the characters. I told them they each have 3 gifts under the tree because Jesus got 3 gifts. They still seem uninterested. I am praying for an interest in their heart to learn this wonderful sweet precious story. I know they are both so young, but I still think they can grasp the story as a whole. I want nothing but the best for my children, and I know that the best thing for them this Christmas is to celebrate the birth of our KING!

Longview Christmas Parade

2008-12-05T18:06:00.003-06:00

Last night we not only attended, but we were actually IN the Longview Christmas Parade. The kids and I sat on the Alpine Christian Academy float while Aaron walked next to us to ensure the huge blow up snowman did not fall over on top of anyone. The parade was so much fun! We just smiled and waved and told everyone on the streets, "Merry Christmas!!!"

Here is Aaden on the float waiting for the parade to start.
Here is Kendrah and her kiddos, Olivia and Aubrey. Kendrah was the mastermind behind the whole float. She entered the school and got all the rules, and then she built the float and organized everything! Yay for Kendrah!!! And, thanks to her Alpine Christian Academy won the "Grand Marshall's Award". Our name was even on the FRONT page of the paper!!!

Here is Rylan...I know it's blury, but I had to show how bundled up she was. It was soooooo cold!! BRRRRRRR.

Here is my pal Christy and her two sweet kiddos, Kinzie and Jackson. We rode the float together and laughed and waved the whole way through! (Especially when Jackson fell asleep, but kept waving! He's a trooper!)

And, here is me and my sweet babies. We had a great time! I would encourage anyone who has not gone to go next year. It is so fun, and totally worth the frozen fingers and bad traffic.

Aaron Got a Deer

2008-11-29T21:23:00.002-06:00

An 8 point buck to be exact! Yay for Aaron!!! (This picture was taken on his cell phone while he was still out there...so that's why the quality isn't awesome...but I think you can get the point.)

Gobble Wobble Completed!

2008-11-29T13:48:00.002-06:00

Here are the kids and me after I ran. It was fun! I finished in 37 minutes. (Aaron keeps telling people 35...he's so sweet!) There were a bunch of people there! (I tried to count...I'm thinking between 100 and 150) I pray the mission made a lot of money so they can better serve the community!

Gobble Wobble

2008-11-24T13:53:00.005-06:00

The annual Gobble Wobble run is THIS Saturday, November 29, here in Longview. It is a 5k or 10k walk/run/wobble benefiting the New Gate Mission. The run is free, but donations are accepted. I just want to encourage everyone in East Texas to come out and wobble with me. Registration is at 8:30 am and the race begins at 9am. It is at the Cargill Long Park Trail on 4th Street. I think it is a fun way to help out our community, and get out and get some exercise!
If you want more info you can go to the New Gate Mission website www.newgatemission.org
Hope to see some of you there!!!
(Also if anyone would like to sponsor me I would love it! I will be running the 5k and a donation of a dollar a kilometer can go a long way! It says on the New Gate website that $1300 can feed 1000 people lunch for a MONTH!!! Wow!)

Yikes! It's been a month

2008-11-22T13:32:00.003-06:00

It's been a while, but nothing really has been going on. We made it through Halloween (we had a princess and a power ranger). The kids are loving school and are so crazy and silly. They are very creative, and I love being around them (good thing, I guess). Thanksgiving is almost here. Since I am the music teacher at school I taught all the kids a thanksgiving song. So here it is for those parents who don't know the words and your kids are "singing it" or if you want to teach it to your kids to sing for Grandma or Aunt Jenny or whoever you are enjoying the holidays with.

Tune - "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"
Sweet Potatoes, Deviled Eggs
Buttered Rolls, and Turkey Legs
Carrot Cake, and Pumpkin Pie
It's Thanksgiving, My Oh My
Sweet Potatoes, Deviled Eggs
Buttered Rolls, and Turkey Legs

Now here are some recent (as in the past month) pictures.
Our kids LOVE tattoos! They are HILARIOUS! They think they are so cool when they get these pictures on their skin.

Breakfast with Santa. We went up to the mall and waited in our Jammies (ok, not me, but the kids were in their Jammies) for Santa to arrive. (He came on a fire truck.) It was crowded and wild, but totally worth the $5 per kid. (Obviously the kids were not too into taking pictures.)

Here is Aaron with his long hair. It has since been cut, but my boss saw him and called him Wooley Booley. I liked it long, but with so many people giving him a hard time he has since gone to the beauty shop and gotten a hair cut. (Oh, and ignore the TT behind him, there was an aggie sign there too, but it just didn't make it in the picture.)

The kids on Halloween before Trick or Treating. We all had a good time.

Ok, that's all for now. Nothing too exciting. I do hope that everyone has a safe and happy thanksgiving, and that you all stuff your faces to the MAX!!!

Pictures of Pictures

2008-10-22T12:57:00.003-05:00

Here are the pictures I said I would post once we got them.
The first is our family picture for the pictoral directory at our churh, then the kids' school pictures, and lastly Aaden's soccer picture. Enjoy!!!

Road Trip

2008-10-13T20:19:00.002-05:00

Last weekend Aaron and I made the trek to Asheville North Carolina for my cousin's wedding. It was a beautiful mountain wedding with a fun reception after. (There are NO pictures. We had our camera and took no pictures...sorry!)
We decided to drive to eliminate some of the cost and stress that accompanies flying. We drove there on Thursday, getting up about 3:30am to leave by 4:30am. It took us about 14 hours...whew!! We enjoyed ourselves Friday and Saturday and then got up Sunday morning and drove the 14 hours home! We had a great time, and we are almost fully recovered. Our legs and backs are still sore. By tomorrow I figure we'll be fine.

While on the road we decided to do a science experiment...do different gas stations' gas get different gas mileage?? The answer is YES!!! Exxon gas got us (in the Jetta) about 2 miles more per gallon...doesn't seem like that much? Well, it got us 30 more miles per tank! That ain't bad! I am not an advocate for Exxon, but I thought I'd just share our findings. (These findings are compared to Murphy, Fina, and Chevron.)
**Remember this is also highway driving, and it may not be so significant in town.
**This experiment has no official authenticity.

Fall is Here!!!

2008-10-07T12:40:00.004-05:00

First of all are a couple pictures of my little worker bees. After the hurricane came through we had a mess of branches in our yard both front and back. My sweet babies were ready to lend a hand in the time of need.

Saturday evening we went to Moore Farms (in a little town called Bullard right outside of Tyler). It is this wonderful little pumpkin patch. We all had a blast.

Aaron and Rylan checking out the scenery.

Aaden in his duck hat. Why was he wearing that? He just decided that it was the thing to do.

Aaden poking his head through the pumpkin.

Rylan poking her head through the pumpkin.

The scarecrow lost his glove so Aaden was happy to help out.

Now Rylan has to take a shot. (We never got the glove to stay on his hand.)

Aaden holding hands with the tin man...aka the robot.

(We realized our kids have never seen The Wizard of Oz.)

Aaden was showing Rylan how to hold his hand.

She figured it out!!!

My sweet kiddos on the hay ride.

There are both their smiling faces!!!

My sweet handsome loving husband!

And he's off!!!

There she goes right behind big brother. They had so much fun running around the red dirt.

Rylan wanted to pull her pumpkin to the car in the wagon, only her pumpkin weighed only a few ounces. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen! She is very good at making me laugh.

Pumping water by hand is very fun.

And lastly we had a wonderful surprise on Sunday. Our friends the Steele kids were in town visiting their aunt and grandparents. (They moved to Fort Worth at the end of the summer. It was a very sad occasion. Not only did they go to school and church together, but they only lived about a block away from us.) Garrison came and sat with us during church. The boys (who are best buddies) loved seeing eachother. It was a very sweet reunion.

Busy Busy Busy

2008-09-30T15:56:00.002-05:00

I just want to say hey to everyone and let you know we are still here and sooooo busy. I am working at the school 2 days a week, doing a bible study (which takes up 2 days a week), the kids are going to school 4 days a week, and they are going to bible study with me one day a week. Aaden is doing Tae Kwon Do 2 days a week and he has soccer practice one night a week and a soccer game every Saturday. Soooo, we are very busy.
Last week was my birthday, and it was uneventful for the most part. One more year closer to 30! (I know those of you already in your thirties...or older...don't feel sorry for me one bit.)
So that's all that has been going on.
We took some family pictures at the church not long ago, and the kids had school pictures taken last week, and I will post both once they get in.
I hope everyone is well, and has a blessed week.

Three Firsts

2008-09-07T12:12:00.006-05:00

We had our first soccer game this weekend. Aaden is officially a "Mad Dog"! We are very excited and the game was super fun. All the kids did a great job. Everyone stayed running and was willing to get in the action. There were a few tears, but they were short and sweet. Aaden did a great job running, and kept up with everyone else.

Here is him making his "Mad Dog Face"...GRRRRR!
I didn't mean to put this picture on here, but here it is...the kids hanging out in the front yard before the game. Rylan was a good sport and cheered her brother on.

My mom was here this past week hanging out with us before school really got kicked off. Here is the mad dog growl!

The second first was the first day of school. (Actually it was the first first but the pictures were opposite, so here you go.) Here is Aaden with his awesome Pre-K (I know I can't believe it either) teacher Mrs. Christy. She is a very loving and sweet Christian woman, and we are blessed to have her teaching Aaden this year. (I did sniffle some while dropping him off, but it wasn't too bad.) Here is Rylan with her teacher, Mrs. Kasey. She too is a very sweet woman, and we are excited to get to know her better this year. (In the background is Rylan's friend Cooper coming to greet Rylan on the first day of school.)

My friend Maggie shared with me one of her time honored family traditions, and I have borrowed that idea from her. She always took her kids' first day pictures out by their mailbox. You can see how the kids change and grow with a constant in the picture. I love this idea...so here it is.
Here is Aaden out by our mailbox all ready to go on the first day of school.

Here is Miss Priss out by the mailbox on the first day of school.

Here are both kids out by the mailbox on the first day of school. (This wasn't the best picture I took, but you get the idea of the cuteness and size of my kiddos.)
Aaden and Rylan walking into the school.
First day at ACA!!!

There was one more first this week, and that was the kids moved up into new Bible Classes (aka Sunday School). Aaden is now in the 4 year old class (taught by my good friends Amy and Jaymie) and Rylan is officially out of the nursury (Cradle Roll) and in a big kid class with the other 2 year olds. There are no pictures, and there were no tears this morning (no time I guess), but it was wonderful and sweet to see my kids moving up in our church. They are growing up with wonderful friends who come from amazing Christian families. I love seeing all the kids grow and learn together.

**Just a side note**My first day of school is tomorrow and my first Bible study with the kids is on Wednesday. I am both excited and nervous about both, so if you think about it Monday or Wednesday, just say a little prayer for me that everything is going well.

The End is Near

2008-08-26T10:37:00.006-05:00

The end of summer break is here. We had our last day of summer camp. Soccer season is about to start. School for us Starts September 5.

First off check out Aaron's hair! Do you think it's time for a hair cut??

I just had to throw this picture in. Rylan is just cheesin' it up for the camera!
Here is the last day of ACA Sports Camp. I had this great idea to take the kids' pictures to mark this momentous occasion...but, as you can see the kids did not think this was a great idea.

Since they would not smile I just made them hug. I think hugging pictures are just the cutest!

Finally Rylan said, "Cheese!" and I caught it on camera.
They really were excited to go to school...I promise!

Now, soccer season. Aaden is now officially a Mad Dog! He and 8 other 4 year olds are going to explore the world of soccer as the Mad Dogs. I think that's pretty cool. He is super excited. We got him his cleats and his shin guards and some soccer shorts for practices and of course some super long socks. Here are a few pictures of him practicing on our back deck.

He looks hilarious! If you can tell there is no space between the shorts and the socks. It goes straight from the bright blue socks to the red shorts.

I love this last picture! If you look closely you can see his tongue hanging out! What is the deal with my kids and their tongues? They crack me up!

So we are really excited about everything that is going on right now, and we are resting this week so we can be prepared for the craziness that next week has to offer.

What did they make??

2008-08-20T16:37:00.003-05:00

Here are Aaden and Rylan playing outside with an umbrella, a rake, and a grocery sac...do you know what they are doing??

They are taking pictures!!! Huh, you say?? Well, last week Clay took some pictures of the kids and he has all this equipment (is that how you spell that?) including the white umbrella that helps with the flash. Soooo, the kids made one of their own! I just laughed and laughed! They crack me up! The things kids come up with are so creative!

Nemo and Our Little Mermaid

2008-08-16T11:50:00.004-05:00

The past two weeks we had swim lessons, and it was GREAT!!! Both kids did sooooo good! Rylan has always been our little water baby. She loves going under and swimming...it's the coming up for air that she has trouble with. She can also do front flips under the water (I thought that was pretty impressive.)
Aaden has always been our more cautious kid. He likes to get in the water, but not get his face wet. Swim lessons changed that! He would put his face in and would brag to the other kids that he went under water (that's a boy for you!). So here are some pictures of our adventures in swim lessons.

I would also like to send a special thank you to Grandma (Aaron's stepmom). She came every evening to swim lessons and swam with Rylan. It was so fun seeing her every day, plus she got some special time with the kids. Thanks Grandma!!!

Our Wordle

2008-08-05T20:58:00.002-05:00

I saw this on the Neal's blog, and on the Kitchen's blog, and on the Norton's blog so I wanted to try it too!

Home For the Day

2008-07-29T11:35:00.002-05:00

I went to Dallas over the weekend and had a fabulous girl's weekend with my friend Amy. We are friends from A&M. We lived in the same dorm freshman year, and have been friends ever since. We had a great time.
I came home to a pretty clean house (go Aaron!) and a fussy boy (Rylan went to Houston with Aaron's mom for a couple of days). Aaden was fussy because he is not feeling well. So here we are home for the day have a PJ day with lots of rest and bland food. I pray that my sweet boy will be feeling better today so he can go to school tomorrow and enjoy all the activities that summer has to offer.

Aaden's Birthday and Vacation...pictures galore!!!

2008-07-07T21:19:00.010-05:00

Ok, I am warning you, there are soooooo many picutures on this post. (I like to call it "Becky Style")
So, alot has happened in the last few weeks. The first is that my little boy turned FOUR!!! I know, I can't believe it either. He will be starting Pre-K in the fall! Wow! So Here are some pictures celebrating my little man. Here is Aaden about to open his gift from Meme and Poppy (my parents).

Here is Aaden and me (Mommy) helping him open his gifts.

RyRy and Me cheesin' up for the camera.

My sister, Laila (aka Aunt Sissy), reading to Rylan and Uncle Seth (her husband).

Aaden is excited to open another gift.

Aaden likes his new computer game, and so does Rylan. She HAD to climb up on the table to check out the goods. (With the kids is Aunt Sissy and Uncle Seth...they came into town from Austin to celebrate their nephew's birthday.

Now, Pump It Up.
We had Aaden's party at Pump It Up, this cool place with a bunch of blow up things. The kids and the adults love it. It is so much fun for everyone.

Here is Laila and Seth jumping with Rylan's friend Hailey.

Aaden climbing the wall in the obstacle course.

Aaden at the top of the obstacle course. Woohoo! King of the Mountain!

Aaden chillin' in the obstacle course entry. He thinks he is such a cool little dude.

Now our vacation. We Left last Sunday to head to San Antonio. We went to the zoo on Monday, Sea World Tuesday and Wednesday, to the Wildlife Adventure Drive on Thursday and to the lake Thursday Friday and Saturday. We had a week jam packed full of fun and adventure. We all had a blast!

We stayed at the Radisson in SA and they have limestone fire pits where you can roast marshmellows for s'mores each night. It was a great way to end the day.

Here is Rylan roasting her marshmellow. She wouldn't eat it after she cooked it though.

Here is Aaden getting his face painted by Skipper. She worked at the hotel and had different activities for the kids to enjoy each day.

Here is Aaron and me enjoying our vacation.

Here is shark boy!

And, shark boy again!

Aaden and me catching a quick snapshot.

Aaden and Rylan showing the camera how much they love eachother.

We had a jacuzzi tub in our room, and I had this marvelous idea to put bubbles in it. It was fun, but there were bubbles everywhere! They were still in the tub the next morning. The kids thought it was funny. Here they are COVERED in bubbles.

Getting ready for bed. What are big brothers for if not to brush your teeth?

Here are the Sea World pictures.
The kids and me giving the birds some nectar. It was cool.

The kids looking for dolphins.

We got to feed the dolphins. Aaden would feed them, but not touch them. Aaron touched it though (I was busy taking pictures). He said it felt like rubber.

Aaron and Rylan waiting for the sea lion show to start.

Our little monkey, Rylan, hanging on the bar in the shark tank.

Aaden with Penny the Penguin.

Rylan eating her sherbert. We needed to stop for a snack.

Aaden eating his white ice cream (it's the only kind he likes).

Mommy and Rylan. Say, "Cheese!"

Aaron was chugging the soda. We were all soooooo thirsty.

More sibling love (actually I told them they couldn't get into the water until they hugged for a picture).

Rylan getting out the part of the s'more that she would eat. Mmmmm, chocolate. She is her father's daughter.

Me roasting my mallow

Another picture of shark boy...new day though. (Skipper was painting faces every evening.)

Rylan got a butterfly.

Aaden as shark boy...again. Sorry for all the shark face pictures, I just think they are funny.

Now we are in the final stretch. We are at the lake. (Lake Buchanan if any of you want to know. My parents live there in a littly tiny itsy bitsy town call Tow...rhymes with Cow not toe.)

Aaden swimming in the lake.

Aaron swimming in the lake.

Aaden looking cool on the boat.

Rylan in the lake. She is our little fish. She can swim and flip and jump. She loves the water so much she cries when we take her out.

The kids driving the boat with Poppy, my dad.

My mom made a yummy flag cake for 4th of July. It was so good. We ate almost the entire cake in about 2 days.

Aaden, Meme (my mom) and me waiting to be in the Llano 4th of July kid's parade.

Aaden and Rylan waiting for the parade to start. I bought candy for them to throw to anyone watching on the sidelines.

Here they are ready to go.

Aaden is all ready to watch the fireworks. It was not hot, but he was wearing a sweatshirt so he could pull the hood up over his ears to block the popping sounds. He said it worked.

Aaron playing with Rylan before the fireworks.

Poppy in his 4th of July hat.

Me, Meme, and Aaden waiting for the fireworks to start (we waited alot that day).

Aaron and me watching the fireworks.

Aaden and me watching the fireworks.

Sorry this post was so long, but I had alot of catching up to do. I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday.

Lots O Pictures!

2008-06-12T16:15:00.005-05:00

Here are just a bunch of pictures from the last couple of weeks. They may be a little bit out of order...this blogger adds pictures above what you have already put and then I can't move them or delete them, so here you are.

Here is Aaden and Rylan after bath time about to get dressed for bed. They are just so sweet and loving. It is really fun to have kids so close in age.

The next few pictures are in Shreveport. They have this AWESOME boardwalk thing with lots of stores and restaurants and fun stuff including this little splash area. The water randomly squirts out of the ground and the kids just love playing in it.

Here is one of those out of place pictures. This is Aaden after church last night on the ride home. He thinks it is funny to pick the grass at the church and eat it in the car. The kid won't touch a hamburger, but grass is OK?? I do not see the logic there at all! But he requested that I take his picture while he was chewing on his grass.

Here is my sweet husband watching our kids play. I just couldn't resist capturing such a nice moment.

See, Aaden likes his tongue too! (Usually Rylan is the one with her tongue hanging out.)

That is Rylan behind all that water. I just think this is a neat picture.

Here's to you, Missy

2008-06-11T17:19:00.003-05:00

We have some great friends who also happen to be backyard neighbors with us. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family so close by.
When Aaden was much smaller and just learning to talk he was playing at our neighbor's house and they were teaching him funny things to say. When I walked into their house to pick him up they had trained him to say, "Ooooo-Eeeee! Hot Momma!"
Soooo, apparently that saying has been said in our house a few times because last night we were at a friends house and Rylan had a dirty diaper. Our friend Jason said, "Shooo-eee!" and without even missing a beat Rylan responded with, "Hot Momma!"

First week of "Summer Camp"

2008-06-08T22:33:00.002-05:00

Well, last week ACA Summer Sports Camp started, and so far it is a success. I am "teaching" Kinder-3rd graders and we are all having a blast! These kids are all so smart and so fun it almost doesn't even seem like work. This week we are even going to go bowling!!! I know, I know, my job is AWESOME!!
This was a crazy yet super fun weekend. (And I will just say now that there are no pictures documenting our fun, I know, BOOOOO.) OK, well Friday we just hung out at the house the kids and I. Aaron worked all day and all night, so we just got in a little R&R. We went to White Oak's Splash Pad with our friends Stacey and Madison. That was super fun. The sun wasn't really shining bright though, so the kids were a little on the chilly side. They somehow managed to survive though. Then Saturday we went to Ally Fest! It is this festival, I guess, in downtown Longview with arts and crafts, and music, and games, and shopping. It was great! It even kinda' reminded me of Austin, I know, who would've thunk that! Then we came home and napped and then we went to the RODEO!!!! We went to the "World Famous Gladewater RoundUp". The kids (and Aaron and I too) had a blast! Rylan kept yelling, "yee-haw!" the entire night, and Aaden said he wanted to be a cowgirl (that's right folks) and ride a bull. They were both also taken with the Mutton Busting (is that how you spell that?). For those of you who don't know what that is it is when kids (ages 6-9) strap on their boots and plated vests and helmets and ride a sheep holding on for dear life for a few seconds. It is one of the single most entertaing things I have ever seen in my life. These kids are hilarious! Aaden and Rylan both said they wanted to do it.
Now here we are to Sunday. We had a great day filled with food, naps, swimming, and more food out with friends at the butcher shop. I even got the living room cleaned up, and Aaron did the dishes.
So, that was our weekend, and I hope you all enjoy. We head back to Summer Camp tomorrow, YAY!!!

Summer time...when the livin's easy

2008-05-25T08:21:00.002-05:00

Summer is officially here! Well for us atleast. We are just hanging out listening to the wind blow and enjoying the weather before it gets too HOT!

Here is a picture of our new windchimes. I know none of you probably care about them, but I love them and they sound amazing! My aunt sent us these from Pennsylvania. Thanks Aunt Diana! The kids love them too! They think they sound "cool".
Summer means popcicles! Here are the kids eating popcicles. YUM!! We had to make a special trip to Walgreens (Wal-Mart takes too long) just for popcicles. The kids loved them!

Here's another popcicle picture. Sorry, I'm a typical mom who takes too many pictures of her kids.

And Aaden chowing down on his popcicle. (This is actually the highlight of his day, and the only thing he ate yesterday. He is now sick so pray that he gets better today so we can enjoy our week.)

And of course Rylan eating her popcicle. Bow and bloomers, socks and shoes. No shirt, No dress, No Mess!

Like I said before Aaden is sick, he is just laying around, it's so sad. Please pray that he gets better quickly so that we can enjoy our week off before Summer Camp starts next Monday, June 2. Thanks everyone!

In the words of Amy Porter...

2008-05-24T21:08:00.003-05:00

"Potty training is for the birds." That is what my friend Amy told me yesterday, and I couldn't agree more. I don't really have anything significant to say on the subject, just that it basically sucks. (Sorry for the rough language.) I remember being frustrated with Aaden, but everyone says, "oh girls are so much easier." WRONG!!! Rylan has been way more stubborn about this than Aaden ever was.
To be honest I haven't really cracked down on it since her birthday. (The day after she turned 2 she decided that she didn't want to go in the potty any more.) We have one full week before summer school starts, so maybe just maybe I will buckle down and get my sweet little girl out of diapers and into panties!

2008 ACA Graduation and Program

2008-05-22T08:22:00.005-05:00

OK, so I know that most of you who read this blog were there, but here you go anyways. Last night was the ACA Graduation and End of Year Program. Since I am the music teacher I am the organizer and planner of this program. I also get to work with the kids on their songs, but I will NOT take credit for teaching the songs. The teachers work really intensely with the kids everyday so they are prepared for this program. (In my class we just sing them a few times, and then we have class time.) Anyways, here are some enjoyable moments from the program.

Here is Rylan with her class on stage "singing" this little light of mine. They came down the middle aisle with glow sticks in their hands...very cute. In this picture left to right is Hailey, Courtney, Rylan, Grayson (with Mrs. Rebecca behind him), Mallory is on the floor, and we have a little bit of Katherine. They are such a sweet group of kids.

Here is Rylan being Miss Sass-a-frass. She took it upon herself to come forward during "My God is so BIG" and put on a little show. She even lifted her skirt up for everyone. It was quite entertaining.

Here is Aaden with his class. I'm not sure what he's doing. I guess he thought that he needed to stretch before he started singing. From left to right is Jackson, Garrison, Justin, Aaden, Hannah, Cymber, Caiden, and Tabitha. His class was a very silly group of kids. They did LOTS of laughing throughout the year.

Here is Aaden getting his church ready. Why you ask? Because....This is the church, and this is the steeple, open the door and see all the people, close the door and hear them pray, open the door and they all walk away!!! I hope you enjoyed my mini rendition of my kids in the program. School is now officially out for us! Yay!!

Horseback riding is sooooo FUN!!!

2008-05-20T20:48:00.002-05:00

Last Friday we went to a birthday party at a stable. It was so much fun! All the kids got to ride horses. They loved it! I loved it! Everyone loved it!!! Here are some pictures of this momentous occasion.

Here is Aaden patiently waiting for his turn to ride.

Aaden riding a horse. (I feel like
this picture is pretty self explainitory.)

Ok, this next picture comes with a story. Rylan was so excited about riding horses...until it was her turn. She would walk right up there like she was going to ride, and then just didn't. She would walk back out of the corral, and then say, "My turn". So I'd take her back up to the horse, and of course she'd say, "No ride". Well, we did this a few times, and I was SICK of it. So I carried her out there while Aaden was riding and I MADE her get on the horse with him. Once she was up there she didn't move. She just held on for dear life. Before the ride was over she was starting to like it. So, here they are riding together.

Aaden was so sweet and he just held her. What a sweet big brother!

Soooo, after the ride with brother she was perfectly happy riding by herself. I practically had to tear her away from the horses to go eat hot dogs. She did so good!!! I knew she would love it if she would just DO IT!

Prayers

2008-05-16T10:03:00.002-05:00

Aaden has taken it upon himself to say our meal time blessings and also bedtime prayer. Here are the two prayers I heard from him last night:

Dinner: "Dear God, keep us safe and thank you for our food and thank you for Noah's Ark. Amen!"

Bedtime: "Dear God, thank you for our food and for our nap time. Amen!"

What do we do to kill time??

2008-05-14T17:19:00.004-05:00

There are bubble baths. Those are always a hit. The kids love them, plus it keeps them entertained for quite a while. Bubble baths are a nice break for everyone!
Beards...Rylan, loves to put bubbles on her face and says, "Ho ho ho". I don't even think she realizes that she is mimiking (sp?) Santa Clause, but she knows that it is funny.

Aaden is just a cutie in the tub. He is not quite as animated as Rylan, but he is still funny. He is the little boss. He spends his bath time (and I guess most of his time) telling Rylan what to do.
And...we make fish faces!!! The kids didn't really like it, but I sure think it's funny!

Here we all are at the airport.

First is Rylan just hanging out. Then Aaron trying to get some cuddles in. Rylan outside about to be blown away. Then my little man telling me all about what goes on at the airport and showing me all the "apple-planes".

Here we are hanging out at the airport waiting for Aaron to leave. We played inside for about an hour or so, and then after Aaron got on the plane the kids and I headed outside to watch him take off. We watched lots of planes take off, and then his plane finally got going and headed up up and away on the long journey from Longview to...Dallas! So Longview's little and to get anywhere you have to first fly to Dallas. I don't even think they fly anywhere else. Like I said, Longview is little.

Exciting News!

2008-05-12T13:23:00.003-05:00

First of all, here are a few of our pictures from Austin to show how much fun we had.

This is my friend Christine and I in Austin. We have been friends since 2nd grade!!! We went out to eat one night and then watched a movie. That was fun!
This is me and my friend Jason. He's the one who got married just a week or so ago. He has been a good friend of mine for a long time. Back in the day when I was pregnant with Aaden Jason was there for me when Aaron had to travel. Jason would go to my doctors appointments with me, and even made it to 2 sonograms! He has been a great friend, and I am so happy that he has found such a wonderful sweet lady to marry. They are a wonderful couple!

I accidentally put this picture up, and now I can't get it off. This is our good friend Steph who was a bridesmaid and the bride Sarah. We all went and played pool after their wedding which was really fun.

This is me and Steph cheesin' it up for the camera. We took lots of pictures.

This is our friend Nicole and my sweet husband Aaron.

We all had a BLAST!!!!!!!!!!!!! We hardly ever get to really hang out with our old friends from College Station, so it was fun hangin' out with the whole gang.

Now for the exciting news:

I have been a part of a wonderful bible study called BSF for the past 2 years. It stands for Bible Study Fellowship, and is an amazing interdenominational bible study that comes strictly from the word of God. About a week and a half ago my group leader called me and asked me if I would be interested in becoming a leader of this amazing program. She asked me to pray about it intently, and to please let her know my decision by Sunday (this was a Thursday). They asked that this stay between me, my husband, and God. They didn't want my decision to be based on the words of friends or family. I prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed (we were in Austin at this time, but it was still on my mind and my heart the entire time). So, I decided to accept and become a part of the leadership team in this program. I will be working with the children, which I am SUPER excited about. The kids get to learn the same study that their moms and grandmothers are learning at the same time. (Did that make sense?) In the 2 hours that we have these pre-schoolers we are teaching them directly from the bible the same lessons the adult bible study is learning. What a wonderful way to study the word with your children! Sooo, I just wanted to share this new chapter in my journey with the Lord. It is such an honor just to be asked to join this leadership team, and a huge commitment, so I am looking forward to seeing what the Lord has to teach me through this program that I already love.

Where have we been?

2008-05-07T17:44:00.003-05:00

In AUSTIN!!! I love Austin. We have been visiting with friends and hanging out in Austin the last two weeks. Some friends of ours from A&M got married last weekend, and the weekend before we went to celebrate their last weekend as single people. Aaron went to the bachelor party and I went to the bachelorette party. I got to hang out with my sister too, and see her new house! That was fun. The bachelor party weekend Aaron's mom and step dad kept the kiddos and last weekend for the wedding my sister kept Aaden, and my parents kept Rylan. Since they all live so far they like to split the kids and get quality time with each one. I think that everyone had a blast both weekends...I know Aaron and I did!
We went out with friends, and we went out to breakfast, and we walked around town lake, and we went shopping! So so so fun!!!
So, I have NO pictures of any of this. Well, I do, but not with me. We accidentally left our camera with some of our friends, and they are supposed to be mailing it to us. Hopefully we'll get it this week. So that's where we've been and what we've been doing. So I hope you enjoy knowing what's going on in our lives.

Play Date

2008-04-18T19:14:00.002-05:00

Our friend Aubrey came over to play today, and we had lots of fun.

Here are the kids SCARFING down some strawberries. Between the three kids they ate almost 2 lbs of strawberries. Aaden needed a break from the girls so we put on Cars (the movie) and he sat and watched that for a little while. (He is sitting on a doll highchair. Why? I have no idea.)
Here is Aubrey (left) and Rylan (obviously on the right) rocking away in Aaden's room.
They got out a sleeping bag and blankets and came in the living room to join Aaden in watching Cars. That lasted for about 2 minutes, and then they were off again.
The girls thought that the cowboy hats were tons of fun. They were yelling "Yeehaw!!" as they ran around the house with the hats on.
That was our day. It was loads of fun!

School Picture

2008-04-16T14:18:00.003-05:00

This is the kids' school picture. I think that it is so beautiful I just wanted to share it with everyone. I hope you enjoy it!

Arbor Day and Zoo Pictures

2008-04-15T11:14:00.002-05:00

Not long ago our playground at ACA (the kids' school) was renovated and made much larger and much nicer. All of this work and new equiptment was donated by a wonderful couple at our church, soooo, today we planted a tree in honor of them and all of their hard work and dedication to our school.
Here is a picture of the tree... Here is Aaden praying at the celebration...
The next 3 pictures are of Aaden helping to fill
the hole with some dirt.

Now, a while ago we went to the zoo with our friends the Porters. We were going to go for Rylan's birthday back at the beginning of March, but every time we wanted to go it was HORRIBLE weather. So we finally made it at the end of March, and we all had a great time!! Here are some pictures showing how fun it was!

Aaden and Rylan being sweet to eachother...

Aaden looking cool hangin' out on the railing...

(I don't think they really want you to do that,

so, shhhh, don't tell.)

Here is me and the kids looking cute in our white shirts and blue jeans, we had picture day at school that day so we were all dressed alike, well me and the kids that is. Amy decided not to wear her white shirt, but we can forgive her for that.
Here are the 3 cuties checking out, well, something, I don't remember what. See all the white shirts? Cute, huh?
And here is Aaden checking out the penguins. They were pretty neat!
We had a great time at the zoo! And a special thanks to Amy for the pictures since I was a bad mom and forgot my camera. Next time maybe more of our friends can come! (hint, hint, Jill and Andrea!)

The Garage Sale Was A Success!!!

2008-04-14T17:18:00.003-05:00

While getting ready for our garage sale a little squirrel came up and decided that the kids looked like his friends. My friend Amy who was helping me has now adapted him and taken him to live at her house (outside of course). He was a baby squirrel who was apparently very hungry. All the kids thought he was cool and wanted to touch him.
Here is Aaden petting him... All the kids reaching up to grab him.
Lets take turns and be soft.
Here is a cute picture of the squirrel and all the "junk" in our carport. Wow!!! That's alot of stuff!
Here is Amy holding Skrat. Aaden had originally decided the squirrel would be named Jessica, but I didn't like that so when Amy took him home she let her kids re-name him. Skrat is the name of the squirrel on Ice Age.

Sooo, we had a HUGE garage sale last weekend at our house as a fundraiser for ACA (the kids' school). We were raising money to buy new large indoor toys for the gym. We didn't quite reach our (ok, my) goal, but we still made a lot of money. We can buy lots of toys.

People were dropping off items during the week, and the kids found a pair of tap shoes (thanks girls). They took turns tapping all around the driveway.

First it was Rylan's turn...

Then Aaden took a turn...
Then Rylan's turn again...

(check out that face) Then Aaden had a turn again.
Then we sold them in the garage sale.

The Crazy We Call Our Lives

2008-04-08T17:35:00.003-05:00

Here are just a few pictures of things we have been up to lately.
Here is Rylan eating some chicken...yum!!!

It is western week at school, and yesterday was boot day. Here are the kids in Aaden's class wearing their boots. (Rylan was the only one in her class wearing her boots.) Today was bandana day, but our kids would have no part in that. They would NOT keep their bandanas on. Aaden even started crying. Bandanas are not worth that!

The kids took class pictures a couple of weeks ago. Everyone was wearing white shirts and blue jeans. It was super cute. Here are zooms of what Aaden and Rylan looked like in the pictures. The quality is not great because the picture I have is a 5x7 and there are like 15 people in each picture.

This is Aaden smiling big!
Here is Rylan looking so cute!

HOLY MOLY!!! I filled my car up with gas, and this was the price! $93.12 Wow!! I'm not sure we're going to be taking any road trips this summer.

One more thing...we are having a HUGE garage sale this weekend. All proceeds will go to ACA (the kids' school). I have gone through our house top to bottom, and cleaned everything out. Plus parents and teachers are donating items to be sold. Like I said, it will be HUGE!!! Pray that I can get everything priced and organized in time, and that it is a success!

Rylan's Haircut

2008-03-31T18:29:00.003-05:00

Rylan's hair was getting pretty long, but it was very stringy and uneven. Sooooo, I chopped it. Yes, I. I cut it last night after she got out of the bath, but after going to school all day I decided it wasn't short enough. After we got home from school I cut it again. Here are a couple of pictures of what it looks like. I LOVE it, so I don't want to hear any comments about anything different from that.
And, just in case you were wondering I will grow her hair long now. I just wanted to cut off all the baby hair and let it get thick and healthy. Plus, she may never let me cut it this short again, and the time of her opinion is approaching quickly. I just wanted it to be short one time. I think that it is so cute, like I said before, but I will probably grow it long from here. I hope you all enjoy!

Girl's Weekend in Austin

2008-03-19T13:38:00.002-05:00

Here is Rylan riding the dog at Old Navy.

Here is Rylan petting a baby goat at the petting zoo at the Austin Livestock show and Rodeo. We went to the fair grounds and did rides and things. They also had a stick horse rodeo for the kids and so I entered Rylan in it to do barrel racing. (Hence the number on her back.)

Here she is riding her stick horse around the barrel. She wasn't too sure about it all. She trotted her horse around one barrel and then just headed back out the gate. (Normally there are 3 barrels.)

Here we are with her ribbon. Everyone's a winner at the stick horse rodeo.

And of course we had to get on the carousel. It was pretty much the only ride that she was big enough to ride on. I better savor it while it lasts though because in just a few years both kids will be big enough to ride every ride. They'll just be asking for money and I won't see them the rest of the day. Oh well, I still have now.

We had a great time visiting my sister and her husband. Aaden was out at the lake with my parents. They had a great time fishing and riding in the boat. We all had a wonderful spring break vacation. We are now back in Longview to stay and enjoy easter.

The Last Wedding Post

2008-03-19T13:26:00.003-05:00

This picture is what my sister and I fondly refer to as the "What! What!" picture. Aaden looks like he is trying to act like a cool gangsta'.

Ok now. I need everyone to brace themselves for this next picture. This was the most hilarious picture of all the pictures taken at the wedding (over 1100) and probably the most hilarious picture taken at just about anyone's wedding ever in the history of weddings. What you can't see is the best man making a very sweet and romantic toast to the newly weds. And then there's Rylan...no one even knew she was doing this (except for the photographer).
Ok, no more wedding pictures. I do however think that the ones I posted were worth seeing. I hope you all enjoy!

Here They Come Down the Aisle

2008-03-18T20:14:00.003-05:00

I just think that these pictures are so funny. Aaden was trying to tell Rylan that they needed to hold hands. She didn't want anything to do with that...as you can see. Enjoy!

Easter Egg Hunts

2008-03-13T17:10:00.003-05:00

Since Easter falls early this year and we have spring break the week before easter the school easter egg hunt was today. The kids all had a great time, and everyone loaded up with candy...just what we needed.

Here is Rylan with her Easter basket. This morning she didn't want anything to do with it, but then at egg hunt time she figured out what it was for and she didn't want to put it down. She even held it in her lap while she was riding in the car on the way home.

Here is Rylan showing me what was in her egg.

Here is Aaden checking out his loot.

I was trying so hard to get a smile. This was the best I got out of him...he was just too distracted.

That's all for now. I hope that everyone has a wonderful spring break, and a very HAPPY EASTER.

A Few Wedding Pictures

2008-03-12T13:10:00.005-05:00

After walking down the aisle Aaden and Rylan were escorted away from the wedding, but during the ceremony Aaden figured out he must have been missing something. So he ran accross the lawn yelling "Mommy! Mommy!" all the way until he got to me. He really wanted to tell me something, but I quickly shushed him and held his hand the rest of the ceremony.
This is my dad, lovingly known as Poppy by my children, holding Rylan during the reception. All during the reception she just wanted Poppy. She would just say his name over and over until she would find him. It was cute. And this is Aaron and I probably after the wedding. He stayed and ate during the reception then he and his brother took the kids, so I could stay and dance and be crazy with everyone.
And my little princess eating her ribbon. She loved her dress, not so much the flower girl part. She ran down the aisle as fast as she could crying the entire way.

Those are a few pictures from my sister's wedding. It was a blast!!! (The wedding was back in Feb, but I forgot my camera and these are the first pictures that have been e-mailed to me.) I may post more as I get them. Wedding pictures are just so fun!!!

So we are all doing well. We have joined the rest of the world and have gotten high speed internet. So blogging will be much easier and much more fun now. I am definitely excited about that. So, you will have to check more often because I may be writing more often. That is all for today though.

My Baby is TWO!!!

2008-03-04T13:29:00.002-06:00

My little girl is now a big girl. I feel like she has graduated from baby to toddler in just one day. Two years old now! Wow! The time truly has flown. I know that is so cliche' (hmm, is that how you spell that?), but it truly seems like she was just born. She is such an amazing little girl. She is very funny and loves to laugh. She likes bows (finally!) and getting dressed up, almost as much as she likes playing outside in the mud and dirt. She is prone for disaster, and is constantly hurting herself. Her knees are always scraped up and she even currently has a black eye (that's what happens when Daddy takes the kids to chick-fil-a). She is rough and tumble and loving and caring. She loves her baby dolls and likes sharing her food, with anyone and anything. She is friendly and outgoing and afraid of NOTHING!!! She likes bugs and worms and lizards, and is always ready to pull the tail of the many dogs our family members all own. That is my baby girl Rylan Grace in a nut shell. TWO!!!
Remember, scroll down to see the pictures of birthday and to see what the kids have been up to!

Presidents Day

2008-02-20T13:47:00.002-06:00

Monday was a holiday for our school. Usually I work and the kids are at school on Monday so we had a whole day to hang out and do nothing just me and the kids. We had a great day full of watching tv, playing, singing, and POTTY TRAINING! We are beginning to potty train Rylan and she is doing great!!! She is hardly having any accidents and really can tell when she has to go. I am so proud of her, and so excited to be a diaper free house in the not so distant future!!! Hooray for underpants!!!! (That is a quote from "Elmo Potty"...the movie)
Scroll down to check out the pictures of our day.

Valentine's Day

2008-02-15T14:07:00.002-06:00

We had so much fun yesterday at school. There were parties with cookies and candy and all kinds of yummy things. The kids had a blast! I did too! I still got to see all the regular classes of the day along with spending a little extra time with my kids and their classes during party time. It was fun and I am posting a few pictures that show the fun that we all had.
I hope that everyone had a happy valentine's day!!!

Also, on a more serious note. Our friends Drew and Jill had their babies this morning. Jill was pregnant with twin girls, Elizabeth Grace and Olivia Faith. They were both over 5 lbs but being born at about 34 weeks, I don't believe their lungs are quite mature yet. We are excited for them that their babies are here, but please keep them in your prayers that these babies stay safe and healthy as they grow stronger and get ready to go home.

The Worst Blogger EVER!!!

2008-02-11T12:21:00.000-06:00

Ok everybody, I realize that it has been a loooooong time since I have written anything. I am going to update quickly due to time, and I will come back and fill in and add details later. So we had a great Christmas and New Year. The kids made out like bandits. Aaron had a great birthday. He turned 28 on New Year's Eve. January was good. We got back into the swing of things with school and I am back at the gym 4 or 5 times a week (I had taken some time off to get fat over the holidays). We kicked of February with surgery. That's right. Aaron thought that it was a good idea to get a hernia, so February 1 we got up super early and went to the hospital to have his guts sewn back together. (He is recovering well and is back at work today.) This past weekend my baby sister got married. We were gone Thursday Feb 7 - Sunday Feb 10. The weekend was super busy and fun and wild and crazy. The wedding was beautiful and romantic and entertaining (thanks to my kids, but more on that later). Now we are home and the kids and I are home sick, and I am taking them to the doctor. So, I gotta go!
I promise to fill in details and pictures later.

Medical Science Experiment

2007-12-12T09:33:00.000-06:00

I recieved this in an e-mail from my dad, and I thought I would share.

Subject: Coughing
To stop nighttime coughing in a child, put Vicks Vaporub generously on the bottom of the feet at bedtime, then cover with socks.
Even persistent, heavy, deep coughing will stop in about 5 minutes and stay stopped for many, many hours of relief.
Works 100% of the time and is more effective in children than even very strong prescription cough medicines. In addition it is extremely soothing and comforting and they will sleep soundly.
I heard the head of the Canada Research Council describe these findings on the part of their scientists when they were investigating the effectiveness and usage of prescription cough medicines in children as compared to alternative therapies like accupressure. Just happened to tune in A.M. Radio and picked up this guy talking about why cough medicines in kids often do more harm than good due to the chemical makeup of these strong drugs so, I listened.
It was a surprising finding and found to be more effective than prescribed medicines for children at bedtime, in addition to have a soothing and calming effect on sick children who then went on to sleep soundly.

So I took the challenge. Both of my kids have coughs, so last night was a perfect night to try. I lathered the bottoms of all 4 feet (2 kids, and 2 feet per kid) and put socks on Aaden and a footied pajamas on Rylan and waited. The rest of the evening I probably heard 2 or 3 coughs out of each child, and they both slept through the night. No coughing, and no snoring. Aaden is a major snorer and I didn't hear a peep out of him.
I give this treatment an A+. If you or your child gets a cough this is a wonderful way to get a good nights sleep, for everyone in the house.

Turkey Day was a success!

2007-11-26T21:33:00.000-06:00

We are back home after a busy and wonderful week and exhausting week.
First we had a big Thanksgiving feast at the kid's school. All the kids sit at a HUGE long table and eat turkey and mac and cheese (mac and cheeseroni, as Aaden refers to it) and fruit and cheese and rolls. It was fun and wild. The kids were dressed up as indians. It was pretty cute!
The kids and I left last Tuesday for Austin. We hung out with Laila and Seth (my sister and her fiance) and planned for our Thanksgiving meal, the first one I have ever cooked! I have made a dish here and there, but this year we fixed the entire meal ourselves. My sister had done it several times before (that's what she gets for going to college so far from home...Florida and then Virginia) so it was no big thing to her, but I think that it is a big deal! We had cajun turkey (thanks to the fully cooked line from H-E-B) and honey spiral sliced ham and stuffing and green bean casserole and mac and cheese and cheesey mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce and rolls and 2 pies. We had enough food for a small army and there were only 4 adults and 2 kids who barely eat. Aaron joined us on Thursday morning (he got up super early and drove the 6 hours to Austin and was there to wake us up that morning). He also took the kids to a park for a couple hours while we were cooking. It was a HUGE help. So, we were planning on eating at 2, but we ate about 3:30 so everyone was STARVING!!! We consumed more food than any human should ever eat in one sitting and then just vegged out the rest of the evening. Except for cleaning up, of course. Then Friday we stopped by my friend Jason's house to catch the BIG game (A&M and UT of course!). I stayed as long as the kids could stand it, then headed out to the lake with the kids. My parents came in that night, and we hung out with them for the rest of the very cold and wet weekend. We came back to Longview on Sunday and headed back to school this morning.
So, that was our Thanksgiving. I hope that everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday!

Halloween

2007-11-02T10:59:00.000-05:00

Our Halloween was busy and fun and ...well, you'll see how it ended. It started off with taking the kids to school. (Which they still love by the way.) And I went off to my bible study. I then went home and got together little toothbrush treats for the kids at school. With all of the sugar that the kids are eating I thought that they may need a new toothbrush to clean all the sugar out of their teeth. (Plus Aaden and I have not had great dentist visits lately.)
I dropped off the toothbrushes and I went and got our booth ready for trunk or treat. We did a fishing theme so I borrowed the board and the fishing poles from fall fest and we let the kids fish for their candy. I think it was fun. So anyways, after that I brought the kids home from school and we hung out and got them dressed in their costumes. Some of our friends came over and got dressed here too.
Then we left the house and swung by wendy's for some chicken nuggets (a staple in our house) and headed off for trunk or treat. The kids went around gathering candy from all the small groups. I ate chili. We ran around and had a good time. We left about 8 and headed to our friend Missy's house to show off the kid's costumes. (Missy and Jeff and their 2 kids Jordan and Erin live behind us. We have all become great friends over the fence. It makes me think of Tim the Toolman Taylor and his neighbor Wilson. It's kinda like that.) Anyways we went over there and Missy and I were talking and Rylan was raiding her candy bowl and Aaden was complaining that he wanted to go home because his tummy hurt. (Too much candy?) We were getting up to leave because of Aaden's complaining and the vomiting began. He threw up on her living room carpet and over to the tile entry and out the door on her door mat. Missy is such a wonderful friend that she told me to just take him home and she would clean it all up (as she was telling me this she was putting on her surgical gloves, it was really kinda' funny) So we came home and I bathed the kids and got them ready for bed. Rylan went right down, but Aaden not so much. He continued to vomit throughout the night. I gave him some phenergon which conked him and and seemed to help his stomach some. So I pretty much stayed up all night with him and stayed home from work the next day to take care of him.
So that was our happy and not so happy halloween.

There are a couple pictures from Trunk or Treat at the bottom. Enjoy!

A few pictures

2007-10-24T07:51:00.000-05:00

I FINALLY put the pictures up from the lake and the pumpkin patch in Marble Falls. Scroll all the way down to see them.
Enjoy!

School Pictures

2007-10-13T10:27:00.000-05:00

We got the kid's school pictures back last Thursday. They are so cute. Just see for yourself. (Scroll all the way down.)
Also I posted a couple other pictures. One is of my silly son finger painting. He is quite a character. The other picture is just a picture of Rylan looking cute.
(In Rylan's pictures I am sure that you will notice the bows. I LOVE HUGE bows. I put them in her hair as much as possible, but unlike her mommy, she does not care for them. She pulls them out like 30 seconds after I put them in her hair. So in these pictures I had just put the bow in. I am going to keep trying, but I'm sure when she gets older she is going to tell me to get real!)

Ok, one more thing. Why don't I put the pictures on the posts you ask? Because we have slow internet + slow computer and it won't let me add pictures to my posts. So you will just have to scroll down if you want to see the pictures. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but I'm doing my best. I keep trying every now and again and like 3 hours later I still can't get the pictures on the posts. Oh well. It sets our blog apart from the rest.

We have fall fest tonight. It is a GIANT fundraiser for ACA. It's like a carnival type thing with rides and games and a silent auction. We are trying to raise money to get sunshades to cover the play ground. (As of right now there is NO shade, and it gets really really really HOT!!!) The kids are getting dressed up in their costumes, which are going to be so so so cute. What are they going to be? You'll have to wait and see. I will post pictures next week. Trust me it will be worth the wait. It's really cute!
Have a great weekend!

What's going on in the Thomas House?

2007-10-10T16:26:00.000-05:00

School is still going really well for all of us. I am having so much fun teaching! The kids are all so funny and entertaining. Aaden and Rylan are both loving their classes. They are both learning so much. I realize we didn't sing very much in our house when Aaden was little (ok, he's still little, but when he was really little) because he is learning so many new songs that maybe I should have taught him before he was 3. He does have Happy Birthday down (he sang it to my mom 3 times), and a song that he made up called Baby Jesus. I am really trying to work with him on The ABC's. He's doing great! Rylan is just talking talking talking. She is saying so many words, and whew watch out because she is BOSSY! (I wonder where she gets that from.) If she wants you to do something she will walk right up to you and grab your hand and take you wherever she wants you to go. She however has not been feeling well this week. She's been running a high fever and the doctor said she had a very sore throat (but you wouldn't know it by how much she is still eating). She has stayed home from school this whole week, but I hope she will be well and can return tomorrow, Thursday...the day I work. This past Monday was a holiday for ACA (our school) and the kids and I don't have school on Friday so we took the long weekend and went to visit my parents. We had a great time and we got to see Aunt Sissy and Uncle Seth! (My sister Laila and her fiance Seth now live in Austin and are getting married in February. Yay!) We went paddle boating, and kayaking, and fishing, and on the motor boat, and we went swimming at the island in the middle of Lake Buchanan. It was great. We had a really fun weekend. Sunday afternoon Meme and Poppy took the kids to a little farm outside of Marble Falls where they had a pumkin patch and a hay ride and a tractor and cool crafts and such. There are lots of pictures from that, but I just don't have them yet (Dad, hint hint.) I will post them as soon as I get them. They all had a great time! What did I do during that time? I stayed at their house by myself! It is a rare occasion when I am by myself...it was GREAT!!! We came back Monday, and jumped right back into life in Longview.
Aaron had a great weekend too. He stayed in Longview by himself and got to hang out and be a guy (a rare occasion for him). He hung out with his cousins and watched football. He hung out with his dad and did bow and arrow stuff. He went to see his grandmother, and got to visit with her. So, no worries, he had a great weekend even though the love of his life was not with him. :)

Now some sad news. Tuesday we found out that a long time family friend, Linda Judd, died over the weekend. Her death is sudden and very tragic. Please be praying for her family and close friends. I believe her services will be early next week in Austin. I am sorry to end on such a sad note, but it is really weighing on my mind and my heart, and I know they need all the thoughts and prayers they can get. So please pray for them!

Paris, Home, Paris, and back home

2007-09-23T09:40:00.000-05:00

Guess where I spent much of this week! That's right...Paris! (Texas that is) Tuesday I had to go to the dentist to get one of my teeth worked on (which still looks beautiful by the way) and he (Dr. Clint my dentist) put a temporary filling in the back of my tooth. Well, temporary is definitely the key word because by the next day I had already knocked much of the filling out of my tooth. So I called him, and he said that I needed to come back if at all possible. Of course it was possible so I went and got Aaron (because we were temporarily down to one car due to a broken water pump in my Yukon), then we went to get the kids, and then back to Paris we went (it's a 2 hour drive by the way). It was good though because the second trip we got to see Rachel and Roselyn (Dr. Clint's wife and little girl, oh and Clint is Jaymie Phillip's brother, so that's how it's all tied together, and Aaron knew all these guys from summer camp when they were all in college). Even though Roselyn wasn't feeling well she was still so so so cute! She is 11 months old, and walking (and falling too) and has the prettiest red curly hair anyone has ever seen. She is cute as a doll!
Needless to say my tooth is fixed (I will actually smile big again), my car is fixed, and hopefully this week won't be as crazy as last week, but hey, that's up to God. We do have a full week, but if all goes as planned then we will have atleast a little down time, something none of us have had since school started.
School is still going well. I am loving it more and more each day. The kids are all so wonderful and bright. I think I may walk away with more from them than them from me. My 2 kids are doing great, well except for Aaden's fever. He actually seems to be feeling fine, but keeps running fever of 101 to 102. We started antibiotics last night, so hopefully we will have a full week of school ahead of us. (We did skip church this morning though just to be sure no one else gets sick.)Aaden has a fieldtrip on Tuesday to this awesome place called Pump It Up. It is this giant warehouse with huge blow up things in it that the kids can jump on and slide down and crawl through. It's a blast (in fact I've already booked Aaden's 4th birthday to be there...yes you have to do it that far in advance.) Rylan and Aaden both have school pictures on Wed. Yay! Me and my anal self already have the kid's clothes picked out. Ok, not just for that day, but for the whole week too. I know I'm wierd, I don't care though. It will be a GREAT week!

School has begun

2007-09-12T17:19:00.000-05:00

We had a great first couple days of school. The kids did well, and seem to really be having a great time. Rylan really loves school, and Aaden has fun once he gets there. Aaden has had a couple of problems, but I am optimistic that he will settle down and start behaving himself better...REALLY SOON!!! I loved my first day of teaching! I had a blast, and the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves too. We had music on Monday, and we are going to have Spanish tomorrow. I hope it goes as well as music.
Scroll down to check out a few new pictures.

He's HOME!!

2007-09-04T16:18:00.000-05:00

This time it's for real. Aaron is actually and truly back in Longview! After being gone for a month it was wonderful to see him. We had a crazy busy day today, and there is still more to come. This morning I took Rylan to the doctor (an ear infection), then we went and picked up Aaron at the airport, then we all went and ate at IHOP, then we filled Rylan's ear infection medicine, then we all (big mistake on the all part) went to a funeral, now we are home for a little while, and then we are going to the open house at ACA. I will be working and Aaron will take the kids to meet the teachers and recieve any special instructions for the first day of school (which is Thursday). At some point in time we also plan to eat dinner. I guess we should do that here in a little while. Well that's all for now. I really just wanted to tell everyone that I am no longer a single mom...YAY!!! I have my husband back.

I spoke too soon...

2007-08-27T12:08:00.000-05:00

Aaron did NOT come home on Sunday. They asked him to stay just one more week (we'll see if that really happens). He is now set to come home after Labor Day. It's ok though since the kids and I will be busy at Alpine getting ready for school to start. We have shopping to do, and a classroom to finish, plus we have to go swimming as much as possible the last week before school starts!

Finally!!!

2007-08-25T12:49:00.000-05:00

Aaron is coming home. When you ask? Tomorrow (Sunday)!!! He is set to arrive in Longview at 10am. (We'll see if that really happens.) The kids and I will get up, get dressed, and go get DAD!! I haven't told the kids yet, but they will be super excited. I hate telling Aaden things that may not work out the way we plan. He's not quite old enough to understand, then he gets upset, and so on and so on. Needless to say I am really excited. He's been gone for three long weeks, and may possibly go back again. Hopefully he won't leave again until school starts. That way the kids and I will be busier, and it won't seem as long. On that note, I am really excited to get the school year going. I pretty much have my classroom ready. CPR and first aid training is on Thursday, and then the first day of school is the following Thursday. Yay! I think that it will be so fun.

Vacation

2007-08-17T20:12:00.000-05:00

We are back!!! From where you ask, we went to Gulf Shores Alabama for the week. Aaron is still in Alaska, and some of our friends rented a condo there so we joined them! The kids and I drove to Gulf Shores this past Tuesday and we just drove home today (Friday). It was tons of fun! The kids had a blast! They loved swimming and playing in the sand. We also went to an alligator rescue park and saw the alligators. It was nice to have a really fun break right before school starts. What a great way to end the summer! Too bad Aaron missed out. I told him when he gets back we will have to have a family getaway, even if just for a couple of days. I still don't know when he is coming home, but I know he will be back in time for Nate and Steph's wedding on September 8th. Anyways, scroll down to see some pictures from our vacation. Enjoy!

Pictures

2007-08-13T23:30:00.000-05:00

I added a few pictures. Scroll all the way down. I haven't quite figured this whole thing out, but hey, I got some pictures up. I hope you enjoy!
(I will try to post more pictures this coming weekend.)

Our New Blog

2007-08-12T21:44:00.000-05:00

I have decided to start a blog (seems to be the trend) to help people near and far check in on our family and see pictures and such easily from their own home. I am hoping that this will help my dad see pictures of the kids more too! (He always wants me to e-mail him pictures. Love you Dad!!) So this is my attempt at setting up a blog.
Well, first of all I have some news about myself. I got a job. That's right. This stay at home mom will be working 2 days a week at a preschool and kindergarden at our church. I will be teaching Music and Spanish. (Yes, I know Spanish, atleast enough to teach it to young children.) I am really excited! This also means that the kids will be switching schools. The past 2 years Aaden has attended New Horizon Preschool, which is a Mother's Day Out, at Greggton Methodist. We are all going to be at Alpine Christian Academy. I think this is a really great opportunity for me, and a wonderful one for the kids. Alot of the kids in their classes will be the same kids we go to church with, and it is the same environment too! Plus, we will have a little bit of extra income every month that we haven't had since before I had Aaden.
That is all for now. I promise to get pictures downloaded soon! I've got to get them off the camera first!