Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Easter

We had a special time celebrating Easter and our Risen Savior! We are always sure to go to a church community's celebration near us every year.

E loved the palms!
J loved the stations of the cross

All three ready to go!
Blake loved the slides!
Watching the teachers set out the eggs
That boy, Blake...
She's a mover and does not like being locked up in her stroller much :-)
They were good about stopping when their basket was full. Jameston even helped Blake with his
Wish they got along this well all the time :-)
Obligatory pic with Easter bunny!
Recylcing our eggs!
She was obsessed!
Pops met up with us and even joined in on the fun!
He treated the boys to sno-cones, which might have been their favorite part :-)
Of course, much to this mommy's chagrin, they all wanted to get in the ball pit (aka germ pit)
E's first time, and she LOVED it to say the least :-)
The next morning, before we left for church, we opened Easter baskets...
New straw cup!
Pez, hehe
Big Hero 6 coloring book!
Chaos!


After church we did a little bit of an Easter egg hunt indoors, since it was pouring outside...
Right after church and before lunch, I snapped these pics in the front yard (luckily it had stopped sprinkling for the time being). Be still my heart!

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Thursday, April 23, 2015

Hill country trips

The kids and I took two trips to central TX within two weeks of each other. We made sure to pack a picnic lunch!
And stopped at the new Belton travel center. The boys were impressed!
I was impressed with the outdoor playground to let the kids run off some extra energy. Win!


I had to attend a professional conference in San Antonio for two days. The kids stayed with my in-laws. I was able to see my friends from grad school!
Riverwalk

And we four broke away from the conference and even went to Gruene that Saturday for some shopping, dining out and R&R away from our 11 kids combined :-)

I sure was ready to see my three! They had a blast with their Granny and Papa!



And two weekends ago, the kids and I drove to Austin to see my undergrad friends and my sister and her family! Phew, what a fun and busy trips!!


Friends for 14 years!
My sister was kind and watched all five kids that Saturday morning so I could hang with my girlfriends and without strollers :-)
I returned the favor that night and got in some extra fun time with my nieces...
The kids never want to part!
And on our way back to Dallas that Sunday, we stopped over to see my cousin and her family of five!
The baby girls were having a blast making a mess!
All the kids!! So fun!

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Mimi is 60, Memaw is 80!

My mom, aka Mimi, turned 60 on March 4th. She and Elise share their birthday!  We had a little family shin-dig on the actual day of her birthday. The boys were excited and helped me prep all day before she arrived :-)
Mom with her youngest two, reading her cards. Maggie made her a jar in which each of her four kids wrote down 60 reasons why we love her. She loved it! And I made a photo book on Chatbooks, which she can keep on her coffee table or as a brag book on her purse...
A sign I found her for in Canton

Mimi with her five grandchildren!
The birthday gals!

After dinner we met my brother and rode on DART to AAC to see Fleetwood Mac!
Many a childhood memories for us four kids growing up listening to them! So when Maggie told me there were playing ON the night of mom's bday, we HAD to go! And I had to make t-shirts to document :-) They read, "Mama, Mimi. Donna is 60!"
Such a great show!!! And the cold weather, "Snowmageddon" didn't hold back attendance for the sold-out show!
Speaking of snow, it snowed 5 inches that night and took us almost 5 hours to get back home, all 25 miles of it...memories!
The kids didn't care that we got little to no sleep :-) and they were up with the roosters ready for a fun day together inside and outside in the snow!
This year is a BIG year for decade birthdays in my family! My Memaw turned 80 in February. We headed to Vernon that day to celebrate her!!

Brett's grandfather passed away in February. He was known as Pappy to his nine grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Found this picture of him holding Brett from circa 1985.
We celebrated his life with a beautiful memorial service, and we look forward to reunited with him again one day

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