Lacie B

man have we been busy!!!

2010-06-09T11:57:00.000-05:00

We have been soooo busy these last few weeks/month! I am going to post a bunch of pics to sum up everything that we have been up to! this is my attempt at catching up on this blog... here goes!

we celebrated Mother's Day with the family... i have a ton of pics from that day and i will share them on facebook so that the whole family can have them...

my bABY turned fOUR!! we celebrated with a whole bunch of little boys and girls, a joy jump, a baseball cake and lots of fUN!

my niece hannah was in a play at their church! she did an aMAZING job! you rOCK hannah!

we are so very proud of you!

diddle got boots and a new belt for his birthday and refused to wear anything but his boots and belt for about 2 weeks!

even in the 130 degree heat that we had... he wanted boots, pants, and belt!

because of course... he is a COWBOY!

my cousin Justin married his bEAUTIFUL bride... Mindy!

they had a beautiful wedding and reception and then jetted off to beautiful beaches!!

darren got to do the high ropes course at the school... all of the 5th graders did!

darren had no trouble at all with the course! he climbed the telephone poll, shimmied across a wire only holding onto a small rope and then zipped down the zipline... he lOVED it!

we celebrated April's upcoming marriage (which has already happend)...

i have a ton more pics but i think i am gonna need a whole blog post to share them all!

Madisonville Stampede... a select baseball team Darren is playing on had their first tournament!

i love this picture of the team praying together before the game!

A team that Prays together, Stays together!

This is a great group of boys and we are having so much fun!

diddle put on his FIRST BANDAID!!

if you know my child you know that he is terrified by bandaides, stickers, tatooes..

he smashed his finger on a game in mr ghattis and had to have a bandaid...

the picture is awful because we were driving down the road when i took it..

but the look on diddle's face says it all!

poor baby!

Emilie had her field day at school! they had so much fun...

she participated in several of the leg races and loved every minute of it!

they played outside, had snacks, and most importantly no school work for the day!

the 5th graders didn't have field day this year... they had SWIM DAY!

as you can tell... these boys had fun and are ready for summer!

Madisonville Magic had their first tournament of the summer...

they did a GREAT job and had lots of fun!

they played 4 games in one day.... whew!

Emilie is one of the pitchers for the team... GO EMILIE!!

** WOW**

that sums up our last few weeks! BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!!

the summer has just started and i am so thankful for my job that allows me to be off for the summer with the kids! hopefully i can keep this blog up a little better...

Oh and don't be afraid to leave a comment... I like to know who... if anyone... is reading this blog!

if you don't leave a comment, i will assume that i am blogging for nothing!

justin & mindy lou...

2010-05-06T14:37:00.001-05:00

my cousin justin is getting married!

he has chosen the sweetest girl.... mindy lou... they are so cute together and i know that they have a long and happy future ahead of them!

my aunt asked me to take a few pictures of these two love birds before they get hitched... i was sooooo very nervous, i enjoy taking pictures but taking pictures of anyone other than my kids stresses me out!!

so aunt sandy, justin, and mindy lou... these are for you...!

i took a bunch of pictures... my motto is...the more you take, the more you have to choose from! the odds are in my favor with more pics!! lol... these are some of my favorites from the day!

these last few pics are FUN! aunt sandy and mindy really wanted pics of them jumping.. justin wasn't so sure, but he was such a trooper! we laughed so hard... these two could not figure out how to jump at the same time... one would be in the air, the other on the ground... one going up and one coming down! they were hilarious!

i had fun, even though i was a ball of nerves!

the things we do for family!

love you guys... i know you will be blessed with a long and happy marriage filled with love!

diddle was in "calf" heaven

2010-04-19T13:33:00.001-05:00

i will start out by saying that i am not a country girl... i was raised in this small Texas town, but i have never been one to get dirty, show animals at the fair, ride horses, go hunting... you get my drift. :)
i think it would be safe to say that my youngest is the exact opposite of me... and i love that about him!
he loves all things country! you see, diddle is my little cowboy/ farmer/ bull rider/ country boy... he loves the outdoors, the dirt, the animals... all of it! so last weekend when he got to help his Pawpaw bottle feed a calf, he was in HEAVEN! its so funny to me how something like that can make a little boy so happy!
you should have seen the look on his face as he fed this calf... he was grinning from ear to ear... he was in "calf" heaven!

Easter 2010...

2010-04-09T14:54:00.003-05:00

I love it when we get to spend time with family!! I have to admit that we are pretty lucky... most of our family lives within a 30 mile radius! that makes for big groups and lots of fun... especially on holidays! this Easter, we enjoyed a great Easter service at church and then the kids had not one, not two, but THREE Easter egg hunts in one day... whew! we have candy coming out of our eyeballs!

I took a gazillion pictures... here are a few of them! they are in no particular order, just a few of my favorites from the day!

the picture above was taken by my brother-in-law, Chris... he had very strict instructions to make sure that the picture was from the neck up... lol.. thanks Chris, i love this pic of me, nana, and toot! you did a great job! =)

this was Diddle and CarCar at Nana & Paw's.. and sweet baby Makalin with her momma.. she was content with one egg! I am going to nick name her Smiley... she smiles from ear to ear and is the sweetest baby!

the top left pic, makes me smile! zailey loves her ~~Pappy,~~ i mean Poppa... it looked like they were having a serious conversation... she was probably saying something about how I was her favorite Aunt Great... or something like that! (lol.. that's what she is going to call me.. Aunt Great.. not her Great Aunt Lacie!)

I finally got some pics of Ash and Michael's kiddos and oh my goodness look at how big Beej and Christi's family has gotten!

Zailey girl on the left is ADORABLE! she looks so much like her momma... she's got all of us wrapped around those tiny little fingers! ... on the right.. Mandaliciosos and Colt 45 or just 45 if you are asking diddle! what a cute couple!

the last set of pics...

at the top, my niece Hannah, a.k.a. Hashbrown and Aaron & Tam... i can't believe i actually got a pic of Aaron smiling, he is a teenager for sure, too cool to crack a smile at his crazy aunt who always has a camera in his face! i love you Aaron, that's why i bug you so much! Emilie, my pretty girl.. Ash and Michael, and Boomaw and PawPaw!

What a great Easter...church, fun, food, and most importantly FAMILY!

I have a ton more pictures but I have to save some for the scrapbook...every year for Christmas, i make a family scrapbook and it is in the gift exchange. (remember when i said that Christi's family racks up at Christmas.. they have taken the scrapbook home EVERY YEAR!.. and Bill I am still mad about you stealing it from me!) any way... I want some of the pictures to be a surprise!

Hope you all had an amazing EASTER... I know we did!

my little BASKETBALL allstar

2010-04-03T17:41:00.002-05:00

Emilie is our SOFTBALL player... she eats, sleeps and breathes softball! so... when she said she wanted to play basketball this year we were a little surprised... but very excited for her to give it a shot! we signed her up for little dribblers and let me tell you, she had a BLAST and learned a lot! she was on T-Bird's team and they got first place at the end of the year tourney... woowhooo! after the big win... Emilie quickly went back into softball mode... at least until T-Bird called and said that Emilie had made ALL-STARS! hum, softball and basketball... that makes for one busy little girl... softball on tuesday and friday, basketball on monday and thurs! holy moly!

this is the ALL-STAR team!

they had 2 scrimmages today against navasota and WON them both! we are so proud of you girls!

i guess for now, our SOFTBALL player will be playing both softball and basketball!

gotta love it!

B-I-N-G-O

2010-04-02T23:45:00.001-05:00

we went out to support the second annual madison county 4-H BINGO fundraiser tonight! what more can you ask for?? bingo, nachos, dobbers, and smiles!

we sat beside our neighbors, the Fredericks, and all of us had some close calls... poor camryn even bingoed once but ended up not winning because two people bingoed at the same time and she didn't win the tie-breaker!

Jon however was very lucky tonight... he got to yell out BINGO and snagged a cool prize...$40 to best buy, a spaghetti basket, a CD, a 4-H shirt and it was all packaged up in a snazzy basket!

if you didn't make it out to the fundraiser... you missed out! we had a BLAST!

a day at the beach....

2010-03-26T12:15:00.001-05:00

Well.... Audrea and I had great intentions for a fun filled day at the beach! Unfortunately, mother nature had a plan of her own!... It was gorgeous outside... bright, sunny, picture perfect... until you get out of your car and are almost blown away by the hurricane force winds! We all went to the beach and while the kids walked, ran, played, attempted to get in the cold water... Audrea and I bundled up in towels and hoodies! It was WINDY and COLD... not my idea of a fun day at the beach at all!

The kids played for about 20 minutes... they were sandy, cold and hungry! It didn't bother me a bit that they wanted to leave the beach and try out some of the other adventures that Galveston had to offer!

The kiddos were not going to leave Galveston without riding the Bicycles that you rent and ride down the seawall!... they loved it...FUN,FUN! We rode up and down the seawall for almost an hour... I got my workout for the day thats for sure! Whew...

After the bikes, Audrea and I persuaded the kids that we should just go shopping and try the "day at the beach" when it warms up a little bit! They were troppers... well, everyone except diddle... he was a mess ALL DAY!!! We were soon on our way... heading North on IH 45 and on our way to the mall!

At the mall... the adventures continued with the Carousel ride and rock climbing!.... look at Diddle... he had no fear at all! He thinks he is as big as his Bubba and Sis! The poor guy that worked the rock climb was surprised that Diddle would even give it a try!

Last, but not least... Diddle got to see the Easter bunny....

I have a picture of Darren and Emilie with the Easter bunny too... but Darren would have a fit if I put that one up here... I guess it will go in the scrapbook... not on the blog!

fishing...

2010-03-23T11:49:00.000-05:00

Well.. we are on spring break and my kids are LOVING the sunshine!

In an attempt to get "cool mom" points, I decided to take them fishing. I was doing pretty good with the "cool points" until I fell halfway in the pond! yep... one leg in the pond, one arm hanging onto the peer and one hand clinging to my beloved camera! The kids (and me) got a good laugh, but "cool mom" points...not so much! =) Unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch this HILARIOUS event on camera... darn!

I hope everyone is having a GREAT spring break... I know we are!

Zailey girl....

2010-03-22T09:07:00.000-05:00

now that little league has started, blogging will slow way down for me! just wanted to share this cute pic of baby ~ Z ~

This is a picture of my GREAT niece... Zailey Dawn! Isn't she just the cutest thing! She was styling in her sun shades, pretty bow, and bink! She looks so much like her momma and has the biggest smile... oh and she loves her Aunt Great too (that's what she's gonna call me ;))

~ Z ~ your Aunt Great loves you!

working out....

2010-02-26T13:33:00.008-06:00

my sweet husband has worked so very hard building a workout room for us and it is AWESOME! jon and i started working out about a month ago and about a week into it, jon had a little fall and injured his already bad ankle! so, without my husband being able to work out with me, i just fell off the workout wagon! not because i wanted to, but because i have such a hard time working out by myself! i have an iPod, and i have rearranged the room so that i have a

better view out the window, but i just can't motivate myself to workout! what is a girl to do???

a while back, we bought P90X. it is a 90 day program and it is TOUGH! jon and i did the first video a while back... i didn't feel like i was getting anything out of it, but let me tell you, i did... i was sore for days!! i know that it works, i just have to DO IT!

so this week, we started P90X.... and I AM SO VERY SORE! i have muscles hurting that i didn't even know i had! it is so sad being this out of shape!

i am committed to the 90 day program and i hope it works... i hope that the pain and torture is worth it!

Mmmm...

2010-02-22T10:20:00.005-06:00

BIG RED ICE CREAM...

here at the Blakley House, this is a special treat and my husband's specialty...

yesterday, Jon treated the family with his famous dessert and we LOVED it!
i took a few pictures and i am going to give you the recipe so that you can try it too!

if you have not tried it... you don't know what you are missing!

EVERYONE that has ever eaten it, can't seem to get enough!

(even my brother-in-law BJ... although he will NEVER admit it to anyone... he has eaten it, I have pictures to prove it, and he liked it... I don't care what he says, HE LIKED IT!)

all you need is a handy-dandy ice cream maker, rock salt and the ingredients listed below!

after about 15-20 minutes... its ready to eat and at our house, we have a line of kids with bowls and spoons in hand ready for their treat!

this scrumptious, pink, melt in your mouth ice cream is so yummy!

I am sure that some of you have eaten it before, but just in case... i wanted to share it with you! I don't want anyone to miss out on this delicious treat!

Emilie... SHSU vs. Texas A&M

2010-02-17T20:43:00.013-06:00

If you know my daughter, then you know that she LOVES softball!

She loves the game, she loves to pitch, she just LOVES everything about it... except losing (she gets that honest!)

Well, Emilie had the opportunity to throw the first pitch out at the season opener for the SHSU BearKats thanks to Morgan Mikulin, the SHSU senior pitcher! The BearKats played the Texas A&M Aggies in Huntsville... to read about the game go here...

Jon is currently going back to school at SHSU and I went there for a year before going to nursing school... after parking and then walking to the stadium, I soon remembered all those stinkin' hills! I was out of breath by the time I got to the ticket booth... stairs, stairs, and more stairs!

This was the softball team pre-game... they were playing with a hacky sack. Emilie thought that was funny! I guess it's a good way to loosen up before a big game!

GO BEARKATS!!

Emilie walking out onto the field! She was so nervous!

The A&M Aggies lined up!

Emilie standing in the circle, getting ready to throw her pitch. Morgan Mikulin, standing next to her, is the starting senior pitcher for the BearKats...

.... and sister didn't hold anything back! She threw that ball as hard as she could and did a GREAT job! I know she was nervous, but she did AWESOME!

I asked her after she got back to the stands if she had fun and she said... "I'm still breathing hard!" Hahaha... I thought to myself, "me too"!

They gave Emilie a ball... and then the little Staffer guy that walked her out onto the field took it from her and left it in the dugout! Don't worry though, after the game, Emilie made sure that Morgan knew that he took it and in its place, Emilie will now get a softball signed by all of the SHSU BearKats! Woowhoo... score for Emilie!

This is Morgan pitching... so intense! Morgan stuck 6 batters out at last nights game! Emilie was in heaven last night watching these "college girls" play ball!

Who knows, maybe one day, Emilie will be that college girl playing ball!

The final score was 2-1 with the Aggies beating the BearKats...

It was a great game though and we had such a good time!

Look at that Smile!

Emilie and Morgan, after the game! Thanks Morgan for thinking of Emilie, she had a great experience that I know she will remember forever!

.... and I have to post this...

Diddle's big crocodile tears and his pouty lip!

Poor fella, I guess he thought he needed to throw out the first pitch!

a few more pictures of diddle...

2010-02-10T10:29:00.003-06:00

remember my last post, pics of darren... well, Diddle was in the truck crying the whole time because he wanted his picture taken too!

it was only a week ago that he was sticking his tongue out and being a goober, not cooperating one bit while i tried to take his pictures!

he didn't feel good last weekend and you can tell in the pictures, but he wanted to pose and smile, and i wasn't going to miss that opportunity!

my handsome little man...

see what i mean about not feeling good! poor little guy!

my kids bring so much joy to my life...

Diddle is a ball of fire and believe me, there is never a dull moment at house!

he makes me smile!

darren....

2010-02-08T20:28:00.003-06:00

Darren... my 11 year old son!... almost as tall as me, almost in Jr. High, almost a teenager!

gosh, where does the time go??

Just for the record... Darren doesn't like having his picture taken!

So when I told him to get ready for a quick couple of pictures, he wasn't very thrilled!

But like the good son that he is, He smiled so handsomely and I think I got some really good pictures of him!

This was totally his idea... for some reason, he thought it would be funny to "pretend" like he was going to trespass! Let's just hope that he never actually tries to do that! Goober!

Handsome, Handsome, Handsome... but I am a little partial!

I have a few more, but I couldn't get them all to upload for some reason.

I will be posting some of Diddle too... he was so funny. He actually cried when I was taking Darren's pictures because he wanted me to take his pictures too! Like I said in the last post about the kids... they only like to take pictures if it is their idea! Oh well, I will take what I can get!

are you ready for some softball.....

2010-02-07T17:30:00.002-06:00

Yesterday... I got to go and see my beautiful niece Amanda play softball!

This is her senior year and she is playing with the Lady Mustang Softball team!

I love watching softball and I am so excited about this season!

Go Amanda!!

Go Lady Stangs!!
=)

when you have boys... things can get a little ROWDY!

2010-02-05T14:07:00.004-06:00

This first picture has nothing to do with this blog, but i wanted to share it with you... Diddle and Mason are the best of friends! They have so much fun together. Diddle's first play day at a friend's house without Mom was at Mason's... and he loves Mason's house! They play so good together! I am so glad that these boys are friends!

Now for the blog....

I have two boys... and believe me, they can get a little rowdy! Especially when you throw in a few friends!! A couple of weeks ago, I let Darren have a few friends over to watch the Longhorns play in the Championship game

... it started out real good!

of course Diddle is right in the middle of it all!!!
i think he is trying to talk Mark into skipping out on the game so that they could play.....

yep... diddle is very persuasive!!
it didn't take Clayton long to join in.... diddle knows how to ride those buckin' bulls!

Daniel even dressed up in the puppy blanket... not sure if it was for Diddle or if it was just Daniel being Daniel... lol

then Darren and Mark got in on the action... we had a little bull riding Xtravaganza going on in the living room!
ahhhh.... Rowdy little boys!!

=)

the perfect Photo Opportunity....

2010-02-03T13:49:00.005-06:00

This last weekend, we went out of town to a baby shower for two of my cousins...

they are sisters and one is expecting a boy in March and the other is expecting a boy and a girl (twins) in April! After the baby shower, we all planned on going out to eat at the BEST mexican food place EVER... Ochoa's! While we were waiting on the girls to get all their goodies loaded up, I saw this old trading post and thought to myself... what a great photo opportunity!! Of course I had my camera, and my kids were halfway dressed up, or at least clean... so I pulled into the trading post and begged my children and nephew to take some pics for me!

well if there is one thing I have learned with taking pictures of my kids... it's this...

they will not cooperate with you unless it is what they want to do!!

lol

the perfect photo op ended with 3 good pictures...

and two of them were of Emilie... the other, Carson, my nephew!

Emilie had on a dress with pink leggings and the trading post was red... so I decided to go black and white and I think it turned out great!
this is Carson... he wanted to run on the train tracks and I wouldn't let him until he smiled big and pretty for me... he's such a cheeser! I am so glad he listens better than Dylan! I told Dylan the same thing and he ran off like a mad man for the train tracks!!

My pretty girl again... :)

This was the attempt at the group shot! Carson wasn't looking.. Dylan, well just look at him... Makalin wasn't having it either... but look at Emilie, she's a pro!

another attempt!

typical Dylan... he did NOT want to take pictures!

little goober!

this was the boys in the READY, SET, RUN position!!

again, look at Dylan's face.... geez!

both of them with their eyes closed...

Mr. Ham... would not cooperate with me at all!

he looks like he is ready to box!

maybe i shouldn't have given him that dose of Benadryl... it has the opposite effect on him... he is wired for hours!

.... and that's it!

The PERFECT photo op... *sigh*

maybe next time!

my beautiful sister....

2010-01-15T21:51:00.003-06:00

My sister....

I just wanted to post this pic of my sister....

Mindy... a.k.a. "toot"... has to be one of the best mother's EVER! She is so patient and so calm... and her kids, well... they are the BEST!!

I love it when we are able to get together and let the kids play! Dylan and Carson play so good together and Makalin is the sweetest, happiest baby ever!

The last time she came over, the kids weren't the only ones who got to play! I had so much fun snapping pics of her... ! You are one beautiful lady... I love you Toot!

Thanksgiving....

2009-11-24T10:26:00.004-06:00

Thanksgiving... it's not all about eating the yummy home-cooked food. For me, it's about family and friends and taking a step back and truly being thankful for how truly amazing life is!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I wanted to make a list of a few of the things that I am most thankful for... so here goes!

~God's grace

~my wonderful husband

~my children

~family

~true friends

~family get-togethers

~my camera (to capture the special moments in life)

~my job & being able to spend more time with my kids

________________

these are just a few of the things i am thankful for!

________________

I hope everyone has a GREAT Thanksgiving!!

well... i tired to find a cute little funny about Thanksgiving but didn't have any luck! So,i will just post a picture of my 3 turkeys....

better late than never.... Right??

2009-11-11T19:41:00.003-06:00

this year had to be the quickest "trick or treating" that we have EVER done!

emilie had softball games all day and we didn't leave the ball park until 6:45. i think it was almost 8:00 before we even started on our Halloween adventure.

my sister-in-law Tammy was the driver... we wouldn't all fit into "mini-me... a.k.a, the dodge journey that i currently own"! hannah was a "pink poodle", diddle was a "rodeo-show clown", and emilie was a "princess"! they were so cute...

dad and diddle discussing how to properly ask for candy... "trick or treat, smell my feet!"

(unless of course you were talking about hannah's...lol... inside joke!)

it didn't take diddle very long to shuck the wig... so, in the spirit of the night, jon put it on and wore it!

he was getting this trick or treating thing down... look at that serious face... that's a rodeo clown on a mission!

emilie stopped for a picture... strike a pose sister!

one of our stops was aunt virginia and deb's house!

(and deb wasn't even there... she went to canton, can you believe that!!!)

cheese... he was so tired of taking pictures!

we made a quick stop by granny and pawpaw's and we were able to get a group shot of the kiddos... weren't they just precious!

~this was our Halloween night... quick, but fun.... and believe me, the kids got PLENTY of candy!~

Don't miss out on this GREAT deal!!

2009-11-02T11:24:00.004-06:00

I recently had Spanki Mills, one of my closest friends, take pictures of my kiddos for Christmas cards and they turned out great!! So when I logged onto my computer today to check out the latest post from my oh so talented friend, I learned about her "holiday special" ! I wanted to share it with anyone who reads this blog, because if you have had your pictures taken by Spanki Mills, and many of you have, you don't want to miss out on this offer.... And if you haven't had your pictures taken by her... WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!! Her special offer ends Jan. 1st, so don't miss out... I know I won't!
I hope everyone had a great halloween and has an even better week ahead!!!
Smiles.. Lacie B

Red Ribbon Week 2009... hippy day

2009-10-27T20:07:00.001-05:00

"hippy day".... my mom totally hooked my kids up with appropriate attire for hippy day at school! they were sooo funny!

"peace out dudes!"

.... and diddle had to dress up! not hippy themed, but he thought the clown hat worked! we didn't argue! lol

this totally groovy teacher dressed the part too!..... any ideas who it may be???

"cher" even stopped by to support "hippy day"!..... what a fun day! :)

Happy Birthday to Darren and Emilie!!!

2009-09-30T21:40:00.008-05:00

I can't believe how big my babies are getting!!

Darren turns 11 on Oct. 1st and Emilie turns 9 on Oct. 5th!

In honor of their birthday's, I decided to scroll through my old photo albums and post a few pics of these two turkey's over the years! Last night, I was sitting in the middle of the floor looking through my albums and I had tears rolling down my face. I just can't believe how fast they have grown up! Before I know it, they will be teenagers, driving, graduating, college, families of their own.... Ok, I am stopping there! *tears*

forgive the pics.. i had to scan some of them and they are a little messy! :)

This pic is one of my all time favorites... the expression on Darren's face says it all! This was the day we got to bring Emilie home from the hospital! He was so proud of her! Look how little Emilie was, that dress swallowed her! :)

This was the two of them laying in her crib. He used to crawl into her crib and talk to her and play with her.... she loved her bubba!

This was one of our many trips to Galveston. This particular trip was with Nana and Aunt Toot.

This one was on our first trip to Moody Garden's. The dinosaur exhibit was a hit!

This was the first and only time they attempted to grow strawberries. The strawberries never got ripe enough, someone would always pick them before they were ready... no one ever fessed up to that one!

This was a fourth of July out at the "Blakley Ranch". The kids love going to Boomaw and PawPaw's for the firework show...

This was a pic at Schlitterbahn! Gosh they were so little!

This pic was taken at Lake Madison on top of the dam!

D and Em cleaning out their pumpkins... getting ready to carve up a master piece!

My birthday present last year! I begged them to take pictures for me!

... and last but not least, a pic from our vacation to South Padre two summer's ago!

There were so many pictures, I just picked a few to share! My babies are so important to me and I am truly blessed to have such wonderful kids! H

Happy Birthday Darren and Emilie, Momma loves you!

D-Back Baseball... fall league

2009-09-22T21:08:00.001-05:00

the D-Backs played a little baseball this weekend!

they had a GREAT couple of games!

D-Backs vs. Montgomery Elite (21-3)

D-Backs vs. Pride Black (16-0)

Two games played and Two games won!!!

I took a few pics of Darren and Thomas Jay. They are two of the three boys representing Madisonville on this Navasota team!

This was Big D sliding into home on a passed ball by the catcher!

Thomas Jay... running home!

Darren getting a lead off from 1st base! Get low D!

this picture makes me LOL... Thomas was getting a sign from Dylan our catcher... that is one serious face pitcher!!! Jon says he looks just like his daddy in this picture... little Hud!

Our boys did great.... and I am looking forward to next weekend! Look out Web Gems and Pride White the D-Backs are ready for you!

progress....

2009-09-18T23:37:00.003-05:00

Well.... we are making progress! You see, Dylan has been sleeping in our bed with us for a while now and we have tried many, many times to get him out of our bed! we have tried sooo many things... he got a brand new bed, new blankets/pillows, we've tried bribery, brother and sister sleeping in his room with him, stuffed animals, Jon or I sleeping in there with him... and nothing has worked! So when Dylan asked to sleep on the couch a few nights ago, I thought what the hey.... it's worth a shot! He crawled onto the couch, with a pillow, a quilt, and Coco (darren's favorite stuffed animal when he was a little boy and between me and my bloggy friends, Coco is still sometimes found snuggled up to Big D in his bed!). I was skeptical, but it didn't take long for him to be out like a light!

He slept here until about 3:00A.M.... then he made his way to our room! Every night since then, he has asked to sleep on the couch or on a pallet in the floor... he hasn't made it though the night yet but Jon and I are hopeful!

Progress... it's a beautiful thing!

first day of school....

2009-09-06T14:18:00.003-05:00

Well, this was the first day of school! Everyone was ready to go.... even diddle! I can't tell you how many times over the summer that Dylan would tell me that I needed to go to work, bubba and sis needed to go to school, and he needed to go to mimi's!.... well, diddle finally got his wish... school has started and our routine of work, school, and day care is back!

here are the kiddos on the first morning!... can you tell diddle was excited!

these smiles... they were forced... look at Em... silly girl!

look at diddle's hair... poor baby, his momma didn't have time to comb it down! Even though he was excited, I'm not sure that he was all the way awake yet... he looks kinda sleepy! LOL

~~~~~~~~~

and because I am really behind in posting stuff... i thought i would add a pic of this! .... drum roll please... my bulletin board!.....thanks to Debbie's great idea, I finally got it done!

meet the teachers....

2009-09-06T14:17:00.003-05:00

I know that this post is a little late... but you know what they say, better late than never!Emilie is in the Intermediate School this year... she is getting so big!

This is Ms. Sorrell... her homeroom teacher.

This is Mrs. Howeth... her Math/Science teacher... I told you I would put this on my blog Leigh Ellen, and If I do say so myself, it is a GREAT picture of you!

Sanford and Blakley... these two girls aren't in the same class, but they are ready for 3rd grade!

This is Big D's homeroom teacher... Mrs. Shiver! He didn't want me to take pics this year, he thought I would embarrass him! ..... wait until next year when he is at the Jr. High and I am snapping away at that meet the teacher! Oh yeah... I am getting some pictures, gotta have the digital memories! LOL

This is Mrs. Patterson, Darren's Math and Science teacher!

Both of my kiddos were excited about their teachers and so was I... they are going to have a great year!!

Billy Joe #45..... Go Stangs!

2009-09-06T13:40:00.003-05:00

I can't believe that my nephew Billy Joe is in high school!! Gosh he makes me feel old!

Billy Joe is #45.... middle line-backer and tight end!!

Get low Bill.... Uncle Jon was so proud of this hit!! Speaking of Uncle Jon, he is loving the fact that Billy Joe is playing football... he has every home game on his calender...

another great hit!!

and the stare-down... sorry #54, you are going down!!

Bill.... high steppin'!

another hit...

We love watching Bill play...

GO MUSTANGS!

baby makalin....

2009-08-16T14:47:00.005-05:00

i just realized that i had not posted any pics of my beautiful new niece!!!

i want to introduce to you guys, Makalin Diane Prine... she was born on July 23rd and weighed 6lbs 10oz. and was 19in. long!

My sister took this picture of her and I love it, so I wanted to share it!

this next picture is one that I took this last saturday!.... I love baby feet and she has the cutest, tiniest, most precious little feet!

and another "feet" picture!.... she is just too cute! I can't get enough of this baby girl!

this picture was taken right before her "meet the baby" shower this past weekend! Look at my sis, she is back into her pre-baby clothes... you look so good Toot!

well, this is just a few of many, many more to be taken! just wanted to share a couple with you!

Hot Springs... Kid - Free Vacation....

2009-08-09T13:41:00.005-05:00

Ok... so this post is totally for Audrea... because... I am convinced that she is the only one who actually reads it!!!.... so Audie... this is for you!

this is Ron and Sara... our partners in crime for our Kid-Free vacation... we had soooo much fun!

This was a restaurant in downtown Hot Springs... our first stop on our journey... and i am so glad that we did! i had the BEST burger that I have EVER had!...

This was the bath house... it was an experience...! We had fun... and we have some great stories to tell about it! One of them was the "sauna" that we got in... i got so hot and my heart was racing... and i thought that i just might pass out... but my little lady saw the fear in my eyes and got me out of the sauna in the nick of time... sara's lady, on the other hand didn't! Sara was checking her heart rate and finally took matters into her own hands and kicked the door wide open in need of some cooler air! i had already been rescued so of course i laughed! We were both comforted knowing that there was a nurse in the bath house that could render aid if needed!... ahh the memories... and that was just one!

these pics are all out of order.... this is the sunset that we watched aboard the "Belle of Hot Springs" riverboat... makes me want a lake house and a boat!

did I mention that I had the Best Burger EVER in Hot Springs.... this was the Brick House Burger.... and my mouth is watering just looking at this picture!... we loved it so much that this was our last stop on our way out of town at the end of our vacation!.... Yumm-O!

this is the William's House Bed and Breakfast... it was Great! the staff was wonderful.. the breakfast was yummy... the bed was to die for (a stearns foster mattress)... and it was within walking distance of down town shops...

this was a waterfall at a Garden that we went to... they have a chapel there too and they do weddings here.... it was amazingly beautiful!

Jon and I in front of the waterfall!

The crew on the Riverboat.... I look at this picture and know that I need to loose about 20lbs... ... everyone else looks great so it made the blog!

This is Ron and Jon waiting for our tour... on the Duck ride... I will never, ever slam on my brakes again without saying... whoa, duck!! (an inside joke!)

this was me and Sara half way up a mountain.... jon took this picture and it is one of my favorites! i love the sun flare!

we went to a magic show.. and Ron and Sara got up on stage to help... i have to admit.. this magician was pretty neat... i am still wondering about some of those tricks!

this was the tower that we got to go to the top of!... ron didn't want to go... and neither did sara.. but they did and they survived! ron was a little pale... but ok!.... we renamed this tower... Hudson tower....

... and this is jon and I at the top of this tower.... it was so neat... we were above the airplanes flying into the airport.... i could have stayed up there all day... it was beautiful!

..... we had a great trip... with great friends... we have great pictures... and great memories... can't wait to do it again....!

Dad working, us playing, and a sick little girl...

2009-07-16T16:20:00.009-05:00

Every year Jon has a convention in Galveston and we always tag along for the ride. He is in this beautiful convention center learning the latest about water systems and rules and regulations...

.... and while he is there... we are here! enjoying this beautiful pool!

.... and enjoying the surprisingly beautiful... yes I said beautiful beach in Galveston. Now it's no Florida beach, but I have to say... the beach looked better than I have seen it in a while! It's a shame that Ike had to come through for there to be changes!

this is diddle running from the waves... poor fella... he isn't fast enough!

so he opted for jumping the waves... he had sooo much fun!

Darren loves the beach... he really wasn't excited about Galveston... but once we were there and saw how much better the beach was... he had a blast. He thought that the yucky red sea-weed would still be there... but not this time!

this is Big D helping diddle with the boogie board! Big D is a boogie boarding pro you know!

this is my pretty girl on the ferry boat... this was the first night we were in Galveston. I am so glad that I got this pic of her because it wasn't long after this that she started feeling very sick... very, very sick!

The next day... this is how she felt... :(

she wanted to go to the beach one last time, but when I turned around and saw this... we loaded up and went back to the hotel.

right after this... i called her pediatrician and begged for a RX of phenergan so that the ride home would be a little better! Jon finished his classes... we stopped by Wal-Mart and picked up a "throw- up pot" and headed back to the Ville! Poor baby... I hate it when my kids are sick!

****

... i just wanted to post a few other funny pics from the trip! why is it that my kids don't like me to take their pictures???

look at Jon's face... can you tell he felt a little queazy on the boat... the sun was in their face too! and by the way, I didn't get a group picture... this is it!! won't this be cute on a scrapbook page! these are the rest of them... what goof balls!

silly, silly boys!

can you tell he was tired of the camera?

really??

...ok... I'm done! these were just too funny not to post!

Brazos Valley Bombers

2009-07-12T17:42:00.003-05:00

Darren plays for the Navasota D-Backs, a 10 & under select baseball team and the Brazos Valley Bombers invited the boys to the game yesterday evening. The team was recognized before the game started and all of the boys names were announced. What a treat!

This is Kaboom, the Bombers' mascot.

The boys were announced as the players were called onto the field for the National Anthem and they even got to run out on the field with the Bombers' players.

Darren plays first base, so he got to run out on the field with the bomber's first baseman! Darren said that #33 was very tall and his hands were huge!

This was a few of our boys standing on the field. It was awesome!

The boys got to watch the game from the side lines and talk baseball! Thomas and Darren were talking strategies I am sure!

... and this is Kolby and Darren, a.k.a. Kol-Beast and D-Stroyer, the Navasota boys gave them those names, isn't that cute!

... the boys had a great time watching the Bomber's play ball and I am so glad that the boys got to be a part of it!

fishin' with the boys...

2009-07-10T22:48:00.006-05:00

I told Darren that I would take him fishing today... so this afternoon, when it cooled down to about 100 degrees... we went to our favorite fishin' hole at Uncle BJ's and Aunt Christi's! I ran into Audie at the snow cone place and she said that Daniel was soooo very bored, so we swung by to save him from his misery and took him fishing with us!

This was the 3 of them scoping out the pond... getting ready to cast out! You won't believe the who caught the first fish....

yep... Diddle!

.... actually... this was the only fish caught today! Sorry boys... Diddle out-fished you!!

It's Ok Daniel... don't cry...you will have better luck next time!!

you too big D!.... better luck next time! nothing like getting beat by your 3 year old brother!

Dylan got tangled up and refused to have me help him! he is so dang head strong!

Daniel was playing in the worms... goofy boy!

... the boys attempted to change location... away from diddle... but this location change soon turned into this...

yep... the boys shucked their clothes and went swimming!
i was just praying no one needed to be rescued...!

i love these boys... they make me smile!!

Splashtown, Skittles in the pen, fighting indians, & eyes in the cabinet...

2009-07-10T10:58:00.004-05:00

A couple of days ago, I got to take the big kids to Splashtown with Debbie Sue. She was the ring leader of the whole event, and I am so glad she invited us! We had such a great time and I am thinking about getting a season pass next year... it's just a hop, skip and a jump away, and the kids had a blast! They even have tons of things for the little ones to do... next time Diddle will have to go... he would have had fun too!

This monster ride was sooo fun! We made the boys go first and laughed because they screamed like a bunch of little girls! I laughed until I got on it... I screamed too...

This is a day in Dylan's world... he loves making pens... he has a pen for his horses, for the cows, for the goats, for the chickens... you get my drift! Darren and Emilie are tired of helping Diddle make his pens! I walked into the living room yesterday and he even had Skittles in the pen... silly boy!

When Dad gets home in the evening... we all say, "It's your turn Dad!" Dylan can wear you smooth out... this is Dad playing fighting Indians with Diddle... and checking e-mail at the same time!

... and finally... Dylan decided yesterday that kitchen cabinets have eyes and they were watching him! He was on the kitchen counter, staring at the cabinets... what will this boy think of next!

Well.... until I can talk Jon into letting me re-do my kitchen... we will just have to say...

the kitchen has "got it's eyes on you!"

Happy Birthday Paw

2009-07-09T13:18:00.001-05:00

Today is my Dad's birthday...

Here's to you Paw... hope you have a wonderful day!

Love ya!

trying to earn a little cash...

2009-07-06T17:29:00.003-05:00

Emilie and Dylan asked their Dad if they could wash his truck to earn a few extra bucks! Emilie is in it for money and Dylan is in it for fun! Just wanted to post a few pics!

Emilie was taking her job serious... she has her eye on the prize!

Dylan... he just wanted to hold the water hose... but takes his job serious too!

... so when sister needed to use the water hose, dylan wasn't happy!

...after a little tug-of-war... Sister won... and Diddle hit the ground.

poor little fella... he has such a hard time!

... most people say..."If momma ain't happy, nobody's happy...", well we say... " if Diddle ain't happy, nobody's happy..!"

so... I made sister give him the water hose back and all peace was restored! They were able to finish their job and earn a few bucks!

I always say it, but it is true... there is NEVER a dull moment at our house!

swimming lessons...

2009-07-02T11:01:00.002-05:00

dylan is 3... and having the pool in the back yard makes me nervous, he doesn't know how to swim! we have started a home version of "swimming lessons" and this little turkey has figured something out.... if you are doing swimming lessons, you don't have to wear your life jacket! So, what did we do ALL DAY yesterday??? swimming lessons!

he is really starting to get it... when Dad got home yesterday, we had to show him all that dylan has learned!

a big breath... and under he goes!

big arms... kick your feet!

almost there...

Yeah!!!

look at that face... determination... no fear!

he even has the speedo! lol... he put his underwear on backwards and refused to change them around! Hey.. I'm just glad he has something on... he is usually in his birthday suit!

Champions!!! Go Madisonville 7&8 yr. old girls!!!

2009-06-28T23:27:00.002-05:00

These girls played their hearts out this last week! They were UNDEFEATED in the District 33 Little League 7&8 year old Pitch Tournament! They won the Championship game tonight over Franklin with a score of 9-3! We are sooo proud of these girls!

Pre-game pep talk!!

This is Emilie... she was the clean up hitter! She got on base every time and even hit a TRIPLE that got 2 runners in!

Miss Emma... such a Cutie.. and a GREAT ball player!

Emilie at 1st.... look at that face!

LuLu... it's not nice to stick your tongue out!!! LOL

This is Cassidy... that's what I call scooping it up... look at that dirt fly!! Good job girlie!

another Emily... the girls were all smiles!

good game... good game... good game...

I loved this picture... the were all racing off the field! They were soooo excited!!

and of course... what good team wouldn't soak their coach at the end of a great season... Lance you were such a great sport!

I just want to say thank you to all the coaches... Lance, Brian, Todd, and Keith... you guys did a great job! Thanks for all of your hard work and dedication this season!

...now i just want to sing... "we are the champions..my friend... we keep on fighting to the end..." lol... just be glad you didn't really have to hear me sing that!!

Big D... the D-Back!

2009-06-19T22:09:00.002-05:00

Big D played in his first tournament last weekend with the D-Backs. They won their first two games... and Darren hit his first ever OUT OF THE PARK HOMERUN!! Woowhoo! I wasn't there to witness it... :( but I heard it all over the phone... thanks to a friend who called as D was running around the bases! He got to keep the ball and all of his team-mates and coaches signed the ball... how cool is that! Darren had such a great time...and I am one proud Momma!

Go Blakley... #44!

.... and as the D-Backs would say.... Go D-Stroyer!!!!

me and my boys...

2009-06-17T22:04:00.009-05:00

If you have seen my latest facebook wall post... then you know, that dylan was very persistent today with asking me to take him swimming. I gave in and finally took this poor deprived child to swim... Big brother, D took this picture for me!

This is Diddle mentally preparing for a "swimming lesson"!

Dylan still doesn't know how to swim and is still a little scared of the water. He usually stays on the "rocks" where his feet touch the bottom. Big Brother and I decided to try to teach Diddle to swim.. and surprisingly, he was all for it today! He kept telling me to back up until I got to the other side of the pool... so I grabbed my camera and captured the moment!

Mark.. get set... go!!!

he's still smiling!

he hit the water... and then....

he went under...

arms are moving in a swimming motion... woowhoo... progress!

here he comes...

he's smiling... and so is his momma!!!

Yeah!!! he did it.. he swam across the pool! Great job diddle!

... and thank you Bubba for cheering Diddle on! he couldn't have done it without you!

I had to post this too... me and big D were playing around after we got finished swimming...

Sis is gone, visiting her long time friend Becca B.... so It's been just me and the boys!

I love my kiddos!!

Headbands.. anyone?

2009-06-16T09:54:00.001-05:00

ok... so the Magic girls went to a tournament and there was a booth selling these cute little headbands! well, just about every girl at the tournament ended up buying one... even our girls! after I bought Emilie's, I looked at it and knew that I could make them! so... i did!

Emilie now has every color and if anyone is interested, i will make them!

they are really cute... just look at Allison and Emilie, modeling a few of the head-bands.

head-bands... anyone??

It's Summer Time!

2009-06-06T10:50:00.004-05:00

I can't believe that summer is really here!

Yesterday around 2:00 marked the official start of summer! A group of us from school decided to celebrate by going to Rancho for lunch... and after a great suggestion from Cindy G... the summer time celebration was moved to our house! We had sooo much fun! An afternoon at the pool, turned into an all day affair... nothing like last minute plans! I am told those are the best kind! We enjoyed some good food, thanks to Jo and Batman Express (I think he was the steer we ate for dinner!) and Leslie's almost done brownies!

I think everyone had a good time...even the kids. Jon even had fun, after a couple more men showed up... poor thing was out numbered for a while! I am a little sun burned, and last night I was a little water logged, but it was well worth it! Here are a few pics from the day!

Jo and Carroll...

Spanki, hiding behind that dang float!!! What 's up with that? Everyone of the pics I have of her, she is hiding... dork!!!

OK Cindy... i fixed you.... this was a much better picture anyway!!

Cindy G.... the ring leader.. that's all I am saying!

Leslie... I almost forgot to get a pic of her, so right before she left I made her run back to the pool and take a pic... just an FYI on her... she is a light weight!! Halfway through the day, she went home and took a NAP, and made us wait on her forever!!!!! Just kidding girl, you know I have to pick on you!!!

Jo and Spanki... Take 4... I have some other pics of these two that are way to graphic for the blog... and that's all I am saying about that!

.... and Spanki took some pics of me, but for some reason, I can't find them~ Stinkin' Junk!

getting warmed up for summer...

2009-05-26T17:00:00.001-05:00

It's been a long time since I have been able to scrapbook anything...

This weekend, I got to make a few invitations for two of our teachers that are retiring this year.

I really enjoyed being creative.... I absolutely love to make invitations and I am so glad that Michele asked me to help out!

I hope that this is the warm up for scrapbooking this summer... I want to scrap at least weekly! I will keep my fingers crossed!

I also got to help Big D make his student council poster! I love my cricut machine... it sure did make this a lot easier!

oh happy day....

2009-05-23T22:05:00.003-05:00

I want to say thank you to everyone who came out today for Diddle's birthday party! He had a blast playing with everyone! Here are a few pics from the day!

This was Diddle's "birthday slide"... at least that's what he called it! Our wonderful neighbors let us borrow this... Diddle loved it! Thanks Joey, Shannon and Camryn!

look at his face... he was running around like a wild monster chasing his Nana! She was soaked.... you should've wore your swim-suit Nana!

I don't know who was having more fun!!!

Pay Pay was trying to get in on the action... or was this when she was loading up Carson's super soaker??

Cheese... Car Car, what are smiling about??
(hum...)

Zozey girl....

McKenna... dylan loved having his friends over to play!

Clay... testing the water!

Hannah Hashbrown, head first...

This is a pink cowbear rope.... all of the Cowbears have them...Dylan has roped floats, his Paw, chairs, and Skittles! (hey Audie... at least it wasn't Daniel! LOL)

and... this year, I opted for cupcakes instead of a cake.... so much easier!

We had a very busy day... Dylan loved his birthday party! Thank you again to all of our family and friends for coming out and celebrating Diddle's special day!

Where has 3 years gone??

2009-05-14T10:51:00.004-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DYLAN!

I can't believe that today you are THREE years old... where has the time gone. Last night, I was looking through my pictures and decided to share some... well, a lot of pictures of Diddle over the last 3 years, I had tears rolling down my face just looking at them and realizing that my baby is growing up! Not to mention how much big brother and sister have grown too! There are times when I wish that my kids could stay young and innocent forever!

and the most recent pic...!

Sorry for the lengthy post and large number of pics, but i was taking a walk down memory lane last night and thought I would share some of my favorite pics of my baby! Even though he is 3... he will always be my BABY!

the Rode-E-Show...

2009-05-11T21:41:00.001-05:00

Well, we had a better showing at this year's rode-e-show!
Diddle's horse didn't stall , it must have been the pre-race meditation!

Mark.... set.... GO!!!!

You can't really tell it in this picture, but Diddle galloped... it was cute!

Uh, oh... he got bucked off... get up diddle...saddle back up cowbear!

He's gonna finish... look at him go!

Whew... the finish line!.. that was a tough race! Big brother D said he got second place... hey, I am just happy he finished the race!

These last two pictures are of two of Diddle's best friends... Clay and Ty muttin' bustin. Diddle wasn't too sure about riding a sheep.... to tell you the truth, neither was his Momma... I was relieved when he said he didn't want to ride them!

this is Clay... Ride cowboy Ride!

... and this is Ty! He rode this sheep half way down the arena... and got a Trophy to prove it!

Way to go Ty... your one brave little boy! I know he made Momma and Daddy proud!

more baseball pics...

2009-05-05T07:17:00.004-05:00

I wanted to share these pics of my nephew...

He is a ball player let me tell you... I just love watching him play, he's good and he knows it!

I took these with my new lens... and I AM LOVING MY NEW LENS!!!

(It may all be in my head, but I can see a difference in the pictures.)

I'm pretty sure this pitch was a strike!

Look at that face!!!

This is Bill catching... in all the years that I have watched this boy play ball, I am pretty sure that this is the first time I have seen him catch! Of course he looked like a pro behind the plate, the boy has some baseball SKILZ! lol

... and this one, I just thought was funny! What were you laughing at Bill???

(probably his crazy aunt taking a bazillion pictures!)

the first scrimmage...

2009-04-28T18:34:00.003-05:00

This past weekend... Magic had their first scrimmage! they played college station Venom, a team that has played together for 3 summers and actually placed in the state tournament last year.

Magic VS. Venom game #1... 9-9

Magic VS. Venom game #2... 6-5

Our girls did great for their first games together and they will only get better! So far, Magic is undefeated! Woowhoo!

Go Magic.... (Most Awesome Girls In Cleats!)

This is Emilie getting ready to bat...

Emilie caught a fly ball.... Go Sis!

This is Emilie on third.. taunting the catcher... does she remeber she has stitches and IS NOT SUPPOSED TO SLIDE!!!!

Of course she doesn't.... I could see the stitches ripping right out of her...

Her response to me was this... " mom, i slid on the right side!"

Oh my....

post game pic... they were all smiles.. even the coaches!

even coach Jon was very excited... he did a herkie for the girls over home plate!

they laughed soooo hard... so did I!

really??

2009-04-25T15:52:00.001-05:00

Ok... so this morning, darren had a baseball game. Jon and D left before we did, and me, emilie and diddle were going to follow short after!
well, we got held up. while i was getting ready, my two year old decided to "clean" the kitchen. He crawled on top of the counter and into the sink.... with the sprayer, he soaked the kitchen floor, the walls, the cabinets, the office floor, the windows, the wall.... all of it!
i had to take pictures and you can bet there will be a scrapbook page about this one!

After he got "scolded"!

no, it isn't raining outside.... this is the inside of the window.

this is above the stove.... it was drenched!

this is diddle giving me a thumbs up....
REALLY????

FYI...

2009-04-24T11:49:00.002-05:00

My Sister-In-Law, Tammy, is making and selling diaper wreaths. They are sooo neat. They would be so cute at a baby shower or on the hospital door of someone who just had a baby.

I thought they were super neat, so I wanted to blog about it in case anyone is interested!

**********

These diaper wreaths that are for sale now. The smaller one's, the blue (it's a boy) and the green/yellow (it's a boy or girl - not sure) are $25.00 each. The pink one pictured is already gone but she has another one almost identical to it that she has added a couple of things to (bottle and keys toy), it's larger and it's selling for $40.00.

Basically - the diaper wreaths can come in whatever size, style you would like. Starting at $25.00 - to as much as you want to spend.
Be creative or she can do it for you. Either you come up with the ideas and she'll do all the shopping to customize a wreath that is as unique as the person you'll be giving it to.
Customizing the wreaths will be a little more expensive because of the time involved in searching for one of a kind items.

She is in the Bryan area, if you're not in town or if there is a baby shower out of town you can't attend, she'll be glad to ship it for you. (Of course, she will need to pass along the cost of the shipping fee to you.)

They are soooo cute! My sister is having a baby in July.... I will definitely be getting one of these for her!

:) Smiles....

happy early birthday nana!

2009-04-19T15:44:00.002-05:00

Nana's birthday is coming up... and for her present, we took her to the Astros game on Friday night!

She is a HUGE Astros fan... she used to go to the games with her Grandpa when she was a little girl! She hasn't been in a very long time, so when I told her that we were taking her to the game, she was very excited! She even brought her "vintage" Astros hat that her grandpa bought her when she was a little girl! Oh and my Dad, he had never been to a MLB game... so this was kinda a gift for both of them! The kids were so excited to go to the game with Nana and Paw!

Here are a few pics from the night!

This is the "Big Puma" Lance Berkman bobble head that the first 1000 fans got. We were lucky enough to get there in time to snag these neat souvenirs!

Go Astros!

Oswalt started the 'Stros off pitching... big D was watching his every move!

You never know.. big D may be an Astros pitcher one day!

.... and this is a family pic! thanks Mrs. Schroeder!

Even though the Astros lost in the 9th inning... the Reds got a homerun with one on base making the score 2 -1, we had a GREAT time!

Happy Birthday Nana... a little early!

terrible two's

2009-04-16T07:08:00.001-05:00

Don't let this cute, adorable, contagious, little picture fool you!

He is a stinker!

ok... only 1 more month of the terrible two's!

I am praying that the next stage is TERRIFIC THREE's!

I honestly do not remember my other children being so "terrible" at 2.

I know that it is all my fault... he is the baby, there is a big age difference between Diddle and the older two, this child wants for NOTHING, and sorry, I have to say it... he is his daddy's child!

(sigh)

I could go into great detail about yesterday evening.. but to tell you the truth, I am still exhausted and well, I don't want anyone to think horribly about my parenting skills or the tactics that I used to discipline my "terrible" two year old!

Even Darren said this... " Mom, I think Dad owes you... When we get home, he should have to keep Diddle for the rest of the night... He has been BAD!"

At least I had a witness... Dad seems to think that he is never as bad as I say he is!

well, the count down is on... Terrific Three's are in the near future!

I have my fingers crossed!

It's that time again....

2009-04-04T21:21:00.004-05:00

Little League 2009

Today was opening day. This is always a busy, busy day!

6:00 A.M. - Jon's alarm goes off

6:45 A.M. - Jon arrives at ball park

7:00 A.M. - my alarm clock goes off

8:00 A.M. - wake up kids

9:00 A.M. - arrive at park

10:00 A.M. - ceremony begins

10:30 A.M. - go eat lunch

12:30 P.M. - back up to field for warm -up

1:00 P.M. - Emilie's game

1:30 P.M. - Darren's pictures

2:10 P.M. - Emilie's Pictures

3:00 P.M. - Darren's game

*a million trips to the restroom with Dylan & to the concession stand for food and drinks*

5:15 P.M. - Darren's game is over

6:00 P.M. - watch friends games

*Jon's turn to take Dylan to the restroom a million times :)

8:45 P.M. - arrive home

9:00 P.M. - eat dinner (grilled cheese or cereal, don't judge, it's been a long day! LOL)

9:30 P.M. - start baths for kids and blog!

Here are a few pictures from the day... with a few game details!

Em played 1st base today and she did AWESOME!!!

We lost to the Angels, but we'll get 'em next time!

Go RANGERS!

Big D came to play ball today!

He pitched an GREAT game... 77 pitches in 4 1/2 innings!

We defeated the Pirates 14 - 4!

Go REDS!

I am so glad that opening day is over,

it was a long day for everyone...

especially Diddle!

The look on his face says it all!

Well, I am off to bed!

Tomorrow is Darren's big day, gotta get some sleep!

some more exciting news....

2009-04-01T11:07:00.004-05:00

My sister, Mindy (a.k.a. -Toot), is expecting a baby in July. She found out yesterday that they are having a precious baby GIRL. Congratulations Chris, Mindy and Carson.... we can't wait for your baby girl to arrive!

look at her... you can't even tell she is 6 months preggers! I had to make her turn to the side so you could tell that she was expecting!
those are even her "regular" jeans.. no maternity clothes for this HOT momma to be!

I am a proud Mama....

2009-03-31T13:10:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to share some very EXCITING news...

Darren got SAVED and is going to be BAPTIZED at our church home.. Faith Baptist Church.... this Sunday!

We are very excited for Darren and we are so PROUD of him!

:)

2009-03-26T12:42:00.007-05:00

i didn't realize how long it had been since i have last posted anything on this blog!
oops... you would think that because we are on spring break that i would have all the time in the world! the reality is that it has been quite the opposite. we have been sooo busy! i absolutely do not know how people have more than 3 kids... baseball, basketball, softball, pitching lessons, a two year old, and a dedicated husband that volunteers to coach (everything!)....it's safe to say that we have been pulled in 15 different directions since the bell rang at the school last friday! busy, busy, busy! :)
sorry to ramble on, but blogging is kinda like my outlet...a journal so to speak!

On a different note....and because i can't post a blog without pictures...
here are pictures that i have taken for some of our family... my husband's cousin's step-son, dustin is graduating this year and i took a few pictures for him when he was down last week.... all the way from amarillo... what a trip!

dustin and his mom have already seen them, and these are a few of their favorites... i am so glad that you guys liked your pics!

the one below is my favorite...

this one is dustin's favorite...

well.... that's a wrap! hopefully i will have time to post a least one more time before school starts back on tuesday! :(

My little COWBEAR - COOKER

2009-03-04T07:03:00.010-06:00

Well, this is my little "COWBEAR". That is what Diddle calls a Cowboy.

He is obsessed with bull riding, and the "RODE-E-SHOW"... that's his word for the RODEO. He thinks he is going to be a bull rider when he grows up! We even have the Rodeo finals on DVR so that he can watch bull riding anytime he wants!

We pass by the Rodeo arena everyday on our way into town. Every time we pass by, he gets so excited and talks about going to the RODE-E-SHOW! After all, he has to redeem himself after last years disappointing failure to even leave the starting line in the stick horse race!

He has big dreams... He once told me that I needed to get him a "best" (vest), and some chaps, and some new boots, because he was gonna ride a buckin' bull at the RODE-E-SHOW! I asked him about a hat and he said... "I already have a COWBEAR hat!"

What was I thinking!

Isn't he the cutest little COWBEAR you have ever seen!

... and this is Diddle as a "cooker". He loves to be in the kitchen. Every time I am in the kitchen, he is ready to lend a helping hand... he watches every move I make and asks a gazillion questions. I guess that is good, he will know how to cook when he is all grown up... a women always likes a man who can cook!

Maybe he will be a chef... In my opinion, this is a much safer career path, but I will support which ever direction he takes! Heck, he could be both.. a BULL RIDING COWBEAR CHEF!

don't ya just love old pictures....

2009-03-01T09:24:00.001-06:00

This is a picture of my husband and his two brothers! They were all so little!
My husband's cousin Dewayne sent this to me in an email and I wanted to share it with everyone!
Can you pick which one is Jon?

happy birthday hailey belle!

2009-02-23T17:31:00.001-06:00

My niece Hailey.. A.K.A. "Belle"... turned 10 last week. We celebrated her B-Day at our house this past weekend! Hailey lives about 3 1/2 hours away from Madisonville, and all she wanted for her birthday was to celebrate with family.... isn't that the sweetest thing you have ever heard! So, her family traveled to Madville for the weekend long celebration with family! The kids had such a Blast... they love getting together! This is a picture of her blowing out the candles on her giant cupcake cake! I got the pan to make this about 2 weeks ago and when they decided to have the birthday party here, I couldn't wait to make the cake for her! It was a Strawberry cake (her favorite) with pink icing..... She loved it! I have many, many more pictures and will try to post them soon!

This is possibly the LONGEST POST EVER.....

2009-02-20T11:01:00.013-06:00

Man.... have we been busy....

Here are a few...well... a lot a pictures of all the things we have been up to!

Darren had his fourth grade field trip... this is him and his teacher during their lunch break! He is having such a great year with Mrs. Taylor!
and... this is "Nanel and Big D" posing for the camera... they are such ham's!

Emilie had Jump Rope for Heart... I know this picture is blurry but she was jumping fast... Baby girl has skilz!

She did so good.... Love you Em!

We had "Kiss a Pig" at our school... this is BamBam!

You see, our administrators at our school gave the kids a little incentive for doing GREAT on their Benchmark exams! For each class that increased their overall average... they had to kiss the pig! That is a lot of kissing!

This is Mr. Cousins... our assistant principal!

This is Mr. Hodges... our Principal! Our counselor... Mrs. Hagaman also puckered up for BamBam... They are such good sports!

We went to the 4H fundraiser and played some BINGO! This was soooo much fun... I want to go buy my very own dobber now and play every week at a bingo hall! They had so many great prizes! Darren, my oldest won on the first game!

This is my family at the end of the night! Darren was so proud of his prize! He won $100.00 and a cross... he gave the cross to me!

We have been working hard on my exercise room... it's still a mess but we are really close! The ceiling trim is up and ready to be painted.... the electrical plugs are in.... we have to put up base boards, ceiling fans and lights, trim out the doors and window and then we will be ready to put the floor in! So close... I can hear the exercise machines calling my name!

Dad even had a little helper! Dylan brought his hard hat and tools! Dad couldn't have done it without you Diddle!

... and last but not least!

Tuesday morning, I asked Emilie to help me pack up my lunch. When I got to school, I noticed the writing on my napkin!

... I opened it up and this is what was on the inside!

I had tears in my eyes... she can be so sweet when she wants to!

Well, this has to be the longest post I have ever done... but now, you are all caught up!

Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!

how weird..

2009-02-19T13:41:00.002-06:00

ok.. that was weird.. i don't know how i fixed it, but it is fixed!

something is wrong...

2009-02-19T13:36:00.002-06:00

something is wrong with my blog... my post are on my dashboard but no one can see them!!! What is going on!!!

I've been tagged....

2009-02-14T07:57:00.006-06:00

I was tagged by Lacy over at A Sparkle and a Smile... sorry it took me so long to get it done Lacy!

Here are the rules

1. Go to the fourth picture in your computer

2. Post the fourth picture

3. Explain the picture

4. Tag 4 more people

This was our 2005 "vacation"to Galveston. Every year, Jon has a conference in Galveston and we always tag along for the trip. The kids were so small in this picture! We took a ferry ride and feed the sea gulls... this was their first time on a ferry and feeding sea gulls! They had a blast!

So now all I have to do is tag 4 people... so... here they are!

Spanki, Erica, Tooter, and Michele (maybe she will finally update her blog.. TEHEE!!)

Happy Valentine's Day from the Blakley Kids!

2009-02-07T11:22:00.005-06:00

I just couldn't wait until Valentine's Day to post this... I am so excited about them!

Aren't these just the cutest things you have ever seen!

I have never seen anything like this... leave it up to my super talented friend Spanki to come up with such a neat idea! The kids can't wait to give out their cards! I love the pictures that you took Spank and the cards are just adorable... Thanks again... we love them!

You can see more of Spanki's work at {spankimillsphotography.com}!

oh my.....2 Diddle's

2009-02-05T12:57:00.004-06:00

I just had to post this....

I came into the living room the other day to find Diddle laughing at himself in the mirror. He was standing on the back of the couch, looking at himself... he got so tickled! He kept laughing.. saying.. " mom look, TWO Diddle's!"

I laughed with him and kept saying... " No... mommy doesn't want TWO Diddle's!"
That of course made him laugh harder!....(me too!)
Honestly... I don't think that I could handle TWO Diddles...he is a mess!

Look....Two Diddle's picking their nose!

Look at his face... he was having such a good time!

I am so glad that my camera was handy!

Oh how I love a great DEAL!

2009-02-05T08:46:00.004-06:00

Well, as you all know, my wonderful husband has been working his fingers to the bone trying to get our exercise/pool room finished! It's not done yet, but it won't be long! We already have some exercise equipment to go in it... a treadmill, an ab lounger (which I haven't tried yet), some free weights.... etc.

I have been on the look out for an elliptical machine since November and I actually found one I liked at Academy to the tune of $700.00 smackaroo's! Yikes... I didn't buy it, I can think of soooo many more things that I could do with $700.00! Anyway a couple of weeks ago, I went to our little 'ol Wal-Mart and they had one for $297.00... much better than $700.00.. but I still waited. On Monday, my sis-in-law called and said that she was in Wal-Mart and that the elliptical was marked down to $267.00, but that they had a bunch of them... so I didn't think anything else about it... I thought it was just a temporary "rollback" price. Then on Tuesday (the next day), my friend Leslie called me and said that she was in Wal-Mart and that they had the elliptical's marked down.. clearanced out...now the price was $175.00 and they only had TWO left! I thought... I have got to go get it! I was in a rush and Jon... well, he was taking his sweet little time... I just knew that they would be gone if I didn't go right then! Jon said..."Lacie, this is Madisonville, I really don't think that folks are gonna be knocking down the doors of our Wal-Mart to buy this $175.00 elliptical!"... my response was... I AM... get moving or I am going without you!

When we got to Wal-Mart, they still had both of them sitting on a stock cart, right in the front as you walk in. Jon just smirked and said, "I told you so!" Don't you just hate it when they are right! I had to pick up a few more things so I walked around to get my shampoo, cat food, paper plates, trash bags....etc. as I did that, Jon was waiting at the customer service counter (for at least 20 minutes and no one would even acknowledge that he was there) to get one of the ellipticals.. I checked out and waited.. Jon was still waiting...I looked over at the elliptical machines and there was a man and two children standing guard for these ellipticals... which didn't bother me because there were TWO of them. Then the man says to his wife.. who by the way is also standing at the customer service desk... go ahead and get both of them! WHAT! You have got to be kidding me... Jon saw the panic on my face and realized what the couple had just said. About that time, one of the small children standing with the man ran off...as the man chased his child, Jon took one of the ellipticals off of the cart and pushed the cart with the remaining elliptical to the regular check out line! We checked out, got the elliptical and went to the truck... Man that was a close one! We got it...for $175.00.... oh how I love a great DEAL!

Now let's just hope that I get motivated enough to use it!!!!!

Help!!!!

2009-01-27T09:27:00.003-06:00

Ok... I am not computer smart and I am about to lose my mind!
I have tried to download some free fonts off of the Internet.. and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to unzip the file!
I have Windows Vista on my laptop and Window XP on my Desktop. I can download them on my desktop because when I try to open it, it asks me if I want to "extract the file" and it works. On my laptop... which is windows Vista, it is not that easy. I have googled it and tried every way possible to "extract the file" or "unzip" the file, but It DOES NOT WORK!!!
It CANNOT be this hard... it has to be me and something that I am doing!
I am so needing some help.... if any one knows anything about computers... or at least windows vista... please, please, I beg of you... help a Sister out! My Sanity is on the line!!!

2009-01-23T08:56:00.003-06:00

Emilie and I were looking at my blog last night and she informed me that there weren't very many pictures of her on my blog... so here you go! This is my precious, pretty girl, middle child, only daughter.... Emilie! I love you SIS!

These are for you Aunt Virginia!This is a picture from the Blakley family reunion back in May.My father-in-law is the second from the right... and these are his brothers and sisters..!

Don't ya just love the backdrop! I love Classic Cars!

Boys will be Boys....

2009-01-22T08:26:00.004-06:00

Maybe I should have let him join the 4-H shotgun club after all!

Then maybe these poor little critters wouldn't have had a target on their back!

I don't agree with shooting animals for the fun of it... there needs to be a purpose... you know, you shoot it, you eat it policy. But....What could I say....Can you see how proud they were of themselves!

Darren wanted me to take pictures of his first "duck hunt". He even wanted to mount them... which by the way is NOT happening! He will have to settle for the pictures in a scrapbook! What is it about boys and dead animals hanging on the wall?

This picture is of the neighborhood kids.... I would like to think that they were paying their respects, but that was not the case. They were all in AWE of the great hunt that the boys had!
They even stopped riding the scooters to check it all out! Notice that most of them were girls...!

Just for the record... Jon and I had a talk with Darren about having a purpose when you take the life of an animal. We will enforce the "You kill it, You eat it" policy next time!

In the end, Jon and I agreed that the fact of the matter is that ... BOYS WILL BE BOYS!

2009-01-15T13:38:00.007-06:00

I'll have a cafe-mocha-vodka-valium-latte to go please!!

I got an email with this saying on it and boy does it fit! It has been a week let me tell ya! I am going to tell you about how my Wednesday started... it will give you a pretty good indication about how my week has been!!!

Wednesday morning, I got up... on time.... I made breakfast... dressed 3 kids... dropped off the baby...got to school... helped a few kids... spoke to many of the teachers....and so on and so on....
The counselor at our school is standing in my doorway talking about what a week it's been and what do I notice???

Oh my..... I have T-W-O different tennis shoes on.... Yes.... TWO different tennis shoes!!!

(excuse the fact that they are dirty... i need to throw them in the washer!)

How in the world does this happen? I mean... they weren't even close to the same! One blue Adidas and one pink Nike! I mean... you would think that I could feel the difference. Nope... not me... I just walked on about my business!

After the initial shock, I just laughed and thought to myself... I don't care, I am going to wear these mis-matched shoes... I am refusing to go home and change them!

I sent a picture message to a couple of my friends and my hubby. It was a picture of my mis-matched shoes and a quote..." you know it's gonna be a bad day when... you look down and see that you have two different shoes on!".... and the background music was my kiddos singing "hit me with you best shot.... fire away!" I just knew that they could appreciate the humor in it all!

Needless to say, I ended up making a quick trip to Wally World and purchased a slip on pair of tennis shoes and made it through the day!

Can anyone say.... TGIF!!!!!!

My Mom.... The Biker Chick!

2009-01-14T13:16:00.001-06:00

My mom came over a few days ago on her bike.... yes, her bike... a Harley Davidson!

She got a few new accessories for Christmas... and was testing them out!

I have to have the coolest mom ever.... a leather wearing, motorcycle riding... biker chick!

I love it!

This is my mom, striking a pose in her new leather! Look at that fringe!

She is so proud of her bike! I wonder if she would let me take it for a spin! (Ha.. that's a scary thought!... I will stick to Darren's dirt bike..!)

Love you Nana!

The Scrapbook Room...

2009-01-08T09:36:00.002-06:00

If you know me, then you know that I LOVE to scrapbook. I have a hard time finding time to do it, but I love it! Until now, I have always scheduled a day... an ENTIRE day... to get together with friends and scrapbook. Usually, I would gather a car load of supplies, tools, and photos and head to Spanki's house. She had the most room and it was the furthest away from my kids and husband. My husband wouldn't let me get a portable building to have my own space and I can't scrapbook in the house because I make a huge mess and with the kids running around, I didn't get very much accomplished. He decided to build me a room in the garage and now that it is done, I am so excited about it! Here are a few pictures of the space... Notice there are THREE tables... anyone want to scrapbook??

The shelf in the corner is where my Cricut resides... I love my Cricut!

The door to the right is a bathroom... My husband thought of everything!

This is where all of my paper, embellishments, tools, ribbon, etc. are kept. It isn't exactly how I want it, but it will work for now. Oh and don't ya love the AC unit....this one heats and cools! I had to have that, I plan on being out there as much as possible!

This is the view from my window.... ahhh... can't wait for summer to get here! I can see it now, kids swimming and playing and having a great time and me getting a lot done on my scrapbooks!

After my husband finished my scrapbook room , he went to work on his next project! A pool room/exercise room! Jon has been working like crazy to get room finished before he starts back to school this month. This last weekend, him and his brother cut a whole in the back of the garage to put the sliding glass door in. He only has one more week so he's really been working hard. The walls are up and almost ready to paint... it won't be long before this phase of construction at our house is complete!

Who knows.... maybe we will finish the siding on the house next! (don't laugh but that has been a project we have been working on for YEARS!... no joke, 4 years to be exact!) It will get done.... eventually!

Hurry... go check it out!

2008-12-29T22:36:00.004-06:00

Hey.... go to SpankiMillsPhotography ... and check out the cool pics of my kiddos that she took!
They are awesome... you know... it's funny what other people can get your kids to do. My baby, Dylan, did exactly what she wanted him to do... He NEVER does that for me! Emilie was a super model and game for anything...She did AWESOME. Darren on the other hand wasn't even supposed to take pictures and really wasn't into the whole thing because his friends were standing around... he wouldn't smile for anything... except once... when we were talking about girls and well then we got a smirk!

Anyway... she did a GREAT job... so go check em' out.... oh and she has a cool website now....take a look at it too.

Blog attcha later!!
:)Laciebmotherof3....signing out!

my little ballerina

2008-12-29T20:14:00.002-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, I kept my niece Zoey. We picked her up from her dance class... which by the way, was soooo cute to watch! After we got home, I walked into the living room to find this.....

notice anything funny???

My little boy has on ballerina shoes! A T-Shirt, undies, and pink ballerina shoes! He didn't want to take them off!

He even "struck a pose" for me!

He's going to hate these pics when he gets a little older!

what goes around...comes around

2008-12-14T18:00:00.002-06:00

Well, this is how all of this was started.

Darren spent the night with his friend "Nanel"... on Halloween. Together along with a female accomplice, who shall remain anonymous, wrapped a few houses. Now, I was aware that they were going to go wrapping... I mean it was Halloween and they had an adult willing to take them, I didn't have a problem with it. Darren and Nanel had a blast... wrapping house after house.. and even got busted at one. I knew then that pay backs would be coming our way! It didn't help that Nanel made sure that everyone knew that they had gone wrapping Halloween night! I had been warned a few times that a few of Darren's friends were "gonna get him back" and I didn't blame them, that's just part of the fun! Darren I think had a idea that something like this was going to happen this weekend because he asked me if he could hide out on the roof. I didn't let him of course, but when we woke up on Saturday morning, this is what we found. You see apparently, Nanel and "C", one of the friends that Darren and Nanel wrapped at Halloween, spent the night together on Friday.... hummm!

This is Darren, assessing the damage! If you could see his face, you could see he was grinning from ear to ear.

This could be nothing more than the work of pros...!

Nanel, surely you didn't have anything to do with this! Audrea, just remember, what goes around, comes around!

Who is your hero?

2008-12-03T18:33:00.002-06:00

4th Grade Writing assignment....
Questions for Hero Interview

These were the questions that he had to ask...

Well, when I asked Darren who his hero was, he said..... Dad is my Hero!
Talk about make your heart melt. As parents, you can only hope that your kids look up to you, that they feel like you are a "hero". Well, Jonathan happens to be the BEST father a kid could ask for. Darren couldn't wait until Jon got home from school to "interview" his hero. Jon was all smiles when Darren told him that he was his hero.... I on the other hand was trying to hold back the tears. I am so proud of Darren.

This was the "interview". Too cute.... I of course had to take pictures.

Darren interviewed Jon and wrote down all the answers. The homework assignment was to do the interview. He took the answers to school and wrote his paper. We got the paper back in his Tuesday folder this week and let me tell you, it was the sweetest thing I have ever read. Darren looks up to his Daddy so much. Jon and I both had tears in our eyes as we read the words Darren wrote in his paper. We are so proud of him!

Thank you Rishanne....

2008-11-25T12:59:00.006-06:00

I had the opportunity to take pictures for the best... soon to be parents! They were pros let me tell ya... they make picture taking easy! Here are a few from the day! This first one is of a bracelet that Rishanne got as a gift from a friend... isn't it neat.... I would love to know where you got that Alice!

Rishanne, thank you for letting me be a part of your journey! You are the sweetest person and I am so glad that I have gotten to know you. You and Ryan are going to be GREAT parents. Rylan is a lucky little fella!

holiday's and hay bales......

2008-11-14T20:42:00.017-06:00

holiday time....

Oh my... only 39 days until Christmas.... it just sneaks up on you doesn't it!

Well, every year in November, I start my Christmas shopping... I envy you guys that get that head start or even shop year round.... but, my reality is that I procrastinate and wait until the last minute or hold out for those "deals" that are sure to come about! This year is no different. I can count on one hand how many gifts I have bought. I do this every year! In some weird way, I kinda like it this way... you know, the thrill of the hunt or the thrill of the "best deal"! I love sitting around the table on Thanksgiving, looking at the sales papers... plotting my "early bird" sales event day..... figuring out where I am going and which store to go to first. One year I even took my Dad so that he could stand guard at the buggy..notice I said "one" year... for some reason he hasn't volunteered to go back.......hum! I know that I will be running from here to there in the hunt for the perfect gifts. It won't be easy or stress free, but it will be done!

Now for the hay bale part of this post....

I wanted to share these pics of the kiddos with you. On Friday, the pasture at the end of our road had hay bales scattered about and the sky was just gorgeous....so of course I begged, borrowed, pleaded, and threatened my kids to take some pics for me. This is what I got.... I had some really great ideas for pictures... but with three kids (mainly Diddle)... I will take what I can get!

Trick or Treat

2008-11-02T14:16:00.005-06:00

Trick or Treat smell my feet, gimmie something good to eat!

The kids always dress up for Halloween.

Em was "Sharpay" from HSM, Big D was an "Army Man", and Diddle was a "Boxer"! We had a quick trip around the square in Madville and then... kids dispersed... Darren to a friends house, Emilie to a Halloween party and Jon, Diddle and I to the house! Short and sweet.... Trick or Treating in daylight.... I have to say this a first...and honestly... I loved it!

~Hope everyone else had a GREAT Halloween!~

Spidey - Mans....

2008-10-30T06:44:00.002-05:00

I have a two year old little boy who loves nothing more than to be naked! Every time I turn around, my little man has stripped down to his undies!

Here is my conversation with my two year old!

Mommy: "Diddle, go inside and get your clothes on... it's cold out here and you are gonna get sick."

Dylan:..... silence ( I am sure that he is thinking... if I ignore her she will leave me alone)

Mommy: "Diddle, I know you hear me! Go inside, you can't run around naked... your gonna get sick!"

Dylan: " I not nakey boy Momma."

Mommy: " Dylan Jake... what did Momma tell you? Go inside."

Dylan: " I not get sick, I got my spidey-mans on... i not nakey boy... i got my spidey-mans on."

So......... He's not naked... He has his SPIDEY-MANS on! He's not gonna get sick... He has his SPIDEY-MANS on!

Oh to be a two year old and get to run around... half naked... protected from the cold and sickness... all because you have your Spidey-Mans on!

Baby Zane....6 weeks old

2008-10-25T22:47:00.003-05:00

I got to take some pictures of Zane today..... I can't believe that this little turkey is already SIX weeks old! He is growing so fast! These are a few of my favorites from the "photo shoot" today!

(I couldn't figure out how to transfer more than 6 pictures so I had to make them into a collage.... I think you can still see them all!)

12 little monkey's swimming in the pool....

2008-10-14T20:18:00.003-05:00

Well.... Darren had a few of his friends over to celebrate his B-Day! What a crowd! After a quick round of flag football, the boys decided to jump into the pool..... the COLD pool! It didn't take very long for these smart little monkey's to figure out that the HOT tub was much, much warmer! This one is a little fuzzy but I wanted to post it anyway!

We have not had this many little boys at house in a long time! The evening was very interesting! They had a "dance" competition which ended up being a break-dance lesson for all involved.... courtesy of "Nannel"..... Oh if I could have found the discs for my video camera! They also pretended to be a "live" bowling game, which was very funny. All of the boys lined up in a triangle form, while one of them did summer salts until he hit the first one lined up and then they all just fell to the ground..... STRIKE! They put face paint on the first ones to go to sleep and were up by.... 5:00 AM! Darren had a blast, I am sure this was a birthday that he will never forget!

Emilie and friends!!!!

2008-10-09T06:57:00.003-05:00

I wanted to show you this picture.....

This picture was taken when Emilie and Becca were in Kindergarten.

I have always thought that these two favor each other.

They have been friends since Pre-School at Miss Connie's. Emilie was so excited to get to see Becca this last weekend. (you see, becca moved at the end of school last year...Em sure has missed her!)

This pic is...... THEN

And this pic is..... NOW!

I still think they favor!

Their hair is cut the same, the color is the same, they are both full of energy!

They have such a sweet friendship!

This is the group shot!

Emilie had a slumber party last weekend with some of her friends and they were NOT shy around the camera! They had such a good time! They decorated pillow cases, put on makeup, and went swimming at midnight! Oh to be young again!

Young Love.....

2008-10-08T09:23:00.002-05:00

I know it has been a while since my last post. I have had computer problems....but praise Jesus.... I have my computer back in working order!

I came across these pictures as I was going through my computer last night and had to share them with you! I think they are just precious!

My older two kiddos saw them last night and started singing....

Diddle and PayPay sittin' in a tree,

K-I-S-S-I-N-G...... too cute!

I am so glad that these two play so well together and I hope that the bond they have now as toddlers will last a lifetime. I have made no secret about the fact that if I have it my way, this cute little blonde chick will be my future daughter-in-law... LOL

Who knows, maybe I will display this "young love" picture at their wedding!

What happens to a pool when the electricity is out for SIX days?

2008-09-27T13:22:00.010-05:00

This is what happens when the electricity is out for SIX days!

Our pool was not pretty.....

YUCK..... without the pumps circulating the water, the pool turned green. The leaves and debris in the pool were AWFUL.

My "pool boy"....... I mean my husband...... had to work very hard to clean out the pool after IKE! He vacuumed and swept and scrubbed.... and I......well, I took pictures!

As my "pool boy" cleaned, he came across this creature! It was HUGE.... the kids ran around the pool saying.... we have a lobster in the pool.... WHOA....!

Jon and I just laughed.... too bad there wasn't a bunch more, we could have had a crawfish boil!

I don't know a lot about crawfish, but I have never seen one with those red "eggs" ??? I guess that is what those are.... please correct me if I am wrong..... I would really like to know.

She was in the bottom of our pool... walking through the mounds of sunken leaves.... maybe she was trying to find a place to lay her eggs!

She posed for the camera.... until Diddle got the idea to catch her. Poor thing!

As I snapped away.... Diddle squished, bumped, and scared the poor thing into submission!

He is all boy.... NO FEAR!

TaDa!

He was so proud of himself!

Introducing

2008-09-22T20:55:00.001-05:00

Zane

Here is the picture that I promised!
Isn't he precious!

**********

I had to add this one too... He was smiling at me!
He knows that he's a cutie!

It's been a while but........I have exciting news!

2008-09-21T16:11:00.005-05:00

Baby Zane is here!

He was born on Monday, Sept. 15th.

He weighed 8 lbs 1 oz & was 21 in. long!

Mom and Baby are doing great!

I will post pictures of him later but until then, I wanted to share this picture with you.

This is the first time that Zoey got to see her baby brother!

I think that this is a sweet picture.

She was so proud!

She is going to be such a great Big Sister!

Random FYI.....

2008-09-03T19:56:00.004-05:00

This wonderful establishment on HWY 21 in Bryan is a frequent stop of my families! We love it! We visit almost every time we make a trip to Bryan... it is right there off of 21.... very convenient and pretty fast! We are on a first name basis with the gentleman who runs this location... sad, I know! Any way, the last time we went in there (about 2 weeks ago), the manager made sure that we knew that they were moving. What?..... Moving?.... Why would you move... it's the perfect spot.... at least for me.... a little small, but why ruin a good thing! Then he laughed and stated..... we are moving right across the overpass... on the other side of McDonald's! Whew...... they scared me there for a second..... I thought I was going to have to find another quick dinner spot for my crew or worse.... have to cook!
This blog was very random but important if you ever stop at this location of Wings 'N More..... I know that I am not the only Madisonvillian that goes there! So when you pass by and the store is closed, just go across the overpass and it will be on your right just past McDonald's!

less than a month to go...

2008-08-31T18:11:00.007-05:00

My sister-in-law Erica is due in less than a month! Baby Zane is almost here! I can't wait to smell the smell of a new born baby slathered with that yummy lotion... I can't wait to rub his little feet... and kiss his little cheeks... and spoil him absolutely rotten! It won't be long.... but before he gets here, Erica wanted to try and get some maternity pictures with her, Joey, and Zoey. I searched the Internet and browsed blogs like... Candid Reflections Photography for ideas on how to capture the perfect maternity pictures! I didn't realize how hard it would be to get a 2 year old to cooperate... Zoey was not in the picture taking mood...we begged, pleaded, and bribed...but no such luck. I didn't get the pics that I wanted, but I think I got some that she will love!

This one I think is my favorite of Joey and Erica together....

This one is my Favorite of her belly.....

This one is the only one that I got with Erica and Zoey that turned out...

I like this silhouette of Erica... I think it's different and unique.

This last picture, I couldn't decide whether I liked it in black and white or in color....

When you have such a gorgeous pregnant lady.... the pics can't help but turn out!

I had a great time taking pictures for Erica and I hope that she enjoys them!

2008-08-30T09:12:00.002-05:00

I put my name in the hat for a giveaway a week or so ago at my friend Kyley's blog!

I didn't think I would win...there were a lot of entries! But low and behold, sweet Rebecca drew my name.... I love that girl!

Look at what I got........ a Christmas RAGAMUFFIN Garland!

Thanks Kyley for this WONDERFUL Gift!

I can't wait to put it up at Christmas time!

Smiles....

an award....

2008-08-27T08:51:00.011-05:00

I got this snazzy little thing from my friend Spanki!

She is an AWESOME, CREATIVE, KIND, SPIRITUAL, and TALENTED lady!

She is like family to me and if we have it our way, one day we will be planning the weddings of our children. Like she said, we have 7 all together so we like to think that our chances are pretty good! Thank you Spanki for this wonderful award... which by the way is my first!

These are the rules.

1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.

2. Link the person you received your award from.

3. Nominate at least 3 other blogs.

4. Put links of those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you have nominated.

Sounds easy enough!

So, here is who gets my "I Love Your Blog" award.

In no particular order,

1. Kyley O - When I log on, I always check out her blog. She recently moved so I don't get to see her and Bec like we used to. My daughter Emilie and her daughter Becca have been the best of friends since pre-school. Some people even say they look alike... which of course the girls just love! Kyley is an amazing lady and she has a GREAT blog... so go and check her out!

2. Newton family of 3 - Sara and I go way back... to high school that is! She is a truely talented lady who happens to make the yummiest cakes ever.... seriously! If you are in need of a cake for any occasion, she is the lady you need to call! She recently found out she is preggers with baby #2.... I guess she will soon be the "Newton family of 4" or the "Newton family of 5".... it could happen, she could be having twins! If you haven't visited her blog... go on over and check her out.

3. With Brush in hand - This is a blog I have just recently started to follow. She is one CRAFTY lady. I don't know how she finds the time! She also happens to be my daughter's 2nd grade teacher this year..... Emilie came home from school yesterday and said...." Mom, did you know that my teacher is an ARTIST?" I just smiled and said...yes.... did you see the paddle she painted? (If you knew my daughter you would understand why I made sure to point out the paddle..... but that's a whole other story!) With Brush in hand is an AWESOME blog... so go take a look.... you will love it!

Candid Reflections.... I would have loved to nominate you but Spanki beat me to it! I love reading your blog and looking at your amazing photography!

Well this has been fun.....until next time!

Bowling for the first time....

2008-08-26T12:53:00.002-05:00

What could be more fun than going bowling with a two year old?

This was Dylan's first time to bowl and he had a blast!

He only let Dad help him one time and then this is what we got...

I do it.... I do it by my self..... I da big boy!!

Look at those bowling shoes... they were so stinkin cute!

I didn't know that they even made shoes that small!

They even gave us a small bowling ball that Dylan could carry all by him self.

Everytime Darren and Emilie would get a strike or a spare they would throw their hands up in the air and shoot the #1 sign.... of course little man was watching.... and of course he followed their lead.

His bowling ball went down the lane at a whopping speed of 1.17 mph.... so needless to say, he stood in this position for a while and watched as the ball rolled in slow motion toward the pins!

He had the people in the lane next to us rolling.... He even gave them high 5's after each bowl.

He was such a little ham.....

Meet the teacher...

2008-08-24T11:03:00.002-05:00

Well it is that time again..... yep, back to school time!

Last Thursday was Meet the Teacher day for our kiddos.

We are so excited about the teachers that Emilie and Darren got!

Emilie got Mrs. Faries..... she is such a neat lady.

She is a fellow blogger.... so to check her out, go to the link "The Faries Family" on my side bar to take a look at her fun and creative blog!

Emilie is going to have such a great year!

Darren is in the Fourth grade. They have team teachers and Darren was all smiles when he saw who he got!

He has Mrs. Blakley (yep.... his Boomaw) for Math and Science and Mrs. Taylor for Language Arts and Social Studies. Mrs. Taylor is also his homeroom teacher. These two ladies are the best of the best in the classroom and out! It is going to be a wonderful year!

all together....

2008-08-15T12:23:00.002-05:00

these are the three of them all together.....

Big D, Em and Diddle

Big Brother....

2008-08-15T12:10:00.002-05:00

Darren is such a good big brother.....

Darren and Dylan are 8 years apart and yet Darren is so good with Diddle

He is very patient with him, plays with him, teaches him....

I am so thankful that Darren is the way he is.... kind, loving, caring, sweet.

kiddos

2008-08-15T09:41:00.006-05:00

I wanted to take a few pics of the kiddos before school starts...

I was greatful that at least one of each of the kids turned out OK....

gone fishin'

2008-08-11T10:47:00.010-05:00

my dad took the boys fishing yesterday..... man was it H-O-T!

they were on a tight schedule..... darren had a back to school party to go to, so it only gave them a couple of hours to fish.... praise the Lord because i went too and i am soooooo used to the AC..... i felt like i was going to melt away in the 180 degree heat!

this is Dylan's first fishin' trip....... he was ready to catch a big bass......
this was his first cast... with Paw's help of course.
reel it in Diddle........ look at that face...... fishin' is serious business!
yeah and.....check out those boots...... he wouldn't leave the house without them..... afterall, bubba was wearing boots..... we're not in a fashion show, i mean...... we're just goin' fishin'!

this is Big D in his favorite fishin' spot....... look at that reflection in the water!

this boy loves to fish.....he would have to..... it's like 180 degrees outside!

Dylan was trying to take bubba's fishin' spot and well...... he got stuck! that will teach him to try and take bubba's spot!!!

the boys had a great time fishing with their Paw and i was glad to be there to capture the moment....... even if it was 18o degrees outside!!!

poor thing......

2008-08-08T09:12:00.004-05:00

This is the newest addition to our family. She is a cat determined to be with our family. Here is her story.

It was Jon's first day back to work after our vacation, so he was going to get a jump start on the week and decided to leave for work earlier than normal. When he got to the stop sign at the end of our road, our neighbor (who also leaves at the crack of dawn) stopped him. During their conversation, Jon noticed a cat meowing. He thought it was in the neighbors truck but soon discovered it was in his truck. They retrieved the cat from the engine and after determining that it didn't belong to either the neighbor and certainly not us, Jon did what any other man would do and he left the poor kitten on the side of the road. Poor thing, how could he do that, she was tiny! Later that evening you will not believe what happened. The kids and I were visiting my mom and we didn't get home until around 10:00 that night. As soon as we got out of the car, the kids heard a loud MEOW. Darren screamed out, there is a cat in Dad's truck. Surely it's not the same cat, RIGHT!....... Wrong!! This kitten, a tiny little orange striped kitten, was the same cat Jon had left at the end of our road earlier that morning. I got a flash light from the car and we saved her once again from the truck engine. The kids of course immediately asked, " Mom, can we keep her? Please?" My response was, ask your Dad. They did and his answer was ABSOLUTELY NOT, but he did agree that we could shelter her for the night and find a home for her the next day. We brought her in the house, put her in a laundry basket with a nice comfy blanket and gave her some canned milk. (That was all that I had to offer the poor little thing) She was so hungry. She didn't stay in the laundry basket long before she was crying.... the kids would pick her up and she would stop, they put her down and she would cry....so of course Emilie volunteered to sleep on a pallet on the floor with the cat. When Jon woke up the next morning to go to work, Emilie was already awake. She said that she stayed up most of the night with the cat. Awwwwww...... she has stayed up with a cat that mean 'ol Dad won't even let her keep. Jon came back into our room, woke me up and said.... Emilie really likes that cat, she stayed up all night with it, if she can stay up all night with the dang cat, maybe she should keep it. He's such a softy, she has her Daddy wrapped let me tell you! So of course the next day was filled with a visit to the vet and a trip to Wally World for pet supplies and food. The kids were on cloud nine they have wanted a pet for a long time. They named her Skittles. She is the best cat. Dylan squeezes her, throws her, chases her, and she just lets him. She has never scratched, hissed, or bitten him, and let me tell you, she has had the right to a couple of times. He brought her to me one day and she was soaked! I asked what happened and he said he put her in the toilet! OMG....can you believe she let him do that! He is not gentle at all with the poor thing but she doesn't seem to mind. Here are a few pics of him with Skittles.

They were watching TV..... look at that death grip he has on her.
In this one, Dylan was building a pen with his legos and Skittles was instructed to stay in the pen.

I am so glad that this cute little orange striped kitten wandered into our lives. She is a good fit for our family.

a beautiful shower....

2008-08-06T10:23:00.002-05:00

This was the sign-in table. I made a scrapbook sign in sheet for the guests to sign. It matched her invitations and it will be an easy start to Baby Zane's baby book/scrapbook.
This YUMMY cake was made by Erica's long-time friend Sara Newton.... isn't she AWESOME. Check out some of her other cakes on her blog...... newtonfamilyof3.blogspot.com

Erica loved the cake... it was perfect! Sara, thank you so much....we wish you could have been there!
This was the diaper cake. I have to say thanks to my sis-in-law Christi, she saved the diaper cake!!! I was about to give up and throw it all out of the window and she saved it! She has some mad bow making skills, I couldn't have finished it without her!
This was one of the many flower arrangements on the tables. Erica's Aunt Vicki and her cousin Candace made these cute boot bouquets. They were responsible for the decorating and I think they did an AWESOME job! Erica's shower was beautiful. Thanks to all who helped make this day GREAT for Erica!

Dylan's room...

2008-07-30T12:15:00.004-05:00

As you can see... I have been painting Dylan's room. We recently got rid of his crib and baby stuff. This is his big boy room. We aren't finished yet but we are on our way. I still have to get him a big boy bed and bedding, the blinds need to be put back up and I need to find a toy box. I will post more pics when we are finished.

Smiles.....!