What a Ramsey Life

Amazing what you find…

2011-10-02T22:24:00.001-05:00

…left behind at the ranch…

***an old pickup truck***

***license plate laying on the ground***

***mattress springs***

***random railing***

***old barns***

***no idea what this thing was**

Labor Day Weekend

2011-10-02T22:10:00.001-05:00

…better late than never!

This year we headed to the ranch for Labor Day weekend with the Sorenson Family. Originally, we were supposed to head out on Friday, but Jarrad came down with a stomach bug. I really thought we were going to have to cancel the whole trip, but by Saturday morning, Jarrad felt better and we headed out. Seth, Suzanne and the kids met us out there. I didn’t tell Meg that they were coming, so as we were pulling onto the ranch road, she saw their car and got super excited. It was great.

Both of us brought our yellow labs. Dixie is 10 years old and Emma is 10 months old. I was surprised that Dixie did so well with Emma, but they both just kept to themselves. We took them both out for the afternoon hunt on Saturday. Dixie was a fetching machine and got every bird that Jarrad shot. Emma on the other hand, was a little gun shy and hid under the mule until Seth drug her out and took her with him.

Dixie hunted so hard that she could barely get around, so she had to spend the rest of the weekend locked up in Joey. She just can’t do it like she used to…poor girl!

***Dixie***

***Emma***

***Colton, Tanner and Meg***

***Meg and Tanner***

***The kiddos perch while we were hunting***

***My sweet girl***

On the second afternoon hunt, we had to have the kids fetch the birds since Dixie was out of commission. This was such a cute scene…Tanner, Colton and Meg were around this bird. I can only imagine the conversation that was going on was one for the memory books.

It seemed that finally a decision had been made. Meg picked up the bird and ran it to Jarrad as fast as she could. The look on her face is priceless.

***Meg, Tanner and Colton***

Meg and Tanner were pulling feathers off of birds in Jarrad’s bag. I’m not even sure he was aware what was taking place behind his back.

***Seth and Emma***

***Two peas in a pod***

We had a great weekend with the Sorensons and hope we can make it out there again during deer season.

Meg’s Slumber Party

2011-10-02T21:45:00.000-05:00

This year for Meg’s birthday, she decided that she wanted to have a slumber party. Apparently, I wasn’t thinking straight when I agreed to let her invite 13 girls over to the house for an entire night. Lucky for me, only 9 girls accepted, making the total of screaming girls 10, including Megan.

Meg’s guests started arriving around 5:30 on Saturday night. For dinner, Meg decided she wanted to serve burgers and chips. My plans were to let the girls play outside until dinner was ready. I set the formal dining room table up for the dinner. Meg’s “theme” for her party was zebra with a teal color accent.

After dinner, we did a project that I had picked up at Michael’s. I bought enough for each girl to make one necklace and one bracelet. The creations turned out very cute.

After craft time, we opened presents and had cupcakes. Meg got lots of great gifts from her friends and loved each gift. I decided to make cupcakes this year instead of buying them. Meg isn’t a sweet eater and doesn’t like icing, so this allowed me to make a few without icing. Turns out, she didn’t even eat a cupcake at all. She’s so goofy.

All-in-all, it was a fantastic night; a little loud at some points, but I just sent them outside and that seemed to make the house quieter. Thankfully, my neighbors that live behind me appeared to be out of town and we don’t have any other neighbors. I was finally able to get them to all lay down at 12:00 and soon after, they were asleep.

Happy birthday sweet Megan. I hope you had an AMAZING birthday celebration.

Happy 7th Birthday

2011-09-12T03:49:00.000-05:00

Yes, it’s already come and gone. Meg has turned 7. Six was a great year. Meg has really grown into something special. She has the biggest heart I’ve ever seen. Her love and compassion is absolutely amazing. Meg would do anything for anyone.

Don’t get me wrong, there are days that being her mother isn’t so easy. We fight and argue about the little things. The mornings are the worse! Every morning, we do the same thing; our routine doesn’t change up very often. Every morning, we have the same conversations about getting up, brushing hair and teeth and getting shoes on. However, if this is my biggest complaint, I think we’re doing ok.

There are times when she gets sassy with me, but she’s quick to apologize. Of course, this is usually after she’s stomped her feet or rolled her eyes. I write these things, not because I want her to sound like a brat, but because I want to remember the good and the bad times.

Six was full of great times. Meg became a cousin again in September and November. We welcomed Jackson (September) and Parker (November) into the family. Meg was so excited to have two more cousins.

We got to go to game five of the World Series. It was an amazing opportunity and we had an amazing time.

Nawnaw and I took Megan to her first Rodeo She didn’t much care for calf roping, but I think she had fun otherwise.

We had a few snow days.

We survived first grade.

I’m looking forward to seven. Everyday Meg teaches me something. Can’t wait to see what she will teach me this year! Meg, you are my everything. I see you.

First Day of Second Grade

2011-09-11T20:38:00.001-05:00

How can meg already be in second grade? It seems with every new grade, every birthday, I find myself asking how can time be going by so fast? How can Meg be growing into such a beautiful young lady so quickly? I guess I just need to accept that there is nothing I can do to stop the clock from moving forward. Whether I like it or not, she’s growing up.

Meg was so excited about the first day of second grade. She was so easy to wake up on her first day. There was no fighting about what she was going to wear, no fighting about brushing her hair or teeth and no fighting about what was for lunch. It was a beautiful morning.

I had to beg her to let me walk her in this year. I have a feeling this may be the last year I’m going to be allowed to walk her in. That morning, while Meg and I were eating breakfast, she actually asked me if I would be walking her into school when she was a freshman in college? She’s such a smarty pants sometimes.

As we walked into the school for the third year, I couldn’t help but think about the first day we walked into that school in 2009 for Kindergarten. As I look back at the pictures from Kindergarten, I can’t believe how much she has changed. Meg is no longer a little girl, she’s turning into a beautiful young lady.

This year has gotten off to a much better start than Kindergarten and First Grade. I hope that we will keep this momentum going forward.

Meg, I love you more than you will ever know. You are my everything! I see you.

Test

2011-08-07T10:28:00.001-05:00

Testing an app for blogging from my iPad.

NKOTBSB

2011-07-26T20:55:00.001-05:00

In June, I was able to get some tickets to the the New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys concert (in my company’s suite at the AAC). I was so happy that Suz was able to join me. We had so much fun acting like complete idiots. We even managed to make it onto the jumbo-tron.

***Before the concert***

***amazing***

***enjoying our front row seats in the suite***

Happy Birthday Aaron - A little late

2011-07-05T20:02:00.000-05:00

Aaron’s birthday was at Life Time Fitness this year. The kids had such a wonderful time climbing the indoor rock wall and swimming. We were so glad we were able to make it.

***Lauren, Megan, Aaron & Ben***

Last day of First Grade

2011-06-22T01:45:00.000-05:00

I can’t believe that first grade is already over. It seems like yesterday that I was just dropping her off for her first day. She has grown so much this year.

***Meg on her first day of first grade***

Meg was excited to get up and moving on her last day of school. I was able to convince her to let me snap a few pictures of her before I took her to school. I know that in a few years, getting her to pose for pictures is going to be the hardest thing. Right now, I can ask her nicely and she’s a willing participant.

Meg did a lot during first grade. She pulled a few more teeth, which meant a few more visits from the tooth fairy. She started in an after school program because I went back to work in an office. She loved roller blading so much that she joined an inline speed skating team. She out grew another bike.

Meg welcomed two new little boy cousins into the family, Jackson Bradley and Parker Ramsey. She got to see a handful of plays at Casa Manana’s Children’s Theater, including Snow White, Rudolph, Brer Rabbit, Pinocchio, and The Wizard of Oz.

***Meg and Daddy, last day of 1st grade***

***Meg and Mommy, last day of 1st grade***

This year was incredible, I’m looking forward to what next year has in store for her. I know it will be absolutely amazing! I see you!

First Grade Musical

2011-06-21T06:11:00.000-05:00

Meg’s first grade class did Seussical the Musical for their musical production this year. All the children wore red or white shirts and had on Cat in the Hat hats. She was super excited about the production this year. I love her enthusiasm for anything musical or stage related.

I video recorded parts of the production, I will download them and post a few.

Pictures from Memorial Day

2011-06-21T01:40:00.000-05:00

***Luke and Ruthie***

***The Boys: Taylor, Jarrad, Paduka, Poppy***

***Sweet Meg***

***Wow, they look just like each other***

***Maddie and Meg***

***Layton***

***Lath & Jamie – what a beautiful couple***

Memorial Day

2011-06-20T21:09:00.001-05:00

Meg, Jarrad and I went to San Antonio for Memorial Day this weekend. It was the PERFECT weekend. We left out Friday mid-day, which put us in San Antonio in time for dinner. The timing worked out perfect since we were bringing some yummy Fajitas down.

Friday night, we were pretty low key. Dinner with Meme, Poppy, Taylor, Ruth and Luke. That night, Jarrad and Meg got in the hot tub for a little bit while Meme and I visited inside.

Saturday morning, we woke up and went to Wimberly to see Bombone. After our visit with Bombone, we went to downtown Wimberly to walk around and grab a bite for lunch. After that, we headed back to Meme and Poppy’s house to lay around the pool.

Jamie, Lath, Maddie and Layton came over that evening for dinner and swimming. We had such a great time visiting with them. I wish we got to see them more often than we do.

Sunday, we had a small gathering at mom and dad’s house. Kyle and Sheryl spent the day with us. Taylor, Ruth and Luke also came over for swimming and relaxing. The Middleton’s came back over too, as well as Grace, Paduka and Hank. It was an beautiful day for family, friends and BBQ.

***I love this look that Meg is giving Luke***

***Meg was such a big helper with Luke***

***Meg making sure Luke is safe on the slide***

***Three peas in a pod. Poppy, Luke, Meg.***

More pictures to come from our amazing weekend.

So far behind!!!

2011-06-20T20:36:00.001-05:00

As hard as I try, I can’t seem to find the time. I love blogging and love having my blog to look back at. I’m going to try my hardest…again!

I think part of my problem may be that I’m not taking as many pictures as I used to. I need to get my cameras batteries charged and throw one back in my purse. I’m missing out on so much and time isn’t slowing down.

Next post – Memorial Day in SA. Better late than never.

Aged

2011-05-07T20:57:00.000-05:00

Shells

2011-05-06T20:38:00.000-05:00

Even though I didn’t want to go to the ranch for Easter, I do love watching Megan enjoy herself so much. Meg loves everything about the ranch. We were at the back tank and she went running off with Dixie. (I stayed behind enjoying a beer). She hadn’t been gone five minutes before she came running back down with two handfuls of shells. She was so excited with her finds.

I love this sweet girl!

A lesson

2011-05-05T20:33:00.000-05:00

Jarrad took some time on Saturday afternoon after we got to the ranch to give Meg a lesson on shooting. I just stood back and took pictures. She really seemed to listen to him.

Swimming at the ranch

2011-05-04T20:22:00.000-05:00

Anyone that knows Dixie knows how much she loves to swim. It doesn’t matter when, where or what time of year. If there is water, Dixie can’t resist getting in. Being at the ranch is no different…except that she swims in the tanks and gets covered in mud. The mud doesn’t seem to bother her, but it sure makes her stinky.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-04T04:58:00.000-05:00

Easter at the ranch

2011-05-03T20:05:00.000-05:00

Jarrad, Meg and I loaded up Joey and headed to the ranch for Easter weekend. Meg and Dixie sat in the backseat watching movies all the way out there.

If I’m being honest, I didn’t want to go. I had already made plans to take Meg to Boompaw and Nawnaw’s house for Easter Sunday. Sometimes I feel like even though I’ve made plans, it doesn’t matter. In the end, we will do what Jarrad wants.

Whether I wanted to go or not, we still had a good time. Meg and Dixie love being out there with Jarrad.

***Meg and Dixie watching movies on the way out***

***Pulling into the ranch – she’s so happy***

***the girls are ready to drive around***

***Sweet, sweet Dixie Belle***

More to come…I think I took over 250 pictures while we were there for less than a day!

Happy Easter

2011-05-02T20:26:00.001-05:00

Meg was so excited on Sunday morning when she woke up to see that the Easter Bunny had come to visit. He hid eggs all around Joey and left her a few goodies in her basket.

We will miss you!

2011-05-02T19:42:00.001-05:00

Today, mom and dad had to say good bye to a wonderful companion. Gauge, we will miss you dearly!

Better late than never

2011-04-25T20:32:00.000-05:00

Meg and I spent my birthday weekend in SA for Leah’s wedding. Meg and I headed to SA on Thursday after work. Meg was very excited to be able to skip school on Friday and I was glad to have her with me. We got in pretty late so we said our hellos to Meme and Poppy then headed straight to bed.

Friday, we got up to run a few errands with Poppy. Meme had to work, but we were able to meet her for lunch. Friday night, the Middleton’s came up. Jamie is so thoughtful. She brought me flowers, a birthday card and a delicious cake! We had a great time visiting with them. I miss them so much.

Since Leah was getting married on Saturday, I offered to watch Luke for Taylor and Ruth for the weekend. Mom and dad picked him up on Friday night after rehearsal dinner and we had the handsome little guy for the rest of the weekend. Meg was such a big helper with him. I couldn’t have done it without her.

***Meg and Luke driving in the hummer***

***Luke coloring****

***Duncan taking a nap in the front yard***

***I love this picture. It looks like Luke is coming to tell on Meg.***

***Such a handsome little guy***

***Getting ready for Leah’s wedding***

I had a wonderful birthday weekend and wouldn’t have dreamed of spending it any other way!

March 2011 Recap

2011-04-24T20:21:00.001-05:00

March was a great month. Although, it went by entirely too fast. I’m sad at how fast Meg seems to be growing up.

On the first Saturday of the month, Jarrad and I took Meg bowling at Alley Cats. Meg had a blast and beat both of us. She scored 113, I scored 89 and Jarrad scored 85.

***the score – game 1***

***waiting for her ball to hit the pins***

***this was how Meg would wait for her ball to be returned***

After we bowled, we let Meg play a few games and earn some tickets. She also decided she wanted to climb the wall. This was her first time and I was surprised she did as well as she did. She didn’t go all the way up, but she did her best.

For Spring Break, Meme and Poppy came up for a long weekend visit. They came up on a Friday night and stayed through Tuesday. On Saturday afternoon, we headed down to the stock yards for the cattle drive. We were unaware that we would also get to see the Stock Yards St. Patty’s Day parade. Mom and dad had never seen the cattle drive, so this was a first for them.

Meg also pulled another tooth in March. At this point, she had only lost 4 teeth. Her and Poppy were sitting on the back porch when she pulled it.

We also bought Meg some speed skates in March. She has started speed skating practice on Sundays and is really enjoying it. The skates were a little uncomfortable and took some getting used to, but she’s really starting to enjoy them now.

Jackson and Leigh Ann also came in for another visit. Jackson has changed so much since the last time we saw him. We went over to Boompaw and Nawnaw’s for dinner and a visit. Nick, Michelle and Parker even joined us. The only people missing were Aunt Stacy & Uncle Bryan.

***Meg & Jack**

***Jackson & Parker***

***Parker, Jackson & Megan***

***my first attempt at the three cousins****

We will definitely have to work on the group shot.

February 2011 Recap

2011-04-22T19:53:00.000-05:00

Since I’ve been a rotten blogger, I’m going to recap February in one post.

We’ve been very, very busy this year. I’m still trying to get used to working full time in an office, so I’m trying to find a balance. My plan is to blog twice a week going forward. I hope I can keep it up. I love reading over my blog posts from the past. Meg is growing up so fast and I’m so glad I have this as a way to look back.

So, on to February. We got off to a very, very cold start in February. I believe we had five days in a row that we never even got above freezing. In Texas, that is unheard of.

I snapped this picture of Meg and Gunner while we were trapped in the house because of the weather. Meg wanted to get out so bad (of course, so did I). She wanted to get out so bad that she kept asking us when she was going to get to go to school again.

Meg started jump roping in February. I let her practice in the living room. So far, we haven’t had any broken lamps or light fixtures.

We were also able to spend some time with Jackson and Leigh Ann when they came to visit Boompaw and Nawnaw. I love the picture below. Meg and Jackson look so goofy and Boompaw is totally unaware.

We also had to buy Meg a new bike in February. This was a long time overdue. We’ve been putting it off for as long as possible. She was so excited to go bike shopping. I hope this one will last her for a few years.

Even though the month started off so cold, we were able to enjoy a few days outside enjoying some beautiful days. Meg still loves to color with chalk, so we spend a lot of time in the driveway drawing hearts and rainbows.

Long time!!!

2011-03-20T21:19:00.001-05:00

I love my blog. I love reading over it from time to time! I hate that I haven’t blogged in over a month! I have to find the right balance again and make blogging a priority.

Stay tuned for blog Ramsey updates.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-02-09T22:12:00.000-06:00

Her own space

2011-02-05T10:24:00.000-06:00

After the first day of being stuck in the house, Meg found her own little space for some privacy in my hamper. Thankfully we were doing laundry so all the hampers were empty.

Meg spent a good part of the day in the hamper reading and playing with her baby dolls. She hung her lantern from Gunner’s collar to light up the hamper so she could close the doors. I think she really needed some time to herself.

She was so happy to be in there and was so content to have her own little space. I think that being cooped up in the house was starting to get to all of us, so the hamper was her little get-a-way.

She begged me to let her sleep in there and tried to prove to me that it was comfortable. She did get her way, she actually fell asleep in there, but Jarrad moved to her to her room before we went to bed.

Canvas photos

2011-02-04T22:32:00.001-06:00

My office recently moved to a new location, so I have been on the lookout for some decorations for my new office (actually, it’s a cube). I knew I wanted to find a cute way to display pictures of Meg and the dogs, but didn’t want to use boring photo frames.

Meg and I went to Michael’s for some supplies to create canvas prints. I had originally planned on doing 5x7 prints, but found some 6x6 canvases and fell in love with them. With a little scrapbook paper, mod podge and pictures, I was able to create some great canvas prints.

***three canvases***

***one layer of mod podge***

***mod podge – matte***

***scrapbook paper and photo applied***

***mod podge starting to dry***

***the final product***

I love how the canvases turned out and think I will make some for the house. Meme already asked me to create one for her with pictures of Megan and Luke.

4th snow day

2011-02-04T14:43:00.001-06:00

Today is our 4th snow day. The roads have been so horrible here that all area schools have been closed every day this week except on Monday. Meg was very excited the first day, but by the end of the second day, she was crawling the walls. She wanted to get out of the house so bad that I was able to talk her into going to work with me on Thursday.

Thursday morning, Meg and I went to my office in downtown Fort Worth. There was hardly anyone on the roads, so the traffic was ok. There were ruts in the ice where others had ventured to work, so I stayed in those and took my time.

It was good for both Meg and me to get out of the house. We were starting to go stir crazy.

This morning, we woke up to about 5 inches of snow on the ground. It was beautiful, but short lived. It started melting early afternoon. It was beautiful while it lasted, but I’m ready for the warmer weather. As a Texan, I’m not built to handle the frigid temperatures that have been with us for the past four days.

***our backyard***

***a beautiful white blanket***

***the dogs didn’t want to go outside, I had to make them***

***dog prints***

***frozen furniture***

***the view out my front door***

***already melting on the patio***

A cold start

2011-02-03T02:29:00.000-06:00

February has gotten off to a cold, cold, cold start. The early morning of Feb 1, we had thunderstorms with snow and sleet. Meg was excited because she got a “snow day” from school.

Jarrad had the day off and wasn’t able to slide out of the driveway, so he and Meg played outside for a while. I was working, so only stepped outside long enough to snap a few pictures.

Unfortunately, it was only ice and not snow, so there wasn’t any snowmen being built or snowballs being thrown. Meg was able to slide down our driveway on a rubber made storage bin lid. She seemed to like that.

I love Jarrad in this shot. He was actually adjusting his hat, but it looks like he’s excited about Meg coming down the driveway.

We are living in a frozen world these first few days. The temperature isn’t supposed to reach above freezing until Saturday. Friday we are scheduled to get snow. We can’t wait.

Don’t want to forget…

2011-02-01T22:32:00.000-06:00

It seems that I always have more to post than time to post about it. Here are a few things I don’t want to forget from January 2011.

This is a sign at QT. It reads “WARNING: Quik Trip gasoline is not intended for use in aircraft engines.” Really, I don’t recall seeing any aircrafts pulling up. Very random!

Words with Friends is a huge distraction. I usually have about 20 games going at once. I love every play – especially when I score big. I love winning.

Flat Stanley came to visit us very briefly.

We spent one Saturday morning skating at the rink.

We ventured to the Fort Worth Science museum after our day at the rodeo.

Meg played with the twins…a lot!

We bought a new TV and had to wait a week for it to be delivered.

I cleaned out my junk drawer in the kitchen – it was a disaster!!!

Snug as a bug

2011-01-30T22:16:00.000-06:00

I had to work late a few nights last week. One night when I got home, Meg was already in bed and fast asleep. I went in to give her a kiss and couldn’t help but laugh when I went in and found her covered up head to toe…all but her nose, mouth and left arm.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-26T19:20:00.000-06:00

Meg’s first Rodeo

2011-01-25T21:54:00.000-06:00

Saturday, Nawnaw and I took Megan to the rodeo. This was actually my first time to sit through the entire FW rodeo as well. Jarrad and I tried to go with Luke and Patty one year, but Jar had an asthma attack, so we had to leave early.

Meg and I had to go up super early to pick up our tickets from will call. Since it was a little cold, we headed straight into the coliseum. Meg had tons of questions (and I had very little answers).

While Meg and I were waiting for Nawnaw to get there and for the show to start, Meg claimed she had to have some cotton candy. She said she wanted to have some before Nawnaw got there because she didn’t want Nawnaw to eat it all. While she was eating cotton candy, she asked me if I knew why it was called cotton candy. Before I could answer she told me that it was called cotton candy because it “gets caught in your throat.” All these years I thought it was “cotton” candy…turns out, it’s “caught in” candy.

Megan has mixed feelings about the rodeo. She has such a big love for animals, so the calf roping and steer wrestling were a little much for her. When the first calf was roped, she gasped audibly when it hit the end of the cowboys rope and flipped. While the cowboy was tying the calf up, she had huge tears in her eyes. When I asked her what her favorite part of the rodeo was, she told me “when the baby cows got away from the cowboys.” She did love the barrel racing and the bull riding and has already asked if we can go back.

Meg had an overall good day and we were super happy that Nawnaw was able to spend it with us. Nawnaw, thank you for being such a big part of our lives.

Every night

2011-01-19T20:15:00.000-06:00

Every night, I had to give Dixie her medicine. I’ve been administering her meds for about 7.5 years now. When Dixie was diagnosed with Addison’s, I knew that I had to figure a way to give her medication. There was no way I was going to shove pills down her throat every night. So, my idea was cheese. It works and I don’t have to shove my hands into her mouth and pills down her throat.

So, every night we do the same thing. I let the dogs out, get Dixie’s medicine laid out on the counter, let the dogs back in and they sit pretty while waiting for their cheese. I always stand in the same place and they always sit in the same place. Dixie sits on my right, in front of the stove. Gunner to my left in front of the fridge. I always give Dixie hers first and Gunner goes last.

There are occasional nights where I forget to give Dixie her medicine. She NEVER lets me forget though. If I don’t give her her medicine, she will get in our bed and stare me down until I figure it out.

***Gunner’s cheese on the left, Dixie’s cheese and meds on the right***

***Dixie on my right, sitting pretty***

***Gunner on my left, waiting patiently***

Unfortunately, as you can tell the dogs have no care in the world for me. They are both starting at the counter top where I have the cheese laid out.

Quads reunited!

2011-01-17T20:06:00.000-06:00

Saturday, Meg and I had a play date with Laura and Lauren. We met at the roller skating rink, then went to lunch and were going to head back to our house to complete our afternoon.

Since we were driving by Sandra and Aaron’s house, I decided to give them a call to see if they wanted to come to the house too. Turns out, they were having a play date with Cindy and Ben. So, I just invited myself over to Sandra’s house to get the Quads together for the day!

The unscheduled play dates seem to work the best for us. If we try to plan a play date in advance, it never works out…however if we talk about it the day before, it always comes together.

We were so happy to all be back together. Honestly, I’m not sure who was more happy…the Moms or the Kids. It was an awesome night full of great friends, great stories and tons of laughter! (and teeth pulling)

***from L to R: Meg, Ben, Aaron, Lauren***

Thank you Sandra and Cindy for letting us crash your play date! I know that Meg and I had a GREAT time! We miss you all too much!!!!!!!

Another one out!

2011-01-16T19:56:00.001-06:00

Meg has finally lost another tooth! So far, we haven’t had to pull any of her teeth…it’s working out better for me than I had hoped. I HATE teeth, they gross me out more than almost anything.

If you remember back to last May, Meg pulled her first loose tooth in the bus line. Her second bottom tooth was handled by Boompaw and his trusty pair of pliers.

Over the past few weeks, her top left (if you’re looking at her) front tooth has gotten wigglier and wigglier and wigglier. It was so loose that he was sticking out of her mouth, see the evidence below.

Jarrad and I tried our best to get it out, but it just wasn’t ready. He tried about four times to pull this one, but wasn’t successful.

On Saturday night, Meg and I were at some friends house playing. Her tooth was sticking out pretty bad and seemed to be getting looser by the minute. Enter Mike – my teething pulling hero. He wrapped some dental floss around and tried to pull it that way, but to no avail.

Turns out the old fashion way was the best way. He grabbed a tissue, dried her tooth off and pulled. It came right out without any problems. I was even able to get some pictures of the event.

She was so happy to finally have that tooth out! It was a great play date (stay tuned for a post about our play date).

Saturday night, we had a visit from the tooth fairy.

Quilt for Megan

2011-01-14T21:47:00.000-06:00

I promised Megan I would make her a quilt. I was finally able to finish the top and now just need to quilt it together with the backing. She’s super excited about it and we can’t wait to see how it turns out.

The Princess

2011-01-12T19:38:00.000-06:00

Dixie has Jarrad completely wrapped around her little paws. This sweet angel can do no wrong and always gets her way when it comes to her daddy. Jarrad would rather be uncomfortable than ask Dixie to move and get down. It’s always been this way for them.

Jarrad will make Meg or me move if we are in her spot and even near her spot. When we’re in the man cave, he always asks Dixie if she’s comfortable.

Busy first week

2011-01-10T19:34:00.000-06:00

Our first week of 2011 was extra busy. We all had to readjust to school starting back up and sticking to our schedules. Jarrad and I had a rehearsal dinner for Chappy & Candance on Thursday in Rockwall. We had to leave the house around 5 and we’re going to be home pretty late, so I asked Boompaw and Nawnaw to come down to spend the evening with Megan. Thankfully, they were available and babysat for us.

Saturday afternoon was the wedding. Jarrad, Meg and I headed out together. Meg looked so beautiful and like a big girl! I can’t believe how big she is getting. Time is definitely speeding up if you ask me!

***Meg & Brylie before the ceremony***

***Candance and Chappy***

The wedding was absolutely beautiful. We couldn’t be happier for Chappy and Candance. We look forward to the future with both of them.

New Year’s Day - 2011

2011-01-06T19:27:00.000-06:00

Meme and Poppy left out on New Year’s Day. We were sad to see them go, but were thankful about the time we were able to spend with them. We all went to breakfast together before they headed out. After they left, Jarrad, Meg and I headed to Fort Worth to attend the gun show. It definitely wasn’t top of my list of things to do on the first day of 2011, but we wanted to spend the day with Jarrad.

Meg was pretty nervous while we were there because it was so crowded. She was holding onto my hand tighter than she ever has before. After a while, she asked if her and I could go sit outside where is wasn’t so busy. So, we grabbed her a drink and some Cheetos and found a spot on the floor to sit away from the crowd.

It did allow me time to shoot a few pictures of Megan. I love how big and brown her eyes are in this picture. This is the face of an angel.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-05T19:21:00.000-06:00

Recap of 2010- an AMAZING year!!!

2011-01-02T22:36:00.000-06:00

{Meme & Poppy}

2011-01-02T16:54:00.001-06:00

Meme and Poppy came up for a visit last week. We were so happy to have them. They came in Tuesday night and stayed thru Saturday. Since they were going to be here over New Year’s Eve, they brought the dogs with them. We had four large dogs running the house for five days.

Meme & Poppy had planned to come in on Wednesday originally, we were so happy when they decided to come in early. Thankfully, mom’s boss allowed her to work remotely so they were able to come up early. We decided not to tell Meg that they were coming in early and let them surprise her when Jarrad took them with him to pick her up from day care. She was so happy.

Tuesday night, we went to dinner at Mexican Inn. Everyone knows that dad has certain places that he has to eat at while visiting. We very rarely eat meals at home because of this.

Mom was introduced to Meg’s new babies and thought they were adorable. I was even able to snap a picture of the four of them.

***Megan, Meme, Travis & Sarah***

Wednesday, I had to work, so Meme, Poppy & Meg went to the movies and ran a few errands. That night, we went to dinner at Outback in Burleson. Meg must have been hungry from a busy day with her grandparents because she ate most of the seared tuna and all of her mac and cheese. We were all pretty shocked.

***Meme, Megan & Poppy***

Thursday, mom, dad and Megan came to my office to have lunch with me. I invited them up so they could see my office. Then, we went to lunch at the mall.

Thursday night, I wanted to take Meme and Poppy to Grand Prairie Lights, but the boys didn’t want to go. So, we went to dinner at Mama’s Pizza then went to Michael’s, Kirklands and Best Buy.

Friday I had the day off, so I was able to spend the entire day with the family (except for Jarrad – he had to work). We went to breakfast at Whataburger, then did some shopping. I had to take a break around lunch time so I could run a report for work. We decided to stop at Corner Bakery (another one of Dad’s faves). After lunch and a little bit of work, we went to the mall to buy mom’s birthday present.

For New Year’s Eve, we stayed at the house, cooked fajitas and watched football. Mom and I were the only two who made it to midnight, everyone else wimped out on us. Mom and I played Sequence and visited. I can’t think of any other way I would have rather rang in the new year! It was perfect!!!

***Poppy, aka the Dog Whisperer***

Happy new year!!!

Christmas Day

2010-12-27T21:21:00.002-06:00

After celebrating with Jarrad and Megan on Christmas morning, we headed over to Boompaw & Nawnaw’s house to celebrate Christmas with them. Nick, Michelle & Parker were there as well as Leigh Ann, Eddy & Jackson. We were sad that Stacy & Bryan couldn’t be there – they were definitely missed by Megan and me.

The house was very busy with two infants and a six-year old girl who just had to bring her babies (Reagan, Rachael, Sarah & Travis). Boompaw looked very comfortable in his recliner with his boys. Parker (left, 5 weeks) and Jackson (right, 3 months) were right at home in his arms too.

Around noon, Meg was in the kitchen with Boompaw and she saw Santa and Mrs. Claus pull up in the driveway. She immediately started screaming and yelling and ran straight for the front door. I love her enthusiasm, it’s contagious! Meg is so thoughtful that she even thanked Santa for her gifts at the house earlier that morning. I love this girl of mine!

***Santa & Meg***

***Mommy, Santa, Meg & Daddy***

***Boompaw, Santa, Megan & Nawnaw***

***Boompaw, Jackson, Santa, Megan, Parker & Nawnaw***

***Parker, Santa, Jackson & Megan***

***Beautiful Megan***

Amazing Christmas morning

2010-12-26T01:21:00.000-06:00

Christmas morning was so wonderful this year. I woke up earlier than the family to get ready for the big day. I was able to snap a few pictures of Santa’s delivery. The only other members of the family that were up with me were Dixie and Gunner. I was able to snap a few pictures of the pups before the rest of the house got moving.

I finally woke Meg up around 7:45 to get Christmas morning started. Meg wasn’t hard to get out of bed after I told her that Santa had made a visit to the house. Jarrad on the other hand wasn’t so easy to get moving. Meg and I headed into the living room before Jarrad.

Meg’s face says it all. It was exactly what she had asked for and was so excited. She was so happy to see the new additions to her growing American Girl family. This year, Santa delivered the Itty Bitty Twins. Meg named the twins Travis and Sarah.

After playing with the twins for a little while, we got out the stockings and then opened presents. More than anything, I love watching Meg open gifts. Her face says it all when she’s peeking into a package.

***Meg with her stocking goodies***

***Meg loves this shirt***

***Meg’s gift from Daddy – a lefty glove***

***Meg brought Reagan and Rachael into the living room to enjoy Christmas morning***

***Meg and Daddy – Christmas morning 2010***

***Meg and Mommy – Christmas morning 2010***

After we opened presents and got ready, we headed over to Boompaw & Nawnaw’s house to celebrate Christmas with them. I will post about our great day over there soon.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T20:57:00.001-06:00

Christmas Eve

2010-12-25T20:48:00.001-06:00

Christmas Eve we spent the evening with Nina in Dallas. Meg, Jarrad and I got to Nina’s house around 5:30. Meg was very happy to see Nina, Auntie Lee Lee, Uncle Eddy and Jackson. Unc, Aunt Michelle and Parker got to the house a little later in the evening.

Meg and I had baked Christmas cookies the night before, so they were ready for decorating. We all decorated a few cookies and ate a few too. Right as we were finishing up cookie decorating, Nina’s power went out. Thankfully she has a gas stove, so we were still able to cook what we needed. The power was probably off for over an hour. As we were sitting at the table, enjoying the meal, the power came back on. Nina is a candle burner, so we had plenty of light.

After dinner, we exchanged Christmas presents. Meg got lots of great stuff this year, including a cook book, apron, Juicy crayons and a box full of money. It was a great Christmas Eve.

***Parker Ramsey***

***Jackson Bradley***

Helping Hand

2010-12-19T20:26:00.000-06:00

When Jarrad asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year, I knew the exact answer. I wanted a pair of boots. So, on Sunday Jarrad took me to Cavendars Boot City to shop around. As luck would have it, I found the perfect pair.

Jarrad wouldn’t let me have them until Christmas. While Jarrad and Meg were busy wrapping my boots, I snapped a few pictures of them working together to get my gift ready to put under the tree.

It was the sweetest thing to watch Meg helping Jarrad. She would help hold the paper and pass him the tape. These two can get a lot accomplished when they work together.

I can’t wait to see what’s wrapped under the tree for me this year!

You Tube

2010-12-16T21:22:00.000-06:00

Megan loves to watch the classic cartoons on You Tube. She curls up with daddy’s laptop and will keep herself entertained. This has worked in my favor since our TV in the living room is broken.

What, you didn’t know the TV in the living room is broken? It’s been broken since the first week of November. Jarrad and I can’t make a decision on whether or not we should fix it or buy a new one. So, since no decision has been made, there is no TV in the living room. It’s not as bad as you would imagine.

For starters, I don’t have to listen to Sponge Bob anymore. I also don’t have to ask Megan to turn the volume down, or change the channel (there are certain shows she’s not allowed to watch) or turn the volume way down after she’s going to bed.

However, there are some drawbacks! I’m having to watch TV with commercials! I know, I know – how horrible, TV with commercials. Do you know it takes me a full two hours to watch the Biggest Loser now; I can usually watch it in about 1.5 hours. Also, there are a few shows I watch on DVR that I don’t even know what channels they are on, what time or night. And, actually I don’t even know the names of all the shows.

Luckily for me, I’m not a big TV watcher, so I’m not horribly upset about the TV in the living room being broken. I’m actually enjoying all the time that Meg and I are spending together at night. We are playing more board games, card games and reading together.

I know that in the very near future that Meg will rather go to her room to watch TV than play a game with me, so I’m soaking these moments like there’s no tomorrow!

Sunday night, I was able to capture these pictures of Meg watching you tube cartoons. Meg was eating a snack that is why Dixie is sitting so attentively at the chair. Dixie stayed close until Meg finished her snack.

Presents under the tree

2010-12-15T21:10:00.000-06:00

I had been waiting to find a new job before I started my Christmas shopping this year. I didn’t want to over do it if we were going to be a single-income family for the holidays. So, last Friday night, Meg spent the night and Saturday with Boompaw and Nawnaw so I could finish up.

I was able to get gifts for Meg’s classmates. I wrapped them on Friday night and put them under Meg’s Christmas tree in her room. She was very happy when she got home on Saturday afternoon.

I was also able to finish up Christmas shopping for Jarrad’s side of the family. I also got Meg a few items for under the tree, although I’m counting on Santa to deliver the big stuff. Saturday afternoon, Meg and I spent the day wrapping the gifts and putting them under the tree. I love the look of the tree with gifts under it.

I still need to get Jarrad a few gifts for under the tree, but he won’t give me any ideas…guess I’ll just have to come up with some ideas on my own. I’m sure it won’t be too hard. Meg also wants to get daddy a few gifts, so shopping for Jarrad is on our weekend to do list.

Buddy is back

2010-12-13T21:01:00.000-06:00

Last year, we started a new family tradition – Elf on the Shelf. Our elf’s name is Buddy and he returned this year when Meg and I got home from San Antonio. He was waiting for Megan in her bedroom. She was so happy to see him.

He is hiding in very interesting places this year – I’m taking pictures of him daily and will post all of his special spots from this year.

A beautiful day with Nawnaw

2010-12-10T20:02:00.000-06:00

While the boys are away, the girls will play. When Jarrad and Boompaw go to the canyon, Meg and I always plan something fun with Nawnaw. Last year, we saw 101 Dalmatians at DSM, we had brunch with Santa at the club, and we went to the Big 12 championship game between Texas & Nebraska.

This year wasn’t any different. Meg and I spent the entire weekend at Nawnaw’s this year. Friday after I got off from work, I picked Megan up and we headed over to Nawnaw’s house. Friday night, we went to dinner at Chic-Fil-A and then hung out at the house. Meg was exhausted from our first week with a new schedule, so I wasn’t surprised when she fell asleep in Boompaw’s chair.

Saturday morning, Nawnaw had something she had to do, so Meg and I rant a few errands, then met her in Irving at the car wash. From the car wash, we headed out to the Dallas Arboretum.

Of course, I was happy when Nawnaw asked us to go out there. I needed to get my Christmas card picture taken. Meg was a trooper and never complained once when I asked her to sit still for a picture. Here are a few shots that I was able to capture – unedited.

After we spent the afternoon at the Arboretum, we headed to dinner at On The Border to celebrate Nawnaw’s birthday (it was Saturday). After dinner, we headed back to Nawnaw’s to hang out for the rest of the night.

Sunday morning, we got up and had breakfast. After breakfast, we took Max and Maddie for a walk at the park. Sunday afternoon, we had tickets to see Rudolph at Casa Manana.

After a wonderful weekend with Nawnaw, it was time to say goodbye and get ready for the boys to return from the Canyon.

When he’s out…

2010-12-08T21:28:00.000-06:00

Jarrad left back out for the canyon on Wednesday…yes, he left me in my first week of a new job and Meg’s first week in a new before and after school program.

Anytime Jarrad is out of town, Meg always spends the night in bed with me. I think I love it more than she does. We always head to bed around her bedtime and I let her stay up a little past her bedtime so we can snuggle up and watch some TV or read a book.

***our first night***

***Meg having a snack before bed on the second night***

***my sleeping angel***

Big changes

2010-12-06T21:15:00.001-06:00

Monday after Thanksgiving, I started a new job. After almost 3 months of job searching I found the perfect job. The week before Thanksgiving, I was out shopping when I got a call from Scott – he asked me if I was still looking for a job. And since I was, he put me in touch with a headhunter that had an EA for the CIO opportunity at an oil and gas company.

My first interview was on Wednesday at 9:00. I left the interview at 10:30 and heard from my headhunter at 10:50. The CIO wanted to see me again the following morning to meet with two VPs. I went in the next morning and was offered the position that afternoon. I was thrilled when I received the offer and was very excited at how quickly they moved on a decision.

Meg, Jarrad and I had to quickly make a few adjustments. At my previous job, I worked from home, so I was able to take Meg to school and pick her up. A new job in an office would require Megan to have before and after school care. Thankfully, we have all adjusted well!

***me after my third day of my new job***

Christmas Card Photo Attempt

2010-12-04T19:50:00.000-06:00

As was attempted last year, we attempted to get a shot of Meme and Poppy with the grandkids for their Christmas card. While Meme and Poppy were getting ready, I had the chance to get a few pictures of Luke and Megan.

I love this picture of Luke. I was able to snap it at just the right time and think it turned out great.

Megan was being a goof ball. She wouldn’t sit in front of the pond, so I snapped a few pictures while she was acting like a monkey and swinging around on Meme and Poppy’s swing by the washer pit.

I wasn’t able to get a picture of Megan and Luke both looking at me. Luke is looking at Ruth who was jumping around behind me trying to force a smile from Luke.

This isn’t the best picture, but it’s my favorite! I love the way Luke is looking at Megan.

Wanna ride?

2010-12-03T19:31:00.000-06:00

Poppy always makes sure to have the Hummer charged up for Meg when we go to San Antonio. This time wasn’t any different. Luke loved riding around in the car with Megan and she loved driving him around. The faces that Luke was making while riding in the car were priceless.

We only allowed Megan to drive in the slow gear, but by the looks on Luke’s face, you’d think they were speeding down the driveway. I’m not sure who was having more fun, Meg or Luke.

I was able to get them to stop for a quick photo – I’m so glad it turned out so cute. It’s quite the challenge to get Luke & Meg looking in the same direction at the same time.

Sweet moments

2010-12-01T19:23:00.000-06:00

While we were in San Antonio for Thanksmas, I snapped a few sweet moments. I didn’t really know how to blog about them individually, but after looking at the pictures over and over again, I realized I didn’t want to keep these pictures to myself. These moments are too sweet not to share with everyone. I hope everyone enjoys them.

***Meme & Luke***

***Poppy, Megan & Gunner***

***Megan reading to Luke***

***Megan and Jarrad – she was so happy he finally got to SA***

***Dylan having his 1-year cake – he didn’t like it***

***Luke wondering why Dylan was so upset***

***A post about sweet moments wouldn’t be complete without Dixie***

Merry Thanks-mas!

2010-11-28T18:21:00.001-06:00

While we were in San Antonio for the Thanksgiving week, we celebrated Christmas with my parents, brothers, sisters-in-law and nephew. The year that Jarrad and I got married, we started spending every other Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family – alternating the years from Thanksgiving to Christmas. It has worked out perfectly!

Thursday morning, we opened gifts after Kyle got to the house from working around 11:30am. We usually take turns opening gifts, but this year was more of a free for all. I don’t think I even saw Meg open all her gifts.

Everyone was completely spoiled (again) and had a great Christmas.

***Luke snuggling up to Jarrad***

***Meg got a Looney Tunes collection from Meme and Poppy***

***Megan playing with her v-Tech reader from Meme and Poppy***

***Meg got her very own bow & arrow from Kyle and Sheryl this year***

We had an amazing week! I was sad when it was time to pack the car up and head back to Mansfield. But, I start a new job on Monday and Meg starts a new before and after school program. We needed to get home so we could get settled back in for the changes we are about to face.

Saturday & Happy Birthday Kyle

2010-11-28T17:45:00.000-06:00

Megan, Meme and I had tons planned for Saturday. Megan and I were extra tired on Saturday because Meg was up at 3:00 screaming because her head hurt so bad. Unfortunately, Meme didn’t have any Motrin in the house, so I loaded Meg up into the car around 3:30 and headed into town to pick some up. As we were pulling back into the driveway, Meg told me that he stomach was hurting. Before I could get the car into the garage, Meg threw up all over the front seat of meme’s car. It was almost 5 by the time I got Meg back to sleep, some laundry started, the car cleaned and back to sleep myself. Not sure what the cause of it was, but Meg felt great on Saturday (other than a little bit of a headache still lingering).

We left the house around 9:40 to get our day started. First stop was the hair salon for Meme. While Meme was getting her hair cut, Meg and I headed to TC for some delicious breakfast tacos. Next stop was Dillards. I needed to buy some work clothes for my new job (more on that later). After Dillards, we headed to DSW. Then it was on the the jewelry store, Target, Sam’s and then finally to Hobby Lobby. By the time we got home it was 6:40. Luke and Ruth came over Saturday night, so we got to hang out with them some more.

While we were at Hobby Lobby, I picked up some craft supplies to make some ornaments. Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of the finished product. I will say though, it was super fun to make and turned out very cute.

Sunday, Meme, Meg and I got up early to head to HEB. We thought by going early we would beat the rush – we were wrong! The store was super busy.

Sunday evening, Kyle and Sheryl and Taylor, Ruth & Luke came over to celebrate Kyle’s birthday. We had spaghetti for dinner and the sang Happy Birthday to Kyle and let him blow out a candle. The only candle I could find around the house was a rose candle – I think it worked.

Happy Birthday Kyle!!!

San Antonio

2010-11-28T14:16:00.001-06:00

Megan and I headed down to San Antonio last Friday for a week long visit with Meme and Poppy. Meg and I loaded up the car Friday and hit the road right after lunch. I let Meg skip school so she could help me with the packing.

The drive down to SA was very uneventful. Meg colored in the back and took a nap. Dixie rode shotgun and slept the entire trip. Gunner was nervous and couldn’t get comfortable. I was so happy when we finally pulled into the driveway at Meme’s house.

Poppy and Taylor were actually out of town hunting for the weekend, so Luke and Ruth came over to hang out with us on Friday night. Luke is so ADORABLE! I love this little guy more than anything. He’s always looking for the next thing that will get him into trouble. He’s a little Dennis the Menace.

Meg and Luke love playing with each other. It’s super cute to watch Meg play with Luke. She is so sweet with him. And, he is sweet to her when it serves in his best interest…just like an 18-month old.

***Luke and Megan sharing Cheetos***

Meg took Rachael and Reagan to San Antonio with us. She also took her the babies beds with us. Luke was very sweet with Meg’s babies and wanted to climb into the crib with Rachael. Of course, I didn’t want to pass up the photo opportunity, so we let him get in there. He looked very comfy.

Megan didn’t want to be left out, so she climbed in with Luke. I have to say that the American Girl crib is very durable – it held Meg and Luke with no problems.

Ruth and Luke left the house around 9 or so. Meg, Meme and I needed a good nights rest because we had lots to do on Saturday.

Happy Birthday Parker

2010-11-17T23:13:00.000-06:00

On Nov 16, Nick and Michelle welcomed Parker into the world. Jarrad, Meg and I made it up to the hospital the next day for a quick visit. Parker is so adorable and has so much hair!

School Project

2010-11-15T22:43:00.000-06:00

Megan had to decorate a feather for a school project this month. One afternoon after school, we sat down at the table and gathered her supplies. She chose to paint the feather brown first and then added some embellishments.

Adorable Jackson

2010-11-14T23:00:00.000-06:00

Leigh Ann and Jackson came into town for a quick visit. I was so glad we were able to finally meet Jackson. He is a cutie!

The most wonderful time of the year

2010-11-12T22:50:00.000-06:00

The Sunday after we got home from camping, I got the Christmas decorations down from the attic and started putting Christmas up. I started off small with Megan’s tree in her room. We both took her tree and ornaments out and set it up. She was so happy with the finished product.

After we got Megan’s tree put up, we headed into the man cave to put up the trees in there. These two trees were a new addition to our decorations from last year and I still love them! They are perfect for Jarrad’s man cave.

Unfortunately, after getting Meg’s room and Jarrad’s man cave set up, I didn’t have the energy to put up my tree in the living room. It had to wait until a few days later. I will post pictures of the living room tree soon.

Love this bridge!

2010-11-11T09:51:00.001-06:00

While we were camping last weekend, our campsite was right up the street from this adorable bridge. I couldn’t resist shooting a few pictures of Meg on the bridge. Thankfully, she was in the mood to have her pictures taken.

Camping continued

2010-11-10T21:54:00.001-06:00

Saturday morning, Jarrad had to go into work for a few hours, so Meg and I decided to go exploring. She grabbed a walking stick and we headed out on some walking trails in the park.

After breakfast, we both got dressed, put on our boots and hit the trails. Meg had picked out a perfect walking stick the night before and grabbed it before we left. Of course, we got about 20 feet down the road and she decided to turn back and leave her stick behind. I don’t think she wanted to carry it around.

We got back to Joey about 2 hours later, just in time for some lunch. Meg asked me to fix Reagan’s hair. After I was finished with Reagan’s hair, Meg liked it so much that she asked me to do hers the same way. I’m pretty sure that the 15 minutes that it took me to fix Meg’s hair was the only time that she sat still the entire weekend.

After doing Meg’s hair and cleaning up our lunch mess, Meg and I headed down to the bridge so she could run around. While we were down there, Jarrad and Dixie drove by and we went back up to the camp site. Dixie was so excited that she barely let Jarrad get out of the truck before running to us.

The weather on Saturday was absolutely beautiful. After Jarrad had some lunch, we put Dixie on her leash and headed out to go walking again. We walked through some of the “neighborhoods” in the park.

Once we got back to the camp site, we decided to start a campfire and play some ladder ball. Meg slowed down enough for me to snap a quick picture of her and her daddy, then it was off to explore a little more.

Meg took a quick break to have a cookie and spend some time with her girls. Rachael (baby) and Reagan went camping with us. I love watching Meg interact with her baby dolls. She’s so sweet, but doesn’t take any of their attitudes. I actually heard her say “don’t roll your eyes at me little girl” to Reagan. It took all my strength not to laugh.

We had a great weekend camping and can’t wait to do it again!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-10T21:30:00.001-06:00

Camping

2010-11-09T15:44:00.001-06:00

This past weekend, we went camping at Loyd Park right down the street. Even though we were minutes from the house, it felt like we were a millions miles away. We headed over to our camping spot on Friday after Megan got out of school. Meg was super excited about the camping weekend.

Friday night, Boompaw & Nawnaw came down to have burgers with us and hang out around the camp fire. It was a little cold, but thankfully Jarrad loves to make camp fires, so we stayed warm. After burgers, we made s’mores. I’m not sure if Meg had ever made them before, but she loved it. She didn’t really like the actual s’mores, just cooking the marshmallows.

We stay thru Sunday, I will post about our Saturday adventures soon.

2010 World Series

2010-11-02T11:52:00.001-05:00

DISCLAIMER – COMPLETE PICTURE OVERLOAD
(and, this isn’t even 10% of the pictures I took)

Last night, we had the opportunity of a lifetime! We were taken to the World Series! Luke and Patty got tickets to Game 5 of the 2010 World Series. The game didn’t turn out how we had hoped, but we were still able to witness a deciding game for the World Series!

Luke and Patty pulled out all the stops for the game! We all met at their house before the game and rode together in a party bus that they had rented for the game. The ride was so much fun.

***Patty & Luke on the way to the game***

***Nick & Michelle***

***Bryan & Stacy***

***Uncle Bryan, Megan & Aunt Stacy***

***Nawnaw, Boompaw & Megan***

There were 12 of us in total! Luke and Patty; Megan, Jarrad and Me; Stacy and Bryan; Albert and Barbara; Nick and Michelle; and Tommy (a family friend’s son). We had amazing seats and got the the game early enough to see a little batting practice, have some nachos and take lots of pictures!

***The World Series at the Ballpark in Arlington***

I don’t think I will ever be able to explain the atmosphere at the Ballpark last night. I will never be able to explain how I felt walking into the Ballpark knowing that the game we were about to witness could be the final game of the 2010 World Series.

***Stacy & Bryan outside the Ballpark in Arlington***

***Megan, Mommy & Daddy outside the Ballpark***

***Megan getting ready to go in***

The Rangers fans had high hopes that we would win this game and send the series back to San Francisco. Unfortunately, Game 5 wasn’t good to the Rangers, and the 2010 World Series was decided on November 1, 2010 at the Ballpark in Arlington.

***Barbara, Albert & Patty in their seats***

***Patty & Luke waiting for the game to start***

***Let’s go Rangers***

***Barbara, Albert, Stacy, Patty & Luke***

***Nawnaw & Megan***

Even though the Rangers didn’t win the World Series, the season was amazing. Meg and I only made it to two regular season games this past year. I have a feeling we’ll be going to a lot more next season.

***Meg and Aunt Stacy***

***Uncle Bryan, Aunt Stacy & Megan – such goofballs***

***Meg & Daddy waiting for the game to start***

***Meg and Mommy***

***Jarrad and me***

***Daddy, Meg and Mommy***

I’m definitely sad that the season is over! However, I look forward to next year’s season and all that it will be. I hope that we will go to a lot more games next season than we did this year!

Thank you Rangers for an AMAZING season! Enjoy the offseason and get ready for April 1, 2011!

Bring it

2010-11-01T13:14:00.000-05:00

Saturday night, we stayed in to watch the Ranger’s game. If you know Megan, you know she can’t still for very long – this girl has two speeds, on and off. So, I grabbed a deck of cards out of the man cave to keep her entertained. Meg and I played war twice. She beat me. Twice. I’m not a good loser, so I asked Jarrad to beat her for me :)

Meg had so much fun playing with Jarrad. They played two times, each won one game. Meg loves playing war…we taught her over family vacation this summer and has gotten real good at it.

I remember playing card games as a kid and loving it. I remember dad teaching me all sorts of solitaire games growing up. Now, I know that Meg will likely never play a solitaire game with a deck of cards, but I hope that she will still pick up a deck of cards for poker or war or thirty-one every once in a while.

***Meg getting ready to throw down a card***

***Meg wins***

***War time***

***Jarrad has a queen…***

***…Meg has an ACE! Meg wins***

Mommy & Me Monday

2010-11-01T08:33:00.001-05:00

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T22:45:00.001-05:00

Meg was super excited about Halloween this year. Actually, Meg is always super excited about Halloween, so I wasn’t surprised that she was excited this year.

As I mentioned, Meg wanted to be Neytiri from Avatar this year for Halloween. After searching high and low, we were able find her the costume.

Tonight, as we got Meg ready to be transformed into Neytiri, I asked Jarrad to snap a few pictures.

***Meg before we are getting ready to start, I had already braided her hair***

***Meg & Mommy before the transformation***

***She looks like she could be on the set of Braveheart***

***First coat of paint on her face***

***Getting ready to put on her stripes***

***Stripes finished, applying the dots***

***The beautiful Neytiri***

***Dixie wanted to go trick or treating with us***

This year, we went trick or treating with our neighbors from across the street. Meg and Rebekah are both in first grade and have become fast friends. Emma, the 50’s girl, is in the 4th grade; Meg absolutely adores her.

***Meg, Rebekah (a go-go girl), Emma (50’s girl)***

We joined up in the neighborhood with some of Rebekah’s and Emma’s cousins. They have tons of family that lives in the neighborhood. Meg and I were very grateful that they let us tag along with them for some trick or treating.

***Emma, Rebekah, Victoria, Hailey, Meg***

We had a great night running through the neighborhood. Meg got lots of good candy and was so excited to get home to show her daddy!

***Meg trick or treating with Daddy***

Halloween wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t make Megan pose for a few pictures on the fireplace. She wasn’t super happy when I ask her to, but I was still able to snap a few pictures.

***My beautiful Avatar***

***Megan “hissing” at me***

***I love these pictures***

I hope everyone had a very happy Halloween! I know we did.

Ponder Pumpkin Party

2010-10-29T22:58:00.001-05:00

Tonight was Meg’s school’s annual Halloween party. Last year, was our first experience and Meg loved it. I knew then that we would definitely not miss it this year. Meg loves the movie Avatar, so it came as no surprise to me when she asked if she could dress up like Neytiri for Halloween.

She was pretty disappointed when we weren’t able to find an Avatar costume. She settled for Spider Girl, but I could tell she wasn’t really happy about it. After searching for an Avatar costume, I finally found one. So, while Megan was at school, I picked up the Avatar costume. When she got home from school, I couldn’t wait to show her the costume.

Meg was so excited that I had found the costume. Sheryl & Kyle were here, so we went on a mission to find Meg some Avatar accessories and were very successful. We were able to find her a bow and arrow set. The set was for an Indian costume, so we had make a few changes. It wasn’t too hard, we just bought some paint, ribbon and feathers and we were good to go.

Tonight, Meg and I sat down at the kitchen table to put her make up on for the Pumpkin Party. I wasn’t exactly sure if I was going to be able to make Megan look like an Avatar.

I mixed some white and blue face paint and got started on Meg’s avatar face.

We all loved the finished product. Meg was very happy about it and couldn’t wait to get to the school to show her friends and teachers.

We had Meg pose for a few pictures out front before we headed to the school for the fun. She grabbed her bow and struck a pose. Thankfully I was able to capture it before she realized that she was wasting valuable time and that we should be heading to the school.

***Meg and Daddy***

***Meg and Mommy***

***Meg and Sophie***

Peace shirt & Zebra towel

2010-10-28T23:11:00.000-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-27T21:53:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Avery & Addison

2010-10-26T22:22:00.000-05:00

Saturday, Meg and I drove down to Cleburne for Avery’s 7th and Addison’s 3rd birthday celebrations. Jenny did an amazing job on the party decorations, everything was zebra striped and pink. The party was a definite success.

Meg and I almost didn’t go because we had some horrible storms roll through the area and I was unsure on how the weather was going to play out. Thankfully, we only had to drive for a little bit of rain.

***Avery & Megan***

***The group of girls***

***Sweet Tanner***
(don’t let this picture fool you, she’s no angel ;))

***Addison, one of the birthday girls***

***Megan and Tanner***

***The birthday girls, Avery & Addison, with their mom, Jenny***

A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-25T22:12:00.000-05:00

Last Friday, I went with Megan and her classmates for a walk down to the church for a visit to the pumpkin patch. As I was heading up to the school for Meg’s field trip, the skies were getting dark and the clouds were rolling in. I was worried that the rain wasn’t going to hold off, but luckily for us, it did.

Meg has a new girl in her class and has taken quite a liking to her. They held hands the whole way on our walk to the pumpkin patch. It was sweet to watch.

After we walked from the school to the pumpkin patch, an adorable scarecrow read a book to the kids. It’s amazing to watch 60 1st graders pay such close attention to a story that is being read. They were definitely a great audience.

After story time, all the kids got a stamp on their faces and were able to pick out a small pumpkin.

We were able to group Meg’s entire class together for a group shot. We did silly faces and a picture with their teacher. They were all very excited to be out of the classroom, even if it was just for an hour.

After a few group pictures, it was time to head back to school and finish up the rest of the school day.

Working in the backyard

2010-10-21T07:57:00.000-05:00

Meg has such a great imagination and loves to pretend like she’s working in an office. This day, she was an Executive Assistant. She always has certain things that she wants me to do. Today, I was to walk up to her desk, ask if Mr. Smith was available, and then she showed me to his office.

I love this little girl!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-20T16:35:00.001-05:00

Ladder Golf

2010-10-18T21:17:00.000-05:00

Saturday night Jarrad, Megan and I played a little ladder golf in the front yard before we went out to dinner. We had bought the game over the summer and this was the first time we had played it.

Of course, Jarrad was great at it. He had played it a few times before. Meg and I really liked it. We both need to practice a lot more though.

{Wordless Wednesday}

2010-10-13T22:11:00.000-05:00

Snow White with Nawnaw

2010-10-12T22:50:00.000-05:00

Nawnaw took Megan and I to see Snow White on Sunday afternoon at Casa Manana in Ft. Worth. The performance started at 2:00, so we had a quick lunch at Baker Brothers before the show.

Before the show started, Meg spotted Hailey in the crowd. Hailey was there with her grandma. The show was amazing, a little loud at times, but still absolutely amazing. After the show, we stood in line to get our program signed by Snow White, Prince Sebastian and the wicked Step-Mother.

***Meg and Nawnaw***

***Hailey & Megan***

***Doc signing Meg & Hailey’s program***

***Meg after Doc signed her program***

***Snow White***

We can’t wait for Rudolph in December.

Go Panthers!

2010-10-12T22:16:00.000-05:00

To say that we were busy on Saturday would be an understatement. After skating, the pumpkin patch and Michael’s, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Chili’s then headed to Aaron’s football game. Aaron looked so adorable in his football gear. I loved that his team has pink laces for Breast Cancer Awareness! Aaron’s team is the Panthers and Meg loved cheering for him. Unfortunately, the Panthers weren’t victorious, but we still had a great time.

***Coach Mike, Aaron’s dad***

Great Pumpkin Event at Michaels

2010-10-12T21:08:00.000-05:00

Saturday after skating and the pumpkin patch, Meg, Lauren, Laura and I headed to Michael’s for the Great Pumpkin Event.

Meg picked out the perfect pumpkin to paint and decorate as a purple bat.

She and Lauren got started painting their pumpkins purple.

After they painted their pumpkins, they had to cut out the bat wings and ears from purple foam.

After everything was put on their pumpkins, we headed to lunch at Chili’s.

***Meg, me, Laura and Lauren with the girls pumpkins***

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-12T15:45:00.000-05:00

After skating lessons on Saturday, Meg and I went with Laura and Lauren to a pumpkin patch for a quick photo shoot. Meg wasn’t exactly in the mood for a photo shoot, so I had to bribe her a few times.

***Meg and Lauren in the back of my car***

We went to the same pumpkin patch that we visited last year in Arlington. It’s not actually a pumpkin patch, it’s a church’s front yard that sell pumpkins. But, they have great photo ops and it’s close and free, so we love it.

***beautiful girls***

Meg had fun running around and making me force her to take some pictures. The pictures of Meg aren’t that great, so we’ll definitely be going to another pumpkin patch for some more pictures. Meg was just in one of “those” moods and I didn’t want to ruin our day.

***One of the few pictures I like***

It didn’t help that Meg was chewing gum and blowing bubbles for every photo. I had to constantly remind her to keep her gum in her mouth and to stop blowing bubbles! It was driving me crazy!!! Why I helped her learn how to blow bubbles is beyond my comprehension. My gum bill has more than tripled since this new hobby started!

***Meg getting ready to blow another bubble***

***Blowing a bubble with her gum***

Meg was also in the mood to make the funny smile. It reminded me of her portraits that she takes for school pictures.

I was able to talk her into taking some pictures with me. I’m glad we had Laura with us – she snapped a few with my camera! Thanks Laura :)

Meg loved this girl scare crow. It was one of the few times that she was a willing participate in my photography. She was being a total goof ball.

This picture cost me one dollar. By the time I snapped this picture, Meg was done with my picture taking. Unfortunately, the dollar wasn’t well spent, because this is the best picture I was able to get of the little princess. In all the other pictures, she is not smiling. I should have made a condition on my dollar…I know next time to tell her that I’ll give her a dollar if she gives me a good shot.

At least she was happy on the way to the car. We bought four little pumpkins and she was very happy about that. I’m not sure what she was more happy about…the fact that she had four new pumpkins or that we were leaving. I’ll let you decide.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-10-12T11:55:00.000-05:00

1. What does your work out schedule look like? I like to get to the gym five days a week and have been doing a pretty good job since I am currently unemployed. I usually like to take Megan to school, then head straight to the gym.

2. What is your favorite machine to use at the gym? I love the elliptical. I use it every day :)

3. What is your favorite class to take at the gym? I really love the spinning classes, but also enjoy 24LIFT.

4. Where do you shop for work out gear and clothing? Target. I don’t have work out gear – I just throw on a t-shirt and shorts.

5. If you can’t go to the gym, do you have a favorite outdoor activity? Meg has really gotten into roller blading, so I will walk with her thru the neighborhood or ride my bike with her.

6. What about a favorite work out DVD? I love Jillian Michaels 30-day shred. Although, I have failed to do it 30 days in a row yet :)

7. Are you more active now or when you were in high school? I was definitely more active when I was in high school. With all of my grown up responsibilities, I don’t have time to be as active as I once was.

8. How has your dieting/working out philosophy changed since high school? In high school, I ate anything and everything. Now, I try to think about how what I’m eating will fuel my body.

9. What do you do while working out– (i.e., day dream, read, listen to music, gab with a friend)? When I’m working out, I’m plugged into my iPod.

10. What working out resolution would you like to make for yourself this year? To stick with working out five days a week.

Skating Lessons

2010-10-11T12:05:00.000-05:00

On Saturday morning, we went to skating lessons again. Meg loves skating right now and she’s pretty good. She’s so confident when she’s on her roller blades. This weekend, Laura and Lauren were able to meet us. Laura was the mom who told me about the great lessons.

The girls did great and had so much fun together. Meg is getting better with each lesson. She also rides her blades around the neighborhood a few nights a week with our neighbors. I’m so proud of how quickly she has progressed. Every week I’m blown away by her ability on her blades.

Next up, the Pumpkin Patch :)

Fright Fest

2010-10-11T02:16:00.000-05:00

Friday night was absolutely perfect for spending a few hours at Six Flags, so Meg and I invited Laura and Lauren to meet us up there for the evening. Meg and I got to the park around 6:15, right after it opened. We were able to squeeze in a few rides before the girls arrived.

Meg loves everything about Six Flags. We rode the Big Spin, the Conquistador (twice) and the La Vibora. We really wanted to head over to the Titan, but didn’t have time before they arrived.

We met them in Looney Tunes USA and headed over to the Judge Roy Scream from there. Meg and Lauren rode together in one car and Laura and I rode in another. I loved listening to the girls scream and watch them hold their hands up. Meg is a complete daredevil (she LOVES the Titan). Lauren is coming around – she just started riding the Judge Roy Scream. Next time we go, we’ll have to get her on the Shock Wave. I think she’d love it.

The girls had a great time and were sad when we told them it was time to head home. We had plans on Saturday to go to the Arlington Skatium, the pumpkin patch, Michaels for pumpkin decorating and to Aaron’s football game. We knew if we didn’t get them home for a good night’s rest that our Saturday would be horrible.

National Night Out 2010

2010-10-10T23:35:00.001-05:00

On Wednesday, October 5 our neighborhood hosted National Night Out. We were able to attend last year and had a great time. We were all super excited about it this year. In the past year, we’ve gotten to know some of the other families in the neighborhood, but there were still so many families that we hadn’t met yet.

We had an amazing evening. This year was a little different, instead of just having desserts, Target, Papa John’s and Chicken Express all donated dinner. So, the menu was full of nachos, hot dogs, pizza, chicken and wings. There was also a huge dessert table with cookies, cupcakes and tons of home made goodies.

We took our neighbors with us, Rebekah and Emma. The girls weren’t planning on going, but we invited them along. They were very excited to go and had a great time.

There were tons of games for the kids to play, bounce houses, a finger nail painting table and a temporary tatoo table as well. Target was passing out all sorts of goodies, including beach balls, bags and sidewalk chalk. A few local restaurants even donated a free kids meal for your next visit.

Meg had a blast playing with the kids from her school and even meeting a few new friends. Megan was running from activity to activity to activity. She got two tatoos, her fingernails painted and even managed to hula hoop, throw the beach balls and bounce in the bounce houses.

I don’t want to forget from September

2010-10-02T22:08:00.000-05:00

***Meg and Brylie at Brylie’s 7th birthday party***

***Beautiful Megan at her school picnic***

***Megan and Adam at the school picnic***

***Meg taking a rest after skating lessons at the rink***

A Quilt for Me!

2010-09-28T09:42:00.002-05:00

Last week, I made a quilt for myself. Jarrad bought me a sewing machine for Christmas and I’ve made a few things (a few baby quilts, some burp cloths, done some appliqué). I wanted to make me a quilt, and now that I have time on my hands, I sat down and did something for me :)

I love how it turned out. I’m so proud that I completed it. This is my first big quilt. I’m sure I did a lot of things wrong, but I’m happy with the turn out. Meg wants me to make one for her, so I’m going to start on hers soon. She wants one just like mine.

She works hard for her money

2010-09-25T08:10:00.000-05:00

The week that Meg got her lemonade stand, she set up shop on our driveway. One day, she came in to tell me that she sold her first two cups of lemonade. She was so proud, of her first sale. I asked her how much she made. I was completely shocked when she told me that they paid $10. We had to have a quick math lesson. She’s selling lemonade for $1 per glass…therefore she owed our neighbors $8. I made her run the change over to their house!

Thankfully, her next customer had correct change. Jarrad was the last customer of the day, so he got to help close up shop.

Happy Birthday from Boompaw & Nawnaw

2010-09-22T16:38:00.000-05:00

Boompaw and Nawnaw came over for dinner to bring Meg her birthday gift. She was so happy when they pulled up, that she went running to the car.

***Meg & Nawnaw***

***Meg & Boompaw***

Meg couldn’t wait to see what Boompaw and Nawnaw got her for her birthday. She was so excited to see her very first lemonade/snow cone stand.

She sold us lemonade all night. Jarrad told her that he would bring her a cash box so she would have a place to keep her money.

The night after she got her stand, she went to the driveway to sell her products. Unfortunately, I had a migraine, so I stayed inside and didn’t get any pictures. Jarrad was able to go out there with her though. The poor girl picked a pretty bad night to open up business – she had to close her stand early because it started raining. All with out a sale.

Congrats Leigh Ann & Eddie

2010-09-22T15:11:00.001-05:00

Jackson Paul born today!