This is an old picture but I ran into it this morning it was long before blogging was around but I really love it. It was taken without them knowing with our mondo lens. They were playing hide and shoot with the Nerf bow and arrows. Vigo was hiding, I wish I would have gotten that image because he was lying real still in the tall grass which he blended into really well because of his yellow sweater. We did get one of him later on the walkie talkie.

 

 

 

This was a wonderful March camping experience. We played ghost in the graveyard at night by the light of a beautiful moon. We had a longer stay with ...get this, no RV's! yeah!!! We were able to sit back, relax, and enjoy each others company. We even took a nice hike on a trail.
You know the more pictures I find the more I realize how wonderful life can be...pictures hold so many memories, bring back the taste, the smell, the emotion of that very moment... otherwise lost forever, or forgotten. How marvelous to have such a blessing to capture time, refresh my forgetful mind of how blessed I am to have so many wonderful moments of pure happiness.

 

Had to post these on their own, they come with the last set from camping but they were too much fun and had to have their own space.

 
 

So March brought a whole new ball of emotions! Addison is only a year away from YW! Yes she turned 11 this year and we had a sweet little girls night out with some of her closest buds, soaked feet,(washed hands) decorated cupcakes, pulled out the rock collection and taught them about her tumbler, shared rocks, and had a rowdy all night no sleep sleepover!!! Wahoo! Let me tell you 11 yr olds don't need sleep! until morning!
Now let me tell you a little something about this sweet spirited child, she is dear to many because of her tender ways (now don't go ask Maya that question after they have argued but we all have our bad days). she fills a room with sunshine and laughter, soothes the sad, comforts the weary, and gives the best massages from here to Idaho! Oh yeah! What a blessing to have her sweet forgiving nature constantly teaches us. She overcomes milestones and hardships with smiles and hugs. what a blessing to have her in our family! Love ya!

 

Had to slip this in from Vigo's party. I'm so bad at planning these things , you'd think by now i'd be an old pro but nooooo. I write out invites ahead of time, buy all the party supplies months in advance (when they are on sale) but the invites sit on the desk till the week of then I'm calling everyone at the last minute, luckily our friends and family are faithful and still show up. We played pioneer games, indian leg restle and pole pulling(If that is what it is called) the kids love it so much! They never get enough. Vigo is such a happy go lucky child. He brings immense blessings to our life and we are ever so grateful to have him be part of our family.

 

When in Texas do as the Texans do...Make homemade flour tortillas and teach your kids to make them so you don't have to... hee! hee!
...and they thought I was being nice!

 

Ode to Wall-e
If you say, "Kisses Wall-e" he turns his head and gently pushes on your cheek or lips, but we saw an American Funniest home video where the girl was bit by her bird, so for all you non-professional bird handlers out there...Don't try this at home.

 

This was our attempt to go camping over valentine's weekend. What a joke. We ended up right smack in the middle of a ton of RV campers! no signs were posted but we wanted to be close to the river. Then we were kicked out of our spot early in the morn because our spot was sold out to someone else right out from under us...But we still had a blast and took our sweet time packing up our tents and gear to get out. Thus the upside down shots of the kids on the slack line. The bird...WALL-E is Addison's best friend. He is part of our family and we all love him dearly. The kids got wet even though it was pretty cold (for us Texans that is..laugh it up Idaho!)funny thing is they all said they wouldn't get wet. Then Cory drags us out to the middle of the river(he did carry us across so I shouldn't complain but it IS more dramatic)to take a family picture. Addison was bit up by ants on the log - poor thing has the worst luck and our camera didn't do a good job of focusing on the other side of the bank...but we got the ever so sought after family picture!! Yahoo!!! We had a blast. No matter the situations , fun is a choice and we choose fun. The kids just love camping and even thought it is definitely not the same in TX we still love and enjoy our time together "away" from the hustle and bustle of the city.

 

The Rodeo breakfast at Mission Academy. Cold Cold cold...for Texas. Maya was part of a national exercise group they worked after school on exercise routines to stay fit and had an all day fitness festival where they performed for our school. Drake's 1st grade class learned some cowboy dances and had a little hoedown presentation for us,which Alia thought she was part of too. Real fun to see the kids shed stage fright and just go out and have fun.

 

 
 
 
 

 

 

REMEMBER the ALAMO!!!!!!

 

Fiesta Texas on the last day of the year!!! Gay days! That means fun, happy and joyous!!! Not what you are thinking... Mikey!!!

 

this is Drake's party! yahoo! fun!
Drake turned 7 this year and all I can do is CRY because next year he will be eight! and Cory laughs because it is still a year away (was but since I'm posting so backtracked it's not that far away and now I'm even more hysterical). 8!? that is so big, can't they stay small and can't I keep them home forever?
Drake is so sweet and this year has been the class clown keeping us laughing and smiling. He is so ready to be good, I am so excited to watch him grow up. He is already reading the scriptures and preparing for big things come next Jan. He tries so hard to be good(and if you know 7 yr old boys, that is really hard) and make good choices. We are so blessed to have this giant spirit be part of our little family, what blessings we are given and I feel so unworthy of them. Happiness, pure and simple is seen everyday in the life of a child. How blessed we are to have such sweet spirits among us daily. Happy birthday Drake.

 

This was our bday dinner for Drake at Chili's for old times sake.

 

 

well it's been months! so much to share....where do we start?
Jan our friends Mike and Becca came to visit us. Hurrah! we went and did many things, one of which was to visit San Antonio's Japanese Tea Garden gardens.