Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Vacation Part 3


After our quick dash to San Antonio, we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's to get one last day in and a visit to the Fort Worth Stockyards. Temperatures had cooled a bit, preventing Allison and Eric from swimming, so after the Stockyards, we went to my favorite restaurant, Anamia's. The rest of the afternoon was spent resting, reading and for one in particular, playing DS. The next day, we arrived home -- allergies back in full force!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Vacation Part 2 -- San Antonio


Scott and I have been talking about getting back to San Antonio for years. We decided that this was the year to do it! We knew it would have to be short, but we really wanted Allison to get a taste of a different city this time around.

While our visit was short, we managed to get in a visit to the Market Square, Mi Tierra (a yummy Tex Mex restaurant), and the Alamo -- oh, and a few shops (who can forget the shopping?). Of course, no visit to San Antonio would be complete without going to the Riverwalk and taking a boat cruise.


Sunday, June 7, 2009

Vacation Part 1

I know that I haven't done anything with this in a while, but summer is here and we are already back from our main vacation! I have lots of pics to share from the past few months and some pretty fun memories too!

We headed out early Friday evening, spent the night in Arkansas and then made our first planned stop in Canton, TX. They have a HUGE flea market that goes on one weekend a month. We got lucky and was able to hit that weekend! I hadn't been able to do this event in about four years, so I was pretty happy. We found things for everyone (even Allison's friend, Holly) except me. But I was just happy to get to go!

We then headed west to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. We had a great time visiting Grandma and Grandpa and their new apartment in Texas! We swam and went to the new observation area at the airport (which is very cool) and had an early celebration for Scott's birthday.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Just Checking In.....


Life has been a little crazy here, with nothing overly exciting going on -- just enough to make us tired! So I thought I would go for a little flashback fun! This is a picture of Allison and Eric at the park during the summer of 2003. Not a great shot, but it's all I could do in a moment's notice. Have a great week!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Beautiful smiles.....



We took advantage of our beautiful weather today and went to the park. The park had built a new playground recently and it was our first go at it. And what a playground it was! They had some really neat equipment there that I've never seen on any other playgrounds. It was pretty cool! Eric had a fantastic time and declared it the best day ever! (His one of many.)

Spring Musical!


Kindergarten through 2nd Grade had a Spring Musical this year and it was wonderful! I caught the dress rehearsal and took pictures there. You can see how much fun Eric was having and it was all part of the program! He did great - In fact, they all did!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Well, that was worse than we thought........

As many of you know, we are taking Allison on a path that is preparing her for braces. After having five baby teeth pulled at the end of October, we were hoping the worst was over. Not so.

After meeting with the ortho, he requested that we get the last four baby teeth out. He gave us a really detailed X-ray to give to the dentist. They looked at it and said that it should be pretty easy to get them out as the roots were short and deteriorating (as they should).

Today was the day for the first two to be pulled. The bottom molar came out fairly easily. The top one? Not so much. The top molar had a root that went around the side of the primary tooth that should be coming in and it wasn't really noticeable on the X-ray.

Just look at it. It LOOKS painful. It's been almost four hours and she's still bleeding from it.

My poor baby girl.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz.........Is That a Spelling Bee I Hear?


Eric earned a place in the Lutheran Elementary School's spelling bee! Two other friends from his class, Stephanie and Allison, were also participating. Out of 24 students in the spelling bee, Eric was one of four to make it into the finals! He had to spell words like ART, RAKE, BOAT, CLASS, and BRING. He did GREAT!!!

We had a bit of time in between the regular bee and the final competition, so we took our time and looked at the Art Fair that was going on and chatted with some friends whose kids were also participating. We also talked with his teacher, Mrs. Donnelly, who had come to support the three kids.

Once the finals took place, Eric was out in the first round because of mixing up two letters in the word CHAIR. He was disappointed, but took it really well. We were so proud of him! There were a lot of people in both of these rooms and he really didn't act nervous at all. He was his usual energetic self and was entertaining the crowds with his facial expressions as he was walking back to his seat.

We went to lunch afterwards and talked about how our school is so good about preparing the students for public speaking and performing. From the time they were in kindergarten, Allison and Eric have been up in front of their peers and adults demonstrating what they learn in the classroom. It almost becomes second nature for them and it is definitely something that they will carry with them through life.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Another tooth....lost (but not REALLY)


Eric got in the van this afternoon and immediately said, "Mommy! I lost another tooth!" I couldn't believe it. You could hardly move the bottom tooth the other day. Here's the kicker -- it happened in the cafeteria again. Poor Mrs. Horvath! This time she made sure that Eric put his tooth in a bag so that it wouldn't get lost. It's a good thing too -- because I don't think the Tooth Fairy would keep giving money out when she gets nothing in return. In fact, I don't know too many people that would do that.

If I did, I would have much nicer things. =)

A Show of Support......


Last night, Allison had another game. This time Uncle Gregg, Aunt Lynn and Alyssa were able to make it to see her play. We are so thankful of the attention that they give to Allison and Eric. They are such a good aunt and uncle to have!

Allison had her own cheering section as the five of us were front and center. It was a tight game with the other team's girls much taller and larger than all of our own. You should have seen Allison fight off the girl who was at least a full foot taller than her. Her look of determination made Scott and me so proud! Final score? 30-22 -- the real Warriors! The first game they've won! Of course, I need to give full disclosure here and say there were only four girls playing on the other team.

Oh...and by the way...Allison got another basket! =)

Our last game is next week when we plan to stay and watch the boys team.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

She Shoots, She SCORES!!!!!


Allison scored her first basket in a basketball game -- EVER! I'm sure it is to be the first of many. She was so excited and so were we! I immediately had to call Scott to tell him. The crowd was so loud, I couldn't hear a word he was saying, but I conveyed the message that I knew he would be so excited about too. He got off the phone and told his coworkers -- "Nothing else matters. My daughter just scored her first basket."

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Has Anyone Seen the Tooth Fairy?


After it being loose for almost two months, Eric has FINALLY lost his first front tooth!

Eric was determined to lose the tooth at school so that he could get his special "tooth necklace". Today, I was walking into the cafeteria and I heard this little excited voice exclaim, "I lost my tooth!" He put it to the side so that he could go upstairs after lunch and get his necklace. At some point, the tooth dropped to the floor and it was lost. This is when Mrs. Horvath kept the kindergarten and first grade in the cafeteria a full ten minutes longer so that they could help Eric look for his tooth. It was wonderful. What was so important to my little boy became so important to his classmates and other students in the school -- even the kindergarten teacher. Where else would you get that but a close knit Christian school? We are so blessed to consider this community of people part of our family!

They never did find his tooth. But Mrs. Horvath knew what was Eric's true desire and she made sure that he got that necklace. As for the tooth fairy and the surprise under the pillow? I have it on high authority that the tooth fairy always knows when a tooth has been "lost" and covers them all.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

She's Got the Basketball Jones.......




Allison had her first game yesterday. We played a school in the city that has some very tall girls on it! All of the parents decided this team is going to be so fun to watch. Since we get to include the 4th grade girls this year, it gives them a great opportunity to get used to playing with each other. Next year, we should have essentially the same team -- minus two 6th grade girls. Hope you enjoyed the pics!

I Scream, You Scream -- We all Scream for Ice Cream!



Stopped into a local bakery to pick something up for someone and saw these cookies. I could NOT resist getting these for the kiddos!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Peaceful Days.....



Well, the predictions were true. The storm handed us not one, but two snow days. Both kids and mom were happy about the turn of events. It's been a nice couple of days with Allison finishing up her science fair project and Eric getting his pajama days. He only got dressed to go outside once each day and then promptly returned to his "new" lucky pants.*


* For those of you familiar with Eric's terminology -- he no longer considers his original "lucky" pants to be lucky. After he threw up on them, they seemed to have lost their charm. His new "lucky" pants are his red polar bear ones that he got for Christmas.


***As the snow was coming down, Scott had gone out to the garage to take care of some things. He came inside with an impish grin and said, "Boy, am I happy to have a garage!" I have to admit that I am also very thankful for that garage!


Sunday, January 25, 2009

Allison, Mad Scientist




Allison's first science fair is this week. She chose to do a project where she cooks sodas down and discovers what is left. It's to test how much high fructose corn syrup is in each type of soda. She will display this somehow Friday at school and I, for one, will be glad when it is over.
Also, worth noting, Tuesday is Allison's first B Team Basketball Game. She shared with her Uncle Gregg and his friend, Nick, today that her coach told the girls that if they didn't each have two fouls during the game, he would know they weren't "hustling" enough. I think she's looking forward to the game.
We' ve had a busy weekend -- as usual! Saturday, we had an open house to attend for a friend who had just finished his Masters Degree. We shortened our visit with them so we could run and pick up Alyssa at Lynn & Gregg's so they could have a night out. Alyssa was as cute as usual! We brought her home, where she ate pizza and played until she finally wore out. We had saved our Little People Farm for a day just like this, so we brought it out for her. She LOVED it! Allison and Eric loved playing with her also. She is one loved little girl!



Saturday, January 24, 2009

This is something new I would try. I am going to have to work hard at not being too picky about what I write or share -- otherwise, nothing will be written or shared!


I invite family and friends to view this every so often to see if there are any new pics of our lives. I hope I can make this something for all of you to enjoy!


This is one of my favorite pictures of us. It was taken July of 2007 (I know -- it's a while ago) in Colorado.