The Growing Gregorys

Christmas 2011

2012-02-05T13:03:00.005-06:00

Christmas in February, I know. Time has flown by! I was going to write captions under pictures, but under preview, the pics don't show up! Only numbers and letters?!?! So, if anyone that is an expert blogger knows how to fix this please let me know.

From memory the first picture is with Kate, Caroline and Aunt Carole. We got to go deliver Christmas presents, I think it was Christmas eve. The week before we also made gingerbread houses, made cookies for Santa and decorated Pop's room at the nursing home.

The Gregory Grandchildren made a Happy Birthday Jesus cake and Pappy read the Christmas story to them Christmas Eve before the Christmas Eve church service. Along with opening presents of course.

Then on to Mawmaw and Pawpaw's house. Kate had "tea" with Aunt Amy and she made sure that she cut up some cheese for Santa Mouse. Kate and Caroline got Baby Alive dolls for Christmas, they do it all eat and fill up their diapers! Mason got a fun pirate ship. On to fun in February!

The Nutcracker

2011-12-18T23:24:00.003-06:00

Last night Kate and I had a big girls night with a few of her friends. Their Mommy and I took the girls to The Cheesecake Factory and then to the Allen Civic Ballet Nutcracker. Kate LOVED IT! She sat on the edge of her seat for most of the performance and clapped and wanted to woo hoo after every act! She is already talking about going back next year.

It is a Blessing to be able to Help Bless Others

2011-12-17T13:56:00.005-06:00

Sunday we adopted a family though our church called Scotty's Gifts. There were 4 children ages 12-3. We just dropped off their Christmas gifts to them and to see the excitement on their faces was such a blessing by itself! The kids loved getting to do this too, from picking out toys, wanting to help wrap and then to load them up in the car! We even got to unload everything under their tree this afternoon.

Friday we had a party with some friends each bringing items for this family, instead of another cookie exchange I thought why not spend money and time on something that someone really NEEDS? We had a great time visiting and the kids playing and at the end our friend Kyla took the kids and prayed over the gifts as well. We are so blessed to have such a great group of friends! I actually forgot about the camera till the end of our get together so there are a few kiddos that did not make the picture. (Sorry about that Luke, Kate, Campbell, Peyton & Jack!)

Christmas Mix of Events

2011-12-16T15:54:00.006-06:00

Some of these pictures are actually from November, I forgot all about them on the other camera. There are a few blurry ones too, don't know what happened there! We invited some friends over in November for an early Christmas craft day. They got to make lots of ornaments and reindeer antlers, getting ready early!

The next group of pictures is from Build a Bear at the mall, this was the first of December. We really went to watch a group ice skate with Snoopy, but there were so many people we could not see. :( The balloon art was still fun though and we broke down and let them get build a bear animals instead! This will be a one time only thing! So cute, but the $$ adds up fast in that store!

The train pics are from another mall. The train set up all year long, but right now it is decorated for Christmas. They get so excited to ride it is really funny. I am just happy they will ride on it now without crying! When they were 2 they THOUGHT they wanted to ride, but got on and freaked out when it started moving. I guess at 2 they were not quite ready, kind of like the carousel!

Caroline had her Christmas party on Thurs. We got to go to chapel and see Mason & Kate perform again, then went back to her room to party! They were so cute working on crafts and decorating cookies. They ended with a book exchange. They have a sweet group of 3 year olds and great teachers!

Mary & One of the Wise Men

2011-12-14T21:52:00.004-06:00

Kate was selected for Mary in the Christmas Chapel play at school and Mason was selected as one of the wise men. It was so much fun going to chapel with them and getting to watch them on stage. Afterwards we got to go to their class for their Christmas Party! Tomorrow we get to see it again with Caroline's class and then I get to go to Caroline's party! I can't believe we are so close to Christmas!

Northpark Mall Trains

2011-12-10T09:32:00.003-06:00

We went to the Northpark Mall in Dallas on Friday. We HAVE to go see the model trains every year. Even though I think the "slides" were the biggest hit for my 3 this year. We had a great time with our friends checking out the trains, "sliding" and watching the puppet show.

Caroline was not into smiling the the train area??
Our group.
Caroline by the ducks.
The "slide". They will run up and the slide down...
Waiting for the puppet show to start.
Scrooge looking on Santa's list for Kate's name. He told her all she was going to get is socks. A pink and purple pair. At the end he ask for her again and told her he felt bad that is all she was getting and he threw an autographed picture of himself to her! I thought it was neat, she wanted to throw it away when we got home. She wasn't very happy about getting socks for Christmas. HA!
Kate at the Disney store. We don't have a neat castle at our Disney store!

Santa's Village in Richardson

2011-12-09T09:11:00.006-06:00

We went to Santa's Village in Richardson last night and had a great time! I have decided Thursday night is the time to go. The crowds were not bad at all! City Hall has an entire village set up and it starts at 6:00 with Santa's arrival with Mrs. Claus by fire truck! I took pictures in almost every house we went into. They have everything lit up, inside and out. If you are in the area I highly recommend doing this, well, on a Thursday or get there a little bit before it opens!

Santa's arrival
Mrs. Claus passing out cookies.
Dr. Seuss village house

Police village house

Elf bank

Ornament decorating
Elf tv - there are televisions set up outside this house so you can watch

Frosty's house, coloring pages
Frosty himself!
Balloon art

Rudolf's house, you get your nose painted, and reindeer food for Christmas Eve
Fire station house

Nadia, Keira, Kate, Caroline & Mason (Yes, Nadia and Keira are twins too!)

Our Christmas Advent Calendar & Gingerbread Man

2011-12-06T22:42:00.002-06:00

Last week I found this neat idea on another blog for an advent calendar out of things you already have in your home. The kids had so much fun putting this together. I will admit that it took me some time cutting 24 lunch size paper sacks though! The backing is 3 grocery sacks and the kids go to decorate them however they liked. We have cut outs from magazines, coloring book pages, a traced hand print and Kate made the 24th day a special one. She drew a Christmas wreath and then drew Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in the middle, since it is Jesus' birthday you know! ;) Every day we are reading the Bible and from the book I have for the advent calendar and then they get some sort of special prize. So far we have had M & M's, Mini Hershey's, Hot Chocolate, (at this point they thought it would be all food), reading Christmas books, making our gingerbread man, tonight was popcorn and a Christmas movie. Later this week we are going to do more outings for Christmas events in the area. Today I ask them to see if they remembered why we have the advent calendar and why we are doing this. Amazing, they knew it was for the birth of Jesus! Kate is going to be Mary in their school play, so when I ask who Mary was from the Bible, she said, "Me!"

Decorating the Gingerbread Man
Yummy! Too bad they didn't eat it all, I keep snacking on it!

Our first Christmas Adventure for the year

2011-12-05T20:09:00.002-06:00

I took the kids to the Bass Pro Shops in Garland to Santa Land this year. It was pretty neat and Santa there was wonderful! It was a lot further from our house than I realized though! Oops!

This is our Christmas Card picture this year. It is the best smiles I have gotten! They made sure to tell Santa exactly what they wanted, Caroline was not even scared, which surprised me. I guess when it comes to telling Santa what toys you want you have to suck it up and just do it!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-05T20:05:00.002-06:00

It was just us here for Thanksgiving this year, which we missed our family, but it was nice being at home and not traveling. We are so Thankful for all of our blessings this year! Brent fried his 2nd turkey ever with success, everything was yummy!

Everyone got to sit at the table with fancy dishes this year!

Mason & Kate's Thanksgiving Finger Food Feast

2011-12-05T20:00:00.002-06:00

Mason & Kate's feast was just as great too, just two days in a row of finger food feast fun!

Caroline's Thanksgiving Finger Food Feast

2011-12-05T19:54:00.002-06:00

This was Caroline's first year to perform for the finger food feast at school, can you tell she was excited? She is on the very back row. The stage was full, this is just part of the group. They sang songs and we got to have a little feast with her class. So fun to watch the whole class in action.

Caroline with her friends.

Getting Ready for Christmas Pictures

2011-12-05T19:50:00.003-06:00

When we were in LA in early November we got Christmas card pictures taken care of for my parents. I am not sure which one is going out so here are a few cute shots!

Mason, PawPaw & Caroilne

Halloween 2011

2011-12-05T19:44:00.003-06:00

I am a little behind here! This was from Halloween this year. We had lots of fun with our friends going trick or treating in our neighborhood.

Kate wanted me to straighten her hair. I did the best I could!

Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Transformer

Dallas Arboretum

2011-10-16T16:03:00.004-05:00

We went to the Dallas Arboretum on Friday for a day of fun. This will be our "pumpkin patch" trip this year. The kids were having so much fun after 2 1/2 hrs. I was the only one ready to go home! This year they have a fairy tale theme and had groups of "castles" set up throughout the gardens. Looks like we will be making another trip there in the spring!

Beauty and the Beast Castle
One of the pumpkin houses.

Texas village.

Cinderella's carriage.

Mason & Kate's 5th Birthday Party

2011-08-08T09:41:00.004-05:00

Mason & Kate had a busy birthday. Sunday their party was at Pump It Up, a bounce house/slide place and Monday was their actual birthday. Then, Mason got to take a trip to Louisiana for the week! It is hard to believe they are 5 years old!

Mason & Mario or Lucas on the slide. (Twins that I can't tell apart!)
Kate with Nadia & Keira. (Again, I can't tell them apart either!)
Birthday kids with all of their friends
Even the mommies had fun! :) I think the more you weigh, the faster the slide!
Daddies playing!
Glow in the dark bouncing!
Mason with Mario & Lucas. See, which is which??
Birthday King & Queen.

Craziness of opening the presents.
M, K & C with all of their birthday surprises!

Caroline's 3rd Birthday

2011-07-27T18:19:00.004-05:00

Caroline turned 3 on Friday, July 15th and her party was at our house on the 16th with all of her friends. We started the morning with blueberry muffins and a candle. I did spend a lot of her birthday working on her cake and getting everything together for the party. We did go to the mall and the Disney store for something Minnie Mouse of course! (That was the party theme.) Later Friday I had just finished her cake and she came in the other room with black lips, she just tried it out in a few spots! So, back to fix the once finished cake, supper, cake time and then opening of the presents!

Caroline's morning birthday muffin.
Caroline after she got into the cake!!
They all LOVE this Mickey umbrella. Who would have guessed an umbrella would be such a good gift?!
Caroline and her birthday shirt.
Getting ready for cake.
Blowing out the candles.
I love all of the facial expressions from the presents!

Pin the flower on Minnie Mouse at the party on Saturday.
The Minnie Cake! (Cupcakes)
Happy Birthday Caroline!
Hard to tell from the picture, but I cut out Mickey shaped ice cream for the kids.

Party craft time!
Opening presents!
Caroline with her friend Cali.

Headed back to LA & 4th of July

2011-07-20T11:23:00.003-05:00

Headed back to LA from Gulf Shores we decided to stop in Vicksburg at the Battlefields. Kate and I climbed this hill to get her picture. It was fun, but so HOT! Since everyone I grew up with has been to the battlefields we thought they needed to experience it. I have to admit it is much more interesting as an adult than it was growing up!

Daddy & Kids on Cairo.
This reminds me of a true vacation picture. It was so hot & bright outside they could not see! It was fun to stop and look at the Mississippi River. They did enjoy stopping to check out.
4th of July at Wayne and Cathy's (Mason on the porch at the pea patch.)
Kate loved this dog!

Caroline found a chair just her size! I am pretty sure this was Melanie's, since I remember it when I was little too!
Tea party in the pool anyone?
I guess you cannot have enough floaties can you?!
Cutting watermelon! YUMMY!

2nd Half of Vacation

2011-07-20T11:09:00.004-05:00

Kate was in the Peach Parade for the Princess Peach Pageant. She LOVED throwing candy so much that towards the end she was throwing it over the front of the car. Every year since I was little we have gone to the parade and then to my great grandmother's house, (now my sister's) to eat and go to the Civic Center. It is always fun to swing and watch everyone walk by.

We left at 6:00 am to go to Gulf Shores. I was impressed that we were actually the door in the car by 6:1o! We had a great time, the kids loved the beach and the pool. Lots of firsts on this trip, the beach, a trip to Alabama, putt putt golf and air hockey! They loved building sand castles and looking for sea shells. I don't have tons of beach pictures. I just could not make myself take the good camera on the beach. I still have sand in my car keys!

Smiles even early in the morning!
Putt putt with Della.

Caroline on the beach.
Mason & Caroline.

First half of our Vacation

2011-07-09T20:09:00.002-05:00

We had so much fun in Louisiana! Going to the Peach Festival plus we got to see ALL of our family, celebrate my birthday with everyone and Mason & Kate participated VBS at Temple. While the kids went to VBS I came back out to Dallas with my mom for the Gift Market for her store, then back to LA and on to Gulf Shores! More pictures to come!

I am still trying to go back to normal routine here. The day after we got back we moved Caroline into a big girl bed and Mason moved into his own room and Kate has a room to herself. Lots of moving and changing. So far it has been great and I think it was just the right time for everyone to transition. Yea!

Kate, Lydia, Beau, Caroline & Mason
Can you guess how many pictures you have to take of 5 kids to get one good one? HA!
Kate petting Little Bit in the window at the station. She loves this cat. Too bad I am allergic. :)
Birthday party at Lusiana Traditions.
Yea! Lets eat cake!
Mason, Me, Caroline, Kate, PawPaw & Daddy Money - Yes, that is what we call my grandfather :)
The Kids performance at Temple. Kate loves to sing so this was right up her alley.
Kate trying to cover Mason's mouth. My guess is that he was not really trying to sing the song properly. Hum, I think voice lessons are in our future for Kate. We really live in a musical she sings so much. :)

Ruston Princess Peach Pageant

2011-07-08T09:51:00.005-05:00

This year Kate was in the Ruston, Louisiana Princess Peach Pageant. Contestant #3. My sister and I both did this when we were little and thought it would be fun for her. She had a great time meeting new friends, going to the ice cream social, walking on stage, doing a "dance" and the peach parade was the best part of course.

Kate after the ice cream social at the Lincoln Parish Museum.
Run through for the pageant.
Flowers in Ruston before the pageant.
Brother giving her good luck hugs.

All of the girls involved in the pageant. Kate is the 3rd from the right.
Victory M&M's from Mawmaw and Pawpaw!
Kate in the parade.

Ft. Worth Trip & Rangers Game

2011-06-06T07:58:00.003-05:00

The last weekend of May we had a lot of firsts. We went to cousin Michaela's 1st birthday. M, K, & C were the helpers showing her how to open the presents. Then we went to the Ft. Worth Zoo for the 1st time. It was hot, but a great zoo. Clean & lots to see! On Sunday we took the kids to their 1st Rangers game. We were at the TOP of the stadium, but it was so hot, the cool breeze was great! We made it to the very end of the game too. (I was not sure how the kids would handle it.) Also, had their 1st cotton candy there. None of them liked it at first, but Kate got into it when we came home. She is definitely my child, b/c I love cotton candy!

Michaela's 1st Birthday.
Mason studying the map before we enter the zoo.
One hot group picture. (Should have packed more water!)
In line for the train.Train ride with Daddy.
Rangers Game!

Swimming Lessons

2011-05-20T22:10:00.003-05:00

First week of swimming lessons started for us on Tuesday. I thought I was just going to put Mason & Kate in the class, but Ms. Mimi is so good I decided after the first class that Caroline should join. Mason and Kate LOVE it, Caroline is not so sure just yet. We get to go for the next two weeks on Tues. & Thurs. Mason normally is not thrilled with the idea of ANY water in his face, but for Ms. Mimi he will do it and go back for more! I can't wait to see how much they learn this year!

Mason kicking
Caroline's 1st swimming lesson. Not so sure about it just yet.
Kate already swimming back to the steps! (Day 2)
Diving down for rings. I was impressed that all 5 kids in the class did this.

Easter Sunday

2011-04-29T08:24:00.003-05:00

Easter Sunday we had to have a "plan". Brent and I were volunteering in Mason & Kate's room on Sunday, so we all actually got up and went to the 8:30 service, then Della and Pappy took all 3 home so we could volunteer. We were worried we would have a large crowd, but ended up with 8 kids in the class! (Would have been 10 in M & K stayed!) We normally have up to 18 kids in this class so we were so surprised! Then went home for Easter lunch and egg hunting in the back yard. Laid back day! I am doing all of these posts in one day b/c Mason & Kate have been in Louisiana this week and come back home tomorrow! It has been strange around our house with only one child. I have not known how to act! Back to normal tomorrow, so I am trying to get anything and everything accomplished today while there is still time!

Sunday pictures

Backyard egg hunt! After this Kate went around and hid the eggs again and Mason went on the hunt!

10 Year Anniversary

2011-04-29T08:16:00.003-05:00

Last Thursday April 21st was our 10 year anniversary! Hard to believe we have been married 10 years and have 3 children! Wow!

We had a "fancy" dinner at home in our dining room and used our fancy china. I plan on using it more in the next 10 years and longer!
Surprise! I had flowers at the front door on Thurs. We normally don't do flowers but this certain occasion it was a WONDERFUL SURPRISE for me!

Helicopter 30,000 Egg Drop

2011-04-29T08:02:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday we went to an egg hunt at a local church. The kids loved it b/c they had a helicopter fly in and drop eggs for every age group. We will definitely have to go back next year, they are still talking about it! Saturday night we made the Easter Story cookies I mentioned in the previous post. They thought it was great too! It might work a little easier with a helper to read the Bible verses though. Trying to follow cooking instructions and flip to certain verses while holding their attention was a challenge. I think it is going to be a new tradition in our house either way, good reminder that Easter is not about the Easter Bunny.

One round of the Egg Drop.
Focused on picking up eggs!

Not interested in the camera! It was a VERY WINDY DAY!
Working on the cookies, everyone took a turn beating the pecans.

And we took a chance and ate some of the left over batter too!

Easter Story Cookies

2011-04-21T21:59:00.002-05:00

We have not done this yet, but I wanted to go ahead and put it on the blog before Easter so other families can make them too! Brent's Aunt Carole sent me an email about this last year and I thought it was a great idea to get the kids involved in a true Easter project. Plus they would enjoy the cookies of course! I would love to hear what your children have to say about it.

EASTER STORY COOKIES

These are to be made the evening before Easter Sunday.

1 cup whole pecans

1 tsp. vinegar

3 egg whites

pinch salt

1 cup sugar

zipper baggie

wooden spoon and tape

Holy Bible

Preheat over to 300 degrees.This is important - don't wait until you're half done with the recipe.

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.

Explain that after Jesus was arrested the Roman soldiers beat him. Read John 19:1-3.

Let children smell the vinegar. Put vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest in to the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our sin. Read Luke 23:27

So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity of God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the over OFF.

Give child(ren) a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight.

Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone cookies.

Notice the cracked surface and take a bite.

The cookies are hollow!

On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9

Texas Bluebonnets

2011-04-16T08:46:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we went to a park near our house to take some bluebonnet pictures. I have always loved the idea of it, but never tried taking them anywhere. They did a great job considering that the wind almost blew us away and it was chilly on top of that. Knowing that you can kind of tell they were cold in the pictures. Now bribing them by taking them to the mall for chic fil a afterwards I think helped!

Wind AHHHH!

Bunny Nails

2011-04-14T17:27:00.004-05:00

Today our afternoon entertainment was bunny nails! This is a suggestion my mom made and the girls LOVED it! For the detailed part of it I did not know if they would sit still long enough, but they did!

Bunny Nails!
Kate's hands
Caroline's bunnies!
Mason also completed his LAST speech class this week. Wed. was his last day, he no longer qualifies to be a part of the program.Yea!

Busy Weekend

2011-04-12T12:06:00.003-05:00

This past weekend was fun and busy. Started off Saturday morning with and egg hunt and games with our ABF (Sunday School) then a crawfish boil that afternoon/evening. Sunday we went to church and our ABF went to an assisting living home in McKinney to visit and played bingo. I was so happy that all 3 got into giving prizes to bingo winners and were totally into passing out pudding, applesauce and other treats to residents that were not able to leave their rooms. Kate was not even wanting to go home so she could keep handing out the prizes to bingo winners!

Egg Hunt

It was a windy morning!

Kids and their pizza while we ate crawfish. :)
The couple at the end of the table were having their first try at peeling crawfish!
Kids at the Nursing Home.

Spring Sing

2011-04-05T09:40:00.002-05:00

Last Thursday the kids had their Spring Sing and Open House at school. The twins, their class and MANY other classes sang in the sanctuary and then we went to their classrooms to see what they have been working on all year. They did a great job singing considering the huge audience they had. It was funny though, half the time Kate had her head turned watching the screens over them!

Caroline, Daddy and Mason in Mason & Kate's class.
Kate with her book of projects.
Caroline showing off her artwork.
This is not quite half of the kids on stage!

"C" is for Caroline

2011-03-29T10:12:00.002-05:00

"C" is for Caroline. That is what Caroline would tell you, she also remembers that "K" is for Kate and "M" is for Mason. Most of the other letters are a blur to her at this point. She loves her new "C" bunny shirt though! And the smoothie she is holding too! Not much new here, Kate went on her first trip to market on Saturday with us and had fun. The thing she remembers the most is the popcorn she got at a showroom. It is all about the food right?! Brent's stomach was bothering him for a few days as well, and I got a cute shot of him with Caroline taking a nap. Rare but cute pic!

Daddy and Baby. I think Caroline covered him up too! She loves being the mommy.

All 3 Take a Trip to the Dentist

2011-03-22T17:11:00.005-05:00

Mason, Kate and Caroline all 3 had their teeth cleaned yesterday and did great! We have only been to this pediatric dentist once before when Mason knocked his tooth out and he loved her! This was Caroline's first trip to the dentist. She was not sure at first, but she was a big girl and sat in the chair all by herself!

Caroline before the cleaning.
All 3 lined up ready to go!
Open wide!
All clean and shiny! You can tell she was still a little bit nervous.

Spring Break in Louisiana

2011-03-19T09:41:00.002-05:00

We have had a fast fun week in Louisiana with all of the grandparents. Here are a few pictures from the park with Della. They had a great time playing with cousins, building an Easter egg candy house, painting, swinging and riding the 4 wheeler of course. I have more pics coming soon.

Our Experienced Shopper

2011-03-09T15:40:00.002-06:00

Caroline made another trip to market with us this week. She will be our experienced shopper by the time she is 5 years old! Not much going on this week, just trying to get everything organized since we are off for Spring Break next week!! Yea!

Mawmaw and Caroline

Homemade Meatballs

2011-02-26T18:20:00.003-06:00

This evening the original plan was to make homemade meatballs and the kids were going to help. The recipe makes A LOT, 3 cookie sheets worth of meatballs, which is great for me to freeze them to use another night. Normally I mix it all up and the kids help roll them into balls. Win win, I have help, and they are entertained! The weather was so nice, they ended up playing outside and I didn't want to interrupt so I made them by myself this round. Also a change of plans, I left the room and came back and they started eating them off the cookie sheet. (You can see by the pic there is one already missing.) This is not including the other half eaten sheet. I hope I have enough left to freeze this time! Gotta go eat spaghetti now, before it is all gone!

Meatball / Meatloaf Mix

4 lbs. ground beef
3 cups bread crumbs
6 eggs, beaten
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons dried parsley
1 Tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. These are not very salty, since you will serve them with sauce or gravy. Bake in 350 oven for 15 minutes or until cooked through. (Took about 20 min. for mine to cook.)

Playing Outside!

2011-02-22T11:46:00.003-06:00

I know everyone is thrilled to be able to get out of the house for a little bit, we are for sure! This past week has consisted of playing on playgrounds at school and at home, riding bikes and even dragging out all of the toys to the backyard. Really, we had 2 buckets full of my little ponies, big horses, race cars and barbies EVERYWHERE! They thought it was fun to load them up in the back of the truck and then dump them in different spots in the yard! I have to admit that it was not fun going around with a flash light looking for all of it later on that evening. The kids enjoyed it though. Nothing like a scavenger hunt looking for toys with a flashlight!

Mason and Caroline probably spent an hour in the back of his truck enjoying their Valentine suckers. Too cute and REALLY STICKY! (Which is why they had to eat them in the yard!)

Caroline riding around after church.

Mason riding around.

Mason and Caroline painting. Mason and Kate had donuts with dad at school last week and they brought picture frames home with them. We thought we would personalize them a little bit more. And Caroline is painting a cross since her class did not do frames. I am not sure how Kate missed out on all of the pictures? Maybe next time!

Our Valentine's Dinner

2011-02-14T21:28:00.003-06:00

When you have been married for 10 years and have 3 children going out on Valentine's is not a priority. At least not for us. But I did want the kids to know that today is a fun day for them and for us too! So I took this recipe I found on Kelly's Korner www.kellyskornerblog.com last year for an Enchilada Ring and turned it into a heart! I could not find the recipe today, so I have my version of it below. Anyway, and we ate our supper in the dining room and used our china. The kids loved it and I actually think they behaved much better in that room?! Maybe we should do that more often! Afterwards the kids got ice cream for dessert, which is a huge treat to get ice cream after dinner around our house. Check out their excitement!

Before going in the oven. I took a picture just in case I burnt it!

Chicken Enchilada Ring

2 cups cooked chicken

1/4 cup chopped black olives

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 small can chopped chilies, undrained

1/2 cup sour cream (I used cream cheese 3/4 of the 8oz pkg.)

1 package taco seasoning

2 rolls of crescent rolls

1 small chopped tomato (I used 1/2 a can of petite diced tomatoes.)

1. Chop chicken and add olives, cheese, chilies, sour cream and taco mix. Seed and chop 1 tomato; add to chicken mixture.

2. Unroll crescent dough and separate triangles. Arrange on round baking stone or cookie sheet making a circle (or heart) with wide ends OVERLAPPING in the center and points toward outside. (Spray cookie sheet if needed.) There should be a 5 in. diameter opening in the center.

3. Spread chicken mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangle.

4. Bring points of triangles up and over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at the center of the ring.

Sprinkle with cheese.

5. Bake @ 375 for 20-26 minutes. Garnish with tomato and serve with salsa and sour cream.

Crazy family shot

Excited about the ice cream coming her way. (I think she must have had a sample of it b/c that is a choc. chip on her lip!)

Ready for ice cream!!

Yummy!

Babies Taking A Nap

2011-02-10T17:10:00.000-06:00

Can you guess which one is the real baby? The other day I turned around and this is what I found in the floor. I think she and Mason had been playing, but this is who I found! They love to drag the changing table pad downstairs to change the babies diapers and they have to use real wipes too. Would not be like the real thing without the wipes right? She said they were taking a nap.

Baby Caroline.

Our Super Bowl Half Time Show

2011-02-09T18:18:00.000-06:00

The Corley's came over to our house for the Super Bowl and boiled some yummy shrimp, but the funniest part was the kids during half time. These are not the best pictures, but they were too cute. As soon as it started up all of the kids ran over to the tv to dance dance dance!

Pizza time!

The girls showing their moves.

Dancing Girls!

Daddy Daughter Dance

2011-02-07T11:05:00.001-06:00

Daddy and Kate went to the Daddy Daughter Dance in Allen on Saturday night. Such a sweet Daddy to take her and brave the icy driveway! Not the streets so much, just our driveway! (It is on a hill and does not get much sunlight.) I was told that they had a great time. I don't think there was much dancing, at least for Kate. She said that she can't dance that well just yet. Ha! Check out the pics below and you can be the judge. :)
Caroline, Kate and Mason before she leaves for the "ball". Can you tell she felt special?

Daddy with the kids.

Daddy and Kate.

Dressed up girl.

Think we can dance?? We KNOW she can twirl!

Valentine Entertainment Ideas (For Kids)

2011-02-05T13:30:00.001-06:00

Since we have has so much snow and ice this past week we had to come up with some entertainment inside and out. We try to not let the kids watch any tv if at all possible. It has helped Mason tremendously with his speech and just overall attitude. Sooo, with removing shows from the options for indoor fun this is just a taste of what we have done!

Anyone remember making "stained glass" at church? Melt crayons between 2 pieces of wax paper with an iron. We made a valentine heart mobile.

Directions:
You have to take the paper off the crayons first, then I just broke up the crayons, the smaller the better.
Layer in order: a towel on the ironing board, wax paper, crayons, wax paper and then another towel on top. Then apply the iron until the crayons melt.
This does take several minutes, but the kids helped peel crayon paper and loved watching the colors melt together.
After it cools, cut it into hearts.
Use a hole punch and string ribbon or yarn through it.
Voila! Your new Valentine decoration!
Would be really neat with frilly fringe instead of a ribbon. I was in shock that we even had red ribbon. I wonder what project that was left over from?!

Our creation.

After playing in the snow hot chocolate is a must. I happened to have heart marshmallows! Perfect!

Play time!

Snow Angels!

Outside fun!

Addressing Valentines for school friends.

Caroline working on her Valentine cards.

Kate's "Personalized" Art

2011-02-04T10:23:00.000-06:00

Kate decided that the art work in her room was not personalized enough to meet her standards. She called downstairs to me last week, "Mom, the ballerina painting is mine right?". Which I said "Yes", it has only been in her room for a year! She then told me that she needed her name on it and I told her that was not a good idea. When I went up to make sure everything was ok the damage was already done. The good news is that she used watercolor pens, so I was able to clean it, and that she does know how to write her name just fine!
If you notice to border you will see the purple lines she added and an outline on the shoes.

"Kate"

Painting Again!

2011-02-03T10:18:00.000-06:00

For some reason I apparently like to paint when we have snow or ice. I painted Kate's half of the bath yellow when it snowed earlier in the month and stenciled during the ice! I think it is b/c we are actually at home not running out the door. And yes, I know I said I would NEVER stencil again. Never say never right?! You can't see it very well from the pictures, but I thought I would post it anyway. It is a yellow background and pink stencil. Kate now wants me to tackle painting her room pink! Maybe another snow day....
Yellow jack and jill bath.

Pink stencil, can't see it very well due to photo. Also, after I painted the first wall, the background looked light green. Funny how colors change!

Proud Kate showing off her new bath.

Family of Rock Stars

2011-01-30T17:11:00.001-06:00

We finally joined the rest of the world and got a guitar for our X Box. The kids love it which I find funny since they can't use it. Of course I am right there with them b/c I can't figure it out either!! Maybe this will help me with my coordination! HA! Here are a few pics of the Rock Stars in our house!
Daddy and Kate

Caroline playing away!

Mason Man trying it out!

Daddy playing with the kids!

Caroline's Day at The Dallas Market

2011-01-24T20:28:00.000-06:00

Caroline got to join us at market today. The other two have preschool on Monday, so on Monday's Caroline has a day to herself! She was so good, for the most part. In her mind she probably sees market as candy land since most showrooms have candy everywhere. It was so funny to see what she had to say. It was mostly "I am tired of this aisle." or "Can we go ride the escalator again?". Not really the ideal place to take a child, but she handled it quite well for just one day of hard core shopping/selecting.
Cheese!

She just received a little something at this one showroom. She was THRILLED!

C is talking to a rep at the window in this camper. Isn't it neat?! They said this guy built it just for this showroom and had it shipped there. I would love to have seen them putting this thing in place. They did ask if she wanted to get in, she didn't hop in without permission. :)

Perfect size for Caroline!

Mawmaw and Caroline playing with silly Santa headbands. And no, we are not off season. At market you tend to buy a lot of Christmas items in January for THIS Christmas 2011! No wonder I want to listen to Christmas music all year long!

To Market To Market

2011-01-21T18:04:00.000-06:00

My mom is in town right now for the week. We are going to the Dallas Market Center daily for their Spring Market. Hopefully I can post more pics later this weekend or next week. Whew! I don't know how full time working moms do it! I am worn out when I get home! My moms gift store is in Choudrant, LA - Lusiana Traditions. Check out her blog if you have not done so! http://www.lusianatraditions.blogspot.com/ She has a little bit of everything, fun seasonal items, platters, napkins, lots of personalized jewelry, baby section and smocked clothes. Just to name a few things off the top of my head!

Easy Lemon Cake

2011-01-18T08:06:00.000-06:00

My mom made this cake at Christmas and I made my first one last weekend. It is so easy and you keep coming back for more!

1 box of DH Lemon cake mix

1 small box of lemon pudding

3/4 cup of oil

4 eggs

1 can of sprite

Mix together in a bowl, put in a bundt pan. Bake for 45 min. on 35o.

Let cool for 25 min. in pan.

"Icing"

Lemon juice in the bottle

Powder Sugar

Sift powdered sugar into Lemon Juice, you want it to be a little Lemony. Mix together.

Of course my mom said to do that to taste, so I don't have measurements on that part. Drizzle it over the cake.

This cake was so good, my mom made it before Christmas and we were still eating it a week later!

Feels like we just moved again!

2011-01-16T17:57:00.000-06:00

Friday some friends from Jones, Louisiana came to visit and were nice enough to bring a long Uhaul trailer full of furniture for us! Brent's parents are wanting to sell their home in Jones, LA (if anyone wants a NICE home in the country let me know) and were willing to share some of their furniture with us. I think every room in our house got a new piece! Brent also now has a closet full of camo. Not really sure what he is going to do with that out here. Good thing we have rods up high in the closet. Ok, and I got a doll house that Brent would rather trash, but I insist on keeping it. It WILL look good if I can ever finish it. Gotta add that project to the to do list. After unloading we got to have a fun time visiting all weekend and playing with kids of course.

Dion wanting to get everything OUT!

Caroline and Dion in her "house".

Playing before bed with Dion and Cindy.

Static?!

Kate ready for church.

Caroline's silly face!

Ebates

2011-01-15T20:34:00.001-06:00

If you have not heard of Ebates you should try it. It is a search engine that when you go there BEFORE you go to the website to purchase an item you will get cash back quarterly. We have been doing this for over a year and it is great to get the surprise check in the mail. You can join through this link.

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=xvHGLb6%2Bq5Gv27Ccb%2FlM%2BA%3D%3D

My example would be for Best Buy. 1st go to www.ebates.com, then search for Best Buy under ebates. It takes you directly to their website so you purchase as needed from there! We just made a purchase last week and bought it through ebates, but still picked it up in the store and got an extra 1% off. No a lot, but it does add up!! Happy Ebates Shopping!

Yummy Chicken Enchiladas

2011-01-12T18:01:00.000-06:00

I just finished making these Enchiladas for this weekend. We have company coming in town, so I thought I would get a head start. This is what they look like before going in the oven. I LOVE THIS RECIPE!! I got it from another blog...

Recipe found here:
http://www.owlhaven.net/2008/04/24/chicken-enchiladas-double-batch/

1/2 Bath Partial Makeover

2011-01-11T16:41:00.001-06:00

Last week I finally decided to tackle stenciling our 1/2 bath. I do love it, but I will NEVER do it again! It took a little over 8 hours to complete the job! I wish I had taken a before pic, but did not even think about it. Here is a little taste of what it looks like now!

Quick pic of Kate and Caroline after school today. We just got back from the library, so I am about to start reading! (Mason is napping, so he missed out on picture taking.)

Christmas 2010

2011-01-09T15:46:00.001-06:00

We went to Louisiana this year for Christmas again. Before we left we HAD to see Santa first, so we got to stop by Daddy's office to talk to him on our way out of town. Caroline would not even get close to him, but Mason and Kate hopped right on his lap and told him exactly what they wanted this year. The day after we had our big Gregory Christmas with all of the Aunt's, Uncle's and Cousins. We love getting to do that, since we don't see everyone very much. After that it was a week long preparation for Christmas day! So much fun, can't wait to do it again next year!

Mason, Cousin Beau, Kate and Cousin Lydia singing Christmas Carols. Can you guess how loud they were by looking at their mouths?!?

Della and Pappy with all of the grandchildren. I think the girls have the posing thing down.

Family shot.

Kate with her new doll Christmas morning.

The girls working on the long hair!Kate and Mason cruising around in his new truck.

Melanie, MawMaw and Aunt Amy Christmas Eve. (Melanie is modeling her new scarf.)

Mason taking a break from riding his truck to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.

The car packed up for the ride home! Everyone was great on the ride, but it still took awhile to get home. Caroline spilt her milk all in her seat, so one stop in Arcadia to take off wet pants and clean up the mess. Then another stop to make sure the Barbie house was still attached to the roof of the car. The last stop was made right outside of Dallas when we ran out of gas! In Brent's defense the steering wheel blocked his view of the gas light, so he had NO IDEA we were out! 30 minutes later we were back on the road and HOME! We might have to consider staying home for Christmas this year!

Missing Tooth

2011-01-09T15:31:00.000-06:00

If you have not noticed in previous posts, Mason lost his first tooth on Tuesday this past week. They were playing on the indoor playground after school and he must have fallen into the slide. We had a few tears, but then wanted to hear more about this tooth fairy. We went to the dentist to make sure everything was ok and the other teeth were not loose as well, everything was good. Whew! That night the tooth fairy left him $2.oo. He says he is going to spend it all on ice cream!!

Can I go out in the snow?

2011-01-09T15:27:00.001-06:00

It snowed at our house today yea! "Can I go out in the snow?" is the question of the day. The kids are loving it, then come inside to thaw, then back out in it again!

Trains at Northpark

2010-12-17T21:05:00.001-06:00

We went to Northpark Mall today to check out the new model trains this year. The kids loved it, so if you are in the Dallas area I think it is worth going to check it out. This mall has TONS of Christmas activities. Santa has story time, puppet shows and different bands were there playing Christmas music.

Not our best family photo, but its what we got. :)

Part of the train exhibit.

They have the Santa and his reindeer up every year. I thought I should have a photo to remember it this time! The reindeer are made of pecans, and it looks like Santa's beard is made of marshmallows. I am sure it is all in their brochures, I just did not get around to reading up on it.

Mason & Kate checking out the ducks.

School Christmas Party

2010-12-16T21:59:00.000-06:00

Mason, Kate and Caroline celebrated Jesus' Birthday today at school. The parents got to attend their chapel time and then went to their room to make crafts and eat cookies of course! They were so excited and had a great time.

Tonight I got to go to our ABF (Sunday School) ornament exchange for the gals in class. Ahh, so nice to have the chance to talk! And I did "steal" some really cute handmade felt ornaments a girl in our class made. Maybe I can find the time to follow in her footsteps and make more for my tree.

Kate and Mason with their teachers.

Caroline with Daddy.

Gingerbread Village

2010-12-09T21:05:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we continued our second year of making gingerbread houses. Last year we just did one, this year an entire village! They LOVED every minute of it. For me it was a little messy, but worth the excitement for them. This morning somehow they had managed to take all of them upstairs to their room, without making a mess!?! This afternoon I also found a princess in one of the houses, so they have really been playing with them! (Not just for looks or food at our house.)

Tonight we went through the Christmas Journey which is a drive through live nativity at the First Baptist Church of McKinney. It was really neat. A long line, but I think it was worth it. I hope it will help the kids have a better picture in their head when they hear different stories about Jesus this coming year. Kate seems to remember EVERYTHING, so I am sure I will hear about different parts quite a bit. I did have to explain when we got home that we did not go to the real Bethlehem, we were in McKinney and that they were pretending. I think Kate thought she was seeing the real thing! :)

Mason and his house.

Kate and her house.

Caroline and her house

Our Village

Making Marshmallows

2010-12-05T16:57:00.001-06:00

Our first experience making homemade marshmallows, yummy! First we tried to make peppermint ones, the kids actually like them, but I think they are a little too minty. So, second time we have tried original vanilla flavor. We could not have just plain white around Christmas, so we added red and green! The kids LOVED eating the left overs on the spatula and in the bowl and mixer. The main part where they could help was dipping them in powdered sugar. I think Caroline might be eating these for supper!

Can you tell we like it?

Kate and Mason helping dip all of the marshmallows.

Christmas Cookie Makers

2010-11-30T18:00:00.001-06:00

We have started our cookie baking early around our house. The fun part besides eating the cookies is watching the kids get so excited about picking out which cookie cutters they want to use. I got to hear a lot of "Wow!" and "I want to use this one, no this one!". Perfect entertainment for a cold afternoon.
Mason & Kate each got their own packet & bowl this year. No one arguing over who got to stir.

Can you tell he was happy?

Caroline was taking a nap during the baking, but she did not miss out when they were done!

Thanksgiving Time & Getting Ready for Christmas

2010-11-22T10:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving! This year even bribing with treats I could not get a good shot with all 3 looking at me! This year we are staying here for Thanksgiving, which I love not having to travel for one holiday. The dressing, sweet potato casserole and a squash casserole are already made and waiting, plus the turkey of course. Just a few minor items to add and Thanksgiving will be ready to go! This past weekend we went to a tree lighting in Allen with some friends and got to see Santa go by in a carriage. Plus we got the tree put up with ornaments on Sunday. We will do the rest after Thanksgiving. Hope everyone has a wonderful time with family and friends this week!

Excited to decorate the tree!

Kate was helping with the tree skirt.

Brent and Mason waiting to see Santa go by.

They had samples of cookies and true melted dark chocolate, not just hot chocolate. Check out Mason's mustache!

San Antonio Vacation

2010-07-14T16:07:00.001-05:00

Last week we took our first family vacation. We left Monday and came home Friday, which was the perfect amount of time to be away from home on a real vacation. :) We went through a drive thru safari on the way down there which the kids loved. Then Tuesday we did Sea World all day. All of the shows and fun stuff for the kids, Wed. was Sea World again, but the water park side of it. Thursday we were going to go to the zoo, but it rained, so we did the Children's Museum and then another museum that had a dinosaur exhibit going on and after that we got to drive by the zoo and still got to ride a train.

This is how close the animals got to the car!

Mason feeding a goat. I was surprised that he was not scared of them. We tried the same thing earlier this year, with fenced in animals and he would not do it.

Pappy, Della and Kate.

Entrance to Sea World. After waiting in line for tickets we were ALL HOT!

My one vacation pic! It was so bright outside it was hard to do anything without the sunglasses on. Luckily I just took them off for the picture.

Caroline "fishing" while M & K went on the kids roller coaster.

She won a pet gator. :)

Pappy, Kate, Daddy and Mason on the coaster. Kate wanted to go again! I think she is the adventurous one!

4 D movie. It was neat, but the kids freaked out in parts of it. I would not recommend for children this age. Of course they don't tell you that until you are in there! :)

Getting ready for the Azul show to start.

Caroline and Kate at the Children's Museum.

They had fun on the plane in the museum. They were all concerned with buckling up!

They also had a fake HEB grocery store and the kids got to shop and check out. All of the kids were going crazy in there!

Train ride outside of the zoo. This was really fun and not an expensive to do!

Birthday Cake for Mommy

2010-06-30T19:45:00.000-05:00

My birthday was last week and the only thing I REALLY wanted was a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. YUM! So Daddy took the kids and picked one out for me. I actually went along for the ride as well, because lets face it, who can turn down a trip to Baskin Robbins? The kids were more excited about the cake than I was and they sang "happy birthday" to me all day, which was a wonderful present in itself. :)

It is a Strawberry Shortcake themed cake. Chocolate chip ice cream with white cake.

Ballet Class

2010-06-30T19:37:00.000-05:00

Kate went to her second ballet class today and loved it. The girls all love these ribbon wands. They are all so cute in their ballerina outfits. She is already signed up for ballet/tap for the Fall.

Mason patiently waiting to LEAVE!!

They do at least have a lego table set up for all of the siblings waiting.

Little Ballerina

2010-06-20T18:24:00.001-05:00

Kate is so excited to start ballet class on Wednesday. We went out today and got the leotard, tights and shoes. Now, if we can just keep it clean until Wednesday that will be amazing! She wants to wear it all day. :) We have had a busy weekend. Two birthday parties yesterday, Father's Day today and my birthday is tomorrow! Good thing we like sweets in this house! I tried to convince Brent that we needed a cookie cake for Father's Day for him, but he said he would be ok without it. I was really thinking it was another excuse to get more cake right?!

Ballerina Kate

Caroline taking a "nap" with her dolls.

Trip to Louisiana

2010-06-12T10:13:00.000-05:00

We had a great week in Louisiana. Got to see all of the grandparents, cousins, aunts and friends. We were there for the week for swimming lessons, which the twins loved. Mason and Kate are ready to go back for more! Going back to the same pool where I had lessons growing up was neat. Ok, well it really made me feel old. :) MawMaw and PawPaw bought a swing set for their house and the kids loved it. Their feet actually touch the ground on this one, so they could push off some. We got to go to church on Sunday with Della and Pappy, then lunch with MawMaw and PawPaw and the great grandfathers Pop and Daddy Money! We also got to try out the slip and slide for the first time and ride 4 wheelers of course. We had a day trip to Monroe to visit our other cousins, trying out a trampoline for the first time. And Kate had her first sleep over with her cousin Lydia at Della's house. We also had lots of playground time and extra pool time to practice as well.
MawMaw and Mason.

PawPaw, Kate and Caroline. Can you tell they were having fun?

Caroline and Kate posing for the camera after church.

An attempt to get me with the kids. This is one of the better shots!

Slip and slide time!

Playing at the playground with cousin Lydia.

Caroline sleeping on Della at the pool while the others got to take a dip in the pool.

Icee Time! Nothing like an Icee at the pool!

Last day of swimming lessons for Kate!

Last day for Mason!

Mason & Kate with their teachers.

John, Kate, Mason, PawPaw and Caroline posing on the 4-wheelers!

Last Day of School!

2010-05-27T21:18:00.000-05:00

Since we always take pictures of the first day of "school" I thought I needed to take one of the LAST day! School is actually Mothers Day Out right now, but it is school to them! Next year Mason & Kate officially start preschool and Caroline will start a Mothers Day Out program. They were able to go to school in their swimsuits today. Kate was so excited she woke me up already dressed ready to go!

We also had our meeting today with Mason's school for speech and apparently his hard work and lack of TV have paid off! They are dismissing him from one of the two classes he was in and they think that he might not even need to be in that class much longer! Wow! I did not expect that type of result at all! Hopefully we can work hard this Summer and be done with it, even though he loves going!

Not the best pictures, but these are the reactions I got today.

Ready for Summer

2010-05-17T13:48:00.001-05:00

We are ready for Summer to get started around our house! This past week and weekend we have all had some sort of illness. The girls and myself have all had pinkeye, Caroline had an ear infection on top of that and I have also had some type of infection as well. Then Mason woke up sick after his nap this weekend and Caroline has a nice knot on her head from playing ring around the rosie with her sister in the garage. New rule is that we only play that game on the carpet. :)
Kate and Mason are ready to start their Summer schedules. We have swimming lessons, gymnastics, ballet and still deciding whether or not to do soccer camp. Plus a trip planned for Louisiana soon, which they cannot wait to go see grandparents, cousins and even the dogs!

Here are a few pictures from this past week BEFORE everyone got sick.

Kate and Caroline. (Kate HAS to pull up her socks for some reason??)

Go Higher

2010-05-12T22:21:00.000-05:00

I hear the words "Go higher!" EVERY TIME I push someone on a swing. Since the weather has been so warm, not necessarily nice, we have been outside a lot! It does help to get out of the house and go swing or let them ride their scooters and other toys in the driveway. This has been a huge help to me for Mason. If you don't know, he has been in speech classes this year to help him with language and articulation. As of a month and a half ago I have completely cut TV out of his "play" time. It is like he is a different child! He follows instructions better, answers questions, helps out with his sisters more often. It is amazing! I just wish I had done this sooner. It is hard to not just turn it on for one quick show, but I am treating it like an addiction, for him and me! If I turn it on just once I know he will ask for it all the time. His teachers at school say they have seen a difference as well. We have a few more messes to clean up throughout the day, since I don't have an instant babysitter when needed, but I think it is worth it.
Mason swinging, and most likely telling me to push him higher!

Caroline is new to this swing. Sometimes she wants to do just what the big kids are doing.

Kate is the wild one that wants to stand on the swing and be pushed or tries to do this while it is going. I don't recommend this, nor do I allow it, but she still tries. :)

Mason & Kate with their new folding chairs. I had no idea they were going to be such a hit, but they love them! I had to go back and get one for Caroline too!

I think this is just a good picture of Mason. Not sure if it is the black Saints shirt or the orange camo hat that make him look so good! Haha!

Kentucky Derby Day Party

2010-05-03T11:54:00.000-05:00

I think we will make this an annual party at our house! We have not done this much cooking in awhile. Everything was out of Southern Living magazine or the new Southern Living Homestyle Cooking Cookbook. Ham and biscuit's with chives and butter, 7 layer buttermilk cornbread salad, shrimp and grits and peach pecan cobbler. YUM! The only thing we might add to the list for next year would be hats! Just a good excuse to go buy a new hat right?!

Salad and Peach Cobbler. (Shrimp and Grits were on the stove.)

Mommy and Kate

Me with the girls. It is rare these days that I get my picture taken with any of them. I am always the photographer!

Mason Man

Caroline looked so cute in her white dress I had to take pictures of her after church. She was the only one willing to let me take photos!

Another day this past week. My mom made the pants and her monogram lady made the shirts for the girls. This is another outfit I love, so I had to take pictures of this one too!

Caroline in the grass. She is so good about sitting down and smiling for the camera!

Multiples Egg Hunt

2010-03-29T13:32:00.001-05:00

We had our annual Plano Area Mothers of Multiples Easter Egg Hunt this past Saturday. My friend Amy and I were co-chairs for the event. Whew, it was fun, but we are glad it is OVER! It was held at Cottonwood Baptist church and it was great that the egg hunt was outside, but everything else was inside. It was SO windy that day! We had bounce houses, face painting, balloon artist, the Easter Bunny of course, crafts and food. Here are a few pictures.

Caroline and Kate with their balloons. Kate was most likely instructing Caroline on what she needed to be doing.

Kate requested this mermaid. I was quite impressed with what this lady could make!

Gotta have a drink while you hunt eggs right?

Dropping the last few eggs in the basket.

Mason the tiger.

Kate and Mason hunting for eggs.

Score! Chocolate!

Hum, what could be in this egg??

Two Weeks of Floors!

2010-03-24T09:55:00.000-05:00

Whew! We are almost finished. We have been working on new floors in our Kitchen, Laundry, Pantry and then wood floors in our Office, Foyer, Dining and Half Bath! It looks great, but what a mess to get here! Everything should be complete by Thursday, which I hope because the kids come home from Louisiana then! Our parents love our kids enough to keep them while we have been working on this project. I don't know what we would have done without their help. It would have been interesting if we had to keep 3 children ages 3 and under in a house with dust, fumes, wet paint, sealer and lack of ALL appliances. Thank you grandparents! Can you guess what I will be doing today and tomorrow until they get back?? CLEANING!! I know it will be worth it when the job is done. We will be enjoying our new floors for years! If you live in the area and need names of good workers let me know.
Tile Demo

Tile Clean Up

Polyurethane wood floors.

Finished Floors, waiting on base today!

Almost finished kitchen floors.

Day Out with Thomas the Train

2010-03-09T12:32:00.001-06:00

Sunday afternoon we went to Grapevine, TX and got to ride on Thomas the Train! It was pouring down rain, but the kids had a great time. They had a tent set up with a model train, another set up with multiple train tables, one with Sir Topham Hatt, story telling area and a gift store of course. They were all so good on the train ride, Mason did ask me where Harold the helicopter was. Hummm, maybe they can bring him along next year! HA!

Kate with Thomas. Mason was not crazy about standing around in the rain to have his picture taken.

All of us on the train ride. They said the car was 80 years old!

Mason in his Thomas hat. He now has to wear it every day to school.

Happy Kate and Caroline.

Events of the Week

2010-01-25T15:28:00.000-06:00

Nothing out of the ordinary really going on, but I have not posted in awhile, so I thought it was time to catch up! Last week Kate was the VIP at "school" so she got to take Mr. Froggie home. So for the week Mr. Froggie got to follow us around, including making cookies! We went to a great event for Carson Richardson at our church. Check out more information on this website:
www.generationsforcarson.com It was a HUGE birthday party/ fundraiser for him. The kids loved the party! I have also been busy at market with my mom the past few weeks, so the last few pictures are of the girls wearing pearls. It is the "in" thing for Spring!

Kate with Mr. Froggie

Licking the spoons are the best part!

Kate with pink hair and Mason with his Thomas the train face. This was done at the Fundraiser for Carson. Kate's hair has never been pulled back this straight before!

Pink Hair and glitter!

Girls in their pearls!

Our 1st Gingerbread House

2009-12-17T22:46:00.001-06:00

Today Mason and Kate had their 1st try at making a gingerbread house. Caroline was interested, but she is just not quite tall enough. Instead, she got a sucker, which she was thrilled with her treat. I have made gingerbread houses in the past, but they involved graham crackers and glue guns and much more labor. This was a kit and worked really well! The kids loved it and actually followed instructions. I think it will be eaten up by tomorrow though. Every time I turn around they are picking candy off of it, but I guess that is part of the fun!

Working hard adding candy to the house.

Santa's Village

2009-12-16T13:14:00.000-06:00

Sunday we went to Santa's Village in Richardson. The kids loved it, but it was quite BUSY! We got to go in many of the houses, play musical instruments, ride on reindeer saddles, see the Sugarplum Fairy and even see Mrs. Claus.
Mason getting his magical dust.

Mason and Sparky the fire dog. He loved him and did not want to leave.

Mason, Kate and Caroline checking out the reindeer saddles. We also received reindeer food for Christmas Eve. The reindeer need a treat too!

Caroline & Kate in front of the reindeer shed. (Caroline was not sure about all of this!)

Kate is also scared of Mrs. Claus, but she did not mind taking a cookie from her!

Can I eat this gingerbread house??

Waiting in line to see the fairy.

It was a long weekend..............

Lights at Fire Safety Town

2009-12-12T21:20:00.001-06:00

This evening we went to see the lights at Fire Safety Town in Frisco. We got a glance at Santa, since we have already seen him this year we did not want to take up more of his time since he does have to see so many children! We also got to write letters to Santa and mail them Fed Ex, along with making ornaments, getting gingerbread man tattoos, balloons and play in a "real" fire truck!

Kate & Mason in front of Babe's Chicken in Fire Safety Town.

Kate writing her letter.

We were told that sending the letters by FedEx that they go STRAIGHT to the North Pole.

Mason loved playing in the fire truck so we have quite of few shots of him.

Snowglobe

2009-12-11T13:55:00.000-06:00

We went to Willow Bend Mall today to check out the Snowglobe with "real" snow in it. The kids enjoyed it, but I think we took a little bit too much of it home with us in our clothes! The theme was Polar Express.
Kate playing in the snow.

Caroline was not really crazy about it.

Mason in the snow.

Christmas Events

2009-12-07T14:14:00.000-06:00

We have had a busy December up to this point, we went to North Park Mall in Dallas yesterday to see the trains. The kids loved it! We made and painted homemade ornaments, which was another good craft that kept them busy for hours. Last Saturday we went to the Plano Area Mothers of Multiples Christmas party. My friend Amy and I were in charge of the entire event. I never realized how much work went into a party of that size! I think last year the total was around 300 for the event. I can't wait to see our numbers for this year. Mason, Kate and Caroline did get to see Santa. Mason ran up to him and let Santa hold him, so he got to tell him exactly what he wanted for Christmas. Kate was not so sure about him. I held her and she turned her head the opposite direction to tell Santa what she wanted. Maybe he got to hear a few of her requests. Caroline just stared at him. She did not cry, just a dead stare. The photographer hopefully got a few good shots! Check out the pictures below to see what our month has looked like - so far!

Mason checking out the Thomas train.

Caroline at the train exhibit.

I thought you might like to get a peek of what we got to see! Trains were everywhere!

Caroline and Kate were still for just a minute so we could take a picture together.

Mason, Pearson and Kate in the Mall. They had a great time together and were all on their best behavior.

Caroline painting her ornaments.

All of our ornaments we painted. Caroline painted the cross and the red tree on the bottom left corner all by herself. I thought that was pretty good for a 1 year old with a paint brush!

Kate painting her ornaments.

Before church on Sunday. They were doing their happy scream!

Caroline coloring at the PAMOM party.

Kate the reindeer at the PAMOM party. We had a balloon artist and someone painting faces/hands.

Caroline the reindeer.

Mason with Santa.

It's a snowy day! They did not stay out in it very long. Maybe 10 minutes and they were ready to come inside.

Caroline loves suckers! They get a "treat" when we go somewhere and everyone stays together as we should. :)

Daddy, Mason and Kate working on our new battery powered Christmas train.

Della with Caroline and Kate.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-24T14:27:00.000-06:00

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! Caroline, Kate and Mason sitting together, this is rare!

Happy Fall!

2009-10-04T20:29:00.001-05:00

Caroline was just too cute not to take her picture after church today. I would have taken pictures of the other two, but they would not sit still long enough for me! The cool weather was WONDERFUL today! Happy Fall!

Plano Balloon Festival

2009-09-21T16:14:00.000-05:00

We went to the Plano Balloon Festival this weekend. The kids LOVED it! It is always fun to see all of the different types of balloons they have there, and the corn dogs were quite yummy too!
Kate and Daddy, and a few people in the background.

Daddy, Mason & Kate watching the balloons go up! It was hard to get any of them to look at the camera. I am not as interesting to watch as the balloons.

Caroline, Kate & Mason

Kate getting a better view on Daddy's shoulders.

Corndogs are GOOD!

Caroline in front of the giant Jack-in-the-Box.

First Day of "School"

2009-09-03T11:47:00.001-05:00

We have had a lot of Firsts around here lately. Tuesday we had our first day of "school". It is at least school to us right now! Mason & Kate LOVE to go to school. I hope they keep this attitude! Caroline is also crawling up the stairs now. She is STILL not ready to walk, but that does not stop her from going up!

Up Up Up! I think it is time to put gates back on the stairs. :) She thinks it is quite entertaining.

(Please excuse our clutter, this set of stairs is next to our Laundry Room.)

Ready for the Rain!

2009-08-23T19:42:00.001-05:00

This past weekend I went to a HUGE consignment sale in Plano and found these raincoats. I decided that we MUST have them, since it is sure to rain at some point this "school" year right?? They love the coats so much we might use them for dress up too!

Happy Birthday Mason & Kate!

2009-07-26T20:51:00.001-05:00

Mason & Kate had a Happy 3rd Birthday. We started off the morning with Monkey Bread. I thought we could go ahead and practice blowing out candles... Their party was a Princess and Thomas theme. Very interesting to plan when you have boy/girl twins. I can't believe they are 3 years old! Check out the pics below to see what the party was really like. Hope you enjoy!

Lollipop Party Favors

We made glasses for the boys and crowns for the girls.

MawMaw, Caroline, PawPaw and Kate

Daddy, Mason, Della, Caroline, Kate & Pappy

Food table. I forget how hard it is to keep little hands off the food/cake before the party starts.

Happy Birthday Mason & Kate!

Pinata Time!

Pinata Candy!

MORE Pinata Candy!

This was taken of Caroline a few days before, but I thought it was too cute not to post! She loves this car, even though she is not quite ready to really get going in it just yet.

Happy 1st Birthday Caroline!

2009-07-20T12:05:00.000-05:00

Whew! We have had so much birthday cake this past week, and more to come this weekend for the twins! Caroline turned One on July 15th and we celebrated this past weekend with family and friends in Louisiana. I know there are lots of pictures on this post, but I couldn't let you miss out on the entire party!

Caroline at home with her 1st birthday cake!

Della and Caroline at the party.

Party decor.....

This ladybug cake was YUMMY! We had some red lips to prove it when we were finished eating.

My mom made ladybug, flower and butterfly cookies for favors. I have no idea how long it took her to make all of them, but they sure are good!

Birthday girl cruising in her walker.

You want me to eat this??

Yum, it is not so bad after all!

Ladybug pinata. This one had ribbons to pull instead of hitting it with a stick. We pulled at the ribbon, but it did not open, so we still had to beat it a little to get all the candy out!

Caroline with cousin Steve.

PawPaw, Sarah Margaret, Kate, Caroline, part of Reesie and Brent! Since Caroline is not quite ready to open her own presents we had a little help from all of the big kids!

Reesie and Emilea

Kate and Reesie

This is Caroline at the end of the party with DiBaby. She was completely worn out!

What do we do while visiting grandparents?

2009-07-14T16:27:00.000-05:00

This is what we do while visiting grandparents! Since it was so hot we had to visit the pool! Mason & Kate loved it! Kate had a good time wearing the goggles, even though she would not go underwater. Then another fun treat for Mason is the 4-wheeler. He rode on it EVERY evening with PawPaw and he is STILL talking about it. He also got to check out the tractor, but the 4-wheeler is by far his favorite. We are going back to LA this weekend for Caroline's birthday and a family reunion. I am sure we will have to squeeze in some 4-wheeler time as well!

Kate & Mason at the pool.

Mason on the 4-wheeler!

Mason checking out the tractor.

PawPaw and Mason.

Monroe Children's Museum

2009-07-11T17:08:00.001-05:00

While we were in LA we went to the Children's Museum in Monroe. Mason and Kate loved it! Kate is still talking about the "Fire Station". If you have toddlers I highly recommend going!

Kate practicing brushing teeth.

Making really LARGE bubbles with Della.

Kate "floating" down the river.

Caroline got to play too!

It is always good to wear a helmet while riding your trycicle. Ha, with your brother hanging on the back end!

My college roommate Erica met me at the Peach Festival to visit. It is always nice to get to see friends when we are in town!

Ruston Peach Festival

2009-07-05T18:25:00.000-05:00

We finally made it to the Peach Festival this year. Mason & Kate loved it after they realized that the firetrucks were not after them and the fact that they throw candy did not hurt either! It was HOT, but worth it!

Kate and Mason before the Parade.

Caroline clapping!

MawMaw and Caroline.

Mason waving during the parade.

PawPaw and Kate.

Can't leave out some of the main attractions of the parade!

New Windows!

2009-06-25T08:52:00.001-05:00

Ever wonder what your house would look like without windows? This is our playroom this morning! We are having all of our windows replaced this week. Mason thinks it is very interesting. I think he would love to hang out with these guys all day if we would let him!

Playing at home

2009-06-15T17:38:00.000-05:00

Today we have had a laid back day playing at home. Well, except I think the twins both want to be the incredible hulk. This morning I let them color with markers and I left the room to change Caroline's diaper and when I got back Kate had green marker all over her arms and fingers. Then we went to paint outside and Mason ended up with a green face! They had a great time playing in the sprinkler too, which did help remove some of the paint!

Caroline playing peek a boo!

We are so smart we are reading already!

Mason in the middle of his painting.

Kate loves to paint, can you tell?

Kate's art work.

Sunday Afternoon Pictures

2009-06-07T23:14:00.000-05:00

Since everyone was in a good mood after church without any stains on their clothes I thought we should take some pictures! We still have a hard time getting everyone to look at the camera and smile at the same time. Myself included!

Kate was much more into her book than taking pictures today.

Caroline is learning so much. She knows how to pat cakes, say her version of "thank you", uhh ohh and even how to roar like a lion!

Kate is practicing taking Masons picture and Caroline is learning from Kate!

On Friday our Plano Area Mothers of Multiples got together at the Wiggly Playcenter for some fun. They had a great time playing on /in all of the playground area, cars and bounce house.

Yes, these pictures were taken inside the play tunnels. The parents were able to participate in the fun as well!