The Frederick Family

Thanksgiving/Christmas 2009

2010-05-12T14:11:00.001-07:00

This must tell you how crazy our lives are that I am just posting now about Thanksgiving and Christmas 09. First up was Scotty's bday. Can't believe he is 6!! We had our usual Peter Piper Pizza festivities with his good friends, games and of course, pizza. He was so happy..It's hard to believe he had such a hard start in life and has turned out to be so healthy. We are blessed for that. He is such a sweet little guy and I am so proud of him!

We had our usual Thanksgiving programs..Spence's was cute..he didn't sing but did take part in the feast..Hence his lovely hat. He is learning so much and growing every day! I swear he is the biggest and tallest kid in his class.

As far as our holidays, they were eventful! We decided to stay around here and had a relatively quiet Christmas. We had Abbey's winter piano recital at a nursing home. The people there really loved it! She did so great..she is getting really good. She played "Silver Bells" and "We Three Kings". Her teacher is Amber Shelton and she does such a great job with her. We had Spence's little Xmas party where he pretty much devoured a cupcake! They read a story and sang "Jingle Bells" which was Spence's favorite song for Xmas. The kids also had their fun Winter Parties at school and did fun crafts, games and had a snack and book exchange.

Christmas day.. The best part was the fantastic trampoline that we got from Grammie and Pop Pop. The kids were so excited! Spence got a little motorized car that he loves that sometimes works, sometimes not..that's another story involving Craig's list that we won't talk about! Scotty got some toys, a Wii game and an awesome new scooter. Abbey got some clothes, games and perfume. Do I really have a daugher old enough to wear perfume? It was a great day and an awesome end to a great 2009. We felt very blessed for all we have been given and for the fun snow we got multiple times this winter. It was a great year!!

Couldn't resist doing this again..

2009-11-10T18:38:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

U2 Baby-

2009-11-01T19:47:00.000-08:00

We were so lucky to get floor seats for U2 this last month. Some friends of ours got 4 tickets and we all went. Steve and I have always wanted to go but never had the chance so this was IT! It was at the new Cowboys stadium and it was SO huge. We got there early thinking we had a great spot and then all the shoving started..people moving and pushing towards the stage..it was at that moment that I realized I was a little old to be down there, crammed in with a bunch of people. It was SO hot and everyone was sweating..not to mention, we are at the height of the swine flu pandemic! However, once U2 came out and the music started, I forgot all about that..It was incredible to be that close and I could feel the base pumping in my chest..it was cool. It took me back and I didn't feel so OLD after all!
Anyway, it was a great time and something Steve and I will never forget..thanks to our buddies the Barkers for scoring the great tickets!

Photo Shoot

2009-11-01T19:21:00.000-08:00

I was just going through some pictures on my computer and realized I never posted the newest pics of the kids that we had taken in May of this year. My friend Anne has a new photography business and takes amazing pics! We went to this great park in Denton and the kids were SO fun to photograph! They had fun and I can't believe how cute they turned out. It makes my a little sad to think they are growing up so fast but anyway.. they turned out great and I will always cherish these sweet pics..thanks again Anne!

Back to School!

2009-10-22T17:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I now have 2 kids in school! That is the sign you are approaching "old"! I was so excited for them to start back because we definitely ran out of things to do by Aug 1st but once they were gone all day, I was a little sad..I have to admit. Scotty was SO excited to start Kinder. His teacher is Mrs. Dunning and she is so darling. He was ready a yr ago to start so he wasn't nervous at all!

Abbey is starting 4th grade and her teacher's name is Ms. Stewart, who I know really well! She will be a great teacher for Abbey this year. Abbey now switches teachers for different subjects to kind of start getting her ready for middle school..did I really just say middle school and my child in the same sentence. It's weird! Anyway, they looked so cute as they walked to school together..they really are good buddies and Abbey is such a good and patient big sister. Abbey was for sure rockin' the 80's look..which also makes me very old since that trend has resurfaced! I should have kept my sweet leggings and off the shoulder "madonna" shirt with lace gloves..jk.

Anyway, I love them both so much and am so proud of them! I hope they have a great year!

Abbey's Temple Trip

2009-10-22T16:50:00.001-07:00

Abbey was able to take a temple trip with the Activity days girls right before school started. It was a neat experience for her and I let her take my camera to take some pics of her and her friends. She actually did pretty well considering she took like 100 pictures..she was clearly excited to have use of the camera! She learned alot and the temple always has a special spirit so I am glad she could take part in this activity. She's growing up so much!

What is up with this child??

2009-08-13T21:17:00.000-07:00

Spence is my funniest kid right now! He LOVES shoes..particularly mine! He must try on at least 15 pairs a day! He also loves hats and jewelry. I caught him coming down the stairs and could not resist taking pics. He cracks me up! I am sure he will live to regret being in this outfit but it's too cute!

Abbey's Recitals

2009-08-13T21:04:00.000-07:00

Abbey had her dance recital at the end of May. She is getting so good and finally has her double turn.. It is a big deal! The recital was fun and she did great! I think dance might be her thing. She also had a piano recital on the same day as her dance recital so we hurried between the two events as fast as we could..it was a busy day.

WOW..I am behind!

2009-08-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

Just realized today that I haven't blogged in 3 months..yikes. My life is passing by in fast motion and I can't catch up. The summer has been full of fun and crazy days and as we approach school once again, I thought I would catch up my life with some fun things we have done.

First, in looking back, I realized I never blogged about the fun vacation Steve and I took with some friends back in May. We went on a cruise out of Miami, and were able to stop in St. Marteen, Puerto Rico and Labadee, Haiti. It was so great and relaxing! It was just what we needed to rejuvinate! Puerto Rico was SO fun and was special for Steve because he served his mission there. It was fun walk through the city and they have such a strong culture and the architecture was really cool.. I have never seen so many colored buildings in my life..WOW! I got some nice sun tan time and Steve read like 2 books. We are getting old because all we wanted to do was relax, eat and chill with our friends. We have a fantastic time and it was a great memory for us!

Here are some highlights!

More Catching Up-

2009-05-22T14:38:00.000-07:00

It was a big event in our house this week..Scotty lost his 1st tooth! It was so fitting because his preschool graduation was this week also and it just solidified the fact that he is growing UP..too fast!

His tooth was just loose one day, and out the next so he got a nice visit from the tooth fairy which he was happy about.

Then, his preschool graduation was so fantastic. They sang America songs for their program, like "God Bless America", "Grand ol' flag," and Yankee Doodle Dandy". It was really amazing how well they did and Scotty is SO ready for kindergarten. He is reading sight words well, counting to 200 and to 19 in Spanish. I think the real reason he wants to go to kinder so bad is because he just wants to be able to ride his bike to school with Abbey..like a big boy. It was a bitter sweet day for me and it was hard to say goodbye to his wonderful teacher, Ms. Betsy. She had made them a little scrapbook of the year to remember everything. It was such a great day! We love you Scotty..

Birthdays Galore!!

2009-05-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

I am so behind.. this is the story of my life these days. I can't get anywhere on time (which is nothing new) and I never seem to have enough time in the day to get things done lately! Anyway, I am trying to update what has been going on in our lives the past few months so I'll try and be brief..

Our first big event is that Spencer turned 2!! Oh, dear..is probably what you are thinking! We went to Peter Piper Pizza with a few friends and had cake. Spence is so easy to entertain and we can throw him a cheap party. We don't have to pay for games because he doesn't care if they work..he just wants to play on them. It was alot of following him around the place as he moved from thing to thing but he had a great time. I can't believe my baby is 2!! Time flies and he is just a joy in our family. He is such a happy kid with a gusto for life.. He is full force in everything he does..which might be great later in his life..(right now, it can be exhausting!) We love him so much though and had a great day with him.

Next up was Abbey's Birthday (we have had a lot of birthdays lately..) She was turning 9 and.. It was a wild and crazy girls night. We invited 10 girls over for pedicures, pizza, a movie, dancing and cake. We had a GREAT time and thank goodness my friend Anne helped me entertain these fun girls. Abbey really has such cute friends. I can't believe how old she is getting..she is into all the girly things and a couple of her friends has cell phones already. It was a fun celebration and we love having her in our family too..she is so sweet and sensitive.. She is smart, creative and just a joy as a daughter so I am glad we got to honor her that day..

Ouch!!!

2009-03-25T15:11:00.001-07:00

This..

Plus This...

Equals This...

Not a fun day for us!! I was ironing a shirt and Spence was right next to me..I put the iron down and turned around thinking Spence was behind me and then I hear the cry you never want to hear from your kid..After 15 minutes of running water and ice packs, we were headed to the E-care clinic.

Needless to say, he survived and was a VERY good patient. They had to wrap it extra tight because toddlers are known to try and take these off. I felt so bad for him!!

He is already back to his old self..running around and causing mayhem!

Scotty said to me today.."Mom, Spence burned his hand because he is faster than you." (He does get into trouble faster than any child I know).. so, truer words have never been spoken. I'm reminded to keep my eyes on this kid 24/7.

Spring Break and then some..

2009-03-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

We had a great "stay-cation" for Spring Break and actually had a really fun week! The kids were able to play outside ALL day the first day because the weather was so nice..gotta love spring in Texas (minus the storms and tornados!)

Tuesday, we went to the park and had lunch at a friends house..again, ALL day outside. My kids had that perma- outside smell which I love! I actually want them to get out and get dirty like I did as a kid, and they don't get to do that all the time.

Wednesday, we went with some friends to a big bounce house place where they had of course, bouncing, laser tag, games, food and a fun dance floor that Spence loved. He was cuttin' a rug to Hannah Montana. It was so fun to watch. Plus, they were all tired and ready for a nap after..as was I!

Thursday, Steve was able to take off work and we went on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad Train. It is just like it sounds..an old steam engine train that took us from Grapevine TX, to Fort Worth where we were able to see the stockyards there.

Me and my friend Kellie picked up these two handsome guys at the bar..

On the way out, the train got "robbed" by a few real cowboys so the kids thought that was so cool. The train was absolutely amazing.

They finally got the bad guy..he surrendered!

After we got to Ft. Worth, we walked around and saw all the longhorns, horses and fed a few animals at the petting zoo. We then ate at this great bbq place, Risky's. BBQ in texas is just awesome, of course. The kids bought a few souveniers and then we got back on the train for home. It was a great day and a fun experience for all of us.

Gotta love this kid!

Friday, my friend Anne and her kids came over to do a lemonade stand. They actually did all the work, and brought everything to my neighborhood. They sold cookies, candy, and lemonade. Then Abbey, Scott and Sydney and Jaxon (anne's kids) drove around on their bikes drumming up business. Abbey could be good in sales when she gets older..like her dad!

Anyway, they made $6 which was pretty darn good for 2 hours and lots of $.10, $.15 and $.25 items. The kids had alot of fun and made some serious cash. :)

It was so fun spending time with my kids all week..it was a little exhausting but we made some great memories and I am so blessed to have each of them.. They keep me on my toes and always laughing..

This pic of Scotty sums up the week after..we were all so tired after our adventurous week, so hence..sleep was a necessity! (love the popcorn in the hand!!)

Kids Activities

2009-03-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would post about a few of the kids activities at school lately.

Scotty had his annual hoedown where all the kids dress up, sings songs and then have a little country "feast" with cornbread, pigs in blanket etc. The songs they sang were so cute. They sang "The Eyes of Texas are Upon You" and a "Deep in the Heart of Texas." Thank goodness my friend got pics for me as we were in a hurry and forgot our camera..I know, I am a terrible mom!

They were great and Scotty got to stand with all his friends so he had a great time!

These next pics are just of Abbey at her school assembly.."Elliott Live" They dance and have programs and skits etc every Friday morning. She must have been doing the cha, cha slide or something! She is growing up so much! Anyway, I thought these were cute.

This is Spence, just in this silly hat..can't resist it. He might hate me for blogging about it later in life but it was too cute not to share.

Catching up..AGAIN!

2009-03-05T08:26:00.000-08:00

I am totally behind lately. I can't seem to catch up with my life but wanted to update our family for the last few months. January came and went so fast. After the holidays, school started again and everything was in high gear. Abbey has done some fun things in the past few months. Her grade did a "America" themed concert and she did so great. She was a narrator and got to say her line at the microphone, so that was exciting. The pics are so dark but she did great!

Abbey also did a dance camp at the high school by us. She is doing so great and working on her double turns and splits..of course, I love that she loves to dance. She did the camp with her friend Kayla and they had alot of fun. Then they were invited to perform at the half time show for the high school girls basketball game. She loved it and we were so proud of her!

Valentines came and went...:( I wish Steve and I were more romantic but as the years pass, we generally prefer to hang out at home instead of going out but we did go out and had a fun time. We went to dinner with some friends and then onto the BYU/TCU basketball game. My brother and his wife were in town with the team so he got us tickets..it was fun to see them.

The last and big news of the last few weeks is that I finally got a new couch..well, not really new, but in the spirit of using what you got instead of buying new..I found a great cover for my couch and had my friend Julie recover my cushions. I went and picked out the fabric with a friend since I am fabrically challenged (is that a word?) She speaks the sewing language, so she (Anne) and I picked out new stuff and took it to Julie. She was a miracle worker and viola!! Here is the before and after..all for under $200 bucks.
Thanks Julie and Anne!!

Before: (sorry this was xmas morning and I look pretty bad!

After: The first few are on my new couch!!.. and the last few are at Julie's couch..

I will try to be better about posting and keeping up..hope everyone is well!

Great Wolf Lodge

2009-01-12T13:03:00.000-08:00

We took the kids to a hotel close to here called "Great Wolf Lodge" to bring in the New Year. It has an indoor waterpark, a fun treasure hunt for kids and all kinds of things for them to do. We had a great time with the kids and some much needed time with Steve. He wasn't able to take off alot of time for Christmas so this was great to be together and away from the norm. They still had all their Christmas decorations up with a beautiful, large tree in the lobby and a bunch or smaller ones down the main hallway. The waterpark was a blast for the kids but Scotty especially loved the Magicquest, or Treasure hunt that takes through the hotel. They give you a wand that opens up treasure chests, make the pictures come to life, open big spell books as well as light up things all throughout the hotel...very cool! We spent most of our days swimming and then at night, they had a storytime the kids could wear their pajamas to..it was really fun and then we collapsed into bed. As we were heading back to McKinney, it was raining ice so we were glad to get home safe. We made some fun family memories and it was well worth the stay.

Christmas/New Years

2009-01-12T11:27:00.000-08:00

So..I am so behind as usual! Here is a recap of our Christmas, New Years and everything in between and after.

The kids had alot of fun parties, programs etc that all go along with this time of year. I think you need a 2 week break after all that comes before Christmas. We are running crazy that week before break. Here are a few pics of Scotty's Christmas program and Abbey's party at school.
<

Also, Abbey had to second Christmas Piano recital.. They do it at a nursing home every year. The old folks loved it and Abbey did great. She even had one lady up dancing to her music. She played "Holly Jolly Christmas" and "When Santa Claus gets your letter." Here she is playing and with a few friends who came to support her.

Her Friends and her Teacher

Meanwhile, Spencer is just hangin' at home with me, being cute..Here he is in the dryer..he loves getting in and out. Funny kid..

We did had a great break and got to do alot of fun things with the kids. The weather has been unusually nice and warm so we could actually go to the park etc.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were a little interesting to say the least. Steve was passing a kidney stone AND had the stomach flu and my sister went into labor on Christmas day, so that meant 4 extra kids for the day and night..which was fun for our kids to play etc. I, however was stressin' a bit. It all worked out though and the end product was two exhausted mom's (Cindy and me) and a beautiful neice for Christmas named Elizabeth Grace Fish! Here she is.. it was all worth it when you see her sweet face..

Here's some of the kids Christmas morning..

New Years was a blast for us this year..we usually are in bed by 10 but decided to help throw a big bash at our friends house (The Copelands) We had a white elephant exchange, some games, dancing and of course FOOD, FUN, and Rockband. It was fun to bring in 2009 with a bang..here are some pics from that..

A Little Rock Band!

Last all folks..Merry Xmas and Happy New Year!! Hope it was a good one for you.

The Fredericks Groovy Moves

2008-12-18T14:42:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Catch Up!

2008-11-30T19:08:00.001-08:00

WOW..things have been busy these last few weeks! I will do a quick recap and let me apologize in advance for the never ending post! November has FLOWN by and so we have had all the fun fall and Thanksgiving events.

First, we celebrated Scotty's 5th birthday. Can't believe it..We had a little family party with my parents and Steve's cousin and his wife. They have a HUGE dog named Raja, who Scotty loves..

For his official party,we went to a little bounce house place called Boomerangs and the kids had a blast. I just love that kid..we had a great time.

Abbey participated in a Boosterthon Fun Run for her school and had alot of fun. She ran 26 laps around their little track and did really well. Different friends and family pledged money for her and the school..so it was great! Here are some pics of that.

That same day was Scotty's Thanksgiving program so I had to haul over there and just barely made it!! He had on such a cute costume..I couldn't resist taking pics of it! Someday this will make him really embarrased but for now..it looks so cute. We had a conversation later about Thanksgiving where he said: "Mom, the thing about thanksgiving is..I don't like tuhkey" (he has a funny little speech thing going on which always makes me laugh) He always keeps me laughing.

Meanwhile Spence is just a mess..here is a pic of him and I have no words because the picture says it all!

We had a great Thanksgiving and I started it off with a bang by running in the "Turkey Trot" in downtown Dallas with a friend. It was just a 5K and I use the term "running" very loosly! It was really walking, then trotting then walking..you get the idea. I was able to run a little more than half so I felt good! I was proud of my finishing time so then I felt good about pigging out for the Thanksgiving feast. Getting in shape is brutal and definitely a SLOW process!

Although it was a really sad day as well for us.. our friend and next door neighbor who has battled cancer for the last year, passed away Thanksgiving morning. She was only 39 and has two young, sweet kids that are 4 and 6 and a great husband. We felt so sad for them but at peace for Michelle since she had suffered so much. We felt it a priviledge to know her and know she is with Heavenly Father and is watching over her sweet kids and family. It really put the day in perspective and I really feel so blessed for all I have..my wonderful husband, kids and family. I realized I was only 1 year older than her son when my dad passed and it was actually 26 years ago on Nov 28th that he died. It was a bitter sweet day and I pray for them daily, and again feel so blessed for my life and blessings! Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving also!!

Last but not least..here are some pics of our annual girls night to eat and see "The Nutcracker". It was so incredible this year and it always makes me tear up! I just love the ballet and this year was cool because they had some professional dancers from New York who were the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier. They were amazing! I was in awe. They also had a dancer who was on "So you think you can dance" this last season and we all know what a big fan I am of that show. He was in the top 8 boys and was voted off pretty early but still one of my faves! His name is Chris and of course, I had to get a picture after with him..he was GREAT! That was the highlight of me and Abbey's night..we had such a great time and I love my girl!

That is it for now.. can't believe it is almost Christmas..Yikes!

Halloween Trunk or Treat

2008-10-31T13:23:00.000-07:00

We went to our annual Trunk or Treat at our church building last night. The kids had a great time and we decided to match them this year. It turned out cute and here are some pics..The kids got more candy than they know what to do with and we still have Halloween night to get more..yikes! This just means I'll be eating more candy than I should..whatever..carpe diem!

Catching Up

2008-10-31T12:51:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy lately with everything that I haven't posted for awhile. Here's a little catch up post with random stuff. Steve is working hard and super late..probably until the end of the year so days and nights seem to run together for us. I am so grateful that he has a job considering what is going on lately.

We went a few weekends ago to a park by us that lots of people camp at.. (well, camping for Texas). It is very pretty though and we just had tinfoil dinners and s'mores etc. Steve thought it would be fun to bring his guitar and so it was fun singing and being silly. Here's a video of classic Steve filling in words to a song and trying to be funny. The video drags for a minute while everyone talks him into singing with our friend Len..so anyway, maybe it is not as funny as I think it is. All in all a good night..and can't believe we didn't have any mosquito bites or poison ivy. PS..Spence was with a babysitter..this place was too open for him to roam and get in trouble which he often does :)

Onto Spencer..he started nursery at church a few weeks ago. His first Sunday started with a bang when he stepped or most likely fell into fire ants on their little walk. They had to strip him down at church and I think he ended up with 30 or more bites. Lots of fun...huh? He survived and took a good nap after some benedryl. Here he is playing with our new animal caller. If you blow into it, it makes animal sounds. He has definitely got the hang of it. You can kind of see his bites here and there on his stomach. This kid never stops growing..maybe he'll turn out to be a linebacker for the Cowboys (jk..they need all the help they can get now!)

We've Discovered Spagettio's

2008-10-13T10:33:00.000-07:00

When I had Abbey, I was always so careful about keeping her clean and wiping her hands ALL the time and now, by my 3rd.. I really just don't care..obviously with the pics of this child! He was having fun and he's learning to use his fork to eat so I am officially free from caring if he gets dirty..but WOW, it was fun clean up for sure. He looks like he has a beard..he stills looks cute to me.

The Big Orange Pumpkin Farm

2008-10-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

So our tradition every year is to go to this pumpkin farm and luckily, Scott's preschool was going as a field trip. So Spencer and I went with. They get to feed animals, take a hay ride, and pick a pumpkin out in the patch. It was really fun besides Spencer trying to launch himself out of the truck during the hayride. That kid is so strong..my muscles were sore the next day from keeping him contained. They both loved picking pumpkins..especially Spencer trying to make his way through the vines. He loves to get dirty and why not let him..right? It was fun to spend a day with my boys..they keep me on my toes but I love them both so much!

Here we are:

Grandparents Day for Abbey

2008-10-13T09:33:00.001-07:00

Abbey started at a new school this year (her third since kinder) because our area is growing so much that each year they build a school closer to us. This one is our final landing spot and it is right in our neighborhood. Abbey loves to ride her bike/scooter to school and asked me for a house key so she can get in to the house after school is over. (even though I am home) She is so funny..she is growing up so fast..too fast. I had her parent/teacher conference today and she is doing so great! Her teacher said she needs to keep her challenged because she is always going, thinking and doing. She reads 111 words per minute and her teacher said average for her age/grade is 80-90 so I am so proud of her and how hard she is working in school. Here are the pics from her school's "Grandparents Day" with my mom and dad. They had a great time!

My Dad just had surgery on his mouth..hence the weird expression
Abbey and her teacher and my mom

I love these pictures

2008-10-06T19:12:00.000-07:00

My mother-in-law just started a blog and I saw these cute pics on there and had to post them..During our vacation in Cali this summer, we took the kids to Disneyland and Spence stayed with Grandpa Rich and Grandma Netta and cute little June. She is Steve's sister's little girl and she is just too cute. Spencer must have loved her because he hates affection but didn't mind it with her. I couldn't help but post these..they made my day!

Go Cowboys!! 3-0 Baby!

2008-09-22T16:59:00.001-07:00

Can you tell we are fans! We hope this is the Cowboys year..Steve is such a die hard fan..so I had to post in honor of him!

Are you ready for some T-ball?

2008-09-22T15:14:00.000-07:00

Scotty just started T-ball as an "Indian" and is having a blast! He has never played before but seems to like it. Half the time, he can't remember if he is batting or in the outfield. The first time he went to bat, he hit the ball and ran to 1st base..I thought, alright, he's getting it, but then when the next batter hit, he went chasing after the ball instead of running to 2nd base..so maybe he doesn't quite get it yet..whatever, he's having fun so who cares. Here he is with his new uniform and with his friend Brock who plays on his team..

Goodbye to you..

2008-09-18T13:07:00.000-07:00

So I have to break my blog slump by posting a quick ode to my friend Amy Barlow! She is moving to Florida and I am so, so sad about it. Amy was one of the first people I met when we moved to McKinney and we instantly clicked. I can't believe her little guy, Garrett was only 1 and Scotty was just like a few months old.

That was 5 fantastic years ago and we have been through so much since then. She is seriously one of my favorite people on the planet. We have laughed together, cried together, cried while laughing and yes, even a few times even, disliked each other. We have gone to a gazillion baby showers, birthdays (I can't ever forget Jeff singing "Part Time Lover" karaoke and Sharalyn's bday), our kids birthdays at every play place in the state. We've shared the births of our own babies, shared our ups and downs, shared tragedies in ours and our friends lives, blessings, and bapstims... Lunch at McDonalds with our kids for a "play group" which really meant chat time for us.. dinners, desserts, late night movies.. and who could forget..Pat Benetar:)

My best memory of us is was at the Journey/Def Leppard concert, (hence the song playing now) a few summers ago--yeah baby!! That was one of the most fun times of my life. I will so miss you Amy and all the fun and friendship you have brought to my life. You are such an amazing peron, and it is hard to say goodbye ;(, but know we will always think of you and we wish you the best with all the great things that are to come-

Love you--
Here's all our boys on Halloween a few years ago..Scotty will miss Garrett so much!

Here's all the girls!

Back to School..

2008-09-02T19:51:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it is already time again but here we are! Abbey just started 3rd grade, as if I don't feel old enough, and Scotty has one more year of PreK. He turns 5 in Novemeber so he is an older Pre-K kid. He's going 4 days a week, which he loves and so do I! The day Abbey went back to school, he was asking me by 10 am when Abbey would be home so he's been quite bored without her. This week he started back though so it's all good now.

Now, it is just me and "Hurricane Gustav", which is what I call Spencer.. That boy is going to do me in. We have some one on one time with the kids gone, so I think he is liking the extra attention.

Abbey is dancing again this year and is taking piano again also. Scotty just started T-ball today and I think he will really like it..so lots to keep us busy.

Here are some pics of our big back to school- bowling extravaganza with some friends and abbey's first day of school.

These are the things you don't say to your wife...

2008-08-26T10:30:00.001-07:00

Thought I would share..my laugh for the day!

Dierks Bentley Concert

2008-08-19T16:33:00.000-07:00

So you might be wondering who Dierks Bentley is? Maybe not, if you listen to Country, but I don't so I took one for the team and went with some friends ( Nikki, Heather and Kylie) to see him. It was at, the always fantastic Winstar Casino, like 1 mile over the border of Oklahoma and Texas. (put some of his music on my playlist..)

We had a kind of questionable dinner at the buffet but rounded it out with an okay dessert, and then headed off to the outdoor concert there. We had great seats and it was a small concert so I actually could see him and really enjoyed it. I don't know ANY of his songs, except the one Johnny Cash song he sang at the end, but he was a great entertainer and quite cute too!

It was fun to get away for a night and hang with the girls and the people watching could not have been better! I've never seen so many banana clips, muffin tops and tatoos in my life but hey, that is what country concerts are all about, right? This was the guy's shirt in front of us..Classic!

Here are some good pics of Dierks..enjoy! Thanks Nikki for dragging me there! :)
(We are even now from when I made you go to "Stars on Ice"!:)

FlashbackFriday Movie Clips

2008-08-15T09:13:00.001-07:00

Is it still summer?? WOW! This week has gone by fast! Okay..as promised, here are my next 2 favorite movie clips..classic!

Take the time to enjoy both even though they are longer..

Dirty Dancing
Man, Patrick Swayze was hot then! Don't pretend you don't love this, and that you don't know every step (like me) because you know you do!

Top Gun
I think Tom is definitely hotter..those were the days..!!

Tell me how I supposed to breathe with NO AIR!

2008-08-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

So.. love that song by Jordin Sparks (right?) but it really came true for us this week! We come home from church on Sunday to a 85 degree house. Steve and I are looking at each other in panic because it is August in Texas which is the absolute WORST time for your AC to go out!

After arguing about how to go about getting it fixed..(I want to call an emergency person that day, and he wants to try and get quotes so we don't get totally raked over the coals)..we decided to brave it overnight after the hottest day of the summer (106 degrees).

Our house was almost 90 degrees all night so not a sleep filled night for us. Monday rolls around and Steve tries to handle it on his own. Calls around, gets a part and installs it. He calls me at my mom's since we couldn't bear our house anymore, and says:

S: Hey, the ac is fixed! Glad we didn't call anyone and have to pay to fix it.
Me: Are you sure?
S: Yeah, it turned right on, so come home when you can and I am going to work. I should totally be a AC repair person on the side..ha ha!
Me: ( rolling my eyes..still feeing skeptical)

I then get my stuff together and head home and can you believe it.....Still 85 degrees in my house!!!

I call Steve in a panic and decide to call someone to come out. We are now doing things MY way! The ac person I called doesn't get there until 8 pm and doesn't even have a part to fix it!!
So another sleepless, hot night. FINALLY, we go back to Steve's way and he finds the part the next day that we needed and we had a family friend install it. It took forever to suck all the hot air out of our house on Tuesday night but man, I have never slept better.
Thank goodness for AC in Texas in August.. and thank you Jordin Sparks for your fantastic song!

Circus, Circus!

2008-08-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

Ok..so after an eventful week and no time to post about it..I am cramming everything into these couple of posts!

A few weeks ago, we took the kids to the Barnum and Bailey Circus. It was lots of fun. The kids did a reading program through the library and earned a free ticket each so we decided to go. It was actually very entertaining! The highlight of the night was Scotty. He is so funny with his speech. He had quite a tongue thrust and therefore his words are so funny to listen to! Hopefully, he'll grow out of it but it's cute to me.
The trapeze people were going to town doing their thing and Scotty leans over to Steve as says..

"Dad, where's their shurts??" So funny..we love having him in our family.. We had so much fun with our kids and friends...good times!

Flashback Friday ( On Wednesday)

2008-08-06T15:22:00.000-07:00

Ok..I know it is Wednesday but I can't wait to post this and I wanted to because I'm bored and it is August and SO hot outside so hence, nothing to do!

I decided to start posting 2 clips a week of my favorite movie moments..namely old 80's and 90's. I watched a movie last night and the ending was SO fantastic and I thought..I need to share so others can enjoy.

So tune in every week for new clips and here are my first 2 and most favorite movies in the world! Enjoy! (let me know if you love these too!)

Footloose

Some Kind of Wonderful

Jersey Boys!!

2008-07-30T09:39:00.000-07:00

We went and saw this last night here in Dallas with my parents. My dad is a huge 4 Seasons fan. It was SO great! A little too much swearing BUT my dad is from Jersey and grew up on these guys and informs me, "that is just the way it was." It was so fantastic and I just love their music! We were all up dancing..my dad especially doing the "mashed potatoes."..an old 60's dance.

Here is a little taste of what we saw. This was from the Tony's when it won for Best Musical. Thanks again to my parents for taking us! We had so much fun!

California Dreamin'

2008-07-25T15:29:00.001-07:00

We just got back and had the greatest time in Cali! It was an eventful one at that but the it kept us busy for sure. Steve has family down in the LA area and then more of his family from Oregon, Arizona and Utah came also.

We went to see Steve's grandparents in Riverside on Wednesday. They have such a beautiful back yard and the kids loved playing and swimming. We adore them and were glad we could visit. Spence just loved his Great-Grandpa Goodwin! Lots of fun..

We hit Disney last Thursday which was great. We set our alarms to get up at 6:30 to beat traffic, check into our hotel and get to Disney relatively early...which we did..however, when we all got packed up from Steve's grandma's and headed out, the clock in the rental car says 6:30am..hmmmm? Steve had set his cell phone alarm for Alaska time so really we woke up at 5:30!! Nice huh..but it worked out because we graced the gates of Disneyland at 8:00 am on the dot. No lines, no crowds and we basically rode every ride we wanted before noon. We did however, forget our camera so not alot of pics to post for that. We came home during the day and headed back for the fireworks which never actually happened but it was still fun!

Here's us in front our our Hotel..

Friday was beach day which solidified my love of California. I would live at the beach if I could. My kids were entertained for hours. We went to Hunington Beach and the weather was beautiful. The kids played with all the cousins and I followed Spencer around while he ate sand. I think that kid ended up with sand in every crevice of his body! (sorry for the visual)

Scotty and his cousin Ethan
Covered in SAND!
All the Cousins!
Me and Spence Chillin' on the beach

We went to Steve's sister's house in Pasadena for a great bbq on Saturday and had so much fun there too! It was great to be with everyone.

Sunday was more family fun after church..Here's Spence with his cousin Gage's drum set..too funny

.. and then we left Monday. Steve and I were commenting on the way to the airport how smoothly things has gone and how we had only gone over our budget by like $2.00.

I was so proud of us, but we were back to reality real quick. Here is us feeling proud and happy for ourselves..didn't know what was coming!

The LA airport was a mess and it took us an hour and a half to get through check in and security.

We got on our flight and Spencer was of course, a nightmare because he was so tired! We get up in the air and the stewardess is bringing around drinks. Before she could hand me mine, the plane hit an air pocket and DROPPED 400 FEET! Drinks were everywhere, kids were crying, flight attendents freaking out, and Steve had been standing at the back of the plane when it happened. Luckily he sat down as we started to fall so he was okay but Spencer was just whailing!

I needed a serious Dr. Pepper and Advil after that! But wait, the fun wasn't over yet- My mom and dad picked us up in different cars and we headed home.. exhausted. As we exit the airport, my mom switches lane and runs over something metal in the road and my TIRE blows out! We cross like 18 lanes to get to the side and after a few choice words, I reach for my cell phone. It's dead and my mom left her in the other car with Steve and my Dad who are already ahead of us!

My mom flags down someone after 10 minutes which clearly was not safe but our only option. Steve and my Dad circle back and changed our tire, which is totally blown out..so much for staying in the budget right? Sooo, we got home FINALLY at 11:00 pm and fell into bed! Are you exhausted reading this??

Anyway, LOTS of fun and great memories made! Oh, and I almost forgot..our trip wasn't complete without a few stops at..
Are you jealous??

Happy 4th!

2008-07-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

So here are our day's events for the 4th. We took the kids to a parade in the morning down in McKinney, which was my idea and I always have good intentions and think it will be SO great but alas, we missed most of it since it was like a 10 minute parade..Steve and I are arguing about where to park and it was hotter than you know what outside. After 10 minutes of walking, my kids were tired and hot so we went to get a sno cone but alas, the line was forever long so the only redeemable part of the morning was the cool car show which my kids thought was awesome. We took some pics and headed to the DQ for lunch..I don't think I can say DQ without a southern twang and I haven't been there in years but it was SO good.

All in all, it was fine. Then we all needed a nap, of course.

We then headed to a friends house for swimming and bbq'ing with the best hamburgers ever! Shout out to Brent and Nikki and as if our kids weren't tired enough we dropped off the babe with a sitter and headed to the biggest venue close to us, Pizza Hut Park, for an Fireworks spectacular!

It was great laying on the grass, with music blaring, and fireworks with my kids, my awesome husband and our great friends. We have so much to be grateful for. But wait..the night wasn't complete without the sounds of the "Temptations"! They were sporting the shiny white outfits and we had a great time dancing and having fun. My dad LOVES the Temptations and was supposed to go with us, but had to cancel because he wasn't feeling well so we missed you Pop Pop and Grammie!

Happy 4th to everyone!

I'm addicted!

2008-07-05T18:22:00.001-07:00

My sister told me about this little restaurant in McKinney and I am now addicted to it. I just went a few nights ago with some friends and it was even better than the first time! We must have had 3 appetizers, all got big entrees and two big buckets of churros. We ate ourselves silly. Food, Folks and Fun..doesn't get any better than that.

Summer is in Full Swing!

2008-06-23T13:25:00.001-07:00

I wanted to post a couple pics of the kids so far this summer..I can't believe how big they are getting! The first pic is one Steve took yesterday of the kids..turned out ok since it is so hard to get them all smiling at once!

The rest are of Scotty at his swim lesson "graduation". They showed off all the skills they learned. There is nothing here to do except swim, so they gotta be good at it!

Getting a deep breath!

Dove for all the rings!

Happy Birthday to Us!!

2008-06-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, he has food hanging off his mouth on purpose!

So birthdays are so uneventful as I get older and since I was hitting the big 3-3 and Steve is 34 this week, we weren't doing much.. but our wonderful friends took us out to celebrate anyways!

We went to this great restaurant in Deep Ellum/Dallas called Monica's which was fantastic. The best part about it was the crazy live music. Of course, everyone let on to the server about the birthdays and so when the band ("Chilo and his Latin sounds") starts rolling with the music, the guitarist pulls me out of my seat and hands me a tambourine..classic..what am I supposed to do with that?! We make it up to the stage with other fellow birthday people and they are all three sheets to the wind. I started trying to hide behind the bass player..mind you, the tambourine still in hand..The song was literally 10 minutes long and as all the younger, less clothed girls and guys started a conga line, I headed back to hide under the table. Good Times.

Why does he always have to be goofy?
Getting up on stage
Hiding....
Feeling mortified!!

Can't quit laughing..
Still laughing!

Jeff's due in December..

Then we headed on to a comedy club called Ad Libs which is all improvisational comedy. It was so funny and we had such a great time...so thank you to our friends for planning it and celebrating with us! (even if we are getting old)

Day at the Lake

2008-06-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

My parents took us out for a day at the lake for my dad's bday/ father's day. They are moving out there soon and wanted to have some fun with the kids and check out the new digs. We had so much fun!! We took out a pontoon boat and then also my dad's friend came with his boat to pull tubes etc. Despite getting a little rain now and then, it was great. The lake is so beautiful. It is called Cypress Springs and is out an hour and a half or so but it is nice to get out of all the mainstream lakes. This area seems like the place to retire for sure!

Abbey and her cousin on the tube!

We had a nice little party for my dad and I can't believe he is 65 WOW!

We all got some sun but I got a little too much! I was hurting pretty bad when we got home and I realized weird parts of my body for burned like my knees, the top of my hands, the top of my feet?? Whatever, I just needed a tan so I can suffer through the burn. It was a nice way to break in the summer..Good Times. Thanks to my wonderful parents for the fun day.

Airlines Gotta Make A Buck Somewhere...

2008-06-10T09:40:00.000-07:00

My sister in law sent this to me. So Hilarious! This will be us next month when we go on our vacation! Yikes!

School's Out for Summer!!

2008-06-08T10:35:00.001-07:00

Always fun to start summer off with a bang. I took Spence to the after hours clinic for kids last night to confirm what I already thought was double ear infections! He has had the nice cold I gave him to deal with and the doctor said his ear was so bad that it looked like an adult ear infection because it was so red and had lots of puss. He said usually people with ear infections this bad come in crying in pain. Of course, Spence was not himself but he must be one tough kid because he's been happy on and off despite it. So I am taking the time to update my blog since we are home from church today!

We had a good week. Abbey had her first piano recital in which she did so great!! She memorized her songs which was a huge feat for her. She played 2 songs and she has really taken to it which is fun for me since I played when I was younger also.

Scotty's last day of school was last week but I hadn't posted yet on it. They did a nice presentation. He sang some fun songs and got a "diploma" for finishing his year of preschool. He has done so well and grown leaps and bounds. I am so proud of him and all he has learned!

Abbey's last day was Thursday. They did a nice program at school also and she got the award for "Awesome Attitude." I was so amazed at all she had accomplished this year. She ended up with all A's which I am so not taking credit for..she just has worked hard all year and I am so proud of her!

Not sure how I am feeling about summer upon us..Love the swimming, not having to get up every day so early and cart my kids to school etc, but our first day out of school was supposed to be bliss with everyone sleeping in until at least 8 right? Wrong! I am awakened at 7 am with Scotty screaming at Abbey and her crying because he hit her in the back. Apparently, she had taken the pillow he was sleeping on (they fell asleep in her bed the night before) Neither went back to sleep and they actually woke the baby too! Fun start to the day.

But we have had some fun stuff too! My friend Nikki hosted a end of school year bash at her house with a bunch of friends..so we swam, ate and let the kids go crazy! There must have been at least 15 kids in that pool.. After they wore themselves out, we left to come home, only to find Steve had taken the rest of his day off! The stars aligned for me so I got some much needed errands done.

That night, we also took the kids to Frisco Grooves which is a free concert at a park where different groups play music and the kids run amuck. A lady named Teri Hendrix played and she was great; Kind of folk, country music, I guess. Between the Copelands, Barlows, Wardell's, Us, Sivley's and Crane's, we must have encompassed half the kids there! The kids had a great time dancing up by the stage. They looked like groupies up there! I got laughing pretty hard at the kids going crazy.

We took some fun pics which I will post later since I forgot my camera! Thank goodness my friend Anne brought one.

All in all, a good weekend but I am wiped out! So, I guess summer break really isn't a "break" for mom's at all but regardless we had a great week!

Muddling Along!

2008-06-01T17:59:00.001-07:00

I found this article in LDS living magazine and it just made me laugh because it is the story of my life..all of our lives I am sure. Wanted to share it so that we all know we are doing the best we can even if it doesn't feel like it!

I put my favorite quotes from the article in italics:

Muddling Along
by Janene Wolsey Baadsgaard
Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Have you ever had one of those days where you wish you’d stayed in bed? I remember a day like that.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The dishwasher had malfunctioned, flooding our house all night as we slept. We didn’t know until one of our sleepy-eyed children came into our bedroom early in the morning and said, “Mom and Dad! It’s raining in the basement!”
The room that was hardest hit was the storage room where we’d recently carefully stacked and dated our pride and joy, a two-year supply of food. In a mad dash to save anything we could, every member of our family hauled each bucket and box out into the back yard to dry out. It took hours.

Just when we finished, we heard a clap of thunder, looked up, and felt several drops splash in our eyes. Then the heavens were opened and the few drops immediately became a downpour. We regrouped and quickly hauled our soggy mess into the garage.

When we finally got every box and bucket into the garage, my son came running to me in tears, informing me his pet rabbit was dead. After finally getting the children off to school, my daughter called from campus saying she couldn’t remember where she’d parked the car at BYU. Then my other first-grader had an accident that required a change of clothing. You get the picture.

“I can’t handle any more,” I said to my husband.

“You don’t have to handle it,” my husband replied. “There’s no rule book somewhere that says you have to go through life handling everything. Just muddle, Jan. I’ve been muddling for years and no one can tell the difference.”
Muddle, I thought. I think I can muddle.

Now every time I’m feeling overwhelmed, I remember my husband’s timely advice. Frankly, I’ve been muddling ever since and so far no one can tell the difference, just like he promised.

I remember a day when I walked into the kitchen to find my young son surrounded by the large white buckets where I stored our flour, sugar, and pasta. He was busy scooping— sugar into the flour—rice into the sugar—pasta into the rice. The whole kitchen looked like a white billowing cloud except for my son’s innocent grin and two large blue eyes staring up at me. “Look, Mom. I’m the bread maker!” my young son said as he looked up at me.

Suddenly it dawned on me that whenever I made bread I pulled out all the white buckets and started scooping. He was trying to be like me.

My feelings of frustration melted into love. I was so proud of him for trying. As we got busy cleaning the kitchen, I realized God loves us like that. No matter how big the mess or mistake we’ve made, God provides us with a Savior to help us clean it up. That is the essence of muddling.

Muddling is not mediocrity. Muddling allows us to stop keeping up appearances or worrying that we’ll never measure up. Muddling is accepting our humanness and inadequacies. Muddling is realizing there are some messes only Christ can clean up. And muddling is seeing our worth through God’s eyes and never giving up hope that things will work out.

Hope you liked it!

Dance Mania!!

2008-05-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

I have to diverge from my normal blogging about my kids and post some thoughts on sytycd..so great so far. Not sure if anyone watches but I have been to a few watch parties in the past week with some friends and just have to post my favorite auditions. Especially since last night was SLC and Dallas in one night..kinda funny. Anyway..

The first one below is just downright fantastic!! Loved watching her dance..she's so great and I think she'll go far. Definitely my favorite so far!

This one is just awesome. I felt bad for her at first then I thought that she had alot of guts and put herself out there so shout out! Especially with 4 kids and from Pleasant Grove, UT of all places.. she was crazy! You get it girl!

This is truly filling my summer with fun tv watching! Love it..

Abbey's Baptism

2008-05-27T13:26:00.001-07:00

What a great weekend this was for our family! It was such a awesome experience and even though having young kids is hard at times, these are the moments that are so rewarding! Abbey did so great and of course, I was a mess! I was already crying in the opening song. Abbey is very sensitive that way and cries if I do, so we were both tearing. Steve did so great with her and the confimation prayer was amazing..wish I would have written it down! Anyway, it was great to have family attend and Steve's dad was here from Oregon which was a so great. So many good family and friends attended and I am appreciative for all of them and what they mean to us and how they have made a positive impact in Abbey's life.

It couldn't have gone any better and I am so grateful for the Lord's hand in our little family's life and how blessed we feel to have these 3 amazing kids!

Two Big Events..and then some!

2008-05-18T08:44:00.001-07:00

So wanted to update some happenings in our kids lives..
First of All..

Spencer is WALKING! We are really in trouble now! He is cruising around the house and having fun. Great for me since my back has been SO bad but kinda scary that he can get into whatever he wants now..needless to say, we watch him like a hawk!

Second,
Abbey just celebrated her 8th Birthday. Do I really have an 8 yr old! I am starting to get "middle" mom aged which scares me but it was so fun to celebrate with her. We went and got pedi's which she LOVES! Then I took her and her cousin and a few friends to movie and dinner. It is funny how different her parties are now.

A few days ago I also got some pics of her in her baptism dress which is coming up on May 24th. I had to at least share one now because they turned out great! She is so ready and excited for it. She really is so sweet and has such a wonderful, loving and FUN spirit. She helps me so much with the boys and I love having her in our little family!! Happy Birthday Abbs!

Also, we finally finished Abb's room with her surfing theme. Steve did an AWESOME job on the mural so wanted to share a few pics!

Two things I can't WAIT for!!

2008-05-12T09:19:00.000-07:00

SYTYCD!! Party at my house every Thurs to watch!! This is the only way I keep in touch with dancing which used to be such a huge part of my life when I was younger..LOVE this-

So You Think You Can Dance season 4 preview - talent!

Twilight...The Movie
I totally found this from my friend Haley's blog..could not be more excited to see this. I don't want to wait until December!!

Behind Every Good Woman is a Good..Purse!

2008-05-03T16:42:00.000-07:00

My Most Recent Purchase...

I can't tell you how sad I was that my purse was stolen a few months ago. I was upset about the contents, of course, but more so of the purse itself. I had bought it on Canal Street in New York and I LOVED that purse. It was a Dolce and Gabbana purse with these great stripes.

Anyway, it has officially been replaced by this new purse I just bought with fabulous giraffe print and red piping. I have wanted this purse for MONTHS! I have seen it with different women and most recently, my friend Amber had it when we went to Time Out for Women. I was like an 18 yr old again, flirting with the purse. I couldn't stop looking at it so I broke down and bought it.

It was at Sam Moon so the damage wasn't bad ($18)..thanks goodness for that store. This purse makes me feel young and trendy again..even though I am so not! I am on the road to recovery from my traumatic purse incident months ago..Yeah!

Time Out!

2008-04-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

I went this weekend with some friends for some much needed TIME OUT! We attending the TOFW conference in Oklahoma City last weekend and it was great. We had such a great time eating, and of course laughing and staying up late etc! We were able to have dessert one night at the Melting Pot restaurant, which is all just fabulous Chocolate Fondue!!

The speakers and music at the conference were great also..gives me a much needed boost in the spiritual department. With me being in Primary every Sunday running with my head cut off, I definitely needed it!

We skipped out the second day for a little while to go to the Oklahoma City Bombing site. We happened to be there for the 13th anniversary and can I just say WOW! I didn't think it would affect me as much as it did. It was beautiful, emotional and such a sacred place. They have done such a great job with the memorial and as a mother, the stories of the lives lost..especially the children just broke my heart.

The memorial museum was just so overwhelming. I don't know if I have ever cried that much in public but I felt okay about it because there was such a special spirit there. The last room in the museum was a room with framed photos of everyone that died and an item of theirs. The song that played in that room was "Abide with Me" which just made me sob! It was so sobering. It changed me forever and I will always be grateful for my family and live every day to the fullest.
Anyway, if you ever have a chance..GO! I was able to get a survivor tree that they gave out that day to visitors. It was from a tree that survived the blast. They took seeds from it and planted new trees and gave them to everyone..which I brought home to plant with my kids in rememberance.

After we saw the memorial, we had to go fill our souls with FOOD! We all bought a huge sandwich and sweets to help comfort us and then we were good. It was an amazing weekend with such great people and friends! I am blessed to have them all..
Here are some pics of the memorial below..Again..Amazing-

These are the gates at either end of the reflecting pool. One says 9:01 am and the other says 9:03 am and the bombing actually happened at 9:02am where the reflecting pool is. It represents the time before and after that would change their city forever and the moment they say that its innocence was gone.

This is the field of empty chairs which were decorated for the anniversary. Notice that the smaller ones are for the 19 children that died. Heartbreaking!

This is the survivor tree that survived the bombing..and where the seeds were taken from for the tree we planted.

This statue was across the street from the memorial site in front of a church..so beautiful. The chimes of the music from the church played "Amazing Grace", "How Great Thou Art" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"

This was inside the memorial building which was the last pic I took because they were not allowed anymore after this point.

I can't believe my baby is ONE!!

2008-04-08T12:24:00.000-07:00

Time flies too quickly and I can't believe it has already been a year since I had Spencer on April 5th, 2007. It was such a nice day on Saturday..it was so warm and the sun was shining which is so appropriate for Spencer's personality. He is such the light in our family and is such a happy kid. We had a great little party for him at Celebration Park in Allen and had a few families there to celebrate. He absolutely devoured the cake..he couldn't get it in his mouth fast enough! He was double fisting it and then put his mouth down by the tray and started sliding the cake across the tray to his mouth. None of my kids have ever gone for the cake quite like him but he is one of a kind! We got him a little tonka truck push toy which is helping him walk and so I don't think it will be long before he is cruising around the house.

We love having him our family and he is such a sweet boy. Here are some pics of the day..thanks to everyone that came and sent gifts!

Spencer with Grammie and Pop Pop

I feel like this today!!

2008-04-01T14:31:00.001-07:00

I am sure you have all seen this but WOW! I have felt like this all week! I am going crazy lately and feeling like my life is so out of control..I am here to admit that 3 has thrown me OVER the edge somedays and I am not afraid to admit it. Many woman do great with 3 or more kids but I am having one of those hard weeks so this made me feel better and maybe you have gone through it or are going through it now so CHEERS to motherhood and all it encompasses and here's to not having all the answers or having your head on straight..EVER!

American Idol Update--

2008-03-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

Ok..so this season of American Idol is starting to get good and pick up some steam, and this week's show was great..maybe because they were mostly all 80's songs. I must be getting old! If you watch it at all, what are your thoughts on it? Here were my two fav's of the night. I really didn't love David Cook until this performance. Love what he did with "Billie Jean" (even though I think Chris Cornell did it, but regardless, he sounded good.) He is a little cocky but kind of cool and has a great voice and I truly just love Michael Johns..he has a great voice too and seems so unaffected by himself. Anyway.. Leave your thoughts if you even watching this season..

Memories / Easter Time

2008-03-24T13:34:00.000-07:00

Somehow, this Easter seemed more emotional for me..not sure why but I found my self missing my dad alot! I think because I pulled some old pics out for the kids and realized how much of Spencer is my dad. They have the same eyes, and long eye lashes and sweet smile. This time is always a great time, however, to reflect on the gospel and the resurrection. It reminds me that families are forever and we will all be together again. I am so grateful for that. I wanted to post a few pics of my dad..I love to remember him this way..

I also wanted to pay tribute to a sweet little boy in my sister's ward here in Mckinney that just passed away from a brain tumor. His name is Peter Barr and he was 8. His story and his life just touched me so much because he was so strong and such a sweet boy. He was able to be baptized before he died a few weeks ago. It reminds me how precious our lives are and our children. I want to take advantage of each day and be grateful for all the I have been blessed with and for the knowledge, especially at this time of year, to think of the Savior and how it is possible to us to be with our families again. My prayers are with his family and maybe you can include them in yours..they are amazing people!

Now onto a lighter topic.. We had a great Easter weekend! My sisters family came in town from Chicago and we haven't seen them in a year so it was great to all be together..we had a fun Easter egg hunt with the kids at my mom's house and they had a blast. Spencer just wanted to shake the egg's and Scotty just wanted the money inside. Here are some pics of that and also our attempt to take some family pics..notice that Steve nor I are ever together in these but whatever..it's the effort that counts since we were late and on our way to church!! Hope everyone had a great Easter!

Trip to the Zoo

2008-03-18T06:43:00.001-07:00

We had so much fun at the zoo! I can't believe this is only my second time going here after the almost 10 years I've been back in Tay-has. We decided to take the kids because we had our sister-in-law and her kids coming in town so we ventured out with them. The Barlows came with us and the kids loved it and the animals were great. That zoo really is nice and SO big. It was really crowded but didn't seem that way because it is so spread out. We saw everything and then decided to take their little train back to the front of the zoo before we left. After a 30 minute wait to get on, we finally did and of course, the train ride was all of 5 minutes. The kids were wiped out but we stopped at good ol' IHOP for some rooty, tooty, fresh and fruity after so everyone was happy again. It was a fun day..good times!

The baby liked it!!

Soccer Season Is On!!

2008-03-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

I am now an official "Soccer Mom"..yikes! Scotty just started soccer and loves it!! He plays with a little friend and his team is actually really good. His team name is "Thunder". They beat every other team by like 10 goals. Somehow, all of them are just taller and bigger than most 4 yr olds so it's fun to watch. Scotty really goes after it..as you can see from his little face in the picture above. He is still getting the coordination thing down but he's doing great and just loves it!

Snow in Texas!!

2008-03-13T06:59:00.000-07:00

How crazy is this that everyone is thawing out in March...we are getting snow not once but twice in one week. I have never seen that as long as I have lived in Texas. The kids loved it and had lots of fun.

2008-03-13T06:35:00.000-07:00

Trouble!!??

2008-02-29T12:55:00.000-08:00

Look closely at the shirt..he is getting to be so active and getting in so much trouble. His latest thing is water..loves any kind of water whether it's in the bath or the toilet. Fun for me..if he wasn't so chubby and cute, I don't know what I would do. Can you believe he is almost 11 months? He's gonna start walking soon and I hope his chubby thighs don't hinder his walking..we'll see!!

Nice Surprise!!

2008-02-29T09:17:00.000-08:00

Usually, I don't like to gush and gush about my husband however, I had to post this because it was so sweet of him. For those of you that know Steve well, he is such a loving guy but not a real poem, card or letter writer type of guy. I used to be such a huge holiday person..i.e. Valentines, big Anniversaries etc but Steve is so low key that we don't do the whole flower thing, or box of chocolates.

We joke about his ability to pick greeting cards in fact, because he always gets me the card from 7 eleven that is like the last Valentines card that usually is in Spanish, and is a bereavement card. He crosses out the words that don't apply and there you go. He loves to make me laugh with silly things like that and so I was shocked when..lo and behold the other day there was a knock at my door and here were these beautiful flowers with this sweet card that said, "Just because I love you". I was so impressed with his efforts and had to share...They made my day..so shout out to my other half!

Daddy Daughter Dance

2008-02-21T12:05:00.000-08:00

YMCA!!
Abbey and Steve attended the City of Frisco's Daddy Daughter Dance last weekend and had the greatest time. Steve said Abbey really got into the dancing, of course and they had a great time with friends. They ate out first at Chili's then went onto the dance. She was so excited about her wristlet that she wanted to wear it to church the next day..she's so funny. They had a great time together, which is mainly because they are two peas in a pod.

I am a Fanilow!!

2008-02-19T22:05:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite song of his..

Ok..so I am kind of a closet Barry fan but my sister had extra tickets for this show tonight so I dragged Steve with me to see it. I have already seen him twice before but it was just as great this time. He had so many great songs and I pretty much grew up listening to him on eight tracks believe it or not. I can't believe I am that old!! It is a little bitter sweet because I have so many great memories of his music because my mom loved it but also because so much of his music reminds me of my dad that passed away when I was young. Needless to say, he was great and played a beautiful black grand piano for most of the concert. The highlight of the night was when they showed a video clip of him in 1975 playing "Mandy" on this show called Midnight Special. We watched the video for the first verse and then the lights went up on the stage and this huge white grand piano came up from the floor with him playing...then at the end he sang with the video again in harmony..so cool. I know this sounds so cheesy but I loved it. He ended with, of course, Copacabana!! I was dancing and I think Steve was embarassed but whatever! At least we had a night out together even though we were rocking out to Barry!

I have been tagged..

2008-02-14T13:47:00.000-08:00

In honor of Valentines, I will break down and tell all about my other, better half. I have been tagged several times, but never done it so..here it goes. BTW, I am starting with this cute pic of Steve I found today..if Scotty isn't him..it's crazy how much they look alike, and the song playing right now is one of "ours"...old school Kenny Chesney!

What is his full name? Steven Micheal Frederick

How long have you been married? It will be 12 years on November 22nd! WOW..does that make me old?

How long did you date? We dated 4 months and were engaged 4 months.

Who eats more sweets? Probably me but we might actually tie on that one..he tends to be more of a late night nacho with cheese man.

Who said I love you first? He did ... which I thought he was joking but he was serious. His mom actually asked him in front of me the first time we met if he loved me, so maybe he felt he better follow up and really say it!?

How old is he? 33

Who is taller? He is..almost 6 feet tall.

Who is smarter? Common sense wise..he is, but I am definitely the multi tasker and am very efficient. As far as math goes though, he puts me to shame.

Who can sing better? Him..I can't really carry a tune..at all!

Who does the laundry? Me unless I am too slow, he'll start to gather a load together to give me that hint that laundry time has come.

Who pays the bills? I do. I have tried many times to hand it over but I am too much of a control freak!

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does..close to the alarm because I will sleep through it.

Who mows the lawn? Steve..I tried but couldn't even get the thing started, not to mention that I burned the grass with the edger. No more mowing for me.

Who cooks dinner? Mostly me. I have the same 5 recipes I repeat so when he gets sick of it, he'll cook. He is so much better at it than me. Our first meal after we got married was chicken parmasean, that was burnt on the outside and frozen on the inside!!I've come a long way actually.

Who drives? Usually me because he drives too slow and I am a backseat driver. If we aren't in a hurry than he drives.

Who is more stubborn? Me.. Steve's too laid back to be stubborn.

Who kissed who first? He kissed me first..which I wasn't ready for so our next one was days later and that was great!

Who asked who out? He asked me to go bowling with a group of friends which I didn't end up going however, he showed up at my house after..he was persistent. Good thing he was..

Who has more siblings? Technically, I do if you include my step brothers. I have 2 sisters and 6 brothers. He has 2 sisters and a brother that passed away when he was 16 of cancer. That is who Scotty is named after.

Who wears the pants? I think Steve likes me to think I do, but we are probably about equal. He calls me on all my crap and I do the same for him.

I added this question myself: Who's funnier? If you all know Steve than that is a no brainer. He is the funniest person and there is never a dull moment with him. He is witty, and keeps things in our marriage fun. Even when I have had a bad day, I can always count on him to make me laugh. He really is such a great husband, dad and person. I hope he knows how much I truly love him. This sounds cheesy but he is my match in every way and I feel lucky to have him..Here is one of my favorite pics of us: Happy V-day to everyone!!

Gotta Love AI!!

2008-02-07T19:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, I will admit- I still can't get enough of it..It still makes me laugh every time. This got me laughing so hard..maybe because I am overly tired but hope you enjoy. By the way, my favorite part is "Frosty, Frosty." It will fun to see how this season turns out! PS..scroll down all the way to the bottom to pause my music on the player so you can get the full sound of the this video.

Here we were and U2 3D with some good friends~

2008-01-28T21:15:00.000-08:00

These glasses are hot..might wear them out on the town! Below you can see the trailer for UD:3D which was so fantastic. If you are a U2 fan, you must go! I wanted to get out of my seat and jump around. You will never get that close to Bono or all of them for that matter. You could actually see the sweat on their foreheads.

The music was of course incredible but so was the film. You literally felt like you were there. I highly recommend...their music brings back so many great memories for me. Steve and I loved it!

U2 in 3D...So Incredible!!

2008-01-27T16:16:00.000-08:00

This boy is growing up TOO fast!!

2008-01-16T08:24:00.000-08:00

I thought I would give an update on Spencer since he just gets bigger every day (literally) and does so many funny things. First of all, his shirts have a HUGE ring of drool every day since his teeth have decided to come all at once. He now has his bottom two and working on his top two. He is so mobile now and follows me everywhere when I vacuum. I almost have to run away with it because he is so fast and loves the noise. For some reason, he just wants to sit his little "big" bum on it..so funny. He also loves to get into the fridge when I have it open. He actually got a hold of the chocolate syrup with his hand and was trying to manuever it out of the shelf..meanwhile he has his mouth open and drool coming out because he can't wait to just get his mouth on that syrup.

He definitely keeps me laughing!! He is now also pulling himself up to things to get a better look..he'll be walking before I know it. He has the biggest smile in the world..which definitely comes from me (the oversmiler) but he is so happy all the time. Here are a few cute pics of him lately..

... and for all those people who "think" he looks like Steve..

then here is a pic of me as a baby and you can see that he actually does look like ME too..

Chillin'

Fall Leaves..in January???

2008-01-16T07:45:00.000-08:00

So as you can see, our winter has been pretty mild since our leaves JUST fell off our trees. Steve and the kids had a great time playing in the leaves. Of course we raked them and then haven't bagged them yet but oh well! It has been in the 60's sometimes 70's for like a week and then it will drop to 40 in a day then back up to 60 degrees. Needless to say, we have all been sick trying to cope. Here are some cute pics of the kids in the leaves...

READY!!

SET!!!

GO!!!!!

Looks like Santa found our house..

2008-01-03T20:49:00.000-08:00

Our living room had the mess to show it! The kids has a blast and of course we were up at 7:30 and were done opening presents by 7:45. Everyone was happy and Spencer just wanted to eat the wrapping paper so he was entertained. Abbey got a little mp3 player and some fun games, and dolls. Scotty finally got a big boy scooter and a huge transformers helmet that is practically bigger than he is. Steve got a me a nice willow tree statue to add to my collection and I got him him the "Simpsons" movie that was so painful for me to buy..(hate the simpsons) and some clothes etc. We had a great Christmas together and enjoyed the time with friends and family and to reflect on the blessings of the past year. We have so much to be thankful for! These are some fun pics of the past few weeks. My favorite is Spencer yanking on Santa's beard..he thought it was so cool!

Are they cute or is it just me!!

2007-12-13T14:10:00.000-08:00

December 2007

The Nutcracker

2007-12-13T13:48:00.000-08:00

Abbey and I went to see The Nutcracker fulfilling our normal Christmas tradition with Grammie, Cindy and her girls, Ryleigh and Lauren. It was fabulous as usual. We went to eat first and my friend Kellie came with us this year. She lost her mom a year ago to cancer and used to always go with her mom so we invited her with us and had a great time. Abbey loves it more now since she is taking dance.

Spencer is on the MOVE!!

2007-12-13T12:54:00.001-08:00

Time to break out the baby gate.. Spence is on the move. He actually gets on all fours but cannot move quite yet. He moves backwards more often than forwards but sometimes just sits and rocks back and forth. He is hilarious..I have to give him credit for getting his chunky little body to move around. He just started clapping today too. We will clap and say "yea" and he loves to start clapping and follow along...I love it! He just turned 8 months on the 5th of December. My how the times flies!! Here are some pics of him in his progression!

These Kids Are Crazy..

2007-12-13T12:45:00.001-08:00

Is it normal to feel outnumbered??? Here are some funny pics of the kids together..They keep us entertained 24/7!

Abbey's Thankgiving Play

2007-12-13T12:41:00.000-08:00

Here is Abbey at school. They had a readers theatre and Abbey read a poem called "Pumpkin Pie Time" with her friend Taylor. They were so cute!

Scotty's 4!!

2007-12-13T11:51:00.000-08:00

Wow..I can't believe he turned 4. It seems like yesterday that he was just little like Spencer. It is amazing to think he started out like this and has grown up so healthy.

We had his party at Peter Piper Pizza. He had a great time and of course played every game they had. He had about 7 or 8 friends come and Cindy made him a SpiderMan cake which he loved. He is definitely our little ham..he keeps us entertained and on our toes.

Here is Spencer with his little friend that is 10 days younger.They were happy as long as they were eating!

We had a great time!

King of our Household!!

2007-11-12T20:48:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK!!

2007-11-10T09:39:00.000-08:00

Okay, so New York was absolutely the best! We had so much fun and remembered how it was when it was just the two of us! We of course, missed the kids alot, but it was nice to get away for a weekend. We saw and did everything we wanted to do and probably walked at least 10 miles!! The first night we were there we saw "Wicked" the play on Broadway, which was so fabulous and we both loved it.

It is such a popular show that we felt lucky we got tickets to see it. We got to eat the best pizza and hot dogs and drink the best hot chocolate in the WORLD at this place called the "Chocolate Bald Man".. it was like drinking pure chocolate.

We got to see Times Square, Rockefeller Center, St. Patricks Cathedral, which was absolutely amazing, Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero and the Financial District. It was wild to think that all of those tall buildings downtown are actually full of people who work there. No wonder the streets and subways are so crowded.

Ground Zero was so interesting to see. It was all fenced off and you really couldn't see much. We were able to take a picture through the tarp on the fence and that is all we saw. It was very quiet there, almost eerily so. I just couldn't believe I was looking at the end result of all that happened there. We were lucky enough to be able to meet up with a friend of Steve's family, Maurice, who lives there in the city with his wife and children. He told us a little bit about that day and what is was like for him. He was right down there, maybe 2 blocks away when it all happened. Amazing story!

We shopped on Canal Street/Chinatown and that was an event! I got a great purse for $20 so that was fun. We got lots of fun stuff for the kids there too. The place that we stayed was so wonderful and we were lucky to know someone who let us stay there for free. It was on the upper west side and was just beautiful. It sat right on the Hudson River. Walking to the subway over there, we saw David Hyde Pierce who was Niles on "Frasier" and I didn't know what to say so I acted totally cool and didn't say anything but I wanted to!

The last day we were there, we went to the Brooklyn Bridge, which was really pretty. We ate at a fun Cuban restaurant and took some great pictures. All in all, it was such a great trip and a dream come true for me as I have always wanted to go. It made me realize how blessed I am and how lucky I am to have such a great husband and family!! Great memories we will never forget!

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-10-30T19:39:00.001-07:00

Halloween 2007

2007-10-30T19:02:00.000-07:00

Boy, was this a fun year for trick or treating! We must have gone on 4 different occasions, so the amount of candy we have is unbelievable. We went to our ward trunk or treat which was a blast, and then Scotty and Abbey each had separate parties for school, dance etc. and then we have the traditional fun of walking until we drop to hit every house in the neighborhood. It was fun to see Spencer in his costume. He was a Pooh Honey Pot and you can't even imagine how cute he looked but a few people thought he was a girl so we might have to go with a more manly costume next year. He is already sitting up by himself and is just the happiest, sweetest baby. Everyone comments on how smiley and happy he is.

The older kids really looked cute in their costumes. Scotty really thinks he is stronger with his costume on since his "built in, sewn in" muscles are so big. He takes it very seriously. Abbey is of course the sweetest and cutest witch ever. She is still so skinny, she can barely keep her tights up.

We had our traditional carving of pumpkins tonight and Abbey wanted to get right in the pumpkin to get the guts out. Scotty of course didn't want to get his hands dirty..I need to break him of that. The kids had a blast though and here are a few pics of them trying on Steve's wig for his costume.

Anyway, all in all a great time and a fun Halloween!! Steve and I leave for New York in a few days to celebrate our 10th anniversary (late), so we have to post our fun pictures when we get back!

2007-10-22T14:16:00.001-07:00

Steve and I

Cruise 2004

2007-10-15T14:24:00.001-07:00

It's October in Texas!

Yes, It's that time again! Every October we go to the Pumpkin Farm and also the State Fair of Texas. It is always so fun for the kids and they love the time with their cousins and Grammie and Pop Pop. Just the boys and I went to the Pumpkin Farm and Scotty loved feeding the animals and picked a big pumpkin.

It was great weather for October..we loved it! I used to take Abbey when I was pregnant with Scott..that is how many years we have been coming to this one Pumpkin Farm, so this was a full circle moment! It was fun to be spend some one on one with Scotty.

~FAIR DAY ~

Wow, what an undertaking. Steve had to work so we headed out on our own with cousins and Grammie and Pop Pop. We saw everything from a HUGE pig that couldn't stand up so the "smallest horse in the world." The kids rode a ton of rides and lost of fun activities.

They had cotton candy, funnel cakes, snow cones and whatever else they could eat. It was fun and such a fun tradition for them. We go every year. They were pooped, of course, at the end but Spencer did great, so it wasn't too bad. These are the memories I hope my kids will always remember and cherish!!

2007-10-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

I Did It..Hooray!

Okay, so I finally figured out how to do this and I am still working out the kinks so bear with! Happy Autumn to all and just thought I would do this so we can keep in touch better and let you in on the day to day "stuff" of our lives, which is not much. It is a little like Groundhog Day the movie, except it doesn't end! We love our life and we have great kids.

Abbey of course is 7 and doing great! She is doing so well in school and is already at a 4th grade reading level. (can't take any credit for that!)

She loves art and is now taking dance and piano which she LOVES!

Scotty is our little drama king! He is turning 4 in a few weeks and boy can't he wait! He keeps saying he can't "see" his birthday because it is just too far away. He loves playing soccer and has been taking a sports class at the gym so we'll see. He always keeps us laughing and entertained!

Our little (actually not so little) Spencer

is just a butterball of happiness! He is so social

and loves to laugh and smile at anyone. He is now a whopping 21 lbs and is breaking mom's arm. He is truly such a joy and we love having him in our little family.