Casa de Mayo

Papa

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:29:00 +0000

I know I am very behing on blogging. I have lots to write about and many pictures to post, but today my mind is elsewhere.

My Papa (Dad's dad) passed away this morning. We all knew that he was nearing the end, but it doesn't make it any less sad. I think that mostly I am sad for my Dad. It's hard watching a parent lose a parent.

But I am mourning my Papa. I have SO many memories of him. He lived out in "the country" in Granbury with a little bit of land. I think I often took for granted when I was little how fun it was going to visit. There wasn't any other kids to play with out there, and he wasn't the type of Grandfather that would run around and play with you or get on the floor and play games. But he made my brother and I laugh SO much. He sometimes, okay many times, used language in front of us that I'm sure made my parents cringe. But Neil and I laughed so hard, it just fueled the fire. He let us ride on the riding lawn mower with him when we were little and by ourselves when we grew up a little bit. They used to have lots of chickens and even a turkey that we would chase around the yard. He would come visit us in Lubbock with the biggest Cousin Eddy motor home you have ever seen. It was awesome. He loved hearing about our school and the things we were involved in. He loved getting into deep conversations with my parents about religion, and I'm sure if I wouldn't have rolled my eyes and walked away, I would have learned a thing or two.

Here are just SOME of the things I loved and want to remember about my Papa:

* He always called Cora "legs." I have no idea why...she doesn't have really long ones, but maybe he liked how fat they were.

* He always preferred to drink a big glass of milk with every meal.

* He always wore a hat. My favorite were the cowboys hats he wore.

* He was in the Navy, was a firefighter, and worked many years on the railroad. I wish I knew more stories from each of these. I know that he was very hard working and dedicated.

* He had a great laugh that was contagious.

* I love that when I looked into his eyes I could also see my dad and my brother.

* He loved being around family. He lived the last few years of his life in an assisted living facility, and he was always so excited to have visitors.

* He got cold easily.

* He would talk to you forever. He loved telling stories.

* His little bird legs were the cutest thing ever.

* I loved watching Kaitlyn get to know him. I hope she will hold memories of him with her.

I know there are many more stories, and things that he said. Hopefully after being with family this upcoming week I will remember many more and be able to record them. Love you, Papa.

Light the Night Walk

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:43:00 +0000

A little over a month ago the three year old daughter of some of our really good friends was diagnosed with ALL Leukemia. Everything happened rather quickly - she was taken to Cooks in Ft. Worth and given about a 2 1/2 year treatment plan. FORTUNATELY, the type of cancer that she has has a VERY good prognosis. Tatum is already considered in remission and will continue to receive chemo treatments to make sure that they zap it all and prevent it from returning. She is back in Abilene now and can receive most of her care here.

On Saturday night there was a Light the Night walk around ACU to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. Another family from church put together Team Tatum to walk in her honor. There was an overwhelming response in participants and donations. There were over 200 of us out there in our yellow shirts! Tatum is the sweetest, most hilarious girl. I think her and Cora are a lot alike! It was an honor to be a part of this event!

Cora and Tatum back in May...such sweet Friends!

Our new favorite T-shirts!!

They had face painting, but Kaitlyn chose to get a moose painted on her hand. Weird.

This is Kaitlyn with Olivia, Tatum's sister. They are the same age and in the same class this year at school. They had fun kicking a ball around for awhile. Olivia has been so strong during all of this!

They passed out balloons that lit up for everyone to carry during the walk. It was so neat to see all of them when it got dark!

We love you Tater Tot!

First Day of FIRST Grade!!!

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:35:00 +0000

Kaitlyn has been so excited for school to start this year. I feel like the summer just FLEW by. We stayed pretty busy, and the first day of school just snuck up on me! I know I will say this every year, but I can not believe she is in First Grade. We got her haircut a few weeks ago, and now she even looks older! I don't think I needed that.

She got a wonderful teacher, Mrs. M. We go to church with them and their daughter is in our Huddle. This is who Kaitlyn wanted and talked about all summer, so she was excited! There are also a handful of Highland kids in her class. I really think she will have a great year - we feel truly blessed!

She is SO excited about having a locker this year. Their usual Elementary school is being renovated, so they are using a Middle School. It's a little annoying to have to drive over there, but she loves it.

Walking in with one of her best friends, Emma.

My SAD attempt at making Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast - at her request.

Wedding!

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:20:00 +0000

I am WAY behind on blogging! This will (hopefully) be the first of 3 blogs today.

Brian and Jennifer......

My sister-in-law Jenny got married on the 22nd. It was quite the party with many out of town family members that we had not seen in SO long. James' parents did a great job planning such a fun weekend for everyone involved. Kaitlyn and her cousin Lofton were the flower girls. They looked precious and had a blast dancing the night away at the reception. The rehearsal was on Thursday night, so on Friday we got to enjoy the day by the pool, ending with a fun cookout for the whole family. It was a tiring, but very fun weekend! Jennifer made a beautiful bride!

Flower Girls.... (notice Kaitlyn's new short haircut!)

This is James' Mamaw from Mississippi. I just LOVE his grandparents. She's like 86..doesn't she look beautiful?!

Kaitlyn ACTUALLY got her fingernails painted for the big day. I was SHOCKED that she agreed to do this. She is normally very against it.

The stretch hummer we got to ride in on the way to the wedding!

Bride and her Daddy....

Sweet girls...

Dancing with her cousin, Graham.

Hello 7 chins...

My Three Girls...

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:52:00 +0000

It's been nice to just be home for awhile! We didn't do too much this past weekend, and it was great! We had some friends move to Abilene (actually right down the street from us!), and were able to watch their boys for awhile on Saturday while they got some unpacking done. It was fun having little boys in the house for a few hours!

Since there is not many activities to write about, I thought I would catch up on the girls and what they are saying/doing these days.

KaItLyN :

She starts First Grade on the 24th. Crazy! She has stayed pretty busy this summer, which has been good. She loves her friends and wants to invite someone over every single day. She is still a little smarty pants and surprises me every day with the things that she says that just seem too old for a 6 year old to be saying. I love spending time with just her. I know she craves my attention a lot because during the day most of time is focused on Cora and Claire. So, she and I go on bike rides in the evenings a couple times a week. We love riding our bikes around campus, or to Cajun Cones for a yummy treat. I love doing this with her and hope she grows up to have good memories of it. I took her to the Drive-In movie the other night and she seemed to really enjoy that. (Even though my car battery died and we couldn't hear the movie as well. Not one of my finer moments) Let's see...some other things she has been into lately:

She loves infomercials. The other day she ran into the living room and said, "MOM! Did you know that for only $19.95 and a snap of your fingers your car and your house can be sparkly clean?!"

She is constantly on the look-out for homeless people, or people in need on the streets. We have given food to a handful of them, but she's never satisfied with just this. She always asks if they can come home with us and spend the night.

When she grows up and becomes a Mom, she wants to name her daughter Madelyn Jane and her son Jonathan Root. You read that right, Root. I have no idea where she got either one of these names.

She used to HATE brushing her teeth, but I bought her an electric toothbrush and now she brushes them like 4 times a day.

She has started wanting to read books by herself, which I am LOVING! She is really into Junie B. Jones right now. I have found her sitting on her closet floor just reading away.

She wants to take Hip Hop dance lessons. James and I have vetoed this for now.

She knows every word to every song and every artist who sings it on Radio Disney. She also loves her Praise music at night.

CoRa :

I am loving the stage Cora is in right now. She is talking so much and her little personality is just so sweet. We have almost mastered potty training, so she should be good to go by the time school starts in a couple of weeks. She has become quite the swimmer this summer! We just strap her arm floaties on and she is off! She will jump off diving boards, so down slides, and can hold her breath for such a long time! She watched Kaitlyn in swim lessons and really picked stuff up I think. She loves her sisters. She has a very "nurturing" side of her. If either one of them are crying or upset, she is quick to comfort.

She has the BIGGEST country accent. It completely cracks me up. My favorite thing that she says is "I THANK!" If you ask her a question, she just thinks about it for a second and says, "I thank!"

If I am having to get on to her for any reason (which doesn't happen often), she will respond with, "Don't worry 'bout me" or "Don't get me in trouble!"

The other day I just picked her up and gave her a big hug, squeezed her real tight and said, "OH, I just LOOOOOOOVE you Cora!" This was the rest of the conversation:

Cora: (looking at me with a little smirk) "Are you gonna buy me somethin'?"

Me: (laughing) "What?"

Cora: "Are you gonna buy me somethin'?"

Me: "Well, what do you want me to buy you?"

Cora: "Chicken."

Cora loves chicken and would eat it for every single meal.

She refuses to drink milk of any flavor and gets her share of dairy from yogurt and cheese.

She stays with me so well when we are out shopping or going places. But she does love to occasionally hide in the racks of clothes.

She is not a big TV watcher.

She's almost completely potty trained!

She loves getting dressed up for church and going to Bible class. She looks forward to it every week. She also makes sure that we remember to pray before every meal.

She still loves her lip gloss and has to have it for nap time and bedtime. She just rubs it on her lips until she falls asleep. It's like her pacifier. She also likes to sleep with her flip flops. Preferably on her feet, but she'll hold them too.

I love listening to her sing. She has the sweetest little voice.

ClAiRe:

Claire requires the most attention these days. She gets into all sorts of trouble. She is an expert climber and explorer. This is where we recently found her - just to give you an example:

She is VERY into music. She loves to dance and sing (or hum) along to songs that she hears. My favorite thing she does is play her harmonica. I tried to upload a video, but I couldn't get it to work. She is SO good at playing her blue harmonica. She even dances along with it. It's hilarious. One sweet story - Claire was born with a little heart murmur. She's had a couple of Echo cardiograms and everything is fine, but the doctor ALWAYS comments about it when they listen to her heart. We recently switched doctors, and the first time the new Pediatrician listened to it she said, " I do hear her little murmur, but it's totally benign. In medical school we were told it is called a MUSICAL HEARTBEAT." How cool is that?! I got a little teary eyed when she said that.

She loves her big sisters, but can definitely hold her own with them and let them know when they are making her mad.

She's figured out how to get out of her crib. Makes going to bed a little bit harder. I'm refusing to believe she is old enough for a big girl bed. She's my last baby!! I can't imagine a day with no more cribs!

She hates her car seat. It's pretty much a struggle every time.

Here are some of the things that she says:

"See-um" (Sam, the puppy)

"Gane?" (when she wants to play her GAME on my iphone)

"Nouse" - (her minnie mouse that she sleeps with)

Anytime you call her name, she responds with, "What." It's hard to describe what it sounds like, but it's pretty cute.

She loves to swing outside. She could do it for hours, I'm sure.

Being the baby, she has mastered the words, "Don't", "No", and "Mine."

I could kiss her sweet cheeks all day long!!!!

My mom asked me one time how I could stand all the sweetness of my three girls. I just love and kiss on them all the time. I don't know how I stand it. I just do! I am blessed beyond measure.

Shower Time!

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:25:00 +0000

I was glad to help host a wedding shower for James's sister, Jennifer on Saturday in Dallas. It was neat to get to meet some of her friends and be a part of such a fun time for her. We stayed up in McKinney so that the girls could take full advantage of the pool at Grandpa and Grandmere's house. Puppy Sam made the trip with us and enjoyed a few dips in the pool as well!
I LOVED watching Jen open this gift. She has always collected Barbies and has SO many of them still safe in their boxes. Her grandmother, who passed away years ago, left this Bride Barbie for her. She was surprised and got so emotional. It was sweet to watch.

Jennifer and her bridesmaids.

With the Bride and Mother of the Bride!

June, me, Jen and Jan. Lots of J's!

Pool time! We found a floatie that Claire would sit in for longer than 1.7 seconds. Kaitlyn is cracking me up in the background.

What fun is a pool if your Daddy doesn't toss you up in the air?!?

Claire...

Cora...

And Kaitlyn...

Girls Trip to Lubbock!

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:53:00 +0000

Last Sunday I packed up the girls and headed to Lubbock for a few days. We really loved being there. We enjoyed a fun back yard with a tree house, a trip to Joyland amusement park, a play date with some friends, playtime at the one and only South Plains Mall (are there SERIOUSLY tattoo parlor's there now?! crazyyy), a fun hour at Texas Water Rampage where we didn't even touch the water because right after we cleared the gate someone saw a slight flash of lightening about 100 miles away and made everyone get out of the water, lots of good food, and tons of love from Mamaw and Pappy. We had a blast!

I was SO proud of Kaitlyn for going down this water slide. I was always to chicken to do it. Even in high school! But, I did it after she did and then we both went on it about 4 more times. Unfortunately on the last time, I flipped completely off my board into the water. I don't think I've ever heard Kaitlyn laugh so hard. I'm so glad that happened right before we left though, instead of right when we got there.

Just wishing they could get in that wave pool. Too bad....

Kid Quest!!

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 15:35:00 +0000

Kaitlyn has had back to back camps the past two weeks. This week she got to go to Kid Quest at ACU. It was all day Monday through Friday. She has been talking about this camp since about the middle of the school year. Today at breakfast she got a little teary wishing she could go back already! There were over 100 kids total at the camp, but they broke them up into smaller groups. They got to swim, go bowling, do fun outdoor art activities, play lots of games, memorize scripture, learn lots of new fun songs, and learn about how Jesus is the ONLY WAY. Yesterday all of the parents went up there to watch them sing their songs, say their memory verse and watch a slide show of pictures and video from the week. I have to admit, I was taken back to all of the camps I went to when I was growing up and thinking about all of the lasting memories and friendships I made there. I know she will remember this forever, and I hope she continues to want to do church camps every summer!

Kaitlyn and Emma

One of her group counselors..

Another group counselor...

We heard about this sweet little boy, Dakota, ALL week long. His older brother has actually been in our huddle, but they moved to Alaska last year. They came back to Abilene just to do summer camps. Kaitlyn looked forward to seeing him every morning, and was with him every afternoon when I went to pick her up. He is so sweet. Kaitlyn said she wants to be pen pals with him now. How cute is that? This is Megan with them in the picture. She was one of the camp directors and Kaitlyn and Cora are flower girls in her wedding in January!

Art Camp!!

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:10:00 +0000

My friend Summer put on a FABULOUS Art Camp for kids this week. She has done this a few times in the Ft. Worth area, and I am SO glad that she brought it to Abilene! Kaitlyn absolutely loved it. They learned about a different artist each day, and learned different techniques and art styles. I was very impressed with the art work she did! Today was the last day, and there was a little Art Exhibit to showcase all of their work. Summer did a fantastic job and even awarded each child a certificate. I am SO MAD because all of the pictures that I took today turned out blurry (I think my flash was switched off). However, I'm still going to post them - so sorry in advance!

I think this was my favorite. I think I'll even frame it.

For this, Summer had a real vase with fruit at the front of the room and they had to draw it. Not bad!

A little abstract art..they paint on one side of the paper and then fold it over to make it identical on the other side.

This is her paper mache (sp?) bowl decorated with tissue paper. She said she wanted to attach some straps to it and make it her bicycle helmet. Yep.

A stepping stone for the beautiful garden that we have. I mean, our front porch that is a slab of cement.

Her self portrait. Hers are to YOUR left. The first is on the first day of camp with no instruction or direction, and the second is on the 4th day with a little more knowledge of what to do.

Kaitlyn and Mara... (btw..aren't their aprons soooo cute? they got to keep these along with their bucket of art supplies)

Also, please note that I dropped Kaitlyn off right after we had been swimming and she refused to let me put her hair in a ponytail....

Summer handing out their certificates.

Thanks Summer for such a FUN week! Kaitlyn is already talking about going next year!

As soon as we got home Cora and Claire wanted to get right into Kaitlyn's art bucket and use some of her new supplies!

Such a serious artist...

And speaking of creativity...I NEED A BLOG MAKEOVER!!! I am so bored with the way my blog looks. Everyone has such cute ones now and I am just not up with the times. Can anyone out there do this for me, or know of someone who can? Do all these fancy schmancy blogs cost money..or is there a free way to do it? I'm clueless..help a girl out.

Top 10 Things (in random order) that made my 30th Memorable...

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:25:00 +0000

10. I was woken up by Kaitlyn who was wearing a Home Depot apron with a note pad in the pocket, and a nice napkin draped over her arm. She said "Good morning, Ma'am. What would you like for breakfast?" I thoroughly enjoyed my fruity pebbles, banana, and Sunny D.

9. Kaitlyn also sang a song for me that she wrote. It was SO sweet and a really pretty tune! She later told me that she heard it on a TV show awhile ago, but I didn't care. It was sweet hearing it from her voice.

8. James got into my Google Reader and emailed everyone who's blog that I faithfully read. He asked them to post a Happy Birthday blog to me...and so many of them did it! I was SHOCKED when I woke up and saw that all of the titles were about me. Crazy...It was so thoughtful of everyone to do that! I will print them out and keep them forever!

7. Cora decided to tell me (many times throughout the day) all of the things that God made. I just loved her list:
* trees
* birds
* coconuts
* Barbies
* Sprite
* lemonade
* dogs
* fish
* lip gloss

6. My mom called me at 9:05 AM. The exact time I was born. She does it every year and I love it.

5. I got to keep Ava and Pierson for the day. I LOVED listening to Ava sing all of her Annie songs. She said some HI-LARIOUS things throughout the day that literally made me laugh out loud. We set up a tent and she crawled in there by herself and just starting singing (at the top of her lungs) "DESPERADO!!!!!"

4. My friend Holly brought me a TON of balloons! I don't remember the last time I had balloons on my birthday! I loved it!

3. I got to spend some quality time with Halsa and left with a great new haircut. (Not much different, just trimmed up a bit)

2. Some shopping time by myself, thanks to a generous gift card from my parents!

1. Got to see The Proposal with a couple of fun friends. Great movie...go see it if you haven't!

It was a wonderful day, and I feel ready to face a new decade! Thanks again to all of my blog friends for your sweet words yesterday!!!

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY LESLIE !!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:19:00 +0000

Just so you know this is James. I wanted to do something special for my wife today because she deserves it.

As I write this she is watching the Bachelorette.

One of the many things I find cute about her are her little quirks. She has to watch this show on Monday's, it doesn't matter if it's 11:00pm at night. Another thing is her ability to buy barbecue sauce. We must have about 15 bottles at our house right now because she always thinks we're out. I love that because we won't be out till 2020 but its funny to see a new bottle in the pantry.
Diet Dr. Peppers. We love DDP's with a passion. I've had two tonight.

But that's not what this blog is about. It's about how a special women, mother, daughter, friend is turning 30. She has been on this earth and her impact will be felt for generations. I love this. I love that she also thinks I'm checking fantasy baseball scores right now.

She is a special person and God put her on this earth over 10,000 days ago and she has not wasted one of them.

Tomorrow will be no different. I hope she has a wonderful day and I hope she is able to enjoy such a joyous milestone in life.

I love you.

P.S.

Another one of her quirks is reading blogs. I mean big time reader of blogs. However, if I was her, I would check these blogs below out.

Hannah
Kristen
Sara W.
Kara
Meredith M.
Meredith C.
Ann
Alyssa
Summer
Ashley
Sara H.
Jordan
Amanda F.
Courtney H.
Lindsay H.
Martha
Jackie
Brenna
Annalee
Erica
Amy B.
Becky H.
Holly F.

Hope you have a great day.

Angel Fire!

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:08:00 +0000

Do you ever feel like you need a vacation from your vacation?! We have been gone for about 10 days and I am exhausted! We had such a great time though. My parents took us and my brother and sister in law on a wonderful week long get-a-way to Angel Fire, NM. It was so nice to be away from this Texas HEAT and up in the mountain air. We did lots of fun things and had plenty of time to hang around the house and relax. It was the perfect mix. I'll let the pictures tell the story. True to form for my blog, the pictures are not in order of occurrence...or any order for that matter. And, WARNING - there are a lot of them!

Neil and Claire checking out the lake in Eagle Nest.

Mom and Dad. It was so fun to watch my Dad during the week. The mountains truly are his happy place.

There was a really fun little park near our house that we took the girls to play at. Most of my pictures here turned out blurry, but I'm sooo glad this one didn't. Neil had a blast jumping out of the swing! I'm pretty sure he had more fun at the park than the girls did.

Sweet Cora...

One of our deer sightings. This one was just behind our house.

Kaitlyn in deep concentration while fishing.

This is Claire's scrunchy nose face that she has been making lately..

Paddle Boats! Cora loved leaning over and dragging her hands in the cold water.

Neil, Brittany and Kaitlyn. We had a race between our three boats. This was the team that CHEATED!!! They totally turned our boat around.

Claire gettin' ready to get on the boat. I am SO glad adult life jackets don't have the butt crack strap.

We also got to go on a long horse back ride! Kaitlyn was so excited that she got to ride all by herself. She did SO great with it. She only got a little scared on our way back down the mountain. (It was a little steep) But we had a wonderful guide that helped her feel comfortable. I know she will have great memories from this. Her horses name was Willy Wonka.

One night James and I got to go out with Neil and Britt while my parents watched the girls. I'm pretty sure we hit all of the restaurants in Angel Fire. All 3 of them.

"Fine food and LIBATIONS?" Why can't you just say drinks?

We went into Taos earlier that day to shop around the square and eat lunch. We all got some souvenirs and yummy food!

View of the ski slopes.

Our house was awesome. There was a deck outside of every room! One of the decks we had a great hot tub! The girls used it as a heated pool during the day, and at night it was no nice to relax in.

The house all nestled in the trees.

Pappy and Claire checking out some sticks.

It was obvious that other kids play in the woods by the house. Kaitlyn found a couple of forts, a swing, and even a ladder going up a tree.

This was in Taos on the square. (Told ya my pics weren't in order)

My dad wanted a picture with the girls in front of this random gorilla. I just love what each of them are doing. Especially Claire's arms.

The friendly bear on the porch.
Another view of the house.

Thanks Mom and Dad for such a wonderful trip!!

Happy Birthday Sweet Kaitlyn!!

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:56:00 +0000

I'm a little late in posting..but my sweet girl (that just told her younger sister if she didn't leave her alone she would sit on her face) turned 6 last Friday!!! I truly can not believe it has been 6 years since she was born. She was pretty specific on what she wanted to do for her party this year. She wanted to invite just a few friends and spend the night at a hotel here in town. Pretty fun idea! So my mom and I packed into a room with 7 six year olds for the night. We ordered pizza, had cake and ice cream, made bracelets, and did lots of swimming in the indoor pool.

She also asked for breakfast in bed, but when she decided to wake up at 6:00, I didn't get the chance to make that happen. So, I went to McDonald's and got her some breakfast and let her eat it on the couch. Good enough, right?

Oh, she also had her last day of swim lessons on her birthday. Mr. L and the other 2 kids in her class sang Happy Birthday to her under water. She loved this last year so I was glad they did it again.

We had so much fun celebrating her day. She truly is one of the funniest people I know. She makes me laugh on a daily basis.

We love you Kaitlyn. We are so proud of you!

the pics aren't in order, sorry!

Claire definitely enjoyed the pizza....

Meet Sam!!!

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:53:00 +0000

This is what we surprised Kaitlyn with for her 6th birthday! He is sooooo sweet. He is half cocker spaniel, half poodle. The breeder called him a cock-a-poo, but I don't like that name for 2 reasons.

1. It just sounds inappropriate. haha
2. It sounds like the name of a bird.

But whatever he is called, Kaitlyn was SHOCKED. We met the breeders about 40 miles outside of town..she had no idea where we were going. When she saw the man with a puppy, she immediately was like, "Mom! Look at that cute dog!" To which I replied, "Happy Birthday!" She just froze and said, "That's MY puppy?!?!" She was so excited and he immediately took to her. They have been inseparable for the past 24 hours.

In other news.. BRENNA IS HOME! She has been in Egypt working with the youth there for the past year. I could not wait to get myself to DFW to see her! I loved this "hat." Her brother wore that in the airport when they went to go pick her up. Sooo great.

Welcome home Brenna! Come to Abilene soon!!

A Visit with Papa....and nasty feet!

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:55:00 +0000

I'll begin this blog on a good note. This weekend we went to Ft. Worth to visit my Papa, my Dad's dad. He's been in a nursing home for awhile and we hadn't been to see him in too long. One of my cousins that I haven't seen in probably 15 years was in town with 2 of her boys..so we decided to try and all meet there to take a BIG family picture with Papa. Unfortunately, we didn't all get there at the same time for the picture, but we did get a few with just our family. It was great to see him...although a little bit hard to see him the way he his. He is so super skinny, on oxygen, has a really hard time walking. But, he can still tell stories and make us all laugh like he always has.

3 Generations...

Cora was not interested in smiling for the camera, but I'm glad I have this one of me and Papa.

LOVE THIS ONE.

Now for the disgusting-ness that is all 3 of my daughters FEET. Cora's happened first. She somehow got the cuticle part of her big toe infected and it caused the whole entire toe to turn pink and purple and swell up real big. Dr. put her on some strong sulfur-based antibiotics and told us to soak it for 10 minutes 4 times a day until it went away.

Then, while we were in Ft. Worth on Saturday, Kaitlyn parked herself in a HUGE fire ant bed long enough for them to take over her right foot and leave lots of lovely swollen ant bites. They are no longer swollen, but they turned into little bruises literally covering her foot.

And as for Claire...yesterday when she woke up from her nap her right foot was very swollen, VERY red, and hot to the touch. She wouldn't stand or walk on it at all. It didn't look like it had a bite anywhere. With it being Sunday, we headed to Dr. J's Express Care and found out she did get bit by something probably a couple of days ago and it had now turned into some kind of staph or strep infection. We avoided getting a shot, but she is now also on a strong antibiotic and we are keeping an eye out for the dreaded "red streaky line" going up her leg. That would be bad.

Other than THAT.... we are doing great! This week we are busy with Kaitlyn's second week of swim lessons, and getting ready for her 6th Birthday on Friday!! ALSO... my cousin Brenna gets back from Egypt tomorrow and I'm going to DFW to see her. It's been a year and I can hardly wait!!!!!

Celebrating, swim lessons, and more!

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:18:00 +0000

This summer has kicked off to a great start!

We went out to dinner to celebrate the end of the school year - and Kaitlyn finishing up Kindergarten. She is so proud to say she is a 1st Grader now. I just can't believe it! She chose Red Robin...and also chose this enormous piece of cake for dessert!

On Monday she started her 3rd year of swim lessons with Mrs. S. and Mr. L. She is a good swimmer already, but she LOVES doing this and looks forward to it every year. Plus, it's always good to brush up on your swimming skills when the Mom has 2 crazy little ones to keep up with when we go to the pool! On the second day Mr. L said they could get/jump into the pool any way they wanted to. Kaitlyn immediately did a flip off the side and came within about an inch away from cracking her head open. Does this surprise ANYONE?!?

We have already gone out to the water park in Eastland once so far. We LOVE this place and the girls do too. We'll go there quite a bit this summer I'm sure. I just wish Abilene had something similar so we didn't have to drive an hour! (They have cooler slides and other things..but I only had my phone to take pictures with and I was a little nervous having it in the pool!)

We are also SO BLESSED to have friends with pools and friends with memberships to pools that let us go swim. It will make this summer SO fun! Cora is FEARLESS. I wasn't sure how she would do this year with just the arm floaties, but she has totally surprised me. She does great. She will jump off the diving board, rocks, anything. She just kicks those little fat legs and gets anywhere she wants to go. Kaitlyn is still fearless as well and has already gone off the HIGH DIVE at the swim club! She was so brave. Claire loves the water too, and unfortunately I have yet to find a floatie that she will sit in on her own. She hates everything I've tried so far, which results in me holding her at all times. This is also why I don't have many pictures of her in the pool. Oh well! Good thing I love the water too.

During the summer our public library has what is called Young Audiences. They have people that come in and perform songs/skits for kids. The first one was yesterday so we met up with some friends and headed that way! This guy Mark was here from Ft. Worth. He was a really good performer! Kaitlyn and Cora loved singing and dancing with him. I needed a straight jacket for Claire for that hour, but we somehow made it through!

SUPERSIZE UPDATE!!!

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:56:00 +0000

Disclaimer: This is, by far, the longest post I have ever posted. I should have broken it up and posted about 5 seperate blogs, but I didn't. So, it totally won't hurt my feelings if you don't read it all. :)

Wow. I forgot my blogger user name and password. Sad people. Just plain sad. I have thought and thought about where to even begin. An update on each family member? Just pictures? Just forget the past 4 months and start from right now? I finally decided to give a brief rundown of each month that I haven't blogged. Stick with me everyone, it's a long one. Just a note - I started writing this blog on Thursday at 11:00 AM. Lets just see when I complete it.

Here we go.....

FEBRUARY:

James turned 31!! During his birthday weekend he went on a camping trip with his closest friends from ACU. I'm sure they celebrated big time.

James and Kaitlyn went to Highland's annual Father/Daughter Valentines Dance and Dinner. Kaitlyn had the flu last year and didn't get to go, so she was very excited. They had a blast.

Kaitlyn had a huge scrape on her forehead from trying to do a flip out of the swing in the backyard. Probably won't be trying that again anytime soon.

Our Huddle girls went on a retreat. All the way to the MCM Elegante across town. There were only a few girls there, but we had so much fun and grew even closer! I can't believe they are now all SENIORS!! Craziness.

The last weekend in February we went to Austin for a wedding. One of James's closest friends got married and Kaitlyn was the flower girl. It was so fun to catch up with lots of college friends that we hadn't seen in what seemed like forever. Shout out to Jordan for coming with us and hanging out with Kaitlyn so that we could enjoy time with our friends! We stopped at the capitol on our way out of town. Who knew Kaitlyn would be SO into it? She and James also enjoyed rolling down a hill. Jordan and I REALLY enjoyed watching that...

Flowergirl and Ring Bearer..

Thanks Jordan for coming with us and being the greatest babysitter ever!

This makes me laugh out loud every time I see it.

MARCH:

We had lots of fun playing outside and having play dates with friends. It was a pretty relaxing month actually. We stayed in Abilene for Spring Break. We took the girls to the zoo, and to Frontier Texas - which totally freaked them out. I had heard that it was going to be kind of loud... that was an understatement. They still had a good time..but Kaitlyn still talks about the mean Indians.

It was also that time of year for the HEB Retreat! We LOVE this tradition. This year was the first time we took all 3 kids. We stayed in a cabin with 2 other fun families and there were 7 kids in all. Bedtimes were a little crazy, but we just went with it and had a blast. Okay, so these pictures are in NO order..other than they all took place in March.

This is how I found them after I had unloaded the dishwasher one day...little stinkers.

Cora and her friend Kate. I like this picture b/c it looks like Kate is telling her some intense secret.

Another laugh out loud picture.

Fun times in the bath....

Frontier Texas Fun.....

Claire the climber. Always up in my business...

Playing with friends..

Kaitlyn's soccer season was in full swing. She had a great season. She still loves to play and does very well! Her team was Spirit and it was so fun to watch her play.

Kaitlyn and one of her good friends Haley Grace..

Future soccer star....

Megan and Garrison came to watch a game on probably the windiest day of the year...we love them! Kaitlyn and Cora will be in there wedding in January.

APRIL:

The first weekend we traveled to Lubbock for a wedding. Its always good and refreshing to go "back home." My dad had finished a tree house that he built for Kaitlyn. It was pretty impressive! We had an early Easter celebration..decorating eggs, hunting them.... we weren't prepared for the chilly weather though!

Getting to ride with Pappy in his big work truck. I used to hate riding in this when I was little, but my girls LOVE it...so now I totally love it.

For Easter we went to McKinney to spend the weekend with Grandpa and Grandmere. Kaitlyn always loves going there because they have a hot tub/swimming pool. She was in there every chance she got! We had fun just relaxing, watching movies, playing basketball in the driveway (I can still beat James by the way), and eating lots of yummy food! Cora was pretty sick all weekend, but we still managed to have a good time. :) Sadly, I didn't take ONE picture the entire weekend! What was wrong with me?!

The third weekend I got to go on a SUPER fun girls trip to Gruene with some girlfriends from church. We had SOOO much fun. It wasn't a group of girls that normally hang out all the time together..and honestly that made it more fun to me! It was great to get to know each other better. We just ate, shopped, ate and shopped some more!

Everything we bought... what recession?

We got a flat tire on the way there. This is Holly crankin the spare tire. For some reason I can't find the picture of the two guys that stopped to help us with SNAKES WRAPPED AROUND THEIR NECKS!!!!

The Monday after returning from that trip..I started a 2 week Bootcamp. It was so hard..but really fun. It was a good kick start to the summer and now I am better about getting outside and exercising on my own. I let my gym membership expire to save money - now I'm all on my own! James bought me a bike for Mothers Day and I have really enjoyed riding it. It's been fun to ride some with Kaitlyn too!

The last Wednesday in April our Huddle kids were SO excited (and we were too) to have Aaron Watson come and speak. He did an outstanding job and really impacted our group. It was a memorable night!

I love this picture of Cora and her boyfriend Todd. So precious.

MAY:

Kaitlyn and I went to the 2nd annual Daughter/Mama Pajama Party! Summer did a fabulous job organizing it and everyone had a great time! It was fun to watch Kaitlyn interact and dance with all of her little friends. I can't wait until Cora and Claire are old enough and I can take all 3 of them!

Kaitlyn and her friend Landry. She LOVES hanging out with her at ACU baseball games!

Look at all those monkeys jumping on the bed! There were feathers flying everywhere!

For Mothers Day weekend, we traveled to Dallas. James's grandparents were in from Mississippi and they hadn't seen the girls in WAY too long. Claire really took to them and let them love on her as much as they wanted too. It was another fun, relaxing weekend spent with family.

The next weekend I went BACK to Dallas to hang out with 2 of my college roomies - Sara and Sara. We Pricelined a hotel and got a great deal on the Westin in Dallas! We just ate and shopped (girls really like to do that!) It was so great to see them both - it had been tooooo long! It was fun to see Sara's pregnant little belly. I'm so excited that she is having a girl! We also went to see 17 Again. Let me just say that I think Zac Efron in the cutest thing ever.

Wow..lots of traveling. The next weekend was TOTALLY bazaar. We had plans to take our Huddle to Ft. Worth for a retreat, and I had also been asked to fly to Tennessee to surprise my BF for her 30th birthday. The retreat was planned first, so that was the obvious choice. However, not enough kids signed up to go, so we had to cancel it. I took a chance, emailed Ashley and asked if the offer was still out there for me to fly to TN. He worked his magic and had me on a plane the very next morning! I was SO INCREDIBLY thankful for this gift! The look on Mere's face when I showed up at her house was absolutely priceless. She had NO idea - and she is a hard one to surprise! They had all sorts of things planned. We got to enjoy a morning at the Spa, a fun downtown dinner with her family, and a surprise party for Meredith on Saturday night. They live in the neatest house right on a lake. It was beautiful. Mere took me kayaking for the first time. It was actually pretty relaxing. I just tried to stayed calm...she is 8 months pregnant. If she would have fallen out that could have been bad news. It was also great to be able to see Kelly and Travis and meet precious Bennett for the first time. I am in love with him. I'm pretty sure (and you can see from the pics) that he loves me too. Oh, he just melted my heart. I can't wait for my next trip to TN to meet sweet CHARLIE!!!!

Sweet Bennett..

We went to the Spaghetti Factory in downtown Nashville for Mere's bday dinner. It was YUM.

Meredith told me to stand with my arm like that because Paris Hilton said it makes you look skinner. I just look ridiculous.

JUNE:

Wow.. it's already June. Today is Kaitlyn's last day of Kindergarten and she is home sick. Total bummer. She's actually feeling fine, but she threw up all yesterday afternoon, so she couldn't go. She wasn't as disappointed as I was I don't think. I can't believe she is a 1st grader! She has learned and grown SO much this year. We have been very blessed by her sweet teacher. Kaitlyn has loved every minute of school. It has been so fun to look through her portfolio of the year, and read through her journals. Such precious keepsakes.

Cora looks up to her sister SO much, and is such a sweet helper with Claire. She loves to laugh and sing songs and tell stories. I just wish I could understand them! Her favorite joke right now is:

"Knock-Knock?"

(who's there)

"Princess!"
(Princess who?)

"I didn't mean to make you cry!!!!" Hilarious.

She loves watching the Wiggles (gag). She has to have her lip gloss with her at all times. She loves to dress up and watch me put on my make up - all three things that I put on. She imitates everything. If I'm crossing my arms, she is too. If I sit with one leg crossed over the other, she tries to do the same. If I cuss, she cusses. Just Kidding!

Little Claire. Let me try to think of something positive. Hmmmm... She is a HARD ONE! She is very stubborn and defiant right now. She screams like a small dinosaur pretty much all day and is constantly looking for something/someone to bite. Hard. I am terrified to leave her with people when I'm not there! Hopefully this too shall pass. She can be very sweet. She loves to look at books and color. She LOVES to be outside. She could swing for hours. She's a great sleeper, which I am very thankful for. She is a Daddy's girl for sure. Probably because he has way more patience than I do!

Kaitlyn and 3 of her friends on the last day of school. (Even though she was sick yesterday..I still took her up there at the end of they day so she could see everyone and say bye!)

I was too lazy to get the pool out the other day so I just filled up a plastic tub with water..the girls had just as much fun!

Word.

Playing on a statue on our walk around downtown.

Cora is such a water girl!! She LOVES to swim and totally doesn't mind the floaties, which makes it easier on me!

James and I are doing well! I am looking forward to having my summer off from teaching. We have lots of fun things planned! Vacations, camps, swimming lessons, Kaitlyn's bday, I turn 30!! Yikes! We also signed up to teach 5th graders at church on Sunday mornings. Definitely a new age group for us, but we are really excited.

Okay, I really do plan on being more consistent with the blog. I am better at Facebook..but I really want to get back into blogging. Hopefully I'll still have a few readers!

I'm finishing this at 9:35PM!!! 10 1/2 hours later it is finished. Wow.

My last First Birthday party...

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:25:00 +0000

SIGH. I can't believe Claire is one already! Let me just say that Kaitlyn's first birthday party was really huge (lots of friends came, money spent, etc.), Cora's was kind of middle of the line..just a few friends; but Claire's was just us and my mom and dad with a cake home made by her proud big sister, Kaitlyn. But I loved every minute of it.

Here is how much she has changed since last January 11th. Man, time just flies by way too fast.

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

JANUARY..."I'M ONE!!"

Happy Birthday sweet girl. You are so very special and have our hearts completely. I love to watch you grow and learn new things. I love seeing your big smile and scrunched up nose in the mornings when you wake up. I love how much you love your sisters and already try to do everything that they are doing. I love watching you walk around with your cute little legs and arms up in the air. I love that you can whistle. I love when you talk to us. I love when you get upset and you scream like a high pitched sounding dinosaur. I (sometimes) love that you are a night owl and use that special time to hang out with mommy and daddy one on one. I love that you might have red hair! I LOVE that God blessed us with you - surprise or not, you are a joy to me and make our family complete. I love you sweet Claire Elizabeth!

Here's to 2009!

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 14:42:00 +0000

New Years Resolution #1 = Be a better blogger! I know that because of Facebook many people (including myself) haven't been blogging as much. Honestly, it has become more of a chore for me after blogging for 4 years. However, I don't want to view it that way. I need to be keeping a better record of what my girls are up to so that they have something to look back on. I SURE haven't been good about scrap booking or keeping up with baby books. So, hopefully, 2009 will be a well documented year.

With that said, if you want to see Christmas pictures - please look at my Facebook account.

This morning is a quiet one. Kaitlyn is in Lubbock with my parents for a few days, and James is in Dallas visiting some friends that he hasn't seen in awhile. Cora is walking around the house putting lip gloss all over her face. I can also tell by her arms that she had a fun time with a black sharpie marker while I was in the bathroom. Claire is sleeping now since she hardly slept at all last night. She and Cora both have double ear infections and bad coughs. Tis the season I suppose.

Since it's my first post of the new year, I will share some of what each girl is up to lately.

Kaitlyn Anne: It's so hard to believe that she is half way through Kindergarten. She has done so well this year. Her goal at school is to get "Student of the 6 Weeks." She is a VERY smart girl, but I'm afraid a little bit too social! :) Many times her prayers at night include the phrase "and please help me to not talk so much at school so that I can get Student of the 6 weeks." Bless her little heart.

She has lost 4 teeth so far. Her bottom 2 are about half way in, but the top two don't even look close to making an appearance. She looks so cute with her little gap in her mouth.

Things she likes to do: ride her scooter, play Wii, go see Gus the cat next door, play games, her Leapster, create cards and pictures - any kind of craft really, listen to music, play with friends, play/bug her sisters. Make up stories. We've talked a lot about telling the truth. She also likes to say "Raise your hand if you.." to ANYTHING. Raise your hand if you want to go outside! Raise your hand if you like me! Raise your hand if your bored! Raise your hand if you like ketchup! Raise your hand if your tired of the raise your hand game! (Okay, that one was mine)

Things she doesn't like: anything girly, no dress up stuff, no lip gloss, purses, etc. She has no desire to learn how to ride her bike. A few months ago she practiced for a couple of days and did really well. I know she could do it with no problem - she just doesn't want to. This drives me crazy! She doesn't like spicy foods. I have to pick the "red things" out when I make chicken spaghetti. Brushing her teeth. This is a fight every night. Taking baths - she much prefers showers.

Cora James: She is also just growing up too fast. She turned 2 on December 21st. We just had a little family (Elmo) party. We are going to have to figure out a way to really set her birthday apart from Christmas. It was okay this year though.

She is talking non stop. She can pretty much say anything she wants too. Her most common phrases/words are: Hi Sissy! Hi baby! Thanks, Mama. Apple juice? Lips? (lip gloss), Purse? I want to watch it. I a silly goose. I wanna draw. No. No. No. No. Yea. Bible. Pray? I see you!

Things she likes: ANYTHING girly. She has a purse that she carries everywhere. She only wants her lip gloss in it, nothing else usually. I don't wear that much make up, but she loves watching me put it on. She loves dress up clothes and making lots of noise with her dress up shoes on the hard wood floors. LOTION. She loves eating yogurt and nutrigrain bars. For as big as she is she really doesn't eat that much at all. She loves to play outside and swing. Rearranging furniture. The girls got a little table and chairs for Christmas and she is constantly moving them around the house. Any kind of toy that you have to put things in - shape sorters, puzzles, etc. She has a big plastic piggy bank with huge plastic coins that you put in the slot. She could do this for hours. She loves going to school and bible class, chewing gum.

Things she doesn't like: Her feet or hands getting dirty, too many foods to list, sharing - we are really working on this. She will not get out of the car until she buckles the straps on her and Claire's car seat. A little OCD maybe? When car alarms go off, or when the dryer buzzes.

Claire Elizabeth: I feel so bad that I haven't been keeping up with when she has done things for the first time. I really have no idea when she started crawling. I know that she really started walking around Thanksgiving, so that would make her about 10 months old. She really gets around well now. She wants so bad to do whatever Cora can do! She can wave bye-bye and mimic any kind of sound or facial expression you can make. It's hilarious. She can curl her tongue all sorts of ways. She is definitely skinnier than Kaitlyn or Cora were at her age. She puts everything in her mouth. She will literally crawl under a table or reach as far as she can under a dresser for the TINIEST piece of paper to put in her mouth. We have to constantly watch her. Her words: daddy, mama, bye-bye, thank you, uh-oh, book, sissy (sis), and lots of jibber jabber!

Things she likes: her bottle and paci. Her pink lovey. Her sisters making her laugh, sleeping with James on the couch, any toy that lights up or makes noise, pretty much any food that you give her, taking baths - she is CRAZY in the bathtub. Lotion. Playing with my phone.

Things she doesn't like: when Kaitlyn or Cora take something away from her, green veggies, when she gets woken up from a nap before she is ready to.

Well, there is a good starting point. This was probably kind of boring for most -but I needed to get that recorded! I'll try to make the next post more entertaining!

Okay, okay.. I'll add a few pictures.

I just loved this one of my Papa.

Thanksgiving is over and I can barely move...

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:06:00 +0000

I. ate. so. much. Seriously, I'm starting this week with no cokes (including diet) and no sweets for a month. Who's with me?! Hang on, let me finish my Mint Oreo.... ok - now I'm ready.

We had a very relaxing and fun time in Lubbock over the Thanksgiving break. My brother and his wife were there too - so we had a house full! I bet my parents were ready to get their house back in order! We did lots of fun stuff: ran the 2 mile Turkey Trot, did some shopping, saw TWILIGHT!!!!!, ate, ate, ate, relaxed, had our annual bowling tournament, Cora got her first haircut, went on walks, took trips to the park, watched movies, got to talk to BRENNA on Skype!!!, enjoyed the cool weather, and ate some more! Here are some pics... I hope everyone had a fun holiday! Now it's time to unpack and get out all the Christmas stuff!

family pic...

crazy claire...

me and brenna (who is in Egypt) just hanging out...

kaitlyn and daddy breaking the wishbone. that girl always wins!!

turkey trot. it was freezing!!

neil and brittany... they finished MUCH faster than me and dad!

she was NOT too happy about this. but she looks so much better with out the mullet.

all ready for bed!

kaitlyn was so excited that she saw "The REAL SANTA" enjoying his lunch with Mrs. Clause at McAlisters.

kaitlyn's fancy photography at the bowling alley..

Happy December!!!

Long overdue update....

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:23:00 +0000

I feel like I have had a lot of fun with Kaitlyn the past few weeks. I was able to go with her and her Kindergarten class on a field trip to May Farm.. the sweetest little place ever. Kaitlyn has been talking about this field trip since the summer. I don't know what she was more excited about, the actual farm - or riding a school bus. She absolutely could not wait. And, it did not disappoint! We had a great morning! She loved the bus ride, and had a blast seeing, feeding and holding lots of animals. We even got to take a hay ride and have a picnic lunch out there.

Kaitlyn and I also took a trip to one of my very favorite places - the HEB retreat. The Highland Family retreat is twice a year. We usually all go, but this time James had to work, so I sent Cora and Claire for a fun weekend in Lubbock with my parents, and Kaitlyn and I headed out. It was so fun, and very relaxing! It's just such a pretty place, especially in the Fall when the leaves are changing. We went canoeing, hiking, wading in the Frio river (BURRRR). This year it fell on Halloween weekend, so all the kids had a costume parade and then got to go Trick or Treating to all of the cabins. I already can't wait to go again in the Spring.

Cora and Claire have been doing great too! Claire is just growing so fast. She is 10 months old already! She has taken a few steps - which I am completely not ready for. She only says a few "words." She says da-da, uh-oh, and Boo! She's finally become a pretty good eater, and she always sleeps good! Cora can get the best smiles and laughs out of her.

Cora is at the most precious stage/age right now. She is talking ALL of the time, and most of the time I can actually understand her. It's crazy that she will be 2 next month! She is still my girly-girl. She loves having her fingernails painted, walk around in my shoes, carry my purses, wear lip gloss, put bows on, etc. I love it!

I have started teaching again at the Mothers Day out at our church. It's the same 2 year old class I taught last year. I am really enjoying it! Cora and Claire love their classes -so that makes it even better.

James is still doing his thing at work.. enjoying it and coming up with new ideas for the ARN. We are so proud of how hard he works to support our family! We got to go on a date on Friday night, and had so much fun!

Well, that's that for my update. Enjoy the pictures - out of order. I've become pretty lazy in blogging. I hope everyone has a great week!

Playing in the leaves... Claire is NOT a big fan.

Silly girls with their empty fruit cups!

HEB Retreat. Seriously one of my favorite places on earth.

Kaitlyn had a blast wading in the Frio River. Not me though. They call it the Frio for a reason!

Digging for treasures with Taylor...

Kaitlyn and I hiked to top.. this is the view.

Big girl! I was so proud of her! It was about a 2 hour hike!

View from half-way up.

I seriously hope she didn't smile like this for picture day at school. She's still cute though... :)

Having a little early morning heart to heart with Preacher Mike.

May Farm field trip... holding the baby chick.

First time on a school bus... she was SO excited!

My crazy girls...

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:31:00 +0000

cora and her silly nose during music class at school

i just love those ears...

princess, some girl from Camp Rock, fairy.....

girls night out...

UNO!!!

this is the blue wrapping from the newspaper. every morning cora puts it on her hand. strange...

sweet face...

Playing catch up...

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:46:00 +0000

So, here is what we've been up to - pretty much in backwards order. I'm too lazy to switch them all around! :)

We went camping with our Huddle. It was a blast! Here's some of the girls...

About to "joust.." This was HILARIOUS to watch.

After the shaving cream fight...

Kaitlyn and I got up early one morning and went to Balloon Fest... It was so cool to be so close to the balloons as they were aired up!

The red, white and blue one was Kaitlyn's favorite. My little patriotic girl...

She lost her third tooth! Sorry, I just realized that it's still a little bloody.....

I got to go with her Kindergarten class on their first field trip to the fire station. My camera battery died, so I didn't get too many good pictures... I actually learned a lot on this little trip!

My mom came down and took the girls to Sesame Street Live. It was so fun! Cora was a little scared at first, but by the end was dancing in the aisle.

One of my roommates from college, Cortni, came down to see her little sister in Freshman Follies and was able to stop by for a little visit! Claire got to meet her future ACU roomie, Avery.

Cora and Claire have been learning how to get along. Cora is a little bully and Claire is the most dramatic, sensitive girl of the three. Not a good combination. But they sure are cute!

Cora tried corn on the cob for the first time. I'm pretty sure she loved it.

We've had a lot of fun the past few weeks! I've just been bad at updating!

Sisters

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:02:00 +0000

I have lots to post about, but no time. For now, just enjoy a sweet picture of my sweet girls that I took a couple of nights ago. I just love them.

Smarty Pants...

noreply@blogger.com (leslie) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:06:00 +0000

So, I just had my Gmail open and Kaitlyn said she was going to check on her Webkinz. About 5 minutes later, she asks me to come "see her email." Interesting.... here is what I found.

This is an email that she wrote to James.

Subject: the is kaitlyn saeg i am so mad (this is Kaitlyn saying I am so mad)

Email: i am so mad at mi mom fo not let eg me tac off the cusins love kaitlyn (I am so mad at my mom for not letting me take off the cushions. love kaitlyn)

That would be the cushions to the couch she is referring to. I am such a mean mom.