And School Gets Harder...for ME!

So up to this point having the kids in school has been a piece of cake for me. Help them with their math, reading, this and that, and that's that....

But now....NOW I we are doing DIORAMA's, and CLAY MODELS, and POSTERS, etc etc etc. Now I gotta pull out the big guns. But the only problem is-do I still have the big guns??

So here is Madelyn's first diorama...her class is studying Woodland Animals. She was assigned the rabbit, did all the research at school, and this is what we came up with with our shoebox, a printer, notecards, and a little glue...

We did good, Madelyn!! We did good!

I Forgot to Blog MY BIRTHDAY!!

It's only one of the most important days of my life...with all the hullaballo, I plum forgot!

I had a great time for my 33rd birthday! Brent must have planned the week perfectly because he took my birthday off of work. We spent the day downtown San Antonio - The Alamo, The Riverwalk, Casa Rio. Then when all the kids were home from school we went to the gym and swam and worked out and had a great time.

 This is a picture of a goose plucking at Brent's leg to give him food...beggers!!

And then dinner was to Jason's Deli...yes, pretty boring dinner BUT it was all I knew at the time. Now I would know to go somewhere a little fancier or a little more B-B-Q!!! :) But I still LOOOVED it!! The kids and Brent gave me some fun gifts...a couple of necklaces, a Glee CD and, drum role......a new SEWING MACHINE!!

To end the night, Madelyn made(from scratch) a "Pin the Birthday Cake" game for my party...

 I got a little too wound up...I AM 33 now-I can't handle as much motion anymore in my old age.

I love my birthday's with my family. And thanks for all the birthday wishes and gifts from family and friends around the globe - I can really say that, too, cuz I have in-laws in Europe :)

Easter Weekend 2011

We had a great time here in San Antonio for Easter 2011. We started out the weekend strong with a Egg Hunt put on by one of the local churches-face painting, food, games, etc... Then we hit home for lunch, Six Flags to stand in line for 2 hours for one ride, and then out to dinner at Maggiano's, and egg painting.

That was all Saturday. Sunday was fantastic. Church was great, of course, then we had our own Easter Egg Hunt, followed by a movie clip of the Easter Story. Then we enjoyed a yummy dinner-ham, funeral potatoes, salad and rolls, then a bike ride on the hill trails behind our home...

And the best part...the kids were really interested in the TRUE celebration of Easter. They were asking questions and telling us the story and it just was one of those great parent moments....

The egg hunts literally lasted like 2 minutes for each age group. There were so many kids the field was dust when they all went out to grab eggs...

Maggiano's is a fantastic little italian restaraunt. And if you order off their classic pasta menu then you get to take a second serving home for free. So we had our "left overs" for dinner tonight :)

 Egg coloring is always a highlight!!

This year we spruced it up with a little front hand spring contest. I'm pretty sure I won...

Easter Sunday

YUM!! My special Peach Bundt Cake - seriously it's yummy!!

Off to the races...

 And we ended our day with a bike ride in the hills behind our house...Seriously beautiful back there. But we do have to watch out for wild hogs...yes, you read that right...WILD HOGS.. :)

A final celebration of breaking the confetti filled eggs over our heads

The Easter festivities are fun, yes they are. But it all boils down to the real reason we celebrate this wonderful holiday. I am so grateful for my Savior, and his willingness to go through the pain and suffering and death so that I am able to live with my Heavenly Father again. When I think about it and really ponder what he went through, mentally I just can't grasp it at all. But spiritually I know that my Eternity is because of my elder brother. I know He love me and He loves all of us. I have felt his love in my life, I have experienced events that have witnessed clearly to me that He lives and loves me and has a definite plan in store for me.

Good Times Growing Up...

My dad use to sing to us all the time with his guitar. He had a couple favorites....the last time I visited I got him to record a couple of them for me...

Thanks for the memories, dad....

Saying Goodbye to Yuma....

It was a short time, our lives in Yuma. But in those few months(about a year and a half) we fell in love with our house, loved our pool, made some amazing friends, vacationed selfishly in San Diego, ate Mexican food like it was going out of style, and had more family visit us than ever before :)

I can truly look back at my short time in Yuma with a happy and heavy heart. I loved it, I hated it, I will never miss it, I will always want to try to make it back there. It was perfect...almost...in a way. This small, big town in the middle of the desert. But the people there...WOW! If you want to make some great friends you will find them in Yuma. And here's why...everyone either hates it or loves it. And if you feel BOTH of those emotions then you have got yourself a load of friends. I had great "local" friends that will be there forever and love every minute of it. I hope one day to go back in 10-15 years and visit the Nelsons and the Farars, the Thompsons, and the Titensors, etc....And then I have "transplant" friends that are there for one reason or another-like Brent and I were. And no matter if I go back in a year or 10 years, they will be gone, just like I am. But somewhere on the map I will find the Moyes, the Meyers, the Jones, or the Hutson's, etc.

And as I type, and feel a tear fall down my cheek, I remember a folder in my computer with hundreds of pictures that will allow me to remember almost every moment of my time with these great people in the little big city of Yuma. Not to mention email, Facebook, and TEXTING!! :)

Even as I post these pictures I'm thinking, "why don't I have a picture of this or that, or her, or them..." but believe me Yuma- you are in my heart!
Thank you THANK YOU for the great year and a half! And anyone needing a vaction to the great state of TEXAS - you have a place to stay!