Little Man turns 4!

Little Man turns 4!

Another year has come and gone and my Little Man has turned 4!

Little Man is so amazing! He is extremely intelligent, thoughtful, and full of energy. He constantly surprises me with insightful observations and his ridiculously funny comments. (I asked him the other day why he pushes his straw into his juice box so that he has to drink it like it's in a cup. His reply - "So that I can drink it like a beer." - So matter of fact that Ryan and I burst out laughing!)

He is always surprising us with his observations and the way that he sees the world. I love it that he is still at home with me 2 days a week so that I can help cultivate his blossoming creativity. Just this year he started drawing people in his pictures and has been writing his name for at least 6 months. His teacher says that he won't let her write his name on anything - he wants to do it himself - so independent. Little Man also loves to be the center of attention and will break out dancing, doing karate chops, or quoting from his favourite movie "Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" if given the opportunity. And of course, he is still "all speed and no direction" and we wouldn't have it any other way :)

Little Man, I love watching you grow and mature and can't wait to see what the future brings. Happy 4th Birthday Son!

Lipizzaner Stallions at the American Airlines Center

This afternoon we all went to see the Lipizzaner Stallions at the American Airlines Center. Both sets of grandparents and my sister and her boyfriend along with me and Ryan and the kids sat in row K (pretty close to the floor) to see the show.

The kids snacked on popcorn and cotton candy while watching the stallions do some amazing stunts.

The show is mainly an "equestrian ballet". The horses do maneuvers set to classical music. There is also a lot of history incorporated into the show.

The Lipizzaners were originally bred as horses of war and have now become a living form of equestrian art. Included in the performance was a section called "Airs above the Ground" where the horses perform spectacular leaps and maneuvers once used by riders in the saddles to protect and defend themselves on the battlefield.

The show was great and we all enjoyed it!

Little Man's 4th Birthday Party

We had Little Man's 4th Birthday Party this afternoon and what a party it was :)

Little Man wanted a snake party this year so I called up Grisham Farms and we made it happen.

When the kiddos arrived at 3pm I had colouring sheets and stickers for them to work on. Once they finished with that most of the kids went outside to play in the sandbox or on the playground. We then called them inside for the animal presentation.

Stephanie from Grisham Farms brought out 8 animals including a rabbit, hedgehog, pot bellied pig, bearded dragon, green eyed tree frog, chinchilla, tarantula, and a ball python. She did an excellent educational presentation about each of the animals and let all of the kids pet or hold the animals. Even the parents were quiet and paying attention :) It was so much fun and Little Man had a blast holding and petting all of the animals - especially the pot bellied pig and the python!

After washing all of our hands, we snacked on munchies and then played outside some more.

Then it was time for cake. I made a super cool diamond backed snake cake this year that turned out really great! After cake we opened presents and then it was time to go.

Little Man had a BLAST and the party went off without a hitch!

Little Miss's First Soccer Game of the Season

The veteran Superstars team had their first game of the season this morning! They did pretty good too :) The score at the end of the game was somewhere around 3-9 (we lost but had a great time). We had two new players join the team this year and the practices are going well (when it's not too wet to practice). We're looking forward to a great season and hopefully a couple of wins!

Valentine's Day Parties 2010

After two snow days last week that put Valentine's Day Parties on hold, we were able to have both of the kids parties this week at school.

Little Man's party was on Wednesday. The kids decorated brown bags that I had already put their names on with stickers and markers and then went around the room distributing their Valentine's Day cards.

We then snacked on doughnuts and juice and called it a morning.

Quick and fun party!

Little Miss's party was rescheduled for Friday. So I picked up Little Man from school today and headed over to Little Miss's elementary school for the party. I didn't have a hand in planning this party so it was nice to show up with my 24 red plastic bowls and help out as needed. The kids decorated foam picture frames with their pictures already in them (love that) and then snacked on marshmallow chicks and ice cream sundaes.

Another quick and easy party!

SNOW 2010

SNOW in DFW!














Can you believe it - it snowed ALL day on Thursday


Can you believe it - a new snowfall record for DFW - 12.5 inches of snow in one day (previous record was 7.4 inches)


Can you believe it - we were able to build 4 snowmen in our front yard - LIFE SIZED snowmen - and Little Man and Little Miss made two of the "biggest snowballs ever"


This past Thursday we had the most snow fall in one day here in DFW. It literally snowed ALL DAY LONG! I know that's not a big deal for many people but here in Dallas, it's a HUGE deal. We are not equipped to deal with that much snow :) School was closed on Thursday and Friday due to snow, slush, and ice. The kids and I played outside on Thursday making snowmen, having snowball fights, and rolling the biggest snowball we could roll. Then we came in and warmed up in front of a fire.

On Friday, Ryan stayed home from work in the morning. He ended up spending 3 hours or so helping our neighbor get a tree off of his house. There were a lot of trees down in the neighborhood and around town. Our trees aren't used to that much snow :)

Then after lunch, we all went outside to throw snowballs, play in the snow on the playset and run around the backyard. The kids were cold and worn out by the end of the day.



We all had a blast in the monster snowfall that befell our city!

Ryan's Grandfather

2010, what a crazy year. To lose two Grandparents in a week. Yes they get the capital letters in my dictionary! I lost my Granddad, Juby, as I always called him, several years ago when his mind left. I love him dearly to this day as we all have, but he has been gone a long time. Juby loved life, my fondest memories of him were of loving, cooking and hunting. My Granddad loved his wife, loved his kids and loved his grand kids and loved to cook for all of them. I will always remember him working in the kitchen with Glenna and teasing her of this or that, always in a loving tone. I will remember cooking chicken for 2 days in his homemade smoker behind the house, potato rolls, the family all there, the porch, the rocking chairs, the organs, the BMW motorcycle (which I am sure inspired my Dad in 1972 to buy his first Bavarian Motor Works), the huge antenna behind the house for Juby's shortwave radio, Dad and Hinton's grand champion Ewe in 1950 something, 1955 Chevrolet, the Gold Oldsmobile that Juby loaned Dad to go to Colorado in and he got tar on the fenders, the fact that Daddy Ham (my Great Granddad) took Juby, (my Granddad) to Colorado as my Granddad took my Dad as my Dad took me and my Brother and the rest of our family and extended family to this day back to the South Central part of Colorado! Don't forget that I shot my first rabbit on the farm when I was 12 with Dad, after seeing 200 turkey on the pasture that day. I learned to hunt there, be it going after the turkeys, rabbits, or looking for arrow heads. He showed my how to run a tractor and love a wife. I will miss my Granddad, his garden, his beige '85 Ford, the '48 Ford N tractor, his smile, white hair and understanding of the world, quartz donkey's and all the things that make life GRAND! Remember Life comes at you fast, So Enjoy it!

~RH