Go Texans!

I experience my very first NFL game last night!  Some friends of ours gave us four tickets to the Houston Texans game against the Vikings.  So, we invited Pam and Gary to go along with us.  They are die-hard Packers fans.  So, they were thrilled to root against the Vikings for the home team!  It was a lot of fun, but I still have a hard time keeping up with that ball!

I love the thrill of the crowd and the excitement, but I think I prefer watching the game on TV where the cameraman does the hard work for me -- keeping my eye on the man who actually has the ball!  And, I love that yellow line!  They should really figure out how to have that on the field!  Those yard marker guys just don't cut it for me!

Oh...another cool fact...we got to see the 1st female ref in NFL who just made her debut last week!  It's always fun to be a part of history...no matter how small!

1st Day of School

We made it through another 1st day of school.  It was fairly non-eventful!  Chase started 1st grade, Mary Frances started 3rd and Thomas started 4th.  Jacqueline started 6th grade....teaching that is!  I'm teaching World Cultures, and I think I am really going to love it.  I have a great team of teachers, and I am learning every day!  I am looking forward to getting through this first week!

The kids all had a good day.  No one had anything special to report.  They all have classes with mostly new friends in them.  So, they will have plenty of opportunities to meet new people.  (Some of them are more excited about that than others!)

All in all...it was a good day, but I am tired and really need to get some sleep before we do it all again tomorrow!!

Do I HAVE to take a shower?

I've always heard how dirty boys are and how difficult it can be to get them to shower.  You would think I was torturing them every night just by saying, "Go take a shower!".  

The dermatologist recommended a cream for some sun spots on Thomas' face the other day, but after realizing they will go away on their own anyway, I refused the cream.  I explained to him that it was hard enough to get him in the shower.  And, if I'm lucky enough to get him in the shower, I have a hard time getting him to actually use the soap!  A cream needing to be used daily was not about to happen!

There are MANY nights that I have to send Thomas back to the shower to actually use soap. A sniff test is not an abnormal thing in our house!  (And, I might add, it isn't only a boy problem!)

We gave some women a good laugh yesterday in Target when we were passing the shampoo aisle.  I asked the kids if everyone had shampoo.  Mary Frances replied, "yes" (only to not wash her hair in the shower last night because she didn't have any shampoo)!??!  The boys said, "We don't use shampoo!" which brought a smile to everyone standing around us as I rolled my eyes and smiled with them!  What can I do other than stand there with them?  Oh well..."this too shall pass!"

Church in a Movie Theatre

Here's what we do, from a child's perspective...

Nothing Like a Great-Grandad

It's little opportunities like lunch dates that remind me how thankful I am to have my family here in Texas with me!  I have loved getting to see my granddad on such a regular basis, but I am ecstatic that my children have gotten to know him so much better!  They just love being with Papa G.

Chase is 7!

We celebrated Chase's birthday at the bowling alley.  It was fun to watch the kids!

 (Gavin, Wojo, and Chase)

 (Mary Frances and Jessie)

 Happy Birthday to you...

 we love Jessie....

 Chase requested a bowling lane cake.  It was fun and easy to make!  The hardest part was getting the small bowling pins.  I finally just wound up printing some and putting toothpicks on the back!

My Birthday Party

I don't remember the last time I had a birthday party, but my parents wanted to throw me one this year!  It was so hard to decide who to invite, but we had a great time!  

My mother loves to throw a party, and she is good at it!  The food was delicious, everything was beautiful, and we all had a lot of fun!

Of course, no birthday party is complete without a cake.  I requested he most delicious...Italian Cream Cake!  Yummm.....

So happy to have my hubby celebrate with me!  We've been together for more than half of my life!!! Isn't that amazing!  I love having so much of my history with him!

Friends make a party complete!  Check out this fun group of girls!  

And the guys had fun too!!!  I'm glad they were all able to come and have fun!