Spring Break

Spring Break was this week and we have had our share of fun!  Since we didn't  go anywhere, I tried to do something a little special every day.  We had lots of play dates with friends, some of whom we don't get to see all that often, we went to see The Lorax with some friends, Jacob had his first sleep over at Ben's house (and didn't miss me at all!!), we played outside every single day, and of course we hit the Strawberry Patch with some friends!  The kids are all pros by now, especially Jacob who picked some awesome berries.  Gwyn had lots of fun, and Annie would ask, "is this one a good one?" on every one that she picked.  Annie just looked too cute walking in with her bucket:

 Gwyn getting started:

 Jacob showing Annie the ropes:

 For it being the last day of Spring Break, the field had tons of berries, we love this new place we found!

 Annie picked her share of green ones that we had to pay for, and her little thumbs went through several that were really ripe, but she had lots of fun:

 Looking for the perfect one:

 I found it!

 Jacob loves strawberries, and I'm guessing ate about 2 lbs by himself that day:

 Gwyn had to put some muscle into it:

 Look at mine!

 Annie loved the strawberries:

 Annie, you got a little something on your face!

 After everyone ate their share for the day, we put about 2 lbs in the fridge for the next few days, we froze about 2 lbs, and then I canned, yes, I canned three jars!  I followed The Pioneer Woman's recipe, and I must say that it is REALLY good!  We only made 3 jars, so no one hold your breath about getting any, we'll be keeping this to ourselves!!  I also tried to make some homemade biscuits for dinner tonight, so we could eat some jelly.  The biscuits were not very good, but Brian said if you put about 3 times as much jelly on them as you normally would, they are great!

 Jacob had a blast at the park swinging

 Gwyn having fun at the park...poor thing, her cheeks get so red when she's outside playing:

 I always knew I would be a VIP...I just didn't know it would be at the Lego store!

 One day we went over to the Lego store and the kids each picked out a set...then we spent about 2 hours at home putting them together.

We are into baseball full swing around here.  Practice twice/week and we had a scrimmage last week.  Jacob's first game is this coming week, and then we'll start practice a couple times / week and games a couple of times / week...I can't imagine what life will be like when they are all 3 doing some type of activity at the same time! I love having a little boy, can you imagine that attached to this sweet face...

 were these dirty knees?!?!  I asked him what happened, and he said, "I just got a little dirty."  Yes, a little...requiring extremely hard scrubbing to get him clean!  If you notice in this picture behind Jacob on the floor is a sticker stuck to the hard wood floors, I find about 5 of these a day...guess who the culprit is of that??

 Yep, this sweet face likes to put stickers just about everywhere EXCEPT paper:)

 Annie found the camera setting on my phone, and I've got about 25 more pictures just like this on my phone now.

 Coolest purchase ever...a left handed pink and black glove for Gwyn, so exciting!!

 I don't know what is cuter, the fact that she's drinking a juice box and driving, or the fact that she's got Gwyn's too big shoes on the wrong feet?!?!

 LOVE this face!

 I had a great birthday, even though Brian was gone.  He and a friend went to surprise John in Florida for his birthday and they had a fantastic time.  I got a sitter and a few friends went out for dinner and cupcakes!  It did rain that entire weekend, so I mainly entertained the kids inside, and they did A LOT of this:


Here is some of the artwork and things the kids have brought home the week before:

They are still brainwashing him with all things Texas:

Love how Jacob is doing math problems:

Sweet little Annie likes to get up at the table and color with Jacob and Gwyn...she only knows how to draw a sad face!




Funny things the kids said this week:

Me to the kids:  How old do you think I am?
Annie:  2
Gwyn: 6
Jacob 22 (I love these kids!)
Me to Jacob:  That is nothing to tattle about.
Gwyn:  Yes, you only tattle if someone is on fire or if there is blood.
Gwyn:  Can I listen to my CD (she got a CD from her school at Donuts with Dads)
Jacob:  We listen to that CD all the time.
Gwyn:  No we don't, we've only listened to it 4 times.
Jacob:  No, it is more like 13.
Gwyn:  No way.
Jacob:  Yes, I'm right, and when I die, I'll ask God and he'll tell me that I was right.

Daddy / Daughter Bake-Off

The much anticipated Daddy/Daughter bake-off at church has arrived.  Brian was been looking forward to this since last year, and he came to win!  He was entry 20 in the cake category...I'm guessing there were maybe 30 cake entries...Brian and Gwyn's was a cheeseburger cake, complete with all the dressing, fries, bugs coming up to the cake on a picnic table and flying chocolate bugs...all of it was edible, including the fondant made paper plate!

Here is a video of the cake, yes, their cake required a motor (and also had to be soldered...when we checked out at Lowe's the cashier asked what he was building, and Brian told him it was for a cake...not what the checker expected):


They placed 2nd in the Most Creative category...they got robbed, but we decided not to throw a fit about it since it was at church:)

Everyone was proud of them!

Gwyn liked to eat the brownie (hamburger part) the best, and Annie and Jacob liked the bugs!

Annie doing what she does best, hanging around and jumping!

A typical Friday night at our house...out to an early dinner and then to Lowe's!

Jacob had his first baseball scrimmage, he's so cute out there!

I just love this kid, and he did so good!

His first at bat, he hit a line drive to the third baseman, basically right into his glove, I was a little shocked that he caught it, and Jacob didn't quite get that he was out, he was just super excited he hit the ball.

Here is a video of his second at bat:

I took the kids to a friend's 4 year old camo party...what better to wear to a camo party than a dress with sequins??  Typical pose of her hands on her hips...not sure where she gets that??

Jacob had a great time at the party...they got to search for lost troops behind enemy lines and of course bounce until all their energy was gone:) Annie was there, but she chose not to participate until all the big kids were out of the bounce house and then she got in by herself:)

Annie travels with a stash of stuffed animals and babies, she keeps them at random places around the house and moves them all over.

Cutest Cat in the Hat I've ever seen, Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss, we love your books!!

I was able to have a mini girls weekend with Neely, who flew down to celebrate my birthday early.  We were able to go shopping, get pedicures, go to the Rodeo to see Luke Bryan, and have a nice dinner...I just love her!

The kids have discovered how to take pictures and videos on the ipad and the computer.  Gwyn has taken about 100 of the exact same pose...

I didn't even know how to do this myself, but Jacob discovered how to take videos of himself...

I love that Jacob has his backup dancers!!  This one makes me crack up every time I watch it!


Funny things the kids said this week:

Annie (as she points a magic wand or stick at you):  I gonna turn you into a frog, SSSSSHHHH!
Brian to Gwyn:  I didn't know you were so good at making cakes.
Gwyn:  The only cake I know how to make is a cheeseburger cake.
Me to Gwyn:  Did you have fun at Donuts with Dads at school today?
Gwyn:  Yes, Daddy is really good at eating donuts.

Go Texan Day...we are officially converted!

It was Go Texan Day here in Houston, apparently this is a HUGE deal and it used to be a school holiday since the Rodeo is in town.  Gwyn got to dress up, their class decorated a big cow as a duck (since she is in the Duck class).  Jacob had square dancing at his school, so Annie and I went up to watch.  Jacob was decked out in his cowboy gear, and his $3.00 Wal-Mart cowboy hat that has lasted 4 years of Western Days!

 A few of his friends in his square dancing circle.  Jacob said he danced with one of the girls because they told him he HAD to do it...ahhh, I can remember my square dance partner, Joel Workman at Central Elementary.

 Cutest cowboy there!

 Annie wasn't much into dancing, she wanted a snack as soon as we walked into the gym, so the entire time I was trying to watch Jacob and film him, she kept asking for a snack:

Me, Jacob and Annie:

Here are a few cute videos (I love how he "honors his partner"):







 Another picture of Gwyn:

 Gwyn is still styling in her polka dot tights and gold sparkly shoes that she pretty much wears everywhere....not sure how much longer this phase is going to last, but really, how many times in your life can you wear gold sparkly shoes on a daily basis??

 Annie is still into her babies, here she's got two in her little car:

 Annie loves Gwyn, and on days that Gwyn is in school, Annie will say, "I want Ginny" when she is upset:

 Jacob has a home reader he brings home each week of books to read over the weekend.  One book was "Ben's Treasure Hunt."  Jacob loves this book, so I told him when he came home from school on Wednesday that I would have him a treasure hunt.  I set up 7 clues, and he was able to read just about everything and ended up with 3 little packs of Nerds (his favorite candy) with a final note saying to share with Gwyn and Annie.  He also had a friend ride the bus home with him from school yesterday for an after school playdate...he thought he was big stuff, and Gwyn and Annie thought they had a friend over too.  Jacob is into baseball season now, he got some new cleats that make him super fast.  Jacob's basketball pictures:

Brian and I were missing Louisiana this week, since he would have a day off for Mardi Gras and we would be able to eat a King Cake.  Julie surprised us with a gourmet French King Cake that Brian and I finished off after having it after dinner on Tuesday and then breakfast on Wednesday!  Poor Gwyn was not feeling well at all last week, it is a rare sight for her to nap:

 Poor thing!

 Feeling better:

 And back to normal!

 Lil Annie in her boots, she's so cute!

 Jacob with his shirt Em got him for his birthday last year...this is pre-haircut he got late this week:

 If you want to go out to dinner with us, there is a good change you'll end up with at least one, possibly two kids on your lap...makes eating things you have to pick up very hard!

 Jacob and Brian went with about 12 other Kindergarten Dads and boys to Laser Quest last weekend, they all had camo bandannas on and face paint...the Dads had a great time (Brian came in 1st both games, so there is a challenge for more to come).  He had a great time just hanging out with his Dad:

 Here is some artwork from the week, Jacob's drawing of Darth Vader and a heart for me and Brian:

 Some math and writing of Jacob's, Gwyn's people are evolving, belly buttons are still a major focus:

 Loved this giraffe of Jacob's:

 Oh, if only Gwyn knew what all Annie got into of hers while she was in school, Gwyn's jewelry boxes are prized possessions, and Annie goes right for them (as well as Jacob's art set he got for Christmas), it is pretty funny how in tune she is to the things they DO NOT want her to get into, so of course she goes straight for them whenever the opportunity arises!  She still hates pillows on the couch (which I pick up multiple times/day), and her new thing is she just can't stand the paper wrapped around crayons...she HAS to take it off all the crayons she uses...wonderful.

We are excited about this next week...Daddy Daughter Bake Off at church...Brian is bringing his A game, and Gwyn is ALL about how this is hers and Brian's, not Jacob's or Annie's which she reminds them of constantly.  I've also got Neely flying down for the weekend, so excited about her visit!!

Funny things the kids said this week:

Gwyn (about 20 times / day):  What can I do now?

Jacob (when we saw we had a big frog who was hogging all the food from the little frog):  Why would Santa give me a bully frog?

Gwyn (while drinking her slushy from Sonic):  Mommy, no part of me is freezing, not my legs, my brain, or my tummy.