Wannie and Bri visit!

So Wannie and Bri decide they are going to visit, and we decided it would be fun to surprise the kids. I went to get them from the airport and told the kids I was running some errands and grocery shopping while they got to stay home with daddy and have a movie/game night. When I got home with our guest, they hid behind the garage and jumped out at the kids when they came out to "help me carry in the groceries". The look of disbelief was priceless. The girls screamed while the boys would hug them and then step back with a look of disbelief and then run back for more hugs. We had a great visit just relaxing. We also got them an extra day as DFW was closed for a day due to storms, but we won't go into that whole story!

Reflections

The school district has a competition each year that encourages the kids to write, draw, paint or take a picture pertaining to a certain subject. This years topic was "I can make a difference...". Annie wrote a poem which got an award at her school, and Amanda did a picture collage of the missionary program she goes to at church which won a school award and went to district!

Mikey's school Easter egg hunt

Happy 11th Birthday Annie!

So this year we decided to let the kids pick if they wanted a birthday party or a big gift (mommy and daddy have party burnout). Anyways, Annie decided that she wanted a Nintendo DS, ok perfect. Well, two days before her birthday, she decided well, she really wants a party. Party it is, but she will have to wait a few weeks because we were in the middle of basketball season and our weekends were filled with games. So we had a family celebration, and took her shopping for a couple of new outfits and started planning a party. Well, as we were planning her party she decided well, nevermind, she really wants a DS. Now remember, she has already received presents from her parents, but seeing that mom really has major party burnout --- well lets just say she got the DS and we called it even. I think she had this planned out the whole time. Love you baby girl!

Amanda's clarinet solo

I wish I knew how to download our video so you could hear her play. She did a great job, especially for someone who has only played for a few months. This is a picture of Amanda and her friends, Alex and Rachel, very much relieved that their solo performances were done.

100 days of school!

Mikey has loved school! We enjoy having him come home and sing to us the new songs he has learned. We also love reading the little stories he writes. When you read them, you can hear how he talks because they are sounded out in Mikeyese --- love it!

Another year of basketball!

This is the first year that all four kids decided to play. It was a busy but fun season! The girl's teams won game after game, the boys --- not so much, but they all truly just enjoyed playing.

Although Matthew's team didn't have many wins, ok they only won one game, he did an awesome job. He amazed us with his determination --- that boy played his heart out until the very last minute of every game. You can tell he loves this sport! He also loved having daddy coach him!


Amanda's team was intense. It is amazing to see the improvement in skills from one year to the next. Amanda may have been one of the smallest on her team, but that helped her sneak in to get the steals!


Yes, that is our Annie girl playing. I think watching her siblings last year made her remember how fun playing can be. She had a blast and loved having daddy coach her.


Mikey did much better this year and handled the ball a lot. We would remind him "who's ball is it" to which he would answer "my ball". He played an aggressive game, sometimes a little too aggressive.