Lacrosse Season starts soon...

Its Official. He's a Lacrosse player. Child #2 now has his gear and is registered to play lacrosse this season.

He's so excited especially when Hubby commented that he looked like a Clone Trooper in his equipment. The Boy loved that.

Why yes is DOES snow in Texas... a little

We had another snow day today. An INCH! Okay so that doesn't sound like a lot but it is a record for us. Previous record was 1/2 inch in 1906 at Camp Mabry. Now there are other places around Austin that have recorded larger amounts over the years but that is one of the official weather stations. It is located in an area surrounded by lots of streets and tons of cement/asphalt which holds the ground temperature heat in.

Anyways, the kids enjoyed it. Well Child #4 lasted about 10 minutes then she was done... ready for some hot chocolate and a blanket inside.



Snow Angels.

Snowball fights with the neighbors.

And of course the ubiquitous snowman. Okay so he wasn't huge but hey we only got an inch or so of very very dry powder. It didn't want to compact at all.

I've currently got a Turkey roasting in the oven. Stuffing, mashed potatoes and rolls... Just like Thanksgiving... seems appropriate since we have real winter weather today.

Camping at Enchanted Rock

Hubby took Child #1 and Child #3 camping to Enchanted Rock last night. They all had a good time and enjoyed hiking up the Rock this morning... until Child #3 fell and landed with his hand in a prickly pear cactus.

Then he was done and ready to go home. NOW!

Needless to say wasn't the greatest ending to a fun trip but at least he does still remember having fun.

Another one lost to an unnecessary evil in the world.

Breast cancer took another friend... though she preferred to say she was "Passing on the Torch" not losing the battle to cancer.

I was lucky to met her though another friend. She was that fun next door neighbor you always dream of having.

She was a beautiful, vibrant, amazing, funny, exciting, kind, passionate, generous, fierce, loving, sensitive woman with a wicked sense of humor. OH how she loved to laugh and make those around her laugh. She had that ability to know what those around her needed to feel better. Such a rare and wonderful gift.

Her smile went all the way to her eyes. Always. She was gorgeous is the purest sense of the word. It came from her heart into her smile and out through the rest of her.

Michelle just... was.

Honestly, you can put any positive descriptive word after was and that would be appropriate.

She was misdiagnosed for over 2 years and when push came to shove after demanding a mammogram at the age of 33... Stage 3C. She fought for 5+ years over 2 years of it with a Stage 4C "terminal" label.

She didn't want to "waste" her cancer. She wanted it to mean something. So she lived life and helped to raise over $122,000 for the Susan Komen for the Cure with her team "Michelle's Angels".

She loved UT Longhorns. I don't know if I'll every be able to see a UT longhorns shirt without thinking about her. I think she was always wearing one every time I saw her over the last year.

She loved her best friend and husband of 11 years Brad.

She loved her 7 year old son Reid. Her miniature little clone of Brad.

She loved life. Her motto was "Eat Life with a Big Spoon". And she did.

Michelle lived and now we must all live without her.


It just seems wrong...




Photo by Claire McAdams Photography in Austin Tx.

Newest addition to the family...

Some how I got suckered into becoming the owner of a puppy. How did this happen?















Oh yeah, Hubby blind sided me and now we have a little "mongrel" puppy in our house. We think he's got terrier and maybe some chihuahua. He is very little, about 6 weeks old and he isn't gonna be a big dog by any stretch of the imagination.















He is cute... but seriously? A puppy?

May the Force Be With YOU!!!

It was "May the Force Be With Katie" Day.

A sweet young 1st grade girl was told that girls aren't allowed to like Star Wars by the boys at her school.

That is so wrong on so many levels. All four of my children love Star Wars. We are a proud Star Wars family... my two young boys would NEVER think to tell a girl that Star Wars is only for boys. They love it too much to not include everyone.

So to show our support for Katie all four kids wore Star Wars shirts to school today.

I have been getting the daily countdown...

Only a week until... only 5 more days... only 4 more days... only two more days until...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1

This is going to be hard. I don't know if Child #3 is ready to see Deathly Hallows. Each of the movies has gotten darker and darker themed as they go, very much like the books. I'm not sure if he's ready to watch it. He is only six. Admittedly he is a strong six who isn't easily frightened or scared. Especially by movies. He is known to tell me "its not real, its just a movie". While I love that about him I also don't want to push it. But he wants to see it soooooo bad. He is sooo excited about it. More that Child #1 and Child #2 combined... and Child #2 wants to see Voldermort (his favorite) really bad.

Maybe I'll take Child #1, who isn't frightened by movies... she LOVED the orcs (eeew they are ucky!!) in Lord of the Rings and the "boneheads" (skeletons) in Pirates of the Caribbean when she was three, to see it first and I'll be able to decide if Child #2 and Child #3 would be able to handle it in the movie theatre or if we should wait until it is released on DVD. Easier to cover eyes when you know whats about to happen ahead of time.

We shall see, we shall see.

Only one more day...