Indians and Camo

With Thanksgiving near, the girl's school are doing crafty little things to do with the season. I just had to post Kayla in her indian hat that she made at school. Keeli has yet to make one but I am sure that she will make one this week and I will be sure to post. She justs loves her hat!

Andy busted out his camo stuff today. The girls are always playing with their make up so Andy wanted to show them his make up. See the following pictures....

She looks so serious!

Kayla's Shiner 2

Okay, I didn't realize that I had already done a post name Kayla's Shiner. But since this is about the 3rd black eye that she has had, I am not surprised. As I posted before (Fall Festival), Kayla hit the door facing on Sunday afternoon. She was playing in one of those clear plastic storage tubs and she tried to climb out. The tub fell over and she went with it. It immediately purpled up. It scared me a little. But, she still seemed to follow my fingers with her eyes so I wasn't too worried. This is Wednesday and this is what it looks like today! Can you say Ouch?!Sorry am the snotty nose. It looks gross doesn't it?

Fall Festival

Every year our church put on a Fall Festival. There are bounce houses, a country dance, games for the kids, a petting zoo, and great food. Fun for the whole family. Even Andy went with us. We had a great time. Here are some pictures.

Waiting in line for the slide!

Wee!

Facepainting!

Dancing with friends!

Even Kayla got in on the action!

Yes, even Andy was there!

Twister!

Before all the fun started and back at home, Kayla decided to slam her head into the door facing. Here is the result of that....

Ouch! She is fine now but it is a little sore.

A little side now....The results of left over Halloween make up!

Country Living

Living in the country is sometimes quite eventful. We have several dogs and cats. That being said, we also have lots of varmints that come up to the house at night looking for dog or cat food that hasn't been eaten. These are brave souls because they usually get scared off when the dogs and cats catch their scents. But yesterday morning about 6:30 the dogs in our backyard started barking and barking and barking. I knew that they had something in the tree. Yep, I was right. This poor raccoon has been up in our tree in the back yard for more than 24 hours now. I finally let the dogs in the house long enough for him to get down. Andy and the girls tried talking to him in "raccoon talk" to tell him that it was okay to get down. It took him about a hour to finally relax enough to realize that the dogs were gone and that he could get down. It was quite an event around here. I had the big dogs in the house. They were stinky! Pew! Then our puppies heard the dogs in the house and they can go through the fence in the back yard so they came to the back door. So, I thought, well I will feed the puppies in the front yard so to get them out of the back yard. Well, as soon as I opened the door, our cats came in the house. Bad idea, the big dogs HATE cats. So, I had to fight the cats and get them back outside before the big dogs got a hold of them. Needless to say, I am all scratched up this morning. But, all is well. The coon is gone, the dogs are all outside and fed, and the cats are inside and safe! Whew! What a morning! All because of a hungry and curious coon! Ahhh....country life!

Homecoming!

I love living in a small town with all of its traditions and school spirit. Every year at homecoming, the school puts on a parade before the game. The kids on the float throw candy and the kids watching the parade love trying to catch it. Here are a few pics from this years parade. Oh, and my really good friend, April and her husband were Coming Home King and Queen this year. I didn't find out until the game so I don't have any pictures of them on the field.

Balllooooons!!!

I was going through my pictures on my camera and realized that I haven't downloaded some many pictures. So, I am working on that today. So the next couple of posts are about a few weeks ago, but the kids had so much fun that I wanted to share.

Every October, the Balloon Fest comes to town. This is the first year that the kids have really been old enough to understand the whole concept of hot air balloons. They love balloons so we took them to see the Big Balloons. We made it just in town for the balloon glow. Check out the photos!

Birthday Time!

I can't believe it, my babies are both one year older. Keeli turned 4 last week and today is Kayla's 2nd birthday. Wow, how the time flies. They seem to be at the perfect age now. I wished that I could stop time and keep them this way forever. We had their party this past Saturday and they had a blast. Here are a few pics.

Kayla being sneaky in the bounce house!

Fun before the party starts!

Grandma and the kids eating pizza!

My sleepy baby!

The party was fun. I think everyone had a great time. Thanks to all of you who helped out. See you next year!

Grandpa's House

I was going through the pictures on my camera and I realized that I totally forgot to post about our trip to Grandpa's house. Sorry Grandpa!

It seems like that was forever ago when it was only about a month. Our days have gone by fast and furiously since school and MOPS started. I will try to fill you in on all the fun the girls had. We down there for a family reunion but I believe my girls had more fun just hangin at Granpa's house!

First off my dad (Grandpa) makes the most amazing Oatmeal cookies. He had some fresh ones right out of the oven waiting for us. Here is a picture of Kayla enjoying them.

Grandpa also has goats so the girls got to feed them. Kayla wasn't too sure about them but Keeli had a ball with it.

After the goats, it was time for the 4 wheeler rides. Both girls love this!!!!

After a long day of hard playing, what does a girl do next? A bubble bath of course! Now, to my girls, my dad's bathtub is like a small swimming pool. Well, to me the bathtub is like a small swimming pool. The thing is HUGH! Especially if you turn the jets on and the bubbles grow to over your head. I must admit. I had to join them and it was a lot of fun!

There was also a lot of playing with my dad's dogs. Playing with the kitties. Playing the piano. Playing. Playing. Playing.

Then this......

Ahhhh!!!! Sleep!!!!

Thanks Grandpa and G for the fun memories! We look forward to coming back!

Swing Set Surprise!

Okay, well as most of you know, my husband is a "project" person. He is always bringing something home that he found in the trash to use for "projects." He says projects. I call most of it junk. He is also a "collector". Meaning that he never throws anything away and never gets rid of things that he doesn't use anymore. So, as a result, we have a pasture full of old trucks, old "projects", old farm equipment, etc.

The girls birthday is coming up and I wanted to get them a new swing set. They have one that were given to us when Keeli was a baby. It is one of those plastic kind with the fort on the end and a couple of slides. Well, my growing girls are too heavy for it now. The whole swing set, fort and all, shifts when I swing the girls. So, it is time for a bigger one. I mentioned this to my husband. Of course, he says that he can build one cheaper than we can buy. I rolled my eyes at this because I know that it will be another unfinished "project". A few days later, Andy comes driving up to the house in the loader hauling this old swing set a frame. It turns out that it was his when he was a kid. His dad actually built it for him. Surprisely, we were able to transfer the girls swings and it worked out perfectly for now. It does need some paint and I want to make it a little safer for the girls(meaning 1 chain to hang from and not linked together). You will see in the pictures what I am talking about. But, I have to say, this is one instance when I am glad that my husband is a "collector".

I have attached some pics. Keeli really enjoys the swinging. Kayla not so much. I think it is too high for her. But, she will grow into it!

PUPPIES!!!!!

So, I am sitting at home Friday morning cleaning house. My phone ringings. It is my dear sweet friend Romona (also known as the boss's wife). She doesn't even say hello. She says, "Don't you need two sweet little puppies?" My response, "Huh, no." She tells me that my girls need these two dogs that wandered up to one of our customer's office. She proceeds to tell me that she is going to take pictures of them and send them to me. All of this time, I am not agreeing to any of it. I know that if I see pictures of them that I am going to drive over there and get them. Guess what I did?








We now are the proud owners of two very cute puppies, Stripey and Blacky.

How could I say no to these cute little faces???

Well, that makes 4 dogs for us. Andy said that we can't keep all of them. So, I am looking for a good home for T-bone. He is our Blue Heeler. He is really a good dog. He just needs to have room to roam and run. We have to keep him locked up in our small backyard because he doesn't like cats. Well, he eats them for lunch so I guess he likes them a little anyway. So, to not run off the cats, T-bone has to stay in the back yard. So, if you know anyone who would like a Blue Heeler please let me know.

Fair Time!!!!

As some of you know, Andy and I have been telling Keeli that if she eats all of her food, then she can ride all of the rides at the fair. So, for the last year, Keeli has been sure to eat all of her food so that she can grow big and ride the rides at the fair. She gets so excited and jumps up and down because she knows that she is growing big after she eats all of her food.

Well, it is has been a year since we have been telling her that and the fair is finally here. I thought that she would be more excited to go but she really wasn't. After all of that hard work to get her to eat, I think Andy and I were more excited that she was. Although, she and Kayla have both been feeling sickly lately. After starting school and getting on a routine again, they are both going through a little culture shock. Surprisingly, they both fell asleep on the way into to town to get to the fair. Thank goodness for that because there were a lot of people trying to get in the parking lot when we got there. Andy was already stressed out from driving, he really didn't need the girls telling him to hurry up!

So we get there and Keeli finally realizes where we are and then she starts to come alive. Now she can't wait to get inside and is hurrying us up all the way from the parking lot.

We ended up meeting some friends there and Keeli got to ride all the rides with one of her best friends. Here are some pics....Aren't they beautiful girls???

Kayla rode one ride with Andy and she had had enough. But she enjoyed the roasted corn and watching her sister ride the rides. Kayla was still a little too young to ride but there is always next year. Thankfully we don't have to convince her to eat so that she can ride the rides. She eats well without our prompting! I am such a bad mommy in that I didn't get any pictures of Kayla. I did get some video of her, Keeli and Andy riding the giant swing. Kayla didn't want anymore of that when it was over!

First Day of "School"

Yesterday was the first day of Mothers Day Out for the girls. This is the first year that Kayla is old enough to go. Keeli has been going now for a few years. They were so excited to go. Well, Keeli was. Kayla just knew that she got a new lunch box and she got to carry it somewhere. We took Keeli to her room first because I knew that I was going to have a fight with Kayla. Kayla tried to go into Keeli's room with her and when I took her away, she didn't understand. She has been with her sister all summer and now they were being separated? What?

Then I took Kayla to her room. The teacher had to rip her out of my arms. She did not want to go. She cried for a few minutes. I slipped to the side of the room out of vision to listen. After she quieted, I poked my head in enough so the teacher could see me and asked if she was okay. She was so I left.

Yeah! Freedom!!!! I celebrated by meeting some friends at Starbuck's and then off to work.

On another note, a couple of weeks ago we had Kayla's blood tested for liver enzyme levels. They all came back normal but we had one more obstacle to face before we could say she is fine. We had one last doctors visit yesterday with the GI doctor. He gave her a clean bill of health and said that he thought that she was going to be fine. We will never know what caused the problems but at this point I really do not care. I am just so happy that she is well. She is completely off any medicine which is a great blessing. The doctor told me to call if she had any problems. I politely told him that I hope that I never see him again! :)

Kayla's Shiner

I left the girls with Andy last night. It was late when I got home so they were thankfully already in bed. I woke up this morning and was getting ready for church when Kayla woke up. I went to pick her up and noticed the nice shiner she had on her eye. WHAT HAPPENED? Well, Andy forgot to mention that she fell off of his lap and slammed her head into the end table. My poor baby. This picture does not do her any justice. That sucker is huge!

That just tops off a crazy week that we have had. Both girls allergies started acting up this week. I guess because of all the rain that we got. Also because of the rain, Andy has not been able to work so he left Wednesday morning for No Tree, Texas to work for the week. Now, it has been a long time since I have had to give the girls any type of medicine. I have always been so proud that both girls always take medicine well. Well, not any more! Neither one of the girls will take their Zyrtec. I guess they have gotten out of the habit and it must taste bad. Thankfully, they are both old enough to take chewables.

Keel's allergies really got to her Thursday night/morning. About 2:45 am, she woke up with a terrible hacking cough and could not breathe. It scared both of us. I took her to the emergency room. Both girls, at 3:00 in the morning, crying, in the emergency room. What a night! But she was fine. The doctors took an x-ray of her chest and even gave her a copy to bring home to Daddy. They also gave her a breathing treatment. By the end of it, Keeli was laughing and telling the nurses that she would be back the next time she was sick so they could make her feel better. What a ham. Thank God that she was okay.

That is all for now!

Thanks....And a little rest!

Thank you to all of you who helped me with my email problem. After about a week, I managed to contact everyone and get their addresses. Then, I purchased a program that I needed and I was able to recover all of my emails. Whew!!!! That was so crazy!

Today, me and the girls are heading to Llano for a little rest. Then on to Seguin on Friday for our big McKinney Reunion. I am not looking forward to driving with two children in the back. Especially since Keeli quit taking naps so she will be yapping her jaws the entire time. So, it should be interesting none the less. (I may not get much rest after all!)

I love going to our family reunion. We always have such a great time. I think that it is supposed to rain most of the weekend so I hope Susan has room for our big group in her house. Poor Robb. He doesn't know what he is getting into!

So, we are settling into our new life these days. I have been working most afternoons. I have decided that full -time is just not for me anymore. Kuddos to the full-time working Moms. One of my very dear friends has been keeping the girls for me when I need to work. She has been a Godsend! I love her to pieces. Last week at church, the preacher talked about being a generous people. She is one of the most generous people that I know. It is funny. After the service, we talked and told each other that we think each other as generous. Neither one of us think of ourselves as generous. Sometimes it is sad to think that we as humans only see the bad qualities in ourselves. I guess that is why God create friends so they can remind us of the good stuff! Anyway, my boss is generous in that he lets me take the girls to the office with me if I need to. I have taken them with me a couple of times now. They have been so good. Kayla usually ends up falling asleep while they are watching movies. And Keeli, well, she has the whole office staff wrapped around her finger. Can you imagine that? For instance, as some of you know, we have wild cats. Well, sometimes, for some unknown reason, the Momma cat will kick one of the kittens out of the litter. That has happened again at our house. So, Keeli and I are nursing "Sadie #2" and trying to get her weaned. Well, that means that the kitten has to go with us every where. That includes to the office. Well, I told Keeli that we had to keep the kitten outside the office because several people in the office are allergic to cats. So, yesterday afternoon she is begging me to let her bring the kitten into the office. I kept telling her no because Darrell's eyes would swell up like balloons because he is so allergic. Darrell must have heard me telling her that because he told her that she could bring the kitten inside. See what I mean about having everyone wrapped around her finger?

I will try to post some pics next post. That is all for now!

Email Help!!!

For those of you who don't know, I have gone back to work full-time for a few days and then I will be part-time after I do some training with the new girl. So, when I come home, I am completely exhausted! I have a new appreciation for working moms and their families. While staying at home is very hard, I have learned that working is hard too!



As I said, I am exhausted. And in my exhaustion, I managed to lose all of my emails and email addresses in my address book. Don't ask how. I feel very dump already. So, if you read this, send me a short email so that I can get your information back in my address book. Sadly, I have become dependant on my computer and my cell phone to "remember" things for me. Hopefully, you will read this and spread the word to the rest of the family and friends and I will get

Pictures of the Fun!

I start back to work tomorrow so I am not sure when I will be posting next. I wanted to get some updated pictures posted of the fun that we are having this summer. We have been doing a lot of swimming. Kayla is getting very brave now. I have to watch her closely because she likes to jump off the edge of the pool trusting that I will be there to catch up. What a mentophor for what God seeks from each of us. Imagine what it would be like if we all jumped off the edge knowing that God would be there to catch us.