February Fun!

Our baby girl turns 11!  She's growing up so fast!!!  Kassidy started off her birthday with an early b-day present from Grandma and Grandpa...Converse she's been wanting:)

Karson was so proud to be able to be the one carrying the special b-day breakfast with candle to Kassidy on her birthday.

 

 Since her birthday was on a Saturday this year, she was able to have one of her friends, Kat, spend the night.  

 

 Can you tell this girl needed clothes?  She's growing so quickly!

 Kassidy was so excited that she was also able to have a small party on her actual birthday.  She invited 5 of her friends over to our house for cake and presents then we went to paint pottery.  They had a fun time!

Victoria

 Ashley

 Amelia

 Kathryn

 Kat

Cake time!  She picked this out herself...it was super yummy with chocolate and whipped cream layers and strawberries on top:)

 Here they are painting pottery.

Kassidy's above and mine to the right.

Kassidy received so many sweet cards, calls, texts, messages on Keith's facebok, gift cards, gifts in the mail, etc that she got everything she wanted and needed!  She's all set for a great spring/summer!!  The funniest part of her birthday was the two identical b-day cards she received from my mom and her sister, Judy.  Kassidy couldn't believe they chose the same exact card!!!

And here we all are out for her b-day dinner at Chisos Grill.

My beautiful birthday girl:)

Let me tell you a little bit about our Kassidy.  She's sweet, helpful, and caring.  She's the only reason I keep my cool some days with the boys;)  She's not real good about keeping her room clean, but she loves helping me clean and does a great job at it, including bathrooms!  She's a great big sister (especially to Karson since he needs more help).  She will read to Karson and help him get showered and wake up the boys for school.  She's definitely the most responsible of the three and the most mature.  Of course we do have some sassiness to deal with along the way, too!  Sometimes just the two of us run errands or watch a movie together because we're the only girls in the house and we tend to like the same things;)

Kassidy is around the 50th percentile for weight and 25th for height.  No surprise there since our Dr told us a few years ago that she'd probably end up somewhere around 5'0-5'2.  

Kassidy is playing basketball for the first time this spring!  They have a clinic/camp format this time around which has taught her so many great fundamentals and skills.  She's working really hard on mastering her lay-up.  Practicing with her brings back all sorts of memories practicing and playing with Dad.  He even painted yellow stars on our driveway so we could shoot from those hot spots.  

The junior high held instrument try-outs for incoming 6th graders.  Kassidy tried the trumpet, clarinet, and flute but played the flute the best.  We just found out that she will definitely be playing the flute next year!  She's super excited about it and can't wait for Mama to show her how to play (and Aunt Kaylin and Olivia when we go to Ohio!).

Kassidy has made so many great friends this year.  It's just amazing how quickly it happened!  She can walk to 3 girls houses in our neighborhood and a few more live just a minute or two drive away.  This is a huge blessing and has made leaving and missing her SC friends and cousins a lot easier.  

School is going well for Kassidy.  She had some catching up to do but her teacher has been wonderful at working with her during the day and once/week after school.  She's much more confident in herself, too since she's learned good strategies for problem solving and test taking.  

Kassidy is an official Jr Volunteer at our church:)  She helps in the 2 or 3 yr old class on Sunday mornings.  The teachers always say what a great help she is!  I know she enjoys it and looks forward to seeing her little friends every other week.  It's cute when one recognizes her and waves to say hi.

We are SO proud of Kassidy and the young woman she's becoming.  She is a hard worker and a great friend.  She has a kind heart and we can't wait to see what else God has in store for her:)

And now, on to the show!

This was our first year having a kid perform in the school talent show.  Kaleb said he wanted to tell jokes (no surprise there!).  We thought it would be even better if someone played the drums/cymbal after each joke (you know, da dum ching!).  Kaleb chose Karson because he's so cute!!!  All of the jokes except one from Kassidy were found or make up by Kaleb.  Both boys did a SUPER job, no stage fright, and you could hear every word.  They really had the crowd laughing:)  And if you ask me, they were the BEST act of the night!

Stay tuned for March!

Happy 2015! ! !

It's hard to believe it's a new year already...and that we've been in Texas for over 6 months!  We celebrated the new year at the library.  The kids made crafts then had a snack and "champagne" and counted down to 2015 at 12:00 (noon, not midnight, that is:))

I just had to show off the beautiful cardinal we had one afternoon.  We have many different birds, unfortunately I don't know what kind most of them are, but I do know my cardinals.

On a long weekend off of school we headed down to Zilker Park.  We had some friends with us so packed a lunch and spent the afternoon there.  The kids had a great time climbing the big rocks, playing with all of the dogs, and going to the playground.

In case you're wondering if we got another new dog, nope!  This guy just loved us so much he hung out for a good long while on our blanket with us.  Made eating lunch kinda tricky, but he was very sweet:)  His owner finally came around and off the dog went!

Close by us was this adorable new pup that all the kiddos just fell in love with.  I think he had enough attention to last a whole week:)

Speaking of new, here's my cousin Thea's newest addition:)  Her baby girl, Calista, was born in November.  We finally had a chance to meet her and boy is she cute!!!  Kassidy was really helpful holding her and helping to make the fussiness go away.

Kaleb still LOVES babies!!!

 Here she is with her big brother Drake.  What a great big brother he is!

And our last new thing, a Honda Pilot.  We are officially retired from minivans:)  It's a good feeling knowing your kids are getting older and more independent.  They can all buckle themselves, open/close doors by themselves, slide the seats forwards/backwards, and control their A/C.  The minivans were extremely helpful in those areas but now we've moved on.  We got the Pilot since it has a 3rd row and we can take friends around with us.

 This is as close as the dogs will ever get laying next to each other;)

 Kaleb's cute project for the new year at school:
'My favorite accomplishment in 2014 was completing the front flip.  I did a front flip into the pool!  Now, I do front flips on my trampoline, into foam pits, and in my bouncy house that is too small for me.'

'My goal for 2015 will be staying up past midnight on a weekend.'

I especially love his drawings:)

The kids did 12 weeks of martial arts over the winter.  Here they are learning to use their sticks (of course I can't remember the proper name for them!)

 Kaleb got these toys for Christmas.  They're called Squiggs and on the little bin they come in it says 'Fun Little Suckers!'  They really are fun and yes they do suck;)  The boys found out it's a lot of fun sticking them to yourself, too!  And even MORE fun sticking them to Mom!!!

Karson

 Kaleb

Me!

And just because she's so darn cute, a pic of Harper:)

And here's wishing you all a VERY HAPPY 2015!  May God give you many blessings, including friends, family, and good health.  We love you all!!!