Hope you had a Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter with family in Houston and Church on Easter Sunday. The kids are growing up so fast. Kathryn-9- no longer believes in the Easter bunny (and neither do cousins Austin-10 and Abbey-8 1/2), but seemed to be pretty happy with the loads of stuff the bunny brought. Our bunny doesn't bring a lot of candy, but every year he/she brings new swimsuits, goggles, flip flops, and plenty of fun outdoor stuff like bubbles and sidewalk chalk. Logan (almost 4) and Camryn (2) LOVED the whole bunny/basket/egg thing this year. It was a very big deal to them- and their first time dying eggs. The eggs had to be hidden inside my parent's house while we were at Church (are you kidding- we barely make it to church on time without the distraction of new things and candy!) and when we returned there were eggs and goodies everywhere. We were also able to snap a few pictures in my parent's backyard (even though it rained on and off) and a few inside with my wonderful parents and niece and nephew. I have no idea why I don't have any pictures of my sister or brother-in-law?

Hope you all had a Happy Easter! Obviously, the most important thing is not believing in the Easter bunny, but believing and knowing that Jesus Christ has arisen. Hallelujah!

It is raining...

Dress-up on a rainy day


I love the rain! It started last night and will continue over the next several days. San Antonio really needs it, but I cannot believe that it is raining during spring break and in the middle of my front yard being landscaped. I now have a big, muddy mess with partial flagstone and limestone retaining walls. Surely there will be a letter in the mail from our homeowner's association any day now, but the landscapers will not return until Monday. Oh well.

Watercolors (yes, I took the slipcovers off of my chairs!)

Everyone we know is on a fabulous spring break vacation- cruises to Jamaica, skiing in Breckenridge, sightseeing in New York, but we are home to supervise the landscapers who are not here. I had plans to take the kids to the zoo one day, children's museum, etc. We DID go to Fiesta Texas, but then it started raining and I had an accident. Yep, I cut the fingertip off of my left index finger. Completely. The kids were helping me make homemade pizza (which we make with veggies and chicken) and I sliced right through my finger while multi-tasking. So, we spent many, many hours in the ER for them to sew my fingertip back on. We will see if it reattaches, but I will have several visits to the hand surgeon. Fun.

Walker Ranch Park

We did have a great time at the park last Sunday. Lots of great trees to climb and trails to walk. We are now stuck inside doing and eating whatever I can do with one hand. Kids have done watercolors, dress-up, rehearsed and performed a play, and watched Beverly Hills Chihuahua twice. We plan to go to my parent's house tonight and stay through the weekend to celebrate Austin's 10th birthday and my Dad's 21st birthday (hee hee). I am also hoping to have a lot of help with the kids so that I can relax and continue my pity-party. I'll keep you updated on the finger (or lack of). Hope you all have a wonderful spring break!


Logan with a mouth covered in chee-tohs- I am having trouble cooking with one hand and the kids are loving the junk food!

Kathryn with make-up and earrings, Logan had been wearing Ronnie's tie and cowboy boots

I'm BACK!!!

Okay- I apologize to my dear friends in blogworld. I have neglected you during our recent move from California back to San Antonio. I have also been on facebook way too often. So... life seems to be getting a little less hectic and I thought that I would try to catch everyone up on our last couple of months.

The move from CA to San Antonio went relatively smoothly- other than last minute changes from the mortgage company, title company not preparing docs as they were supposed to, realtors who don't care about people, houses that have surprise problems when you move in... UGH! The house is fine. It is not my dream home and I already have a 3-5 year plan to sell and build. That is if the economy doesn't completely tank. We had the entire house repainted, new flooring, painted and glazed the kitchen cabinets, made some repairs, and landscapers will start next week. We also had furniture to buy- we downsized when we were in California- and finally found fabulous bedroom furniture that Ronnie and I both like. There is still much to do, but I am quickly losing enthusiasm on this remodeling project and I am deciding to "live with" some things that I had planned on changing.

Happy Birthday Camryn Elizabeth!

Camryn turned 2 on November 28th. My sweet little angel baby. I felt awful that we did not do a big party, but we were in San Antonio house hunting and then at my parent's house in Houston for Thanksgiving. Her birthday was the day after we were all stuffed with turkey and pumpkin pie- not really putting me in the mood for a sheet cake. Oh well. She was happy as could be with just having our immediate family at my mom's house with a cake and party favors all grabbed at HEB in about 15 minutes. I promise her a REAL party next year!

Logan having fun at his preschool in California on his last day

Kathryn practicing her cheerleading moves in the living room of the new house before furniture


Christmas was okay. Kathryn had a stomach virus and felt lousy- and we of course had just moved in about 3 days earlier- STRESS! So, we left the boxes in San Antonio and drove to my parent's house in Houston. The mood was a bit somber with my dad's mom (my wonderful Grandma) very ill. She passed away January 5th without me able to visit her again and I still miss her every day. I called her at least once a week just to hear her laugh and tell me stories about working in the garment factory, or the struggles of raising three boys, or what a stinker my dad was when he was a little boy and how much Logan looks like my dad. My poor dad is still having to take care of her estate and the drama that inevitably follows...

Kathryn adjusted to her new school pretty well beginning in January. Her former school was "capped", but she should be able to attend next year. She will start volleyball practice in a couple of weeks and will do swim team again beginning in May. Moving back to San Antonio has been an easy transition- back to the same neighborhood, doctors, after school activities, preschool for Logan, and friends. I hope that we never move from San Antonio. This is our home.

Camryn ready for the rodeo to end and the concert to begin

February- rodeo month! We went to Taylor Swift last week and had a great time. The kids all enjoyed the rodeo portion, but it is about an hour too long. By the time Taylor came on stage my kids were soooo sleepy. We were not able to stay for the whole concert but I bought her new CD for Kathryn and she seemed to be happy with that.

Hopefully this month will bring a little more rest and relaxation. I have friends in town that I haven't even seen since moving back and it is time to be a little more social. We have dinner with our friends Chris and Shellye this weekend- our first friends when we moved to San Antonio years ago. In fact, the house that we just bought is next door to Chris and Shellye's old house. I wish that they still lived there because the new neighbor is NOT nice. How did we move into a neighborhood where we know everybody and manage to move in next to the grouchy New Yorker who doesn't like kids? My best friend from college- Angela- and her husband and two kids moved to San Antonio last June and it has been so much fun to have dinner with them and have her close enough to call. She came over one day to watch the glaze go on the kitchen cabinets - fun! Logan also LOVES to play with their son- William- and asks on a daily basis for William to come over. Ronnie and I also have a date night planned for the 28th, he will be in D.C. for a couple of days, landscaping, living room furniture delivery, etc. It will be a busy two weeks left in February and then it will be March- spring break and countdown to summer. Whew!

I hope that everyone is doing well and hope to see you soon!!!