as for me and my house...

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-20T08:57:00.002-06:00

From our family to yours...

( Appreciate this photo, as Charlie is scared to death of Shae, and the cats were mad about these bows - this dumb photo took FOREVER to take!)

Heartbroken

2011-12-20T08:55:00.003-06:00

As we unpacked to decorate for Christmas this year, i was heartbroken to find two of my favorite decorations smashed. I am so so sad. We have had these nearly our whole marriage.

You will be missed Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

A.R. Star!

2011-12-20T08:41:00.003-06:00

A.R. stands for Accelerated Reader - a program at the elementary schools where a kid has to read a book and take a test on comprehension - kids earn points for each test passed. Typically, teachers require that each student earn a minimum number of points each 6 weeks (like 5 or 10). Each grade announces a winner for the most points earned - it's sort of a big deal!

To be honest, while most kids work very hard to be an "A.R. Star", Tim thinks this is dumb. Most of the books he reads are higher level and not on the A.R. list, so he never earns more than about ten points PER YEAR!!

Well, this past 6 wks, he decided to read the Harry Potter series - which is on the list!

As a result of reading all six books, He won the A.R. Award!!

As you can see above, he didn't even realize they called his name! Usually at this point in the Academic Pep Rally, he isn't paying attention (remember, A.R. is DUMB!)

I love his face here! - he was so confused about his win! He was asking, "Are you sure I am the winner?"

As part of his reward he got to participate in the wrap a 'teacher/elf' contest along with the other A.R. winners.

He was still pretty confused here - later I asked him why he seemed so weird and he confessed that he thought another kid had earned more points and he was feeling guilty for taking the spotlight! Oh, my sweet boy!

I think he ended up with over 170 points!! He may just win the over all award at the end of the year! Great job Tim!

Playoffs!!

2011-12-20T08:33:00.003-06:00

Last season, Tim's team didn't make it this far - but this season, they have come together to be a FANTASTIC team! This was the final game - for all of the marbles!

Before the game - hanging out in the stands.

Zak, J.R., Phillip,Hasheem and Tim

Tim in action - 5 boys after that ball - that is TEN legs poised to kick Tim at any moment!

He is a brave kid!

They ended up the second place team - I don't think any of them were too upset - I think they were all pretty excited to have made it so far! Way to go Drifters!!

PAINT!

2011-12-20T08:21:00.003-06:00

This year we used girl named Stormi Butler for our Big Shots ads.

One of her ideas was to do a paint shoot. She had Maggie jump in with her to make the ads more fun! Here are a few of the shots from that crazy day!

The first few splatters thrown - that paint was COLD!!

I think Stormi was saying, "Oh Maggie, You are going to be SO sorry for that!"

It took some serious scrubbing to get the girls clean, and I think there will be paint splattered on the Butlers fence for years to come - but it was worth it! I love how some of these photos turned out - Good idea, Stormi! And Thanks to her mom for providing the clothes, backdrop and paints! You can see more of these shots on the Big Shots Photography Facebook page!

My favorite day of the year!

2011-12-20T08:06:00.003-06:00

I LOVE FORNEY HOMETOWN CHRISTMAS!!

I love the cheesy little parade, I love the booths of vendors selling their wares, I love the free hot cocoa, I love the Christmas choirs - everything about this day is terrific and gets me in the Spirit of the Holiday!

Above, Maggie and Haley wait for the Parade to begin

Below, Tim and Jeremy were so embarrassed to have this photo taken! Nobody wanted to be associated with the wiener!

The boy scouts had a marshmallow gun booth, so the boys insisted on stopping there to make a gun! Guess how many marshmallows were all over my backyard by the end of the afternoon!

Tims GF, Michaela performed in the holiday choir!

********

Later that evening, I took Maggie and Haley to see their friend Becci perform in the Nutcracker. None of us had ever been to an actual Ballet before. We enjoyed it, but those male dancers really need to rethink their costumes - yuck!

Rebecca!

2011-12-20T08:02:00.003-06:00

Cousin Rebecca came into town for her high school's football playoff game, which was held at our stadium! So naturally, we went to watch her perform in the halftime show - She was GREAT!!

Mickey's Halloween Spooktacular

2011-12-19T18:20:00.007-06:00

If you have never been to the Disney Halloween party - You MUST go! It is so much fun! This year we went as musicians - Tommy was Steven Tyler, Maggie was Red Foo from LMFAO, Tim was Eminem and I was sort of Cindy Lauper!

Maggie drew Tim a sweet tat of Eminem the M&M!

We spent a lot of time at the resort pool and cruising in the convertible we rented, as the weather was beautiful!

Above, Maggie and Tim dancing poolside to a goofy Miley Cyrus song - 'Hoe down, throw down'.

Billy idol jams are the best!

Tim yelling "I LOVE MY LIFE!"

homemade halloween

2011-12-19T18:06:00.002-06:00

Hard at work!

Mag took a photo of her pumpkin because she said it was the first time in 17 years that she had carved one that was photo worthy!

Tim and Maggie think of costumes ALL YEAR LONG - but this year they couldn't settle on anything - so I suggested they make something. Robots were the easiest choice, so robots they were!

Mags friend Drew helped pass out candy - he dug in maggies dress up closet to come up with this Luigi costume. Maggie voted for Tinkerbell, but he didn't quite fit into the dress!

Trick or Treater, Taylor!

Ruby Update

2011-12-19T17:55:00.002-06:00

Since this blog is made into a book, it is important for us to document even the little things - like Ruby! Although she isn't so little anymore - she is growing crazy fast!

Ruby is now about 7 months old.
She still is a friendly, fun little girl, although she has learned to hiss when she is handled too much - Maggie is still in love with her!

The above photo is from a few months ago - below was just taken. You can see how she has grown by how close our fingers are when holding her

Mexican market

2011-12-19T17:42:00.006-06:00

6th grade at Tims elementary school holds a Mexican market each year. The kids have to make items to sell and host a booth. Tim made worry dolls and shared his booth with a boy selling jewelry.

Maggie and I intended to go through the market and then leave to have breakfast out somewhere, but there were so many food booths, that we just ended up eating our way through the market instead! There's nothing like homemade tamales in the morning! (and nachos, and breakfast burritos, and pineapple drinks, and rice milk, and chocolate covered plantains, etc...)

a few photos that i like

2011-12-19T17:28:00.002-06:00

only Nana...

drug free week at school. he is just so adorable!

a photo that Tommy took while people watching at the Dart Rail station one day - this is such a great shot! it was taken with his phone. I was on the other side of this man - he had kiss marks tattooed on the other side of his face and neck!

Cam Wow

2011-12-19T17:25:00.002-06:00

Maggie and Tim are addicted to CamWow (an app on the iPhone)

It is completely obnoxious.

Tim above - Maggie below

Steph's bday weekend

2011-12-19T16:50:00.011-06:00

Stephanie and Matt drove up for the weekend to celebrate Stephanie's 24th birthday!

(Wow - I must be old - she was a baby just a short while ago!)

We took a trip on the dart train to downtown Dallas and had such a nice day -

then the guys stayed home to watch a game while us girls went shopping!

In these next photos, the girls found some Sperry boots that they wanted - they had me take these photos and send them to Tommy - begging, pleading text went along with the pics!

Stephanie was trying to appear to be crying - "Please Uncle Tommy - I'll never stop crying

if I can't buy them!"

Personally, I think she just looks like she is sitting on a toilet!

We all came back together that evening for Steph's dinner request, Chicken Cordon Bleu - or Chicken De Blue as Matt calls it!

P.S. The girls got their boots!

SEVENTEEN!!

2011-12-19T16:45:00.002-06:00

Maggie is 17, and as is tradition, I just had to take a few photos!

She has grown into such a beauty! I really can not understand how she grew up so fast - she was just a precocious 2 year old yesterday!

SUMMER!!!

2011-12-19T16:35:00.002-06:00

Cousin Summer came for a weekend!!

While she was here, a couple of Maggie's friends stopped by - some photos were taken (about 500 actually!)

SO MUCH FUN!

First they decided to take some "country shots". Andy is a country boy, so he was down for that - Andrew, on the other hand, was not.

He is a little bit Skater and was very uncomfortable in cowboy attire.

So, Andrew turned the tables and proclaimed that the next afternoon, they would be taking Skater pics, and this time Andy was uncomfortable! Funny!

Maggie and Andrew doing the "wobble" in the middle of the street!

Andy, Andrew, Maggie and Summer

This was a really fun weekend - we wish Summer lived closer!

Full time Keeper!

2011-12-19T16:22:00.002-06:00

2011 was Tim's year for soccer. He has played for years and was always an ok player, but this year he was made the full time keeper and he came ALIVE! Thanks Coach Gavin! Here are a few shots from one of his recent games:

FHS Homecoming Dance!

2011-12-19T16:18:00.003-06:00

Maggie went with a few girl friends this year - most of them she knows from dance. They had a great time at the dance, then hung out playing games at a friends house all night - nothing too crazy, but really fun!

a season of dance!

2011-12-19T15:53:00.004-06:00

Several shots of the drill team season - Maggie has LOVED being on the team this year!

It is A LOT of hard work, but totally worth it!

Haley and Maggie on Nerd day for Spirit week!

My kids at a Pep rally - only Tim would bring a book!

Marching in the homecoming parade

Last performance of the season - Lion King!

Mag was supposed to be a giraffe

a rainy game

retro day

Each week 2 Highsteppers and Gents 'Of the Week' are chosen and honored in our local newspaper. This is a coveted award.

This particular week, Maggie was chosen! However, no gents were chosen, so the 2 girls were going to have to take photos alone. The gents didn't think that would be much fun, so they showed up to help out!

Standing in Victory line

Stephanie came up from San Antonio to see a performance, and was able to attend a pep rally too!

Star Wars performance - that's Mag curled up in the middle of the photo!

The advertisement for the Homecoming Tailgate Party - Mag is in the middle wearing a blue shirt, laughing!

Homecoming Tailgate Party!

with best friend, Haley

Nana visiting at a pep rally!

Highsteppers of the week - Tara and Maggie!

First performance of the season!!

2011-09-23T09:00:00.006-05:00

The first game was held in Waco - that is quite a drive, btw!

Of course I was just interested in the half time show - and it was FABULOUS!!

these are shots of the flash mob that the drill team, band, cheerleaders and football players did at the pep rally! it was GREAT!

(top pic - maggie in back row, left side, black shirt, hands above her head, watch on)

(bottom pic - maggie sort of in center - in front of girl with yellow shirt in back)

boarding the buses to waco!

they performed a routine called Circus - i loved the costumes! This drill team doesn't perform the normal drill routines - they pride themselves on doing full on dance routines with themes and costumes! It is expensive, but they are the best around!

FHS Highsteppers, Gents and Directors!

Nana and Pa drove up from San Antonio to watch Maggie dance! Thanks you guys!

Extraction!

2011-09-23T08:58:00.001-05:00

nothing funnier than giggle gas!!

Ruby

2011-09-23T08:42:00.004-05:00

Maggie's baby girl, Ruby is growing so big!

This is a pic of her on the day she came to live with us - she was a little bigger than a quarter (we think about 4 weeks old)

and this is her now ( almost 4 months old)

she is expected to get to about 12 inches in diameter - i hope maggie can have a giant aquarium in her dorm room!

Turtles are supposed to be shy and hide in their shells when people are near - nobody told Ruby that rule! She begs to be played with - she slaps the water with her fins when anyone walks into the room - she likes to be hand fed and likes to climb in charlies fur.

She is much more fun than i expected!

The next pic is her trying to climb up on her tree in order to be picked up! She is SO CUTE!

Sprout and the BIG C

2011-09-23T08:24:00.002-05:00

Tims little Sprout has cancer.

We had her growth removed and it looks like it was a successful surgery. We will just have to watch closely for more potential tumors. Tim was a nervous wreck on surgery day - He loves his Sprout so much!

her scar on the day of surgery

about three days later when she grew tired of the stitches and began ripping them out!

she slept like this for about a week solid! she didn't even acknowledge that I was so close with my camera!

This is what I found as I came to put Maggies sheets back on her bed - I guess Shae and Charlie were giving Sprout some moral support!

School begins Again! - YUCK

2011-09-23T07:58:00.004-05:00

I really have nothing good to say - school started, we took a few annual pics - I hate that they have to be gone all day, I'd rather they be stupid.

timothy joseph - eleven years old - beginning of sixth grade

maggie grace - sixteen years old - beginning of junior year

(and haley!)

when i asked how their first day went - thumbs up!

tim and michaela

JUSTIN BIEBER!!

2011-09-22T13:15:00.002-05:00

Remember the news story about the little girl who won the 'mayor for a day' contest, and chose to change Main street into Justin Bieber Way as her first official act as mayor?

Well, that was in our small town! It was all over the local news - then the sign was stolen and suddenly we were all over the National News!

Maggie and friends decided that this was historic, so after going out for donuts down the street, they called me to take a pic with the replacement sign. Andy (black shirt) gave me his "man card" before I took this photo!

as it turns out - the hooligans who stole the sign were a couple of maggie's friends - i snapped a pic of one of the criminals phones - proof that they were thieves! I have cropped out his face to protect him from all of the 12 year old girls who want him hanged! I figure the community service he was sentenced to perform is punishment enough!

Goalie Camp

2011-09-22T13:11:00.003-05:00

Tim attended Bobbie Moffats goalie camp this year and learned SO much! It was one of the best things we could have done for tim - he is the BEST GOAL KEEPER EVER NOW!!!

I snapped this pic with my cell phone - i love how young and small he is compared to his fellow goalies - i REALLY love how he kept up with them in the net! Its all about skill!!

Tims camp leaders - they were awesome!

Line Camp

2011-09-22T12:46:00.005-05:00

The drill team held their annual line camp in August - Maggie had a great time! Even though it was nine hours a day and she was SO SORE and TIRED!! I am in charge of media for the Booster club, so I went up and snapped some photos - here are a few with Mags in them -

The 2011-2012 Forney Highschool Highsteppers!

Pretty sure she wasn't supposed to be talking and laughing here!

Conner, Maggie and Sara

The Parent Show Off performance

A few friends who came to watch Maggie!

John, David, Laney, Carlie and Ben!

******

Just before school started the Highsteppers were asked to help direct all of the incoming freshman at orientation - here is a small group of them -

Haley, Andy, Maggie, Andrew, Becci, Lexi & Emily

last days of summer 2011

2011-09-22T12:02:00.009-05:00

The last bit of summer was filled with random events - ill just group them all together in one long post!

tim and his friend michael doing flip after flip after flip.....

maggie and an EFY friend, Zak - he lives only about an hour away, so its fun for him to come hang for the day!

zak, maggie, steph and matt - they came up for the weekend from san antonio - this was the first day mag felt good enough to even get out of bed after her tonsillectomy!

michael, tim and ricky

******

next - dave and maggie make great "koolaid pong" partners - their opponents don't stand a chance!

******

a quick day trip to Splashtown in Canton for tim, ben, me and carlie!

and a stop at the yummy Dairy Palace! for the BEST shakes around!

******

So, on this night - all of the kids were hanging out at our house when someone suggested ice skating - it was already almost 9:00pm, but they insisted on driving all the way out to the galleria anyway! They were able to skate for only about an hour before it closed!

they dont call him Big John for nothin'!

Laney, Haley and Maggie

******

Michael had laser eye surgery!!

******

Dave and Maggie had an evening of sitting around the house playing with the camera - it was his last night before heading off to OU!

******

TEXAS SKATIUM!!!

Tim - my genius child - forgot to wear shoes, so Jeremy lent him a flip flop until he could get some skates on!

on this day, the best thing to happen was that a 7 year old boy approached maggie and asked her if she was ok - he then said, "because it must have hurt when you fell from heaven!" Then he followed her around calling her his angel! HILARIOUS!

what's the best way to beat this TX heat?

2011-08-07T20:51:00.004-05:00

spend a little time on the ice, of course!

Tim invited his BFF Jeremy and his brother to the galleria for some skating this week - they had a great time, and only came home with a few war wounds. I feel pretty sure they wont say they got them ice skating - but, the truth is - its a brutal sport!

Just ask Jeremy's knees and Tims face!

Andrew, Tim & Jeremy

after working up an appetite - the boys headed to yummy Genghis Grill!

then we spotted this crazy dog as we left the mall! yep - its lavendar!

Lake Ray Hubbard

2011-08-07T20:37:00.006-05:00

Last week we had a great day on the lake - Tommy was able to take the day off, so we went skiing and tubing! Tim had such a great time that he said, "Dad - this is way better than video games!"

ok - get ready for the BEST pic of the day...

after haley flew off, maggie had a rough time staying on!

tim isn't quite heavy enough to hold the tube down on the rough water!

haley got up on her first EVER attempt!

thats about as much as tim got up!

tommy of course is a pro!

our family!

tired from the day and a bit sore from a massive wipe out/collision with haley!

tim driving the boat!

Tonsils, BE GONE!!

2011-07-21T22:16:00.003-05:00

Maggie has had problems with her throat for a while now - we got to the doctors office and he took one look in her mouth and said "Wow, those need to come out"

So - as soon as her schedule allowed - she had a tonsillectomy. We anticipated that it would be routine, but it has not exactly gone according to plan. A trip to the ER for IV fluids and a morphine drip put her back on track though.

These are photos of the pre-op questionnaire. Click to make them bigger so you can see how seriously she was taking this whole thing - I am betting that no one at the hospital even reads these forms!

a couple photos before...

and a couple after.

It has been exactly one week now, and she still feels terrible - however, she didn't throw up all day and has had some solid food - YAY FOR OATMEAL AND SCRAMBLED EGGS!!!

Thanks so much to everyone who has sent cards, brought gifts of balloons, shakes, pudding, monkeys and baskets of treats, and especially those who have paid her a quick visit. She has terrific friends!

Haleys sweet 16!

2011-07-20T19:48:00.005-05:00

For BFF haley's 16th birthday - Maggie threw her a surprise party. Haleys parents funded it, Mags planned it and Tommy and Haleys dad drove the boats - It was really fun!

storming the car... "SURPRISE!!!"

Maggie and the birthday girl!

Mag & Carlie

Trey, Maggie, Tyler, Zak, Jonah, Laney, Haley and Carlie

Tommy!

Carlie, Haley, Mags & Zak

who is about to fall off?

NOT Mag & Zak!

I believe only Maggie and Jonah survived this round!

Mags & Devante

That was one delicious cake!

Birthday girl and Tommy!

Maggie and Ben

Mags and Scotty

The whole gang - minus Laney (she had to leave early)

EFY San Antonio

2011-07-20T19:25:00.004-05:00

Maggie spent a week at EFY

(especially for youth) in San Antonio.

She stayed in a dorm at Trinity University.

She attended some WONDERFUL, LIFE CHANGING gospel classes and

loved every minute of it!

some of the kids from our stake who attended

Maggie and her roommate, Leighana, checking out their dorm - this was their scary, dark shower!

all of the kids from Dallas East Stake who attended this year -

Leighana, Lexi, Daniel, Maggie, Brooke, Angelia, Alexis and Hunter

photo taken just as I dropped them off - as they were headed out to their first meeting!

This was the best thing Maggie could have done this summer - her testimony grew by leaps and bounds and she came back ready to make some big life changing decisions. She learned to be true to herself and make the gospel a priority. If only she could have that EFY experience all year round!

For more cute pics from EFY - check her facebook page!

DONUTS!!

2011-07-20T19:15:00.003-05:00

It has been years since we made homemade biscuit donuts, so we decided that would be a good idea for breakfast on this morning! Tim didn't think it was as fun as the rest of us did, but he sure liked eating them!

while maggie was away -

2011-07-20T18:38:00.005-05:00

Tim and I went to San Antonio to visit my parents.

Swimming with Nana

off to see Transformers with Nana

He bought the coolest Venus Fly Trap - look closely at above pic - it has three flies already!

Fishing at the Lake with Nana

and Uncle Dave

Watching movies in the fort with Hunter

Waiting to see his favorite author, Rick Riorden

Tim actually got to stand and ask a question!

waiting in line with Haley for the seminar - Tim invited her to go along - it was at the Dallas Museum of Art - it was a fun morning!

A few miscellaneous posts...

2011-07-20T18:24:00.004-05:00

...all wrapped up in one.

Haley and Maggie painting a birthday sign for Tommy!

Maggie's baby girl, Ruby

End of the Year Award Ceremony for Tim's fifth grade class

Tim is there in the middle front. He won the Social Studies Award.

Tim mowing the lawn for the very first time! He has

done it several times now, and he actually enjoys it!

Tim hanging out on the back fence, flirting with the neighbor!

Happy Birthday, Tommy!!

2011-05-30T11:10:00.002-05:00

This is what 47 looks like!

It is also what a good, righteous, worthy, generous, witty, selfless, dedicated, motivated, strong husband and father looks like.

We love him so much!

PROM!

2011-05-30T10:58:00.005-05:00

Maggie was able to attend two proms this year - the first was for Justin's highschool (Kaufman) and the second was her highschool (Forney) She reported that while she had fun at both, Justin's prom was THE BEST!! I have actually already blogged about his prom - but I'll post a few pics to recap and show BOTH proms!

***************

F.H.S. Prom

they actually went with a big group to this one - they rode in a limousine and drove out to Rockwall for dinner - then out to Southfork for the prom.

Scott, Haley, Macie, Timmy, Laney, Big John, Lexie, Andy, Maggie , Justin, Nick and Jazzy

BFF Haley

She is a HIGHSTEPPER!!!!

2011-05-30T10:26:00.006-05:00

Maggie made the drill team at her high school! We are so happy for her!

Right away they had a spring show - the rookies (mags) only performed in one dance, but that one dance was AWESOME!! We would know - as we attended EVERY performance! We saw it so many times that we could probably have gotten up on stage and danced it with them! It is such fun to watch her dance- I could do it all day long!

some photos after the spring shows

Then they had an end of the year banquet - the theme was hoe down!

Practice starts up in August - after that begins, we anticipate never seeing Maggie! The Highsteppers practice A LOT! We can't wait to go to all of the football games and watch her at half time! It is going to be SO FUN!! Everyone is invited!!

Longest Easter Post Ever!

2011-05-30T09:32:00.009-05:00

This is how our Easter weekend went...

we colored A LOT of eggs...

and made an egg village, complete with pets, a king, the easter island guy and monsters

tim wanted to make sure we were clear on what color he had used

first easter as a married couple

young love

tommy made me my own special egg!

stephi loves her uncle tommy!

seriously - he worked almost the entire time on that chicken!

the bunny came!!!

a few (not so serious and reverent) photos after church

no time for makeup this morning - and still cute! She looks just like she did when she was about three years old in this photo!

on to the hunt!

Matt and maggie were our "hiders"

who buried this egg in dog poop?

and now for a few bloopers. Honestly - I had trouble finding photos that did NOT qualify for bloopers - our family almost NEVER takes anything seriously when we are together - and frankly, that is just how we like it!

For Nana and Pa

2011-05-30T08:52:00.004-05:00

Steph and Matt came up for easter weekend and I asked them to let me snap a few photos for Nana and Pa - we didnt have any of the grandkids since Matt joined the bunch! We made Justin jump in on a few too!

Nana, Im sorry that we didn't give you many grandkids - but look how cute the ones we did give you turned out!

Matt wants a baby really bad - Stephi says not yet - Tim is his substitute for now!

Matt and Justin have a little "bro-mance" going on!

But for now - Justin must move aside - Stephanie has his heart! Awww, aren't they cute?!

and the winds came

2011-05-30T08:35:00.003-05:00

Our fence usually gets repaired on 'as needed' basis - a board here, a board there. But we have had a couple of loose boards on the back fence for several weeks now and it was beginning to look a little week - tommy has just not had time to fix them - Until today!

We had a big storm come through - there were downed fences all over forney because of the straight line winds! But our little fence stood strong! However - we didnt want to chance it again, so tommy and the kids replaced the whole back section!

tim worked pretty hard the first half of the day, and looked like this for most of the last half!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHARLIE!!

2011-05-29T21:26:00.000-05:00

Our boy is 4 years old!

oh tim -

2011-05-29T21:22:00.002-05:00

this is tim and his bff michaela - they were telling me about their day - they had just been shown the puberty video in school! they were thrilled!

tims school uniform pants - they are very plain - so he added a vampire teddy bear for flair

tims latest obsession - pencil sharpeners. he cant do his homework without them!

backing up...

2011-05-29T21:15:00.002-05:00

... for mothers day dinner pictures. I am very behind on my blogging - on mothers day the kids got together and made me dinner. They shopped together and cooked together - with no arguing! It was terrific!

chocolate mousse and enchiladas!

Graduation!

2011-05-29T20:44:00.007-05:00

A few pics from Lindsey's Gilmer Highschool Graduation!!

gran, graduate & papa!

rebecca in the band!

s.h.m.

karan, maggie & summer

lindsey - top row, middle! (the cute one!)

tim, keith, brenda, jenny

mike, jack, kay

thomas, jon

gran, jordan

mike, kay, lindsey, jack

keith, lindsey, brenda, rebecca

sisters!

maggie, me, lindsey, tommy

summer, lindsey, jordan

lindsey and tim

summer and mag hijacked the camera!

more sisters!

summer, karan, maggie, rebecca, jordan, kay

tommy, karan

CONGRATS LINDSEY!!

Rick Riordan

2011-05-19T15:14:00.003-05:00

So for those of you who have never seen Tim in person, I'll tell you something about him - He ALWAYS has a book with him! He may have been forced to leave it in the car (by me) or in his back pack (by his teachers), or he may have been told not to bring it into the restaurant (by daddy) or to the park (by his sister) etc... but make no mistake, there is always a book close by - sometimes a STACK of books! As is evident in the following photograph at his cousins wedding - he was IN THE WEDDING and still couldn't put his book away!

Tim's favorite author is Rick Riordan. He has read the Percy Jackson series six times - some of the books in that series more than six times! Lately, he has been reading a new series by Riordan. It has a lot to do with ancient Egypt.

Now, Tim doesn't just read books - he researches what he reads in the books. He spends a lot of time on the computer looking for facts to make these fiction books more real to him. So when he was looking up something Egyptian the other day, he stumbled across an announcement for a book signing by Mr. Riordan - and HOLY MOLY! IT WAS IN PROGRESS RIGHT THEN!! and to make it even better - it was happening at a bookstore in San Antonio - right by Nana and Pa's house!!

Tim came racing down the stairs to get the phone, yelling "call Nana and Pa!!" over and over - he got a hold of Pa right away, told him about the event and Pa dropped everything (dinner) and headed to the bookstore! Tim could not have been happier! After hours waiting in line, Pa was able to get two books signed for Tim, and he actually drove them up a few days later to deliver them! Thanks Pa for being AWESOME!!

Tim is now planning on attending a seminar featuring Mr. Riordan in June - where he will talk about his new series and all things Egyptian - Tim can't wait!!

I guess there are worse obsessions that he could have! Maybe one day, that will be Tim signing books and giving seminars!

much better

2011-05-19T12:00:00.004-05:00

I still didn't get much out of him, but at least he agreed to let me snap a few pics without complaining this time! I think I will just use what I have and not subject him to any more photographic torture!

Thanks Tim for the photos - you are super good looking and the BEST eleven year old I know!

failed attempt

2011-05-11T17:11:00.000-05:00

this was my attempt at a nice eleven year old photo of tim

(now that he has been eleven for two solid months)

clearly he wasn't into it.

he swears this was the best smile he could muster up, given his disdain for all things involving him in front of the camera.

funny how he said for years that he wanted to sing and dance on broadway when he grew up!

i will try again eventually.

even with his forced, sort' of smile, he is pretty cute, right?

SHM spring 2011

2011-04-14T12:03:00.004-05:00

THE COUSINS CAME!

YIPEE!!!!

Lindsey, Summer, Maggie & Rebecca

LOVE these girls!

Harriet Tubman

2011-04-14T11:54:00.003-05:00

Tim was assigned a Harriet Tubman project in school recently. His task was to create a replica of the carriage that she gave her parents back in the day - he chose to build it out of Legos.

I think it looks AWESOME!!

Since we had out the legos anyway, I built a super cool dump truck!

Charlie sat sweetly with us - until I tried to show him my work - then he freaked out and turned into Cujo!

16 1/2

2011-04-14T11:45:00.004-05:00

For some reason, Maggie decided this year that we all needed to celebrate her Half Birthday. She marked it on our calenders months in advance and made sure we were all very aware of the impending date.

The big day arrived, and as usual, I was busy getting the morning going when I learned from Maggie's friend that she was very hurt because I had forgotten to wish her a happy Half Birthday.

She had texts from friends and family alike - all celebrating her special day!

OK PEOPLE - THIS IS NOT A REAL THING!!!

Justin even came over and baked her favorite red velvet cake for her! CRAZY!

16 1/2 candles on the cake

She was insistent that she receive a gift, so she took MY money and drove herself to walmart to purchase the movie Tangled!

The girl is NUTS! And furthermore - so are all of those around her for indulging her crazy behavior!

Spring Break 2011

2011-04-14T11:31:00.006-05:00

I really wanted to post photos from the whole week of Spring Break to document our many adventures - but most of those photos were taken on maggie's cell phone (cuz it takes GREAT pics) but it was stolen! So here is all that I have left...

Our picnic at White Rock Lake

The CROWDED Fort Worth Zoo

tyler, tim, haley, maggie, justin

Sadly, that's it.

Some of the other things we did were:

Ate breakfast at I hop (no big deal you say? well, then you haven't tried the Cinnastacks!)

Played Basketball at the park

Flew Kites

Shopped

Tracked down a little mexican bakery and bought lots of treats to share (turned out they were all disgusting!)

Walked the dog

Watched several movies at home and at the theatre

Played with friends

We usually travel for the break, but this year we just stayed close to home and had a good time anyway! Can't wait until summer break now!

PERMANENT

2011-04-14T11:19:00.003-05:00

So, I was enjoying a few peaceful minutes just before Tim came home from school a few weeks ago (he walks home), when my phone rang. It was my friend, Stef - she was laughing already, before she even spoke - she said "I just wanted to hear your reaction when Tim came through the door".

Uh-oh. This can't be good. So I get up and go to the door, to find Tim walking up the driveway - looking like this!

His story is, that on the walk home, one of the girls had a permanent marker and threatened to write on his face with it. Not to have her satisfied by his fear, he took the marker from her and said "Wow - I would love to be written on - in fact, i'll do it myself" and proceeded to create this masterpiece!

Now, all of the kids thought it was hysterical - as did Stef, who saw my idiot son as she was picking up her children. I guess I think it is funny too, but my poor washcloth ended up paying the price for his lunacy!

P.S. - in case you didn't know - you have to scrub pretty hard to get sharpie of of your face!

Soccer - Spring 2011 Season

2011-03-22T16:22:00.004-05:00

Look out Forney youth soccer teams - here come the Forney Drifters!

There is NO WAY you are getting past this goal keeper!

It was a VERY, VERY, VERY cold opening day!

Did I mention it was COLD?

So cold in fact, that most of the spectators (even some moms!) missed the last half because they had retreated to their cars!

the boys all had blue-ish lips and numb fingers by the time the game ended -

but they played an awesome, aggressive game!

Way to go Drifters!

some spring pics

2011-03-22T16:09:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday afternoon, I took Maggie out for a few spring pictures - the light was great and the wind wasn't too strong (rare this time of year), so we got a few cute shots.

Look for Tim's spring photos soon - as soon as we have a day without massive wind gusts!

Justin was with us, so I snapped a few of him too...

he looks so serious because the wind was blowing pretty hard right then and he was losing his patience waiting for it to die down!

this is what Maggie did while I shot him and she had a break from my camera!

Prom

2011-03-22T15:54:00.003-05:00

Maggie goes to Forney High School, but a neighboring town, Kaufman, had their prom two weeks ago and Maggie was asked to go. She went with Justin and his best friends, Josh and Amber.

This was a great group to go with - Maggie says it was a blast! They all get along so well! She reported that dinner beforehand was so fun that no one really even finished their food - lots of fun conversation!

She had only met Amber once or twice before, but evidently they hit it off and had a great time! Neither one of them goes to Kaufman HS, so they stuck together.

She also said that she and Justin danced all night - nearly every song - she was beat by the time she returned home! (of course not too tired to keep me up until the wee hours of the morning telling me all about it!)

I am so glad she had such an amazing time at her first prom!

11

2011-03-11T11:54:00.004-06:00

a few shots from tims birthday - it was uneventful, as he had school and a mandatory soccer practice - his party with friends has been rescheduled - but im sure it will be a blast - if he ever finds time to have it!

daddy got tim a new cell phone - this one with text!

Thanks to all of you who texted him birthday wishes! - he had 42 at the time i took this picture, but over 80 by the end of the night!

scotty came by to tell him happy birthday and give him a bday swirly!

Olive Garden dinner (his usual choice) with the family and gf, Michaela

oh tommy...

haley came by before school with SUGAR!!!

thanks a lot, haley!

daddy giving tim his new phone!

ELEVEN!!!!

2011-03-03T08:34:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday, Tim!

You are my favorite boy on the planet!!

(and thanks for the forced semi smile in this birthday picture! I bet i'll get a real one later today when you open your gifts!)

Winter Break

2011-02-05T12:39:00.007-06:00

Forney I.S.D. does not give a winter break like a lot of schools do - however, mother nature provided a week long break for us recently! First is was the ice, then came the snow that prevented the kids from heading out to school - YAY!!!

Here are a few shots from the last few days:

Maggie, Tim, Michaela, Charlie and Haley

There was no driving allowed for Mags, so its a good thing we live in a neighborhood with friends close by!

a family photo minus Tommy :(

He was hard at work and once he got home, he wasn't really interested on getting back out in the cold to re-do this shot!

Above and below pics of Tim and Michaela - this is what they looked like most of the day - with a bit of outside play in between. They are definitely two peas in a pod!

This was the beginning of charlie's snow beard

building the base of the snowman was their job...

finishing him out was theirs.

Brian showed up just in time to go in for Maggie's yummy hot chocolate!

trying to fit in the big jacket that Haley borrowed from her brother

This may or may not have been an apology hug for tackling her in the snow!

They discovered that underneath all of the layers, they were matching - Haley said "hey, take a pic of us since we all have on the same color" - Then they proceeded to act like idiots and never once looked at the camera and smiled all at the same time - I took almost 40 shots! Poor Brian was about to get eaten in this one!

We also ventured out for a yummy dinner at Napoli's once Tommy arrived home (no pics) and we made some Valentine crafts to decorate the house:

lately

2011-01-27T15:17:00.007-06:00

I notice on my blog visitor list, that several of you have checked in looking for news - Sorry... I really don't have any!

I haven't taken any great pics lately - and other than a weekend trip to San Antonio to visit Nana and Pa, there has been no excitement around here. Tim got the flu while we were out of town - I got bronchitis soon after, Tommy as usual had his nose to the grindstone (thanks babe) and poor Maggie had the worst thing of all - SEMESTER EXAMS! Here are some random pics from the last two weeks:

This is my mom and dad - it had been a cold nasty, rainy day - mom had just gotten over a few weeks of the flu or something horrible, and she recently had cataract surgery. How cute does she look anyway?!

Tim and his friend Ben at Restoration Hardware - they were FREAKIN' EXCITED to be there!!!

Poor Ben - Tim also started running a 104 temp. about an hour after this was taken - his San Antonio trip was not very fun - Sorry Ben!

I actually had planned on taking the kids to the zoo the following day - Tim thought everyone should go anyway and he would just stay at home with Nana - but Ben vetoed that idea, saying he didn't feel good about leaving Tim behind - he said the zoo would not be as fun without "a little bit of hyper!" Now, that is a good friend!

Tim had been washing his hands - well, he was a bit distracted by the magical soap bubbles!

mag and a few friends working on the monster Chemistry review packet - they looked just like this for HOURS!!

and finally - Sprout killed yet another mouse - nothing unusual, but this one had babies. She was kind enough not to eat them - she just pulled them out and left them alone - she sure is a sweet kitty!

My little animal activist, Tim, of course was mortified! I actually thought it was kind of cool - seriously, click on one of the pics to enlarge and check how cool their little forming bodies look!

Snow Men of Forney

2011-01-10T16:06:00.004-06:00

Maggie had a doctor appointment this afternoon, so we took a few minutes on our way home to drive around and check out the snowmen in our town - we liked these in particular. Which is your favorite?

Sister Wright!! It's SNOWING!!!

2011-01-10T16:04:00.001-06:00

Wow! Was I teaching a sunday school lesson?

Who can remember?

There is SNOW!!!

Tim and the Snowball

2011-01-10T16:02:00.001-06:00

He wouldn't let me take a formal snow day pic, but this one is cute, so I'll take it!

NOW it feels like winter!

2011-01-10T12:29:00.005-06:00

It has taken long enough! We have had many 70 degree days here in Dallas, so when the weather man said snow, we were skeptical in our house. As we headed to church in the pouring rain, I felt like that would be all that we got.

But while we were in the chapel, the snow began to fall! YAY! We sang "Once there was a snow man" in primary and I wished we could take the children outside to sing it the right way!!

I snapped a quick pic after church, because I knew I would not get tim out of his wet snow clothes for a good shot after he started to play!

Of course I was able to get one of Maggie!

Mag and Haley playing in it - Haley slid down that little hill awfully fast and couldn't really get traction enough to get back up! Super funny!

So since school was delayed for a few hours, we invited everyone for breakfast! FUN!!

We had a bit of a buffet going on!

French Toast

Breakfast Burritos

Pancakes

and more!

Charlie REALLY wanted in on the big snow day buffet!

This was a glass of chocolate milk - he chugged the whole thing at once!

Maggie was drinking straight from the carton and only released it after scott chased and tackled her for it!

Poor Maggie felt so sick that she had to lay down right there on the kitchen floor to keep from throwing up - must have been what she ate - here is the list:

A HUGE breakfast burrito

A Plate of Pancakes

Two tall glasses of chocolate milk

The remainder of the milk in the carton (at least another glass worth!)

No wonder she felt sick!

Its nice to have a change of pace sometimes! We

like the snow - but only now and then to shake things up!

Merry Christmas

2011-01-06T14:07:00.014-06:00

There has been a lot going on over the past week or so - too much to journal every detail - so here are some pics - mostly Christmas:

Mag's friend Carlie is home from college and wanted some friend pics. I absolutely love the pic of Maggie holding the fluffy weed thingy!

Her golf buddy Brian tagged a long for pics, and I snapped a shot of them together too!

Christmas Eve was spent in Gilmer, at Tommy's parents house:

Y'know that Saturday Night Live skit with Lawrence Welk and the Merrill sisters? Doesn't Tommy look like the last sister here?!

I warned her I was going to be posting pics on my blog and she made this face anyway...

Tim typically parks in front of the computer and stays put!

Rebecca, Maggie and Lindsey crafted most of the day

Sweet Mary! - Gran's fudge was delicious!

Me, Mag & Rebecca making fun of the "my space face" in the bathroom. I'm super hip!

Keith & Mag

Papa & Tim

Rebecca, Brenda & Lindsey

My attempt at getting a pic of my kids in front of the tree

Rebecca & Tim

Tim & Lindsey

Tommy & Keith - caught in the banana pudding!

awww!

This shot makes me laugh because it is so typical of any gathering at gran and papas house - everyone in the kitchen, munching on whatever is out on the counters!

Part of the house - it goes around to the next lot too - and on to the backyard - complete with music!

Then we headed home for our traditional Christmas Eve family stuff - opening the crepe paper balls from Nana, new pajamas, the Christmas story read by maggie, Twas the Night before Christmas by daddy, hanging of stockings, cookies for santa and off to bed!

Christmas morning was quiet this year since it was just the four of us - but it was really nice!

Charlie wishing Maggie a Merry Christmas! (or begging her for hot chocolate!)

opening all of those gifts is clearly exhausting!

Tommy making Christmas breakfast! He makes THE BEST EGGS!! He leaves the sausage gravy & biscuits to me!

As for New Years Eve - Mag & some of her friends went out to Plano for dancing, while Tim had a friend over for midnight celebrations.

Sorry, no pics of tim and his celebration :(

at midnight!

Steve & Mark

2010-12-24T06:44:00.008-06:00

We were lucky to have my brother Steve and his partner Mark come stay with us for a couple of days before Christmas! They live in South Carolina, so we rarely get to enjoy them! We love them both very much and wish we could have them more often!

Our first stop on the night they arrived was to the Harbor for some Salvadorian food at Glorias! Yumm!!

It was a little too chilly to enjoy the view for long though!

Tommy & Steve are in love!

Steve, Tommy, Tim, Mark, Maggie & Jenni

****

We exchanged gifts early so that they could watch the kids open them - Thanks you guys!

Tim & Mark have the same taste in toys!

Maggie loved her cat hat! She actually slept with it on!

****

Next was a trip downtown to show Mark a few of the sights in Dallas!

Steve liked the Farmers Market the best!

He couldn't believe ho big this jalapeno was! It will be stuffed for dinner shortly!

Mark is a STAAAARRRR!!!!

****

Finally, we were off to Tillmans Roadhouse for lunch. DELICIOUS!!

Tim is obsessed with the Rubik's cube right now - he had it out showing the waiters how fast he can solve it - it was super funny when one of them pulled out his own to show Tim his skills!

Tommy delivering Steve his favorite vice - not a big drinker, he says it may take him about 3 years to finish it! Does that mean we don't have to get him a gift for three more years?

red moon -twice?

2010-12-21T23:42:00.005-06:00

This is Maggie, Brian & Haley on Sunday night - hanging out inside until it got close enough to midnight to pile on the trampoline ( in the 40 degree temperatures) to watch the lunar eclipse and see the red moon.

This is Brian, Maggie & Haley all nestled in their sleeping bags ready to watch the eclipse from the trampoline on Sunday night

Yes - I said Sunday night - and yes, the eclipse was actually on Monday night!

Who was more stupid - Haley, for telling us it was on Sunday? or Brian & Maggie for believing her without checking the facts on the Internet?

Thanks to Tim for finally setting them straight!

(after they had FROZEN out on that trampoline!)

He thought they were all idiots!

**********************************

Lunar eclipse and red moon watch party, Round 2!

Monday night - Ben joined the ranks out on the trampoline (in much nicer weather, but still pretty chilly) to await the big event.

at about 1:40 in the morning they finally got to see the eclipse!

(don't check my timeline please! I'm close to being right, I'm sure!)

then they saw the red moon at nearly 3:00 a.m.- Maggie slept through everything in between!

I love this next pic - they were all so tired from a worthless late night the night before - then a full day of six flags - that they were not entirely impressed with the moon!

Ben looks drunk - Brian is disappointed - Maggie is saying "I woke up for that?" - and Haley is sad that the aliens didn't beam them up like they do on t.v!

maggie, the wedding & six flags

2010-12-21T23:21:00.004-06:00

Carlie is back from her 1st semester in Hawaii! We first got to get together with her at her brothers wedding - just after she arrived! Maggie couldn't wait to see her!

The crowd was there (minus a few) and so I snapped a few shots.

trent, scotty, dave, maggie, ben & greyson

i LOVE ben's butterfly hands!

*************

Next adventure - SIX FLAGS!!

Haley, Brian, Ben & Scott came along for a fun day! The weather was PERFECT!! and the coasters were AWESOME - hardly any wait time!

ben, haley, maggie, scott & brian

boys!

Tim & Michaela's Christmas

2010-12-21T23:12:00.003-06:00

Tim and his girl, Michaela exchanged Christmas gifts early, because she is spending the holiday at her dads house in Canada. She got him a gift card to gamestop and he got her a baseball cap!

she exclaimed, "YES!"

then went on & on about how much she loved it!

Really - it was adorable - look at her happy face! If everyone received gifts the way she did, more people would give gifts!

then they spent a while trying to pop the packing pillows!

My Favorite Weekend of the Year!

2010-12-07T08:21:00.004-06:00

The weekend of Forney Hometown Christmas is my very favorite! I love the festivities welcoming Santa and the holiday season to our small town!

First is the ceremonial lighting of the town Christmas tree (it's really lame actually - a very small tree in an empty lot next door to the auto repair shop!) where the elementary and high school choirs sing and hot cocoa is served to all!

Next is the big day! It starts of with a parade through downtown - girl scouts and firemen and horses with antlers marching, bringing Santa and Mrs Clause to the main stage, where he is given the key to the city! Vendors have booths set up all along main street for shoppers to browse through, choirs and dance studios perform throughout the day, kids enjoy the bounce houses and carnival games, and Santa sits in the city garden for pictures with young and old alike! The weather is always great and I don't feel like the holidays have arrived until this special day!

tim and tyler at the tree lighting

"SANTA!!! I KNOW HIM!!!"

BFF Michaela singing with her choir

Tim dutifully watched Michaela perform, and then it was off to play!

Maggie hung out with her friend Brian for a little while

Tim & Michaela enjoyed a funnel cake - yummm!

I had to cut the afternoon short for a photo shoot - Mag & Brian came along to help. It was pretty cold so she borrowed someone's coat and he got stuck holding my lenses and hairspray! Thanks Brian!

Actually - I got a little ahead of myself - friday night my friend Stefanie and I hosted a HOLIDAY SHOPPING PARTY!!

We had several vendors come and we had a blast! Lots of door prizes were given away and all of the vendors were able to sell their wares! Most of the guests were able to get some shopping handled in one fun night!

Leigh & Taylor

Jessica ,friend & DeeDee - Jessica owns Her Lily Pad Jewelry design

Shannon with Scentsy, Kelly & Callie

Theresa & Sara

Cynthia, Chelsea,& Jaylene

Celia, Lara & Stef

Haley, Maggie & Taylor

Tina with Tupperware & Liz with Mary Kay

Distinctive Designs Vinyl Lettering and Pillow Pets!

Cynthia telling us about her Scandal Us Suds!

DOOR PRIZE!!!

These are just a few shots - We had such fun - thanks to all of the vendors who came (10 in all, i think) We will definitely do it again next year!!

iphone dump #3

2010-11-30T06:55:00.006-06:00

Tim NEVER sleeps in the car - so I had to take a pic of this rare occasion before we carried him out

another one of Sprouts little gifts for us - this one was alive - only his eyeball had been plucked out!

what the heck is this?

Tim, Midas and Mimi at Nanas house

cutest boy EVER

Tim really has a thing for clouds - this one was actually quite pretty in real life

Tim wants this for Christmas!

a few of the BA-JILLION cupcakes made at my house last week

my house phone caller ID - later we got one that said Morons!

the only pic that I took on Thanksgiving at Grans house - Lindsey, Maggie and Rebecca

Tim in Hobby Lobby choosing things to add to his Christmas list. Too bad I already bought all of his gifts this year!

Turkey Project Update

2010-11-19T18:58:00.003-06:00

HE WON, HE WON!!

WOOT WOOT!!

AAHHH YEAH!!

His prizes - 15 tickets (a big deal in his class), a free homework pass, a necklace pen, a glitter pencil and a bookmark!

Great Job Tim!

on a gross side note - this is what was served in the school cafeteria today:

Turkey Project

2010-11-10T20:06:00.005-06:00

Every year the fifth graders at Tims elementary school do a turkey project. The kids are given a coloring book style picture of a turkey and are encouraged to work on them with their families. There is judging and prizes for the top three turkeys. It's a BIG DEAL!!

Tim & Mag working on the wings -

He used plain oatmeal, oats with orange food coloring and marjoram flakes for the birds body.

When he was finished, he said his turkey looked like he had a bad case of acne!

Here is Tims "Rocker" turkey. We will see how he does - as big of a mess as we made constructing this thing, he had BETTER win a prize!

We will keep you posted - we know you are now on the edge of your seat!