"B" is for Barret, Basketball, & BonJovi

Paul, being 6'4", often gets asked if he plays basketball. The question is quite hilarious if you know Paul or have seen him dribble. The man has many talents, but basketball or let's just say sports in general, are not his passion. I, may even be worse! So we haven't done our kids any favors with our gene pools but, Barret may be able to move past this problem. He played basketball this year and did an AMAZING job. He scored, fouled, passed, fouled, dribbled, fouled, and had a great time! This season, he was on the Hawkeyes and really excelled in the game. This is his third season and I have finally learned the appropriate time to yell "rebound!" A few weeks ago, he had 2 games in one day. During the hour break between the two games, we went and got a donut. As we were talking about the game, Paul told him he wasn't playing very aggressive and he noticed he didn't even get one foul. Barret most have took this into consideration and decided to get in and play! At about 38 seconds before the final buzzer, Barret was fouled out of the game! We couldn't believe it-5 fouls! It was so funny. Our "gentle giant" was playing nasty! He did a great job and I hope he will continue to enjoy the sport enough that when he is Paul's age he will be able to answer

"Yes, I played and I loved it!"

I few months ago, Paul bought an I-phone which eliminated his need for an i-pod. Barret quickly took it over and I quickly erased Paul's play lists. (a 9 year old boy listening to ACDC is never a good idea.) Not knowing what kind of music he liked, Barret let me add a few of my favorites. The first time he heard "Living On A Prayer" by Bon Jovi, he was hooked. He now owns all 75 of Bon Jovi's songs...who knew they had that many? He is also a wealth of useless knowledge on the band. Need to know when Jon was born? Ask Barret? It has gotten so bad that the other morning his teacher called saying, "Ginger, Bon Jovi will be in Dallas in April! You have got to get him tickets!" She even offered to take him! (A memory I am sure that would last a lifetime!)

Baby Anna, Hunter, and Jackson

Sweet Baby AnnaLast weekend we went to the blessing for sweet "Anna Banana". She looked SO beautiful! She had on a long fluffy white dress. Her little sleeves made her look like a butterfly. It sure is fun to have a baby girl in the family again.

We went on Saturday and took a tour of Amber Springs (amberspringsevents.com). It is a beautiful place. It is nestled in a bunch of tall oak and pine trees. Nate and Dad did a great job building it. That night, the boys went grocery shopping and came back and grilled it all up. It was a lot of fun sitting around the table eating, talking, and laughing. After church, we went to Amber Springs (really hard not to say Texas Old Town) and had a yummy brunch.

"The Group"

We also celebrated Jackson and Hunter's birthdays. Hunter is a sweet boy. He hugged us and thanked us for coming. He seems really old for his age and is extremely bright. He has such a kind, sensitive heart. He also has big, beautiful, brown eyes. Jackson is a funny kid. Nate and Jackie will be busy with him. He is obsessed with trucks and big equipment. He kept on bringing out equipment books to "Papa" and naming each one. My dad thinks it is amazing...and I agree! He is too cute and says some funny thigs. I hope they had a happy birthday and I am so glad they are back in Texas so we can see them more.

Feeling The Love

We had a great Valentine's Day! It was a little tricky to have Valentine's Day on a Sunday. I had to plan ahead which is not always my strong suit.

I heard Taylor telling someone that we always had heart shaped pancakes for breakfast and heart shaped pizzas for dinner. I didn't realize we did that every year, but who am I to break tradition...so that's what we did. I set the table the night before knowing I would never wake up before Barret. The kids seemed to be surprised to see the table decked out in red hearts. We enjoyed breakfast and exchanging Valentine cards and treats and just having a lazy morning. After church, we made our heart pizzas. The kids set the table and made sure it was just like breakfast. Wyatt was putting the regular glasses out and Barret quickly explained "use the red ones, it is Valentines!" I thought it was cute that he got into the holiday experience.

I love Valentine's Day. I am married to a great guy and have 3 amazing kids who love me.

What more could I ask for on Valentine's Day?

Nacho Average Family

So...nothing says Happy New Year like a Nacho Libre Party. We had a great time with the Daniels ringing in the new year and having fun with one of our all time favorite movies. Many years ago Rick, Elena, Paul and I went to this movie and we laughed hysterically and added many of the movie lines into our ever-growing inside jokes. (By the way, we were the only ones in the theater laughing.) Well, when the movie finally came out, it became one of our kids' favorite movies as well. The "Nacho Party" could not happen without nachos made with genuine "orphan chips", Corn on the cob ("Get that corn outta my face"), and Salad because "we have had diarrheas since Easters". It was too funny. Please note the man with a corncob sticking out of his eye on the TV. Great family movie!

We watched the movie and ate the entire time (some, alittle more than others). The boys set off some great fireworks (it was COLD!) and we toasted some marshmallows for smores.

We had our New Year's toast a bit before midnight, but who's counting :)

It was a fun night. Here's to 2010...We hope it will be the best. XXxOOooXXxxOOOooXXXxxOOO

Christmas 2009

We had a great Christmas this year! It was full of parties and get-togethers, just like it should be! We got together with the Daniels and exchanged gifts and had dinner a couple days before Christmas. This was wonderful for the kids because they finally got to open a present! So that tied them over.... for a few days anyway!

We had Christmas Eve at our house and it SNOWED. It didn't stick, but it came down in big beutiful flakes! (cute little Lexi)

We enjoyed Mexican food and alot of it! It is always a fun night.

All the kids get together and act out the Nativity.

Barret and Rylee were Mary and Joseph this year. The others were angels, shepherds, wise men, and a girl in a yellow dress. Lexi HAS to wear the yellow dress every year. We are really getting a lot of kids in this group! Anyway, after the Nativity, Luke (age 2) sang us a lovely "Christmas Carol"...He stood up on the fireplace hearth and sang..."Treak or treat, smell my feet. If you don't, I don't care. I'll pull down your underwear! (He left out the "give me something good to eat" part) It was SOO CUTE!

We played the white elephant game. It is funny to me that some people still don't catch on to the concept and get a little bit annoyed. The winning gift this year was the dog/pheasent picture! We have had this picture in our house as long as I can remember. For some reason it didn't make the cut and it never ended up in the Kyle house. Well, Chad found it and Nate opened it...SOOO FUNNY!

Mom & Dad, Grandma, Nate & Jackie, Hunter, Jackson and AHHH baby Anna, Danny & Michelle, Rylee and Luke spent the night. It was so great to have eeryone here to enjoy Santa come Christmas morning!

I am so blessed to be surrounded by my family and friends. I am thankful for the Christmas season. 2009 turned out to be a wonderful Christmas!

Schlitterbahn Christmas

The kids got out of school at noon yesterday so we headed to Schlitterbahn’s Hill Country Christmas. Schlitterbahn is the biggest water park in Texas, but for Christmas they transformed it into a winter wonderland with more than 1.5 million lights. BEAUTIFUL! There was an ice skating rink, sledding, a few rides, light shows, and even falling snow (soap suds). We had a great time enjoying the beautiful lights and Christmas music. Taylor, Lexi, Morgan, Taylor (Morgan’s friend) and Rick skated for quite a while. When Taylor quit, Barret put on her skates and hit the ice…literally. He held onto the side and went all the way around the rink once and thought that was good enough! It was a fun night and we really enjoyed all the Christmas lights.

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas!

We saw snowflakes! There might have only been enough in all of Salado to make one snowball, but we saw them! The next morning the yard was kissed with frost, which made us think snow!

We have a tradition each December to go to the Salado parade. It is our favorite parade! We drink hot chocolate and eat cookies. (Wyatt and I made sugar cookies this year-yummy!) The parade is short and sweet, but this year it was REALLY SHORT! I didn't even finish drinking my cocoa! It was still fun and we enjoyed cheering for our friends from school and people we know. It made us laugh and enjoy the Christmas season even more.