Friday Five(or so)...

We are SO super freakin' busy these days that I barely have time to cook or bathe, let alone take pictures! Yesterday, however, the girls and I went on a homeschool field trip and got to relax a bit. Here's what happened...



Arriving at the nature trail.


Learning about prescribed burning and how it is actually good for a forest.


Soil and water testing.



Observing grapevines.


Learning about bee hives from the Bee Princess and Bee Queen of East Texas.


Thinking about a field trip here next!

The Birthday Week...

Sarah's was Wednesday, she turned 11, on the 11th of 2011. Pretty cool huh? Ryan will be 18 on the 15th, and Amy will be exactly 15.5 on the 15th as well. Soooo, we have lots of celebrating going on these days. I took the kids out to lunch yesterday to a new restaurant in Longview, El Pollo Regio, and to their favorite thrift store. Sarah found another bathing suit(her 3rd) and a beach dress. Amy found two bathing suits and a dress, and Ryan got a Bob Marley shirt. Not too bad for under $50!

Here are some birthday-ish pictures of them...


(Amy in her $8 dress)


(Sarah and Ruby)


(modeling with Rosie)


(Amy looking gorgeous)


(Ryan hanging out by the pool)

Ryan is having his annual pool party on Saturday. Not sure how many kids we'll have but I think we're gonna grill hot dogs for them again. One time he had over 40 show up! I need to tell them to bring their own towels and sunscreen!!! Shhhh, don't tell that I'm getting a cake for him too!

Friday Just a Moment*....

I've been away from my camera time for most of the week, busy with house stuff and kid stuff. So, today we went to the lake, cold and windy as it was....


(Sarah on a sandbar)

*inspired by my friend Nin.

Friday Fifteen...

(squirrel on the roof!)


(sunshine on the oaks)


(flooded yard)


(mostly cleaned out garage)


(table project, not yet underway)


(favorite mug)


(Sarah)


(girls bunks)


(new color for the laundry room)


(Papaw's yard clean-up)


(book purging)


(kitchen in the morning)


(bird and/or cat watching)


(Papaw)


(Sarah's friend)

Friday 15, in no particular order...

One day I'm gonna share about our hoarding experience(my mother-in-law) but all the pics are on a computer I don't have access to right now. For now, I'll focus on the work and play from earlier this Spring...


(house minus some really ugly bushes!)


(Boopa and Macaroni)


(Amy having her arm signed by members of A Bullet for Pretty Boy)


(pine root in the front yard)


(spring flowers)


(rescued frog at Papaw's, a snake was after him)


(testing new paint color for the porch and shutters-Secret Garden by Valspar)


(Wisteria at Papaw's)


(Daisy from the block)


(mossy chair)


(new light, new paint-day)


(at night)


(perigee super moon)


(Sarah's piggy butt)


(Jefferson Mardi Gras)

CUTENESS!!!!

Maezy(might need a home-laid back curious personality)


Bijou(has gone to her forever home in the country-with 6 kids no less!)


Biscuit(needs a home-sweet but fiesty personality)


Macaroni(probably staying with us-smart, very sweet personality)

What's been going on...

Thanksgiving started off with a bittersweet event. I looked out the kitchen window to see a large hound running across the neighbor's yard toward the street(we live on a busy corner). Sarah ran to see it and was just in time to see the hound's partner get hit and killed by a truck. The driver didn't even stop. We brought the hound in, hoping he had a tag. He was so sweet and stayed with us for 2 nights, sleeping on the bed with us. His owners had gone out of town for a funeral and came back Saturday afternoon. I hated having to tell them about their schnauzer mix.


Sonny and Sarah

We went the next weekend to collect our Christmas tree from Danville Farms. This is our favorite tree farm and we've been coming here almost 10 years. Of course this is not the first one that wasn't properly measured. The tag said 9 feet. I can understand 9.5 or even 9.9 or something, but 11 feet 7 inches?? That is WAAAAAAY off! We cut 10 inches off the trunk and it was still too big to fit under the ceiling beam.



We were pressed for time so there aren't many pictures. Here's Jasper doing his part to keep the tissue paper under control.







Meanwhile...



Fozzie was a busy boy and fathered, despite our best efforts to keep them apart, a litter of puppies with Sparkle. She went into labor on December 6th, exactly a year from the day we brought her home. Doesn't she look miserable?





Her babies, all female, are 1 week old now and we are in love with them!


Bijou, Biscuit, Maezy, and Macaroni

I hope everyone is having a wonderful, peaceful holiday season! I don't blog nearly as much as I want to, things are crazy with three extremely social kids.