Ok I had a great time at the Fiesta Bowl even if we didn't win. I'll post a few photos later.
Right now I'm on the bus heading back to the hotel and thinking about 2010. Since I've been focused on my trip lately, my goals for the year haven't been written down. I know my word for the year is JOY, so here are a few things to complement it:
- exercise: I'm joining a Body after Baby challenge to help get rid of the baby weight (from a 3 kids). Goal is to walk 182 miles in 2010.
- more family game time (at least one a month)
- quiet time with Sean once a week
- complete 12 scrapbook pages this year (one for each month)
- keep up with the household budget
- sleep

All great things to bring JOY to my life!

365 Days

It's amazing what can happen in 365 days. This time last year Sean and I were just finishing up a lightening fast nursery make over. The bright yellow room was turned into a blue and green room fit for a little boy. We were all eagerly awaiting Sebastian's arrival.

His arrival has been the brightest spot this year. Dad's passing was the darkest. Even though it's been 7 months, there are still hard days. (Especially as Sebastian grows and gets into things.) I used to call my dad all the time to tell him what the girls were up to and it's hard not to do the same for my little boy. I know he's watching from above, but I miss that two way conversation.

As hard as the year has been, there are always bright spots:

-a visit from the whole family for dad's funeral

-a healthy, happy little boy that's now crawling!

-a wonderful summer spent playing in the pool

-two beautiful girls that love school

-a perfect TCU football season

my list could go on and on, but I think I'll stop there.

As I look toward the next 365 days I hope my life is filled with joy. That's my word for 2010 and what I hope to find in every facet of my day. What will be your word for the next 365?

B-Day Girl

Today is Sydney's 4th birthday. Can you believe it's been 4 years since she was born? Simply amazing. Time seems to go by so fast.
She has had a wonderful weekend. Friday we loaded up in the car and I took her to the American Girl store. She got to look at every single doll in the store and all the clothes and then pick out what she wanted. She got Julie the 1974 doll. She hasn't let go of the doll when we're in the house. I took her to lunch after we got the doll - just the two of us. We went to Chilies and she felt so grown up and was having a blast. We also stopped and looked at some shoes before heading home. Last night we had her "family" party and she got to eat cupcakes and open gifts from mom/dad and Shelby. She got two webkins from her sister (loves them) and some dress up clothes from us. I'll post the photos later, but it was perfect. She loves to dress up while she's playing and lately she will wear her costume out when we run errands. That's just Syd.
Today was her b-day party with friends and she had a blast! She got to go swimming and see her friends. Nothing better than that. I didn't get it on film - but she did a back flip in the water and circled around and came back up. It was super cool to see her do it. Sean has seen her do it before, but most of the time I've got sebastian in the pool and don't get to see how advanced she's gotten in the water.
She was very tired tonight and I hope all of the kids will sleep later in the morning. It was a great day for her and I hope a wonderful start to a wonderful year.

Carrots

Sebastian started solid food a few weeks ago. Rice cereal isn't his favorite, but he did finally figure out how to eat it. As with the girls, he was very messy the first couple of tries. Since he drools alot, that's a big factor too. Last week he started carrots. The first of real flavors. With the girls, I didn't have a camera ready for the first taste, but I was ready with this kid. Here's the photo -

I think the expression says it all. Of course a week later, he really prefers carrots to rice cereal. Yesterday he did sweet potatoes, and seemed to enjoy them. For some reason I bought those instead of squash, which was 2nd on the food list. Oh well, he'll get there eventually.

Celebration photos

We had a great time on the Fourth. Besides visiting with family - the girls loved the fireworks. We let them do sparklers and Sean set off some ground fireworks for them to watch. The neighbors were shooting off Roman Candles and other Aerial fireworks and the kids loved that. Here are some shots of the girls:

The "fireworks" option on my camera is really cool - but uses a lot of battery power. My freshly charged batteries were gone by the end of the night.

Here is my favorite shot of the evening.

Shots of Summer

It's hot here. Really hot. We're talking already triple digit heat for over a week and it's only the 4th of July. The average doesn't have us in triple digits for at least another 10 days. Guess that's why it's an average. :)
Since it's so hot, we took everyone to get a snow cone last night. There is a Bahama Bucks near the house and everyone LOVES the snow cones from there. The girls always get a Gilligan's Grape, although it turns their lips and tongue blue. I tried out the Banana Colada and really liked it.

Doesn't it just make you want to go get one. :) here are some more of the girls.

Later today we're off to my mom's house to celebrate the 4th. I'm hope to tryout my "fireworks" setting on my camera. I only get to play with it once a year so I'm not sure how it will turn out.

Time Flies While We're Having Fun!

I can hardly believe that it's July! What happened to June? Where did it go? Our daily routine keeps things moving I guess. I try to keep things to a particular day, so the girls have an idea of what we're doing. Monday is Zoo Day. Tuesday is craft day. Wednesday is Library day. Thursday is dance day. Friday is Yoga / Swimming day. Now don't get me wrong - we do more than that, but it's the "big event" for the day. We usually go swimming at the end of the day on Monday and Tuesday when Sean gets home and several days include doing some school work to keep up those skills.
I started a 4 week scrapbook class on the 25th and it has kept me busy. It's got lots of thought provoking questions and a page to do every day. I'm behind right now, but hope to get caught up soon. Sometimes it's hard to find my "groove" before someone interrupts me.
I've also been doing a mommy and me yoga class on friday with Sebastian. It was only for 4 weeks, but I've really enjoyed it and think I will sign up for the next 4 weeks as well. I've been doing some easy yoga at home too. I just try to do it when i won't have an audience. :)
I need to start weight watchers again - now that I'm not nursing, but I think I"ll start that next week - after the 4th celebration.