12 years

allan and i just celebrated 12 years of marriage.  it seems so long, but it's been so much fun!  if you would have told me 12 years ago, that we would have 3 kids, 2 dogs, and i'd be home schooling part time, i would have laughed out loud.

we celebrated with our annual trip to reata here in fort worth.  i don't know what it is about that place, but it's so yummy to me.  i was so glad this year that allan ordered the same thing as me.  it's kind of a joke when we go out to eat.  most of the time, i order the jumbo 12 oz + steak and potatoes type meal and allan orders a fish or something way healthier.  and the sweet guy or girl who brings the food out always tries to hand me the fish and allan the steak.  then they act surprised that i'm the one eating the big fat plate of deliciousness.  so, this year, allan was sweet and suffered through a 12 oz or maybe it was 14 oz rib eye and potatoes.  we didn't do much else that day.  he was actually sick (fever and all).  one of the millions of things i love about that man is he never ever complains.  i knew he felt bad the day before, so the entire day i kept asking him how he was feeling and he always said, "great."  little did i know he' d been popping advil the entire day.

allan, thank you for marrying me.  thank you for three beautiful babies and hopefully more some time soon.  thank you for playing with said babies when you get home from work each day.  thank you for encouraging me.  thank you for supporting me when i have crazy ideas.  thank you for sometimes bringing me flowers :).   thank you for always working so hard to provide for our family.  thank you for  always, always coming home on time.  thank you for never complaining.  thank you for being confident in yourself and in your decisions.  thank you for being you!  happy 12 years my love!

the best we got that night!

just the boys....

friday night anna had a slumber party which meant it was just me and the boys.  it's so amazing to me how different it feels when one kiddo's missing.  so doable, you know?  but, this life isn't about what's easy for us now is it?  we had a lot of fun.  we ate dinner at home and then went to braum's for dessert.  they were allowed to get a double dip which they thought was pretty awesome!

sam seems to be missing his cone?

ahhh, there it is.  looks yummy!

we came home and luke said his tooth felt loose enough to pull.  so, i took a look and sure enough it came right out.  it's hard to see in the picture and i don't know the names of the teeth, but if you are looking at him, it's to the right of his big tooth on top.  i think this puts him just one tooth behind anna now.  yes she's ahead of him and no, he's not happy about that.

love me some missing teeth pics!

 

 

 

we came home and watched the great muppet caper.  you remember from the 70's?  it was really strange i must say.  movies have definitely improved since we were kids.  they slept on the floor in sleeping bags which is always fun!  sorry i took this with my phone, in the dark, so the quality is horrible.

they wanted allan to sleep with them.  ;)

such a fun night with our boys!  hope we get to do this again soon!

first day for everyone

this marks the first year that all of our kids are going to go to school on the same day and at the same time.  they've all moved into the university model school.  it's part private and part home school.  they attend classes on tuesday's and thursday's.  then monday, wednesday, and friday, is spent at home with their homework and me acting as "co-teacher."  it's been a great choice for our family.  it also marks the first year that i have more than a two hour window by myself.  i never thought i'd hear myself say this, but i'm actually struggling with what to do with myself when they're gone.  the kids piano teacher called last thursday to set up lessons and asked if it was an okay time to chat.  i heard myself say, "ummm, yes, actually, i'm a little bored."  pretty crazy!  i know it's going to be a great year for all of us!  here are some pictures of the first and second day.  i couldn't choose a favorite, so i guess stop reading now if you aren't interested in looking at a ton of pictures of uniformed kids.  i am crazy about plaid and tucked in shirts!  oh and ignore the dead grass and plants, we are in a bit of a drought.

luke starting 3rd grade

anna starting 2nd grade

sam starting kindergarten

second day of school

six flags

i had not been to six flags since i was probably 13 or 14 and it didn't seem like it had changed one bit.  actually, that's not totally true.  allan and i went and rode one ride after we first got married because we had free tickets.  but, i hadn't been through the entire park since i was a teenager and i remembered almost everything about it.  the roller coasters are way more nauseating to me now though.  but the smell was the same.  hot tar!  yuck!  anyway, the kids earned free tickets to six flags for completing six hours of reading last spring.  of course, we waited until the last week to use our tickets before they expired and also the hottest week of the summer.  i think it was 110, the day we went.  it was a blast though!  and we ended the night at braum's for dessert for dinner!  definitely always a fave for me!  here are a few pictures to help us remember the day!

more luke's speed, thankful for a hubby who likes this too!

the tea cups (luke and i opted out) based on my near death experience at disney.

this was in looney tune's land which was definitely more anna and sam's speed.  we hung out here for quite a while, while luke and allan rode batman over and over.

the parachutes!  love these!

ranger game fun

every year a guy that works with allan sells "coupons" to ranger games.  this year allan bought two packs of coupons.  this year, we went to our first game on sunday.  was it a waste of money?  probably.  but, it was a fundraiser for his kid's little league team.  so, oh well. it was hot though, it was around 107 on sunday.  but, we had fun anyway.

this was before the game started when we weren't dripping sweat.

anna took this of us after we had been sweating.

sam played some wiffle ball.

luke did some pitching, he did really good.

anna got a home run playing some plinko.

even though we probably will only make it to one game this year and we are in the midst of a heat wave, the kids had a blast.  maybe next year we will just buy one pack of coupons though.  right allan?

well...

well, i'm entering the blog world.  i'm pretty sure i won't be any good at keeping up with this, but i'm gonna try.  mostly i think it will end up being a place where we keep pics of the kids and a funny story or two.  i'll hopefully print it at the end of the year and pretend i'm some organized mom who scrapbooks.  it's to make up for the fact that i've never done any of their baby books.  not even our oldest.  i'm surprised i'm even admitting it really, because it makes me feel like you're judging me.  anyways, i have all their stuff.  in a box.  in a closet.  they all three have matching baby books, but i've never written one thing in any of them.  so, that's what this blog is gonna be for.  memories.  oh yeah, i also don't capitalize.  i think it takes up too much time and it always makes me have to look down at the keyboard to find the shift key.  then my fingers lose their position on the keyboard and i mess up.  so, don't judge.  oh and one last thing, it's gonna hopefully help us keep a journal of this new journey we're embarking on.  but more about that later.