Last weekend in April

On Saturday, April 30, we had a late morning baseball game and a birthday party to attend that afternoon. It was a busy, but fun day!

Hudson was awarded the "Game Ball" for effort, leadership, and good play on the field today. He hit a grand slam, and made a few outs, too! Good job, Hudson!

 Cade won the "Dugout" award today for excellent behavior in the dugout during the game! He ended up getting sick on the field in the last inning, bless his little heart :( His tummy had been a little upset this morning, and he got a little too hot in the catcher's gear today. Poor fella, but good job anyway, Cade-o!

Grady Kinney was celebrating his 2nd birthday at the park this afternoon. We were late (due to our dirty girl... see following post :) and missed all the cake & gift opening, but here is the little guy having a blast playing on the playground!

All the other kids had enjoyed the park, too. Here, Maddox, Hudson, and Cade show what strong boys they are!

 Callie... the sliding queen :)

 Wesley, Cade, & Callie loved riding these "horses"!

 Callie & Daddy :)

A Royal Wedding

I am not "obsessed" with the Royal family as many are, but the Royal Wedding that took place today is quite fascinating. It certainly appeals to my "little girl" side, where a belief in fairytales & happy endings lives. (I kind of just wanted to have this documented in our scrapbook in case the kids were ever interested, particulary Callie, I guess :)

Diana, Princess of Wales, married Prince Charles (Queen Elizabeth's eldest son) in 1981. I can't honestly say that I recall when that wedding took place, but having seen so many pictures & heard of their story so many times over the years, it feels like I watched it at the time. Anyway... Charles & Diana had two sons, William & Harry. This year, on April 29, 2011, William married commoner Catherine Middleton.

William and Kate have a very genuine and sweet love story. They met at St. Andrews, became friends & roommates, then continued a relationship outside of college. Their love seems to be based on a true friendship, & respect for one another. I sincerely hope that they enjoy a lifetime of love & happiness!

William & Kate, Duke & Duchess of Cambridge... the future King & Queen of England

Adventures in Spring Break: Day 6

On the last day of Spring Break, Aunt Sa-Sa and I had planned to go to the zoo so the kids could spend the day together. Turned out not to be such a great day to be out & about, but we did get a couple of hours in at the zoo before the storm clouds rolled in!

We headed to the "older" end of the zoo first to see the penguins & farm animals that we did not visit on our last trip... Brooks, Andi Cate, Cade

 Callie got out of her stroller for a little while to try to run (literally & figuratively :) with her brothers & cousins... Jesse & Callie

 A quick "no we don't really want to slow down long enough to have our picture taken" stop at the totem poles, & sea lions... Andi Cate, Hudson, Cade

 The grizzly bears were very playful today! These two were quite rowdy in the water. I think the kids could have hung out here the whole time! ... Jesse, Hudson, Brooks, Cade, Andi Cate

 Always enjoy seeing (but not smelling! ha!) the giraffes... Cade

I felt bad that I did not have any more or better pictures of the quick trip to the zoo with our cousins, but I did not get my good camera out due to the weather threat. 

The weather was still ok when we left the zoo, so we thought we might hop over & get into "The Chik" before the storm hit, but we had no such luck! The bottom fell out and the tornado sirens started blaring. With a nervous six-year-old and two other precious kiddos in the back, I decided it was time for us to head on home... We'd eat when we got there safely :)

Hoping for a better zoo day next time!!

Easter Sunday 2011

From Matthew 28:1-9

"After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. ... The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ... So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly, Jesus met them. 'Greetings', he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him."

Cade (4)

 Hudson (6 1/2)

 Cade, Callie (19 months), Hudson

 with Daddy

 with Mommy

 Can you tell it's nearly impossible to get a picture these days?! ha!

Hudson, Cade, and Maddox Easter Egg hunting in the backyard... They actually had to look to find some of the eggs. (I did, too!)

 Wesley :)

Thank you, Lord, for your sacrifice, and for the gift of life. Thank you for the wonderful blessings of family & friends.

Saturday Surprises

When the boys got up Saturday morning, I revealed a few "surprises" to them. 1) A few weeks ago, Maddox had invited Hudson to a Redbirds game tonight. (I had kept it from him because of weather-never know what it's got in store these days- and Cade-didn't want him to feel left out :) Of course, he was thrilled to hear this news! He couldn't wait to go! 

Hudson, Wesley, Maddox

They rode this ride there that went up slowly then quickly drops down... We heard their faces when the ride changed directions were priceless!! Thanks, Aunt LuLu and Uncle Keith for the special outing!

2) Since Hudson was going to be doing something else special, Cade got to go to the movies! "African Cats" started this weekend, and Cade has been waiting to see this movie. He loved it, and wants to go see it again! After the movie, Cade picked "Red Robin" for our supper treat. (He loves burgers!)

 We hope the boys enjoyed their special day & special activities!

Adventures in Spring Break: Day 5

On Friday, we spent the day in Bells with my family. Brooks had spent-the-night with Cacki & Papa, so he was there when we arrived. He, Hudson, & Cade took off like mad-men to play! They played inside, outside, and everywhere in between :) After lunch, Hudson & Cade had a great time, as usual, going with Papa to throw rocks in the creek and to see the cows. (Callie & I hung out at the house with Cacki :) They all got a quick nap before it was off to Brooks' T-Ball game in Alamo. (Daddy came to Crockett County after work, too, so he could visit!) There we met up with Uncle RuRu, Aunt SaSa, Andi Cate, and Jesse, too. The kids enjoyed being together at the game, and Brooks liked waving to his crowd! And what trip to Crockett County would be complete without a stop at the Dairy Queen?! I'm sure we were the noisiest bunch there (& we took up a lot of space! lol!), but everyone enjoyed visiting more and eating a yummy supper! Afterward, we headed back home to Brighton... Til next time!!

Adventures in Spring Break: Day 4

Thursday was not really an adventuresome day at all! We hung out at home, and tried to rest up for the weekend ahead!

Adventures in Spring Break: Day 3

I was really hoping to take the kids to the zoo over Spring Break. Cade has been asking to go for MONTHS, and honestly, I enjoy going, too. With the rainy weather (our therefore all our "nasal puny-ness" lol!), we decided to "lay low" this morning and see about a quick trip to the zoo this afternoon. We got there around 3:00, which turned out to be great! Most of the crowds were gone by this time, and the cats in "Cat Country" are out pacing at the end of the day. I had told the kids that due to the time & possibility of more rain, they needed to pick ONE animal they really wanted to see today and we'd make our way around the zoo like that. The kids were great, lots of animals were out & visible, and we had a fantastic time together! I love my family!!

2 bald eagles & my two boys

 Grizzly bears... grrrr!

 Every time we left a particular animal, Callie would wave & say "bye-bye"

 Ahhh... the good life! ha!

 WOW! The hippos were even out of the water! The one on the left soon went in with a huge splash... that was very cool to see :)

 Such a beautiful animal

Adventures in Spring Break: Day 2

Although it was a windy Tuesday, it was a warm Tuesday, and the first full day of Spring Break for all of us! So we went to play at the park & to have lunch out together :)

Callie always loves to slide

 The boys had a great time discovering all the cool things at the "big castle" park

 All three kiddos love to swing, too!

I enjoyed so much going to the park with Hudson, Cade, & Callie. It was such a nice, relaxing, fun outing. And we had a great lunch together, too!

I love you three!!! Looking forward to spending lots of quality time together this Spring Break!


Almost forgot the mid-afternoon trip to the clinic :( When we had our rest time, Hudson got upset & was complaining about his ear. So we made a quick run up to the clinic to get checked out... yep... his first ear infection... at six-years-old!


That night, we had a baseball game. The boys, & the team, are doing great! I am so proud of how well they're all doing, and how much they're learning about baseball. At their age, too, you just want everyone on both sides to have fun and feel confident!
Hudson playing 3rd

 Cade as catcher

 Hudson at bat

Cade at bat

Go Hudson! Go Cade! Go Diamondbacks!