This is what Ben did early Sunday moring.
Well friends and family, it is finally here. That's right my website for my Photography business is at last up and running. You can check it out at Seven Arches Photography. I'm so very excited about this and the many opportunities it will help to provide. So if you live in the area or want to fly me out, I would love to take some potraits for you and your home.
Happy Easter Everyone!
I hope that you all had a wonderful day filled with family, friends, food and fun. Look at all those "f's." Anyway, we had a wonderful day the weather was nice, and breezy everyone in our house made it on time to church and did very well. Bear probablly did well because he was not sitting with us but hey whatever. He sat with he favortie Aunt, Penny. Then we had a wonderful breakfast, since church is at 7:45a. Then an equally but possibly better lunch. 
We had friends and family join us for a wonderful meal and great bonding time. I think that everyone had a good time and enjoyed the food and the company. The kids had a chance to play with friends, and checked out their Easter baskets. Kite flying was high adventure for today since that is part of what the Easter Bunny brought them. 
One of our guests had never flown a kite before today. So I was happy that we could fullfil that childhood experience for him even though he is no longer a child. By brother was very helpful this weekend. He did a great job with the kids, helping with food prep and clean up. I was very happy to get this time to spend with him before he goes off to Nebraska to rejoin the Air Force. 
Mostly I was just happy to spend some extra time with family and friends. Really we should get together more often.
Oh yea Cooper is trying so hard to be a big kid. Wants to sit in a regular chair, likes to run after the big kids. And even wants to ride the big kid bikes. At least he is too cute!
Ok so I think I miss doing stuff with the kids and their friends on a regular basis. Or maybe I miss spending time with the moms and just having a semi-adult conversation for once. In between nose wiping, breaking up fights and all the other fun stuff that comes with have a large group of kids over. The one thing I did say that I did not miss was the noise level, which would not have been that bad had it not be rainy and the kids could have gone outside. 
Anyway we dyed Easter eggs with friends today and it was so much fun. The kids had a great time making their eggs turn all different colors and then making their lunch. Personalized pizza is the way to go. You can make them anyway you want plus if you don't like it oh well, you made it. Over all I think the kids just had fun being at home and playing with friends. I did notice that none of the little boys I invited over came to play, so Bear was kind of left to play with all the girls. The little boys who were here are closer to Cooper's age. 
Plus I got a chance to visit with friends and catch up since I'm sure it has been forever since we had all gotten together to talk. It's nice to have someone to talk to about other things than just your children. 
Soccer started for Bear today. And I think he will have lots of fun. Especially after we teach him how to go after the ball even when it gets away from him. He got a little frustrated when this one little boy who was a stud, kept getting the ball and making goals. But man he put in some good effort to try to make goals. I'm sure the next game will be even better. And then T-ball, the fun never ends. Of course Cooper had to get out there and mix things up, he so wants to be a big kid.
Somebody out there requested an update to the blog. Along with pictures, well I have some pictures to show but not really any with those beautiful faces everyone is looking for. 
The other day we went to see all the butterflies at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. It would have been great if one: I did not have to carry Cooper or at least had him on my back, two: Bear would have listened, three: I could have taken pictures with my longer lens, which is hard with a small child who likes to reach and touch things. Oh well I did get some good ones with my new lens, so much fun by the way. 
And then I had fun making treats for my mom’s group bake sale. Thanks to Anjie and her wonderful idea for V-day treats. I just used an oval shape to make “eggs” and they turned out wonderful. The kids really seemed to enjoy them. Cooper got one that did not have any chocolate on it and he went to town. I don’t think I could have pried it away from him, without inciting a war. He has such a little sweet tooth.
Ok so many of you know that I do not eat a whole lot of meat and what little meat I eat I try to disguise it so that I do not notice the flavor or taste. Or the fact that it is meat. Really when it comes down to I just do not like meat. I really should give it up all together, but I would miss this recipe and a few others. Hmmm time will tell, Ben might be a little sad without meat in his life.
So tonight we had soccer practice and instead of freaking out and trying to cook dinner at 4:30p or run through a drive thru, I think I hate that even more than meat, I made a meal in the crock pot. After talking with a new acquaintance about my meal plan for the week, she suggested Taco Soup. A great stand by favorite of ours, and many households. You know the one where you basically open up four cans, dump it in with some spices and add some meat. Well I never, or very rarely use any ground meat so my taco soup is always chicken. And I pretty much never use taco seasoning, because I can just toss in the seasoning that I like and make it work. And I usually forget to put in the ranch dressing package but this time I remembered.
Mostly because I happen to have this friend from college who has started her own homemade seasoning company, Lloyd and Buck, with loads of great offerings. I happen to have a jar of her Giddyup! Ranch Dressing mix and so I added some of that. My taco soup was way yummy. I think the mix really made the difference tonight. And I'm pretty sure that I will not be forgetting to add this one tasty ingredient in my soup again. So go check out her site and see for yourself, all her yummy offerings. We have also gotten the Warm & Cozy Hot Chocolate, the kids loved it. I think we will have more of those jars in our future.
If for whatever reason you happen not to have a taco soup recipe just send me a quick note and I will give you the low down on what we drop in ours. Sometimes it varies as to what is in my pantry but hey it is a great stand by and works wonders for multiple people. Plus if you add in the Giddyup! Ranch Dressing you will love it forever. Happy Eating my friends.
Last weekend we went to Kansas to visit Ben’s youngest sister and her family. The kids had so much fun visiting with their cousins. They went sledding, made personal sized pizzas and just had fun playing and being kids. Plus it gave Ben and I a chance to have some fun adult time with his sister and her husband. Everyone did great on the drive up and down; hopefully we’ll be able to get together another time before they move.
So this is what my children do when they are left to their own devices. They dress up their cats to match them. Or at least Isabelle did because we do not have any boy baby doll clothes. So both of our boy cats were wearing girl doll clothes at some point today. Check out the matching backpacks.
We started our day playing in the snow and we ended our day the same way. We made a snowman. Then after playing with the neighbor kid I thought we might shovel the drive for Ben. I got started and he came home. Hopefully he will be able to get out on Friday.
Wow what an amazing thing for Texas. Real snow! Not like that stuff we had earlier this year, this is actual inches of snow. The kids I think thought it was great, but were outside for all of thirty minutes. Cooper about fifteen. Oh well, I’m sure they will play more soon. I think we should make a snowman, since the snow is just perfect for that, we’ll see what they think a little later on. I wanted them the play outside more, because it is hard work to get them all ready to play outside, all those layers. I guess we should enjoy it while it lasts, because tomorrow is going to be yucky, once all the water and slush refreezes overnight to make ice. Fun times!
Our seeds are here! Our seeds are here. I am so excited that we can finally put to work our master plan for the garden and get going on planting. We just have a few things to do to ready our beds but we are getting closer to planting.
We have decided to expand our garden this year a lot. Ben would like to see the garden go all the way around the back yard in a U shape but we’ll see. We are going to plan an herb garden in the front yard that should hopefully come back every year, or at least that is my plan.
So as our garden progresses I will keep you abreast of the activity and harvest. I can hardly wait. Homegrown tomatoes here I come.
I would like to introduce you to our newest family members, TuTu and Viking. Can you guess which one belongs to which kid, oh yea their both males. Yes, I finally broke down and let the kids get kittens. Let me just say I am ready to give them back. Hopefully though after a new plan of action things will get better and I might change my mind into keeping them.
So far they are kind of cute and fun. It was probably good that we got two kittens because they help to entertain each other; so much like, at least two children. The kids love them and enjoy having them around. We did have to teach them how to carry their cats by the scurf of the neck because Isabelle was being too rough when picking up her cat.
I think they will be enjoyed for a while and once this crazy weather levels out life should get better. Then the cats can go outside for the majority of the day. I’m sure no matter what I say they will always sleep inside. Just not by me.
Isabelle: Mom
Mom: What
Isabelle: Mom I just heard a new "v" word, Vegas, Vyzs but I don't know what it means
Mom: That's not how you spell it, laughing.
Today my baby is no longer a baby or infant. He is officially a toddler. Never mind that he has been walking for a month, and getting into everything he can get his hands on, all which would make him seem like a toddler already. We celebrated his birthday on Saturday with friends and family. I figured the grandparents would want to be able to share in our joy of his wonderful boy, so we got together a little early. 
He was very excited to have all the attention and spend time with some of his favorite people. Great Grandma Libby, Oma and Grandpa Don all came up from San Antonio. While Grandpa Bernie and Grandma Susie came in from Sulphur Springs, plus we had wonderful friends who live close by, Angie and Gene and their two kids came to play. Along with my college roommate, Paige and her son, and you can not forget Auntie Penny. It was a perfect amount of kids and guest for the little guy. 
Everyone enjoyed themselves and welcomed Cooper into the world of being one. He was too cute with his cake; he really just wanted to eat the frosting and only really got into the cake when we cut it open for him. He did not really focus on any one present but checked them all briefly out and moved on to the next one. 
I cannot really say what his goals will be for the next phase of his life, but you can be sure it will be walking and then running (since he already tries that). And in the summer swimming and enjoying life outside since what kid does not want to play outside. I think there will be facial features, colors and shapes on the menu as well. 
So here is a very Happy Birthday to Cooper Finn! You are such a joy to have in our lives.
My kids make me laugh everyday, multiple times a day. I was folding laundry today and I look out the window to check on the kids and they are pushing each other up into the tree to try to get a bucket. Or who knows what but it was so funny to see them “helping” each other in this way that I just had to take a picture. They are very creative and have wonderful imaginations; I hope they keep that up all their lives.
In the continuing adventures of an almost one year old, today I thought I would open the windows. I was working on the lap top because something mysteriously happened to the mouse on the big computer. And after I was done I decided to check things out at the big computer. I forgot to move the stool under the table so Cooper would not climb on it. Well the next thing I hear is a big crash, bang. I run into the living room and don’t see Cooper but I can hear him crying, it is kind of muffled, I figure he’s between the couch and the wall. Well no, Bear informs me that he fell out the window. Yup that’s right he climbed up on the stool, onto the table and thought he would check things out by going out the screen. I’m sure it was a pretty scary two foot fall for a little guy. Fortunately he is just fine two little scrapes on his head but nothing else wrong. I’m sure it won’t be the last time this kid falls down. After I picked him up and made sure he was fine a gave a little chuckle, it's kind of funny. And this is the reason why I don't open the windows up stairs unless I'm there with them, and sometimes not even then.
Isabelle has started her extra social circuit of birthday parties for friends from school at last. She is the oldest in her class and now all of her classmates are starting to have their birthday celebrations. One of the first parties she has gone to was an ice skating party. She could hardly wait! We got there and the first thing out of her mouth was, Mom when are we going to skate. Never mind that other party stuff, I want to have fun and skate. Unfortunately we did have to do that other party stuff first before hitting the ice. She was so excited about skating that she did not even have any cake. I know a kid who does not eat cake at a party. I had to eat her piece. (I even thought about an extra one, but passed).
Once she as on the rink she stayed pretty close to the wall but did venture out some. It was pretty fun to watch and be close. Last time I had to stay on the side lines and just watch. I think she did pretty well; I wanted to get a picture of her and Milee (the birthday girl) together but never quite got the chance on the ice. Oh well I’m sure there will be other parties. 
Except for being a little shy and not wanting to show off her Vikings jersey she had a great time. I was sad she did not show off her jersey since the Vikings really put it to the “Cowgirls.” Oh well maybe next year Romo.
I was watching TV at some point very recently, as I have been known to do on occasion, and this ad comes up for toilet paper. Now I do not usually pay too much attention to ads, why give the advertisers the satisfaction, after all they are pretty much a waste of time. Cottonelle is currently running an ad that is encouraging people to go out and vote for which way their rolls go. Now I prefer them to go over, easy of use and everything. While I do not think Ben puts any thought into it and just places the roll. So I can always tell when he has put one on because it will be facing the wrong way. It amazes me that something so simple could intrigue that many people to go out and vote. Or that it would be worthy enough to produce a commercial for in the first place. Oh well, I guess I'm blogging about it too, so what does that say. Which way do your rolls go and are you going to vote?
Happy New Year, I hope everyone had a fun, safe and relaxing New Years Eve. We had a great time with a few close couples and their kids. Now on to my interesting story:
One time as a kid, when we were living in California our family was driving along the road and we saw a Red Tailed Hawk attempting to fly but unable to get in the air. So being the caring, compassionate people that my parents are we stopped and rescued the hawk. It turned out that the hawk had a broken wing in three places, which explains why it was unable to fly. Once he was in the car, we took him to an animal hospital that fixed him and then they released him back into the wild. Let me just tell you, seeing that magnificent wild bird up close and personal was amazing. It is not like the zoo at all, I would like to say that we were just a couple of feet away from my Dad while he was holding him in the back seat of the car. So cool! 
Anyway, on my way home this morning from picking up our produce Co-Op I spotted a Gander wandering along the road, with a definite limp. Now not as amazing as a Red Tailed Hawk but still a wounded animal in need of help, I rushed home and got Ben and the kids. Since the bird was on the side of a very busy street where it could one get hit by a car or eaten by a coyote, I figured moving it to a park with a pond would be a very nice thing to do. As Ben and I are trying to coral the bird to wrap up in the blanket we brought along, he actually flies away. I told Ben I wanted to go check on it and make sure it was ok so we turned around and found him on a not so busy street in someone’s yard. Fortunately they did not have fence and we moved right in. It was actually helpful since, we used some of their bushes and fence line to coral him and wrap him up. It took a couple of tries and Ben was finally able to grab his neck and then pick him up in the blanket to carry in the car. I’m just gratefully that the people were either asleep, saw what we were doing and did not say anything, or just did not notice us being on their property. After all we do live in Texas, where everyone has a gun, (except us). 
Once we had Gandlof (to use one of my childhood gooses names) wrapped up we got in the car and made our way to the park with a pond. He did pretty well on the ride and only moved around his head a little bit, we kept him covered so that he would not freak out and try to snap at Ben or “fly” around the car. We got to the park and the other geese immediately see us and come across the pond to see if we have any food, they only made it half way once they noticed we were releasing another gander. He seemed to be accepted into the flock without too much trouble, no other goose pecked at him so hopefully he will enjoy his new home. We decided that his foot would be fine and would not need medical attention; I hope we are right, since he swam pretty well. I’m sure being off of his foot and in the water helped a lot. 
