Me and the Boys

Happy Birthday, Jaxon!

2012-01-13T10:13:00.002-06:00

This sweet, precious blessing turns SIX today!

He's the sweetest 6 year old I know. And such a blessing in our lives!

He is really liking school, and doing so well! He has excellent handwriting. He is learning to read. enjoys math. He enjoys art. He loves to play games. He is a thinker. He loves music and has shown an interest recently in playing the piano. He loves his family. He is still very independent. He still gives the best hugs! He is a very grateful child. Love that! When I do something for him, he says, "You're the best Mommy!" To which I reply, "You're the best Jaxon!"

We love you Jaxon Ryan West! Happy Birthday!

Missing Someone Special

2012-01-08T15:55:00.002-06:00

I'm missing my Aunt Rheba today. She passed away yesterday. She had been sick for a while. But ever since she and Uncle Curtis moved to Mississippi with their daughter, I didn't get to see her as much as I wish I could have.

She was a sweet soul. She was my great aunt. But that's just words. She was family. And she loved her family. She was my grandmother's sister -- younger sister as she quickly corrected me one time when I said out loud that I thought Aunt Rheba was older. Oops! :-)

I have so many wonderful memories of growing up around Aunt Rheba and Uncle Curtis. She loved to host holidays at her house. This past Christmas when the way we usually celebrate Christmas (and have all my life) changed, I was remembering all the holidays we spent with my family. And missing those times - a lot!

Missing the numerous Easter egg hunts, the fun with Christmas gifts on Christmas Day, the big room with a pool table I could hardly see over at times -- and the indoor/outdoor green carpet in that room, watching my older family members sit around the table and play 42 -- and wishing they had taught me so my husband wouldn't have to be so frustrated with me now. :-)

So many memories. And that's what I have to hold onto today. Memories. Memories of that sweet, loving, one-of-a-kind aunt who loved me like her own. Who always had a smile on her face and such an infectious laugh. My life was blessed because I knew her, because she loved me, and because she was part of my family.

Catching up...

2011-12-27T21:51:00.001-06:00

So, here I go...catching you (and me) up again.

This year, Jaden was able to compete in UIL for the first time. He was so excited! He chose to try storytelling. He made the second grade storytelling team. Again, he was excited! So, on November 21, we traveled to the UIL competition in Sweetwater where he competed in storytelling. There is a room full of kids who get a story read to them all at the same time. Then, one-by-one they go by themselves into a room with judges and retell the story using only their words and some body language to act out some things if they wish. Jaden did great in the preliminary rounds and was the only one in the Snyder second grade group who made the finals. So, he had to do it all again with a different story for the finals.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to watch him tell his story -- but I was able to see him find out what place he got. Here he is waiting for the results to appear:

And, the results:

And here is a very happy little boy after seeing the results:

Again -- SO excited! We are so proud of him! He's always been a very animated child and he got to use that talent to win FIRST PLACE!

There was an awards ceremony at school afterward, where he received his certificate and medal from our favorite principal, Mrs. Rhodes!

Way to go, Jaden!

The next day, Jaxon got to have a Thanksgiving feast at school. All the Kindergarteners (all 250+) gathered in the Kindergarten hallway for a popcorn feast! Here is Jaxon and the Indian vest and headdress he made in art class.

A few kids in his class about to dig in to the popcorn!

It was wild, crazy and fun!

We had our first snowfall of Winter and got to start school late two days after Thanksgiving.

The next event was Jason's 40th birthday. We celebrated the whole day trying to make him feel young again by bringing out some of his favorite childhood toys.

Then had his favorite -- chocolate cake!

Happy Birthday, Jason! We love you!

The boys got some special Christmas decor in their room this year. A very dear friend gave them a Texas Rangers tree -- a red and blue tree complete with red and blue Christmas balls. It is so cool! We added some baseball ornaments we had and a few Texas Rangers snack bowls. They really like it -- and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get them to take it down when it's time.

Jaden had his second Christmas piano recital this year. He really enjoys playing the piano, and I'm so glad! His first song was a duet with Mrs. Tune. They played "Jingle Bells."

Then he played a solo and did a great job! He was a pro at "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

Jaxon has shown an interest in playing the piano recently. He's even asked about taking lessons, so we'll have to see about that soon maybe. But, in the meantime, Jaden is teaching him some songs. He's very good at "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and "Jolly Old St. Nicholas."

Jaden's teacher asked Mrs. Bailey (the music teacher) if Jaden could play his recital song for them in music class. After she let him, he told her that Jaxon knew a Christmas song and she should ask him to play when he came to music. So she did...and he did! I just happened to be there the day he played for his class (on pajama day -- in case you noticed everyone in their pjs). I was so proud of him. He played "Jolly Old St. Nicholas."

The thing I will end with for this post is the teacher, aides and support staff gifts we made for everyone at school. I got the s’more stick idea from my sister-in-law and inspiration for the tags came from a post on Pinterest. They seemed to be a hit!

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! I will try to not wait too long to post about our Christmas festivities. :-)

Jaxon's First Field Trip

2011-11-18T17:35:00.001-06:00

Jaxon is loving kindergarten. He is learning to read and learning new math concepts and just enjoying being with his friends.

But, this was the day he had been waiting for. The day of the field trip to Mrs. Bowen's farm. You may or may not remember, but Mrs. Bowen was Jaden's kindergarten teacher. She retired after Jaden's year. And Jaxon was really not willing to accept that. He really wanted Mrs. Bowen to be his kindergarten teacher. Which is kind of funny considering he wouldn't hardly say one word to Mrs. Bowen the whole year that Jaden had her. :-)

So, he was extremely excited to find out that in Mrs. Hester's class (who just happens to be Mrs. Bowen's best friend), they got to go on a field trip to her farm.

We had a great time! And these are the sweet ladies that made it all possible...

They are both a very important part of my life as a mom who loves her boys and didn't want them to go to school! :-)

We started first with getting to pet the goats...

Then a tour of the tractor...

We took a ride on the trailer to the pasture...

Here are two of Jaxon's good friends, Brite and Mason...

Once we got down to the pasture, we took a nature walk. We found lots of tracks: turkey, deer, and hogs.

Mrs. Bowen told us all about deer...

Then, we got to do centers where the kids made Indian necklaces, Indian headbands, got their faces painted, made and ate s'mores and paint a tee-pee. Each kid got to pick an Indian symbol to paint on the class tee-pee. Jaxon chose to paint "camp." Coincidently, it's the exact same symbol Jaden chose to paint when he took this field trip.

After centers, we ate hot dogs and the kids got to run and play. It was a very fun day! I got this great picture with Mrs. Bowen and Jaxon.

He was very excited to get to ride on the bus!

Thanks to the Bowens and Mrs. Hester for such a great day!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-18T16:20:00.001-06:00

Just thought I'd post a few pics of our Halloween.

Here is our cute little Mario. He did not want to wear a moustache to school and they couldn't wear make-up so whenever someone would ask him where his moustache was, he would do this...

These are a couple of pics from Jaxon's school Halloween party...

They got to learn all about how cotton candy is made and then try some... Yum!

So, before I show you Jaden, let me give a little explanation. Just like last year, Jaden had a GT assignment. Instead of an invention like last year, this year he had to come up with something that was built. Wow! Again, an overwhelming task! He had already planned on being Josh Hamilton for Halloween. So, he asked his teacher since God "built" Josh Hamilton, could he still be him. She said, "good point, but no." So, he had the bright idea to still be Josh Hamilton...but be Josh Hamilton INSIDE the ballpark.

So, as soon as he decided this we got to work. It was a really fun project to work on with him, but it did get a little complicated. Luckily, Jason still had some old computer boxes at the offices, so we utilized them. I mean, they were just sitting their collecting dust. :-)

And, here is the finished product...

Loved it! And so did everyone else!

His GT teacher, Mrs. Molter, was a sandwich.

There were other cute, creative ideas, but of course we thought this was pretty cool!

Here are the principals of the elementary school with Jaden. These ladies have been a major, positive asset to our school this year. I mean, how many principals do YOU know who would dress up like this? The kids loved it!

The night before Halloween we had a fall festival at our church fellowship hall. The boys had lots of fun, and I forgot to take my camera. But some high school girls did some face painting and they got Jaden good!

And this was actual trick-or-treating on Halloween. Jaden went without the ballpark, for the most part, and Jaxon decided Mario needed a moustache.

World Series 2011

2011-11-18T15:47:00.001-06:00

Ok. So, I'm almost through talking about the Rangers until 2012. And, yes, I know I'm still behind and everyone knows the outcome of the World Series...BUT...I must document this so we can remember the fun we had, even if the Rangers didn't win it all.

This year, Memaw and Poppa decided they needed to join us for the World Series. So, they also invited Poppa's brother, Marty, and nephew, Jeremy, to come along.

It's really hard to tell from this picture, but it is of the ceremonial first pitch: thrown by George Bush to Nolan Ryan. Cool!

The flag in centerfield was so neat. I've never seen anything like that before.

Then we had a flyover of some military helicopters. We were in the upper deck so it felt like they were really close to us.

First pitch...

My favorite boys...

Boys being boys...with Uncle Marty.

Have I mentioned lately that I love doing what these kids love to do. And I'm thankful every day that they want me to share experiences like these with them!

A happy Poppa, Memaw, Jaden and Jaxon!

Because the Rangers won (the game we were at, at least)! Woo-hoo!

Rangers Did It Again!

2011-11-18T15:21:00.001-06:00

The Texas Rangers made it to the American League Championship Series again this year, and we were there for one of the games to cheer them on!

Here we go...

Love this pic of my three boys!

Of course, the boys had to go play in centerfield. They were all smiles!

It's a shame we don't have enough Rangers clothes and hats to blend into the crowd, huh?

Don't know if you can tell from this picture, but as the start of the game approached, it began to get very cloudy. But we got our rowdy towels going with the rest of the crowd.

My sweet boys. I love doing what they love with them!

Then, it hit. A rain delay. The first one was about 45 minutes. The second about an hour.

It was late. And we were tired. We found a dry spot to sit and rest during the delay.

But the rain stopped, and we went back out to cheer on the Rangers. We did our share of yelling!

And, in the end...a very late end...the Rangers won!

Start Spreading the News...

2011-11-11T19:27:00.001-06:00

...I'm 40 today!

Yep, that's right! Age has not bothered me...yet. And I got to celebrate New York Style!

This man -- the love of my life -- the best giver of surprise gifts -- the greatest trip planner -- made my birthday the absolute best!

Did I mention he was great at surprise gifts?! Well, about six weeks before my birthday he surprised me with my birthday present. He really wanted to wait until a couple of days before my birthday, but he was too afraid I was going to plan some PTA or school function and wouldn't be able to go. :-)

So, then I had to wait six weeks for this surprise trip to take place. I was SO excited! And, the boys were so not because they had to stay here and go to school.

We first started with a Ranger game with some friends.

Thad and Becki left their kids at home, too, and went to the game with us. We had so much fun!

Then, the next morning Jason and I took off to New York City! It was a fun-filled and incredibly full weekend. It was such a fun way to celebrate my birthday!

Our plane took off late Friday and then with the crazy traffic, it seemed to take forever to get to our hotel. But we got settled in and then went to eat at one of our favorite places: Chevy's. Then, we had great tickets to see The Lion King. And the coolest thing about that -- we got to see an ACU theatre alum that we had seen in several productions in Abilene play the part of Pumba. So cool! And did I mention we had great seats?!

Saturday morning we took the subway down to the 911 memorial site. We have been there several times since that tragic event in 2001. So, we wanted to see it again and see what had been done since we were there last (in 2006).

This is a picture of the new World Trade Center building that is going up. When it is finished it will be the tallest building in America.

There was still a lot of construction going on at the site. We were able to go into the Winter Garden balcony of the World Financial Center and view the memorial site that is still being constructed. This is probably hard to see but this is a picture from the balcony viewing one of the reflecting pools.

This is a picture of the building that will house the 911 museum.

We went into a very small make-shift museum and this framed picture made a huge impression on me. It's a flag that consists of every person's name who perished because of that terror attack.

This is an artist rendering of what the memorial site will look like when it's done.

It was amazing to see! The whole site. It's very humbling, sad, and breathtaking all at the same time. It amazed me how we left the hussle and bustle of Times Square -- with all the noise and craziness -- and when we stepped off the subway down at this site, it was almost an eery quiet. Very strange feeling.

We had some time before our next show and we had never been on the Staten Island Ferry before, so we decided to take a ride. You get a great view of the Statue of Liberty from the ferry.

See the Statue of Liberty behind us?

After we got off the ferry, we grabbed a quick bite of New York pizza (yum!) and headed to our next show: Mary Poppins!

L-O-V-E this show! Again we had great seats. My husband rocks! And now we know how to spell "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and can do a little dance to it as well (well, sort of)!

Next, we went to another of our favorite places to eat: Ellen's Stardust Diner. Our waitress was so fun, and right after we sat down they sang Happy Birthday to all the people in the restaurant. And, yes, Jason told her it was mine. So, while all the waitstaff was singing, she let Jason sing to me into the microphone. Then she said, "Wow! You're good. When the customers sing better than us, we might ought to be worried." :-)

So, I took this picture out our window to prove that Jason actually sang ON BROADWAY!

After our yummy meal, we went to our last show of the weekend: Wicked! This is one of my all-time favorites. All-time! And did I mention how my husband rocks! We had great seats again and sang the whole show...quietly since people around us didn't pay to hear us. :-)

Did I mention this is the love of my life? Did I mention he is the best surprise gift giver EVER? Did I mention he rocks?! He gave me such a fun birthday trip!

His birthday is coming up in less than a month...and how will I ever top this?!

My Soccer Guys

2011-10-19T22:15:00.000-05:00

We have had a fun season of soccer this fall. And with one game left, I thought I might go ahead and write about it.

There's really not that much to write. There's been practice, games, practice, games, etc., etc., etc. Both boys have done well. Jaxon has not been as aggressive this year as last because this year he is a little younger than the other kids where last year he was one of the older ones. But, he still likes it and he likes having his Dad as a coach again.

I'll share a few pictures of Jaxon and his team.

Dad being a coach...

Jaxon stopping the ball...

Be sure and catch that tongue action...

Rooting on the team...

Jaden has had a good year. He has a good team and they have fun together and play well together as just that...a team. He is really enjoying it this year.

Jaden stopping the ball while playing goalie...

A powerful kick...

Trying to score...

And BOOM...

On the last Saturday games we had, both boys asked me to spike their hair. So I did. And they both scored FOUR goals that day! Yep, bet we do that again this Saturday for our last games.

Silly kids...

...but I sure do love 'em!

Happy Birthday, Keaton!

2011-10-04T09:19:00.000-05:00

One year ago today, God blessed our family with this precious little boy...and gave my brother and sister-in-law a chance to be wonderful parents!

Happy 1st Birthday, Keaton! You are truly a blessing to us!

We love you!

I Know, I Know...

2011-10-03T20:47:00.000-05:00

Yes, I realize the "First Day of School" was six weeks ago. And, yes, a lot has happened in those six weeks that I need to blog about.

We are still here. We are very busy.

In that six weeks, I think I can probably count on one hand how many days I have NOT been at school volunteering in classrooms or doing PTA stuff. One hand. But...I wouldn't have it any other way. I like being there. I don't like being at home by myself -- too much.

So, what that means is several things: I'm extremely busy; I have a much greater appreciation for working moms; you don't have an updated blog to read; did I mention we are very busy.

I'll get there. I promise. Be patient. Come back 'cause there will be more...eventually. :-)

The First Day of School

2011-09-04T21:08:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know school has been going for two weeks now. And all the time I thought I was going to have when both boys went to school...well...it's there -- I've just spent most of it at the school working on PTA fundraising stuff. What did I get myself into?! :-)

Anyway, the first day of school went well for Jaden and Jaxon. SO glad!

We started the day with breakfast, of course. Here are two boys being cRaZy while eating breakfast...

Before school pics...

Our second grader and kindergartener...Wow!

Jason and I walked the boys into school. We dropped Jaden off at his classroom first. The theme for the second grade hall is space. His teacher, Mrs. Long, did an amazing job on the outside of her door making a space shuttle. We are so happy to have her as a teacher. Jaden has already learned so much and has a great time.

Then, we walked Jaxon to his classroom. He really was excited to start school. That made it easier for me to leave him there. He wouldn't let me get a picture outside the door, so I took one of him beside his cubby putting his backpack up.

Then he found his desk and was ready to color his first Kindergarten paper.

He was ready for me to leave. I wasn't ready. But his sweet teacher, Mrs. Hester, came over and gave me a hug. She said, "You know I'll love him like my own." And I know she does and will, and that made it easier for me. We are so excited that he has her for his teacher. She is so great in that she does teach them a lot and does love them like they were hers. She eats lunch with them and gets down in the floor and plays with them. And, is willing to let me come help in the classroom whenever I want. Love her! :-)

I was so glad when it was 2:45, and I could go get Jaxon to hear all about his first day. He said it was great and that he wanted to go back the next day. They get to have show and tell every day if they want to. So, he participated the first day and took some pictures of when he and Daddy went on their trip. Also, Mrs. Bowen came and helped the class learn all about the rules of the school. Mrs. Bowen was Jaden's kindergarten teacher and that's who Jaxon really wanted to have. But she retired, and she and Mrs. Hester are good friends, so she'll be showing up every now and then. Jaxon is happy about that.

After hearing all about Jaxon's day, we picked Jaden up at 3:25 and got another school report. Jaden likes second grade so far.

I'm so thankful that both boys have great, Christian teachers. I can't wait to see what the year holds.

Another first day...

2011-08-23T10:47:00.000-05:00

So here I sit. Exactly where I was 2 years ago. Well, not exactly. 2 years ago there was a 4 year old in the house with me. Today, he's at school.

To be honest -- I cried. Yes, I know you're not shocked. But I will admit it's a little easier this time. A little. Jaxon already has friends in his class. And he already knows his teacher. And we know his teacher. That all does make it a little easier.

But it's still hard. Why is that? I've asked myself that question the last couple of days. Why do I get so emotional about this first day of school. I've decided it still stems from the same thing I said when Jaden went to school for the first time -- because Jaxon has been with me all his life. 5 years, 7 months, and 10 days. That's 2,034 days with mostly me. I'm going to miss him during the day. Hopefully, that will help me make the most of the afternoons when he and Jaden get home.

It's o.k. I know it is. It's hard, but it's o.k. I know he'll learn a lot and have lots of fun. That's what life is all about, right? It doesn't make it any easier though.

When we left him in his classroom, he was o.k. He really was excited about starting school. That, too, makes it a little easier. He waved bye to me. And he was o.k. Me, on the other hand, well...I wanted so badly to go back and check on him before I left the building. But I didn't. I cried all the way to the car, especially when someone would ask me if I was o.k. Then I wasn't. But he is. And I will be, too.

I wonder what he's doing right now. But I know he's good. And I really can't wait to hear ALL about his first day!

Jaxon's Trip with Dad

2011-08-22T10:17:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Jason took Jaxon on his before school trip. You might remember he did the same for Jaden two years ago. I absolutely LOVE the idea! I know it's important for each boy to have father/son time with him and this was the perfect plan.

Jaxon chose to go to two Ranger games. And, luckily, they picked one good game and one very exciting game to go to. I think they both had a blast!

I asked Jaxon to talk about his trip and I would type it for you. He's not very detailed-oriented and doesn't have much to say -- so he just described each picture for me. :-)

He did say this though (because I asked him why it was so fun):

It was fun just getting to go with Dad because we got to do some stuff without y'all -- and that was fun.

This is the first game we went to. Dad took my picture before we went in.

Dad got us some great seats. We had fun at the game. The Rangers even won for me 9-2!

The next day, we went putt-putting. (Sidenote from Mom: Dad didn't take many pictures even though Mom asked him, too. :-) But besides playing miniature golf, we rode the go-carts so we could cool off a little bit. We went inside and got a drink and played some games inside. Dad and I were pretty good -- we got a lot of tickets. It was fun!

This was the second Ranger game we went to. Dad got great seats again -- behind the on-deck circle!

We got to see Benji Molina throw out the first pitch. He came to this game to get his World Series ring.

We were really close to the players. Josh Hamilton up close...

...and Michael Young...

This was a very exciting game -- Josh got a walk-off hit to win the game 7-6! Somebody that was sitting beside us took this picture of me and Dad after the game.

While Jason and Jaxon were gone, Jaden got to have his first sleepover with his friend, Karson. There was lots of swimming...

We even made our own personal pizzas...

The boys tried to build a fort to sleep in...

I tried to help...

In the end they started out on sleeping bags in the fort, but after about 15 minutes, they moved to the bed. Lots of work for nothing, but it was fun putting it together!

Then, there was time spent watching the Rangers -- of course.

Precious Boy...Sweet Words!

2011-08-20T21:18:00.005-05:00

I've got to share some sweet things Jaxon has said lately.
A couple of weeks ago, Jaxon came in the room where I was after I did something for him (don't remember what -- but it doesn't matter). He said "I love you, Mommy!" and gave me a big Jaxon hug. Then he said, "You're the best mommy I ever had!" :-)

Then, just recently, Jaxon has gotten to where when I say "I love you" -- he'll say, "I love you more!" Well, the other night I was lying in his bed with him and we got into a little "debate" over this.

We have a book that is called I Love You More, so I usually quote a line or two from that book. It'll go something like this --
   Jaxon: I love you.
   Mommy: I love you, too!
   Jaxon: I love you more!
   Mommy: I don't think so.
   Jaxon: Uh-huh.
   Mommy: I love you bigger than the biggest flower ever grew.
   Jaxon: Well, I love you more than the whole earth.

You know, this could go on for a while. So the other night this dialogue was added --
   Mommy: I love you higher than the highest rocket ever flew.
   Jaxon: Well, I love you bigger than all the earth and all of outer space!
   Then he paused...and said, "You can't beat that, Mommy! Can you?!"

No, I can't my sweet boy. No, I can't.

Keeping Keaton

2011-08-20T20:44:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, we got to keep my adorable 10-month-old nephew for the day. His Daddy had taken his Mommy away for a much-needed, much-deserved, relaxing, getaway weekend. I don't really know where they went and I don't really know what they did -- but I do know that we got to keep Keaton for a few hours one day, and the boys and I had so much fun!

He had not really been crawling long when he came to stay. I snapped this picture and I love it because I just wonder what was going through his little brain: "Uh-oh...she caught me on the move....maybe I shouldn't get into that." :-)

While it was still cool in the morning, we went outside to play. Keaton loves this little car when he comes to our house. But since he couldn't move it himself, Jaden thought he needed to help him. Keaton thoroughly enjoyed his ride around the yard.

Jaxon came out of the house skating and entertained us all!

Jaden thought he would get in the car to ride instead of push, but it was a little tight in there.

We also played inside. There were toys all over the living room.

You know, the "baby" toys that haven't been off the shelf in quite some time. I love Little People and so I've kept all of what we have because...well...they're just such good toys. And here's proof that they span all ages. After Keaton left, these Little People stayed out and were played with for at least 3 days afterward. Love that!

At one point, Keaton had followed the boys into their room. Jaden decided he had to get on his hands and knees to show Keaton the way back to the living room.

Then, the poor baby was barricaded from some big boy activity. He did so well though. He just sat there and watched them and never made a fuss.

Jaden was such a good sitter that day. He was always wanting to take care of Keaton. It was so sweet! Then, I guess he decided Keaton needed to watch a little TV with him. Precious!

It's Getting Close...

2011-08-18T21:59:00.000-05:00

...WAY too close! School starts Tuesday and I'm not ready! But, we're not going to talk about that right now!

What we are going to talk about is Jaxon and the fact that he starts school Tuesday. And I'm not ready! Oh, wait...not supposed to talk about that right now!

I don't know if you remember reading on this blog about Jaden getting a special tour of the elementary school from our friend/family member/honorary grandmother (a.k.a., Starkye), Kelly Starnes, before he went to Kindergarten. Well, she had to do the same for Jaxon. So, a couple of weeks ago, she picked up Jaxon for their special date.

She took him to tour the halls of the school. He had so much fun!

A pic with the artwork on the wall Mom did. Yay!

He will be on the West Hall -- appropriate, isn't it?!

Here he is helping the new principal, Mrs. Rhodes, sort stickers. He and Mrs. Rhodes are already pretty tight. :-)

And here's more wall artwork Mom did. The theme for the year is "The Journey Begins..."

Kellye also got Jaxon a Snyder Primary t-shirt that he is so excited to have.

He's very excited to start school. Me...well...we'll talk about that later. :-)

More Summer Fun

2011-08-18T08:56:00.000-05:00

At the end of July, we got to spend a little time in Stephenville -- very little. But it was fun! I got to go help Leslye with her classroom with Kellye and Keaton while my three boys and Joey played some golf.

I got to do what I love to do when I help Leslye -- paint her glass doors. It really is so fun for me!

Keaton was so good while we all worked in her room. He found a pointer that he just had to have. Another teacher in the family some day? Hmmm....

Then he watched me paint for a while. He really, really wanted to get his hands on that paint. :-)

Here is the finished product -- "Blast Off to Planet Pre-K." Wouldn't you love to be in Mrs. Roberts room? I would!

The next day we went to a Ranger game with Rick, Kellye, Joey, Leslye and Keaton.

Jaxon is trying to keep Keaton entertained -- looks to me like it was working.

Aren't these three just adorable?!

We had to pull out the rally caps at the end -- and they worked!

The next night, the four of us stayed in Arlington and headed to another Ranger game. Jason had gotten the tickets way in advance. He has a habit of not telling us where we are sitting until we get to the game. He likes to surprise us -- he's fun that way!

This night, we had GREAT seats -- in the commissioners box! He was leading us to our seats and we just kept walking down further and further. Until we got to the FIRST row. Wow! This is the picture of the boys I took right after we sat down. Can you see those smiles on their faces?! Just a little excited!

Had to take this one for my sister. We were very close to Ian!

Michael Young batting. I had fun with my new camera, too!

And we even got on the jumbotron! Fun, fun!

KTAB Comes to Snyder

2011-08-15T16:03:00.000-05:00

Several weeks ago (I'm STILL trying to catch up :-), the KTAB news team came to Snyder as part of its summer road show. We thought it would be a great idea for our favorite newscaster from KTAB and his family to come spend the day at our house before the newscast that evening. And that is exactly what they did. Yay!

In case you didn't know, that favorite newscaster and sports guy is David Robinett. He and Conni have been friends of ours for...uh...going on 17 years now. Wow! That sounds like a lot when you write it out, huh?!

Here is everyone sitting around the table after lunch.

It just so happened to be David's birthday. So we, of course, celebrated! The boys made signs and put them up all over the house. It was fun!

When it was time for David to head down to the town square for the newscast, Conni, Allison and Analise (Allison's friend) headed back to Abilene. We got cleaned up and headed to the square, too, for some fun!

They had a table where anyone could make signs to show support for the KTAB newscasters. Jaden made a sign that said, "Happy Birthday, Sports Dude!" No one else knew it was David's birthday, so the guy with the microphone came over and saw Jaden's sign and asked him about it. Jaden was pretty proud that he was the one that told everyone it was David's birthday. Later, this guy had everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to David. :-)

Jaxon won a temperature contest. They had a contest to see who could guess what the temperature would be at 6:30. Jaxon guessed 100 and he got it right. He won a t-shirt and grabbed and went running -- because unlike his big brother, he did not want to be on TV.

Jaden tried to get on TV every opportunity he could. David helped him out a little in this shot. He put Jaden on his back and walked behind the museum guy and Sam (right of pic) so they could both be on TV. Silly boys!

Here is our friend, David, talking to our friend, Brandon, about the upcoming football season.

It was pretty cool to see David in "action" and the boys got a little preferential treatment that they enjoyed immensely!

Roberts Family Weekend

2011-08-08T10:02:00.000-05:00

My family usually tries to get together in the summer. For the past few years, we've met in Arlington to go to a Ranger game together and then do some other fun stuff like shopping, playing, and going to a water park.

This year, the Rangers did not cooperate with all of our schedules. :-( So instead, everyone came to Snyder to stay with us and play and swim and eat and swim and sing and swim. We had a house full for a weekend, but it was fun!

Jaxon started the weekend, doing something he does best -- entertain Keaton.

While Jaden and Joey had a hot game of baseball going outside.

There was lots of swimming -- in case I didn't mention that before.

Playing games...

Lots of picture taking...

Lots of talking amongst the "wise ones"...

Then, we had a "dive-in movie" night outside. It was so much fun! What is it that seems so cool about watching a movie outside?!

The only one who actually took advantage of the "dive-in" idea...

Then, Sunday after church, we posed for more pictures. It's not very often that we can get Nana or Granny in a picture, so we took the opportunity to do so.

It's like riding a bike...

2011-08-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

Actually, it IS riding a bike!

We got Jaden a bike for his birthday, but didn't get to let him pick one out until our trip to Austin. So, he came home with a new bike. A big bike. No training wheels. Fun!

He was a little overwhelmed at first. He had tried to ride his smaller bike without training wheels, but just couldn't get it. But he was excited about getting a new one and trying it again.

Here is Dad helping him by hanging on. He was a little nervous about us letting go.

But when Jason finally did, Jaden got it!

And kept getting it! He was so excited!

Jaxon decided that since big brother didn't have training wheels, he didn't need them either. So, we took his off. The difference between them is -- Jaxon does NOT want any help. And as much as we tried to help him so he would get it, he insisted on doing it "BY MYSELF!"

So, we let him and he almost got it.

But not quite. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be writing soon about Jaxon getting it though. It won't be long.

In the meantime, I guess he thinks it's just quicker to get off his bike and run along side Jaden.

More Baseball...

2011-08-04T10:00:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I needed to go to a PTA convention and my boys went to Austin with me so I didn't have to go by myself. Yay! They played while I sat in classes. But, in the evenings, I got to go play with them.

We went to a Round Rock Express game on Friday and Saturday night. The Express is one of the Texas Rangers minor league teams, so we even got to see some Rangers players play.

The first night we sat on a blanket on the grass in the outfield.

Jaden thought it would be fun to roll down the grassy hill.

And here is Jaxon, doing something he loves to do. Playing his own baseball game while we watched the one for real behind him. It's hard to capture this in a snapshot, but he is always playing his own baseball game in his head -- complete with him pitching, batting, being the coach, and many other things.

It was fun, but then of course, we think baseball is always fun!

Independence Day!

2011-08-02T10:00:00.001-05:00

We got home from Colorado very late Saturday, July 2. So July 3, we started celebrating the holiday. We unloaded the car and threw everything in a corner to get ready to have people over. If you haven't spent a fourth of July holiday in Snyder, then you're missing out. There's always so much to do -- a parade, arts and craft show, walking through the park seeing everyone you know, eating, and, of course, fireworks.

Because of the drought, most places cancelled their fireworks show. Snyder decided to continue with the fireworks, though, so we had lots of people from surrounding towns come enjoy our town.

Joey, Leslye and Keaton were in Snyder for the weekend, so we got to spend lots of time with them and Rick and Kellye (Leslye's parents). Not only that, but some of Kellye's family came and we got to share our swimming pool, eat with them and enjoy the fireworks all together. So, glad that Gary, Hollye, Gran, Amy, Abby and Anson all came to join in the fun, too!

We started the morning on July 4th with the parade.

Sidenote: the boys and I made these shirts before we left for Colorado so we would be sure and have them done when we got back. It was fun! We made Jason one not knowing if he would join us, but he did and we were so happy!

Leslye, Joey and Keaton waiting for the parade...

After the parade and lunch at Rick and Kellye's, everyone came over to our house to play and swim.

First, there was a serious game of Nerf dart tag going on...

Keaton had lots of fun in the car...

Joey and Jaden playing a rough game of basketball...

Jaxon showing us how he learned to float at swimming lessons...

Uncle Jason swimming with Keaton and rubber ducky...

Keaton loved the water. Jaxon thought he needed lots of toys to play with so he shared. Then he would play peek-a-boo with Keaton and go under the water and back up. Keaton thought that was pretty fun!

Sweet picture...

After we had been in the pool for a while, it started raining. Yes, I said RAINING! And we didn't mind. We stayed in the pool for a while, but then it started raining hard so we all got under the porch to wait it out.

Jaden and Jaxon thought it would be lots of fun to slide down the wet slide...

It has rained the last three years on July 4th. Maybe we should rearrange our calendar to have more July 4ths?!

But, the rain didn't last long, so we still got to finish our festivities for the night. Homemade ice cream, goodies, a little slidin'...

A little playin' while we waited on the fireworks...

And, finally, the fireworks!

It was so much fun! July 4th here always is! So thankful for so many things that day!

Just had to end with these two pictures, 'cause, well, they're so cute!

Colorado Vacation - Part 2

2011-07-30T10:56:00.000-05:00

I bet you didn't think I was coming back, did you? I was beginning to wonder myself. But here I am -- ready for part 2.

After the four of us left Canon City, we headed to South Fork, Colorado, to meet up with Nana, Pawpaw, Aunt Tami, Uncle Jeff, Cody, Justin, Angela, Sydney and Jeffrey. They go to Fun Valley campground every year and are always asking us to go with them. So, this year, we did. The boys had an absolute blast following Cody around all over the place. And it was fun to go camping. Wouldn't want to sleep in a tent more than three nights, but three nights was fun.

Here are the boys helping Jason put up our "home."

But that didn't last long -- when the train came by and Nana said "let's go!" Of course, that looked way more fun than helping put up a tent.

I found the boys once by the river. Cody was trying to show them how to skip rocks.

This was our first meal outside that night. Uncle Jeff cooked hamburgers and they were yummy! There's just something about eating outside when camping that makes the food taste better, don't ya think?!

After supper the first night, we all headed over to the barn for karaoke night. Our little performer just had to get up on that stage. So, he talked Aunt Tami into singing "My Girl" with him. Now let's be sure and get this straight -- there was not much twisting her arm. She's a performer, too, ya know. :-)

Cody raised the house with "The Shake."

And then my family conspired against me and talked me into singing "Dancing Queen" with my sister. It's one of our favorite songs to do together -- in the car or in the comfort of our own homes. But I did it in front of an audience -- unheard of. But I will admit it was kind of fun -- a little embarrassing -- but fun!

The next day, the four of us had reservations to go white water rafting in Creede, Colorado. We couldn't get anyone else to join us, but we had fun! Nana and Pawpaw went with us into Creede for a little shopping and lunch. Then, the theater there just happened to be having a fun story time that afternoon. It was just before we had to be at the rafting place, so we had time to go. The actors read books and acted out books and told funny stories. We had a great time!

After that, Nana and Pawpaw headed back to the campground while the four of us got "suited up" to go rafting.

I wasn't able to take any pictures on the raft, although now I wish I had left my camera out to do so. But, oh well. It was so cool! Jaxon was very leery of it at first, and really wasn't sure he wanted to go in the first place. But after we talked him into joining us, he was so glad he did -- and so were we! We will definitely be doing that again. This was our guide, Jeff, who was really cool!

The next day we just hung around Fun Valley. We saw A LOT of this...

I mentioned earlier that the boys enjoyed following Cody around everywhere. That was so true. And usually we saw the back of them on their bicycles. I'm pretty sure Jaden and Jaxon enjoyed the bit of freedom they got doing this. I know they enjoyed doing whatever Cody did. Just not sure how Cody felt about it, but he was a good big cousin to let them follow! :-)

They spent most of the time when they weren't on their bikes in the rec hall watching or playing games. Nana gave them money every day for that and, believe me, they used it.

When it got a little warm during the middle of the day, we went inside the camper to play games.

We played miniature golf with the whole clan.

Then Jaxon, Jason, Jaden and I went for a paddle boat ride.

Jason and I drove to the top of the hill to take a picture of our camp site. You can see our little tent amongst all the nice campers. But, it made a good place to sleep for three nights.

Well, that's about it. And after about 1,500 miles, we were glad to see this sign.

Colorado Vacation - Part 1

2011-07-17T17:37:00.000-05:00

Yep. Still behind. Trying to catch up. Here goes...

We took a Colorado vacation a couple of weeks ago. It was lots of driving and lots of time spent in the car, but we had family time together, a bunch of memories made and it was very fun!

We went to Canon City, Colorado, and spent some time at the Royal Gorge. Besides swimming and playing games in the hotel, we did some fun sight-seeing adventures.

We went on the Royal Gorge Route train. It was really a neat thing. We got to ride the train through the Royal Gorge and see the famous bridge from WAY below. Here is a picture of the boys and I in our seats on the train.

We had told the boys before our trip about this really cool and big bridge. Even though we tried to explain it, it was hard for them to imagine. As we were on the train, we passed this bridge and they said "Hey, is that it?" We had to tell them "no that they would have to wait to see the one we were talking about."

The train had a car where you could go out and stand in the open air. That was neat because you could see a lot more than you could in the closed car.

This was our first glimpse of the "big" bridge we had been telling the boys about. I thought this was a cool shot with the river, the train and the bridge all in it.

When we got directly under the bridge, the boys kept looking up to see it. Doesn't look so big from the bottom of the gorge, but the boys were impressed -- at least until they got a little dizzy from looking up so much that we had to go back in the inside car, sit down and get a little snack. :-)

On the way back to town from the gorge, we wondered around the train a little bit. This was the dining car that you could eat in. They thought it was cool, but Jaden said he thought it would look a little more like the train on "White Christmas." :-) That's my boy!

After we got back into town from the train ride, we got some lunch and then drove out to the Royal Gorge park. We wanted to show them the bridge from the top.

There is lots to do at the park that centers around the bridge.

We rode the incline railway down the mountain to the river -- the same river we rode by on the train.

Then we walked across the bridge. It was a little scary. Every time someone drove by us, it would shake. And it's high. Really high. But the boys thought it was cool. And, we enjoyed seeing all the state flags as we walked across. Since we began our trip, we had searched for all the license plates, so it was fun to see the flags as well.

TEXAS!

We walked to the other side of the bridge where there was lots more to do.

They had a wildlife park with elk and buffalo and other animals.

Jaden got put in jail.

Jaxon didn't want to go. He resisted arrest and instead went panning for gold.

The last thing we did was ride a tram back across the gorge. This was our view from the tram. It was high and a little scary. Jaxon and I weren't too sure about it. I think he thought it was going to dip down into the gorge and be like a roller coaster or something because he was hiding in the floor at the beginning. But when he realized we were just going straight across, he said, "Oh, this is not so bad. Kinda cool."

We still have a "part 2" to post, so check back.

More Birthday Fun

2011-07-06T21:37:00.000-05:00

Ok. So, I have a lot of updating to do. A lot! We've been VERY busy the last two weeks. Very! I will try my best to get it all on here. Just keep checking back.

I'll start first with Jaden's birthday celebrations. Yes, birthdays around here always seem to result in multiple parties. :-)

The first one was while we were in Abilene. He got to an ice cream cake just like he requested. It was yummy!

And he got some cool presents -- two of which are pictured here: baseball flip flops (which he loves) and a surf board for the pool (which he really, really wanted). Unfortunately, he does not yet weigh enough to keep the surfboard under water at the moment. But he will keep working on it.

The next celebration came on his actual birthday. Memaw and Poppa took him to lunch at the place of his choice -- Whataburger, of course. That's usually what he chooses for his birthday lunch. But this time was a bit different. We have a friend who is a manager at our Whataburger and he made sure Jaden's lunch was special. Denny brought him a fried pie and a Whataburger hat that he wrote on to read "Happy Birthday!!! What-a-Day!" So sweet!

I joked with Denny to and asked if they sang "Happy Birthday" there. But it was no joke to him. He announced to the whole restaurant that it was Jaden's birthday and asked that they join him in singing to Jaden. And they did. Hilarious! Jaden was slightly embarrassed, but you all know how he loves to be in the spotlight, too! :-)

After the lunch at Whataburger, he got to open some more presents. Woo-hoo!

The next celebration came on that Friday. Now, don't fall out of your chairs or anything but I did not get one single picture of that day! I know! It's completely hard to believe, but it's true. Don't know what happened, but my camera never made it out of my bag.

Anyway, his choice instead of having a birthday party was to go see Cars 2. So, we took a friend from Snyder and headed to the movies in Odessa so that family (Eric, April, Carter, Andrew, and Mallory) could join us. After the movie, we ate lunch and then headed back to our house to swim.

It was all lots of fun, and although I'm still having a hard time believing he is 8, we had some exciting celebrations!

Happy 8th Birthday!

2011-06-23T15:55:00.000-05:00

Today, Jaden Landry West turns 8.

So incredibly hard to believe, isn't it?!

We've been so blessed with him in our family these last eight years. And every age is different and fun! He is now officially a second grader.

He likes to read and do math. He got second place for the whole first grade in the Accelerated Reader program at school.

He is such a good big brother. He watches out and encourages Jaxon so well.

He loves to put on a show and be in the spotlight.

He likes sports, as I'm sure you know, and tries his hardest at them all. He enjoys playing the piano. He is like a fish in the pool, every year more so than the last. He likes to play outside. He likes to draw and do crafts. He has a sweet concern for others. He loves to play games...and win. :-) He really likes to go to school, but thankful for summer break. He's just an all around great kid!

Happy Birthday, Jaden. We love you!

Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!

2011-06-19T15:45:00.001-05:00

Ok. So, if you know us (and I'm guessing most of you do or you probably wouldn't be reading this blog), then you probably know Jason and I really enjoy musicals. We love going to musicals. We love singing with songs from musicals. And we'd probably love being in musicals if we ever got the opportunity.

Well, if you know our kids (again, I'm guessing...nevermind), then you know this love for musicals has rubbed off on them. For as long as I can remember, they've put on shows occasionally for us at home. We even keep a drawer in the bathroom with Halloween makeup just for these occasions. :-)

Jaden loves to perform. Jaxon likes it if no one is watching. Sometimes he'll do something with Jaden for Jason and I, but no one else. But, Jaden loves the spotlight. And he got to be in that spotlight a little Friday after a week-long camp at the Abilene Performing Arts Company. He went to camp Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-noon. He had two amazing teachers -- Ms. Sarah and Ms. Ann -- who did an incredible job working with about 15 kids to put on a very cute play on Friday.

He was a little leery going in because he didn't know a single soul. And, I have to admit, I was a little leery leaving my child that first day with complete and total strangers. BUT, it was all worth it. He had a great time and I'm pretty sure he loved every minute of it. He made new friends and got to be a star of the show. That's a pretty good week in his book!

Here is his fan club that joined us that day for his performance. Everyone except Pawpaw (my dad) who didn't get in this picture for some reason, but he was there too.

The show started out with the kids performing the song "Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!" It was very cute. Here is Jaden during the song...

I have to share one cute story about this. One night as Jaden was getting ready for bed, he said, "Mom, we learned our geography today." I said, "Geography?" He said, "Yeah, you know when you learn the dance moves to a song." I smiled and said, "Do you mean choreography?" He said, "Yeah, that's it" and laughed himself.

They put together the song with choreography and four mini plays for this performance. Jaden was in three of the four mini plays. The first one was the "Cat in the Hat." Jaden played Nick -- one of the kids whose mother goes out for the day and the Cat in the Hat visits them.

Here they are looking out the window watching the rain with nothing to do...

Until the Cat (left in red) shows up with Thing 1 and Thing 2 (blue shirts)...

The second mini play was "Green Eggs and Ham." Jaden played several parts in this play, as did all the kids. But first he was the grouchy guy who keeps telling Sam I Am that he does NOT like green eggs and ham. This was a cute part at the beginning where he was hiding from Sam I Am so he did not have to tell him again that he did not like green eggs and ham.

But in the end, he tried them and...he did, he did -- he liked green eggs and ham!

The last mini play they did was "Horton Hears a Who!" And Jaden got to be Horton. He was SO excited! He had talked about this play all week and every day I think he said, "Mom, I sure hope I get to be Horton. That would be cool!" So on Thursday when I picked him up, of course the first thing he told me was "Mom, I got Horton!" and had a gleam in his eye. He was very pumped!

Here is Horton as he sees the dust speck floating through the air...

And here he is talking to the Whos on the clover...

If you don't remember how these stories go, then find some Dr. Seuss books and read them for yourself. They really are lots of fun!

Way to go, Jaden! We are all proud of you and the great job you did!

So, since Jaden was going to camp all week, the boys and I stayed in Abilene and got some things done. My sister and nephew got to come spend the whole week, too. We had lots of fun helping Granny with putting pictures in albums, shopping, eating, playing, shopping, staying cool, and shopping! Hey, when Tami and I get together -- it's what we do! :-)

Tuesday night, ACU was hosting a free movie outside on the Welcome Center lawn. So, we packed up our lawn chairs and everyone (except Granny) went to watch Tangled. We had seen the movie before, but there's just something neat about watching a movie outside. It was fun!

While Jaden was at camp every day, Cody and Jaxon pretty much played their Nintendo DSs or watched TV. There was some football playing and water fun going on outside, too, in the afternoons.

One night, I had to play with my new camera so I took a few pics of the cute kids we have.

Isn't he a handsome 13 year old?

Three silly boys...

Trying to keep them from being monkeys and climbing the tree...

On the porch with Nana and Granny enjoying the HOT summer breeze...

Me and my big sis!

We had lots of fun! So glad Tami and Cody got to come join us in Abilene as well. Thanks Granny, Nana, and Pawpaw for a wonderful visit!

A Fun Weekend!

2011-06-08T22:33:00.000-05:00

Who wouldn't have fun with this face around...

Isn't he adorable?! We got to spend last weekend in Stephenville with my brother, his wife, and cute little boy, Keaton! We had so much fun. It had been WAY too long since we had gotten to spend any time with them.

Keaton and Jaxon took a minute to pose for me...

Keaton playing with Uncle Jason...

Who is Keaton going to roll the ball to? Can you tell they are all anxiously waiting?

There was Ranger-watching going on...

And, of course, baseball in the backyard with Uncle Joey...

And frisbee golf...

And lots of inside playing since it was so hot. Jaxon thought it would be funny to put these rings on Keaton's head. Don't think Keaton was too sure about it though...

Keaton and Jaden stopped to pose for me...

Do you think Keaton gets his picture taken as much as my boys do? Hmmm...yes, I think!

A little TV watching on the couch...

We had such a great time! Thanks Joey, Leslye and Keaton for a great weekend!

And...The Rangers Win!

2011-06-01T21:27:00.000-05:00

Every time. And for this team, we were keeping score. My goodness, we even kept a book. I kept it (or Memaw if I wasn't there because of Jaxon's pratice or games). And let it be known that if either one of us made a mistake -- Jaden would let us know. He and I would go over it every morning before school on the day after a game. He's got a memory about a baseball game just like his Daddy. And, yes, I was wrong a few times. But he fixed it. :-)

Here are a couple of pictures from the season...

This was a fun season. Not just because they won. But there were several boys on the team who like baseball as much as my boys do (yes, all three of them!). So, they had lots of fun playing together.

These were the guys that when Jason said practice was over, they were still out there catching, throwing and hitting.

These were the guys that when a game was over, they were still out there catching, throwing and hitting.

And these are the guys that even though the season is over, they are still out there catching, throwing and hitting as much as we will allow them to all get together and do so.

Blaine, Karson, Ryan, Jaden and Ryker

And remember these two?

They are right out there with them.

As I've already said once, the Rangers went undefeated this season. (It's worth mentioning again, don't you think?!) That was fun. It's fun to play baseball! But it's really fun to play baseball and win!

Here's a pic of the team taken after the last game. Can those smiles get any bigger?!

And here are my three guys looking good. The No. 1 Rangers player...The No. 1 Rangers coach...and the No. 1 Rangers fan!

The Bombers Win!

2011-05-22T15:48:00.000-05:00

Every time. Even though no one was really keeping score...well, Jaxon was. And he says his team was undefeated this season. Sadly, the season is over. He had a great time! And, of course, he did a great job!

Here are a few more pictures from the season...

This is the only picture where his tongue is not out. Looks to me like he is doing some serious concentration...

This is after his last game on Saturday -- he and his friend, Brandt, telling me they are No. 1!

And here is the trophy he got. He is very proud of it!

Way to go No. 12! We think you had a great season and we are proud of you!

Spring Recital and Guild

2011-05-15T14:07:00.000-05:00

Jaden had his spring piano recital Saturday night. He played two memorized pieces and then he played a duet with his teacher. He did an excellent job!

About two weeks ago, he participated in piano guild. We signed up for this last fall and he chose to memorize four pieces. He had to play them for a judge. It was only him and the judge in the room when he played. At the recital, he received his certificate for guild. He did a great job! He got all commendations, a superior rating, and a very nice and encouraging note from the judge that said she could tell he was a good student and that he did a great job. Yes, I'm bragging. He deserves it!

He also received an award from his piano teacher, Mrs. Tune. He received the best progression award for the elementary age kids. Yep...bragging again. We are very proud of you, Jaden!

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-11T21:17:00.000-05:00

Mother's Day is always special for me. I mean, after all, I have been blessed all my life with women who have inspired me, loved me, nurtured me, and have been such great examples in my life.

My Mom...

My Granny...

My Mom (Roberts)...

And my other Mom...

Mother's Day is also very special for me because I am so blessed to be a Mom. God has blessed me with two wonderful children! There was a time when I didn't think I'd ever have that privilege. But I do. And for that I am VERY grateful! I just hope that one day my boys look up to me like I look up to my own Mom and the other three women pictured above.

So, for this 2011 Mother's Day, I got to spend it with my three favorite guys at one of our favorite places -- the Ranger game. It was hot and they lost; but it was fun, because I was with the ones I most wanted to be with on that special day.

We started the morning going to early services at a congregation we frequently visit when in the metroplex. We had a little time so I wanted to get some pictures with my boys. One was cooperative, the other was not.

Then I got this cute picture even though Jaxon still wasn't very excited about it. At least we got a smile out of him.

We had great seats at the game...

And look who we ran into...

My sister also got Ranger tickets for Mother's Day. We didn't get to sit with them, but we got to see them for a little bit.

The boys, of course, got to play in centerfield (where, by the way, Jaden hit four homeruns)...

Cody pitching...

Unfortunately, the Rangers didn't pull out a win. This is a pic of one very upset Jaden after the Yankees hit a grand slam. Ugh! He was SO not happy!

After the game, the boys got to go on the field and run the bases -- all three of them. They were all pretty excited!

Thanks, guys, for a wonderful Mother's Day! I love you!

Just keep reading...

2011-05-01T22:17:00.001-05:00

Ok. So I know that I have not updated this blog in a while. Quite a while. Too long in fact. And so now I have to make one long entry just to get everyone caught up on what has been going on. So, if you want to know what's been going on, just keep reading.

The Bombers

First of all, we should probably start with Jaxon's baseball season. He's been practicing for several weeks now, and Thursday he finally had his first game. He was SO excited as I'm sure you can imagine! When we got his jersey and hat that day, he came home and laid it all out on his bed so he would be ready to get dressed when it was time.

His first time up to hit -- he got a double and two RBIs. Woo-hoo! Check out that tongue...

Down and ready in the field...

Here he is when he got on first base...

Love our #12...

Easter Weekend

Our Easter Weekend was so much fun even though we spent a lot of time in the car. This year we got to go down south for the West Family Reunion. There is always a reunion on Easter weekend, but we rarely get to go because of the fact that Easter usually falls before April 15th. So, because this year it came afterward, our whole clan decided to make their way south this year.

First, was the long drive down there. We broke it up by meeting up with Memaw, Poppa, Eric, April, Carter, Andrew and Mallory to spend the night near San Antonio on Thursday night. The next day, we traveled on down the road. At one pit stop, the grandkids decided it would be a really good idea for all five of them to ride with Memaw and Poppa. So, they did.

Looks quiet and very controlled to me. Do you think it was that way the whole ride? :-)

When we got to Corpus Christi on Friday and checked into our hotel, we immediately got our swim suits on and headed to the beach. The wind was awful, but we had been looking forward to the beach for so long, it didn't stop us.

We first put our feet in the water and it was a little chilly. Here is Jaden running away from the water because he thought it was a little too cold. But he eventually got used to it, as did the rest of us, and we had some fun. The other pic is Jaxon jumping over the waves.

After we had had enough wind, salt water, and sand, we headed inside to swim in the pool. Here are my guys looking cool in the pool.

Saturday morning Eric, April and Poppa decided to take all the kids to the USS Lexington. They apparently had a great time.

Then it was time for the family reunion. It was at Poppa's cousin's pasture by the creek. It was such a great place! They had set up a tent which made it nice to have shade.

Besides lots of food, family and fellowship, the day was complete with baseball games, an Easter egg hunt...

...and an egg toss...

You might not be able to tell from this pic, but Jason did catch the egg unbroken. Unfortunately, Jaden (on the left side of the pic) dropped his and he and his partner were out of the game.

Here is Uncle Jason being silly with Mallory -- as usual.

Since we don't get to go to the reunion very often, we had to take this pic of all of us to prove we were there.

I just liked these next two pics and thought I'd share...

Easter

So, Sunday was spent pretty much in the car. We got up and left Corpus early to head home. We made a stop in San Antonio for worship and lunch and then drove and drove and drove until we got home.

When we finally made it home, the boys were very glad to be able to roam and play in the backyard.

Walk for Fitness

The Thursday before we left for Corpus, Snyder Elementary had a Walk for Fitness and invited family members to walk with the kids. So, Jaxon and I went to the school to walk with Jaden. Most of the time, Jaden spent running with his friends, but Jaxon and I did get a little time to walk with him.

It's the Cheese!

About three weeks ago, Jaden had his program at school. Just like last year, he LOVED getting read for this show. He couldn't wait until the day they got to perform, and then when it was over, he said he missed practicing for it.

It was a really cute show! For many weeks, he had been singing us the songs at home. Therefore, Jason, Jaxon and I were all able to sing along with the kids on stage. :-)

The first part of the show was the "Farmer in the Dell" and he was the "child" in that song. He loved getting to be one of the "cast" members in the play.

He even had a speaking part and ate that up. He also knew everyone else's lines -- just in case he needed to step in and help. :-)

His friend and classmate Shelby (to the left of him) was the "cheese" and they had lots of fun with the play together.

Anyway, it was really cute. If Jaden had his way, they would get to do more than one play a year. But for now, we'll just have to savor the memory of "cheese"!

So, now you are officially caught up on the lives of these four Wests. If you made it this far in the reading, congratulations. I will try hard not to store up so much next time.

Are You Ready for Some BASEBALL?!

2011-04-05T22:07:00.003-05:00

This kid is!

Jaxon started baseball practice yesterday and was VERY excited! I mean VERY. Don't know how many times I heard, "Mom, how much longer 'til 5:30?" or "Mom, is it 5:30 yet?" Baseball attire is not an unusual day's wear in his wardrobe, but the past two days as he has gotten dressed every morning he tells me he needs to wear his baseball clothes so he'll be ready for practice.

He's playing coach pitch this year and has told me both days that practice was really fun. Can't wait to see what he thinks about the games. Here he is hitting today for the first time. He did a great job!

And here he is after asking his coach if he could play first base for a while.

I'm so excited for him! I KNOW he is going to do an excellent job, and I'm not just saying that 'cause I'm his Mom. :-) Ok. Maybe I am.

Baseball Season is Here!

2011-03-31T22:21:00.000-05:00

And the West household is very excited about that! We've already played two games and have two wins! Woo-hoo! This year we are the Rangers and Jaden has veered from his usual number of 23. He decided since we were the Rangers, he needed to have Josh Hamilton's number -- 32.

Here are a few pictures of the first game. Playing first base...

All smiles 'cause the season has started...

Ready to run...

High-fivin' the coach (a.k.a. Dad)...

On the move..

The Rangers No. 1 fan...

I'm sure there will be more to come about baseball, so stay tuned. Jaxon starts practice next week.

A Special Day

2011-03-29T12:30:00.003-05:00

March 29, 1991 -- That's when it all began.

Dinner. Movie. Nervousness. Conversation. Jitters. Smiles. The beginning of a love that will last a lifetime.

After asking several times, I finally said "yes" to a date. I don't even remember the reasons why I said "no" at times -- but I'm glad he was persistent. Really glad!

Today is the 20th anniversary of our first date. And that first date was definitely something to remember! Not only because we had a great time, but he also happened to be an hour late. He never said, but I have an inkling he was a little worried I might not still be there. But I was.

The culprit of his lateness: baseball practice. It was my first encounter with a guy and baseball practice. Needless to say it was not my last. Who knew 20 years later baseball practice would still be running late? :-)

He still had time to feed me that night. We went to Gardski's Loft. Oh, how I miss that place. Not only because it was the site of our first date, but we had many more dates there -- plus we went there on the night we got engaged. Besides that, they had the best cheesesticks ever!

Then we went to the historic Paramount Theater in downtown Abilene to see "E.T." I don't think we've seen that movie in 20 years. Maybe we should sometime.

I still remember the nervous feeling I had that comes with a first date. But we were already friends, so it was a great night. It must have been. I said "yes" again and again and again and again.

A lot has happened in 20 years. God has blessed us richly in so many ways! But the greatest blessing is that he gave us each other to share our lives with.

I thank God every day for us.

Spring Break

2011-03-27T16:22:00.001-05:00

I guess I should have posted this already. But I was busy helping with the school book fair last week, so now I'm behind...again...oh, well. It happens.

Spring Break for us was just that -- a break. (Except for Jason, of course. No breaks allowed for him until April 18 this year.) We didn't really have any plans this year. Well, we did. But then someone decided to have baseball practice so those plans got changed. It was o.k. though. It was kind of nice to stay home for most of it and just "hang" at the house.

The boys got to play a lot together. I got to play a lot with them. We did a little work outside since the weather was so nice. The boys wanted to earn a little money for the book fair so they helped me pull weeds, rake leaves and help with a flower bed in the front yard.

And we have a new play place at our park that we spent some time at. Here are just a few pictures of us playing.

The first weekend of the break, the boys and I went to my sister's house in Olney. We had lots of fun hanging out with them. Here are three goofy guys with some really goofy hats.

Can you spell...?

2011-03-10T21:20:00.004-06:00

Several weeks ago, Jaden got first place in his class spelling bee. The top three in each class advanced to the first grade spelling bee. And today was the day.

He's been studying the list of words for weeks now. I've been helping him each morning as we eat breakfast together. He woke up this morning and said, "I can't believe the spelling bee is today, Mom. I'm a little nervous."

He did GREAT though! There were 32 participants. He made it through seven rounds, spelling first, second and third grade words. (By the way, it was also hat day at school.)

After there were just five spellers left, they started pulling out words that these kids had not studied. So, on the seventh round he got a word that was not on the study list: makeshift. And he got it correct! Woo-hoo!

There were four kids left in the eighth round and he got another word not on the study list: opal. He thought for a minute and then said "o-p-a-l-e." Oops! Hey, I thought he did great for not having even studied that word! I'm thankful that he wasn't upset that he missed it. I think he was pretty proud of himself for what he had accomplished. And we are, too!

Some "congrats" from little brother after the bee.

Way to go, Jaden!

Jaxon Can Do It!

2011-02-22T21:42:00.000-06:00

I have some impressive news about something Jaxon accomplished this week.

Apparently, for the last few weeks he's been quietly observing how we tie things. And Sunday, he came out of the bathroom and proudly proclaimed, "Mom, I tied my pants all by myself." I said, "You did not." He said, "Yes, I did! See." And he proceeded to lift up his shirt to show me his pants were tied in a bow. He said, "I saw how Dad tied my shoes this morning, and I just did it."

He's been wanting to tie things for a while now. And he learned it in his own way -- the Jaxon way: quietly observing and trying until he got it right ALL BY HIMSELF.

Wow! I am so impressed! Maybe I shouldn't be. Maybe most 5 year olds can tie things. I don't know. But I only worked with him a little bit several weeks ago. The rest he did by himself.

Here's a picture this morning after he got dressed. He specifically asked for pants that tie.

I might mention that it's time for new tennis shoes. He's always had velcro shoes but this morning he asked if we could find some that tied. That's our amazing little Jaxon! :-)

Big Bug's Bad Day

2011-02-20T14:29:00.000-06:00

Destination Imagination. Have you ever heard of that? I hadn't until this year when Jaden got involved. It's a really neat program where kids are challenged to do problem-solving, learn teamwork and express their creativity. As a G/T student at Snyder Elementary, he got the opportunity to participate in DI this year. It was his (and our) first taste of an after-school extracurricular activity.

It was hard work and he was part of a team of five first and second graders that got to write their own play, make their own costumes and act out the play at DI competition yesterday in Lubbock.

I know what you're thinking: right up Jaden's alley! And you're so right! He had so much fun doing this and ate it up.

He got the privilege of playing the "big bug" in the play. He was so excited the day he came home and told us that he got to be the big bug. And, that he got to be a praying mantis which was his idea. Not sure how he came up with that particular bug, but he said he just thought it was a cool and different kind of a bug.

So, like I said earlier, not only did the kids have to write their own play as a team, but they also had to make their own costumes. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we'd ever have to come up with a praying mantis costume -- and oddly enough, there actually WERE examples on the Internet to look at. I guess it's true that you can find anything on the Internet. :-)

Anyway, Jaden had some good ideas about what he wanted. Except for cutting out the holes in his mask and stapling his wings onto the belt, he did it all.

The storyline -- the praying mantis was sad because no one would play with him. All the other bugs were afraid he was going to eat them.

Here is our sad big bug...

Here are the other bugs playing while he sadly watches...

Notice the backdrop -- the kids had to draw and paint that as well.

The wasp, however, was NOT afraid of him and went over to talk to him...

The praying mantis told him that he was a vegetarian -- he was different and didn't eat other bugs. So, they all became friends.

Here is the group after they had finished the competition.

And here is Jaden with his DI medal that he received for competing.

He had so much fun! Unfortunately, Jason did not get to go with us yesterday, but when we got home Jaden could not stop talking about the whole day to his Dad. You could tell he was very excited and had so much fun with the whole thing! Way to go, Jaden! We are proud of you!

The season is over.

2011-02-05T22:03:00.000-06:00

Yes, that's right. We just finished our basketball season today. No, you didn't miss any earlier posts about it, because there weren't any. Hmmm...

Anyway, this was Jaden's first year to play on a basketball team. He was on the black and gold Tigers -- which actually worked out great for our wardrobes. We easily had clothes we could wear to support that team. :-)

He had a good season. He did very well, of course! He made lots of points, although I couldn't tell you exactly how many. There was one game where he scored half the points -- of course the final score of that game was 4-6, I think.

Here are a few pictures I took. Unfortunately, the lighting of the gym was not good and my camera didn't take very good pictures in there. But, I still took some (of course) and I'm still gonna share.

Looking serious...

Getting instructions from the coach...

BIG smile after he made a shot...

He played point guard a lot...

Jason was the assistant coach so here he is talking to Jaden at halftime of one game...

The medal he received today at closing ceremonies...

It was fun. It's over. Now -- are you ready for some baseball?! 'Cause we are!

A New Smile

2011-01-27T08:28:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to show you what Jaden's smile has looked like for the past week or so. I can't believe how much this has changed his appearance. He's growing up...a little too fast for me. :-)

The Birthday Party

2011-01-23T17:12:00.000-06:00

Jaxon got to have his first "friend" birthday party this year. He was SO excited! He could hardly wait for his friends and cousins to arrive!

The theme: Sports! That's what he wanted. And all he asked for was a chocolate cake with a basketball candle, football candle, baseball candle and soccer ball candle on it. So, I thought it was great when I found these candles at the party store. Score!

Here are his crazy friends and cousins waiting to eat cake and ice cream!

Luckily it was a nice day so we got to play outside. We played lots of games. Here they are trying to see which team can get the most balls into the bucket.

This was a soccer shoot out. Each one had to kick the ball from the base into the goal.

And, then there was sliding and LOTS of running and playing in the backyard.

It was a fun day and I still can't believe my baby is FIVE!

Jaxon is 5!

2011-01-13T22:12:00.000-06:00

Five years ago today, we were blessed with Jaxon Ryan West.

FIVE years! Wow! That's really hard to believe!

He's such a sweet boy. He's caring. He's loving. He still gives the best hugs. He's silly. He likes to get his back scratched. He loves to play games. He sings when he thinks no one is listening. He loves his big brother. He can't wait to start school. He likes to play outside. He is a great soccer player. He loves to draw and color. He likes to be read to. He likes to play with Legos.

Isn't this the best smile?! (and he loves to have cRaZy hair)

And he is an all around cRaZy KiD!

Today we had a special day just chillin' at home and playing games and watching movies. Unfortunately, Jaden was sick today so when Pawpaw, Nana and Granny came over to take Jaxon to supper, we ended up getting Jaxon's birthday supper from McDonald's (birthday boy's choice, of course) and bringing it home.

Then, we had "cake." Well, kind of. Jaxon requested oreos for his birthday dessert, so I made...or arranged...or stacked...oreos and then stuck five candles in them for him to blow out. He thought it was cool. :-)

Then, of course, there were presents. A Play-doh game (which is lots of fun, by the way), a new Texas Rangers hat, Crayola Presto Dots, and more Legos! Woo-hoo!

After Granny, Nana and Pawpaw left, we broke out the new Play-doh game. Thanks to them for making Jaxon's day so special by driving over!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy! We love you!

Roberts Family Christmas

2011-01-07T08:26:00.000-06:00

So, one more Christmas post, I think. After we got back from Ruidoso, we stopped in Snyder, did laundry, and headed to Abilene to have Christmas with my family.

We all got to be together for several hours on Christmas Eve. It's always fun to get together with family. Lots of eating, playing games and opening presents is what we do.

These three silly boys were playing in the floor...

Then someone thought Keaton might wanted to be added to the mix, but he doesn't look too thrilled to me...

Sweet Keaton looks much more comfortable here. What cute boys we have, huh?!

Here are the three girls in our matching shirts...

Granny with Jaxon, Keaton, Jaden and Cody...

And I just thought this was a sweet picture of my brother and Keaton. He's already following in the "Great Dads" tradition of our family. Love you, bro!

And, of course, there were LOTS of presents to open. We got that done in no more than 10 minutes. Whew! Then we got to play, play, play!

Hope everyone had as great a holiday as we did with family and friends!

Love to all!

West Family Christmas

2011-01-06T21:31:00.002-06:00

Ok, so now that things have settled down a bit and all the Christmas stuff is put away and my house is back in order (almost) -- then let's talk about Christmas!

Jason's parents -- Memaw and Poppa -- took us all on a trip to Ruidoso, N.M., the week before Christmas. It was great and we had so much fun! They rented a condo that had room for all of us and the worst part about the whole trip was that the condo was four levels which meant THREE flights of stairs. Oh my! But it was great because there was room for everyone and all of the stuff we took.

We took a small Christmas tree and spent Sunday gathering pine cones, adding glitter and string and making some ornaments for the tree. These guys took sticks and string and created their own ornaments.

Then we strung fruit loops...

And here's the five kids in front of our finished tree...

Of course, if you know this family, you know there were LOTS of games being played the whole week.

Eric, Mallory and Poppa playing Hungry, Hungry Hippos...

Eric, Jaxon, Carter, Jaden, Jason and Andrew playing Wahoo...

Monday we made gingerbread houses. Each kid got to make their own house. I've actually never made a gingerbread house before, so it was fun and good to start small. :-)

The weather was not cold and snowy like we had kind of hoped. So, instead of playing in the snow, we went to ride the go-karts and play miniature golf.

This was one team and I just wanted to point out how all four boys are watching the pro so intently...

In this photo, Jaxon had just made a hole-in-one and Jaden was hoping to follow...

Tuesday was spent with April and I shopping, a lot of Wii playing, and just staying around the condo.

Wednesday, we got to go play in the snow. It was a lot less snow than what we expected but it was still snow and it was still fun!

Here are the kids ready to go..

Jaden thought Mallory needed some antlers...

Here we are getting ready to go tubing. We had LOTS of warm clothes to put on, but the temperature was so nice that we didn't wear most of them.

Here we are going up the "magic carpet" to the top of the mountain with our tube. The first ride down was the four of us on this yellow tube. It was so fun!

Here are Carter and Jaden right after they rode down one run together...

Here are Jason, Mallory (who you can't see in this pic), Eric, Jaxon and Andrew going down one run...

And here are eight of us about to tube down the big hill all hooked together.

I think this is what Mallory and Poppa did most of the time the rest of us were tubing down the mountain...

These two did actually go and here's a picture to prove it!

We had a great time. Thanks Memaw and Poppa for a fun trip!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T00:01:00.002-06:00

We hope you all have a blessed and wonderful 2011!

Christmas Recital

2010-12-29T21:59:00.000-06:00

Jaden had his first Christmas piano recital on December 18. He has been taking lessons since February of this year. And he seems to really enjoy it. He did an awesome job at his recital -- AWESOME!

He's gone from [this] just starting out in February...to this:

He was very proud of himself, and I must say...I, personally, was also beaming with pride. His next piano project is to learn 4-6 songs by memory to be ready for guild in April some time. And, of course, I'll blog about that when it's time.

Way to go, Jaden. We are so proud of you!