First Day of School!!

It’s hard to believe that the first week of school is already behind us!! McKenna was excited and nervous to start her year in 1st grade.  Once she walked into her class her worries were gone, sitting at her table were 3 of her friends from kindergarten (the teacher will most likely be moving them all soon).  She had a fabulous first day and is heading into this year eager to learn new things.  As for Chance, his first day in his new room at pre-school didn’t go so smooth.  As a matter of fact he cried most of the day.  As the week went on, his crying got a bit better.  He tells us each night he wants to go back to school, but still cries each am when daddy drops him off.  Here are a few photos of our first day of school. 

Summer is coming a SAD close!!

It is SO hard to believe that summer is ending.  It seems like when it all begins that we have all the time in the world.  10 weeks is a long time to most right??  Not us!!  Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t always pleasant with a 6 and 2 year old, but for the most part it was a BLAST.  They are able to play together (most of the time) and do so nicely…..

With the start of a new school year, comes schedules and alarm clocks, homework and stress.  All of which are not present during the summer.  I love schedules, but when I am the one making it…..McKenna will be in 1st grade this year, so hard to believe.  She is excited and apprehensive about starting a new year.  She has informed me that she “doesn’t care for new things”, so she would rather stay in kinder for another year…too bad it doesn’t work that way!  She is ready, I know she will have a great time in school!! 

Now that school is here I find myself counting down until the next holiday or summer time….Not that I don’t enjoy my job, it just gives me something to look forward to!!  I feel at times that my kids and their childhoods are slipping away from me and I think sometimes summer allows me to take it all in and enjoy the moment, even if its just for a short time!!!

Testing, Testing…1,2,3

This is Moncrief testing Kaci’s Live Writer!

 

Trying to Find the Blessing?

I have SO many blessings in MY life, I should NEVER complain! However, my dad was diagnosed last week with Parkinson's Disease and this has devastated me. I can remember as a young child thinking my dad was invincible, I actually still find some truth to this. As I have gotten older I still live in the fantasy that my parents are going to be healthy forever. I can't ever imagine my life without my daddy, he has been my hero my whole life. I know what you are thinking, Parkinson's doesn't kill you, I know that, but it sure does change your life forever. My dad has been a coach for 43 years and that is what keeps him young and active. He doesn't get around as quickly as he did in the past, but it is what keeps him going each and every day (besides my kids). I find myself sitting around feeling sorry for myself, as if I am the one with the diagnosis. I am not quite sure how to take all of this in. He has started on meds and is optimistic, but I still need some convincing. I am trying to find the "silver lining" in all of this, easier said then done. I do believe everything happens for a reason, just trying to take it all in and digest what is happening here! My blessing is my daddy and I guess for now I need to take one day at a time and enjoy every single moment I can with him!!! My wish for him is for him to not suffer through this, but to continue living and loving life as it comes his way!!! And in the meantime, I need to do the same as I continue to find the blessing in this!!

Padre 2009!!!

We just got home from our FUN trip to South Padre Island!! The weather was fabulous and we were sad to head back to reality. The kids had a ball catching the waves and making sand castles everyday (of course Chance's favorite part was knocking them down). We enjoyed delicious seafood and ice cream almost daily. This will now be a yearly event as we make memories with our children! Notice, I am in very few pics b/c I was always behind the camera!! That was sadly our last vacation of the summer...oh well, until next time!!! Enjoy the photos!!

Family Trip To Oregon!

We were in Oregon last week visiting ALL of Paul's family. What a whirlwind of a week it was. My kiddos were in heaven with all of there cousins to entertain them. This trip was a very important since we received the news about Pauls sister and her cancer spreading. We tried to take it all in and enjoy our time with her. The weather was fantastic, cold at times, I think we spent each day in a sweater. This was the first time since Peter and Julies wedding that the entire family was together, and that was 4 years ago. Here are a few photos from our trip!!
Draft 2......I went to download the photos for my blog and they are gone, yes folks you heard me right, GONE!! 50-60 photos have vanished from my laptop. I can't tell you how many tears have come from this. There were photos of my kids with Paul's sick sister, my kids with my mother in law, first plane ride of Chance, etc, etc.....I guess the silver lining is that the photos we took of all the grandchildren and Paul's siblings were also taken from others! The entire trip through my eyes are gone. I have Julie and Maiko's photos, but as you know it isn't the same. We even had our neighbor and good friend down here, he works with computers, and he couldn't locate them either.
Lesson learned....Don't delete photos from the card until you are SURE they are downloaded.....It was still a super fun trip filled with great memories for our entire family, however, my downloading days are over for now!!!!

10 Years Already??

Today marks my 10 year anniversary. Where has the time gone? I remember the day Paul asked me to marry him like it was yesterday. It wasn't too romantic, but it was sweet and thoughtful. A year later we walked down the isle and made promises to each other that we would support and love one another for eternity. I will say for the most part we have done that. By no means are we perfect, but I feel we do have a strong marriage. Paul is my calm and my sense of normalcy. He is my biggest supporter and the BEST daddy any child could wish for. I am blessed to have found someone that tolerates all my imperfections and loves me in spite of them (and there are A LOT). Happy Anniversay Babe, I love you more today then I did 10 years ago!

Terry Fator~AMAZING!!!!!

Just got home from Vegas and saw the most amazing show. I didn't watch America's Got Talent, but that is exactly where Terry Fator was found. He is absolutely breathtaking! I went into this show with no expectations, and came out a HUGE fan! For those of you that don't know him, he is a ventriloquist, singer, and comedian....hilarious! His puppets include Winston the turtle, a stoner, a cowboy, a cougar (the kind of women that like younger men), my favorite, Maynard ( not exactly sure what he is, but he does a mean act of Elvis and he's awkwardly cute). Anyway..Here are a few clips that I took of the show....This will NOT do him justice! He is truly amazing and I am thrilled that he was finally discovered! His show is at the Mirage, and its worth seeing if you make it to Vegas!! Enjoy!! He also has a book I can't wait to read...Maybe I should start a fan club...haha!
Oh and did I mention that I won $350 when I was there? That was the icing on the cake!!

Birthday parties, demolition and recitals!!

We celebrated McKenna's 6th birthday with a bounce house in our backyard. All the kids has so much fun, what a fabulous way to start the summer. However before the party started Paul was upstairs filling water balloons when we started noticing water coming from my vent in the kitchen. Paul opened the vent and water was pouring out of it....What great timing huh? We had buckets and towels all over the kitchen to catch the water that dripping. Many apologies to all the guests the water dried by the time the party was over. We had contractors and insurance people at our home bright and early on Monday morning to find out it was only a seal that was broken and when he was filling up balloons the water got behind the seal and down the pipes it came! We had a week of fans drying the water, ceiling cut out being put back together, but it looks just like nothing happened. Thank goodness Paul is in the insurance business b/c they responded like we were the President and First Lady, haha!

We also had Field Day for McKenna, end of year parties and saying goodbye to another school year, we have been busy. This past Saturday we had her ballet/tap recital. It was of course precious and she had a lot of fun. My entire family, Sandy and Beth came to watch her performance (thanks again Beth, it meant a lot to have you there). I am about to pack for Vegas and head out in the morning, so looking forward to hanging with my mom Vegas style! Enjoy the pictures!!

Happy 6th Birthday Bugs!!

It is hard to believe that my sweet McKenna is now 6 years old. I can remember like it was yesterday finding out I was having a girl then I couldn't seem to wait to kiss her, dress her up and watch her grow into a beautiful young lady. Here I am six years later, and we have done just that. I am lucky to be McKenna's mommy. She is full of love, curiosity and she looks at life in such a magnificent way. She sees the good in people (just like her daddy), she is a girly-girl, but is fascinated with bugs and finding them in our garden. The patience she has with her brother is tremendous. When he gets upset, she reminds to "stay calm and use his words", she really loves him. She is about to complete kindergarten. When she entered kinder she knew her letters and a few words, now she is reading as she would like to say on a 2nd grade "plus" reading level. I would love to stop time and keep her this age forever, but as we all know they must grow up. I hope her passion she has for people continues as she goes through life. Happy Birthday bugs, mommy loves you SO very much!!

Busy Times!

Just realized I haven't blogged in a few weeks....busy times!! Last weekend which was Mother's Day, was perfect! On Saturday my mom and I went to lunch then I took her to see RENT. I saw it on Broadway so I was a bit nervous that it wouldn't live up to the expectation...It was just as good. I had to be on my best behavior b/c I was with my mom (and she is new to the RENT experience). I found myself wanting to stand in my seat and sing every single song!! It was fabulous...Not convinced my mom loved it, but at least she can say she has seen it right? On Sunday we went to lunch, then I came home and took a nap, can't remember the last time I got to sneak one of those in! That evening I went with my girlfriend Joy to see the Mathew M. movie, we ate popcorn and pretended we didn't have kids at home with their daddies! It was fun to get away. This weekend I have a hair appointment (long overdue to see James), a 5K on Saturday then my girlfriend Beth is graduating with her masters so we are celebrating with her....The time is flying by and we only have 15 days of school left. I am not counting or anything. Looking forward to a fun summer with the kids!!

What kind of mother??

What kind of mother allows her kids to eat lunch in the bathtub?? The one that was confined to the master bedroom b/c the housekeepers were cleaning.....Paul went and got McDonald's for them while we were waiting for the hardwoods to dry. When he got back, hardwoods were still wet and cleaning was still happening....the kids came up with the brilliant idea to eat in the bathtub, that is sanitary right? It had just been cleaned!! Here is a photo of the exciting event....Now they want to know if they can eat dinner in there too?? What have I done??????????

Easter Bunny!!

The Easter bunny came to our home early this year. I could hear something rustling around on the patio and asked Paul to investigate. He went and got a stick (real brave huh?). He moved the stick and out jumped a tiny bunny. The kids came over to see it and Chance said in the sweetest voice, "the Easter bunny"!! He could not contain his excitement. Of course the bunny looked up and saw 2 small children peering at it and was probably wondering what in the hell are they going to do to me? He ran away rather quickly, but the kids were able to watch him under the bushes, guess his hiding place wasn't really that clever. They even fed him a carrot, not sure if that ever got eaten or if its rotting in the backyard. The pics are of them looking at the "Easter" bunny!!

Family Time!!!

Garrett, Trent, Finley, McKenna and Chance eating St. Patty's Day cupcakes, you've got to love the green icing!

Tired of saying "CHEESE"!! It's hard getting a cute picture of 5 kiddos!!!!!!!!!!!!

My sister, her husband and kids are in town from Arizona. They all came over for dinner, here are a few pics from the night!

Busy Times!!!

Just realized I haven't blogged in a while. It has been a busy month, but when I think of what we have done, it doesn't seem like we have been up to much at all. A few weeks ago we went to see Elmo, what an adventure. You never know how a 23 month old is going to take to having to sit in a chair and watch an hour and a half show....We were pleasantly surprised. He did terrific, he sang along, danced and had a grin from ear to ear the entire time, so it was well worth it. Each day we are amazed at how Chance is progressing, he is talking ALL the time and putting sentences together. He can say almost the entire alphabet and he counts to 11. On the other hand he is in to everything. He climbs, gets hurt and gets right back up and does it again, sounds just like a boy huh??

As for McKenna she is such a joy to watch grow up. She is reading on a 2nd grade reading level in kindergarten. She loves to write and draw. She is SO kind and gentle, especially with her little brother. She teaches him new things each day. He is lucky to have her as his big sister.

Spring break is here for all of us and it couldn't have come at a better time. As we are starting our week off, we are thrilled to be able to sleep in (if Chance lets us). I am taking McKenna to see Disney on Ice with a friend, hang out with cousins that are in from Arizona and hoping to get a little spring cleaning started. This is one of my favorite times of year...Weather changes, birthday parties for both kiddos, and the light at the end of the tunnel for the school year to be over......

No rest for the Weary!!!!!

With the Spring comes storms along with 2 small children. We had to bring McKenna downstairs b/c we had the tornado sirens going off, so she was in our bed for the night. As the storms continued it woke Chance up and he couldn't go back to sleep either......So before the night was over, both kids were in our bed with little room for us. We have a king size bed, but we also have kids that squirm all over, so we were pushed to the side....The things we do for our children. These photos were taken the next morning. We were up bright and early to get ready for the day and they were peacefully snoozing!!!! We were tired, but we both agreed they looked SO darn sweet!!!

The Year of the Ox

As the 2008 Chinese Lunar Calendar is coming to a close and we begin the year of the Ox, I have a lot to be thankful for. Each year we have our closest friends over for a feast made homemade eggrolls, fried rice and red envelopes. It is a time to reflect on the previous year and look forward to what lies ahead. I am not quite sure that an American drinking game is part of the New Year, but who said we can't have traditions of our own. What is a party without a little alcohol, even if it was on a Sunday night. This is one of my favorite get togethers each year. The list continues to grow as each of our families are growing. Happy New Year, can't wait to see what the Year of the Ox will bring for my family and friends.

This picture is of Chance 21 months and Emerson 6 months. I think they are the exact same size even though their is a 15 month difference in age...... Aren't they precious!!!!!

One of MY Proudest Moments

On Friday I had the privilege of being a part of MY dad being inducted into the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame. It took part in Waco. When he got the phone call in late October to explain that he was being inducted, I was proud, but to see him behind the podium, I was speechless. My father does not like to be the center of attention, but his speech was SO heartfelt. My brother and I both sat there so proud thinking to ourselves, "that is our DAD". Getting inducted into the hall of fame is not something that happens to many people. My dad has been coaching/teaching for 43 years. If anyone deserves this amazing honor it is him. He had so many family members and old players come, it was a true testament of his hard work and dedication and I am proud to have him as MY DAD. I will post pictures later.