More Boy Fun with Our Kayak!

I made my mom's famous lasagna last night! It was so good. I can't wait to have it again tonight mainly because I don't have to cook! I'll post the recipe sometime but I usually just wing it and call my mom about a dozen times for tips! It's so fun to call my mom for help with cooking!

The boys love to go to Cedar Hill State Park. We are so glad to have it 5 minutes away from our house! We usually go as a family but sometimes Dave blesses me with an hour to myself and takes the boys! Here is our most recent family trip.

Dave's big find on Craigslist, a cool kayak!

Does anyone else edit their posts 6 times? I always want to change something.

Landon is FOUR!

Our precious Landon turned four today. He was so excited! This was by far the best day to see him have a birthday. He really knew what this day meant! We had 5 little 3-4 year old boys over to swim and Audrey, his one girl friend that he had to have over for his birthday. I can't believe Landon is 4. He is so smart like his dad. I love how when he plays sometimes he will sing "Oh, how I love Jesus." It is his favorite song. He likes to play his guitar and have me sing and Logan clap. He has the sweetest most sensitive spirit. He gets upset if he hurts someones feelings. My love for him grows more each day and I had no idea it could get bigger than the day we brought him home from the hospital on September 22nd 2003.

Landon's Swim Party

Landon's Birthday cake. I decorated it with frogs and bugs to match the theme.

Singing to Landon at Wycliffe!

Snakes Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

You'll never guess what we saw outside by the street this morning!
A Snake! Thankfully run over by a car and not alive.

Then on our walk around the block Dave yelled "Strawberry! I mean Spider!" I heard the tone in his voice on the word Strawberry and jumped a mile high barely missing the huge black tarantula!

Later in our bathroom we found a gecko. All three bugs thrilled all three boys in our household! I was not so excited!

Happy Birthday Lori!

hey guys, its carleigh here.

just wanted to write a quick blurb about my good friend lori. lori and i met at DBU when she moved onto my hall as a freshman (i was her r.a.). it was one of those instances where i knew immediately that i liked her and that we would be friends. we hung out a lot, and became friends quickly. she is one of the few people that i still keep up with, and still bears the title of best friend. she is very loyal and kind, and has taught me a lot about what it means to be a true friend. even when i moved away to mcallen, she still made it a priority to call and email, and keep our relationship moving. now that i'm back, she offers to take the kids, and helps out in lots of ways. and she is teaching me some of her handy dandy money saving tips. so, in honor of her birthday (i think she is 28, but it may be 27. oops, maybe i'm not as good of a friend back!), please leave a message and let lori know how much you love her, and what a good friend she is!!
i wish that i could put a picture of us together during our college days, but i don't have a scanner- lori, if you have one, you could post one!! thanks!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORI!! I LOVE YOU!!

love, carleigh

Hush Little Baby... or Boy!

I got a great pic of Landon sleeping that I had to share! This was right before he buzzed off his bangs with daddy! Isn't it great to watch your children sleep? You get this sense of accomplishment. I know I was thinking, I put my child to sleep now I can conquer the world or just get a few minutes of peace and quiet!
I have cut out Dr.Pepper in my diet. I have gone four days without one! I have had a little tea but mainly bottled water with Crystal light pouches poured into it. Seriously I think I have had more energy to chase the kids around! It's been great!

Daddy's In Charge for the day!

When daddy watches the kids, I have a rule and it is "what happens with daddy stays with daddy." Meaning that I am so thankful that my sweet hubby will watch the kids for me that I don't ask what went on. I figured that if I get onto Dave about something he might not offer to watch the kids again for a long time (or something to that effect). So I just say thanks so much sweetie and I'll take over from here.
Well sometimes the facts of what happens while mommy is gone is revealed. Especially if big brother Landon was left in the back seat of the truck with the hair clippers!
I wish I had taken a pic but I did not.
Here's the story. My dad and husband were taking the kids out to play at Houston's First Baptist in the play area. My dad needed to fix the battery in his hair clippers so he took a detour by his work. My dad makes battery packs, isn't his job cool? He fixed the battery and threw it in the back seat with the boys. On the way to church Landon got a hold of it and thought it would be cool to bug a patch out of his BANGS! Not the back or the side but is beautiful blond bangs! My mom and I went on an early birthday shopping trip and when we returned we saw the missing PATCH!
I had to take Landon in to Cool Cuts to get it "mended" and they ended up having to give him an army buzz to make it look good. So the moral of the story is that sometimes, what happens with daddy is found out and laughed about in good humor!

What's Going On This Week!

My husband has an insane soccer schedule and he leaves the house at 6:30 am and gets home at 7:30 or 8:00pm. It is really hard but God is getting us through it and surprising us with blessings and His super amazing love.

One blessing he has given us is a family down the street with two babysitting age girls! One is 12 and one is 8. The 8 year old has really helped us out this week. She has played with Landon and Logan while I cleaned the kitchen and cooked dinner twice! It's really hard to get motivated to cook when your husband is not home to eat with you! I really just want to go to Chick-Fil-A every night. (Especially because the local Cedar Hill magazine has a coupon for a free Chicken sandwich. Did I mention I picked up three magazines? The sandwiches are so good!)

I am beginning to realize that God has placed us in a wonderful neighborhood. We are less than a mile away from Wycliffe Bible Translators. Recently I have met two different neighbors that work for them. One of the neighbors has chickens and I get to take the boys down for a field trip to pick eggs. The boys are so excited to see the chickens and the eggs are so fresh! Better than organic, in my opinion!

I changed The Bargain Shopper Lady web site into a blog form. I went to this great group this week called The Joy Of Connecting to get some fundraising ideas for Enjoy The City. One of the ladies thought it would be a good idea for sharing bargains. Louise had the coolest product called Barefoot Sandals. You have to check them out, they are featured on The Bargain Shopper Lady!

Tomorrow is the first MOPS meeting for our area and it is going to be too much fun!

We are taking the kids on a trip to Houston this weekend so my mom and I can go to a special baby shower!

Check out Carleigh's blog to see updates on her son who we call Hurricane McClure. (He's going to play football, I am sure of it.) Also her sister is going to be on The Family Feud next week so make sure to watch starting at noon!

What I Got Free at CVS today!

Landon posing with the loot!

Coupons Rock! Check this out~ My total was $90. I spent $15 and got $9 in Extrabucks. The register was also supposed to give me $15 in Extrabucks as well, so the manager just gave me $15 cash. So I got my $15 back! WHO HOO! I have been eyeing this Igloo cooler for a long time! It will be great for cookouts with friends!