Photo club?

Today was a blast! I had Jenny and Jessica over and the kids all played together and we chatted for hours!  It's so exciting to establish friendships with people. In Utah it took me forever, so I'm thankful that I don't have to wait that long here.

We are going to get together again Friday. Perhaps we could start a photo club or something, that would be fun! We all have something different to bring to the table. It's great!

The top photo is Jenny, and this is Jessica (pronounced Yesika), She is from Holland, isn't that weird? LOL seriously someone has to get that joke!

While Jessica was busy doing some funky plastic surgery on my picture, I was making her gorgeous! There are more, but I just had to put the pen down before it got too late, so I will post the rest tomorrow...maybe, LOL.

And this is a picture I took of Charly before church on Sunday. I love this photo of her! After looking at this one Nate got out her baby album. I got choked up just thinking about her as a little baby and the little girl she is growing up to be. We just love this girl so much!

Charly's Kindergarden picture.....drumroll please

These are the two Nate and I liked the best from our little mini shoot the other day. I wanted to do a collage but I really just like this first one too much to put it with others. I thought it was perfect just by itself.  I still can't believe how much she has changed this year, Charly is growing up way too fast! 

Oh and grandparents, don't worry about printing these, I'm going to send them to you.

Cars, video games and BB guns

Mom, I can see you cringing  from here about the gun!  Yes it is true Nate was shooting empty yogurt canisters in the back yard with a BB gun and Charly was with him. Although Charly was a bit timid around them. She didn't want to shoot it, which is definitely fine by me!

I should mention that while Nate and Charly were doing target practice, Piper was munching up the cat food on the porch. Ewww! She really did eat some, gross little stinker!

Last week we headed over to Jenny's house and her kids introduced Charly into video games while Jenny and I chatted up photography. I mentioned that Nate had some packed away and perhaps he would let her play when we got home.

It's nice to know that video games that haven't been played since Nate and I got married finally got some good use. I have been trying to urge Nate to "let go" of the games for years.  Looks like maybe this will make it harder to give them up.

Charly and Nate played Mario and *gasp* Mortal Kombat for a few minutes. (Nate wants me to mention that she didn't play....as if THAT makes it better, LOL).

There has been a lot of change at our house these days and it is surfacing in Charly and Piper and the way they play together. It's so exciting to watch them play together and imagine different things. Here they are driving cars. Piper has become Charly's "mini me". I love it!

Exchange for a date night

Here are some of the photos I took of Aubrey in exchange for a night out on the town with Nate...LOL, I hear the Honey Grove night life is pretty busy, we may be gone into the wee hours of the morning! Or if nothing else we could go out to dinner and be gone for 45 minutes. Hmmm are there any movies coming out that we would want to see?  Tough decisions....so much to do here *wink*

Can you see them?

Sometimes with homeschooling you just throw your hands up in the air and scream FUN DAY! Actually that happens quite a lot. Here Charly is with Seth (9) trying to be camouflage...I think it's working. You really can't blame Piper for wanting to be a part of the action!

At Beth's house the kids were busy being kids, it was great. Charly surprisingly let me paint her whole face, something she has never wanted to do. Of course she wanted it off ten minutes later after her face itched and she couldn't scratch it. Needless to say I didn't get the picture I wanted to, oh well.  

Beth was nice enough to read to the kids while I went outside with Aubrey (15) to take some pictures. She is amazing at reading books and captures their attention like you have never seen!

It was great to shoot someone other than my kids, although I was a teeny bit anxious to see if they would turn out OK. I always get nervous and my brain forgets what it knows and blah blah blah. Took a deep breath and shot away...I'm very happy with the way they turned out. I traded her a photo shoot for some babysitting. Yes I'm sneaky like that.

Shortly after coming back inside we had a cupcake treat from Dee Jordan, which were oh so yummy! It was nice to get to chat outside of church with a couple of sisters.  I still think we should have a Farkle night...hmmm, maybe I should coordinate one?

Tuesday while we were at the Brooks' house, the kids wanted to paint.... even Piper, who BTW fell off the chair twice and bonked her head. I think she still had fun though.

I should probably also note something of importance...I have a new friend *smiles*...Jenny from our ward lives right up the street from us, well about 7 miles maybe, she is into photography too. The other day we spent all day on photoshop together swapping tricks, it was great. There are so many great people in our ward, I only wish everyone lived closer! I think the boundaries cover the entire county. 

It's all about Charly

Funny thing about little towns....when you forget what you are doing, there is always someone who can remind you. There have been a few strange situations that have happened this week that cause me to have the feeling that I'm being watched. Weird huh?  Perhaps I'm being paranoid, but perhaps not.

This week Charly and I have been working on some "kindergarten" pictures for the family.  I decided that the least I could do since we aren't getting the typical school pictures done would be to take some of my own and weed out the ones we like to send to the family. Of course since Piper isn't in school, this is only something we are doing for Charly......she wanted me to make sure I mentioned that. Anyhow here are a couple that are done. I'm trying to organize them into a layout for an 11x14 so get those frames ready!

Monday's are starting to be my favorite!

Beautiful day outside today. I can smell autumn approaching. It's amazing!

After Nate got home today from work we were chatting about how much Piper has changed this summer. It is insane the amount of talking she does! She is literally Charly's shadow. When Charly has done wrong or is feeling sad, despite Charly's sassy attitude towards her, Piper is ALWAYS trying to give her love. 

The gap between the girls is closing at an steady pace and it's is exciting for us to watch them play and grow  together. I can't say that enough!

Tonight for FHE we made  a hand wreath and wrote on them all the things we can do with our hands that would be pleasing to eternal families. Most all of Charly's dealt with her sister. Piper of course had  only scribbles on hers. (We are putting a family pic in the middle)

Oh I almost forgot, while Nate was as work the girls and I sat down and we looked at albums and talked about when we got married and had Charly and then Piper. Charly was very excited when we got to her birth and she says she really misses nursing (in a very sad voice too) it was too precious. I told her we could cuddle more to make up for it, she agreed. Piper kept looking at her baby pictures and saying "eewwww" when she came across bath pictures. For the rest of the day she kept pointing at her tummy and saying "baby, baby".

After our activity and A Nephi Wedding cake, which tasted more like bread with frosting, we headed to a park we hadn't been to yet in Windom TX. Population 2 (OK maybe it's 200, maybe).  I'm not sure what it is about these small TX towns but every single park we have been to has a death slide! Seriously these slides have got to be at least 15 feet tall! So of course Piper sees them and immediately heads for them, and yet she isn't the biggest fan of swings....must not be dangerous enough. 

Long, successful day, back and home and ready for bed...Eh Um, did you notice Piper's shirt? Charly got her dressed and all day Piper kept pointing to her shirt and saying "Sha-lee Shert" and "Sha-lee pant".  

Piper fell asleep in Charly's bed while we were reading Indian in the Cubbard, which BTW is catching all of our attentions! It seems to be a great family read so far, Charly likes it when the indian talks the most.

This couldn't be any more off topic, but Nate and I are throwing the idea around of me going back to school. Something I would do for selfish reasons only, I'm not seeking a career outside of raising our kids. Now would be the time to go back if I was going to do it simply because of the girls ages. We are trying to get direction as to what we should do, because obviously going back to school would mean we would hold off on having another baby for another few years.  So the big question on my mind is go back to school or expand our family......hmmm....

Back to school

Today was officially the first day back to school for the Honey Grove folk. No big deal right? 

I completely feel confident in home schooling but for some reason today was a little jittery for me. I kept thinking, wow this is really it, we are definitely not putting our kids through public school. I was reflecting back on the summer and how it felt great to be teaching the girls at home. 

I guess my uneasiness is starting because now is the time Charly would officially have been enrolled in school, basically "point of no return". As I was pondering this thought for some time today I kept reassuring myself that I KNEW this was the right thing for our family.  Just to have confirmation is in itself enough reassurance, but I still have to remind myself that this CAN and SHOULD be done. 

So while the rest of HG was fussing over "what to wear", Charly, Piper and I were snug as a bug in bed. Charly and I got up at 8 and read for an hour while Piper slept. It was a chilly 72 degrees in the house so of course we read while cuddling with a blanket...*gasp*. We had breakfast and went on with activities to keep us busy, prepared for FHE, made a cake, made a sheet tent etc...

At about 2pm when I was craving some quiet time I noticed that the girls were playing together and I had a thought,  Piper and Charly will never get this time back to be with each other and then I started feeling all warm and fuzzy inside thinking of the sisters they are and potentially will be to one another. I thought how this kind of learning environment could never happen in a school setting. I thought about how wonderful it is for kids to be around children of all different ages to learn experiences from them. It already amazes me at how much Piper is picking up from Charly. Piper already knows what we do when its school time and she just makes herself blend right in, she does the crafts, listens to stories, says prayer, and yes, even makes messes with us.

I can't really describe it in words the feelings that overcame me while watching them imagine and create together, but I do know this, despite all the challenges that may come from jumping off the conveyor belt of education, I sure am grateful every day that we are  indeed taking this jump. Together.

Home schooling for me is recognizing the issues that really matter and focusing on them. This is a new journey for all of us and I must add that while today was kind of an "explosion in my brain" , I feel more reassured about our decisions than I ever have before. It's only when my believes are tested that they seem to get stronger. I am also realizing that I am stronger than I thought I was.

I am learning every day something new. Perhaps I too am tagging along with Charly and getting the education along the way that I crave, amazing how much your kids teach you when you are willing to be taught. 

Being in charge of our family is such a great thing for Nate and I. You'd be surprised at how empowering it is to research and make decisions for your kids based on your knowledge and not what others tell you to do.  Life is good!

My future son in law

I'd like you all to meet Caleb, Piper's future husband. Well OK, OK perhaps maybe not, I mean he is after all a whole year younger than she is.  

Piper and Caleb did not take five minutes to get familiar with each other once he arrived. Within a day they were wrestling in the pillow cage built by their two older sisters. The wrestling was quite funny! No joke, they would each go grab each other and with the most serious look on their faces too. Then they would not let go until one of them fell down. True story.  These kids were two peas in a very fun pod. Not only did Layla and Charly get along the WHOLE time, so did the little babies.

Look, he is already attached to the family dog as well.

Here is the whole gang, or shall we say future in-laws.

We had so much fun with these kids, ate a whole lot of beans, watermelon and ran off of very little sleep. Today after they left Charly, Piper and I stayed in our pj's all day and Piper, at 7, is already crashed out for the night. I hope to be there in an hour or so.

It is really nice to spend quality time with Sally, I love that we have so much to laugh about and so many great stories. Thank you guys for making the trip up here!! It was a blast!

An account of Sal and Ren and our destiny to fight death over and over again

WARNING....You should totally note that Sally and I are filled with dry humor and sarcasm. While we recognize the decisions we made were not always the smartest ones, we like to laugh at all of the crazy predicaments we got ourselves into....and lived to tell! This is an exert from our story. 

Also, for the grandparents, just scroll down until you see the lovely pictures of the girls. Completely disregard this fabricated story...someone hacked my computer.

The edited one.

(Me, Patty, Sally and Rochelle, this was taken before we (not Rochelle) rode in the back of a pick-up truck around the west side while Renee colored her eyes with markers and shouted nonsense to passing cars)

Sally It was the second semester of 1997, when I glanced around my new theatre arts class- I had no friends-and there I saw her....  In a tiny 4 year old sized Ninja Turtle t-shirt with a Tin lunchbox by her side.  She was the only other dork in the class (besides me of course)  so I immediately approached her and asked to take one of the empty seats beside her.  She looked up at me with a beaming smile and bushy eyebrows and accepted my request.

(What a weirdo)

What really happened.....(Renée talking now)

I was in the middle of Theatre arts class sitting next to a Senior boy with long hair who fancied me. *Sally STOP interrupting my version!* 

We were just chillaxin (which probably wasn't even a word in 1997) in the auditorium  listening to the crazy wench who threw Mr Rehms painting across the room say some ridiculous lines. That part is technically irrelevant to how we met, but for legal purposes it is thrown in. 

Anyways I was there being admired in my tie died polyester skirt and princess Laya hairdo by a gay suitor, yeah it was weird, named Michael when I spotted her walking down the isle towards me. She was wearing a dress, with a fancy little Jenifer Aniston "wannabe" haircut and cute shoes (my shoe obsession started earlier than I could afford). I remember thinking "Why in the **** is this girl wearing a dress and what is she doing in our ghetto school with clothes like that, OH UH! Now should probably be a good time to mention that I used to cuss.....a lot.

Regardless of how we met, the fact is we were two closeted rebellious children who became friends almost instantly. On the outside we were un-fashionable (that's another blog all together) un-cool and completely unaware of how utterly lame we really were. Until now. 

Up until our senior year of high school we were relatively un-popular and "safe"....except for the time when we took kitchen spoons to sneak into the auditorium "windy room" and risked our lives to climb the wire ladder that suspended ten stories high.  We should also mention that we had a very sweet, amazing, innocent mormon BFF who we probably did not influence so great. Like the time Sally took Sara to the top of the huge auditorium and I watched as Sara almost fall to her death when she slipped through the celling, holding on only to Sally's arm and a beam.  Whew that was a close one which probably looking back could have landed us in some serious trouble. Lucky for us we went to Thomas Jefferson HS where the teachers/staff had much bigger issues to deal with than some little gueras. 

Sally's attempt to woo our teacher, who had a thing for the Newsboys...now what did he teach again, and what was his name?

Sara, the conscience. Renee, the completly dorky one with a lunchbox in HS. Sally the upper north side prep who came to Jefferson to live with the cholas..And Vero, just Vero.

Our senior year not only included us matching for prom and graduation, claiming to be "fashionably wise seniors" after an overdose of Romy and Michele, but we also have a few *coughs* stories to confess to. Like the time we skipped school to ride the bus to an almost strangers house and almost got our hands cut off for touching his Koran. Perhaps since we are going THERE, I wont leave out the fact that we ate food he cooked and could have poisoned us with. Seriously what in the heck were we doing there?  We also took an unplanned, spur of the moment drive to Corpus Christi in a car that was miles from completely falling apart and running on fumes. Yet another episode where we dragged poor Sara away from her safe house. 

Sara, Sally and Renee in the freezing cold January night, next to the ocean. Alone. On a beach. Miles away from home.

We took a brief pit stop at a Taco Cabna to learn to crochet. We think that was a little strange too. Random 

Here is what our dancing club days looked like

Monday- Karaoke at park place

Sal and Ren singing their hearts out, and some chic who clearly peed her pants and is definetly not wearing a wet shirt *wink  wink*.

Tuesday- .....

Wednesday- Bonham

Fun story about the Bonham. Once again we convinced Sara to join us on one of our many trips to the infamous dance joint. (Side note, this was not our first rodeo folks, Sally and I had been there plenty of times without incodent.)

All of the sudden we hear gun shots coming from the upstairs Rap club and Renee being the un-street smart girl manages to run out the door with the "alleged" gunman leaving Sara and Sally in the dust to worry where the heck she went.

Did we mention that this was Sara's first club experience? SO sorry Sara for the trauma we may have caused you. On the plus side Renee learned that perhaps she should not run out the door with a crazy gun holding group of cholos.

Wow Re-reading this makes us sounds completely ghetto, I bet you are all picturing us with black lip liner and gangster eyes. You can all rest assured that we were, in fact, quite cute.

Thursday-....

Friday....whatever dancing fix we could get

Saturday....painted our nails for Sunday night at Joe's!

Sunday-see saturday

(Lets point out the fact that Sally and I are so cool in that we had all this fun without alcohol and/or drugs. We lived to the soundtrack of Dave Mathews, Shakira and Mana on our sad days....OH AND lets not forget Sarah Maclaughlin!)

Flash forward nine years from our clubbin' days, five kids later and two extra cutie delicious husbands and we are still on the seek for danger...kids included. 

Not really but this whole blog was inspired by an event that occurred yesterday. Sally drove up to Honey grove from SA and yesterday we went to town square around 7 to get shots of the kids, completely oblivious to the storm clouds brewing. I blame Nate, he is the one who should know better, LOL. 

We came home and received  a call from a member in the ward asking if we were OK. Huh? OOOOK, yeah we are OK. Hang up. 

There is a tornado WARNING in effect, WARNING, not watch....which pretty much means a tornado is immanent.  Mexicanas Locas (Sal and I) will do anything  for attention I suppose.

We are mommies now.

This is a blog about our kids.

We got a little side-tracked.

Here are Layla and Charly, they are best friends...uh oh! Perhaps the knowledge accumulated over the years from their "wise" mothers will lead them away from making the same dangerous choices we made. May I remind you we wore matching outfits to prom..... AND graduation! Scary isn't it?

Coolest picture ever of two best friends....Layla posing and Charly's face is classic. I love these girls!

We have enjoyed sharing our quiet little town with them and have been drama free, despite having two little girls playing non stop together. I tell you folks, it was meant to be!  *tear* 

EEEEERRRR, HOLD UP! We almost completly forgot to mention BRAZIL!! Sally had Gabriel(super cute exchange student from Brazil), and I had Mauritzio (a swimmer on an opposing team). Together we had whirwind romances, 2nd grade style....for real, not kidding there folks. When I say second grade actually I mean more like kinder.  Maybe we did some crazy things but hooking up with the fellas was  NOT one of them. You can let that breath out now Mom and dad!

The infamous Gabriel, he was SOOO brazilian. Wait. That didn't come out right. Hey Sally remember the time he got ring worm on his forhead? LOL, EWWWW!

Renee and Mauritzio at her JR. Prom....All I'm thinking is why the heck did I not look this cute at senior prom? Oh yeah. Matching big poofy dresses. Baby blue and pink dresses. *sigh*