Oatmeal

Christmas 2004

Texas Bluebonnets 2005

When we lived in Galveston and the girls were little, they would complain about whatever I made for dinner. Too much whine with dinner, if you know what I mean. I didn't want to make two dinners every night so they ate some portion of what Brady and I were eating. There were several evenings they survived on rice or bread. Oh well, they survived! Anyway, I still didn't like hearing the complaints! So, when Brady had to do an away rotation in Washington, D.C. I thought I'd cut them some slack and fix them "kid-friendly" meals for seven straight nights! I was so excited to finally get a break from the bad reviews I was receiving from my food critics in training. The first night I proudly placed tacos on the table. Guess what? They complained, deep breath, okay! The next night I made hot dogs! Guess what? They complained, Grrrr! The next night I let them help me make pizzas. You guessed it, they complained, here come the water works! I called Brady, sniff, sob, sniff, they are still complaining about dinner. He said "okay, here's what you do... make them one more meal they should like and WHEN they complain make them oatmeal for dinner the next night. Keep making them oatmeal for dinner until they learn to quit complaining!" I was like... this is genius! Plus, I won't have to plan dinners for awhile!

On the fourth night I made pigs in a blanket and mac-n-cheese, no-fail-meal, right? Wrong, THEY COMPLAINED, how could they? As soon as the first complaint left their perfectly proportioned pouty lips, I said "TOMORROW NIGHT YOU WILL HAVE OATMEAL FOR DINNER!" In one perfect harmonious chime my three little darling girls yelled " YAY"!! So, as planned, I made oatmeal for dinner the next night and all I heard was yum and mom this is so good! UGH! What's a mom to do? As a last resort I prayed for wisdom on how to handle my serious whine with dinner problem. As a result of my prayers, I told the girls this whole story from beginning to end and how their whining made me feel and they laughed and laughed. We all laughed!

I haven't heard a complaint about dinner in years. Maybe I just tune it out now!? I just try to focus on the "thanks mom," or the "this is good" I hear every now and then. However, one Saturday about a year ago Riley complained about lunch. My retort was, "I'm sorry you don't like lunch, what are you going to make for dinner?". She got on the computer and looked up the recipe for Asian Chicken, we went to the store and bought her ingredients. She cooked it all by herself. It was delicious and she hasn't complained since!

Colorado in the Summer

Brady and I took Hallie, Bailee and Jay to Colorado for a fun vacation the week before school started. Unfortunately, Riley had to stay in town for dance team and cheerleading practices. Charlie was happy to stay with his Mimi! Even though we missed them terribly, it was a blessing to spend some more focused time on our middle little ones! We went to Frisco, Co to see our friends Jason and Mary. Brady and Jason spent four days on lakes and rivers fly fishing. Mary and I took the kids hiking one day, we found a little time to do some back to school shopping and we even took them through a museum! I felt like such the academic momma!
Jason and Mary, they are too cute!
Here are our wilderness trekkers! The girls had so much fun together communicating with their walkie-talkies! Sweet Andrew tolerated little Jay . Jay admired Andrew with good reason... he skates at a real skate park and can hop on a pogo stick like no one he's ever seen!

On our last day with them we went to Breckenridge and rode the Alpine slides. SO FUN! Jay loved it, I'm afraid he is going to be an adrenaline junkie like his daddy.
Jay and I - Hallie and Kate - on the ski lifts up to the slides.For the second half of our Colorado vacay we went to see Brady's Uncle and Aunt who live in Ridgeway, Co on Ralph Lauren's Ranch. They live in a beautiful log cabin tucked away where only the bears could find ya. We had such a wonderful time seeing them!

They even gave us a tour of Ralph Lauren's beautiful ranch! Here we are in his saloon wearing some of his decorations!

This was taken in Ralph's theater room. My poor children they are just so shy! We even watched a little of "The Office."

I've always been the kind of girl who thinks it is not a vacation unless I've been to the beach. However, this trip changed my mind. I totally get why people go to the mountains to get away from it all! It was amazing hiking up a mountain for two miles and encouraging myself, I mean, my kids all the while. The views of God's creation was magnificent. We even went home with a couple of healthier cookbooks and some agave nectar for my coffee!

Texas and Oklahoma Trip Summer '09

This post is a little over due but, better late than never. With four of my five kiddos at school this morning I found a moment to fill you in on our trip down south.
(The house cleaning will have to wait,
I'm working on getting my priorities straight.)

The second and third week of summer we drove to Texas and Oklahoma to see friends and family we hadn't seen in two years! We spent the first night in Cheyenne, WY. Then we went to Brownfield, TX for a couple of days to see Brady's grandparents and his dad! (Sorry, no pics of this part of the trip because the camera battery was dead grrrrr.)

Next stop Abilene, TX to see Brady's sister and her husband and their two adorable girlies. I also got to see my sweet, beautiful cousin, Erika, who is about to get married and graduate from ACU. Contrary to popular belief, you don't get a husband included with your diploma! She showed us around the campus so our kids could see what it was like. It will be four short years of high school and then Riley will be "on campus."

With Abilene in our rear view mirror we headed to Ft. Worth to spend one night with our college friends Clay and Anita. We had too much fun! No really, we did! Thank goodness no one took any photos!

Dallas was our longest furlough. Three days and three nights of warm weather, swimming, great food, and even better company. My sweet aunt Penny from Houston drove up to see all of us for a couple of days.

Brady and Jean Ann had to head back to Montana for work so they dropped the kids and I off in Oklahoma. I got to meet my niece Bianca for the first time and we think she's going to be a lefty! My mom and Jim got to have all seven of their grand kids under one roof and in one swimming pool! And of course, we went out to my dad and Vickie's farm. So fun!

The last leg of our trip was me driving all five kids home (two ten-hour days of driving, much road construction in the summer). My philosophy for road-trips is expect the worst and hope for the best. So, I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun we had! We stayed the night in Denver...Starbucks for breakfast, Sonic for lunch, and Jim Gaffigan keeping us laughing. The Lord blessed us with safe travels and healthy kids. I only made one wrong turn (which Riley quickly pointed out)!

Family Fun

My dad (whom Charlie is named after) came all the way from Oklahoma to see us again this summer.
He took the kids fishing and made his famous fried fish!!
My step-mom, Vickie (whom I am not named after) patiently taught the girls to make pillows.
We planted trees, swam, shopped and of course ate great food!
It was a wonderful week with my Dad and Vickie, filled with sweet memories we tucked into hearts.

Met Me in Montana

A couple of weeks ago the kids and I met my sweet friend from Texas/North Carolina (Medical School/Residency) in Rapid City, SD. Which happens to be the closest Sonic (YAY!) Oh and Mt. Rushmore!I am so thankful God made Jason and Mary our neighbors eleven years ago! She has always been such an encouragement to me through the years. She loves her husband, loves being a mom, loves to cook and just loves life! She doesn't know this but, she is inspiring me to love running. I really want to run a marathon!


After South Dakota she and her kids followed us home and spent a couple of nights. We took a tour of our local winery, yes I said winery. A wonderful retired preacher and his wife are growing a beautiful vineyard. With God all things are possible (even a vineyard in Montana!)

Riley and Mary's oldest, Andrew, were toddler friends. Mary and I were pregnant at the same time with our younger girls!Baby friends grown up!
Kate and Meg loved Molly!
Had to stop for a snow cone, one of the big attractions in our little town! Thank you Mary for coming to see us! We had a great time! You are such a blessing to me!

Hallie is a decade old!

For Hallie's 10th we had a Luau Sleepover. It included swimming, homemade pizzas, Church, not much sleep, more swimming! Very fun! I LOVE MY SWEET HALLIE! These days she's into cooking, photography, anything purple, softball, sewing and she still loves playing the piano. She also loves to go hunting and fishing with her daddy! So far this summer she has caught four fish!!! When Hallie grows up she wants to be a preacher's wife - LOVE HER!

Hallie Brittany and Raquel - her Best Friends in the whole wide world. I just love these cuties!
Hallie and Jay at the waterpark!
On her official b-day we drove to Rapid City, SD to meet some sweet Texas friends (more to come in next post.) Ate at Chili's, went shopping and played at a waterpark. Does it get any better? Life is Good! HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!!!