Happy Valentine's Day AND Happy Chinese New Year!

Snow Day!

Evan in Deep Ellum....

after pics we went to get some pizza...

My 20th High School Reunion...

I am the main planner of my high school reunions...this past weekend was our 20th...it was loads of fun...but glad it's behind me....so much stress goes into planning these things!

Here is me and two of my bestest friends in the world, Joy and Deana.

Happy 17th Birthday, Emily!!

Yesterday was Emily's 17th birthday...so we went to Chuck E. Cheese...here she is making a wish before blowing out the candles on her birthday cake :)

The Great State Fair of Texas '09

Big Tex looking all spiffy...

Daddy and Tommy feeding the animals...

The overated fried butter...

I love this guy...

Ian kissing Selena Gomez...

Coming off a spinny ride..

John playing the ring toss trying to win a guitar..

Yum!  Em and Emily with their turkey legs..

The Midway!

Texas size nachos...

Tommy and the tiger he won..

Not sure about the canoe ride..

I took this picture right before he bit me..

Do you wanna go fasterrrrrrr?

Avery having a fun time..

Happy 10th Birthday, Avery!!

Avery...eating ice cream while the 4th grade sings "Happy Birthday" to her...

8 years later...

Yesterday was 9/11/09....eight years since the terrorist attack on our country...8 years since 4 plane crashes would ultimately kill 2,993 people (hijackers included).

I remember the day pretty well...I had dropped the boys off to school and was headed home with baby Avery in tow. We were listening to the radio when the first plane hit...and they broke in with the news. I remember exactly where I was...sitting in my car at the stoplight at Lakeland and Garland Rd. I rushed home to turn on the television....and just watched in horror...another plane...then another...and then another...I watched in horror as the first tower fell....not really even comprehending the fact that that building was filled with people...until a few seconds later.....Not knowing what the rest of the day held, if there was more terror planned, I rushed to the school and got my boys...and rushed right back home to hold them tightly and pray that God would keep us safe.

Evan, then 6, had nightmares for months afterward, drawing horrific pictures of burning buildings...at the time of the attacks, he loved to watch the news...but starting on 9/11 we had to limit his television time...because it was affecting him so much.

It was a horrible day. A day not one of us should ever forget. A day that took away so much and showed that we are a vulnerable country. But we are a great nation, and I am proud to be an American.


So, to honor our firefighters and as sort of a remembrance..we took some chocolate chip cookies and a thank you note signed by our family to our neighborhood fire station yesterday.

Emily!

Emily is here! She is from Hong Kong and seems to be fitting in quite nicely here in our family. I think every day is getting better for her...

This is the kids on their 1st day of School...




Laying in the grass..




The night before school began, we went and got snocones...




Avery and Emily at the skating rink...




Emily playing basketball with some of her new friends (and some she already knew) that are also in the exchange program...

So instead of being borrrrrrred....

So we decided to take the TRE (Trinity Railway Express) train from downtown Dallas to downtown Ft. Worth....The train ride was relatively inexpesive ($1.50 for the kids -Tommy was free, and $3.00 for me)...we jumped on the train and hurried upstairs where the views are awesome and they have tables...The train ride itself, took about an hour. When we got to Ft. Worth, we hopped off and ate at Subway. Was really too hot to sightsee...plus I really had no idea how far everything was from the station...so we got back on the train and rode it back. It was actually a fun little adventure....and it got the kids away from the video games, television, and computers...if only for a couple of hours...

Road Trip '09

So at the last minute, we decided that we would go to Galveston for a couple of days...So we did...with six kids..the following are pictures from our little get away...in no particular order. (mainly because when I upload this many pictures to my blog, it is too much of a hassle to make sure they are in order....yeah, that's right...sheer laziness...)..

Here are the kids heading to the beach....


Evan....who would rather be at the mall...He was sooo afraid that he was going to make his hair fade...

Tommy and I in Kemah on the carousel..

The Tommy paparazzi...also known as Emma...

Hey...I know that girl...

Lighthouse on Crystal Beach...

John waiting on a wave....

John reassuring Tommy that the ride will be fun....

Tommy playing on the beach...

Tommy posing...because that's what he does..

Ian and Emma singing on the Kemah boardwalk....embarassing the heck out of Evan...

Avery collecting shells...

Chasing seagulls...

Evan on the ferry...

Ian on the Aviator ride..

Emma and Ian right after Ian found $5 in the water...

Emma having fun...

Dolphins!!

Crystal Beach destruction...

There used to be houses here before hurricane Ike..

Daddy and Tommy playing in the water..

Brent and his Crackberry...

Crabby!

Tommy on the biggest slide ever...

Avery on the Wipeout at Kemah Boardwalk...

Pelicans are amazing birds!

All in all, I think a good time was had by all....and now that it's been a couple of weeks since we got back....we're looking forward to our next get away :)