Happy Birthday, Madison!

 Despite the threat of hail and tornadoes, we persevered and made it to Campisi's to celebrate Madison's marvelous 11th birthday!  Thank goodness the weather reports were wrong and the storms missed us!

This little girl entered the world on April 17th, 2008 and made it infinitely brighter.

She has been a star from the very beginning!

She has always held a very special place in our hearts.

They are technically cousins, but really more like siblings:)

Happy birthday dear Madison...Happy Birthday to YOU!

I've got so much love for Miss Maddie and her Mini-Me.

Such a great night full of crab claws and good pizza!

Every now and then...

Jared and I get to go out!  It's happening less often these days, but it makes it that much sweeter when we get to escape the chaos of every day life and just LIVE for a bit.

A few weeks ago we went the Eric Church concert at the AAC.

Such a great night and Eric did not disappoint!

Thanks, Mom and Dad for the concert tickets, and for keeping our kids all night. 
Much appreciated!

Happy Birthday, Lila!

Nine is so fine!  

On April 8th, 2010, this world became a better place.  

There is no doubt in my mind that God has big plans for Miss Lila Grace Hays.

All of God's grace in one sweet little face.

She was perfect from the start.

This precious girl went from a tiny newborn to 3 months old so fast...

and before we knew it, she was almost a year old!

We had such a fantastic one year photo shoot with my friend Taylor.

In fact, an 8 x 10 of this photo is still framed in our living room today.

Then we blinked, and our girl turned 9!
We started out her day with gifts and coffee cake for breakfast.

Her beauty shines through every day.

She loves her puppy dog, 

her mama,

and her family!  I took her a special lunch at school, and then Gigi, Madison, Lilly and Boom came over that afternoon to give her some presents.

She also loves her soccer teammates!  She was given the option to skip practice that night, but she chose to go because "I want to see my friends, mommy."

We had homemade chicken tacos for dinner and a coconut cake with lots of candles on it.

A few days later we were supposed to go to Six Flags with some of her best friends.  It was raining like crazy, though, so we opted for getting our nails done with one of them.  Izzy and Lila loved hanging out together at Villa Nail Salon and then we went to a movie afterwards.

By the next Saturday the sun was shining and it was the perfect day to embark on our adventure to Six Flags over Texas.

Cami was beyond thrilled to be part of the "big girl" group!

We rode some of the smaller rides first...

and the kids were all smiles.

We had such a fun day there, whether it was on the swings...

or Runaway Mine Train!

This little chica was game for anything.

Up, up, up we go!

Madison and Brooklyn were the only two brave enough to ride Batman.
The other three said "no way!"

Thank goodness, they loved it!

Madison was such a big fan of roller coasters that she convinced Lila and Madi Reichert to ride the  Shock Wave.  After they got over to it, though, they changed their minds.  It is really high and has two loops!

Those loops didn't deter Cami, though!  She hopped on it and loved every single second.  Fearless!  She declared it the "best ride EVER!"

We rode the Roarin' Rapids next, which were so fun, and we got completely soaked!  Then we made our way over to another few rides, followed by an ice cream break.

We ended the day with the big four riding Pandemonium.  They were so happy that all of them were brave enough to ride it and declared the day and huge success.  Mission accomplished!

We celebrated Miss Lila very well, as it should be.

Family Ties

 Thankful.  

That's what went through my head the whole week leading up to my 39th birthday.  

When I woke up on Tuesday morning in excruciating pain, our family sprang into action.  They took care of our kids, got them to baseball and softball, which allowed Jared to be with me at the hospital.  Cameron, Lila and Jackson were so worried about me that my parents even brought them to the hospital before surgery.  I gotta say, March 26th wasn't my best day, but seeing all their faces, along with Madison and Lilly was definitely a bright spot for the day.  So sweet.  Cami spent the night with my parents and went to school with Lilly the next day, while the big kids stayed at our house with Memaw.  The next morning, my mom came to stay with me at the hospital so that Jared could go to work.  Then, my friend Jenny came to visit with a chocolate milkshake just for me.  So great!  The next few days I had so many people checking on me and offering to help in any way...it really was humbling.  My sister in law, Maria, invited Cami to play at her house all day on Thursday, which was a huge help!  And my sweet dad brought me beautiful flowers that brightened up the house.  On my birthday, Hayley sent me Tiff's Treat's, I got a birthday gift in the mail from my thoughtful cousin Leslie,  Mandy brought me yellow tulips, and Jared sent me a gorgeous bouquet of bright yellow flowers.  By that evening, I was feeling a little less down-in-the dumps and was ready to celebrate with dinner at home with my kiddos and parents.

Despite not feeling 100%, I was so thankful for all that I have been blessed with.  I don't know how we would have made it through that week if not for our incredible support system.

Baby therapy just might be the next big thing.  Feeling down?  Not ready to smile?  I challenge you to be around Miss Lilly for 5 seconds and not crack a smile!  She just exudes happiness.  Such a little ray of sunshine and I love her to pieces.

The next day we all went to wish my Great Aunt Fayna a very happy 90th birthday.  She and I share a birthday, actually!  It was incredible--so many family members flew in from all over the country.  A true family reunion!  My kids got to see some of their cousins from Glen Rose...

Amarillo and Chicago!  

And we got to see sweet Aunt Ruth and Uncle Dan, too.

Between these three cousins there are so many kids!  I wish I got a photo of the room...clearly, I wasn't feeling 100%!

A few hours later, it was time to celebrate our birthdays with the Hays Family.

The seafood was delicious, and little Mason was just a doll!

One of Lila's favorite gifts was this sloth puppet, which Connor loved, too!

I'm so grateful for everyone at this table.  We've got such a sweet family, full of good folks!
Love y'all!

Spring Smiles

We love the clear blue skies, when the sun shines just right!

My sidekick and I watch a whole lotta sports every spring.  Sometimes we need blankets and toboggans, sometimes it's raincoats and umbrellas.  We love a good sunny day, though!

Spring means it's time for softball again.  Go Angels!  

This year is a big transition.  It's the first season for kid-pitch AND they have to play in the 10U league, which means they are facing experienced, sometimes much bigger girls. 
Imagine everyone's surprise, when they won the first game of the season a few weeks ago!

It's also when the Superheroes get to play outdoors again.   We recruited Hadlie to play with the team and Cami is SO stoked about this.  She's one of her sweet little friends from school and they are just two peas in a very sassy pod!

On the days she's not in school, we can invite Lilly and Gigi for a picnic at the park.  

These two girls love each other!

Spring time means that you get to feed the ducks with Gigi...

go to new parks...

and meet your best bud Callum for some see-saw entertainment!

Spring also means it's time for the second Adventure Guides Campout with Daddo!

This time, the group went to Sky Ranch and had a total blast.  I heard that Lila was the Gaga Ball champion!  Made her big brother very proud!

Jared and Lila did all sorts of fun activities, including the zipline.  So cool.

And they loved the amazing desserts there, too.

They ended the second evening with a campfire.  Lots of great memories were made, but they both were thankful to be back in their own beds for Sunday night!