Marching into Spring

There's been plenty of baseball, but we also do lots of other cool things.  I promise!

The day after J's birthday, Cooper's mom and I took took our kids to the batting cages and then over to Pinstack for some bowling and arcades.

The next day, Madison and Lila watched a Bob Ross video on how to create a beautiful landscape painting, and followed along on the iPad as they tried to keep up!

A few days later, I brought cupcakes to school for Mrs. Bhakta's birthday.  Turns out, Lila had made her a big card during indoor recess that day and got the entire class to sign it.  Love that girl and her big heart!  What I didn't love was walking in with my cupcakes and seeing that Landon was in the middle of giving out donuts.  Turns out it was his birthday also--womp, womp, womp.  Oh well!

We try to make sure we see this precious baby boy once a week.  He's growing and changing every day.  And we love baby snuggles.

We've been making new friends.  Meet Minnie! 
She and Cami have a big time together at their big sister's soccer games.

The MMS Glow Run was on a perfect Saturday night.

Cami didn't race, but got to say hello to the Murphy Maverick!

On your mark, get set, go!

Around 22 minutes later, Jackson crossed the finish line.  A great time for his second 5K.

He had already played three baseball games that day.  And then run a full-out race.  TIRED!  

These kids were so impressive!  Dominic finished third out of the whole school (and was the first 6th grader), Jackson came in 5th, Sofia came in 6th (and was the first 6th grade girl), and then Blake came in 10th.  Way to go!

Lots of 6th graders participated and their cool principal even came out to cheer them on.  

 

And just because... I'll end this post with a few of Miss Lilliana's photoshoot pics.

Love this baby girl.

She's just so scrumptious!

12!

February 17th--Happy Birthday, Jackson!  

While I was making my way to the airport, Jared was making sure Jackson got the royal treatment.  This kid loves bacon like no other.  And he's a huge fan of waffles, so they started his big day off with Waffle House.  My plane was delayed three times.  I was beginning to get anxious about wasting so much time in the airport, when I could have been at home with Jackson.  Thank goodness we finally got in the air!

A few hours later, we all met back at home and went to Pinstack together.  My 12 year old boy!  How is it possible that he's almost a teenager??

We didn't do a party this year, but we let him invite four of his closest friends.  He was so happy that 4 out of the 5 could make it.

 

After a round of bowling, we sang happy birthday to him and let him make a wish.  Wonder what it was for??  My money would be on a phone, no doubt about it!

These boys played a little longer and then headed off to the arcade.

There were some new games, like this Connect 4 Hoops.  So cool! 
Our favorite #7 enjoyed his night and that's what counts.

Happy 12th Birthday, Jackson Warren Hays!  We love you.

Wedding Weekend

 Way back in the day, there were four girls who lived together in college.  We shared so many good times in Austin, and laughed harder than I can ever remember.  Jen was the first one of us to get married, but it turns out he wasn't the guy for her.  She's been happily dating Nicky for the past 6 years, and they finally got engaged!  So even though their wedding was the day before Jackson's birthday, and it was in Houston, I knew there was no way that I could miss it.  I just had to be there to celebrate her finally getting her "happily ever after."   

Amanda flew in from Abilene and we hopped on a plane for Houston. We stayed at Carol's house and made it in time for the Friday night event.  It was so great to see all my girls!

We chatted the night away and enjoyed delicious margaritas.

Jen's maiden name is Hickey, hence the #nickygotahickey.  Hahaha!

He's such a nice guy and loves Jen so much.  We couldn't be happier for them!

Meanwhile, at home, things were rocking along pretty well.  While Jackson went to his soccer game, and Lila went to her softball practice, Jared took Cami with him to the TCU basketball game.  I heard that she thought it was way cool!

Everyone met back up at PSA that afternoon to cheer on Jackson and the Mavericks in the championship game.

I heard that they really played great!

I was so sad to be missing this big day for him, but I was keeping close tabs all throughout the game.

This kid can play some mean defense.  He's got such long arms!

Although they were getting beat at halftime, they had pulled away by the 4th quarter.

When the clock ran out, they had sealed the deal.

6th grade Champs!

Another big trophy to add to his collection.

Down in Houston, the girls and I were headed to the wedding.

Nicky is Greek, so the wedding was in a Greek Orthodox Church. Definitely the most interesting wedding ceremony I've ever seen!  Full of tradition and so unlike a Baptist wedding! 

So beautiful.

Cheers to Mr. and Mrs. Nicky Stillman!

There was a cocktail hour...

followed by a gorgeous reception...

that included dancing with these girls.  So much fun!

At the same time, there was a party going on back in Murphy as well.

The whole fam came over to hang out and wish Jackson a happy birthday.

Happy Birthday dear Jackson!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine Highlights that perfectly capture this season of our life.

Ordered special valentine cookies from Lyndsie in January--go me!
I even ordered extra so that each kid and Jared could have their own mini-pack--go me!
I decided against making homemade chocolate chip cookies for all the kids' friends, and instead went with valentine candy from Walmart.  Cami and I stuffed all the valentine candy into individual bags and tied them with red ribbon a full 6 days early--go me! 

Feeling pretty good about things.

Wednesday morning, everyone is all smiles. What could possibly derail this fabulous day? 
9:00 am: Cami is smiling and happy when I leave her at school.
11:30 am: Cami throws up at school...on the floor.  Ugh. 

My bubble has now burst.

The next day was the 14th and Lila's Friendship Party at school.  Thank goodness her daddy was able to come home for an hour so that the Room Mom could make it to the party.  And thank goodness we found this Valentine box in the top of her closet the night before!  

Mrs. Bhakta loved the gift from the class that I helped them create.  I had come up to the school earlier that week and asked each child to write a sweet message about their teacher.  Most of them put really heart-felt things and some went the funny route.  She appreciated it so much.  Good thing, because this "little project" ended up taking at least 6 hours to complete!  I should have just done it for her class, but instead did it for all 5 third grade teachers.  Why?  I have no idea!   

Lila was so thankful that I made it to the party and enjoyed the afternoon with her friends.

Her class is so well behaved...sorta rare these days, but I'll take it!

I made a nice dinner for the fam, which everyone except Cameron was able to enjoy, then we headed up to PSA for Jackson's playoff basketball game.  It was a repeat against the Hawks, which was the team they played in the last game of the regular season.  That was a super-intense game and the Mavericks barely won at the end.  We knew the Hawks would be looking for revenge and these boys were ready!  They won much bigger on the 14th, earning them a spot in the championship game a few days later.  Go Mavs!

Nothing says Happy Valentines Day quite like one sick kid and a basketball game at 8 pm, but it's how we roll these days.  Living the dream!

Baby Love

My girls and I just love babies.  We adore the three newest members of our family, and since we live near Lilly and Mason, we get lots of sweet snuggles with them.  We are so happy that Connor and his parents will be moving our way in about 6 months!

This sweet girl is happy in the morning...

riding on a motorcycle...

or after we've played "beauty shop" with her hair.  She's always smiling!

And oh my word, I am in love with her latest photo shoot pictures. 

Baby Mason is always down for some snuggle time.  Cami got to visit him last Tuesday...

and then he came to our house on Friday.

He's been busy growing but is still a little guy for now.

He won't be tiny for long, though, so we are relishing it while he still is!