State Tournament in Galveston

Happy Memorial Day!  We were fortunate enough to rent a beach house from Thurs.-Mon.  Maddie had her State 6U Softball Tournament there.  We weren't able to get a hotel ($250/night), so we rented a small beach house and split it with our parents.  It was perfect and cheaper than a hotel!  If you haven't checked out http://www.vrbo.com/, you should.  This is our third time to rent a home from there and we haven't been disappointed yet!  Enjoy the pictures.

Daddy and Maddie spent alot of time "hanging" out in the hammock downstairs.

 The kids LOVE the beach.  The water was rough the whole weekend and the seaweed was plentiful!  YUCK!

Paw Paw helping Colton "surf" on his boogy board.

 This is what Colton does at the ballpark while Maddie is playing.  It keeps him close to us and we don't have to worry about him running around like crazy.

 After our 1st win of the tournament!

 All the moms got together and made each girl a fleece blanket that was monogrammed with their name, year and allstars.  They LOVED them and Maddie sleeps with it every night.  Great gift!

 6U Rose-Rich Stampede.  We came in 17th out of 40 teams.  Not terrible, but would have loved to go further.  After this we went to the beach as a team and Adam cooked burgers at the beach house for everyone.  It was fun to see the girls get to play outside of the diamond.  They all had a blast.

 Cousins hanging out in the hammock.

 PawPaw helped C &M track down the ice cream truck!  Of course they ate their ice cream on the way back, even though dinner had just come out of the oven.  :)

 Paw Paw & Colton playing Angry Birds.  They also played alot of Wii tournaments.

 Dinner on the back porch!  Doesn't get better than that!



Kindergarten Circus

The kids end of the year program was tonight.  They put on a circus.  It was the cutest thing ever!  I know they have been practicing hard every day and it truly paid off! I can't wait to get the DVD I ordered of it.

Maddie was a hula-hooper.  She only dropped it once throughout an entire song that was played.  She was so enthusiastic and a little dancer on stage.  I thought she would get really shy and just stand there because of all the people.  She proved me wrong and I love it!  I wish I had more pictures of Maddie, but the lighting was terrible and they didn't come out very well.  For Colton's performance Mindy was able to sit in the front row and get some good pictures. 

Colton was a strong man.  He loved his part and showed us at home constantly what he was going to be doing.  I found this strong man shirt at a costume store downtown and we made him a weight bar that he had to pick up for the performance.  He did great and really hammed it up!

Kindergarten Mother's Day Tea

The kids hosted a Day at the Spa and Tea for their moms.  I took Mindy with me so each kid had someone to pamper!

First we got massages and a little trash magazine time!

Next we got our hair and makeup done!!!!  Wow, that was interesting :)

Then we got our toes and fingers painted. 

Last, we went to the cafeteria for snacks and presents.  It was a great day and we all had fun!

Take me out to the ball game....

I don't have any pictures because I misplaced my camera, but have found it now!

We have been living at the ballpark.  Both kids are in full swing and it's exhausting and thrilling all at the same time.  Colton has 4 more games left in his season.  He is doing well hitting the ball off the machine, but doesn't have alot of interest when on the field.  He spends alot of time talking to the coaches or players.  The boy can talk to anyone!

Maddie's regular season is over.  Her team got 1st place for the season and she got a really big trophy (pictures to come) that she is so proud of.  They got 2nd place in their end of the season tournament, which was hard to swallow considering we had not lost a game this season.  We are now onto All-Stars, where we will be in a tournament every weekend in May.  Yesterday we had our first round robin games with the team.  It wasn't too pretty, but it was their first time playing together.  Hopefully things will get better because we do have alot of talent on the team.  The important thing is that Maddie absolutely LOVES it!  I am having a hard time keeping my mouth closed in the bleachers, which is why my mom says I should be on the other side of the fence.  Maybe next year :)

Adam and I started the couch to 5K program today.  We shall see how it goes.  Honestly, I have forgotten how good it feels after you workout!

The Past Year

This year has flown by! Here is a sneak peak at what we've been up to!

The highlight of the year: Sofia Lynn Marin was born on March 19th! She is our first niece on my side of the family, bringing our total niece count to 4 and 2 nephews! We are all in LOVE with this perfect blessing! They live in our neighborhood, so we are blessed to be able to see her grow up with our kids. Of course, Maddie is on cloud nine with the baby around!

In November, Maddie and I went to a Taylor Swift concert with our friends. We had alot of fun at our first concert! Maddie got a t-shirt, bracelet and a flashing light necklace. TS really knows how to put on a concert. We will be going back next time she comes to Houston!

She didn't quite make it to the end of the concert. In her defense, it was really late!

Colton's All About Me poster for his Star Student week. He made it by himself and was very proud of it (still hanging in his room now).

Christmas from Santa.

We went to HLSR during Spring Break. We saw Chris Young. Poor guy, the sound didn't work for half the concert and then a speaker blew near the end. Felt bad for him!

I learned to sew!!!! My first projects were burp clothes and onsie dresses for Sofia's baby shower. I have now made Maddie a couple of skirts and a dress. It is very relaxing! I wish I had used my machine years ago when Maddie was smaller!

We went roller skating for the first time. Brought back memories for me! I lived at the skating rink when I was little! They had a blast and we will be returning during the summer!

After skating, we stopped at DQ for a quick blizzard! Well deserved after all that exercising!

Easter 2012

Pinterest Project: Rice Krispie Treat Bird's Nests

We spent Easter afternoon at our cousins' house swimming for 4 hours!!!!

First Chicken Fight in the pool!

Now we are in full baseball and softball mode, with a little karate thrown in the mix!! Pictures to come, hopefully not 9 months later! ;)

Where, oh where, have we been??

It's been along time! I am so sorry. Lots has been happening since the last post (Easter). I will try to do this in order :)

On April 25th, we were blessed with another niece, Lily Grace. She is just beautiful and as happy as can be.

We finished up with baseball and softball. Maddie's team actually got 1st place at their end of the season tournament! This means that she got a BIG trophy; which she treasures with her life! She finally found something that she loves to play...my Softball Diva! I guess it comes with the genes. LOL Colton got a baseball trophy as well. He liked baseball, just not as much as she loved it!

Adam and I had our 10 year anniversary! We went on a cruise last November as an early celebration. God has truly blessed us and we are thankful everyday for what He has given us! We couldn't have asked for anything more, love, life, health, and happiness!

This summer we took several trips: Dallas, to visit family, SeaWorld with cousins/friends, Galveston for a week, and The Bluebell Creamery. The kids went to VBS and a summer fun day camp. They love participating in these annual camps! We also went to "the real circus" (Ringling Brothers)! We had a great summer!!!

We got a puppy! His name is Tyson and we rescued him from Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue. He is 12 weeks old now. His mom was pure golden retriever and his dad was either black lab or newfoundland. He looks just like a golden but he is pure black! So cute!

I got a new job that is closer to home. I am teaching K-3 special education at Jane Long Elementary. I provide reading, writing, and math interventions in mostly a pullout (resource) setting. I see 9-10 groups of kids a day. I am finding my way, but it is exhausting! I am more tired after school this year, than teaching kindergartners all day! Who knew??!! I think it is the fast pace and no time between groups. I couldn't have asked for a better staff to work with though. The transition has been very welcoming and I already feel at home. Thanks to all the wonderful people at Long!

My "babies" started kindergarten this year! I cannot believe it! They each got the teachers that were suggested for them. They are really nice, loving women; exactly what I prayed for. Maddie is the teacher's pet, of course and Colton is just 100% boy, and his teacher adores him for that. They are both little sponges and soak everything up that they learn at school. They absolutely LOVE it and we couldn't be happier. I am able to drop them off in the mornings and they get to ride the bus home (we are the 1st drop-off on the way home).

For the fall we are playing flag football and softball. Football, what can I say, we are way in over our heads!!! Colton is the smallest one out there and doesn't do much! It's frustrating to say the least; especially since the team is so competitive and only wants to win. One of the volunteer opportunities for the team was to scout out & video tape the opponents, give me a break, these kids are 5! They have him playing positions that are just unreasonable for a kid his size and he gets PLOWED over every game. Maddie is back in her comfort zone and loving it!

One last update....Mindy is pregnant! She will be 14 weeks on Thursday. Camilo & Mindy's bundle of joy is due to arrive in late March. We are so excited! Maddie didn't take the news very well. I am not sure if she just doesn't want to share "her Mindy" or what, but that girl gave Mindy some dirty looks when she told her. We were at dinner and Maddie wouldn't speak or look at her for the rest of the meal. After a couple of weeks to process it, she is now very excited about her new cousin!

Wow, that is alot! I will try to update more frequently from now on! Pictures will come tomorrow night! :) Lots of love!