Swim Class

Okay, I'm terrible at updating. And now, I've joined the cult and joined Facebook, so it's even harder for me to keep both updated! I have many things to catch up on, but swim classes is the most recent.

We missed the first two days of the week, so we only got to go three days instead of five, but the kids did great! Tristan was a rock star and was floating well and putting her face in the water. Preston on the other hand is a little more literal! He was blowing bubbles great, but when the teacher would ask him if he could get his eyes wet too, he would just splash water on his face instead of putting his face in the water! Oh well, maybe next year!

Check out Tristan's racoon eyes! As I was doing laundry today she came in and said, "How do my eyelashes look?" They looked great but she also had a black smudge on her nose. So I said, "They are long and beautiful as always. Did you put on mascara?" She admitted it, and we talked about how she did a very nice job, but she needs to ask about using it in the future!

Easter Weekend

Easter in Fort Worth is always nice because we get to have all the kids together for the egg hunt! Last week it was freezing in Booker, and this weekend it was raining in Fort Worth...so another indoor egg hunt!

Here we all are with the Schwarte family. Matt's family has celebrated Easter with them every year for about 30 years!

First Easter (Palm Sunday)

Since Easter was in Fort Worth this year, we celebrated Easter with my family on Palm Sunday. The celebration is just like Easter (dresses, dinner, egg hunt, etc.) except the Easter Bunny only comes on the real Easter. It was freezing this year, so we had the egg hunt inside at my parents' house.

This year Tristan picked out her dress mostly because she loves pink, but this one also came with a matching dress for your doll, or in this case Puddles!

Birthday Blizzard

This year I had dinner/movie plans in Amarillo for my birthday weekend, which was March 27th. They didn't happen, but it was ok because we had the best blizzard in years! I love snow, and we haven't had a really good one since we moved to Booker four years ago!



We were only out of power for about 8 hours Saturday afternoon. My parents had power, so my dad dug out of his driveway with his new bobcat and came to town to pick us all up. All the streets in town were covered with about 2 ft. of snow and the drift in front of the garage was about 7 ft. so we couldn't get out! This is Tristan on top of a drift outside my parents house!

It started snowing Thursday night, and by midmorning Friday, it was a winter wonderland. The kids and I made it over to my sister's house in the van before the driveway got too bad. But, by the time we got back, it had already drifted about 18in. in front of the garage. We suited up and the kids played while I shoveled in front of Matt's side so he could get in to park. He came home early from work before lunch. What a fun snow day! As the kids and I were out in the blizzard conditions, (we were pretty protected from the wind by the garage) I thought to myself...There is no way that my mom would of let us play in this weather!

On Saturday, we were supposed to cook out with my sister and her friend David, but none of us could get our cars out. David didn't have snow clothes, so I packed a backpack and hiked over to Steph's house to take him Matt's clothes. We loaded up the food and all hiked back to our house. Just as we got back, the power went out! Matt fired up the grill and we cooked/heated all the food outside.

Spring snows are the best because after the initial storm it warms up to play in. Usually there is not much snow so it melts too fast to have much fun, but it took several days to melt all of this snow. The kids had so much fun...and so did we!

I run like a Princess!

Okay, so I am still terrible at keeping this updated! Everyone keeps telling me that I need to get on Facebook. But until I can successfully stay on top of my blog, I'm not starting anything new!

My sister, Stephanie, and I went off for a girls weekend the first weekend in March to run in the inaugural Princess Half Marathon. Yes, we were just there in January, but can you really go to Disney World too often? I don't think so. We stayed at my parents condo for free, and we both had free flights on Southwest. I have an awesome husband and mother to watch the kids. And like Steph said, you only have one chance to be in the inaugural event!


As for the palm trees, well, let's just say it's a personal thing! They are located just outside the Magic Kingdom. I peed in them at the marathon, and Matt told me I should make it a tradition and pee in them again! My mother is so proud!

It was a super quick weekend. We flew out on Friday night. Picked up our race packets and relaxed on Saturday. Raced on Sunday and flew home on Monday. What a trip! Sunday started at 3:45am. (We had to leave for the race by 5:00, and you really have to eat breakfast before you run 13.1 miles!) We were back a little afternoon so we showered and napped before the after party at Hollywood Studios that night. It was a special after hours party for just the race participants and their friends/families. It was so cool!

If anyone is ever thinking of doing a marathon or a half I highly recommend doing one at Disney! At this race, being princess themed, all the princesses were out for photos and every other character was in their royal attire! We ran in our tiaras and had a blast!

I'll try to post soon from my birthday blizzard!

Cowtown and Chuck E Cheese

To clarify for anyone confused...my upcoming news is not that I am pregnant! We just have some fun weekends coming up! I guess that my last post gave several people the impression that I had big news. I don't.

Last weekend was eventful. We headed down to Ft. Worth on Thursday. Friday kicked off the fun with our nephew Noah's 4th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese! Fun for everyone! Tristan was super lucky at the Spongebob game, and Preston loved riding in the "yellow tractor".

We also closed on the house on Friday afternoon. Here's a quick fill in: Our house that we had a guy in on a contract for deed (rent to own) bailed on us last July. So we've been trying to sell the house to no avail since then. The housing crisis stinks! Anyway, Matt's sister Amy has been wanting a bigger house, so we basically traded houses! We offically bought each others, but it's a win/win for everyone. Their family gets more room, and we lighten our debt load. Now we are just waiting for them to get moved out in March so that we can try to either sell or rent their old house. It's very confusing, but this closing is the first step toward things getting much better!

On Saturday, the Greater Booker Area Wogging Club attended the Cowtown once again! Nine memebers strong we toughed out the freezing temperature and 30mph winds. Do they think it's the panhandle or something? Matt and one of the girls did the half marathon. The rest of us did the 10k. It was great fun!

I leave tomorrow for Florida with my sister. We are going back to Disney World for the Princess Half Marathon. I've got a pink skirt, tiara, and everything! Can't wait to post about it when I get back!

Also, I need to praise Matt who is by far the best husband and father in the world!!! xoxox

Not much new...so a few Disney pics!

So I finally got a mouse and keyboard to go with my laptop! Plus, I figured out how to fix the shrinking screen thing! I haven't taken many new pics, so I thought I'd post some Disney ones that I hadn't gotten up yet.

Things in Booker have been pretty mellow. The weather has been great so a few days a week about four or five moms meet up at a playground for all the kids to play. It's been great on days that Preston doesn't nap, and a little cranky when we have to wake him up to go. I wouldn't wake him to go play, but Tristan loves getting to play with all her friends. I can't believe how big she is getting!

Tomorrow we are heading off to Fort Worth for a big weekend. It is our nephew Noah's 4th birthday. So, we are having a party at Chuck E Cheese on Friday and then a lunch on Sunday (which is his actual birthday). It is also cowtown weekend. Who ever thought we would be runners!?! This year our G.B.A.W.C. (Greater Booker Area Wogging Club) team will have nine memebers running. Only Matt and Ray are doing the half marathon. The rest of us are doing the 10k. I would be doing the half, but Stephanie and I are doing a half the next weekend. Yes, that's right, back to back race weekends! And, by the way, I need to let it be known that my husband is the best in the world. And Grandma isn't so bad either!

Two weeks ago my sister had a conference in Aspen. She didn't want to ski by herself, so Matt let me tag a long. I slept in and skiied while she went to classes from 6:30-9:30am and 4:30-7:00pm. Four days with no kids or responsibility. It was awesome! Then, next weekend, she really wanted to go back to Florida. This is the first Princess half marathon. I had a free ticket on Southwest so she paid my race entry and we're in! Matt again, awesome as he is, celebrated and encouraged my going! Grandma is awesome, because someone has to watch the kids on weekdays while Matt's at work. I'm living a pretty good life right now!

Anyway, exciting things are pending, so watch for new pics soon!