First day of school, Fall 2010

I cannot believe they are starting into their second year of school (after a January start last year). But now they have moved up to the big 3 year olds class! They were really excited to go back to school, and we were so excited to learn that their teacher this year was one of their favorites from last year! And even more exciting, Jax is going to Spanish School this year too. So we have a great carpool arrangement where I take the kids to school, and Uncle Dave picks them up. This is extremely helpful for me and fun for the kids! Spanish School has been a great find for us, and we are planning on at least one more year beyond this one there. Then we will be faced with the big dilemma of kindergarten, and for that we have no idea!

Mommy and Daddy also have their own first day of school, Fall 2010, but we did not document ours with pictures. Chris is starting his LAST semester of his Masters in Professional Accounting degree. It's been a long road, but I am so proud of him! It will be great for him to be finished though. With the new job at On the Border, he is stretched pretty thin this semester.

I was blessed with a daytime schedule this Fall. My first day schedule since probably 2004 or 2005. I got moved to principles (from advanced) and while it feels a little like a demotion, the schedule is much better. I miss the quality of the upper level students though. We are all looking forward to a great Fall.

Girls' trip to Napa!

I got to take a trip out to Napa to see Ali, who is working out there. I flew out on Friday and returned Monday morning. We had a lovely time! My first night in town, we ate at a French place that Ali is very fond of. I even ate escargot (not a favorite of mine, by the way) but I am always game for a little adventure! We called that an early night, as we had a big day ahead of wine tasting. I was SO excited. I did feel a little guilty that my first trip to Napa was not with Chris, but now when we do go, I think it will be even better. So Saturday was a full day and started at Joseph Phelps (top right pic), and it was amazing! We then headed to Alpha-Omega. This was one of my favorites. I think lunch was next then to Cuvasion and then to Dutch Henry. Seriously a full day!! Got back to the hotel in time to nap. Dinner was another French restaurant. A really cute place to eat, with lots of character. We then headed to a bar where there was live music and took that in until quite late. The next morning came early. We packed up and hit one more - Merryvale. This was the most amazing, guess we saved the best for last. Thanks to a friendly relationship between Ali and the tasting guy, we were treated like absolute royalty. We had our own tasting, inside a barrel (middle pic), complete with food to compliment each flavor. It was really quite an experience! I actually joined that one, so we will get to enjoy Merryvale wines for years to come!! Thank you Ali, for showing me such an amazing "first time" in Napa. Can't wait to go back...

Sweet cousins

Dave and Sabrina took a week-long trip to Mexico this summer and Jax and Savanna stayed with the (senior) Andrews. We thought it might be nice to give them a night off so we took all the kids out to Chuck E Cheese. That was actually plan B; we were planning to see some dancing dinosaurs over in Arlington, but that got rained out. But no kid turns down Chuck E Cheese, right? We went to the one over in Arlington, and it was totally dodgy. There was a guy passed out in one of the booths!! Yikes! So we just sat somewhere far from him and had a great time! The kids play so well together. It is really amazing. They just love each other so much, and I think we are really fortunate!

No place like home!

Well it was a long 8 weeks. But certainly it was worthwhile. We demo'd the entire upstairs. The only room that remained structurally the same was the kids' bathroom. We took it from 3 bedrooms upstairs to 2. The master was made into an actual master suite, and it's beautiful. After 8+ years of marriage, we finally have nice (matching) bedroom furniture! The kids got to "pick" their furniture so they are super excited too. We are happy as can be with all the work, and to be back in our own home. We were at my mom's from April 20 - June 20. The kids really did great, but as everyone knows...there's no place like home!

Charis and Price turn THREE!!!

My sweet angel babies are just growing up so quickly! They are both such characters! And boy were they excited for their birthday party. Coincidentally, this fell on moving day too, which made for a pretty crazy day. We decided to do their birthday party at My Gym again this year. This actually ended up not being so great. The girls working the party were a bit too high-strung for a kids' birthday party. It was awkward. But the kids did not know the difference and had a blast of course! It was, however, the end of our long relationship with My Gym. It was good while it lasted. The party could not be scheduled at an ideal time so we tried to get them to nap early and as a result they seemed to be almost falling asleep when the party started. So crazy. But we had yummy Chick Fil A nuggets, a fruit tray, and cupcakes by April (from our hometeam). And they got some neat gifts as well. We are so grateful for the generosity of our friends!

Chris' birthday....35!

Wow, 35 sounds really old. I feel like we are still 25, or maybe even 30, but 35? Ouch. We got 2 grown-up nights out to celebrate Chris' birthday. The first was at Central Market. We had dinner on the patio and listened to music by Brad Thompson (who played for our 30th birthday party).

Our second fun night out with friends was at Axiom sushi in Montgomery Plaza. Super-fun evening! We are so blessed with great family and great friends. (Pictures are reversed from the order of the descriptions.)

Nash Farm

Seems like we had a lot of animal-centered activities this summer. Nash Farm is a "working farm" in Grapevine. It was open to the public on certain days this summer so we took advantage. We'd pack a lunch and head over. There were cows, a "hay ride", a corn field, scarecrows, a little garden, chickens, some old tractors...all sorts of stuff. But by far the most exciting time we went was when there was a petting zoo, complete with goats, and PRICE GOT TO MILK ONE!! It was so cool. Charis wanted no part of that, but she cheered her brother on! It was a really neat experience for him.

Family Vacation 2010

The first weekend in June we headed back out to the Hideaway Ranch in Granbury, Tx, just about 1.5 hours away. The kids were so excited to go on "vacation". Our cabin had a loft, which of course, Chris and I slept in, and the kids shared a double bed on the main floor. The first night the Smarts made steak for everyone. We provided breakfast tacos both mornings. On Saturday we took the kids to Fossil Rim. We skipped this last year because the kids were too young. But this year it was perfect. They just loved it!!

The kids just squealed with delight as the animals came and ate from our car. This is a picture of a giraffe who had his whole head in our sunroof eating from the bag of food. It was so wild!!

That night we did a hay ride, which the kids loved as well! There was a cow that just kept following us around. The kids giggled and giggled. There are llamas which roam free as well as dogs and cats. This was a really super weekend for us!

our first ever "last day of school"

June 3, 2010 - this day was bittersweet for me for some reason. I was just moved by how they'd grown and matured in just a few short months. Going from crying every day to being excited to go to school "to learn to speak Spanish, like Dora" - it all just seemed to be happening so fast! And I guess it does. They know their numbers and colors in both English and Spanish. Often if I ask them a question in Spanish, they will answer in English. Charis sings songs in Spanish quite a bit; I don't even know what she is saying lots of times!

House Update

By the end of May, we were really starting to see things coming together. There was paint on the walls and much of the tile work etc was done. What an exciting time. Chris would go by the house every day - morning and night. It was scary but wonderful. (Our shower on the left, kids shower on the right)

End of year school show

May 27, 2010 - the kids had their end of the year school show. What an event! They are in the Spanish immersion school so all of the little routines were in Spanish. It was really well done and oh-so-cute!! Well, with us and all the grandparents in attendance, we were ready to watch our little shining stars. They were in the most adorable outfits but within about 30 seconds of being in front of the crowd, both children were crying "momma, momma" the whole time. Cute all the same, but maybe we will have better luck at the Christmas show next year!

just bein' a kid (late May, 2010)

The time at my mom's (8 weeks in all) was a pretty interesting experience. The kids adjusted pretty well to being there, thankfully. One of the fun things, though, was our neighbor and new friend, Joanna. She's about 5 and the kids thought she was the coolest thing ever. She rides her bike like a pro and she can climb trees. This was the kids' first time to ever climb a tree and I thought it was just so cute!!

Here are a couple pics of the house progress too - this was probably about mid way through everything. I felt like we were

constantly making decisions on the fly. Since we are neither one very picky nor did we have really any preconceived notions about what we wanted, I felt sometimes overwhelmed by the big decisions we were making: which granite? what type of wood? what color stain? which tile? what color paint? what about the baseboards?

Summer 2010 update

So for summer, we have decided to try out gymnastics class. I had a bit of opposition from Chris about "putting (his) boy in gymnastics" but I won out on this deal. I mean, really, they are 3 years old and it's not like I put the kid in a leotard. I think it is good for their coordination, and even more I think it is good for them to do a class that is not the mommy & me type of class. They are all on their own in there. Well, except for the fact that they have their friends in there! Rilee and Reed are in the class, and even another little boy, Gavin, that the kids had MyGym class with a year or so ago. So the first couple weeks, it was pretty tough. Tears, the whole bit. But now, a month and a half in, it is great. They love it and are learning a lot. A big piece of credit also goes to the teacher, Mr. Steve. He is really amazing with the kids and they just love him!

Another update is that Chris took a job with Chuck E Cheese in April. I think it was a good move for him. It has been fun, though, getting some exposure to Chuck E Cheese. I mean, we had never even been there before! The kids love it though. I am not crazy about the pizza, but the salad bar is pretty impressive. We got to go to a Franchisee Expo though, one of his first weeks there. This involved every game possible being

showcased to the franchisees in hopes that they might buy some for their stores. For us, though, it was a free for all. There were just bins of tokens sitting out and the kids could ride rides and play games to their little heart's content. And it was good food and wine for Mommy and Daddy!

Casa Manana

On May 1, 2010, the kids got to go to Casa Manana for the first time. And although it has changed a lot since I was a kid, (I grew up going to just about every show they put on), it was still a familiar place. It is no longer the "theater in the round" but a more traditional set up. I am not sure I like it better, but it's still a really neat place to go. So, our first show: Peter Pan! The kids have been introduced to Peter Pan, among other Disney books this year since my mom brought over all my books from when I was little. It is so cool having these, and while they are not as careful with the books as I would like for them to be, it is special having the books to pass on to them. Anyway, they love the story of Peter Pan, and Tinkerbell has become a favorite of Miss Charis'. We had a whole crew of friends with us and it made for a very special event!

Mother's Day, 2010

We had a nice Mother's Day spent at my mom and John's house. The whole family, including John's two daughters were there. Food, family and fun...what more could we ask for?!

Hard to believe this is my third Mother's Day. What a blessing to be a mom to my two precious kiddos!

By this time we were also beginning to see a little progress on the house. After knocking everything down, they, of course, started building it back up!! On the left, we have what will become my beautiful kitchen (beginning of big, giant island being shown).

On the right, the view is standing in the master bedroom looking toward the master closet and master bathroom. The kitchen and master bath were the two things I really

disliked about the house, and boy did we change those?!

Bike Parade!

The kids have really done well at their Spanish school even though we got off to a rough start. And while it was really hard for me to put them in school, I am so glad that we did. They are really learning a lot, and Charis' Spanish pronunciation is amazing! In addition to learning Spanish they just get to do so many fun activities at school. On April 29, 2010, it was the day for a Bike Parade! The kids really only learned to ride bikes at all a few weeks earlier, and Charis really only got it a few days earlier. Aren't they too cute in those little helmets?!

When asked who is their best friend at school, Charis answered "Hunter" who is a cute little boy in their class, and Price answered "my teacher." I think the teachers there are so great and they seem to really love the kids. We really feel fortunate to have found this school!

Making some big changes...

So the week after my mom's wedding, she of course moved in to John's but we actually moved in to HER house! We made the big decision to remodel our home. We had reached the point, after 6 years here, that we would like something different. It was either sell or remodel and we looked a little but decided to remodel. A friend from high school, John Hover, an architect, drew up some really amazing plans for us. And we took the plans to Luke Hammond to see what we were getting ourselves in to. He took on this huge project and led us all the way through it! So on Sunday, May 2, the full demolition began!

They took every room down to the studs, and only exterior walls remained. The only room that remained fully intact was the kids' bathroom. It was really crazy to see this!!

Mom's wedding

I am a bit behind on the blog.

We have been sort of busy the last couple months, but I will get to all that later! My mom got married April 17, 2010. It was a lovely family gathering, catered by Dave, cakes by John's daughter, photos by Terry. Price would say "John is getting married for Nonnie." The kids love John though, and we are all so happy for them both.

Easter 2010

This year Easter was super fun! The kids were way more in to everything than ever before. We did our annual hometeam egg hunt. It is always so cute to see all those kiddos hunting for the eggs, and it's hard to believe our kids are no longer the littlest ones there!

The grandparents all came out to watch and the kids really just loved it. Price gets very into the candy - we finally had to take it away for fear he'd get sick. Charis likes it, of course, but she could walk away from it. Guess it's not for nothin' that we call Price "big-uns".

Easter weekend, we actually went to Church on Friday night. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about that, but Fellowship Church did a pretty cool service helping us visualize our sins being laid upon the cross. It was neat to see that and have that focus on Good Friday.

Easter Sunday, late lunch was at our house. It was a great time and all the family was there. I actually served pork tenderloin,

which seemed so untraditional but it was great! It was a very special day and we are thankful for how well all the kids play together and just the great family bond we all share! The kids also got their first Easter baskets, and boy were they excited!

On a final note, the kids are learning the true meaning of Easter. I asked Price specifically what he learned at BSF right at this time and he gave me his standard answer "about Jesus". But what else, I prodded, "and the disciples" he said. Oh, I think, great! What about the disciples?? "That they don't wear any shoes" he summed it up! hmmm. We have a couple good books on this subject and they can identify "the Roman soldiers" and they know that Jesus went in a tomb and then that he was alive again. These are such big concepts. It is really awesome to think of them learning about this and believing it!

We are so blessed by all the Lord did for us and how He continues to bless us daily!

Spring Break 2010!

We had quite a fun and eventful week! It started with a trip to the zoo last Sunday with Amy and Rilee and the kids' first time on the Forest Park Miniature Train.

Monday was a day off but a chance for us to try a family dinner. Our schedule is so hectic this semester that we never get to sit down to dinner as a family. So we did that a couple times this week and it was really special!

Tuesday we went over to our friends' house in Lantana. Charis and Price love getting to play with Chloe, Aidan and Colten. Wednesday we went to the butterfly exhibit at the Botanical Gardens in Fort Worth with the Bushnell girls, whom Price seems especially fond of. I of course failed to bring my camera! The kids love getting to use their Spanish "mariposa" which they said over and over. We had a fun picnic afterwards too and enjoyed watching the kids just run and play. It is so cute as "hide and seek" morphs into some form of "tag" and then to just running and giggling.

Thursday we went to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History with Adley and Miss Nicole. This was such a treat for us! It was super crowded but really a cool place to visit! We'll definitely go back to see more of this one!

Friday we went to the park and Chick Fil A and the kids got ice cream cones for the first time. And this morning we did some painting!

The weekend was fun for Mommy and Daddy as I got a girls' night out Friday with Kendra and Ali. Then Saturday we met friends for dinner at Reata. And with that our spring break ends, not with out one last (hopefully) snow though!! We could not believe we woke up to snow again this morning here on the second day of Spring! We are so blessed and grateful for such a fun week!