Happy Mother's Day to me!

There's nothing better than being a mom except maybe ...being a dad! Here's a tribute to the wonderful children who made it all possible.
Eric was the first to make his debut

Basket ball star
Kindergarten Halloween party

Chillin' with Mike in North Carolina

Soccer player

Trombone man

Taking the missionary haircut to the extreme while

hanging out in Machu Pichu, Peru.

Making us proud while serving as an army of one in the United States Army.

Next ...another boy. Mikey!
Eric and Mike, the beginning of a great friendship.

Hanging out with Mommy

                                              Disney Land

Elementary school

Oboe star

High school graduation picture

In Mexico looking for converts

A husband, and a father

Finally a girl!
1st birthday

The princess is in the building!

I want to be cool not cute!

3 boys ...and only our daughter ended up breaking her arm!

          The second in a long line of bunnies.
                                                   Looking cool with braces

Senior band recognition - Flute section leader

                                                High School Graduation
                                             Mission farewell talk at church

Back from Rostov Russia
Last but not least ...Stephen
Checking out our new digs in Bartlesville, OK

Enjoying the summer with Eric
He loved playing with Whitney's Halloween finger nails

Getting dressed up for church
Elementary school

                                                             Sax man in marching band

High school Senior

Thanks for a wonder life ...the adventure has just begun!

Train stations and music

I just saw this on Nieniedialogues.blogspot.com and LOVED it!!! I wanted to post it here so you could see it too. I hope it puts a smile on your face.

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/4816051?fr=yvmtf

Who can tell me what city this train station is in? Or what language they are speaking on the announcements?

Back home in Sugar Land!

I was going through my picture album and found the pictures from our last family get together. Eric was able to arrange a trip home from the army to be here for Whitney's homecoming. Mike and his family were able to drive down from Oklahoma as well. It's the first time in 18 months since we have all been together.
Ben, Grace and Sabrina loved feeding Copper "snacks" and watching him do his tricks.

Sabrina and Eric enjoying the beautiful Texas weather ...in January!

We took everyone to Beck's Prime for lunch. They have a beautiful lake with lots of ducks.

Benson and Eric

Aunt Whitney and Sabrina

Grace

Jessica

Uncle Eric

Grandpa Gary

Uncle Stephen

We arranged to have a family picture taken and decided to use one of the entrances of New Territory as the back drop. The photographer was amazing and made sure that we all had a great time. I can't wait to get the final product.

Synopsis

I am soooo far behind in blogging. That having been said I will just post a hodge podge of our latest family pictures to get you all caught up.

A few months ago we had an open house to welcome everyone in the area to our new stake center. Stephen helped out in the room that explained the young men's program.

Whitney also took part in the open house by taking tours through our new building.

Here she is -dressed in her authentic Russian scarf and boots. She told them about missionaries and a bit about her time in Russia. We feel really blessed to be able to meet in such a beautiful, new building.

No this isn't Zorro! Stephen decided to dress up as The Spirit for the release of the movie ..."The Spirit".

These are the flowers my husband gave me on Valentine's day. Aren't they beautiful?
Awhhhh ...what a sweetie!

Doesn't play well with squirrels

As you can see from the gruesome pictures, Copper finally caught a squirrel though it looks like he licked the poor thing to death! He left this tasty morsel by his dog dish ...a little snack for later I suppose! I was hoping our lawn guys would dispose of it for me but no such luck. I had to put about 3 plastic bags over my hand before I could get up the nerve to pick the poor thing up and put it in a trash bag. I have to admit it was kind of creepy ...having to pick up a dead, limp animal but what can you do? All the while Copper was licking his chops and "smiling" at me ...as if to say, "Wow, can you believe it? Look what I brought you!"

The circle of life

I am going to be a great auntie ...again! I just heard that my sweet niece Lindy and her husband Jesse are going to be adding a new little one to their family in early October. This makes 3 new great niece or nephews who will be born some time this year. This is in addition to the first little great nephew who made his debut a couple of months ago. This will bring the grand total to 4. It's amazing how fast our family is growing. I have to admit it is getting harder, and harder to keep track of everyone but exciting none the less. Hopefully all of the moms (Stefanee -newest Mom, Allison, Kadie, and Lindy) will feel great, have healthy pregnancies and will all have quick recoveries.

We just got an email from the weather service saying that Sugar land was under a tornado watch until 10 a.m. tomorrow morning with the possibility of medium sized hail and 70 mile an hour wind gusts. Could get exciting! Reminds me of our days in Oklahoma. I'm sure they are enjoying the warm, humid air we are sending up their way. By now they should be in the thick of things weather wise. Hopefully our little family up there is tucked away in their safe place.

They were just here this past weekend and it was so fun to see them again. We couldn't ask for better grand kids. They are the best! So adorable and smart. Nothing better than to have them run up to us for a big hug. It just melts our hearts! Mike and Jess do such a good job with them and we love them all so much. Unfortunately I forgot to bring out the camera but hopefully Whitney, Jess and Emily will post some of the pictures they took soon. Can't wait to see how they turned out!

Crazy dogs!

Pets are what makes the world a better place, at least they do at our house. Surprisingly we are now down to just one pet; our dog Copper who will be turning 11 in November. He isn't one of those fluffy, fru fru dogs. He's just a mutt our daughter insisted we rescue from the Pound. Over the years he has learned to earn his keep. He has been a great help around the house. Since he lives out side he barks to let us know when any strangers are near. He keeps an eye on the lawn guys ...makes sure they do a good job or he nips their heals! He even kills any vermin that are so bold as to enter our yard uninvited. He has disposed of: poisonous snakes, a rat, lizards, possums, an occasional bird and bees. He loves to chase squirrels but they are a bit too fast for him. He is the first one to say hello and welcome us home after a long day. He is also great to take any leftover food off of our hands ...a dedicated recycler. He loves the grandchildren and will keep them entertained with his numerous tricks. I recently saw a link to a dog on utube that I will post here in Copper's honor and for the grandkids entertainment ...though I have to say I have never seen our dog run in his sleep. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw9N0wV3ZtY