We are alive!

We've just been really busy lately and I neglected posting about our fun weekend trip to College Station. It's been almost 2 weekends ago now - oops!

Anyway, Bryan was in Houston most of the week, so the kids and I drove to College Station on Saturday morning. But, first we stopped (and met Grandpa and Uncle Brett) in Levi, TX. I wanted to get a picture of the "Levi, Population 50" sign. However, there isn't one, so I had to settle for this road sign. It was the only thing, besides an address on a mailbox, that said Levi. Oh, if you're wondering, Levi was totally impressed with the town he was named after. :)

Our next stop was in Reagan, TX. My sister in law gave me a black and white photo of the old Reagan post office building one year for my birthday. It made me cry, so I wanted to go back and get a picture of our Reagan standing in front of the building. Sadly, it is now an eating establishment, but Grandpa thought we should still get the picture. I'm glad we did. The next time we drive through it could be gone. (And, yes the wind was fierce. You just have to take my word for it that the little girl sitting atop my father's shoulders is, in fact, Reagan.)

Next stop - Olsen Field for peanuts and popcorn...

and snow cones...

and cotton candy!

We said goodbye to Grandpa and Uncle Brett as they headed home and we hit the road for Houston. We met Bryan at his hotel and everyone fell asleep early. The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel, loaded the car, dropped off Bryan's rental and set out for College Station again. That afternoon we attended a ring ceremony for one of Bryan's closest friends from college who gave his life in service to our country. It was a moving ceremony with plenty of memories and old friends.

There were a lot of people there, including Governor Perry. This thrilled Addi beyond words since her class recently finished their Texas unit.

We're not so sure Levi's a republican!

Levi finally warmed up to the govenor while he tried to teach Levi how to stick his thumb up without sticking any other fingers up. The girls have it and Levi sort of got it. (Incidentally, we're not so sure Levi's an Aggie either :)

Major Glenn and his family were there.

A bunch of kids were there.

Christian was there. His mom and dad were there too, but I didn't get a picture with them.

I did, however, snap this picture of my child licking the glass inside a revolving door right before I told him to stop licking the glass because that is disgusting!

It was a good weekend. Ideally we would've had time to walk around campus and bore our children to tears, but Addi had school the next day and it's a 3+ hour drive back home. The girls did have fun in this huge Aggie ring outside the Former Students building. Levi was asleep in Bryan's arms or he would've been right in the middle of this picture.

After a meal at Wings N More (yummy!) with the Starrs, we made the trip back home.

And, I've been recovering ever since. :) Not really, but that would be a good excuse for my lack of blogging!

day 109 - another hint...

day 108

We had a great time this past weekend and when I get a chance I'm going to sit down and devote a post or two to our activities. For now, I'll just leave you with this hint. :)

day 107

my little boy & me

a prayer of thankfulness

Libby's prayer at breakfast this morning:

Dear God,

Thank you for healing the boy that got runned over.

Thank you for healing the people in Haiti.

And if you haven't healed them, please heal them.

Lord God, thank you for all my blessings and my food.

And thank you for my family.

Amen.

day 106

I couldn't resist disprupting this sweetness the other night when the 3 were all snug in a chair reading a bible story. And disrupt it, I did. After the last picture, the younger 2 were off the chair and in my lap with pleas of "I want to see! I want to see !" Should've left well enough alone. :)

happy birthday, aunt lisa!

Untitled from ginny parker on Vimeo.

day 105 - Rodeo Day

Last Thursday was Rodeo Day at preschool! Libby declared it "the most fun day at preschool ever!" Her class had just ended a Texas unit. Another reason I love being back here...my kids are learning about their home state starting in preschool!

She got to rope a rocking horse.

And, after she had her picture taken while sitting in a saddle, she chose this picture of a longhorn to color. I tried to move a picture of a Mockingbird or a Bluebonnet in front of her. But, she insisted on coloring a longhorn and in orange. I don't know where we've gone wrong. :)

Moments after snapping that picture, she claimed I distracted her requiring her to scribble out "REAN" replacing it with "REAGAN". I wasn't allowed to take any more pictures after that.

Well, except for this one, but it was taken after we got home. Do you think she likes her cowgirl boots and cowgirl hat?

day 104

happy bday poppa from ginny parker on Vimeo.

day 103

Sleeping Beauties

to be continued

I'm swamped! I got exactly 1 thing finished on my to-do list for today: take the kids to the dentist. Then I had to take Addi and Levi to the pediatrician. We are quickly losing control over Addi's allergies and needed new prescriptions for those and Levi has an ear infection. In both ears. Poor little guy. (Oh, and Libby has a headache. She's really hitting her stride as a middle child and made sure I knew she had a headache while I explained her sister and brother's symptoms to the nurse!) My plans included the dentist, but not also multiple trips to Walgreens and another doctor's office. In all the fussing over my children this morning, I forgot to soak the beans and didn't make my normal Monday morning grocery errands. So, we grabbed a rotisserie chicken and some tortillas on the way home from the doctor to make this. Hopefully, that and a salad will make a meal. :)

Anyway, I felt behind since I didn't get my normal weekend chores done this past Easter weekend. Now, I'm even further behind, so I'm thinking I need a "no computer" week. Or, at least a "less computer" week! No posts from me this week, but I'll start back up next Monday. This photo for a year thing I thought would be such a good idea is proving otherwise. Maybe I should change it to "365 Photos in 1489 Days". :)

day 101

Untitled from ginny parker on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday, GRANDPA! We love you!

Addi is missing, I didn't get the video done before she left for her sleep over, but she called to wish him a happy birthday earlier. She'll be mad when she finds out she was left out. :)

day 100

Here she is...in Addi's old Easter dress. She was thrilled to lay it out with her Easter basket last night. :)