Deep Ellum Photo Shoot

Well, all the pics are in from the photo shoot of Hunter and Grace. I really love them and can't wait to get some ordered and hung on our walls. You can see the complete photo shoot here.

http://www.chera25.com/galleries/51808Cami/

WTW #10

I know people. I'm way behind. I promised you some good white trash last week, and didn't come thrugh. And here it is Thursday, and you must be wondering where all of your white trash is. This week I have a lovely picture taken at Kidfish, along with a public service announcement.


PSA: If your butt looks like this, please do not use an ice chest as a chair. You may frighten a young child, and not only that but all of that heat may cause your drinks and sandwiches to get really hot--defeating the original purpose of the cooler. It was meant to hold canned drinks and ice, not your ass.

Weekend Adventures

May 19, 2008:

Friday night we went to eat at El Chico with the Moore's. Then they came over here and hung out for while. Jake spent the night with Hunter. When we got up, we had a slight delay, but were soon packed up and on our way to Kidfish ( http://kidfish.com/) at City Lake Park in Mesquite. Tim, Mariah and Cody (of the Moore clan) were the only ones in our group to catch any fish, but I think all the kids had fun. Be sure and tune in Wednesday as there was a plethora of subjects for WTW at this event.

We came home around noon and ate lunch. Wes and Grace took a long nap. I got in a short one, then got up and watched Hunter and some of his friends play football on the front yard.




Once everybody was up and moving, we dropped Hunter off at a birthday party at Celebrtaion Station, then headed over to the Owen's house for a cookout. Dakota was in the best mood and a total cutie. Her and Wes played the "Stick Out Your Tongue" game. I think she won. She was full of smiles, and so were the rest of us after a few on Don's yummy frozen drinks (though he clearly isn't a drinker b/c Mama needs more than a tsp. of rum to get her drunk-LOL!). The kids had a blast with their own dance party in the garage, and jumping on the trampoline.

Grace bustin a move.

Yummy!

Look Mom! No hands!

The pretty one, the smart one, and the easy one.

After 10 years together, we're still not through being silly.

Sunday was pretty relaxed. I got up and fixed eggs and hashbrowns for breakfast. Yumm-O! Then, we went down to Deep Ellum and met Chera (http://chera25.com/) for a photo shoot of the kids. Her prices are so reasonable and her work is so great that she books up months in advance, so we've been waiting a while. The timing was perfect though since the kids will be turning 8 and 4 in the next few weeks. I know she got some really great shots. She sent me a sneak peak of a few of the pics and I'll post the rest by the end of this week. Here are the ones she sent me.

Sooo Proud of Whitney

May 15, 2008:

When I was a little girl I can remember picking dandelions and throwing pennies into fountains. And each time that I got to make a wish, I would wish for a baby sister. When I was six and a half, my wish came true. I can remember leaving the house at 3:00 am and heading to the hospital. I remember my grandparents telling me to lay down in the waiting room, but I was so excited about her arrival that I couldn't rest. The nurses came and got me about an hour after we had arrived and told me that I had a little sister. They took me back to see her before any of the other family. I loved to hold her and play with her when she was a baby.

When she was 6, our parents divorced, and my mom was given custody of her and my dad was given custody of me. She and I were together every weekend, but I was now in junior high and bratty little sisters weren't that much fun. We didn't have much in common and although I loved her, she wasn't really my friend.

Once she became a teenager, I tried to reach out to her some. I let her come stay the night with me at my apartment in downtown Dallas, and would try to talk to her about boys, and parents, and all that stuff that teens love and hate. And by the time she was a Senior in high school, we had become friends for the first time in our lives. I really was begining to enjoy getting to know her and spending time with her.

She worked her butt of throughout high school. She waited tables, volunteered with Equest, played basketball, went to State for debate, and graduated in the top 10 of her class. I was so proud of her as I waddled in 9 months pregnant with Grace to her graduation, but was a little sad to see her heading away to college.

On December 13, 2004, on the eve of her first final exam as a college freshman, me, my mom, and Wes drove to College Station for our first visit to her dorm. I can still remember the scream she let out as I told her that our dad had died that morning. She collapsed to the floor in agony as I hugged her tight. And as hard as his death was on all of us, it brought her and I even closer. There were so many people in our lives that loved us and wanted us to open up to them, but it was hard for us to do. I felt like she was the only one in the world that had some sort of grasp of what it felt like to lose my dad, and she felt the same way too. And inspite of all the pain Whit was feeling, she picked herself up in January and headed back to her dorm room and finished her year at school with all A's. The following year, she transferred to UT Austin. I think it was because our dad bled orange that she decided to go there. That, and the fact that someone as liberal as her belongs in Austin. She arrived at UT with the rest of her schooling paid for through private scholarships and grants that she had earned. While in Austin, she has waited tables, worked as a vet. tech, and now a degree in Government and Business. Tomorrow she will walk across the stage and recieve her diploma. I am beyond proud of her and her accomplishments. The next stop on her journey is law school, and I can't wait to find out where she decides to go.

It was definitely worth the wait...

Here is the card that Hunter made for me for Mother's Day. The first pic is the front of the card and the second pic is the inside of it. Have I ever mentioned how much I love having a little boy? Well, I guess he's not that little anymore. Anyhow, they really are sweet to their mamas. Everyone should have one in my opinion.

On Tuesday, Grace's class had "Crazy Hair Day". I cannot believe she actually let me fix her hair like this. It was soooo stinkin' cute! Thank you Ms. Charis and Cindy Lou Who for being our inspiration.


And for those wanting to know how to achieve this look for yourselves....I placed an empty 8 oz. water bottle on her head (for adults with long hair, you may be able to use a regular sized water bottle)..Then, I just gathered her hair up around the bottle and wrapped a ponytail holder around it and the tip of the bottle. Then, I just sprayed it with some of the white hair color spray that people use at Halloween. It was super easy, and didn't seem to be uncomfortable for her.


Oh and these pics came home in Grace's folder from Western Day at her school. I thought the picture turned out really cute. Isn't she getting big???

Happy Mother's Day!!

May 11, 2008:

To all my Mama friends: Thank you for being a part of this journey. Thank you to those of you who have given me words of wisdom and guided me in my efforts to be the best possible Mom I can be. Thank you to those of you that have shared your "been there, done that" moments with me. Thank you to those of you who have provided a get away, whether it was a Mom's Night Out, or a simple phone call when I needed a break from my mommy duties. Thank you for your support, that has always come without judgement. I have learned something from all of you and am thankful to be surrounded by some amazing Mama's. I hope you all have a wonderful day.

And now for the fun stuff. I hope someday I will be lucky enough to receive a card like this from Hunter.

In the meantime, I must share a few of my Mother's Day gifts with all of you. Yesterday, Wes took the kids fishing while I went shopping. It was great to be able to try on clothes without hearing Grace's critiques. I finally found a swimsuit with under wire. At times I felt like I was on search for the Dead Sea Scrolls, but at last Kohl's had one. Exactly one..And the God's shined down on me, and that one sweet swimsuit was in my size!!! Hallelujah! I also got a few Summer dresses, some shorts, a new bra, and some new sunglasses. It was wonderful. Grace also made me a few things at school that I LOVE. The teachers had them draw on these wooden frames, then they used a wood burner to burn the image into the frame. Then, they went back and stained the frame and put a picture of my girl in it. They also had her answer some questions, and her answers are adorable! Take a look for yourself.

Hunter forgot his gift at school but he has informed me that it will be worth the wait. I'm sure it will. I'll be sure to update the blog when I get his gift.

This morning Wes and Grace went and picked up donuts for the family. Today will probably be pretty low key. I think we'll try to get together with Wes' parents and give them some gifts we have for them. His dad's birthday was yesterday, so we have gifts for both of them. The weather is gorgeous in Dallas today, so hopefully we can just enjoy each other's company and this beautiful day.

Playing Catch Up

Friday, May 09, 2008:

I am done with school for this semester!! I am so happy to have a break. I won't have any classes until after the 4th of July. So, that means that hopefully I can get caught back up in other ares of my life; blogging, cleaning, etc...

I was able to take a break from studying last weekend to have some fun with friends and family. I already posted about the great Mom's Night Out. I now have pics of me with "Dancing Bob". I never could figure out how to load the video of his moves, but you can click on this link if you wanna see it. I HIGHLY recommend clicking on this link and turning your speakers on. Thank you to Rebecca for the great video! LMAO!http://s84.photobucket.com/albums/k38/lukeeley/2008/05-May/05-02-Ozbeet_GNO/?action=view&current=2008-05-02-Camis_Boyfriend.flv

So last Saturday, Wes, Hunter and Wes' dad were in a fishing tournament out at Lake Ray Hubbard. They didn't catch a single fish, but they had a great time hanging out with each other, and came home with some cool prizes. Hunter was excited to be the only one in the group to get a bite. A turtle, clearly unaware that they were fishing for crappie, got his minnow. While they were at the tournament, Grace and I headed to the White Rock Lake Festival. We met up with my friend Donna there, as well as my friend's Jake and Lea. By some crazy coincidence the same band that had been playing at my MNO, on Friday was also playing at the festival. It was the perfect day to hang out by the lake and listen to good music--and of course jump in bounce houses.

Watching a canoe go by

Grace, Dominic, and Gabriel

Donna & Dominic

Grace chillin' while Colin Boyd and Lauren sing

Grace break dancing to the Carole King song, "Natural Woman"--LMAO!

Mia and Grace (love Mia's expression!)
Grace holding an SPCA puppy
On Sunday, the whole family headed back to the festival. Wes had a pretty bad sunburn and was fairly miserable. Our air conditioning loving dog was also pretty unhappy. We got to see a few friends there, but didn't stay very long.

I was gone a lot of this week studying for my final exams. Thank you to all of my friends that helped out by watching Grace and either taking or picking her up from school for me. It was a HUGE help and I appreciate each and every one of you.

One funny thing from this week was when Wes noticed that one of Romo's paws was hot pink. He asked Grace if she had colored it and she said, "No. He must have got into my markers." Here are some pics. He was very embarrassed about it, and kept trying to hide his paw under his head while I took the pics.

Here he is completely miserable with the pink paw

Hiding his paw under his head

And with Grace as she tells him to, "Smile! It's okay."

In other news, as I was beginning to take a sigh of relief and relax a bit after my finals, I got a call from my friend Susan to ask if I would be interested in being the treasurer for the Eagle's drill team. After very little thought, and consulting with my husband, I accepted the position. I already have a pretty full plate, but I just love the Eagle's organization and want to help out in anyway that I can. She has promised to help me with this task, and I'm just hoping that I can live up to their expectations. I will have a lot to do in the beginning as the organization has 4 different drill teams, and probably close to 100 girls. So, wish me luck..