We are sooo NOT the camping type...

but we were invited on a last minute camping trip with some friends, and thought, "What the hell! We'll give it a try." I am sooo glad that we did. They had rented these screened in shelters, so there was no need for a tent. The shelters had concrete floors, and we were able to fit 2 full size blow up mattresses in ours (for the 4 adults), along with 6 sleeping bags (for the kiddos).


We definitely want to go again, after having such a good experience. Also, Wes and I have been talking for a while about buying bikes for ourselves, and this trip also convinced us that we need to do that ASAP. We had brought our kids bikes, and our friends had bikes which that let us ride some.

Some of the highlights of the weekend get away

Funniest thing one of my children said on the trip: While going for a morning bike ride to look for deer, Grace says, "Mama, what are we doing? We're looking for deer?" To which I responded, "Yes, Grace. We're looking for deer." Then my daughter who lives in a home with no guns and has a father that doesn't hunt says, "Oh..Well, we should've brought a gun Mama. We need a gun." O-M-G!! She is soooo country! I about fell off of that bike laughing. I told her we did not need a gun, because we were not hunting deer, we were simply looking for them because they are pretty to look at in nature.


Scariest moment of the trip: Hunter was leaping across some boulder/ rock things. He had been doing it throughout the day, and it made me nervous, but I didn't make him stop. Well, he continued to get braver and braver until he was no longer stopping between each leap. So, he was doing this and I guess he had too much momentum and when he got to the rock where he intended to stop, he couldn't--and he fell...at least 6 feet onto rocks that were below him. It was without a doubt that scariest Mama moment of my life. I froze...I was in shock..and when I did move, I was scared to go to him. He wasn't yelling or crying.. He was silent..And I was just so terrified of what I would see when I did get to him. Thank God for our friends who sprinted down to him in what looked to be lightning speed. So, he has some scrapes, and bruises, and some swelling..but NOTHING like I thought it would be. He told me that Grandpa Doc was watching out for him. I think he might be right.

And before I share some pics, I just want to give a shout out to David Johnson of Alabama. It was great to be in your in presence.

Siblings

There's no other love like the love for a brother.

There's no other love like the love from a brother.

long time..

Alright, well it's been a while since I blogged, and I have really missed jotting my random thoughts down for random people to read. Of course, many of you are not random people at all--you are my friends.

So, the last post I put on here about my niece was when she was still in the hospital. Thankfully, after 2 weeks in the NICU, she was able to come home and has been doing soooo good. She is growing so fast, and is now a month old and about the size that my munchkins were when I brought them home from the hospital. I got to babysit her briefly the other day while her Mommy ran to the store. When I showed up she was wearing this adorable onesie.

Gracie is so in love with her. She talks so sweetly to her and kisses her little toes any chance she gets. She came along with me that day to "help" me babysit.

Wes and Hunter also think she's pretty great. Kim brought her for her first visit to our house on February 17th. Wes has always loved snuggling the tiny babies and Serena (or Wes-erena as he likes to call her) is no exception.

How sweet is that? Makes my ovaries a little sad that there will be no more babies of our own in this house.

However, I am really beginning to enjoy this new stage in our lives. Our kiddos are becoming so grown and independent. It's a time of mixed emotions for me as my "baby" will be in school soon, but it sure makes outings a lot easier when there are no real preparations needed to get out the door and go somewhere.

We took Daddy with us to the skate park the other week so Hunter could practice his moves. I think he is definitely ready for a better quality sk8board. We all enjoyed the outing and I'm super thankful to my little brother who told us about the place. (Quick shout out to Trey who just got his driver's permit! WTG!) Hunter has been working up his nerve to really give the half pipes a decent try. He really concentrates on what he's doing. I know the half pipes don't look that big in the pics, but they are probably about 6 feet tall, maybe taller. I'm not really sure. Anyways, they are much more intimidating in person. The key seems to be figuring out how to keep his front wheels on the ramp in order to have a successful decent.
When his front wheels come up...bad things tend to happen. (and yes, shame on us..we forgot to make him bring his helmet. ) Like this..

And this...

He finally did manage to keep those two front wheels down. I was sooo proud of him!

Grace had fun playing on the playground while Hunter skated.

On our way home, Wes stopped the truck when we got onto our street. He pulled Grace's bike out that we had brought with us to the park, and let her ride it home as he walked by her side. I snapped these pics in the mirror as I drove Hunter and myself the
rest of the way.

The following day, Grace went to her friend Haley's birthday party. They have known each other since they were 2. Grace had tons of fun and I did too. We will definitely be heading back to that place soon for a family day.

Playing indoor black light miniature golf with a little help from Haley's grandpa. The golf room was super cool!!

And here's a cute pic from the other week of me and Grace "dolled" up and posing. My friend Kiki gave me this shirt and the earrings for my birthday. Grace and I have been having a lot of disagreements about her clothing choices, and I told her that if she wore something that I wanted her to wear, then I would wear something cute too. LOL!

seems like forever...

seems like forever since I posted... and honestly I don't have time to post much right now. Just wanted to drop by and say hi. for those that don't know, I'm 30 now..There I said it. The actual day was pretty uneventful by most standards--but hey there's always next year--I hope. So, here I am at 30...with wrinkles, and dark circles, and imperfections...and that's okay..i've earned every line and those gray hairs that are showing up as well.

i just started a new job last week (for the first time in 4 years, I am working almost full time), and so far i really like it. the hours are perfect and it's very close to home. since i have a job now, i've got to get my butt to bed at a decent hour. i ususally blog about the interesting events of my mostly boring life at night. so, i'm going to have to work out this whole balancing act..and it may take a little bit of time.

so, since i haven't got time to give you any details on the last few weeks...and a picture of me in my bathroom without any makeup on isn't too much fun (unless you are a member of the haters that check up on me via my blog--shout out to my haters!) ...i'm going to leave you all with a photo that definitely would qualify for white trash wednesday--if i actually had enough time to still do WTW. i spotted this lovely lady in her sports bra and dress at a local pizza/game place, where we were attending a child's birthday party.

We have a new family member!

Serena Sage arrived early (35 weeks gestation) at 11:47 a.m. weighing in at 5 pounds 10 ounces, and a whopping 19 inches long. Not too shabby for a preemie!! My mother in law was in the room with my sister in law for the delivery.

Since she showed up early, she is going to need to stay in the NICU for a little bit until her lungs have developed a little more. She is super duper cute though and I got to back and see her for a few minutes. She even took a peek at me when I was messing with her scrumptious feet, but I didn't get a picture of her with her eyes opened.

We would all appreciate any thoughts or prayers that you have to give, as we are all eager to get to hold that pretty baby. Please send thoughts of strength and comfort to my sister in law, Kim, as she travels back and forth to visit her daughter.

WOW!!! What a week!

I am so excited to share so many things. I have had an AWESOME week!! Like really, really, really awesome. So, put on your speed reading goggles and join me. I think it will be best if you do it that way and imagine me talking 90 miles per hour, as I'm prone to do when I'm overjoyed.

So, first off I took the HESI A2 test on Friday. It is essentially an entrance exam for nursing school. Different programs have different requirements regarding how many sections you must take and what is "passing" for their school. The school I am applying to requires you to take Reading, Math, and Grammar and to pass each section with 75%. It is not passing to have an overall combined score of 75%, unless you have scored at least 75% on each section. Make sense? So, I had some practice books and I was feeling pretty confident until I sat down to take some practice tests...That's when I got worried. Like, really worried. So anyways, I headed out to the testing site in Kaufman with two girlfriends that I met in Microbiology and prayed for the best. As I was looking around the testing room it occurred to me that all of us in there would be applying to the program, and not all of us would be getting. My stomach got all jittery...As we began registering our computers to take the test, hands started going up in the air. It seems a few people were confused about the combination of both capitol and lower case letters in their test number. They asked for help on entering the information. This helped calm my nerves as I assumed that those were 3 people I would not have to worry about taking "MY" spot in the nursing program. After you complete each section, you are given your score on that section before moving on. I had already decided I would just walk out if failed on of the sections..No point in finishing the whole test. So rather than just having one ball of nervous energy tumbling within my stomach at the end of the test, I was forced to face this nervous ball three times within an hour and 15 minutes. Okay..enough of the rambling already. That's what you're thinking right?? So, on the Math I scored 94.00%. You want to know the funniest part about that? Well, Algebra was my big hang up in regards to returning to school. I was so terrified of getting through the developmental math courses and making it to Algebra. Turns out I only missed 2 of the 15 Algebra questions. However, apparently my four years at home cooking and cleaning have taught me absolutely nothing. I missed 3 out of 4 of the Household measurement questions. Seeing that actually made me laugh out loud, and I had this short lived thought of how, "I better not let Wes know". I mean what's he going to do? Fire me because I don't know how many ounces are in a cup? Next was the Reading Comprehension. I scored a 95.74% on that section. Not too shabby. Finally, it was time for the Grammar section. Raise you hand if you wanna know what I got. I bet from reading this blog, you will never guess, because I use words like wanna and stuff. I got a freaking 100%. Boo-Yah Baby!!! So, my overall score was a 96.58%!!! It was such a relief to not only pass, but to do so well. My application was mailed in on Monday, and was received (according to the USPS) today at 10:15. I should know around April 15th if I have been accepted into the program. Hoping to share some good news with all of you then.

Moving on..Sunday morning Grace asked Wes to remove her training wheels. He happily obliged, and Hunter set off to teaching his little sister what he knew about bike riding. That only lasted a few minutes. While he and I were chilling on the porch talking --that little stinker took off on her own. She was so proud of herself, and we were all so excited for her. Wes says he was also 4 when he learned to ride a bike. Bring me the proof buddy! I didn't do it until I was 6 and Hunter was 5 and a half. I think there may be a trip to France in her future. The Tour de France to be exact.

So, shortly after Grace mastered riding her bike, my friend Denny and his wife Jessi arrived. Denny and I were great friends in high school, and for a few years after. We began chatting again through e-mail last year. He and his wife live in Colorado and just recently returned from Vietnam where they spent six months (I think it was bout that long) teaching English and traveling around Asia. It was so great to see him in person after all of these years and to meet his wife. She is beautiful, and kind, and smart. He has really done well for himself, and I am so proud of him. He always dated ...well...typical Dallas girls...and hmmm... I guess guys just have to go through that to figure out what they really want and need. And let me just say..Jessi totally fits the bill. She's the whole package. Here are a couple of old skool pics of me and Denny as well as one from Sunday.

The night of my high school graduation (May 1997)
Denny & My High School Boyfriend's Senior Prom (1996)

This next story was definitely the most exciting part of my week. And I guess this story really begins back in 1992. That's when I met Lauren. She is not only a lifetime friend, she is one of my very best friends. We no longer live a few blocks from each other or talk daily on the phone, but when we do talk...well, it's like no time has passed at all. So, first here are some pics of us through the years. As I was scanning them, I was thinking they should be titled the many hairstyles of "L" and "C". LOL!

1993- NJH Freshman Rule!

1996- Juniors in high school

1998 at Club Dada in Dallas
1998 at my first place~ The Biltmore condos in Addison
1999- Club Dada again.. ( right before I met Wes)

I can remember being with her at the Jane's Addiction concert back in 1999, and thinking, "This will be one of the best memories we share together." I was wrong. On Monday, I attended the birth of her second daughter as her friend and her photographer. It was amazing!!! I had never been to a birth--other than my own--and well, let's just say this was a lot more enjoyable. Lauren was amazing and she surrounded herself that day with some great people, including Tim, her mom, and her midwife. I just never could have imagined as I was sitting on her bed at 13 talking about boys and school that someday- 15 years later I would get to sit by her side on a bed as she brought a new life into this world. I was so honored and grateful to be there. She has graciously given me permission to share a few photographs from this beautiful day.

Congratulations Lauren! I love you and am so proud of you!