Red Ribbon Week

This week is Red Ribbon Week at school and we actually dressed up every single day!  I was amazed myself b/c after seeing the list last Friday there were a couple of days I thought we'd come up blank on.  Thank goodness for a child's imagination!  :)

Monday:  I elect to be drug free!  Wear Red,White and Blue

 

 

Tuesday:  Catch the wave! Stay drug free!  Hawaiian Shirts.

 

Thank goodness Grammy had just given us the green shirt on Sunday so we had two shirt with pineapples = Hawaii in the minds of the girls. I'll take it!  :)  We also threw in a flower in their hair for good measure.

 

Wednesday:  I'm too bright for drugs!  Wear neon/bright colors.

 

Carli's favorite shirt is her jump rope for heart shirt she won last year raising money, I do no like it b/c it is so bright and well, ugly!  She was excited to have a good reason to wear it!  Ha!  She was even in the sharing mood and offered Ava her Fun Day shirt to wear.

Thursday:  Our school rocks!  Don't do drugs!  Dress like a rock star!

 

Well, this was a day I thought we'd skip, I wish we had.  Both girls picked out outfits the night before and they did not work well the next morning (didn't meet the dress code or Momma deemed them not appropriate) so these were outfits #2.  Ava was fine with hers, Carli picked hers out and was okay with it until she put on her shoes and they did not match - melt down ensued and thus we have this awesome picture!  :)



Friday:  Pawsitively Drug Free!  Troup Tiger shirts.

 

 

Shew!  Easiest day yet with no arguments!  Thank goodness.  We even had enough time this morning to put on tatoo earrings to compliment the outfits!  :)

Drew needed to join in the weekly picture taking - wow, I am blessed!

 

Cam'Ron Matthews

Ten days ago my hometown of Alto, TX experienced a tragedy that is unfathomable.  During the Friday night football game, Cam'Ron Matthews collapsed on the sidelines and was life flighted to Tyler.  He passed the following day.  It was determined he suffered an aneurysm. 

Cam'Ron's mom and grandma were a fixture at the schools in Alto.  They were the sweetest ladies and so very kind.  Mrs. Gayla still works at the school as the Middle School Secretary.  They are an amazing family.  I may not have known Cam'Ron but it is so apparent by the outpouring of love and support for this precious family just how amazing this young man was. 

Alto came together, and they supported one of their own.  They raised money, gave honor and prayed constantly.  The communities around East Texas sent support through wearing black & gold, holding fundraisers and sending prayers.  It was a tragedy to lose Cam'Ron - Friday nights will never be the same - but what an amazing young man he was in life and through his death he brought together more people in unity than anyone could have ever imagined. 

Last Friday, my little Troup Tigers are Alto Yellow Jackets today. They never met Cam'ron or any of his family, but know who Cam'ron was..he was a son, brother, grandson, friend, cousin and most of all a child of God. They know he is in heaven now and he is visiting with their Grandma and Pawpaw. They know that even though Cam'ron is happy, his family misses him fiercely. And they are convinced his angel wings are black and gold.  #ALTOgether

Love to Logan

Last week, Logan went in on Monday to have tubes put in his ears.  It seemed pretty routine since he had has tubes many times before.  But after he got home, he seemed to be reacting to the pain meds he was given and Andy & Michelle took him to the ER on Monday night to make sure he was okay.  They got him hydrated and sent him back home but it was obvious that Logan simply was not himself and they decided to take him back to Children's in Dallas. 

Sending "I Love You" to Logan

Long story short, Logan was having a very intense migraine just like the ones Andy has.  It was a hard week, especially for his parents having to watch him in pain but in the end they did find the root cause of the migraines which is pretty cool b/c we had never known the root cause with them on Andy.  All to say, it took Logan until Saturday to feel like himself and be released from the hospital - there is still more to work through and learn but for now Logan is okay and that is what matters! 

A Perfect Sunday

Sunday was almost near perfect.  First, we got the girls up and gave them their showers.  They were too worn out after pumpkin carving to shower the night before.  When we were picking out their Sunday clothes, I found some cute Halloween outfits I had forgotten I had.  Ava was all in but Carli was not nearly as enthused.  So instead of a meltdown, I bribed her with a Dr Pepper.  :)  It worked!  Ha!

After church and after getting Carli the promised Dr. Pepper, we headed to the lake for lunch with Grammy and Pa.  It was raining, but there's something about just being at the lake that is just relaxing.  We had a very yummy dinner and enjoyed an awesome visit with Grammy & Pa before it was time to go home.

We could have stayed at the lake all afternoon, but we had to get home b/c Kayla was coming by on her way back to school.  The girls had so much fun.  They had been missing Kayla a lot.  They drew, played hide and seek, uno and Kayla gave them piggy back rides.  Her quick stop to say hi turned into an hour and a half play date!  :)

I was able to get meal prep done for the week and Keith watched Drew.  Then it was time for church.  After church we had dinner out with the family and ended an awesome day!  :)

Pumpkin Carving 2015

Uncle Tone and Aunt Lolli came over Saturday night to carve pumpkins with the girls.  Actually, Uncle Tone carved pumpkins, Keith watched the baby and Holli & I cooked dinner and dessert.  :)

Uncle Tone had lots of help this year, like real help!  The girls cleaned out their pumpkins with a little help from Uncle Tone. 

 

The girls went easy on Uncle Tone this year and requested an old fashioned Jack-O-Lantern and a bat.  He was a little disappointed that he's creativity was not challenged much, but his hand was much appreciative b/c it didn't have near as much cramping!  We forgot candles again, so we used crayons as our candles and they worked well!

The girls with their pumpkins and Uncle Tone, plus Aunt Lolli's puppy, Dolly.  :)

Drew didn't have a pumpkin but he was there and next year I'm sure he will participate!  :) 

 

We had homemade pizza and Aunt Lolli made a very yummy fudge pie for dessert.  :)  Uncle Tone and Carli were in charge of licking the bowl and beater.  Ha!

 

We had a great night and enjoyed our time visiting with Uncle Tone and Aunt Lolli.  Loving our new little traditions and that they involve our extended family!

A New Dog Bed

You might have thought you bought this for the baby, but it looks like a perfect dog bed to us...

Kitchen Helper

Drew is going through a new stage where he wants to be held all the time.  The longer he is awake, the stronger he feels about it!  So he spends a lot of time in our K'tan helping me cook dinner, do laundry and clean up the house!  :)

 

Rollar Skating

Last year, the church had a back to school skating party and Carli & Ava had a blast.  Ava especially enjoyed skating and for Christmas asked for some roller skates from Santa.  She got her skates and because we have concrete floors has been practicing skating ever since.  Carli in turn wanted some skates and Ava could only share so much, so we ended getting Carli a pair as well.  They both got really good at skating around furniture and were so excited for the church skating party this year!

They flew around the floor and had so so much fun!

Drew was more interested in making sure he had all of Grammy's attention than he was in watching his sisters skate!  That didn't offend Carli much and she would stop by to steal a kiss or two as she made her rounds!

They tried hard to teach their buddy Bo how to skate but he preferred to slip and slide on his socked feet!

 

The girls slept extra hard after having such an awesome time out on the skating floor. 

Birthday Party Saturday

A couple of weeks ago we spent pretty much our whole Saturday at two really awesome birthday parties.  The girls had an absolutely wonderful day and were worn out when it was all said an done! 

Our first party was to celebrate Shiloh turning 7.  She had a cowgirl themed party complete with lots of farm animals. 

Carli on the horse.



 

"Mom, can I have a kitten?!"

 

"And a mouse?!"

Ummm, no. 

 Drew was totally into all the animals, not really.  But he did a really good job at this party just hanging out and having long conversations with his Daddy.

 

We left Shiloh's party and got a bite to eat before we headed to Kyndall's 5th birthday party.  This party was super cute and full of lots of homemade decorations that turned out so so cute!!

It was a Move themed party.  Kyndall's mom took nap mats and covered them with cute fabric.  Each kid went home with one as a party favor.  How creative is that?!

 

Drew was done partying at this point so we left the girls at the party and came home.  Drew and I stayed home and Keith went back for the girls.  They were still partying when he got back!  I had Drew bathed, fed and in bed before they got back home!

I think it is safe to say - they had a blast!

A Family Divided

Last week both the Rangers and the Astros were in the playoffs with a pretty decent chance of winning and moving on.  But unfortunately they both didn't pull out that final win and we had a very disappointed Daddy and Pa.  The girls had an absolute blast watching the games and getting updates.  We are a house divided b/c Keith and Carli are Ranger buddies and Ava and Pa are Astro buddies. 



The tie breaker sibling is still undecided but he really likes balls if that's any consolation!  :)