I just might be TEAM JACOB

I am tired today because I joined my sister and about 20 of her friends that decided they could not miss the midnight debut of the Twighlight series Eclipse movie last night. We met up in our homemade warring Team Edward and Team Jacob t-shirts (hey, if you are going to geek-out why not go all out, right) and ate dinner for a few hours and then headed to the growing line at about 9PM. Luckily, we got great seats and enjoyed the gigantic popcorns and diet coke until 12:02AM when the fun began.

Let me tell you, it has been a while since I have read the books, but it was nice to have the movie remind me of the love torn Bella. Jacob was in absolute rare, beautiful form. The audience cheered pretty much everytime he showed up without a shirt. He stole the movie for me and even though I know Bella picks Edward, I just can't help but love having Jacob in the picture (for my own personal, selfish reasons, having nothing to do of course with the fact that he is freakishly handsome).

So - if you haven't made it yet, go and enjoy. The acting isn't great and the special effects don't mean much to me...but it is an A+ for me, a girl who loves to just live in a pretend world for a few hours. See for yourself if you don't have doubts about being Team Edward after this one...

as promised...

Brother had to try and sneak into the picture (something we have heard JP always did as a kid, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree).

I know I am biased, but come on...isn't she precious.

Escape update: She has not come out at nights but she did come out at 6AM the other morning. We'll hope that was just a fluke.

My big girl!

It was a big weekend for my precious baby, Elizabeth. Although at 2 and almost a half, she thinks she is at least 3, it is fun to watch her have these "firsts". So, first she moved into a "big girl bed" (which really just means her crib with one side rail taken off to make a sort of toddler bed...but does offer her the chance to escape). She was very excited and Trace even gave her his steps that he has outgrown. I will add pictures soon. (Escape update: she only came out once last night to just check in and went right back to bed, thank goodness!)

Next, she has also been potty training for a few weeks now and has done great except for one small thing. Well, last night we had what we hope is a breakthrough. I'll try to keep this G-rated and without too much detail...and, I'll just say it like Trace told Momsie, Pops, Grandpa and Nanny when we called them, "Elizabeth pooped in the potty. For real!" Hey, it is the small things in life that make a mom happy and this was one of them. And just for your benefit, I won't add any pictures on that one.

So - YEAH for my big girl. I love her dearly and can't stand how cute she is sometimes. I am looking forward to whatever our next "first" will be.

My LUCKY day...

Well, I used to be one of those people who NEVER won anything. Not the case tonight. Every year JP and I go to a Ducks Unlimited "banquet" (Texas style, of course, with camo table cloths, steak and shrimp for dinner, and duck decoys and rifles in the live auction). We have been going since we were at Tech and for some reason I am the luckiest girl at these things. They have raffles and normally have some pretty good stuff. You just pick what looks good to you and put in as many tickets as you want. Well, sure enough, as I have many years, I WON! TWICE! I walked away with a small portable grill perfect for tailgates or camping AND a Vera Bradley bag. I get to add those to my previous winnings from this banquet that included a DU chalkboard, kids directors chair and goodies for Trace, a windmill, another Vera Bradley bag, and the list goes on...I guess I should go get my lotto ticket...OR...just keep going every year and see when my luck will finally run out.

Dinner at the farm

I just have to think every once in a while how my nights are different than many other families. Years back there were many nights that after I got off work, I would head to the pig barns to help clean out the days mess left by all the piggies. Now thanks to the kids (as my excuse), I don't do that much, but we do take Daddy (that'd be JP) dinner in the field when we can. Tonight was one of those nights and it is actually a pretty fun thing that I wonder if the kids will remember. We normally have to run home, I whip up something that I can serve from the back of my car and we head to whatever field JP is in. We set up shop and eat in the Texas heat. The kids get to play with corn or cotton or whatever is growing and then they normally ride with daddy in the tractor. Tonight we ate by a corn field and the kids had fun picking corn and doing their best to shuck them. Trace even found TWO WORMS that he was super excited to tell Daddy about. Don't know if this post would mean much to most, but I just came home feeling lucky to have nights that are different than most...and hope that my kids enjoy it as much as I do.

Life's a beach

6 days and 5 nights at the beach makes for one happy and tired family. We got back from our annual beach trip with the Lehman family (Michael, Cassie, Michaela (aka "KK") and Tenley in Port Aransas. Here are some of the highlights from our trip:

* We had a little late night dance party in the room with the whole clan (except my kids who luckily were in bed). With a little bit of liquid courage, JP, Michael, Cassie and I all cut a rug. I even brought back the running man and roger rabbit...it was hysterical. I think we might have also made a few late night phone calls to Pops, Aunt Mandy and Uncle Richard, but I don't think we can remember exactly what we talked about.

* Trace was introduced to the Wii. He loved it and got daddy playing baseball, golf and bowling too. We are going to be in so much trouble when his birthday comes around.

* I got hit in the head by a beach cabana. No, really, I did. A storm blew in and we didn't seem to mind until the wind started gusting, took our tent and us with it and then another one came and got me right in the head...I have the wound to prove it.

* Elizabeth grew to love her floaty thing and swam in the "big pul" as she says. She also got her fingernails and toenails painted for the first time. Tenley and KK did a great job.

* We were stopped by several different folks and told how cute our kids were. JP and I had a couple of those moments where we were just sitting at the beach and just really enjoyed watching Trace and Elizabeth. They are truly the best things we've ever done. They are funny, excited about life (evidenced by their VERY LOUD voices), and genuinely sweet kids. We are blessed to be able to take them on trips like these to make memories that will last for years and to watch them grow up all too quickly.

* JP and Michael's washers were stolen. This wasn't really a highlight except that Cassie went on a man hunt for the thief and all but asked every person on the beach if they had seen any washers. She is sure it was one of the cabana boys who lied to her face, and even went all the way to the front desk to try and solve the case, but it didn't happen. "It was a principle thing..." was all she kept saying. The really funny part was the next day, a group of local Austin guys also there vacationing, kept coming by and asking if we'd seen washers, since she had made a point to ask them the night before, just in case they were the bad guys. All ended up OK since there is a local hardware store that had PVC and washers that Michael visited to get the guys back into gear.

We are already ready to head back next year to see what fun we can have. Thanks to the Lehman's for sharing their time with us - we love every minute of our time with you.

Fruits of our labor

Well, JP, my hard working farmer husband, decided to go all out this year and planted an awesome garden. We have had squash, zuchinni, onions, carrots (even some two-legged ones, as Trace calls them), red and white potatoes, and beautiful sunflowers and zinnias.

The veggies have been great, but this is a post about CLEANING them. It is not as much fun as eating them and takes time. See, at the grocery store everything is clean and ready to grab and go. What I get is an HEB bag full of muddy veggies. JP and I have taken turns cleaning them, but this weekend I was behind and decided that a hose in the front yard would go much faster. So, see below for the fruits of JP's labor (and the sweat of my brow after almost an hour cleaning those things)...they did make an amazing squash casserole though, so it was all worth it.

Day One - playground brawl...

Just playing a little bit with this blog thing and thought maybe this is a fun way to keep those that might be interested up to date on our adventures...

Today's journey I wasn't even a part of (thank goodness). Peggy ("Momsie", mother-in-law, JP's mom) watches four, yes, 4, grandkids on Fridays. Today at a trip to Chick-fil-a to enjoy the yummy food and indoor playground, my precious 2 1/2 year old, Elizabeth, decided to play a little too aggressively (PC for beat up) some other kids there. Peggy had to end up leaving after another mother (who will remain nameless, since we DO NOT KNOW HER) said loudly, "Where is your mother?" to my daughter, who supposedly picked up her son by the throat to move him away from the toy she wanted.

All I can say is, sorry to you nameless mother and child. I hope you weren't hurt, and I will continue to work on the concept of sharing and taking turns with Elizabeth. I am slightly mortified but then remembered that Elizabeth is still only 2and that behavior is pretty standard.

The joys of motherhood!