The Black Family

and BIGGER!

2010-04-14T21:59:00.002-05:00

Brooke pulled ANOTHER tooth this evening making the hole in her mouth even BIGGER! I was signing her in at church and got halfway done writing her name when she held up her second pulled tooth for the week. We had told her that this tooth still had a while to go before it was ready to be pulled, so she (and myself included) was in a little shock when it came out. She's got quite a little money making scheme going on here!

The Hole got bigger!

2010-04-13T18:47:00.003-05:00

Brooke is now missing all 4 front teeth! She is so proud because SHE pulled her wiggly tooth yesterday at school...her teacher made her! YEAH! After a week of it barely hanging there and her not letting us touch it, we were VERY thankful that her teacher took care of it!

Muffins for Moms

2010-04-13T18:45:00.002-05:00

B&B enjoyed eating muffins for breakfast with me this morning at their school!

Celebrating Easter!

2010-04-04T12:15:00.004-05:00

He is Risen! What a Glorious Day! We were so thankful to worship at our amazing church, Prestonwood North, this morning!The kids had fun with an egg hunt with friends yesterday! Bryce could have done without the eye allergy issues! Poor baby...look at those sad eyes. His shirt sums it up well!

The kids look forward to the tradition (or is it just me - ha ha!) of getting to dye eggs each year. This year we tried to make camo eggs; it never quite works out to look like the beautiful ones on the box! The kids' eggs were each unique and beautiful...just like they are!

Small Town Hero

2010-04-04T12:09:00.002-05:00

Bryce's 2009 All-Star team got recognized AGAIN this past week. This time they were announced on the field with the Prosper Vasity baseball team...at their amazing new field! They are local celebrities here in our small town; it's so fun! Bryce got to hang out in right field with Torii Hunter Jr...pretty cool, esp. if he makes it to the big leagues like his dad!

Brooke and the Rainbow Unicorn!

2010-03-24T10:08:00.003-05:00

For Brooke's 6th birthday party, she wanted a REAL horse! "Unicorns are real, aren't they mom?" is what she asked me on the morning of her birthday! We definitely had to be flexible with her party this year! We woke up the morning of her scheduled party to 6 inches of SNOW (on the first day of Spring, I might add!). Walmart called at 8am and said their designer couldn't make it to work, so there was no one to make her cake. And there was the obvious question, can a Rainbow Unicorn (and 6 year old girls) handle rides in the snow??? Thankfully, we were able to postpone her party for 2 days, and we ended up with a sunny and 70 degree day! Yeah! Brooke was in HEAVEN! She had a blast!

San Antonio - Spring Break 2010

2010-03-24T09:47:00.004-05:00

After not taking a vacation in quite a while, we were all very excited to go somewhere! (just wish we could have gotten there some way OTHER than I-35!) We had a blast at Sea World! They cancelled our 'Dinner with Shamu'...taking precautions after the incident in Orlando, but instead, we got did a 'Dolphin Encounter' where we got to get up close and personal with the dolphins. The kids LOVED it!

Can you see Brooke? She said she loved the ride, but I think she was a bit scared too!

After waiting almost an hour and a half, Bryce and I had a blast riding the log ride...a very chilly log ride!
We loved seeing "Shampoo" as he is kindly called in our house. Bryce called him that when he was 2, and it just kind of stuck! The trainers were very cautious in the shows; they didn't get in the water with the whales. It was still amazing to see the killer whales...and especially Baby Shamu, who just followed his mom around while she did tricks! Very cute!

Can you find Brad?

Remember the Alamo!

SNOW DAY!

2010-02-12T13:03:00.001-06:00

We're a little snowed in and a very consumed with Rhea Lana's season at our house!

Another visit from the tooth fairy!

2010-01-26T11:13:00.002-06:00

Brooke lost her first tooth...on her own! She is so proud to have another hole in her mouth. She finally decided to be brave and let Daddy "pull" it out (I don't even think it was attached in any way shape or form!)

Cowboys vs. Eagles

2010-01-05T19:19:00.003-06:00

Brad and Bryce got to make their first trip to Cowboys Stadium last Sunday to watch the Cowboys BEAT the Eagles!!! They had an awesome time! The original plan was for all four of us to go, and then the plan was for just Brad and I to go since we ended up with 2 tickets (and b/c it was our anniversary!) :) But, it gave me much MORE JOY to let Bryce go in my place. He drew pictures of the field throughout church drawing all the players and the scoreboard with the Cowboys winning, of course...and that was before we even told him he was going!!! Once we got home from church, I asked him what time the game started, and then, handed him the tickets to see if he could figure it out! He was PUMPED!!! Brooke and I enjoyed a fun girls afternoon, and Brad and I will be celebrating our anniversary this coming weekend!

Sock Hop

2009-10-30T08:04:00.003-05:00

Brooke was up early and SO excited to finally wear her poodle skirt today for the Sock Hop at school! She looked so cute in her blinged out poodle skirt! Bryce was too cool to participate. I couldn't even get him to wear a white T-shirt! But as I was dropping him off at school and he saw everyone else dressed up, he did say it was ok if I brought him a white T-shirt to wear with his jeans.

STATE CHAMPS!!!

2009-07-15T09:44:00.003-05:00

WOW, what a week we had at the state championship tournament in big Sulphur Springs, TX last week! Bryce's team went undefeated, winning the tournament and moving on to the National tournament in Louisiana this weekend! Here's a few highlight pics...

We are the champions...

2009-06-24T16:01:00.005-05:00

We had a great (and hot) Father's Day at the baseball fields (well, after a great morning at church!)
WooHoo! Way to go Prosper All-Stars! Bryce's team won their district tourney, and not only did they win, they run ruled the other teams in all 6 games they played! We will now move on and play in the state tournament in big Sulphur Springs, TX starting on July 4! Happy Vacation to us! :)
It was so special that Brad's dad could also be there for the championship game on Sunday! Like father, like son...like son!
Such a cute group of boys...and awesome ball players too!
TROOPER is Brooke's new nickname! She definitely deserves the "sister of the year" award for being a trooper through all of brother's games! This is another trooper lil sis in this pic with her!

Miscellaneous

2009-06-09T09:01:00.004-05:00

It's been busy, but fun times around our house lately! Bryce tried out for the Prosper All-Star baseball team last week and made the 1st team! So, we are all about baseball around here...AGAIN! He's acquired a lot of cool new stuff for the team too...and these are just his practic jerseys! He's pretty pumped, and we're very proud of him.
The kids and I went to Waco for a few days last week to hang out with the cousins. These boys are way too big!
We were so excited to see that the Baylor bear does actually wake up and come out of his (actually, I think it's her) little cave. This is probably the 10th time we've stopped by the bear pit, and the first time we've actually seen a bear awake! Of course she was only up for a second, but it was still fun to see her up.
AWANA awards at church...It's always big fun to walk across stage and get your name called out!

Bryce's last day of school this year was on SATURDAY, May 30, and to get all the kids to show up, they did their awards ceremony that morning. We were very proud of Bryce for receiving an "A Honor Roll" award...and the token field day award!
We've adjusted pretty well to being back in Texas and living in Prosper, but it's been so fun to have some Arkansas friends move here too! Here's a pic of Brooke and Lowery on the merry go round at Stonebriar Mall (a little different than a trip to the NWA mall!)

Bryce's buz and Brooke's big week

2009-05-25T20:32:00.002-05:00

Last week was eventful in our house! In yet another attempt to be even more like his daddy, Bryce got a buz...from Daddy of course!
Brooke graduated from preschool! Such a bittersweet moment. She did a great job marching in to pomp & circumstance, singing "Moving up to Kindergarten" and receiving her diploma!
"All I want for Christmas (this year...and the next 3!!!!) is my 2 front teeth!" Brooke had to have her front 2 teeth pulled. A pocket of infection had formed above the roots of these teeth because of a couple bad falls and that would have scarred the adult teeth if left alone. She was SO brave and did a great job. She's been very proud to show off her empty mouth which is pretty cute now. The tooth fairy brought her 2 $2 bills!

Happy ending to a tough day

2009-05-12T22:00:00.002-05:00

Brad's grandmother "Mom" went to see Jesus today, so we are rejoicing for that even though it's tough to say goodbye. She lived 94 precious years! This picture was taken in the spring of 2006...The happy end to the day is that Bryce asked Jesus into his heart! Good can come out of all things! Bryce was excited that Mom got to be in heaven with Jesus. We're so happy and blessed that he wants the same someday!

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T10:10:00.003-05:00

Both kids schools hosted a Mother's Day Tea last week! It was such special times at each event! Bryce's class made all the moms hats (Kentucky Derby hats as Bryce said) out of butcher paper; mine had a "veil" so it was quite large! It was such a cute idea! His class recited a cute poem, drew sweet pictures for the moms, and made a video of them reading journal entires they had written about their moms...so sweet!
Broooke was so excited to serve me a brownie and muffin (even though she ate my brownie!). Her class sang a bunch of songs for us...once again, so sweet! On Saturday Brad had us all load up because he said they were taking me shopping for Mother's Day. Of course, he wouldn't say where we were going. He pulled up to the AT&T store to get me a new phone! Me being practical thought my old phone still worked fine, but he wanted me to be up with the rest of the world. I know it was very difficult for him to do this, that's what made it so special...I got an iphone...BEFORE HIM!!! I have always received Brad's hand-me-down phones, so this was big news! Thanks baby! Now I just have to learn how to use it!

4 shots

2009-05-01T21:40:00.003-05:00

Today was the kid's well child doctor appointments which would typically be no big deal except that Brooke had to get 4 shots. We've known it was coming for a couple weeks. At Kindergarten registration they told us the 4 that she still needed in order to start school. When she found that out, she changed her mind and decided she didn't want to go to Kindergarten after all (which didn't bother mommy). Anyways, I really thought today would be fine after all our talks about being brave. The nurse started to give her the first shot (after using numbing spray), and Brooke screamed and reached down and pulled the shot out of her leg!!!! I thought I was holding her hands well, but obviously, I wasn't. The nurse decided to let Brooke calm down for a minute (yea, right). 10 minutes later, 2 nurses come in with candy (didn't work) and the 4 shots. Brooke has NEVER cried and screamed bloody murder like she did today. It was awful! I was crying too by the time it was over. It was a completely horrible and extremely traumatic experience...but she can go to Kindergarten now. Hope it's worth it.
She's all better now and showing off her beautiful bandaids.
And here's the 5th bandaid from the shot she pulled out. She really scared the nurse when she did that too! She's trying to pretend to scream like she did this afternoon...nice try!

Happ Birthday Bryce!

2009-04-25T21:39:00.003-05:00

8 years ago our precious lil' boy was born...
Last year I started a tradition of decorating my kids' bedrooms the night before their birthdays. Even though it's such a new tradition, Bryce was already expecting it, so we had to get creative. We "wrapped" his room and stacked tp rolls all over to look like 8s. It was pretty cute and I think he was excited when he woke up (and still sleepy too!)
We celebrated with a laser tag party. The boys had a blast (the 8 year olds did too!) HA - I think Brad, his dad, brother and a couple other dads had the most fun!

Our poor kids (I act like they're deprived and they totally are NOT) have never had any big toys in the backyard, so they were pretty pumped with Bryce's (and Brooke's) birthday present...

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T11:20:00.002-05:00

We had an awesome Easter weekend: church Friday night, an egg hunt with friends, baseball, church Sunday morning, and a relaxing Sunday afternoon at home! Here's a pic of the fam at church Easter morning.

Prosper Baseball

2009-04-13T11:06:00.002-05:00

It's pretty much baseball every night at our house right now, except Wednesday thank goodness! How cute is this...
With Prosper being a small town ALL the baseball teams are the Prosper Eagles. It's pretty fun that everyone is so excited about our town, but I'm thinking we might get tired of green at some point!?!? In Bryce's league there are 9 teams, and every single team is the Prosper Eagles! Go Eagles! Here's a pic of Bryce playing 2nd base.And here's our star T-ball player! She's having a blast.
It isn't bothering her one bit that she's the only girl on the team...

And so it begins...again!!

2009-04-08T07:58:00.003-05:00

As most of you know, spring is our favorite time of the year. The time changes, the flowers begin to bloom, the weather starts to warm up, and for those of you that dont know us that well, WE PLAY BALL!!! This year is VERY special because our baby is now in t-ball which means we are having up to 6 games and practices a week. Here is a little sample of Bryces 2nd game and I will upload Brookes video soon.

Spring Training

2009-04-04T09:19:00.003-05:00

Here's a couple pics and cute videos from Spring Training at Brooke's preschool. It all tied together with a baseball theme, and it was so cute!
Everyone knows that Brooke loves to be on stage, so she's in her prime right here!
o
Friend of God...

Yes Lord...

Shark Attack...probably the cutest!

Our baby is 5!!!

2009-03-31T16:36:00.006-05:00

It's been so long since I've made a post, I almost forgot how to do it!?!?!?

Well, our baby turned 5 last week! So hard to believe! 5 years has completely flown by. Here she was 5 years ago...
And here she is now "all grown up"She was so excited to have a horse theme for her party! The original plan was to have an OUTSIDE party in our backyard with the kids making stick horses, playing games, and busting a pinata...all outside! Well, when we woke up to snow flurries the morning of the party, plan B had to kick into effect! It all turned out great INSIDE our house! And did I mention that pretty much everyone invited was able to come, so that meant 17 kids. How does that happen when you're new in town? Anyways, we made stick horses in the dining room, raced their horses around "barrels" in the living room, and did the pinata in the garage. Brad did an AWESOME job ring leading all the games. Thank you baby!Thnaks to Springdale 1st graders, we had a great way to make stick horses for all the kids! All my Texas friends thought I was so creative! Ha!
Brooke was so excited to have Abby (pretty much her 1st friend ever) at her party. The only party Abby has ever missed was the birthday Brooke celebrated in Arkansas.
And yes, I did make the cake. Borrowed that idea too! :)

Brooke's new bike!

2009-01-24T19:37:00.004-06:00

It was a big day in our 4 year old's world today. She bought her very first bike! That's right; SHE decided that's how she wanted to use her Christmas money. She's waited patiently all week for our trip to Walmart this weekend, and now the weather is too cold for her to even go outside. The garage made a good enough track after riding it through the aisles at Walmart!

Australia, Arkansas...same thing?!?!

2009-01-24T19:34:00.002-06:00

We had a funny moment this week when I met the mom of one of the boys on Bryce's basketball team. She says, "So, you moved here from Australia?" Her son came home and told her Australia, not Arkansas! Easy mistake, right? The accents are close enough. Ha Ha

Upward B-ball

2009-01-24T19:12:00.005-06:00

Bryce did awesome in his first and last game with his FBC Springdale Upward team. He came out of his shell, played amazing and scored 18 points! It was a very proud parent moment for Brad and I! He totally wore himself out and was a bit red-faced!

Here's a pic of his Arkansas team. Fortunately, we were able to find a team here in Texas for him to finish the season with, so he's still playing and loving it. and I couldn't resist posting a pic of my favorite (and best dressed) Upward coach! Love ya Lisa!

Texas, here we come!

2009-01-08T21:01:00.002-06:00

Make that 5,254!!!
The kids went to the North Pole at Christmas and liked it so much, they're gonna stay! :)

Few Christmas Pics

2009-01-08T20:46:00.002-06:00

We had an awesome Christmas in Texas this year. Thank goodness Santa got the message that we wouldn't be at home! Here's a pic of the kids leaving cookies and milk for him Christmas Eve.
We had fun hanging out with our cousins...Kailey, Abigail, Bryce, Wade, Benson and Brooke.Caden was the big recipient of the tie box at the Black family Christmas this year. Who knows how long it's been around and exactly how many times it's been passed! I'm not sure that Caden even knew what a tie was???
Brooke and Bryce with Braden and Aubrey

Santa's Lap 2008

2008-12-06T19:04:00.002-06:00

We took Bryce & Brooke to visit Santa today. They were excited to see him and give their letters to him...unlike years in the past where we didn't know if we'd have Santa cheers or Santa tears...I am definitely that mom that gets the Santa pic regardless of how my kids feel about it! Here's some memories of Santa's lap in past years...2003 - BIG tears for Bryce at 2 1/2!
2004 - This was a good year! Bryce was 3 and Brooke was 9 months.

2006 - BIG tears for Brooke at 2 1/2 (something about that age for our kids!)!

First Snow

2008-12-06T19:00:00.001-06:00

Here's a pic from December 1, our first snow. It wasn't much, but it was a fun launch to Christmastime!

November in a nutshell

2008-11-30T22:25:00.004-06:00

I guess I had "bloggers block" for the majority of this month! So, here it is the last day of the month (and it's late and I need to go to sleep), so I thought I'd post a quick summary of our month.
Stacey's Birthday on the 5th. Dinner and an interesting Target shopping trip with Julie, LeAnn, Lisa, Kim, Amy and Amy!
Brad's Birthday on the 12th. We celebrated with a yummy stawberry cake, BUT note to self: Brad would much rather have the homemade one next year! (I'm still baffled; I thought it was awesome!)
We celebrated Thanksgiving at the ranch with Brad's family. Here's a pic of the cousins. The cute one in the middle wasn't too excited about being outside in the cold wind...or maybe it was because she didn't get to hold her beloved "bear."
Brad got some QT hunting with the kiddos. We had a great week in Texas. It flew by! We were sad to leave, but I was so thankful to finally get home tonight. Our routine 6 hour drive turned into about 8 hours! Mother Nature made today's trip difficult! First of all, we battled a 30 mph wind coming out of the northeast, which is obviously a challenge when you're driving from Texas to Arkansas. Then, it rained...along with the wind. Then, just as soon as we think we're on the homestretch, we pass through the tunnel and hit a parking lot on 540. When we got to the other side of the tunnel, it was snowing!...and traffic was at a standstill. We crept along for the remainder of the way home going about 10 mph. It was actually very sad and a bit scary for me. There was wreck after wreck after wreck. I hope and pray everyone is OK after all that, and I'm thankful for the protection God provided for us!We also had fun visiting Williams cousins during our Texas trip! Can't wait to be closer to you so we can play more often!

Introducing Ragamuffin!

2008-11-04T12:08:00.002-06:00

Check out the blog for my new business! www.ragamuffincollection.blogspot.com

Halloween

2008-10-31T23:20:00.003-05:00

This day just started out strange!?!? This morning on the way to school it was raining with lightning and thunder just above us, the sun was shining as it rose to the east and there was a rainbow to the west! THEN, we get to Bryce's school and there's a hail storm for 10 minutes!!! The ground was completely covered with marble size hail. Just a strange start for Halloween day!

We had a fun night trick or treating and eating dinner with friends. Brooke had fun being Pinkalicious again (we went a little lighter with the pink makeup this time!), and Bryce was a football player for the 4th year in a row. He was Tony Romo (wrapped pinky and all).

Kinley.Spencer.Brooke.Bryce.Madeline.Stuart.Reagan.Bodie.Jami.Ryan.Addy

Bring on the tooth fairy

2008-10-30T18:07:00.003-05:00

Our poor baby had to have 2 teeth pulled today b/c of severe crowding. He was VERY brave and did a great job for his first dental procedure. He was pretty pitiful for the first hour afterwards but is back to his normal active self now.

Pinkalicious!

2008-10-27T12:05:00.002-05:00

Brooke got to dress up in her Halloween costume today for school. Pinkalicious is a children's book about a girl who eats too many pink cupcakes and turns pink; at the end of the book she has to eat green foods to turn back to normal! Brooke took pink cupcakes to share with her class today, and let's just hope it washes off because our picky eater will NOT eat green!!

Pinkalicious and JoJo (Jami Grace)

The rest of the story...and HSM3

2008-10-25T21:13:00.003-05:00

OK, so here's the other half of the chicken truck explanation...the empty truck headed back out of town later in the afternoon. Once again, I was in the right place at the right time!
I am a huge fan of High School Musical and HSM3 is awesome! I loved it...even cried!?! Bryce and Brooke are a little more reserved in front of the camera than Lowery! She's ready to audition!

Amber, this is for you...

2008-10-23T16:13:00.002-05:00

This is a chicken truck...To try and explain this to you rest of you, my friend Amber (from Texas) was telling me about a challenge she took last week to take pictures and document basically everything she did for a week. I told her that I would like to do something like that before we move back to Texas to document my life here in NWA...places I go, friends, and things that I would only see here in Arkansas...like chicken trucks! Her response was, "what exactly is a chicken truck?" For those of you here in NWA, chicken trucks are normal, a daily occurence, but in Texas, it's just not something you see...ever! And low and behold I was in the right place at the right time (and with camera handy)to capture this image for you Amber!

XLR8 Worship Night

2008-10-20T19:02:00.002-05:00

The kids (XLR8) led worship last night at church. They were so cute...esp. the art group! (I lead that one :)) Anyways, I love it that Bryce gets excited about being up there praising God, and I know I shouldn't laugh, but it's pretty funny too!
Bryce was in the "rythm" small group, and I'm thinking he needs to stick to sports before coming a rock star!(watch all the way through to understand)

These boys just make me smile...and laugh.

Pumpkin Patch 2004

2008-10-19T21:44:00.002-05:00

I took a short stroll down memory lane tonight! This pics are from the pumpkin patch 4 years ago!!! Bryce was 3 and Brooke was 6 months. Yikes, how the time flies!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-18T09:39:00.004-05:00

It's a tradition in our family that we make a trip to the pumpkin patch every year. We've gone every year since Bryce was a baby. Those of you in Texas (and even those here in Arkansas b/c I've told you how awesome it is)know how much we've missed the Flower Mound pumpkin patch...endless rows of neatly organized pumpkins, dozens of great photo opps, bounce houses, food, etc... So, it was hard to replace that and find a new place to visit here in Arkansas. The one we visited last year was OK, but we decided to try a new pumpkin patch this year, and it was the REAL DEAL. It was the actual farm where they grow the pumpkins, so we got to cut our own pumpkin from the vine. It was so much fun, and now we all have a better appreciation of where the pumpkins come from!

BD Ranch Hunting Camp

2008-10-18T08:51:00.002-05:00

Brad did a mini hunting camp with Bryce last weekend teaching him gun safety and hunting lessons. Bryce got his first BB gun and had to pass all his tests to earn safety glasses and BB's! Bryce got to shoot at an armadillo and a trapped raccoon...giving each of them just a little headache! They had a blast!

It's starting...

2008-10-06T12:53:00.002-05:00

For someone who's gone without 4 true seasons pretty much all her life, this is pretty exciting! I'm so excited to see the leaves turn colorful one more time before we return to 2 seasons...hot and hotter!

Fan on Location

2008-10-04T21:12:00.003-05:00

Yes, this is the same child who proudly wore his Texas jersey last Monday! I like to call him a "fan on location." He just loves football, and the whole spirit of rooting for your team...one of the many that he loves! Bryce and I had a blast today at the Razorback game even though they got beat bad...again. It was a fun experience. Thanks Steve and April for sharing your tickets with us!

True to his roots...

2008-09-29T08:23:00.002-05:00

This one's for you mom! He wore his Texas jersey proudly to school today after a lil' slaughter on the hogs this weekend. He'll probably turn around and wear his Razorback jersey tomorrow, but for today...

Superstar, Fall Ball, Happy Fall, & Hangin' Around

2008-09-23T14:11:00.002-05:00

It's a BIG deal to be the Superstar at Brooke's preschool, and she earned that privilege yesterday. Yeah Brooke! She loves going to school and playing school even when she's not there. She's doing a great job learning all her letters, even though her favorite is still "B"...guess that's a good thing!

Bryce is busy(like almost every day busy) with Fall baseball right now. He loves playing even though it's football season right now and not baseball season, he says. He excels at baseball on the field but is consumed in just about every other way, shape and form with football right now. His baseball team, the Red Dogs, is currently undefeated, so that's pretty fun (and a big change from last spring!)...even though supposedly no one is keeping score!
We were happy to welcome Fall this week! Although, it was cooler in August than it is now!!!
In the little spare time where he's not playing baseball or watching football, we have found a little time to just play and hang around! :)

Hurricanes Gustav and Ike

2008-09-13T17:03:00.006-05:00

I haven't given any updates at all since I began my work in LA since April, but I thought that this was worth sharing. The past few days have been a real wake up call to the reality of mother nature and her wrath. We, those of us in Texas and Arkansas, may not understand the havoc that a hurricane can create in your life. I hope we will all remember to pray for those in south Texas and Louisiana for their safety and future as they are beaten by these storms. You may not realize how far reaching one of these storms can be, but Ike who hit at Galveston last night and today knocked out the power at my RV park on Thursday night with high winds and rain as it knocked down another tree. Thats a 5 hour drive away from where I am at and I still felt the effects. Here are only a few of the pics that I will share with you.

This mobile home is next door to my RV park

This is a LARGE root ball

This tree is about 4 ft in diameter and the last trailer in the back with the blue around the bottom is mine. Maybe 40 yards away.

These three are on the same road that I am staying on

This trailer is in the RV park I am staying in

This is at a near by park

The first time I drove by the tree was still there and you couldnt see the white car at all

I counted about 15 large trees that were down in this one yard

Playing catch up!

2008-09-11T12:48:00.005-05:00

After a trip out of town and being sucked into the Facebook world, I've been a blogging slacker, so I thought I'd catch up here! We got to spend a few hours(literally) with Brad as he flew home from Maine and got ready again to hit the road back to Louisiana. The kids are liking him traveling (well, within reason) because they're getting goodies everywhere Daddy goes. Bryce's football jersey collection now includes the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints. I'm personally hoping that his collection doesn't grow anymore b/c I'm ready to have Brad home! And Brooke was thrilled to get a new Princess necklace!
In the eyes of a 4 year old, nothing beats a dress up day with a good friend!

It's not often that I have a non-kid picture to post! I got to go to Houston (The Woodlands) last weekend to visit my "favorite friend" Carrie and be there for Baby Will's baby shower. It was so fun and a much needed mommy break!

Welcome Baby Addison!

2008-09-10T21:57:00.003-05:00

She is so tiny and so precious

Thanks Gustav!

2008-08-29T23:10:00.002-05:00

I hate to give any sort of credit to a hurricane that could and will do a lot of damage, BUT because of Gustav, Brad gets to come home for a few days!!! Yeah! So, while I am very thankful that we'll get to spend some unexpected time together, I do feel bad that the Louisiana coast is about to take a bad hit. God does work in mysterious ways and is faithful to answering prayer. I had been praying that somehow we'd get another opportunity to see each other, and here we go! Jordan and Alissa, I've thought about ya'll so much; I hope Gustav steers clear of your cute new house, and I pray that ya'll will stay safe! Sorry, I'm praising the very storm that you are dreading.

Baylor football needs help!

2008-08-29T08:21:00.002-05:00

Seriously, I think Bryce could help them out! He's ready!

Back to preschool

2008-08-27T10:02:00.002-05:00

Brooke was so excited to get back to school! She really wishes that she could be at big school every day with brother, but Mommy's kind of excited to keep her home with me one more year.

Poor Baby

2008-08-18T13:49:00.003-05:00

Bryce's 1st day of school is off to a rough start. I got a call at about 12:30 from the school nurse (my heart starts pounding rapidly). He got stung by a wasp at recess! It flew/crawled up under his collar and got him good. :( Evidentally, wasps took over the playground this summer while the kids were gone...3 other kids also got stung! After some Benadryl he said he was OK and wanted to stay, so I guess he's having fun being back at school. He wasn't very happy with me for taking a picture of him!

1st day of 2nd grade

2008-08-18T08:31:00.002-05:00

Bryce was excited to go back to school today! We had a good morning...even with a longer drive. It was so cool this morning, we almost needed jackets! Brooke really wished she could have stayed at school too. She really thinks she's going to have all the same teachers that Bryce has had...maybe they'll all move to Texas with us!?!? She told me in the car after we dropped Bryce off, that she is being patient until it's her turn to go to school. So cute.

Bryce got the teacher that both he and I hoped he would get. Yeah! You can't really tell by the picture, but she's pretty tall; Bryce has been telling everyone that she's 100 feet tall. I laughed because this picture is so different from this picture last year with his 1st grade teacher where she was just about the same height as Bryce.

The next Natsia Luikin...

2008-08-15T20:38:00.005-05:00

Brooke had her first gymnastics class today. This morning when she woke up I asked her if she was ready to go to gymnastics, and she asked, "Are you going to watch me on TV?" Ahh...the mind of a 4 year old! The Olympics has her thinking she's the next Natsia or Shawn! She had a blast at her class and can't wait to go back next week.

Back from the swamp...again

2008-08-14T09:11:00.003-05:00

We're back from Louisiana again. It's too bad NWA can't share some of it's good weather with that state! Lower 80's in August beats upper 90's with 200% humidity! We had a good time with Brad. He'll be glad to wrap up this store next month!
Brad and Bryce played golf on the LSU golf course. Bryce was pumped to use his new clubs, and to play right next to the LSU football stadium! He likes to be a "fan on location!"

We got to hang out with Jordan, Alisa, and their kiddos a bunch. It was fun to have friends in Baton Rouge! We made a day trip to New Orleans one day and had fun at the aquarium. This was the only pic I could get of all the kids. Everyone was kind of in their own world!

I was excited to have someone else around to take a picture of just Brad and I, BUT...some things never change! :)
The fountains in New Orleans...

One night we went out to eat, and walked out of the restaurant to see this...

It was so fun...definitely makes you smile!

Grey wins!

2008-08-01T22:27:00.003-05:00

Bryce's team won their first football game and because of the way the bracket is set up, his team will play in the championship game Saturday night! He is pumped! He played well in his first game making a couple tackles...therefore getting his name called out on the loudspeaker! That was our goal for the season...to hear "#54 Bryce Black on the tackle."
Bryce was very glad to have Dad home for his game!

There were 5 kids between the 2 teams from Bryce's 1st grade class. Mrs. Cheshier came to cheer them on!

Brooke's mouth is doing MUCH better!

and she's smilin' again...

2008-07-26T15:23:00.003-05:00

Brooke had a traumatic Friday night, but fortunately, she's all smiles now! She had a run-in with our friend's hardwood floors. She was hysterical for quite a while but the toughness in her shone through as time wore on. Bless Dr. Rhodes who answered the emergency call last night! We'll see how the healing process goes...and if she's ever able to suck her thumb again!

Fore!

2008-07-22T16:05:00.002-05:00

Now that we live on a golf course - ha, ha - the kids want to play golf all the time...even if it's indoors!?!?

Are you ready for some football?

2008-07-19T21:43:00.002-05:00

Bryce is enjoying his 2nd season of Kiwanis football. It's such a great program!!! We'll miss it in our future summers back in Texas! His coach this year has a set of lungs, but I think Bryce will actually learn something from it...if nothing else than to pay attention...or pay the consequence - RUN!

Finally...

2008-07-17T22:09:00.008-05:00

OK...so, it's been hard for me to blog this summer! Being out of town half the time and moving are good excuses, right?
Here's a few pics from our trip to Breck...
Snow & flowers...such a fun combo

The fishing was good!

The whole fam. did a 14 mile downhill ride. It was big fun and so beautiful!!!

Free loaders...

Breckenridge has an awesome 4th of July parade! The whole town gets involved. It's so fun and patriotic!
Uncle Jeff teaches Brooke how to look desperate (and cute) to get more candy!

We also got to spend a few days in Texas which is always a good thing!!! Here's a few highlights. The kids got to play with cousins Abigail and Colin. A funny story while we were staying with my aunt & uncle...my aunt set out sleeping bags for the kids to sleep in. When Brooke was sleepy and ready for bed, she said, "I'm ready to sleep in my ZIPLOCK bag!" It was pretty funny!
Bryce was pumped about checking out the new Cowboys stadium. It's massive!

We were also thrilled to be able to go to my niece's 1st birthday party!

The girl knows whats good!

Two big nights for B

2008-06-23T22:07:00.002-05:00

Bryce's baseball team got to participate in the Naturals Field of Dreams tonight. They got to go out on the field with the team before the game, and then they stood by the player with the position that they played during the national anthem. It was pretty neat!

Night before last, Bryce lost tooth #2. It came out while he was brushing his teeth, so I had to learn how to be a plumber and find it in the drain. I'm just glad I didn't have to pull it!

Catching up...

2008-06-22T23:10:00.007-05:00

I knew I had been a blogging slacker, but I didn't realize it had been 3 weeks since my last post until I saw the new feature on the Slaughter's blog that lets you know when your last post was! Our summer's started off fun...and busy. We spent almost 2weeks in Louisiana with Brad. Not much to do in New Iberia, but we had a blast being together as a family. The kids have tried their best to be in the pool every single day. After trying to work with Brooke in the pool for 2 years now and getting nowhere, she decided on her own while we were in Louisiana that going under water was OK; she also figured out how to swim...on her own, of course. She'll do things no other way!

Over the weekend we went to Biloxi, Mississippi and had fun at the beach. The condition of the beach was pretty good...better than Texas (although someone told me that they brought in all the white sand that Katrina wiped out...from Texas of all places???). The city is still trying to recover and rebuild from the storm.

We made our 2nd annual Father's Day trip to Bass Pro in a different state. We haven't really planned for it to work out that way, but it's fun to take Brad to one of his favorite places on his special day...wonder what state it will be next year???

So, now it's time to pack...UGGGH! Too bad that's becoming an annual event too. This time I'm finally letting go of the sorority sweatshirts I've been hanging onto for over a decade...not sure why. We wore them SO BIG then!!!

"Where are we going?"

2008-05-27T13:28:00.004-05:00

We had an awesome Memorial Day weekend with Aunt Erica and cousins Braden & Caden. We did a LOT on their 1st trip to NWA, and I'm titling this post in honor of my precious nephew who must have asked me 1 million times..."Where are we going?" as he eagerly anticipated our next new and exciting adventure!

We went to a Naturals game Friday night. They played the Midland Rockhounds; Bryce wanted to shake things up a bit by wearing his old Rockhounds baseball jersey. The Naturals lost, but we had a blast! They did an awesome job designing that stadium - very kid friendly! The fireworks were awesome too...even though it was 11pm when they started and Brooke was scared to death!!!

Saturday we went to the Gentry Wildlife Safari and had a blast interacting with all the animals. The boys got brave with a boa!

Windows UP, Erica!!!

Sunday we went hiking at Devil's Den. What an adventure! It was very hot, and it started raining halfway through the hike! We definitely could have used our husband's help as we treked with 4 kids in and out of caves, and up and down steep (and slippery) rocks, but it was a fun and scenic adventure...something you can't do in Waco, TX!

Under Armour boys!!!

And sadly...back to the airport. What a fun weekend!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-13T21:42:00.001-05:00

Mother's Day was tough this year with Brad traveling. The kids tried their best to be sweet but a full day of being sweet is tough for them!

Worship & Arts Kids Night

2008-05-07T20:13:00.001-05:00

Yeah! I'm so proud of me for getting these videos on here!

What is worship?

Jesus Loves Me (bear with me on this one...the best shot of both kids together is at the end)

Weekend in Texas

2008-05-07T16:39:00.004-05:00

Jeff's concert - so awesome!!!

We love Uncle Jimmy!

We took a trip to the Dallas Arboretum with Aunt Susan.

For Spring in Texas, it was quite chilly!

Our lil' glamour girl!

The Busiest Week EVER

2008-04-30T21:43:00.005-05:00

Last week was a whirlwind with Brad starting a new job, both sets of parents coming in town, Bryce turning 7 and having his football birthday party, Bryce's 1st grade stickhorse rodeo, Brooke's first dance recital, 2 baseball games, and the kids Worship & Arts performance at church...did I forget anything?

Bryce & his friends had a blast playing flag football on the Shiloh field!

Brooke LOVES to perform on stage! She is full of expression and drama!

Brooke's Ballerina Party

2008-04-30T21:28:00.003-05:00

So far, all our postings have been about baseball, so I figured I'd change gears and add a few pictures from Brooke's 4th birthday party!

A couple more baseball pics...

2008-04-08T17:04:00.003-05:00

Bryce with his buddy Spencer

Got it!

Batter up!

Bryce catching behind his friend Mason

Whew!!...What a weekend!

2008-04-07T08:16:00.001-05:00

Wow what at weekend! We ended the week with my last day of work on friday. It could not have ended at a better time for Stacey and the kids. Bryce had 2 games on Saturday, we started our new SS class on Sunday morning with 5 couples (and Matt did an excellent job teaching). We then had another game at 3:45 pm on Sunday. We have 3 more games this week Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Thats 6 games in 5 days, for a 6 year old. Here's a few pics from the weekend.

If I squated like that, I would never be able to get up.

Oops! Somethings not right?

Sister thought this was scary

A dad's work is never done!

New at this....today's events

2008-04-01T21:31:00.000-05:00

I am sitting at home which is a change for me. Bryce and I just got back from the frst official practice for the NWA Naturals AA baseball team and it was cold. I now sit here looking for pics to post...and a job.