2014 so far.....

Of course I'm behind on the blog, by almost 2 months!  This year is already flying by.  Here's what we've been up to so far in the year 2014.

 

We've been spending quite a bit of time at the ranch, helping my mom and Fred build a cabin.  We can't wait for the cabin to be built, so we will have a more comfortable place to stay when we're there.  I'll post pictures of the cabin progress in a separate post.

 I'm happy that my kiddos seem to appreciate and enjoy our ranch just as much as I do!  They love going out there!

Adler and Owen both like to help us drive as soon as we're off the main highway and onto the dirt road (or "dirty" road as Adler calls it)!

We've also been seeing a lot of my grandmother, which is good for all of us!

 I have been making an effort to spend quality time with Owen lately.  I spend so much time with Adler, but my time with Owen is always limited.  So these 2 pictures are from a little hike we went on together, exploring the greenbelt .

We've had 3 snow/ice days in the past month.  THREE.  And this is what that looks like.  Seems like a joke to us.  But this snow/ice shut down the entire city!

Micah and his mom

My boys

 We spent a weekend in College Station recently, so Micah could attend his college reunion.  These are the other members of his Landscape Architecture class!

I have to give a shout out to my sister, Madison, who has just been accepted into Texas A&M University!!!  WHOOP!  I am so proud of her and know she's going to be an excellent Elementary School Teacher! 

Adler & Jordynn

Owen spending some good quality time with his Uncle B

Winter Break

It's been a few weeks, but we had a wonderful Christmas holiday!  I took off work for two and a half weeks and Micah had off work for over a week (which has never happened before)!  It was so nice to have a break from routine and spend time with family.  

Our break started off shaky, with Owen getting strep throat.  He was sick for about 4 days, but thankfully better by Christmas!  He had a long wait to see the doctor on the weekend before Christmas, so he sat in the car and built legos and played with his dancing robot.  We lucked out and nobody else caught the strep!

 My mom, Fred and Brian joined us for Christmas Eve and Christmas day, although we didn't take any pictures.  It was nice to have Christmas morning in our own house though!

Santa left Adler this dollhouse and she was ecstatic!

Santa left Owen this basketball goal for our driveway.  He shoots hoops every single day after school!

My dad and Mary gave the kids new rides for Christmas.  Adler is really getting around on her new bike and Owen loves his strange scooter.  I don't even know what it's called, but he can go pretty fast on it and do some cool tricks.

We spent some quality time with Brian over the holidays!

 

And it's always fun having the three brothers together (with Noah)!

 We went to the ranch and Micah started building a treehouse for the kids.  This is just the beginning!

We surprised the kids on New Years Day with a trip to Sea World.  I know Sea World is really controversial right now, BUT my mom gave us a family pass for 2014 AND my kids LOVE it there.  We have talked to them about where the animals came from and how they're cared for.  I think it's really peaked an interested in Owen, especially, and been very educational. 

Entering the Shark Reef

Feeding the sea lions

Adler having pure fun playing on the playground and riding roller coasters!

After Sea World we capped off the day with dinner at the Magic Time Machine.....such a hit with the kids!  Our server was an Indiana Jones with potty humor.  Owen is still talking about him.

Merry Christmas!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We've been getting into the holiday spirit this month!  This wasn't the friendliest Santa, but at least he was photogenic.

 We visited the Wildflower Center and their luminaries display.  The kids had fun walking through all the lighted pathways.

 We saw the Capitol Christmas tree with Melissa.

 We walked through the Trail of Lights at Zilker Park.  The lights were fantastic, but the crowds were a little too much for us.

I helped out with a Christmas party in Owen's classroom and his teacher had a photo booth set up.  What a fun idea for the 1st graders!

 Our house elf, Hattie, is visiting again.  This year he is having fun playing with the kid's toys. 

Micah and Adler had a date night to Micah's office Christmas party.  Unfortunately, I stayed home with a sick Owen while these two partied it up.  Owen has strep throat but is on an antibiotic now and feeling much better.  I just hope the rest of us don't get it!  Fingers crossed and Lysol sprayed.

Happy Birthday Owen!

Yesterday Owen turned 7. SEVEN.  I don't even know what to think about this.  He's so big and such a boy.  All his baby traits are gone, in the past.  But that's the point, right?  For our babies to grow up and become independent.  And I'm so proud of the person he is and the individual he's becoming.  He's smart, athletic, energetic, observant, and thoughtful.  He's so much like his father, but sometimes reminds me of myself as well.  Today I reflect on how he changed my life 7 years ago.  How he turned me into a mother, altered the course of my career, and made me a better person.  I'm grateful for him every day and lucky to have him in my life.

 This kid loves to build and loves animals!  Here he is with a few of his fun birthday gifts.  He's really into building Legos, and will sit for hours working on these projects.

 

We had Owen's birthday last weekend at Blazer Tag.....this HUGE laser tag center not far from our house.  I took Owen there this summer and he's been planning to have his birthday party there ever since.  We had a blast!  Micah and I played with the kids and enjoyed running around trying to find Owen and his friends to tag them.



Although I don't have pictures, Owen's grandparents came in for his party to help him celebrate.  His Uncle Brian also drove in last night for his actual birthday.  Owen chose to stay home, eat hot dogs, decorate his homemade cake, and play with his new toys!  He told me his birthday was better than he had hoped!





We joined Owen at school yesterday for lunch and shared brownies with his class!