Spring Soccer

(Warning: This is the first of several various "end of season"posts....Kindergarten & Piano recital to come!)

Warren had another fun soccer season this Spring. He really enjoys playing and worked very hard this season. He was often found in the backyard "practicing" with Ben. He's more of a recreational player but it has been fun to see him grow over the last two seasons. 

Throwing the ball in...

 He was more confident and even tried to steal the ball a few times...

 Aunt Misty was here from Cleveland on a house hunting trip and she got to come to his last game! 

He was so happy to have her there. :) She also came with us to our stake picnic later that day. I was grateful for her willingness to do the gunnysack races with Warren. ;) 

End of season party equipt with the EVER exciting soccer cupcakes! 

 Benjamin our "ball boy" was also very impressed. 

 Proudly displaying his "official" soccer medal with his teammates and Coach, AK Suggs. 

Good Job Warren! You did great! 

All the Easter Pictures ;)

I know Easter has come and gone. I have been nesting as of late and have neglected my blogging. Hopefully I can get caught up soon. :) 

Saturday before Easter, we set out to our traditional Easter carnival & hunt over at Town Square here in KW but discovered upon arrival it had been canceled for some strange reason. So thanks to the power of the iphone, we barely caught the only other Easter egg hunt in the area at the Porter VA center. The boys made out pretty good with stuffed animals and lots of eggs. 

After the egg hunts we came home and dyed Easter eggs.

If you look closely you can see a special Easter egg for the baby...can you find his name?

Some Yummy Easter treats I made for the boys and friends here in TX. 

 Easter morning our bunny was really tricky. He left baskets to enjoy before 9am church but didn't come back to hide the eggs until we were at church. The boys were excited to come home with a yard filled with fun. :)

Thanks to Grandma, their baskets were extra packed this year with all kinds of treats and fun stuff. :) 

Wild about you...

We finally did it. We can officially call ourselves Texans.

We got the boys pictures in the bluebonnets. 

The blue bonnet is the Texas state flower and they are only in bloom for about a month every Spring. They fill the sides of the freeway, ditches & meadows and are really beautiful.  Every year I have had the best of intentions but never got it done. They were past their prime but we made it just before the sun went down and I thought they turned out great.

Warren cracks me up. He REALLY wanted to hold some blue bonnets in his picture and he kept positioning them just so. I had also rolled up the sleeves of his shirt so he and Ben were dressy casual but as you can see, he fixed them like HE likes them. 

 Warren has been growing like a weed. Everyday for the last few weeks I swear I can see him getting bigger each day.

 As most of you know Ben is our smiler and our adventurer. When he goes anywhere outside home he is completely distracted by anything and everything around him - hence his huge smile dissipates in his exploration and concentration. We did get some cute expressions though. :)

 I could just eat this boy.

 The sole picture of Ben's famous smile! 

 Smile, people in Texas love you!  

Happy Birthday to me...

 This year I really got spoiled on my birthday. It was a great weekend from beginning to start. I was greeted bright and early being showered with homemade birthday presents from Warren and kisses from Ben. Phone calls from loved ones & surprises on my doorstep from sweet friends throughout the day.

Weston worked from home with the hopes that he could get away early in the afternoon. Warren insisted that we make chocolate dipped frozen bananas for my birthday treat. He remembered making them from kids camp (2 years ago - Warren has a crazy memory!) and they were very delicious! Weston finally wrapped things up at work around 2:30 and then I was escorted by three handsome men to a late lunch and some shopping downtown! He bought me the new jewelry armoire I have been wanting for some time and some other stuff for the house. :) I was already pooped so we headed home, put the boys to bed and ordered pizza.

 The next night, we got a sitter and headed out for a very fun evening to see Cirque Du Soleil! We saw a copycat Cirque show once on a cruise but never the real thing. It was INCREDIBLE! The athletes and acrobats in this show made Olympic athletes look average. The show was called OVO. It was about the world of bugs. It was VERY clever. We saw one amazing act after another of all kinds of bugs including: an AMAZING firefly, grasshoppers, ants, fleas, moths, the complete metamorphosis of two butterflies, some wicked spiders, crickets, a very animated lady bug, etc. The costumery was amazing.

 I wish I had thought to take pictures of the butterflies. They spun their cocoons, metamorphasized and flew on ropes through the tent with gorgeous wings that touched the floor. It was beautiful! This act pictured was of some seriously tuff ants who did the most amazing acrobatics I have ever seen.

 Two very wickedly tuff spiders and the web they can spin together...

 I think these were the fleas....all I remember is they did some seriously crazy contortion stuff. 

This guy was also a wicked looking spider. He did all sort of stuff on that wire. It was loose the entire time. He did THIS (pictured), did a one handed handstand and swung back and forth on it like that,  walked on his hands back and forth and....

 rode a unicycle ON HIS HEAD...back and forth. He was a freak of nature. It the coolest way, of course. :) If you click on the link below it will show you a brief preview of the show. :)
OVO Show Preview

This was the finale. You can see many of the different bugs. The live samba band was also amazing. In a nutshell, if you get a chance to see this show you should go. It was one of the coolest things you'll ever see. We left in AMAZEMENT and also feeling really weak. "I get winded just bending over to tie my shoes!" - Weston and then we waddled out together. :) 

Grateful for Weston taking me on such a fun date and for all the thoughtful friends and family who made my day really great! 

Mutton Bustin!

It's Rodeo time here in Houston, so last week we headed off for some good old fashioned fun! As usual, the boys had a blast! The Houston Rodeo is the biggest in the country. We always spend an entire day just in Kids Country. 

 Having fun with the farm machinery, of course. 

One of the boys favorites are the pig races. Afterward we got to see Stinky the swimming piglet. 

He was great! 

 The boys even got to see baby chicks hatching in the giant incubator...

 2011 Rodeo Highlight: Just as we were leaving the Rodeo we stopped by the Mutton Bustin event on our way out. It was our first time seeing it. Warren decided he wanted to do it so we waited another hour and a half so he could have his Cowboy moment. I was totally worried beause we saw a couple kids get trampled but he was insistent he would be alright. :) I was surprised he wanted to do it because he's usually such a cautious kid but he had a ball! I've never seen such a big grin afterward. 

 He did pretty well for his first time. He was number 24 and his sheep was one of the fastest out of the chute. He stayed on for a little less than half the arena scoring an 88.  Ben was standing on the fence routing him on the whole time yelling "Go Warren! Ride Sheep fast!" giving him the thumbs up. It was so fun to watch!

Warren's 6th Despicable Birthday

This year Warren's birthday came on Wednesday. It was tuff waiting until Saturday for his party but we still celebrated at home. We decorated the house.

 He was honored at school with an "official" birthday hat. We sang to him and opened presents from mom, dad & Ben. 

He wanted a Despicable Me party (themed after the movie) this year so I took his Kindergarten class these Gru cupcakes. Later he chose to go out to Cici's Pizza for dinner and he got to play lots of games this time. :) 

The next day Aunt Julie came over to wish him a Happy Birthday. He had to show her his new club house, therefore the present opening had to take place there too. 

 Friday, I started making the fixins for his Despicable Me cake which included these minions. It was my first time making marshmallow fondant but it was suprisingly easy to sculpt with.  Later that night we caught Benjamin feasting on the minions in the kitchen. 

I thought I had put them out of sight and then the next morning he greeted us in bed like this....we found the entire tub of minions in his bedroom and two more missing. 

 Here it is...my first fancy birthday cake. ;) I won't say how long it took me to make it but at least I had fun doing it. I thought it turned out pretty cool. Warren loved it!  The moon, stars & Gru's silhouette was made out of the same fondant as the minions. The rest is just regular icing. We served the cake with girl scout cookies. If you haven't seen the movie...the orphans sell girl scout cookies and that is how Gru gets the idea of using them for his scheme. :)

 We played "freeze ray" tag. If you were frozen a friend could unfreeze you by crawling 

between your legs. 

 We had a "squid launching" competition which the kids thoroughly enjoyed...

Party bags were girl scout cookie themed and filled with despicably appropriate door prizes: squirt guns, pop fireworks, star bubbles, crazy straws, etc. 

Singing to the birthday boy! 

I made the boys Gru scarfs and the girls tutu's & crowns 

(the orphans do a ballet performance in the movie).  

Last but not least.... PRESENTS! He had a great day! When I asked him what his favorite part was (besides presents) he gave me the biggest hug and said, "all of it!" 

Happy Birthday Warren! We love you! 

Here's the live video singing Happy Birthday.