The Russells

A lil painting is good for the soul!

2012-02-12T13:09:00.001-06:00

yesterday Rick took Landen to see Star Wars in 3d and Miss L was SUPER sad she couldn’t go, so I asked her what she wanted to do and she immediately said PAINT! So paint she did – she was VERY specific about what she wanted. First she painted “spots” of color all around her frame….. When she was done with that she took a sponge brush and nd started just brushing… I just knew it was going to be a complete grey or brown mess….

But much to my surprise it was not! She said this is EXACTLY what she wanted for “the first part” she said after it dries she will finish it… so stay tuned this lil girl clearly knows what she wants!! haha And i think it’s going to be super cute!

End of Season Basketball Bash!

2012-02-12T12:57:00.001-06:00

After out last game Friday night Landen’s coach had the whole team over for the end of season party. The boys has a blast!!! They filled up on chickfila, cup cakes, basketball cookies and the candy bar! So fun!! So blessed to be on such a great team!!

GO BURN!

Last Burn Game

2012-02-12T12:50:00.001-06:00

Friday we had our last basketball game and played the Heat – there are about 7 of the broncos on the Heat team and Landen DID NOT want ot play against his friends - the whole game the score went back and forth and we lost in the final seconds by 1 point. But it was such a FUN FUN game!!

Miss L’s Valentine Party!

2012-02-12T12:31:00.001-06:00

We made it to school {almost late} the morning of Miss L’s party last week – I earned my mom of the year award when i burned her ear with the flat iron that morning… poor baby said they were going to need to reschedule her party!! She finally pulled it together and even agreed to a few pictures – i was SHOCKED!!!

We were so happy when we arrived and Miley was just going into her class – so we snagged her for a quick picture – so glad we did – they look darling!!!

1st Grade Class Picture Day

2012-02-12T12:17:00.001-06:00

Landen was NOT happy i made him wear jeans!! But he smiled for my picture and dealt with it!! Sweet Boy! LOVE HIM

1st Practice for Spring Bruisers Soccer!!

2012-02-12T12:15:00.001-06:00

First Mani/Pedi for Miss L and Miley!

2012-02-12T12:04:00.001-06:00

Last Sunday Missy and I took the girls for their first Mani/Pedi – we had been talking about it for over a year and just never made it happen.. SO happy we waited the girls were PREFECT and had a really fun time!!

We laughed so hard when we met them – the girls were wearing matching pants on accident , but looked so cute!!

After that we took them to lunch girls choice – they BOTH picked Taco Bueno!!!

Such a fun outing with my best girl and her bestie!

Upcycle Rocks!!

2012-02-04T15:59:00.001-06:00

Once again – my sweet friend Timberly at Go Go Goldfish has delivered and extra special rockin dress for my girl!! She loves that it was made from one of her bubba’s old tees!!

I know what I’m doing MOM!!!!!!!!!

2012-02-03T20:35:00.001-06:00

That is what Miss L told me today when I told her these poses were a bit awkward!

Cutie!!

And this is “pillow” – pillow has been around since Miss L was born – we never intended for it to be a lovie but it is! It used to be a lovely shabby chic floral print with pale pink minky… and now it’s GREY… and so very loved!!!

Photo fun with my girl…. the real deal!

2012-02-01T21:24:00.001-06:00

so you know those photos of cuties blowing on dandelions and you can see them floating through the air??? That’s what i wanted….

Instead I got little miss big puffy cheeks and big lips…. and I FREAKING love it!! These CRACK.ME.UP. I was going for sweet and dainty, I got….. Leighton!!!!

Let’s Go Mavs!

2012-02-01T20:58:00.001-06:00

Last Friday Rick and I got DATE NIGHT!! Thank you Mimi and Papa for watching the kiddos!! Rick got offered Mavs Tickets at work and we were able to go!! So Fun – LOVE going to see the Mavs… and yes we saw Khloe… and the Oak Ridge Boys and Leann Rimes! lol

Showing my love for Ashley by Choosing Joy{at the Mavs game}

Donuts with Dad

2012-02-01T20:48:00.002-06:00

Last Friday Leighton had Donuts with Dad at school. She was SOOOOO excited to take Daddy to school and show him everything!!! And Daddy even took the pic below with his phone and sent it to me!! YAY! :)

iphone Memories – Last week of Jan 2012

2012-02-01T20:05:00.001-06:00

Rite of Passage

2012-01-27T09:07:00.001-06:00

Miss L got her first official phone call a few days ago… Her friend, also name Leighton, called to chat… I of course had to capture the moment…. It was sooo cute they were chatting away about nothing really but they were WAY into it!!!

And yes this is what Leighton looks like 99% of the time at home mismatched pjs and shoes of some sort – she LOVES shoes!!!

So ready for outdoor soccer…

2012-01-24T11:17:00.001-06:00

so I can get good pics…. so the girls will have practice, so they will play team their own age… and mostly just cause Fieldhouse is a BEATING. But don’t our Bruisers look too cute???!!!

Burn Basketball

2012-01-22T14:36:00.001-06:00

I’m working on my basketball photography skills! I did LOTS of research this week – I think I got the lighting piece down – now for the motion! I used about 6-7 different settings yesterday just to play and 2 different lenses – I shot in RAW (OMGosh love that!!!)

Our boys played hard but lost :(

Can you say… Wrapped???

2012-01-22T14:10:00.001-06:00

Cause this is what Leighton has done to her Daddy!

She has him wrapped tight around her lil finger…. (she learned from her momma) although she may have taken my place with Papa too!!!!

Rick came home Friday with Diamond earrings for Miss L.

I was super shocked and I think she will probably lose one and she is THREE – I was 21 when my Dad got me my diamond studs….. but at the same time I love the gesture and think it’s super sweet! She’s a lucky girl!

(like her outfit she had just woken up from a nap!)

LOVE these Kiddos!

2012-01-19T20:34:00.001-06:00

Genuine sweet sugars from his sister….

No kisses from bubs today…. He’s about to lick her can you tell?????

URGH on blurry pictures

2012-01-19T20:26:00.001-06:00

The kids were outside playing this evening so I thought I would practice with my new lens – I thought I would get them to pose for a few quick shots but that proved to be a tad harder that I expected – they were WILD! So my camera was not set correctly nor did I have a lens that I should be using but I snapped away none the less… Hate it when cute pictures turn out blurry :/ BUT wanted these sweet moments in my blog book…. so here they are in all their blurry glory!!!!!

Fun with my new lens in 30 seconds and my soap box

2012-01-19T11:53:00.001-06:00

I got a new lens in early November and used it a bit for shoots here and there BUT I’m not comfortable with it yet so I have been trying to find time to play with it…

My lil subjects gave me LITERALLY 30 seconds to snap these few shots this morning before school ~ it was colder than yesterday and Landen HATES the cold so you can see it on his face, BUT he did let me take his picture sooooo I’m a happy momma.

I was trying just to take his since I took Leighton’s yesterday so I buckled her in the car and took him just outside the garage but…. here she came a runnin!!! :)

on a side note Landen wore the pants in the picture below to school yesterday and when I pick him up he said:

Landen “ Mom maybe I shouldn’t wear these pants anymore to school”

me: why??

Landen: cause xxx and xxx made fun of them cause there was purple in them

Me: Do YOU like those pants?

Landen: Yep Purple is Horned Frog colors

Me: then who cares

Later when telling daddy…

Daddy: Well then, them you don’t like their face!

haha I like Daddy’s response better…. Some days I think other people’s kids SUCK – there I said it. Landen gets in trouble for saying rude things TO or ABOUT other kids and when I am around him and other kids I listen and correct when necessary…. Annoying.

ok off my soap box… for now.

You mess with my kids and you mess with ME and I have no problems putting someone else’s 7 yr old in their place. NONE. Just sayin…. And I think he’s rockin those Mini Boden Camo pants! Stupid kids.

Me and my camera….

2012-01-18T19:05:00.002-06:00

…..have been taking a lil break…

I took on WAY too many families this Christmas and my photography “hobby” - while I love it, just took over too much of my time. I wish I had the time to devote to learning and also to taking photographs for people but with my day job and my mom jobs it was a bit much! Live and Learn! Next year i will start earlier and end sooner!

And with all those photographs for others.... it left me not wanting to take any of my own family… which kind of made me sad. However, now after a little tiny break I feel inspired again!

Miss L helped me this morning ( I tried to get Landen to participate but he told me he was “camera shy”) :( Once and a while he gives in an lets me capture him!

So this is just a self indulgent post of some fun pictures I took this morning before school. ENJOY!

Upcycle Rocks!

2012-01-18T12:17:00.001-06:00

I have a sweet friend that owns a shop called Go Go Goldfish and she makes the most amazing upcycles EVER – She was kind enough to let me send her a few shirts that were Landen’s and turned them into dresses for Leighton! LOVE that I have pics of them wearing the same things (sort of) so special!!! The Beatles shirt above Landen was the EXACT same age Leighton is in the dress!! This the the Christmas before he turned 4 and she is about to be 4 too!! So fun!! And the bat shirt below he wore the Halloween he was 4 and she wore it this past year at age 3 :) xoxo

Where are may babies??? Who are these big kids???

2012-01-18T11:36:00.001-06:00

seriously. when did they get so big and grown up looking???

on a side note… you know we at the Russell house jump from Christmas straight into BIRTHDAY SEASON!!!! Mine jsut passed the kids are 3 days apart in Feb and March, Rick’s is in April – WHEW! Kids have their themes and locations all picked out… Invitations came yesterday – party favors are in the works – cakes have been ordered…. And look at the CA-UTE shirt I have to wear to Landen’s Lego Pirates of the Caribbean themed party!! Still working on the Rapunzel shirt for me to wear to Leightons!!

We are Getting Ready

2012-01-15T14:44:00.003-06:00

for baseball season around here!!

The boys are excited and ready for some Horned Frog Baseball!!!

GO Bruisers!!

2012-01-15T13:38:00.001-06:00

I have not been taking my camera to all of Leighton’s games because the lighting SUCKS and I jsut can’t get good shots through the stupid plexi-glass… so until spring soccer starts in about a month I will hold off game by game posts that I love to have for my blog book!!! The girls however, look adorable every week and this week we finally started to see a little fire from them ~ hope that is a peek in to what is to come!! These cuties have NEVER played before and have had 1 practice so I can not wait until they start having weekly practices together!! Yesterday I think Miss L had a lightbulb moment – she was super aggressive on the field and last night she said “ the guy on the field (referring to the ref) kept saying goal for pink, goal for pink, goal for pink…. I want him to say goal for blue!” We do too sweet girl!!! All in due time!!! GO BRUISERS!!!!!

{here she was practicing looking mean} :)

She’s Cute… and yes Chatty!

2012-01-15T13:18:00.001-06:00

I have been SO horrible about taking pictures since the holiday are over ~ I took alot of family pics for people in a short period of time and I think I just needed a lil breather… but now I’m back! Hopefully refreshed and ready to learn and grow more in my photography this year!!

NYE 2011

2012-01-01T16:20:00.001-06:00

We spent NYE 2011 with Ryan and Ashley ~ only our 2nd double date with them because Ash is normally our baby sitter! :) Rick’s mom and dad kept the kiddos for us so we could all go out together.

We decided we didn’t want to be out late with all the crazies that are drinking and driving – so we headed to one of my favorite local restaurants TruFire (so yum if you are local and have not been you must go soon!!)

After dinner we headed next door to Kotta for a quick drink (one of Ashley’s friends was working there) and then headed home to play a few games… I only last for one… lol I did make it past midnight but barely!!!

** on a side note I met a super sweet blog follower at trufire and have 100% totally blanked on her name and blog name ~ so if that was you PLEASE comment so I can check out your blog too xoxo **

I changed clothes the SECOND we walked in the door – cause that’s how I roll! :)

and this i could not resist ~ miss L walked around in the shoes I wore last night for a good 30-45 minutes straight this morning – she’s SCAREY goo walking in heels at 3 yrs old – cutie!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

New Year’s Eve Day

2012-01-01T14:57:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we picked the kiddos up from my parents -- they had spent the night the night before so Rick and I could have date night, which consisted of shopping, mexican food and 2 movies from blockbuster! We are CRAZY! And surprised them with a family movie date! We went to see Chipwrecked – so cute- and the kids SOOOO GOOD! After the movie we headed to the mall to get the kids new tennis shoes before heading home for a lil rest!

Through Leighton’s Eyes

2011-12-29T14:09:00.001-06:00

And these are the pictures Miss L took on Christmas Eve and after… She often said she needed to change to her “zoom lens” and said she was going to be a REAL photographer when she was bigger….. :) Cutie

She told me what to do with my hands… not sure why….

Through Landen’s Eyes

2011-12-29T13:58:00.001-06:00

Each of the kids got digital cameras for Christmas ~ this post is Pictures Landen took on Christmas Eve and the days following…

Happy 36th Birthday to me!

2011-12-27T10:23:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was my 36th birthday – I had a super relaxing day at home doing nothing but reading a new book I got for Christmas!! We did get up and get dressed to head to dinner with my parents and Rick’s parents to celebrate. I picked Benihana just for something different and I knew the kids would enjoy!

My Parents

Rick’s parents

my poor momma always shuts her eyes!! :)

after dinner everyone came back over for some cake :)

BLESSED DAY with the ones I LOVE! :)

Bye Bye Wally ~ see you next year!

2011-12-25T22:28:00.001-06:00

The kids got the letter below from Wally this AM telling them they could give him a hug tonight before bed – HIGHLIGHT of Landen’s day! He’s been sooo excited to hug Wally and FINALLY touch him!!! Wally has been LOTS of fun for us this year can.not wait until 2012!!!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Via my iphone

2011-12-25T22:24:00.001-06:00

Christmas Day ~ photo session!

2011-12-25T22:15:00.001-06:00

After Ryan joined us and we had dinner we took a few minutes for a little photo session :)

After pics and a little down time we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and had birthday cake – love this tradition we started about 3 years ago!

Christmas Day – Part 2

2011-12-25T22:09:00.001-06:00

After we finished all the Santa stuff we got ready for Nana and Grandaddy to come over for brunch ~ love this tradition ~ such an easy fun relaxing day. The kids got to play with all their goodies!!! Travis came over and joined us about 3pm and Ryan came about 6pm just in time for dinner.

Photog in the making….

2011-12-25T21:59:00.001-06:00

Both the kids got real digital cameras for Christmas and Leighton is ALL over it!! She has been taking pictures ALL day! Even told Rick to hold on while she got her zoom lens! CUTIE

Christmas Day – Part 1 – Santa comes to Prosper

2011-12-25T21:56:00.001-06:00

Kiddos woke up at about 6:40 ~ we made them wait until 7am to go out and open Santa gifts!

Christmas Eve – The finale!

2011-12-25T21:49:00.001-06:00

The Gifts!

WOW – SUPER blessed this year – kids got tons and tons of stuff!

The kids have been eyeing this gift at Mimi’s for a few weeks now – it was their together gift and it’s the NEATEST puppet theater EVER! They LOVE IT!

Leighton got this doll Molly and said “ Oh my gosh this is the doll I have been wanting my whole life!”

as Landen got clothes he laid them out flat and organized….

and down the hall ~ he is his Daddy’s son!!

Mercy we were spoiled! The kids ended up with ipads, cameras, and 90% of things on their wish list and more!

Christmas Eve – Part 2

2011-12-25T21:38:00.001-06:00

After church we came home – the kids napped and rested before my parent came over. They came over about 3:30. We unloaded gifts and cooked dinner ~ Sausage Biscuits and gravy – YUMMERS! The kids were DYING to open gifts but before we could start I made us have a mini photo session :)

Christmas Eve Part 1

2011-12-24T15:01:00.001-06:00

We started our Christmas eve off GREAT! Leighton slept until 7:40 – which is a MIRACLE!!! We hung around the house – the kids were a bit nuts – so hard for the littles – Christmas is sooo exciting!! Anyway, had a nice relaxing lazy morning and then headed to the 12:00 Christmas Eve Service at our AMAZING church! They were having 5 services today – we picked the earliest!! I HAD to have pics before (thank you GOD for the self-timer!!!) Part 2 coming soon ~ dinner with Mimi and Papa and LOTSa gifts!!! Merry Merry!!

Frisco Square Christmas Lights with the Family

2011-12-24T09:13:00.002-06:00

Tis the Season…..

Last night after our Cane’s car-nic (like a picnic in the car) we headed to frisco square to look at the lights (all of us in Pjs but Rick) In years past that’s like a 5 minute deal but this year it was PACKED – took about 30 minutes but we LOVED it!! WE let the kids come sit up front with us – Rick taught Leighton to steer and she steered about 90% all be herself the whole way! Now she thinks she needs her drivers license ~ I broke it to her she has about 13 years to go! The display is awesome and I love the outdoor ice-skating rink and carriage rides – it’s on our to-do list for next Christmas forsure!!!!!

When we got home we got the kids to bed – Rick and I did some cleaning and last minute wrapping of the last minute items I got yesterday ~ and we are READY!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

YA’LL!!!!!!

Dec 23rd was busy!

2011-12-24T09:04:00.002-06:00

I worked

went to wal-mart, then to pick up a few last minute gifts, went to the bank

Made Christmas cookies and candy with the kiddos and Mimi

cleaned my HOBBIBLY messy closet ~ only thing I wish was different at our house – my closet is TINY

and that was all before 4pm!

oh and I got my work Christmas present… and ENG raincoat – be jealous! :) lol

Seriously the coat is cute I’m not big on the work logo but hey it was a gift! :)

Highlights from Wally our Elf this year….

2011-12-24T08:58:00.001-06:00

Taking a bubble bath “elf style”

A marshmallow snowman!

being silly with a sharpie

Wally did lots of other fun things this month – these were a few I captured on my phone!

Merry Christmas from The Russells

2011-12-22T21:06:00.001-06:00

The last 24 hours

2011-12-22T20:02:00.001-06:00

In the past 24 hours I have worked my full time job, finished wrapping all the gifts for Christmas (minus 2 I don’t have yet), helped the kids make their ornaments for the year, let Landen have a playdate and made all the cookies for us to decorate tomorrow. WHEW I’m tired!!

Normally the kids make about 10-15 ornaments each but this year I decided to simplify it a bit. One for their own tree in their room, one for each set of grandparents and one for Rick and I from each. 8 total – they turned out cute – not our most creative year BUT Landen had school until yesterday so our time is limited!! Up next tomorrow – Christmas baking and cookie decorating!!

Polar Express Christmas Party

2011-12-22T19:53:00.001-06:00

yesterday Landen had his Polar Express Christmas party at school ~ they wore Pjs, watched Polar Express, made ornaments, jingle bell bracelets, had a “train” snack and hot chocolate and more!!! Lots of fun and LOTS of sugar!!!! And now…. SCHOOL IS OUT FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Burn Game 3 vs Wolfpack

2011-12-22T19:47:00.001-06:00

Last Sunday we had our 3rd Burn Game ~ we played the 2nd best team in the league and while our boys played hard the whole game we lost BIG TIME. But They all played their hearts out and had fun ~ that’s what counts!

Box O’ Princesses & Boy-Ville

2011-12-19T20:21:00.003-06:00

The kids have been DYING to open one gift early – begging me DAILY { it’s pay back I did it NON stop to my poor parents when I was little!} So I decided that I would give them these sweet little gifts I made them. Thanks to Ashley at Lil Blue Boo and Stephanie Corfee I had a GREAT tutorial to follow! You can find them here. I ventured from the tutorial a tad – I found it easier just to make princesses rather than try to copy Disney ones and for Landen’s I made a “little” Landen basketball, baseball and football player in his teams colors with his name and # on the jerseys and then I made a “super Landen”, a batman, luke skywalker, spiderman and a pirate.

I had the kids come in the living room with me and said I had something small for them – I warned Landen that it was a boring gift like underwear { he’s almost 7 so I didn’t know if he would like them or not}. I handed them their boxes and…. Leighton liked them but Landen LOVED them – he was so excited! He said you are like a REAL artist {hardly but he’s sweet} and has given me a list of others that he wanted!! He’s been playing with them all night – even came in to tell me that he thought i could paint them for other people and make money! sweet boy!

Thank you Ashley and Stephanie for such a fun lil tutorial that brought a smile to both my kids faces!!

Leighton’s FIRST Haircut & hair bling!

2011-12-19T20:10:00.001-06:00

Saturday after Leighton’s soccer game she had an appointment for her first hair cut EVER! It was just a lil trim about 1.5 inches and she got some hair bling too!! She was SUCH a big girl and LOVED getting all pampered!

Happy Birthday Jesus Party

2011-12-16T15:34:00.001-06:00

via my iphone

Leighton had her Happy Birthday Jesus party at school today ~ always so cute! love seeing all the kiddos dressed in their Christmas clothes! :)

Burn Game 2 vs Runnin Ags

2011-12-12T09:12:00.001-06:00

Boys played another awesome game Sunday – and had lots of fun! Landen is LOVING basketball!!

Bruisers – Game 2

2011-12-12T08:55:00.001-06:00

These girls are the only 4u team playing in a 5u league – so we go into every game just to watch and have fun! We lost 9-1 this week!! BUT the girls look super cute and are having lots of fun and providing lots of laughs!!!!

Burn Basketball ~ Game 1 vs Mustangs

2011-12-11T23:23:00.001-06:00

Landen had his first basketball game this season yesterday ~ we decided to play through Prosper and I am SO glad we did! One of the boys in Landen’s class asked us to be on his team and we are SO happy it worked out! He’s got a great coach and an awesome group of kids and parents! And Landen LOVES basketball! So fun to watch!

GO BURN!!!!

Jesus is the light of the World – a Christmas Musical

2011-12-11T22:50:00.001-06:00

Friday Leighton had her first Christmas Musical at church and she was SO excited!! It was called Jesus is the Light of the World and they have been practicing since October for it!

Leighton and Miley before they went to class that morning! So excited to be wearing the same shoes, shirt and skirt! Cuties!

She started with a smile and then looked like she got a touch of nerves

She sang the first several songs and did her hand motions and picked her nose… although after she said I didn’t have a booger it was just really itchy…. ummm could you tell the 100+ people watching that please! ha!! it was funny!

And then the kids on each side of her lost it and went to sit with their parents and she did this for the rest of the show… So.not. Leighton!

After the program they had a short video for the kids to watch!

Nana and Grandaddy got to come see!!

And so did Mimi {papa had to work – but she was not happy to learn he wasn’t able to make it}

And of course Rick and I were there too!

after the show everyone stays in the room and the kids have cookies and juice while the parents and kids talk and take pictures etc…

And that’s when OUR Leighton took the stage for a lil show of her very own….

and then before going back to her class she wanted a picture with baby Jesus :) Sweet girl! So proud of YOU!!!! xoxo

ICE! and 2011 Santa Visit at the Gaylord Texan

2011-12-11T21:46:00.002-06:00

Last week while Rick was out of town we headed to The Gaylord Texan (with Rick’s blessing of course) for our annual trip to see Santa and to see ICE! I adore this tradition so much! The Gaylord is AMAZING all decorated for Christmas, we stood in line for maybe 5 minutes to see the big guy and I just love ICE! It was Shreck this year and that’s not one of our favorites BUT its just so amazing to see all the sculptures!

Kids were ALL ABOUT Santa! I just look back this was the first Santa Pic we didn’t have to be in! The only “crier” one we have is from when Landen was about 10 months old ~ the rest are family pictures! ha

The kids and my Dad LOVED the slide as always ~ we went a tad earlier this year and that ROCKED is was WAY less crowded! I wore my stupid cowboy boots so I couldn’t slide :( and I was WAY colder without my trusty uggs. Love that my Dad is in his 60s but still does stuff like this with the kids!

Kids being a little silly on our way out!!!

WOW these littles are growing so fast…

2011-12-11T21:25:00.002-06:00

the top picture is the kiddos last year when we went to the Gaylord to see ICE the bottom is in the same place this year :) Good lord they have grown alot!

Box O’ Princesses Party

2011-12-11T20:28:00.001-06:00

Aina(left before our pic so I photo-shopped her in) Missy, Haley, Meredith and me

Last week I had some friends over to make The Box O Princesses’ from the AWESOME Lil Blue Boo and Stephanie Corfee – they have a great tutorial here. We had had lots of yummy food, several kid-free hours, made a big mess and lots of fun!

I am SO not a good painter but I think Leighton will love these lil gals!

I had all the girls text me pics of their finished princesses since i forgot to take them before they left.

Aina decided to make her family – so stinkin’ cute!!

Haley had 2 girls to pain for so she had to work overtime!

Meredith’s were REALLY good – but she had to drive all the way back to Ft Worth so hers got a lil tossed on the commute!

And Missy did some super cute ones too! including an Annie!!

Thankful for this fun project and friends to share it with!

Bruisers 1st Game ~ a week late!

2011-12-11T19:30:00.001-06:00

Last week the girls had their first ever Bruisers game… NONE of these girls have played soccer and we have had ONE practice… it was SO cute and SO funny!! The girls had lil chats during the game, chatted it up with the refs came to the glass and tried to talk with us etc… I loved every second!

**excuse the HORRIBLE pics – due to terrible lighting and i had to take them all through the plexi glass!

post game icees and mexican food! YUM!

Family Pics 2011

2011-12-09T15:49:00.001-06:00

This post is long overdue! Our sweet friend Shaye of Shaye Mercer Photography took our family pics this year ~ we traded services (i think i got the better end of the deal) :) She did an awesome job ~ Landen was PERFECT ~ Miss L…. was a tad bit of a mess!

Excuse this post if it’s long and bores you… all about my blog book!!

Tiny Dancers Cloud Dust Style

2011-12-03T15:45:00.001-06:00

So Missy {Miley’s momma} and I have been lusting after the work of Stacy at Cloud Dust Photography for MONTHS… we LOVE her work, but she’s in Arkansas…. So in October when I heard she was coming to Dallas for Mini Sessions I texted Missy to see if she wanted to “share” a session… after all we had just done Pumpkins on the Porch with HaleyB Photography and we had just had family pics done too… I didn’t NEED any more pictures but I WANTED a Cloud Dust Session! Because Missy and I are sisters separated at birth { not really but we kid} she said yes immediately…. As the shoot drew near we started talking about clothes and Missy had this PRECIOUS ballerina idea… I loved it and we went with it! Um could it be any more presh? I think not! :) It was COLD and 7:30 am in downtown Dallas – our tiny dancers were perfect troopers!!

First week of December via my iphone

2011-12-03T15:37:00.001-06:00

Miley and Leighton Wednesday before school

ummm we are ready for winter thanks to this delivery!

I am an official Bruiser fan with the arrival of my bling!

Landen peed behind Old Navy last night while we were running errands… made be giggle and his lil booty is cute! :)

I an REALLY official with my other Bruisers shirt…. and I MAY have 3 others as well… *MAY* :)

we had a lil drama round here last night… this was a full on crisis

and Wally gave us all a good laugh this am with his bubble bath “elf style”, of course….

Thanksgiving Feast ~ a forgotten post!

2011-12-03T15:30:00.001-06:00

Almost forgot to blog about Landen’s Grandparents Day Thanksgiving Feast at school the Friday before fall break. He was joined by my parents and Rick’s mom for Thanksgiving lunch {school cafeteria style} and some fun grandparents day activities!

Landen with Mrs Lilly and her son who was in Landen’s class last year :)

Landen and Baturkey

And we gave Mrs Lilly a lil gift to let her know we were thankful for her and also got one for Mrs Merryman his teacher from last year that we are still thankful for! SO SO SO SO blessed by the AMAZING teachers at his school!

Thanksgiving weekend….

2011-11-28T11:47:00.001-06:00

We decorated and decorated and ate and watched movies and decorated and …. well you get the idea! I didn’t even leave the house except to go to Target Sunday morning ~ it was PERFECT!!!!!

Leighton dressed herself to go out and help with the outside lights – love the whole look! That’s a swimsuit coverup under her sweatshirt!

And Wally, our Elf, came back too!!

LOVE CHRISTmas time!!!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T21:25:00.001-06:00

What an AWESOME BLESSED Thanksgiving Day we had today!!! The only thing we were missing was Nana and Granddaddy ~ Nana was sick :( But beside that the day was PERFECT!!! Almost all my family from Oklahoma piled in my Uncle Rusty’s motor home and headed to Prosper… sound a lil Kountry huh? Jsut wait until you see said motor home!

Lindsey came last night and helped my mom and I cook and get ready for the day. The food was so yum and it was SUPER great to have everyone at our house!!

Piling back in the motor home to head back to Oklahoma!

See totally NOT Kountry! lol And DUDE that thing is AMAZINGGGGGG inside!!!

Awesome, fun ,relaxing BLESSED life.

Disney On Ice – 2011

2011-11-24T21:00:00.001-06:00

As part of our Christmas this year my parents got us all tickets to see Disney on Ice Last night. We have been every year since 2007 and the kids just love it!!! This was Landen’s 4th time and Leighton’s 2nd time. I LOVE that Landen doesn’t think he’s “too cool” for it…. it’s sooo fun!! And as an added bonus my cousin Lindsey came in early for Thanksgiving to help us cook and came with us!!! (the pic above is a scan of the $18 picture we bought there! that’s why the quality kinda sucks!)

Kids has a blast! Leighton stood up the WHOLE time and yelled at the characters by name, danced, oohh’d, ahhhh’d – it was PRECIOUS! Landen just watched intently as he always does! They were both PERFECT!

Thank you sooo much Mimi & Papa for the AWESOME memories!! We love you!!

And so it begins…. GO Bruisers!

2011-11-21T19:09:00.001-06:00

Miss L is starting her first real team sport this winter! She’s done and is still doing dance but she’s been really asking to play soccer the past month or two so when one of her little friends asked us to be on their team we were super excited! She knows almost all the girls and will make friends with the others!! We had their name narrowed down to The Pixies and The Bruisers…. Leighton wanted the Pixies of course – we took a vote and the Bruisers won… Leighton thought it was like Big Brother or something and she was going be voted off since she picked pixies! Ha Clearly she was not asked to leave!!

I took charge of the spirit wear (duh they need spirit wear) and have screen print and bling in the works for all of the Bruisers fans!!!

They had their 1st practice last week ~ its was FREEZING and CRAZY windy but the girls all had a blast!!!

GO BRUISERS!!!!!

Turkey Trot and a bestie

2011-11-21T18:52:00.001-06:00

Landen’s turkey trot was a few weeks ago… he’s not really into racing – he didn’t care if he won or was first! But he did run almost the whole thing!! What he REALLY cared about was the hair paint and candy!

He had blue for Broncos!!!

His lil friend Matthew that he’s playing basketball with!

My mom and her bestie Pam! Pam came for a visit and went with my mom to pick up Landen from school that day! Both the kids LOVE them some PAM!!

Cutness and a Baturkey

2011-11-21T18:45:00.001-06:00

Landen had to disguise a turkey for a creative writing project at school he wanted to make a “batman” – turned out cute i think!!

Celina Balloon Festival

2011-11-11T17:13:00.001-06:00

Last Saturday we headed out to the Celina Balloon Festival with my parents ~ nana and Grandaddy were supposed to come too but at the last minute they had to cancel…

BUT as luck would have it some friends of ours – that we knew were going just didnt know when – pulled into the parking lot at the EXACT same time we did!!! SO FUN!

This festival was SO cute and so little and SO fun!! LOVE IT!

Both kids got their face painted

This ride…. GOD bless these babies – we almost sent up with out us???!! Thank GOD Missy and I went so wished we had split the kids up and had an adult with each kid it went SOOO fast and I may have almost had a panic attack….

and after these CRAZY kids may have ended up UNDER the table at the restaurant playing! ha!!! Such a fun fun night!!!!

Bronco Nation – Final game of the season…

2011-11-11T16:55:00.001-06:00

The boys played their final game for this season of Bronco football last Saturday ~ and WHAT A GAME they played!! It ended in a tie but ONLY because we scored a TD in the last second of the game and our runner’s flag FELL OFF!! ARE you kidding!!!!???? Oh well! These boys played HARD and played WELL and THEY KNEW IT and THEY WERE PROUD!! They walked off that field with heads held HIGH…. and that is because of our AWESOME coaches.

This is what Rick put on his face book Status right after the game: Well my boys gave it all they had today in their last football game of the season. They tied 13-13. I believe that is GOD's way of saying it didn't matter win or lose, it's who you are when you walk off that field that counts. Love my boys!!!

so proud of the coaching “staff” we have… so proud that playing as a team with integrity is at the TIP top of their list of what is important… We all love to win that’s human nature, but looking beyond that is SO important!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T20:35:00.001-05:00

WOW! What a VERY busy and VERY fun Halloween we had this year!!

Leighton was Alice in Wonderland and Landen was Anakin Skywalker.

We headed over to our sweet friends Jennifer & Curtis’ house to Trick or Treat with Chase {aka Batman} and Leighton’s sweet friend Miley and her brother Heath {aka Annie and Sandy} met us there too!

The kids had a complete blast!! After lots of running from house to house, lots of doorbells battles and a couple bloody knees we headed back to have pizza and candy of course!!!

After dinner we packed up and headed to Rick’s parents house ~ it’s a tradition because my mother in law’s birthday is Halloween so we always take the kiddos over to wish her a happy birthday!

These girls were so cute together talking about “who” they were and comparing costumes!

cutest Sandy EVER!!

Chase and his new lil bro Caden

Happy Birthday Nana!!!!!!

And now to start thinking of costumes for next year!!

Fall Festival 2011 ~ Hope Fellowship Church

2011-10-31T11:54:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we went to the Annual Fall Festival at our church, to say thee kids had a blast would be an understatement!!! The weather was AWESOME and there was so much fun to be had!!!

The kids took turns deciding what they would play or ride ~ it worked out REALLY well and we all got to stay together as a family!

Miss L was QUITE proud of this one she went down backwards and upside down

melt my heart, sweet babies

we saw almost all the families from our life group there too!! The kids LOVE LOVE LOVE Chaser!

and the way Chaser is looking at Landen here… MERCY! Love these kids!!

Pumpkins on the Porch

2011-10-26T10:32:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago my friend and talented photog Haley of Haley B Photography was offing mini “Pumpkins on the Porch” shoots at her new studio at The Style House in Frisco. She did an awesome job! Love these pics of my littles that are not so little anymore!!

My Princess

2011-10-20T13:53:00.001-05:00

State Fair of Texas 2011

2011-10-11T21:58:00.001-05:00

This was Leighton’s first year to go to the fair so we have been talking about it for WEEKS, she was SUPER excited… But I dont think she understood ~ she kept telling my mom she would miss her while she was gone to the fair… like the beach I think?!? Not sure!

But Fair Day could not come soon enough for us this year!!! Rick and I both took off work and we made a whole day of it!

First thing we did when we got there was get the free ID bracelets for the kids with all our info on them in case they got lost, and while Rick loaded up on tickets I went over “what if you get lost” stuff… SCARY but you gotta do it! Thank GOD we had no lost littles!!!

our first “fun” thinf was NFL Training Ground! We got to check in and get “press passes” with our names and pictures on them!

They had computers with NFL Trivia and a few activities like this one:

was SO proud of Landen for trying it! So fun!!

The games are just STUPID expensive and poor Landen wanted to win an Angry Bird SO SO BAD :( This one game - $10 and you got to throw that yellow ball THREE times to try and get two buckets to win an angry bird…. $10 per GAME??? UM no thanks we will buy the Angry Birds online… MERCY I felt so bad for Landen he just didn’t get it and was so sad…

Love Bugs formerly THE LOVE BUG was my favorite ride when i was younger!!

and you can.not go to the State Fair of Texas and not have a Fletchers Corny Dog – They are THE BEST! That and a funnel cake are MUST haves for me!

Leighton was so excited to see Big Tex {or Big TexT as she calls him}

The kids both LOVED the car show – Landen was trying to pick out his first car!!!

I had been talking forever about riding the BIG Ferris Wheel with Leighton and she was pretty excited!! She says “ I rode a WHO-GE ferris wheel” haha

The kids both wanted to ride this WHO-GE (as leighton says) slide

Leighton was too little to ride alone so she had Rick go with her ~ poor Landen had to go all alone… And while they both SAID it was fun, the pictures suggest it was a tad scary!

Rides Rides and more Rides ~ Pickles, funnel cakes, cotton candy, cokes

Poor Leighton did not like this ride – those cars bounced up and down as it went around and around – she SCREAMED and CRIED and they do not stop the ride for anything… Poor thing… ok I laughed a little when she was not looking it was sad and cute at the same time… and I warned her to watch the ride BEFORE she decided to go on it… after this one she watched them ALL before riding!!!

and after a super fun sugar filled day these littles CRASHED. HARD.

State Fair thanks for the memories see you next year!

Broncos vs. Ducks

2011-10-11T17:55:00.001-05:00

Our Broncos had a REALLY hard loss this past Saturday – they played awesome and the clock just ran out. So proud of the WHOLE team…. On a happy side note Leighton looked super cute in her new jersey and Ryan got to come watch!!!

Fun on the Farm…. sorta

2011-10-11T17:00:00.001-05:00

Last week Landen had his first grade field trip to Myers Park in Mckinney….. I’d be lying if I said it was fun… not so much… I mean the kids liked being out of the class and petting the animals but they went from “station to station” for like little 20 min talks… they listened each time for about 5 mins before they started playing in the dirt etc… and the people running the farm? Kinda stuffy…. “Parents put away your phones, no texting, no talking…” BOO if I’m standing next to another adult without a kid tugging on me or trying to interrupt… I’m talking! lol

We cut out a little early {with his teacher’s permission} and went to see Dolphin Tale… SO GOOD!! GO SEE IT!!!!!

OU/TX Game Tomorrow!

2011-10-07T16:58:00.001-05:00

LET’S GO SOONERS!!!

Sweet Moments “Caught”

2011-10-07T16:44:00.001-05:00

Earlier this week the kids were out back playing nicely {most of the time}. They were out there FOREVER and I kept catching sweet glimpses of them so I decided to put on my zoom lens and “catch” a few of those moments WAYYYYY in our back yard on the swing!

I took these from our back porch so they had no clue I had my camera out!

Broncos Pull off a BIG Win and keep playoff hopes alive…

2011-10-02T14:43:00.001-05:00

MERCY is all I can say… What a game our Broncos had yesterday!! They pulled off a HUGE win that keeps our playoff hopes alive! These boys ROCKED the house yesterday ~ played SO well as a team and DID THEIR JOB! And Landen – I’m not a bragger when it come to him playing sports we have lots of super stars on our team but he played the best game he has ever played! And he knew it after ~ you could tell he was so proud of himself and the team… he even wanted to wear his uniform to church last night… so we let him!

Bronco Nation ~ Game 3 vs Pirates

2011-09-29T19:25:00.001-05:00

The boys had a heartbreak of a loss last Saturday ~ they played SO.WELL. and we lost in the last seconds of the game. What an AWESOME AWESOME game!!!

after the game almost the whole team and almost all the cheerleaders and their families headed to Cantina Laredo for a team dinner. All 78 of us…. it was CRAZY and fun! Thank GOD we had a private room with all the craziness!!!!

GO BRONCOS!!!!

A quick Visit!

2011-09-24T13:19:00.001-05:00

My mom’s sister Jan stopped in for a quick visit this weekend after being in Austin for work ~ the kids LOVE her ~ and she brings gifts so they REALLY love her!!

This is Leighton pouting because she REALLY wanted to “stage” a mini photo shoot for Jan and my mom….

And now she’s happy because she “staged” this picture all on her own… I think it’s hysterical…. The queen looking down on her subjects…. HA!

Friday Night at the lake

2011-09-24T13:11:00.001-05:00

Last night we took a little last minute trip to the lake ~ rick said we needed to “run the boat” whatever that means ~ something about it not sitting too long blah blah! :)

The weather was AMAZING and the lake was like glass! We had a fun quick little trip before heading to Smash Burger {YUM} for dinner!

Lifer Baby Shower

2011-09-23T16:43:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday night we had a little baby shower for Jennifer and Curtis {sweet friends from our life group}. We had such a fun KID-FREE time!!!

We had diapering relays ~ girls won!!!

Each couple made a play-doh baby and Jennifer and Curtis picked a winner for bragging rights!

and then we had yummy food and cupcakes and GIFTS!!!!!!!

SO Blessed with this amazing group of friends

Fashionista

2011-09-21T16:58:00.001-05:00

Lil Miss L is all about the

camera these days!!

I love it!

I’m sad Landen wont’ let me

take his pic as much… Oh well

I’ll get his on football days!

Randoms on a Tuesday Night

2011-09-21T12:34:00.001-05:00

Last night we had NO plans, homework was completed early, no errands to run, no nothing!!!

We all enjoyed doing whatever we wanted…

Leighton ALWAYS wants to take Izzy out back and play so she did that – and they were so cute I decided to grab my camera!

Even Landen joined us but he says “I’m camera shy” so I only got 1 picture of him… clearly Leighton is all about the camera.

She kept telling to me take her picture ~ the one at the end with the thing in her mouth… 100% her idea! Cutie!