4 Fruit

Heaven is....

2009-03-24T19:23:00.001-07:00

..when the sun comes through the window just right and warms you in your bed while you nap...

Brandon the Yankee

2009-02-27T17:43:00.000-08:00

Brandon was drafted to the 8AAA Yankees for the spring 2009 little league season. His coach wants the team to practice in uniform so they must wear navy blue t-shirts and white baseball pants. Here is a picture of Brandon before a scrimmage yesterday.

I emailed this picture to my friend David who replied: "Typical yankee. You got him on roids yet?"

I told him the 8 year old equivalent of roids is Mountain Dew and Whoppers, so we absolutely have Brandon roided up already!

Girls Only

2009-02-25T17:38:00.000-08:00

Lindsay had her friend McKenzie over for a play date this afternoon. The girls immediately locked themselves in their room and posted this sign on the door. Too cute! Here is a close up view:

Quote of the Day

2008-11-05T05:52:00.001-08:00

On the way to school this morning, I looked in the backseat and noticed Lindsay messing with her hands. I asked her what she was doing and she replied,

"I'm pushing back my tenticles."

She meant cuticles.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-02T09:22:00.000-08:00

Yes, it has been almost 2 months since my last post. Let's just pick up at current events...maybe I'll get around to filling in the gaps someday. Just not today. I'm having a hard time typing (more on that in the next paragraph).

Friday night was Halloween. Brandon dressed up as Indiana Jones and Lindsay was a cheerleader. The scariest part of the night was when I cut off the tip of my finger. While attempting to poke a hole in Brandon's belt, the scissors slipped and cut off the tip of my left pointer finger. Moral of the story: margaritas + sharp instruments = trouble.

Here are some pictures of the trick-or-treaters:

Brandon (Indiana Jones) and Lindsay (cheerleader)

Sam (ninja), Lindsay, Brandon, Thomas (burglar) and Charlie (football player)

Saturday Brandon's baseball team won their baseball game. They are currently in 2nd place in their division and on quite a winning streak. Brandon went 2 for 3 at the plate and caught a pop fly at 2nd base. I have been taking a lot of pictures of his team to make an album for the coach as an end of the season gift. Here are some pictures from Saturday's game:

Jeff goes to Orlando today for a week long conference and is leaving me here to deal with election day on my own. Why do I have such a bad feeling about Tuesday???

Fall Ball

2008-09-07T12:23:00.001-07:00

We are in full-swing sports mode around here again as both kids are playing fall ball this year.

Jeff is coaching Lindsay's softball team! Their color is green and their name is the Shamrocks. They have already had two practices and the girls look great for this early in the season. No one is scared of the ball and most girls can catch, throw and hit off the tee. So, already we are very impressed!

Brandon had his try-out for little league yesterday morning and did a great job. The draft is this week, so we should find out soon what team he is on. During the try-outs, Jeff was busy with Lindsay's team so Mommy had to watch Brandon try out. How nerve-wracking! But Brandon performed and caught all three pop flies, all three grounders, made all three throws to first, fielded all the balls at first and hit 1-3 on the pitching machine. I'm very proud of him.

Jeff and I thought of some motivational tools for Lindsay's team to keep them interested and having fun. After every practice, he is giving them shamrock stickers or hand stamps. And I made these two awards to be given at each game. One is the Big Bat award and one is the Golden Glove award. We will rotate the awards and make sure each girl receives both trophies at least once during the season. I made them super sparkly and blinged out so the girls would like them.

Roots and Wings

2008-08-25T06:05:00.001-07:00

On September 16, 2002 we were given the gift of a sweet baby girl.Six short years later, our baby girl started her first day of kindergarten. Today she packed up a pink leopard backpack and walked hand-in-hand with her brother into elementary school.

I hope that in those six short years we have loved her enough, taught her enough and savored every moment. I hope that we have given her roots. And now as I sit here in an empty house, I hope that we have given her wings and she will have a great first year of "real school".

Breaking News!

2008-08-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

Cheese!
On the phone with Grandma and Grandpa

Lindsay lost her first tooth!!!

After it being so wiggly and loose for weeks, it finally came out tonight. She is so excited about the Tooth Fairy coming for a visit. After brushing her teeth, she asked Jeff if he would pull it. It took Jeff a couple of tugs and it fell right out. Way less drama than Brandon's first tooth. She was more excited than scared and more happy than freaked when it finally came out. We are so happy for her! What a big step for our new kindergartener. And what a fun show and tell for the first day of school on Monday.

Sweet and Sassy

2008-08-19T19:45:00.000-07:00

Lindsay got her hair cut at Sweet and Sassy today. I had no idea what kind of production we were about to experience, but it turned out to be very fun and cute. After a shampoo and conditioning (strawberry scented, of course), they cut her hair. When I thought we were all done, the stylist pulled out a menu of hair options and Lindsay picked a fancy up-do. The next thing I know, Lindsay is sparkly and her hair is all pinned up in a fancy bun. They sprayed glitter spray on her hair and then put glitter stars on her face. It was topped off with scent spray on her hair that smells like cake. WOW. Lindsay was quite a sight at the Kindergarten Teddy Bear Tea at Buckalew today!

(Once again I forgot my camera, so photos are from my cell phone)

Breaking News!

2008-08-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

Lindsay has her first loose tooth! It's the front right lower tooth - probably the first tooth that came in as a baby. The kids have a dentist appointment on Thursday, so we'll see if Dr. Andersen yanks it out. It's hanging by a couple of threads! Ick!

Triplets Turn Three!

2008-08-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

David as Jack Sparrow!
Lindsay and Garrett played giant tic-tac-toe

Lindsay with the giant chess set

Garrett playing chess

Dylan and Lindsay in the pit

Lindsay and Caroline on the play mats

Wow - how time flies! The Babb triplets are now three years old. They had a pirate/princess themed birthday party on Saturday at the children's museum. Lindsay had a great time (Brandon was at baseball practice with Jeff - little league tryouts and draft are in a couple of weeks).
I helped carry all of the gifts out to their car after the party and I can't imagine how long it will take the trips to open all of their gifts. If you imagine that at a normal birthday party for a three year old, 20 guests = 20 presents. Well, 20 guests at the triplets' party = 60 presents. It was amazing how many bags, boxes and packages were shoved in their SUV! Jen said they would pace themselves and let them open a couple at a time or else they will get totally overwhelmed and overstimulated. I can't only imagine there will be some re-gifting going on with some of the presents. :)

Astros Game

2008-08-17T08:29:00.001-07:00

Friday night we took the kids to watch the Astros and the Arizona Diamondbacks play baseball. The Astros lost by a big margin, but we still had a great time. It had rained all day, so the roof of Minute Maid Park was closed. After every Friday night home game, they have a fireworks show. So, while the roof was slowly opening for the fireworks, they had a Guitar Hero contest down on the field. It reminded me of our Dance Dance Revolution contests at the beach house in Alabama with the cousins!!

The fireworks were great - way better than we all expected. I forgot my camera, but took pictures with my phone:

Back from camp

2008-08-17T08:23:00.001-07:00

Brandon came home from camp last Friday. It was SO good to see him! He was very tired and wanted some peace & quiet. I'm sure two bus rides and a week with 220 other kids was loud and crazy. The funniest comment he made was about the fact that he ended up on an upper bunk.
He and his bunkmate, Will, played rock-paper-scissors to see who would get the bottom bunk. I said, "Why did you do that?" and he said that both Will's mom and I had told their sons to take the bottom bunk. I thought it was so funny that we were still being overprotective moms even when our boys were at camp! Brandon lost rock-paper-scissors and ended up on an upper bunk.
The night he came home we grilled out burgers and hotdogs with our neighbors and swam in the backyard. We watched the opening games of the Olympics and I did Brandon's camp laundry. It wasn't too much laundry considering that none of his towels made it home! Who knows what happened to them, but I made sure I sent stuff to camp that I wouldn't care to lose. I am very proud of the fact that it looked like Brandon changed his clothes/underwear at least once a day.

Trip to the Capitol City

2008-08-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

After Brandon left for camp, Jeff, Lindsay and I drove to Austin. Jeff had a state tax conference and Lindsay and I had shopping to do! We spent the majority of our time at the outlet mall in San Marcos. Here are pictures of Jeff and Lindsay at Outback Steakhouse Monday night (photos taken with my cell phone). Lindsay LOVED the attention that comes with being the only child.

"No pictures please...trying to sleep"

2008-08-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

We dropped Bella off at the vet Monday morning and she weighed a whopping 3 pounds 1 ounce!

Camp Good News Update

2008-08-05T17:34:00.001-07:00

Brandon left on a giant bus for church camp on Monday. And by Tuesday morning we had a message from the camp director that he was homesick. I think because it is raining so much (thanks, Edouard) the kids had a lot of downtime today. Downtime = too much thinking time for Brandon. Hopefully it will be sunny tomorrow and he'll be too busy swimming and playing on the blob to miss home.

Summer Updates

2008-07-29T19:11:00.001-07:00

The majority of summer activities are coming to a close here at Casa Lemmons. Next week is our last big planned activity - Brandon goes to church camp for a week!! More on that later...

Lindsay finished her last tumbling class at Woodlands Elite Cheer Company last Thursday. She will start her fall class on August 7th. She has learned SO much and has really developed her tumbling skills this summer. She took a year of gymnastics at Flips and didn't learn a thing. After 8 weeks of Woodlands Elite, she can do a backbend walkover, a handstand to a forward roll and is mastering her right and left cartwheel. The other interesting thing is that she is now constantly practicing her tumbling skills: outside on the lawn, inside on the stairs, upstairs in the gameroom. You can find Lindsay doing handstands and backbends anytime and anywhere. We are very proud of her progress!

Last week the kids completed another week of golf camp at The Woodlands Country Club. Thanks to Grandpa for carting the kids to and from camp, as well as feeding them lunch and entertaining them while I went to work and the chiropractor.

Yes, I've been spending quite a bit of time at the chiropractor. The lower back pain I've experienced since I was 15 years old has flared up again. Now it is so bad that when I sneeze or cough, sharp pain shoots down the back of my legs. After a full series of spine x-rays, my doctor determined that I have a compressed disc in my lower back (L5 maybe?). An MRI would show which way it's bulging, if it's herniated and which nerves are involved. I haven't gotten the MRI yet, but that is probably the next step. I have been taking Celebrex and getting chiropractic treatment and I feel a little better. I'm staying optimistic.

On Saturday night we tuned in to the Disney Channel to watch the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds concert movie in 3D. How cute are the kids in their 3D glasses???

My sister, Gwen, sent me a cute garden flag with fleur de lis (my favorite) and our family initial (L) on it. Note Bella the Chihuahua in the picture. Bella is doing great and brings joy and happiness to our family every day.

Next week Brandon leaves for overnight church camp for a week (!), so stayed tuned for Mommy's lonely, tear-filled posts.

Updating the blog...finally

2008-07-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago the kids attended golf camp at The Woodlands Country Club. It was Lindsay's first year to be old enough to go to camp. She learned a lot and had a great time. Her team finished in 3rd place at the end of the week and she received a bronze medal. Brandon's team finished in 1st place and he received a gold medal. He is getting really good at golf and Grandpa says he enjoys being out on the course with him. Here are a couple of pictures from golf camp.

Brandon & Lindsay before golf camp

Grandpa, Brandon, Lindsay & Bella the Chihuahua

The 4th of July was very laid back this year. The four of us went to one of the awesome neighborhood pools in the morning. Since we have a pool in our backyard, we don't buy pool passes for the summer anymore. On 4th of July, The Woodlands opens up the community pools to all residents - even those without a pool pass. One new thing going on at the pools is that they sell Chick-fil-A! So, we ate lunch and swam and played for a couple of hours.

That afternoon our friends Jen and David came over with the triplets and we swam in our pool and ate dinner. Then we loaded everyone up and went to the mall to park and watch the big fireworks show. It was the triplets' first fireworks show and they loved it! They were in a surprisingly good mood for being awake until after 11pm. They sat in my van and watched a movie while we waited for the show to start and it ended up running down my car battery. So, of course, after the fireworks show we tried to leave and my car wouldn't start. The traffic getting out of the mall parking lot is so bad that we had plenty of time to find jumper cables and get my car started. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures from 4th of July.

Jessica & Jennifer (photo by Brandon) in the mall parking lot

Caroline, Dylan & Garrett in my van watching a movie

Brandon & Lindsay waiting for the fireworks to start in the mall parking lot

Last week the kids attended Wonders of the Woodlands Science Camp. Jeff was out of town last week and it was a little crazy around here, so I forgot to take pictures of them in their shirts. This year's camp theme was physics, so the kids learned all about simple machines, levers, gravity, etc.

One interesting this that happened last week was that Lindsay finally made it through the night without wearing a pull-up or wetting her bed. I'm sure she will KILL me someday for posting this! It happened completely by accident and was a total cold turkey method. One night after baths around 8:30pm, I realized that we were out of pullups. Since Jeff was out of town, there was no way I could go buy her more pullups. So, I explained the situation to Lindsay and she felt confident that she could stay dry all night. And she did. And she has. For 7 nights now. So, I guess the cold turkey, do-or-die method was what she needed. We promised her something so super-cool that she would be motivated to keep wearing panties to bed at night. That super-cool thing was a "mini-pedi" at a place called Sweet & Sassy. Sweet & Sassy is this new girls store and salon that has actual miniature pedicure chairs for little girls. They have tons of other servies, too, such as manicures, haircuts, ear piercing, and all the girly merchandise you can think of. Also, there is a big, pink Sweet & Sassy limo that will pick up your birthday party guests and drive them to the store for your spa party. Very exciting! Anyway, on Sunday after church we took Lindsay to Sweet & Sassy for her very first official pedicure.

Lindsay's first pedicure (picture from my cell phone)

Brandon makes news!

2008-06-27T19:25:00.001-07:00

The fishing charter we took in Alabama put Brandon on their website! Click on the link and scroll down until you see Brandon in his camo hat holding up his Red Snapper. The caption is "Nice Red Snapper Caught by This Young Angler".

http://www.getawaygulffishing.com/alabama_deep_sea_fishing_reports

Last Day of Dance Camp

2008-06-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

Lindsay finished her week of dance camp with a catered etiquette luncheon. The girls put facial masks on and then applied makeup, did they hair and put on gowns. Here is Lindsay in her before and after pictures. What a lovely princess!!

I need a vacation to recover from my vacation

2008-06-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

This week Team Lemmons is back at it.

Brandon started a week of baseball camp at The Woodlands High School. It's called Field of Dreams Baseball Camp and is run by the varsity baseball coach named Ron Eastman. It's held at Scotland Yard (TWHS baseball field - named high school field of the year by High School Baseball Coaches Association). Every day from 9am-12pm they work on fielding, throwing, hitting and baserunning. They also cover physical & mental approaches to the game.
The first day Coach Eastman shared one of his mental approaches to baseball and also revealed why his program is always so successful. He said that baseball is a game of failure. He will sometimes put a toy toilet in the dugout and tell the guys that if they have a bad play, they should come in the dugout and flush it away. Only if you start over every inning will you be successful. I thought that was awesome and that Jeff's little league team in the fall should be introduced to the dugout toilet.

Lindsay started a week of performing arts workshops at Boni's (the dance studio where she takes classes). Their activities include everything from jazz/hip-hop to tumbling/cheerleading, karate (that's "Kara-tay" for those of you that watch Spongebob), modeling, hair & make-up and social graces. She will end the week with a catered etiquette luncheon. How cute!

Needless to say, the kids are wiped out by the end of each day.

Quote of the Day

2008-06-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

"Is it lunchtime already?"

This morning I shook up Lindsay's routine. Instead of driving through Starbucks for my coffee, I drove through McDonald's and bought an iced coffee. On our trip to Alabama, Jeff and I discovered McDonald's new premium iced coffee drinks. I'm not quite sure just how much coffee is actually in the "iced coffee", but they sure are tasty. And according to their website, only 140 calories for a 16 ounce drink.

Anyway, Lindsay wanted to know why we were at McDonald's when it seemed so early in the day!

Gulf Shores Trip 2008

2008-06-21T16:57:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our week long vacation in Gulf Shores, Alabama. I will update the site later (after I finish unpacking and laundry!).

Vacation Bible School 2008

2008-06-12T11:28:00.001-07:00

This week the kids are attending Vacation Bible School (VBS) at our church. The theme this year is "Waves of Truth - Get on Board" and it's a whole beach party theme.

On the first day of VBS Brandon got an eye injury. The kids wear laminated nametags around their neck and he was flipping his up in the air. It hit him in the eye and left a red mark. We watched him overnight and it got better, so there was no trip to the doctor needed.

Today Brandon made the sweetest craft. The kids made prayer buckets and then wrote names of people to pray for on popsicle sticks. They are supposed to take out a stick with someone's name on it and pray for that person. Brandon made a stick for everyone in our family. Then I noticed he made one more - for Baby Luke Haberman. As an update, Baby Luke is my friend Bernie's 5 week old son that died of a rare congenital heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. I posted earlier about him when he was undergoing his first surgery and we were all optimistic about his recovery. Tragically, he died on April 18th. I cried when I saw the prayer stick Brandon made for him. I'm not sure there will ever be a day when I don't cry about him. You can visit his Caring Bridge website here:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lukehaberman

Golf With Your Friends

2008-06-07T09:23:00.000-07:00

Brandon had his 8th birthday party on Thursday night. We had it at an indoor blacklight miniature golf place called Shankz. The boys had a great time and Brandon received some fun presents! This picture of some of the boys and their putters reminded me of that Three Stooges poster "Golf with Your Friends".

Here is a link to a Kodak album of all the pictures from the party. You should not need an account to view the slideshow.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=eyttu1b.2ajfwz37&x=0&y=-sgo378&localeid=en_US

I love this picture of Lindsay's face when she realizes that Brandon got a Wii for his birthday (from Mom & Dad).

I made party favor bags with Crazy 8 ball themed items in them (for the 8th birthday). Here is a picture Lindsay took of me assembling the party favor bags. A little out of focus and not centered, but I thought she did a good job holding my heavy Nikon camera!
The party was a success and the Wii is providing hours of entertainment for the kids. I also have to say that 8 year old boys are too cute for words (even if they can be so wild that our party hostess at Shankz said they were the most obnoxious party she ever had.....and that's when she lost her tip).

School's Out!

2008-06-07T07:31:00.001-07:00

Summer is officially here! I always love to compare the 1st day of school and last day of school pictures of the kids. They change SO much in one school year. Pictures are Lindsay 1st and last and Brandon 1st and last (with his teacher, Mr. Cohen).

Lindsay's Recital

2008-06-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

This year Lindsay took a combination ballet/tap class and for the final recital the class voted to perform a tap dance. They danced to the Jackson 5's "ABC". It was a cute dance and Lindsay did a great job! We are so proud of her!
Lindsay is third from the left.

Bella is here!

2008-06-04T12:13:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a long time and a lot has happened at Casa Lemmons. We picked up our baby Chihuahua on May 17th and she has been making our lives sweeter ever since. Ooh and aah at the pictures of our tiny love muffin. She is a pound and a half of pure yumminess. And, yes, she is smaller than our Chihuahua Webkinz stuffed animal!

Quote of the Day

2008-06-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

Brandon and I were sitting on the couch watching the Lady Ags in the softball College World Series and he leaned his head on my shoulder.

I asked him, "Are you getting sleepy?"
He says, "No, my head is just big and heavy and full of fun facts."

Lindsay is Ear-resistable!

2008-05-08T18:04:00.000-07:00

Today is a big day for Lindsay. She got her ears pierced! Let May 8, 2008 be known as The Day My Little Girl Started Growing Up.

Jeff and I always agreed to let Lindsay get her ears pierced when she turned 5. We were all ready to go last year on her birthday and she chickened out. So, today after gymnastics Lindsay and I are at the mall eating lunch and running errands and out of nowhere she says, "Can I get my ears pierced?" I was all, "Sure, yeah - we said you could last year remember?" She says, "I want to get my ears pierced. Today." I looked at her and asked, "Now?" and she said, "Yes, NOW."

So, off we went. I wanted to find someplace that could pierce them both at the same time. First Claire's - no luck. Second Icing - no luck. Both places only had one angst-ridden teenager working there and no one else was coming in to work for quite some time. Our last hope was Libby Lu. We enter the store and I immediately notice only one employee. But this employee wasn't an angst-ridden teenager. It was a full-grown woman. A woman who looked capable of piercing both of Lindsay's ears individually and who could do a good job. A woman who could sweet talk Lindsay into enduring the pain of the second piercing while enduring the pain of knowing what was coming.

This woman delivered. She did a fantastic job! They are evenly spaced, centered and FABULOUS! Thank you, Casey, at Libby Lu at The Woodlands Mall! And congratulations to my Lindsay Fizzle. You were so brave and I am so proud of you!

Early Mother's Day Present

2008-05-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

On Friday the kids went to parents' night out at the church and Jeff and I went on our monthly date night. We decided to have a wild -n- crazy night out and went shopping at Bed, Bath and Beyond. We have been through a bunch of coffee makers during our 11 years of marriage and have yet to find one that we both like and that we don't break within a couple months of purchase.

We both fell in love with the Tassimo. It's a single serve coffee maker and is the only one of its kind that Starbucks makes discs for. We have been brewing ourselves into caffeinated wildness since Friday night. Even our neighbors came over and we brewed them lattes and coffees. We are loving our Tassimo! Happy (early) Mother's Day to me!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2008-05-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, I made Patsy's Chicken Enchiladas and Chico came over to play. You have to have a chihuahua in the house to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, right?

Speaking of chihuahuas, last weekend Team Lemmons loaded up and drove to a farm in Plantersville, Texas where we selected the newest memeber of our family. Her name is Bella and she is almost 6 weeks old. She is a beautiful little chihuahua puppy that will come home with us by the end of the month.

This decision has been a year in the making and has involved lots of discussion, research and begging by the kids. After the Great Yellow Lab Debaucle of 2005, our family realized that a big dog would not work for us. Our kids specifically requested a dog that was calm, small, sweet, small, calm and small. Oh, and sweet.

We are frequent puppysitters for Chico, my friend's mom's chihuhua, and the kids LOVE him. He is sweet and calm and small. The kids can easily control him and aren't scared of him in any way. He is so gentle with the kids and is a big snuggler. We are hoping that he rubs off on Bella. We are
scheduled to puppysit Chico for the last week of May and Bella may already be home. We will go from a no-dog-house to a two-dog-house in the blink of an eye. Aye carumba!

Arnold Palmer

2008-04-29T07:22:00.000-07:00

So, my new obsession at Starbucks is the shaken lemonade iced tea. It's basically an Arnold Palmer (half lemonade/half iced tea). I got out the old Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker last night and also stirred up a pitcher of Country Time Lemonade, so I can indulge myself at home. It's the perfect drink now that the weather is getting warmer!

Go Diamond Dusters!

2008-04-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

Lindsay had a double header on Saturday morning and had 6 hits off the coach pitch! At the beginning of the season, the girls would get 3 coach pitches and (if needed) 2 swings off the tee. Coach Greg decided that all the girls were good enough to quit using the tee. Way to go, Linz! I still need to do an entire post on all of the softball cheers we have learned this year.

Team Under Armour

2008-04-28T08:31:00.001-07:00

Grandpa took Brandon to play golf on Friday afternoon and they wore their matching Under Armour golf shirts.

Go Astros!

2008-04-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

How cute is this picture of Brandon, Drew and Grant??? I love all the missing teeth!

Brandon's baseball team won their 2nd game on Saturday night and beat the Marlins again 14-10.

She's a home run hitter and you'll never ever get her...

2008-04-11T06:04:00.000-07:00

... so give up!

Lindsay hit an in-the-park homerun last night at her softball game!

Somday I'll have to do an entire post on all the softball cheers the girls do in the dugout. Very entertaining.

Atmospheric Phenomenon

2008-04-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

In the past month, Jeff and I have broken two of our favorite coffee cups. The first one that was broken was a big, red mug from Vegas. I loved that coffee mug - it was the perfect size and shape. The second one that broke was from Angelfire resort and our trip last Christmas. It was a good cup, too! Why can't we break the cheap white mugs that we have instead?? Now I guess we'll just have to make return trips to Vegas and Angelfire to replace the mugs...

It's April 6th - Have you done your taxes yet?

2008-04-06T18:14:00.001-07:00

Another crazy weekend for Team Lemmons is in the history books.

On Friday, my sister Gwen flew in from Florida (along with a weird rainstorm that sent the temperature plummeting). The whole family met up at a restaurant to eat dinner before dropping Brandon and Lindsay off at church for Parents' Night Out. Our church hosts this event on the 1st Friday of every month to give parents a break. It costs about the same as (maybe less than) a babysitter for 4 hours of adult freetime. And the kids LOVE it. They see all their church and school friends, make crafts, watch movies, etc. While the kids were at church, the adults (G&G, Jeff, Jessica and Gwen) went to see the movie 21. We all agreed it was a pretty good movie. Heck, it was good to see a movie for adults for a change!

Saturday morning Brandon had a baseball game. And all I will say about that is the Astros one game winning streak was snapped by the Angels. Lindsay's softball game ended up being rained out because of the weird weather. Many errands were run in the afternoon, dinner at G&G's and then Jeff and I rented the movie No Country for Old Men and split a bottle of really good wine.

On Sunday Lindsay attended the 5th birthday party of her friend, Eme. It was a princess themed party (what else??) and the girls had a blast. Lindsay wore her Snow White costume from her ballet recital last year. (Man, we are getting our $75 worth out of that costume! As you recall, Lindsay was Snow White for Halloween, too) There was face painting, fingernail painting and tiara making activities. The grand finale was the beautiful cupcake arrangement Eme's mom made. Well, actually the grand finale was when I backed out of their driveway and scraped my car down the side of Eme's grandma's car. Oops!

All dressed up for the party

The Princesses

What a lovely tiara you made, Lindsay!

The cupcake flower arrangement

Finally on Sunday night, we had our neighbors over for dinner and I gave Charles his cancer cross-stitch to wish him good luck for his last full week of chemo.

Whoop!

2008-04-01T18:33:00.001-07:00

Brandon's Astros won their first game tonight! They beat the Marlins 13-10!!! We are so excited for Brandon. Hopefully this is the turning point for his team and they will peak during the end of season tournament.

GO ASTROS!!!

Is it April 15th Yet???

2008-03-31T17:49:00.000-07:00

Lots to update since my extended absence from blogging. Things are very busy at work and both kids are playing sports, so I haven't been as organized as usual and have slacked off on the blogging.

There are several things going on with friends, so we'll start there. My friend, Bernie, gave birth to her 3rd child, Luke Haberman, on March 12th. Immediately after his birth the doctors found a very rare and serious heart defect known as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. He has already undergone one open heart surgery and will face 2 others very soon. Bernie has a Caring Bridge website for Baby Luke and you can visit it here:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lukehaberman

Our next door neighbor, Charles, has finished his second week of chemotherapy treatment for his testicular cancer and is now completely bald. I finished the cross-stitch I made for him and will be framing it to give him as a gift soon. Here is a picture of the subversive cross-stitch I made for him. It's a little offensive, but hilarious and expresses the collective sentiment about his cancer.

Spring Break for the kids was a much needed respite from the usual routine. I was able to work almost every day that week while the kids played golf with G&G or hung around at home with Jeff. The bluebonnets are out in full force here in Texas and we took some pictures for posterity.

Easter was the last Sunday of spring break and we celebrated by going to brunch with G&G after church.

Last weekend Lindsay's softball league held their annual County Line Shootout tournament against another league from Spring. Lindsay's team, the Diamond Dusters, did very well. Lindsay improved tremendously in the final game and really got the hang of how the game is played. I think playing so many games in a row helped keep the girls involved in what was going on. Each girl (& coach!) received a medal for their participation. Lindsay is SO proud of her medal and rightly so.

Now, if only we could get Brandon's Astros to win a game. Yes, sadly, Brandon's team is in last place in 7AAA division and has an 0-5 record. I'm very sad for Brandon because I know he is very frustrated at his team's lack of success.

Only 2 more weeks until tax season is over! I have so many grand plans in my head that I fantasize about when it's finally April 16th. Organizing the house, cleaning out closets, planting flowers, etc, etc, etc. I need to squeeze a massage appointment in there somewhere - Jeff gave me a gift certificate to a local spa for Christmas and I can't wait to use it.

Quote of the Day

2008-03-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

The quote of the day comes from Brandon's baseball coach. Apparantly, Brandon isn't the only kid on his team that is sick and the Astros have an important game tonight. Here is an email Coach Todd sent to the coaches (Jeff included) this afternoon. Note: All misspellings and grammar mistakes are Coach Todd's. :)

All right Fellas we are going to have to get awful creative tonight. It looks like we are going to be down three boys. Tanner has the CRUPE, Jake has STREP and Brandon has the FLU. All three of these guys can play their positions as well as hit. WHAT THE HELL ARE WE GONNA DO? Three out fielders is gonna be rough!

Flu Season Still Going Strong

2008-03-11T06:16:00.000-07:00

Brandon is out of commission this week with the flu. He's been home from school for two days. He hasn't had a fever since yesterday morning, so hopefully he can go back to school tomorrow. Right now it feels like summer with both kids home during the day!

Quote of the Day

2008-03-05T12:01:00.000-08:00

Last night Jeff took Lindsay to her softball practice, so I was home alone with Brandon. We were watching "America's Funniest Home Videos" (or as it's referred to in my house "The People Crashing Show"), and there was some clip about a crazy dog. Then Brandon turned to me and said,

"Mom, if you ever see a dog with foamy spit all over its mouth and hanging off its face - DON'T TOUCH IT. It could have diabetes."

Play Ball!

2008-03-04T11:21:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday was Opening Day for both Brandon's baseball league and Lindsay's softball league. Jeff and I had to split up and take each kid to their respective parades.

On Saturday Lindsay also had a double header (they won both games). By the second game Lindsay had pretty much figured out the flow of the game and was having fun. After she spent one inning as pitcher, she came back to the dugout and said, "I don't want to play any other base than pitcher!" She liked being in on all the action (typical Lindsay!).

Honestly, I think half the battle in her league is to make sure your coach can pitch to the girls. Our coach was very experienced and lobbed the ball over the plate every time. The coaches on the opposing teams weren't as consistent and their girls had a hard time getting a hit.

Brandon's team played a mini-tournament game on Friday night and lost 7-1. But we won't dwell on that. Hopefully they will improve as the season wears on.

Here are some pictures from opening day. (Brandon lost another tooth on Friday at school, so now he just has the big front two teeth.)

Call Me Irresponsible

2008-03-03T06:11:00.000-08:00

As a late anniversary present, Jeff took me to see Michael Buble in concert on Saturday night. It was an amazing show! He is so talented and his band was incredible. We had a great time. Here is a link to his website:
http://www.michaelbuble.com/
A group called Naturally 7 opened for MB and was an all a capella group with no instruments. Each member of the band performed an instrument only using his mouth. They sang "Broken Wings" and it sounded just like the Mr. Mister original - but with human voices as the instruments. You have to go listen to them if you have iTunes. Or here is their website:
http://www.n7house.de/

Girl Scout Cookies

2008-02-26T07:50:00.001-08:00

Yes, it's that time of year again. I can eat an entire box of Samoas (or as they are called now "Caramel deLites"). And I actually did eat an entire box in one sitting yesterday. I'm proud of the Girl Scouts for removing all the trans fats from their cookies - and they taste exactly the same as before.

Study Redecoration Project

2008-02-26T07:44:00.000-08:00

I finished the redecoration of my study last month and it's finally organized enough to take pictures of it. I work from home a lot doing tax returns and the original set-up was not convenient or comfortable for working. Now I have lots of workspaces to sew, scrapbook, wrap presents and do tax returns for work. I love my upholstered chair - you can't tell in the pictures, but it's mini fleur-de-lis on a red background. The phrase on the painting above my desk says, "We tend to seek happiness when happiness is actually a choice".

11 Year Anniversary!

2008-02-24T13:18:00.001-08:00

Kaylee and Lindsay

On Friday, February 22, 2008, Jeff and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary by going out to dinner. We used a new babysitter named Kaylee who the kids LOVED. Brandon apparantly loved her so much that he took a picture of her and Lindsay. We will be calling Kaylee a lot more in the future!

Theta Bingo 2008

2008-02-24T13:14:00.000-08:00

Cynetha, me and Carrie

Cindy and Jen with their bingo cards

Thursday, February 21st was my sorority alumni chapter's annual Theta Bingo! The event benefits CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates). It's a girls' night out event with dinner and bingo games. This year our table had a bingo game winner - Cynetha won a family fun basket full of games, candy, etc. Everyone always has a blast at Theta bingo - women get a little wine in them and get crazy while playing bingo.

Babysitting the Triplets

2008-02-24T13:07:00.000-08:00

On Monday we helped Jen and David out by babysitting the triplets while they went to a meeting with their CPA. Brandon took these pictures with his camera - I'd say he is quite talented at capturing busy 2 year olds! The trips were very well behaved, but Jeff and I are thankful that our kids are out of the busy toddler phase.

Photos:

David and Dylan

a slightly blurry Garrett

Dylan and Caroline playing

a distrustful Caroline

Dylan with the pirate hat

Heart Ball 2008

2008-02-24T13:04:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, February 16 Jeff and I attended the annual American Heart Association's Heart Ball. This year's theme was "Untamed Hearts" and had a jungle motif. There was a silent and a live auction, dinner, dancing, etc. We had a blast!

Breaking News!

2008-02-10T17:37:00.000-08:00

Brandon pulled his tooth tonight! That makes 7 teeth lost so far. I guess the Tooth Fairy will be making an appearance at our house tonight. (On a side note: look at the cleft in his chin - is he his father's son or what??)

When I Grow Up

2008-02-10T17:31:00.000-08:00

Brandon's 2nd grade play was this past Thursday night and was titled "When I Grow Up!". Each second grade class was a different occupation and Brandon's class happened to be plumbers. The play was about being yourself and doing what you want to do in life. We were unsure of what constituted a plumber costume, so here is a picture of Brandon dancing on stage with his plunger (insert your own plumber's crack joke here).

Go Astros!

2008-02-10T17:27:00.000-08:00

We got the call on Thursday night that Brandon was drafted to the 7AAA Astros!

For those of you not familiar with little league (and minor league baseball, I think), you earn your A's as you go up in leagues. So, last spring Brandon was on the 7/8AA Devil Rays. This year he was drafted into a more experienced league - 7AAA. It's like the difference between varsity and JV. We are so excited for him!

It's still machine pitch again this year and he seems to have a wonderful coach with tons of experience. He had his first practice on Saturday.

In past seasons when he has been a Devil Ray, Fighting Irish or an Angel, we've had a hard time finding practice t-shirts for Brandon and the family to wear to games. We won't have a hard time finding Astros gear! Opening Day is March 1st and I will post his game schedule when it's released. Brandon loves a big cheering section!

Yo Quiero Taco Bell

2008-02-06T12:23:00.000-08:00

I gave up fast food for lent. Whether or not Starbucks is considered fast food is a technical discussion that is ongoing. 46 days to go.

Rock Mamas Soul

2008-02-05T22:20:00.000-08:00

My friend Valri just launched her new website! She sells very creative, unique and fun jewelry. Visit:

http://www.rockmamassoul.com/

Sporting News!

2008-02-05T10:32:00.000-08:00

Lindsay's softball coach emailed us today to introduce himself. She is on the Diamond Dusters! We have a meeting tonight to meet the team and get all the practice and game info.

Super Bowl 2008

2008-02-04T16:25:00.000-08:00

My parents had a Super Bowl party on Sunday night at their house. They had a great turn out and the game was very exciting. I won $50 on the squares game for the 1st quarter score! There was SO much food - everyone stuffed themselves. My dad brought over all the leftover booze from the party and now my garage refrigerator is stocked for the next year.

As usual, I brought my camera to the party and then was too busy enjoying myself to remember to take pictures!

Arts & Crafts

2008-02-02T22:19:00.000-08:00

I made these two picture frames out of a piece of wood, scrapbook paper, Modge Podge, clothespins and ribbon.

Model citizen, zero discipline...

2008-01-29T09:49:00.000-08:00

Last night Jeff and I went downtown to see Van Halen in concert at the Toyota Center. The tickets were one of my Christmas presents from Jeff. Van Halen is my all-time favorite band and I had never seen David Lee Roth in concert before. I have seen Van Halen with Sammy Hagar as the lead singer about 5-6 times and was very interested to see the difference between Van Hagar and DLR as the front man. It was an awesome show - and so happy to see all the guys still able to do karate kicks and jumps off of amplifiers! Wolfgang Van Halen (Eddie's son) played bass and did a great job. I wonder what he thinks of his dad and his music. He seemed very shy.

Later in the show, Jeff went to get another beer and returned with a bumper sticker for me. Panama is one of my favorite songs and the bumper sticker is PERFECT! I think I will have it framed and hang it in my study rather than stick it on the minivan. If you aren't a Van Halen fan, then you must know that the phrase "I Can Barely See the Road" are lyrics to Panama.

Here is the review from the Houston Chronicle:
http://blogs.chron.com/handstamp/archives/show_reviews/

Sporting News!

2008-01-24T17:26:00.000-08:00

Tonight we signed Lindsay up to play girl's softball this spring. A classmate of Lindsay's emailed us to see if she was interested in being on their daughter's team. The organization is called South Montgomery Girls Softball League and their facilities are adjacent to the little league complex where Brandon plays. It's going to be a crazy, baseball filled spring! Lindsay is SO excited! Here is the SMGSL website:

http://eteamz.active.com/smgsl/index.cfm?

New Year's Resolutions

2008-01-22T17:43:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!I resolve to be a more consistent blogger!!

We celebrated New Year's Eve with our neighbors and the kids toasted with sparkling apple cider. Jeff sat with his broken ankle up on a chair and our neighbor (who just had surgery for a broken wrist) sat with his arm up in the air. They were quite a pair (yes, I know that rhymes). And yet their injuries didn't stop them from setting off fireworks in the street. Good thing Charles's wrist bandage didn't catch on fire because Jeff couldn't hobble over to help him fast enough if he needed to.

2008 is already in full swing. Brandon has little league tryouts this Saturday. Lindsay's ballet/tap class is learning their spring recital dance. Tax busy season is kicking off for me and college recruiting has begun for Jeff (he is in College Station as I type this, attempting to lure unsuspecting college juniors to sell their souls to the public accounting devil). My office redecoration project is almost complete (still waiting for an upholstered chair to be delivered) and then I will post some pictures. The new office will definitely make it more fun for me to work from home.

Last night we had "Make Your Own Pizza" night, which the kids love. Since they use various vegetables to make faces on their pizzas, they are more likely to eat them.

And, this past weekend, a new women entered Jeff's life. He bought a Mercedes E320.

Christmas Break

2008-01-02T07:24:00.000-08:00

We got back from our ski vacation to New Mexico this week and are busy putting away Christmas decorations and doing laundry. Oh, yes...and taking Jeff to the orthopedic surgeon for his busted ankle. More on that later. I am organizing all of our pictures and will be posting more this week when the kids are back in school.

Long Time No See!

2007-12-17T09:09:00.000-08:00

Our family has been SO busy that I am just now downloading pictures from Thanksgiving off my camera. I've received some "nasty grams" from loyal readers to update my blog, so here goes:

This Thanksgiving Day started with the kids running a one mile race. They finished in 13 minutes and received a medal at the end of the race.

Also, here is a link to some pictures of Brandon taken during the race.

We spent the rest of the day with our next door neighbors, letting the kids play outside and frying a turkey.

The day after Thanksgiving, Jeff took Brandon to the A&M/Texas football game. A&M won 38-30 and then our head coach quit. Brandon loved the game and had a great time! Lindsay and I stayed at home and decorated the house for Christmas.

Lindsay's ballet/tap class performed a Holiday Dance last week. Grandpa and Grandma, as well as Mommy and Daddy came to watch and cheer her on. The girls are so cute in their Rudolph hats and jingle bell skirts!

Also last week, I volunteered to help Lindsay's preschool class make gingerbread houses. The kids ate more candy than they put on their houses, but the project was still a success.

We have also been doing a lot of baking around here. I make poppy seed cakes for all of my neighbors and the kids and I made a gingerbread house and a batch of iced/decorated sugar cookies. Yum!

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season! Team Lemmons is definitely taking advantage of this wonderful time.

Sing, O Siren of the Crock Pot!

2007-12-09T17:52:00.000-08:00

I made an awesome crockpot recipe tonight for dinner and my children ate TWO helpings each! Thank you, Cynetha, for the fabulous recipe.

Here is the recipe (I was too busy stuffing my face and refilling my children's plates to take a picture):

Crockpot Angel Chicken

6 boneless chicken breasts (I only used 4)
1/2 cup butter (that's one stick for those of you not familiar with Paula Deen)
1 package dry Italian salad dressing mix
1 can Campbell's Golden Mushroom Soup (NOT cream of mushroom)
1/2 cup white wine (then you drink the rest of the bottle during dinner!)
4 oz. onion and chive cream cheese (that's half of a round tub)
1 package of angel hair pasta, cooked according to box directions

Place chicken in bottom of crock pot. In saucepan melt butter, stir in Italian dressing mix, soup, cream cheese and wine. Pour over chicken. Cook on low 4-5 hours. Shred chicken with two forks and then pour chicken mixture over cooked angel hair pasta.

YUM-O! (Rachel Ray reference)

Quote of the Day

2007-12-07T08:53:00.000-08:00

Whenever we pick Brandon up from Sunday School at church, his teachers always have a grin on their face from something Brandon says during class. This past Sunday when they were talking about Christmas, Brandon said that it means three things to him: Jesus, presents and the Revolutionary War. When asked what was an unexpected gift he has received, he thought for minute and then said very sincerely, "Freedom."

Ho Ho Ho!

2007-12-02T10:35:00.000-08:00

After church today we took the kids to the mall to see Santa. I have this same picture of the kids since Brandon was one year old! I think it's actually the same Santa for the last 7 years, too.

End of an Era

2007-11-26T11:34:00.001-08:00

Jeff, Coach Fran and Jessica at an A&M Football event in 2003

Dennis Franchione out, Mike Sherman in as Texas A&M's new head football coach.

Wild Weekend

2007-11-19T06:20:00.001-08:00

This past weekend was one of those lazy, fall weekends where you sleep in late, watch football on TV all day and basically do nothing. Yeah, right. I don't think we've had one of those weekends since our children discovered extracurricular activities.

On Friday Lindsay's class had its Thanksgiving Feast and enjoyed traditional Thanksgiving food like chicken nuggets, macaroni & cheese and cupcakes. Jeff attended the festivities because I was with my mom spending obscene amounts of money at the Junior League holiday market on Friday.
Friday night was Brandon's first musical stage performance in a Broadway Review. His class sang and danced to "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid. He looked awesome as a fish and did a great job! Lindsay loved watching all the performances and told Jeff, "I want to do that!"

Saturday was spent shopping for clothing warm enough to sustain our body temperatures when we go skiing at Christmas. Since we barely even need to own a jacket down here, we really have to buy everything - coat, ski pants, long underwear, hats, gloves, etc.

At lunch time we headed to Fuddrucker's for Brandon's end-of-season baseball party. We ate lunch, the kids played games and Brandon received his trophy. We had a disappointing end to the season during the tournament and even typing about it right now makes me very upset, so maybe I will discuss what happened another time. But let's just say that it's hard to teach 7 & 8 year old boys the concept of sportsmanship if adults coaching the teams don't understand it themselves. Was that diplomatic enough? Coaches Jeff and Lou also recieved trophies and baseballs signed by all the boys.

Saturday night was Brandon's encore performance of "Under the Sea". I don't know what kind of makeup they used Saturday night, but we had a heckuva time trying to get all that eye makeup off of him. And, as luck would have it, we were taking Christmas pictures on Sunday. So, it was imperative that Brandon have all the eye makeup off and sparkles out of his hair for Sunday.

Sunday we took Christmas card pictures and Lindsay attended a birthday party at Pump It Up. In summary, like I said, just a quiet weekend with really nothing to do.

Portrait Thursday

2007-11-15T17:14:00.000-08:00

Turkey Tango

2007-11-15T17:01:00.001-08:00

On Tuesday morning Lindsay's ballet/tap class performed their "Turkey Tango" for guests. They did a little tap routine where they actually tangoed with a partner (yes, I looked up how to spell "tangoed" as I wasn't quite sure that was even a word!). It was a very cute routine and the girls have all picked up tapping so fast in their first year. Then they showed us their ballet warm up and the routine they go through when they are practicing their ballet half of the class. They will be performing their "Turkey Tango" again next Tuesday for in town guests for the holiday - I wasn't aware that we were having class next Tuesday, so Grandma and Grandpa and Jeff all attended this week's performance. Jeff might be able to download some video of the routine and I'll try to post it here later.

Wine Club

2007-11-14T11:48:00.000-08:00

At my monthly wine club meeting last night, we tasted Cabernet Sauvignons from the Napa Valley. The winner was Liberty School. It was rated #1 by every member of the wine club.

Portrait Monday

2007-11-12T18:44:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of Chico that Brandon took when we were puppy sitting. He is SO cute, I wish we could clone him and have our own Chico!

Weekend Activities

2007-11-12T18:22:00.000-08:00

On Friday night we took the kids to College Station for an A&M basketball game.

A company donated thousands of t-shirts that were placed on all the season ticket holders seats - the seats are really maroon, but they look white because of the free t-shirts

Mark Turgeon - our new head coach

Students "reading" newspapers while the opposing team's line up is announced

Here's a picture for Gwen: She was an member of the inaugural Aggie Dance Team back in 1990. And they sure didn't dress like they do now!

Lindsay started to not feel well at the game and coughed all night (poor baby). We tried to keep her quiet and at home all weekend, but Saturday she insisted on going fishing with Jeff and Brandon. They didn't get many bites, but Brandon caught a little perch. These pictures are by Brandon on my old camera - he loves taking pictures!

Lindsay and Daddy at Creekwood Park

Brandon's perch

The Votes are In!

2007-11-07T12:24:00.000-08:00

The Woodlands took its first step towards freedom yesterday by passing all three propositions.

TCID Prop. 1 (expand Town Center district territory)
In: 100%
For 13,291 85.8%
Against 2,206 14.2%

TCID Prop. 2 (create board of 7 elected members)
In: 100%
For 13,294 86.0%
Against 2,172 14.0%

TCID Prop. 3 (give Town Center district power to levy property tax)
In: 100%
For 12,048 77.9%
Against 3,416 22.1%

Pink Power

2007-11-06T09:41:00.001-08:00

One of the first people I met when we moved to The Woodlands six years ago was my discussion group leader at my monthly MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting. Her name is Karin Schmaltz. This year her daughter and Lindsay are in the same ballet/tap class on Tuesdays. Karin started her Mary Kay business about 4 years ago and has done very well and has earned the pink Cadillac. Whenever we see her car parked in the dance studio parking lot, Lindsay gets so excited. Not because she will soon see her friend, but because IT IS A PINK CAR! Who knew such things existed??? Lindsay asked me why can't we buy a pink car and I told her that Miss Karin earned that car by selling makeup (a LOT of makeup,in fact). Lindsay's jaw dropped as she realized that not only could she one day own a pink car, but she could get it by SELLING MAKEUP??? Why that is the key to universal happines! Pink vehicles and makeup!!!

Portrait Thursday

2007-11-02T16:05:00.000-07:00

We puppy-sat Chico the dog on Thursday and took him to the park.

Trick or Treat!

2007-11-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

Halloween this year really reminded me how fast the kids are growing. That song by Billy Dean "Let Them Be Little" ran through my head all night. Here are some of the lyrics (or you can click the link above and listen yourself):

Let them be little 'cause they're only that way for a while

Give them hope, give them praise, give them love every day

Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle

Oh just let them be little

Here is a study in how time flies:

Brandon and Thomas Halloween 2002

vs.

Brandon and Thomas Halloween 2007

Lindsay and Emily Halloween 2002

Lindsay and Emily Halloween 2007

What Happens in Vegas (WHIV): Sunday

2007-11-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

Our last full day in Las Vegas began around lunchtime. We decided to experience the other amenities Vegas had to offer by going shopping. Jeff and I went to the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace and Fashion Show Mall. I love the shopping in Vegas because there is every store you could ever possible imagine (the usual Gap, shoe stores, etc), as well as stores you would never think of going in unless you were in Vegas (Louis Vuitton, Dior, Juicy Couture). And all this shopping with NO KIDS to drag around!!

While we were at Fashion Show Mall, we noticed a kiosk selling half-price tickets to shows. One of the shows playing Sunday night was Spamalot, a musical parodying Monty Python movies. When Spamalot came to Houston a while back, we were unable to find a babysitter or tickets. So, we bought tickets and made plans to meet Keith and John at the Wynn. The show was hilarious and was the perfect ending to our weekend in Vegas.

What Happens in Vegas (WHIV): Saturday

2007-10-31T13:41:00.000-07:00

Day #2 in Vegas started with Jeff hiking about 3 miles down the strip to a McDonalds to find some breakfast. Because of the time zone Vegas is in, we watched ESPN College GameDay at 7:30 am in bed with our hangover food.

After a shower and lunch at the Pool Café, we met Keith at the Bellagio Race & Sports Book to place our bets on college football games. We learned two very important lessons on Saturday: 1) A&M is a horrible football team right now and 2) Never bet on Texas to cover the spread. A bunch of our friends from the night before are Texas grads and warned us not to bet on Texas to cover. We didn’t believe them until we lost our money.

We spent most of the day Saturday at a sports bar called Blondie’s where the waitresses are dressed like cheerleaders. A bunch of us sat in a booth that had no fewer than 10 televisions of various sizes around it. We watched every game on TV simultaneously. I think Jeff was in Heaven. College football, beer, waitresses dressed like cheerleaders…what else could a man want? Oh, yes – to not lose all his bets.

Saturday evening we headed back to the Bellagio to change clothes and attend Keith’s actual birthday party in his suite. The party kicked off with a visit from the “Hairy Fairy” who appropriately embarrassed Keith.

As the night progressed and as tends to happen at parties, eventually tequila made an appearance.

Keith, Mark M. and Patron

After rounds of shots, we found Mark Mercer passed out in one of the bedrooms. And when you pass out at a party, you must have things placed on your face (let me note that Mark is lucky we couldn’t find any Sharpie markers). As I mentioned in the Friday installment of WHIV, Mark didn’t pace himself.

I need to note the attire that some people were wearing on Saturday night. Todd made quite an entrance when he showed up dressed exactly like J.R. Ewing.

John, Mark H., Will and Todd (aka J.R.)

Keith’s shirt lit up and flashed.
Around midnight we decided that it was time to hit the casinos. At some point we went to the Venetian where a Halloween party was going on in one of the clubs. I saw these guys dressed like the “**** in a Box” sketch from Saturday Night Live and HAD to take a picture of them. (If you click on the link to watch the sketch, please note it's R rated)

Jessica and one box guy

Here is a picture of Keith's cake after we had already dug into it.

What Happens in Vegas (WHIV): Friday

2007-10-30T06:40:00.001-07:00

Last Friday morning Jeff and I flew to Las Vegas for our friend Keith’s 40th birthday weekend. We checked into the Bellagio and then Keith escorted us up to his penthouse suite. Yes, you have to be escorted up to his floor – you even need a key to work the elevators that go to his floor. His suite was beautiful! We watched the water show from his window:

When we got to his suite around 2pm, another old friend, Mark Mercer, was still asleep in one of the bedrooms. He was asleep in the same clothes he had worn the night before (actually the same clothes he flew from Atlanta in). And as Friday night progressed, we realized he would be wearing those clothes for another 24 hours. We told him that he needed to pace himself, but as you will find out in the Saturday installment of WHIV, he did not heed our advice.

Above pictures: Mark M. and Todd; Mark, Jessica and Keith

We had cocktails and talked as more people arrived. (Corrie in the below pictures didn't even make it to Hofbrauhaus. We also had another casualty early in the evening - another girl made it to the bar and then immediately hopped in another cab back to the hotel)

Above pictures: Corrie, Mark H., Jeff; Corrie, Jeff and Keith

At some point it turned into a pretty big crowd and it was time to head to Hofbrauhaus. One of the perks of staying in a suite at the Bellagio is the VIP service. When we needed a cab, we were escorted to the front of the taxi line and immediately placed in the next available car. That is important for two reasons: one, it’s nice to not have to stand in line for 30 minutes with hundreds of other people waiting for a cab and two, it is a good celebrity spotting situation (as you will find out in the Sunday installment of WHIV).

We arrived at Hofbrauhaus, got our table and encountered this girl dancing on the table next to us (she has on Keith's hat):

She was very entertaining. We all ate various German cuisine and drank beer and sang German drinking songs and had a great time. Jeff and I called it quits early (sticking to our decision to pace ourselves) and headed back to the hotel around midnight.

Mark M. and Jeff at Hoffbrauhaus

The Important Things

2007-10-25T06:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Brandon brought home a project he did at school called, "The Important Things About Me". It was so casually toted home in his backpack and thrown on the kitchen island, but to me it is such a profound statement for a 7 year old. First of all, he lovingly dedicated the book to his sister which brought tears to my eyes. And then he proceeded to outline the only things that really matter in life.

In addition to liking pizza and the color red, Brandon states that the most important things about himself are that he has his own personality and that he has friends. Really, isn't that what life is all about? Being yourself and having people to love?

The most important things, indeed.

Women's Suffrage

2007-10-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

This morning after dropping Lindsay off at school, I went to the community center and voted. Right now in The Woodlands there are three propositions that would free our town from being annexed by the city of Houston. This is a big deal for our community because it would mean that we could incorporate as our own city and have our own government. Another master planned community called Kingwood was in a similar situation as a few years ago and they ended up being annexed by the city of Houston. It has been a very negative experience for Kingwood's residents to be a part of Houston. If these three propositions pass, it will set The Woodlands free.

Ironbear Triathlon

2007-10-22T06:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Brandon completed the 3rd annual Ironbear Triathlon at his school. He swam 25 meters, biked 1 mile and ran 1/2 mile. Every kid receives a medal for completing the race. Yesterday's weather was perfect, although the pool was a little chilly. The event was held not a moment too soon - this morning a cold front blew in and it's now raining and 50 degrees.

I think this fundraiser is such a great idea for school kids. Buckalew Elementary used to hold a fall carnival with games and candy, but three years ago the PTO decided to "tri" something different. What an opportunity for kids to experience something new. And this event could make a serious impact on a kid and develop a passion that follows them into adulthood.

Meet LuLu

2007-10-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

This is Lindsay's new Webkinz named LuLu. Lindsay saved her money for months until she had enough to go to Hallmark and buy a new Webkinz (this brings her total to 3 animals).

It's funny because money burns a hole in Brandon's pocket, but Lindsay meticulously saves her money and then spends a giant sum at one time. Whenever I take the kids to "the evil Walmart" or Target (is Target evil, too? I'll have to check with a liberal friend), Brandon always brings a little money with him so he can buy something for himself from the toy isle. I'll ask Lindsay, "Do you want to bring some money, too?" and she'll say, "Nope. I'm saving my money." and then look judgementally at Brandon. And if you ever have the pleasure of playing Monopoly with Lindsay, you will know why her knickname is Mrs. Moneybags.

Viva Las Vegas!

2007-10-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

At the end of October, Jeff and I are going to Las Vegas for a long weekend. It's our friend's 40th birthday celebration and there are about 45 people from around the country all meeting at the Bellagio. Then Jeff has a tax conference at the Bellagio the next week. Yes, we realize that is a long time in Vegas - but I think we are up to the challenge!

I met Keith (the aforementioned birthday boy) when I was working at Coopers & Lybrand right out college. He is an attorney with an LLM in tax and had just left a law firm to come to C&L (which is an accounting firm). The group that Keith and I were a part of still stands as the most unique, fun, special group of people we have ever worked with. When C&L merged (i.e. was taken over) by another firm, our little group of about 7-10 people broke up. A few moved to Atlanta with one of the partners, a few moved to other firms and only a couple stayed at the newly merged firm. But we all still keep in touch regularly and all agree that was the best 2 years of our working lives.

This 40th birthday plan was hatched 10 years ago on Keith's 30th birthday. We took him to a piano bar in Dallas' West End and decided there that when Keith turned 40 we would all fly to Germany for Octoberfest. Well, in 10 years people have gotten married, had kids, etc etc etc so Germany isn't as feasible as we thought at the time as carefree, irresponsible youth. So, the location was changed to Las Vegas where most people can catch a cheap flight and stay at whatever hotel they wish. Friday night we are paying homage to Octoberfest by going to Hofbrauhaus. The rest of the weekend will be spent in Keith's penthouse suite that he has reserved where there will be a catered celebration Saturday night. That's a long way from the dive piano bar where we spent his 30th birthday! Here are pictures of a few people from the C&L gang at Pat O'Brien's on a trip to New Orleans in 1998. In the first one, I am 2nd from the right with Keith's (striped shirt) hand on my face. The second picture is of Keith and Jeff.

Birthday Weekend

2007-10-17T17:48:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was Jeff's birthday, so this weekend we had friends over to watch A&M get pummeled by Texas Tech. Then we proceeded to watch LSU lose a heartbreaker (our next door neighbors went to LSU and were over here). So, overall it wasn't a good day for football. But there was cake - leftover cupcakes from after the baseball game Friday night (the team sang Happy Birthday to Coach Jeff) and then a cookie cake with a monster truck on it. We grilled fajitas and the kids swam and played upstairs. It was fun even though all of our favorite teams lost (including Illinois where my parents went to undergrad, but that is never a shock in football).

What was left of 2 dozen baseball cupcakes after the game

On Saturday after Brandon's game, I took Lindsay to a friend's birthday party. He was turning 5 and is really into dinosaurs. So, his dad dressed up like an archeologist (his interpretation at least) and buried plastic dinosaurs in the sand volleyball pit at the park. The kids dug for the dinosaurs, played on the playground and had pizza and (more!) cake.

All lined up to digging (Lindsay is 3rd from the right)

Blogger Issues

2007-10-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

For some reason, Blogger isn't letting me upload some of my pictures on my previous post. So, here are some more:

Batting with his eyes closed - not a good way to get a hit!

Baseball is life...the rest is just details

2007-10-17T12:36:00.000-07:00

I feel like that saying describes our family right now. Brandon's baseball takes up so much time and family focus that other things are falling to the bottom of the list. This past weekend his team won both games. Then Tuesday night a different Irish team showed up to play. Specifically, the Irish team that got beaten in their first game showed up and got beaten by the last place team in their division. The boys looked a little tired, a little lazy and didn't really have their heads in the game. We have a LONG break until the next game (next Friday the 26th) which I really think the boys need. Here are some baseball pictures I have taken lately (with my new awesome camera that I love, love, love!!)

Happy Birthday, Jeff!

2007-10-12T17:27:00.000-07:00

Jeff turned 35 today! It will be a crazy weekend filled with baseball, football (watching) and birthday partying. I'll do more updating later - right now we are in the middle of a serious redecorating project in the study which is requiring lots measuring and trips to The Container Store.

Pre-Birthday Dinner (& Gift!)

2007-10-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

Last night I took Jeff out to dinner for an early birthday celebration. His real birthday is Friday, but Brandon has a baseball game that night so a romantic dinner is out of the question. The picture of us before we went out is courtesy of Brandon. He is very into taking pictures lately and is actually quite talented.

The reason he is able to use my old camera is that Jeff and I bought a brand new toy. It's a Nikon D40X camera! We have been shopping for a good camera for about a year now and finally made the purchase on Sunday. After many attempts to get good pictures of the kids every day and during special events, we realized that our old camera (Canon PowerShot A530) wasn't going to cut it. We bought the 18-55 mm lens for what the salesperson called "Christmas morning shots" - basically every day use. We also got the 55-200 mm lens for situations where we need some zoom. Like little league baseball games. And ballet recitals.

The new camera is SO much fun and in the first day alone I took 192 pictures. Here are some favorites:

Old Friends

2007-10-07T08:12:00.000-07:00

After Brandon's game last night, we went to Steel City Pizza for dinner and to watch the A&M/Oklahoma State football game. Yes, Steel City Pizza is my new favorite restaurant and, yes, the six 42 inch plasma screen TVs were the best way to watch A&M beat Ok State and take 1st place in the Big XII South.
While we were at Steel City, my old college roommate from the Theta sorority house walks in with her family. Her son is playing football this fall and is on the Bengals. They had just finished a game in the rain as well and came to watch the A&M football game and eat some pizza. It was so good to see her and her kids - who are getting so big. Can it be that we are all getting older?? How is that possible when we all look exactly the same as we did in college?

Sporting News: Irish Win 2 in a Row!

2007-10-07T08:05:00.001-07:00

The pennants I worked so hard on

Brandon's baseball team won BOTH of their games this weekend! Friday night the Irish beat the Bulldogs 8-5. Brandon went 2 for 3 at the plate and made 2 outs in the field (one at catcher and one at 1st base). The whole team played so well that Coach Lou decided to give every player a game ball. The team that seemed so good at practice showed up for the game on Friday night and played their hearts out. Saturday night the Irish beat the Gators 11-7 in a 3 inning match before the rain started. Brandon went 1 for 2 a the plate. The Gators were undefeated before Brandon's team beat them. Now there are six teams tied for 2nd place in the division with 2-1 records.

Latest Developments

2007-10-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

Today I booked our family Christmas vacation: we're going skiing! We're driving the kids 1,000 miles to Angel Fire Resort in New Mexico during Christmas break. All four of us will take ski lessons (Jeff and the kids have never skiied before and I haven't skiied in many years). It will also mark the first time Brandon and Lindsay have ever seen snow. I'm so excited!

Rash update: Lindsay's rash seems to have gone away. The nightly oatmeal baths and slathering her with Aveeno oatmeal lotion has seemed to help. Or maybe it was just the passage of time. Either way she looks so much better and isn't itching anymore.

Friends in high places: My friend, who is a pharmacist, is running all the flu shot clinics for our area for a certain drug store that shall remain nameless. She had some left over flu shots from her clinic yesterday, so last night she came over and gave me, Jeff, Grandma and Grandpa our flu shots in my kitchen. It's nice to have friends with flu shots and the ability to administer them!

Last night reminded me of one time when the kids' pediatrician prescribed some sort of nasty tasting medicine for Lindsay and said that I might want to have it flavored. I told him that my friend who is a pharmacist would definitely hook Lindsay up. He said, "Pharmacists are good friends to have." and I replied, "Not as good as pediatricians." which got a chuckle out of him.

An October Swim

2007-10-01T21:12:00.000-07:00

The weather is still warm enough for the kids to swim after school. I love Texas.

Steel City Pizza

2007-09-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

After Brandon's game on Saturday, we went to dinner at Steel City Pizza. The whole concept of this place amazes me and almost makes me want to be a Steelers fan. It's a pizza restaurant chain that is all about the Pittsburgh Steelers. The entire place is decorated in Steelers paraphernalia and they have big game watching parties for any Pittsburgh team. The pizza is delicious and the atmosphere is laid back and welcoming. What is so incredible to me is that their market research told them it would be a good idea to open a location in The Woodlands, Texas. They don't have a website (from what I can find), but here is a description on a Woodlands business website (and for the record, the six 42" plasma televisions were the perfect way to watch the texas longhorns lose their football game Saturday night):

Steel City Pizzeria
People ask what is so special about Steel City Pizzeria? The pizza is award winning. Our pizza was entered in a contest of over 200 pizzas restaurants and came in 5th. Steel City makes all of its products from scratch. The flour for our pies is special flour we have brought in and is made fresh daily. The sauce is an old world recipe, made from a blend of three different tomato products along with a unique assortment of herbs and spices. That is why we have a “Hard Working Sauce”. All the toppings are fresh and the cheese is a blend of three cheeses shredded daily. In addition to pizza we have a large selection of hoagies and pastas as well as salads, bread sticks, and nachos.
The idea of Steel City Pizzeria came from Pittsburgh, PA. Pittsburgh is a sports town and as a sports pizzeria we have 6 - 42” plasma to view your favorite team. We have the Major League Baseball package, National Hockey League, National Football Packages, Basketball playoffs as well as the WWE and some UFC fights. If you’re a Pittsburgh fan we will have the Steelers, Pirates Penguins and Pitt. events. We also have an assortment of your favorite beers on tap and in bottles and we will have wine by the glass. Steel City Pizzeria has a family atmosphere.

Sporting News: Irish Lose First Game

2007-09-30T17:03:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Brandon's baseball team lost a painful game to the Hurricanes with a final score of 14-1. No one was quite sure what happened. At practice on Thursday, the boys scrimmaged another team (the Jayhawks) and completely outplayed them. Everyone had hot bats, the boys played well in the field and beat the Jayhawks in an easy match. On Saturday, the boys looked completely asleep in the field and literally would watch the ball roll past them. To make matters worse, no one could consistently get their bat on the ball. Brandon went 0-2 at the plate was very upset with his performance. He played very well at catcher and made some great plays when he was pitcher, but couldn't get a hit when he was up to bat. Jeff and Coach Lou are planning their next practice carefully and figuring out what went wrong. Hopefully they will be more prepared for their 2 games this weekend. Here are some pictures from Saturday:

Stretching in the batting cages before the game

Batting practice in the cages before the game

Playing catcher in the 1st inning

Coach Lou addressing the team after the loss (see the score board in the background)

Brandon was upset with his team's performance

The 12th Man

2007-09-28T06:30:00.000-07:00

Brandon received his baseball jersey at practice last night and is #12 again! Whoop! The 12th Man!

Quote of the Day

2007-09-28T06:25:00.000-07:00

Lindsay has been battling a weird skin rash since Wednesday. I took her to the doctor who shrugged his shoulders and said, "I have no idea what that is." It's itchy, but there are no other symptoms and all the classics like chicken pox have been ruled out. So, Dr. Flanagan sent Lindsay on her merry way with a note for school that reads, "Viral rash - not likely contagious anymore."
Last night after soaking in an oatmeal bath, Lindsay was drying off and I said, "I wonder where that rash came from." And Lindsay replied, "Maybe the Rash Fairy?"