Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Molly's Baptism
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Christmas...part 2!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Santa came!!!
Christmas Eve
Cookies for Santa
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
We know...I'm a GIANT sucker:)
Saturday, December 18, 2010
We're halfway there!!!
Monday, December 13, 2010
A Fun, Chilly Weekend in San Antonio!!!
On Sunday we all got up and headed to one of my absolute favorite places... the Japanese Tea Gardens. If I could ever get "remarried" (to Craig of course) and have the big celebration again... it would be here. It is the most beautiful, peaceful place in the world and as soon as you walk in you completely forget you are standing in the middle of downtown San Antonio. The kids a ball going under and over waterfalls, climbing endless trails and watching the massive koi fish. I had a blast watching Aunt Kel try to maneuver the stroller in all of these places:)
After the Japanese tea Gardens, we headed across the street to the zoo. Craig and I have heard so many times that the San Antonio Zoo is amazing and is actually ranked the third best zoo in the nation but we've never made it there. Boy have we been missing out...this was the best zoo I have been to! You are right up in the face of each animal, they have all authentic lands (like a stroll through Africa) and quite possibly the coolest kiddie land I have ever seen! This place beat all of the children's museums I have ever been to!!! They have a multiple areas of which all are designed to get kids outside and have fun. There was a farm area, complete with live chickens laying eggs, a riverbank with a man made stream and sandy beach for the kids to wade in in warm weather, a camping area, complete with a campfire and tent to play with, an indoor learning center with a "fishing" stream (and of course Luke managed to fall in it!), a baby play area and a crawl out tunnel that takes you right into the heart of the prairie dogs exhibit and my kids favorite area...the park. The sign outside says "Go wild, be a kid" and my boys did just that! They had races against Uncle Chris and Daddy, wrestled up and down the hills, played with Emma in the grass and made a boy pyramid on top of Daddy!!!
We were sad to see our fun weekend come to end and excited to see Aunt Kel, Uncle Chris and Emma in two weeks for Christmas!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Our First SUCCESSFUL House!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
WHEW...What a busy few days!!!!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Warrior Dash Weekend!!!!
Craig and I love to watch the Travel Channel and once saw this episode about an insane 3 mile 12 obstacle course that travels the country that looked like SO much fun ( I thought it looked hilarious and perhaps a good time...Craig was all about trying it out!!!)! I found out that it would be in Austin this weekend so I summoned up the nerve to do it with (and for!!!) my hubby, as well as convinced Uncle DJ and Aunt Christy to do it with us:)
My parents came up on Friday with DJ and Christy so Saturday was spent with the girls hitting up a craft fair and the outlets while the boys had babysitting duty! we managed to fill the car with fabulous finds and the boys had a ball not having to follow rules and getting to be gross all day with no girls around so the day was a HUGE success:)
Sunday was the BIG day...we arrived in time to pick up our warrior helmets, t-shirts and race packets and were ready to begin (after snapping a few pics of ourselves and the guy in full Warrior costume!!!)! Gaga and Papa had kid and photo duty while we were on our three mile adventure. We ended up having such a fun time...completely covered in mud and all!!! We climbed over junky cars, ran (okay maybe walked) a 1/2 mile through the most disgusting mud filled, pothole like stream (this was surprisingly our favorite obstacle), climbed over stacked hay bales, did a tire run, slid down a mud hill like a water slide (okay...Craig, Christy and DJ managed to stay standing and get down the hill; it was me who "rode" down the hill) and then rope climbed back up it, got across a 15 yard net suspended in the air, hurdled a few things, climbed up and over a net wall, jumped over fire and finished with an army crawl under barbed wire thorough mud!!! We all crossed the finish line together after staying together the whole race (team motto..."even if Mommy is the weakest link, we stay together!!) and our three guys were proudly at the finish line holding up signs and cheering us on with Gaga & Papa! It was an incredibly fun first "marathon" for the four of us and was complete with a hose off by giant water tanker trucks! It was such a fun thing to experience together with my husband and I find it amusing that he claims I've "never looked sexier than army crawling through mud"! I guess I'll take whatever compliment I can get:) Who's up for next year?!?!?!?!
PS-A BIG thanks to Gaga for all the awesome pics and a BIG thanks to Papa for watching the boys so Gaga could take all the awesome pics!!!
Monday, November 8, 2010
My sweet and adorable Molly!!!
Miss Molly had just gotten out of her week long stay in the hospital and I was more than willing to give her Mommy (Aunt Key) some mornings to sleep in and showers without worry! Daddy (Uncle Jeremy) had to return to work for a short shift so I only got to spend one night with him but it gave me all the more reason to give Aunt Key a few minutes break! I had a blast taking endless photos of this precious sweetie and even had the honor of painting her piggies for the first time! (Both of my fabulous sisters have taken pity on my life in testosterone land and gave me the honors on both of my girls...Molly & Emma!) Leaving on Saturday was hard after so much time with a precious newborn but my Moose made it easier by calling me while throwing up asking me to come home...time to get back to reality:)
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Orange Treats, Pumpkins and Trick-or-Treating!!!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Luke's 1'st Official School Halloween Party:)
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Brian's 1'st Grade Performance
Monday, October 18, 2010
A lazy Sunday...
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Halloween Fest at Six Flags
Friday, October 1, 2010
Paging Dr. Moose...
Matt's current dream is to be a vet with Brian, own their own ranch that houses their vet office with a lake in the middle separating them and employ Luke as the kennel help:) Craig, me and my parents have all been assigned jobs as well and will all apparently live on this giant commune together with them!!! This whole week in Kindergarten has been centered on community helpers ending with a parade today around the whole school. Matt dressed up as a vet and proudly marched around the school with his class waving to the big kids like he was Miss America:) It was adorable to see and really fun to hear all of the other grades cheering for them in the halls as they walked by!!!
After the parade, lunch was an all school picnic and burger cookout which Luke and I got to enjoy twice...once with Brian and once with Matt! A fun end to a busy week...oh wait, that's right, we have THREE baseball games tomorrow!!!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Luke's 3!!!!
Time sure flies and somehow my baby is now three!!! Luke's birthday was this weekend and since Luke is not very social and has a very small circle of people he actually likes and will speak to, we had a very small party with all of his people in the circle (minus Aunt Key & Uncle Jeremy who are in Vegas getting ready to have Miss Molly in just a few weeks!!!).
Luke's fun started on Thursday when Gaga and I got to spend the day with him at Preschool to celebrate his birthday. Papa, Aunt Kel, Uncle Chris, Emma, Uncle DJ and Christy all came up on Friday to spend the night and celebrate Luke's big day! The day began with three, yes three baseball games! Each boy is on a different team this year, with Craig coaching two of those teams:) The nine o'clock hour was divided up since both Brian and Matt had games at the exact same time. Matt drafted Daddy, Papa, Uncle Chris and Christy to his game while Brian drafted Mommy, Gaga, Aunt Kel, Uncle DJ (and Luke & Emma by default!!). Both boys played awesome and we all met up to head to the debut of Luke's baseball career!! This was his first game EVER and since he missed his only practice due to vacationing in Florida last week, he was utterly clueless as to the rule of the game!! He didn't mind at all and had an absolute blast wearing his WAY TOO BIG uniform, having two turns at bat and playing in the field. Papa, Uncle DJ, Uncle Chris, Christy, Brian and Matt all took turns helping him throughout the game and other than a few runs to wrong bases...he did great!!! He is super excited to go again next week:)After baseball, we all headed home, along with our close family friends for lunch, presents, cake and football on TV! Luke was completely spoiled with the majority of his presents being Mickey and Elmo themed and was quite the happy little man. Once everyone headed home, Luke finished off his birthday with a swim before heading to bed dreaming of all of his fun he had:)
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Preparing myself, I truly thought I was going to have to be carried out of the preschool but I got lucky...they ended up needing a sub. for the 4's....so I got to stay and spy on him ALL day!!! He didn't drop a single tear at drop-off (though I had a few) and happily waved bye to us. Some might say "That's great, he was excited and not upset!" I say "Seriously child, after all I've been through with you...why don't you just rip out my heart and stomp on it!!!"
I have to admit...I was so proud when I was peeking in on him throughout the day. He did awesome (minus one meltdown in music when Ms. Candice dropped them off and he was horrified!!!) and by 12:30 was passed out on his new Mickey napmat (custom-made by ME I might add!!!) and snoring louder than the cd player:) When I went to get him at 2:00, he was waiting with a smile and jumped into my arms for the biggest hug I've received to date! He was so proud to show me his art project and is actually excited to go again on Thursday:)
Monday, August 30, 2010
A week of laughs!
Matt: "I have a girlfriend Mom"
Mom: "That's great, what's her name?"
Matt: "I haven't asked her yet!"
Luke: "Hey Mom, guess what?"
Mom: "What?"
Luke "Chicken Butt!!!" (and then bursts into a ton of laughter!!!)
Brian gettting ready to head up to bed, comes over to me, smacks me on the butt and says "Love you babe"
It's moments like these that I remember how much I love being a Mom!!!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Well...I embarrassed the WHOLE school:)
Of course this morning we woke up (at 5:15 courtesy of Brian...apparently the excitement kicked in) and I was once again sad. I am okay with Brian going since they've already taken my once sweet boy and made him into a wise-cracking, eye-rolling, crude humored little boy but I am NOT ready to give up my sweet Moose! Of all my kids, he's my easy going, still baby voiced innocent snuggler and I in no way am ready for him to follow the likes of his brother and turn into a full-fledged little boy! I am not ready for him to have a life outside of me and I am not ready for him to grow up...at all!!! I hate the fact that my kids are with a different motherly figure for 35 hours each week and that I am slowly becoming less and less needed. I am sick just thinking about the day that they get a serious girlfriend (yes, I know I still have a few years) but once they start school, they beginn their little lives, and I for one don't think they need a life!!!
I can honestly say that I am proud of them...they marched into school like they owned the place and are not too big to kiss me goodbye (I will probably crawl into a hole and die the day this happens!!!). I was the only one of us with tears (therefore embarrassing the whole school!!!) but as I walked out with Luke, I felt like part of my heart got left behind! I am sure I will be a basket case in two weeks when I leave Luke at preschool but in the back of my mind there is one thing to be positive about...in two weeks I will be able to run errands on Tuesday's and Thursday's without the whole store being made aware of "my big butt"!!!
Monday, August 16, 2010
August can do down as my LEAST favorite month...EVER!!!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Our final weekend...all of the Rose cousins!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
We all got it!!!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Hollywood Studios...The Beginning of the End!
A full day at the Magic Kingdom!!!
Besides our day of losts, we had a really fun time!!! We were able to skip Fantasy Land since we had done it on Sunday (thank the Lord cause it was a zoo over there!!!) Brian and Matt each rode and LOVED Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad! They had both been on Thunder Mountain before but Space Mountain was a first!! I can proudly say I have the bravest six year old I've ever met...not only did he ride Space Mountain, he rode alone since Craig was sitting with Matt!!! He wanted to go again after his turn with Daddy and since Craig was with Matt, Brian hopped on by himself!!! Luke had a blast on the Goofy coaster again, and even rode hands up like his brothers! The biggest two surprises of the day was Luke LOVING the Pirates of Caribbean and all three boys being absolutely terrified of the Haunted Mansion! I have three roller coaster daredevils who are terrified of fake ghosts!!! All three boys thoroughly enjoyed the Electrical Light Parade, Brian went into full photographer mode!!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Epcot!!!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Animal Kingdom!!!
We all truly enjoyed Animal Kingdom and even managed to not really mind the 95 degree weather with 100% humidity!!! We were back to the hotel by 9:30 and had time for a quick dinner and a "bath" in the pool:) Tomorrow we are back to the Magic Kingdom!!!!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Mickey's House!!!!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Jacksonville to see The Williby's!!
Friday, July 23, 2010
The car ride...
Thursday, July 22, 2010
We're off to Disney World!!!
Monday, July 19, 2010
"I didn't know I was that GOOD of a boy!"
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
An awesome first season!!!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Fourth of July on the Beach!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Emma's Baptism
Sunday, May 30, 2010
He did it!!!
We are the proud parents of a six year old that waterski's!!! We bought Brian a starter ski last year and he decided that the most crowded weekend on the lake was the perfect time to try it out:) He was nervous getting started but Daddy and Uncle DJ had a master plan that worked! Daddy was in the water with Brian holding the ski and pushing him up while Uncle DJ was on the jetski next to him. Brian got up on his second try and was able to ski for five full minutes, even making two turns before letting go from exhaustion!!!
Please excuse my choppy video (it's two and a half min.)...I had tears of pride running down my face, the water was full of waves, I was bouncing up and down and my camera was in video mode that also allowed me to shoot pictures while taping:) On the plus side...you can see all of my pictures during the video:)
Friday, May 21, 2010
Super Swimmers!!!
Backstroke was a different story...the poor guy had a meltdown as his heat was getting in the pool and refused to start from inside the pool. He was hysterically sobbing that he didn't know how to do the arms in backstroke and managed to hold up the entire meet for a good two minutes. After finally coaxing him into the water assuring him he would be fine, he pushed off the wall on his back, immediately rolled over and swam the whole lap freestyle (while everyone else was doing backstroke!). He got a standing ovation from the crowd for finishing well after everyone else as swimming while trying to stop crying takes a LONG time!!! Needless to say, Mommy and Matt will be having a backstroke clinic this weekend!!! Craig and I are super proud of our big swimmers and can't wait to see how awesome they will be by the end of the summer:)
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Big Tex!!!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Matt Graduated Preschool!!!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Mia...
After an eight year run in the Rose family, Mia went to Heaven today. Who would think that you could be so attached to "the worst dog in the world"? I swear I should be the millionaire, not Marley's family:) Mia was like an ATM machine in reverse, she always had a problem but they were usually self-inflicted which made it that much more frustrating!!! Before we found out how sick she was, we were extremely frustrated one day with her peeing herself in her sleep and jokingly made a want ad for Mia. It went something like this:
Free to good home (or really any home that will be willing to take her), GIANT yellow lab, weighing in close to 100 lbs that was kicked out of obedience school not once, but twice. Has absolutely no common sense and will charge towards you knocking over anything in her path (including small children). Loves any and all candy or treats and will help herself to your pantry, cook top, counter or whatever else she may see. Loves to swim and will find any source of water to hop into (even the lake behind your house on the golf course with golfers playing on it and will not get out no matter how many times you call her, no matter how loud you scream!!). Absolutely LOVES car rides (but cannot go in truck beds as she has jumped out of a moving one resulting in ripping off all four pads of her feet). Loves glow sticks (not to look at, but to eat...this also causes massive vet bills!) Excellent watchdog...great at barking (if you have neighbors you don't like, Mia will bark at them until they decide to just move away!!!) Has excellent hearing, but also has chronic ear infections...again resulting in massive vet bills! Has some peeing issues...tends to flood herself in her sleep but helps you clean your floors daily:) Overall great dog!
It makes our hearts happy to know that we made the right decision and Mia didn't really suffer. She was diagnosed with rapid onset of diabetes on Monday resulting in loss of bladder control and failing kidneys, she went completely blind on Wednesday and peacefully went to sleep for the final time with Craig and I sitting there with her at the vet's office on Thursday morning. We know we will never be able to replace our "horrible dog" that we all loved with all of our hearts but will always have the memories of all of the bad things she did to keep us laughing forever.

