Bon Voyage

Bill and I have moved around a lot since being married. He joined the Navy and we had 3 duty stations in 4 years. The longest we stayed in one place during that time was two and a half years in Virginia Beach. After leaving the Navy we spent a couple years in Plano, and then we found McKinney. We truly found a place that we all enjoyed and made many friendships in the 8 years that we lived there. So, you can understand why it was so difficult for us to leave. And it just wouldn't be a proper send off, if we didn't have a party. So, we arranged a little bon voyage party at Minshew's park where the kids could play and the adults could visit one last time. :o( We will miss all of our McKinney friends!!!

Video notes: Yes, Emyley was there...just too busy for pictures. I totally missed getting tons of pictures because I was having too much fun!

House Inspection = Girl's Day Out!

When we got the call that we were having our house inspected for the sale, I immediately wondered what to do with the pets. When we were showing our house, we put Willow and Chloe in kennels and in the garage. But we knew the inspector would need to be in every room of our house, including the garage and that it would take a few hours. So, the girls and I thought it out and decided it would be a spa day for all! The dogs went to the Dog Den and the girls went to the mall for haircuts and then a nail spa for manicures. It was a lot of fun...even though Hayley left her purse and cell phone at the mall (never to be seen again).

Gavin

After the party on Saturday night, we got to go to Steve and Keri's house and hang out with Gavin and Grace! It is hard to believe that Gavin is 1 today! He is such a cutie! Grace is growing up, too and is such a sweet little girl! We missed Gunter this trip, but hopefully we will get to see him soon!

Boatin' Summer 2009

We had an early first boat trip with Nana and Papa Joel this summer. The weather was great and we took Willow with us. She'll probably have to skip the later trips as she got pretty hot out there.

It's an Alien Invasion....

...everyone take cover!!

Easter 2009

Valentine's Dinner at Spoons

We have this really awesome cafe downtown called Spoons, and for Valentine's Day they had a special dinner that included decorating a cupcake or ice cream sundae. The girls and I had a great time!! Okay, the guys did, too (papa got to come with us)...but well, you know...

Another Great PTA Art Night!!

Thanks Minshew PTA and Mrs. Smith for another AWESOME ART Night!! We were so glad that one of our girls got to try out the pottery wheel this year...and the finished product isn't that bad! ;o)

More Christmas at Nana's

So, on Saturday, we drove up to Okla to meet my parents and get the girls back. We weren't too sure how they would handle the news of Bill losing his job. They actually cheered (obviously they took my "now, don't worry" speech a little too much to heart) and Hayley's first words were, "Does that mean no 360?"! LOL! On the road again, we headed back to Texas and to Nana's to spend some time with Bill's brother Steve and his family. We hadn't seen them since August, so it was nice to visit with them again. I can't believe how much Baby Gavin has grown. And Grace and Gunter played with the girls like they hadn't missed a beat. It was a very good visit, and hopefully we can see each more often than every 6 months!

Happy Birthday, Emyley!

On Emyley's birthday we got up very early and drove to Grandma and Grandpa's in Oklahoma. They were going to watch the girls for us that second week of Christmas break since both Bill and I had to work. After a little persuasion, I managed to talk Em into having her birthday at MY favorite restaurant, Ken's Pizza instead of McDonald's...I am so mean. It actually turned out great. My brother Larry brought his wife Tonja and daughter Ashley. My Aunt Nancy and Uncle Larry brought our cousin Claire. The girls all had a great time together. My dad took a lot of video, but I haven't had a chance to put it all together in a cute movie, yet...but I will, Dad!! But here are some pics to give you a good idea of the fun we had with our now 6 year old!!

Merry Christmas 2008!

After getting up at a reasonable hour, the girls dove into opening their presents. They were very surprised with a keyboard for the whole family and a Gerbil (they almost immediately named her Carly)! We played around for a bit then headed to Nana and Joel's for more presents and a delicious dinner! We got to meet their new Yorkie puppy named Jacques who the girls would not leave alone. We took a new family picture and then headed home to bed so we could battle the day-after-Christmas crowds...except there were none. Anyway, we hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and has a good year to come. Enjoy the video...

Thanksgiving 2008

So, you've just started a new job and your kids now have a week off for Thanksgiving. What do you do??? You thank your lucky stars that your parents are retired, and that gas is super cheap again, and beg them to come stay with your children so you don't have to shell out $100s of dollars on daycare! Let me just say....I love my parents! ;o) They came down on Sunday before Thanksgiving to stay with the girls. They had lots of stuff planned and actually hardly spent any time at home. Bill ended up being sick, so he stayed home on Tues and Wed. My dad took on some "honey-do" items for me one of which included installing a new light fixture in our kitchen as the nasty flourescent light died on us.

One of the bribes for getting my parents to come stay with the girls, was the promise that I would provide Thanksgiving Dinner. I had never cooked T-Dinner before, so this was exciting...lol! My mom helped me shop and picked up the tab for some of the items. My MIL came with her hubby and my SIL with her two kids. And, I invited our dear friends the Marchal's over. So, we ended up with 16 people at our house. It actually turned out really well. The kids spent most of their time upstairs in the game room playing Sing Star and HSM Sing It on the PS2. I even got Marchal to do a duet with her oldest daughter. It was fun!

After everyone left, the girls and I settled in for a game of Uno Attack of which Sydney was the queen! Then we headed to bed so that Bill and I could be at Kohl's at 4am the next morning...whew!

Twilight with "the Girls" and then the Fam

After much anticipation and reading all 4 books of the Twilight Saga, the day finally arrived that we had all been waiting for.....Twilight the Movie was released!!! My friend, Kristi, had arranged for about 9 of us to meet and watch the movie together on opening night. A group of them got together and made us all matching shirts (which now makes a great nightgown), and we had a great time!! The movie is not exactly like the book, and being that it was opening night, the audience leaned more towards the teens, so it really made the movie more comical than I am sure it was intended.

So, because Sydney is the reason I started reading the saga, I knew that I needed to take her to the movie. Hayley and Em wanted to come along, and I wanted Bill to see it from a fresh perspective. We headed out to the first showing that Sunday, and it was a totally different experience. I actually enjoyed it more, and it seemed a lot less corny. The girls loved it and want to see it again and again! Bill wasn't too impressed...too much romance for him. LOL!!

Hangin' in the Square

Hayley had a birthday party in downtown McKinney, so the other four of us decided to stroll the square. It had been awhile since we really took the time to walk around and see the shops. And it was so pretty since they had finally finished redoing the roads and sidewalks. We discovered some great stores: Reigning Cats and Dogs, The Cook Collection (candle shop going out of business), Mom and Pop Corn Company and a cool toy store (the name has escaped me). Once Hayley got done, I took the family to Spoons Cafe and we had some yummy food. I really love our downtown!!! If only I could have gotten them to browse the antique shops with me, it would have been a perfect day! LOL!! **Bill took these pics with his iPhone. We have no idea why that one picture looks like a slide puzzle! It's pretty cool, though!

BACA - Bikers Against Child Abuse

Last school year, my fourteen year old niece Ashley entered a drawing contest held by the Chadler Chapter of BACA. She won first place which meant her design is on the t-shirts that BACA sold this year. She did an amazing job, and we are so proud of her!!! The words say, "You can't just patch it up".

Halloween 2008

We had a pretty calm Halloween this year. My parents were in town to help out with my first day of work, so we all just walked the neighborhood for about an hour or less. No big thing. Emyley was a bat, Hayley a vampire, Sydney some kind of diva dressed in black and I put some silly make-up and false eyelashes on with my witch's hat. We didn't get a ton of candy, thank goodness, but the girls had a good time.

Experience McKinney 2008

Every year, the childcare program with our school district puts on an expo/carnival for the city. Tickets are usually way too expensive for a family of 5, so we have never gone before. But this year, my friend Kathleen offered us FREE tickets! Of course, I jumped at the chance. We met up with my other friend Stephanie and headed to the high school for a night of food (restaurants from around McKinney), fun (bounce houses, slides, spider jump, etc) and friends (Marchals, Olsens & Kruses)! Enjoy the video...

PTA Fall Carnival

My friend Kristi organized an amazing carnival for our kids this year. With the help of PTA, staff, teachers and many parents, the night was really a lot of fun!!! Enjoy this video and you'll see what I mean.....

PTA Math Night - 2008

Another great PTA family night tonight and this one was organized by my friend, Steph! She did an amazing job and all of the Colts loved the games and estimation jars! I have to say, this was my first general meeting as Treasurer, and I had to read so many documents and numbers, it is a wonder that everyone wasn't asleep by the time I was done! LOL!! But, I did it, and I am still alive...whew! ;o)

Anyway, I created this video in honor of Steph and her husband, who helped planned the event but couldn't be there. Way to go, guys, it was a great success!

Three Weeks Gone?? Already???

I'm not even sure what all has happened since that first day of school, but I know it has kept us all busy! I'll see if I can come up with a recap for you all....

The first week of school, I didn't really get to enjoy the whole "having the house to myself" thing as I had hoped. I spent alot of my time helping out in the school. I had intended to clean up the house, but that didn't happen (and still hasn't happened)...oh, I did get the living room rearranged and the base boards cleaned. The girls love school and spent the week adjusting to new schedules. Emyley lost her 2nd tooth on the 2nd day of school! It was particularly hard for Sydney who had to get up an hour earlier than her sisters since her school starts an hour earlier. Since she is a late sleeper, that was really difficult on her. She really enjoys her violin and math classes.

The Saturday of Labor Day weekend, Bill and the girls spent the day at Nana's watching the OU football game. The girls ended up spending the night, while Bill drove home at 1:00am (crazy!). Sunday was designated as Gavin day, and so we made the drive back up to Nana's that morning. We spent the day visiting with everyone, and were happy that Grace and Gunter got to make the trip, too....along with Charlie the dog! LOL! I still didn't manage to get a family picture of Steve and his gang....ugh! We had hoped to make it onto the lake that day, but Bill and I had to leave early for a get-together at my friend Stephanie's house. The girls were pretty disappointed, so we left them there to spend the night again. They got to go out on the lake that evening and spend more time with Grace & Gunter...so they were all happy! Monday, Bill and I went back up to Nana's and spent some time on the boat and then had some yummy ribs and chocolate cake! It was a crazy weekend!

So, after that big of a weekend, you can imagine how all of my girls were so excited to get back to school.....NOT! I had a big day planned on that Tuesday that included lunch with my girls: Steph, Joni and Kathleen!!! Sydney ended up calling me around 11 to pick her up from school, and she spent the rest of the day recovering from her big weekend on the couch! My lunch date was great, though. We went to Spoons in downtown McKinney....my first visit, and I had a great BLT sandwich and pasta salad. I can't wait to go back!! And it was fun to hang out with my friends without any business (PTA) talk....can't wait to do that again, too! The rest of the week was spent helping out at the school.

That weekend we did....nothing! It was nice! But it was back to business on Monday with more volunteering at the school. I helped out in Emyley's class that morning. For a group of 16 5 year olds, they are very well behaved and quiet!!! I was amazed! I also volunteered in the library which was fun and right up my alley....cause you all know how I don't like to read at all....LOL!!!! I did get some days at home this past week, but I chose to spend most of it on the computer, couch and tv! LOL! There was some excitement (anxiety) when my PTA Treasurer books had to be audited due to my friend Kathleen stepping down as President. I hope not to have to go through that again until the end of the year.....hint hint Marchal!

That brings us to yesterday when Bill and the girls along with Chloe spent the morning walking in the American Heart Association Heartwalk in downtown Dallas. I was pretty nervous about him taking Chloe because she is such a menace when people come over to our house.....barking, growling and trying to bite. But she was on her best behavior and only growled at someone (the president of Bill's company) once! LOL!! She spent the rest of the day pooped out and sprawled on the couches....2 miles was a long walk for her! ;o)

I spent the day yesterday creating the new Minshew PTA website. This will be my first website from scratch (no wizards involved)....scary! Right now I am just trying to decide which software I want to use, so I spent the day playing around with a couple of them. I found out this will be a much larger undertaking that I had thought, but it will also be great practice! Today will be laundry, cleaning, family banner day, so we can get ready for another week of school and volunteering!