Tumble Class

About a month ago, Kristen told me about a class that she was going to sign Madeline up for and it is called Tumble Tykes for 2-3 year olds. There are six classes held on Saturday beginning on 9/11 at 9:30am - 10:15am at Liberty Rec Center in Plano. Luckily, I was able to get Beck in this class.

Of course I was late to the first class because Brent was dove hunting so I had to get both kids ready which is a lot of work. Especially since I had to nurse Kinsey at the last minute so that she would be happy during class. Luckily, Kiki showed up to watch her while I helped Beck.
Beck was hesitant at first but by the end of the class, he was walking on the balance beam, jumping on the tampoline and jumping off the "block". In fact, he and Maddie jumped off the block so many times that Kristen and I had to stop them so that the other kids got a chance to jump. Beck was cracking me up! It amazes me how much energy he has and I sure enjoy watching him play/grow up!

Friday Night Family Fun Night!

Pops and Kiki drove in and we met them at a restaurant in Garland called Chicken. Brian, Katherine, Ava and Lola also joined us. This place has an all you can eat menu and the food was fantastic!!! Almost everybody ordered chicken fried steak so I ordered chicken strips to have a little variety to our table. We were served large bowls of mashed potatoes, gravy, bean and yummy corn.

Beck will only eat PB&J these days but I know he can eat other food because he did at Mrs. Linda's. I've finally decided that he will eat what other kids are eating which is why I'm looking forward to getting a couple of toddlers at Bishop Playhouse. On this particular night, he saw Ava eating green beans so he starting eating them. I was SO excited to see him eat vegetables!!!

He and Ava giggled almost the entire time we were there. Then, they played on the truck that was parked by the front door of the restaurant. They had a blast!

Shoes!!!

Beck thinks it is so much fun to wear big people shoes! Brent was not keen on seeing his son wear mommy's Sunday church shoes but I thought it was hysterical!

The First Time

Some of the employees of Spring Valley Construction Company was invited by other vendors to dove hunt in Jacksboro which is about two hours from here and Brent was one of the few that was invited to attend. He was so excited because he really wanted to win one of the big prizes...a gun! He went shopping while I kept the kids at home and for the first time bought a camo hat and shirt. He looks really sharp in his camo attire! Unfortunately, the only thing he recieved at this event was two little knives that we will probably use for a white elephant gift.

Bishop Playhouse

On September 7th, Bishop Playhouse officially opened its doors and the first kid to start is our nephew Marcus. (Ironically, this was the date I was suppose to go back to work with Kinsey only being 10 weeks old.)

First, I would like to thank Jeff and Jill for letting me "borrow" the title of their blog. Secondly, I would also like to thank Jeff and Jill for letting me watch their sweet baby boy three days a week. Furthermore, a big thanks to Brian and Katherine for donating toys to the Bishop Playhouse.

It wasn't a hard decision to make for me but, financially it was something that Brent and I thought long and hard about. We said many prayers and got a good feeling that we are making the right decision.

Thanks to Brent's help, I've got everything lined up...I am Listed with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and I may not care for more than three unrelated children. I am also CPR certified and Brent built a changing table for the Bishop Playhouse room (aka our formal dining room). I've also found a web site that provides a monthly calendar with weekly lesson plans. I'm so excited about my new career!!!

I love being at home with the kids!

Marcus is already telling Beck secrets!

I've always prided myself in being a "smart" shopper and this stems back to my childhood as does many things in life. In high school, I got an allowance for doing weekly chores. With that being said, I would save up my money to buy what I really wanted (mostly designer clothes and purses). Today, I pretty much do the same thing...save up my money and think long and hard if I really need it (whatever "it" may be). Sometimes I'll see something and if it's a bit more than what I'd like to pay then I ponder on if I really need it. If a week goes by and I still think about this particular item then I go back and get it. Now that I no longer have my la Madeleine salary, I've been cutting coupons and I've decided to not get my eyebrows waxed as often as I use to and go a little longer getting my hair cut and colored. (BTW, I'm dying to get make an appointment with Dawn to get waxed and Tracy for my hair!!!)

I've got a really cute video of the kids but can't get it uploaded. Bummer!

Labor Day Weekend - part two

On Monday, Leigh contacted us about a place called Sandy Lake Amusement Park so we quickly got ready and hit the road to meet her and Natalie. Admission was only $2 and then we had to buy tickets for the rides...one book of tickets = $20. We first rode the cute little train that went around the park... Then it was off to the carosel but this one went REALLY fast! Beck wanted off before it ended and that's when I thought we were in trouble. I did not foresee him riding anything else at that point! Boy was I wrong...he and Natalie ran to each of the rides and they had the best time! His absolute favorite ride was the Rocketship.

Beck quickly fell asleep as soon as we left the park...

Labor Day Weekend - part one

We kicked off Labor Day weekend with a bang! We got up early Saturday morning, got dressed and ready to see some animals at the Dallas Zoo. The weather had cooled off so we put long sleeve shirts and pants on the kids. Luckily, I took a set of back-up cool clothes because when we arrived, it had already warmed up! Brent and I, on the other hand, did not take back-up clothes so I walked around in black leggings and a black top. Brent wore jeans and a black t-shirt. Needless to say, we were both hot!

This year, the zoo opened a new section called Giants of the Savanna which included a monorail and the opportunity to ride a camel...we didn't see the camel's and Brent thought the monorail was too slow.

They have a platform to feed the giraffe's and the cost of the food was $5.00 so Brent and Beck watched the people feed the giraffe's. Beck loved it!

However, his favorite activity that day was petting/feeding the goats. He quickly learned that feeding them with his fingers was not the best option as they bit him twice.

He also enjoyed watching the coy fish...

He quickly fell asleep after we left...