Gilmer Lake Park

02.29

Wendy is spending a few days with us so I took her to our new favorite place...Gilmer Lake Park. What kid doesn't love digging in the sand? Since we've been going to this park, I've seen only one family. I've talked to several people that have never heard of this park. I'm beginning to think people are hermits around here. I've never seen anybody at the country club play area and only a few kids at the city park. Oh well, at least it's not overly crowded.

We had fun until a big, dark rain cloud rolled in and then it started raining so we packed it up and headed to John Dean road to see the goats and sheep dog. Wendy really enjoyed feeding them and she actually got to pet a couple of them.

Beck was suppose to go to Heather's today for Joy School but he had fever yesterday so I took him to the doctor to find out he had white puss pockets on his tonsils. Poor thing! Now he's on penicillin and it tastes/smells nasty! Yuck!

Daddy's Helpers

02.26

While Brent worked on repairing the holes in Nanny's shed, the kids had fun 'helping' and playing. By the way, Beck is long overdue for a hair cut which I will get done as soon as possible and I love that Kinsey wants to run around without shoes or socks. The only time I get to see Beck's feet is when he takes a bath.

Brent used super sharp shears to cut the metal to repair Nanny's shed and Beck used them to cut branches.

Daddy being funny...

I'm fascinated that this tree hasn't fallen yet...

Kinsey's many faces...

The weekend is over and it was a good one. The month is almost over and we still haven't had an offer on our Plano house. We are really hoping it sells over the next few months.

Flowers in February!!!

After the kids took a nap, we went over to Kiki and Pop's house to check out the pond. This wet, winter has brought back what the dry, hot summer took away. The pond is full and we can no longer drive on the dry, cracked ground anymore. How exciting! I've always enjoyed coming back to East Texas because of the beautiful landscaping and now I get to enjoy it everyday. There's a driveway on Ash Road that I absolutely LOVE!!! And, I especially appreciate the big old trees.

Because of all the rain and warm weather, we have flowers blooming in February! How crazy is that? Beck enjoyed picking flowers for Kiki...

Kinsey tries so hard to keep up with big brother...she wants to do everything that he does including getting on the big swing!

What a great day!

Fun-filled Saturday Morning

02.25

We started our morning at Lowe's and Beck built a race car which happens to be his favorite project so far. Afterwards, we stood in line for Happy the Clown to give us balloons. As we stood in line, I asked Beck what he wanted Happy to make for him and he said, "Sun". I was puzzled because I had no idea what he was talking about so I asked him if he wanted a balloon that looked like the sun in the sky and he quickly replied, "No!" I called Brent over to help me understand what he wanted. He kept repeating, "sun" so we asked if he wanted a sword but that wasn't what he wanted. Brent finally figured out that he wanted a sunflower. Whew! It was finally our turn to get a balloon and Happy asked Beck what he wanted and he said, "sun". Happy quickly looked at me and I whispered, "He wants a sunflower." This is the best balloon Happy has made for Beck! We all love it and Kinsey loves her little heart-shaped balloon. (I think it is so funny that Beck will not let me take a picture of his face!)

(Notice the race car in his lap.)

We try to make the most of our trips to Longview especially with gas being so expensive these days ($3.54/gallon). I am so thankful that Brent has a company truck with a company gas card! Driving to Tyler from Gilmer then to his job sites uses up a ton of gas! Anyway, we went to the pet store and saw the most gorgeous bird! Wow! Kinsey grabbed a box full of little feather balls that had a bell in them and we tried to give one to the bird but he squawked really loud which is why Brent is making that expression on his face. It scared Kinsey to death!

Last time we came here, Kinsey loved playing with the dogs but not today. I guess she was still upset about the bird screaming.

Beck, on the other hand, really enjoyed holding the pug puppy. He also held the rat terrier but it was too hyper.

Today was the first time the kitten cage was unlocked so we took advantage of it and held one. I'm so torn between getting a cat or a dog...maybe we'll get both!

Beck and Kinsey really enjoyed watching this hyper rat terrier bite Daddy's shirt!

After playing with all of the animals, we went to Beck's other favorite store in this same shopping center...the Party Store. He loves to look at the costumes! I also wanted to check out the party supplies for Beck and Kinsey's birthday and they found these hats...adorable!!

Before we left this shopping center, Beck said he wanted to eat at Luby's because he loves that place. What I love about this place is kids eat free and they serve breakfast until noon for only $5.49! Awesome! We can eat there for the same price it would cost to get food at McDonald's. Gotta love that!

Friday Night Family Fun Night

02.24

After Brent got home, we ate dinner then he showed us a new place that we could visit when the weather is nice...Gilmer Lake Park. This park has a volleyball net, 4 swings, a big sand mound, a covered pavilion with six tables and two grills. Unfortunately, it got dark right after we got there but we brought buckets and shovels so the kids got busy digging a big hole in the sand.

We also brought a bag of dog food to try and attract the fish towards us but it didn't work.

This park also has a very nice trail but I'm not sure where it goes so I seriously won't walk it alone. I'm looking forward to going back during the day and building big sand castles!

Exploring

02.22

We spend a lot of time at the creek...mostly, throwing sweet gumballs in it to watch them float away. A few days after this picture was taken, Beck threw Kinsey's bucket in the creek and I had to crawl down there to get it. Then, a few days later, Kinsey threw in her own bucket but it landed in an area that would require me to get wet so I asked Brent to get it when he got home from work. This has been a very warm winter!

I recently purchased a Doug and Melissa toy that teaches kids how to use locks, latches and clasps then under each one are different colored animals. When it finally arrived, Beck couldn't wait to open up the package...he loves getting packages! Then, he and Kinsey played with this new toy for a solid 30 minutes! It was awesome to see their tiny little fingers open and close each door.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

02.21

Today is Daddy's big day! I left a card and his present in his truck so that he would find it before going to work. Beck picked out a birthday balloon for Daddy and we all love lasagna so that's what I made for dinner. The ladies at the office got him this really cute cake and the reason why they chose this cake is because he loves to eat animal crackers.

The kids ate the animal farm cake and we ate the chocolate chip pie (with pecans) I made yesterday for Pops birthday.

This has been a really busy month with all of the birthdays! Looking forward to doing it all over again next year!