The Bibler Blog

Cedar Fever

2012-01-27T05:45:00.000-08:00

I was trying to decide what to post and realized that we have not done anything exciting around here lately. I have been organized and spring cleaning ( which oddly is a little exciting to me ) and Josh and Brody have been dealing with Cedar Fever and Jaden has been a jumping fool on his trampoline that we got for Christmas. That pretty much sums up the last few weeks. Anyways, We have been on the outskirts of Cedar Park for almost two years now. I can't believe it has been that long, and at the same time I hardly remember being anywhere else. Funny how that works. Our beautiful new house is surrounded by cedar trees, not in our yard, but on the greenbelts behind and next to our yard. Every January those cedar trees cause just about everyone in this area to have what is known as Cedar Fever. Cedar Fever is not a fever, but it consists of congestion, coughing, sneezing, watery swollen eyes, etc... Well last year, Josh was the only one to suffer and he ended up getting a cortisone shot that made everything better. This year, poor Brody Bear woke up one morning with his eyes almost swollen shut. They were itching so he kept rubbing them and they looked just awful. I took him to the doctor to get special eye drops and they also put him on Zyrtec. I had to go to 4 different pharmacies to find the eye drops because everyone was out of them. Crazy! Jaden and I have managed to steer clear of the cedar fever, which is odd considering he and I are the ones who have suffered from allergies the most. I guess just not cedar. We did all get a cold this last week, so it has been a long week and we have gone through abnormal amounts of kleenex. The good news is, the cold we all have is in the final stages, and cedar season is almost over. Next year the doctor said to start Zyrtec in December to possibly avoid this same fate next season.

After the drops he felt much better

Jaden wanted to show his eyes too

Poor baby Bear, he looked so much worse in person

Tim Hawkins

2012-01-16T08:21:00.000-08:00

Josh and I had a date night Saturday and we saw Tim Hawkins live. He is a christian comedian. And he is funny! If you have never seen or heard of him, you should look him up on You Tube, or his website.

Birthday Week

2012-01-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

Josh and I had another great birthday week. Since our birthdays are only 4 days apart, we just go ahead and celebrate them together all week. :) The highlight of our birthday week was Saturday, my actual birthday, when we had a few friends over to watch the Houston Texans WIN! Here are the boys in their texans shirts.

And here is Josh and I supporting our favorite team. Let's hope they win again this weekend!

Brody's 3rd birthday!

2012-01-03T12:03:00.001-08:00

Christmas 2011

2011-12-29T10:55:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful Christmas we had. Here are just some of the highlights from our busy December month. We went to Houston for Christmas and had such a lovely time. We ate and drank and laughed and just plain enjoyed being around each other. Josh's parents went out of their way to make our time together so special and we truly appreicate all that they did. Here are Josh and the boys Christmas night.

Christmas morning

Christmas Eve after church

Family PJ's

Jaden loves his cousins

Frosting cookies with grandmas apron on

Painting with Raley

Making sugar cookies with Grandma

Brody waited paitiently to sit on Santa's lap and when it was his turn he climbed right up and told him he wanted a truck and for Papa to come to his birthday party. Jaden stills wants nothing or "nupthing" as he says, to do with sitting on Santa's lap. He is convinced he only needs to tell our elf Markle what he wants and the message gets back to Santa. I guess he is right.

Jaden backstage at the preschool singalong, his class sang Joy to the World

Brody backstage at the preschool singalong
He sang Jingle Bells

We made a ginerbread village this year, instead of a house so everyone could make their own little house just the way they wanted

Merry Christmas!

Who has the sweetest little boys?

2011-12-19T14:44:00.000-08:00

I DO!

Videos from Thanksgiving

2011-12-14T13:39:00.000-08:00

http://youtu.be/8zQdR_Fp5ho

http://youtu.be/QIwsGbY4dMM

http://youtu.be/ZJXj_O2rKyk

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-30T14:28:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving we have much to be grateful for. Our little family thanks God everyday for all of the blessings in our life. We are especially grateful for the people in our lives. Our everday life is sweeter because of the people in it, especially our family. We headed to Leakey to celebrate the holiday. Here are some of the highlights!

The cousins making turkeys

The boys looking for dino tracks in the dried up river bed

The men lounging after the meal

Jaden's finished turkey

Working on math skills with a sticker book, showing off his newly learning knowledge to Grandma & PaPa

More turkey stickers

A Cedar tree dried with the summer drought and fell over. Jaden declared this tree his tree house. He spent alot of his time in this tree. He also wore a racoon hat almost the entire time we were in Leakey. I gues he wanted to be one with nature.

Jaden's turkey party at school

Brody's thankful party at school

Family Photo Shoot

2011-11-28T07:17:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2011

2011-11-10T12:36:00.000-08:00

Ok, for some reason I took the worst Halloween pictures ever. My first mistake was that I only took a few. Here they are, I'll do better next year!

Our neighborhood is perfect for trick or treating. The boys had a great time.

Happy 60th Birthday Grandpa!

2011-11-01T16:34:00.001-07:00

What a great weekend we had. We went to Galveston for the weekend to celebrate Grandpa Bibler's 60Th birthday. The whole family was there and we enjoyed every minute of our time together. These pictures are going to start at the end and work backwards because I always forget that blogger works backwards. One of these days I will get the hang of uploading pictures in the correct order. So, we ended our weekend at Joe's Crab shack for an early dinner on Sunday. We chose Joe's because it was on the seawall, so it had a beautiful ocean view, it had a playground for the kids, and tvs for football.

Here is Grandpa getting ready to dance at Joe's. The waitress told him to hold the salt and pepper shaker and then shake everything but the shakers. He was a great sport!
On Sunday afternoon, we took the kids to Moody Gardens for their trick or treating. Here they are in their costumes. So cute!

I thought it was so cute that Brody was just like every other boy watching football.

Josh's parent were sweet enough ( or brave enough) to watch all four kiddos so that us big kids could go to the strand for a few hours and have some adult fun.

On Saturday morning we took family photos. We hired a professional and will get the photos back in a few weeks. I will make sure and post them. I am hoping for at least a few good shots. I also took a few with my camera. It was a little cold on Saturday, but that did not stop my boys from running straight into the ocean fully clothed. They love water!

They have a cool park play scape in Galveston that we took the kids to.

Grandpa and his kids

Grandpa and the grand kids

We are so very thankful to have such a wonderful family that we have so much fun with. I know that it is one of God's greatest blessings. We hope you had a wonderful birthday Grandpa! We love you!

Star Student of the Week

2011-10-27T15:32:00.001-07:00

This week Jaden was star student in his Turtle class. When you are star student you get to bring home a backpack with Franklin the Turtle and you make a poster with your favorite things. Franklin is your guest for the weekend, and you are suppose to take him on adventures. So on the way home from school we stopped at Michaels for poster making supplies. We got all the essentials you need for a great poster including glitter glue pens. Here is Jaden making his poster. Franklin supervised the glitter extravaganza.

He used every last ounce of glitter glue.
The poster had some questions to answer and stick on there. One of them was "What makes you special ?" His reply was " that all the girls like me."

We took Franklin on lots of adventures. We went to the zoo on Sunday after church. We decided that Franklin would like to visit his turtle friends. And I had a groupon to the zoo that needed to be used.

Jaden was so excited to get to the turtle pen and when we got there these turtles were "wrestling". We quickly walked away from this group and around the corner to the other turtles that were not wrestling.

We stopped at Wendy's for a little fast food. Franklin likes french fries.

On Friday night we went to Flores for dinner, where Franklin had chips. We don't normally eat out so much, but since we had company it was a special weekend.

Standing proud by his finished poster hanging at school.

Camera Thief!

2011-10-22T07:55:00.001-07:00

What happens when you tell Brody he can't use your camera? He waits until you are not looking then he takes it from the office. Then he takes a few pictures. Then he hides the camera in his room. Here are some of his pictures.

He happened to hide the camera the weekend of Jaden's birthday which had me in a tizzy. I could not find it anywhere. I did not even know that Brody had taken it. We had family over and Rian needed a nap, so we pulled Brody's pack n play out of his closet and when we opened it up out popped the camera. Little stinker had not only taken the camera he hid it. We never use the pack n play anymore, so it would have taken me forever to find the camera. I laughed out loud when I saw the pictures he had taken. Unfortunately, he is in a hiding stage right now and it is driving me nuts. I just found my favorite lipstick and some of my rubber bands in his backpack. Silly boy!

Dino Park

2011-10-13T17:56:00.001-07:00

As part of Jaden's birthday festivities, my parents took the boys to the Dino Park outside of Austin. I stayed home, but from the stories I heard a great time was had by all. Here are some pictures of the park.

This is how this dinosaur walks Papa!

My mom said she would read the information signs to Jaden and his reply was " I already know that Grandma" ! Ha! The truth is, he probably knows more about dinosaurs than was posted on the signs. And I know a few times he had to correct Grandma and PaPa on their pronunciation of dino names. I can't imagine the awe that Jaden felt seeing life size dinosaurs. I think this park is the perfect outing for a dino enthusiast!

Jaden's 5th Birthday

2011-10-03T13:20:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Jaden's 5th birthday yesterday at JW Tumbles. It was tons of fun!

Happy Birthday Jaden! We love you!

My how time flies. What a fun birthday for such a special boy. God has blessed our family in so many ways, but the greatest gifts we have are our family and friends. I am so glad we all get to do life together! Can't wait until the next celebration. Thank you to everyone who helped make Jaden's day so special. You are much loved!

Capital of Texas Zoo

2011-09-29T13:15:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Sam, Jessica, & Ryder came to visit us. Sam & Jess are selling their townhouse in Houston and needed to escape all the showings they are having and keep the house clean by staying out of it. We loved having them here and wish they were closer. Saturday morning we loaded up and headed to the Capital of Texas Zoo on the outskirts of Bastrop. It was fun! Here are some picture highlights!

The Bears
The porcupines

The Zoo Keeper feeding the white tiger

The white tiger was my favorite. He ate 10 pounds of chicken in 3 minutes. Bone and all. It was a little intimidating. Jaden's fav was the zebra, and Brody liked the goats.

They had a bird atrium that you could go inside of and feed the parrots.

It amazes me that Brody has no fear of the animals. Even when the mean dominant goat pushes all the other ones down to get to the food, he still holds his hand out.

Ryder liked the goats too!

The Zoo Keeper feeding a baby black leopard.

Loaded up for the zoo. We took the wagon just in case one of them wanted to walk, but next time I would leave it at home because the trails are kinda of rough and it makes the wagon hard to pull. The front entrance of the zoo has serves as a snake house and they have several pythons and rattle snakes in there. One of the rattle snakes was in strike position and he kept rattling his tail at us. I might still be a little freaked out about that. I think I could go my entire life without ever seeing another snake, especially a rattler. The zoo was great and we will definitely go again. Maybe when it is cooler.

JW Tumbles

2011-09-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

This summer we went to a few classes at a local little gym place called JW Tumbles. Jaden loved it. The instructors pulled out different activities and the kids took turns performing. Jaden loved it so much that he asked to have his birthday party there. So next weekend we will be celebrating #5 there. I can seriously not believe he will be five years old. Here are a few of the phone camera shots I took during one of his classes.

So Fun! I will post birthday party pictures after the big celebration!

The End of Summer

2011-09-12T06:34:00.001-07:00

It is hard to believe that summer is over when it is still 100 degress outside. But we are back in school, football is on tv, and departments stores are fully stocked with jeans, long sleeve t's and jackets. Pretty sure we will not be needing a jacket anytime soon. Although, one morning last week, it was a cool 73 degrees on our way to school, and when Jaden walked out the door he said " Brr, I think I need a jacket mommy!" To which I replied, don't worry it will be hot in about 5 minutes. And I thought to myself, bless his little deep fried southern heart, that he thinks 73 is chilly!

The last weekend before school started, the little boys and I headed to my parents house. I was recovering from my third, yes, third round of strep throat. I just found out last week, that my sweet Brody Bear is a carrier for strep. Which means he doesn't get sick, but he can pass it on to other people and make them sick. Which is why I got it three times. He is on antibotics now, and hopefully that cures the issue.

My mom had two big pots that she hadn't put anything in yet, and the boys thought they made great swimming pools.

We took a day trip to Port A. The boys loved feeding the seagulls pretzel goldfish.

Jaden and Grandma did lots of swimming.

Papa and Brody did lots of digging.

We had a wonderful summer, filled with lots of trips, family and FUN! It was also filled with alot of growing up. The Binkie fairy came to our house and took away the pacifier. Brody moved to a big boy toddler bed, and he potty trained himself. I talked to him about going potty all summer and he would not even consider sitting on the potty. Then, he woke up one day in July, and said, " I go pee pee on the potty now, " sat on the potty, went, and then asked for underwear. And he has only had a few accidents since. Here he is in his Lighting McQueen undies. Because who doesn't want their favorite race car on their booty.

First Day of School

2011-09-07T15:22:00.000-07:00

It is that time of year again! Back to school! I have to tell you that if I think to hard about the fact that this is Jaden's last year at my preschool I start to tear up. But then again, last week I was preparing my classroom for the year, and my two boys were driving me nuts. Picture me on a chair trying to staple a bulletin board while my two munchkins were wrestling on the ground next to me. Not so fun! But this will be my last experience of that, because Jaden will be in Kinder next year! Crazy! Wasn't he just in my belly two days ago? I am not sure that I am a fan of how fast time is flying these days. I do appreciate the fact that both of my kids are some what independent, sleep through the night, go on the potty, etc.. but I slightly miss my babies. I am certain that all mommies go through this at some point. So without further ado, here are this years first day of school pictures, or possibly second day of school.

Washing his hands in his room
Standing by his cubby and his new backpack

In his new room

On our way to school

Jaden rollin his new backpack

We all had a wonderful first day. The kids love their new classes and teachers. And I hate to say it out loud, or online, whatever, but I think I might have the best group of three year olds and parents. They are all so sweet. We are happy to be back to a routine and playing with friends at school. And thank goodness for preschool, because I decided this summer that we are no longer doing art projects at home. I spend 5 minutes getting everything ready, ( like play dough), they spend 1.5 minutes playing with it, and then I spend 15 minutes cleaning it up. Same with paint, markers, crayons, etc.... I had a brainstorm about two weeks ago, and decided they get enough of that kind of stuff at school. I have enough to clean up with three males using toilets at my house! HA! So here is to a new year filled with fun!

Pizza Night

2011-08-29T04:59:00.000-07:00

I recently read an article that said if you got your kids involved in cooking they might actually eat what you have made together. So I gave it a try and it worked. I doubt it will work for all foods, but it worked great for pizza. They both made their own mini pizza exactly how they like it. Jaden does not like sauce, or toppings, so his was basically cheese bread. Brody made his with pepperoni.

Is that a smile I see?

They had so much fun making their own pizzas, that I let them make ours too.

Summer Swimming

2011-08-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

It has been crazy hot here in Austin this summer. I think we are currently on our 6o something consecutive day of being over 100 degrees. It makes me hot just typing that. So, the boys and I have done a lot of swimming to help stay cool. Jaden took swim lessons at the Y. He can jump in from the side of the pool, doggie paddle to the middle, doggie paddle back, and then get out of the pool unassisted. He still does not want to put his head under, I partly contribute this to the fact that he had tubes in his ears when he was younger, and I would not let him put his head under water even though he wanted to. Now I want him to put his head under water and he won't do it. Go figure! Maybe next summer!

Here he is with his class, waiting his turn
Playing in the splash pad

I missed the shot, but the water splashed Brody right in the face, after I took this picture. He was mad for 2 minutes, or if you know Brody he was "angy".

Could they be any cuter?

Jaden swimming to his instructor

Girls Wine Weekend

2011-08-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

We have had the Double R Ranch since 2007, and ever since then I have wanted to have a girls wine weekend. It finally happened the last weekend of July 2011. Why did it take four years to happen? Well all of us girls have been busy having babies, and drinking wine and babies don't exactly go together. Our good friend Molly, who was the realtor who helped find the Double R got married in April. We were suppose to have a girls weekend then to celebrate but it didn't happen until now.

We did it right and hired a limo bus. Our driver is pictured here in the middle of us girls. He is ex FBI something or other and he was the perfect driver for us girls. We felt like we had a babysitter to keep us out of trouble. :)
We went to 5 wineries, Texas Hills was our last stop. I think Pedernales Cellars was my favorite.

This is the fourth one, you can tell we are having a good time.

We finished off our wine day with dinner at Silver K in Johnson City. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day. Jenn and I split the blue cheese tenderloin and crab stuffed avacado. Both were melt in your mouth delicious and make me hungry just thinking about it. I can't wait to plan another girl wine adventure, hopefully it will not take another 4 years to happen.

Boys Weekend

2011-08-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

When I was at the ranch for my girls wine weekend, the boys had a great time. Josh's mom joined the fun too. They went to Volente Waterpark, which is on Lake Travis about 5 miles from our house. I think they all had a great time.

Green Snowcone tongue

Lake Travis Party Barge

2011-08-02T05:47:00.000-07:00

We don't let the low lake levels get us down. We rent a party barge and have a ton of fun celebrating what water is in the lake. Ha!

It is so nice for Josh and I to get a sitter for the kids and do something fun like this. I think our group decided to make it an annual thing.

Teibel Family Reunion 2011

2011-07-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

Every other year, we are lucky enough to get Josh's mom side of the family (almost 60 people) together in one place. 2009 and 2011 we met at the ranch. It has proven to be such a great venue for all of us to get together, eat, drink, play and do all of the things we love to do in one place. Here are some of the picture highlights from this year.

If Brody could be dressed like this all the time he would be in hog heaven
Uncle Jake

Local Friendly Bar & Bistro
for some live music

Brody sleeping thru the live music, now that he is 2 1/2 and rarely naps, I truly treasure the times he does nap, especially in my arms.

Josh and his cousins

Brody & Hope

The great grandkids

I feel like I should mention that Jaden is on a picture strike and pretty much refuses to take very many if any pictures and so he will probably have fewer pictures than Brody on the blog, it's not me playing favorites in any way, just where we are right now. Can't wait until 2013 for the next reunion. We are so lucky to truly enjoy our family and we know that is just another one of the many blessings God has given us!

Lana's Girl Weekend!

2011-07-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends from high school is getting married in September in Hawaii. Last weekend we had a girls weekend to celebrate her upcoming nuptials. Lana has been dating her future husband for longer than Josh and I have been together, so it is about time they get married. :)

The crew, Amy, Rhonda, Lori, Me, Lisa, Lana, Tara, Sherry, & Renee
All of us girls went to high school together (except Rhonda, & Lori) so it was great to be together again like the old days. What fun we all had reminiscing and catching up.

The wet deck at the W hotel

Getting ready for dinner after the pool

Dinner at the Belmont with some of my oldest and dearest friends! Love you ladies!

Super Brody

2011-07-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

If you know Brody, then you probably know that lately he is "Super Brody". One of his favorite things to do is pretend to be a Super Hero. Here are some picts of his superness!

4th of July Fun!

2011-07-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

The little boys and I headed to Leakey for our annual Frio River Adventure for the last week of June and the first week of July. The boys are getting bigger and the trip is easier now on this momma. They just cruise and watch their movies on the 3 hour trip down there, instead of taking turns crying like they use to. They play and wrestle and chill now, instead of needing me to entertain them constantly. And don't get me wrong they still demand alot from me, but it is easier and more fun than it use to be. I am enjoying every second of these little ones because I know in the blink of an eye they will be in High School. Here are some of the highlights from this year!

Brody is into making a stinker face when you ask him to smile
Jaden decided to try to mimic Brody's stinker face

There were tons of baby deer this trip

Lots of wrestling

All the baby boys

Stinker face
We joined the parade again this year
All of the boys
Stinker face
Grandma & Jaden

True Grits

2011-06-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

We joined The Matison's, The Ackmans', and The Kloesel's and took the kids to True Grits on Saturday. The kids had so much fun dancing and playing around, and the chicken fried steak was awesome!

The Austin Zoo

2011-06-14T06:11:00.000-07:00

At the end of our adventure, I was trying to get a cute picture of the boys, It is IMPOSSIBLE. One smiles, one yawns, one looks away, the other gets up, don't they know that I am trying to capture memories that will last a lifetime. Jeez! All kidding aside, we had a fabulous time exploring the zoo. It was hot, but most of the paths are shaded so it was not to bad. It was not crowded at all, and most of the animals were out to say hello. We will go again later this summer.
See, one smiles, the other looks away

One smiles, one leaves the picture

Feeding the deer

The peacock

feeding the goat

Standing next to baby bear

The tigers were our favorite

Jaden doing a monkey impression

And finally, the one decent picture, of the 12 I took, and when I say decent, at least they are both looking at the camera, with happy expressions. I have all boys in my little family, so I am guessing this whole not liking pictures things is going to stick around. Their daddy doesn't even like getting his picture taken. Oh well, I will keep trying!

School is Out for Summer!

2011-05-30T06:56:00.001-07:00

The school year is over and to celebrate the little boys and I headed south to visit my parents. We went to the beach, the Texas State Aquarium, we rescued a puppy, and we played all day.

Brody was not sure he liked the way the sand felt on his feet
Jaden ran up and down the beach and even got a little wet

The dolphin show

Papa and Bear watching the water

Jaden was fascinated by the shark

In one section of the aquarium there is a spot that is rounded out and it makes you feel like you are in the water with the fish, that is why Brody has his hands up, like he is going to pet one. These pictures don't do the aquarium justice, it was beautiful and the kids loved it!

When Dad, the boys and I were driving to town we saw a little puppy on the side of the road. He was so little and sweet we had to stop and save him. Now, if you have known me for a very long time , you would know that almost every animal my parents have ever owned was because of my animal rescue tendencies. I have saved dogs, cats and even a few cotton tails. The burden of my rescue efforts falls on my parents though, as they are the ones who end up taking care of the animals. My mom lovingly refers to me as Ellie May Clampet, from the Hillbillies, as I guess she too was an animal rescuer.

So, welcome Max to my parents brood of fur children. My boys couldn't have loved on this little dog anymore than they did. Max got carried around or chased or hugged the entire time we were there. His little puppy personality was so sweet, he just went along with whatever they were doing.

And we also spent alot of time in "the world's biggest sand box".

Little boys and dirt go together like peas and carrots

We had such a great time! Thanks Grandma and Papa for everything, we love you! And I should probably apologize for Max, but I know you secretly love him too. :)

South Padre

2011-05-26T06:29:00.000-07:00

Josh and I made the 6 hour drive to South Padre the last weekend of April to celebrate the marriage of Molly & Justin. It was a lovely ceremony and the whole weekend was amazing. The beach was beautiful, the hotel was luxurious, the weather was great, minus the wind, and the people with us were some of our best friends! So much fun!

I have no idea what is happening in this picture.

The wedding was on the beach
Sitting by the pool watching the wind make waves

The view from our hotel

Brandi, Molly & Me

The boys plus Jenn

Jenn & I at the reception at Louie's Backyard

We owe a huge THANK YOU to Josh's parents who stayed at our house with our kids so that we could attend the wedding. The kids had such a great time with them and we truly appreciated our weekend getaway.

Celebrating Easter

2011-04-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

HE IS RISEN! What a great reason to celebrate! We spent Easter at the Ranch with the whole crew. What fun we all have together. I count my blessings that Josh and I truly adore both sides of our families, and that the time we spend together is so cherished. Easter Sunday we went to church in Stonewall, TX, followed by an Easter Egg Hunt and of course a delish Easter Lunch. Another great thing about our families is that we all love to eat, and drink and be merry. I think I gained 5 pounds in 3 days with all of the goodies.

On the hunt

Do you think it is more difficult to get a great picture of the 4 grand kids, or our little family of four? I am going to call it a toss up, and say that both are almost impossible. HA!

I don't know anything about it, but I have seen those commercials for the Cloud, where the women adjusts and crops different pictures to make one good one. I NEED that program! I can't even count on Josh to look at the camera.

Dying Eggs

Raley Swinging

We had several practice egg hunts, before our official Easter hunt, here is Brody's class hunt

Here is Jaden's class hunt

And of course one with Abby, they happened to having matching Easter baskets :)

And Grandma Webb brought Easter baskets too, filled with enough sugar to kill a small horse. Thanks Grandma!

And we also had a MOPS, Church at Canyon Creek Egg Hunt

Hope all of you had a wonderful Easter too! And that you feel as thankful as I do to have Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, the greatest gift that has ever been given to me.

Live Music

2011-04-22T09:47:00.001-07:00

Last night I ventured out with the girls to Carlos N Charlies to watch Alpha Rev & Bob Schneider. It was so fun! Anything I do with my fav girls is fun, but when you live in the Live Music Capital you better get out and enjoy it from time to time.

Jenn, Debbie, Me & Tanya

(We did not cooridnate our matching outfits! Ha)

Bob

Last Saturday Josh and I went out with some more of our favorite people to the Oasis, where for the first time I saw Alpha Rev. Their music is like ear candy, and I became an instant fan, so I was so happy when I got to hear them again when they opened for Bob.

The Oasis is so fun and a great way to spend a Saturday night!

Trying T ball

2011-04-18T11:19:00.001-07:00

Well we decided to give t ball a try for Jaden. Unfortunately, he did not think this idea was as great as we thought it was. He really had no interest in playing. He went to a total of two practices, and one game. He did like to hit the ball and run the bases a few times during practice, but at the game he refused to hit, run, or play in the outfield. So we called it quits. I am not one for quitting something when you start it, but I signed him up for t ball thinking it would be a fun family event, not a torturous event that he wanted nothing to do with. So, here are the few pictures I took from our first/last t ball game. Notice that Brody was all about it.

Just put me in for Jaden, I'll do it! Jaden marching away from the field

The I don't want to face

Little brother holding Jaden's bat, ball, and wearing Jaden's team hat.

We will try another sport someday, because I think sports are important for many reasons, but I will let Jaden pick it, and tell me when he is ready.

Spring Break 2011

2011-04-04T04:15:00.000-07:00

The little boys and I loaded up and headed to Leakey for the entire week of spring break. My mom and dad met us there and we all had a great time. I love going to Leakey because it is a little bit like stepping back in time 50 years. It's just a small charming Texas town. And what is not to love about fun and sun on the Frio River.

Brody LOVES his Papa, and LOVES his Papa's trucks. I think this red one is his favorite. I found a toddler bed set at Target that is vintage vehicles, and it happened to have a red truck on it just like this one. So I am going to take a bunch of pictures with the red truck and blow them up to use as the art in Brody's new big boy vehicle room. I can't believe my baby is going to have a big boy room soon. Gasp! Where does time go? Jaden was the only one who could stand the frigid water. He didn't care, he swam. He also pretended to be a dinosaur while swimming. This picture is him in dinosaur stance.

If Brody's leg was long enough to reach the peddle, he would be driving.

My mom traded in her Yukon for a convertible bug. It's really cute and the boys thought it was fun!

Jaden has grown up over the last year, and is now able to help Papa blow leaves off the porch. He thought this job was sooo much fun. I hope his little worker spirit continues to grow as he gets older.

Fun Picts from February

2011-03-11T14:20:00.000-08:00

The Cerpanya's (Josh's sister & crew) came for a visit. What fun we all had together. I don't know if us adults had more fun, or the kids. Raley and Jaden are such good friends. And I am sure Rian and Brody will be too. Aren't they just the cutest little girls. Since I am not having my own girls, I sure am glad I get to love on these two.
We went to Boat House Grill
We had Texas/ Rodeo week at school, Jaden and Brody had a great time

Jaden hasn't put on this tutu costume in quite a while, so the other day at school he did and I got a picture, I'm sure he will hate this when he is older

Best friend cousins, so sweet!

Two Bouncy House Birthday Parties in a Row

2011-03-03T12:57:00.000-08:00

Two of our favorite little boys Colten, and Connor, have February birthdays, a week apart from each other, so we always have fun weekends the first part of February. Colten turned 5 this year and celebrated his birthday at Extreme Fun. All the kids had a great time, as you can tell in this picture below by their red faces. :)

Brody had fun too, don't let the stinker face fool you

And Connor had his 4th birthday at Pump it Up. Pump it up is the perfect birthday joint, and the way they do parties is great. All of the attendees get to be in a private bouncy house area together without any other kids. This means that the only people around you are there for the party, and you don't have to worry about any random stinker kids being there to ruin your fun. If you have preschoolers and have ever taken them to a bouncy house, Chickfila, McDonalds, and had to leave because their was a mean kid there who was not being supervised by an adult, and more than likely using potty talk too, you can really appreciate this.

So much fun!

Love Bugs

2011-02-18T05:25:00.001-08:00

Hope you all enjoyed your Valentine Weekend. We are just a bunch of LOVE bugs around here and celebrated our LOVE for each other all weekend. Friday night Josh and I went to Vivo's to have enjoy a pre V day. I had the crab enchiladas and they were amazing. On Monday, I made dinner and gave the boys little bags of candy. Here is Jaden opening his

Here is Brody opening his
Our Valentine dinner

Jaden and I made a cake on Sunday, he LOVES frosting

On Tuesday, the boys had Valentine parties at school, Jaden wanted to take Abby a rose, since Josh gave me roses. So Sweet! It's what you do when you are in LOVE.

Brody had a party too. He LOVED his cookie

Snow Video

2011-02-07T13:01:00.000-08:00

Tilt your head to the left and enjoy this video of Jaden sledding down the hill in our front yard

Snow Day

2011-02-06T13:26:00.001-08:00

We had a snow day in Austin! I love the snow. I love to go on vacations where there is snow, I love building snow men, I love how beautiful everything looks when wearing a white coat of snow, and I especially love when it snows in Austin. It is a somewhat rare occurrence, which is probably part of the reason I love it. I do have to say though, I would not be able to tolerate more than one or two days of snow. It is so fun because it is special, otherwise it would just be a nuisance like it is up north. I live in Texas because I only love special snow, not all the time snow. My oldest son however really LOVES snow. He woke up Friday morning and had the biggest smile on his face because of the snow. He wanted to immediately venture out into the winter wonderland, but being his mother and the fact that it was only 7:00 in the morning, I made him wait until 8. He did all things fun that you can do in the snow, he made a snow angel,

he made snow balls

and he sledded down this hill , along with almost every other kid in our neighborhood. I will post a video of that once I get it downloaded. Jaden enjoyed every second of his snow day, and can't wait for the next one. He was o so sad when it had melted by the next day.

What we have been up to lately

2011-01-28T10:15:00.000-08:00

Santa gave Jaden a bike for Christmas and he has been busy learning to ride it. He is a pro now and wants to ride his bike every day after school. I am so proud of him, he is growing up so fast.

2 birthdays, a wedding and the circus

2011-01-16T12:50:00.000-08:00

It is a little hard having Christmas, Brody's birthday,New Years Eve, 4 days later, Josh's birthday, and then 4 days later my birthday, and the next day Grandma B's birthday. That is alot of celebrating in a short time. It is a good thing we like to celebrate. :)

For our 34th and 33rd birthdays we went to a fabulous dinner at Hudson's on the Bend, followed by drinks at Steiner Ranch Steakhouse. The Rice's joined us and we all had a great time.

Friday we went to a wedding at Creekside in Driftwood right across from the Salt Lick. Aubrey and Trevor got married. Trevor is my mom's cousins son. They were such an adorable couple and full of love for each other and Jesus which was nice to see. Every time I go to a wedding I think of my own wedding day and how lucky I am that I married my true love.

The kids had fun dancing

Saturday, Jaden and I went to the circus at the Cedar Park Event Center. I don't remember the last time I went to a circus, but I highly doubt it was as nice as this circus. Jaden and I both marvelled at the tigers, elephants, acrobats, and clowns. We were both entertained through out the entire show and I would definitely go again. Next time all of us will go.

He ate the whole thing by himself

The elephants were my favorite

During intermission we went down to the floor to look at people riding elephants and ponies

They had a stunt motorcycle man who jumped across the room, it was awesome, he is the blur at the top right of the picture

And what is a circus without a man shooting out of a cannon ball

Happy New Year!

2011-01-04T14:01:00.001-08:00

We had a New Years Eve Party at our house. I think it might be the first time in the last 4 or 5 years that we actually stayed up until midnight. We had all of our great friends and their kids come over to celebrate. We had delicous food and way to much of it, a bounce house, and alot of fun. In fact, I had so much fun, that I only took this one picture the whole night. Happy 2011!

2011-01-02T05:58:00.000-08:00

Our baby is 2!

2011-01-02T05:25:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas we celebrated Brody's 2nd birthday. I can't believe my baby is 2 years old.

Grandma and her boys

Jingle Bells with a twist

2010-12-30T07:51:00.000-08:00

Christmas

2010-12-29T06:05:00.001-08:00

Our Christmas vacation started out with Josh getting the flu the Sunday before Christmas. Josh was going to take some time off from work and I had visions of him doing some daddy day care while I shopped and cleaned and got ready to host Christmas at our house. Unfortunately for us, the flu left Josh quarantined in our room and in bed until Thursday. So even though he did take some time off from work, it was time spent isolated with the flu. No fun for any of us. So that left me sleeping in the guest bedroom and sanitizing the house like a crazy person. The great news is that Josh got better quickly and no one else got sick so Christmas was saved. My family came to our house to celebrate.

Aunt Kathy, Grandma, Mom & Me
Brody had so much fun opening presents he passed right out on his new pillow pet
Brody trying out Jaden's new bike
Our family pjs Christmas eve
And Santa finally delivered bullseye, the very hard to find sought after toy. Jaden only had two things on his list, a bike and bullseye. Santa delivered. I absolutely love spending time with our families and just being together would have been enough of a Christmas present for me, but throw in a few presents and delicious food it's even better.

Videos from School SIngalong

2010-12-22T06:52:00.001-08:00

We like to party

2010-12-22T05:35:00.000-08:00

Josh and Jaden drove to Dallas to celebrate Raley's 3rd birthday. They had a great time together and we wish they were closer to Austin so we could be together more often.

Cousin Rian, isn't she adorable

Jaden & Raley

The birthday girl

The santa stare down
Brody's class party

The Polar Express

2010-12-18T12:52:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, Jaden, Connor, Jenn and I went on the Polar Express Train. It starts in Cedar Park and goes to Burnet and then back. We were on the train from 7 -9:30. It was a looong ride. The boys had lots of fun, and us mommies did lots of entertaining to make it fun, but that is what mommies do.

Mrs. Claus came by and handed out cookies
Happy boys

Santa came by and handed out train whistles

I love this picture of Jaden because it shows how silly he is

I am glad we went, but at $25 a ticket it will probably be our last time to go. There was only about 20 minutes of entertainment for the kids, and the rest of the time was us trying to keep them busy. Sorta like on a road trip. The kids had fun though, and that is what it is all about!

Christmas Parties

2010-12-17T04:59:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday I hosted the Canyon Creek Preschool Teachers Party. Every year it so much fun! Everyone brings a yummy dish and a fun ornament. We eat, laugh and do a white elephant ornament exchange. I was having too much fun to take any pictures, but here are the two I got. Every year has a theme. Last year was Tacky Christmas sweaters. This year was Bling! And I won the contest! You can't really tell in this pictures, but my jacket was full sequins, Thanks Grandma for blinging me out!

And the next night, Friday, was Josh's company Christmas Party! We had it downtown at 219 West. The food and drinks were delish. We had a private room in the back so we were able to mingle and enjoy each other. Here are some of us girls.

Some of the boys

And us lovebirds :)

2010-12-07T04:55:00.000-08:00

Saturday we went to a Christmas Shin Dig at one of our good friends moms house. It is one of the most amazing houses I have ever been in. It is just right down the road from us on a hill overlooking lake Travis. The party was great! Everyone there was so nice and friendly. The food and drinks were fantastic. They even had fireworks. Josh and I enjoyed every minute of being out together. We are going to be really busy these next few weeks with more parties, a ride on the Polar Express and of course Christmas and Brody's birthday, so I will have lots of great posts coming up.

Fall Pictures

2010-11-20T15:32:00.000-08:00

So here are some fall highlights I have not had time to blog about. I apologize now to the 2 or 3 of you that check our blog for not posting all of these pictures sooner. But as the saying goes, better later than never. :)

1st day of school picture

(that was actually taken on the 2nd day of school)
Handsome Jaden loves preschool
Jaden's first flying kite experience, I found a bunch of kites on clearance at HEB, so I got them for party favors for Jaden's birthday party, but we had to test them out first. He had so much fun. There was not a whole lot of wind, but he was determined to make wind, so he ran and ran until his kite would fly. Which is why his face is sooo red. And as for the outfit, I guess we were probably playing dress up before we went outside.

Will, Jaden & Abby playing dress up at school, and if you can't tell by the last few pictures, this entire summer Jaden played around with some girl stuff, like tu-tus. But it was just a phase, he is over it and on to dinosaurs. ALL THINGS DINOSAURS!

Josh & I went to a lovely wedding

We had Dad's Night at school, Jaden made the number 8 picture

And they had a wiggle worm train, we have had such a great fall and as Thanksgiving approaches it reminds me how thankful I am for all of our blessings

Neighborhood Block Party

2010-11-07T06:32:00.000-08:00

Our neighborhood had a block party the weekend before Halloween. The catered Carinos Italian food, had a bouncy house for the kids and gave away gift cards. We won a $25 JC Penny card! Yea! They held it at the park, and the weather was great! We got to meet a few more neighbors and the kids had so much fun.

Of course Brody wants to do whatever Jaden is doing, including rock climbing
When you tell Brody to say cheese, this is usually the face you get

Jaden played on the bouncy house for at least an hour and each time he flew down the slide a little faster. We are so happy in our new neighborhood and glad they do fun things like this.

Silly boys :)

Halloween continued

2010-11-02T13:36:00.001-07:00

Look closely at Brody's face to see how excitied he was to see a mini pony at the Pumpkin Festival at church
Our little Donald Duck, he had an adorable donald hat to go with his outfit, but refused to wear it

Our little group of trick or treaters

This was Brody's first year trick or treating, and he acted like he had been doing it for years. Of course it is much easier to mimic and older sibling

The costume parade at school

Brody, cousin Ryder, and Jaden at the Pumpkin Festival

Ryder & his momma

The boys and I

We did tons of fun stuff for Halloween this year. We went to a pumpkin carving party, a Pumpkin Festival with a petting zoo, hayrides, pumpkin painting and games. Sam, Jessica & Ryder came to visit us, and of course we went Trick or Treating. Brody would run up to the door, at least 10 paces behind the other kids and would say "Treat" " Thank you" No tricks for him. And then he would run back to the wagon to check out his treat. If it looked good, he would try to eat it, and if not he would run back to the next house. It was really cute. And Jaden just ran from house to house with all of the older kids we were with. Our neighborhood is perfect for trick or treating. I know next year will be even more fun!

Halloween Preview..more to come

2010-11-01T05:29:00.000-07:00

We've been Booed!

2010-10-18T12:08:00.001-07:00

We were booed the other night. Someone from our neighborhood rang our door bell and then left this basket of goodies for us. There was a note explaining the booing process, and that it was now our turn to Boo someone else. So we did and it was fun! I love being a part of a fun, active neighborhood. It makes life just a little sweeter.

La Dolce Vita

2010-10-15T08:56:00.001-07:00

Last night was a big date night for Josh and I. We went to the La Dolce Vita Food & Wine Festival. But that is not exactly the big part. We used a babysitter. Until last night, we have only had my mom, Josh's mom, or Josh's brother watch our babies. So last night was a big step for us. Our new babysitter is a high school student that is the daughter of one of Josh's friends. She lives around the corner from us and she was awesome. And now that we have a babysitter, we will get to have many more date nights. YEAH! The festival was lots of fun and we had yummy food and lots of good wine. Our friends Beau & Ashley gave us free tickets to the event which costs $120 a ticket (ouch). So not only did we have a great date, it was free! Beau got the tickets free because he works at the Ferrari dealership and they were one of the sponsors for the event.

One of the Ferrari's at the event, this one is worth 1 million dollars
Josh tasting one of the delicous food items

The festival was at Laguna Gloria which was just beautiful. The were 100's of food & wine vendors there giving samples, including the best restaraunts in Austin. It was so nice to have a lovely evening out together. We will definitely do it again soon. Especially now that we have a babysitter. Yeah!

Jaden's 4th Birthday

2010-10-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

Jaden was so cute when everyone sang Happy Birthday to him. He had the biggest smile and was blushing

Showing Abby how to Slip N Slide

Bouncy House Fun

Walker showing off his tricks

Last weekend we celebrated Jaden's 4th birthday. I know every mom always says it, but I can not believe my baby is 4. He is such a sweetheart and just when I think it is impossible to love him anymore I do, every day. His party was a huge success. All of his favorite friends came, including his best friend Abby. We had the slip n slide, swimming pool, and a bounce house. We had pizza and cake and lots of fun. Thanks to all of you who came, especially the grandparents who drove in from out of town. Jaden felt loved and adored on his birthday!

Beach Boys & A New Baby

2010-09-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

My brother and his new baby boy Ryder
Sweet baby Ryder

Neither of my boys had any fear and spent lots of time in the water

Body Surfing

Building mud castles

Jaden loved the big waves and splashing around

Relaxing a little

Last weekend we went to Houston. We visited my brother and his family. I got to meet my new nephew Ryder who was born Sept 8th. He is such a sweet baby and I instantly fell in love with him. Thanks Sam & Jessica for letting me love on Ryder so much, I am a proud Aunt. We also went to Galveston and enjoyed the beach. The boys LOVED it! Josh's moms sisters were all in town so we got to spend some time with them at the beach too. I am so glad they let us tag along with them. They all live out of state, so we don't get to see them enough. Josh went to the Texans/Cowboys game while we were at the beach. I am sure he had a great time, but it would have been better if the Texans would have won.

Playdate with the Matison's

2010-09-27T08:04:00.000-07:00

Last week The Matison's came over for a afternoon playdate. The boys loved being together, and thought the group bath was the best bath they ever had. I can't believe how big our boys are getting.

A Girl Shower

2010-09-15T04:45:00.001-07:00

Finally one of my friends is having a girl. We all have boys so we are celebrating that Debbie is having a girl. She has a son who is Jaden's age, this will be her second child. My good friend Jenn and I threw Debbie a Ladies Only Shower at my house a few weeks ago, and loved doing all things pink. Here are a few pictures. Can't wait to have another baby in our group!

The food table at the end of the party, I forgot to take a before picture

We hung cute baby girl clothes on the windows

Jenn, Debbie & Me

Labor Day Fun!

2010-09-08T13:56:00.001-07:00

We had such a nice Labor Day Weekend. We went to the Ranch to visit Josh's parents and Grandparents from Arizona. It was so nice to see his Grandparents, they live so far away that we don't get to spend enough time with them. On Monday, they came to stay with us and see our new house, and we took them to Cafe Blue, and to see the lake.

Looking at the water, really wanting to get in. The day after we took this picture, it started raining in Austin and we had 14 inches of rain in 24 hours. The lake is now full, and not low like it looks in the picture, and where the kids are standing is now under water.
Sunday we went exploring at the LBJ Ranch in Stonewall. It is a beautiful ranch and they offer drive thru tours of the property. So the kids and I and Josh's mom listened to the CD and drove thru the ranch, but didn't make any stops until we got to the living history farm. The rest of the group stopped at LBJ's house (the Texas White House) for that tour.

Of course Brody wanted to ride the wagon. Any and all things transportation for him.

We chased the sheep trying to pet them. I wonder why they did not want Brody and Jaden to pet them :)

We looked at chickens, roosters, and turkey that roamed freely

And we saw pigs and cows through the fences. Brody REALLY wanted to jump through the fence and make new friends.

We shared storied with Great G & G

And we had lots of fun and made new memories. Thanks for coming to Texas to see us Great Grandma & Grandpa. We will cherish our time together. And Thanks for hosting the weekend G & G. You made sure everyone had a great time. We love you all!

Bubble Bath Babies

2010-08-26T12:18:00.000-07:00

It has been soooo hot outside lately that we have been creative with our indoor activities. Jaden decided it would be tons of fun to take a bubble bath in my bathtub. And they did have fun, a full 30 minutes of tub time. Of course they had bubbles everywhere and it took 3o minutes to wipe down and dry everything off, but at least they were entertained for a while.

Rice Family Weekend at the Ranch

2010-08-24T15:23:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took the Rice Family to the Ranch for their first visit. We had tons of fun as always and can't wait to take them back for another trip!

The Rice Family - aren't they so cute!
The girls swimming

All five of the kids together actually looking at the camera ( and yes grandma if you are wondering, Jaden borrowed your hat :)

Maddie is such a sweet girl and takes care of Brody

She is a little mommy in training

And Brody loves her!

Summertime Fun Photos

2010-08-09T10:40:00.000-07:00

Slip n Slide in the front yard

Bounce House

Our pet bunny Foo Foo that hangs out in our yard

Week of Fun with the Webbs

2010-08-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my brother and his wife came for a visit. We had tons of fun with them and are so glad they came to see us. They will be having their first child at the end of August and we can't wait for baby Webb to get here. I know they will be great parents and having another little boy around is going to be so fun!

We went to Cafe Blue
Jaden was enjoying watermelon on the porch
Upon discovering Jaden was eating watermelon without him, this is Brody's reaction

Swinging and pretending to be Tinker Bell
After Sam & Jess left, the boys and I headed to Leakey to spend another week there with my parents. I know we are so spoiled. We of course had more fun doing all of the things we always do when we are there.

My new fav pict of the boys

My mom and I found this rock a few years ago and thought it would be perfect for the entrace to the cabin. We were not sure what to paint on it, so it has sat there blank for a while. Jaden like to call everyone, including RVS, happy campers, so my mom thought that was perfect for the rock. So I painted Webbs Happy Campers on it, and Jaden and Brody each put their hand print on the side. I think it turned out so cute!

2010-07-22T06:14:00.000-07:00

Top 10 reasons why having a toddler is like being at a frat party

10. There are half-full, brightly-colored plastic cups on the floor inevery room. Three are in the bathtub
.9. There's always that one girl, bawling her eyes out in a corner.
8. It's best not to assume that the person closest to you has anycontrol over their digestive function.
7. You sneak off to the bathroom knowing that as soon as you sit down,someone's going to start banging on the door.
6. Probably 80% of the stains on the furniture contain DNA.
5. You've got someone in your face at 3 a.m. looking for a drink
.4. There's definitely going to be a fight.
3. You're not sure whether anything you're doing is right, you justhope it won't get you arrested.
2. There are crumpled-up underpants everywhere.
1. You wake up wondering exactly how and when the person in bed withyou got there.

My sister- in -law sent this to me in an email and I thought it was pretty funny!

Bunco & BBQ

2010-07-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a BBQ at our house with our new Neighbors and friends. Josh actually went to high school with Ashley, so they are old friends. We have tons of fun with each other.

We have a fire pit in our backyard that we finally used to make smores.

The kids watched Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3D

Last Thursday I hosted Bunco night. My amazing husband took the kids to the ranch, so us girls could really enjoy ourselves, and we did!

How to eat Chocolate Cake according to Brody

2010-07-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

Fun & Sun at the Frio

2010-07-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

The kids and I spent the last week of June and the first week of July at the Frio River. It was tons of fun and so nice to be able to spend so much time there. The kids especially love it!

Jaden is doing a great job swimming this year

We went to the Market at the July Jubilee and my mom got tye dye t shirts for everyone

Jaden sporting his coon hat and sunglasses

Another failed attempt at a great family picture, I know one of these days the kids will pose and smile for the camera, We did the July 4th parade in my Dad's old 41 chevy truck.

We have a tradition of painting tubes, and these are this years

We saw tons of beautiful deer and this is one of the bucks, my parents feed them so they hang around alot waiting for more corn

Boating with the Kloesel's

2010-07-05T11:53:00.001-07:00

Now that we are so close to the lake and both of the boys are a little older it is easier to make a trip out to the lake. A few weeks ago, we went with our good friends the Kloesels. We all had a great time!

We fed the ducks
We cruised, in deep thought

Some of us napped

Of course Brody wanted to drive

The Kloesel Family

Our Family

Three boys having a great time!

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-21T05:22:00.000-07:00

Josh and I are both extremely lucky to have fathers who really love being dads. They are emotionally available to us, respectful to our mothers, and wonderful role models. One of the many things I love about seeing our dads as grandpas, is that it has become even more clear to me what loving fathers they were and continue to be. We love seeing our children around their grandpas and watching their faces light up. We love our Grandpas. And now that I get to see Josh as a dad, he is exactly the kind of father I envisioned for my children. He loves being a dad and that shows in all that he does every single day. The boys are so very blessed to have a father who loves them with all of his might. Josh recently told me that one night when he was reading Jaden stories that Jaden said out of the blue "Dad, you're my best friend" And even though the offhand comment was made by a very silly (and fickel) three year old little boy, somehow in my heart I doubt a truer statement has ever been spoken. Thanks to all the wonderful Dads in our life for all that you do to make life a little sweeter!

Backyard Fun

2010-06-19T19:14:00.000-07:00

It's never to early to start playing golf

One of our favorite things about the new house is that we have an enormous backyard, the biggest one in our neighborhood. It is almost an acre. We are all enjoying it. Josh just got a new riding mower for father's day so that the yard work is a little more manageable.

I took these when we first moved in. The grass looks better now, more green from all the rain. This picture is from the right side

This picture is from the left side, there is a playscape that stays shaded most of the day and the kids love it

Climbing the trees

What do you do when it's really hot outside?

2010-06-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

Eat popsicles of course! And share them

Can I have a lick?
Sure, here you go Jaden

Just kidding, I am going to pull it away from you now and think it's really funny

Ok Brody, try mine! Sweet boys!

Date Night

2010-06-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

Grandma B was gracious enough to watch our kids Friday night so that Josh and I could have a date night. We needed it! Thank you Grandma, you are awesome! We went to Cafe Blue on Lake Travis. The lake is 3 minutes from our new house which means we will be able to frequent places like this more often. The food was mouth watering, and the lake and sunset were beautiful. I can't wait to go back!

The whole restaraunt is outside overlooking the lake

There was a tram to get down Cafe Blue. I would definitely recommend this place. Just thinking about it makes me want to go right now!

Words of Wisdom from my house to yours

2010-06-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

1. Amazingly, I have experienced a number of messes (care of my 1 year old) that even the famous Shamwow cannot touch. I guess everything has it's limits.
2. It is probably not a good idea to hand your car key to your baby, shut the car door, walk around to the other side of the car, snap your 3 year old in the car seat, and shut that door. I can assure you that it is doubtful that you will make it back to the other side of the car before you hear the click, click of a locking car.
3. If you do make the unfortunate mistake of the above, I can also assure you that there is no better feeling than convincing your 1 year old to hand the key to your 3 year old and then hearing the click, click of an unlocking car.
4. If you think that putting a movie in will give you plenty of time to take a quick shower...think again. During your 5 minute shower...your 3 year old will probably have to poo poo, your 1 year old will definitely dump his milk on the floor, and most likely every single tampon you own will be put in a pair of your husband's boots.
5. Do not underestimate the persuasive influence of an older brother...he can convince his younger brother to take a bite out of a shoe, give him his only Oreo cookie, and drink the bath water out of a Monster truck.
6. If you think it's a good idea to take your 1 year old's diaper off and then walk into his room to grab a new diaper/wipes, then don't be surprised by the "surprise" he has lovingly deposited on the carpeted floor.
7. If you have been dealing with sick kiddos all day and the first thing your husband asks when he gets home happens to be "is that a booger on your cheek" try your best to not get offended.
8. Don't ever think that you are having the worst day ever because just when you think it can't get any worse, you might end up on the losing end of a very bad case of diarrhea in both of your kids, or worst yet a stomach bug that causes your children to take turns throwing up in different places of the house.
9. Don't ever try to put your son (who is not exactly cooperating) in "time out" close to the automatic door at the entrance of the store. It is a little embarrassing when it continues to open and close showcasing your own private hell.
10. Do not ever serve blueberry applesauce to a toddler next to any piece of furniture, wall, or ceiling.
11. Always take pictures before a breakfast buffet, not after.
12. Don't ever leave the dishwasher door down because you will be surprised how quickly a 1 year old can climb on to it and begin to wave to you with a steak knife.
13. There is no sweeter sound than the sound of your children laughing together and it doesn't even matter that with that sound comes the knowledge that you are officially dead meat. : ) These two just make me smile. They make me smile even when I am dog tired and I look at the clock to find out that it is only 9 a.m. They make me smile even when I walk through a pile of sand that has randomly been unloaded in our living room. They make me smile even when I am catching bites of chewed up food in my hand. They make me smile even when the 30 minute bed time routine is now pushing an hour. They make me smile even when I realize I have been sleeping on top of 5 cheerios and a blue snake all night. They make me smile even when I have just picked up the millions of blocks, walk out of the room for two seconds, and then return to find the millions of blocks are back all over the floor. They make me smile even when I have seen a whole lot of poop and wiped a whole lot of bottoms and then I look at the clock to find out it is only 9 a.m. These two just make me smile from the inside out, blue snakes and all.

Memorial Weekend Fun!

2010-06-02T09:05:00.001-07:00

Girls Night

2010-06-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday a few of us headed to the premiere of Sex in the City 2. There was suppose to be a whole group of us, but only 3 of us were able to get our tickets online before they sold out. This is us waiting in line outside of the Alamo to be seated. The movie was really cute, and a total chick flick. It's fun to watch with a big group of girls who cheer, and clap and laugh together. The Alamo went all out to with special drinks and cups and even set up a camel desert display at the front. It's fun to get out and do something girlie since at home it is all boys all the time.

Our Master Bath

2010-05-25T12:06:00.001-07:00

I love our new master bath. I painted it a milk chocolate color called Coco Rum. We already had nice bathroom stuff in gold and rust colors. I didn't want to replace it all, so I just added to it. And I found the rugs at Wal-mart. They have all of the bathroom colors plus the beautiful blue. I put some blue accents in the candle holder on the wall to tie in the rugs. Maybe I'll change the candles too, or hand towels. Before I painted the walls chocolate, I painted them antique copper. I thought it was going to be beautiful, but instead it was like a salute to the University of Texas. Don't get me wrong, we love UT, but I don't want to think of the longhorns everytime I walk into the bathroom. You can see that color below. I think if there was not so much white, it might have worked.

Goodbye old friend

2010-05-24T11:46:00.001-07:00

So my hot rollers died the other day. It made me think about how much my life has changed since I bought them to roll my hair for the senior prom in 1996. I can't believe they have lasted this long. The have seen me through long hair, short hair, blonde hair, brown hair, red hair, wavy hair, and through wierd pregnancy hair. They were there when I graduated high school, college, got married, bought a house, had two babies, and made to the new house before they gave out. Thanks for all the good hair days!

Meet the new version, totally sleeked up for 2010, I hope they last me as long as the old ones!

New House Pictures

2010-05-17T11:09:00.001-07:00

Josh and I have been working hard getting the house put together. This weekend I painted our master bath and he did 3 hours of yard work. I'll post those pictures next time. Besides lots of work, we are enjoying just being in our new home. We have made friends with some neighbors, and I even went to the Ladies neighborhood Bunco group last week.

Here is the kitchen, it is really big and has so much storage I have empty cabinets. We had to get a new fridge and we picked the french door. I love it! In our old house we had stainless steel appliances and I hated them because both of the kids left fingerprints everytime they touched them, and it seemed like Brody made that his mission everytime he walked in the kitchen. The black is proving much better at not showing fingerprints, which means one less thing for me to clean! YEA!
The kitchen, breakfast area, and living room are all connected and open. I love being able to cook, or wash dishes and not feel like I am in the back corner of the house by myself.

The breakfast area

Almost the whole downstairs has these beautiful hardwood floors that I adore

The living room

The front entry

Finally a new post

2010-05-10T14:22:00.001-07:00

I know it has been forever since I posted. Sorry if you have been checking back frequently and found nothing new. But finally, I have internet, and some pictures and a few minutes to blog. So here are the pictures of our new house from the real estate listing.

The side

The backyard view from upstairs

The kitchen

The dining room

The front --- I have not taken any new pictures since we have moved in, but that will be my next post. And now for some cute ones of the kids.

My mom, grandma, aunt Kathy, and Josh's mom all got to spend Mother's Day together at our new house. I loved having all of the women around.

I know Easter was forever a go, but here are the boys Easter baskets

We are in the new house!

2010-04-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

We are in our new house! EEK! I am so excitied about it that I can not even find words to express my happiness! We are all settling in nicely, and even the kids love the new house! I think they especially love the running room inside in out. I don't have any pictures to show you yet, since I am working on the laptop right now and all of my pictures are on the desktop which is still in a box, but I promise to post pictures soon. Until then, know that we are so happy and so thankful that God answered our prayers with our dream house. It is so amazing that everything worked out the way it did, and we know that God was the only one who could make it all work out so easily the way it did. I'll post again next week with lots of pictures!

9 days in the country

2010-03-24T12:41:00.001-07:00

The kids and I went to my parents house for spring break. It was great! Nine days without internet, little tv time, and tons of outdoor fun. I'll start with the scary part of the trip. Jaden and I stumbled upon a snake hiding under a rock at the creek where we throw sticks for Duke. The snake freaked me out and I quickly ran to get Papa and the gun. After killing the snake, we discovered it was only a harmless rat snake, instead of a dangerous snake. If you know me very well, you know that I HATE snakes, HATE them. They FREAK ME OUT! I am not scared of spiders, or rats, or really anything else, but a snake will make me scream like a little girl and run for the hills. Just looking at this picture sorta freaks me out. So this snake never had a chance to survive once he was spotted by me. He had to die. Sorry snake.

I tried to get a picture of the boys frolicking in the absolutely gorgeous bluebonnets, but neither one would look at the camera.
On the farm, is this one area where sand runs down the hill when it rains and has formed what Jaden named "the biggest sand box ever"
We spent hours at the sand box, and the boys loved it

The longhorns are having calves and there are some cute ones

Cant resist the water

The cows coming to see if we have cubes to give them

The creek were we found the snake

This dirt is fun, I think I'll make a mud pie

Another attempt at a wildflower shot

Weekend Getaways

2010-03-08T13:46:00.000-08:00

We have been going out of town every weekend so that our realtor could have Open Houses and we would not be in the way. The last weekend of Feb, the kids and I went to Leakey with my parents, and the last two weekends we have gone to the ranch. Well, actually just the little boys went to the ranch this past weekend to visit Grandma & Grandpa B. I am so glad that my babies get to spend so much time with their grandparents. We don't have any news on the house situation yet, we have had lots of interest, but no offers. Our time window on the new house is coming to end next weekend, so if we don't get an offer this week, we will have to back out of the new house. We'll see what happens.

We drove into Fredricksburg to stroll the streets and have some lunch

These boots were Grandma B's when she was little

Sharing some ice cream

Snow!

2010-02-25T15:14:00.001-08:00

We had beautiful snow in Austin this week. It of course only lasted a day and a half, but that makes it even more special. Our trees in our backyard looked picture perfect.

The kids and I have a cold this week, so I didn't take them out to play in the snow. We just saw snow for two weeks at Christmas, so I didn't feel like they would be missing out to much if we skipped it this time. Our house is officially on the market and we have an offer on a house that is contingent upon our house selling, so it is a little stressful around here. We are having an open house this weekend, so Josh and I are going to tidy up and head to the ranch so we won't be in the way for that, and mainly so the kids can't mess up the house over and over again while we try to keep it show ready. Jaden likes to sing the clean up song, but he is not much of a cleaner, and Brody can destroy a room in 5 minutes, so it is best to just head out of town. We are sure that God has a plan for us, and we are hopeful that it includes moving into the new house. Keep your finger crossed for us! I have lots of blog updating to do, but not enough time to do it, so hopefully soon I will get to all those posts.

We've been busy

2010-02-07T13:03:00.001-08:00

We sure have been busy lately. We have decided to put our house up for sell and look for a new house. This is a fun and scary process. We don't have our house on the market quite yet, but we will really soon. We have been busy painting, cleaning and decluttering our house. ( Why do we have soooo many toys? And where am I suppose to hide them?) We have also been busy looking for a new house. We have alot of things on our new house wish list so I am sure we will be house hunting for a while.

Yesterday we went to Connor's 3rd birthday party. It was Brody's first time at a bouncy house place, and he really enjoyed it.
Going down the baby slide

Going down the big boy slide

Meet my two friends fairy and strawberry shortcake

Bath time is so much fun now at our house. The boys play together and make each other laugh.

One of Brody's favorite toys in the house

I've been meaning to post this...

2010-01-21T14:16:00.000-08:00

So my BF Jenn took me to a private performance of Colbie Calliat and Howie Day! It was AWESOME! and when I say AWESOME, I mean that it was one of the coolest events I have been too. We got to shake hands and take pictures and get autographs with both of them, and then they played music 4ft in front of us for a crowd of 20. I was a fan of both of them before we went, but after hearing them play and socializing with them some, now I am an even bigger fan. I have also transferred my love of Colbie to Jaden, who always asks me to play her music.

Family Photo Shoot

2010-01-11T17:15:00.000-08:00

We had our Family Pictures taken this past weekend. They turned out really well, and I am happy with them. I do wish that Brody would have smiled in at least one, but oh well, I guess he wasn't in the mood for it, or maybe he didn't like the crazy camera lady. Maybe next time we will capture that adorable smile that melts my heart. I have posted all of the pictures to our picture site, www.thebiblerfamilyphotos.shutterfly.com

Happy Birthday Josh and Natalie

2010-01-11T07:21:00.000-08:00

Our birthdays are four days apart, and Josh's mom birthday is the day after mine, and when you add that to Brody's birthday, we have alot of winter birthday celebrations going on. Even my truck turned 3 in December. :) For Josh's birthday, we had a nice relaxing day and went to Outback for dinner. It was yummy! For my birthday we went to Chili's for dinner, and watched poor UT lose the Chamionship. At least they didn't lose on Josh's birthday, it might have ruined his day. Oh well, maybe next year they will WIN!

Flowers from my kids at school, and Josh
Jaden could not wait to eat birthday cake! Thanks everyone for all of your birthday wishes and presents. We could not be more blessed! Love to you all!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-09T13:02:00.001-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Josh and I left the kiddos with Grandma & Grandpa and went to a nice dinner on Main Street in Frisco. Look how happy we are to be without the kids. Shame on us! HA! We drove back to Texas New Year's Day, we left at noon and we got home Saturday morning at 6 am. The kids did great on our long trip. God made the moon extra bright for our drive, and Josh and I marveled at it throughout the night. I tried to take a picture of it, but it looked like a UFO, sorta appropriate since we were in New Mexico at the time and you know that is where the aliens like to be. :)

Brody's 1st Birthday

2010-01-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

How messy can I be with my cupcake?
For some reason, the cupcakes were really crumbly, cooking in high altitudes is tough. They still tasted great!
Opening presents --good thing Jaden was there to assist
First cupcake! I think he liked it!

Brody had a great first birthday. I am sure he was confused about all the presents and fun two days in a row, but he really enjoyed it. Josh and I both have January birthdays close to Christmas so we are going to make sure Brody has great birthdays every year separate from Christmas Day, even though I am sure that will prove to be hard since it is the very next day. I can't believe my baby is ONE! Brody, we love you so much and are so happy God choose you to make our family complete. Every day you bring us joy and we love you more and more.

Merry Christmas!

2010-01-07T12:40:00.000-08:00

Nothing is better than a white Christmas with family. Santa brought Jaden a drum set, which was #1 on his list this year. And of course he got tons of presents, so many that he didn't even want to continue opening presents after the first 6 or 7 of them. Brody enjoyed his first Christmas too. Santa brought him a bunch of balls which he loves. The boy is ball crazy! I am so glad we got to enjoy real snow this year, and can't wait til our next trip when I know the boys will enjoy it even more!

Sledding

2010-01-04T12:40:00.000-08:00

We had such a great time in Colorado! We were there for almost 2 weeks, and besides the rough start I posted about, everything was awesome. It was beautiful weather and we did TONS of FUN STUFF! Including sledding. This little snow hill was right out front of the house, so we didn't have to go far with our sleds. Jaden had the most fun, and after going down the hill a million times on the sled he started body sliding down. Silly boy.

Snow pictures

2010-01-03T17:33:00.001-08:00

The kids and I were exploring Main Street and stumbled across a mini snowman.

Josh's Parents vacation house in Frisco, CO
The Bibler Kids
Look how cute Brody Bears boots are

Trying to build a snowman, we never completed it. The snow was to dry and would not compact together, so we made a snow mountain. I posted all of our pictures to our shutterfly site, http://thebiblerfamilyphotos.shutterfly.com/ or click Family Pictures on the right side of this blog

Christmas in Colorado

2010-01-03T12:07:00.000-08:00

I will have to make many posts in order to cover our 2 week vacation to Colorado for Christmas. So here is the first. We planned to start our 16 hour drive ( which actually took 18 1/2 hours) to Frisco Colorado on Monday afternoon. We figured it would be easier to drive through the night with the kids rather than try to entertain them all day in their car seats. Sunday we spent most of the day packing and loading the car and it was a good thing we did, because Sunday night at midnight Jaden started yelling MOMMY, MOMMY, in a weird pathetic sort of way. So I got up and went to see why he was calling me, and as soon as I opened his door, I was hit with it! The HORRIBLE smell of vomit along with the realization I was going to have to clean it up. I cleaned up Jaden and put him in bed with me, which I never do, but the thought of changing his sheets and continuing to deal with the HORRIBLE smell was enough to make my stomach turn, so the sheets were going to have to wait til morning. I sent Josh downstairs to sleep on the couch so that he could get a good night's rest so he could drive us the next day. At 6 in the morning Brody gave me my usual wake up call, so I scooped him up and headed downstairs to find that Josh had been throwing up for hours. My stomach was queasy and I could not stop spraying Lysol. I sent Josh upstairs to bed with Jaden and Brody and I played for a little while, until my queasy stomach turned on me and I spent the next hour in the bathroom. Luckily, Brody was content playing in his room while we were all sick. Jaden woke up like nothing happened and seemed to have extra energy to burn. Josh and I took turns sleeping and finally decided we should just get in the car and go, so we did. At 6 pm on Monday we started our road trip. By the grace of God, Brody did not get sick and the stomach bug left the rest of us rather quickly. We arrived in Frisco at 11:30 on Tuesday. Uncle Luke spent the night with us on Sunday so that he could drive with Uncle Jake on Monday. He ended up with the bug Monday night on their drive to CO and had to pull over many times. It might be a while before he wants to stay with us again. HA! Fortunately, the BUG stopped there. We spent all day Tuesday resting and woke up Wednesday feeling great and ready to play in the snow! To be continued......

PS. HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my wonderful Hubby today! I love you!

CCP Singalong

2009-12-19T07:05:00.000-08:00

Canyon Creek Preschool had their annual Christmas singlalong yesterday. The kids did great and I am sure all the parents enjoyed it. Brody took a picture with Santa, but once again this year, Jaden would not sit on Santa's lap. He did get closer, and he didn't cry, so I guess he is making progress. I even tried to get his BF Abby to sit with him and it still didn't work. Oh well, their is always next year!

LAST YEAR

THIS YEAR this is as close as he got! :)

Walking & Dancing

2009-12-14T14:14:00.000-08:00

This is the only short video I could find of Brody walking. Notice how he is all smiles until he sees me, and then he starts fake whining and dramatically throws himself down. He is such a stinker.