While the Daddy's away . . .

. . . the mommy will play; I mean paint! *grin*

Daddy Lion hates painting so I took advantage of his most recent business trip!

My new RED dinning room/kitchen!

I'm SO pleased with it! Just ignore the piles all over the counters. I was going to clean them up for the picture, but realized that the picture would never get taken then! *smile*

"If you are taking pictures you must want to take one of me." thought Little Pumpkin!

The Tooth Fairy Flys Tonight!

I know I haven't posted consistently in months and now two posts in one day! Not to overshadow our great pumpkin patch post (see below), BUT we had a very exciting dinner tonight!

We were running a little on the late side, so we fixed the kids dinner and prayed with them then worked on our plates. Little Lion has had a loose tooth for quite some time . . . months to be more exact. Before we even sat down, he jumped up from the table with his mouth wide open . . . my first thought was oh no he swallowed it. But he just REALLY knocked it loose while trying to bite into his corn on the cob!

SO, we grab the camera for a before shot. And I get ready to pull while Daddy Lion is standing by with the camera. APEX . . . no go. The tooth is not budging, but it is SO loose. We told him to just keep wiggling it and it will be ready soon. He hardly took two more bites he was so preoccupied with the tooth. So Daddy Lion tells him to try twisting it.

He wasn't sure if he should be excited or panic! But he got it out all by himself ~ I like it best that way! *wink*

Ta-da! Our first lost tooth! WOW, this makes him seem so big. Now I've got to find some cash for the tooth fairy! *grin*

Pappy's Pumpkin Patch Pictures

I'm sure I could find another "P" word to go in my title, but I must accomplish this post tonight!

We realized that today would be the only Saturday we had to make it to the pumpkin patch. Daddy Lion is boycotting our regular patch due to the distance. So we found a new patch to try this year ~ not quite so far!

They had tons of great photo ops! I loved this one with the old truck full of pumpkins! There was also a scarecrow driving it and one looking under the hood!

They play area was a backyard extravaganza! They had this great playhouse fully furnished! A big sand box, 3 slides, 4 swings, a see saw, teather ball & a tire swing! Sure made our backyard look boring!

The tractor train was a hit! Each little barrel had a different paint job. From Thomas to Lightening even a few Princess ones! I thought it was cute that they picked the school bus ~ so appropriate for this year!

I loved this shot! They both seem to be enjoying the ride!

Now that's a great big brother! Helping his little sis out on the hay stack. She immediately informed us she could do it all by herself and then she did!

They also had this fun area to dress a scarecrow! Little Lion was too busy buttoning the shirt to stop for a picture. There was also a place for the kids to dress up like a scarecrow and a pond with catfish to feed.

My pumpkin and Little Lion "guarding" his pick!

Ready for the hay ride back! They really are enjoying themselves~ just didn't want to stop people watching for a picture!

The tire swing! I love the look of anticipation! They were about to get another shove from Daddy!

DETERMINED! If I had to describe Little Pumpkin in one word that would be it!

The pumpkins were a little pricey ~ but hey it was the great experience we had. We will for sure be going back next year!

Yee Haw!

Western Days in full swing! Being in the school system now, we have more events to fill our celebrations. Friday Little Lion's school kicked off the weekend bright and early. I volunteered to help out and of course signed up for Kindergarten. Well, I learned I really should have signed up for the first grade ~ I was working while he was going to all the different stations. I know for next year.

Little Pumpkin enjoying the morning sunshine before the kids started coming. We were working at the sack races.

Little Lion with a few of his class. Just like his daddy ~ right in the middle of the girls! There are only 7 of them in his class!

Family shot! So glad my partner at the sack races offered to snap a picture of us.

They were so cute in their western duds! As much I as suppress it ~ I think I truly am a cowgirl at heart. *wink*

Saturday is the real deal! At the heart of Western Days is the parade; Mark likes to refer to it as the "East Texas candy throwing festival". We shared the events with two other families this year.

Little Lion, Little Pumpkin and our friend AJ cowboyed up.

At the parade: AJ did not appreciate the noise.

What a crew! They were prepared for the loot.

What a happy girl! What's not to love about people throwing candy at you?!?

The D family had to head out early, but check out their bounty! Miss R's bag is full too.

Even sharing our spot with 2 other fams, we still ended up with 6 pounds of candy! Bring on the trick or treaters; we are ready! *smile*

Run for the Prize

Okay I have this great friend who challenged me into running. I started probably about 2 years ago, but have not been consistent with it until recently. Since May I've been running 5 days a week; working my way up slowly to the three mile mark. A couple of weeks ago on Facebook someone mentioned a 5k that was happening in our small own town! To top it off it was a fundraiser for a scholarship that was being given out in the name of a very special Coach that passed away in 2008.

I decided that night I was running it! After trying to coax a few friends into running I was ready to do this by myself. However, God is good and provided a friend to run with me! SO glad she did ~ not sure I could have made it on my own.

My cheering squad! (Just a side note: Daddy Lion did Little Pumpkin's hair ALL by himself!)

Little Lion ready to cheer me on too!

Our pre-race picture! All smiles of course! *smile*

Our post-race picture! Still smiling! *wink* Glistening a little more. *grin*

It was a great time! We even finished in better time than I run at home. Looking forward to doing this again!

A "P"erfect "P"air

A couple of weeks ago . . . I know, I know . . . we had the privilege of entertaining our sweet friend, Little Lamb, for the weekend. Her parents had a great little escape and I was so glad they offered us one of their clan . . . someday I will have a larger vehicle so I can take more than one of that great bunch!

Anyway, the girls absolutely are the perfect pals! I'm not sure I heard a single word from them . . . except at nap time the second day. Same room was not a good idea. Anyway, they had a blast!

"Flying Princesses" thus the butterfly wings! Too funny. They ran circles with their wands, clacking shoes and the magic music box. What great imaginations.

Since it was just me and the kids for dinner, we had a "P" night! Pizza, peaches and (after a clean plate) Popsicles. I think it was a hit! *wink*

Daddy Lion rocks on Sunday mornings! So with his help we were still out the door at our normal time for church! I couldn't resist taking a pic of these cute kids!

Can you believe this was the first picture! Never is my first shot a keeper! Thanks again for letting us have your sweet Lamb for the weekend. We look forward to many more weekends of fun!

First Friends here we come!

Little Pumpkin finally gets to start preschool! She has been waiting for this day for who knows how long! Probably from the first time we dropped Little Lion off at preschool!

Meet the teacher was back on the third, she was so excited! She wouldn't stop long enough for a picture!

Little Pumpkin carrying her supplies to the classroom!

We are SO blessed to have two very social and loving children! Little Pumpkin held nothing back as she walked in the classroom!

She really didn't want to stop for a picture ~ too many new toys and centers to check out! Thankfully she did oblige, at least the teachers are smiling!

The first day of school! She was SO ready! It was also the first day of MOPS for Mommy Lion so Daddy Lion was awesome and took both Little Lion and Little Pumpkin to school! My wonderful co-coordinator remembered her camera and blogged about our first meeting! Thanks Jaime!

Got to catch a pic of the two of them! Plus my newly planted flower - Ixora! Hoping it does better than the butterfly bush! *grin* So if you can't find me on a Tues or Thurs I'm enjoying some children free days. Actually I've been running around crazy busy! Where's the bon bons and "The View"???

Happy Grandparents Day . . .

Yesterday! *grin*

Yesterday was Grandparents day and we went to lunch with the local grandparents:

Little Lion and Lolly

Little Pumpkin and Pop

We are so thankful for all our grandparents and the important roles they play in the lives of our children. Thank you so much for loving them! We truly appreciate you guys!

So here's our shout out to Grandpa and Grandma, Papaw and Ms. K, & Lolly and Pop!

We LOVE you!

Happy Birthday to LITTLE LION!!!

It's already hard enough to believe that Little Lion has started school, but now he is 6 years old! This is now the point in our married life where we have been married w/o kids just as long as married w/ kids ~ whoa!

Well, Little Lion jumpstarted his bday at Sonic with Daddy Lion! Chicken tenders, tater tots and an apple juice slush!?! (At least Daddy Lion stood firm against the hamburger he wanted!)

I showed up at school with 2 dozen red cupcakes and transformer napkins & plates. The boys loved it ~ the girls just loved the cupcakes . . . and Little Pumpkin.

Mrs. Baker leading the class in Happy Birthday to Little Lion! Can you tell he is loving it?

Little Pumpkin ended up looking like a clown. . . whose idea was red cupcakes? (It's his favorite color you know!?!)

After school, our sweet friend Aligator came out with Little Lamb to deliver a b-day gift: a classic movie ~ ol' yellar. They loved their short play time together & our neighbor friends: Mr.M and Miss. S came down too.

Not sure what blogger's problem is!?!

We picked up Daddy Lion at work headed to Sonic for another slush (cherry this time) then to Papacita's for dinner. (The yummiest TexMex in town. The kids LOVE the tortillas which makes for a cheap dinner out!) Then back home for cake and ice cream ~ TRANSFORMER cake!

Check out this loot! People this was not a "party" this all family!

Can you say: S-P-O-I-L-E-D!

Obviously there were a ton of opening presents pics; I'll spare you. But I had to post this one of Little Pumpkin! I'm not sure how much use Little Lion will get out of his new skateboard, but Little Pumpkin has already put some miles on it! *wink*

I'm not sure how well you can see the specks in his hair ~ gotta love Silly String! What a great time celebrating one the best days in my life! Happy Birthday Little Lion!

San Antonio or Bust

So I've realized I've never gone back and posted vacation pics. So we'll begin with day one:

Little Lion was ready to go . . . this is about an hour before we left! They both were great travelers for the most part!

We made a pit stop at the Collin Street Bakery to pick up some goodies! I especially enjoyed having them for breakfast throughout the week! YUMMY!

We finally made it! Pop and Little Pumpkin posing on the Riverwalk. We took a long walk around the Riverwalk and had a late dinner at Casa Rio.

Day one ~ check!

You're getting sleepy... very sleepy ....

Soooo Excited

I'm skipping the hundreds of pics from vacation to bring you the most recent update:

Little Lion Went to School!!!!

Can you see the excitement!?! He ran the entire way from the car to the school building! Which was quite a ways . . . everyone was dropped off today I think!

Leading the way to his classroom. He did so well, he remembered without any hesitation.

Now, I KNOW you can see the anticipation! He had just said "I am SO excited!"

Little Lion found himself right at home with a buddy from preschool. So good to at least have one familiar face. Although I know he would have had NO trouble . . . just like his grandfathers: never meets a stranger!

These were the only tears this morning! They came along with "I stay at bake's skool." She was consoled with the fact that she starts school in two weeks and a shopping excursion!

Yes, we went shopping!

Mark has already threatened to take away my credit cards when she goes to school in a few years! What?!?! There's nothing wrong with a day trip to Vegas! *wink*

A sweet reward for a GREAT DAY at Kindergarten! So proud of him. I asked him: "So, how was it?!?" His reply: "It was SO fun."

Praisin' Jesus for a awesome first day ~ may he never loose his enthusiasm!