Is He Real?

November 24, 2015 -  Just a day after pictures with Santa, Cole (9.5 years) asked me "Mom, is Santa Real? All my friends tell me he's not. Will you please tell me the truth?" He knew before he asked, but he needed reassurance. He begged me to tell him and tears streamed down my face. What makes it hard for me is the loss of that magical innocence. Why do they have to grow? We explained that Santa is the magical spirit that lives in his heart and that he would be around as long as he believed in giving.  A bit of a difficult night for Mom and Dad. :)

Puppy Surprise!!!!!

We finally have a puppy! Tiffany and I drove to Azle, Texas (northwest of Fort Worth) to pick up the puppy from a Beagle breeder. We left the house at 6:45am and didn't get home until 8:00pm. It was a long, long day, but so worth it!
I made a pit stop at Mama and Papi's house to let the pup go potty and tie a HUGE pink bow around her neck. By the time I got home, the boys were already in bed. We stood at the bottom of the stairs and called for the boys. The look on their faces was priceless! Cole was super excited but Reid asked "what is that?" repeatedly. He does NOT like surprises but we figured this one would be different, considering he has been begging for a puppy forever! Reid went to bed a little uneasy as he processed the surprise. Cole was ready to have the puppy sleep with him! After they went to bed, Cole came back downstairs to thank us again. He was worried that Reid's reaction had hurt our feelings. My sweet boy.

Poor Azley howled and barked for the first 24 hours (NON STOP) but has since been awesome.
Needless to say, we are in love with this little girl!!!!!!

Chicha is almost as big as Azley. They bark and squeal back and forth. I seriously think they are friends. 

A boy and his dog.

First Day of School & Crutches

The first day of school just came and went. I can't believe the boys have been back in school for 6-7 weeks already.  I now have a  4th grader and a 2nd grader. Hard to believe. They are doing great so far! 

Last day of September,  I took the boys to feed the ducks and play at the park. It was our only day to not have an extracurricular activity so we decided to take advantage of it.  Of course, they took the "baby" outing and turned it into something more age appropriate...... They asked me to time them while they "competed" on the monkey bars, American Ninja Warrior style. Cole was walking on the monkey bars and fell forward. I'm so glad his knee got tangled and kept him from falling head first. Thankfully, it was just a sprained knee and he got crutches. Not sure why, but he was pretty happy about those...  :) 

We are really enjoying the beautiful October weather!

Happy 61st Birthday to my beautiful Mami! She is the sweetest, happiest, most giving and most selfless person I know. I am so thankful to call her MY mom!

Annual Trip to the Beaches of 30A!

We ended the summer vacation with our annual trip to Florida. This year we went to Santa Rosa. I must say, it's my favorite. Well, that and Ally's Beach. We went with the Simmons' and the Knotts. As always, a great time! The weather and beach were wonderful. The house that we rented was perfect for the 12 of us.

My love.

Ice cream stop after a 2 mile bike ride.

Chef night. 

More bike rides.

The Hub!

I think the toothless era, is one of my favorites.  :)

My sweet boys' toothless smiles make ME SMILE SO MUCH!