Summer's gone!

I haven't posted since June but we have been so busy! School has started and fall sports are about to begin. Aryn is playing soccer again and Brady will play football. Busy, busy, busy!
Anyway, Brady started 4th grade and our baby started kindergarten! :( She loves school and is doing great! I will post some pics from this summer as soon as I can! Maybe tonight after soccer practice I will upload some pics from our awesome baseball season and everything that has happened since then! Bye for now! -Nicole

Meet Ms. Maggie Sue

Well, we are now officially a family of six! We got a call from the lady that we got Stella from and she said she still had 2 white boxers and wanted to know if we knew of anyone that might be interested. So we thought and prayed about it and thought 'what the heck'! Boxers really do better when they are in pairs. Poor Jazz never had any other dogs to play with...Brady was quick to remind me of that when we were talking about getting another puppy. :) So my sister n law, Aryn and Isabella all drove about 40 minutes away to pick up Maggie. The kids had already decided on her name. And it really fits her! I think it is kind of funny that our puppies have older names...like 2 little old ladies! Anyway, so we got her and drove back and went to the vet to get shots and to make sure that she was healthy. White boxers tend to be more prone to deafness, skin allergies and skin cancer. But the vet said she is perfect! Yay! She has such a sweet persona and very snuggly! Now Stella on the other hand has come out of her shell and is a little toot! She was not taking to Maggie at first and it was a little surprising because they are sisters. But I guess in the last 3 weeks that we have had her, she has gotten a little spoiled and maybe territorial. I know they will get along fine in time and for now, we just have to ride it out. So please pray! heehee! Here are some pics of our new baby and Stella...enjoy!

Must be hard work showing the new kid who is boss...
so sweet

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

What a great weekend we have had!!! My brother, Johnny and sister n law Renee, came to visit and brought all of their grandkids. So we got to spend time with 4 of my great nieces and 1 great nephew! My kids were so excited to see their cousins that they haven't seen in awhile and some that they have NEVER seen before. My brother only lives about 2 1/2 hours away but works 7 days a week so between his schedule and ours, it makes it hard to get together. But after this weekend, I will make more of an effort to go to Oklahoma!

The kids played and swam at the hotel and we cooked out...what a great time! I am sure gonna miss all of them. But we are making plans to go and visit for the 4th of July weekend...IF there is no baseball. So here are some pics...the smiles are priceless!!!

Aryn and Kylie..both 5 years old

Abby...isn't she cute?

Brady and Logan

Aryn, Kylie, Morgan and Zoe

Silly kids!!!

Brady and Aryn Paige

Morgan Jo and Payton

The newest addition, Meaghan....5 days old

all the cousins!!!!

I hope everyone has had a great weekend! I am praying the weather gets better so that we can go to East Gate pool for some swimming and eating!!! Bye for now....Nicole

Introducing Stella....

About a week ago, Emily called and said that she was sitting next to a lady that had boxer puppies. I immediately was excited, asked how much and she said FREE!!!! What?! Okay, not sure if Emily told her about Jazz and how we had lost him and how it truly broke our hearts but regardless this was sooo meant to be. So I told her to save me one and just to let me know when we could pick the puppy up. Sal and I decided to keep it a secret just in case something happened and we weren't able to get the puppy. One morning on the way to school we played the 'what if we get a boxer puppy' game. After throwing some names out, they decided on two names...one for a girl and one for a boy. Bo was for the boy (Boston Redsox, of course) and then Stella for a girl. Sal and I had talked about names and didn't want a fru-fru name but an older, cutesy name. Anyway, I got the call on Friday that we were getting her and I could meet her about 5:30 or so. Brady and Sal had practice so Aryn would be the first one to get to see her. Here are some pics that one of my good friends, Emily, captured for me. I have to say, that I had to hold back the tears when Aryn realized that this was her dog. People that aren't dog lovers will never understand what it feels like to love a pet or the joy they bring. It took alot of prayers and patience to get this sweet puppy.... Brady had just told me earlier in the day that he had said a prayer and asked that Jazz send him a new puppy when he was ready for us to have another one...and well, he did!!

Sweet Stella- 8 weeks

I had just told Aryn that this puppy was for her...

Brady said that Stella was the best gift EVER!

First night..she slept all night!

Playing outside with the kids

Two very happy little kids!!!!

As you can tell from the pics, we are loving our new addition to the family and I am sure Jazz is looking down and smiling. He sent us a sweet angel.....Thanks Jazzer. We still miss you and love you!!!

Mother's Day

We had a great Mother's Day cook out this year. My mom, Fran, Angelica, Bryan, Isabella, Fabi and my mother and father in law all came over. Sal cooked pork chops, steaks and ribs..and lots of yummy sides. It truly was a great day!

Me and my momma

the two greatest things in my life

Baseball...finally!!!

After the pre season tournament being cancelled due to all the rain, we finally got to play some baseball. But it wasn't pretty!!! We just couldn't pull it together! But it is fine....you win some, you lose some!! :) Here are some pics...enjoy!!!!

Field Trip

Brady's class went to Mt Magazine for a field trip. This was the first one that I had ever went on with him. I rarely take off work but I decided that this year, I was going to take more time off and do more with the kids...going on at least one field trip with each kid a year. We had such a good time. We hiked up to the top of the mountain which is the highest point in Arkansas...pretty cool! Here are a few pics from our day! Brady and some of his friends

Mrs. Elwood's class

The latest....

I just haven't had time to update...sorry! We have been so busy with soccer, gymnastics and baseball. A few weeks ago, Isabella was baptized and she looked like a little doll. Two of my sister n laws are her godmothers. After the baptism, we stayed for mass and they did the blessing of the baseball players. We all then went to Red Lobster for a yummy lunch...thanks Jose and Francisca for treating us all to appetizers, lunch and then dessert!

Isabella, wearing her mommies gown from her baptism

Happy Easter

Another rainy Easter in the Fort!!! We got up early and went to 7:30 am mass...thinking we might be avoiding a full house but we were wrong...and I am glad. I hate that some people only go to church twice during the year but at least they make it..if only for those two important dates...Easter and Christmas! After church we went to our favorite place (Calico County) for breakfast...yummy goodness! I always eat too much and dang them for those awesome cinnamom rolls! :) Sooooo since I had a full belly, I thought this would be a great day for a nap! A 2 1/2 nap!!! wooohooo! Anyway, here are some pics of the kids from this weekend! Have a great Easter!!!

Finally figuring out how to ride her scooter...Yay!

Pretty pink nails for Easter Sunday...don't ya love her shirt?!What did the Easter Bunny bring us?

Heading off to church

Purple Panther soccer

Aryn has had 3 games now and every game she gets just a little bit better. Saturday, we played a team that for whatever reason, only had 3 kids on their team. So our coach asked if it would be okay to let Aryn switch jerzey's and play with them..sure, no problem. So she and Haven (the only other little girl on the team) suited up in a teal shirt! And would you believe that Aryn played almost the entire game and scored 3 GOALS!!!! She was on fire that day! And Sal missed it all! He was working at the baseball fields getting them ready for the games. But anyway, we are so proud of her and most of all, she is having a great time! Here are some pics from one of her games and a practice...enjoy!

Jury Duty!!

I was selected for jury duty in January of this year...the first time I got called, I was selected. The case was short and I was at work by noon. Every week, I am given a date to see if I have to report. Well, Sunday night I checked the website and sure enough there was a case that was set for trial. Earlier that morning, I had posted on Facebook that I was hoping to get picked..thinking it was going to be short and sweet...get in, get out. Well, when I walked in I could tell that this was not an ordinary case. There were 2 attorneys sitting on the left with clients and an attorney and clients sitting on the right. It seemed intense. Sooooooo, they go through the spill and long story short, they start weeding out people that would maybe have a conflict of interest to the case involved. They chose 21 names and tell everyone to take a 10 minute break and noone was to leave. So after the break we go back in and sit down. We are told at this time that there will be 12 jurors and 1 alternate. Well, guess who got to be the alternate? Yep! So for the last 4 days I have sat from 9-5 listening to a very interesting case involving real estate and things of that nature...lots of money involved and a lot of cross examinations. This afternoon we are excused for a 15 minute break, come back in and are told that we are excused!! WHAT?! The judge made a decision that this was no longer a trial about law but more about equity...whatever that means. So all this and I might never know the outcome!! Man...I tell ya, I was looking forward to seeing who got stuck with what! Oh well! So back to work I go and back to the normal day to day things that I do. Tonight was the first night I have been able to walk and I feel so out of shape...sitting all day and not getting enough water to drink.
Aryn had her first soccer game on Tuesday. I will post pics from that this weekend. I am off to bed....good night!

Busy schedules....

Well, soccer and baseball have begun! Aryn had her 1st official practice last night and I think she is really going to love it! There are 6 kids on her team and only 2 of them are girls! I am really pleased with coach as well...he has played soccer his whole life and is very good with the kids. They worked on the basics and Aryn seemed to pick up on it pretty well. Sal has been working with her so she knew a little bit about soccer already. I am really looking forward to watching her play this year. Oh, and she is still doing gymnastics on Wednesday nights. So she will have games on Tuesdays or Thursdays & Saturdays and gymnastics on Wednesdays until school is out...I think we will take a break this summer. :)

Here is a pic she just made for her soccer coach. Her coach is holding a gold medal...she is holding her purple and pink soccer ball in one hand and her doggie purse in the other.......hilarious!

On our way to practice

Brady is in his first year of 'kid pitch' and I am not sure how this season will go. We only have 10 players and one of the kids has yet to show up. We have to have 9 kids to play...it should be interesting. Sal is head coach again this year but has a great group of dads that are helping again this year...without them, there is noway our kids would be as good as they are. But we love baseball and will enjoy the season...no matter how it turns out. We took 1st place last year..so keeping my fingers crossed for the boys this year.