The Beach!

This past weekend we took the girls and met up with some friends in Port Aransas. We rented the same condo that we were introduced to by the Johnson family last summer. Wish they could have joined in the fun this year!

The girls running to the water as soon as we went to the beach after getting

in on Thursday afternoon.

Mike at the beach

Wesley was absolutely adorable running to and fro with the tide.

Mike and the girls in the water

Wet Wesley

Quinn is excited!

Silly Quinn

The girls in the car headed to the beach. This is the last time over

the weekend the car will not be filled with sand.

Quinn attempts to surf on a kick board and surprisingly did pretty well.

Mommy and Wesley in the shade

Wesley feeding the gulls

Girls building a sandcastle

Quinn swimming

Again and again

Wesley takes a rest

Sand time!

Quinn refused to look at the camera...

Emily getting more tan by the second

Wesley naps on Laura while they sit in the tide.

The gang has dinner at Beaches on Saturday night -

before the full effects of the sunburns set in.

Mother's Day 2011

For Mother's Day this year most of the family converged on Corazon at Castle Hill for brunch. The food was delicious and we had a good time. Little Frank happened to be in town for a wedding so we were just missing Luke and Sarah - five out of seven kids isn't too bad!

Julian, Ezra and Quinn

Mark finally arrives!

Quinn and the "Frankies"

My momma and me...

Frank, Sam and Mark

Mom-oh and the girls

Dancing Quinn

Quinn has been taking ballet and tap class since August 2010. Her first recital was on May 7, 2011. Last summer she took a week long dance camp which culminated in a "mini-recital" at the studio where the girls performed one song. During this performance she was shy and didn't dance - just stood in place despite the fact that her teachers described her performance all week as "in it to win it". This time she blew it out of the water with a fabulous performance in two different dances. Even after the recital she still does her dances and watches the video over and over. I think she'll be dancing for a long time!

Getting ready - Wesley needed her hair done too.

Not yet, Dad! I'm not ready yet!

Ready to go!

Although, she was supposed to be in her tap costume first.

I was "backstage mom" so I was able to switch her costume

before showtime.

Tap Routine

"The Farmer and The Cowman" from Oklahoma!

The recital itself was called "Back to Broadway"

and all the numbers were set to songs from Broadway musicals.

Ballet Routine

"So Long, Farewell" from The Sound of Music

Quinn and Sophie after the show.

Quinn and Caroline
All of the girls were tired, hungry, and cranky

despite their beautiful flowers and shiny new trophies.

Quinn was very adamant before her recital that she didn't want anyone to come watch her. She didn't want Mike or Mom-o there to see her perform. Because we had to be at the auditorium before the audience we fibbed to Quinn and told her that Mike was just dropping us off and that he'd be back later to pick us up. Weeks after the recital when we were watching it on DVD she asked how Mike knew about the performances already and I told her that he had watched them. She disappointedly whined, "I didn't want Daddy to come." Ha!

Happy Birthday to Quinn!

For her 4th birthday Quinn had a "Fancy Nancy" themed party. She loves the books and we thought it would make for a great party. The weather that day was absolutely gorgeous and the kids enjoyed running around, through the yard, over the playscape and upstairs through the playroom in their "fancy" clothes. Each guest went home with glittery body spray for the girls and fancy hair gel and combs for the boys.

Quinn's Invitation

Everyone singing to the Birthday Girl.
She held her eyes down and relished every second of the attention.

Just after the candles were blown out.

The "fancy" kids eat their cupcakes and parfaits outside.

The Birthday Girl and her cupcake

Miles!

Zailey and Zander Falk

Happy Birthday to Wesley!

Wesley's birthday falls just two days before Valentine's Day. This year we had a heart themed bash to celebrate her 2nd birthday. The weather was surprisingly pleasant for mid-February. In Texas, you never know what you'll get as far as the weather goes. The kids enjoyed decorating their own sugar cookies, which we packaged up and sent home as their favors.

The cake and gift table.

Pink fondant hearts detail


The birthday girl decorating her cookie.

Big sister Quinn

Singing - just before she blew out the candles

The whole family!

Snow Day 2011!

This morning we woke to a white blanket of snow on our yard. The past few days have been frigid so the snow at least was something to break up the monotony. It took us about thirty minutes to get dressed and we spent about three minutes outside. Wesley is wearing three sweaters because she refused to wear her very warm coat. As soon as we walked back in the house she asked for her coat to be put on while she ate lunch. Quinn did one snow angel (quicker than I could capture her in the act) and instantly ran to the front door begging to go inside. I suppose we'll have to invest in better winter wear if we ever relocate to a place with true winter.

The girls on the driveway.

You can still see Daddy's tracks from when he left for work about four hours earlier.

Quinn's-quick-as-a-wink snow angel.

The house...

The view of the street

The girls inthe grass...

The dog bowl's been frozen over for days....

The back yard.

Pollock speeding back in the house after a speedy trip outside.

I took one of Boone too but going that fast they looked identical.

Baxter sat by the back door to be let out but immediately changed his mind when I opened the door.