birthdays, birthdays!

I am laughing while I blog this because the only thing Chelsea and Taggart like to share is a mean look, so the mere thought that I actually have them "share" a post of their birthdays is, I'm sure, absurd to them....But, nevertheless, I am behind as always and in my attempt to catch up, they will have to "suffer" through while I talk about both of them, together :)

I have taken to bribing my kids. I am tired of all the birthday party planning and hoopla, so because I am lazy, I offer my children cold, hard cash instead of a party. And, to my great surprise and happiness, they take it! We have a small celebration with cake and out to eat and then they get to go to the store and pick out their own gifts with their birthday cash. Happy Birthday to me! (side note: this year Taggart wanted a nintendo dsi, which is over the birthday cash limit, so that is the one and only gift he got and mother did go and pick it out.)

district choir

Wanted to put a little shout out to Chelsea on the blog...Chels made district choir! That means she had to try out all by herself and sing a solo. For those of you who know Chelsea, that was quite a brave thing she did. Her choir teacher told me she has the sweetest voice...we wouldn't know at home because we can never get her to sing for us. I tried to take a picture of her while she was in her room practicing, but uh, she was not having that. She is practicing every Mon and Wed after school for a big performance in May.

chess

Taggart has discovered the world of chess! This is his 2nd year on the chess team at John H Shary Elementary. He took first place in his division at the regional meet! (bottom pic) Then we took a trip to Dallas for the State Chess meet where he took 5th place!!!(top pic) His team took 2nd place in his division and 2nd place in the elementary division as well. So, now they are national bound. Nationals is May 6-9 in Atlanta, GA. I am so happy that Tag has decided to try a "quiet" sport. I can see the wheels turning in his head when he plays. These kids are amazing, with their strategies and ability to think ahead....awesome.

soccer

Autumn made the 7th/8th girl's Shary North soccer team this year and they ended the season as district champs, undefeated. Autumn made 1 amazing, super sweet goal from half field....a beautiful shot, perfectly kicked into the top of the net. Let's just say it wasn't really intentional, but an awesome shot. She played mostly center or right midfield and right defender and really became an aggressive player. I particularly loved watching her play as it reminded me of my "glory days" as right defender (ha, ha).

Winter Baseball

I wanted to write something about winter baseball and realized the only picture I had was a grainy pic from my phone---and it most certainly is not of Taggart playing baseball. This picture is of the "spectators", absolutely freezing to death, as we watch Tag play. The winter season was unkind to the Boys and Girls Club baseball program this year. It rained so much that most games were cancelled or postponed so we ended up playing whenever it dried up enough. That means we played 3 games in a row on days when it wasn't wet. This picture is the first game of a 3 game night, which also happens to be the Fiesta Bowl night. Autumn took this picture before Brice dashed home to start watching the game. I was going to be clever and put Taggart's stats in a chart like the real baseball players, but who are we kidding, I really have no idea what all those little abbreviations and stats are. So, I'll just say Tag did great! We ended up playing 13 games and Taggart hit 24 homeruns, 1 double, and had 1 out. He plays 1st base and short stop and made at least one out every game. It looks like he is following in his Dad's footsteps.....He has now officially graduated to kid-pitch, which starts up again in March.

Merry Christmas - 2009

Autmn, Chelsea, & Taggart pretending like they have been nice all year......HA!!

Our good friends the Pavia's came to visit South Texas for Christmas. We had a great time with them.

Santa's mad helpers attempting Ginger Bread Houses.

The finished product.

Isaiah just heard Jason say that he had been "good" all year.

The kids & Sienna Pavia jammin out on Rock Band, Christmas morning.

Thanksgiving

My parents, Grandma Susan and Grandpa Philip, hopped in the minivan and drove (yes, drove 30 hours) to have Thanksgiving with us this year. They actually got to enjoy some much cooler weather this time around. The kids especially have a great time when Grandma and Grandpa are here to spoil them and spend time with them. This is the only picture we got...we didn't even get one around the Thanksgiving table. This is at the Hidalgo Festival of Lights. There is a driving tour of lights and also a walking tour of these beautiful lighted sculptures. And now, as we "go around and say something we are thankful for", I am thankful for my Mom and Dad, who are generous and thoughtful and a lot of fun.