Texas Andersons

What a day!

We drove out to one of the River Mountain Ranch parks, where the kids immediately took to swinging at a Lightning McQueen pinata.  After collecting all of the pinata stuffings (water guns, glow-in-the-dark whistles, sidewalk chalk, fruit snacks, and water bombs), everyone changed into swimsuits and headed down to the river with their new water toys.

The weather and water were perfect!  The adults got to wade and relax.  The kids swam and played games.  There were several water gun fights.  So much fun!

Dinner was thanks to Nathan- bbq’d fajitas, chips and salsa, and fruit salad.

A delicious cake was decorated with a road, tires, and traffic cones and topped with two new Cars toys for Evan (McQueen and Mater). 

Evan loved opening his gifts (a Cars playdoh set, sand toys, a cd player with microphones, a Chuggington playset, and a McQueen suitcase).

And then we headed to our lot to show the grandparents the tree house we had built for the boys a few months ago and to reveal to the boys their new slide, tire swing, and sand box.  It was lots more fun.  And we left there so late in the day, we had to activate the glow whistles. 

THANKS SO MUCH to all who came to the party, for the wonderful gifts, and for all the birthday wishes sent.  It all made the day so special.

We’ve been busy going back and forth with our architect these last few weeks.  Several changes to and questions about the floorplan and look of the home have led to four revisions… and almost our perfect dream home.  We’re very close!

I got to have a ladies’ night with friends Marli, Melissa, and Mandy.  We spent a few hours at Chuy’s, visiting and eating.  And then we headed out for bowling, finally getting me home after midnight.

The boys treated me to a nice Mother’s Day.  A home-made breakfast, cards, and a picnic lunch and swimming at the river made for a relaxing day.

Curington had their bike rodeo.  Ben prepared his bike and his skills the week before… and he won 3rd place out of all the 2nd graders. 

Marli hosted another ladies’ night at her house, with great snacks, margaritas, and a jewelry party.

I took Ben to the nature center’s Art in the Park.  He got to paint a tera cotta pot, participate in a chalk mural, bead a bracelet, create a frame, decorate cookies, and color a dragonfly magnet.  And they had a great random playtime with music, bubbles, and instruments.

Evan had his last day of school.  For their end-of-year program, he was ready to recite “1, 2, Buckle My Shoe” and sing the two songs.  But terrified by the big crowd, he threw himself to the ground to hide and cry.  (just like at the Christmas program!)  But, he did get a great gift bag from his teachers that he was really excited about- play-doh, sidewalk chalk, sunglasses, fruit snacks, and a water blaster!

And we just got back from a trip to Port A.  We stayed at our usual Pioneer RV Resort, in one of their cabins.  We spent time at the beach every morning and evening.  We hit the pool a few times.  The boys rode their bike, big wheel, and scooter.  We played with glow-in-the-dark sidewalk chalk.  There were water gun wars.  Nathan bbq’d.  I photographed two portrait sessions.  We fed the seagulls.  We listened to the band playing at the dance.  We enjoyed Granmom and Papa’s company for the days they arrived.  And we stuffed ourselves at a wonderful lunch at the Railroad Seafood Station.  Yay! for beach weekends!!!

And this was the start of several busy weeks for us.  As the temps heat up, here comes our family reunion, summer camps, and trips.  Woo hoo!

Two months have gone by since his birthday… and I finally had time for Ben’s portraits!  Yesterday, Ben and I packed up a bunch of clothes and headed to the studio.  Indoors, outdoors, 8 outfits, and several backgrounds later, I had some incredible images.  What a handsome boy!

Another year, another race!  This was our seventh…

The sky was beautifully overcast.  The crowd was big.  And the boys were ready to go!

Ben walked the whole way.  Evan walked the big overpass and a block, and then he was fast asleep, passed out in the stroller until the very end. 

What an overwhelming, emotional, and inspirational event!  All those people coming together to fight to win the war on breast cancer.

More than 28,000 participants raised over $1 million!  And there is still time to add to it.  Click this link if you would like to make a donation in our name.  And thanks to Debbie, who has already donated.

Now, who’s ready to sign up with us for next year?!

Ben and Nathan just had a couple of fun boys’ weekends… while Evan and I stayed home.

Their first trip was the scout Family Advancement Campout.  All the boys and families headed out to Medina Lake for camping, swimming, fishing, campfires, and s’mores.  And at the campfire, all the boys received their new neckerchiefs, hats, and hadbooks for the next stage of scouts.

Their second trip was to Houston.  They spent one morning at the Natural History and Science Museum.  Then it was on to NASA for tours, seminars, and a night’s sleep under the “stars.”

And then it was on to celebrating Easter…

Evan and I went to the city Easter egg hunt, and he came home with a handful of eggs and treats.  He also had a hunt at school, putting more candy into our stash.  Then my parents came over with gifts and another hunt (for both boys), adding more goodies and sugar-highs.

And today we surprised the boys with Easter bunny pancakes for breakfast.  Then we went to the studio for bunny portraits.  When we got home, they got to use their detective skills as they followed clues through a scavenger hunt that led to their baskets.  Then it was on to an egg hunt in the backyard!  Later, we headed out to the lot with a picnic dinner for playtime in the tree house, on the trampoline, and on the swings.  And then Nathan took the boys to Walmart to spend their money from Nathan’s parents.  Ben got a new wii game and Evan got a big wheel!  Lots of giggles, gifts, eggs, and chocolate!  What could be better?  We are so blessed!

We wish you and yours a very Happy Easter.  May God bless your family, today and always.

Very sad to leave our home of almost 9 years.  But the 7 acres are calling.  And the new home is being planned.

$210,000
Bentwood in Boerne subdivision (just behind Boerne High School)
1988 square feet
Brick home
3 bedroom, 2 bath
Kitchen, dining room, living room, and playroom (converted garage)
Fireplace
Laminate flooring
All appliances stay
Covered back porch
.33 acres
Large storage shed/workshop included
Playset with slide, sandbox, and swings can be included
Trees and gardens
Backs up to ranch, just off a cul-de-sac

Not sure if I’m caught up in a whirlwind or spiraling down into a whirlpool, but it has been exhausting here at our house and the studio!

Since Ben’s birthday party….

I went straight back to work and have gone non-stop.  The National Model Search was a hit with our clients this year.  With 31 kids participating, I could barely keep up and hardly got any sleep this last month.

We started getting our house ready to sell.  It took us about two weeks to get all of our clutter and extra furniture packed up and over to a storage unit.  We cleaned.  We did lots of organizing and some fix-it projects.  And now we have a handyman helping us finish the biggest projects.

We’re talking back and forth with our architect.  He’s busy finding out who we are as a family, how we function, and what we’ll expect from our new home.   And we meet with him next week to see some preliminary layouts that he think we will work for us.

Ben’s had a few scouts meetings.  One week, they talked about the earth and our environment.  And they planted seeds.  One week, they got to go fishing.  And another week was a pack meeting… Ben received his rodeo patch!

What else?

I took the boys to the Children’s Museum.  Not the best idea for the first day of spring break, but at least we avoided the huge crowds at the zoo and Fiesta Texas!  The boys had a blast doing the usual (playing with the balls and gears, the airplane, the shopping center, the trolley, and the front loader).  But there were two new sections!  They got to experiment with wind, build with blocks, race lego cars, and play with musical instruments.

The boys got to spend some of spring break and then two weekends with my parents and sister.  (This is how we got all the packing, cleaning, and organizing done!)    They played at the house and in the yard, had trips to their neighborhood playground, went for walks, rode their scooters, enjoyed some eating out… had a great time!

Emily and I participated in our first Boerne Outdoor Family Fair.  Despite the cold wind, cloudy skies, and sprinkles, we were able to display our work, offer free fun in our photo booth, and got to give away some great prizes.  The turnout?  Hundreds of the community.  So fun!

And the last day of spring break for Boerne was the day back to school for San Antonio.  So we hit the zoo with Marli and the gang and had a great day.  We walked the exhibits, saw the animals, and then let them loose at the little tot spot.  Other than having five small children to manage (all of which wanted to go in different directions), the kids played very well together and had a good time.

We got to party one night at the Boerne Education Foundation’s gala with Emily, Lewis, Beth, Matt, Alice, and Don (Shutter-Happy staff, past and present).  Our two donations for the silent auction raised hundreds of dollars for our local schools.  And we got to enjoy a great dinner and dessert!

Ben had a school field trip on Tuesday- Deep Sea 3-D IMAX event and then lunch and field day at the gazebo.  Evan had a field trip yesterday- fun with the animals at the farm.

And then, even though the bluebonnets are very sad this year, I had to squeeze in our portraits.

Whew!  What a crazy few weeks!

Previously posted on April 8, 2010.  Revamping for April 2011.  (took us one year to get around to the actual process!!!)

Things we want to start noting, to share with possible builders…

EXTERIOR/ STRUCTURE/ LAYOUT:
one story
must be over 1600 square feet (we just don’t fit in this current house!!!); maybe up to 3000
rock, siding, or a combo of both; with several dimensions, not a flat front
tin roof’; with different pitches, not flat
rain catchment system
lots of windows (for great views and breezes!)
sky lights for rooms that don’t have windows?
french doors (dark wood) and large porch in the front
french doors from both our bedroom and a living space to the backyard/ patio or deck
driveway- nothing decided
garage on west side (so that is the hottest spot in the afternoon)
walk into kitchen/dining from garage (so that it’s easy to get groceries from vehicles to pantry and fridge)
living space in center
washer/dryer room near bedrooms (so I don’t have to carry laundry through entire house)

INTERIOR:
Garage- much bigger so that we can fit both of our vehicles and a workbench for Nathan; garage door facing the side of the house, not the front
Kitchen- white cabinets, yellow walls, silver appliances; bigger than we have now; lots more cabinet and counter space; island with sink (making area easy to clean); large pantry
Dining room- yellow walls; slightly larger than we have now
Living room- brown walls; fireplace; slightly larger than we have now
Entry way- bigger closet than we have now
Ben’s bedroom- I think he wants UT orange walls!    about the same size he has now
Evan’s bedroom- blue walls; smaller than he has now
Little girl’s? bedroom/guest bedroom/office- ?????
Main bathroom- sage green walls, white cabinets and details; much bigger than current bathroom; need a linen closet!
Playroom (which we’ve never had before!!!)- ? walls; plenty of room for shelves of toys, wii play, and treadmill
Utility room- bigger than we have now (room for washer/dryer, storage, cleaning supplies, etc
Our bedroom- ? walls; just a little bigger than our current
Our bathroom- turquoise walls, white cabinets and details; free-standing tub; tiled shower; separate toilet area; BIG closet!!!
Hard wood throughout; tile in bathrooms and utility room

So, do you love or hate a certain feature of your home?  Please recommend, make suggestions.  We’d appreciate any input that will make this process go smoothly and will result in the perfect home for us. 

More pics and notes… click here.

Ready, set…

We let the kids play soccer, slide, and swing in the backyard for a long time.

Then we began the amazing race, where each team had to:
Find 10 lego pieces hidden in the sandbox
Put together a 100 piece puzzle
Get a “ringer” in horseshoes
Put together a lego set
Pop 10 balloons
and count the number of legos used to make the table centerpiece
FUN!!!!!  They all had such a blast!

Cake time.  Yummy chocolate/vanilla marble cake with rice krispie treat legos on top.  (Nadler’s never disappoints!)

Ben opened gifts.  Roller blades, and money, and legos… oh my!

And then we got in some more playtime in the backyard before everyone left. 

Thanks to all who were able to attend the party.  And thank you all for the awesome gifts!  Ben has been playing legos non-stop (we were lucky to get him to go to bed last night).  I can’t wait to buy Evan a pair of roller skates so they can go skating together.  And with the money, Ben can’t wait to go to Toys R Us, and we’ll be signing him up for CNC nature camp asap!

8 years ago today…. Nathan and I became parents… I was suddenly a “MOMMY!” 

To celebrate Ben today:

I baked and decorated a couple of lego cakes for Evan and I to take to Ben’s class at school.  The kids thought they were pretty cool. 

Then we picked up Granmom and Angie to head to Malibu Castle.  Everyone played a round of golf, outside, in the beautiful spring weather.  Then we spent some time in the arcade.  And when Nathan joined us, we got to take a few spins around the track in the go-carts.  Mom, Angie, and I had never raced before- FUN!

Then we headed to Red Robin for dinner and dessert (complete with all the waiters singing to Ben).

Good day!  Even better day, thanks to getting lots for free!  We took Ben’s birth certificate to the castle, and he got a wristband for unlimited golf, bumper boats, and go-carts.  At Red Robin, he got free ice cream since we told the waiter about it being his b-day.  And we had a coupon to get his kids’ meal for free because I had signed up for their birthday club.  Woo hoo!

Want to know what else we have waiting?
Look for websites’ birthday clubs!  We have gc’s for a free ice cream cone from Marble Slab, $3 at Toys R Us, and kids’ meals at California Pizza Kitchen and Sonic. 

As far as sickness goes, we have been an extremely healthy family… until lately.

December-
We were surprised when Ben had a cold bad enough that he missed a couple of days of school.  (he never misses school!)  And then Nathan got bronchitis and missed a whole week of work.

January-
The stomach bug made its way through most of us.  Nathan had it the worst and first.  Evan was next.  It ended with me.  (bleh)

February-
Ben was sent home from school with a fever on a Wednesday.  When we got into the doctor on Friday, I was shocked to find out he had scarlet fever.
And Evan just went through an awful day.  When he threw up the first time (on his pillow)… he looked at it and told me “yucky.”  Yep, that about sums it all up.

Yucky.

It’s almost that time again!  And it will be our 6th year!

Please join us on Saturday, April 30th for the Komen Race for the Cure.  Or please donate in our name.

All monies raised go to breast cancer awareness, education, prevention, and treatment in our area.

Day One- Stomach bug keeps Nathan sick in bed all day.  Then it surprises us when Evan throws up all over my lap.  Thinking it’s going to hit everyone, I try to sleep on the couch, to monitor and help with anyone that’s sick.  I have a miserable night thanks to sounds in the house and the noise caused by the high winds outside.  Barely slept.

Day Two- I’m sick all day.  Hating this stomach bug.  But thankful that Ben never felt bad.

Day Three- Freezing!  Power outages throughout the day as the state tries to conserve energy and we all try to keep our homes warm.

Day Five- Snow!  A light dusting of snow causes business and school closings all over the area.  A snow day means lots of wii, movies, and board games.  And then Nathan and Ben decided to spend the night out at the lot.  In hopes that it would freeze during the night and Ben could earn his scouts Polar Bear Patch, the boys froze in the tent as the temp dropped down to 17 degrees!

Day Six- Ben got to go with Granmom Loretta to a laser tag birthday party.  (I heard that Granmom even played a game!)  And then we had the scouts Blue and Gold Banquet.  Papa Bobby, Granmom Loretta, and Aunt Angie joined us as we enjoyed an evening of food and recognition of accomplishments.  Ben was honored with earning his Wolf Rank and badge.  And he and Nathan won for Yummiest-Looking Dessert for their gorgeous (and yummy) pineapple upside-down cupcakes.

Day Seven- Beautiful weather, cowboy hat, and boots… stockshow and rodeo time!  We spent hours enjoying the barns and exhibits as Ben worked on his scanvenger hunt to earn a scouts Rodeo Patch.  We ate lots of free samples.  The boys got free t-shirts.  And then they: milked a cow, brushed sheep, fed chickens, watched the pig races, rode canival rides, had a fun time petting the animals at the petting zoo.  And… funnel cake!  What a glorious day!

We’ve recently had our first geo-caching adventure.  Using Ben’s new gps from Santa, we drove around Boerne looking for treasures.  Of the seven we tried to find one weekend, we were able to find four.  It was so cool for Ben to be able to sign and date the lists in the caches!  (and he did get to take a trinket from one box!)

We made a trip to Corpus and Orange Grove a few weeks ago.  Our first stop was Skateland!  We all put on our skates (a couple of us for the first time ever; a couple of us for the first time in over 20 years!)… and spent a few hours gliding around the rink and playing arcade games.  What fun!  What memories!  Then we headed to visit with Grandpa, Angie, and Burnell and Geraldine.

Then, a whirldwind.  Nathan was in Austin for classes at UT for several days while I played “single mom.”  The day he got back, Emily and I headed to Imaging USA for six days of intense business and photography training (while Nathan worked and Granmom Debbie took care of the boys for us).

The Pinewood Derby workshops were the last two weekends.  Ben was busy creating his race car; Evan made a Lightning McQueen!  In the big race today, Ben got 4th place overall out of the 13 in his age group and Evan got 7th place overall out of the 12 in the family division (brothers, sisters, and parents).  The room was a-buzz with fun; the boys were so excited to be racing; Evan was thrilled to win a door prize!  Woo hoo!

We also had a wonderful afternoon and playdate with friends Marli, Robert, Lillian, and Joseph.  The kids played so well together!

And we just took the boys out to our lot for a surprise… we had a tree house built in one of our oak groves!  It’s amazing!  And we had such a great time playing!

Ben got to spend a fun couple of days at Granmom’s, already getting to open up a couple of Christmas gifts.  Granmom and Papa gave him a new bike!  And he got a big lego collection from Angie!  It sounds like he had a great time, spending lots of hours building and playing.  And during this time, I got to sneak some presents into the house without him seeing, Evan and I got to spend lots of playtime together, and Evan had a great gymnastics class.

Wednesday, Papa Larry, Granmom Debbie, and Aunt Jenny came into town, and we filled the house with wonderful smells as we baked pumpkin muffins, cornbread, and chocolate cupcakes for our neighbors.

On Thursday we took Granmom Loretta and Aunt Jenny to Fiesta Texas.  The weather was perfect; we had a great time!  Ben and I “ice skated.”  Granmom, Nathan, and I rode lots of rides with the kids.  We got everyone onto the carousel (even Jenny and Burke).  And then we stopped at Chick-fil-a for milk shakes (chocolate pepperminty goodness!).

Ben was my little elf on Christmas Eve.  He helped me get the last of the gifts wrapped.  And we baked cookies for everyone (including Santa).  We got the whole family around the table to ice and eat some cookies for snack; we went out to eat for dinner; we stopped at the North Pole one last time to look at the Christmas lights.  And then the boys got to exchange gifts.  Ben gave Evan a Santa/North Pole GeoTrax train, which Evan loved and played with all evening.  And Evan gave Ben a lego set, which he built with until bed time.  Sweet!

Christmas morning, the boys went through their stockings stuffed with goodies!  Then the day was spent cooking up a wonderful Christmas lunch and eating!  There was LOTS of food.  But nothing beats the cheese ball, sweet potato fries, yeast rolls, and chocolate cupcakes.  Yum!  And then (after much begging by Ben), we finally opened gifts.

Favorite things received?  Evan loves his new Cars characters and wii game, his golf set, the Hot Potato game, and the jumbo sized keyboard!  Ben loves his legos, gps unit, and Wheel of Fortune wii game!  Nathan and I can’t wait to spend our gift certificates at Kohl’s, Home Depot, and Amazon!  And I just love the boys’ new Bass Pro Shops caps from Papa (very handsome).

Favorite things we gave?  We loved the concept we went with this year… gift of the month clubs.  Each month, my parents will receive a food gift certificate which they can use at their choice of San Antonio restaurants and a yummy smelling soap from a seller on Etsy, Nathan’s parents will be getting different teas and candles from Etsy sellers, and Jenny and Angie will be getting cupcakes and cookies from Sweet Beginnings.  All delivered right to their doors each month!

And Christmas evening?  We popped popcorn, blended up some frozen hot chocolate, and settled in with The Polar Express.  Heaven!

Thanks to everyone who sent Christmas cards and well wishes.  Thank you for all the wonderful gifts!  And big hugs to our family who joined us yesterday for the fun.  We are so blessed!!!  Merry Christmas!!!