Playdate with Ryder

Ridley had her buddy, Ryder, over to play today.  They had a great time upstairs in the gameroom.  We had a tent set up, so they jumped in and giggled for hours.  They played with the roller coaster and all the random toys.  They found new uses and games for the stuff laying around the room.  I love their imagination. 

OWAN

OWAN is finally here, and I am excited for it to be over.  The past couple months have been exhausting but so much fun!  This is the biggest fundraiser for the school, and I had the best committee.  

We had a fantastic turnout for the party, and everyone seemed to have a blast.  This is one of my favorite parts of this event - seeing everyone coming together.  

Kelsey, Vicki, & Abby were so much fun to work with on this event.  We all had our different challenges, but we all worked together to pull off a record breaking night.

And this is the end of the night when Jessica really cut loose.  Fireball!  

Bus Stop

Our bus stop is pretty entertaining when our neighbor joins with drinks.  Tommy is a total nut that loves to mix drinks.  Jessica and I get to be his taste testers while we wait for our children to get off the bus.  He has no shame, and other non-bus riding moms stop and ask to join.  It is all in good fun, and no serious drinking takes place.

Superhero Birthday Party

Ridley enjoyed a Superhero party to celebrate one of her classmate's birthday.  She chose to dress as Wonder Woman, and she loved it!  The party had a surprise guest stop in to say hello.  Superman came to celebrate, too!

OUES Celebrates Valentines' Day

The Valentine parties at OUES were great this year!  Lots of candy, games, and crafts with lots of friends. 

The boxes were created in half the time as previous years, and they turned out perfect.  The boys' friends and teachers thought they were awesome.

The treats were a big hit with the friends, but the teachers were happy to see them go home.  Hahaha!  Score!

The Ranch

Grand Pop was in town visiting, so we took him out to the ranch to do a little hunting.   I really should say a little shooting, because there was absolutely no danger to the wildlife.  We put out lots of stinky pig treats and rode around the property on the mule.  Ryland loves it out here, and I could see him living out in the country when he gets older.  This is definitely his element.

While we were riding around on the mule, we came across several wild hogs.  John Chris and Grand Pop jumped off the mule and took aim.  A few shots later it was clear that the hogs were lucky and escaped without harm.  I am not sure about these shooters or their guns.  A little more target practice may be needed.  

I sat on the porch with my boy, Ryland, and we talked about life, hunting, and sports.  I am reminded how fast he is growing up.  

Jump Rope for Heart 2017

Old Union had another successful Jump Rope for Heart raising thousands of dollars for the cause.  The boys had fun getting better at jump roping and showed off some great skills.  Ryland was so much better at jumping this year.  He showed off with some glow in the dark jump roping.

Reed did awesome!  For his first year, I was blown away by his skills.  He is light years ahead of Ryland two years ago.  There are definitely advantages to being the second child.  

Monster Jam 2017

We continued the monster truck tradition, but this year we watched from a suite.  It was a fancy change from previous years, but it was still a great time.  The children had a blast playing with one another and pigging out!  The freestyle competition was a little lack luster, but we will be back next year.

Glass Elevator

The best thing about going to Dallas with Mommy was finding the joy in the small things.  Today, it was the glass elevator.  It was super cool to look over a part of Dallas from the top floor.  We rode the elevator up and down about 6 times.  We got a few funny looks from others, but the smile on her face when we got to the top was perfect.  

Shimmer or Shine

Ridley received this Shimmer and Shine costume for her birthday from one of her pre-school friends, and it is a huge hit.  She loves to dress up and sing.  She is full of personality.

Party Time

Reed, Ridley, and I celebrated our sweet neighbor's third birthday today.  It was a pretty day outside that was a little warmer than normal.  Ridley enjoyed the industrial bubble blower, which I immediately ordered. 

Reed was the oldest boy at the party, so the little guys thought he was so cool.  He threw the ball too hard and ran too fast.  It wasn't long before he had to sit out.  

My littles enjoying some birthday cake and ice cream.  These two love each other so much and play so well together.  I love to see their relationship grow, and they play so good together.  

Medieval Times

Instead of gifts for Christmas this year, we decided to start doing fun family experiences with the Brashears given to each other.  This year we picked Medieval Times for an awesome night of fun.  We had fantastic seats on the front row in the center.  Ryland, Reed, and Benton loved cheering for black and white knight.  It was awesome seeing them get into it!

Emory cheered on our knight, and he stopped to throw her a beautiful carnation.  This made Ridley extremely jealous, and she started pouting.

The knight came back around two more times and did not throw Ridley a flower, so she was upset.  The knight then presented a ribbon to one lucky lady in the crowd, and he selected Ridley.  By this point, she was so pissed.  She wouldn't slide the ribbon off the joust stick.  I slid it off, and she traded it for Emory's carnation.  Hahaha!  Girls! 

We had a wonderful night, and we all agree this was better than purchasing gifts for one another's children.  What will we do next year?

Celebrating Friendship

We have been so blessed this year to get the most wonderful new neighbors.  The Scillians are awesome, and my entire family has fallen in love.  Tonight the girls celebrated Jill's birthday with our little ladies in tow.  They all get along so well together, and I am reminded how lucky I am to have such fantastic neighbors.

Ridley's 3rd Birthday

 Ridley celebrated her 3rd birthday on a beautiful afternoon at Bicentennial Park.  We lucked out and had gorgeous weather, so we just had to move the party.  She had lots of family and friends join the celebration.  

Ridley is a fun, silly, and active chicka.  She keeps her brothers in line and doesn't take any crap.  We love her no-nonsense way of dealing with them.  She is also very girly and loves dolls and make up.  She enjoys dancing, coloring, and being outdoors. 

Ridley could swing for hours.  

Ridley and her friend from school, Brooklyn, loved it!

Emory's Birthday Party

We headed to Dallas to celebrate Emory's third birthday.  With back to back parties, the kids were getting a little worn out.  Nothing a little cake and juice couldn't fix, and we would never miss celebrating our best friend, Miss Emory.  I was able to get a picture of our fabulous five kiddos before they completely went nuts.

The little girls enjoyed manicures in between play time and cupcake decorating.  Ridley was over the moon excited!

Birthday Party Face Paint

Ridley celebrated her friend, Stella, with an awesome birthday party.  Ridley's favorite part was the face painter.  We were blown away with her talent, and Ridley loved the "sparkly diamonds".

Firewoman

I love the days with my little Ridley!  We had a morning full of errands to get ready for her upcoming birthday party.  We stopped off at Firehouse for lunch, and the staff went crazy over her.  Before we left, she had a fireman hat, police badge, and lots of high fives.  

Christmas Fun Continues

We are enjoying our family time together and playing with every new toy.  Today, we are making homemade cotton candy.  It was pretty interesting to learn how cotton candy is made and watch the hard candy turn into thin strings.  It was very easy to find a few cute taste testers.

The bickering brothers discovered a new "punishment" today.  Hug it out timeout!  Ha!

Ridley wore herself out playing with all her new dolls.  Tonight she chose to sleep with Elena.  Such a sweet cuddler.

Hot Chocolate

Tom is full of fun this year.  Today he brought delicious Starbucks Hot Chocolate and lots of mini marshmallows.

DYF Season Ends

The boys played their last football games of the season today.  It was beautiful outside, and we were super excited to experience Big Dragon Stadium in a new way.  Ryland's game was played on the high school field with an announcer.  It was awesome to hear him call Ryland's plays.  Way too cool!  Even though Reed didn't play at the stadium, he had a great season ending game with a touchdown.

Go Dragons!