Brayden the Bee

Brayden surprised me one day and asked me if I could come to his Spelling Bee on January 13. First of all, I didn't even know the school was having a spelling bee let alone my own son qualified to represent the 5th grade for the contest. They had preliminary rounds in their classrooms and then had a school wide spelling bee contest in which Brayden competed. The winner of his school would then go on to represent the whole school at the Collin County spelling bee. I was so proud when I walked into the school gym and saw Brayden sitting on the stage. I could tell he was really nervous. That morning he was wishing he wasn't such a good speller because he was so nervous. His first word was "surround". He only said one "r" and was eliminated in the first round but I was so proud of him and could tell he was relieved to have it over. He blamed it on his nerves and I can't blame him...that is scary to stand in front off all your peers. Way to go Brayden!!!

(I forgot my camera, so the picture is from my phone)

Baylee's Birthday!!!

Wow! I can't believe my baby girl is the big 10! I now I have two kids in the double digits...I'm getting old. Baylee had an exciting Birthday this year because she got to celebrate it twice. Her Papa Wayne's birthday is just 3 day's after hers and he is here for a visit. She had cupcakes on her actual birthday and a shared birthday cake with her Papa later. Baylee constantly makes us laugh and is a huge help with her brothers. Currently she is ruling the courts playing basketball. She is a great little baller. I keep forgetting my camera at her games but I will get a shot of her playing up here soon. Happy Birthday Baylee Boo!!!

Ten Candles!

Sharing the cake with Papa Wayne

The kids enjoying the cake and ice cream!

Cowboys vs Eagles

BJ and I had the opportunity to go to a Cowboys home game. It was my first time to "Jerryland". We went with our good friends Brent and Nikki. With it being a playoff of game we had to settle for a Party Pass which means no seats. We didn't care! Just to be there in the atmosphere and watch the Cowboys dominate the Eagles was enough for us! We are such fans and love our Cowboys!

Texas Christmas

This was the first year (and hopefully the last) we have celebrated Christmas in Texas. When we first decided not to head North for the Holidays it was a pretty sad time for us. Thanks to great friends and the love of family, we had a great Christmas. While we missed being in Utah like CRAZY, we depended on each other and had a great Holiday. We spent Christmas Eve at the Rottweiler's with a delicious meal and gift exchange and on the way home we drove in a BLIZZARD...yes it snowed in Texas. I think it fell just for us! On Christmas morning we opened our presents and went back to our friends house for brunch...yum! I then took the 3 older kids to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. When we got home BJ and I assembled Ozzy's kitchen...3 hours later he was cookin' up a storm! We then had a nice dinner and after we bathed the kids we went back to our friends for a serious game of Guesstures. All in all, it was a very Merry Christmas!
Christmas Eve

Chef Ozzy! (aka: chef cheesy)
He was so excited over his miniature McDonald's food!
One of the many gifts he already knew he was getting due to his snooping...
Ozzy baking up some doughnuts.

Matching jammies with her American Girl doll.
MY favorite gift!

Austin Texas

After living in Texas for 4 1/2 years we decided it was time to take a trip to Austin to visit the Capital and of course the Land of the Longhorns! With it being winter break it was the perfect time to visit. We had no traffic and no crowds. The kids had fun touring the Capital and then it was off to Longhorn Stadium. When we drove by we noticed the gates open so we thought we'd try to get in for some pictures. As we approached the gates a guy told us to turn around but we pleaded to take just a few pictures and he gave in. He told us just to not run all over the field. We were awed by the size of the stadium and the fact we were standing right where many Championship teams have played.

This is why I had kids...

And the best thing is they beg me to LET them do it!

Glasses

When Baylee was 4 years old we took her to the eye doctor because she had a "lazy" eye. The doctor put her in glasses and she wore them for about a year and we went to a different doctor who said she did not need glasses. We were so excited that we didn't even opt to get a 3rd opinion. Recently, she has been complaining about not being able to see very well and we have noticed her "lazy" eye had returned more frequently. Turns out she should of been in glasses this whole time. She has really bad eyesight due to the "lazy" eye and it has gotten worse because she works so hard to focus her right eye that when she is relaxed her eye wonders off. She is excited to be able to see clearly and right now she doesn't even want to talk about contacts. I think she looks pretty cute. As her Grandpa Dave would say, "She looks Foxy."