What are they doing?

That was the question Doug and I heard all night on Saturday the 25th.


We took the kids to a Houston Astros game, and spent the night teaching them all about baseball (with what little I know). Karis wanted to know why certain guys stood in certain places. Caleb wanted to know why guys were way out in the outfield by themselves and if people were getting hurt when the foul balls came their way. I don't know what Kylie asked about because she was in Doug's lap, but I did see all three experience "The Wave" for the first time and enjoy clapping to the "organ" music. Caleb actually gave me a semi-real smile as we entered Minute Maid park.


















What a guy.



















Minnie ears at a baseball game. Gotta be girls.

Oh, the fun a dollar can buy

On April 20th, the kids and I decided to walk/ride bikes to Dollar Tree, which is at the front of our subdivision. The kids each had a $10 bill from Pop & Nana from Easter, and the money was burning holes in their pockets.

Karis' bike got dropped off at a stranger's house when she decided she couldn't make the whole trip pedaling (thankfully, it was there when we returned), and I ended up pulling hers and Caleb's both home on the way back. Needless to say, we will all be on foot next time we tackle a mission like that.

Caleb made his choices the quickest. A ball, a water gun, an inflatable Spiderman boogie board, and some figurines from the "Kung Fu Panda" movie. Ah...childhood happiness.

Karis got 3 stuffed animals, dollar store quality, mind you.

And Kylie got a small journal and these...


















































The scary part of it all (if it can get scarier), is that Kylie is fascinated with them because she has seen her Daddy's version of "Bubba" at numerous student events.

Oh, how I love this man! Isn't he handsome?!

Doin' the Dye

Our friend Jenny-Anne introduced Kylie to egg-dying in Mississippi when Kylie was two. I wish I had those pictures on my computer, but that was before I "did" digital. Dying eggs wasn't something my family did as an Easter tradition growing up.

In our family, growing up, we used to make Easter nests. They were grass "nests" that all three of us (my sister, brother, and I) would make with freshly picked grass and decorate with whatever wildflowers we could find. We, of course, left them on the back porch overnight. My mom would then fill these with tiny gifts and candy on Easter morning.

I remembered to let the girls decorate eggs in 2007 for the first time since Kylie was two. And I only undertook it because Caleb was taking a nap.













Anyway, I braved it again this year, with Caleb, and everything was so much easier with older kids. The girls felt so grown up in their Christmas aprons from Nana.





























Caleb chilled out on the couch to watch a movie after all his hard work was done.

Bluebonnets & Blood

Strange title, I know. But I never posted pictures of the day Karis had her blood taken. No, I didn't take pictures of her while she was screaming, but when I went to pick up Kylie and Caleb from my parent's, I couldn't help but stop by the backyard and take some pictures of the bluebonnets. It's been many years since the bluebonnets have been around our house. Yoakum has been so dry for quite a few years.










It's also been a few years since I took bluebonnet pictures back in Austin. (April 2005)




















Karis missed the first 15 minutes of playing in the pasture because she was still hurting in the car, but she finally got out, and I was so glad to get a picture of her smiling.











Caleb was also excited that Mr. Prause stopped by on his four-wheeler. We all love Mr. Prause, and he was so nice to let me take a picture of him and Caleb.

Photographing a 3 year old

The girls really like their picture taken, and Caleb says he does too, but I'm wondering why his face contorts to this smile that looks like it's being forced out of his head.

One Sunday morning we took some pictures and then again on Easter. I won't bore you with all the ones I took trying to get Caleb to look normal, but here are three.

What was that??!?

Thursday morning I took an active step in discovering what was wrong with my back. For those of you who don't know, I pulled my back out in January and March of this year, and I think I'd rather that didn't happen again, especially while I'm overseas. I wanted to see if I could get fixed.

I went to a chiropractor.

For the first time.

This was not the back "massage" I envisioned.



He did, however, assure me that my "problems" were fixable. So I was thinking, "Alright, bring it on!"

He fixed my leg that was shorter than the other. That was okay; just a little rub here, a little pull there.

Then he went for some back stuff. I was expecting him to rub out the tension and ease all the cricks.

The dude's whole body weight went down on my spine. There was popping and twisting involved. Is that normal? Is that okay?

I wanted to yell, "Hey, someone could get hurt here." (Namely, me.)

Then he moved on to my neck. The first "twist" came without me knowing what was going to happen, so I was semi-relaxed.

WHAT WAS THAT??!?

OK, I just saw a CSI episode last week where some chick in an alley got her neck twisted in a pop motion like that, and she died! (I told my chiropractor this very thing! He laughed at me (with kindness, of course)).

When he tried to do the other side, I was stiff as a board. He couldn't get me to relax enough to do it well, I'm sure. I was busy imagining the night terrors I was going to have about the first side.

Snap, crackle, pop, snap, crackle, pop, and I have to pay for this?

We (Kylie and I) went up to the front counter to pay, and I'm sure Kylie was a little unsure of what had just happened. She had seen the look on my face after that neck twist. I'm pretty sure my eyes were bulging out pretty good.

The chiropractor said, "So, how about you come again tomorrow morning?"

I was thinking one time did the trick!

I have to endure this tomorrow?

My neck will never forgive me.

"Tomorrow? Uh...sure."