Weekend in East Texas

Matthew blowing bubbles for Sophie.


Matthew talked first Paul and then me into going to the creek behind their house to catch tadpoles. We caught several (yes, even I caught some). I tried to bring some back for the Preschool, but Paul accidentally dropped the bottle and spilled them.



Maw Susan and her granddaughters.

Codie and her friend Jessica

Kalyn's Birthday

We went to East Texas to celebrate Kalyn's first birthday. We had a great time visiting with the family. Kelly took the girls out in her bike trailer.


Aunt April and the birthday girl!



The whole family!


Sophie and I in our Ladtbug garb. Kalyn's party decorations were ladybugs.

The Littlest Ladybug!

In-Laws Extended Family Birthdays

Okay now, try to keep up...my brother-in-law's sister's grandkids had birthdays recently. They decided to do one big birthday party for 3 of them instead of 3 separate parties. So today, Paul and I took Sophie to the party for Aurora (age 1), Cora (age 1), and Brianna (age 11). Aurora and Brianna are sisters and Cora is their cousin. There were about 8 kids (all related in some way or other) running around. Poor Brianna had to wait while the little ones "smashed" their cakes before she could blow out her candles. But she was the first to open presents since she was really the only one who could. One of the aunts had thought it through enough to realize that with all the kids around there might be some hurt feelings since only 3 were actually getting gifts, so she had presents for everyone, including Sophie. We had fun and Sophie enjoyed getting to play with everyone.

To explain just a little further as to why we were even invited to this party...

After my parents divorced and my sister married (and while I was still single), I started spending holidays with my brother-in-law's family. It just worked out that Dad and I went there for Thanksgiving dinner and at some point during Christmas to have time with my sister. Before I married Paul I even referred to my brother-in-law's mom as my mother-in-law (which was easier than explaining the truth). Because they typically have huge family gatherings, we've just sort of become like family through the years.

Matthew's Birthday Party

Matthew had his party at the local Sonic. I know what you're thinking, but this isn't your everyday Sonic. It has a sand volleyball area and a playground with a covered eating area. I didn't get very many pictures because the wind was outrageous. All the kids had fun on the playground and especially liked the slides.

After the kids played, we ordered food. Sophie and her cousin Kalyn split a grilled cheese and tator tots. Before we could get to the cake, the wind blew it over. Seriously, no joke! It was a Transformers cake. Once the Texas winds kicked up it was truly a transformer cake...it went from a birthday cake to garbage! Ha, ha. Actually, because it was a cupcake "cake" it made it really easy to eat even in it's destroyed state. We just grabbed a cupcake and a handful of baby wipes.

All in all, it was a fun day for the birthday boy. He didn't care about the wind, he just enjoyed playing with his cousins and Uncle Paul!