The Boy Who Cried Wolf!

Last monday, Will came home from school and told me some kids on the playground were throwing rocks at a mans house who lives behind the school. He said that the man had killed his wife and daughter ( a story one of his frineds told him), so that is why they were throwing rocks at his house. He also told me that he came out of his house and pointed a gun at the kids. I asked him if he was throwing rocks too. He told me he decided to go play basketball but he had looked over and saw the gun. I am not a paranoid mother, but when a Will, who doesn't normally tell fibs told me he saw a man point a gun, I decided to call the school and have them look into it. I asked Will over and over again if he was telling the truth and he didn't crack. So I called the teacher and she told the administration and then they called the Police. The police went to the mans house and checked into it and he said it did not happen. The next day all of the kids received a letter home in their folders that said...

Dear Trailblazer Parents,

I would like to inform you about a situation that occured on the playground on monday, January 25 during second grade recess. There have been some rumors circulating around the campus about that afternoon I would like to address.

A second grade student reported to his teacher that a man behind the school pointed at him and then the student made a hand gesture like a gun. The teacher interpreted that to mean that is how the man pointed at the students. After school was out, a parent contacted the teacher because her child reported that a man actually pointed a gun at the students. We immediately called NISD police who came to the school who came to the school to investigate. The officer was able to verify that at no time was any gun or other weapon shown to students at Ott.

So, Will is the student and I am the parent mentioned in the letter. I think what happened was the man was outside smoking and maybe pointed the cigarette at the kids when they were throwing rocks. Who knows, but kind of embarassing! I did tell Will, that no matter if he really sees something or thinks he sees something like this again, I always want him to tell me. I would rather be embarassed then have something terrible happen to one of my kids.

Basketball Time!

The boys just started basketball this month. It is so much fun to watch them play and to see them improve. We are very proud of how well they are doing this seaon so far. In the twins first game, Will scored 10 points and Max scored 8. Carter scored 6 points in his first game and is looking really good. He plays guard and can handle the ball very well. In the second game, Will scored 20 while Max scored 18. They won that game 48-6. Carter's team played a very physical team this past week. They were very aggressive and the game was quite messy. Carter scored an awesome 3 pointer in the third quarter, which was his teams first basket of the game. They ended up losing 30-10. Anyway, we are having a blast. These boys live for sports!

Kate is 6 Years Old!

I can't believe my baby is 6 years old! She is such a fun girl. She is spunky, sassy, silly, and sweet! Kate loves to draw and color. She loves to read and write. But most of all, she likes to do cartwheels, round-offs, and stand on her head for long periods of time! Here are a few more things about Kate:

Favorite Color: Red, blue and Green

Favorite Food: Fetticini Alfredo and Chick Fil-A

Favorite animal: Cats and Dogs

Favorite Toy: Zhu Zhu pets

Favorite Movie: No More Baths

Favorite sport: Basketball and Gymnastics and Basebal

Favorite Book: Cloudy With a Chance Of Meatballs

Favorite Family Activity: Family Home Evening

Kate loves helping in the kitchen. She wanted to make her own cake! I think she did a pretty good job!

Will gave her a pair of Carpet skates! These were her favorite gift!






Carter gave her a Play-Doh ice cream parlor. Very fun, but very messy!



Mom and Dad gave her a CD player for her room. She has it going pretty much all the time, even if she is no where to be found. The first thing she does when she gets home from school is run upstairs and turn on the music.

Max gave her a car for the Zhu Zhu pet Grandma Cheryl gave her! I think I trip over this at least 5 times a day!

For Kate's birthday party, she wanted to take a few frineds bowling and then to Chick- Fil-A for dinner. She invited Maddie Castings from her Kindergarten class, Nora Hoopes, Abby Morrow, and Mackenzie Hilbrun from our ward. We had quite the time! It was fun to hear all of the giggles and girl noises in our house! Here are some pictures from her party!

Kate and her best friend, Maddie

Uncle Mark and Aunt Julia came down for the weekend and celebrated with Kate!

Kate's teacher isn't big on cup cakes for birthdays, so we took cookies instead (with blue frosting- not pink!)

We love you Kate! We are so glad you are in our family!

Broken foot: a blessing?

It has been over 1 year ago that I took a wrong step coming down the stairs with Kate in my arms. I tried a cast, crutches, a walking boot, steriod shot and still I could not run on my foot. It has been a trial for me this year. I love to run and I love to be busy all the time, however, this all changed when I broke my foot. I have tried to look back on this year and decide what lessons I have learned from this experience and believe it or not, I have learned so much. Most importantly, I learned how to slow down. I learned how to sit down and relax and enjoy my family this year and for this I am very thankful. A few months ago the prognosois on my foot was to have surgery to place two screws in it or to take out the broken piece of the bone. I had surgery yesterday and to the suprise of the surgeon and myself, the bone had healed all the way. He found some osteophytes (bone spurs) in the joint and was able to remove them to make my joint smooth again. I am very happy with this news and hope to be running again in about 4-6 weeks. Ben is here taking care of me and the kids and is doing a great job. I never thought I would say it was a blessing that I broke my foot, but I believe it was! I think I lost sight of what is most important in my life for a brief moment- but I know now. I will post some pics of my new wheels tomorrow!

Happy 2010 to everyone

Okay everyone, don't act too surpised that I am updating my blog! It is one of my goals to keep up on it this year and get it printed out into a book that we can uses for Family History- I hope you enjoy reading things about our family this year as much as I love reading your stories and seeing your cute families.

We spent Christmas in Utah this year. It was so much fun even though it was cold and snowy. It really felt like Christmas with the snow. We Texans aren't used to the snowy roads, iced windshields, and slippery ice sidewalks- but we managed fine! Before Christmas, Ben and I took a vacation to Hawaii- well he had a few meetings and I tagged along. Probably the funnest vacation I have ever been on. I wished we could have stayed a day or two or MORE longer. It was so fun just being with Ben- he is so much fun and had everyone laughing the whole week. we spent time with our friends- Joe and Kristen Stuart, Jen and Darin Allred, Kevin and Hannah Borchard, and James and Karrn Bales. We hiked, we relaxed, we went to the north shore to watch the surfers,we swan in a very cold pond with a waterfall, went snorkling, went parasailing, went to the polynesian cultural center, went to the Hawaii temple, went four wheeling, went shopping, and ate so much food! I have to say, I am very proud of myself- I tried fish and I loved it!

These are some pictures we took at Christmas time. We were at Ben Parents home for Christmas this year. We played lots of fun games, ate lots of junk, but most importantly- spent time with family.

Family pictures Christmas 2009

I love my family so much. They are my greatest joy!

Ben and I have now been married 13 years! Its gets better each year!

I love him so much!

A crazy story:

When traveling back to Texas from San Diego, we had tire blow out on us about 103 miles from San Antonio. While attempting to change the tire, Ben took his wedding ring off and put it into his pocket. When we got home that night, Ben realized that his ring was no longer in his pocket. We assumed it must have fallen out while he was underneath the car. My friend Tracey and I went back to the spot about 2 weeks later and looked for the ring. We could not find it anywhere. I debated getting Ben a new ring for our anniversary or for Christmas, but had a feeling that the ring was still out there. On our way home from Christmas vacation in Utah, we stopped at the spot again to look for the ring. The ring was lost over 5 months ago- there have been many Texas rain storms, winds, and who knows what else. Well needless to say, Ben and I were kicking up dirt looking for his ring and had just about given up when Ben decided to look about 10 feet back from where it should have been and there it was! A small part of the ring was sticking out of the dirt. We started jumping up and down, giving high fives and hugging right there on I-10! This is a miracle no doubt!

My Family




Mom and Dad in the back

Brooke, McKell, Zach, Wade, JaCoy, Tarah

Winter Fun!

The kids had so much fun riding the four wheeler at Grandma Linda's and grandpa Noals house. We had a hard time getting them off of it!

Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Rand also have a four wheeler that was a big hit!

One of the funnest things we did at Christmas was to spend time with our new little cousin, Taytum. She is so cute and so fun to hold!

Year 2010 is going to be a great year. We have so many things to look forward to. Next big event will be Kate's 6th Birthday!