WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO?

PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY PRAY - PRAY - PRAY!!!!!! A good friend reminded me of this great advice! Why do we forget and "lean on our own understanding". I am acknowledging my imperfect ways and am prepared to let Him direct my path! I am quite certain that I will repeat this many times over my lifetime, but right now is the time I am in and God is leading! Awesome!

Tagged

I've been tagged...one word only!
ONE WORD FOR EACH ANSWER. IT'S HARDER THAN YOU THINK!!!
1. Where is your cell phone? van
2. Your significant other? handsome
3. Your hair? greying
4. Your mother? loving
5. Your father? caring
6. Your favorite thing? harmony
7. Your dream last night? sad
8. Your favorite drink? coke
9. Your dream/goal? Christlikeness
10. The room you're in? den
11. Your fear? hurting
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Belton
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? confrontational
15. Muffins/donuts? Donuts
16. One of your wish list items? vacation
17. Where you grew up? UMHB
18. The last thing you did? drive
19. What are you wearing? sweats
20. Your TV? off
21. Your pet? outside
22. Your computer? humming
23. Your life? dreamy
24. Your mood? gloomy
25. Missing someone? Desperately
26. Favorite pastime? talking
27. Something you're not wearing? shoes
28. Favorite Store? none
29. Your summer? hot
30. Your favorite color? red
31. When is the last time you laughed? Yesterday
32. Last time you cried? Today
33. Who will/would re-post this? mary michele - you better
34. Four places I go over and over: Lakewood, Church, work, wal-mart
35. Four people who e-mail me? Mom, Grandpa, Mary Michele & Clients
36. Four of my favorite foods? Crablegs, Lobster, Cheesecake, Brownies
37. Four places I would like to be right now: Bed, Family, Vacation, Spa
38. Four people I tag? Heather W., Mary Michele, Anyone who wants to!

UMHB Homecoming and campus crawl

The boys rode with Mike in the Campus Crawl - caravan from UMHB to the football stadium before each home game. Mike was pulling the band in his trailor so the Boys rode in the cab with Mike. They thought they were so big and had a great time. After mike having to work all morning he went home to catch up on things there so I stayed at the game with the boys and tried to catch up with some friends. We hung in there until half time and the score was in the 40s to 0 and we were winning. The boys love the idea of football games but do not actually watch. They spend the time running around and it is usually exhausting for me so we left and came home where Noah sported this lovely outfit. I love his confidence.

Halloween Activities 2008

The boys totally picked out their outfits this year. Noah was a hard sell. I wanted him to dress up as Noah and pull a wagon full of animals. How cute would that have been - NOPE - Spiderman won! Liam went as the cutest motorcross guy ever. He loved it. We spent the evening going to our Church's fall festival and then trick or treating the neighbors and then coming home and answering the door to our own trick or treaters. We also carved our Winnie the Pooh pumpkin and had a wonderful time. We recently painted our small pumpkins but since it was officially not halloween anymore we just called it a fall craft. I will post pics of those later. Enjoy the show!

Calling all Family and Friends - Missing Tooth to Report

On Thursday, October 30, 2008 I had a first. Yes - a first as a mom. I am now a mom of a boy with one missing tooth. It came out at school right after recess according to reports from my ultra brave 5 year old Liam. According to an afadavit delivered by the aforementioned subject the tooth had been loose for several weeks and despite the subject in question's father's best attempts to lour his son into schemes involving door knobs and string the son was not disuaded. The missing tooth was found as it fell backward into the subject's mouth and the tooth was quickly obtained and logged as evidence in the nurse's office while the subject reportedly smiled the biggest smile possible. The subject decided upon an orange tooth treasure chest for safekeeping and subject's mom tried to hold it toghther as it was proudly displayed at the close of the school day. After careful consideration and much detective work it was decided that pressing charges was way out of line. This thing happens all the time. So in the best interest of the parties involved it was decided that a specialist would be called in to dispose of the evidence - in this case the front lower left tooth. Our specialist - aka: the Tooth Fairy - arrived sometime that night to remove the tooth and left a mighty fine compensation for Liam. It is noted that we now have one more loose tooth so our specialist may have to be called in for a followup rebuttal visit. We will see. Right now we are just glad it was settled in a peaceful manner. And as always - no one got hurt.

Kids at work

Lately the boys are obsessed with cleaning. Some of you may say - This is fabulous - can things get any better -well before you go ahead and name me the luckiest girl on this planet - hold the phone. Cleaning to a 5 and 3 year old is not what you might say - totally helpful. When I had them help me clean the kitchen floor they got down to their underwear and began dumping spongefulls of soapy water on my floor as fast as I could wipe it up. Also, Noah helps clean by taking sponges around the house and cleaning anything he desires. This includes fabric on the couches and the wooden chairs around the kitchen table. Not to mention the woodwork on the wall. It is also translated to the out of doors. By this I mean the brick on the house, the garage floor, my car - you guessed it. This is an area where this might be helpful, but alas - they love to use soapy sponges - they are not that great at the prewash - the rinse or the dry. Also, Liam loves to clean windows, but does not understand that once you soap them up it is just as important to dry them and even more important to clean your sponge so you are using clean things to clean with. Oh well - they are so sweet to want to help I correct where I can and where I am laughing too hard to do that I take pictures. I love my sweet McCarthy Brothers Wash Car ( Noah is naming their business this name).

Kitchen mini makeover

Earlier this fall Mike and I finally tackled the kitchen - well mostly mike - or all mike. We finally got rid of the not too pretty wall paper and painted. This is what we came up with - we painted and did trim work. Now all that is left is - flooring, window blinds, countertops, cabinet hardware and lighting. Fun hun - but it is a start and already looks tons better. By the way - the art work that is in the one picture - Mike made it from a picture we found on line. He is so talented and I am convinced that there is not anything he will not try if he wants to.

What Noah Does while Liam plays Soccer

Ok - some have asked what Noah typically does when Liam is playing soccer. Sometimes he pics flowers, sometimes he plays with Jessica (friend) and sometimes he just kicks back - litterally. This pic was at the game we played against our great friends son Keagan. Too funny! Thanks Heather for pointing it out to me so I could capture this for some fun!

Things you think about while you are sick in bed

So when you are home in bed you think about a lot of things amongst the napping. You think about what others are doing on the "outside", what you are feeling and when is it going away, what are you going to do about the things you are enivitably (Sp?) going to get behind on and then you decide to write. Yep - I decided I would write the 5 favorite things in my life because for me the glass is half full most of the time and this is what God gives me to keep me positive. So without prompting from anyone - these are my favorite things. If you are not ready for a sappy blog - do not read - I am hyped up on medication and this is definately me uncensored - do not worry- I will not regret it later on:

1. My hubby - Mike - I love him more than he will ever know. He is my best friend in this world. He takes care of me and is not afraid to tell me like it is. Sincerity is definately a gift of his. He knows when to help and when to let me work it out - even before I do. He is a truly wonderful man of God and I love him for that. He keeps me honest with myself and is my true accountability partner. He genuinely loves me for me and I do not have to be anyone else - just me and that is huge!!!!!!!!!!!! He knows that sometimes I burn the dinner and forget that there is a load of laundry in the washer and still thinks to thank me for my efforts. I could go on and on but I will only say one more thing here - he is the hardest worker I have ever met. Lazy is not in his vocabulary and he still wants to do more. I love that guy!

2. My two wonderful kiddos - Liam and Noah - they are amazing. They represent the best of Mike and I - they are so full of energy and love. Just yesterday Liam was at the store with Mike and Liam asked to get me flowers - because Mommy takes good care of him even when she does not feel well. What a sweetie. And my Noah - oh so funny - He is truly a ham. Happy most of the time and loves to be loved. He is my cuddle bug. He loves to be close and loves to have you there playing or reading or just holding his hand. Do not get me wrong - they are all boy - celebrating in the back yard yesterday that they were the brothers who play with no shoes on. Most of all I love that they love eachother. They are most of the time content to wrestle or make believe together instead of playing with toys. I hope they are always so close!

3. My family - I love them all. My fam is the best in the world. They are fun, loving and so supportive of all I have ever done. The only thing I would change is that I would put us all closer together. From Connecticut to Indiana to Dallas to Illinois to San Antonio to Belton we are spread out and I wish we were able to see eachother more. My fam has always been a family of talkers. We can talk about nothing and everything for hours and it is fun. That was something that was hard for Mike to get used to early on because we talk a lot. We talk about everything while many things are going on, but that is just who we are. Even today I catch myself talking while doing many different things like watching television, typing on the computer, folding laundry, etc. Now it may be about something very deep and then again it may be about the crowded parking lot at Wal Mart or the rising cost of gas at the pump. Whatever - I love it and I miss you guys!!!!

4. My Friends - you all know who you are and I love you. I love that I have many different friends with different personalities. Some loud, some quiet, some who love to get out and go and some that love to stay at home, some who love to talk and some who would rather work on a project together, some with wild kids like mine and some with kids who are just out of a storybook (I envy you with those kids). The think I love about my friends is that they are honest and sincere and I can be that way with them. Thank you for allowing me to be my quirky self and not at all perfect in your presence. You are truly my gifts from God!

5. The Lord my God - we had a discussion in Small Group Bible Study yesterday that has really stuck with me (thanks my Mike) and I have to share. I title this one that way on purpose. We serve a God that allows for a personal direct relationship with Him. No go betweens, no need for lofty actions to earn His approval, no need for sacrifices to get closer. He is MY God - and YOURS for that matter. In 1st Samuel - chapter 12 I believe or 15 Saul has a problem obeying God to the full and Samuel calls him on it. Saul refers to the Lord when talking to Samuel as the Lord Your God - not OUR GOD or MY GOD but YOUR GOD. Whew that hit me. He is the Lord My God and I would not be able to get through the day without Him. Praises be to the Lord My God.

Ok - there it is - it is my list!!!

Love to you all!

Saturday and Sports and RIP the crock pot of old!

Another Saturday and more Soccer. Liam scored another goal and is having much fun playing. He has a great attitude and it is a fun family event. We are now home resting and waiting to join some friends at the game - UMHB game that is. What does a girl do when she marries one of the only men in Texas that really does not enjoy football? Well - first things first - I praise the Lord and thank my lucky start because on Sundays and other evenings and days I am free to watch other things and do my own thing. The second chapter to this is that if our boys are going to enjoy this game (which I happen to kinda like) then it is up to me to get them exposed to it, so off the boys and I are to the UMHB games. We love them!!! The boys think it is exciting and we usually go early to hang out with Mike becuase he always (almost) has to work right up until the game starts. That is another reason he does not go to the games because after being up since 5:45 AM and not getting home last night until after 10:30 he is wiped. It is family weekend at UMHB and this year his office is responsible for this event so he is working all weekend up until the game. So - the boys and I go to the game - he gets to come home and clean up and become human again and then we get home and - TADA - everyone likes eachother.

The one down side to the afternoon game is = no naps! We will have an early night to compensate.

Ok -to the most exciting part of my day (beside's Liam's goal in soccer) I got a new crock pot. I was using my Mother's old one she gave me which was an upright one and it always left all of my meals dry for some reason. I was talking with a friend and she said I should try a newer model as they have come a long way. So - after a trip to wal-mart this morning for soccer snacks for the team - we ventured over to the small appliances and we got one. I am cooking roast and potatoes and carrots and it smells yummy. I am super excited about it - sad I know, but true. Will update later as to how it turned out. I gave the other one a proper goodbye and said a thank you to it for 10 years of effort for me and who knows how many years for mom and gave it the heave ho!!

Ok - I do have pics to post but the camera is in the car and I am too lazy right now to go out and get it so I will do those later. Hope your Saturday is filled with good family time! We will have some after the game!

Soccer Update

Well - it is done and we had fun!!!!! As my boys would say - those are rhyming words. WE had a great time at the game. Liam played hard all the time he was in the game and that is all we ask for. Bonus - he scored a goal!!!!!!!! He also had several almost goal blocks for the other team. Offense and Defence - Go Liam!!! The team did well and we scored several goals (3 in all I believe). Not too sure how many the other team scored but it was very close to that + or - 1. As a professional peewee soccer analyst I have decided that our team is definately a 1st half of the game team. We usually score in that time period and then tend to run out of steam. They stuck with it today and did great!!!! Go Sharks.

Now is is home time for playing and naps and then my favorite part of the day - Date Night!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!! Mike and I are going to see the movie Fireproof tonight and are super pumped!!! Any time I get to spend with my hubby I love!

GAME DAY!!!!!!!!!

It's game day - that is 4/5 year old soccer game day. We have had a hearty breakfast, unloaded the dishwasher, changed the laundry, averted the crisis of having brownies for breakfast (fast energy - no real staying power), watched an ample portion of cartoons on PBS and now are attempting to get our game faces on. This looks different for each member of the fam.

Me - just not looking like I just rolled out of bed - shower - a little makeup - sportswear - water bottle in tow.

Mike - helping coach today so - help a friend move before the game to get the blood pumping and wear your black shirt so you can stand with the team and look the part. Bring the schedule the awesome coach sent to make things easier and play ball

Liam - uniform, comb hair, bring water and ball - try to not get hit in the head again this week.

Noah - wear clothes. Try and not wipe snot all over everyone as you endure your ever present allergy nose. Take the Allegra (I should get a kickback for the product placement in this blog).

Well - that is it - off to the madness that is Saturday morning soccer. We play at 10 and it is 8:30 - let the countdown begin. I feel like there should be music - not sure what is appropriate. MMMHHH - suggestions anyone! Have a glorious Saturday and remember to take time to rest - that is what it is for!

Soccer - The Sharks Attack

Liam is now in his third season of Soccer and he loves it. He has a much better attitude about staying with it this season and is excited to play however he is still not a guy who loves to play when it is 95 degrees out. The first week they did great - I have a riddle for you on the scoring of that game- lets see who can figure it out first - you can have the bragging rights:

We scored more goals but the other team ended up with more points!

Hehe - my sad humor strikes again.

We missed our second week because of the Hurricane that did not hit our area but everyone thought we would get bad winds and rain - got neither but it did offer a nice weekend off.

Last week we played again and had a great time - while the kids looked exhausted and had very red cheeks at the end of the game it was still fun. Liam did not "get into it" as much because he said he was hot - I can understand - black shirts make it a little tough to be cool while playing. You will see from the pictures the kids picked the name the "Sharks" and it kinda fits. I think the Ninja's is more appropriate as they are all dressed in total black - with the exception of one of our sweet girls that is sporting the Pink soccer cleats - too cool if I do say so myself! Anyway - Liam has defnately improved and believe it or not I am actually able to watch some of the games this season becasue Noah is staying off the field and finding ways to entertain himself without getting into too much trouble.

Oh - funny story (kinda) First game - first kickoff - Liam is on the receiving end of a ball straight to the left side of the face. He was so stunned he just stood there and then waited for the croud to gasp and then started crying - he was ok after a few minutes and got right back in there - but man - what a way to start- a header right to the face. He was tough and played the rest of the game as Coach Josh asked! By the way - we have a wonderful group of friends and parents on the team and that is just bonus! Go SHARKS!!!!

Grandma's Birthday - Let's have Cake!!!!

For those of you that miss me - I'm back!!!! It is hit or miss with me and I now know that I just need to accept that within myself and stop beating myself up about keeping up with everyone. I am not a daily blogger - never will be - but I try and it's the effort that counds right? That is what I will tell myself unless someone tells me I have to think differently :). Anyways - I digress. We spent the first weekend of September at my parents house to celebrate my Grandma's 94th Birthday. She is still such a spitfire and we love her so much. She swears that this was the 2nd cake she has ever had in her life (the 1st being on her 93rd birthday) so I am sending out a message to all of you out there that have parents or grandparents still with us. Get them Birthday cakes - apparantly it was not a big deal in her family, but just having a cake is so cool for her. So - without any other excuse - Let's have Cake! We did have fun and the kids enjoy any reason for cake so it was a hit!!!! The kids love going to Grana and Papa's house so it is fun to go and just hang out. Mike had to stay home and work on our kitchen - pics to post after it is done in a few months (have to save up in incriments for this one) so he did not get to participate.

Here are a few pics of GG and her cake and presents. We love you GG!!!!

So many things - so little time

Ok - I know I know. I promised to be better and I am still trying. If you want to see pictures right now look me up on facebook. I will journal here and add pics later.

Ok - since we were together last -

Liam on the 6th of July asked Jesus into his heart. He has been asking questions for quite some time and expressing that desire, but we were so unsure since he is only 5. We allowed him to pray with us on the 6th and then sat on it for about 3 weeks to make sure he was sincere, understanding and ready. For further confirmation we went to see Bro. Andy on July 23 and we then decided that he was in fact sincere and understanding what he had done and the celebration has been ever since! This is what we have prayed for and are truly worshiping the Lord that He broght Liam to His heart!

After that emotional Sunday we were off that following Tuesday for Florida.

Yep family vacation with driving 2 days and a week at the beach. It was awesome and not nearly as difficult as I imagined. We were able to stop several times and saw some interesting things. I love road trips!!!! Mike does to so that makes us a perfect match don't you think! Florida was wonderful. We got a 1 bedroom condo so the boys slept on the pull out couch and Mike and I had our own room. That was wonderful for those nights that I did not want to go to sleep at 9pm but the boys were exhausted. We did so many things. Played in the sand, swam, rode go carts, ripley's believe it or not, gulf world (kinda like sea world - much smaller) etc. We even stopped in New Orleans on the way home for a taste of the World Aquarium and some wonderful steak at Ruths Cris - sp? Yes you read correctly - it was my birthday and the kids went as well - would not do it again, but you live and learn! While in Florida we did get to hang out with Steve and Lori and sweet Brodyman. It was so much fun and I think the adults had as much fun if not more than the kids - Thanks guys for a wonderful time - it made our whole vacation to get to see you all. Miss ya!

After vacation we have started gearing up for the fall. Mike goes back to his crazy schedule and we go into school mode. We purchased school supplies, bought back to school shoes, went to MEet the teacher and have had our first day of school. Liam is loving it and I am getting used to it. I did make it out of the building the first day before the water works began and I have not cried since. Today we came home with our first fund raiser. Man those schools do not waste any time. I guess that is just the way it is.

Noah is adjusting well - he asks where Liam is when I pick him up first and I tell him - in school - lets go get him. We are all adjusting. Mike has even gotten up early the last two mornings and cooked breakfast for us all! Way to go my man!!!!!!

As for me - I am not on 8-2 days and I love that there is a deadline to make me leave. It makes me more efficient and I have more time with my boys. It does make for a smaller paycheck, but in the grant scheme of things - no sacrifice!!!

Mike and I are getting away for the weekend to Denver this weekend - don't worry - the convention leaves tomorrow - so that should be a blast. Mom and Dad are keeping the kids and have already planned a full schedule of FUN! Thank's guys.

Well - that is the long and the short of it for the last month. I will try and get regular now that I have the bulk of the catching up done. I will add pics as I have time!

What flies?

Ok - if you were in sunday school with mike and i this week you already heard this, but too funny not to post.

On our way to dinner on Sat. we were having one of our deep family discussions.
Noah - Daddy - pigs fly
Daddy - No Noah - pigs do not fly (except in jokes)
Noah - oh
Daddy - Noah - do dogs fly
Noah - no
Daddy - Noah - do cows fly
Noah - no daddy
Mommy - Noah - do people fly
Noah - no Mommy
Liam - unless you sprinkle a little pixie dust on them!!!!!!

Ok - we have retired Peter Pan for a while! Seriously - can we get him onto Last Comic Standing at this point?

Wedding News

This weekend was full of fun. Mike performed a wedding on Saturday that was the first wedding that the boys were able to sit through without having to go ahead and leave out the back after the first 5 minutes. Noah did well and only asked where the cake was two times. Liam was wonderful - sat and listened the entire 20 minutes. Yes - that is 20 minutes. The Bride and Groom wanted it to be a "petite" wedding and there was only one song that was coupled with the processional so while Mike's speaking portion was wonderful as usual and the same length overall as usual - the wedding in it's entirety was rather short. Then we went to the reception where we had snacks and took these pictures. It was a wonderful day.

We then went to a birthday party of a friend of the boys on Sunday afternoon and rounded the weekend with some fun at home. Happy Birthday TJ!!!!!

Just good clean fun.

I spent the better part of today at the car dealership handling subsequent problems from the accident where the girl hit me. Man I hate dealing with insurance and car places. Talk about out of my element, but I did it! I did not have Mike come up there but believe me I wanted it at one point but he talked me down from the ledge and I made it through. Women can do this - I promise!!!!!!

Have a great day!

Lost and Found

Do these belong to you? If so - email me and I will return. They remained at my house since Sunday after the party of all parties. That for another day! Have a great one!

Random Thoughts and senses

Ok - I had this incredible whitty and in my opinion hillarious blog typed and guess what happend when I went to post. Nothing - ERROR!!!!! GRRRRRRRRRR! I will attempt to recreate my creativeness, but who knows - first time is usually best.

I have only two things to post about today.

1. All who desire to cook fish or seafood at home should be aware that when cleaning up it is necessary and recommended to run your dishwasher with those dishes in it and to run your garbage outside as well as your garbage disposal if you have one. Otherwise - WOW that is a strong smell the next day when entering your house. It only goes to prove that you do not always know you are living in stink until you are out of it and then re-enter. Oh my!!!!!!! I now sit here typing while hearing the dishwasher going, the garbage is out and the disposal has been run with some lemon dish soap and ice for a while. I also could not resist the clorox wipes as well as the febreze swiffer for good measure. I think I meet health code again.

2. When you have conversations with others there are those that do talk and process much slower than me. I am not talking about your occasional distraction, pensive moment as if to say - I better watch my words, etc. It is that unusually long pause inbetwen exchanges that might pose a lesser person to ask them to turn up their battery, go get a soda while waiting, move on to something else thinking the other party is not interested, etc. No my friends - I am talking about long pauses that make you think - this would make a hillarious Sat. Night Live skit - the ones that make you ponder the spots on the wall behind the person you are speaking to, the ones that make you think - man I have to go use the restroom - is there time. Well welcome to my life - I have a client that this so difficult with I have made myself start counting to ten before firing another sentence just in case he is ready to say something back because if not - I confuse him. Can this be taught - or is it a gift. Lord help me on this one. I know I have been accused of beinga motor mouth in the past, but come on - is this my punishment. Pentence -perhaps.

On a side note - the boys are doing well in their combined room and I think we like it. I will post pics after the angels clean the room - I can not and will not post dirty room pics of my two precious boys' room on my perfect blog:) It may be 2010 before those get on here but I will try.

Whew - I did have a lot to say - perhaps it is a result of the lack of words spoken today - refer to #2

Home Improvements

Well - since the last development we have a new roof. They started Thursday morning at around 7:30 and were done at around 3:30 - too fast. It is nice and I love getting to get rid of the brown orange roof finally after 3 years of living with it. Now the only issue is that the trim color we just painted looks too light now - we need contrast apparantly. The problem is that I am not good at this one so back to the drawing board. Mike was sweet enough to say that he would paint it again if I wanted. What a sweetie! I hate this process but the outcome does make it worth while.

Liam and Noah begged to stay home yesterday so they could watch the roofing. That was a big no, but we did drive by several times to "check on it" and all was well then.

We did move the kids into one room and are in the process of converting Noah's nursery into a playroom. Pictures later - have not had time to take any. They have slept for two nights in the same room and so far - pretty good. A few glitches but nothing earth shattering.

Work is good - crazy problems with internet, emial and connectivity this week, but all seems on the road to progress - progress that is a funny word. It is intended to move you forward - but in the mean time - you are converted back or worst case - standing still? mmmhhhhh!

Have a great day and know the McCarthy family loves you all!!!

4th of July - I'm Back

Ok - this was more than a hyadis ?(sp) but at the prodding of a few special people in my life I am now going to try and do this again. I will start with the most recent as I am in no way trying to catch up since the last blog. If you want to know the inbetween stuff - call me - I am here :) .

We had a wonderful 4th of July. It started out with dinner with friends and a visit from my parents after some fun at the local splash pad with awesome friends. Then we went to the parade (as all good Beltonians do) and it was down home and wonderful. I love this town! We saw Mike drive the lotus and it was the highlight of the boy's parade - until they saw the HEB Buggy and then Dad was pushed aside for a larger than you can imagine engine powered shopping cart while chanting HEB - no where on this planet does it get better than this!!!! We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful display of good clean hillarious fun! We sat with friends and that was the icing on the cake. Then after mandatory naps we headed to the Rodeo - the boys had never been. While it was no masterpiece of performances, we had kick dirt in your face seats and that was awesome. We saw everything up close and the Kids were tickled to be so close. Thank's to UMHB we scored the seats as they were given to us and it was a huge blessing. Noah enjoyed the popcorn the most and Liam the blow up crocodile he was given as a freebee. We were exausted but had soooooooooooo much fun. One other thing happened this weekend, but that is for another post. Well - I have rambled enough. Here are some pics of the weekend. Enjoy - I am learning on the picture thing so please be patient with me.

Brody and Noah at parade - interested in nothing at the time

Liam at parade

Lotus and Miss MHB - that is Mike driving -and no - no tickets or accidents this weekend!!!

The famous HEB cart

Mr Magoo we are not - but safety first when it comes to sparklers - thank's daddy!

Noah Did not last past the first sparkler - he said it was "Sparking" him.

The Rodeo - Forgot this Bull's name but he is famous for things such as this.

Ok Friends - my first official post back - Enjoy!