TexMacK's Blog

Mulch and Full

2011-06-16T18:04:00.001-07:00

We are officially 1 day away from startup, and with 100F weather, it's not a day too soon! Today we finished filling the pool, and had some rough landscaping put in. The kids and I have been prepping flower beds a little this week, so it's neat to see mulch and sod in place.

Here are a few pictures that capture the water color (although it's a little lighter in person), and basic layout of the flower beds...

YouTube Video

Still Filling

2011-06-16T05:08:00.001-07:00

After about 17 hrs of filling with 2 hoses and a direct PVC line, we are about 2/3 of the way full. At this rate, we should be full around lunch time, and estimate a 20,000 gallon capacity.

Here are a few pictures showing what it looks like so far. We're very happy with the plaster color, and are glad we didn't go darker!

Water

2011-06-15T18:03:00.001-07:00

After almost 6 weeks of construction, we finally have a pool! They acid washed the plaster today, and started filling it up, so everyone is pretty excited. It looks like startup will be Friday, so they beat the schedule by 2 weeks!

Here are a few pictures of the pool filling up:

Plaster

2011-06-14T21:10:00.001-07:00

We are officially one day away from water!

Today the plaster crew was at the house around 6:45, and even though that meant the kids were up a little early, we are excited to be 99% finished with our pool! Tomorrow they will return to acid wash the cement off, which should result in a more blue surface, but it already looks great.

This image is of one of the benches, which came out smooth, and shows a little bit of the color, which will be bluer and darker once it's acid washed and water is added:

Here's a closeup for the beach entry, which still requires some finish work, but is a pretty decent shot of the pebbles:

This evening Josh, Gavin and I put down some landscaping fabric, raked some of the rocks out of Harley's dog run, and started borders for the flower beds, so we're anxious to get things wrapped up this week!

Fenced In

2011-06-13T17:13:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend Josh and I set-up the play set including a weed block, and today the sprinkler guys came, so we're ready for mulch and sod!

We also hired Keller Fence Co. to put up a wrought iron rail around our existing porch, and add a dog run for Harley. They are doing a nice job, and should paint tomorrow to improve the appearance of everything:

As with everything, we noticed a few things that would improve the functionality of the project, so we added a couple extra gates, but that meant the cost of the fence increased a little. It should be a lot nicer for family gatherings though, and with a pool lock, it will make us feel a little better about Gavin on the back porch (when we're out there):

Tomorrow we're supposed to have the plaster installed, so we're only a few days from having water!

House Moving

2011-06-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

Even though Robertson Pools has done an amazing job with our pool, I was disappointed to hear this week they weren't able to budge the playhouse! Really, it's tough to be too upset about it, but if Grandpa wasn't so capable with moving heavy equipment, this would have been a real pain (we think it weighs about 1,500 lb).

Here's where the house was after the re-grade last week:

We ended up having to borrow some pipe from the fence guys, and bought six landscaping timbers to make a rail system for the house to ride on. Then it was just a matter of winching the house up to the dirt pad. Here's a picture of the house on the dirt pad still sitting on the pipe:

Finally, after about 5 weeks of sitting back by the fence, the playhouse is where we planned it!

Much thanks to Grandpa for making this happen!

Regrade

2011-06-07T17:45:00.001-07:00

Today the clean up crew came through and restored our yard back to something semi respectable. Since the pool and deck make it impossible to get a bobcat back there, they had to do all this work by hand, but it looks 100% better.

Here's a shot Josh took from inside the pool:

The retaining walls have been backfilled, and are ready for sprinklers:

They still have to move the playhouse, but there's a nice level pad for it:

Overall, everything is really starting to come together:

All that's left is...

??? - Moving the playhouse
Thurs/Mon - Porch railing, dog run, and pool gates
Mon - Sprinklers
Tues - Plaster
Thurs - Startup
Fathers Day - Swimming

Rockwork is Done

2011-06-05T14:59:00.001-07:00

Today the stone guys spent half the day finishing up, and even fixed the flower bed in the front yard! It's pretty neat to see things so close to being done, and this Tuesday they are supposed to regrade and clean-up, so that should be a huge milestone.

Here is the finished spillway in the spa:

The flagstone steps are also in place:

The larger retaining wall takes up a lot of space, which is great (less to mow):

Here's a view looking back towards the house, which looks 100x better than the mud pit we had 1 mo ago:

We're hopeful to be sod ready by the end of the week, with the final plaster put in around the 14th!

Location:Saratoga Downs Ct,Fort Worth,United States

Retaining Walls - Day 2.5

2011-06-03T16:33:00.001-07:00

The retaining walls are progressing slowly but surely. They look great, so this is one of those things we're not interested in rushing! Flagstone steps haven't been put in place yet, but the different retaining wall heights are visible now (18" at the porch down to 6" at the deck edges).

The first picture below shows what the walls looked like this morning (before the second and 3rd rows were added at the top):

This afternoon the wall really looks a lot more complete. They still need to finish off the back rows and the top, but the general heights are basically set:

Looking back from the other side of the pool, you can see how both retaining walls will come together at the back porch:

Last weekend the kids and I spent some time re-staining the play house as well, so here's a picture of what it looks like. The house is supposed to be shifted over towards the center of the pool, but at about 1,500 lb, it will be interesting to see how they accomplish this!

Retaining Walls - Finally

2011-06-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

Todays update is pretty minor, but since it's been nearly a week since we've posted (or had an update on the pool), we wanted to show our current progress. The stone guys showed up again today, and fortunately it is the same crew that did the great work on the spa. They are continuing with the dry stack appearance, which we're very happy to see, since they could have chosen a simple milsap wall. One of the nice things about Robertson Pools is they haven't upcharged us for any options that a lot of builders would (stones, DE filter, etc.), and we got enough quotes to verify that this wasn't just an advertising ploy. I think the way they are able to offer great quality without a lot of additional cost is the fact that their trades are in house, but we also haggled quite a bit on the upfront price to get it reduced down by $6,000.

So, enough rambling, and on to the pictures showing today's progress. They have 66' of 18-6" retaining walls and 31' of flagstone steps to install, so it sounds like they will be onsite for about 3 days. The challenge with this work is the crew has to hand cut each stone to minimize the gaps, so here is the first row they've completed on one of the retaining walls:

Since the crew got a late start, and broke something in the process (likely the saw), we're anxious to see what sort of progress they achieve tomorrow.

We talked to the superintendent today, and got a schedule of items left to complete, so here are the bigger points:

Stone retaining walls and spillway start - Today 06/01/2011

Clean-up (regrade, sprinkler re-route, moving the playhouse) - Tuesday 06/07/2011

Plaster - Tuesday 06/14/2011

Start-up - Thursday 06/16/2011

Swimming - 06/18/2011

We also have to fit in some planting, a dog run fence, and porch railing, but hopefully all of that can happen towards the end of next week. They also have to come back after the pool runs for 30 days to seal all of the stone and start the salt system, but we're getting pretty close to swimming!

Deck Poured

2011-05-26T19:08:00.001-07:00

After going through a string of bad storms (thankfully with minimal damage), things finally dried up enough for them to pour our deck and retaining wall footers. I'm very happy with the appearance of the Ozark hand seeded aggregate. We wanted something very low maintenance and durable, but like the slightly different appearance of the light Ozark stones compared to the rainbow aggregate that is pretty common today on pools.

Here's a picture of the decking before they washed off the top layer of concrete:

I've heard not getting enough deck is a big complaint among pool owners, but I think we ended up with the right amount while still having an area for grass, so the kids and Harley can play. Here's a video showing the deck from our back porch:

YouTube Video

Once they exposed the aggregate, we ended up with a nice color/texture, which is quite a bit smoother than we expected from a hand seeded finish. I'm happy there is just enough color to tie in the stone, and am impressed with their attention to detail around the edges and joints!

So, after today we are about a month ahead of schedule (knock on wood), and just lack the following:

Retaining walls
Flagstone steps
Pebbletec plaster
Cleanup
Landscaping/dog run railing

Hopefully we'll have water in a couple weeks!

Location:Saratoga Downs Ct,Fort Worth,United States

Deck Forms

2011-05-20T14:11:00.001-07:00

The deck crew showed up today, and did a great job leveling things out and forming up the deck and retaining wall footers. With deck forms comes payment for 95% of the pool, but it doesn't look like we're 95% complete!

Here's a picture of one of our downspouts along with a retaining wall drain they put in. I was happy to see them put the extra effort to get these drains installed, since it should help keep the deck and pool nice, and prevent our flower beds from filling up with water.

The overall layout looks exactly like we expected it, and should be plenty of deck space.

Here's a video that shows the layout a little better.

YouTube Video

Our superintendent said we should have an inspection Monday, and decks poured early next week, so hopefully we're a couple weeks away from water!

Location:Grandstand Way,Fort Worth,United States

Equipment

2011-05-17T21:44:00.000-07:00

Today wasn't as exciting as the previous days, but we reached an important milestone...we now have pool equipment! The electricians came out yesterday, so the plumbers showed up today and finished installing the equipment. Here are a few shots to show how everything is set-up.

From left to right, we have the heater (400,000 BTU), a Jandy blower, a Jandy DE filter, and a Jandy ePump. We're hopefull the DE filter will provide exceptional clarity (not to mention less maintenance cost), and the variable speed ePump is supposed to be significantly more efficient than 2 speed pumps. We also added a salt system, but it's not clearly shown in the picture.

Assuming we passed electrical inspection requirements today, tomorrow the deck crew should be out to level things and install forms. Day 11, and things are progressing well!

Coping, Stone, and Electrical

2011-05-16T18:46:00.001-07:00

The tile and coping crew was back out again today to wrap up coping and the stone around the hotub. Their work really is amazing, and very labor intensive. The coping is now mortared in, and was all hand chiseled for appearance. They used stones with a decent amount of character, so I think it turned out great. Here are a few pictures to show how things have improved over the past few days.

The stone work around the spa, is cut from rectangular milsap, and the fronts are chiseled to give it some texture. It's pretty interesting to watch them cut and piece everything together to such perfection. The finished product looks like it was laser cut for a spa kit, but each piece required 5-10 min of work to make it look so clean.

It's hard to believe none of this existed 10 days ago. We're hopeful they keep up the pace!

Stonework and More Plumbing

2011-05-15T07:06:00.001-07:00

The crew was back yesterday for day 2 of stone and tile. They have all of the coping cut and ready to be set, and finished the perimeter of the spa.

The tile was also grouted, and came out much better than expected (we weren't sure about the color).

It's hard to tell from this picture, but the crew spent a lot of time getting the little tile details right (the stone is just sitting there - it's not mortared in).

The plumbers showed up as well to run pipe from the jets and returns, so we should have equipment on Monday.

Tile and Coping

2011-05-13T17:38:00.001-07:00

Today we were surprised to see the tile and coping crew out. The stone work is some of the best I've seen (and I'm pretty picky), so hopeful the same guys will do the retaining walls. It's amazing how much skill goes into dry stack appearance walls; really would be nice to have those skills!

A few more days of this, and it will start looking like a pool!

Gunite

2011-05-13T09:43:00.001-07:00

Yesterday morning we started with a pool full of water, but our superintendent assured us it could be pumped out for gunite.

Sure enough, the gunite crew showed up, and did a great job!

YouTube Video

We have to keep the shell watered down, but expect tile, coping, and equipment today!

Ready for Gunite

2011-05-11T14:30:00.001-07:00

It's been a crazy few days (sprinkler repairs, foundation experts, and jury duty), but we have steel and plumbing ready for gunite! Grace asked when they were going to put water in, and ironically God helped with that today, but hopefully tomorrow we will officially have a pool shell!

Here are some pictures of the steel, which was put in Monday:

In case you're curious the steps aren't missing, they just don't get the same steel as the shell:

Tuesday they installed plumbing as well, and we should have passed inspection for that today, so we're making good progress:

The yard is a real mess, but the neighbor's sprinkler system is running again, so everyone is pretty happy today!

One other loss was our main flower bed, but that should be easy to repair:

We've almost made it through the first week of construction, so we're anxious to see how things progress over the next few weeks!

Excavation - This Time for Real

2011-05-07T17:55:00.001-07:00

Day 2 of excavation was even more exciting than day 1. We had a flower bed bumped, and the neighbor's sprinkler system knocked out, but after setting up a temp watering system and bringing in a smaller backhoe they completed the dig!

Here are a few pictures showing the progression:

Staking and forms...

Initial digging...

The digging continues...

Ready for steel...

Weather permitting we should have a gunnite shell by Wednesday!

Excavation

2011-05-06T16:17:00.001-07:00

"Take today's date, and mark a day 2 months out on your calendar. That's the worst case timeframe for pool construction..." -Robertson Pools

Today we marked our calendars for a July 6, 2011 pool completion date (we'll cross our fingers for July 4th), so we'll see if our pool contractor knows what he's talking about! We have been planning on getting a pool for 5 years, so as the excavation crew arrived this afternoon, it was hard to believe the planning was over. As much as I love construction projects, seeing our front yard getting trampled on, and reassuring our neighbor that their house wouldn't get taken out in the process was a challenge!

On to the fun part...pictures of our progress!

Here is a before and after comparison of the front yard (note the ruts and fence down in the second picture):

The backyard has been painted for a few days, but our big project last weekend was moving the swingset and playhouse out of the way (much thanks to Grandpa and Papa for helping get that done). I thought the backyard looked pretty bad before the crew came, but by the end of today, it was significantly worse!

Although the crew didn't get farther than taking down the fence and pre-grading a fairly level area for the decking, here are a couple shots that show the mess a bobcat and a few hours can make:

Since we don't have more to show yet, here's a rendering of what we expect the finished product to look like...we can hope :-)

Pi Day

2011-03-14T19:00:00.001-07:00

Yay!!! It's spring break. We had a great first day of spring break. We went to Grace's new gymnastics class, and then lunch with Daddy. We ended with a nice walk to the park, and some yummy chocolate pie to celebrate pi day! What a blessed family we have.

-after gymnastics

Art time

Sliding

Swinging on the big boy swing

Josh & Harley (fluffball)

What Graceanna learned today!
Posted by JennyMack

More Disney pics.

2011-01-31T12:48:00.001-08:00

I love Gavin's face in this.

- Josh getting a kiss from the wicked stepsister.

The girls and I on the first morning.

First haircut again...

Tea cups

3d glasses time

Playing in the sand at the hotel

Gavin's 1st Haircut

2011-01-24T11:59:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures of Gavin's first haircut at the Magic Kingdom! He looks so handsome, and won't be mistaken for a girl anymore!

...and here's Grace getting dolled up as well!

Location:Caribbean Way,Orlando,United States

WDW 2011

2011-01-22T15:25:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures from our 2011 trip to see Erissa, Dave, Bailey, Grandma Agnes, Uncle Mel, and Aunt Pearline! We've had a fun trip so far, and haven't taken a lot of pictures on our phones, so we'll have to upload better ones later!

(The Girls checking in)

(Eating dinner at Chef Mickeys - check out Grandma)

(Gavin after Pirates)

(Riding the monorail to Epcot on Jen's Bday)

(The boys looking for Epcot and Erissa)

(Canada sure is pretty this time of year!)

(The view from France)

(Gavin mad about Soarin)

(Gavin napping for Mama's Bday dinner)

Location:Ave of the Stars,Orlando,United States

Christmas 2010

2011-01-05T16:27:00.001-08:00

Here are some pics of Christmas this year.

Posted by JennyMack

Night night!

2010-09-22T05:25:00.000-07:00

I just did the rounds to see if everybody is asleep and I realized that they look so precious while they are sleeping, so I had to snap a pic. Yep, I'm that crazy mom. Don't you just wanna go and kiss those sweet angels?

Okay, maybe not Harley's cheeks!

And here is one of Gavin yesterday morning after he got in our bed. He doesn't like to share the bed.

Oh, and one more of him falling asleep in the shopping cart at Staples.

- Posted by JennyMack

Location:N Beach St,Fort Worth,United States

Back to school

2010-09-19T11:40:00.000-07:00

Here are some back to school pictures. Better late than never! Josh is going to Westlake Academy this year.

Here are a few of him trying on his uniforms.

Here is Gracey and mommy missing Josh on his first day.

Here are a couple pics of the girls. They are homeschooling and going to an enrichment program on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

- Posted by JennyMack

2010-08-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

Our anniversary trip.....a little late. We didn't get to write about our anniversary trip, so I thought I would post some pics of our trip. On July 10, we celebrated our 11th anniversary. What better way to celebrate than at the happiest place on Earth, especially since that is where we went on our Honeymoon. Here we are before we took off. We had a little munchkin come along with us since he us a little too attached to mommy and daddy.

Here is Gavin in the rental car once we got to Florida. He wasn't very happy without his brother and sisters.

Pics from Disney world.

Pics from our hotel.

And pics from Grandma and Grandpa of the kiddos back home-thanks for taking such great care of our babies.

Posted by JennyMack

Location:Grapevine,United States

H Town

2010-08-15T17:27:00.001-07:00

It's been a fun summer, and we've had quite a few awesome weekends, including a trip to Dave and Erissa's in FL, and Nana and Papa's (and Uncle Russ') in San Antonio:

We had a fun weekend with Grandma in Houston, and around Galveston to finish off the summer. We even snapped a picture to show that Gavin is so big he now dwarfs the San Jacinto Monument:

Yesterday we stopped by the galleria, and the girls put on a little fashion show, followed by a train ride around the mall:

A few rides at the Kemah Boardwalk, and it's off to a great school year!

Location:North Fwy,Houston,United States

Gavin got us kicked out of church...

2010-05-01T17:02:00.001-07:00

So here we sit in the lobby :-)

We were blessed by a great message, and Gavin got to more or less chill, so I'm not complaining!

Location:Texas 26,Northeast Tarrant,United States

Sports Day with the Wood Family

2010-05-01T16:50:00.001-07:00

We had lots of fun visiting with Dave, Erissa & Bailey on their visit to DFW. On Thursday we had a sports doubleheader. We went on a tour of the new Cowboys Stadium. Later, we went to see the Ranger's game. What a fun day...especially for the boys!

Outside the stadium before the game.

Gavin in the endzone.

Los ninos locos in the star.

The boys in the locker room.

Josh enjoying the view.

Watching the rangers game.

Location:Arlington TX

Work around the house

2010-04-19T17:14:00.001-07:00

It seems there's always something to do around the house, and with the weather warming up outside, it's easy to start thinking about projects in the yard. The kids helped me clean out our flower beds last week, and I got the bright idea to ask Jen if we could permanently fix the weed problem we have with our rocks, so we brought in the pros to do this right:

I'm really suprised they turned out better than I expected (I think Jen is even more suprised I'm happy).

We have also been cleaning up the girls' room, and after a couple months of searching, we found an amazing deal on a trundle bed that frees up a lot of space:

Now we just have to tackle all of the rest of the clutter...maybe next spring :-)

Location:Heritage Trace Pkwy,Northeast Tarrant,United States

Easter 2010

2010-04-06T20:44:00.001-07:00

Here are a few of our pictures from our Easter this year. Hopefully We will post more when we download them onto the computer.

Gavin at church!

Easter egg hunt at our house with the wonderful Jenkins Family.

Easter dessert that Grandma brought!

Seeing the Easter bunny at Bass Pro Shop.

Graceanna's Easter party at school.

Gavin Easter egg hunt at school.

- Posted by JennyMack

Location:Alliance Gateway Fwy,Northeast Tarrant,United States

Weekend Rewind

2010-03-28T15:26:00.001-07:00

Asleep in the middle of UT A with music blaring...that's how Gavin rolls these days! You'd have to go back to Saturday morning at 6:30 am to see how we ended up here though:

Sat - 6:30 am:
Josh has become quite a writer this past year, but I never thought we'd wake up so early on the weekend to head out to UIL Ready Writing! His stories bring out another interesting side of his personality, and I'm proud that he loves reading and writing so much :-) We'll see how well they did Monday, but he's 1st place in our eyes!

Sat - 4:00 pm:
In the afternoon Emma had her 3rd dance competition of the year, and their hip hop number got high gold. Her "Proud Mary" team took Platinum, and 1st in their age group (6th overall), which floors us! She's turned into quite the sassy dancer.

Sun - 3:00 pm:
So, today we find ourselves sitting at UT A in a packed house, and you'd think all the running would be why Gavin's crashed, but that's only part of it!

The real reason he's so worn out is he's he's increased his activity by 10000%... As you'll see in our Youtube videos to the right, he's quite a crawler!

Location:W Nedderman Dr,Arlington,United States

Emma's Zoo Fieldtrip

2010-03-28T11:12:00.001-07:00

Emma had a fieldtrip Friday to the Fort Worth Zoo, so we had the chance to tag along!

Here are a couple pictures with her friends while we were in the TX area:

Gavin was in a great mood, and eager to smile for the camera:

There was a really amazing croc. exhibit, but Grace thought this one was a bit safer than the one's behind the glass!

We finished off the day with a short train ride; what a fun time :-)

Location:Fort Worth Zoo

Emma Can Dance!

2010-02-20T17:32:00.001-08:00

As a Dad it's hard to accept your kids are growing up, and I know they are a long way from leaving home, but seeing them both perform today showed us how independent they are getting. It's what we want, but the glimmer of tomorrow is a mixture of pride in what they are becoming, and missing their little giggles when holding them up high like they're flying! Ok, enough wrambling...

Emma did great at her 1st competition of the year! She's come such a long way since being a 4 yr old ballerina :-) Here's a pic with Grace a few hours before taking the stage:

Unfortunately they didn't allow photography in the auditorium, so this is about as far as my camera got ;-)

We did get pictures of her in her costumes, and this one is my favorite (not a 2 piece!!!):

We're so proud of you Emma for working so hard this year in dance!

Location:Will Rogers Aud. Ft Worth, TX

Braniac Maniac's DI Competition

2010-02-20T09:20:00.001-08:00

Today's going to be a busy day with back to back events for Josh and Emma! First on our list is Josh's Destination Imagination contest in Weatherford, TX. His team is the Brainiac Maniacs:

This is one of the biggest DI events in DFW, and the highschool is packed with kids making last minute changes to their projects! They've been working for weeks, but each kiddo is focussed on making sure everything is ready to go. Here's Josh working on part of their crane:

Here is the group after a great performance trying to get balls to their targets. The crane is down in this picture, since they are talking to the judges, but you can see the 6' wall they had to overcome:

We're off to Emma's dance competition, but we're proud of you Josh!!!

Location:Weatherford,United States

More Snow Pics....

2010-02-16T20:29:00.001-08:00

I will try to post some of the house tomorrow. The snow is almost all gone now. All that's left of the snow now is dirty cars and runny noses (hah!).

Texas Snow

2010-02-13T22:19:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of our recent snowfall.

Daddy Daughter Dance!

2010-02-06T17:43:00.001-08:00

Jen was so sweet to remind me about the Daddy Daughter Dance at The Keller Pointe! I am not a big fan of dancing, but that is what my girls love to do most!

They are so sweet, and Emma even said I was a good dancer :-) Here we are at snack time, which Gracey didn't want to end:

My favorite part was the last dance (not just because my feet are tired), since they are such wonderful daughters, and are growing up too fast!

Location:Rufe Snow Dr,Northeast Tarrant,United States

Gavin 8 Months!

2010-02-03T05:52:00.000-08:00

Look at my sweet baby boy that is 8 months old already! My my, how time flies!

Here is he trying to squeeze in his baby bath tub!

Battle of the Books

2010-02-02T20:46:00.000-08:00

~~Battle of the Books~~

Well, Josh entered into a competition called Battle of the Books at his school. There were 10 teams from his school, made up of 3rd-5th graders. The teams were supposed to read the 10 books and then there was a competition to see which team remembered the tiny details of the books the best. Josh's team won the school competition, so then they got to represent their school at the district event.

There were 9 teams at the district competition on Thursday, January 28. Granger's (Josh's school) team did a great job. After a 3-way tie for 2nd place, they ended up in 4th place. We are so proud of Josh for reading all of the books. When he began preparing for this competition, he wasn't all that crazy about reading, but now I think this has really begun a love of reading.

Sleepy Gavin

2010-01-27T11:08:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to share what a great traveler little Gavin is. He has been such a trooper. Here are a couple of pics of him snoozing along the way.

Sleepy babies are the best.

And just to show that he wasn't sleeping the whole time, here are a couple of our favorite pics of him from our phones.

And here he is with big brother.

Almost home now and then we can upload all the pictures!!

Disney - Funny Memories

2010-01-26T17:10:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we had 1 more fun day in the parks, and decided everyone was at their Disney limit :-) I'm really not sure who could spend more than 5 days in the parks...it's like a fun pentathalon!

As we got one last view of our new winter home, it occurred to us that the people we ran into were part of the experience of this goofy place!

So, we wanted to say our good-byes to some of our funnier memories as well...

1. Over zealous line cutting Jets fan, did you really think your team could get past Payton Manning like you did us? Is it wrong that we chuckled when you got hit by the light saber holding Jedi Knight 5 yr old we had been standing next to?

2. Grumpy pin trading mom, why do you let your daughter trade pins if you're going to ban all the ones except for the dorky Monsters Inc. pin that Disney clearanced out 3 yrs ago? Yes, we have the special edition Tinker Bell pin too, but we didn't want to rain on your parade!

3. We send our apologies to the Magic Kingdom Speedway for Gracey's driving! When Jen told her she was a crazy driver her only response was "I told ya!" We'll practice before our next visit :-)

4. Nice cast member at the cabin check-in who informed me that Disney doesn't provide ANY free wifi spots...what was I thinking? This was almost as funny as the cast member who tricked me into going into the Mickey store for free bandaids only to be told "Disney doesn't treat injured kids, bandaids are $2.50!"

5. By 5, I mean 5 kids! The fun time we spent with Bailey was highlighted by the obvious question, "Are they all yours?" Our consistent response was of course, "No, only 4 of them, 5 would be CRAZY!"

6. Gavin, we're sorry Mama tried to feed you during It's a Small World, and you kept sitting up to view your little friends singing that wonderful song! Someday you'll be embarassed by this story on many levels...

We're going to miss our singular Wood's Family (not to be confused with their infamous neighbor), and can't wait for our next get together!

Ok, we're all packed up, and outta here!

Disney - Magic Kingdom Late

2010-01-24T20:32:00.001-08:00

My little camera phone doesn't do the Magic Kingdom lights justice, but we had a fun time out late tonight!

Location:World Dr,Southwest Orange,United States

Disney - Animal Kingdom

2010-01-24T11:05:00.001-08:00

This morning we started off our visit to the Animal Kingdom by celebrating Bailey's birthday with Donald and co...

One of my favorite parts of this park is the safari, where Gavin was very happy to get out of the stroller!

Josh was pretty excited to pet the animals...

It's been a fun day, and we plan on heading back to the Magic Kingdom, once this park closes for some extra magic hours!

Location:Marina Al,Kissimmee,United States

Disney - Epcot Center

2010-01-23T12:23:00.001-08:00

Day 3 was a grumpy start for Josh and Grace ;-) Gavin woke up in a GREAT mood, which I think is because he heard we're meeting the princesses this morning! As you can see, a late night celebrating Jen's birthday wore everyone out for our visit to Epcot (one of my favorite parks):

It's only 59 deg this morning, which is awesome compared to the 70's we saw yesterday. The girls were all matchy matchy (thanks Nana), which I think is why Jen secretly likes Disney so much!

Our breakfast with the princesses included a picture with a troll, which made us realize Bailey doesn't like trolls!

The rest of the day we're going to ride Soarin and Test Track, and with a little luck we'll fill up our passport as well!

Location:Bay Lake,United States

Disney - Hollywood Studios

2010-01-22T19:44:00.001-08:00

For the second day at Disney (and Jen's birthday), we decided to go to the park "formerly known as" MGM Studios. We got a little bit of a late start, but got here in time for Gavin to get noticed at the American Idol Experience. I think all of those bibs with his name on them finally paid off!

Hollywood Studios has lots of cool photo opps, and the kids had a lot of fun bugging their Mom along the way :-)

My favorite part (besides Emma dragging her Mom onto the Rockin' Roller Coaster), was the set that looks like San Francisco:

We finished the evening by taking a boat to the Swan Resort, followed by another boat ride that finally found us at Chef Mickey's for Jen's birthday dinner! ...thanks Josh for 5 picture attempts with goofy faces:

We wish everone was here for the fun!

Location:World Dr,Southwest Orange,United States

Disney - Magic Kingdom

2010-01-21T10:32:00.001-08:00

We made it to Disney World! The kids were great on the trip, and it was actually easier than flying :-)

Here's a pic of the kids at the bus stop by our cabin:

The cool thing about staying at Fort Wilderness is you can take a boat directly to the Magic Kingdom! Here are a couple pics of the kids as we get ready for the boat ride (yes, they're a little nervous)!

We get to hang out with our lil cousin Bailey, and are having a great day!

Location:Bay Lake,United States

In route to Disney

2010-01-20T00:39:00.001-08:00

Well, it's been entirely too long since we've updated our blog, and even though I had great plans to update things throughout the holidays, I think it's time to cut our losses, and just start posting fresh today! Phew...what a relief to say I'm caught up, without having to worry about all the great fun we've had, but I haven't had time to write about :-) In case you're curious, there are a few photo updates online, so here's a link to help get everyone caught up:

Http://www.photobucket.com/nmackaron

Today we started our roadtrip to FL to visit our cousins and our old friend Mickey. Yes, I said ROADTRIP, and we're having fun if the kids like it or not! I don't remember who had the idea to drive, but the kids have been great and we're making decent time.

I'll keep things brief, but here is what the back of the van looks like when you pack for 6 (great job honey...this is less than we used to take on trips when Josh was a baby)!

The kids are happy with their new seating arrangements, but as I write this I'm sitting in the middle looking over at Gavin, so you can see we've had to make a few minor changes to keep everyone happy :-)

Here's to a great start to 2010!

Zen and the Art of Sprinkler Maintenance

2009-08-26T20:54:00.001-07:00

We've had a fun week back at school with the added bonus of winning a big playhouse for the kids through a local raffle! Here's a picture of the "Zen Art Studio Playhouse" the kids won through Dallas CASA:

We didn't realize it would be delivered assembled, so it took a forklift to get it in the backyard! Unfortunately that resulted in lots of ruts and a busted sprinkler head, but the transport company discounted their fee and the kids and I have it pretty well back in shape :-)

A neat lesson in generosity came home with this house, since the kids gave up their playhouse and art desk during our move! They are pretty excited about this suprise blessing...

Late Summer Fun...

2009-08-23T13:47:00.001-07:00

With schedules picking up, we've gotten behind on blogging, but I thought it would be a good time to post some pictures before school is back in session!

Several weeks ago our family from New York made the long trip to TX, so we had a fun time at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Houston followed up with time together in Keller! Here are a couple of many fun pictures we took while we were together:

(Fun times on the 1st day in Houston)

(The sweet girls and Josh)

(Cool Terracotta Warrior)

(The whole gang with Grandma)

We also had the chance to celebrate Papa's birthday in San Antonio with Granny, Uncle Russ, and Lindsay!

(Papa and the 'lil Mack's)

(Little G at breakfast)

(The Kids with Russ and Lindsay)

(Nana shows Gavin around Alamo Cafe)

We hope everyone has a great school year, and look forward to our next adventure together!

Painting

2009-07-17T05:27:00.000-07:00

While Jen was going through tests and gall bladder surgery last week, Grandpa painted the inside of our house:-) Well...that's the story Gracie would tell you! We had planned on having painters come out on Friday, and almost cancelled them, but Steve was a good sport and volunteered to stay with the painters! We are excited about the way everything worked out, and I think it made coming home from the hospital a lot more pleasant. We have more decorating to do, but here are a few pictures to show the more complete rooms...

(Kitchen)

(Dining Room and Hall to Living Room)

(Dining Room)

(Master Bedroom Hall)

(Gavin's Room)

Jen's doing GREAT!!!

2009-07-10T14:48:00.001-07:00

After a busy week, and lots of waiting on Dr.'s and test results, Jen is out of her gall bladder sugery and is doing GREAT!!! With little Gavin being only 5 weeks old, the timing isn't ideal, but thankfully we caught it pretty quickly.

Little Gavin slept the whole time Jen was out, and about the time she was waking up, he woke up as well! Here's a pictue of him taking it easy in his carrier:

The kids have been very patient, and are excited Mom is through this ordeal!

Thanks for your prayers, and thank God for Jen's way to recovery!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to the world's greatest...

Swingset Update...

2009-06-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Today we finished the swingset! It was really pretty easy to build, but took almost 3x as long as the manager at Academy mentioned :-) The good news is we were on the lower end of the 6-12 hrs reccomended by the directions, so I don't look like the slowest Dad ever!

The kids are really happy with it, but Grace mentioned it doesn't look like the picture in the directions. Emma (ever the optimist) explained, "It's because Dad built it with love!"

Rangers...

2009-06-18T21:32:00.001-07:00

Josh and I had a lot of fun going to the Rangers game yesterday. We're Astro's fans, but it is good to see the Rangers playing some of the best baseball they've played in years. Josh went to a Rangers baseball camp last summer, so he was pretty content seeing either team win, and an extra inning was a bonus.

We decided to get to the game a little late, and lucked out to get seats behind the Astro's dugout. There were foul balls landing all around us, but not close enough to get to.

We're looking forward to taking the little G man next time!

Gavin's Two Week Checkup

2009-06-18T21:04:00.001-07:00

Gavin had his two week check-up on Wednesday. He is doing great! He weighs 9 lbs even-which is the 60 percentile for weight. He grew an inch taller, so he is 21 3/4"-which is 70 percentile for height. Here are some of our favorite pictures of him.

Swingset...

2009-06-17T06:52:00.001-07:00

The kids have wanted a new swingset since we moved into the house, and since Gavin is now here, we (I) thought it would be a great time to build one! The last set took about a week of evenings and help from family and friends to put together, so this time we decided to go with a smaller model.

All the kids were helpful, but Grace is especially dangerous with a hammer...

Josh had fun creating some shade for everyone out of the boxes too...

Josh is getting big enough to be really good with hand tools...

Here's our progress so far; not too bad for a few hours...

Botanical Garden

2009-06-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

Today was Gavin's first big outing, which was pretty brief, but quite a bit of fun. We went to the botanical gardens in Ft. Worth to take a few pictures of the kids. They were great sports, considering the high humidity and heat!

There are quite a few pictures at the following website:

Botanical Garden Pics

...but I included a few of our favorites below!

Gavin Has Arrived!

2009-06-03T09:05:00.001-07:00

We have a new little runt in our family, Gavin Nicholas, so it's an exciting time around here :-) The kids were mesmerized by their new little brother when they first saw him, it was really sweet to see them welcome him in:

Here's one of his first pictures, after he took a quick bath in the nursery:

Grandma, Nana, and Papa have helped a ton, and are proud of their new little grandson!

Welcome home Gavin!

Josh's Birthday!

2009-05-18T08:37:00.001-07:00

Well, its official-my baby is 9. I don't know how that happened. I still remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. He is such a great kid, and we are so blessed that he is in our lives. We had a great time celebrating-perhaps too much fun-I think we spent a whole week celebrating!
Here are some pics. We had a little celebration at home, so Grandma & Grandpa could be there, and then we had Pappsitos (a tradition) on his birthday after Emmalynn's competition. Then we went to Carrabba's as a family, and then he had his birthday party at the Lego Education Center-lots of fun there too!

Birthday Week!

2009-04-28T20:50:00.001-07:00

Last week was exceptionally busy with work and moving, but Jen and the kids made my birthday an entire week long celebration :-) OK, OK, maybe we take birthdays a little too seriously around here, but they did go to extra trouble surprising me, and making things a lot of fun! Jen even worked with the kids to make me some yummy birthday cupcakes, which were ready when I got home, so that made me feel really awesome! I am very blessed to have such a wonderful wife and kids!

Here are a few pictures that I thought were cute from this past week...

(Jen, Josh, and Baby "M" Looking as Adorable as Ever)

(Emma and Grace Sporting their Balloon Art)

(No Birthday is Complete Without...The Volcano!)

As each year goes by, and things seem to keep getting busier, I really enjoy the chance to catch up with everyone around my birthday. Yes, it sounds narcissistic to get psyched about people calling/emailing because of my birthday, but it's not that part that I think is cool...it's just a neat chance to chat for a few minutes with family and friends in the midst of our busy schedules. That really reminds me what life is all about: looking out for each other, and slowing down long enough to enjoy the moments!

This is my prayer for my family and friends throughout the next year... "May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you."

1 Thessalonians 3:12

Bluebonnet Pictures

2009-04-18T09:43:00.001-07:00

Some pictures we attempted to take of the kids in the bluebonnets.

Easter 2009

2009-04-15T18:43:00.001-07:00

We had a great Easter weekend this year. Grandma & Grandpa came for a visit, and so did the Easter Bunny! After a great service at Church, we went home and had a great lunch followed by an Easter Egg Hunt.
We are thankful we can celebrate the resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Grace Finds Eggs...

2009-04-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

This week Gracey had an Easter Egg hunt at school, so Jen took a few great pictures of our sweet little girl hunting for eggs with her friends. I know I'm a little biased, but isn't she adorable?

(Gracey Saying Cheese While Showing Off Her Basket)

Home update...To roof or not to roof?

2009-04-12T14:06:00.000-07:00

We should be closing this week, and only have a very short list of items for the builder to clean up before closing. Of course, one of the items is a little bigger than typical (replace 1 side of the roof from hail damage), but they're up for the challenge!

Since the builder is moving into new model homes (in our phase), they said we could take some rocks from the old model homes to frame our flower beds. We'll probably need to level and restack these as time permits, but at least we're closer to having things ready for move in!

(Rock around new Landscaping)

Home update...almost home!

2009-04-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

We walked through the house today, and it is 99.9% done! There are a handful of little details that need to get wrapped up before we can close, but it looks GREAT! Here are a few pictures showing the finished exterior, dining room, and kitchen. Hopefully this time next week we'll be ready to move in!

(Stairs to Loft)

(Dining Room)

(Kitchen - Finally with a Dishwasher!)

(Sweet Girls Ready for a New Room...Where's Josh???)

(Front Finished)

More Bike Riding Fun!

2009-04-05T19:35:00.001-07:00

The kids have really done great riding their bikes over the past couple weeks! Gracey is still cruizing along on her little scooter, and is as fearless as ever. Emma and Josh are really starting to look like they're ready for bigger bikes and longer rides (maybe just 30-40 miles to start off)!

Here are a few videos from this week's riding:

Home update...

2009-04-05T19:19:00.000-07:00

Our house should be ready for final walk through this week, and the builder has made great progress in spite of a hail storm that hit quite a few homes in the area. We still lack paint on some exterior items, and some minor items inside the house, but everything looks great!

Here is a before and after picture of the house right before the yard went in:

(Pre Yard)

(House with Yard)

The kitchen area is really coming along nicely. The dishwasher still needs to be installed, but the cabinets, counters, and tile all look as good as we had hoped!

(Kitchen Appliances Being Installed)

(Counters, Cabinets, and Living Room are Coming Along)

One of the cool features caused by the new statewide sprinkler code is a rain sensor that will prevent the sprinklers from running on rainy days. Hopefully this will save some water, and will hold up in our tough North Texas climate.

(Rain Sensor)

Home update...

2009-03-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

News, news, news...it looks like our builder had good news and bad news today. The good news is we won't be moving in over Easter weekend, but the bad news is the house won't be ready to close until April 15th! That being said, we did see some forward progress today...they finished the sprinkler system and installed carpet!

The picture below is from the living room, looking into the kitchen, and shows the new nook they put into the kitchen along with the carpet, which is actually grey (the picture looks kinda tan). The rest of the week should be busy, so they can turn the house over next week for walk throughs and final updates.

(Living and Dining Rooms Getting Close to Completion)

Here's a picture that is a sneak peak at our dining room. They did a great job on the floors and have them covered to make sure they look nice for our move in a couple weeks...

(Dining Room Including Trim)

More Dance...

2009-03-29T12:06:00.001-07:00

This is one of Emmalynn's recital dances.

Dance, Dance, Wherever you may be.....

2009-03-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

This week was parent observation at dance. This means that Josh whined a whole lot about being at dance nearly every day this week-ha ha. Just kidding! I got to sit in and watch the girls' dance classes, and we got their recital costumes. Emmalynn's costumes were huge, but hopefully we will be able to fix them where she can at least dance in them one time. Graceanna's costume was so cute too-she's going to be adorable for her first recital.

Here is a picture of Grace's and some video of her in her dance class.

And her recital costume!

Emmalynn has a ton of video and pictures, so I will just include a little bit.

Here she is at hip hop. Doesn't she look so grown up?

And her hip hop costume.

Here she is at Tap, Ballet & Jazz, and in her Jazz costume. The ballet costume was missing a tutu-so we have to wait for those to come in.

Home update...

2009-03-27T21:43:00.001-07:00

There are only a few more days until the home is turned over for an initial walk through, so we're down to carpet, blinds, landscaping, final grading, appliances, and some touch up paint! It sounds like a lot, but they are making great progress.

Earlier in the week the A/C condensers/compressor units were installed, and one day later the fence was added:

(A/C Units)

The code that governs sprinkler installations state wide has been updated to help conserve water, and part of the update includes drip lines near the street. Below the drip line for our house is snaked around near the curb:

(Sprinkler Drip Line)

Here's what the house looks like as of today...finally with the correct garage door!

(This Week's Progress)

Back to School!!

2009-03-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

So Spring Break is over-boo-hoo. We really enjoyed the break. The weather was great over spring break. We did a lot of walking and took some trips to the park. We also decided that it was time for Josh to learn how to ride a bike. We aren't really outside a lot, and when we are, Josh would rather be running or playing with the soccer ball, so we haven't spent any time trying to get him riding it. I felt like such a slacker mom because we hadn't taught him yet. Well, Monday, I decided that he has to learn before he turns 9, so that is what we did last week.

After the first day, I determined that a 7 month pregnant mom isn't the best candidate to teach a big kid to learn to ride a bike, so dad helped once he got home.

Here are some pics of the ordeal. Actually, he did awesome and by Tues./Wed. he had gotten the hang of it. Then by Wed. Emmalynn decided that she needed to learn how to ride her bike without training wheels-so that is what we are working on now! We took off one of her training wheels first, and now they are both off.

And Grace, well she is a little daredevil on her scooter-especially going down hill!

Home update...

2009-03-17T18:18:00.000-07:00

Our builder is slowly finishing up tasks this week in hopes of getting us closed the 1st week in April! All of the rain slowed down the outside progress last week, but they were able to finish the tile (including the kitchen backsplash), installed counters, and we now have finished plumbing in the bathrooms.

(Tile Backsplash and Counters)

(Bathroom Plumbing)

One of the nice things about following another build of the same floorplan is we've noticed a few things that we would like different (i.e. exterior paint, full brick 1st floor, etc.). The kitchen has a built in hutch that was missing a wall, so they started framing up the missing wall to get this detail wrapped up.

(Kitchen Tile and Corner Hutch Details)

Once the rain stopped this past weekend, they also started leveling the yard and got everything framed up for the sidewalk and drive.

(Exterior Progress)

Emma and DSOD2 Petites Win Gold!

2009-03-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Emmalynn had her first competition today, and dancing "Another Cha-Cha" her team won Gold! It was their first of three competitions this year, and we're so proud of all the hard work she put into it! We're also proud of Joshua and Graceanna being so supportive during all of the long practices!

(DSOD2 Petites at Starbound National Talent Competition)

Go Emma!

Home update...

2009-03-07T18:06:00.000-08:00

The house is about a month from completion, and we've reached the point where progress is exceptionally slow. Sure, a lot of work is going on, but it's not as dramatic since it's more detail oriented. Over the past few days the tile was grouted, the bathroom counters went in, they re-bricked the little ledge in the front, and the house has been cleaned out for flooring.

Since the progress is less noticeable this week, we put together a couple collages to show how things have progressed over the past two months since ground breaking!

(Ground Breaking to Framing)

(Painting, Stone, and Brick)

(Sheetrock, Painting, Cabinets, Counters, and Tile)

Grace's Swimming Again!

2009-03-04T19:46:00.001-08:00

Today Gracie started swimming lessons again! She was a little cautious at first, but after remembering how much fun it is (and candy is available after the lesson), everything went great!

(Grace wondering if she really has to swim)

This afternoon she also took Buddy Bear to dance lessons. We're not sure how much Buddy liked tap and ballet, but hopefully it was more fun than staying at home ;-)

(Buddy's 1st Dance Class)

We're proud of our cute little swimmer and dancer!

Home update...

2009-03-04T19:34:00.001-08:00

Visible progress is hard to spot this week, but today we were pleasantly surprised to see we now have a front door (minus the stain and hardware).

Our builder has been painting and tiling this week, and things are still on track for an early April closing date!

Emmalynn's Dress Rehearsal

2009-03-01T19:31:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we also had Emmalynn's Dress Rehearsal. Her first competition is next Sunday, so they just did a practice run on Saturday. Emmalynn was awesome-its amazing how far her dance team has come in the last few months!

Home update...

2009-02-28T20:26:00.001-08:00

This week our builder basically finished the outside of the house (minus a little painting, some cedar accents, a drive, and landscaping - of course)!

Here's a picture of the rock that was finished on Thursday, which thankfully matches pretty well with our new paint scheme.

(Finished Stonework)

They were working pretty late this day, and had to bring in their own power to finish some trim work and the banister up to the loft.

We walked through the house over the weekend, and now have cabinets, trim, interior doors, and almost everything is painted. It looks like a lot of great progress!

Lonestar DestiNation ImagiNation

2009-02-28T20:05:00.000-08:00

Josh had an exceptionally busy day today with his DestiNation ImagiNation group! The group had an awesome time working on a project that involved human and battery power, and also participated in an instant challenge that tested their quick thinking! It was also a lot of fun to see Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, and Papa for this exciting day!

(Lonestar 2009 DI Team)

We're exceptionally proud of Josh and his team for placing their first year in the tournament (6th place out of 8 teams)!

(Team Before Awards Ceremony)

(Grace and Christopher Looking on at Awards Ceremony)

(Josh and Jen After a Fun Day of Projects)

Some Recent Pics

2009-02-26T19:39:00.000-08:00

Well, since Nick has been doing a lot of updating, I thought I would add in a couple of pics.

Here are Josh & the girls at Josh's field trip to the Dallas World Aquarium. Wow! I have a lot of respect for 3rd Grade teachers, I was overwhelmed after an hour with a bunch of third graders!

Next, are some pictures from when Emmalynn was in her 2nd showing of Oz the Musical. First, we went and got her hair done and Graceanna's hair cut.

And these are of Gracie today before school. I loved this outfit on her, so I had to get some pics!

Home update...

2009-02-22T18:52:00.001-08:00

Today we drove by the house (so what's new??) to see how the brick and rock was coming along. After seeing some brick work that I didn't like on one of the homes our builder was working on nearby, I'm happy to say the brick on our house looks awesome! The crew working on it is nearly finished (just the porch and a few pillars are left), and they are doing a great job :-) The rock isn't quite finished, but here are a couple pictures of what it looks like today:

(View Looking Northwest)

(View Looking Southwest)

Father Daughter Dance...

2009-02-22T13:26:00.000-08:00

I've waited too long to make this post, but recently Emma and I had a lot of fun at the Keller Father Daughter Dance! Emma is a sweetheart, and actually thinks I can dance (or at least she says I'm a good dancer), so that little runt is definitely on my good side :-)

(Emma and me before the dance)

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures:

The coolest parts of the evening were her asking me to carry her because she was tired of dancing, and of course getting to go to McDonald's for dinner! Jen and I are blessed with wonderful kids, and are thankful for lots of fun times along the way as they grow up too quickly :-)

Home update...

2009-02-19T19:52:00.001-08:00

This past weekend, Josh and I stopped by the house to add a couple drops for tv's, and look through the framing before insulation and sheetrock went up...

(HDMI Drop Before Sheetrock in Study)

(HDMI Drop + Techport After Sheetrock in Study)

About the middle of the week insulation was installed, sheetrock was delivered, and pallets of brick showed up...

(Insulation Installation)

Today they started bricking the house, finished the sheetrock, and taped/floated everything. It's really starting to come together, and since sheetrock is finished we should be about 45 days from closing!

(Living Room Sheetrocked)

(Back Porch Half Bricked)

(Sunset on Thursday)

Home update...

2009-02-11T13:17:00.000-08:00

This past week a lot has changed on our house. Within a few days everything was framed up and the shape of the house (including roof line) became obvious.

(Initial Framing)

(Decked Roof)

Yesterday they finished up the roof, and today (Thursday) they did the rough A/C, electrical, and plumbing, so things are progressing quite well:

(House front with shingles)

(House back with shingles)

Home update...

2009-01-31T20:34:00.001-08:00

Well, after waiting for many, many, many months (or at least 1 or 2) we finally have permits and our home construction is cruising along at an amazing pace! In the first week and a half, they have broken ground, finished forms, poured the foundation, and even started framing :-)

Here are a couple pictures we took to show the changes in the past few days...

(Foundation Forms)

(Initial Framing)

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T04:50:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving...

2008-12-01T18:36:00.001-08:00

This past weekend was a lot of fun seeing family in San Antonio...

There's something cool about being able to fall asleep anywhere, evidently I'm passing that trait along to Grace:

The kids had a lot of fun hanging out with their Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, and Papa (and everyone else too)!

Check out more cool pictures of the family during this GREAT Thanksgiving!!!

More ground breaking...

2008-11-02T11:56:00.000-08:00

Well, after some thought we decided to change our lot to a culdesak around the corner from where we had been looking. It will delay construction a bit, but should be a little closer to the school, and will let the kids ride their bikes more safely in the front. Hopefully early next year we'll be moving in!

(Lot Location)

(New Lot - View Looking Southwest)

(New Lot - View Looking Northwest)

(Andrews Plan Details)

(Exterior Rock and Brick Selections)

(Interior Flooring Selections)

(Interior Kitchen Selections)

Josh is back home!

2008-11-02T11:47:00.000-08:00

It's been a pretty crazy week, but we're happy to say that Josh is back home, and should make it to school some time this week :-)

We had a fun Halloween, and even got a bit of candy and walking in!

(Emma, Josh, and Grace at the Pumpkin Patch)

Josh Get's Better - Day 4

2008-10-26T07:14:00.000-07:00

Well today has been a little bit harder. Josh just isn't happy and he is in a lot of pain. He isn't himself either. This evening he ran a pretty high fever, which means that going home tomorrow is out. He got up 3 times today and each time was very difficult for him. He didn't really eat anything at all, either.

Later in the evening, we put a movie on for him and that seemed to lift his spirits a little.

Hopefully tomorrow he will remain fever free so that we can go home on Monday.

Emma's a Mini Charger

2008-10-25T07:51:00.000-07:00

Grandma watched Josh yesterday (Friday) for a little while in the evening, because we had some special plans that Emma has been preparing for...

She got to be a Jr. Lightning Dancer (for Central HS)! After the show I asked if she enjoyed marching on and off the field, and she said, "...a little, but I mostly liked dancing!" That's our Emma...always the adorable little dancer!

She found a little time this week to practice her dance moves in the hospital, to the extent that she was complaining of leg pain that evening! We're proud of you Emma!!!

Josh Get's Better - Day 3

2008-10-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

Josh had a great day today (Friday)! He was able to get up quite a few times, and even sat up to play for a while. He ran a little fever in the evening (after working so hard to get better during the day), so the Dr said it will be Sunday before we can go home...

(Josh playing Legos)

We have been blessed to see so much of our family and friends this week! The calls have also meant a lot to us; it's awesome to know our little guy is loved so much! We finally had the presence of mind to pull out the camera yesterday, and snapped a couple cute pics of Josh with the De Leon family!

(Josh and Christopher hamming it up)

(Miranda, Emma, Isabella, and Grace always a happy group)

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!!!

Josh Get's Better - Day 2

2008-10-24T08:38:00.000-07:00

Josh had a good night. He ran a fever a couple of times and he learned how to swallow a pill with a very minimal amount of water. He was very upset that he couldn't eat or drink last night. This morning the Dr said that he could start having clear liquids at dinner time. Here is Joshua eating his Popsicle.

We are truly blessed that so many are thinking of Joshua and praying for him. His spirits were definitely raised with his visitors and calls.

Josh Get's Better - Day 1

2008-10-24T08:31:00.000-07:00

Josh was a really good sport about his first day in the hospital, and was braver about the surgery than we were. Thank God for great dr.'s!

Ground breaking...

2008-10-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

This past weekend they finally cleared off the big pile of debris from our lot, so it looks like we may soon break ground!

Here's a link to the plan, in case you want to see what it should look like:

Andrews Plan

2007-10-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

Well today I had a very handsome lunch date. My son asked me to have lunch with him at school. At 7, he is very into not being the center of attention and not being embarrassed at school. Well he "let" his sisters and me come bring him Chick-fil-A and it was so much fun. I wish I would have done it earlier, but I'm so glad I went. He even said that I could come every day....well thats not going to happen... but I definately will try to make a habit of it. We had so much fun just sitting and chatting, and he told me all about the lunch process-he was so proud to be so big in front of his little sisters...ahhh...have I mentioned how much I adore these kids?