Turning 32!!

What a fun week we had! I celebrated my birthday last week. It was spread out over a few days. I got taken to lunch and dinner by friends who are so dear to me. They all made me feel special. On my birthday, Derek made me french toast(my favorite! ) and took me out to Home Slice Pizza for dinner. On Friday morning, we went to Houston and met Derek's parents for lunch. We celebrated Narcessa's birthday there. Then it was off to my parent's house. We hung out and B was glad to see Elizabeth, Kara, Nana and Teddy and Kellee. Derek and I went out to dinner at America's while the kids stayed behind. The food was so good and it had a neat atmosphere. It was a wonderful evening. We all stayed up talking when we got home. On Saturday, the girls took off shopping for a little bit and the men hung out with the kids. My parents good friends, Alton and Dyane came over and we got to visit with them. Then we all met Kurt and Suzy and the kids at Pappasito's( no trip to Houston is complete without a trip there)to celebrate my dad's and mine and Shaelyn's birthday. So there was 15 people there. It was a little crazy! But it was a fun time and the food was great! Then we went back to my parents for presents and have some Banana Pudding(dad's favorite). Sunday was church and then lunch with us and the Reaves'. Then we went to Shaelyn's party at IT'Z. It was fun to see her open her presents, have cake and then play. IT'Z is like Dave and Busters for kids. There was so much to do. Barrett loved the train ride, bowling, the car ride and running all around. It was a wonderful week and ended with a wonderful weekend! Here are pictures of our weekend!

Menu Monday

I guess it has been a while since I posted. Here s what we had last week. Only a few meals to post since went out for my birthday and went to Houston for the weekend.
The meals are here.
1.London broil, baked sweet potatoes, rolls
2.Stuffed peppers, salad
3. Pollo Relleno, corn

Menu Monday

Here are the meals I made last week. I will try to take pictures and post with the recipes next week, but dinner is always a little crazy and I may forget. Enjoy.
1. Beef and Chicken fajitas, rice, beans, chips and queso
2.Pesto Pasta, Salad, green beans
3.Rachael Ray's Meat Stromboli, corn, fruit salad
4.Shrimp and Pepper Kebabs, dirty rice
5.Chicken with grapes and couscous, asparagus
You can get the recipes here.

Hollywood, Here We Come!

A few weeks ago, we had 2 different photo shoot that the kids were involved in. Our friends, Mat and Beth have a production company (Alpheus Media) and they were doing some work for a non-profit organization named Healthy Child, Healthy World. Barrett and Brooklyn got to do a shoot where they were in a bubble bath . Barrett had a fun time and totally loved all the lights. He also thought it was so cool to see himself on the screen afterwards. I did not take my camera that day. But, we did a shoot with several little babies from church and I did have my camera. The kids were all dressed in blue onesies(of course, Brooklyn had her bow on) and the took some shots of them in the grass and playing with plastic toys. Barrett and Jackson and Aaris had a fun time running and playing while we were dealing with the kids. They all did well. I am interested to see what all they end up doing with everything. The organization seems really cool and has alot of wonderful information. And, our friends, Mat and Beth even got to work with Stephen Spielberg's son-in-law. And Meryl Steep is most likely doing the voice over. How cool!!! We are so glad to be a part of this(if they make the cut). Thanks Hames!!Barrett and Jackson hanging out!Taylor and Brooklyn in their blue onesiesCohen and Brooklyn playing with the plastic toysI think she looks cute in blue!The babies playing with the toysSo cute!!

Can you believe they are all sitting here and not crawling away?

Barrett goes to Preschool!

Ready for preschool!

Barrett's first day of preschool was today. He has been so excited for it. Yesterday he had me pack his lunch for school, before we had even had lunch. He is attending the same school he went to last year and he was so excited to get back and see all of his friends. He had a really good day and likes his teacher, Ms. Mary. There are 2 girls and 8 boys in his class, so I am sure things were a little crazy. He didn't want to leave when it was time to go home. I am glad he had a good time. We had a good time too while he was at school.
Isn't he so cute?Such a big boy!Making himself at home in the classroom

Barrett and Ms. Mary

Menu Planner

I did not end up cooking alot this week, between Julie's birthday dinner, Suzy being in town, the family reunion and Derek having dinner meetings, there weren't alot of nights when we were all home. But here are 4 dinners(not hard at all) for you. Sorry for the lack of diversity.
1. Pasta Bake, salad, broccoli and cheese
2. Chicken salad on ciabatta bread, chips,hummus
3. Red Chile Marinated Chicken, roated potatoes, chips and salsa
4. Chicken and Dumplings, green peas, garlic bread
You can find the recipes here. http://dishandspoonrecipes.blogspot.com/

Family Reunion

Today we went to Temple for the Weems family reunion. It was the family on my dads mother's side. Derek was off hunting, so I took the kids by myself. Suzy was in Austin, so we rode together. it was a nice time to see the extended family and hang out with my parents and siblings. All the kids entertained themselves. There was a cemetery behind the building and the kids loved running in the field by the gravestones and climbing on them too. We are exhausted from the day, so hopefully everyone will go to sleep early. Here are some pictures. I had some other ones, but they kept coming out sideways. The funniest one I couldn't get to work was of Elizabeth running with the flowers that were left at one of the gravestones, but I posted it anyways. Kids!!The entire clan at the reunionBarrett and Shaelyn

Barrett giving Dorrie a hug
Sweet little Brooklyn

My grandparents -Pops and Dorrie and Dorrie's sister and husband, Colleen and CharlesTeddy hanging out with BrooklynBarrett and Shaelyn getting into mischief in the cemetery

Teddy and his "AWESOME" grandson

Snatching the flowers at the cemetery