Bee Hive

I discovered this enormous black ball in the tree in our backyard and thought it was strange looking. At first I thought it was some sort of birds nest that was sideways for some reason. After getting a little closer, I saw things flying around it. I got a little closer and realized it was a HUGE bee hive!!! They were swarming all over it, and I just about had a heart attack. I ran in to get my camera and took this picture. I was so creeped out though that I didn't get the best shot. The camera strap brushed against my arm, and I screamed and ran inside thinking they were on me!

I called my pest control people who told me to call a company that specializes in bee removal. "Specializes" means "charges big bucks!" They told me that they are really busy this time of year and that it's a pretty common problem. They said to wait a few days and that they would probably fly away because they don't want to be outside. If not, call them and they'll remove them for a mere $325! But after posting on Facebook about my new friends, someone I used to work with is actually a bee keeper and is going to see if any bee keepers in my area need bees! Crazy! I didn't know there were many bee keepers around 😊 I'll let you know how this turns out and post pictures of the removal/relocation. I'm itchy just typing all if this!

Random IPhone Pics

I haven't done the best job at taking the pictures off of my IPhone and putting them onto my computer in an organized way, but I'm starting now! So some of these may be repeats because I'm not sure if I already posted them or not...and I'm too lazy to go back and check!

Nathan, Charlotte, and Andrew coloring on the coffee table...at least I have paper on it!

Getting an oil change is fun when the Dunkin Donuts is right next door!

Coming home from playgroup one evening...they were wiped out and ended up sleeping all night (in their clothes).

Charlotte wearing a sweater Mama made at the Frisco Courthouse while I paid my traffic ticket (for talking on my phone in a school zone). 

At the doctor's office...she's so happy, you would never have guessed she had an ear infection!

This is an indoor play area inside a church that we go to often. On this day, we brought Nathan's friend from school, Sawyer. The best part is that it's free!

Charlotte playing in the kitchen section of the indoor play area.

This was before Christmas. While Nathan was in school, Marla, Meredith, and I met at the mall to see the train display. Andrew and Ryan really wanted to see it, so Charlotte and I tagged along. Of course, we didn't tell Nathan...he would have been so disappointed!

Charlotte is a picky eater, but she loves salad. I caught her in the fridge trying to open some bagged lettuce and fix herself a snack. 

This picture is so sad. Charlotte had a bad cold and her eyes were so watery and itchy. She tried to be happy but felt horrible.

Here we are going to McDonalds for an after school treat of ice cream and chocolate milk.

Nathan hates getting his hair cut, but ends up getting very relaxed. This is the second time he has fallen asleep while getting a hair cut. 

 

This was our girl's weekend trip to Fredericksburg. Meredith, Carrie, and I drove down together and had so much fun hanging out, shopping, and tasting wine!

This is a random picture of a new pizza place that Wayne took us too. They had this robot sculpture thing outside that Nathan thought was so cool. 

This picture breaks my heart, but look how cute she still looks! We were at Meredith's house playing with Andrew when Charlotte tripped over my feet and fell flat on her face. Meredith and I said it looked like half of her lip had Beverly Hills collagen injections. 

One Sunday afternoon, we went to a dinosaur  exhibit with  Lauren and Trevor. This was an interesting experience because the line to get in was wrapped all the way around the building. It was so crowded. The tickets were $25 each, but the crazy thing is that everyone in line had about 5 kids and looked like they were from inner city Dallas (if you know what I mean). Wayne and I joked that there must have been some coupon they got in the wellfare line that we didn't get!

I love these two pictures. They were taken just a few weeks ago when Charlotte was cuddling with us in bed. Nathan had already fallen asleep and was up in his room. Charlotte kept kissing me and telling me how much she loves me and that she loves me a hundred dollars and will never ever let me go. 

How in the world could I put her in her own bed after that?

This is from Easter weekend when Wayne and I went to El Dorado for his grandmother's funeral, and Nathan and Charlotte stayed here at Mama and Papa's house. They went fishing, and Nathan caught, and held, this bass!

Last weekend, my friend from high school, Adriana (and her 6 year old, 3yr old twins, and bun in the oven) came to visit me and Marla (also from high school). All of our kids had so much fun together! We ate dinner and played at Marla's house Friday night, went to the park and CooCoo's (a bounce place) on Saturday, and then had a night out Saturday night. It was so great to catch up and be with each other's families!

We have weekly playdates with our neighbors Jake and Skylar. At first, it was just Nathan and Jake playing together all the time, but Jake's mom and I soon realized that our little girls need their own friends too! So now, the girls will take turns going to each other's houses just like their brothers, or (as in this picture), we will have group playdates. 

This week was Missions Week at school where the kids all learned about different cultures and countries each day at school. Parents were asked to volunteer during this week. I was with Nathan doing arts and crafts from Mexico on Tuesday and with Charlotte playing with rice from Japan on Wednesday. I love seeing them in their school environment. 

Charlotte is the only one in her class that actually takes a nap! Miss Shelley says that she always lays down so sweetly and goes right to sleep. Most of the time, she is still asleep when I come to pick her up in the afternoon. 

Easter 2013

Easter weekend went a little differently than we had planned. Wayne's grandmother, MeMe, passed away Wednesday night. Wayne and Chris went to El Dorado Thursday evening, and then Helen and I drove down on Friday. Carrie and Pearce stayed with Mama and Papa because Pearce was getting over being sick, so Nathan and Charlotte (along with Otis and Daisy) joined them too! Mama and Papa had quite the full house!

Even though it was a sad occasion, it was great to see all of Wayne's family and get caught up. Helen and I drove back late Saturday night while Wayne and Chris stayed until Sunday. They were exhausted but enjoyed seeing all of their cousins. And Helen and I had so much fun on our little road trip! We took Wayne's car and had plenty of snacks and drinks. We talked the whole time and had fun knowing we could stop whenever we wanted to! We had Culver's butter burgers on the way down and then Olive Garden on the way home. That is my kind of trip!

While we were gone, Nathan and Charlotte had so much fun helping Mama and Papa take care of Pearce and being with Auntie Carrie. They got yogurt, visited Grandma, made orange juliuses every morning, went on golf cart rides, went to the park, went fishing, and even played in the mud!

When they went to visit Grandma, Charlotte had fallen asleep in the car and slept on the floor the whole time!

Here they are having movie night with Cookie right in the middle.

Here is the mud playing! Do you think Papa was home when this was going on??? Nope, and this is what happens.

Nathan and Charlotte spent the night at Mama and Papa's house Saturday night since I got home so late (got to have the bed and house to my self for a little while!) and then Carrie brought everyone over Sunday morning. We colored eggs and had an indoor Easter egg hunt since it was raining. Nathan and Charlotte are so cute with Pearce! They love playing with him so much! And I loved that Pearce was perfectly happy with me. I let Carrie do all of the work, and I took care of Pearce. He made me feel so good when I would be holding him and then try to put him down. His sweet little hands would grab onto my arm even tighter because he didn't want me to put him down. I loved it!