Laura's Random Photos

A few from Mother's Day...

2008-05-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

Astros Fans

2008-05-24T08:42:00.000-07:00

Our family is full of Astros fans. Even Clara will walk into the room when a baseball game is on and say "Go Astros!" So, when the Astros played the Rangers in Arlington, Kevin decided that we needed to take a weekend trip and go cheer them on. Here he and the girls are in front of our hotel: And at the stadium... it was HOT!

A shot to proove I too was at the game...

Clara was very busy through most of the game, but gave it up in the last couple of innings:
Her sisters immediately followed suit when we got to the car to make the trek home:
And we stopped at a Sonic that had tables inside! You call in your order at your table... Kevin wasn't as convinced as I was that this was an important Kodak Moment:

Oh, and the Astros won! Yay team!

Lila's Petting Zoo Party

2008-05-24T07:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, FINALLY I have some pictures to post from Lila's party last month. I've been getting lots of grief for not having these up already, but it was hard to choose which of the 200+ pictures to post!

We had a "backyard barnyard" for Lila - although it was really a "driveway barnyard" which worked out perfectly. My friend Janelle Hart made the AWESOME cake. (If anyone wants her contact info, just email me - she's wonderful!)

We had a pony that went up and down the sidewalk. Lila loved riding it over and over again!
Clara holds a baby chick - she wasn't so sure abou it.

Lila feeds the sheep
Jacob also was a bit timid around the animals.

Uncle Travis and soon-to-be Aunt Rachel

The girls got to feed the baby goats with milk bottles

Jacob and Clara take a turn feeding one of the kids
Barnyard fun!

Clara & the baby goat

Sheep

Lila was so excited to have her best friend from school, Eva, over! Here they are brushing the pony's hair

Mallory
And after the animals were gone, cake & hotdogs were eaten, and the presents were open the kids decided to hold a "dance-off" performance.

Those church of Christ kids can sure jam - especially this preacher's son...

The star:

God Bless America!

2008-05-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

I know I'm quite behind in blogging - I actually did take pictures at Lila's cool birthday party. In the meantime, here's a video showcasing how grown up she is!

Happy Birthday Lila!

2008-04-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

Today is Lila's 4th birthday. We celebrated by having a mommy-daughter day. We took a trip to the zoo - just the two of us - and then went and got supplies for her birthday party on Saturday. We also had an ice cream stop, and then took Lila to get her ears pearced!

About to have her ears pierced - a little nervous/excited...

Here we go...
Not quite sure about that...

That really hurt, but she's such a brave, big girl!

A present after we're at home with the family:

Deep focus on her new DS... I love the look of concentration and how this picture shows off her new earrings & her freckles!

Brain Game

2008-04-15T19:12:00.001-07:00

We have a Junior Boggle game that we don't play with too often, but we got it out last night and Lila actually did very well with it! Out of 12 three-letter words, Lila sounded out and spelled 9 correctly! The amazing part about it is that we've never really sat down with her to help her learn to read - much less spell.

Lila's Correct words:
bat
top
pig
map
dog
fan
cat
bag
hat

Words she missed:
pie (she spelled it "pi")
can (she spelled it "cen")
owl (she spelled it "aol")

And she's not even four! :)

To whomever was in the line in front of me at Starbucks yesterday...

2008-04-15T05:39:00.000-07:00

THANKS for the coffee!

As I rolled up to the window at the Starbucks Drive Thru yesterday morning I was informed that my coffee had already been paid for by the gentleman in the car ahead of me. This was a pay-it-forward random act of kindness much appreciated on a Monday morning!

It's amazing how much something so little can brighten your day. After getting to the office, I didn't even so much care that my kids had obviously played with the refridgerator settings and two cans of diet dr pepper exploded all over the inside of the fridge. =)

So again, thanks, whoever you are! You made my day.

Our Litte Rock Star

2008-04-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

The videography may not be as fancy schmancy as the recent Jacob production, but I do believe Clara could give him a run for his money when it comes to playing the drums. Here's our little future drum corps member.

Mallory the public speaker

2008-04-01T20:52:00.001-07:00

Mallory was chosen as the only first grader to read a poem at "Donuts for Dad" - a program they have at her school. She was so excited... she asked if she could memorize it! (Which she did - but she still read it).

A few more Easter pics

2008-03-25T21:19:00.001-07:00

The girls in their Easter dresses:
Hunting for eggs has it's dangers. Clara & Kevin inspect a Texas sized ant hill:
A family portrait:
Mallory and Uncle Travis having some fun.

Family Time

2008-03-25T17:17:00.001-07:00

We had a great weekend. It was the first Saturday in a while when I didn't have a wedding or sessions all day so we really enjoyed our time together - and the weather was beautiful. For dinner, Kevin grilled. Yum!

It was one of those nice rare occasions where the girls were getting along splendedly!
Playtime video:

Egg Decorating

2008-03-25T17:11:00.001-07:00

This was only the beginning of our Easter fun. More pics to follow...

Signs you eat out too often.

2008-03-25T17:10:00.001-07:00

We went to Golden Corral the other night with the girls. The waitress came by and asked if we needed anything. Clara looked up, put her fork down, and said, "No, Thanks!"

Easter Portraits

2008-03-17T16:03:00.000-07:00

I finally had time to take the girls to the studio for Easter Portraits

Hand Foot & Mouth, Clara style.

2008-03-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

At least it's not chicken pox! I was pretty concerned...

Genesis to Revelation

2008-03-09T21:03:00.000-07:00

Mallory can say all the books of the Bible and was recognized last Sunday morning in front of the congregation for being able to do so. Here she is with Mr. Ryan giving her a certificate.

Mommy's Helpers

2008-03-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

Lila on our "breakfast for dinner" night. (Please ignore the hair in the face!)
Mallory prepping mini-pizzas:

Boo Boo

2008-03-09T19:25:00.000-07:00

Pitiful isn't it? Clara insisted on a band aid for a bite on her arm. And yes, she's buckled in her carseat in the living room playing her "Gee-Tar." Her choice.

What's in a Name?

2008-02-24T19:55:00.000-08:00

Found this link on a friend's blog & thought I'd play. My comments are in green...

What Laura Dawn Means

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.
Um.. not really.

You are light hearted and accepting. For the most part.
You don't get worked up easily.
My husband might disagree.

Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.
I don't have many secrets. Incredibly happy? I don't know... but happy, yes.

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.
I do try.

You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.
Yep

You have the classic "Type A" personality.
Totally.

You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way.
And because you're so lucky, you don't really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life.
Mmm... not really. I worry too much & wouldn't consider myself lucky. Actually I don't even like the term.

You're sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Spread your luck around a little to people who need it.
Greedy? With three children? Really? How can that be?

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.
I'm pretty tame.

You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.
This statement describes two of my three children.

You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.
Nah - I am totally not a rule-breaker.

You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row.
Um... yes. Except when it comes to the aforementioned three children.

You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace.
Agreed.

People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality.
Probably true.

You are very charming... dangerously so. You have the potential to break a lot of hearts.
Nah...

You know how what you want, how to get it, and that you will get it.
I don't think I'm quite that confident.

You have the power to rule the world. Let's hope you're a benevolent dictator!
I wouldn't go that far... Although my friends who know me might know something about an icon... *wink*

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.
Well of course.

You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.
Perhaps.

You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.
Who are you calling paranoid???

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Need Help Voting?

2008-02-05T19:46:00.000-08:00

I found this site interesting...

http://www.votehelp.org

Reasons #72-76 why I don't like to keep craft supplies in the house:

2008-02-04T18:20:00.000-08:00

My Afternoon

2008-01-30T17:21:00.000-08:00

Dropped Mallory off at dance, ran to the grocery store, ran home to unload groceries & put the cold things away, went to pick up the younger two girls.

Fight ensues in the van over who is going to sit in the back. Both girls are screaming at the top of their lungs, launching over one another, and tripping over all the junk in the floor in our van. People are beginning to stare. The mom in the van next to me gives me a polite smile, but behind that smile it was obvious she was thinking "My Children Would Never..." Clara wins the battle but not the fight, as Lila is assured a place in the back on the next trip in the car on the way to church.

We finally get strapped in and buckled and head out to pick up Mallory. About 2 minutes after we're on the road Clara starts whining because she forgot to get her VeggieTale guitar out of her cubby. (Said guitar is all of three inches long). We have a melt down, but I assure her we will get it tomorrow. Meanwhile, Lila has found some scuba gear in the van (don't ask!) and she's pretending that it's a flute and singing a song. Loudly. Apparently, Clara is still in a bad mood over the missing guitar, so she begins yelling "Stop Lila! Stop Lila! I sleep!" Of course, we all KNOW she's not asleep. It doesn't help either. Lila just sings louder.

Fast forward a couple of blocks. We finally make it to the dance studio. After Mallory's class is finished, she comes out without shoes on, so I send her back in to put on some shoes. This becomes Lila & Clara's' chance to escape into the studio. Mallory gets her shoes on while I'm attempting to round them up. Lila has managed to sweet talk Ms. Joyce into giving her a sticker. I tell her to come on. She starts my way, but then Clara realizes what's up and has a meltdown because she needs a sticker too. So I timidly ask Ms. Joyce if Clara can have a sticker too. Of course. By now, Lila is wanting ANOTHER sticker, which I deny permission for, and she gets upset. Getting upset is actually putting it mildly. She throws herself on the ground kicking and screaming and kicks me as I pick her up (with Clara on my other hip to keep her from getting away and running in front of the cars) and screams all the way to the van. We have another fight as we near the van and get in over who is sitting where again. Lila is still upset and irrational over the sticker incident that the seat situation just escalates. Plus, she finds a paper kangaroo in the van that she made two days ago at school that Clara has dismembered, and now she's in tears because Clara "broke her favorite Kangaroo!"

Meanwhile, we get on the road and Clara realizes kitty is in the floor and no one can reach it for her. She cries all 15-20 minutes of the way home.

We get home and other than the disagreement about the color of flowered lollypops each child wanted, it's pretty uneventful for a few minutes while I cook supper. Of course, Clara wants a waffle instead of chicken and we have to cry about that - and hit Mommy, thus a time out. And Mallory and Lila have to fight about where Mommy sits at the table, which of course ends in Lila hitting Mallory and spending some time in time out as well. After everyone is out of time out, we enjoy a relatively peaceful dinner. Of course, Mallory thinks the rice is too spicy.

Kevin calls to say he's running late and will meet me at church. All the while Clara's screaming at my feet and holding onto my leg because she wants a waffle. I tell Kevin to just come get the older two. When he gets home, Clara is throwing a fit because she wants to put her pajama pants on HERSELF. He takes the other two to church and I put Clara to bed. It's quiet for a few minutes... at least until the other half of the family gets home.

Please tell me I'm not the only one whose children act this way.

Calgon, take me away!

Overheard at bedtime...

2008-01-29T18:27:00.000-08:00

After the kids were in bed but Lila could be heard talking...

Clara: "Lila! Quiet! I sleep!"

Hmm....

Family Portraits

2008-01-29T15:25:00.000-08:00

For my "One Year Cancer Free" celebration, we went and had family portraits made. I want to continue with a family tradition I started last January where I take pictures with each of my girls. We went to another photographer, Christie McGrath, whose studio is in Kemah. (http://christiemcgrathphotography.com/) and she did a great job. Of course, Clara was being a bit of a pill. Thank goodness for Photoshop and head swapping!! Here's the end result:

Mallory's Tea Party

2008-01-28T17:19:00.000-08:00

We had a tea party on Saturday as a belated celebration of Mallory's birthday with friends & family...

The Spread...

The girls (and Jacob)...

Carmen trying to get Cami to try on her tiara...

Baby Stephen's mother should be ashamed for putting him in this pettiskirt!

And last but not least, the dance-off: