Under Construction

When Daniel and I first built our house the summer of 2007, one of the things that we REALLY wanted was a covered patio.  That was not a standard option for our house and the builder wanted way too much money to add it to our plan.  We decided to settle for little larger pad and then plan on doing our own addition later.  (Of course, six months after we built our house, they added a covered patio as a standard option.  We are now the only house on our street that doesn't have a covered patio)  The time to fix that has finally come!

Here is a picture of our current patio.  Nice sized but, because of the way our house faces, it is ALWAYS in the the direct sunlight!

Did you notice Dane trying to peek out the window in the door? :)

Now my backyard has looked like this for about a week and a half now, but that's okay because it means things are getting done!

 We started off by adding a little extra concrete onto our current pad to make it larger.

Because of the slope of our yard at that point and the additional concrete, we are going to have to add some new dirt and grass. 

A few days ago they put up all the framework....yay!!!

Since I have taken pictures, they have added the decking and are starting to install the lights and fans, etc.  The roofing people are supposed to start their thing tomorrow....both the patio and my whole house that is still in its "damaged state" from the storm in April.  It will definitely be nice to not have blue tarps covering the small holes in my roof! :)

There are still several things that we want to do after this part is finished (cabinets, grill, etc.) but I am so excited that it is actually in the works.....I will keep you posted!

Happy Birthday Gran!

My little family spent this past weekend in Arlington with all of my Mom's family for my Grandmother's birthday.  A trip to the Dallas area has become a yearly tradition for Gran's birthday but we decided to tweak it just a bit and ALL get hotel rooms in Arlington.  (Usually, there is a large group that stays at my house).  It was a little warm outside all weekend long but I think we made the most of it!

We started the party off right with a delicious dinner at Pappasito's....Yummy!

Gran enjoying the spotlight while being serenaded

 Because we had such a large party, we chose to eat outside on the patio instead of waiting an hour and a half to be seated.  The kids were able to run around and play and the girls even made a train out of some extra chairs.  They made sure their brothers participated.  Sorry that Dane is pantless in this picture.  The poor kid's mommy put him in overalls and then Daddy decided it was too hot to be wearing overalls...but they were so cute!! :)

 Saturday was spent running around and shopping.  You can't take kids to a mall with a carousel and not let them ride.  They were sooooo excited!

 Saturday evening we ventured out into the 100+ degree weather to watch the Texas Rangers.  Kenna was most impressed with the "really really big flag" by centerfield.  I have to admit....it was a great flag to honor!

 Gran's Great-grandsons....all ready to root for the Rangers!

Anson (17 mos), Dane (14 mos), Keaton (10 mos)

 It took a little while for Miss K to understand that we were going back to a baseball game and not hockey (her daddy has her brainwashed) bu once she got there she was ready to go.  I think she especially liked all of the snacks that Mommy brought that she doesn't get to eat on a regular basis.  :)

 Love the grin on the face of my little princess.

 It didn't take Dane long to focus in on the game.  Maybe we have a future baseball player?

Grampy and Keaton, Poppy and Dane

I think this is a really funny picture of the girls.  They had both been wearing their Ranger's hats.  Hats, active girls, and 100* heat do not go well together when it comes to hairdos!

 My cousin, Zach, flew in from CA to help Gran celebrate.  It had been a while since I had seen him so it was good to give him a hug!

Cousin Leslye, her husband Joey, and Cousin Zach

 We were sad that the Rangers lost but we still had a fun time!

Any other spare time throughout the weekend was spent at the pool.  My kids (and my sister's kids) are little fishes!  They want to be in the pool A.L.L. the time!  The hotel had a really neat splash pad for the little ones.

 And the girls took turns showing us how far they could jump.  Here they were trying to give Charlie a high five as they went into the water.

 And what better way to end the weekend than with a ride around the lobby on the luggage cart.  Poppy was such a great driver!

So glad that almost everyone was able to come....we had a blast!  Happy Birthday Gran!

Bed Head

When I went to get Dane out of bed the other morning, he had the most AMAZING case of bed head I have seen in a very long time!  We had stayed at the pool a little longer than we had intended the night before and put him to bed with wet hair after rinsing him off.  I guess he rubbed up against the bumpers in his crib and this is what resulted!!  Too bad I couldn't get him to stay still long enough to get a head-on shot.  I love my little boys curls!

Party Pics

This past weekend, Kenna was invited to the birthday party of one of our neighbors. She had it at a gymnastics/play place which is the type of thing that Kenna LOVES! Daniel was working so Dane got to tag along for some of the fun. Both kiddos had a B.L.A.S.T. It was so fun to watch them run all over the place and they both crashed when we made it home!

They had a fun zipline that the kids could go down (with a little help). Kenna thought it was "way fast." :) Dane really, really, really wanted to go down the zipline so I had to "trap" him in some of the mats they had out. He just stood looking at the other kids longingly. Poor guy! :(

The girls that the place provided to run the party took pity on Dane and let him have a try....too funny!

Every party that has pink cupcakes, strawberries, and capri-suns is a hit in the 3-4 yr old crowd! The two girls sitting on either side of Miss K are also our neighbors and are all pretty much the same age. They will all turn 4 this spring (March, April, and Feb as you make your way from right to left). I love that Kenna has some girls that like right next to us that she will go to school with!!

Dane did find something he could participate in....ball pit!!

I didn't end up with a picture of the birthday girl, but, thanks Lexie for inviting us to your party! We all had so much fun!!!