Millennial Choirs and Orchestras

Sibley had her first rehearsal for the MCO. It was so fun to see her singing. She seemed to have a great time. For their Christmas concert they learned two songs that they will be singing. The first is the Polar Express song and the second is Feliz Navidad. I am really excited for Sibley to be a part of the children's choir. I hope it teaches her to show her talents and have confidence in different areas of her life.

How I sleep

I went to check on Jude one night and this is how I found him. He is so silly.

Gas Monkey

On labor day we were bored so we decided to find Gas Monkey Garage in Dallas. It was fun to see the outside of the place and get a picture by the swag van.

Brothers

This was the boys last week before church. They were sitting together on the couch and then the pillow. Usually it's Jude following Gabe which is cute. Gabe is a good big brother to Jude. I am glad Jude has a good example to look up to.

Band

Gabe was very excited to get his trombone for band. It is very loud in this house with limited carpet but he is excited and ready to learn this instrument!

Jude sick on the second day of school

The title says it all. It was not fun having Jude sick the second day of school but by 3 in the afternoon he was fine. Thank goodness it didn't spread!

Neon

This was sis on her second day of school. She loved her new shoes and had to color coordinate her whole outfit. I love how girly she is. I was never that way and it is really fun to see her awesome style.

First day of 6th, 3rd and 1st

The kids started yet another year of school. Gabe is now in 6th grade and the oldest grade in the elementary school. He is now 2 weeks in and boy, 6th grade is tough. Lots of classes and homework plus the trombone! Sibley is in 3rd grade and obviously she has now hit the same age as Gabe where she seems to be a bit embarrassed by me. Jude is now in 1st grade and loving it. He still loves me being around and pictures. I don't want that to end but I am sure it will someday. Ugh, why are mom's so embarrassing? The kids are at Bolin elementary and this is the last year they will all be in the same school. And they are taking the bus home which is also something new for the kids. They seem to enjoy it so far and we live so close to the school that hopefully they won't pick up any bad habits in those 10 minutes!

My sweet Sibley

One day I think Sibley saw I was a little stressed out. She made this awesome list for me and it shows all the great things about me. And the picture is the best! She said it was the only picture on the computer that had mostly just me in the picture. To which later Gabe responded, "what are you talking about? There are lots of picture of mom by herself." Awesome. This really made my day. I love that I have such a sweet and caring daughter who seems to know just when I need a little pick me up. I wish that I wasn't as transparent as I am and that the kids never knew when I was struggling. But then again it might be nice for them to learn that we all struggle with trials and we all need each other. I feel truly blessed to have the family I do. I also love that she put napping on the list which I have to admit is my favorite pastime. 

Random photos

 Jude testing for taekwondo and having to meditate

 Frankie eating a sucker

 Jude getting his yellow belt

 My texas BFF Megan

 Jude and Franks

 Gabe and minecraft toy

 Jude climbing the wall at the scout store before taekwondo

 Sibley's turn on the wall

 Sis took this pic of me when I was sleeping. I was so tired! She even put grandma's old frames on my face. Then she emailed the picture out to family members.

 Dad rough housing with Franks

 Jude was sad one night and he decided laying on the floor in the hallway holding Frankie was the best way to feel better

 Another cute sign from Sis. love her!

 She is all about pink!

 Took the kids to Twisted Root one night for a late night snack and farkle

Farkle outside!

Gabe turned the big 11

I can't believe Gabe is 11 now! This year was the family party which was extra fun because uncle John was here! Also, the week before his birthday he took his best friend Andy to studio movie grill to watch Despicable Me 2 which was fun. We had cake and gabe got money and transformers for his birthday. Some fun facts about Gabe:
He is super tall
He loves legos
His favorite show is Doctor Who
His favorite food is pizza
He is stating the trombone at school this year
He knows his scriptures really well
He likes to play alone sometimes
He is kind to those around him
He has great manners
We love him we love him we love him!!!

The many funny faces of Jude

So cute!!!!

When dad's away...

In July Rob started an eMBA through Cornell which means for about the next year and a half he is going to be busy, stressed and overall miserable. For the first two weeks of his program in July he went up to Ithaca and Queens University in Canada. One weekend we went to celebration park and fed the ducks and played in the water. Later that day we went to Denton and went to Pat and Nicholes house to swim with Megan, Josh and their kids. Then we got all dressed and went to eat at Mellow Mushroom and then of course ice cream at Beth Maries. The kids had so much fun and we were sad Dad wasn't there but we tried to keep busy so we didn't miss him too much!