Weekend recap. Without pictures.

Do you know the true sign of a great weekend?  No pictures.

That's right.  We were having way too much fun to take out the camera, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

I started the weekend off right with a girl's night out on Friday.  I'm so blessed to have several ladies in my new neighborhood that are so fun to hang out with!  We had Mexican food and margaritas and talked for hours.

*insert picture of me and the girls with our giant margaritas*

On Saturday, I slept as long as I possibly could, then the kids and I went to my parents for some pool time and cooking out.  We had a great time just relaxing.  My dad grilled hot dogs and sausage and my mom made rice krispie treats. YUM!  Then my parents and I watched a movie while the kids did who-knows-what.  They seemed to like it, and no one got hurt, so I didn't ask.

*insert picture of me laying on a float in the pool, the kids diving for rings, and dad by the grill.* 

Sunday, we headed to the pool with some friends.  All of our kids are at the age where they don't require 100% supervision, so it was nice for the adults to lounge and watch the kids play.  The kids had such a great time and the adults got some much needed sun.

*insert picture of 4 very happy parents laying by the pool and 4 very happy children splashing each other in the face.*

Monday we headed to Joey's moms for fajitas.  Again, YUM!

*insert picture of me stuffing my face.* 

After lunch we went back to the pool with our friends from Sunday (are you sensing a theme yet?), only by Sunday I was beginning to slightly resemble a lobster.  So while the other adults sat in the sun, I chose the chair in the shade with the latest US Magazine.  (Dang Carrie Underwood looks amazing!)  We stayed at the pool as long as possible, then went to their house to grill hamburgers.  Some other friends met us there and we had a fabulous time!  This kids played so well together and we only had once instance where Ashton's iPod got lost in the piano.  Success!

*insert picture of me lounging in the shade with an adult beverage, Ashton lounging next to me with her teeny-bopper magazine, Taylor wearing his goggles in the pool (since the pool water irritated his eyes the day before), the other adults soaking up the sun, and Rich, Wayne, and I fishing out an iPod from the piano.* 

I love summer!

Don't blink.

Yesterday evening, while sitting in the living room watching the news and minding my own business, a teenager walked into my living room and plopped herself down on the couch.

I looked over to see that she was texting.  Always texting. (Thank heavens for unlimited texting plans!)

I'm not sure how this happened because just last week, she was hugging her Littlest Pet Shops - which today, she wouldn't be caught dead with.

(December 2009)

And the week before that, she was enjoying a jumpy house - which today, is for babies.

(December 2003)

A word of advice... don't blink.

I'm an angry crossfitter.

I told Ryan (our crossfit instructor), when I first started crossfit, that I was an angry crossfitter.

Let me explain.  I'm extremely competitive.  I don't like to be last.  Or the weakest.  Or the slowest.  Or basically "not good" at anything.  It makes me feel defeated.

Most of the time when I feel defeated, I quit.  I'd rather not try than try and fail (which is the main reason that I waited so long to try crossfit).

When I first started crossfit, I really had to fight through this.  Crossfit is hard!  But the more I did it, the better I felt about my accomplishments.

Last night was more like a flashback to my early crossfit days.  I won't bore you with the details of the workout, but let's just say I didn't accomplish what I had hoped to.

It started out ok...

That was a clean & jerk at 75 lbs.  We were working to find our max, but as you read earlier, I'm not a fan of failure.  So when I hit my max, I was pretty much pissed.

That is 95 lbs. and I couldn't clean it.  I could lift it, but couldn't complete the clean & jerk.  I must have tried 10 times and never got it.  I was an angry crossfitter.

So for now, my max clean & jerk is 90 lbs.  I'm not happy about it, but I know it won't stay there for long.  I'm too determined.

And just for grins, here's Joey's max (245 lbs.):

Dang that's hot.

Hasta la vista Jeepie!

Thursday was bittersweet for me.

At the end of 2008, Joey bought me a Jeep Commander. I named her Jeepie and I loved her with all me heart.

You see, back in 2008, gas was $1.97 a gallon.  In more recent days, gas here has been about $3.85. *pause for vomit*  My love for Jeepie was strong though, so I put off trading her in for as long as I could.

Last Thursday was "as long as I could".

When we made the decision, she was so upset with me, she couldn't even look me in the eyes.

I'm hopeful that Jeepie will soon find a new owner who is wealthy enough to look past her drinking problem.  In the mean time, my bank account will thank me for trading her for a hybrid.

Life in pictures.

In case you haven't figured this out yet, I'm obsessed with Crossfit. Last week, I got my first crossfit injury. I dropped a 45 lb. bar on my ankle and thought I was going to die.

The picture really doesn't do it justice. Trust me, it looked MUCH worse in person. The good thing is that I didn't let it stop me from working out.

Yes, I said obsessed.

Last weekend, I came home from church to find this:

Taylor is under there somewhere.  And he was rather irritated when I asked him to clean up his tent before bed.

If you remember, Ashton promised me a mani/pedi for my Mother's Day gift.  She did not disappoint.

Since Taylor got to go see WWE Raw, I had promised Ashton I would take her shopping.  She was very good to stay within her budget!  Here's her favorite purchase from the day:

Dang she's beautiful.  Love that girl so much and we had a great time shopping.

Last night, I went to Taylor's room to tuck him in and I found this:

Taylor loves his daddy.

And he loves his momma too!  (He's very fair with his love.)

WWE Raw

Taylor's love for professional (if you can call it that) wrestling is still going strong.  Several months back, we heard that WWE Raw was coming to San Antonio.  I knew I had to get tickets.  He went to WWE Friday Night Smackdown back in December and had the time of his life, so this seemed like a "must do".

He has been so excited ever since I purchased the tickets!  Joey told him that he should make a poster, so on the way home from school yesterday, they picked up a poster and got to work.

Here's my buddy cheering on his favorites.

Taylor had such a good time and I'm so thankful that Joey was able to take him.  There really is nothing better than watching your children be excited over something they love.

And on a side note, I have to mention what happened when Joey and Taylor were on their way into the arena.  They were walking through the parking lot when Joey saw a guy hit his wife and get her in a choke hold - and it wasn't a joke.  Their children were screaming for help!  Joey ran over and restrained the guy and called for back up. Taylor witnessed the whole thing and all he could say when it was over was: "Dang, I hope we didn't miss Big Show!"

Children.  They're so hard to impress!!

Just for fun.

The other night, Joey and I were resting on the couch when both kids decided to pounce.  They were being so funny that I insisted on getting pictures.  Of course, when Taylor went to get his iTouch to take pics, Ashton baled.  (Like I said before, she's anti-pictures at the moment.)

Mother's Day 2011: Part 2

As promised, I don't want to forget the sweet things that Ashton made for me as well.  She's getting older, and not so much into all the handmade cards and such, but she was still so sweet and thoughtful.

This is my favorite.  And I'm cashing in on Friday.

 

She made both of these at church on Sunday.  And I love them.

And this is the sweet note that she included with my cake.

Ashton was also instrumental in picking out my other gifts and insisted on a beautiful gift bag to put them all in.  She's such a sweetheart and I truly appreciate the effort that both she and Taylor (and Joey, of course!) put into making this Mother's Day one of the best!

I love you all.

Mother's Day 2011

*Disclaimer: I realize this post is heavily slanted towards Taylor, but not for lack of effort on Ashton's part.  She made me some wonderful cards as well, but unfortunately, I ran off and forgot them.  So she will get her own special post tomorrow!

Mother's Day 2011 was a success! It started a bit early this year, with the kids bringing home cards and cakes (yes, 2 cakes!) all throughout the week.

As I read this card, when I got to "I made it with my hand, which is a part of me", I said "awe!" Taylor immediately chimed in "I knew you would say that! I told daddy today that when you read this you would say 'awe'!"  He knows me well.

I love Taylor's artwork. I have a similar drawing of the two of us hugging hanging my office.

Love his spelling and love that he told me "not to look at" his mistake.

These are the cakes that the kids bought and decorated at school. They couldn't wait to give them to me, so we cut into them on Thursday.

On Sunday, I started the day with the kids bringing me cinnamon rolls in bed.  They originally wanted to make french toast and bacon, but since I got a wild hair and made homemade cinnamon rolls Saturday night, that was available and quite tasty, if I do say so myself!

Then I opened presents.  I got the best card EVER!

The kids told me they had no idea what this card meant, but Joey knew I would appreciate it. They all got me some "sleep" aromatherapy items - which I love!  I haven't been sleeping well and Taylor, for one, has been very concerned.  Every night he tells me "I hope you have a good sleep, momma!" and then when he wakes up in the morning, he always asks if I slept well.  Such a sweetie.

After church we headed to Joey's mom's to celebrate with a yummy steak lunch.  I was lucky enough to snag one picture with both kids.  (Ashton is not fond of pictures these days, so this is extremely rare!)

Love my babies!

After lunch, we headed home for a short time, then Joey had to go to work and the kids and I headed to my parents to celebrate with my mom.  My brother and dad made a yummy dinner and we had a great time just hanging out.

Somehow I got away without getting a picture with my momma, but I did manage to get a picture with my one child who will still allow it.

It was a really great day.  The kids were so thoughtful, as was Joey.

Thanks, baby, for getting up early to go to church.  I know you need your sleep, but I truly appreciate the sacrifice.  I love you.  Thanks for making me a momma!

1 year.

One year ago tomorrow, Joey was graduating from the police academy.




This picture totally and completely describes how proud I am, still to this day.

In the last year, he has seen more than I ever wished he would see.  We've had two officers killed in the line of duty.  Strange schedules and missed holidays, but we're adjusting.  We're learning how to be a family in the midst of all the craziness.  I'm fairly certain this has been the hardest year of my life, but it's all worth it just knowing that Joey is living his dream.

Joey, I'm so proud of you.  You are my rock, my hero, my love, and my best friend.  I'll continue to pray for you constantly - not only for your safety but that God would grant you all the desires of your heart.  I know you're living your dream and I could not be more happy to be living it with you.

Psalm 121

 ¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills—
       where does my help come from?
 ² My help comes from the LORD,
       the Maker of heaven and earth.
 ³ He will not let your foot slip—
       he who watches over you will not slumber;
 ⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
       will neither slumber nor sleep.
 ⁵ The LORD watches over you—
       the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
 ⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
       nor the moon by night.
 ⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—
       he will watch over your life;
 ⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going
       both now and forevermore.

My new love.

Crossfit.

Plain and simple, I LOVE IT!!  Yes, I complain during workouts.  That's just what I do.  But I go back every time.

I have never enjoyed working out until Crossfit. 

This shirt that I found online says it all.

Check out the fitness tab at the top to see our workouts.  LOVE IT!

Strong is the new skinny.

Rare.

Last week I walked into the kitchen to find Ashton and Taylor coloring together at the bar.  Rare moments like this must be documented.

Weekend recap.

I've really been slacking lately around the blog, but I hate forcing a blog post.  If it's not there, it's not there, right?  But I do want to remember a few things from the weekend, so...

• Friday night started off perfectly with a girls night out with the ladies from our neighborhood.  We had so much fun drinking margaritas and munching on Mexican food.  Perfect way to start the weekend!  I'm so blessed to have some great ladies in the neighborhood.
• Saturday morning, Ashton informed us of her TAKS scores.  Another 100 in math and she only missed one question on her reading test!  We could not be more proud!!
• Saturday evening, my parents came over so dad and I could work on the doors for the media cabinet.  We still have no doors.
• Sunday, when we picked Taylor up from his class at church, he handed me a paper plate that said "How many times do I forgive?" and it had a bunch of macaroni glued to it.  So of course I asked him what it meant and how many times we're supposed to forgive.  He answered "490!"  We talked for a minute about how that was a metaphor and how Jesus wants us to always forgive, but then I started to joke with him and said "So how many more times do you have to forgive Ashton?"  "Oh, she probably has about 300 left.  Then I don't have to."  Joey and I died laughing!  I guess you need to be careful with the whole 70x7 thing with kids.  They may actually keep track!
• Sunday afternoon, while I went grocery shopping, I bribed the kids with $2 each if they would fold the laundry.  They did.  I may do this every week.