Category Archives: Family
Thanksgiving 2011
Thanksgiving 2011
November 24, 2011
So Thanksgiving “prep” had started and Pinterest was booming in our household, so of course we had to try out some of the cute food crafts we saw in the site.
Thanksgiving Cornucopia Treats was first on the list!
Three Way Birthday Party
Three Way Birthday Party
October 29, 2011
I learned that with having all my children in the fall within two weeks of each other it is just easier to have the family birthday party all together. We don’t go “all out” like we used to on their party, just a simple cake and gifts with family. We do take them and do something special for them on their actual birthday but for the family to come over we one have one simple party. We usually just serve hotdogs and nachos so that it is quick and easy and a homemade cake. My cakes may not be as pretty as the store bought ones, but I promise they taste better!
Adam has been so excited all week about the party!
Austin’s “bar Mitzvah”
Austin’s “Bar Mitzvah”
October 15, 2011
Turning 16 is a pretty big deal. I wanted to do something for Austin to honor this “rite of passage.” We had all heard of a Bar Mitzvah from TV and so I looked into it a bit more. The word “Bar” means “son of” and “Mitzvah” means “commandments”. Now I am not big on following rituals and traditions from any culture but I kind of just took the idea and went my own way with it. In a nut shell, for Jews this is the celebration of a Jewish boy becoming a man and therefore responsible to keep God’s law and he is no longer under the covering of his parents spiritually. This usually happens around 12-13 years old. I would not have thought of my child as a man at 12-13 but at 16, I do. Austin is a very wise and responsible young man. I am extremely proud of who he has become and I do consider him mature enough to start making decisions for himself. What better way to tell him that… throw him a party!
I wanted him to be clueless to the fact that the party had anything to do with him. Just so happens this year Feast of Tabernacles fell on his birthday week. I just had him thinking everyone was coming over to join in the feast day with us. His birthday is the 12th but Saturday worked out better for everyone to be able to make it.
We barbequed and all ate our fill outside by our “Sukkot”, then while I had Austin taking in some of the leftovers, I snuck his gifts out.
South Toledo Bend State Park
South Toledo Bend State Park
September 5, 2011
Wanting to have a change in scenery we headed to Louisiana. 
The state park is probably about an hour drive from our house but the idea to go to a different state seemed to excite the kids.
Moody Gardens
Moody Gardens
September 2, 2011
A lady from church was so kind to give us the free tickets to Moody Gardens that she had gotten from a radio station because she was unable to go. There was seven tickets so we decided to take along my sister and her kids who have never been. We drove the two hours it takes to get there and one of the coolest parts of the trip is getting to ride the ferry from Crystal Beach to Galveston Island.
While we were waiting to board the ferry (along with all the other cars) we started messing with the seagulls that were nearby. We tossed a crumb of a pop tart we had, out the window to a lone seagull that was wandering by. Unfortunately we forgot about the fact that seagulls hunt in packs so in a matter of seconds we had a flock of seagulls swarming our car. I am sure the man ahead of us who had just got out of his car for a quick smoke sure did not appreciate that very much…oops!
Oh Happy Daze 