Blog? What blog?

Ok, I'm finally back to the blog.  Yes, it has been a year and yes, I had to get a reminder email sent to remember my password.  My lovely sister has been on me to get back blogging, so here we go!  Stay on me Casey!!!  I may do some update stuff from last year, but I plan to just start where we are.  There's plenty of daily crazy to keep the posts coming without going backwards.

First day of school at Senita Valley Elementary.  I can't believe we have a 2nd and 4th grader!!  We are enjoying our second year at the same school.  This is the first school they have attended for more than one year.  Austin has started second grade with a bang!  His teacher is Mrs. Herd and he is in advanced math and reading.  Elizabeth was unsure about her male teacher, Mr. Palmer, but has come around now that she thinks he's funny.  She is in advanced math and reading, as well as band.  She is playing the flute and seems to be enjoying it so far.
We are so proud of these guys!! 

Andy's homecoming

We were SO excited to have Andy home, if even for two weeks.  The DFW airport has a gate dedicated to the rotators that deliver soldiers home.  There are many volunteers that come out regularly to welcome home the troops.  The kids were given pins and a teddy bear by the VVA group from Denton.  After an hour delay, they finally arrived!!!

Can't wait to see Daddy! 

So many wonderful volunteers.

Come on already!!

Daddy loved the posters.

Queen Ridiculous

Queen Ridiculous lives with us.  She loves her some frisbee, but sometimes it's just so much work to hold on to one of those slippery disks.  Her solution?  Chew a hole in the middle and make your own handle.  The slippery disk becomes a much more portable ring!  She was so proud of herself. 

Silly Tikka

Amazing Grace

The kids sang in church and did a wonderful job.  Although simple, I still love the song.  It will always remind me of my Mamaw and Zion Hill Baptist Church.

Valentines Day Parties

The kids love their school parties.  This year's Valentines was full of fun.  There were cards, games, snacks and no homework!

Ms. Sale's class of cookie decorators.

Less about the decorating, more about the eating.

Dinosaurs!

A traveling exhibit of robotic dinosaurs came to the Heard Museum in McKinney.  We had a nice warm day and headed out to enjoy a walk through the woods.  The dinosaurs are life size, move around and make sounds.  The kids, especially Austin, thought it was too cool. 

Dimetrodon

Styracosaurus

Omeisaurus

No teeth a saurus

Silly brother, it's just a Baryonyx. They eat fish.

Grandma's not scared of a Tyrannosaurus Rex!

Snow Days

Snow!!  Yep, that's right, we're in Texas and I still had to use my snow shovel.  We had an unexpected 4 day break from school thanks to a rare ice/snow event.  The first couple of days were terribly boring; our own personal Groundhog Day.  The sleet turned into lots of ice, which froze our back door shut, filling the knob with ice and  piling up 7 inches high along the bottom.  The third day, it finally snowed, so we grabbed the sleds and headed out! 

Elizabeth on Grandad's sled. This was an early run.  We got much faster!

Marshall enjoyed eating the snow and beating it with his rake.

Marshall's first sled ride!