Christmas traditions

Monty Mouse has made his home under our tree again this year.  Every morning he leaves tasks for the boys to complete that day.
So far, we have had a slumber party under the Christmas tree, Christmas movie marathon, made gingerbread houses, Pancakes in Pajamas for dinner, made an advent chain, Christmas music dance party and my favorite so far was when they made Ben and I breakfast in bed for our anniversary.
I am so grateful for these moments and I am so especially proud of my girls for taking on so much responsibility in this crazy time of our lives.

Thanksgiving weekend

 No Thanksgiving is complete without lots of cousins' time.  This year we also helped PawPaw work on the farmhouse.  Daddy and PopPop blew up all of the leftover Halloween pumpkins to kick off the holiday season.  We went to the annual Christmas night parade in Comfort. We celebrated Mimi and R2's birthdays at Mamacitas complete with sopapillas and sombreros.  The best part of the weekend was PawPaw tossing me the keys to his hot rod, Road Runner and telling me I can finally take it for a drive.  Too bad I was too chicken to really "drive" it.

library pumpkin context

The girls entered the RR public library's pumpkin contest.  The theme was a literary character or book, pumpkins had to be decorated and could not be carved.
LE used two pumpkins to make Garfield sleeping in his bed.  Boo decorated hers as Jack and Annie from the books Magic Tree House.
We were so excited when we got the call that LE won the contest and received a bundle of books.
We are so proud of both of our girls and the gifts God has given them.

Happy Halloween!

Bethany Hamilton aka LE
Britt Nicole aka Boo
a vet aka r2
Chase from Paw Patrol aka HR

We had a fun night of trick or treating in our neighborhood with our friends in the cul-de-sac.  Too much sugar was consumed and too much is still in my pantry.

My tenth Mother's Day

It wasn't the Ritz or even my own bed, but it was full of memories.  I think it is the only weekend, it hasn't rained this month (but there was a chance), so we decided to camp in the backyard.
I was blessed with eggs and sausage for breakfast, lunch at Zoe's and dinner at Salt Lick.
Ben and the kids brought me beautiful flowers and gave me chairs for the front porch so I can sit in comfort while watching the kids ride their bikes in the cul-de-sac.

I'm a blessed Mama.

Christmas with the grandparents

After a late night drive, we got up Christmas Eve morning to spend the day with my parents and siblings.  The kids were blessed with new legos, books, and even a gift card to Charming Charlies.  I got some new candles, gift card to Ulta and crocheted hand warmers I saw on our anniversary weekend, handmade by my mom.  Ben got a Home Depot card, which I personally think he should spend on a fire pit.
After a day of fun with cousins, we spent the night at Gigi and PopPop's.  We spent Christmas Day with Ben's parents and brother Greg's family.  Gigi and PopPop went to Mexico this fall and brought us pottery and the girls back embroidered tapestrie  Gigi made dinner and we all went to bed early for our trip the next morning to COLORADO!!

Christmas morning?

We have a crazy messed up holiday season this year.  With RSB, wrapping up gym duties, and travel, we HAD TO open presents on the evening of Tuesday, December 22nd.  Yes, my the freakazoid Christmas tradition scrooge herself, initiated it.
Ben and I didn't do presents for each other, we have something else planned.  Boo made everyone's presents and LE used the money she earned from labeling books and dog sitting to buy each of siblings a lovie from the Disney Store and Daddy a device so he can wash his favorite hat.  We got the boys new dress up costumes and the girls got tickets to see Toby Mac this spring.  We also surprised the kids with winter clothes for our trip to Colorado.  We will leave for a week the day after Christmas.

Pumpkin Party Palooza

Last night we had a pumpkin party,

That idea was quite smarty.

There was food. There was friends.

I wish that party didn't end.

Pumpkin carving. pumpkin goo.

Pumpkin guts. Ew! Ew! Ew!

But alas, the party soon came to an end,

Goodbye! Goodbye! Please come again!

By,

Landry E. Richards

Happy Halloween from Mavis (Hotel Transylvania), Eeyore, Girllock Holmes and Iron Man.

happy Halloweenie (HR's pumpkin)

fourth of July fun

We were able to mark something off the bucket list for the kids, marching in parade.  And I am so glad it is marked off.  Some friends from church invited us to join their legacy group for a neighborhood Independence parade.
It was hot, it was early and it was long, but we've now been in a parade.
We didn't plan ahead very well, when we reached the end we had to walk the parade route back to get to the car.
But, it's marked off our list.

National Doughnut Day

June 5th is National Doughnut Day, I think the last time the kids had doughnuts was June 5th, 2014; no wait when Daddy had his camp out.  Needless to say it is a special treat to get doughnuts around here.  We decided to take doughnuts to the fire department too and they invited us in to see the fire station and fire trucks.  Spontaneous field trip, SCORE!!
A certain two-year old was a little more brave than his older brother's first visit to the fire station, but HR was still a little apprehensive.  Even R2 acted nervous.  Thankfully, there were no sirens or tears.

My Mother's Day

I am quite sure I am the most blessed Mama on the planet.  I have the greatest, most supportive husband a Mom could want.  I have the coolest kids on the planet who love me in spite of my flaws and moments of weaknesses.  I get to home school my children and pursue my career in fitness.  I am so grateful.
For Mother's Day, we made a quick trip to Kerrville so LE could participate in the Pioneer Day and so we could pick up our van which had to make an unscheduled stop to the repair shop while we were on our trip.  The sliding door stuck, in open, not the safest option to drive around in.  On Sunday morning, we enjoyed breakfast at Gigi and PopPop's, then headed home where Ben grilled us steaks, roasted Brussels sprouts and cauliflower.  On Sunday night, I served for the first time in Kids' Church so we had leftover steak and eggs for dinner.  I had requested new sunglasses for my trip, so I asked for no more gifts for the day.
Thank you, Lord for blessing me.  My cup runneth over.

Easter 2015

This year at our Easter celebration, we also celebrated Grandma's 80th birthday, my Dad's mom.  We had our yearly tradition of cascaranas, grown-up Easter eggs hunts, and great food.  Everyone made it in honor of Grandma's birthday, with the exception of two cousins.

typical...

Of course, they are enjoying the box more than the gift.

**25 days of blogging challenge - FAIL.  I tried to do my yearly challenge and even did it without bullying you into doing it too, Mrs. W.  But, I am caught up for the year and have thoroughly enjoyed looking back at 2014 for our top ten list that will post at midnight.

2014 Christmas memories being made

Christmas in Kerrville

We enjoyed Christmas night at PawPaw and Mimi's with my brothers and their families.  We opened stockings and had our yearly tradition of opening presents one at a time.
We were all blessed with great gifts  a great evening with all of my family in one place.

Richards family Christmas

This year, our Christmas schedule was a little off compared to the past.  We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at home and then traveled to Kerrville to see the grandparents.  We invited a family from our church who doesn't have family in the area to C-mas Eve dinner.
We did our first ham dinner, which included sweet potatoes, homemade (THM) mac and cheese, spinach salad, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie and cupcakes.
The kids went to bed very easily so we could wake up for our Christmas morning festivities.
Each of the kids got four things, I tried to follow the mantra, something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read.  With the help of Mimi she supplied most of the something to wears (shoes for L.E., shirts and jackets for boys and I got Boo a new coat), and I was able to get them all books they have been asking for.  The boys each got a SW character that talks.  R2 got a new alarm clock that lights up when he can get out of bed (AND IT WORKS!!), HR got SW bath toys, Boo got walkie talkies and LE got the original Kirsten dress for her doll and Kit's scooter and dress.
This year's scavenger hunt had them up and down stairs until they ended in the garage with a new trampoline.

Merry Christmas 2014

Happy Birthday Jesus

The boys baked their first cupcakes in honor of Jesus' birthday.  They did everything from picking the mix and icing, to mixing the ingredients to icing and decorating.  I even caught Hank at one point taking a sprinkle out of his mouth to put it back on the cupcake.  A few may have ended back on the cupcakes, but we share everything in our family, even germs.
Happy Birthday Jesus!!