Merry Christmas!!!

Our neighbor is the master digital scrapper....She made our awesome Christmas Card this year!!! Aren't the kiddos adorable? I think so!

Halloween 2007

October 2007

IT WORKED!!

It has been FOREVER since our last post, and So So So much has happened since then. First off, we went to Florida at the end of October for Uncle B and Aunt A's wedding. It was a blast. We did the Disney thing and a wedding and had a great time. There was a small problem with rain, but it didn't stop too much of our fun. I must say, other than the wedding, the highlight of the trip was Breakfast with the Princesses at the Magic Kingdom. Not only was it magical and incredible and worth every penny, we saved SO much time in waiting to see characters in the park. The princesses milled around the room and visited every table. We have a picture with all princesses. The only one that we had to wait in line for was Ariel, and we didn't have to wait too long.

After the wedding we had one weekend home and the next weekend I went to visit my sister in UT and see her new TWIN boys. They were born on October 23rd. One was 5 lbs 5 oz and the other 5 lbs 4 oz. They were both strong and healthy and got to come home with mom a week later. They are super sweet and so much fun. I got to spend a weekend at her house helping her with all the fun newborn stuff. I loved it. I must admit, other than spending time with family and seeing the sweet babies, one of the nicest parts was flying by myself on the plane. It was so nice to just take my purse and not bag after bag of kid treats and things to do. It was spectacular.

We went to N. Texas for Thanksgiving. We spent the day with some good friends there and then went to San Antonio the Friday after Thanksgiving to see the lighted riverwalk and the annual boat parade. The original plan was to go to Sea World, but the cold rainy weather inhibited that plan.

This weeks is busy as well, Got Ma and Pa coming from UT this week to stay with the kids while Dan and I head off to Maui. WOO HOO!! This trip has been a year in the planning and a year of anticipation and a year of working hard to lose that pesky baby weight. It should be a blast. That was a quick synopsis of our craziness the past few months, and hopefully you will all understand why it has taken me so long to update this crazy blog.

Pictures of the past few months are on their way.

"Mini Me"

Walker is looking more and more like his Daddy each day. Check out the lastest photo. Oh and thats Cream Soda he's drinking!!!

This Not So Fall

PIcture Time

I thought I'd update with a few pictures of our latest adventures.

We went to Enchanted rock over Labor Day with our friends the Wagners. It was a rainy day so we thought the best idea would be to hike up a slick piece of granite in the rain. It was fun though.

Walker Loved his first ride in the backpack. Thanks to our awesome neighbors for lending it to us! It sure made this hike a lot more fun for all of us!!

I think if we had known what was in for us on the way down we wouldn't have been so happy to be at the top. It was a good thing we had our GI Joe Brandon with us to help us traverse our way down the slick piece of granite. Let's just say it was an "Adventure" (imagne Dan, or his dad with their hands rubbing together and a great big smile on their face while saying "Adventure:)

Tarin got a new bike for her Birthday...she is getting too big.. Thank goodness she had a helmet on...ask Dan about that one.

Ella is learning to master the scooter. Ask her and she will show you her tricks!

Walker is pretty much happy to just be included in the fun. He LOVES to be outside.

All tuckered out after the long "walk" to get Tarin from school. Once again...I AM SO SICK OF SWEATING. I cannot wait until the weather starts to act like Fall so we can enjoy the walks to and from school!

Goals Update

So, I made a list of all the goals I had for the week, and so far here is the update.....As far as cleaning my house goes...for the first time in my life I PAID SOMEONE TO DO IT! IT WAS AWESOME! I came home and everything from my microwave to the blinds and bathrooms were sparkling clean. It was absolutely incredible. To tell you the truth I felt pretty lazy, especially knowing what my mom must think of me, but when I realized how it would have taken me all week to get done what someone else did in a few hours, I felt much better about it. As a stay at home mom I wonder why I can't seem to manage to get it all done, but that is the way the cookie crumbles. I did get the fabric bought for the curtains and am SO excited about that. I did clean the carpet in one of the rooms of my house. The baby decided to blow out a diaper and suddenly that project became a priority. It needed desperatley to be done, so that was just the excuse. It looks so good I don't know that I need to buy a rug anymore. It is great. As far as losing five pounds...well I had some fries at McD's today so that tells you how committed I was to that goal...oh yeah and my friend gave me the best cookie recipe this week and of course I had to try it. So....it wasn't a complete waste. The kids all ate every night and it was a somewhat productive week. I feel good sitting here typing in my nicely cleaned house.

Goals

I don't know about all of you, but every Sunday night in my world is filled with goals or lists of things I would like to accomplish during the next week. So far this week my list goes like this...Clean the carpets, clean the bathrooms, clean the floors, dust the blinds, dust the house, grocery shop, cook dinner every night....which means I need to create a menu, buy the fabric for my curtains, and finally find a rug to hide the stains I am going to get out of the carpet after I clean it. oh yeah...and lose five pounds. That is among the normal day to day stuff that goes on in the house. Another goal is to workout each day. So, as you can see, I should not be spending time updating my blog...I should be moving furniture so I can actually feel like I've started working on my list. There is oh, so much to do. I just thought I would give a little update on the kiddos!

Ella started pre school a few weeks ago. I think she likes it. Nap time has been a challenge, especially since there is no more bink. It is true, Ella finally gave it up. She gave it to the lady at Wal Mart in exchange for some much wanted toys. She got an Bella Dancerella Princess kit as well as a dress up to match. She is such a funny gal.

Tarin is doing well in school. Her first grade teacher has been on bed-rest so they have a perma-sub. I think things are going well, but I don't get much information out of her. She has had spelling tests which is a new thing this year. She seems to like school and is getting to be quite a good reader. I am just glad that I don't have to fight her every day to get her out the door. I guess next spring could be a different story but right now it is all good.

Enough is enough...I am going to start on the list...no more procrastinating.

Um...what's tagging?

I think this is what I'm supposed to do

MY HUSBAND

What is his name? Dan

How long have you been together? We just had our 8th Anniversary

How long did you date? In person..like 8 weeks. Long Distance about 5 months

How old is he? 30

Who said I love you first? He did

Who is taller? He is

Who sings better? That is probably a toss up - that boy can Sang

Who is smarter? He would say he is...but we all know the truth

Whose temper is worse? His, once he's mad, it just takes him longer to get there.

Who does the laundry? For the first half of the marriage he did...I guess it is me from now on

Who does the dishes? He mostly does dinner dishes...I do the rest

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Depends on which way you look at it...I just have to be closer to the door

Who pays the bills? Me

Who mows the lawn? he does

Who cooks dinner? me unless it is on the grill

Who drives when you are together? The man who cannot be a passenger

Who is more stubborn? I would say that would be equal between the two of us

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Neither of us are ever wrong.

Whose parents do you see the most? Mine

Who kissed who first? I believe it was a very mutual kiss

Who asked who out? I think I invited myself on the Jet Ski....

Who proposed? He Did

Who is more sensitive? Me

Who has more friends? I do

Who has more siblings? I do

Who wears the pants in the family? I will go with the kids...they rule and we just tag along with them

I tag Sally and whomever else decides they want to do this!

Bio......kindof

Dan was in charge of writing our families bio for the neighborhood newsletter. It was pretty adorable that he spent that much time and effort introducing our family to everyone. I just thought I'd post it and see what you think......

Once upon a time, on a far, far away island in the pacific, two young love birds Dan and Angela begin their adventure. It all started on the football field, where Dan was “helping out his roommate” by coaching an all girls flag football team. Angela played on the team. Dan first tried her out as receiver, then as running back and he even tried her as the QB. However, he soon realized that running, catching and throwing weren’t Angela’s strongest attributes. As a last resort, he tried her on the line, but saw that she was only getting man handled by the well over 200 pound Amazon Polynesian Sistahs. Luckily, Angela eventually found her nitch, on the bench, as a cheerleader. This was just fine with Dan because by now he had his eyes set on Angela. After several attempts to get her attention with some lousy one liners and pick up lines, he finally got her attention through showing off his vocabulary. They hit it off immediately. Dan was a local who had the local connections, a car and a jet ski so Angela first thought it would be fun to use this new guy for all his hook ups and cars. She soon realized that it was much much more than that. After several weeks of dating and long midnight motorcycle rides the two were definitely in love, just in time for Angela to go back home.
The next few months were a challenge, but through e-mail, daily letters and daily phone calls they really got to know each other. The old saying was definitely true absence made the heart grow fonder. They we re-united over spring break where Dan popped the question on a whale watching cruise. Dan commandeered the Captain’s Deck, took over the loud speaker and proclaimed his love and proposed in front of several hundred tourists, most of whom were Japanese and had no idea what was going on. She said YES!!! Angela went back home and for another month they went back to the long distance relationship game. Dan then sacrificed the Island Life for true love and moved to Utah. Two months later they were married in Logan Utah on June 9th. Angela picked the date so that it was easy to remember 6 9, Dan maintains there were some ulterior motives to her choice.
Married life was great…Living in basement apartments, working full time and going to school full time Dan and Angela hardly saw each other. They are still amazed they had time to create little Miss Tarin. Tarin joined the DeLong lot on 2001. She came out with a little squeak. She has truly blessed the DeLong Family with her sweet, strong-willed spirit and her eagerness to learn. She is the Pop Star of the Family: she loves to Sing and Dance. Put the girl in the water and she becomes a fish. She loves being the big sister and being the Boss. You’d be hard pressed to find another 6 year old with as much spirit and will, if she puts her mind to something she’ll “Git’r’dun”. After 1 year of being the only child and spending most of her life in a car seat due to busy work and school schedules, it all came to an end when both Dan and Angela graduated from Weber State University, Dan with a degree in Technical Sales and Angela with a degree in Child and Family Studies. Tarin was able to wear a cap and gown and walk across the graduation stage with both her Mom and Dad.
Dan had several sales jobs before he landed a career in Medical Devices. To this day he is selling medical devices for the ear specializing in Hearing Aids. This career path eventually relocated them to the “United States of Texas” where their wild child Ella joined the family. Ella entered this world on 2004. Dan uprooted Angela from her family and friends during the last trimester of her pregnancy, so Ella was the 1st true Texan of the group. Ella is a real animal lover just like her Daddy; if it has fur she wants to hold it and pet it. She has an eye for beauty; she’ll quickly point out who’s pretty and who’s not. She is the little princess of the family; constantly wearing dress-ups and applying lip gloss. On the flip side she loves to get into mischief. She has to be watched with a careful eye because she is a master of getting into mommies and big Sisters things. As Ella got older, she and Dan were able to sell the rest of the pack on the idea of adding a four legged creature to the mix. After a disastrous 1st attempt at dog ownership, the family found Willie. Willie is a German Shepherd Boxer mix and the coolest dog ever. Wherever he goes he wins over the hearts of all.
After living in the DFW area for two years the DeLong family was relocated to the Austin area and found a neighborhood, often compared to the Garden of Eden ,where they still reside today. All settled in, it was time for another addition.
Walker joined the bunch on 2007. He is the little stud of the family. Dan is just stoked to have another Testosterone producer. The estrogen levels were getting a little thick. Willie can’t add too much being neutered and all. Walker is a tank the boy doesn’t miss too many meals. He is the perfect baby, always smiling and laughing. Whether they are a stranger or a familiar face, everyone gets the same cute little smile. He truly is a Mamma’s boy.
The DeLong Family Texas Edition hope to reside here for a very long time, as you can see they’ve been on a vicious two year relocation schedule. They are determined to break that cycle. Angela continues to be the glue that holds the family together. She is constantly planning get-togethers and fun activities for the kiddos. Between Church Friends and Family. Dan loves to ride his motorcycle, which you have all probably heard.
That is the Story of the DeLongs if you have any question just ask Angela, she’ll give you the facts… Dan will just tell you what you want to hear.
Written by DanDeLong

Aaaaaleluia!!!

Yeah!! It is that wonderful time of year again, a time when school starts. It has been another crazy couple of weeks getting ready for the great even. A few weekends ago, Dan's brother Ben and his fiance Al came to visit. We had so much fun getting to know them a little better. The girls, especially Tarin, would not let Al out of her sight. She loved her. They played and played and played. Uncle Ben was a good sport and even let them paint his baby toe bright pink. I think he was jealous that Al was getting all the attention!!! We got to show them some of the fun sights around Austin. We are working hard to convince them to move here. Although I wonder if our house of chaos made them think the exact opposite. Needless to say it was a totally fun weekend.

Last Monday we had a birthday party for Tarin. We invited families as it was on a Monday night and we didn't want to steal kids away from family night. So, all in all, we had around 65 people there. I don't know too many kiddos that have that many people at the 6th birthday party. I was so proud of Tarin. She flitted between all her friends and tried hard to make sure everyone was having a great time. She had so much fun! It was fun for me to see her trying hard to make her friends have fun. She has been looking forward to her birthday for around 364 days now. She begins the countdown the day after her birthday, as usual. I think she has next years all planned out already. Didn't know know, birthdays in the DeLong family are a national holiday! We celebrate big. On her actual birthday she got to go on a date with her Nana. They went birthday shopping at Justice and then to lunch at the Olive Garden, Tarin's favorite place. They ate plenty of bread sticks and alfredo dipping sauce.

When they got home from lunch we loaded up the car and headed to San Antonio. We spent the night there. That night we went to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner and then went on the boat tour down the river walk. It was so much fun. Once Nana gets home from all her trips I will have her email pictures because I forgot my camera. The next morning we woke up and went to Sea World. Nana hadn't been so we had fun showing Nana all around. We went to the water park and then to a few shows. The girls all loved it. Walker was a sport. It was so hot but he just hung on and was as happy as could be all day long. I kept dumping water on him to keep him cool. What a kid. Dan didn't get to go with us because he had to work. Poor guy misses all the fun. Maybe in October we will take him with us!

School started this week. Tarin is now in the 1st grade. She got a great teacher and we are SO happy for that. She loves her class and luckily has one of the kids from the street in her same class. That always makes the first day easier when you already have a friend. She is also going to play soccer this year. She had her first practice on Wednesday and LOVED it. She is a pretty athletic gal and loved beating the boys in races down the field. It makes me happy when I see her very comfortable playing with a bunch of kids she's never met. She just walked right out on the field and started playing. It is going to be a fun year playing soccer. She joined a singing group, much like the one we had in Mansfield, called Sunshine Generation. She has a few friends in the group and LOVES to sing. Her teacher assigned them to bring a brown bag that had 5 items describing themselves and what they like. She took a play microphone, because she loves to sing. her CTR Ring that she says she got at church and it helps her remember to choose the right, a picture of her family that she loves, some lip gloss, of course, no explanation there, and finally she took her swim goggles because she is such a great little swimmer.

Ella doesn't start her pre school for another week...boo hoo hoo. she is so excited though. She does however, get to start her ballerina classes again this week. She gets to learn tap and ballet. Those lucky dance teachers that give a three year old tap shoes and let them go at it. That is a combination that would give me one big fat headache! I think she is enjoying being the big one at home. It is nice for her to not be bossed around all day.

Hopefully now I will be more on top of things and not have to do the big long catch up sessions and will be able to do some fun stuff that is going on daily!

You Tube

Here are a few links to some video clips of our trip to Utah.

Ella and Alisa dancing in the outdoor amphitheatre in Ogden. You can barely see Taylor behind Ella. They can really dance if I do say so myself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaIvkeFuFMw

Here is Tarin flying in the wind tunnel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfI4LGwoJ5w

Uncle Kirk Flying in the wind tunnel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg7oOVsHs0s

Angela Flying in the wind tunnel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu3oJMBZrfA

One Year Older and Wiser Too

August for our family is a month full of birthdays. Mine is at the beginning of the month and Tarins is at the end. So, basically we celebrate all month long. It is good fun! Dan and the kids were sweet on my birthday. The brough breakfast in bed with my most favorite breakfast...breakfast burritos. They were killer. Dan is quite the mad chef. They then sent me on a scavanger hunt for my presents. It was fun! The girls love everything about birthdays. I think Tarin was most excited about it being my birthday because that meant that it was just a few more weeks until hers.

We had such a great time in Utah this past July I thought I would do a detailed update of our trip. We did so many fun and crazy things. We neglected to take the camera swimming with us ever, so noone will ever know for sure that Tarin really did jump off the high dive. Her dad and grandma saw her do it though, so that was very important.

We started our trip off with a funeral. My Uncle Mike passed away the first part of July after fighting cancer for a few years. It was a sad day for the Lake family. It was so awesome to see my cousins stepping up and taking care of their mom and helping her in so many special ways. Although it was a sad reason to get to see them, I was very grateful that I was in town and got to see some of my family that I haven't seen in years.

We also got to spend a ton of time with Kirk, Carin, and Taylor. The three girls had so much fun playing together. Taylor loved running around and being one of the big girls. I dumped the baby with Carin for a day and met my good friend Kellie and her kids and my old college roomie Sally at the Hogle Zoo. We had so much fun spending time with our good ol' pals. That is one of the best parts of going to Utah. Tarin and Morlie love playing together and it was fun for Tarin to re-meet our friend Tyler, Abby, and Emma. We had to bribe the kids to stand by the spitting elephant to take a picture. We also ran into some friends from Pflugerville in Utah. It was fun to play with Katie and Scottie at the Zoo.

The first week we were in Utah. My niece was with us for a few days. We went to the children'st museum in Ogden and also went to a concert in the park and a parade to celebrate the 24th of July. The girls had a good time playing and dancing in the park. The girls loved being at Grandma's they played outside all day. Their most favorite activity was going out in Grandma's backyard and picking raspberries. They would then go get the play mixer and spend hours outside perfecting their raspberry jam recipe. They would blend the berries, get a little sugar, and the freeze it so it would set up. They ate bowl after bowl....taking turns with the mixer. We all get so excited when grandma's raspberries are on because that means a batch of raspberry jam for each of us. Even after all the experimenting with the recipes, Grandma's is still the best. I think Tarin and Alisa would agree. We also got to go into Ogden and try this new thing called "I Fly." Basically it is a simulated sky dive. They get you all suited up and then put you in a wind tunnel that makes it seem like you are sky diving. Kirk's cousin was working there so we got a deal. Tarin, Kirk and I took the plunge. It was such a rush. There was an instructor in the wind tunnel with you because the slightest movement send you into a spin. Tarin was a champ. She was a great little flyer. I am going to try to upload the video footage because it is something to see. So keep current and you might get to see the three of us fly. My mom's good friend from way back when opened a petting zoo at her house. They had goats, sheep, pigs, llamas, kittens, cows, and donkeys. It was a total blast. The kids got to pet and feed every animal Audrey has. And for the grand finale she lets them ride one of her horses. Ella couldn't wait unti her turn. She had to wait behind five other kids and you would have thought it was three hours long. I think Audrey was glad after Ella's turn was over. After they rode the horse they got to give the horse a treat of either apples or carrots. The girls were surprised that a fruit or vegetable was a treat for a horse.

Walker was such a great sport for all of this craziness. He would just smile and only fuss when he was hungry. He was so good for everyone who had the time to sit and play with him. He loved being with all the aunties at family reunion and loved being at Carin and Kirks house. I am pretty sure he was the first to puke on their brand new carpet. They were so patient with us. Walker out grew every outfit I took for him. He is getting so big so fast. I can hardly believe he is only five months old. We had a little adventure on the way home. Dan decided to take Walker with him so I didn't have to fly with all three by myself. We were going to land in Austin only 45 minutes apart so it was going to be perfect, and it was until the girls and I landed. We noticed on the screen that Dan's flight was going to be a few hours late. Luckily I had the keys and the parking ticket for the truck so the girls and I could go home. Poor Dan had to keep Walker happy in the Dallas airport. They finally got in about four hours after we did. Dan had to be at the airport early the next morning to catch a flight out for work, so he had a crazy few days and not much time to recover from the travails of travelling with kids. That is basically our crazy month of July in a nutshell. I will work on uploading those videos for all to see!

Success in the Sky

We are spending three weeks this summer visiting our family in Utah. I decided to fly by myself with the three kids in order to save Dan's precious vacation time. Truthfully, it wasn't too bad. My oldest daughter was a pure angel. She was so helpful and played and kept herself happily entertained throughout the flight and in the airport. There was also a sweet grandparent couple that helped me on and off the plane and also helped during our potty break during our layover. I was SO grateful for them.

I wish I could update pictures, but I forgot my cables for my camera. We have been spending a lot of time with family so far this week. I had an uncle pass away so we had a funeral on Thursday. It was a sad thing, but on the positive side I was able to see so much of my family that I hadn't seen in at least a year or more. On Saturday we had a family reunion on my mom's side and it was a blast to see all the cousins with all of their kiddos. The girls had a great time swimming and playing. Walker was the lucky one that was allowed to stay inside the clubhouse where it was nice and cool. His Aunt Carin was happy to keep him on her lap so she could enjoy the cool too.

Last Friday we went to a community pool in North Ogden. The girls love it there because there is a fun playscape with slides in the water and lots of fun things to do. Tarin decided to try the diving boards. I took her over and helped her go off the small dive. She thought that was good fun and kept going a few more times. She decided the small dive was too boring and that she would try the high dive. So, all by herself, she walked over and got in line for the high dive. She jumped off as big as could be and landed right smack dab on her face and belly. She emerged from the water crying because it hurt. I was just purely amazed at the fact that she even tried it. I think she may try it again. We talked about looking up and not looking at the water, so we'll see. I told her that she needed to do it at least one more time so I could take a video of it. She is such a brave little stink. I know she must get that from her dad. I didn't dare jump off a high dive until I was at least ten. I think she was pretty proud of her self.

Ella has been enjoying running free at Grandmas. That is the best thing about Grandmas is that you can go outside or inside and just play and play and play. It is the best thing for me too. Last night she was running to go outside and slipped and cracked her head on the corner of the railing. All I saw was blood, but luckily it was just a small gash right above her eye. As she was crying and we were trying to get the bleeding stopped, all she could say was "I want my Grandpa." So Grandpa took her and rocked her and helped her calm down. He played games with her to keep the ice on her head. I am interested to see how it looks this morning, as she is still asleep. She was excited that she got to have a butterfly bandage on her head.....although I don't think she realizes that it isn't pink and purple like the butterflies she imagines.

The baby has been a true champ. He basically is in a new spot every time he wakes up. He wakes with a big grin for whomever he is visiting at the time. He did so well on the plane and has done just great with all the passing around and all the kisses from all the people adoring him. He is such a great baby and so easy going. I guess when you are number three you learn to go with the flow.

That is our trip in a nutshell as of yet. We have a few more fun things planned and will update as we go. Maybe I can find some cables and update the pictures. We'll see how ambitious I get.

On the Lighter Side

I never thought I'd be married to a Blogger... There's no turning back now. I might as well take the responsibility to keep you all entertained while you read our Updates. So Here goes nothing... Enjoy... Keep coming back for more...




What Goes Up...











Must Come Down...
Check out the Dude
in the top
Right Corner

What a Ride!!!

Arrggg Matee!

This was a wet and wild week in the great state of TX. Some areas around us received upwards of 20" of rain in one or two days. There is more rain on the way for the 4th of July too. So far all of our firework plans have been cancelled. The Man is looking for somewhere outside city limits where he can play with pyrotechnics and blow stuff up. I am secretly hoping he doesn't find anywhere to do it so we don't have to spend the money on dang fireworks.

Our HOA put on a parade for the 4th around our neighborhood. We decided to participate about 24 hours prior to the event. Thankfully we live in a very talented neighborhood so we were able to pull something together without a glitch. The kids all had a great time. We created a mini pirate ship and filled it to the brim with a bunch of rascally pirates. The new truck pulled the float and even Willie the dog got to participate. It was a great weekend. The kids were sweating to death. The sun hadn't made an appearance all week, but for the parade it was shining brightly. I was in the truck keeping the baby happy so I don't have too many complaints. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to pirate up the baby. Thanks to the help of Tarin and the neighbors. Needless to say, the kids were plum tuckered out after the hour long event. That was about the extent of the excitement in our world.

The girls passed their swimming lessons with flying colors. They love the water and love to swim. They are getting so big. Tarin has mastered the elementary backstroke. Ella is learning how to float and kick on her belly. She is trying her hardest to keep up with her big sister.

It is possible!!!

I must say that since my husband started traveling again I have had a very real fear of getting to church by myself. I am proud to say that today we made it on time and everyone smiling....kind of. It was a big deal for me. I have a friend that sat by us so I didn't feel so outnumbered. For the most part, the girls were great and Walker slept during sacrament meeting, so we are ALL good. I am waiting for the man to get home from Minnesota so I can put on some pictures of our trip to the beach last weekend. We have lived in Texas for almost three and a half years now, and just barely made it to the coast. The girls had such a great time, and I must say my husband and I did too. Tarin loved playing in the waves. Ella wasn't so fond of the sand and getting icky. She's more of a swimming pool gal, much like her mother. I am pretty sure we did get a picture of her with another bucket on her head. She is a strange child. We'll update those pictures later!

The Beginning

Well, I guess it is time that I become a blogger. I am excited about putting daily information into some sort of written format for all the world to see....ha ha ha! Since I am not a scrap booker and I am really no good at journal keeping I thought that writing this blog might somehow preserve some of the memories we are making as a family. I don't know how long the internet will last or this site itself will be around, but as technology advances I guess so will I. This past few months has been a whirlwind. On one hand I feel like the baby was just barely born, and on the other it has been the LONGEST four months of my life. He is a great baby and has been since he was born. ....as I type he is fussing..... He is such a great sleeper and I feel so blessed to be getting a great deal of sleep. This week my husband has been gone to Minnesota and our good friends the Francoms came down from Mansfield. Tarin had such a great time playing with Sophia. We got to swim and went to Zilker Park and the Austin Nature and Science Center. We even rode the Zilker Zephyr (train) around the park. Ella sat between Noah and Alexandra and giggled the entire time. Even The baby seemed very amused to be riding a train. Maybe the love of trains is innate in boys. Our great neighbor Rachel, the photographer, made this cool website that has pictures of the day. If you would like to see them, it is http://www.photoshow.com/watch/JF7hf3tG. It was a fun and tiring day. The kids were all completely wiped out.

So my goal for this summer is to get caught up on all the photo albums and begin keeping better records of our life. Walker is the lucky child that will actually have a history of his early life. I guess I am doing things a little backwards. Normally your third child has no pictures, but in our family, it is the opposite. We don't have a whole lot from Tarin's babyhood, a little more from Ella's and we'll have heaps from Walkers. I guess I am just realizing how important it is....mostly to me. Hopefully I won't be the only family member to post on our blog. I hope Dan will join in the fun too. I guess that depends on how busy he is at work. All right well my five minutes is officially spent.....more later