My room decorating project

Since Ruby turned three, I knew that there was no more denying it - it was time that she move out of her crib. That little crib has had a good run, sleeping all four of the kids in it, and it was a little sad to see it go. :( But now I had a challenge - what to do with the girl's room!! They had no real furniture or decorative scheme, and I had always intended to really do something cute when the crib went bye bye. But now it was here!! And decorating stresses me out!! So, what else could I do but hit the shops! I shopped and I took pictures and I compared and I shopped some more and...oh my word was it a lot of work! But in the end I found furniture that I loved, bedding that I loved, and a lot of ideas for painting and other wall decor that I was excited about. So after many more trips to the stores, and many hours of painting and arranging, the girl's room was complete! And we all love it. Here are some before and after pictures (and yes, they did have to actually switch rooms for all of this to work...so we've been doing LOTS of rearranging upstairs!).

Before:


After!!!:





Now, somewhere in the middle of this project, I started feeling really guilty about creating this darling new room for the girls, while the boys room is really pretty lame and "little boy" like. So I decided - why not just do both rooms? The boys didn't need new beds, and didn't really need new furniture - it all still worked - but the dressers that they had were really really old, and frankly kind of ratty looking. So I decided to try my hand at furniture painting, which I'd never done before. Wow!! What a difference a coat of paint and new hardware can make!! It was amazing the difference! We also took their bunk bed apart, which they were so excited about (who knew??). After the same amount of shopping and deciding and trying to find a good older-boys room theme that fit both boys, I was really excited with what I ended up with. And the boys just love it. And so do I!! Both of the rooms just make me happy to see. And I'm also really glad to be done decorating for a while! Here are the pictures of the boys room, before and after.

Before:


After:

Six Flags with Ruby

During the kid's last week of school, Bryan and I took Ruby to Six Flags. We thought it would be fun to take her on all her little rides, before the crowds of summer, since she is always such a good sports about waiting for her older siblings to ride their rides. And boy was it fun!! She was really in her element, and loved all the attention. We had a really fun day.

Spring Soccer

We had all three of the big kids playing soccer this Spring, and it was quite action packed! I coached Ella's team again this season, and it was great fun. We started the season off with quite a few losses, but we finished up with two wins!! Not that scores are even kept at this age, but come on - they know! Ella played really well, especially toward the end of the season, and I love seeing her being an animal out there. I was very proud of her, and happy to be her coach. And do you love their uniforms??? We had to spruce up those boring black uniforms, so I found the Pink Tiger socks and made the hair bows and ribbons for all the girls. Go Pink Tigers!




Spencer played on the same team as in the Fall, and played a good bit of goalie again. And he loved every second of it! In fact, one game he played the entire game in the goal and "probably saved 20 goals!" In his words, "It was heaven!" Sorry about my finger in the last picture. I was filming with one hand and taking still shots with the other, which is not an easy task under ordinary circumstances. But at this moment he was making a really sweet save and I was yelling and jumping up and down at the same time. So frankly it's a miracle that a picture was even taken!


Next comes Tyler. I love to watch Tyler play soccer. (Do I say that about every sport?? I might.) But it's true! He is all over the place, tough as nails, and it's just awesome to watch. This year he gathered up a bunch of friends from church and school to be on his team, which was fun, but many of the boys had never played soccer before. So it was really a learning season for them. But the improvements that they made - wow! It was so impressive to see. Tyler played half of every game in the goal (which is where most of the action was!) and the other half he played forward or halfback. My favorite moment of his season was when he and his little buddy made a "secret play," which consisted of his friend pretending to kick off the ball, but really just jumping over it. Then Tyler ran along behind him and kicked it with all his might. Well, on the first attempt of this play, the ball bounced off of a player on the opposing team right back to Tyler, where he launched it into the goal from the half line. It was his team's first goal of the season, and you can imagine the sidelines! It was pretty great. And then, of course, they tried that secret play in every other game the rest of the season (and the refs were really pretty good about it, since it technically was an illegal play). But anyway, a great season for Ty. Now you would expect to see his soccer pictures next. Yes, well...oh the shame!! I have none. Not one. I just didn't take many pictures this season, since it seems like the millionth season that the kids have played soccer, and when I realized that I had totally blown it, I couldn't even get him to dress back up and let me snap some pics in the backyard! So alas...just imagine a cute turquoise uniform, with a team named the Invaders.

School's out!!

I can't believe that school is out!! Time is just flying. We have officially lived in San Antonio longer than any other place we've lived in our married life (and longer than Bryan has ever lived anywhere!). And no...we don't have the itch to move!! We are perfectly happy right here. But like it or not, another school year has passed and the kids are moving on. Ella finished Kindergarten with her beloved teacher Mrs. Ray. Ella just loved school this past year, and has done so well. My favorite things about Ella in Kindergarten has been the increase in hugs now given out to everyone she sees (or, I should say, "huggies"). :) I guess that Kindergarten girls just like to hug each other...a lot! Very cute.
(At the Fairy Tale Ball, as Rapunzel.)


And Tyler has finished Third Grade with Ms. Gonzales. The thing I want to remember about Tyler in Third Grade is his relationship with a special little friend from his class. This little boy has a variety of different issues that range from extreme anger, crying, throwing mega fits, and getting really sleepy from his medication. Well, if you can imagine, this has been quite a challenge for Tyler's very young new teacher. Until she discovered her best secret weapon - Tyler! Tyler just took over and cared for this boy - rubbing his back to calm him, gently waking him up when he fell asleep, sitting with him at lunch every day, and always being the go-to guy when this little boy needed anything. Tyler's teacher got choked up telling me what a Godsend Tyler has been for her, and how she thinks that he just saved this little boy this year. Wow...what a guy!! Now I just wish we could somehow get this behavior at home toward his sister Ella!

And Spencer has made it through 6th grade - his first year of middle school. He did so well, worked so hard, and even earned a few awards at the end of the year ceremony. I'm so proud of all the kids for their hard work and kind hearts!!! Now I get to keep them at home with me all summer long, and I'm so happy!!

When mom's away...

I love my husband. When I have a meeting or other activity that I need to go to, he always plans something fun to do with the kids. They are lucky kids to have such a great dad! Anyway, this past month I had a rather lengthy meeting that I had to be at, so Bryan took the kids on a hike and took these pictures. But, I ask myself...what are they wearing??? Ruby - purple socks and crocs? Ankle socks and Mary Jane's, Ella? And where is your shirt, Spencer??? These types of shenanigans would have had a hard time occurring with mom around!! :) They had a blast, though, and talked about that hike for days on end!

Piano Recital

Spencer and Tyler just finished their third year of piano lessons, which culminated with their piano recital. Finding the right song is the most important thing for the boys to stay motivated, so we were very happy to find songs that were just perfect for each of them. Tyler played the Star Wars theme song, and did a great job. He waited until just three weeks before the recital to finally decide on a song that he liked. And it was a little above his level! But he worked and practiced so hard, and did a wonderful job. Spencer had been working on his song for a couple of months, just for fun, so he was more than ready. He chose "Baby" by Justin Beiber, and he sang along as well. It is always such a proud moment as a mom to listen to your kids perform, especially after hearing them work so hard on their songs. Way to go boys!!

Bryan and Bruce's flight

In May, Bryan had a very awesome opportunity to fly with his dad. His dad was coming out to speak at Bryan's student's graduation, and Bryan was able to arrange for him to fly in the backseat of another pilot's F-16 while he flew in the lead jet. It was a very cool and memorable flight for both of them! They have actually flown in the same two-ship one other time, before Bryan went to pilot training, in a T-38. Of course at that time Bryan was in the backseat of the second airplane, while his dad led the flight, so this was a pretty unique reversal of roles. What a great day for both of them. Then that night we had the graduation to attend, where Bruce spoke and did a great job. It was a really fun night, and a great weekend with Bryan's parents!

The Girl's Backyard Photo Shoot

I've been working on a project. You'll get to see it soon enough, but in the meantime I'll give you a sneak peek of part of the project - lots of pictures of the girls! A friend of mine met me in my backyard and snapped some cute pictures of the girls one morning, and here are a few of my favorites. Now you'll just have to wait and see what I ended up doing with them!!