burrito's acting debut

our school's 1st grade class has performed a production of peter rabbit for the past 22 years.  when john first started working there 4 years ago, we took the boys to see the first graders perform it then, so we knew how much fun it would be for burrito to participate this year.

there was quite a dramatic build-up to the passing out of parts this year and all burrito kept saying was "i just don't want to be the tree, i just don't want to be the tree, any part BUT the tree."  i think the picture below pretty much reveals the part he received.  there were some initial tears but several sweet friends encouraged him by telling him that the tree has one of the funniest parts in the play.  he enters and exits to quite the comical musical accompaniment.

honestly, i think he knew the tree would garner some attention and that is probably why he didn't want THAT part! :)

the set was so cute and handmade by one of the art teachers at our school.

and here is burrito making his grand entrance.  notice the look on his face....a little embarrassed i would say.

 and this is what i would call the "stage fright look!"  ha, ha, but he really did do great!

 once his big tree part was over, he made a quick costume change and joined the bunny chorus.

 i love all their little expressions here.

 and here he is as a bunny.  i really love the lesson behind peter rabbit, especially at this tender age.  peter's mother told him to stay out of mr. mcgregor's garden or he would end up on the farmer's dinner plate.  such an important lesson of obedience and understanding that there are reasons for the rules we make!

 

you did a great job burrito, and we were so proud of you!

mother's day tea with noodle

i had the privilege of attending a mother's day tea hosted by my very own noodle a few days before mother's day this year.  his class worked very hard to make this very special for us moms.  they even escorted us into the room and led us to our seats.

 

they had prepared special treats for us.  first was this sweet little flower arrangement.  the label says "mom, you're 'out of the box' beautiful!"

he also made me this placemat.  it reads, "i see flowers blooming bright in the sun.  how will i choose just the right one? mother's day is coming and it must be right.  to say i love you with flowers so bright."  and the flower is his handprint.  so cute!

all the children prepared each of us a plate of snacks first and then they also joined in eating the goodies.

they closed our special tea with a performance of singing.  it was so cute and fun.  i just love my little noodle!

and just for fun, here is the link to my mother's day tea with burrito when he was in pre-k.

easter 2011

easter in pictures

burrito is 7!

i just can't figure out a way to celebrate the boys' birthdays with just one party.  we've always got the family party, the actual birthday party with fun snacks at school, and then the birthday party with school friends.

i am worn out!  ha!

so first up this year was our family party with my side of the family.  we celebrated with dinner from panda express, a huge oreo cookie cake and presents of course!

the boys with cousin porkchop

 

i love this picture of burrito's face....such glee and anticipation!

 

isn't this a fun cake?  and sweet mimi even remembered noodle's distaste for cake (go figure!) and had cookies complete with decorating icing for him!

 digging in!

 noodle decorating his cookies with the letter "t" for the birthday boy

 i think cousin porkchop enjoyed his cake too!

 and the birthday loot!  lego sets and some spending money!

second was burrito's actual birthday on wednesday, april 6.  john and i took a cookie cake up to school for the kids to enjoy.  we were clearly a distraction (read: chaos) in the classroom, so i failed to snap a pic and we scooted out pretty quick.  we have the tradition of letting the birthday boy pick the place to eat out the night of their birthday and burrito picked cafe brazil.  pics of that celebration with john's side of the family were here.

then came the all anticipated school friends party.  this year we chose a campout theme and invited all the boys over to our backyard friday after school.  john and i both took the day off of work to prepare and i'm glad we did because we worked like crazy people up to the very last second!

these signs greeted our guests as they arrived.

 

we tried to transform our backyard into a campground complete with tent, fire pit, and picnic tables.

when the boys first arrived, we had a camp backpack they could color with fabric markers.  this also served as their party favor bag at the end of the party which included a flashlight, compass, whistle, camp pencil, and s'mores granola bar.

i was camp counselor and i led the boys in several camp games such as a backpack relay, hoola hoop pass, tug of war, telephone, rainmaker and other random games the boys wanted to play.  it was fun but exhausting.  the boys were hot and sweaty by this point so we took a break to eat hot dogs and chips and get a drink!  

we had originally planned to roast the weenies over the fire pit but we quickly realized this was just way too much to handle with this many crazy boys so john just slapped them on the grill.  

then it was time for dessert!  i made individual cups of dirt cake complete with gummy worms.  this was a big hit with the boys.

we concluded the party with opening presents and then just letting the boys run wild in the backyard.

i think the boys had a blast and i was in bed by 8:30 that night!  i was exhausted!

happy 7th birthday burrito!  we love you!

happy 7th birthday burrito!

it's just impossible for me to believe that my burrito is 7 years old!

we celebrated his birth with a cookie cake at school and dinner at one of our favorite places, cafe brazil.  there is finally one a little closer to where we live and this was our first visit to this location.

burrito choose candy bar pancakes as his birthday dinner/dessert choice.

burrito, you gave me one of the best gifts 7 years ago, making me a mom.  it has been such a joy to watch you grow up.  you are a lover of people, soccer, music and Jesus.  you have become a much better reader, a whiz at math drills, and a serious soccer player.  we love you so much and pray that you will love, honor and serve the Lord all the days of your life.

mucho besos!
mommy and daddy

spring break 2011

spring break 2011 has been a different animal this year, if you will.  i realized just how spoiled we've been the past few years, me being home (like always) and john being home on break.  we've managed to pack in a little work and a lot of fun during the past few spring breaks.

this year was a little different now that i am a part-time working mom.  i worked all day monday and tuesday, so the boys called those days "daddy days" and had lots of fun, male-bonding experiences.  i chose not to ask a lot of questions.  i probably don't want to know what all they did (or didn't do!).

on wednesday though, it was my turn as john went golfing with some friends.  the boys and i headed south to mimi's for some shopping, eating and outdoor playtime with cousin porkchop.

thursday finally brought us together as a family, and we had fun hitting some good "treasure hunting" jaunts.  friday was a work in the yard day.  the boys love to jump in and help some, and then when they get bored, they move on to digging in the dirt or other outdoor boy activities.

so when saturday rolled around, john and i felt like we wanted to do something unusual that would make lasting memories for the boys.  after putting our heads together, we decided to head out to grapevine mills and eat lunch at the rainforest cafe.  we'd never been there before, and the boys have always been fascinated with the alligator out front.  well, they haven't always been fascinated....burrito once was scared to death to get near him!  what a difference a few years make!

now it is a little pricey, but we knew that going into it, and we felt like we could splurge a bit.  in its defense, the food was yummy and the atmosphere just can't be beat.  we sat in a booth near two gorillas who would awaken every few minutes to growl and shake the trees.

 you can barely see the gorilla's hand behind noodle in this picture.

 the below picture is complements of burrito.

 noodle was loving the fried mozzarella cheese sticks!

we even splurged and let the boys eat "lava mud."  it was a concoction of chocolate pudding, ground oreos, and gummy worms!

it was really fun but nothing compared to the fun we had in store for the two of them that evening!

now before i tell you what the surprise was, i must first take a moment and congratulate myself.  you see, i am not the world's best secret keeper, especially when it comes to gifts or surprises for the ones i love.  i just get so excited and i want to tell, tell, tell!

but i managed to keep this secret for over 2 months!  and what was the secret????

tickets to see THIRD DAY in concert!!!!  the boys have never been to a concert before, and john had never seen Third Day in concert so you can imagine my excitement for them!  i had seen Third Day several times before but many, many years ago so it was super fun for all of us!

trevor morgan and tenth avenue north opened for them.  they were both very enjoyable and talented but i can't tell you how many times noodle asked me, "is it time for Third Day yet?"

the boys love listening to their music and know a lot of their songs.  and of course, Third Day opened with our current favorite, Lift Up Your Face.  the boys were crooning it, noodle was playing his air guitar and jumping all around, and burrito said, "i can feel the music in my body!"

music is very powerful to me.  i get the most passionate and most emotional when i am singing to the Lord.  and to get to share that with my family, my 6 and 5 year old boys, wow, it was just priceless!!!

it was just the perfect night and the perfect ending to another great spring break with my family!