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!

soccer

it seems i have found myself in the throes of soccer once again.  this second time around has been much easier.  less of a shock to my naturally-inclined unscheduled self.  do i dare say that i've actually enjoyed it?  well, i didn't enjoy the 30 degree wind chill at yesterday's 9:00 game, but for the most part, it's been fun.  it could be because john and i have taken a "divide and conquer" gameplan this season.  we don't both have to attend every single practice.  every game, yes, but not every practice.  and with both boys playing and practicing every week, just this little break seems to maintain the crazies.

here are some fun shots from last weekend's games.  it was the first game of the spring season and both boys did super!  we can see so much improvement, even after having played just one season.  and i think they like it even more now!

burrito's team is the little monsters.  they have glow-in-the-dark green jerseys.  they don't really glow in the dark, but they should, they are "that" color!  burrito is #4.   here they are warming up.

 an action shot.  burrito scored a goal in this game and scored another goal in his second game, along with an assist.  we try not to make a big deal out of making goals (or not) or winning (or not) but no one can stop me from bragging here! :)

 i love, love, love this shot.  he's so serious, watching his team while he takes a break on the sideline.

 post game smiles from burrito.

 noodle's team is the tigers and they have orange jerseys.  he is #5.  this is noodle with the ball below.

 here's noodle making a break-away run.  he scored several goals in this game and in his game yesterday.   i think he and one other boy on the team are the only ones who "get it." 

here are the tigers, minus one player who didn't make this game.  it's just a 3 on 3 game so with only 4 players, noodle played almost the entire game.  we were so happy that he seemed to have more fun and not freak out when he got tired (like he did last season).  his coaches are two 16 year old girls (they are cousins) supervised by their dad/uncle.

 and just for fun, here are two shots i've taken recently of them playing outside.  i'm still trying to figure out my fancy camera.  i haven't yet but despite that, i thought these two pictures were cute.