We Did It!

It may not be a milestone for some, but for us.......it is to be written down and recorded in history.
For the last two days since Grandma has been gone, we have managed to not only get ourselves up, showered, dressed and fed.....but also 4 kids, along with making all the beds, getting a load of laundry done, and all of us out the door by 7:15 a.m.!!!!!! Whoo--hoo!

Now today.....Ro's day started at 3:30 a.m. thanks to Q-T, so he'll be ready to crash about 5:30 this afternoon! I have had many a day like that, and by 1:00 all sorts of CRAZY things are coming out of my mouth...and my little students, to polite to say anything, just look at me and wonder why this crazy lady is standing before them...sometimes..... they just outright laugh! On those days, I just want to find a quiet corner, curl up, and take a much needed nap!

Love-
S

The End Is Near

Less than 24 hours left of Spring Break........on the bright side........eight weeks until summer vacation!!!!!!

Grandma's Gone

In fact.....she is probably flying somewhere over West Texas this very moment.....and I am sure she is gazing out the window feeling very thankful to be back where the weather is already balmy, at least by Nebraska standards. We had a nice cold snap yesterday, which, I am sure, made going home all the more wonderful to her.

Our house feels so empty without her here. In the eight weeks she was here we got used to her laugh, her smile, her stories, filling us in on current events (she became quite the CNN fan), her cooking (bye-bye homemade tortillas), and most importantly her special way with Q-T. I think Q-T was looking around for Grandma this morning when she woke from her slumber.....as they built quite the bond and became best friends.

I know she is going home to 13 people who missed her tremendously, and they will be very happy to have her back in their lives. Just know, Grandma, that you have 6 people in Nebraska who love you more than words can express,and we can't tell you how much we appreciate everything you have done for us! Glad you are back where it is warm....

All of our love-
Ro, Steph, Dew, Chi-Chi, "The Law" and Q-T

Bakerella I'm Not

I am almost embarrassed to show these pics. I had this grand idea to make cake pops with the boys. It looked so easy! Well, looks can be deceiving! This is how mine turned out!

They look pitiful....but they are so very yummy! Check out Bakerella's website to see how they were supposed to look! One day......maybe when I am not so sleep deprived.... I'll have cake pops mastered.

S

This Is What We Did Today

This is where Dew and I went this morning. (I'll spare you the nickname, but if you think long enough.....you might get it.)

Dew and his fellow Cub Scouts had the day off from school so one of the moms, one that is far more organized than me and has all the right connections, put together a very educational field trip to the state capital for the boys......the nickname was not part of the field trip.

These doors are absolutely beautiful. (It is extremely dark inside the capital.....almost
dungeon-like.... so my pictures aren't the best.) Anyway, these doors give tribute the Native American history in Nebraska. They are carved out of Mahogany from Honduras and together they weigh 750 lbs...the handles alone weigh 11.5 lbs.

See my little Cub Scout...notice his smile...the kid wouldn't show his teeth to save his life.

We had a wonderful tour guide, Gloria. The mom who organized this whole thing told Gloria that it was for a group of first graders, and I guess based on previous field trips this crew has taken, suggested that she may want to shorten the tour. Gloria's response was, "No I won't...they'll be fine." She was right! She kept the attention of 10 first graders for over an hour. They were thoroughly engaged and hung on her every word....not one peep!

And the minute she was done with our tour, Gloria went right back and did the whole thing again for another group! Not sure she even had time to take a restroom break!

Here she had them lay on the floor and look up at the dome. They just dropped and made themselves comfortable.

And here she is telling the Scouts how long it took and how much it cost to build the capital. (It took 10 years and 10 million dollars. Just a little trivia for you.) Notice how straight and how still they are standing.....and it is not because the moment is forever preserved in a picture. She said line up and they did!!!! No arguing, no nothing!!!! They just fell into this perfect line.

Each Scout represented one million dollars and one of ten years it took to build the capital.

Notice their hands are being kept to themselves.

My guy is on the end at the right. He represented the 10th year and 10 million dollars.

One day....maybe one day....he'll be a politician. Here he is trying it out. Lord knows the kid loves to argue, and boy, he can sure dance around a subject.....especially when he thinks he may be getting into trouble. In that case, he is very proficient in placing the blame on something or someone else...mainly Chi-Chi!

One of our last stops was meeting the Governor. He was very patient with the kids and their million questions. Most of the questions, strangely enough, dealt with why the furniture in the room was positioned where it was. He said he loved the questions (or maybe he's a really good politician) and they were quite observant....as he has had groups of middle and high schoolers and they don't ask any questions at all. I bet after today's questions, he'll welcome the silence next time.

Look at Dew! Again with the smile.....notice no teeth! I think the Governor is smiling because his time answering questions about furniture placement is almost over. I will say this.....originally he was only scheduled to give us 10 minutes and he ended up spending about 30 minutes with us.....it was all those furniture questions.

The Unicameral is currently in session and the boys got to go on the "floor" of the legislature while the Senators were presenting bills. Guests are announced and the boys got a standing "O" from the Senators when their troop was introduced.

Needless to say we had a wonderful morning...and very educational. The boys really enjoyed themselves! Thank you Virginia for putting this together for us! She takes her job as a den mother very seriously!

S

A Day Full of Blessings

Yesterday was Q-T's baptism. All of her biggest supporters were there to help her celebrate....Oma and Brupa, Grandma 'Tinez, Uncle Benny and Aunt Aub, her Godparents Darren and Sherri....of course Ro and myself and a bunch of very curious and slightly restless kiddos. Q-T made it through the entire baptism without a squeak! In fact she smiled and cooed through the entire thing.

Nice shot of the back of Dew's head. He always has to be where the action is.

We had a small photo session afterwards.

The "star" of the day.....Q-T herself.

My arm is draped across her in almost every picture. Should have been a little more aware of what I was doing. I love that christening gown. A wonderful lady, by the name of Zip, from our old church offered to make it. Three of our four kiddos have worn it......for some reason.....we weren't that on the ball with "The Law". She was 18 months before we got around to having her baptized.

Here are her Godparents. They are two of the most wonderful people I know.....treat our kids like theirs. They also have 4 kiddos and can easily understand our crazy life.....in fact....if you threw the 8 kids together, your first thought may be, "Are they all siblings?"

Here we are with Grandma 'Tinez. She has been taking care of Q-T since the first of Febuary and will be leaving us in the 29th of this month. She and Q-T have developed quite the bond. She has been spoiling all of us with her mouth-watering cooking...especially those homemade tortillas.... and helping us get things done around the house.

We keep begging her not to leave us...as we aren't sure what we are going to do without her. I do think she is ready to go home to Grandpa and warmer weather. Thank you Grandma for all you have done for us!

Here we are with Oma and Brupa.

We are so lucky to have them...and spoil us as well. They let us come and take over the farm when we want to escape the big city. With 6 of us, we pretty much, "take over" where ever we go. I think Oma worked the hardest to make Q-T's day special. Thank you Oma for making her day so wonderful!

The only people we left out were Uncle Benny and Aunt Aub....sorry guys! Just know we love you, too!!!!!!

Thank you to all of you for making Q-T's day so wonderful!

Love-

S

I Can FINALLY See It Coming

Exactly 4 hours until Spring Break starts..........

Generations

Q-T's first visit with her great-granddad.

The stories he could tell her......he's 98......and am sure he has a million and one to share....country school, box dinners, square dances and on and on and on.

Then we took this...

......four generations. Something wonderful.

S

Cousins

Look at this crew!

They're cousins....although by looking you could never tell they are related........and boy, are they a wild bunch! WILD, I tell you! Listen carefully and you can hear the chaos....can you hear it?

Chi-Chi has to be the "ham" in every picture!

But he can be so loving!

S

Reality

Reality just set in! Spring Break is just around the corner.....my saving grace.....counting down the minutes!

S

Does It Really Have To End?

Why do all good things have to come to an end?

The kids and I just spent the weekend at my parents. It was absolutely WONDERFUL! I was completely spoiled....not only by my parents....but I was able to sit back and watch HGTV, Food Network, TLC, and CMT to my heart's content. (We don't have the "big" cable package.....they have DISH.) Dad kept the boys busy and out of the house. Mom watched the baby and I actually got some sleep!

Don't want the weekend to come to an end and have reality set in.

The boys had a great time and spent most of the weekend out and about with their Brupa! Two weeks ago when we were there, this is what it looked like.

They went to "The Station" to have a coffee/Bug Juice, helped feed the cows hay, and made their way to the barn several times a day to give a little calf its bottle.Yesterday they went to a sale and this is what they came home with.

Today the kids and I went on a Gator ride before we left. The kids love those Gator rides! Here we are trying to get our act together.

Right before we left on our journey, E ditched us to do chores with Brupa.

Here is my chauffeur.

He takes his driving responsibility very seriously.

I tried to take a picture of "The Law" and me but it didn't quite work out. I think we must have hit a rut or something. It didn't quite come out like I have envisioned.

We stopped to see some of the sights as we were zooming around.

You'd never be able to tell it by looking at the pictures, but Spring is just around the corner. It really is! And we can't wait! (Notice the barbed wire running directly through the center of my picture.)

Brupa wants each one of the grand kids to have a horse. The kids are so intrigued by the horses and can't wait for the day when they will be able to ride around with Brupa.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing our weekend!

Thanks Mom and Dad for such a great wkend! Can't wait for summer!

Love-

S

So Funny!

Just thought this was funny......
In my last post I wrote about the Baylor Bears and the Huskers......well, in a round about way, anyway. You may have noticed that there are ads in the upper right hand corner of my blog. Ads are placed based on the content of what I write. So I have ads containing information from both Baylor University and UNL. (Roman would be sure to point out that Baylor's ads are more academically based and the other ads deal with athletics. )
Maybe I need to write about diapers and formula......see what kind of ads pop up then.....see what kinds of deals I can find, as I need all the help I can get!

S

Going for the Huskers!

Tis the season for Lent. We have given up many things in our house. I have given up chocolate and pop. Roman has given up sweets and pop. Reicher has given up the computer. E tried to give up yelling. Emphasis on the word tried. I believe that commitment lasted a whole 5 minutes. More on our sacrifices for Lent in a minute. Ro is a huge Baylor fan. HUGE ! Nothing is more frustrating to him than living in an area of the country that worships the Scarlet and Cream. His Baylor Bears just can't get the justice they deserves....not only from his friends, but from the media and even on the playing field, court, baseball diamond...what have you. He was really upset that the Baylor basketball team lost yesterday....and to add salt to his wound......they lost to NEBRASKA!
Today at lunch Ro said, "I think I'll give up something REALLY BIG next year for Lent." I, of course, have been trying for years to get our family to give up TV for Lent. (I think you can probably guess how successful that plight has been.) So I said, rather ecstatically, "Let's give up TV!"
Ro's response was (keeping in mind he has a rather distinctive Texas accent, which he thinks he has gotten rid of in the 10 years he's been living in Nebraska ), "Naw, I'm giving up following the Bears!"

Then there's this guy!




E looked at Ro after he said he was giving up the Bears, and without skipping a beat, E said, "Does that mean that you're going to be for the Huskers?!" Of course we all started laughing hysterically because we know THAT will never happen....and if you know Ro......if you were to cut him open....he would bleed Green and Gold!

Love-
Steph