My little entrepreneur

So last week Kate was selling candles for her school's Parents Club.  The IPC raises money through various fund raisers throughout the year to support the school.  Most recently they purchased a really snazzy rock climbing wall for Kate's playground.  So we don't always get involved with all of the fundraisers but who can pass up a local candle company helping the kids (and I love candles).  Kate had been asking me to help her sell some candles but with me working from home, I don't have a lot of people to hit up...especially since the people I do network with all have kids selling the SAME candles as Kate! So one day Kate got annoyed that I hadn't taken her to sell candles and she came out of her room with this sign and told me she was taking the sign to the end of our road and holding it up while people drive by.

That is such a great idea except we live in a rural subdivision so we don't get that much traffic :)
Vanessa saw her note when she came home (and Kate was holding it in the driveway) and she thought it was too cute to pass up.  Vanessa took the candles to her work the next night and sold quite a few.  Chalk one up to my little entrepreneur.  I LOVE HER!

Spring Break - A recap

What better time than now to blog about our Spring Break 2011!  The week is over and the kids are back at school (Kate loved being back, Wesley not-so-much...he suddenly has a 'cough' and needs to stay at home..ha ha!)

But now that I have a moment to breathe, I'd like to share some of the action that kept us very busy on this week long 'break'.  And its officially only a 'break' for the kids.....mom and dad and Vanessa (all the adults in this house) were exhausted!

The first Saturday of Spring Break, the kids and I headed to The Woodlands to do what we like to do when we head to The Woodlands.  We ate at Kobe, got our hair cut and visited with Shannon, Kyle and Avery.  We headed home on Saturday night to a lonely dad who missed us dearly (that is what he gets for working again!)

Then on Sunday, we started the big paint project.  When we built our house, the painters did a custom paint on two walls of our living room and while we liked the very dark walls at first, the darkness got old very fast.  Not to mention, black walls are not conducive to great lighting and made our living room seen very small.  So, Vanessa and I repainted the walls this awesome shimmery gold.  I LOVE IT!  I couldn't handle the color in our entire house but for it to be showcased on two walls...MAGNIFICENT!

First, we had to prime the black walls to prep it for the new paint-->

We have just opened the base coat and are a bit shocked at how yellow it looks...don't get me wrong Justin had been asking for a yellow color but this was NOT what the swatch looked like...take a deep breath..there a multiple coats to apply.....

Can someone say CHEESE (maybe for my huge smile or maybe for the color on the wall!)

Kate kept begging to help us paint....we let her and Wesley help prime since we figured they couldn't mess up the primer...well they did a great job on the walls but they did not understand the concept of keeping the paint nice and tidy..so they were stripped of their paint duties and Kate went into her room and wrote me this note which I just had to photograph (I WISH! I WISH! I NEVER GOT TO PANTE A WALL.  KATE WILL KEIP ON ASCEEN)

Finally...finished product...this picture doesn't do it justice b/c it really got lighter and is a mellow shimmery gold color but nonetheless, it makes our living room look like we just added 200 sq ft!

On Monday, Kate had a play date with Maddie at her house.....I didn't snap any pictures of that day b/c Maddie has a little brother (Cody) that is Wesley's age so I was too busy making sure everyone was playing nice.  Then on Tuesday, Maddie came over to our house while her mom ran some errands and they had a great time playing dress up and jumping on the trampoline!

Wesley was left dressing up with the left over dress up clothes....which makes for a very discombobulated outfit for one very cute little brother!

Wednesday we were SEA WORLD BOUND with Uncle David, Aunt Cathy and Katharina. Thank God for Uncle Davids luxury van which made for a very comfy ride with 3 kids.  NOTE: that is Vanessa in the very back getting a bit car sick and not to mention she had just worked a night shift and hopped on the trip with us (what a trooper!)

Wesley and Katharina are only 3 weeks apart and wired very similarly...so there was a lot of giggling going on!

Kate and Vanessa riding the Shamu coaster!

Justin and Wesley riding too!

The dad and his girl at the sea lion show...

Me and my little man.......

on the way home......tickle monster attack!

Thursday was St. Patrick's day and Vanessa picked up shirts and tattoos for the kids.....on Thursday, MiMi and PaPa picked up Kate and took her (and Mary Grace) to the beach for some sun and fishing!  She had a BLAST!

My little leprechauns!  This was right before Kate was leaving....we missed her!

Wesley was chilling out in the yard and I snapped what could be the making of a supermodel pose?!?!

Since Kate was fishing at the beach with MiMi, Justin and I took Wesley fishing at Coleto Creek and on the way he was zonked!

And this is what Wesley thinks about Spring Break....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

On Sunday, we got ready for a very special birthday party (see below) but before we left the house, Kate checked her miniature garden and found her first strawberry of the season..yum yum!

And finally on Sunday (the last day of Spring Break) we celebrated Uncle David's 57th birthday at CHUCK E CHEESE!  He let Katharina pick the destination and when you let a 3 yr old pick, of course you end up with he big mouse!

This is one of those pictures that made me take a double take.....Wesley and grandma have the same exact facial expression and the same exact body language....guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree!

My girl..I finally got her to slow down long enough to snap a picture!  I LOVE HER!

This is the perfect picture to show Kate in 20 years...my grandma is already getting her ready for the slots!

We are {SPRING BREAKING} through Sunday 3/20..be back shortly!

NO...Not THIS Spring Break!  Those days are O-V-E-R!  At least until Kate and Wesley start hitting the South Padre scene in 15 years or so.  For now our Spring Break is much more mellow but not necessarily restful.  We have A LOT planned for this week and very little of it revolves around staying close to home.  Be back in a week with some cute pics!

And by the way...who on this earth drinks Busch Light beer?  I didn't even realize they made that beer any longer....guess I'm getting old?!?!

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is always a very special time in the Christian faith but this year it was even more special for us as a family because we were able to celebrate at our new church near our home.  It was amazing to talk about Ash Wednesday and what it meant and represented.  So I had to snap a few pics to commemorate this special time so that when the kids get older.

We spent some time talking about penance and reflection and sacrifice.  This is the first year that I think (at least Kate) they got it at a very high level.  We talked about lent and what we could 'give up' for the Easter season.  Kate gave up plums (she loves fresh fruit) and Wesley gave up Coke (he loves sneaking a drink from my glass).  I gave up pickles because it is my favorite snack food!  Justin was still undecided as of last night as to what he was going to give up.  But it is very important for us as a family to talk about sacrifice and the importance of Jesus' death and resurrection during this time of year especially. 

College Day

Today, Kate's school had the local college counselor come in and talk about college and the importance of saving $ for college and making good grades to get into the college of your dreams.

Their assignment was to take their penant and design their favorite college penant.  Of course, TEXAS A&M all the way!

Then the kids were asked to wear their favorite college gear.  When I dropped Kate off in the mornign there were A LOT of Aggies running around the playground but Kate was definitely the cutest little Aggie!  There is something very sophisticated about Maroon and White and Zebra stripes!