My New 'Do

If you remember from and earlier post

( http://valdiviesoclan.blogspot.com/2008/05/hair-cut-sagas.html) I've had some bad hair cuts in the past. Now that my last hair cut has finally grown out, I've decided to grow my bangs out, and chop off all my hair. I'm tired of having "mom hair" and I figure if I don't have the option of pulling it back into my signature pony tail/bun I'll be forced to style my hair. So, tell me what you think.

Photo Tag

Okay, so I had a hard time with this tag. I've seen it several times, and I might have even been tagged by it more than once, but I've never done it. I have SOOO many photo folders it's ridiculous. I have folders inside of folders, inside of folders...so which is truly the sixth folder? Anyhow, I found what I figured could be considered the sixth picture of the sixth folder, and this is what I found. That's Josh at four months old. Poor kid. I don't know why his mom didn't cut his hair. Carly had the same sort of problem when she was that age, but we disguised it with ribbons and bows. Getting a good laugh out of Josh's funny hairdo reminded me of another picture we have...This is Carly at three months. She had THE curliest hair when she was this age...then it went super straight, and now it's back to curly. Weird. I really love this picture. AND just to make everything even...I found this one of Jack:

At one month his hair wasn't terribly crazy...in fact, I think he got the good hair gene. No cowlicks!! Amazing in this family!! Thanks Kathleen for tagging me! I've been needing a reason to post something new, and it was a lot of fun to browse through my old photos.

So, now I tag Kerilynn, Carlie, Clarissa, Karon, Catherine, and Andrea. Have fun!

BUBBLES!!

We inherited quite a bit of fun stuff from our neighbors in their moving process, including about 8 bottles of bubbles. I'm not really sure what it is about bubbles, but they can hold the attention of small children for a long time. I like to use them in nursery for this exact reason. All my kids really love bubbles, and Carly is at the age where she can successfully hold the bottle by herself without spilling, and blow the bubbles. I love to hear Jack say BUBBLE!! Unfortunately, he doesn't do it in this video. I'm sure it's just a mom thing, but I find it really interesting to notice the difference in my children's voices. Josh has always had a very sweet voice, from word one. Jack's, while still sweet, is a little more...for lack of a better word...husky. I get the biggest kick out of hearing him yell DADDY when he hears Jarod coming home. I only really hear "Mommy" when he's upset. I guess that's also a mom thing.

Goodbye! We Miss You!

Our next door neighbors moved this week, and we're so sad to see them go. We've been really lucky to have such good neighbors that we could be friends with, and have our children play together. Carly just loves Chloe, and she's constantly telling me that she misses her. I was really sad to see Kesha go. It's been really great to step outside and chat while the kids play, share baked goodies, take trips to the library, and have a friend to confide in. Carly is already planning our trip to Oregon. The night before they left, Chloe got the map out and showed Carly the trek out west.

Even though there is a two year age different between Carly and Chloe, they play really well together. I've been really glad that Kesha is a home schooler, just so that we could spend so much time together.

From the moment the moving truck showed up Monday morning Josh was obsessed with getting in the yellow truck. He and the other kids played in it while Jarod and Jason loaded it with furniture and boxes. Then on moving day the boys got to sit in the cab and "drive" the truck. From left to right, Chloe's home school friends Benny and Heddy, Chloe, and Carly. Me and Kesha

Easter Fun

This Easter weekend we were able to spend a lot of time with our friends next door. We were happy to spend so much time with them because they're moving this week. Needless to say, we're sad they're leaving.

On Friday we had a little Easter egg hunt in our backyard for the kids. It was so fun to see them running around snatching up the eggs. Josh lost a little interest when one of his eggs came open and candy spilled out. Then we broke confetti eggs on each other. Kesha and I both realized we weren't in sports growing up for a reason. Throwing the eggs didn't last long. The girls got a kick out of having confetti in their hair.

After dinner we dyed eggs. Kesha introduced us to a southern tradition of "pocking eggs". Chloe and Carly both loved smashing each others' eggs.

On Sunday Carly gave the talk in Primary about Christ's resurrection making it possible for us to return to live with our Heavenly Father. She did a good job, and one of the teachers leaned over and commented on how confident Carly is in front of people. Of course, she did have her daddy to tell her what to say. After church we went to my folks' house to have Easter dinner, and while the kids were upstairs getting changed, the "easter bunny" left their goodie baskets on the couch. Carly kept telling me "I love Easter!!"

Bluebonnets

It's always fun when spring comes in Texas, because the roads are scattered with wildflowers. We're lucky to live where we do, because there is still undeveloped land around, and ample amounts of wildflowers to enjoy. If you're a Texan, or you live in Texas, you know taking pictures of your kids/family in the Bluebonnets is THE thing to do in the spring. So, here is what I was able to get out of the kids. I tried two different locations on different days, and the results weren't much different. But hey, what's the point of having a perfect picture if your kids aren't always smiling and sitting still like you want them to...it's supposed to be realistic, right? right???

So, this one wouldn't be too bad if it weren't for the buildings and cars behind them. Location, location, location. I can't help the fact that Josh hates posing for pictures.

I love this one because Carly and Josh are holding hands. They are such sweet friends.

There was a fly. Good location, but the kids were NOT into it. Can you say..."aren't we done yet, mom?" I think Josh might also have been upset about the dead animal remains just a few feet away...ooops!!

Hail Storm

It was a less than intelligent move to pack up my kids, leave the windows at home open, and go shopping during a tornado watch. I was sure the storm had already passed the area we were going to, but I was wrong. Luckily I moved the car under a tree when the hail started, because the damage would've been a lot worse. As it is, we have a busted tail light, and little dents on the top, side, back, and hood of our car. Of course, an hour after the storm hit, it was bright and sunny. Texas weather in the spring is very unpredictable. I've started paying more attention to the weather after our little hail storm adventure. Every time Josh sees the weather map on TV, he talks about the hail coming. "Oh my goodness...hail and storm." For days after the storm, Josh was asking what happened to our car. At first the hail started out pea size, but it quickly graduated to golf ball size. These are our pictures more than an hour after the storm had passed. My mom had friends at work that got tennis ball sized hail. Yikes.