The Snowbirds head North...

My parents headed back to Wyoming yesterday.  We've loved having them here and we are sad to see them go.  It's nice to have them so close and the kids have absolutely loved it...they can't wait for them to come back next fall.  I guess it's getting too hot here for them.  Can you believe that?  I mean it's only been 99 degrees outside...wimps! Oh to have the life of a snow bird!  ;) 

I met them for lunch on their way out of town at Firehouse Subs...

And last week, before Taylor's choir concert, they took us to dinner at County Line.  It's a great BBQ place on the lake...

 In fact, it's our favorite place for BBQ.  Dave & I like it because the food is awesome.  The kids like it because they love to feed the turtles...

 And Grandpa likes it because you can get all you can eat!  :)

Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!  We love you and are going to miss you!!!

Way Back Wednesday!

 ~Carter & Grandma Matheny 2004~

Piano Recital

Last Saturday, the kids had their Spring Piano Recital...

Taylor played 3 songs and she composed the third song!

Good Job guys!

Band & Choir Concerts

It's that time of year again...lots of concerts and recitals!  Carter had his band concert last week...

And my favorite...

 Good Job Carter!

Then, last night Taylor had her choir concert...

Next up...the kids piano recital.

Mostly Ladies Day at Lake Austin

Last week,  Five ladies...

~Julie, Kirsten, Laurie, Halli, & Denise~

and a Gentleman...

~Brad~

spent the day boating around Lake Austin...

 Notice the "famous" loop 360 bridge in the back ground?

 Of course, we had lunch on the lake...

 at the Hula Hut.

Then our driver (the gentleman...a.k.a. Denise's hubby) took us on a trip down this "canal"...

 ...lined with gorgeous homes on both sides!  I felt like I was in Venice, Italy! 

They even had garages for their water toys...

Can you imagine?  What a life!  :)

Thanks Brad & Denise for a great day!

Way Back Wednesday!

~Carter, Grandma McDougall, Lauren, & Taylor~

~Mother's Day 2002~

Quest Independent Study

This year, Lauren was put into Quest.  It is a gifted and talented program for kids that think outside of the box.  Each year, they spend a couple of months on an independent study project.  They have to pick a topic, research it, come up with a solution, make a product, display their information on a trifold board, and present their research in a creative way to their peers.  Lauren chose to research Forest Fires.  I was so proud of her as she basically did the entire thing (including a power point presentation) with very little help from me.  Last Monday, she got up extra early to get ready...

to present to her class...

She made a game for her product...

  and Grandma & Grandpa even came to watch her presentation...

I think they were impressed!  :)

They also had a Quest Fair (similar to a Science Fair) last Thursday evening so we were able to see all of the other projects.  It was pretty cool.

(Dad & Lauren at the Quest Fair)

Good Job Lauren!

Way Back Wednesday

~Mother's Day 2001~

Mother's Day Weekend Recap

Friday morning, my friend Laurie and I loaded up all our scrap booking stuff...

 ...and headed to my parents house in Georgetown.  They went to Dallas to visit my brother and let us use their house for a retreat while they were gone.  It was awesome...actually, they are awesome, don't ya think?  We had so much fun!!!  Saturday night, our hubbies came up and we all went to dinner.  Then they headed back home to take care of all the kiddies and we kept scrappin'... 

and snackin'...

and scrappin' some more!

We got back Sunday night around 7ish...The kids had made me some rockin' Mother's Day presents like this crossword puzzle (from Carter)...

 book of poems (from my girls)...

and hand sewn (by Lauren) water bottle cover...

Does it get any better?

 I hope your day was fantastic too!

P.S.  Thanks Mom & Dad for letting us use your house.  It was perfect.  I love you!!!

Way Back Wednesday!

~Lauren, Great Grandma Johnson, & Carter~
~2005~

Time Out for Women

On Friday afternoon, we...

~Janet, Halli, Kim, Patti, & Sherri~

...headed to San Antonio to attend Time Out for Women!  The theme this year is "Choose to Become."  It was awesome.  We got home Saturday evening.  I felt like a new person.  I want to become a better, more generous person.  I want to complain less, judge less, and love more.  Some of my favorite quotes were:

"When we are in over our heads, that's when we depend on our Savior the most."  -Jericho Road

Emily Watts: 
"If you want to be happy as a woman, develop a thick skin."

"The problem with judging other people is that we don't have all the facts."

"Expect hard things of your children.  They will whine, but remember that the road to greatness is paved with whining."

"When you do something really hard, you feel good about yourself."

My favorite speaker, Kris Belcher, lost her vision and her eyes 7 years ago due to cancer.  She went through a very dark period of time, as you can imagine.  She said that people would say, "God only gives us what we can handle so you must be very strong."  She said they were wrong...if that were true, we would not need a Savior.  Heavenly Father does give us things we can not handle at times.  But, with the help of our Savior, we can handle them.  I had never thought of it like that before. She really put so many things into perspective for me.

It was just what I needed.  Thanks ladies...I loved every minute and I loved getting to know all of you a little bit better!

I like it too!

I stole this off of my oldest friends blog (I can do that cuz' she's my oldest friend...that's how it works in case you didn't know) and I like it too...

...a lot!