fourth of July pictures

We had a wonderful Fourth of July.  We went to my parents house this year.  It was a big celebration with lots of family, lots of food and lots of fun!

twelve!

On June 13, Aiden turned 12!  This year he wanted a party with some of his friends.  So, we planned a glow in the dark party at Brian's parent's rec. center.  Brian set up a bunch of black lights and all the boys had fun playing dodge ball and running around shooting nerf guns at each other.  Next week Aiden goes to Boy Scout Camp for the first time.  Hopefully camping all week in the hot Texas weather isn't too torturous for him!

memorial day weekend

During Memorial Day weekend we took a family trip to the Houston zoo.  We hadn't been in several years and it was lots of fun to go back and  see all of the new exhibits.  This was Dahlia's very first visit and she loved seeing all of the animals.

There was a brand new dinosaur exhibit that had just opened and the kids loved it!

last day of school!

Aiden got this t-shirt from his math teacher for participating in an online math program.

He came in second for scoring the most points in his school.

The kids had their last day of school today, they were so excited!    It is nice to be out before Memorial Day, it seems like school normally gets out the week after.  Everyone did really well in school this year.  Here's to a nice relaxing summer (yeah right)!

way to go dario!

Recently, Dario was chosen to participate in the Duke University talent search because of the high score he got on an assessment test, the STAAR test.  For the talent search, he was given the opportunity to take the SAT in 7th grade.  He is one smart guy and scored well on this test!  This past Saturday an award ceremony was held to recognize all of the students who made high scores on the test.  We are so proud of Dario and this awesome accomplishment!

My parents were so sweet to drive down and attend the ceremony, which was really long!  Dario was glad they were there to support him.

mother's day weekend

I had a wonderful Mother's Day.  Brian always does a wonderful job of spoiling me!  The weather was so beautiful and we decided to make the most of it, before the hot Texas summer sets in.  Over the weekend we went to the beach and the park.  It was so nice to be able to relax on the beach and enjoy the cool ocean breeze without sweating!  It was also nice because Dahlia doesn't really like going in the water.  She loves to walk along the shore and look for seashells, and we didn't have to worry about her overheating.  It was such a fun weekend!

a big sister!

Dahlia is so excited that she is going to be a big sister!  Baby number 6 came as a complete surprise. I was completely happy with five and had no desire whatsoever for another baby.  Sometimes life shakes things up when you least expect it!  Dahlia really wanted a baby sister and I was thrilled to find out this past week that it is a girl!  The boys on the other hand, were less than thrilled, they are going to be really outnumbered.  We can't wait to meet the baby this September!

We probably won't know if the baby has a heart defect like Dahlia had, until after she is born. This particular defect involves the muscle of the heart and not the heart structure and can be hard to detect on an ultrasound.  However, since we found out through genetic testing, that neither Brian or I are a carrier of this defect, I am crossing my fingers that the baby's heart is healthy.  That doesn't make it less stressful to think that I might have to relive that horrific nightmare all over again!

from this week...

playing outside in the lovely Spring weather

Dario had his last track meet of the season.  This was his first sport to play in school and he has really enjoyed it.  He hopes to participate in 8th grade as well.

pictures from easter weekend

We spent Easter weekend at my parents house.  On Saturday, we had our annual Easter egg hunt with lots of cousins and lots of eggs.  The dads were sneaky this year and hid some of the eggs high up in trees and in the gutter.  On Sunday, along with celebrating Easter we were also able to celebrate my dad's birthday, which fell on Easter Sunday this year.

spring break

The kids are on spring break this week!  The first part of the week we went to San Antonio.  While we were there we went to Sea World.  It's one of those places that I probably won't go to, if I didn't have kids.  I was happy to hear the news that Sea World will be discontinuing their killer whale breeding program, and the youngest whales will be the last generation at any of the parks.  I was a little worried about how Dahlia would handle being out all day at a crowded park, but she did great.  I was sure to bring lots of hand sanitizer, sunscreen and disinfectant wipes for the bathrooms.  She loved the experience of getting to stay at a hotel.  So far it has been a great spring break with lots of fun memories made.

dr. seuss day

Ava and Laila celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday today at school.  They told me a couple of days ago that they could dress up for Dr. Seuss day, so I had to make something that was really fast and simple.  We decided on the Cat in the Hat.  I think these easy costumes turned out pretty cute!

pictures from the weekend

The girls with their boxes full of valentines from school

On Saturday, we took advantage of the nice weather and went to the park