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A Call From The Principal

This afternoon my phone rang around 2:00 pm.  I looked down and saw Celina Elementary School.  For a split second about 20 different things ran through my head.  Hesitantly I said hello, not wanting to hear the dreaded your son is sick and needs to be picked up.  To my surprise it was Mrs. V, Christian's Principal.  I instantly knew she was calling in regards to PTA but.....wrong again.  She was calling to let me know that Christian received a positive referral from a teacher and to let me know what a fine young man he is.  She actually had quite a few wonderful things to say about him, let me know he was coming home with a certificate and then asked if I wanted to talk to him.  When Christian got on the phone, you would have thought he was in big trouble.  He had no inflection in his voice, was very subdued and just gave me yes or no monotone answers (boys!).  I told him how happy and proud of him I was to get such a phone call that I would see him in a little while!  When he got in the car he was a little more excited and could not wait to tell dad the good news!  Time to celebrate!

Happy Heart Day

Valentines Day came and went and like most every other day we were on the go.  I dropped Christian off at school with cupcakes for his class party and got to enjoy the rest of the day with my sweet little Valentine Carson.  We hung around the house that morning and then went to have lunch and spend the afternoon visiting with Yai Yai and Aunt Tawnie, something we don't get to do that often anymore.  Carson got his valentines presents from Yai Yai....candy and a stuffed dog he named Scruffy.  For two days the two of them have been inseparable (crossing my fingers that Scruffy replaces CoCo...that poor bear).

That afternoon we picked up Christian, came home and went through his bag of valentines!  He was excited to get the mail too on the way in as he knew there would be some cards in there from Grammy.   She told the boys to watch the mail when she took them to the popcorn store Saturday after his big win.  He was really excited to show me the Dr.Peppergram that his friends had sent him at school.  Going through the valentine cards and candy Christian said that he really thought he should take Casey a special valentine present.  We agreed that he could go to the store after basketball pictures and pick something up to take to her.  Chad and Carson stayed in the truck while Christian and I went in.  He picked out a teddy bear and box of chocolates!  As we stood in line I could not help but look around and see all the last minute frenzy.  I caught a few smiles and gazes in our direction as people noticed Christian.  Standing there in line I could not help but think of Ross and all the teddy bears, chocolates and necklaces he bought over the years starting at about Christian's age now or maybe even younger.  Ross always took the roll of ladies man and I know he would have been the first one pointing Christian in the right direction.  I knew Casey would not be home until 6:30 so that gave us just enough time to go home and give the boys their valentine present from us before Chad had to leave for IG.  

The boys and I made chocolate covered strawberries...a family favorite and then it was time to get in the car. 

Christian asked if he could sit in the front seat and I agreed since we can take back roads to their house and be there in about five minutes.  I threw the camera in my lap as I must take document this evening.  The first time my son took the role of a gentlemen caller.

As we pulled in the driveway I glanced at the clock...6:47 pm. We pulled up to the house and Christian hopped out of the car.  He walked up to the door, rang the doorbell and I saw Casey round the corner inside.

She opened the door with a big smile on her face and Christian said, "Happy Valentines Day", she replied back "Happy Valentines Day" to which he immediately handed her the gifts turned around and SPRINTED back to the car.  Jennifer came around the corner, Casey yelled "thank you Christian", he said "you are welcome" from the car and off we went.  Clay was over by the garage, we said hello and he asked Christian if he brought him anything.  We said goodbye rounded the driveway and were out the gates....6:50 pm.  PRICELESS

I see the sun!

I cannot begin to tell you what a wonderful feeling it was to wake up this morning to the sun shining through the windows!  We have just been home for what I know must be a record 4 snow days in a row.  Days 1-3 were really ice days as the roads were treacherous.  Day 4 though kind of made it worth it as we received probably 6 inches or so of fluffy, time to get out and play snow!  I first insisted that Chad get me out of the house early yesterday afternoon.  Christian had spent the night at a friend's house, I had been sick with a stomach virus earlier in the week and had not left the house in 4 days.  I was officially going stir crazy and needed some interaction with the outside world so Chad, Carson and I went and drove around Frisco.  As we approached Main Street from 5th Street I could not help but think we were back in Crested Butte with the large snow flakes coming down around the buildings.  It really was breathtaking.  After filling up on a good cheeseburger and cheese fries (we needed substance), we came back to the house to get the sleds and snow gear and met Christian and the Stephens to do a little sledding!  Christian and Carson would take turns behind our truck, one would sled while the other would get in the front seat and try to warm up while I took pics out the back window.  We also spent a lot of time trying to pull Joel's truck out as his 4 wheel drive had gone out!  It was a fun afternoon but it came to an abrupt end when the kids realized they were all soaking wet and freezing!  Thank goodness for the extra change of clothes in the car.  The dads did a lot of donuts in the snow and we called it an afternoon and went home to enjoy a nice bowl of snow ice cream after dinner...YUM!  Now keep the sun shining!

NFL Experience

Our dear friend Sarah offered us her tickets to take the boys to the NFL experience yesterday.  We went back and forth as to if we should go or not since I had been sick for a few days and Christian woke up saying his stomach hurt.  We had a 1:30 basketball game and would leave from there if indeed we were going to go.  Just in case, I packed the truck with a change of clothes and a few snacks and we agreed we would make a last minute decision after Christian's basketball game as to what we would do.  After a tough loss we got in the truck and decided it was a beautiful day, the boys would have fun, and we should not pass this up.  We left McKinney and went straight down 75 to the Parker Road station as we were going to take the Dart Rail for the very first time and really make this an adventure.  I had done my research on the internet and felt like a pro when I walked up to the vending machine, immediately punched in our tickets and waited a few minutes for the train to arrive.  We immediately boarded and took our seats, I snapped some pics and Chad confirmed all was well.  

Our cautious little Christian was a little uneasy at first but he soon loosened up and they enjoyed counting the train stops, going through the tunnel, seeing the skyscrapers downtown, all while Carson piloted his rocket ship into outer space.   This was great....or was it?

  

Around Walnut Hill my poor little baby bladder was full.  I told Chad we might ought to jump off but he told me it was all in my head.  We made it to Union Station and would be getting off at the next stop so I sat there breathing and not moving.  Once we got off at the Convention Center I told Chad he was in charge of my purse, camera and kids.  I had a one track mind and it was an emergency, surely there would be a restroom.  We walked and walked and walked and NO BATHROOM.  We made it to the CC and I took off for the first set of doors I could find...locked.  I had to wind through the lines (luckily there was not much of a line), walk through the main entrance, run across the ticket lines, go over the velvet rope where a man tried to stop me to no avail, at last I had made it!   Let the fun begin!

There was so much to do we did not know where to start.  All Christian knew was he wanted to pass, kick and punt the ball.  

Chad found the draft stage so we waited our turn to take pics of our two #1 draft pics for the Cowboys.

Here they are in the bigger than life Dallas Cowboys team picture.

Next the boys would compete in the 40 yard dash and go through the Under Armour Combine

I think Christian ran a 7.4

By this point we were all starving so we found a table and sat down to our $8.00 cheeseburgers, $5.00 fries, $3 bags of M&M's, $3.50 waters and $4.50 cokes.  Now that we were re-energized it was time to play!

Chad and Christian went head to head in this obstacle course!

Christian was thrilled that he won!

Carson and I took off for the Cartoon Network area where the events were a little more his size.

I love this next picture of Carson getting the run down on what to do in this next event.

Everybody around clapped for him as he returned the ball for a touchdown and showed some attitude by spiking it too

Christian makes an incredible catch!

Carson insisted we go back and find this tunnel on the way out.

Christian found a Cowboys uniform and decided he would take a pic.

On the way out they were playing an amazing light show on the Super Bowl sign!

Around 9:00 pm we decided to call it a night, got a bag of cotton candy and headed for the rail station.  I wanted to take a few pics of the boys at the station.  I got this one of our little comedian before the cops came over and told me no pictures were allowed! Yikes.

All in all, it was a great day and wonderful experience!

It's A Miracle.....

Christian finally sat down and learned how to tie his shoes last night!  So, about 30 minutes before bedtime I told Christian to go get his tennis shoes and come sit down with me on the couch.  As soon as he sat down and realized we were going to work on tying his shoes he immediately started whining, "no mom, do we have to?"  I think he said this is boring about 10 times but I was not giving in this night.  He was going to learn to tie his shoes!  We sat across from each other, each with a tennis shoe in hand.  We went step by step, over and over again.  I could not quite remember the bunny running around the tree technique that I remember learning as a child so I just improvised.

Grab the laces and make an X.  Then take one lace and go under the bridge.  Pull both ends tight.

Make a tree and then grab the bunny and follow it around the tree.

Dig a hole and pull him through

Now pull his ears tight

That my friends is a tied shoe

I then had him put his shoes on his feet and try again

TUH DUH!

After we high-fived, cheered and celebrated he sat there for a second and decided he wanted to call Grandma and Ta Ta to share the big news!  He was quite proud of himself and knew they would be too. I think he then put a call in to Shea Shea and Yai Yai to let them know too.  Last but not least, he called Chad who was sitting right next to us the entire time.  When we heard Chad's phone sound with my special ring we all burst out laughing.  He answered the phone and Christian blurted "Dad, I learned to tie my shoes!"  It was hilarious and about time!