Mini Playgroup Reunion

You know those weeks where you just DON'T want to work. You don't want to be there! You're tired and grumpy and are just plain cranky? Well, that was my week! It's not that I don't appreciate my job, it's just the realization that I won't get the credit for a year of teaching...that I'm doing. I LOVE the kids! It was just a nasty o'le cranky week for me.
BUT now, it's the weekend, and we started it off right!
Spicy Girl was in desperate need of a haircut, so, we went to our favorite place where they treat little girls like princesses. A haircut AND manicure for under $20.

Then, the most EXCITING part, our old playgroup pals from up north came down for a visit. Now, this is only half of our playgroup, but we were so glad to see them!

We went straight to Gattiland for some dinner and games. This mamma doesn't do Chuck E. Cheese unless absolutely necessary. But I LOVE Gattiland!

And of course, after some pizza and games, we went straight over to our store, Auntie Anne's for some pretzel treats!

Guess who stopped by for a visit?? Mr. Sam...Auntie Anne's brother. He's been a good friend of ours for years and years.
Please excuse my grossness. It's been a long week!

Since it's bluebonnet season, I thought I'd throw in a picture of our playgroup girls a few years ago. This is our original group. Oh how I miss these girls and their mommies!

Spring Break!

While living in North Texas, we became great friends with the "S" family. They were preparing to go out on the mission field in Asia. We got to know each other really well before they left the country. Now, 3 years later, they are home on furlough. We hadn't seen them in such a long time! Thankfully, this week, they came to stay with us for a few days. They have 3 daughters; one who is the same age as Spicy Girl. Oh how these girls have played and played. Since they haven't spent a lot of time in our area, we took them to some local hot spots!

The above picture is actually part of the land we live on. They hiked up this tall hill.

Mt. Bonell, a "must see" in our area! We had a picnic up there.

Right down the road, we hit a natural reserve park. We did a little hiking and picture taking.

Dinner at The Oasis, another "must see" in our area!

The sunset while eating dinner at The Oasis.

When You Were Born in China

This first grade year, Spicy Girl has been asking a lot of questions about her adoption. The birth mother question finally came right before school started. D.S. and I have spent a lot of time gently answering her questions; Why she was born in China, Why she couldn't stay in China, The government's once child policy. Twice, she's had a surprised tone in her voice when asking about her birth mother, "She didn't want me?" It's then that we assure her that we WANTED her. Spicy Girl's countenance has always been positive. She LOVES to hear about the part where we came and got her. And about all of her family here waiting for her. She loves when I tell her that Boppa dropped us off at the airport and held S.G.'s picture in his hand and said, "You bring this baby home. THIS is my granddaughter." She laughs when we tell her about her sick little tummy on the airplane and her diaper explosion during a landing. We pull out our Gotcha Day photo album and look at all the pictures. She loves getting into the box where I keep her little yellow pajama she was wearing the day we got her. And the bottles we fed her with. And her favorite little baby toys.
Just the other night, I told S.G. to pick out a book to read before bed. She came running to me with this book, When You Were Born in China. I started to read a little, then got a little nervous because it went into more detail than I've previously gone into. But she was captivated by it. I bought this book before we went to China, knowing that one day I'd sit down with her and read about her adoption process. Well, the timing was perfect. She loved it, and it really explained everything so well. There is only one part I skipped; the abandonment. I haven't really explained that part yet, and I'm not ready to. I'm sure that question will come soon, and if not, I'm sure we'll be reading this book again.
So, those of you with adopted children from China; I highly recommend this book. D.S. even agreed that it explained things very well, and that says a lot.

Kite Festival

You know those friends you've had for years....but years go by and you don't see them? Then, when you see each other, you just pick up where you left off? This is my friend Shawn, who is my oldest friend. We've known each other since we were about 5-6. Our parents were friends back in the 70's. We spent every moment we could together.
Today we saw each other for the first time in 6 years. We took our kids to the Kite Festival and picked right up where we left off. Now that we live in the same town again, I hope we don't wait another 6 years!!

Toothless Wonder

Look who FINALLY lost her first tooth at 7 years and 2 months!

What's all the Buzzzzzz????

Last summer, my dear husband (Daddy Spice) took a stroll through Barnes and Noble. He was looking for books about cattle.... because we live on my parent's land and help take care of the cattle. While searching for his book, he happened upon the book, Beekeeping for Dummies, and he thought, "Why not?"
He read the book in one day, and decided he also wanted to be a beekeeper.

I did NOT jump on board right away. Just like the pretzel business, it took me a while to "soak" it in. My answer last summer was a resounding, "NO!" He understood. So, he bought more books and has spent these past several months researching bees. One of his first lessons was how to find a beehive. He set out some sugar water, and found that within 5 minutes, it was covered with bees. That meant a beehive was close.




Last weekend, D.S. disappeared outside for a while. Spicy Girl noticed he had been out and about too long, so she put on her boots and trotted off to find him. The next thing I know, they both come running into the house elated about the beehive they just found. That's right, my man tracked the bees and found their hive. I know you can't see them, but they are inside this tree! About 300 yards from the house.

Guess where D.S. is today?? Yep, bee school. My man has already been to some of the local beekeeper meetings and found out about this class. He's been looking forward to it alllll week. I have to say...once again, I am so proud of my eclectic man. He always keeps life interesting and fun! ~~~and on a fun side-note, my class has always been the Busy Bee class...and I am the QUEEN BEE!


Oh how I love my preacher, pretzel making, computer, beekeeper Man!
BTW~~~ The bees are on order and will be here in April. Already got the hive boxes ready!