Dance Completion and Recital

Madeline just finished completing an entire year of Dance. She really enjoyed taking ballet and tap lessons! And it's good for her to listen and learn from another adult, like her instructor Miss Kyle. Next weekend on May 31st she will be performing in her first dance recital It will be held at the Evans Auditorium on the Texas State Campus in San Marcos. Below are photos I took of her in her recital costumes.

In her tap costume dancing to "Bop To The Top"


In her ballet costume dancing to "Wish"

This summer Madeline's going to try a new class "Hip Hop" for 3-5 years old. She should really enjoy the more casual dancing and have a lot of fun!


The other day we took the kids to nearby Slaughter Park and got some ice creams from Sonic. Here's a few pix from that day...

Madeline and Mia on the ropes.


Big boy James going down the slide.


The kids getting wet in the water play area.


Madeline being a good big sissy and retrieving her brother from playing on the stairs.


And this was later at home, caught James with this funny face while he was watching The Backyardigans.

Recent Photos, Buda Park and Pontiac GXP

Just wanted to post some recent photos. We've been having great weather lately, it's been in the 70's. So we've been hitting up the parks when we can. We're trying to get more active and moving. We took the kids for a walk last week and I think it was some 40 degrees out, they were bundled in their double stroller and Stephen and I had winter gear on! Forgot to take a pic of that. Stephen gave me a letter the end of the year stating his goal to become healthier and more fit. It was similar to the letter he gave me the year before to quit smoking. And he did quit, cold turkey! I think his children really have an impact on it all - he's realizing he wants to be around a lot longer, he wants to be fit so he can keep up with the kids. So I am very proud he is doing this. His goal is to loose 100 pounds this year. To boost off his Best Life Diet he's sticking to these tips:

1. Get moving.
"That's the single most important thing," Bob says. "Most people cut calories, but you've got to lead an active lifestyle."
2. Stop eating two hours before bedtime.
"That alone is going to translate into significant weight loss," he says. "Build it into your lifestyle of what's your normal schedule."
3. Drink at least six glasses of water.
"Most people are dehydrated, and that hurts the weight loss process," Bob says. "Get your six 8-ounce glasses a day. …But if you're active, you've got to step that up."
4. Eat three meals, including a nutritious breakfast, and a snack.
Bob says restructuring your eating, especially to incorporate a healthy breakfast, is extremely important.
5. Eliminate alcohol (for now).
"You can add it back at a later date," Bob says. "Give it a month or two."

And this week he is currently sticking to the cabbage soup diet. It's only a 7 day plan, helps you drop a lot of weight very quickly but is not meant for long term. He's been doing great. And I can tell he's dropped some weight already.

Anyway with this great weather like I said we've been taking the kids to the park. The other day we went to a park in Buda. It's in a neighborhood right behind Madeline's Dance Studio and across the street from our church. Very cute neighborhood, we love the houses and wouldn't mind living there. They're traditional style houses, sort of like the ones in the movie "Father of the Bride" with the garages in the back of the house, with the driveway in front leading all the way back. Also lots of these homes have balconies which you don't see too much of now. The park there has a fishing lake. It was a gorgeous day and the kids had fun!

Stephen brought home a Pontiac GXP. So far this has been one of my favorite cars. It's sporty, but 4 door and large enough to put the kids carseats in. I think it has a V8 so it's powerful and fast. And the dashboard is awesome as it displays your speed on the windshield!

This Week

I keep forgetting to post in my blogs about Stephen's most recent company cars he's been bringing home. It's been fun driving Mustangs, Impalas, Chargers, new SUV's. But for the first time Stephen brought home a Hybrid car. A 2008 Toyota Prius. Although I don't care too much for the body style, and the room inside is only a little bigger than my Sentra...it's definitely a pretty cool car! The dash is super simple, with a power button to turn the car on, a small screen to show what's behind you while in reverse or to show the efficiency of the car while driving. So on average this car has been getting 42.5 MPG (miles per gallon) - now that's awesome!


This week I started watching our neighbor girl, Madeline's best friend, Mia. Bill started a new job and has a month and a half of full time training. So I have her full time until he starts his regular job. It's great for Madeline as the girls have a lot of fun playing together.

Here they are on Madeline's TV Dancing Game. I also watch Mia's brothers for about an hour in the afternoon after they get out of school. Here they are enjoying the game too!


Stephen's had the past 2 days off so we took the girls and James to the park and had some ice cream. The weather has been super nice her lately, reaching the 70's.




I thought this photo was a funny one of James making fish lips!

Oh and James has become so daring once he started walking. I couldn't believe it that he climbed up the play structure himself and went down the slide, here is a video...

Wishing Nothing But The Best For 2008!

Park photos from yesterday at the new play structure in our neighborhood. It was a beautiful sunny day, in the 60's. It's fun to watch the kids play now that James can walk - he LOVES to do all these big kids things now!

Riding her new bike in our culdesac.

Liking sissy's playhouse in front of our house.

And a warm bubble bath to end the day!

Wow only 1 more day left in 2007. I cannot believe how fast this past year flew by. It's crazy that we've been in TX for almost a year now. But we love it here!

Our New Year's Eve party plans aren't all too exciting. Stephen works both the 5am shift on New Year's Eve and Day. I think we're just planning a small gathering with our neighbors. Cooking some of our favorite appetizers...crockpot meatballs, homemade salsa and Chile Con Carne Cheese dip. We'll probably set off some fireworks in the culdesac too.

Thought I'd add a video and some pics of the kids from yesterday. In the video they are dancing to the intro song to one of their favorite cartoons, The Backyardigans. It's funny how James dances, he just keeps turning around in circles. In this video he looks a little drunken and keeps falling over. It's pretty cute!