part II...carlsbad caverns

can i just say that i LOVE the darkness of hotel rooms? i loved getting to sleep all the way until 8:15 with no light whatsoever coming into our room. the girls thought it was so fun to get to go downstairs and eat breakfast in their pajamas. kaitlyn was especially in awe of the continental breakfast. she's experienced these before, but just seemed overly impressed with things like, "WHERE did you get that BUTTER?!", or "they have MUFFINS?!" guess i need to get the girls out of the house more often.

after a yummy breakfast we were back at the pool again. sunday mornings are the best time to swim at hotel. we had it completely to ourselves.

we got cleaned up, made a quick sonic run and were on our way to the caverns. i don't think the girls were quite prepared for how big these caves were! we decided to walk all the way down (800 feet) to the bottom instead of taking the elevator down. the girls did great, and it was so fun to get to experience that with them. i have been to the caverns before, but did not remember how amazing it all is. seeing it through their little eyes really helped me to appreciate that.

we stopped at the gift shop for some souvenirs and then hit the road. claire was asleep before we even got out of the park!

claire wasn't too interested in having her picture taken...but these 2 cuties were!

blurry background...oh well.

800 feet straight downhill wears you out!

one of the rangers showing kaitlyn a fossil

she picked out a helmet light for her souvenir and had to test it out

quick, but fun trip!

mini vaca, part 1

the girls and i, along with my parents, headed out of town for a couple of days this weekend. we woke up bright and early and left the house around 7:00 to head first to the sandhills in monahans. we were all so excited about this little adventure, but got more and more apprehensive as we watched the temperature get up to 100 degrees by 11:00. it was a scorcher out there people. and, yes, the sand gets HOT. we stayed long enough to snap a few pictures, and slide/run/roll/cry down the tallest hill ONE time before heading back to the car. we rented the little discs you can slide down, but they didn't do much good...are you supposed to wax them down or something? who knows. we just did the best we could. i mean, those "hills" were steep! add a crying 4 year old on your hip and you're d-o-n-e.  however, kaitlyn has the toughest feet on the planet (but still the stinkiest). she never put her shoes on or complained of the heat, while the rest of us were acting like someone forced us to walk across hot coal. she seriously had the best attitude while we were there. when i thanked her for this she just said, "oh you're welcome. i know you were just trying to do something fun for us and sometimes that just doesn't work out." love her.

thought i would try the "surfing" method. still got nowhere.

i just can't do it anymore.

we made it back to our shaded picnic area just in time to get the 14 water bottles that were still frozen in the car. we put all the food and drinks in the freezer the night before to avoid packing an ice chest. we figured they would all thaw out by the time we got ready to eat them. nope. just go ahead and picture all of us trying to get any water that we could out of the water bottles, squeezing capri suns to de-thaw. meanwhile kaitlyn is now freaking out because a wasp is within a 5 mile radius of her. she decides that she wants to sit in the car and she "doesn't care if it's 200 degrees in there." see ya later then.

we finish up lunch, dust ourselves off as best we could and hop back in the car. the temp gage now reads 106. FANtastic.

hiding from the deadly wasp....

from there we drove on into carlsbad...straight to the hotel....straight to the swimming pool. the girls were so ready to swim ,and after a 106 degree day in the blazing hot sand they go STRAIGHT to the hot tub. what is it with that? they did eventually all end up in the pool though and had a great time. hotel pools are the best.

kaitlyn looks so old to me in this picture!

we ventured out on the exciting town of carlsbad for dinner and wound up at Furrs. yep, you read that right. Furr's Cafeteria. yum.my. not much selection here, so you get what you get and you don't throw a fit. the girls loved it though! what kid wouldn't like to just push their little tray down a 100 foot line of food and get whatever they want? and claire thought it was so cool, she wore her shades throughout her entire dining experience. mmm-mmmm. doesn't get better than "chopped steak" and green jello.

after dinner we walked around by the pecos river for a little bit, and then decided to go back to swim some more. (after making a pit stop at wal-mart for some fancy pool toys of course).

claire. look at the stinking camera.

the girls were worn out! stay tuned for part two....carlsbad caverns. 

The End is Near!

The end of school that is, not the end of the world. I mean really? Who really thinks they can predict that? Nonsense I tell you.

Anyway, today was Cora and Claire's last day of Mother's Day Out, and Kaitlyn's awards assembly. I can NOT believe she will be in 3rd grade in the Fall. It just doesn't seem right! I am so proud of her. She has done extremely well this year, even with all of the transitions we have gone through. I prayed and prayed for her to have a good teacher and honestly, I was a little nervous when I found out which one she got! But I could NOT have been happier. Mrs. B has been just what she needed this year. Kaitlyn has absolutely LOVED her.  Just goes to show that God knows my daughter better than I do! She has grown up and learned so much.

Kaitlyn and her wonderful teacher!!

I'm not sure what I think about one of my friends being skinny enough to wear the same shirt my 8 year old is wearing. Cute though!

Cora and Claire have loved The Sandbox. This was the very first year this MDO was even open, and we have been very pleased! The girls both loved their teachers and made some sweet friends. I am sad that we won't be there again next year! Cora will start Pre-K at Kaitlyn's Elementary school, and Claire will go to a full time daycare. I'm praying for a good one!!! :) Today the girls got to enjoy a little bicycle parade around the school, some bounce house and parachute fun, and yummy treats to end the day. I didn't get too many pictures because I was late getting there from Kaitlyn's school, but here are a few!

Claire and her teacher, Ms. Kyla who she ADORES!!

Let summer begin!

Well, hello there.

(I started writing this a few days ago...finished it up tonight)

It's 12:45 in the morning, and I just had the urge to start writing. I'm unsure if I will ever publish these blogs, but I just miss using writing as an outlet, so here I go.

I am at a place in my life I never thought I would be. So many things can happen in what seems like such a short amount of time. It is not my plan to share specific details on this blog, but I will be honest and blunt at times I'm sure. This won't surprise those that know me well. Most of the time, though, I hope to just document our days now. Yes, some things are different. But many things are the same. Three of these being my beautiful, hilarious, joyful daughters. And in a way, I guess this is for them. I like to journal. I have other ways that I write to my girls other than this, but for the funny things I don't want to forget, or just the day to day musings of our life - I feel this will be good. I know that blogging is kind of on the way out with Facebook and all, but that's okay.

So, where to begin (again)? The girls and I are living in Lubbock, under the same roof I grew up in. I am in my brothers old room. It's kind of weird looking in my closet and seeing the Lego ship he built many years ago, and his high school letter jacket hanging in the closet. But, it's a room where I feel safe. And loved. And happy. The girls are in my old room. I tuck them in at night and when I turn off the light we all look at the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling that I stuck up there when I was in middle school. Again - weird, yet comforting. Of course I would love to be in my own home with all three girls in their very own rooms - but that's just not where we are right now. And I am okay with that. Most days, I am okay with that.

I am BEYOND excited to be starting Nursing school in the Fall. August 1st another huge change in our life will begin. I know it will be a hard change for me and the girls, as it will be incredibly time consuming. But, I do feel called to do it. I can't say that I have felt "called" to do much in my life. I am humbled and blessed by the opportunity to be doing this at the age of 31. I just hope I'm ready! Right now I am working part-time as a CNA (certified nurse assistant) at a long term care facility. I absolutely LOVE it. I was a little anxious at first to be working with "the older folks"..but it has truly been a joy. These sweet ones bless my life every time I am there. I really feel that God put this job in my life at the EXACT time that I needed it. I hope to blog about some of the funny (and heart wrenching) things that have happened there.

The girls are absolutely what keep me going every day. Some days I definitely "go" a lot slower than others, but they are my heart. It's hard for me to even find the words to say about each of them. So many emotions are tied to them - love, worry, pride, joy, guilt, fear, happiness.....

Kaitlyn has one week left of 2nd grade. She will be eight in June. How is that possible? She is so smart, VERY independent, opinionated, funny, dramatic, athletic (not girly at all)...she is very busy. The girl is never still. And she has the worst smelling feet of anyone on planet earth - hands down. But her smile lights up the room, and when she laughs really hard, her eyes completely shut and you just can't help but laugh right along with her. She's a brave little girl. She, like all of us, are in a hard time right now - just trying to make sense of everything and figure things out. Her emotions are all over the place. She doesn't really show it, but I can tell sometimes when she is deep in thought, just in her own place figuring things out. It's hard for me to leave her in that place - I'm constantly wanting to talk and ask her what she is thinking about. But I try to remember that it's okay for her to be quite and still, and not have me all up in her business. She is a people pleaser for sure. I'm still trying to figure out what kind of mom I need to be for her. For all of my girls. I mean, don't all mom's feel like that toward their children? I've never prayed for anything harder. Most of her days though, are spent outside with her friends Emily Kate or Tanner. She climbs trees, plays with the dog, plays in the treehouse her Pappy built, sits in the apple tree, or sits on top of the shed to watch people walk around the park. She's an active, busy girl that I just love with my whole heart.

Cora is just precious, precious, precious. I've heard lots of things about how middle children usually are - I guess I need to read one of those books on your children's birth order. She's definitely the most reserved of the 3....the most shy around unfamiliar people or places. She's the one that will stay right with me wherever we go, do something the first time I ask her to do it, doesn't throw many fits, rarely gets in trouble. Her big blue eyes and precious smile (cheeks) pretty much get her what she wants. She is still very much a girly girl. Loves all things dressy, fragrant, shiny, sparkly, pink....you get the idea. She recently learned to whistle and does it all the time now. Sometimes I don't even think she knows she is doing it. Precious. She loves to observe, ride her bike, do crafty things, read books, follow me around, follow me around, and follow me around. I love her with my whole heart too.

Claire is our little comedian. She makes me laugh out loud every.single.day. Many times per day. Her facial expressions and her squeaky little voice and laugh just get me every time. I could seriously hold her and kiss her little cheeks all day long and not get tired of it. She and Cora are such close friends. Yes, they argue some, but what really close friends don't every once and awhile? They play so good together, and it is so fun to watch them use their imaginations when they play. Claire loves to dance and put on "shows." She looooooves the TV. Her favorite thing is to "rest and watch a show in your (my) bed." She gets to do this right when she wakes up for awhile and before she goes to sleep. She loves people. She is like Kaitlyn in that way. She'll walk up to anyone and start up a conversation, or wave to the Xtreme carwash guys through the window. Bless. She loves cards that sing or talk when you open them. She writes, colors, and eats with both her right and left hand. She bites her fingernails. And her toenails sometimes. We're working on it. And, yes. I love her with my whole heart.

Well....there is a very long (yet strangely brief) update on our life. I think I will go ahead and post it. I just spent HOURS reading through my previous blog that I had kept up with since 2005. It really made me want to start doing it again.