Weekend Adventure

We've had a good weekend. Friday the kids enjoyed playing and we had pizza and movie night. Leland picked up Honey I Shrunk the Kids for the kids to watch. They loved it. I lost count on how many times they watched it. Aren't old movies fun? Saturday we decided we needed an outing so we headed to the Dallas Aquarium at Fair Park. It was lots of fun. It isn't very large but had enough fish for us. Ryland had a great time taking pictures of every tank. Below are a few of his photos. We then drove to the Arlington Convention Center to see my brother Mitch. He was there with his youth group. We were able to visit with him for awhile before we all needed to get going. Ryland was especially excited to see Uncle Mitch. He informed Mitch that he needs to come stay at our house sometime soon. At first I think Mitch was honored, but then Ryland said why - so they can play some more Spongebob on the Wii. :) Uncle Mitch is a great play toy. We then headed to the store to pick up supper and finished up the day at home. Sunday was nice and relaxing. And Monday I worked all day while the rest of them napped, played and cleaned the house. Over all, a great weekend.

Happy Birthday

Just a quick happy birthday to my sister-in-law Katie. We always pick on her for being so young, but we love her no matter her age. Hope you have a special day with your baby girl today. We love you.

My House Right Now

Ryland doesn't have school today - yes, he has a 4 day weekend! He is quite excited. Leland had to go to teacher workday stuff but then we'll have him for 3 whole days. So I'm still trying to get some work accomplished today but that always seems more difficult when Ryland is home also. :) So I made a sweep through the house to see what was up.

Reese was nice and asleep.
Raylee was playing with the play-do accessories while sporting her gloves.

Ryland was attempting to get his bean bag out from behind his chair.

Life is never dull.

These next pics are of Raylee last weekend. Her Grammy hooked her up with all sorts of dress-up clothes for Christmas. It was modeling day I suppose.

Beautiful outfit #1

And #2

On to work I guess.

New Nephew!

Parker Duncan Wiggains was born this afternoon weighing in at 10 lbs and 9 oz! Kelly makes them big. She was scheduled for a c-section tomorrow afternoon but began having contractions this morning during church services. They decided they better head to Houston and call the doctor. When she arrived she was progressing to they did the c-section this afternoon. Mom and baby are both doing well. Grandma said he has lots of really dark hair and big eyes. Hopefully I will get some pictures soon to share. Congratulations guys!

All about Ryland

Ryland doesn't seem to get much blog time. I'm just with the girls more and have more stories about them most of the time. So here's a Ryland bit.

My Ryland is just growing up so quickly. He is learning to read. He starts having spelling tests this Friday (isn't that crazy!). He is really catching on to numbers. He loves them. He loves to count, add, subtract, anything with numbers. I think he's got more my brain than Leland's in that area. :) He is just such a big kid these days. That does come with some issues though. He is trying to figure out when his opinion and independentness is appropriate. But that is normal I'm sure. We have already had to have a discussion about kissing girls. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised - I was kissing boys in 2nd grade. :) We are learning how to deal with issues right along with him. I guess that's what stinks about being the oldest. Poor Ryland is being raised by 2 oldest children so he doesn't have much of a chance. He is just such a great kid though. He and Leland got their hairs cut last Saturday. The stylist did Ry's where the front part stood up. He loved it. He had to show me as soon as they got home. He then wanted it done like that for church on Sunday. Leland said he told everyone to look at his new hairdo. He then was soooo excited to style it again that way on Monday for school. Leland picked him up on Monday and his teacher was the one that brought him to the car. As soon as she opened the door she said "I LOVE his new hairdo" with a wink. I'm sure he pointed it out to everyone again. He is just so much fun. He loves both of his sisters dearly. He really enjoys helping take care of Reese. Raylee tends to annoy him sometimes since she is old enough to get into his stuff. But they also play well together. This is a fun age for Ryland. Watching him learn and grow is a joy.

Holiday's were good. We had our own Christmas here on the 19th before we traveled. Our first stop was Big Spring. We were able to eat with several of our friends and spend the night with the Chances. It was so good to be able to see some again. We then headed on to Artesia. We had a nice time there also. It is always very relaxing there which we needed. We had a nice Christmas with them and enjoyed seeing Lesa again. Christmas day we went to Hobbs to spend the day with Leland's mom's family. After much fun we headed back to Big Spring and spent the night with the Prather's. It was good to have the extra time with them again. We finally made it home on the 26th. We really enjoyed the travels but were very glad to sleep in our own beds again. Since then we have been cleaning out and rearranging. We cleaned out the kids closets of unused toys (an adventure every year after Christmas); we rearranged Ryland's room; we cleaned out the storage shed and garage; we bought new living room furniture; we hung pictures to finish some decorating; and we have worked. It's been a good week. We've had lots of good family time. We've spent a lot of time with our neighbors also. We went bowling with them on Sunday evening. Leland installed a peep hole in her front door yesterday evening so I went over to chat some. The reality of him being gone is setting in so please continue to keep them in your prayers.

Here is a random set of pictures from the last few weeks. Enjoy.

This is the reaction you want for a present. He received the game Macula.

Reese wasn't sure where to start. She was happy there for a long time.

Ryland received a digital camera from Santa. He has always loved taking pictures and he is quite good at it also.
Raylee received a baby stroller from Santa. She loved it.

Artesia does a big New Year's Eve celebration and brings in a singer for the occasion. This year is was Josh Grayson. We were sad we couldn't stay that long to get to hear him. But Lee, Sandy and Lesa ended up with VIP tickets and had supper with him and a photo op. We were jealous.

Raylee received a hat box FULL of dress up stuff. She loved it.

Raylee has really been into her babies and animals lately. She did all this by herself.

Reese enjoying our bowling night. Alleycats is such the suburbia bowling alley. These are the leather couches to enjoy while you bowl.

Ryland is quite the bowler. Notice the huge tv screens at the end of the lanes.

Just a cute pic of Reese.