Our original plan for Tuesday was to head to Kemah for a day of rides and fun, but when we woke up and saw the rain we knew we needed a different plan.  So we headed downtown to Ryan and Maggie’s hotel for some swimming at the indoor pool.  I didn’t take any pictures of that part, but the kids had a great time even though it was just a little 3 lane lap swimming pool.  Once the kids had had enough swimming, we walked to a nearby mall to eat in the food court.

We set up Maisy and Connor at their own table away from the “little kids”, and we all cracked up at how much it looked like they were on their first date.  I have so many good pictures for their wedding slide show should they ever need one!

After a little walk though the mall and a few escalator rides for the kids, we decided to head to the Houston Museum of Natural History since it’s free admission on Tuesday afternoons.  We’ve never been there before, and I think I’ll have to plan a trip back with the kids so we can spend more time.  It was pretty fun (and I will be the first to admit that I am NOT a museum person.  Don’t even get me started on the two times I’ve been to the Louvre!)  We saw the dinosaur bones and a few other displays, but then it was time for us to head back home to get ready for Logan’s birthday party.   Before leaving the museum, I made the kids sit here for a tourist-y picture since we were acting like tourists in our own town.  Please take note of Logan’s face.  He makes the funniest faces in every picture and it cracks Derek and I up!  Love that kid.

After a quick run to the grocery store to pick out a cake (notice I said pick out, not pick up…I flat out did not have time to make one or order one ahead of time!  Oh well.  I think the more kids I have the less worried I am about everything being “perfect”), we headed to Fun Max Jumpin’ for Logan’s 5th birthday party.  His real birthday isn’t until Monday, but it just worked better for our schedule to do it during the middle of the week of spring break.  We actually had a good turnout and had almost 20 kids join us for some crazy jumping and pizza eating fun!

It was the perfect birthday party.  Fun, no stress, so easy, no clean up.  This was the first big party Logan has ever had, and he certainly enjoyed it.  Especially because his bff Noah got to come home with us for a sleepover.  I’m sure if the boys were any older they would have thought that I was so lame because they just took baths, built one of Logan’s small new lego toys, and went to bed.  They were asleep by 8:30!  That’s a sure sign that it was a great, fun-filled day.  Spring Break Day 2 was a great success.

We’ve been so busy lately! I seriously cannot believe that it is already March. This past weekend was such a busy and fun weekend. It started with Connor’s field day on Friday afternoon. I think that C’s school was genius doing field day the day before spring break. They weather was absolutely perfect! Last year field day was in May and it was SO hot. It was miserable! I love a good field day, so I was more than happy to volunteer to bring waters and help with the festivities.  Field day is so different from when I was a kid.  It’s no longer a competitive thing at all.  The kids go around as a class from station to station.  I’m not sure I agree with the new way they do field day, keeping it all fun with no winners.  I think that it’s good for kids to learn about healthy competition and being a gracious winner as well as a good loser.  On the other hand, I get that they don’t want they kids to feel bad about themselves and they want everyone to have fun.  And the kids really did have fun, but I sometimes wonder if the “everyone wins” thing is such a good idea.  Because you know what?  Everyone doesn’t win.  It’s sort of an important life lesson if you ask me.  At any rate, the kids had a blast and I guess that’s what really matters.  Connor’s favorite station was the relay station.  Doesn’t he look like a hard core runner in this picture?

A little potato hockey is always fun…

Camryn was right in the middle of it all, having a blast.  Connor seems to really like having her around at his school, and it makes my heart so happy.

After field day, I headed out for a maternity photo shoot.  We did this shoot just in the nick of time because baby Claire was born the very next day!

That night, we loaded up the party van and drove to Arlington.  We arrived at 11:45 p.m.  Talk about a long day!

We spent Saturday with Derek’s parents, Nonny and Pops.  We went to the Ft. Worth Botanic Gardens, saw some amazing butterflies at a special exotic butterfly exhibit, and enjoyed a gorgeous day outside.

Just one of the many butterflies we saw.  They really were amazing and I could have stayed in there for much longer taking pictures of them!

After a yummy lunch at a hamburger place, we headed back to spend the afternoon at Nonny and Pops house.  They boys headed with Derek and Pops to the park, and I headed to a photo shoot.  She was such a sweet little 7 month old!  I love this age.

Sunday after church, we went to my parents house to spend the day.  I finally got to meet my newest nephew!  He is such a little chunk of love, and a precious, precious (and loved!) little boy.

These kids had a blast playing together.  Cousins are so much fun.  I have such fun memories with my cousins, and I’m so glad that Connor, Logan, and Camryn will have to the same kind of memories.

Monday morning, we packed up and headed home.  Our good friends Ryan and Maggie are in Houston visiting, and this week is going to be as busy and fun-filled as this weekend!  This spring break is going to be a good one!

One of my friends from high school, Jessica, had an idea for all us moms to post recipe and food ideas.  I’ve been lacking on blog material lately, so I thought it might be fun to jump in and play along!

First, let me just be honest…we eat the same things over and over again but I’m okay with that at this point!  Food is one area where I do not stress.  I am a big believer in choosing my battles, and for the most part, it’s a battle I choose not to fight.  I have one great eater, willing to try anything new (Connor), one pickier eater who is slowly and surely trying new things but most of the time still not liking the new things (Logan), and one that I just never know what her food mood will be (Camryn).

I do try to feed my kids healthy, wholesome foods.  I don’t buy organic unless it’s cheaper than than the regular, which is very rare.  We do eat whole wheat bread items for the most part.  I don’t buy special high fructose corn syrup free foods.  I bought the natural peanut butter once, and Derek asked me not to to that again.  Since he eats a pbj sandwich every day for lunch (and has for the past 10 years!), I didn’t fight it and bought the man his Jif.  We do eat fast food, but not every day.  I would say that my food philosophy is “everything in moderation.”  I have never been one to buy into diet or health food fads.  If you are looking for all organic, all natural food and recipe ideas, you are definitely not in the right place.   Just felt like I needed to say that right up front.

Breakfast
–half of a bagel toasted with butter or cream cheese
–strawberry fruit bars (nutri-grain bars, but I buy the store brand)
–granola bars (fiber one are the favorites, but we also eat good old Quaker granola bars)
–cereal: Raisin Bran, Cheerios (all the different varieties), and those new mini wheat chocolate squares. Those are a big hit!
–English muffins with Brummel and Brown strawberry spread. I eat those almost every day, but the kids like them occasionally too. I buy the high fiber, whole wheat english muffins.

Lunch
–PBJ for the boys almost every day.
–Deli meat for Camryn
–Turkey hot dogs or all beef hot dogs.
–baked chips
–fruit snacks, or our new favorite fruit leather/smooshed fruit. I like those better because they have a half a serving of real fruit in them.
–fruit: applesauce, mandarin oranges, grapes, apples, strawberries, sometimes bananas, frozen blueberries, canned peaches and pears, etc. I always have canned fruit on hand. (I like the ones packed in fruit juice the best.)

Snacks
–Goldfish all the way. We love them.
–Snyders big pretzel rods, sometimes dipped in Nutella.
–Granola bars or fruit snacks if they haven’t already had one that day. I only allow one of those per day or we would eat them faster than we already do!
–raisins, sometimes plain, sometimes yogurt covered. Camryn especially loves raisins.
–other crackers: cheez-its, ritz (the new cinnamon ones are yummy!)
–Peanuts or cashews
–fruit

Dinner
Varies. I don’t think I do anything that great or exciting with dinner. I don’t love to cook; I do it out of necessity and for my husband who loves to come home to a hot meal. We eat a lot of spaghetti, tacos, chicken casseroles, etc. I am not good at vegetables. We mostly eat canned veggies or a salad. This is one area where I am hoping to improve. I try to serve the kids a vegetable or a fruit with dinner, and probably more often than not, it’s a fruit. Connor likes a lot of different veggies. Logan, not so much. He will eat lettuce with ranch dressing, potatoes, and corn, but that’s about it.

My big thing with dinner is I am not a short order cook. They eat what I make. There are a few exceptions, but 98% of the time, they eat what I cook or they just go hungry. I don’t worry if Logan misses a dinner. He won’t starve overnight.

The kids only eat dessert on occasion. I’ll usually treat them with it if I see that they both ate a really good dinner without any complaining.

I guess that’s about it! It’s nothing very exciting, but it works for me.

It was such a nice day here today!  I went to a wedding shower this morning, and when we pulled into the hostess’ neighborhood, I saw a great field of weeds wildflowers.  Our afternoon/evening was wide open, so I gussied the kids up and headed to the field to get some pictures.

Let me just say, for the record, that I really love taking pictures for other people.  Really love it.  But taking pictures of my own kids?  Don’t love it so much.  Love my kids…no doubt about that…but I find it so much harder to take pictures of them!  I flat out offered Connor and Logan $1 each if they would just listen to me, cooperate, and have fun.  We did have some moments of fun and got a handful of cute pictures.  But we also had many moments like this.

I feel your pain, sister.  I feel your pain.

When I got back home, I was feeling very frustrated and hungry (which is never a good combination.)  I was so happy when I downloaded the pictures and saw several that brought a smile to my face.  And while most of these won’t be enlarged or put in a frame, I love them.  And that’s what photography is all about for me.  It’s not about the perfectly posed picture.  It’s about capturing my kid’s personalities in a still frame.

No children were hurt in the following picture.  You go, Camryn.  She holds her own, that’s for sure!  And the bored look on Connor’s face cracks me up!

I love this next one.  My kids are for real a crazy bunch of little people, and this just captures it perfectly.

Sweet brothers.  Today was one of those days where they were the best of friends.  I wish I could say that is normally the case,but not so much.   But today was a good day.  They played and played and played at home all day, and then they played and played and played in this field.  It was great.

Is he a handsome kid or what?  Love this picture of him.

So, while it wasn’t as fabulous a photo shoot as I had made it out to be in my head, I will still count it as a success.  But it did confirm what I had been feeling for quite some time: it is so much easier to take pictures of other people’s children!

I mean, really.  It’s almost March??  How is that even possible?

Tonight, Derek caught a glimpse of my desktop and commented on how much stuff is on it. I had to agree that it is looking a bit cluttered…

So I started taking a closer look at what’s on there and realized that I have pictures resized and saved on the desktop so I can blog about that time we went to the farm and cut down our own Christmas tree.  Yes, it was 3 months ago, but I always like to think it’s better late than never.

It was our second annual Thurman Family Christmas Tree Adventure.  We headed out to Dewberry Farm, which is a different farm than the one we had gone to the year before.  It was really fun with lots of extra things for the kids to do, but the tree was more expensive and I didn’t really appreciate the black widow spider friend that I’m pretty sure came home with our tree.  I’m not even sure I blogged about that.  I still get the heebie jeebies just thinking about the huge web it built under our desk (a few feet from the tree) and the sound it made as Derek stepped on it, and then the horrible realization that he had just killed a large, poisonous spider.  Yuck.

Anyway, one day many months ago, we loaded up the party van and headed to the farm.

We looked for quite awhile until we found the perfect tree.

And after a careful inspection, we knew this was it.

Camryn and I looked on as the boys did all the work.

And just like that, the Christmas tree hunt was over.  I also can’t decide if I’m sad this shaggy hair gone or not.  Connor’s hair is in a bit of a funny place right now…shorter than this, but not really short.  I had forgotten just how long and shaggy it had gotten!

We were one big, happy family, all ready for Christmas (and, judging by the short sleeve shirts, all this fun stuff happened before the Winter That Would Not End settled upon us.)

I have way more pictures of this day, but apparently this is as far as I got in getting them blog ready.  We did lots of the other farm activities and the kids played hard core for hours.  It really is a fun place to go.

Minus the black widow spiders, of course.

And with this post, I will officially declare the Christmas season behind us.  It’s time for spring.  (Do you hear that spring??  Come on already!)

Check out this movie of Camryn getting down.  She cracks me up!

(you may have already seen part of this on Facebook, but I had to put it on the blog for grandparents and non-facebook people, too.)

And perhaps just as funny as the dancing is Logan’s new favorite kind of music.  He keeps the radio in his room tuned to Tejano music and falls asleep every night listening to it.  I love it!

I just watched a 2 minute video of my 5 year old sister, Rebecca.  My eyes welled up with tears as I watched her jump into a puddle and leap into the waves.  “Daddy?”  she said in her little Australian accent, “do you have socks on?”

“Yes, I do.” my dad replied.

“Well, can you take them off?”  Rebecca asked.

“Why?”

“Because I want you to come into the water with me!”

My dad laughed, and Rebecca sprinted down the beach into the water while my dad video taped her.  I’m sure he was smiling behind the camera.

She is beautiful, this little sister of mine.

I have only met her a handful of times.  She literally lives on the other side of the world.  She’s made a few trips to the States in her 5 short years, but it’s been about 3 years since I’ve seen her.  I can’t believe how much she has grown up.  Her little voice captivated me.  She no longer has the toddler voice, there is no more baby sign language.  She is a little lady.

My eyes welled up with tears as I watched her with my dad.  I’m not even sure why.  It was the eagerness in Rebecca’s voice.  It was the he sweet way she said “Daddy.”  I recognized it.  The memories from my childhood flooded back.  He lived in North Carolina for a few years, and we made our own beach memories.  We would spend countless hours in the water, so many hours that I would still feel the rise and fall of the waves as I fell asleep that night.

I’m proud of my dad.  He’s doing a good job with her, and gets a another chance to raise a daughter.

Dad (if you read this still) keep on posting videos of Rebecca.  Tell her that her sister in Texas loves her.  And someday, I hope you get the chance to bring her back this way so we can get to know her.  I love you!

I’ve been really lacking on the old blog.  Life has just been so busy!  And a lot of it feels like the same old, same old.  I’m really not complaining about that.  There is a certain amount of comfort in the normal.  Here’s a kind of random run-down on what’s up with all of us.

I had two photo shoots last week,   a newborn and a 1 year old, and those kept me busy with editing.  They were both really fun shoots, and I can’t wait to do more!

Okay, now I am completely blanking on what’s been going on!

One funny little story…Connor made a sign for his room door that said “The Rules of this room are…No Smoking Allowed!  No Shoes Allowed!  Extras: 1. Before entering, please read the sign.  2. When leaving, watch out for tacks.”  He has taken it down now, which has made me a little uneasy because what if I forget to watch out for tacks when leaving?

Okay, really?  I can’t think of anything else to blog about?  This is sad!  Logan, Cam, and I made a trip to Goodwill one day last week and we totally scored.  I got a small wooden step-stool for $5 that will be perfect for kids to sit on for pictures.  I painted it a fun turquoise color and I love it!  I also found a Little People dollhouse for Camryn that looked brand new and was only $6.  It is her new favorite toy.  We love Goodwill!

I started a new chore-chart system.  We are only on day 1, but so far, so good.  An effective chore system has been eluding me forever!  We have started several different things, but they never last.  And I go back and forth between thinking kids should just do chores because I said so, to just doing all the chores myself because it’s faster and no one fights it, or letting the kids earn money for their hard work, just like we, as adults, earn money for our hard work (unless your a stay at home mom like me…no actual money, but the pay off is still pretty great in my opinion!)  I want to teach the kids about money…about how to save and give…anyone have a system that really works for them?  Like a lot of kids, they constantly want things at the store, and I do think it would be nice if they had their own money for those things (then they could actually get them because I say no 9 times out of 10!)

Anyway, Here’s what we started today.  Each boy has a chart with all the days of the week and 10 different chores listed.  Each day they do a particular chore, they mark it on the chart.  They can only do each chore once per day (which will eliminate constant bathroom mirror cleaning just to earn the money.)  They will get $1 for every 5 chores, and we’ll have “pay day” once a week.  Logan has already done 5 chores today, the little overachiever!   Some of the chores can be done daily (like clean room and make bed), and some cannot (like put away laundry.  I try to do it daily, but it’s really more like every other day.)  And I can guarantee that Connor won’t be vacuuming a room daily.  And if he does, then I suppose he really deserves that 20 cents!  Tithing is something that Derek and I do and want to teach our children, so we are going to have the boys give a portion of their earnings to our church every week.  We’ll see how this goes…I’m optimistic about it!

I guess that’s about it for now!  Hope everyone has a great Valentine’s Day!

And to my Valentine, I love you a million miles past the Star Wars galaxy.  I’m so thankful that we’ve had 14 Valentine’s Days to share (more or less…we were probably broken up over at least one or two of them but in my heart of hearts you’ve been my Valentine since 1996.)  I am so thankful you chose me.  You are the best, and I know I don’t tell you nearly enough, but you are amazing and there is no one else on earth I’d rather share this life with.

On Wednesday nights we go eat dinner at our church.  It’s great for everyone.  I don’t have to cook and the kitchen stays clean (okay, assuming it got cleaned in the first place which was not so much the case last night which is why I have a sink full of dishes this morning…), the food is great, the company is great, the kids love going, and it’s affordable at only $12 for our entire family to eat.  Last night, we were all getting ready to go, putting on shoes and jackets.  Like most of the country, it’s been cold here.  Well, cold for Houston with highs only in the 40s or 50s.  Everyone needs to wear a jacket, especially if your a 7 year old boy who will only wear short sleeve shirts.

“Connor, come get your jacket on.  It’s time to go to dinner.”

“Mom, I don’t need a jacket.” said Connor.

“Yes you do.  It’s 40 degrees outside and you have on short sleeves.”

“It’s not cold!  I won’t be cold!  I don’t need my jacket.”

“Connor, we know what we’re talking about.  You need your jacket!” Derek said.

“Daaaaddd….it’s NOT even cold!”

I suddenly had a brilliant idea.

“Fine, Connor.  Don’t wear your jacket.  But you better not complain that it’s cold.  We’ve tried to warn you, but if you really want to go out there in short sleeves, then fine.  Just go get in the car.”

It takes me another minute or two to get Camryn all situated with a fresh cup of milk, and Connor was obediently waiting outside by the car.  Derek locked up the house while I buckled Cami into her carseat.

I heard a little voice from coming from the backseat.

“Mom?  Can you go inside and get my jacket?”

The answer was of course, no, you chose to go without your jacket and the consequence is you are going to be cold for a few minutes.

This morning, we almost had the same conversation as last night.

“Connor, come get your jacket.  It’s time to go to the bus stop.”

“Mom, I don’t need my….oh, nevermind.”

I love when this whole parenting thing works out like that.  Lesson learned.

I think it was a miracle that I got them to all sit in the same spot and look my general direction for a second!  And do you like Connor’s pants?  Every single pair except two have holes in the knees.  The temptation so skid across the industrial carpet in p.e. proves to be too much for Connor.  Maybe he’ll learn another lesson when it’s shorts weather again and he does his little skid move.  I have a feeling that it won’t be nearly as fun with shorts on.  He also might learn a lesson if he rips his last 2 pairs of pants and has to use his own money to buy  a new pair…

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On an unrelated note, I’ve been blogging on my photography blog lately, so if you’re interested in keeping up with that new side of my life, here is the link. (and if you subscribe with a reader, the link you need to use is /feed instead of /blog) I’m sure there will be some photography stuff on here, but for the most part, the photography blog will be where I share my sessions, and this blog will still be just how it’s always been.

We love the new found freedom that no training wheels brings us.  Last Friday, the boys rode and I jogged with Camryn in the stroller to Connor’s school playground.  It was about 4 miles round trip, and it was a really great outing for a beautiful Friday afternoon.  Yesterday, the weather wasn’t quite as beautiful plus I wasn’t really up for a long run, so I walked and the boys rode around our neighborhood.  They loved riding through puddles as much as they love when I drive through them.

And Camryn was happy as lark in her jogger stroller.  I bought this baby at a garage sale for $25.  It’s one of my best and most used garage sale finds ever!  She loves it so much.  On our 4 mile trek last week, she never once complained or wanted to get out, and since this week was much shorter, she wasn’t even ready to get out once we got home.  Sometimes she just sits in it in the garage, without anyone even pushing her, just for fun!

Not too much going on this weekend, which is pretty nice.  Connor has a birthday party this afternoon, and I think we are going to go finally buy our new mattress and go out to eat tonight.  Wish us luck taking all the kids mattress shopping!  Two boys in a mattress store…that just seems like a recipe for disaster.