Jason and Catherine Glad, est. 9.23.05

Happy Valentines

2012-02-14T18:10:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines from our sick family to yours! We spent our Valentines in the insta-care with double ear infections and sinus infections for both boys. At least they were happy long enough for a few Valentine photos.

2012-02-14T18:07:00.000-08:00

Um, can you say iPhone addicts?

Making Valentines

2012-02-14T18:04:00.000-08:00

Parker was excited to make Valentines for his friends. He wanted to write his name by himself so I wrote out the Valentines and he traced his name. He is getting so big! I feel bad he was too sick to go to his Valentine party at school today.

HAPPY 29TH BIRTHDAY JASON

2012-02-09T18:07:00.000-08:00

I am the worst at celebrating Jason's birthday. I can't keep birthday secrets to save my life and I always end up giving him his birthday presents early for one reason or another. SO, this year I decided I would throw Jason a surprise Casino Night dinner party and really keep a secret. Some how I pulled off the secret (thanks to Parker who kept telling Jason when he asked what he was getting for his birthday, "I can't tell you! It's a SECRET!")

It would have been an even better "surprise" party had ANYONE shown up on time to surprise Jason. Not a single person made it to surprise him. Seriously so lame.

I used the same Mardi Gras frames and beads from last weeks party but changed them to a Vegas theme. When I was in Vegas last week I picked up some gummy dice, gummy poker chips, $1 bill suckers and money mints for the tables.

German chocolate cake bites in edible chocolate cups. Yum-O!

My first attempt at cooking a ham was a success! The ham was pre-cooked but I was seriously so worried all day about how it was going to turn out!

I made up a quiz about little known facts about Jason and for each question people got right they got a raffle ticket. When we were done we drew out tickets for prizes.

I also made my own "scratch-off" lottery tickets for prizes. These were a big hit!

We also played three rounds of Keno for $100 Grand candy bars.

Everyone was deep in thought about what lucky numbers to pick on their Keno cards.

Parker was a little stinker and didn't want to go to bed so he was helping Jason pick numbers, too.

Blowing out the candles. I love a little bakery in the Woodlands called "Pie Town" so I ordered some Oreo cheesecakes (Jason's favorite) and a few cherry cheesecakes for the party.

Sherin and Isaac getting ready to play some Black Jack.

Lacy and Kyle

Jody was home with sick kids so Mark was Greg's "date"

Me and the birthday boy!

Isaac beat me in the Black Jack tournament by 1 chip!!

Jason must have had a good time because the boys ended up playing poker all night! Literally. All Night. I finally went to bed at 2 am and they were still playing. The wives finally went home to relieve their babysitters at midnight and the guys played and played.

Sherin and I. I don't know what I would do without her down here. She keeps me sane!

Kyle had his shades on to hide his poker face. Haha. It didn't help him in the end :)

I think Jason had fun. What do you think?

Houston Zoo

2012-02-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

Every Month the Houston Zoo has a free zoo day. I've been planning on taking the boys the past few months but every time it has rained. It was finally a nice day this month so Sherin and I took the kids and spent the afternoon at the zoo. I think the boys had more fun acting like animals than looking at the animals but it was a great afternoon nonetheless.

Houston Monster Jam 2012

2012-02-09T15:41:00.001-08:00

My boys have been obsessed with Monster Jam since we watched Monster Jam with Papa while we were in Utah. When we found out that Monster Jam was coming to Reliant Stadium we knew we had to take the boys.

We went early to the "Pit Party" to meet the drivers and checked out all the trucks.

Parker couldn't wait to meet a real monster truck driver and then he would not talk to them. He usually isn't shy but he did not want to talk to the drivers!

My favorite!! GRAVE DIGGER!!!!

We weren't planning on taking Brandon with us, but when our babysitter fell through we decided to bring him along. I think he had more fun than Parker did. He had his finger pointed the entire night making sure everyone saw every monster truck!

Haha. Again with Brandon and his finger pointing out the monster trucks. He was SO funny!

Parker and his friend Boston. We ended up with the BEST seats. Because we had such a large group going we qualified for group seating/pricing. Amazing seats for cheaper than nose bleeds!!!

Little Miss Lydia!

I was excited to see El Toro Loco blow smoke out of his nose but he crashed before he could :(

Grave Digger's big back flip!! My kids were asking all night when a monster truck was going to do a back flip for them and Grave Digger did one in the end!

December Friend Dinner

2012-02-03T17:55:00.000-08:00

Each month a group of Jason's friends get together for dinner. While we were in Utah we were able to go to dinner and meet all the new babies in the group! There are 5 kids and all 5 are little boys! The kids are going to have such a fun time at friend dinners during the years!

My Cute Boys

2012-02-03T17:37:00.000-08:00

My friend Hannah asked a few weeks ago if she took take pictures of my boys. She is wanting to start a photography business and wanted to take a few pictures for her portfolio. Here are a few of my favorite pics!

Mardi Gras Party

2012-02-02T10:44:00.000-08:00

Last night I hosted a Mardi Gras Bunco party at my house. It was fun to meet some new friends and eat yummy food!

Mardi Gras Tables

For the bunco prizes I went to Charming Charlie's and picked out some cute necklaces to go along with the Mardi Gras theme.

I had a traditional Mardi Gras King Cake for the party. I was planning on making a King Cake, but since Mardi Gras is such a big deal around here I was able to pick up a cake at the local grocery store deli. Score! It tasted great and I didn't have to do anything!

Here is the history behind Mardi Gras King Cakes:

The King Cake is believed to have originated in France around the 12th Century. These early Europeans celebrated the coming of the three wise men bearing gifts twelve days after Christmas calling it the feast of Epiphany, Twelfth Night or King's Day.

The Main part of the celebration was baking a King Cake to honor the three Kings. The cakes were made circular to portray the circular route used by the Kings to get to the Christ Child and confuse King Herod, who was trying to follow the wise men so he could kill the Christ Child. In these early King Cakes, a bean, a pea or a coin was hidden inside the cake. The person who got the hidden piece was declared King for the day, or was said to have good luck in the coming year.

In Louisiana, Twelfth Nigh also signifies the beginning of the carnival season, which fans on Mardi Gras Day. The beans, peas, and coins have been replaced by a small plastic baby to symbolize the Christ Child. The person who gets the baby is expected to carry on the carnival festivities by hosting the next King Cake Party.

Girls Weekend

2012-02-02T09:27:00.000-08:00

My mom and my sisters and I met up in Las Vegas last weekend for a girls weekend. We had such a fun time!! Miss my fam already!

Cute girls waiting for me at the airport

Phantom of the Opera

Chinese New Year Garden at the Bellagio

Frozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity 3

Forum Shops and Cheesecake Factory

M & M and Coke World

Broad Acres Swap Meet

Fremont Street

Saying Goodbye! Thanks again mom and Dad!!

We Love Thursdays

2012-02-02T08:56:00.000-08:00

Since Jason works Monday-Saturday we don't get a lot of "dad" time at our house. Jason has started having some one else teach correlations on Thursdays, so we get a few extra hours with him before he has to go to work. Last Thursday we took the kids to the Houston's Children's Museum. The museum was huge! We were there for quite a while and didn't even see half of it. The museum was definitely geared toward older kids but the kids had a lot of fun in the toddler play area.

Responsibility Charts

2012-02-02T08:08:00.000-08:00

Jason's parents gave Parker a Melissa and Doug responsibility chart for Christmas. Brandon of course wasn't happy because he wanted "magnets" too, so I ordered Brandon a chart. These charts are the BEST THING that has happened to behavior in our house. My kids will do anything for their magnets and will change their attitude on a dime if I threaten to not give them their magnets for the day. Each week the boys pick a prize for being good and work toward their magnets each day. The first week they boys wanted donuts, the second week they wanted a new game on Jason's phone. Last week they got new monster trucks and this week they get tickets to Monster Jam if they are good. It is also teaching them to work towards a goal, that they have to work for things that they want and choosing one thing that is important to them. Parker helps Brandon make his bed every morning so they both get all their magnets. It is so cute watching them work together. Again, I can't say enough good things about Melissa and Doug toys. We LOVE them at our house!

My New Purchase

2012-02-02T08:01:00.000-08:00

When we moved to Texas we left most of our belongings back in Utah--including my baby grand piano. I have missed playing and missed singing primary songs with my kids at the piano. So, last week I finally decided to do something about it and bought this beauty off of Craigslist for $100! I love it already. I opened the bottom up to fix the pedal (which I fixed all by myself, I must add) and found it covered with layers of dust, cobwebs and a few dead bugs (yuck). Anyway, I cleaned it up and am having it tuned AS I WRITE! I can't wait to play it now that it has been tuned, since I found it it hasn't been done for 15 years! I was afraid that it wouldn't hold a tuning but the tuner says for being almost 100 years old that it is in amazing shape! Hurray for music in our home once more.

Silly Tea Party

2012-01-08T20:38:00.000-08:00

While I was in Roosevelt my sisters and I threw a silly tea party for the kids. We had such a fun time being silly. We started out by getting dressed in mustaches, decorating ties and picking out masks and party hats.

Then we moved onto the silly food!

And then moved onto some silly party games like pinning the tie on the guy and dancing to the hokie poke!

And ended the party just being SILLY!

The funniest part of the party was when the doorbell rang and the mail man delivered these 4 cute mugs from my sweet cousin Michelle. How ironic is it that she sent me mustache mugs while we were having a mustache party?! Thank again Michelle. We love them! XOXO.

Money in Brandon's "pocket"

2012-01-08T20:10:00.000-08:00

All day Saturday Brandon kept putting money in his "pocket" and then every time he would stand up the money would fall out of his "pocket" so he would repeat it over and over again! He is such a funny kid.

Parker's Dance Party

2012-01-08T20:07:00.001-08:00

Parker was watching the Disney Chanel and starting dance his heart out during one of the cartoons!

Christmas morning

2012-01-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

The kids were so cute opening up their stockings from Santa. Parker opened his faster than Brandon and when Brandon looked over and saw Parker playing with a train he hadn't seen in his stocking yet he was super sad! Good thing Santa brought Brandon a train, too!

Brandon and Parker had lots of fun helping baby Jack open his presents, too!

Christmas Quilts

2012-01-08T19:47:00.000-08:00

Jason's grandma makes each of her grand kids and great-grand kids blankets when they turn two. Parker and Brandon both got blankets this year at Christmas. Parker and Brandon love their new blankets! Parker's blanket is BYU and Brandon's blanket is Thomas the Train. She couldn't have picked better fabric! Thanks great grandma!!

Christmas Accordian

2012-01-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

Every year during the holidays Jason's dad gets his accordion out and plays Christmas carols. I was glad when he got it out again this year to play because I wanted the boys to hear him play. Brandon couldn't quite figure the accordion out and kept pushing buttons to see what would happen.

Frosting Sugar Cookies

2012-01-08T19:32:00.000-08:00

Jason's mom makes the BEST sugar cookies. I'm not much of a sugar cookie fan but I can't get enough of her sugar cookies! Parker and Brandon helped "decorate" (or more like just eat) the cookies. Parker also decorated his face with stickers. Haha. Good times in the kitchen!

Visiting Santa

2012-01-08T19:28:00.000-08:00

We spent a weekend in a condo in Midway while we were in Utah. While we were there we went to visit Santa in Heber. I asked Parker if he wanted to see Santa and he said yes. Then I asked if he wanted to sit on Santa's lap and it was a definite no so I asked again if he wanted to see Santa and again he said yes. He wanted to see Santa but did NOT want to sit on his lap. No way Jose! Both boys were more interested in their candy canes then talking to Santa (which was okay because this Santa was more like the Grinch)!

Best Buddies

2012-01-08T19:22:00.000-08:00

Parker and his cousin Jaxon are best buds. The had such a great time playing all month long. We miss our "Jack Guy" already!

Murray Family Christmas

2012-01-08T19:17:00.000-08:00

My family loves to get together any excuse we can get so it wasn't too hard to get us all together for Christmas. We had our traditional clam chowder, cheese balls, shrimp chip dip, chili cheese dip, root beer and eggnog (Yup! You heard me right! Mix half root beer and half eggnog! YUM!) and all the "crap" that goes with the holidays (desserts, cheese and crackers, fruits, ect.). I love all the traditions and food of the holidays!

The kids had a fun time unwrapping the layers and layers and boxes and boxes of wrapping we did on a present.

Grandkids

2012-01-08T17:17:00.000-08:00

I attempted at getting a picture of the 12 grand kids all together. I only somewhat succeeded.

A New Use For Napkins

2012-01-08T17:01:00.000-08:00

Brandon found a new use for napkins while grocery shopping. It doubled as a good pillow because he fell asleep in the cart!

Snow Days

2012-01-08T16:48:00.000-08:00

Parker was excited to play in the snow. Utah was unseasonably warm this year and it only snowed the first day we arrived. No luck at a white Christmas this year. Parker prayed every day for snow. Fortunately, my parents had enough snow at their house for Jaxon and Parker to play in one day and Solider Hollow created snow so we could go sledding to make Parker's wish come true!

This cute snow suit was Jason's when he was little. It fit Parker perfect this year!

Parker LOVED sledding.

Leaving on a jet plane...

2012-01-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

We didn't tell the boys that we were going to Utah until the night before. Parker was SO excited to go to his "two-tah" house and see his grandma's! The boys did a really good job flying all things considered. Brandon loved looking out the window at the airport and watching the planes come and go and Parker was entertained by watching movies on my phone!

Lights at Moody Gardens

2012-01-07T17:31:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things (and probably Jason's least favorite thing) to do at the holidays is to go see Christmas lights! We took the kids to see the lights at Moody Gardens in Galveston. Super fun and super nice weather!

Cici's Pizza

2012-01-07T17:20:00.000-08:00

My sister wanted to try Cici's pizza while she was in Texas. Parker and Brandon were in heaven of course because they have pizza, pasta and pop!

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

2012-01-07T17:16:00.000-08:00

While Rebecca was in town we went to the Baps Shri Swaminarayan Madir Temple in Houston. It is a Hindu temple that was had carved in India and assembled piece by piece in Houston. Each of its 33,000 pieces are 100% inter-locking and the temple has no cement or anything holding it together.

Because of the religious nature of the building we were not allowed to take pictures inside but if you look on their website you are able to see the amazingly intricate carvings that adorne the entire temple. While we were there they had us worship with them and do their ceremonial prayers. It is always very interesting learning about other cultures and religions.

Christmas Eve

2012-01-07T16:28:00.000-08:00

We celebrated our family Christmas before we left for Utah. I know I say this over and over but kids really do make every holiday more fun. It was really fun to watch the kids get excited about leaving Santa cookies and unwrapping presents!

The boys were excited about their new jammies!

Jason took the boys to the grocery store to ensure "Santa" got what he wanted. I guess Santa wanted chocolate chip cookies and Mountain Dew.

I don't remember Parker ever just falling asleep while playing. He is one of those kids that needs his bed to sleep in. He crashed on Christmas Eve while we were all hanging out. He must have been really tired.

I loved watching Parker open his presents. He had the best facial expressions every time.

When all else fails while trying to open gifts just follow Brandon's example and use your teeth!

Brandon couldn't shove candy into his face fast enough!

Um, what do I do with this Dad? Stand on it?

Or am I supposed to sit on it?

Parker was really excited for his scooter. He loves to go out and ride his wiggle bike and has been asking for a scooter. Then this morning our neighbor brought over a bike for Parker that they were no longer using. Needless to say, Parker wants to spend every minute outside riding bikes and scooters! Good thing the weather has been perfect since we got home from Utah.

Ginger Bread Houses 2011

2012-01-07T15:44:00.000-08:00

Time Out

2012-01-07T15:39:00.000-08:00

Double the trouble. Double the time out...

A Visit From My Big Sis!

2012-01-07T15:20:00.000-08:00

Santa came a month early to our "Texas House" and dropped of lots of presents and my big sis! What a fun Christmas gift to me! Rebecca's husband sent her to visit me for her birthday but I think it was a pretty good Christmas gift to me, too! Rebecca came to visit the first week in December and then the boys and I flew to Utah with her and we didn't stop partying until we got home from Utah a few days ago! What a fun month.

Rebecca and I were having too much fun to stop and take pictures of most of our adventures or update the ol' blog! Let's just say we ate lots of yummy food, went to a few great movies, shopped 'til we dropped, drank lots of peppermint hot chocolate, built gingerbread houses, played games and watched lots of girly Christmas movies! Thanks again for the visit. LOVE YOU SIS!

Sleepy Head

2012-01-07T15:08:00.001-08:00

I went in to check on Brandon the other night and found him asleep with his two loves--Parker's church shoes and his motorcycle!

Happy Fall Ya'll

2011-12-14T11:46:00.001-08:00

Facial Hair

2011-11-26T14:08:00.000-08:00

Brandon and Parker wanted to go up to correlation with daddy on Wednesday. Should I be surprised that this is how they looked when they came downstairs?

Meet Mark and Fishy

2011-11-21T17:18:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to introduce you to the two newest members of our family--"Mark" and "Fishy". After all the little goldfish from Brandon's party died, Jason thought it would be fun to get some real fish for the boys. Jason came home from work with two Beta fish last week. The boys were SO excited. Brandon LOVES animals and is so excited about his fishy!! Parker named his fish "Mark" and Brandon named his "fishy." The boys are excited every morning (and ALL through the day) to feed their fish.

The boys liked helping daddy put together the fish tank

Mom was happy to watch daddy and the boys take care of the fish. Hopefully I'll be happily watching them wash out the tank each week, too!

The boys started out sitting in their chairs and ended up on top of the table right in the tank. They were a LITTLE excited, if you can't tell.

Brandon dumping his fishy into the tank.

Parker feeding his fish for the first time.

I think....

2011-11-21T17:08:00.000-08:00

I think it is about time I buy some new footsie pajama's for Parker. What do you think?

Silly Brandon

2011-11-12T16:21:00.000-08:00

The kids took a bath tonight. I put a diaper on Brandon and went to his bedroom to find his pajamas. When I walked back in, I found Brandon driving his train inside the laundry basket. What a silly kid.

Halloween Candy Prank

2011-11-11T21:10:00.000-08:00

Jimmy Kimmell asked parents to prank their kids the day after Halloween by telling them that they ate their Halloween candy all gone. He then compiled his favorite into this short video.

We did the same thing to Parker--only Jason didn't quite hide the treats good enough. Parker found the treats in the middle of Jason filming him. Haha. Kids are always good for a laugh! Sorry the quality is so poor. We took it on Jason's cellphone.

Brandon's Birthday Party

2011-11-11T21:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some fun pictures from Brandon's party.

Fishing

Boston wanted to be the "fish" instead of the "fisherman"

Blowing out his candles

Eating lunch

Opening Presents

I think Brandon had a great birthday--his smile says it all.

2011-11-11T20:45:00.001-08:00

Brandon's reaction to seeing the house decorated for his birthday. It was pretty cute!

Under The Sea Birthday Party

2011-11-11T17:20:00.001-08:00

Brandon loves animals so I thought it would be fun to throw him an under the sea party for his birthday. My friend Emily threw her son Alex a fish party earlier this summer so she shared some of her great ideas with me! I also found some great ideas on Pinterest and came up with a few of my own!

I am always browsing through blogs and thinking, "Wow! Some people are SO talented! I wish I had some talent like that to share on my blog!" Well, I'm not a great chef, or a great decorator or a great crafter but I do know how to throw some fun parties! So I thought I'd share all my little secrets to throwing Brandon's under the sea party and some party tips I've learned along the way.

A few thing I have learned planning events is to 1--think out of the box and 2-- learn to love the $1 store! Seriously DO NOT buy party supplies anywhere but the $1 store. You will pay way more for the exact same thing.

I think they key to a great party is putting your stamp on all the little details.

I created these utensils using a package of blue napkins, forks, twine, and mini life savers. I bought what I thought was regular sized life savers and was disappointed when I opened the package and saw how tiny they were, but then realized that they worked out much better than the regular size would have. I simply rolled up a fork with a blue napkin, wrapped them with twine and tied a bow with the life saver attached. I didn't take pictures of the paper plates but I added a large fish sticker to each blue paper plate. Use small paper plates when serving large crowds. People will eat less and feel like they are getting a lot of food because their plate is full.

Remember what I just said about thinking out of the box? I looked at purchasing twine at Wal-Mart and it was $5 a roll. Yikes! So I looked through the $1 store and found this dog toy made out of twine. Unrolled it and Viola! Same thing--$4 less and it came with TONS of rope. I was able to use the $1 toy for so many things for the party.

While in the pet aisle at the $1 store I found this cat toy. I had been trying to think of how I was going to make a fishing pole and again Voila! $1 and no effort! I attached a clothes pin to the bottom of the pole so I could attach treats for the kids.

I used packages of 'Shark Bites' fruit snacks (also found at the $1 store) as the fishing prizes.

I bought a case of water bottles and took off the labels and printed my own that said, "Happy Birthday Brandon" and then attached them with a fish sticker. As long as your saying is one line long it will fit perfectly on your bottle. The sticker was big enough that I didn't have to tape or glue the paper to the bottle.

I made Octo-pops by wrapping tissue paper around tootsie pops and then wrapping them with pipe cleaners. (Again, I found everything at the $1 store). I used a few layers of tissue to cover the writing and give the suckers a fuller bottom. Each sucker took 2 pipe cleaners (cut in half and wrapped giving it the 8 legs). I bent the end of the pipe cleaners rather than leaving them straight and it made them look SO much better and more life like. I had two leftover cardboard boxes from a package we received a few weeks ago (again, think outside of the box) that I painted with a fish scene and added leftover styrofoam to stick the suckers in.

The sushi station was a big hit. I made sushi out of twinkies, swedish fish and fruit roll ups. A box of twinkies made 30 pieces of sushi. Cut off each rounded end of the twinkie and then slice into three pieces. I used the Target brand of fruit by the foot called "tropical speckled rolls". Each roll made six pieces of sushi. It was the perfect color of sea weed and had the speckled look that made it look just like real seaweed wraps. If you don't like twinkies you can always make rice krispies (so it looks like sushi rice) instead. One thing I learned was to space out the pieces of sushi. Mine got super sticky and stuck to each other.

My friend Sherin made spinach sushi wraps for the party. She took a tortilla shell and layered it with cream cheese, dry ranch, spinach leaves, and deli meat and cheese and then rolled it up. They are my favorite!

I was planning on making some peanut butter and jelly sushi rolls but didn't think we needed more food. But if you have little kids at the party, just take a rolling pin to your bread, layer on the PB&J, roll up and cut!

I made a basic 9x13 cake (confetti flavor, of course) and frosted it with blue frosting. I used Nerds for the rocks, swedish fish, shark gummies (from Oriental Trading), star fish crackers (in the package of outerspace goldfish) and then made some pulled sugar coral. I used this recipe for the coral but didn't let it quite reach the hard ball stage. I was planning on making shattered ocean glass candy using the same recipe but thought the cake looked great without it.

Instead of putting bows on Branond's presents, I wrapped them using the same twine and life savers as the utinsels.

I wanted to use sand pails for the treats but since I used them for Parker's party (and since it is winter time) I used brown bags instead. If I had a hole punch I would have punched two holes and tied the twine in a bow on the top. But I don't. So I use a staple and a fish sticker.

I got all the treats from Oriental trading. Gummy sharks, fish bubbles, fish kites, fish finger puppets, fish sticker scenes, fish ring pops, fish telescopes, fish necklaces and punch balloon (puffer fish). Who doesn't love Oriental Trading?

While I'm on the subject of Oriental Trading you should really check out their new party planning website. I made the cutest free invitations and thank you cards using their website. They have great party planning tips and ideas, also! And they have so many fun trinkets and party favors for dirt cheap. The key to shopping at Oriental Trading is to make one big order (think of upcoming parties, holidays, preschool lessons) so you qualify for free shipping. Also, check Retail Me Not for Promo Codes every time you shop on-line.

Shark Bait Buffet: "Take a cup and make a mix. Sea creatures are the perfect hunger fix." I had mini fish bowls filled with whale crakers, eels (pretzels), chocolate goldfish, honey goldfish, rainbow fish and swedish fish.

The kid table

When creating a "Food Table" for theme'd parties I think it is always fun to name your food. It adds pizzaz to a plain table. I also think signage adds a TON. It is as simple as printing off something on your computer but adds SO much:

Submarines--sub sandwiches

Sand Dollars--potato chips

Fresh Water--water bottles

Squid Ink--kid juice

Coral--pasta salad

Fish Eggs--grapes

Sushi Station--twinkies and spinach wraps

Shark Bait--whales, pretzels, various goldfish, swedish fish

I ordered a 6-foot sub that fed 30 at the Wal-Mart bakery for $24. This was a way cheaper than making them myself and a lot less of a headache. Call around and check prices at local bakeries/grocery stores. Sometimes it is cheaper to buy premade items than making them yourself.

Giant grapes made great fish eggs.

Shop seasonally for party supplies. Go the day after a holiday to pick up supplies for next year's big bash. You can save a lot of money on non-perishable items to use at a later date shopping the holiday clearance. Since Halloween was a week ago, I picked up two boxes of 'Halloween' chips this week for his party for half the price.

The finished table

I had four party games planned but since every one was late as usual (GRRRrrrrrr...have I mentioned how much I hate late people? It makes executing a good party really hard) we only ended up going fishing:

Fishing Pond

Feed The Fish (fish bean bag toss)

Pin The Tail On The Fish

Crab Races (crab walk races)

Boston and Alex Fishing

The house all decorated for the party. I also used our digital picture fram to display pictures just of Brandon.

My friend bought a few live goldfish. Brandon LOVED them.

Hope you got some great ideas for your next under the sea party!

Children's Museum

2011-11-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

Saturday Sherin and I took the kids to the Woodland's Children's Museum. It was the perfect sized museum for the kids. We will definitely be going back!

The kids spent a lot of time fishing. Brandon was soaking wet before the day even got started!

And what is the best thing to stick to a wet t-shirt? Sand, of course!

Brandon and Parker LOVED the train table. Brandon literally spent the entire day between the trains and the truck. He said, "Cugga, cugga, Choo!" over and over while driving his trains around. Super cute!

Brandon wasn't too interested in the fire truck. He just wanted to wear the fireman outfit while playing trains.

Checking out his cart full of groceries.

Kadance and Parker playing house.

This was Parker's favorite place. He spent a lot of time digging in the rubber.

Parker scanning all of Brandon's fruits/veggies.

More fishing!

Brandon was a truck hog. He did NOT want to share the truck with the other kids in the museum. He would get pretty upset when I would make him let other kids have a turn.

Making clocks.

Birthday Invite

2011-11-08T14:04:00.000-08:00

I couldn't get the invite to post so I had to take a picture of it. Sorry if it is hard to read. We are having a fishy party for Brandon. I can't wait!

Happy 2nd Birthday Brandon

2011-11-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my little turkey baby is turning 2 in a few days!! We love Brandon so much and are very grateful to have him in our family. He is our little sweet, adventurous monkey!

Brandon was born impatient. He came two weeks early and hasn't stopped wanting things when he wants it and how he wants it! Hopefully this trait will push him to never say no and work hard to get what he wants. Can you believe Brandon was once this little 5-pound baby?

Brandon is still the best little brother. He follows Parker around and tries to do every thing Parker does. He truly is Parker's best friend.

Brandon and his daddy are alike in so many ways. Maybe that's why they get along so well. Brandon still cries every time his daddy leaves.

Brandon has a smile that fills up a room! He is such a happy, smiley kid.

And the PICKIEST eater! But he has always loved crackers!

Brandon loves being outdoors. He is always begging at the door to go out and play!

He also takes the cutest pictures--when you can get him to hold still long enough!

Brandon loves water! The shower, the pool, the bath tub. It doesn't matter to him! He just loves water!

Brandon has such baby blue eyes that will melt your heart!

One day a lucky lady is going to fall for his gorgeous eyes!

Brandon is SO curious! He always finds something to get into! I am always finding him in the laundry basket, in my make up or getting into the fridge!

Did I mention that Brandon has Jason's sweet tooth? He loves soda and junk food.

And although he is a picky eater he LOVES, LOVES, LOVES pasta!

And playing at the beach!

And especially trick-or-treating!

Happy Birthday to my sweet parrot! We love you SO SO much!

Mom Visit

2011-11-03T17:34:00.000-07:00

Last week my mom flew out to spend Halloween with us! The boys and I had such a great time with grandma! Thanks for spoiling us rotten mom! We love you! We were having too much fun to take lots of pictures so here are just a few from the past week!

I took my mom to Pie Town for a some mini pies. Yum. The lemon meringue pie was the best!

Grandma got to watch Parker play soccer. We will be sad when soccer is over in a few weeks. Parker has really enjoyed playing.

Eating "scary face" pancakes at IHOP!

Our ward had a "trunk-or-treat" so we got the boys dressed up and took them.

The pirate and his parrot!

Carving a pumpkin with daddy. No one will ever clean the pumpkin guts out so it is my job every year. Parker and Brandon wouldn't even touch it!

Brandon wanted to give the pumpkin a kiss.

Parker was the CUTEST pirate! I just love him to pieces.

Brandon LOVED trick-or-treating. He ran from house to house squealing and saying, "treat, treat, treat" over and over again. He really had a great time.

The witch and her pirate. I walked out of my room and Parker said, "Oh, mommy! You look so pretty. You're a nice witch!"

Pirate Parker being a little ham like usual.

Happy Halloween everyone! Hope you had a great holiday!

Post #600

2011-10-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe I am writing my 600th post. Thanks for watching my family grow with me! Guess what?! NO MORE SLEEPS! My mom flies in this afternoon--which means I will have lots of fun things to post about next week. I am so excited to spend my favorite holiday with my mom! Thanks for coming to visit us!!

Today I was in charge of pre-school and since I had the letter H, I thought nothing would be more fitting than throwing a "H"alloween party.

The Witch and her skeleton

Parker coloring in his Halloween coloring book

We attempted to play "pin the band-aid on Frankenstein's Boo-boo" but one of the little girls started crying because she was afraid of Frankenstein and another little girl cried when I tried to blind fold her--so the kids just each took turns putting a band-aid on his stitches.

Eating popcorn and reading my favorite children's book of all time "Popcorn"

Alex showing me his mosquito bites!

Parker and Eli drawing cards to tell them to "fly like a bat" or "roll like a pumpkin", etc.

Creating pumpkin lanterns

Even Capt. America liked making lanterns

Eating lunch

Playing "Ghost" bingo

Making candy pumpkin necklaces

Parker decorated his face instead of his treats with his stickers.

Pumpkin Lanterns

2011-10-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

Tonight the boys and I made pumpkin lanterns while we waited for daddy to come home from work and then lit them up to surprise him.

Painting our Pumpkins

2011-10-12T16:41:00.000-07:00

After nap time (or an attempt at napping, rather) we painted our pumpkins that they gave us at the farm today. Brandon painted a picture while Parker painted his pumpkin. Can you tell we LOVE Halloween around here?!

Farm Visit

2011-10-12T16:36:00.000-07:00

Sherin and I took the kids to Old MacDonald's Farm today in Humble with our play group. I was expecting the farm to be more like Thanksgiving Point's Corn Belly's so I was a little disappointed but it was still a great day and my boys loved it!

The farm had a train that my boys were obsessed with. Brandon kept wanting to go over and over again.

A pygmy goat just ate out of Brandon's hand and he was SO excited that it licked his hand.

Sherin was feeding this deer out of her hand when it decided to go for the full bag!

Sherin was surprised at the big hole in her bag of feed.

Brandon and Parker really liked the tether ball.

Playground fun

Brandon loved all the pumpkins. He kept picking them up, carrying them around and throwing them (sorry Old MacDonald).

Does it surprise you that Brandon would NOT look at the camera?!

The kids eating their picnic lunch together.

Riding the train again...

I'm not sure what Brandon was looking at but he was REALLY excited about whatever it was.

We ended the morning by playing in the sand box. The kids were such a mess! I'm just glad that some how the kids didn't see the giant dirt pile that had trucks and diggers and buckets in it.

Park Time

2011-10-12T15:56:00.000-07:00

The weather has started to cool down which means we can finally venture to the park without melting! My friend Sherin and I took our kids and took a picnic to the park and spent 3 glorious hours in the nice (not so hot) Texas sun!

Halloween Monster House Party 2011

2011-10-06T21:09:00.000-07:00

I've applied a few times to host a house party but have never been picked. I applied for the Halloween Monster House Party 2011 thinking I would never get picked because there were so few spots available but I got picked! I am super excited.

I can't wait to get the party box and get this party started! Parker's pre-school Halloween party is going to be the best ever!!

Halloween Picture out-takes

2011-10-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

Nothing like having a little fun with your brother!

Chick-Fil-A Halloween Party

2011-10-06T20:48:00.000-07:00

Today Chick-Fil-A had a Halloween party so I took the boys to see the cow and decorate cookies. Parker had fun frosting his cookie all by himself and Brandon had fun eating the decorations!

Mmm...I think I need to stop and eat some frosting.

Brandon just wanted to eat the treats. He could have cared less about cookie--until the stem broke off and he had a meltdown.

Haha, do you see Parker's tongue sticking out?! He definitely gets that trait from the Murray side of the family! We all stick our tongue out when we concentrate.

Parker ate the treats and licked off the frosting and then re-frosted his cookie for round two.

Brandon wanted more frosting, too!

Parker LOVED the cow. Brandon just kept staring at him and saying, "moo!"

Brandon didn't want to get close unless Parker was holding his hand.

Halloween Decor

2011-10-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

Parker and I made this festive Halloween pendant banner after we saw this cute banner. We finally have some Halloween spirit around the house!

Parker loved helping out. He did these two pendants all by himself!

Happy Fall Y'all

2011-10-04T07:40:00.000-07:00

I bought these cute Halloween shirts for the boys clear back in July. I've been impatiently waiting for fall to come so they could finally wear them. Jason told me I had to wait until at least October 1st! Haha, I made it to the 4th and had to put them on the kids this morning. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Austin Day 2

2011-10-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

So if you know me very well you know that I absolutely LOVE (love, love, love) donuts. I also love to watch the Food Network and the Travel Channel. A long time ago I watched "Man Vs. Food" and saw the giant donuts at Round Rock Donuts and knew I had to try one. When we moved to Texas I looked Round Rock up on the map. When I found out it was right outside Austin I knew we had to go one day. SO, drum roll please, this morning we woke up at went to Round Rock Donuts! Ha, ha. It was seriously like Christmas for me. I am such a dork.

Anyway, long story short I finally got to eat a Round Rock Donut's "Texas Size" donut. If I had a list of 100 things I wanted to do before I die that I would have just checked that one off the list! The donut was worth every minute I had to wait in line. I'm glad it lived up to the "hype."

Donuts and Dr. Pepper make an excellent breakfast!

Haha, the donut is as big as our heads!

The boys thought the donuts were pretty yummy, too!

Jason and I tried our hardest but couldn't finish the 2 pound donut!

YUM!!

My brother-in-law told us we had to go to the Salt Lick for some great Texas BBQ. The Salt Lick had the best ribs I've ever tasted! I think I gained 10 pounds this weekend from all the great food. Jason and I ordered a platter with bbq chicken, ribs, brisket, pulled pork and sausage. Seriously SO dang good.

I love Parker's expression! It's like he is saying, "Mom, have you tasted this bread?!?!"

I should have taken a picture of our food when we got it--not when it was all gone...

When I got home I was flipping through the Travel Channel and it just so happened that the Man Vs. Food episode of Round Rock Donuts was on. It had the Salt Lick on the same episode! How funny is that?! I guess we did a good job with our food choices in Austin!!

Happy Anniversary Babe! Thanks for sharing a great weekend in Austin with me!!

Austin Day 1

2011-10-02T18:26:00.000-07:00

Jason and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary last weekend. For our anniversary I gave Jason a weekend getaway to Austin. We were planning on just going on a mommy/daddy weekend but last minute we decided to bring the kids along. It is funny how we thought going alone would be fun but when we got thinking about everything we were going to do we thought how much the kids would love to do everything, too!

We started our weekend at Hamilton Pool Preserve. Hamilton pool is a natural pool about 45 minutes outside of Austin. During regular rainy seasons the pool has a 50-foot waterfall but since Texas is in such a drought the waterfall was just a trickle. Here is a picture of what the pool looks like during a regular rainy season. Unfortunately it wasn't quite so green and lush this weekend but it was still fun!

Hiking into the pool

The water was a little chilly. Brandon didn't mind the cold water but Parker didn't last long. The kids didn't swim as much as I thought they would but we still had fun.

After we swam we had a little picnic under the rocks

Haha. I'm not sure what the boys were checking out but they were looking at something.

Hiking back out of the pool. The hike was perfect for Parker. It wasn't too long but just enough of a challenge for him. Jason had to carry Brandon out because he was just too small to climb over some of the big rocks.

After the pool we went to see Lion King 3D at the movie theater. Lion King was one of my favorite movies growing up. It was fun sharing that memory with Parker. I didn't remember the Lion King being as scary as it was for little ones. Parker liked it but keeps telling us it was 'scary.'

After the movie we went downtown Austin to Congress bridge to see the bats fly out. Each year from April - October 1.5 million bats nest under the bridge. Each night at dusk the bats come out all at once. While we were waiting to see the bats Parker kept yelling, "Wake up bats. The sun is going down. The moon is out. WAKE UP!"

Brandon wanted OUT of the stroller!

Here are two videos I took of the bats. They were incredible.

We were starving by the time we got done watching the bats. We stopped at a hole-in-the wall called Trudy's for dinner. Jason and I both had stuffed avacado's (it reminded me of a crab cake, only with chicken and avacado instead of crab and stuffing). Super yummy but SO spicy.

Golfing With Daddy

2011-10-02T17:25:00.000-07:00

Friday morning we took the boys to hit some balls at the golf course. Parker liked to hit the ball and had a few good hits among the misses and not so good hits. Brandon on the other hand had more fun picking the balls up off the tee and throwing them into the range.

My Little Puppy

2011-09-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

Every Monday night our Chick-Fil-A has a family event. Last Monday night they had a face painter and story teller. Parker wanted to be an airplane and Brandon wanted to be a puppy! Brandon was a pretty darn cute puppy if I do say so myself!

6th Anniversary

2011-09-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

Not only do Lacy and I share birthdays we also share anniversaries. Jason and I celebrated our 6th anniversary last weekend and doubled with Lacy and Kyle and went to the Def Leopard concert at the Woodland's Pavillion. Lacy and I dressed up old school 80's for the night! It was such a fun night!

Chuck-E-Cheese

2011-09-29T19:19:00.000-07:00

I think Chuck-E-Cheese's motto needs to be: "Chuck-E-Cheese where a dad can be a kid!" Jason loves taking the kids to Chuck-E-Cheese as much as the kids love to go. The boys do chores to earn tokens and Parker thinks daddy goes to work just to earn Chuck-E-Cheese tokens!

Dinner Date

2011-09-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

I love getting birthday coupons! OK, I just love coupons in general. IHOP always sends out a free meal coupon on your birthday so the boys and I went out last week for dinner. YUMMY!

Brandon Dates

2011-09-29T19:11:00.000-07:00

Having Parker in pre-school has been great because it means we get 3-hours of alone time with Brandon. Brandon is such a fun little guy and is becoming quite a chatter box. His little personality comes out when he is alone. Brandon LOVES animals, so last week Jason and I took him to the mall to see the puppies in the pet shop, to ride the carousel and eat chicken nuggets (his favorite).
What a great date with my little man!

Waiting in the carousel line with daddy

Holding his coin to ride the carousel

LOVE this guy!

Where's Parker?

2011-09-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

Jason gathered up all the balloons from Lacy's surprise party and shoved them into Parker's closet. A few left over balloons = endless fun!

Birthday At The Beach

2011-09-18T20:49:00.000-07:00

I've been telling Jason for a while that I really wanted to go to the beach for my birthday. Texas hasn't had rain for literally months and guess when the heavens decided to open of all days?! TODAY! On my birthday! Ugh, I was so bummed. Fortunately the weather cleared by the time we finished dinner and we were able to enjoy a great birthday afternoon at the beach.

Brandon enjoying a sweet treat after lunch at the Fish Tale in Galveston

Brandon and Parker had a blast at the beach as usual.

Jason wrote me a birthday note in the sand

Brandon sat in this same spot forever! He could have stayed all day throwing mud and digging in the sand.

My little mud monsters

After the beach Jason surprised me with a cookie cake (my FAVORITE)!

Brandon was helping himself to the frosting while everyone was singing me happy birthday

Mmmmmm, Good!

Thanks for the great birthday boys!

Football Surprise Party

2011-09-18T20:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Lacy's birthday and the BYU vs Utah game--two great excuses to throw one great party! We had a surprise party for Lacy and an awesome football party for the guys at our house.

Lacy was definitely surprised to find the house decorated for her birthday!

For dinner we served everything football. Chocolate covered football strawberries& football crackers and cheese

Football Oreos and Football Cornbread to go with our football chili

Chocolate covered strawberries, spinach wraps and football suckers

Kyle and his OLD birthday girl!

BYU pennant straws

Yummy food!!

The gang cheering for BYU

Isaac and Sherin

For half-time entertainment we played a very competitive round of corn hole! Kyle and Lacy pulled out the win.

We had a "30" pinata to celebrate Lacy's big birthday! The kids and adults loved it!

Pie Town

2011-09-13T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today my friend Sherin and I took our kids to a cute little bakery called Pie Town. We bought three mini pies to share--coconut cream pie, caramel apple pecan and cherry cheese. YUMMY!

Big Boy

2011-09-13T19:42:00.000-07:00

Today was my week to teach pre-school which meant that Brandon got to go to school with his brother. He was SO excited to wear a back pack and be just like his big brother Parker!

Fountain Fun

2011-09-13T19:38:00.000-07:00

The heat wave is still here in Houston and we have been trying to find ways to stay cool. Monday we took the boys to play in the Woodland's fountain to play. The Tahoe said 109 on the way home.

Donut Date

2011-09-13T17:50:00.001-07:00

After Parker's soccer practice we took the boys out for donuts! Who doesn't love a good chocolate glazed donut?

First Day of Soccer

2011-09-09T10:48:00.000-07:00

Parker had his first day of soccer today. He was as excited as he looks!

First Day of Pre-school

2011-09-06T20:21:00.000-07:00

A few moms in my ward and I decided to do a pre-school for our kids. We each take turns and teach a week. Today was Parker's first day of pre-school. He was SO excited to go to school but he was sad that Brandon couldn't come with him. When I told Parker that Brandon was too little to go to school he ran into Brandon's room and said, "Look mom. Brandon grew big last night. He can go to school with me now."

Brandon was lost without Parker. He threw a tantrum when Parker left and then spent the whole time Parker was gone walking around saying, "Parka! Parka!" trying to find his brother. When Parker got home from school I asked him if he was a good boy and he said, "I didn't hit or fight or bite." I'll take that as he was good and had a fun time!

BYU vs Old Miss

2011-09-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took a little family vacation and drove to Mississippi to watch the BYU vs Old Miss football game.

We drove through the night with the intention of the boys sleeping the entire time. Parker slept the whole trip (with the blanket over his face over course).

Brandon didn't sleep hardly at all. At 2 am he was happy as a clam and couldn't stop giggling and watching his movie!

Saturday we ate lunch at a quaint little cafe called the Bottle Tree Bakery. It has been featured on the Food Network, in Southern Living and Oprah called their apple ruffle tart the best dessert in America.

Brandon ate my ENTIRE bag of chips and most of Jason's. He couldn't get enough!

My yummy turkey sandwich on Rosemary bread with cranberry mustard.

The boys sprayed their hair BYU blue for the game. Everyone thought the boys were adorable. We kept having people stop and ask if they could take their picture and comment on how cute they were. The fans at Old Miss were the most gracious and the NICEST fans we have seen at any football game.

The people of Mississippi definitely know how to throw a party. Their tail-gating was simply amazing. They tail-gate in a place called the "grove" and people we talked to said that they start setting up Friday afternoon and that if you don't have a tent up by around 8 pm Friday for a Saturday night game don't hold your breath on getting a spot. In Utah we open the truck and throw meat on the grill. Here everyone had TVs set up, lace table clothes, fancy china, silver serving trays and were dressed to the 9's.

I couldn't get a picture that would do the "grove" justice. Seriously wall-to-wall tents as far as you could see!

My cute little blue family.

If you look to the right in this picture you can see all the girls dressed up. All the Old Miss fans (whether young or old) were all dressed in skirts, sun dresses and some even in cocktail dresses for the game. At first I thought it was just a few girls dressed up but literally every single girl had a dress on. I've never felt so under dressed for a sporting event. I thought it was the coolest thing ever! I would have totally worn a dress if I would have known! Such southern charm!

Haha. I love the funny expressions on all of their faces in this picture.

We moved after half time because the boys needed a little more wiggle room. We went up to the top of the end zone where it was fairly empty so they had room to run around and be boys.

Touch Down Cougars!!

Thanks for the great game Cougars. Glad you finally pulled off the win in the 4th quarter! After the game an Old Miss fan asked Parker why his hair was red. Parker very emphatically told him, "No! It's not. My hair is BLUE!"

The boys had fun riding on the hotel luggage rack.

Watching movies in the Tahoe is always a treat!

On the drive home we stopped at a Cici's pizza buffet. I had never been to Cici's but had always wanted to go. I can't say that their pizza and pasta was anything great and wonderful but their Bavarian Cream dessert pizza was to die for!

Parker blowing on his "mac n cheese" pizza

Brandon thought his dessert called for two forks!

Making Muffins

2011-09-06T19:07:00.000-07:00

Brandon and Parker like to bake with me. Unfortunately, the boys aren't too patient when it comes to waiting for the food to come out of the oven. We made blueberry muffins yesterday and the boys stood in front of the oven waiting impatiently.

Summer BBQ

2011-09-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

Last weekend our friends had us over for a BBQ and to swim--two things our family will never pass up!

The boys manning the grill

Brandon found himself a bike

Miss Sunni

Yummy food!

Brandon couldn't get enough watermelon

Splash Town

2011-09-06T18:48:00.000-07:00

Ah, we are SO sad that Splash Town is closing for the season. Buying season passes to Splash Town was the best investment of the summer. We spent lots of time in the water and lots of time soaking in the summer sun!

Messy Face

2011-09-06T17:42:00.000-07:00

Brandon is a picky eater but when it is pasta night he sure gets an appetite!

Friend Day

2011-09-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

My friend Emily recently moved to Houston. Her husband did alarms with Jason and then Emily and I worked together at Icon for a while. We had them over last week for a swim and then took the boys to Chick-Fil-A for lunch and to play. Unfortunely, Brandon was a little gremlin and Alex was scared of the little bully. Hopefully next time we have Alex and Eddison over my boys will behave!

Slumber Party

2011-09-06T17:31:00.000-07:00

Parker told us he wanted to sleep with Brandon the other night. We went in to check on the boys and we found them sound asleep. What cute good boys.

My Little Pack Rat

2011-09-06T17:27:00.000-07:00

Brandon is quite the collector of junk. He gathers up prized possessions all day long and stuffs them in the seat of his fire truck. If I am ever looking for something, the first place I check is the fire truck. There is always one sippy cup and a few cars amongst the junk. The other day I cleaned out the fire truck twice and this is what I found...

Autumn Dreams

2011-08-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

I changed my blog background to autumn dreams today. I can't believe summer is over. Where did all the time go? Another summer has passed. Parker turned three. Brandon will be turning two. Wow! I really don't believe it. Parker is starting pre-school next week and it blows my mind to know that I have a child old enough to be going off to school already. Good thing Kindergarten is a few years away or I don't think I would let him go. How do mom's let their little guys go on missions?!?!

Anyway, I hope that my dream of autumn weather will come sooner than later. I'm ready take the kids to the park, go on walks and enjoy the outdoors again. I'm ready to pick pumpkins, drink cider and enjoy all things fall!