Welcome Home Parade

Oh, its been a very busy week & to say we're exhausted is truly an understatement, but its a good exhaustion {if that even exsists}.
This past Saturday, 4/7/12 Wes participated in the City of Houston's, "Welcome Home Veterans of the Iraq War" parade. Its was an awesome experience; not only for Wes but for Peyton as well. We invited Wes's brother, Brian and his wife, Melissa with their two boys; Jacob & Jackson to come share in the fun..and it turns out not only was it great to share in the fun, but they also helped me out TONS!

First off Wes {stressed about being late} had us there, parked & ready about 2 hours prior to the march even beginning..lol.

It was okay simply because I'd rather be the early birds than the laters. So, we're there & ready to get this party started. The kids were pumped, but unfortunately Jackson {5yro} was feeling a little crummy {eventually started running a fever;thank goodness Melissa had packed tylenol}. One of the awesome treats the Houston Astros {baseball} gave the participating Soldiers were tickets to that evenings game against the Colorado Rockies. It was a double +..parade, then a baseball game..now thats an awesome Saturday.

Before Wes headed off for formation to prepare for the march he handed out all of our tickets. And I had put Peyton & I's in my back pocket of my jeans {scared to stash them in my over stuffed diaper bag}. Me & the crew headed towards Minute Maid Park's entrance at Crawford {the troops would actually march directly into the park}. I sat Piper down & was getting things together to let her have some lunch & I happen to check my pocket and low & behold..tickets were GONE!

I of course stripped the diaper bag inside out, double checked pockets..looked around our immediate area..still no tickets!

Sister-in-law even double checked me just to be sure I wasn't missing anything...no tickets.
Of course I call Wes & tell him. His response.."oh, Shannon..here let me call you back".
It was kind of a damper on a great day, but what was done was done. I couldn't change it.
Few minutes later its was Wes saying he got 2 more tickets, but he was in formation for the march & I needed to head back to him.
And this is where Melissa saved my life..or least my afternoon.
Rather than me having to pack up kids, and head back up 6 blocks she went and got our tickets.
The parade was great & then we lined up to enter Minute Maid Park for the game.

They did an awesome job! A disabled vet was given a home {mortgage free}. Which was awesome to watch & we even got to see Maj. Gen. Wells throw the 1st pitch of the game.

All in all it was a day of great memories & we hope the parade continues in the future. Even if Wes doesn't participate every year we will definitely share it with the kids.

Oh, hello again...

So, its been just about a month since I had popped in for a blog post, so I figured it was about time to update on a few things. Piper is a very active {almost} 10 month baby girl. Doing absolutely fantastic. Let the real adventures in parenting begin. Shes pushing her little walker along, crawling, climbing and tasting everything along her way. Easter is just around the corner & I really look forward to this holiday with the little ones. Lees' a bit old {14} to really get all gitty about a mysterious bunny sneaking into our living room and leaving a basket full of goodies, but hes definitely a good sport about it all & allows Peyton {and soon Piper} get the full experience.

We of course took our annual bluebonnet photos with the kids & it was gorgeous March morning. Every year I'm just so amazed at just how beautiful they are when they bloom along with the indian paint brushes. Just love Spring in our little town.

I don't have all of Piper's stats as of yet, but she will be going in for her 9 month "well baby" check {yep, at 10 months old} & I'll know more about length, weight & so on.
Our bathroom project is definitely a novel in the making. Its taking 4-EVA! I absolutely hate this, but honestly this past month has been a month of many plans, milestones and so on.
Wes opened up a 2nd location for his business so of course this is back to the 6 days a week from daylight till dark hours. So, this leaves me here to carry much of the home duties and of course that includes the bathroom. Much of the work that is needed are things that require uninturrupted time, but as we all can guess having a 14yro. {whose here, there & everywhere} a 5 year old {who wants to be here, there & everywhere} and a 10 months who is here, there & everywhere ALL THE TIME. This venture has been dragged out. But, my lovely father-in-law has been helping us tackle some of it & we are SOOOO grateful for his help {like, I don't think this would ever get accomplished without him..grateful}.

Apparently our camera now wants to make watermarks on all of our photos...awesome. But, as you can see the nook where the tub will be has been tiled & painted. We love it & it has turned out better than we pictured in our minds.

The old light fixtures {dated, dome light was here} have been replaced.

We had a horrible floral ceramic fixture above the vanity & as you can see that has also been replaced. Once all said & done we plan to also frame the mirror itself as well.

All the exterior cabinets & walls have been painted. Next is actually painting drawers & cabinet doors.

And after all projects are painted and reinstalled we have to peel the lenolium & strip,clean and then stain the concrete {sooo, not looking forward to that task, but I know it will tie the whole space together}. I've avoided purchasing towel wracks, decorations and so on till the entire room is complete. I really want to see the whole picture before filling the space.
Now, as for me...I'm just a woman in too many places at any given moment. Life has been very busy lately. Brother in law resently had a wedding, so we had bridal showers and so on {so worth it, love weddings}. Had birthday parties for friend's kiddos & including Lee turned 14 on the 30th of March! Can you believe that?! 14!! Its amazing..seriously..

This young man is just amazing to say the least. Being his mother has been such an honor & I look forward to what his future has to hold for him.

That day 14 years ago I felt like the world stood absolutely still just for the birth of this beautiful child. Outside of that hospital room the world could have been unraveling, but at 12:43pm that Monday in March my entire world was in that one single room. I love you, Lee. And I'm so grateful that I get to be your mom. Reach for the stars & enjoy the ride.

I hope to get back in the swing of things and keep on a better track record with keeping y'all {and myself} updated :) Hope this finds you all well!