Girls Nite Out

Last night we had a different kind of Ladies' Night. Kristin, Tammie and I took the girls to see High School Musical On Ice at Reliant Stadium. The entire stadium was filled with girls screeching at Troy and singing every song at the top of their lungs---the moms even joined in!

Troy & Gabriella
Tammie & Megan enjoying the show
Callie and MomThe Abney Girls

I couldn't capture on camera how precious their faces were the entire show---it was worth every penny!
The Grand Finale
'The Wildcats'

So Sweet!

Yesterday, Jake stayed home from school because his allergies were bothering him. Well, while I was upstairs on the computer, Jake said he made me a surprise.
When I looked over the balcony, this is what I saw!!

Mason & Jacob's 10th Birthday Party

On Saturday, we celebrated Mace and Jake's 10th Birthday at Shankz---it was so cool! Shankz is a Glow-in-the-Dark 18 Hole Miniature Golf Course. The pictures don't really capture the glowing effect. Each hole had a different animal or theme -- even the golf balls glowed! The boys invited their friends from school and I think we had a total of 9 ten year olds running around. The Goodnights also came from Katy (they brought Ashleigh with them) and besides Michelle being terrified of the glowing animals, I think everyone had a good time. Happy Birthday, my boys! We love you!

P.S. You can stop getting older now!

Spring Break

WOW! We just returned from an incredible Spring Break in Louisiana! The kids and I spent the entire week hanging out with friends and family; Chad flew in on Thursday to spend Easter Weekend with everyone. The week was filled with so many activities--but the best part was to be surrounded by family again! Here are just a few highlights from our week.

Happy to be back---Callie and I at Mom and Dad's (making a mess for MOM)

Mason & Jacob celebrated their 10th birthday at the park.



Girls' Night Out--we may be getting old, but we can still hang with the best of them!!

My little nephew, Chase--or as we call him "Buckethead"--Check out Uncle Shane on the slide!

Callie spent most of the week getting COMPLETELY spoiled by Sissy and "BOOTsie"

Our JayJay--we missed our "Other Straughan" so much! We were all very happy to get some quality time with Jalyn; I missed you, my girl!


Easter Sunday at Nanna's--we enjoyed some AWESOME dishes: boiled crawfish, seafood gumbo, and some 'fried thing' Chad's MawMaw makes that I only get at Easter--I LOVE IT!!
Thanks so much to Nanna for a wonderful time--we love being with you and hope we didn't make too much of a mess in your house! You prepared an incredible Easter Day for us and we appreciate it!

Hanging out with the Snider's- Chad's sister was sweet enough to let our crew hang out at their house for most of the weekend. Emma is a little CHATTERBOX, and Nate and Sadie are growing up so fast!
Candy Junior!
The Three Amigos
Dinner at Sal & Judy's -good food & wine and great company! Thanks to Mom & Dad for 'footing' the bill!

My wonderful, crazy DAD dancing on the kitchen counter! (either celebrating my family COMING OR GOING---not sure)
Words cannot express how thankful I am to Mom and Dad for letting my crew stay for the entire week-- we had a blast!! Thanks for the great food, wine, crawfish, golf, movies, etc.
I don't know how long it'll take you to recover, but I'm pretty sure it involves Mom on her heating pad and Dad in the hot tub--AND LOTS OF WINE!! We love you both!

WE MISS EVERYONE ALREADY!! SEE YOU SOON!!

Wine Festival

On Saturday, Chad and I met up with some friends at the Wine Festival. It was held in Old Town Spring and it reminded me of the street festivals we have back home. After the Festival, we headed back to our house to boil crawfish-- then more neighbors showed up---we had a really good time.

Trevor, Chris, Chad, Brad, and Brandon Boiling Crawfish

Basketball Stars

The boys ended another basketball season---this time with a winning record!! The boys were lucky enough to have a great coach who really worked with both of the boys and considered them leaders on the team. At the end of the season, Mason was chosen for Best Overall Defense and Jake was chosen for Best Overall Offense. Way to go, boys!

Mason: Best Defense


Jake: Best Offense

Callie's 5th Birthday

I can't believe it--my baby girl is FIVE YEARS OLD!! It seems like just yesterday I was bringing home that little monkey! We celebrated Callie's birthday on Saturday at the Houston Zoo. The Goodnights, Abneys, and Fosters met up with us, and Nanna was there, too. The weather was gorgeous, and I think the kids had a good time. Last night, we celebrated by eating Callie's favorite dinner, 'red noodles', sang "Happy Birthday," and opened presents. Later we watched some old home videos of the kids---they just have grown so fast!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LIL' BIT------WE LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH!

A very special "Happy Birthday" to Paw Paw, too!
We are so glad that we can share this day with you!

What a group!
Pretty Little Princesses
Daddy's Girl
Callie's Birthday Pose

Nana's Visit

This past weekend, Nanna (Chad's Mom) flew in to see our new home. We had a lot of fun showing her around The Woodlands. We brought Nanna to all the local 'hotspots', including Pappasito's Mexican Restaurant, and we were so glad that she was here to help us celebrate Callie's 5th birthday at the zoo. Nanna then took the kids birthday shopping (the boys' birthday is later this month). Mace and Jake have been asking for roller blades, so that was their gift from Nanna. It was absolutely hilarious watching those two boys try to roller blade. They eventually improved and could skate around the cul-de-sac without our help. We had a fun weekend and already miss Nanna---thank you Nanna for everything--we all LOVED that you were here with us.

Dinner at Pappasito's

Fun at the Zoo

Jake on Roller Blades
Mace On Roller Blades
Thank God for the Extra Padding!

Moms vs. The Boys

Mace and Jake had their last basketball practice yesterday. The coach thought it would be a fun idea to let the boys scrimmage against their moms! We had a good time (even though I didn't score a single point and fouled Jake twice!). The boys thought it was pretty funny and I think Chad had a good laugh, too.

Happy Valentine's Day

This year, since I'm unemployed, I volunteered to bring Valentine Treats to the boys' class during lunch. It was quite interesting to see school from a parent's point of view. . .I had to watch myself. . .I almost corrected a few of the other kids!!!

Picnic in the Park

After over a week of battling the flu, we finally ventured outside the house. Sunday was a GORGEOUS day, so we packed a picnic lunch and headed to the park. The kids were so glad to finally be outdoors---they really enjoyed themselves. They spent the afternoon feeding ducks, playing football, sliding and climbing.
It was just one of those 'perfect' days, and I was extremely grateful for it!

Three Little Germs

The doctor confirmed yesterday that ALL THREE of my babies have the FLU! It's been a pretty pathetic sight around here, but I think we are near the end. Hopefully, we will be able to get out of the house soon--they are starting to drive me NUTS!!

Bringing The BAYOU to The WOODLANDS

On SuperBowl Sunday, we decided to boil some crawfish for a few people (Chad's coworker & kids and some girls I met at the club). Most were completely disgusted by the crawfish, but some actually tried it. Chad made the batch SUPER mild but still their eyes were watering--too funny! The boys' friend from a few houses down (he's originally from CANADA) tried the crawfish and LOVED them! He said it was 'better than beaver tail with cinnamon'! I guess every region has their own digusting edible creatures!!!