the boys are outta town....kinda

thursday my mom, sarah and i decided to get together and bake some cookies because dad and ray were out of town. dad was in india for work and ray was in ohio, also on a business trip. matt and jared were both in town and at home, so the 5 of us, plus jonah (liv was with her grammie kitty) got together for pizza, cookies and a movie night. it was a blast, but i'm sure it would have been more fun if the whole family could have been there.

cheap as dirt?

the proctor property

"SOLD!"

just a quick congratulations to my sister and brother-in-law, who are one step closer to realizing their dream of building a new home! although they are still in the early planning stages as far as home-building goes, they did close on some property in april and are now the proud owners of some mighty fine texas dirt (and, to be fair, grass too)!
congratulations ray and sarah!

jared turns 18

yes, it's true, my "baby" brother turned 18 this month (on May 17). where did the time go? it seems like only yesterday he was running around the house pretending to be tarzan (and, consequently, dressing like him too)!
we celebrated the momentous occasion, as always, at my parents' house. the whole family was able to attend, and we enjoyed grilled meats of nearly every kind, delicious sides and tasty desserts before opening a few gifts and spending some quality time together reminiscing about when we actually all used to live in one house. even though jared had fallen asleep by the time matt and i left (he worked during the afternoon), i think he enjoyed the festivities.
happy birthday, jared. you'll ALWAYS be my little brother.

jared's 18 bday

now i know i'm old....

i'm *very* excited....why?
because we got a NEW garbage disposal!!!! i feel that this definitely makes me an "adult" because no child or teen or anyone else would ever be this excited about a new disposal for the kitchen. regardless of what this excitement actually or potentially means, i would like to share in my thrill. not only does the kitchen sink now drain flawlessly, the house no longer smells like some sort of rotting carcass, the dishwasher run uninterrupted and fully drain (every time!), i feel the most important part of this whole event is to give recognition to my very own plumber.
i would like to brag on my wonderful husband, who installed the contraption -- mostly alone -- without (much) complaining and with (much) patience. it truly is a beautiful thing (since i can now find beauty in the swish of running water, draining effortlessly down the sink, as i do in a toilet that properly flushes....you'll have to ASK matt about that one) and i have my husband to thank for it.
thanks, honey, i love you!

figuring out how to remove the old disposal

lexi was unimpressed

mother's day 2008

this year, our mother's day celebrations were a little off, since my parents had decided to travel down to waco to visit their parents during the afternoon. we started the day off by all going to church (yes, all 13 of us) before my parents headed to waco, jared headed to work, matt and i headed home for a nap (i always work saturday nights, so matt does too), sarah and ray headed to the proctors to celebrate with ray's mom, and shari and her 3 kiddos headed out of town for a trip. little did my mom know, though, that we weren't giving up on her mother's day that easy! despite the fact that my mom insisted she didn't need or want anything besides our presence at church, we knew she deserved better (way better!). so i collaborated with my 2 remaining in-town siblings to plan a surprise meal with presents and (of course) a bouquet of roses for my mom when she returned home in the evening. while things didn't go *quite* as planned (see the last couple pics, especially) mom seemed to have a great time and really enjoyed the surprise!
enjoy the pictures, and happy mother's day to all the moms out there!

mother's day 2008

lexi turns ONE

for those who don't know, our little girl turned ONE on may 2.
while we haven't had her that whole time, i have done my best to include pictures of her growing up over the last year for your viewing pleasure. it's hard to believe how far she's come (and how big she's gotten) in just 12 months! thanks for checking on us.

happy birthday, lexi!