Rangers Win . . . a nice surprise on a nice Spring evening

Twice in one day?

A little silliness - we did watch the game and cheer our hearts out for the Rangers.

OK - so we had Starbucks after mom, M and I went to Kinkaid's for burgers. I have a little energy to get this done before I finish housework or have a nap... decisions decisions...

Last night was KISD appreciation night at the Ballpark in Arlington. M got a "free" ticket for reading at school. The rest of us got tickets for 1/2 price- so it was a pretty good deal - and we didn't have to read - sweet! I met H and the kids at the ballpark after I got out of work and they were done with M's piano lesson. We had pretty good seats and the weather was fantastic. The game was par for the course for the Rangers this year . . . AND THEN we won! And in extra innings at that. It felt good to be there for one of their 8 wins this year. I only hope this is the start of something good for the Rangers. I would really like to see them do well.

Who loves baseball? We do!

I will let the pictures tell the story of the fun we had. Oh and L had the hot dog, nachos, cotton candy, lemon chill, pretzel, sausage on a stick, red rope, peanuts.... and in the second inning she had......

Such a pretty ballpark.
I could go to a game here every day and love it.
Someday I think I will try just that.

H and the kids.

Hello Win Column!

WOW. How can you not love a game at the Ballpark?
Baseball AND airplanes. WOW.

A picture of Cowboys Stadium across the pond from The Ballpark.
Pretty awesome sight.

Playing Catch Up . . . Again

Eric's birthday weekend last week was fun and relaxing. It is always a fun time to hang at Keri and Eric's casa and they are fabulous hosts. I believe Eric turned 21 . . . again.
The invitation said "So i guess it's BYOB, BYOF (bring your own food), and BYOAMCWHC (bring your own allergy medicine cuz we have cats). ". Which makes me laugh, but the cats part is true...there were almost as many kinds of allergy medicine as there were types of wine and beer. I need to get pictures of Keri and Eric's babies- they are all fabulous kitties and I like having furry little nieces and nephews.
Unfortunately my camera battery died early in the evening - so I only have a couple of photos. (Keri...help a girl out? send me what you have please).
I got to shop at H.E.B. before the party - OMG. I miss H.E.B. - there is NO H.E.B. in the DFW metroplex. We get by with Central Market, but it just isn't the same. Keri and Eric let me use their kitchen to make orange chocolate cheesecakes and a mess of kabobs to grill. Keri and Melissa make fantastic sous chefs and I would hire them for my restaurant any day. Even if to just keep me company and make me laugh my rear off.

Here is some Wii play . . . really interesting to see who won this, or I suppose who DIDN'T win this based on the controller motion. A-hem.

Luke, Kelly, Lauren, Eric, Melissa, Mario - Wii fun

Kim introduced us to her boyfriend. Brave and smart all at the same time. . . to take the poor guy to a group setting to meet the sisters. The Jones Girls are a force to be reckoned with when you get us all in the same room. Fortunately for Jay - we were on our best behavior and he survived. Just wait until the next major holiday . . . add Mom to the mix and you never know what you will get. Welcome to the fun Jay! It was great to get to meet you.

Kim & Jay

Leaving is always the hardest part when I get to visit with Keri and Eric. I was going to be lazy and just eat at the hotel, but when the promise of seeing Cristina came up, we decided to go to The Root Cellar. Once again - the food was fantastic. . . I still need to branch out and get something other than breakfast. Maybe next time.

Food, fun, drinks - you just can't go wrong with that combination and the amazing friends that Keri and Eric keep around. Looking forward to your 22nd B-day Eric.

Band Fun . . . Really

Somewhere between here and there - L had a band recital. She dislikes flute and being in the band, but she actually put on a good show. I think i am almost as ready for this school year to be over as she is. Here are a couple of pictures of the recital.

Mr. Boyd leading the group.

Playing along

Playing for the camera

M on his best behavior

All in all - the band recital was a well done production. It started on time, the kids sounded great, it ended on time AND we went to Braum's for ice cream after the show. Can you beat that?

I will post B-ball pictures soon. I need to have some coffee first.

Project Linus - A Saturday of Blankets

Welcome Home Mom!
We are happy to have you home and hope you enjoyed your trip to Peru.

The amazing Helen . . . a.k.a. Mom

As usual my mom-in-law keeps busy and today was just another incredible example of how she makes a difference in this world. I got an email at 7:45 this morning asking if we would want to come help make blankets for some of the 416 children who were removed from the FLDS compound in Eldorado. She picked M up shortly after we talked and they went shopping for a few hours to get fabric for the blankets. Helen has a pretty amazing "stash" of fabric, but the request for blankets was specific in stating that there be no cartoon characters or anything with the color red. She said M was a big help and they returned home with bags and bags of fleece to make blankets. We went to lunch and then got started.

The kids, my mom and I went to Helen's house to work on making blankets after we had lunch at Babe's. We made 28 blankets in about 4 hours. The kids were an incredible help. Helen's Project Linus group will bring the blankets we made and blankets gathered from around North Texas to San Angelo on Tuesday.

Here are a few photos of the day.left: what we started with
right: most of what we got done today

M being cute and helpful

L working on her 1st blanket of the day

Proof that they do play nice...

A really great way to spend a Saturday afternoon

I can't imagine what these young women and children have been through, been exposed to or what the future will bring for them. I have been holding tighter to my own children as this story comes to light. It is a tragic story and one that makes me extremely sad.
Knowing how Project Linus has quietly been caring for those in need for years makes me sure that what we did today will make a small difference. I hope it will help my own children understand the importance of giving when you can, how you can and also give them a sense that if they are ever in need, there will be someone there to wrap them in a warm blanket.

Weekend Fun 4/5 - 4/6

Did you miss us? I told you I would give you a break... or is it the other way around- I gave myself a break? Whatever...

Our dear family friend Stephen came to Texas for a few days to visit. Unfortunately, Stephen lives in Memphis and does not make it out here nearly enough. I suppose just the fact that he lives in Memphis is unfortunate, but I digress.

Great light (no trains though) and a beautiful blue Texas sky

So. . . . Just a few photos of randomness, some volcanic activity in North Texas and a nice family lunch. I give credit to Stephen for the majority of the photos. He is a much better photographer than I and it was his punishment (um. . . payment) for coming to stay at Casa de Carr.

Saturday night - we made volcanoes out of modeling clay. I don't exactly remember what brought it up, but M has the memory of an elephant so there was no getting out of it once we discussed the possibility of making our own volcanoes. We decided since Wes was at work Saturday night he could judge the volcanoes on Sunday morning (don't know why we have to have a winner for everything).
Here are the results:
M wins Best Volcano Shape, Best Blending of Color & Least Crowded Platform
L wins Most Creative Use of Color, Best "Accessories" & Tallest Structure
a-ha, clever.... a tie.

M's attempt a schmoozing the judges

L's zen-cano. Yin/ Yang... Good/ Evil... Light/ Dark

The fun in progress

It was all fun and games and no one lost an eye. I consider this a success! I had forgotten how much fun it could be to be a kid. Oh yeah - I even got to grill some lunch and drink a bottle of wine. I did say a bottle . . . yes, I did.

What the men do while lunch fixes itself.....or something

Lunch on the patio.
Uh . . . Keri - Wie wollen Sie sagen?

my attempt at capturing the beauty I see in the backyard

I will probably update soon after Eric's birthday bash in San Marcos in two weeks.

OH!!! Oh, oh, oh! I do have a couple of Rangers games on the horizon and I am completely excited about both. The kids, mom-in-law and I will attend the April 24th game and then I somehow conned my dad in to going to the May 1st day game. Yeah baby! See you soon.