Audition...

This time it is a family affair!! Emma, Patrick and I will be auditioning tomorrow evening for the Bass Proshop Holiday commercial. Patrick's uncle sent us a notice from a casting company in Dallas that they were looking for a "family" with kids 4yrs and older (thus the reason Bryan won't be auditioning!) and so I thought what the heck, I had so much fun with the SM commercial that I think it would be a blast to do it as a family!! Amazing how quick the process moves, sent the email with photos yesterday, got notice today that we were selected for an audition tomorrow, and if selected the shoot date is in a week and a half! It will be interesting to see how Emma does tomorrow; I've tried to explain it to her and she just keeps asking if she gets to be on TV like mommy and then when I say maybe she gets super excited!!!

Great weekend to end a great week!!

Emma and her tent!!

Catching bugs!!

One of the dads brought the swing along with him...smart thinking!!

Emma and her fellow tribe members helping to set up the tee-pee for the big bonfire!

After running in the rain...

Cool bowling shoes

Bowling with daddy

It was a great week because Bryan started back to school at Tate Tots and did wonderful!! He was getting so stressed out about the other school so we decided to switch our schedules around to allow him to go back to "tater tots" (as Bryan calls it!). We love his teacher Mrs. Terry and feel so relieved that he's back in a place where he feels comfortable!! Non-stressed baby = non-stressed parents!!

It was a great weekend for many reasons...Patrick and Emma had their first camp out with the Paposes, they spent two nights in a tent, got rained on, had to escape to a bowling alley, made a bonfire, fished, went on scavenger hunts, ate camp food- hot dogs and s'mores, and had a WONDERFUL time!! They came home wet, tired and dirty and it took hours to clean out and clean up the car...but they cannot wait for their next camp out, Patrick is already looking into purchasing a camper! It was also a wonderful weekend because Chelsey came into town...Brandon needed to study for his first round of med-school tests so she came to hang with Lindsy and I for the weekend (Haley and my parents were out of town for a wedding). It was so nice to just hangout together, we did a little sewing/crafting, a little shopping and ate some good food!! It was also a wonderful weekend because we got to help celebrate Lilly's 5th birthday party at the carosel at the mall, which the kids love!! And finally the weekend concluded with dinner with Patricks family because Elizabeth was in town...it was so good to see everyone!!

Of course we all ended up with colds on Monday, so hopefully we can shake these soon so we can have another great weekend, looks like we're going to have some really nice weather!!

Papoose Nation Induction!!

Patrick and Emma had their Induction into the YMCA Daddy-Child program last night. They will be part of the Papoose Nation and in Hawk Tribe for this next year. The Induction was on the edge of Lake Arlington and was really cool! Patrick is so excited because he went through the program with his dad when he was a kid!! They have their first camp out this coming weekend- two nights in a tent, should be interesting!! But Emma is super excited and LOVES being outdoors so I think she will do great!!

The BIG fire...they had fire dancers too but I didn't get a pic!

All the kids and daddies marching in

Teepees set upon the edge of the water

Patrick and Emma in their cool new vests...(and of course still supporting the team since we could watch the first half!)

Commercial

So if you read my blog you probably already know that I was picked to be in a Stein Mart TV commercial. The first commercial started airing this past weekend and it's been crazy the number of people that have called, texted, FB'd, etc. saying they saw me on TV. Patrick, the kids and I saw it Saturday morning while we were eating breakfast and getting ready for the day. The kids were super excited to see mommy on TV..."mommy's mommercial" as Bryan calls it! On Saturday afternoon we went to Grandbury to pick up a piece of furniture from a couple that we found on Craigslist. Patrick and the husband were loading it up in the car and the kids and I were visiting with the wife in their TV-room. I had my back to the TV but apparently Emma was watching because she said "look mom, it's you!" I turned around to see the commercial playing....the couple joked that they should have increased the price by 20% because they were dealing with a "movie star," but I definitely let them know I was no movie star!! The commercials will run for the next seven weeks, so it will be fun to see if we have any other experience like this!!

Columbia, MO!!

The kids and I made a trip to Columbia, MO this past weekend for a surprise visit with my sister (and brother in law- but it wasn't a surprise to him!) Thankfully my mom came along too, not sure how I would have gotten there without her since traveling with two young kids requires as many hands as possible!! We had beautiful weather and such a great time just hanging out with Chelsey and Brandon...miss them both so much and so wished we lived closer to each other!! We got into Columbia early Friday and surprised Chelsey at her job at the hospital, which freaked Emma out because of all the doctors and nurses walking around in scrubs!! Once Chelsey got done with work and Brandon finished class we headed out to dinner at the famous Shakespeare's Pizza and dessert at a yummy ice-cream place!!

Since we were so close to campus we decided to let the kids run some energy out and headed to the big open area in front of the MIZZOU columns. The kids loved running around and being chased by Chelsey and Brandon...it gave me some time to hang back and take some pics, these are just a few of the hundred I took!!

(had to sneak in one pic!)

(and Brandon started taking pics as we headed back)

Saturday morning we got up bring and early, Brandon and Chelsey made the kids chocolate chip pancakes- their favorite!! And then we headed out to the farmer's market for fresh produce and breads to have with our dinner.

(Emma beautiful morning hair!)

They sold homemade honey-icecream at the farmer's market, and even though it was 10am we couldn't resist...kids LOVED it!!

Next we hit the MKT trail for a long walk...apparently the trail runs all the way across Missouri- so wish we had something like that in North Texas!! We spent the rest of Saturday hanging out, doing a little shopping, and a little park playground time for the kids!

My Mom's bday was Saturday so we made her favorite- a carrot cake for dessert with dinner and Emma made everyone, including her baby, party hats out of toilet paper!!

Sunday we went to church with Chelsey and Brandon and then had to leave so we could drive back to St. Louis to catch our flight. The kids loved Chelsey and Brandon's church, the slide in the middle of the church had nothing to do with it :)

Bryan's First Day of School

So maybe you can tell by the fact that this post has no pics that the first day didn't go so well. Both kids didn't sleep well last night- woke up around 2am and weren't back to sleep until 3am :( Patrick had to go to work early this morning, so needless to say it wasn't a pleasant morning getting two kids, who were still sleepy, ready and out the door by 7:20am. Bryan seemed apprehensive about school so we had not been talking about it too much. I took him into his class room and he started to cry the moment I left...he had cried last year when he started school but always calmed down after a minute or two (I would hang around the halls to find out!) So I left him crying and went home to work only to get a call around 11am telling me he hadn't stopped crying since a left and would I come pick him up. He was fussy, not crying, when I got there and he perked up instantly when he saw me. Guess we'll see how next week goes since we won't be there on Friday! In talking with his teacher when I picked him up I did find out that she is a parishioner at SMG and sent all her kids to school there- that made me really happy to hear!! Hopefully I'll get a cute pic next week of Bryan with his new haircut and bright green back-pack!!