Kyler's Taco Birthday Dinner

Kyler got to choose the type of food that he wanted for his birthday dinner. (If he had chosen the place it would have been McDonald's) So off we went to Fresco's for celebration. There was live music on the patio and the musicians wished him a Happy Birthday via the microphone and he was NOT sure what to do with that kind of attention, he almost looked like he was going to be sick...We ate, played, visited and sang happy birthday to him when they brought him a soppapilla (I don't know how to spell that!) with a candle in it. He blew out the candle let Alex eat the dessert and he finished off Daddy's beans! He LOVED the 2 wheeled scooter his cousins gave him (I was afraid he was going to try to sleep with it last night) and LOVED Snarl the transformer from Gran and Papa! Paw Paw came back to the house to play for a little after dinner and the kids ate that up, so much fun. Thanks to everyone for making this a special celebration! We missed Grammy, Poppy and Grandma Sarah who all got sick and didn't want to expose anyone, love ya'll!

Wednesday Grandma Cindy and NaeNae had a special birthday celebration for him. It was so special for them to do something like that! He just loved getting to go on an outing for his birthday. First thing when I came in the door he showed me his "loot". He got Bolt, Horton hears a who and 2 motorcycles! He had so much to say and was so excited...thanks guys! I am blessed to have someone watching them who truly loves them even through their daily drama!

My BABY is 5!!!

Happy Birthday Kyler, I love you to the moon and back! Holy smokes! I know understand when my parents used to say "I'm not old enough to have a __ year old"...I am not old enough to have a little boy who is 5! We will even be signing him up for Kindergarten Monday. WOW! I just have these overwhelming feelings of love, pride and a little sadness. My sweet little boy is 5. I can still feel him laying on my chest as a baby and snuggling down. Mandy wanted to wake him up to sing Happy Birthday first thing in the morning...we tried...he opened his eyes, smiled and went right back to sleep. She kept putting his present from her on his face trying to get him to open it but he obviously needed rest so we let him sleep. Daddy took the pictures since he is off work for Kyler's birthday and doctor check up so Kyler got a picture of him too! This is apparently what they do when Mama is away...

Weekend Wrap-up

WOW, what a weekend! I was gone for 3 days on my Walk to Emmaus, the longest I have ever been away for my family. I was anxious about it going in but am so thankful for that now, it was an amazing experience that I would never trade! Kyle did a great job at home and the kids had fun with Daddy. I am so proud of Kyler, from what I am told he played great in his games this weekend and his team won Friday but the bigger deal was they tied a team they lost by a lot to in the start of the season...this shows so much growth and learning! He was very excited and proud. They got to spend time with my Aunt Lynn which I love since we don't see her much, I only got about 2 minutes with her but they were very special minutes to me! Mandy missed me a lot and was so excited to tell me about all she did, from playing with Daddy to playing with Sydney, Grammy and Aunt Lynn. My husband however, has just blown me away with love and support and I am so blessed to have him! He even made our anniversary special by me not having to do so much...THANK YOU HONEY! Lastly, I would like to thank everyone who showed me love through some very special letters, I will cherish them and re-read them on tough 4th days!

What a game!

GO RANGERS! While Mandy and I enjoyed a girls outing, Daddy and Bubba went to the Rangers game with Papa and Austin. From what I hear the boys almost ate a fortune at the concession stand and really enjoyed the game. The first thing Kyler told me was how Michael Young hit a homerun! And to top it all off it was free hat day...woo hoo! These are pictures I lifted from Papa's blog...thanks Papa!

Earth Day

When I picked up Mandy at Livy's we all loaded up and headed to the local Earth Day event and most of it was great. Mandy (with no nap) had a melt down over a craft and as soon as we recovered the volunteer working it accidentally squirted us with the hose and it started all over again! She did snap out of it and had a better time once we moved on. The girls enjoyed playing outside too. They are so cute together!

Busy Weekend

This past weekend was a busy one...but definitely the fun kind of busy! T-ball was canceled Saturday, Mandy and I went exploring garage sales while Kyler and Daddy went to see a movie together. Then we were off to dinner with Mrs. Jennifer, Mr. James, Livy and Maren before Mandy and Livy's sleepover. OH the fun, I know Mrs. Jennifer slept well last night!! Jennifer knows how I love to post the events of our lives to share with the family and shared pictures. From what she and the girls said the word best friend hasn't been used so many times in a 24 hour period, there was popcorn everywhere, the princess castle tent was a fabulous hit, poor Maren took the brunt of their attention at times, they dressed up like princesses before they could decorate their pancakes in the morning and they were so hungry for lunch Sunday they almost cleaned Mrs. Jennifer out! The only squabble I was made aware of was who's turn it was to snuggle Mrs. Jennifer when it was time to sleep...she ended up pinned by them both! Too sweet! By bedtime Sunday Mandy was so tired she just cried "I miss my best girlfriend Livy" until she fell asleep in the car. For some reason my "fantastic" computer won't open the file so I will add the pictures at work tomorrow.

Pile up

Off to bed!

Big Hitter!

I caught the end of his warm up for batting...I just love his enthusiasm!

Bonding with Spike

Who knew lizards were so much fun? Not us! Kyler's bearded dragon, nicknamed Spike, is just hilarious...we ALL have a good time bonding with our frisky little critter!

Easter with Grammy and Poppy

After church we headed up to Grammy and Poppy's house for another Easter celebration. What fun! We pulled in right behing Aunt Lisa, Uncle Mark and Sydney...perfect timing! We enjoyed great food, the kids dug into more baskets from the magical bunny and hunted eggs indoors. Then the sun decided to show up and we were outside for the rest of the day! WOO HOO! Kyler and Grammy were getting the food out of the fish pond, he got distracted and took a swim! Grammy grabbed him super fast and he was a little scared but later told us his feet were on the floor. Daddy and Kyler got to go fishing a couple of times and we "played Easter Bunny" rehiding the empty eggs in the yard multiple times. The last time the kids hid them and Daddy and Aunt Lisa took off to see who could get the most! It was hilarious and thankfully for us grown ups there were multiple "piles" to make it a little easier! We also built a bunny house with the kids and they got to eat it when it was together. They thought that was a treat too. All in all a GREAT day!

Easter Mornin'

Easter was a great holiday at our house! The Easter Bunny dropped off some treats and we got to see Kyler sing in church. It was a lot of fun to watch Kyler and Mandy check out their baskets and ask how the Easter Bunny knew "just what we wanted"!

Happy Easter/Happy 40th Anniversary

Today was a great day for the Goulding family! We had a double celebration, Easter and Mom and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary. Yep, a great day! The kids had a blast Easter Egg Hunting, you can really see why Mandy is called Princess Sassy Pants these days by her photos and Kyler had a happy/silly day of fun! The picture of their hands just touched my heart, I had to sneak it since Mandy didn't want any documentation of her loving on her big brother but HOW SWEET!!! I have been blessed with such fabulous children. After the neighborhood egg hunt (where Mandy won a bunny in a drawing...GO GIRL, Daddy says she has Grandpa's luck since she won an Easter Potato head last year!) we went back to Gran and Papa's for some lunch and playtime. It was a lot of fun, good food and good visiting. All of the seven cousins were there and enjoyed spending the day together. The kids did it all and I am so thankful we had good weather for it, they were outside ALL day! At one point Kyler just wanted to sit with me...Thanks for the picture Erica. Just before we left Aunt Erica planted green bean seeds with the kids and they really enjoyed the project. Mandy was sleeping, she just couldn't hold out, so Kyler planted hers for her...what a bubba. Thanks Aunt Erica for the project, it was fantastic.

Cupcake Kisses

GO Raiders!!! Last night Kyler's t-ball team won again. Kyler played really well with the exception of running the wrong way once...don't ask, we don't know. It was a teammate's birthday the day before so her mom brought cupcakes for snack and there was MORE than enough so Mandy made sure Grammy got a sweet cupcake kiss...with just a little encouragement from PawPaw...they all got a SWEET kick out of it. Thanks for coming to watch Mama and Daddy!

Team Spirit

Thanks to Aunt Kelly we got our team shirts just in time for last night's game. Mine says Kyler's mom and Mandy's says Kyler's Sis! We won again, we are now 2 and 2. We are all having a lot of fun. This being our 3rd season we are starting to play teams with people we know and run into former team parents which is pretty neat. I am loving living in a small town. GO Alvarado Raiders!!!

It's tough to be 3...

Mandy has decided to take a break from dance and gymnastics. I am pretty srue from my perspective (from our conversations) it is a combination of things, including separation from me (going from Mommy and me to big girl) and just flat being tired. After her performance Saturday when asked about class on Monday she simply replied "No, I am done." I guess in her mind it was over and she is "tired of it". I am confident that "this too shall pass" but for now we are taking a break. On the flip side she has become extremely confused about her friendship with her best friend Livy. They met in dance class and she is struggling with understanding they can still be friends even though she isn't dancing anymore. Mrs. Jennifer and I talked earlier today about many things, this included and this was the email Mandy received tonight...

This typed by Mommy, but in Livy's words...

"I want to give you a present. I want you to come see me soon. I'm going to play with you, Mandy! You are my friend. You will dance with me at my house! Yes! I want to hide with you. Yes! We can play monster! Um, we can jump on my trampoline and play with each other. Yes, trampoline! But we will have to take turns. You will see. I miss you! I miss you! Miss! Miss! You will see! Patty cake, patty cake!"

Love. Livy

Mandy wanted to "talk back" to Livy and so this is the message she sent in reply..

A message to Livy typed by Mama...

"I want to send you a house with a doggy in it! You are my BEST friend! For your birthday I want to get you a Cinderella doll. I miss you very much. I really miss you and can't wait for our sleepover at your house. And we can play with Maren too. I want to jump on your trampoline high but no boys allowed...only the girls. I really really want to jump on the trampoline and if it is possible we can be princesses with slippers. I miss you and goodnight."

Love Mandy

I don't know about anyone else but this just melts my heart!!!

Gage's birthday dinner

Look out Babe's here we come! After the party we set out for a celebratory and warm dinner...YUMMY!