Things to look forward to!

Jerry and I have a lot to look forward to this summer! 

1. SUMMER!!!! Although I am doing summer school- I love summer.  I am also super excited about my summer school position! 

2. My 24 Birthday!  Jerry and I are going to see Wicked!  It is going to be amazing!!!!

3.  Birthday Month!  Cindy, Andrea, and I all have birthdays in June!  We plan on staying at the W in Dallas the weekend of the 19 with just the girls and going out to dinner with the boys on the weekend of the 26.

4. Our First Year Anniversary!!!!  We are going to go to Fredricksburg to a bed and breakfast!

5. At the end of July- We are going with all of our friends to Port Aransas for the weekend!  Here's the house we rented:

6. My garden!  As you can see it's really growing!! Look at the sunflower in the back right corner!!! I'm so proud!

7. Chilling out!  This summer I look forward to the days where we simply just chill... lay out by the pool... hang out with friends.... and just be! 

Growth

It absolutely amazes me to think about baby Claire and how much she has grown!  Here is a picture of Baby Claire the first day she was born!  So cute!

Here is a picture of Claire a few days later.  Love the flower!   Watch out people, we have a princess on our hands!!!

I love this picture... what a big girl- holding her head up!!!  She's only about a week old in this picture!

Here's another picture of her about 2 weeks old.  She weighs a whopping 8 pounds 11 oz:

I talk to Lauren every day on the phone.  She is an absolute pro at being a mommies!  I'm so proud of her!  Everyday she sends me a picture of Claire in a new outfit.  Honestly, I look forward to it every morning!  I cannot believe how fast Claire is growing!  Everyone says, "She's going to grow up before you know it..."  It's so true!  I try to go over there as much as possible.  I can have the most stressful day at work, but when I go see Claire- all the stress just goes away. 

Lauren told me that she is getting so big that some of her onesies won't stay buttoned!  I told Lauren this is the one time in a women's life where she can celebrate buttons busting because of weight gain!  Claire is the coolest chick ever!  Watch out world! 

The Backyard Project

Over the past 2 years, Jerry has been battling the backyard.  Whether it be grass, flooding, or dirt... the backyard has constantly been on my Jerr Bear's mind. For awhile, I considered having Jerry see a backyard therapist or even calling one of those shows on the DIY channel.  Every weekend I would catch Jerry looking at the backyard with hope... I'm not going to lie, I thought the backyard was a losing battle. 

But after this weekend.... the VICTORY GOES TO JERRY!   

Maybe I should travel back in time so you can get the full extent of Jerry's obsession... I mean hard work:

Summer 2009- Jerry laid sod- it did not take- our backyard is just too shady

February 2010- Jerry tilled up the backyard and laid seed for grass

March 2010- GRASS!  We finally have grass!

March 2010- Adventures of French Drains- Jerry decided we needed a French Drain.  At first I was very hesitant....but after seeing the french drain in action--- Jerry was right, we really did need it

April 2010- We hired some guy to cut our trees back so there would be more sunshine in the backyard- he also fixed our sprinklers.

May 2010- Pavers

Over the past couple of weekends, my Dad and Jerry have been hard at work putting down these pavers.  First they put down a frame:

Next they put down sand:

Then they put some stones down: 

The last step was to rent this vibrating machine that mushes the stones into the sand so the stones won't move:

Finished product:

My dad and Jerry worked so hard on the backyard.  It was so hot!  I'm especially proud of Jerry, he has worked and worked to make our backyard a beautiful place!  Maybe this will take his mind off the backyard... I doubt it... I can tell he's already thinking of the next little project he wants to do in the backyard. 

Also, we my dad's crew put in a new dog run in our backyard. 

The dogs are not big fans-- We told the dogs it was their very own "Puppy Spa" but they are acting like it is a Puppy Prison.  The dogs have already learned how to escape the Puppy Prison... I mean Spa.  They have learned if they hit their noses on the latch, the door will open and they are free!  Crazy dogs... we have to put sticks in the latch so they can't open it!  Also, Lucy just stands by the gate and jumps up and down.  I think she thinks that she can jump over the fence.  She probably could if she lost 10 pounds and got a running start.  Let's hope she doesn't figure that out. 

The backyard still needs some work, but we are getting closer.  I think I'll but this weekend down as a win for Jerry! 

Claire Elizabeth is finally here!!!

Lauren went in to work the morning of May 14.   After having some pretty strong contractions, she decided to get checked...sure enough.. Lauren was was in labor!  At 7:45 am, I received a text from Lauren saying that she was in labor!!! I was already at school so I rushed to get a sub and was out of there!  I got to the hospital about 8:15.  At that point, Lauren was doing great!  She had an epidural and was feeling good. 

Lauren was a complete champion.  She knew exactly what to do and when to do it.  She is, after all, a labor and delivery nurse.  I was so grateful that I got to see Lauren before Claire came.  Lauren was so calm the whole time...please note:  I will not be like that. 

So there was a lot of waiting.  I really don't know much about babies being born so bare with me as I explain in my own words what happened.  Claire was not in the right position, I think she kept going back up into Lauren's belly.  The midwife decided to give Lauren some medication that would make Lauren's contractions stronger... making Claire get into the correct position.  The midwife explained, it's better to rest for an hour and take medication than push for 2 hours and be exhausted. 

Meanwhile, me, my mom, and Retha (Dave's mom) were waiting patiently- sort of.  Lauren warned us to be on our best behavior... this included not bothering the staff (we only went by the nursing station every 10 minutes), staying in the waiting room (we couldn't help but wait outside the door of Lauren's room), and not freaking out (my mom only snapped at the midwife one time.)  On a scale of 1-10- one being absolutely awful and ten being a perfect angels... I would give us a 4, but hey, who's counting?

However, we did get into trouble with the midwife.  My mom, Retha, and I were waiting with our ears on the door (we couldn't miss the babies first cry!) and the midwife opened the door and said that we needed to return to the waiting room.  At that point I thought my mom was going to pounce the midwife.  It was really funny.  We changed the her name to "midwife" to "mean-wife."  Needless to say, we "returned" to the waiting room and did drive bys every couple of minutes.  Technically we weren't doing anything wrong....

At 6:54 pm, while on a drive by... we heard the most beautiful sound ever!! CLAIRE IS HERE!  I have never been so happy!  We all sat outside Lauren's room crying and hugging silently- we didn't want to get in trouble by the mean-wife.  After a few minutes, Lauren asked for my mom and I to come into the room. 

There she was!   An even 8 pounds of precious angel!!! 

I couldn't stop crying!  We have been waiting 9 months to meet her and she was finally here!  I couldn't believe how precious she was! 

Dave was so proud!  He's going to be an amazing Daddy!  He held her with so much love and pride! 

Lauren was amazing through everything.  I am so proud of her! 

As I held, Claire she just looked at me.  Just looking at those tiny- beautiful eyes made my heart melt.  I get chocked up looking at this picture.

After a long and exciting day, I was completely exhausted.  I didn't realize how nervous and anxious I was.  I knew Lauren was in good hands, but I still could help but worry about my sister and Claire.  At about 8 pm, I found myself completely emotionally drained- I can't even begin to imagine how Lauren felt! 

The next day, I went up to the hospital to see baby Clairebear, Lauren, and Dave.  Dave went to grab something to eat and return Lauren's car to their house.  So it was just Claire, Lauren, and I.  It was so great just being with my sister and her daughter.  I got to hold Claire and help change her diaper. 

Lauren is absolutely amazing with Claire.  The way she talks and looks at her makes my heart fill with happiness.  Claire just melts in Lauren's arms.  Lauren is going to be the best Mommy!

I am a proud aunt and I can't wait to spoil Claire rotten! 

Mr. Bradham Day Celebration!

On May 13 Pope Elementary celebrated it's 40th anniversary.  All of the previous/ current students from Pope came to celebrate Pope's 40th Birthday.  A large part of the celebration was honoring previous principals and celebrating Mr. Bradham Day.  I met so many of my grandfather's previous students.  I couldn't believe how many people were there!  There were people that traveled from Florida and California.  I had a great time visiting with people and hearing about eraser relays and Mr. Bradham Day.  It was truly inspiring!  Here are some pictures:

All of the previous/ current principals at Pope:

This is at the front entrance at Pope:

Waiting for the big speech!

Warrior Dash!

On Sunday me, Jerry, Andrea, Mark, Stacey, Kurt, Chris, Cindy, and Franks decided to run the Warrior Dash!  The Warrior Dash is a 3.5 mile run with various obstacles set up along the coarse.  We had to run through a wind tunnel, slide down a mud slide, climb up mud hill, get in a mud lake and roll over logs, jump over fire, and crawl through a mud pit with barb wire over our head.  It was so much fun!  We got so dirty! 

Here are some pictures: 
Pancake breakfast- carb loading

Warrior Pose:

Before .....

After:

Before:

After:

The Warriors: