4.30.2010

fabulous friday

filled with sun & fun

& special traditional sugar treats

the story behind nathans photo above:

when we moved to texas the boys had a new test to take

on an annual basis called the TAKS test.

as a motivator many years ago, i said as

a joke -

"get a 100 and i'll buy you a 6 pack, a snack and a pack of sugar gum"
well, you can guess what happened that first

year with justin...a tradition began!

what an inexpensive tradition too.

and the payout continues.

heres what nathan picked out today.

it will take him all of may to eat, drink & chew his special treats.

will keep you posted.

-

fabulous friday continues.

fun photo below.

the story behind this picture of colin.

colins football coaches decided instead of having practice

tonight, to have a party instead!

and what a party 4 coaches can throw.

nothing like hosting 10 second graders

at gattiland

on a busy friday night.

colin came home with a smile on his face,

a bracelet depleted of funds and

pockets overflowing with treats.

without being prompted,

colin set up for the traditional blog photo shoot -

yikes, i've trained them well!

-

our day started off with steve & i going to

school to watch nathans last day as anchor on the morning news &

our day ended with us all watching the longest yard

with adam sandler.

our a. sandler movie marathon continues.

happy weekend.

4.29.2010

{april 1st - joe dimaggios at the domain}
thursdays thoughts.
someone got a 100 on taks reading.
someone took a taks science test today.
someone took two taks tests this week.
someone drove all four to football practice tonight.
someone has a field trip tomorrow.
someone is anchor one on tve morning news.
someone is addicted to bejeweled 2 on itouch.
someone is going to gattiland tomorrow for a party.
someone is running in a 1K fun run on saturday.
someone is into drawing the whimpy kid characters.
someone is procrastinating on preparing for tomorrow meeting.
someone is still into watching the office reruns.
someone is looking forward to this weekend.
someone is into cheese quesadillas lately.
someone did 5 loads of laundry today.
someone is reading the big short.
someone is still figuring out facebook.
someone
loves
to
blog
still.

4.28.2010

the wrecking rhinos return home.

16 out of 16 points.

nice job colin !

he completed this all by himself.

that was very hard to me to watch & not help.

especially with all that 'crafting' needed.

i couldn't of done it better.

4.27.2010

just a peek out the back window while i was making dinner.

just a boy and his golf clubs.

its rare that he can't find a neighborhood friend to play with.

its great to see that he can find something to do solo.

colin is our outdoor boy.

snack/homework/outside.

everyday.

even in the rain.

even in the heat.

i can see a couple more freckles arriving today.

finished the lost symbol by dan brown.

we are watching american idol.

we sneak a peek at dancing with the stars.

we quiet down early tonight.

justin has another taks test tomorrow.

just now.

4.26.2010

doesn't get any better than this.

we raced through our homework today

so we could watch the second part of this

new series on the history channel.

america - the story of us.

love that dvr.

i know we won't erase this one anytime soon.

please note that i'm sitting behind nathan so that

i can google all the questions he keeps asking me.

history was not my best subject.

american history passed me by in high school.

i think i'm enjoying this as much as nathan.

steve & justin are into it too!

gotta love that george washington.

thank you mrs. frick for always keeping us informed.

we are a smarter bunch of sippels because of you!

4.26.2010

life in the fast lane.

steve couldn't resist taking this picture

this weekend &

i couldn't resist sharing it!

bob and faith cruising the plantation

this weekend.

i think it looks good on them!

too bad there wasn't a gps on board....

4.25.2010

sunday morning evidence.

sunday sugar evidence.
sunday volunteer evidence.

sunday determination evidence.

sunday teamwork evidence.

footnotes:

leftover candy from movie night.

church and round rock donuts purchased

at church - allows the parking lot to empty out before

it try to backout of my parking spot.

falcons win by 7 - 6.

i didn't breath for the entire game.

i barely sat on the edge of my chair.

exciting stuff!

can you tell this was my first game weekend of the season.

i promise to calm down next week.

homework. frozen chicken fingers. running bases

and the history channel series finished our day.

steve arrived home safe & sound.

would be sunday night if we didn't watch the pacific!

heres to a busy week ahead.

happy weekend.

4.24.2010

saturday morning skies.

beautifully blue.

football weekend is in progress.

game one of four.

falcons win!

colin smiling for the camera.

ha.

i'm sure i'm embarrassing him right now.

nathan after game two.
cowboys lost.
nathan is deep in thought here
awaiting his next game.
deep thought pays off &
nathan opens the cowboys second game with a
safety on the first play!
the cowboys have a great second game.
i was on the edge of my chair in a bag
for the entire game
but it just wasn't enough.
great game - disappointing lost.
rare smile from justin.
i must of just promised him a firehouse sub for dinner.
i love watching the boys play.
i find myself holding my breath when i see them
on the field.
praying for catches, interceptions, no injuries -
depending on the minute.
love the teamwork all the boys are
capable of.
life lessons learned early.
take out dinners from mcdonalds and firehouse subs.
candy and billy madison dvd from target.
colin barely made it through the movie.
too much football.
too much sun.
too much packed into one saturday.
still one more game to go tomorrow!

4.23.2010

friday in captions.

a unique definition of gps.

nfl draft continues to captive.
friday night practice.

practice ended 10 minutes early
due to some lightening and scary clouds.

a promise rainbow after the rain.

a delicious frozen pizza & soda for dinner.

a tornado watch streams across the

bottom of the tv screen as we end the evening.

happy friday.

4.22.2010

{today - nfl first round draft pick}

{3 boys all dressed up - lauren & aarons wedding -july 2009}

day 4.

aadd day.

adult attention deficit disorder.i just found this picture on my laptop today while i was looking for an excel workbook. proof that i do not know what i'm doing when i save something. proof that i have no idea where this came from or how it magically appeared. what words did i put in that search box?

great memories.

great smiles.

wonder when i'll see all three dressed up like this again?

wonder why i am not focused today?

somedays i crank thru the to-do list at an amazing speed.

other days i poke and prod thru it.

today i am going to blame it on the weather.

warm. grey and drizzling. yuck.

early morning meeting at the hospital.

office work and lunch at the laptop.

afternoon trip to archivers.

football cancelled due to the weather.

nathan is elated because now he can watch the nfl draft

live - not recorded!

all 4 boys gathered around the tv at 630pm.

nathan of course had everything memorized.

colin fought for the sports illustrated - not that he needed it.

nighttime prayers were foreign to me tonight.

they were all thankful for college players

going to the nfl.

(they were a little more specific than that!)

heres to day 4 filled with football, earth day and raindrops!

4.21.2010

day 3.

the kitchen table.

the homework table.

the office work table.

its always multitasking.

it used to be a dining room table that was

only used for special celebrations.

now its in the center of our house and

its the center of most of our activities.

it has a piece of glass that is forever showing every

fingerprint & crumb that gets trapped under it.

its location allows one to feel part of both the kitchen

& the family room at the same time.

it is the zang agency south location.

it is the art and craft table.

it serves us breakfast, lunch & dinner.

its were you sit when you want a coke & a view of the tv too.

its a texas hold'em poker table.

its a sunday morning brunch table.

its the best blogging seat in the house.

it is the keeper of many laughs, wins & sunday night sippel stories.

colin busy after school.
i'm busy doing something today that involves 2 memory sticks,
2 phones and my wallet. working on a little
project for this summer.
today is day 3.
for me it was a 'found' day.
worked on all kinds of projects
that have been filling up my never ending to-do list.
hit the dry cleaners & library.
watched 'an education' on dvd.
returned it to the redbox on time.
steve was out for dinner tonight.
sad news about joe dimaggios closing.
haven't told mom yet.
its her absolute favorite place to eat at the domain.
watched american idol gives back tonight.
more laundry to fold.
i have only taken 10 pictures so far this week.
not too good for the week in a life project.
will take more tomorrow.
good bye day 3.

4.20.2010

day 2.

routine day. take the boys to school. shower. grocery shopping. meeting at noon at work.

office work. pick up the boys. post office. homework. dinner for the boys. colins football

practice at 615. chatted with sarah at practice. making plans for tomorrows legal conference in temple. cancel plans for tomorrows legal conference in temple. catch up on sunday nights episode of the pacific. make coffee for am. set table. crash.

5 small things i am grateful for today.

new wireless dell printer.

no more printer sitting on the kitchen island.

no more cords to look at hanging of the kitchen island.

first floor laundry room.

laundry does not seem like such a chore when its

so conveniently located.
this is also the 'dressing room' in the morning

for those who forget to take their laundry upstairs at night.

yes, part of our good night routine.

get ready for bed, brush you teeth, take up your laundry.

a stack of magazines are always hanging out for all
to read.

something here for all.

sports illustrated. espn. inc. vanity fair. oprah. bon appetite. elle
food network. entertainment weekly. architectural digest. the economist.

austin monthly.

(we had to use or lose some airline points -

hence the large selection for the next couple months.)

warm days & cool nights - no need for the a/c yet.

not taking this day for granted - everyday is a precious gift.

-

'life moves pretty fast. if you don't stop to look around once in a while

you could miss it.'

- matthew broderick in ferris bullers day off

-

just a glimpse of today. day 2.

4.19.2010

monday afternoon.

drop spot #1.

the foyer.

the homework station.

this is today.

school library books reside here.

homework projects live here.

filled lunch boxes wind up here in the am.

signed school papers are piled here to make

the return journey to school.

by tonight, the backpacks will be loaded with

completed homework assignments, books and musical

instruments all tucked in and ready for the morning scramble.

monday afternoon.

drop spot #2.

weekly spelling words go up.

football schedules are highlighted.

upcoming school projects hang here.

permission slips/school events/volunteers forms.

the papers move around depending on due dates.

its wonderful to pull one off once in awhile.
busy refridge this week.

i can always tell by the number of papers looking at me.

early morning meeting at work.

nathans on a field trip today.

robotics club after school today for nathan.

colin tags along.

colin refuses to play with the itouch or ds.

colin just wants to sit and watch the creations.

talk about mean.

colin is our lego boy.

colin is still to young to join the robotics LEGO club at school.

i volunteered to help.

(think back to chess club - i volunteered to help yet i had never even played chess.)

now think about robotics club.

legos & laptops.

lots of high tech technology - again, not my strong point.

but at least i'm good at finding that exact piece.

i've had lots of practice with colin in this area.

back to colin.

he just has to quietly sit there.

and watch.

and learn.

and take notes.

and try to sell us on buying the lego nxt series for him.

the lego catalog is permanently opened to that page -

hint, hint.

cool stuff with a hefty price tag.

maybe santa will buy it for him.

he's already counting the days till he can join!

steves in dallas tonight.

dancing with the stars is on all tv sets.

colin and spongebob sleep with me tonight.

day one.

week in a life series begins.

4.19.2010

i am going to do this.
i am really going to do it this year.
document everyday for one week.
take pictures everyday for one week.
jot down a daily thought or two.
how hard can that be?
its only 7 days.

4.18.2010

sitting on top of the refridge.

all alone & forgotten.

2 dozen easter confetti eggs.

patiently awaiting their turn.

quietly lying next to the easter egg unused dye kit.

2 dozen easter confetti eggs arrived on the path today.

better late than never!

sunday afternoon fun.

4.16.2010

friday night fun filled with unlimited pizza. unlimited drinks.

unlimited games. we dropped nathan & colin
off at 11pm at gattiland & steve picked them up

at 4am. they love this. something fun about

staying up half the night with all their buddies.

justin needed rides tonight too.

movie night at school. 6pm to 9pm.

we watched brothers tonight.

great heavy drama.

busy way to start our weekend.

good stuff.

4.11.2010

{colin - hanging on the deck at carlos & charlies - april 3, 2010}

weekend update.
football wins x 2.
nathan will be a trumpet player next year.
mels charges 3.94 for a bag of popcorn.
colin & nathan signed up for lockin again this year at church.
the pacific is our new sunday night show.
i wore the tracer home from work & had to drive it back :(
the dell touch screen has shipped.
still working on the save the date cards.

4.9.2010

the best thing about having visitors is the overuse the camera gets. we took pictures everyday. we passed the camera around football fields & patio tables. we smiled, we deleted, we retook. we forgot the camera a couple times - what happened on easter sunday? 4 pictures only. must of been busy finding easter eggs. heres a picture on the way to the airport before lauren left last saturday. more smiles to come as i look through all the great snapshots! happy weekend. see u monday.

4.7.2010

all great parties must come to an end.

we ate. we laughed. we partied.

we played games. we watched football practices.

we went to the movies. we went shopping.

we ate some more.

we went walking and talking.

we watched the weather.

we weighed suitcases.

we repacked suitcases.

we celebrated.

we planned.

heres to our next party in august.

heres to suitcases weighing 51 lbs.

heres to finding moms license at the airport.

heres to safe travels.

see y'all soon!

4.6.2010

early morning trips to the airport.

dad is headed north.

mom & i hit the domain to

do some serious shopping.

tiffanys. juicy. ralph. stewart.

lilly. marc.

one guess where we had lunch.

not south.

late night snacks at fridays.

heavy packing ahead.

busy day!

4.4.2010

hoppy easter.

early morning egg hunts.

first service at church.

z'tejas brunch.

afternoon walks to the club house.

cheeseburgers on the grill.

texas hold'em poker games.

colin won the $10 pot.

we ran out of time -

never made it to the confetti eggs.

maybe tomorrow.

hoppy easter.

4.3.2010

saturday morning music fills the house.

perfect cloudless sunny day.

outlet shopping and starbucks coffee for the girls.

early morning golf for the guys.

afternoon lunch on the patio.

afternoon rides to the airport.

one auntie laur back to charleston.
we decided to head to lake travis to watch
the sunset at the oasis but unfortunately
so did everyone else who lives in austin.
all 2600 seats taken.
off to carlos & charlies for the
second best local sunset.
off to bed early.
the easter bunny is coming tonight.
not to be confused with 'bunny' - ha

4.2.2010

friday night lights.

colins practice inside the track.

model home tours.

electrical plug projects.

diary of a whimpy kid movie.

firefly cocktails & grilled chicken.

hey cupcake cupcakes for dessert.

the team falcon cheerleaders on the sidelines.
happy friday y'all.

4.1.2010

happy birthday mom!

woke up to princess pink balloons hanging

in your doorway and candles in your breakfast.

special arrivals today.

airport to north again.

why mess with tradition.

sunny but windy.

that didnt stop us from lunch outside at north again.

football practices. birthday wishes & calls.
group photos in black & white.

special treats at joe dimaggios.

fun day.
thanks for sharing your day with us.