3.31.2014

{last nights dinner}

not sure how this tradition started 

but i'm sure we can find the exact date if we scroll 

backwards enough years on the blog

but sunday night is our pizza night.

not just any pizza but a papa murphy pizza.

we have tried many but we always come back to this one.

we have made some from scratch.

we have had some delivered.

we have taken them out of the freezer.

we have tried them gluten free.

we have had them with veggies.

we have had them with meat.

but we always come back to the fresh made pizza from

papa murphys that you bake when you want it.

not sure how long this tradition will last

but its one we haven't broken in a long, long time.

heres to traditions and the stories that make them!

3.30.2104

a sunday family filled day.

from the chisolm trail longhorns 

to the fields of spring bluebonnets.

from the actual round rock

to the edible round rock donut.

from church

to the papa murphy pizza tradition.

it was the perfect family day

to share with our flat stanley!

3.29.2014

the perfect saturday.

sunny and 80 degrees.

team photos and team wins.

special visitor is smiling in all the pictures.

our day was filled with outdoor fields, march madness games

on the big screen and rudys bbq for dinner.

hard to argue with that agenda!

3.28.2104

just a little project life this afternoon.

finished february and started on march.

some weeks have many memories.

other weeks are groundhog weeks.

some weeks have lots of pictures.

other weeks have none.

i still love this process.

i still love this memory keeping method.

i still love the little everyday stories that fill the pockets!

3.27.2014

guess who has been shopping at the company store recently?

3.26.2014

and this is why God created bedroom doors!

love how each boy keeps his room.

love the pile of clean laundry on colins floor.

must be quicker to dress with this method.

love nates "always made" bed - he just slips in and out.

justins organized piles neatly placed around his room in order of importance.

just a quick tour of the upstairs boys wing today unannounced.

3.25.2014

                          

the stony point high school water tower is in my mirror today.

i see this on early morning drop offs.

i see this on late afternoon pickups.

i see this two nights a week when colin goes to football practice here.

i see this when the boys volunteer for weekend projects at school.

i love this little landmark in my daily routine.

3.24.2014

flat dude stanley took a minute out of his busy day to send 

a postcard to finns teacher and classroom friends today.

we hope they like the picture on the front side.

3.23.2014

much better!

now flat dude stanley is ready to party texas style.

3.22.2014

flat stanley is busy with march madness tonight.

flat stanley is watching the dayton game tonight.

flat stanley is playing 'wheres paul' in the buffalo crowd tonight.

flat stanley was cheering as dayton won tonight.

3.21.2014

gerber + daisy = one thoughtful husband 

love them as much as the dollar roses from the gas station

from years long ago.

ty

3.20.2014

look who arrived - our favorite flat stanley all the way from hong kong!

we can't wait to show him so good olde fashioned southern fun.

first on the list is an appropriate texas outfit for all his upcoming events.

off to dress this dude!

3.19.2014

        

"mom, do we have a bag of rubber bands?"

and now i know why

3.18.2014

hello spring football season.

hello tuesday & thursday night practices at dinner time.

hello to our tackle friends.

hello bears!

game one this saturday.

3.17.2014

                           

when does season three start ???

tonight steve and i finished watching season two of House of Cards.

we paced ourselves.

we didn't bingewatch the entire second season in one sitting.

(although we wanted to.)

we just watched one episode a night when we both were home.

(maybe one on an afternoon weekend.)

now we can't wait for season three.

we are probably the last ones on earth to join the addiction.

heres to francis and claire...

3.15.2014

spring break with the hudsons.

morning swims. afternoon bowling. evening rounds of poker.

group game of democracy. 

pluckers wings & papa murphy pizza.

modern family sleepovers. 

lots of one liners.

lots of laughs.

thanks for hanging with us!

3.14.2014

                                         

its 12:01 am and i hear a familiar sound in the house.

quiet footsteps down the stairs.

the little squeak of the pantry door.

the sound of the cupboard door opening.

the light of the fridge fills the kitchen.

the clink of a glass being set on the counter.

the sound of plastic being pulled back.

is this a hunger burglar?

no, its nathan having his midnight snack in the dark kitchen!

our 'tall bag of bones' has a little sweet tooth after all!

this is a nightly routine that allows me the joy of having to wake nathan twice every morning!

now i know where all the extra oreos were disappearing too.

ps. this only happens when vanilla oreos fill the pantry.

not chocolate oreos.

not double stuffed oreos.

not birthday party oreos. 

just plain old vanilla!

3.14.2014

Q:  whats better than four papa murphy pizzas?

A:  the hudsons arriving to spend some austin time with us over spring break.

can't wait to see you soon!

3.14.2014

nothing better than the front door open, 

the sounds of laughter filling the house,

watching the guys play some lacrosse and hockey in the street

and the sight of technology abandoned in the grass!

spring break in full swing!

3.13.2014

                         

todays torture everyday memory:

printed out this sheet and we each filled out our 10 favorite books.

this will be fun to look back on in future years to come.

it captures their handwriting & their current reads.

justin has many required reading books on his shelf.

nathan has not one - he opted for his favorite series which conveniently existed of nine books.

colin pulled past and current reads on his shelf.

mine has a little of everything.

we didn't share our books until the exercise was over.

we all had the Bible on our shelf - how cool is that!

back to spring break now.....

3.12.2014

the candy bar is ready.

the video game is all loaded.

waiting for sid & jackson to arrive for a "titanfall" sleepover

is the hardest part of the day!

lights and video games off at 2am - please.

3.12.2014

                     

hello summer vacation.

we are busy getting ready for you already.

3 new passports were officially ordered today.

colin knew all the answers he was asked today by the agent.

the only one he stumbled on when asked by a very serious woman was:

"have you ever been married?"

he recovered quickly as he saw a smile break across her face!

3.11.2014

                                    

yes, i was that mom this morning standing in line behind guys with ponytails,

guys in pajamas, guys in groups -

wearing my heels and tiffany bracelet -

with colin to pick up our preordered video game for xbox one

before the store even officially opened.

no, i was not the mom who got out of bed at midnight last night

to drive a 12 year old to game stop to pick up

the midnight release of the game.

love does have some limits around here.

happy spring break colin !

i won't see you the rest of the day.

3.10.2014

               

i can finally have my monday nights back now that the bachelor had ended !

3.9.2014

                                

a mini surprise was waiting for me tonight when i got home from work.

i been having a hard time seeing the letter tiles for words with friends on my iphone so i bought a pair of those drugstore glasses to help with the problem.

steve thought of a better way to solve the problem.

i loved the card & wrapping paper as much as the gift inside.

perfect definition of thoughtful husband!

thank you so much.

i'm off to catch up on a couple games!

3.8.2014

                         

desk number two was built today.

two ikea boxes.

5000 pieces.

one happy teenager!

3.7.2014

                             

i've lived in texas for eight years and finally bought my first jar of bacon jam!

seriously?! 

what took me so long to find this delicious treat....

3.6.2014

                                    

we now have an official photoshop certified member of the sippel family.

last year only 2 students at stony point high school passed the exam.

that was just the perfect motivation for justin to hear.

congratulations justin!

wonder if he'll start helping me with all my scrapbook, project life projects??

might not need his help, aunt erin introduced me to the collect app

and i'm having fun with this new way to capture those everyday memories on my iphone.

3.5.2014

                                

my chauffeur.

love it.

3.4.2014

this is what a two hour school delay looks like in texas.

chuckles from a family who grew up in buffalo with shovels, snow plows & llbean parkas!

sun was shinning by the time the boys got home from their long day at school.

homemade banana bread filled the house this evening.

one sippel asked if it was "really homemade or just a box."

cute kid.

(it was really from scratch - if he had only noticed the bunch of brown bananas missing from the fruit bowl)