Party in a Box!

Easter 2007

2007-07-06T15:02:00.000-05:00

A Visit from GAGA!!!

2007-07-06T14:56:00.000-05:00

Gaga came to visit for a couple of days. The kids had a blast with her and she even got to see Uncle Brett coach!!

Finally, she can make snow angels!!

2007-07-06T14:50:00.000-05:00

Kendall has been want to make snow angels so bad in August she was laying in the back yard, in her snow boots giving it her all! Well, when she woke up and saw the snow the first thing she asked was, "now can i make a real snow angel?"

Let's play catch up. We will start with Christmas 2006

2007-07-06T14:41:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful Chirstmas. The kids were a little under the weather but it didn't slow them down. Here are the pictures to prove it!!

Somebody's gettin MAWWWWIIEED!!!!

2007-01-19T13:57:00.000-05:00

Coco and Tim got married on November 18th! We had a fun time celebrating with them. Derek, Kendall and I were all in the wedding. We were honored to be part of such a special event.

What does your grandmother do for a living???

2007-01-19T13:36:00.000-05:00

My grandmother, Gaga, plays with alligators, snakes, lizzards and turtles at her job. She lets me come with her and play with them too. Here are some pictures of us at her work.

Night, night...sleep tight!

2006-10-07T22:02:00.000-05:00

I put Kendall to bed tonight at 8:15. Around 9 she came into the kitchen with her hands on her hips and said, "What are you doing?" I told her I was cleaning up and she replied, "okay and went back to bed...or should I say to the floor! This is where I found her around 10. Sound asleep!

One Mom's Junk is My Treasure!

2006-10-07T21:53:00.000-05:00

I have been wanting to get something for the kids to climb and play on in the back yard but just couldn't seem to force myself to spend a couple of hundred dollars on something. Today on the way to drop the kids off at Mimi and Papa's house I saw that there neighbors behind them were having a yard sale and there was a huge slide out in the drive way. When I got in I told mom and so we walked over. On the way over she told me she only had $10 and I said, "Oh, well you never know." Kendall gave it a test run and I asked the lady how much she wanted for it and to our wonderful surprise she said, "$10!" Mom and I looked at each other with surprise and quickly said we would send Papa back with the truck. And we did!! The kids have had a blast on what was once one mom's junk!

Happy 31st Derek!!

2006-10-06T08:32:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday October 3rd Derek turned 31. This was a good day for me because we will now be the same age for about the next six months....no more old jokes! On Monday night Derek and I were able to go on a date…thanks mom! We went to the Peddler, Lowe’s and Wal-Mart. I know what you are thinking big night out but we enjoyed ourselves immensely. On Tuesday the kids and I threw him a party that included just the five of us. There balloons and streamers everywhere, his favorite homemade chicken pot pie and cup cakes. Tonight we will celebrate with my family. Derek refers to his birthday as Hanukah…because it usually last all week due to schedules and his family being so far away!

Here to the next 30 years!!

Birthday Party Pictures

2006-09-12T14:54:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Kendall "Princess Punky" Parks!

2006-09-12T14:47:00.000-05:00

Today, September 12th, is Kendall's 3rd birthday. We feel like the luckiest parents in the world to be entrusted with such a precious little girl. She is so much fun and full of life. I can not imagine my days with out her. Thank you Kendall for 3 fun years!! Mommy and Daddy love you more than you will ever know.

Happy 90th Birthday Papa Leonard!

2006-08-03T16:04:00.000-05:00

My mom's dad, my grandfather and Kendall, Kyle and Kade's great grandfather, Papa Leonard or George as we sometimes call him just celebrated his 90th birthday. I would say he has a good 30 left in him!!!

He likes football so much he ate one!

2006-08-03T15:23:00.000-05:00

I sometimes contain Kyle and Kade in one crib for play time...here the operative word being contain! Sunday I put them in for a while to keep them out of trouble. I am usually very careful as to what is around for them to play with but on this occasion I threw in a nerf football. Kade is affectionately referred to around here as the goat because he will eat anything especially paper. But on this day Kyle took on the goat like characteristics and when I came back to get them out of their crib about 20 minutes later this was what was left. I know what you are thinking...did he really eat any? We were not sure at first but as several days have "PASSED" we have come to realize that not only did Kyle eat but Kade partook in the glorious feast as well!

Do you see him?

2006-08-03T15:11:00.000-05:00

So you see him? I am talking about Butch...oh, you don't know who Butch is? Butch is Kendall's imaginary friend. Kendall asked me to take this picture of the two of them together. She says he is two and has black hair like daddy! We are still getting our colors straight. Butch doesn’t live here with us but he does sleep here sometimes. He is scared of thunder, likes to eat hotdogs and wore a blue shirt to preschool today! I found out about Butch when we were driving down the road the other day and Kendall began to scream and cry. I thought surely her leg had been cut off from the sound of the scream. Only to find out that Butch was stuck and could not get out and she was in her car seat and couldn't help him. Last night she and I were cleaning her shoes off and she looked over her shoulder and said, "Not now Butch, I am busy!" She then proceeded to tell him that he could help us he was too little and to go on outside and help daddy "cut the weed eater!" So now you know who Butch is. We have really enjoyed getting to know Butch. He is a fun conversation piece and great entertainment!

Not another mouth to feed!

2006-07-20T13:33:00.000-05:00

Last night around 6:45 Derek began the process of mowing the lawn. When he moved the lawn mower underneath the grill cover was...something! At first we were not sure if it was a mouse, a rat, a mole or a baby kitten. It was solid black and not moving. Kendall was screaming her head off because of Derek's exclamation of surprise. When I went outside to see what the commotion was all about Derek looked at me and said, "there you go Mama, do your thing." Am I an animal person...not so much? Do I like cats....least favorite of all? Is everyone in this house allergic to cat…you better believe it. But I could not let this poor animal lay there and continue to die on my patio. I got a shoe box and towel put this tiny kitten in it and began to syringe feed it milk. This little thing that was barely breathing all of a sudden sprung to life and didn’t want to stay in his box. It was bath time, bed time and over time by this point and mayhem had broke out at my house. Everyone wanted at this cat. I loaded all the kids and the kitten in the van and drove up the street to my little neighbor’s house that will take in anything. Sorry to say that her daddy was home from work and wouldn’t let her have it. I came home, put Kendall on Kitty Patrol and hurriedly put the boys to bed. I didn’t have the time; patients or want to syringe feed this cat all night like I needed to. Finally, around 11 pm I put the box on its side and left it outside hoping its birth mother would come back looking for it. When I woke up this morning and looked in the box…there he was, curled up all comfy and cozy on my towel. After we said our goodbyes at preschool this morning I took the kitty to Animal Shelter for them to take care of this little thing from here on. They said he was probably less than 24 hous old. Kendall told me this morning that when she was a baby kitten I left her under a lawn mower too and it made her very sad! As far as Kendall knows we found this kitty’s mommy and daddy and they are a happy family again!

Spaghetti Night at the Parks House!

2006-06-27T17:12:00.000-05:00

Double the Mess...
Kyle....
Kade...
We had spaghetti tonight for dinner. Here are the pictures to prove it!!

Here's to another great 8!!

2006-06-13T07:25:00.000-05:00

Eight years ago today I received the grand prize! Derek and I got married and started on this crazy journey we call life. It has been an incredible journey and I would not trade one day for anything in the world. Most of the times have been amazingly wonderful but this last year could have been a make or break year for us as a family. We are better and stronger because of what we have been through with our sweet boys, who I will post about tomorrow on their birthday. Derek Parks is the best friend anyone could have. He is honest, he is loyal, he is loving, and he is just the greatest. I think Courtney says it best, I know he has wings and a halo I have just never seen them for my self. He makes me want to be a better person. He inspires me to do great things. He makes me laugh daily. He loves me for who I am. Derek, I would marry you a thousand more times. I love being your wife. You make me happy.
You are my everything!

Who knows how long I've loved you
You know I love you still
Will I wait a lonely life time
If you want me to I will
For if I ever saw you
I didn't catch your name
But it never really mattered
I will always feel the same
Love you forever and forever
Love you with all my heart
Love you whenever we're together
Love you when we're apart
And when at last I find you
Your song will fill the air
Sing it loud so I can hear you
Make it easy to be near you
For the things you do endear you to me
And you know I will
I will

more party pictures!

2006-06-13T07:20:00.000-05:00

It's Party Time!!

2006-06-10T13:36:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Kyle and Kade's one year old birthday today with a little party at the Hangar. It was a sand and sun themed party. We fished in a pool, played in the sand and ate cupcakes with beach balls, umbrellas and fish candy sprinkles on them. The boy destroyed their cakes and begged for more. They had a wonderful time and were asleep with in seconds of getting in the car. We had lots of special family and friends there to help us celebrate! We wish you all could have been there with us to honor the lives of these little guys that have given us a year we will not soon forget.

Armed and Dangerous!

2006-06-10T13:21:00.000-05:00

When we were in at the Mountain House with Mema and Gdad we discovered Mema may have seen one too many Oprah shows with the dog whisperer and convinced Gdad to shoot the dogs with a water gun when they barked unnecessarily. If I recall correctly I never saw him shoot the dogs once, but I know I got wet...Derek was shot once or twice, Kade and Kyle got it between the eyes more than once and I promise none of us barked even once!!!!!!! I did happen to catch a couple of action shots of what was going on with the water gun..............

More Pictures from Our Weekend in the Mountains!

2006-06-09T14:25:00.000-05:00

A Weekend in the Mountains

2006-05-30T17:29:00.000-05:00

We spent the Memorial Day Weekend at the North Carolina house with Mema, Gdad, their good friends the Youmans, and of course Katy Lady, Sweet Pea and Lexy. We had a wonderful time. I would like to say we relaxed but we went from one major event to the next. I took lots of pictures so enjoy. We ate every meal on the deck that looks out to Grandfather Mountain. The boys enjoyed being outside so much and tried lots of new foods...corn on the cob, watermelon, lemons and experienced Japanese food for the first time!
Mema bought Kendall roller skates!! YIKES! Let's just hope she doesn’t skate like her daddy! Mema and Kendall put a million miles on the golf cart. We roasted marshmallows and made smores. Yum!! Kendall and Derek caught a catfish, but of course neither one of them was brave enough to take it off of the hook. Gdad to the rescue! We stayed up way past our bed times and naps were short. We are home now and mommy is very tired but smiling because her kiddos made wonderful memories with there great grandparents and we have plenty of pictures to prove it. Enjoy!!!!

What do you do during a tornado?

2006-05-25T14:14:00.000-05:00

Today the kids and I were outside enjoying the sunshine. The 3 of them were in the pool and I was relaxing in a chair. We had been out there for almost an hour when we started to head in for naps. I had just got all 3 kids changed from wet clothes to dry and put in the bed when I heard a funny noise outside. I looked out the back door and toys were swirling around, leaves were blowing everywhere and it was DARK! Just moments before it had been the most beautiful day! My heart skipped a few beats as I could hear tornado sirens in the distance. About this same time my mom called to tell me to get in the closet, a tornado had been spotted. I threw a couple of blankets in the bathtub and piled all three kids in on top. This was a treat for them...no nap! Uncle JoJo was out in the storm so he stopped by for shelter and was great entertainment for the kids. Fortunately, everything turned out fine, just a few toys blown into the kudzu.

Beach Bums!

2006-05-23T14:26:00.000-05:00

We spent a wonderful week at the beach last week. We arrived the Saturday before Mother's Day and stayed through the next Saturday. the weather was great from Monday afternoon on. It was so nice not to have an agenda. Derek and I did end up taking the boys to the doctor for ear infections while we were down there, but other than that we really enjoyed our time away. This was the first time Derek was able to go and stay the whole week with us without having to run off to a Training Session with Upward. We liked having him around. Kendall is almost swimming on her own, thanks to the Swim Bouy...thank you Gdad. She is part fish, I think! The water was freezing, though she didnt mind. On the other hand Derek, my Florida boy, was always shivering! Kyle was ruthless with the ocean. He would crawl head first into the surf as waves were crashing on his head, smiling the whole way. He ate enough sand to fill a sand box...he really seemed to like it!?! Kade was happy just about any where he loved the pool and splashing is his favorite past time now! Derek stayed content as long as we visited the snack bar for ice cream at least once a day. I really loved just sitting on the beach reading, especially when all 4 of my kids would let me. Derek and I stole moments alone here and there, thanks to Mimi and Papa. We even went on a full blown date. I rule in Putt-Putt!!!! Anyway, we are home now and our suit cases are still not unpacked. I figured we will be heading to Miami soon enough, why waste my energy!

Daddy Comes Home Tonight!!

2006-05-06T14:07:00.000-05:00

Desperate people do desperate things and today I was one of those people. Derek is in Dallas at a training session and Kendall and I get stir crazy quickly. So, I took all three kids to the mall today by myself. The boys were great but attracted too much attention as usual. I bribed Kendall with a cookie and rides on the airplane and boat in the middle of the mall. She was wonderful and I survived. We may even do it again some time...if we get desperate enough. We had lunch with Mimi, Papa Sam, Aunt Lib and Grandma Davis. This was a real treat because we don't get to see Lib and Grandma as often as we would like. The boys ate red Jell-O for the first time. Kyle may remain stained for a few more days! Derek comes home tonight...Thank you Jesus, help is on its way.

A visit from Mema and Gdad

2006-05-05T20:41:00.000-05:00

Thursday, Mema and Gdad stopped by to visit for a couple of hours on their way to the North Carolina house. They both accused us of playing tricks on them with the boys and lying about who was who. Kendall loved spending that time with them and all three of their 4 legged friends; Lexy, Sweet Pea and Katy! We hope to go up and see them next week.

Like I need something else to do!

2006-05-05T07:58:00.000-05:00

Do I really need something else to do? Not really, but it is for a good cause! to keep family and friends up to date on the goings on of our family is something I strive and long to do, but dont always find the time to call or email individually. We don't get to see a lot of you on a regular basis so I figured I can help you keep up with us with a blog. I really used to think people that had blogs were kind of wierd but now I see that they actually had a good thing going. Kill ever how many birds you want to with just one stone! Well, I hope you enjoy updates from our "party in a box", as Papa Sam affectionately refers to us sometimes. I will do my best to let you in on a lilttle glimps of this crazy thing we call "life!"