Saying Good-bye to the Garner Family

We all knew this day would come, we just didn't WANT it to EVER come.

The Garners moved to Utah on May 28th!

The last week they were here we had some good time fun!

Monday they came down to look at a storage unit here in Lewisville and then stopped off at our house on the way back to Denton.  Kate said they wouldn't be able to stay very long and that made Jackson sad.  He had been asking about them all day.  I offered to let Jamie and LouLou stay the night, so that they could get some much needed work done at the apartment.  

So, we had a sleepover and it was too much fun!

The kids LOVED it and I did too!

They all watched a movie on the mattress we pulled out for Jamie's bed.

Sleepovers with cousins are the BEST!

 Branson and Kate came down that afternoon and then hung out at our house that night so that I could go to Activity Days and teach them how to make bows. 

Oh man, teaching 8-11 year olds to make hair bows...that was a FUN experience!

I was so thankful the Garners watching my kids..there is NO way I would have been able to do that and have my kids there too.  (Andrew does Scouts on Tuesday night and he wasn't able to bring them with him either...so it totally worked out!)

Wednesday they came down for LouLou's Birthday!

I quickly cut out a sign with my vinyl cutter for the fireplace.

I was pretty proud of myself for thinking to do that!

It looked so festive and fun when they got here.

As soon as they came, Eleanor and I left to go to her 2 month check-up!

She is perfect in everyway! I love my little Eleanor!

She did have to get shots...ah man! I hate that part.

It is really a WHOLE different cry than you have ever heard.

She did pretty good and when we got home she took a nice long nap!

For LouLou's birthday we ate lunch and opened presents.

She picked out the cutest little cake from the grocery store and it was JUST perfect.  The kids had the right amount and so did the adults who are all trying to eat healthier!

I made Lou Lou a sticker book out of a composition book.

I have SOOO many stickers from teaching and from scrapbooking, it was quite easy to find lots to give her.

She really liked it and I am sure it will keep her busy on the plane ride to Utah.

She also got some little Disney Princess Baby Dolls that Sammy claimed for himself!

HA! It took some persuading for him to give them back to her.

And she also got a LEGO Ariel set!

Such a great birthday!

Glad they were able to spend it at our house!

Kate and the kids came down and stayed with us for the weekend!

Branson was in Oklahoma for Army which left them without a car and all of their stuff had been packed into the storage unit...so of course it was way funner for them to be at our house than their boring apartment!

I am so glad they stayed with us.

It was so fun to spend lots of time with them before they moved. 

It has been great having them here in Texas.

Only 30 minutes away!

When we moved here, Jackson and LouLou were only a year old! 

They have been able to spend the last two years together and really have become the best of friends.

Jamie and Jackson love to play together...building things!

And Sammy fits right in and plays with everyone.

It will be so sad to have them leave.

They have left in the past for a couple weeks at a time, but they always come back.

This time...as for right now...they are gone for good!

Sad! Really Sad!

While they were here we were able to get come GAME PLAYING in!

The kids just played and played and played!

We all went to the Boys Dance Recital!

We cooked YUMMY food.

And just had a ton of fun!

Monday morning Andrew and I went shopping while Kate watched all of the kids. What a trooper!  She is awesome!

Branson got back from Oklahoma Monday afternoon and the Garners went to their apartment and did some finishing touches and then had a family night while we stayed home and fed the Elders.  Jackson LOVES to have the missionairies over for dinner!  I was glad we were able to as well...It was Elder Lilo's last night and it was great having him in our home one last time.

Tuesday morning Branson and Kate left REALLY early to go up to their apartment to CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN!  I stayed home and watched the kids.  We got the LEGOS out and they played with them for forever!  As you can see it was quite the event!

 

 That night we had to say our goodbyes because they would be leaving at 4:30 AM to head to the airport.  Jackson had actually fallen asleep and we decided we needed to wake him up to say good-bye.

I know he didn't really understand what was happening, but I am glad we woke him up.

He is going to miss LouLou and Jamie so much.

In fact, he says everyday that they are going to come when he wakes up!

It is sad to say that they are not.

We are glad we will see them in New York in August.

 

We will miss you Garner family!

We are so happy you were able to spend 2 years here in Texas!

Have a great summer in Utah and good luck with your next adventure in life!

Bumbo Fun!

 

Look who can sit in a BUMBO!

She loves it.

She is only two months old, but her head control is AMAZING!

She is so strong.

It is so fun to see Eleanor in the Bumbo chair!

Can't believe she is getting so big so fast...even though she is still so little!

(And isn't that outfit just the cutest?! Thanks Aunt Kati for the CUTE clothes!

Sammy and his Napping!

 

Sammy is known for waking up an hour into his nap...walking somewhere else in the house and falling asleep there.  I am so happy that we don't have stairs in this house...in fear that he would walk/fall down them in the middle of his nap.

And really??

Is this more comfortable than his bed???

Keeping Eleanor Happy

 

The other day Andrew and I were doing INSANITY...we are crazy, I know!

Eleanor was chillin' in her chair.

She started getting upset...

The boys went over and started playing with her and made her quite happy!

We were able to finish our exercising.

Having older siblings is GREAT!

Free Concert in the Park

Andrew has been working VERY hard this past month!

He has been cleaning carpets at Game Stops pretty much EVERY night.

Thursday was his last job as of right now.

So Friday night...we had a FUN Family Night!

A much needed FAMILY NIGHT!!

My friend, Beth Raisor, had posted earlier that day that they were going to a free concert at the park in Flower Mound.  At first I was really excited to go and then I thought for a minute...uh, but I have three kids under three...is this the best activity...at about 6:30 I got a Facebook message from Beth saying, "Margie, you totally need to come!" So, I thought to myself...am I going to let me kids keep me from having fun...NO!  They will have so much fun themselves.  So, we quickly packed a dinner and set our for the park.

So glad that we did.  It really was such a fun evening.

The band wasn't the greatest...but it was fun to be out with friends and not stuck at home.

The BOYS loved it and Eleanor did SOOO much better than I thought she was going to do. SHe really is such a chill baby!

AND...the Raisor's brought Blue Bell!

Holla!

The boys were in HEAVEN with their HUGE ice cream cones.

When we first got there, we headed over to the park.  It really is an awesome park with a ton of things to do for the kids.  Jackson was so proud of himself when he walked all the way across this rope!  And to tell the truth, I was pretty proud myself!

When he got to the other side. he yelled, "I DID IT! With a huge smile on his face!"

It was awesome!

"Uh Oh Mom! We are TRAPPED!"

 

When did Sammy turn into a little boy??

Seriously!

Cutest kid.

Both of my boys just make me smile everyday.

It was great to get out and have some fun!

It got me excited for the summer and all the fun we are going to have.

Can't wait to share some fun times with the family!!!

The Laugh!

5-18-2014

There is a laugh!

I think every parent knows it. 

The laugh that means, "We are having such a great time...doing something we are NOT suppose to be doing!"  That laugh was definitely heard tonight while the boys were eating their dessert at the table. When Andrew and I looked over, THIS is what we saw!!!!

I LOVE MY BOYS!

This time Andrew and I laughed right along with them!

When Jackson was all done he came over and stood JUST like this.

So we of course snapped a photo!

 

Then Sammy did the EXACT same thing!

Definitely LOVE being a MOM!

David's Graduation

May 16-18, 2014

This weekend we went to see David graduate from Texas A&M University San Antonio.

It was so great to see him graduate!

He was just so happy!

We are all so proud of him.

My mom and dad have had all 7 of their kids graduate from college with a Bachelor's degree.

That is pretty impressive!

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!

David lookin' good!

Love his bowtie and lovin' me in the background!

Just being a typical UMINSKI!

Jackson sure does love his Uncle David.

He wanted to wear his hat to be just like him.

The family that was able to make it to the graduation.

It was such a great day.

The Walker clan didn't really sit IN the auditorium for the whole ceremony. In fact that majority of the time we were out walking the halls.And then we ended up OUTSIDE as well!

A graduation ceremony just isn't the ideal situation for a 3 year old and a 2 year old!

That evening we went back to my parent's house and had an amazing dinner or hamburgers and hot dogs on the GRILL!  They were so yummy!

Mom did such a great job with the decor and all the food.

I surprisingly do not have any pictures of the food...I am sure someone took a pic of the table.  

My favorite thing we ate was definitely the DESSERT!

We had strawberry shortcake.

David made the shortcake and there was pudding, strawberries and whipped cream with some ORANGE zest!  Gosh it was so good!

Thanks David for graduating and having such a fun party!

Kati was so excited because she FINALLY was able to meet our sweet Eleanor!  This was quite the meeting, because Eleanor and Kati share a birthday!

Such fun.

Eleanor sure does love her Aunt Kati!

The next day we went to Alamo Cafe for lunch!

BEfore we went there we went to the temple to show Jackson.

He always says this church next to our house is the Temple.

It was nice to show him what the REAL Temple looks like.

Alamo Cafe was awesome!

 I sure do love those tortillas!

While we were at Gramma's house the boys LOVED being out in her garden. 

Jackson loved to see all of the flowers and animals out there.

It really is such a nice area.

Mom has worked very hard on her garden and it is awesome to see it each time we come.

One of my favorite things to do was to sit in the chair that looked out into the garden. 

There is a bird feeder that the squirrels love to feed from as well.

It was really funny to watch the squirrel jump from the fence to the feeder and hang from the bird feeder. I was quite entertained.

It was such an awesome weekend. We ended up coming home Saturday night and then we had all day Sunday to relax and SLEEP.  We were quite exhausted.

Eleanor's Blessing Day

Saturday, May 3, 2014

10:30 AM

 We had Eleanor's Blessing at home.

It was Stake Conference this weekend.

I actually LOVE doing the blessings at home. 

Even though I really wanted to show off her BEAUTIFUL dress to my friends at church!

My Visiting Teacher brought over the tulips and I just love them!

They were even in Eleanor's pink.

 Eleanor's Nana made her dress.

It. Is. Beautiful!

And her Aunt Elizabeth made her headband!

When I was getting her dressed....

I got quite teary eyed.

She just looked so gorgeous in it.

I had a brief moment of thought of her up in heaven with her Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ!

 I am so blessed to have this sweet Child of God in my life.

 I am so blessed to be her MOM!

She just makes me so happy!

 She is a bit silly at times....

 Maybe it is because bigger brother is standing there making her laugh!

GOSH!  I just love my family so much!

When did I get so lucky?

 We of course took pictures outside.

I seriously can't even believe I have THREE kids!

 I am so glad that my mom and dad were able to be here and that Andrew's mom and dad were able to be there too!  It really was a special day with family!

At about 10:45 we all gathered together to give Eleanor her blessing.

My dad gave an opening prayer and then Andrew gave the blessing.

In her blessing she was blessed with many things.

I know she is choice daughter of God who has been saved to come to Earth at this time.

A few things that stuck out to me in her blessing were:

That she will be a force of good for this world and have the opportunity to be a light that shines forth on many people. And that she will have the opportunity to touch lives in many parts of the world and in many cultures!  

Sounds like she has an exciting life ahead of her.

 Then we ATE!

Yummy!

Hawaiian Haystacks.

One of my faves!

And I was able to use my Christmas present from my parents.

My cool Lazy Susan serving dishes!

I LOVE THEM!

It was great having my mom here a few days before the blessing, because she set up all the food.Cut all the veggies (except the tomatoes and cucumbers that came from Kate) and put them in their dishes and made sure everything looked fantastic!

 My mom also tried out two new desserts!

The strawberry angel food cake dessert was awesome.

Friday night when she was getting it all ready, Jackson was determined to get some of that cake.."Mom, I hungry! Mom, I NEEEEED that!" As he pointed to the cake. We gave him and Sammy a small piece and then when Mom wasn't looking Jackson reached up on the counter, grabbed a piuece, and slouched down and tip toed into the dining room.

That little SNEAK!

(It was pretty darn cute though)

The dessert with the whipped cream and red cake was AWESOME!

My mom had the idea from a pumpkin cake she made at Thanksgiving.

She took strawberrines and made a puree out of them and added them to a yellow cake mix.

When it was done cooking she poked holes all over the cake and then added a can of sweentened condensed milk.

Then let it cool and topped it off with the whipped cream.

Gosh, it was so good!

My new favorite dessert!

The little kids were so cute eating their lunch outside.

It was such a great day.

I am so blessed to be surrounded with amazing family.

I am so glad that everyone was able to come and join in this occasion for Eleanor.

She really is one special little girl.