Don't Mess With Texas !!!

We went to Texas for spring break to visit Rick's Sister Misty. We had a BLAST!!

We drove down on Saturday the 5th, down to Houston, and it took 16 LONG hours. We had a sick kid and our precious little baby screamed like a screeching howler monkey. But after we got their we had so much fun. We haven't seen them for about 3 years so the kids had fun getting to know each other again and being with Misty and Greg was like no time had passed.

Monday Rick took Preston, Parker and Landon to the Houston NASA museum. They loved seeing the space ships and touring them. "Houston we have a problem". That was the favorite saying.

All the kids together. Our 7 boys and our Princess!!





Parker and Whitney are 8 months apart and were like two peas in a pod.





Preston and Colton at the park near the house.





Adam, Landon and Parker doing what they like best, Gameboy.



AT THE BEACH !!! GALVESTON, TX.

The first time in the ocean. They had so much fun playing in the waves and then running and doing sand angels. I have to say that I HATE sand. I am truly a cornfield bred girl. No laying on the beach for me.

SEA WORLD!!! We were lucky to drive to San Antonio and go to Sea World. It was so worth the money! I loved it. We left Ian and Carter with Ricks Sister so we could go on the rides and not worry about naps and stuff.

Here is Shamu and the boys.

Here is the boys with the dolphins. Their was a tank that you could reach into and if you could get them to come to you, you could pet them. We got SO close. They are amazing.

This is one of the rides that we all went on, even Landon. He barely made the 42" cut off, thank goodness for his cowlick in his hair. I think that's what reached the line to meet the cut. I thought he was going to cry and be super scared but he loved it and needless to say, I almost cried. I am not a good ride person.

Here is Shamu, we went to a show and were able to see him do his tricks.

Okay here is a bad picture of me but we went on a ride where you sat in the round inertube thing and I picked the driest seat but was the only one who got wet. I mean my shirt was so wet I could of wrung it out. I got pummeled with the water fall. The boys thought it was so funny to see me get so wet.

We had a great trip home. We stopped in Dallas and visited some friends for lunch and the baby did much better when we drove home in the dark. Of course it helped he had a cold and I gave him some night time cold medicine.

Thanks Misty, Greg, Shauna and Brent !!!

62 Things about me...

I was challenged to come up with 100 things about myself. I only had time for 62 and that was a stretch.
1. I have 5 boys
2. I love living in Omaha
3. I love Scouts!! (as I should since I will be in it for the next 100 years)
4. I would love more kids (but they would have to be handed to me and not birthed by me)
5. We seriously discuss adopting a little girl
6. My only daughter died after 2 hours without any medical reasons they could find.
7. I love eating cold green beans out of the can
8. I have 3 friends that I have known for 28 years
9. I keep in touch with friends from all times in my life from elementary, middle, high school, and college
10. I was an art major for 3 semesters at Ricks College but changed to General Ed. so I could graduate in 4 semesters with my associates degree
11. I paint murals on walls, usually on kids walls like batman and superman on my boys' wall and bunnies on the babies room wall. I did do palm trees in my sis-in-laws bathroom though.
12. I LOVE hanging out with my siblings and their spouses.
13. my favorite thing is reconnecting with someone I haven't seen in a while
14. I sold Usborne books as a direct sales person for 2 years
15. I love my book club and because of it I have read more in the last 2 years than the 10 years previous
16. I hate laundry but have to do at least 2 loads a day to keep up
17. I am addicted to house hunting, I am always on the Internet looking at houses for sale for myself of anyone else. If you want a new house I would love to look for some for you!
18. I love shopping especially late at night thanks to kohls and walmart
19. I live for the Day after Thanksgiving sales.
20. I used to work for M.U.D. repairing gas meters for a summer job
21. I would rather vacation in Europe visiting museums than to anywhere where I have to lay around in a bathing suit
22. I love watching home repair shows, Rick hates it because it just gives me ideas for him to do to our house
23. We are HUGE movie watchers I am very easily amused by movies. They don't even have to be that good. We rented so many movies at Hollywood Video that the guy working there knew my phone number by heart. Sad but true.
24. My favorite show ever is That 70's Show, Anything that makes me laugh out loud is gotta be good.
25. I like reading teen books better than any Jane Austen
26. I am a pile creator, keeper and re-sorter. I am not great about getting rid of paper, I just usually make a pile and when it gets to big I finally resort it.
27. I love having home shows because if forces me to clean my house
28. I love taking pictures of my kids
29. I am sad that my in laws all moved away from Omaha to other places.
30. I love going to Island Park with my family
31. I am a soccer mom and I didn't think I would be. Sitting there watching Preston play brings out the yeller in me. There's nothing like getting looks from your son when your yelling his name out to kick the ball harder!
32. I played piano for 5 years but can only play the right hand now. I was never good at it.
33. I can be bossy, I know that may come to surprise some of you but just ask my sister or mom
34. I love my husband with all my heart and am so glad he is mine
35. I have been with 3 people that I love dearly as they passed away, my daughter, my father, and my grandma. It isn't morbid but the most spiritual thing I have experienced.
36. I adore the newborn stage.
37. I love the way they stick out their bums when you pick them up
38. I love onsies
39. I wish I could take an art class and paint like I used to, I miss that.
40. I love visiting my sister in law in Utah because she is such a great example to me that I always come home from their house wanting to be better.
41. I really don't like mothers day at all!!
42. I like camping but we don't do it often
43. My favorite movie is Tristan and Isolde
44. I could watch Law and Order every night
45. I am horrible at puzzles of all kind, Sudoku, crosswords, table puzzles.
46. I am also a horrible speller and in 5 grade I was told I had a slight form of dyslexia and would have to carry a dictionary around my whole life.
47. I have inherited every bad gene from my parents when it comes to health stuff except for the asthma.
48. I have an awful case of smell association, I can smell something that will make me remember being sick and pregnant and get sick all over again.
49. I love seeing my children practice their faith and sometimes wish I could be as strong as they are
50. I love my friends, I have the best ones ever. They truly bless my life.
51. I hate roller coasters
52. I'm not a huge game person, but I will play
53. I am not a competitive person at all
54. I love the color and pink and anything girly, which is why I need a girl to share that girly stuff with
55. Garage sales make me happy, I get a huge rush when I see a garage sale sign along the side of the road.
56. I love going to the bookstore and I love children's books
57. I prefer Country music
58. I physically and mentally can NOT diet AND exercise at the SAME time. Either I diet or exercise but its pretty much impossible for me to do both
59. I think my husband is amazing because he can fix ANYTHING!
60. I miss my dad a ton, I wish my kids could remember him
61. I love tiny boxes, I used to keep every small box I received
62. I also love stuffed animals


Okay I could only do 62..Oh well I hope you learned something about me you didn't already know.

Easter egg hunt at Grandmas

We had a great afternoon at Grandmas house. We ate well and played hard.

Easter Sunday

Easter morning is always fun. Its laid back and Rick and I just sit in the front room watching the boys find eggs. Preston decided this year he was too old to hunt for eggs so he helped Carter. Carter, as seen in the first picture, went straight for the candy. The last picture is of me and my boys in the Sunday best. It's almost impossible to get a picture of all five boys looking at the camera. So this is the best we got.

Dying Easter Eggs!

Ricks job has always been to decorate the eggs with the boys. They did great this year with no spills and no fights. YAY! Even though I had to buy a second box of dye because Rick didn't read the directions to make the dye and added 1 cup of water instead of 1/2. He couldn't understand why the dye wouldn't stick to the eggs. So after buying a second box and mixing it correctly, it worked great.

What a Day!!

After a long cold winter, we were able to go outside and spend over an hour just enjoying the afternoon. Have you ever just watched your kids and marveled at the little things that make them happy. My boys were so happy to be running around, playing tag and swinging. Preston had soccer practice so the rest of us just hung out outside. Carter loved running around after the dog and the older boys had fun swinging and jumping off the swing. Here is a video of them swinging.

Happy St. Pattys Day from The McInelly's

I know its a couple days late but, "HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY!!"