The A-train is Here!!!

The A-train has started in Denton County! For those of you who do not know, Jarod works for Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA). He is VP of Bus Operations and he started working for them as an intern. When he first started there (6 years ago) is when there was discussion about having a train that runs from Denton and connects to Carrollton's Green Line (DART). It's hard to believe that the day is finally here (today)! It's also amazing that Jarod has been a part of the process from the very beginning (he is the only employee still there when this first started). Jarod and his fellow employees have been working so hard to make this happen...especially over the last several weeks. They have been working a lot of long hours and their families have not seen much of them and will not see much of them for the next 2 weeks, but we all know it's worth it in the long run!

This past Saturday, they had their grand opening and we were able to ride the train to all of the stations (there are 5). There was a lot going on that day! My parents came with the kids and myself to join in the fun. We started at the Hebron Station and were some of the 1st passengers to ride the train. We took the train all the way up to Denton. That is where the main facility (that Jarod helped design) is. The station in Denton was absolutely packed!!! We took a bus to go eat at Fuzzy's. We were all cranky and hungry. The kids were exhausted. It was such a hot and windy day but we all survived! I could not have made it through the day without my wonderful parents! Jack is such a handful right now and does not like not being able to roam where ever he pleases! We rode one of Jarod's buses (as Allie likes to call them) back to Lewisville where we started. We are so glad that we got to be a part of such a special day!

Ready to ride

He was much happier when he didn't have to sit in someones lap

Looking out the window

Last night (Father's Day) there was still some work to be done, so after a dinner with my family, Jarod, the kids and myself went up to the office to help. The kids enjoyed entertaining themselves with hard hats, vests, vacuum cleaners, boxes and running around everywhere!

This picture was taken with my phone, which explains the quality!

Jack's 1 Year Pictures

Here is my handsome little boy! I just love this picture (above) of Jack. I know he isn't smiling, but it just makes my heart melt when I see it. I get this look a lot from him! When I look at all of the pictures Jenn captured of Jack, I realize how big my boy is getting and how much he is changing. He is at what I like to call a "very challenging" phase:) He knows and understands so much, but has such a hard time communicating exactly what it is he wants to say or wants us to do. He has several words, but just not quite enough yet! Jack is either the happiest and funniest little guy or he is the unhappiest little boy and he will let you know when he is not happy! We definitely have way more happy moments that unhappy...thank goodness! Thanks again to Jenn for capturing such sweet pictures of my little boy. My next post will be a few pictures of both my sweeties!

This is another look I get from him..."like how can you be upset with sweet little me"!

I had to throw this picture in because Jack never sits still! We got a lot of pictures of him of his backside!

Love his 3-toothed grin...his 4th tooth is actually coming in but you can't see it. Actually he has 5 new teeth slowly making their way in!

Mr. Serious or Mr. Cool?

Allie's 5 Year Pictures

My really good and talented friend Jenn was able to take pictures of both kids a week ago. We are a couple of months late as regards to "5 year" and "1 year", but life is just crazy and this is when we could get it in! One reason I love having Jenn take my kids pictures is because she is always so patient (especially with Jack). It's so hard to tell how the photo shoot it going and she always manages to capture such sweet moments of my kids. I'm always amazed at the shots she is able to create. Thanks Jenn for creating pictures that will last a life time!

I thought I would share pictures of just Allie first. Allie is such a little ray of sunshine in our lives. I love when she gives me her natural, million dollar smile (like in the picture above). She is turning into quite the little lady and it's hard to believe she will be in Kinder in the fall. Where did the time go? I have loved watching her mature into the beautiful and smart little girl that she is. I love when I tell her how beautiful she is and her comment to me is, I'm beautiful because of how I act on the inside (this is a hard concept for a 5 year old). It just melts my heart! Enjoy the pictures and I will post more later on my handsome little boy!

Like Sister, Like Brother

Like Sister...

Like Brother!

It's so funny to me that we have a picture of each kid standing in Jarod's shoes in the exact same spot in our kitchen. There are a few differences...Allie is a little older in that picture, they are different shoes and the floor is different, but it just makes me giggle that they both did the same thing!

My Soccer Super Star

Allie played in her last soccer game on Wednesday. She had such a great soccer season and really grew a lot! She scored a 1-2 goals most games and on her last game she scored 4 goals!!! We are so proud of our sweet little girl. She is so girlie about things, but when it comes to soccer, she gets down to business! At practice, she is very serious and when she plays, she is focused and determined. She does not like it when the other team scores. This season, we discovered how fast and how much endurance she has. She played almost the entire time during most games (most people on her team had never played before, so they got tired quickly). She never gave up and always kept running all over the field. She got to play with her sweet friend Hannah and I loved seeing them work together on the field. We are so proud of our Allie Jane!

This was her first goal on Wednesday

Sweet friends and teammates

Jack is her biggest fan!

Allie's 5th Birthday

My sweet Allie Jane turned 5 on the 17th of April. That day did not start out how I had hoped...I woke up with an ear infection, but it turned out to be a nice day. We celebrated her birthday out at the park. It was nice and warm but very windy! Our decorations did not go as planned, but no one seemed to care. Allie invited several of her "girl friends". She wanted to have a "girl only" party. The girls played at the playground, had an Easter Egg hunt, ate cake and opened presents. I did not do a great job of getting as many pictures as I had hoped to. I was not on my "A game" that day. Luckily, Jarod's family were able to get some pictures too! This was an extra special birthday because, we flew in Jarod's mom from Florida to be here for not only Allie's birthday but for her birthday too... she was turning 50 two days later. Jarod's uncle, aunt and cousin also came in from Houston to help celebrate. It was a great weekend of celebration with family. We were so blessed to have so many of our family members out there with us.

It's really hard to believe how grown up Allie seems to be lately. She will start Kinder in the fall and I'm not sure if I'm ready! I know she is ready. She loves to read and write, draw and create pictures, color, play with her toys and play with her brother. She makes me laugh on a daily basis and says some pretty funny things. She enjoys dancing and playing sports. She does not like wearing jeans and prefers to wear skirts only! She is learning to tie her shoes, she has taught herself how to snap and she is trying to learn how to whistle (random). She is the BEST Big Sister and loves Jack so much. God blessed us our lives so much when he gave us this precious little girl. Happy Birthday Allie Jane!

Easter 2011

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday filled with lots of laughter, fun, love and of course yummy food! We are so blessed that we live close to all of my family and we are able to spend Easter with them every year. I really enjoyed Easter this year, b/c last year we had just had Jack and everything was a blur! Every year, we go to church with my parents and they have an Easter Egg Hunt for all of the kids. Allie loved it this year and Jack thought it was fun too! He loves to be outside and he actually put in a few eggs in his basket. He had practiced several times during the week.
After church, we headed to my parents house and had a wonderful lunch and lots of laughter around the table. Then we hided ALL of the eggs for the kids. There were so many eggs, we hid them in the front and in the back. Jack liked to walk around and pick up the eggs, open them up and dump the candy. The kids had a lot of fun finding all of the eggs. Then we dyed eggs and my mom, my brothers and I went to see my Granny. It was so good to see her. She was in a wonderful mood!
Hope everyone had a blessed Easter!
This was the best family picture we could get...even with the lady in the background

Very Windy!

Jack loves to take pictures with his big sister

Allie and Karlie...sweet cousins

Ready, set, go!