4th of July 2009

4th of July this year was busy, busy, busy. We have been lucky enough a few times to be out of town at the beach during the 4th of July. But this year we stayed in the great state of Texas for the summer! We all got up early to go and see the annual 4th of July Parade in Arlington. Then we went and had lunch at Mercardo Juarez. (My favorite Mexican Resteraunt!) We went home for a quick rest and back off we went...Out to Burleson to a huge 4th of July celebration at Rick's friends Ranch! All of my favorite Firefighter wives & families were there (basically my 2nd family) Of course we had to stop at one of the millions of firework stands and get some fireworks and poppers and sparklers etc. In Burleson it is legal to shoot of your own fireworks. So we were out there for Hours & Hours eating, drinking, and just having a good time. They have tons of animals that the kids just loved! Chickens, 5 or 6 horses, dogs, rabbits, etc. My kids aren't too much into doing their own fireworks, they like to see the proffessionals do it. BUT my husband spent the whole time there shooting off fireworks. They were realy beautiful and neat to watch. It was a fun 4th of July!!! I only have a few pics of the Ranch, but a ton from the parade.

"In the summertime; when the weather is fine"

Summer is going great so far!!! I love spending time with my kids, so this is a treasured time of the year for me. Usually this is the time of the year that we are out of town at some beachy place enjoying the sand & sun, but with the terrible economy, gas prices being so high, and us holding on to every penny we have, we decided to pretty much stay close to home. Here a few of the pictures from recent activities the kids and I have enjoyed. Vacation Bible School Performance Vacation bible School Bubble Show

Bubble Show

WaterParks

Waterparks

Swimming

Swimming

Movie Theater

The Pythons Vs. Boa's Snake Show (An educational show about snakes)

Baby Warming in progress...

Our little baby in utero is growing well. At our last OB checkup he was over a pound and a little bit ahead for his gestational age. We have about 3 1/2 more months until we get to meet him and I am starting to get a little nervous about the process of labor...The things moms do to have kids.

We still haven't even began to get the baby nursery ready. I have been saying that I am going to get it started, but with keeping up with the other 2, by the end of the day I just want to put my swollen feet up and take a load off. None of us seem over extatic about the upcoming arrival of a new baby... well we all don't know what to think yet. :) I think we are all a little nervous to see what sort of changes the new baby will bring.

(About 6 months Pregnant)

So far I am feeling pretty good. I have gained about 9 pounds (I started this pregnancy over weight so I am trying not to gain too much) I have still managed to stay active in the kids activities and things they want to do. Usually by the end of the night my feet are like 2 balloons, but I am not in any pain. It is getting a little hard to balance my growing belly. LOL, I don't want to start the waddle walk. So everything is going well with this pregnancy so far.

What's going on?!

YEAH!!! I officially made it through the first week of summer! Eevie finished off her 1st grade year absolutely wonderful!!! Every 6 weeks she consistantly got perfect conduct, the reading award, and got perfect attendance all but once. She also got the PE award one 6 weeks, the technology award, and art award! She finished off the year with a handful of award certificates! I am so proud of her, she is a hard working student. Her reading level is unbelievable as well!!! It was a great year for her. Rick's Sister, her husband, and their kiddos came down to celebrate Ricky's 4th birthday with us! It was so nice to get the cousins together...we don't get together nearly enough. We really enjoyed their visit. All the kids were actually really well behaved, I think the pool wore them out! This picture of the kids is like the 5th one that I took, it is really funny. I think someone was telling Skylar to look up as in "look at the camera" and Ricky is fed up with taking picture after picture so he has this aggravated look on his face, Eevie's smile is nearly diminished, and Brooks is just as cute as he could be. This next picture is Ricky having his yummy birthday breakfast! Even though we have a huge birthday bash for our kids each year, I always do special things all day for their actual birthday. They usually start off with a homemade yummy breakfast, and we do whatever they want all day long. Birthday's are a super special event at the Herrera house. For Ricky's birthday party this year we had Spongebob Squarepants party. It was a pool party. We had Crabby Patties (Hamburgers) and Plankton Planks (Hotdogs). It was nice to see all the kids laughing and having a good time. Ricky really enjoyed his 4th birthday! It is so hard to see my kids growing up so fast. It just seems like the other day he was a tiny infant, and now he is a energetic 4 year old, he rides his bike without training wheels, and swims without floaties. Where did my baby go? :( Ricky with his presents Swimming in the pool Happy Birthday to you...!

Ricky & his pal Elias being sharks.

So about 2 weeks before the party I start going back and forth..."Should I make a cake or cupcakes?!" So I finally ask Ricky "do you want cupcakes or a cake for your birthday" and he said I want a spongebob cake! So I am freaking out, I am not an artist! I can barely draw a stick figure. So about 2 days before the party I bake the cake and freeze it so it is nice and cool for decorating. My plan is that I will make the cake if it doesn't come out right I will have time to make cupcakes for the party. The next day I make Icing and color the icing. Then I finally begin on the task of making a spongebob freehand. It ended up coming out pretty good, and it tasted so yummy!

RICKY'S SUMMER BREAK HAS BEGUN!!!

I have been saying for the last few weeks how much I couldn't wait for the kids to be out for summer break...Well only 1 is out so far and I have already had a hard time keeping him busy enough. Every morning that we have woke up so far Ricky starts by asking "Is daddy going to be home today, then proceeds to say "What are we going to do today?!" I wasn't planning on going somewhere every single day, but I think I need to re-evaluate my summer schedule.

We have had a swimming playgroup & went to the park a few times. Ricky has been pretty easy to please with going places. He doesn't seem to care where we go, he just wants to get out of the house. Ricky & his bud Brady at the park Ricky can be so sweet!!! Here is a picture that little Ricky snapped of me (Without permission BTW)while we were at the park. LOL

For everyone waiting to see a pregnancy picture here is a blurry version. I am now a little over 5 months along now. I still have morning sickness a couple times a week, but the baby is growing just perfectly. I look like I am about 7 months along, but I have only gained about 6 pounds, who knows how much I will end up gaining because I still have quite awhile to go. So far this baby is really easy going and isn't too busy in the womb. He does have some turbo kickboxing moves when he does get to going. At my last appointment they confirmed that it is defininatly a boy. Now we just need to come up with a name that we both can agree on. I also need to get started on his nursery. Oh so much to do before his arrival!

End of year performance

At the end of this school year we had a small performance. We did 2 songs and a poem for all the parents, grandparents, friends, etc. The kids did a wonderful job singing and dancing. Each child had to make a fishie costume out of posterboard with their parents supervision and assistance. Ricky did a wonderful job working on his fish, he used lots of sparkly glitter paint, and some pieces of tissue paper to make his fish. He worked on 98% of it all on his own!!! I will post some pictures of him painting his masterpiece soon. Ricky & his friend Anna

Ricky is definiatly going to be our little performer! He was singing, dancing, and just being a superstar the whole performance!

Ricky the Charmer!!! Smiling for the camera. Rick had to take the pictures while I did the speaking and directing. It was a really cute little show. I am going to miss those kids next year. It is unbelievable how attached you can become to each individual over the course of a school year. I say it every year...I am happy the school year is over, but boy will I miss those kids. :)

Ricky's Field Trip

As you all know I run a small preschool that Ricky also attends. Recently we went on a field trip to the pet shop! It was actually a pretty neat experience. We went to a shop that has a lot of exotic animals, snakes from different countries, lizards, chinchilas, rabbits, birds, etc. The kids got to pet 90% of the animals and learn a fun little fact about each. Here are some pictures from our visit!

Class Picture

Petting a snake I can't remember what this was called...it was some sort of dragon.

Is this a mouse or a hamster?

A sweet little sugar glider

Field Day 09

What happened to the old fashioned field days I had when I was a kid? We had to do "REAL" Track & Field Events! I remember the 3 legged race, all types of meter runs, disc toss, and many others. When we got in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place we received a cool ribbon.

Eevie got to enjoy a variety of Carnival Type Games. I didn't get pictures of all of her events, but it was a hoot to watch! Her class won 1st place in the Tug-of-War!!! Sorry for the slideshow with no music, I didn't have any songs that would go good with this particular theme.

Backyard adventures

Little Ricky Hitting golf balls in the backyard...One of his favorite things to do. In my last posting, I had said that I would update my blogs more often...Well I haven't kept my word. Lately it seems like time is flying by. I have been completely exhausted by the end of the day and just haven't had the energy to blog much. We haven't done much recently. Here are some pictures of the kids hanging out in the backyard. My little Ricky is turning into a small version of his father. He does so many things exactly like Rick that it is almost scary!

Every Spring we have a few different bird families come and inhabit our birdhouses, they build their nest, lay their eggs, and soon they are gone. This year the kids checked the birdhouse regularly to see if the birds had laid any eggs. On this particular day after our girlscout meeting, the kids went to see and long and behold there was teeny tiny chirping sounds coming from the birdhouse. I thought these were cute pictures to share of them checking out the baby birds. They were so curious!