Gettin' Old!

Just an observation: I looked at the clock (assuming that it must be at least midnight) and it is 10:35.

I am old.
Fabulous.

Tee hee...g'night!
Church Lady

(Those of you who want to actually see photos or whatever...click the labels below!)

OK. Odd.

So I learn new stuff about Blogging everyday. And now, I have to share with everyone a little glimpse into my Type A self: I actually typed all of the entries for the New York Family Visit series of blog entries last Tuesday while Brady was napping. I didn't have the pictures all ready and I was not at my computer, but I figured I would get the actual typing of commentary out of the way and then upload and publish later.

Why am I telling you this??? Because Blogger is smart. It puts the posts in chronological order based on when you type the entry...not when you are ready to post it. So, just click the "Johnsons" label below and you will actually be able to see the posts from the fabulous weekend.

Oopsie!
Church Lady

Just an update.

So I didn't get to go to Chicago, and I still haven't posted all the rest of the pics and stuff from two weekends ago with my sister and fam...but hang tight! I promise it will be arriving soon, and when it does, be sure you scroll through all of the posts because there will be more than one...so read them all and comment lots!

Laters,
Church Lady

Leavin' on a Jet Plane...

So if things go well I will be taking off tonight for Chicago! Charlie (my father-in-law) is retired from American Airlines and he offered me a pass so I can fly for a little less money!!! He rocks and is an absolute hoot to be around, so for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting this guy, next time you're around...you must hang out at his humble abode in Hurst. It's an experience I promise you will love!

Anyway, so I am going to Chicago this weekend to visit my friend Atkinson (aka Cory the Girl). We are going to chill out, catch up, and take in an Indigo Girls concert! Woo hoo...all right ya'll...good singin'!!

So, I will have pics and posts of the trip when I get back, and I will also finish posting about the awesome weekend with my sister and her kiddos from last weekend!

Until then, stay safe, silly, and sassy...
Church Lady

Live From New York...Day 5!

It's the final day with the Johnson 4...and so we decided to spend some time at the mall just shopping and wandering around. I even called in late to work so I could savor every last minute with the fam! Sarah decided to go with me to work (once I finally got there!) while Ethan, Kelli, and Rusty met up with Uncle Brian to go to the Cowboys vs. Giants game.

After work, Gramma Dawn, Uncle Cory, and I had some fun time with Miss Sarah. The Vaughn Family loaned us their copy of Curious George, and although Sarah passed out before the movie finished, she loved it! Even Amos got to snuggle with Sarah!!

So, the weekend wrapped up with a late arrival back at The Diamond Street Lodge after a bummer of a game...but that's ok. Rusty is still a loyal fan even though the Boys played a really crummy game!

The weekend was an absolute blast...and we can't wait for The Johnson 4 to make it back down to Texas again, but in the meantime, The Church Family will be taking a trip up north in December for some more fun times!!

Come on back soon ya'll,
Aunt Churchie

Live From New York...Day 4!

Sunday was a bit more mellow, which was nice! We went out to Frisco to see Uncle Brian and Aunt Erika and baby Riley for the afternoon. The kids really enjoyed playing with Maverick and Ginny, and it was a nice visit for Kelli, Cory, Gramma Dawn, and me with Brian and Erika.

After we got back and grabbed a bite to eat (Pizza Hut delvery...yummy!) Kelli, Rusty, Cory, and I went on a double date to Tinseltown. We watched The Departed. It was a really great movie...kept us all on the edge of our seat until the very end. Check it out if you have time...although, be warned that it is a bit on the violent side of things what with all the mafia and cop action.

Only one more day left...aww bummer! But, as you can see, it was an amazing trip with lots of fun and family time...excellent memories!

Take care,
Churchie

Live From New York...Day 3!

Saturday brought another whirlwhind day of adventure! We went to the Fort Worth Stockyards and saw the sights, the shops, and the stampede. Ethan, Sarah, and I also went through a maze which was really fun and also a little challenging!! (The picture of them at the dead end is one of many dead ends that we came too!!)

After a few hours downtown, Uncle Cory, me, and Gramma Dawn took Ethan and Sarah and ventured off to the pumpkin patch. We left Kelli, Rusty, and Bobby on there own in Cowtown to have a little grown up fun!!! After picking out 11 perfect pumpkins, we headed back to Gramma's house for the Annual Pumpkin Carving Event. This is perhaps one of my most favorite events of the year. This year we were bummed because our neices Riley and Reagan (Colleen's girls) were not able to come. But, we managed to meet our kiddo quota with the attendance of The Vaughn 3 plus their parents and we had special guests all the way from Benin, Africa!! Cousins Tori and Timo are in town and joined in the festivities! Our good friends Scott and Kristy also joined in on this year's carve-fest.

The pumpkins turned out great and the kids (big ones and little ones) all had a blast! After all that hard work and the return of the grown ups from Cowtown, we washed the pumpkin guts off and ventured out to La Hacienda Ranch for some good eatin'. Kelli needed to get her Mexican food fix, so off we went. Sarah was pooped and didn't make it through dinner, but a good time was had by all.

Only a few more days with the Johnson Clan....stay tuned for more posts and pics!!

Church Lady

Live From New York...Day 2!

So Day 2 was Friday, and we had another fun filled and eventful day. After a late night at the Mavs game we woke up, got ready and met up at Gramma Dawn's for our expedition. We all piled into the Tahoe and hustled off to Texas Stadium for a tour. Rusty has been a Cowboys fan since he was in second grade, so the day was quite thrilling (and emotional) for him. The tour isn't flashy and spectacular, but you do learn a little about the history of America's Team and then you get what I will dub the "highlight reel" of the tour: a visit to the locker room and then time to play on the field. Oh yes...they actually give you footballs and let you run around and pretend that you can play football. We kicked, threw, tackled, took pictures on the Star and in the Endzone and even sat on the Cowboys Bench. Ahhhh...so much fun!

After a tour of the pro-shop where you can stock up on everything Cowboys...and I mean everything (from party trays to jerseys to socks to floor mats to thongs...yes you read correctly...they have Cowboys thongs) we headed out to Champs to meet Uncle Brian for lunch. All in all, the day was a great hit.

After lunch Ethan and Sarah decided to hang out with me at work and play at Midway Park, so that was extra fun for Aunt Traci!! Cory, Kelli, Rusty, Bobby (a friend from NY who now lives in TX), and Ethan went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner while the rest of us chilled out at home and enjoyed some PlayStation action!!! Everyone seemed to enjoy the Country Karaoke, Guitar Hero, and Dance Dance!

Fun times were had by all on Day 2!! Stay tuned for further updates!!!
Aunt Churchie

Live From New York!!!

Last weekend we had a blast with my sister and her husband and kids being in town. It was an absolute whirlwind wild weekend with Kelli, Rusty, Ethan, and Sarah. We started and ended the time with a bang! They arrived Thursday and one my student's mom gave me four amazing tickets to the Mavs game, so me, Cory, Kelli, and Ethan went to American Airlines Center to check out the Mavs.

We got all set to go and left from my mom's house (that's us in the kitchen just before we took off for the game!) Ethan had never been to a basketball game before and really had no clue about the sport, but we figured it would be cool anyway. Just the sights and sounds of the AA Center are cool enough! Not to mention the seats that we had...let's see...we were about 15 rows from the Mavs bench!!! And bonus: we parked right across the street from the entrance! Superstars!!!


Once we got all set and got to our seats, we did what all great fans do...seek out the food!! Kelli and I went on the food mission while Ethan and Uncle Cory checked out the Mavs Cheerleaders. Note that I am NOT posting any of the pics that the boys took of them!!!!

















Our seats were so amazing that we could watch Mark Cuban and I got to take some great shots of Dirk!

Overall, the night was a blast even though Ethan is definitely not a basketball fan! He had fun but I won't be getting him anything basketball anytime soon! The game was really fun and we all just enjoyed it...and guess what??!!?? The Mavs won!!!!
















So, there are many posts to come detailing the excitement that was our weekend with The Johnson family...so stay tuned. For those of you checking on Riley pics, hang tight...there are some new ones of her coming too!!

Stay silly,
Church Lady

I am Two Weeks Old!!

Riley is two weeks old today!! Here are some pics of her from yesterday...and stay tuned because she has her 2 week check up Friday morning!! Also, my sister Kelli and her husband Rusty along with my niece and nephew (Sarah and Ethan) are in town for the weekend!!! Hooray! Check back for lots of fun photos of our time together.

These adorable pictures are of Riley playing in her cool floor gym thingy. She gets to have back time and tummy time every day in her gym...and she loves tummy time the best because she just goes to sleep! The last picture I just couldn't resist...how cute are her tiny feet in those adorable socks??!!

Take care and God bless,
Aunt Churchie

It's a Monday...

So today was kind of a blah day in Traci land....nothing bad, a few things really good...but I just am a little blah. Oh well. I started out the day hanging with Riley and Erika (so very cute sweet little Riley!) and then I headed off to work. I was running late, so that made me a little blah, and then because of the mega rain that we have had, it was really too wet to take our kids outside to play. That sometimes makes for a rough day at Midway Park Extended Day....but today wasn't too bad. I made two big posters for the Fall Carnival and had my older kiddos help me paint and decorate them...and they look really nice!

It's Day 12 of the Detox for me today. So far, so good. Today I had a few weak moments, but in the scope of things, I made some decent choices and got through the day. My stats so far are that I have successfully completed 12 days, I feel much better than when I started, I sleep way better, my energy levels are nice and constant, and I have dropped 13 pounds since I started. All in all, very cool stuff.

So, there's a basic blog entry...no photos, just some chatter about what's up in my world. Today, although slightly blah, was a great day. I laughed with my husband for a good long while tonight while cooking dinner...and you know what? Now that I think of it, that silly 15 minutes makes up for any blah at all...and that means that I am a very blessed wife leading a very blessed life.

Love to all...and many blessings.
Church Lady

Friday Night with The Vaughn 3!

Tonight we hung out with The Vaughn 3 so our good friends Donny and Kendra could enjoy some time without kiddos. It's always a blast to hang out with these boys because they are great kids plus they are hilarious...you just never know what is going to be said!! Of course I deceided mid-week that this time with The Vaughn 3 would be blog worthy, but man, they delivered more than I could ask for!!!

Colby and Tyler started the night out with some good ol' wrestling which ended with Tyler giving Colby a slight slam into the carpet. Colby wasn't really sure whether to laugh or cry, but he made the best of the opportunity and got Ms. Traci to snuggle him and soothe his battle wounds. The wrestling was followed by Cory and Lindsay's arrivals which meant that it was ice cream time!! Woo hoo!! Brady and I passed on the ice cream, but I must say that I made some pretty awesome cones for Tyler, Colby, Cory, and Lindz. We enjoyed some play time and ultimately decided that Curious George was the way to settle down and spend the rest of our evening.

When the movie ended I walked with Tyler and Colby to their room in prepartaion for some sleepy time. Now comes my favorite part of the evening: prayer time with Colby and Tyler! The descision on who was to pray was unanimous: Traci. So, I accepted the honor and moved on to determining who we would pray for. Here is the prayer list for tonight: Mommy, Daddy, Brady (except Colby wasn't too sure we really needed to pray for them). Next Colby decided that we needed to pray for all the animals in the zoo that God would keep them safe in their cages. We closed our prayer list with Batman and Superman...praying that they would still be able to fly. So, we bowed our heads, prayed our prayers and Colby chimed in with a resounding "Amen." Tyler opted for his freedom of prayer rights by saying, "Traci, I don't think I have to pray that prayer." I stifled my laughter and hugged both boys off to dream land. I sure do love these kids!!!

So, our evening was awesome....and here are the pics to prove it...the shots are of Colby, Tyler, Brady, me and Lindz with The Vaughn 3, and Cory's version of babysitting!!!!


















Many thanks to Donny and Kendra for letting us have such a fun role with their family...we sure do love you guys!!

God Bless,
Churchie

Riley Update!

Ahhh...so I got to spend more time with my adorable niece today! I really don't need to type much here because it's the pictures just show how amazing and cute and adorable and brilliant she is, but I will type just a bit to let everyone know that Brian and Erika are doing well and life is going all right over at the Cooper house. It's not totally "wheels off" (to quote Erika) yet, but they both have a sneaking suspicion that the moment might be coming! Riley is eating pretty good and Erika is totally rocking at getting her on a schedule and stuff...so it's good times over in Frisco these days.

After a week of going over on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I am not sure that I will like it when I give up these frequent visits! It's been really awesome for me to get to know Erika better as I have wanted to build more of a relationship with her for a while, so this time has been really awesome...thanks for letting me hang out and "help" out...I love it!!!

Ok ok...enough blabbing...here are the pictures of my sweet little niece. Today's post includes a nice shot of alert Riley, the adorable swaddled Riley, cranky Riley, and Riley and Maverick. Enjoy. The picture at the top is my favorite...that one is precious Riley!

Take care and God Bless,

Aunt Churchie

Samantha turns One!!!

So this Wednesday Cory and I got to go to Samantha's 1st Birthday Party! Samantha is the daughter of our friends Cynthia and Larry (I used to work for Cynthia at Ozarka) and she is just as cute as can be. It's pretty cool that we got to share in her big day! I must say that we are totally on board for all of her upcoming birthday parties because this one rocked! We enjoyed delicious food from Uncle Julio's and even got to play a party game (guess the number of cheerios in the jar) and they had a pinata! Nice!! Here are a few photos to sum up the party...



Cynthia and Larry had cool hot pink signs leading you to the party, and then when we arrived we were welcomed by the stellar banner announcing the big event.


Samantha is chillin'!


Samantha with Cynthia and Larry...

Pinata time!! Cory took home candy!


Cory wins second place!! Woo hoo!! His guess for the cheerios was second closest to the real answer which was 2,005. Cory guessed 1,187. Way to go!


Fun times were had by all at this party...can't wait for the big 2 year party!!

Church Lady

I promise...

I promise to blog very soon with updates on a few things: Riley, a fun birthday party, detox, and a fun Friday night with the Vaughn 3. That means the updates with photos will arrive on Saturday. Sorry for the delays...life has been good and fun and busy!

In the mean time, if you click on Riley at the bottom of this post you will get all her cute pictures and stuff!!

Cheers to the Big Man Upstairs,
Churchie

I Can't Resist!

Riley just keeps getting cuter!! Here is her photo at home this evening...her first day and night at home! Aww!! I will have to go to work tomorrow, so more pictures will have to wait until Wednesday evening!!!

Until next time,

Aunt Churchie

By the way...that is me holding her, of course!!!

It's been two years!

Today is our second anniversary! Since I have the even years and Cory has the odd years, it was my turn to plan the festivities for this year, and so I did. However, Miss Riley came along and we decided to save our celebrations for another weekend. We have spent some time this weekend just hanging out together and sharing in some of our favorite times together, and that has been really nice.

After just two years, I make no claims at being a marriage expert, but I do know that I have a really amazing husband and that makes for a really amazing marriage. I treasure all of the times we have together and I love that we can just laugh and be silly through the crappy times and the good times.

Here's to great things,
Traci

I am Three Days Old!!!

All right! Here are some new pictures from today's visit to the hospital. Everyone is doing well, Riley has dropped a few ounces and Brian and Erika are doing a great job at working on her gaining them back! Looks like they will be going home tomorrow morning sometime, so that is also good news.

Today's pictures feature Riley crying a little and pouting a little (sorry they are a bit blurry) and then a cute one of Riley chillin' with her Aunt T and then another cute one of Riley with her Uncle Nick (Erika's brother).

Thanks to everyone for stopping buy the site and for your prayers for the new Cooper and her parents!

Until next time,

Aunt Churchie