Ballard Bunch

Yesterday, we had Walker's birthday party at the Fort Worth Zoo. It was Walker's first birthday party with friends, and he was so pumped yesterday! He said, I can't wait to see all my friends and hug them- and that's exactly what he did!! Some of our friends came early and walked around the zoo with us before the party that afternoon. It was fun to be at the zoo with a group. Checking out the chimps What good friends! The lion was telling Walker "Happy Birthday"!!! Petting a chicken Then we headed to the party room for the party! Isn't this cake precious? My friend started doing cakes, and she is awesome! Playing games Then we had the live animal presentation, they brought out 4 animals: Happy Birthday to Walker!!! The zoo was a great place for a party, and it actually wasn't too hot! We really enjoyed it, and are thankful for the good friends that shared it with us. Then, for the last birthday celebration, we went to Peepaw and GG's for birthday ...

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 WOW- how time has flown. I will totally admit I miss having babies, I really love babies. But big kids are just SO FUN!!! Walker loves: - Phineas and Ferb, Wipeout, Spongebob, Harry Potter movies and superheroes shows/movies - dinosaurs and cars ( that is something that hasn't changed), drawing and making pictures, helping me cook in the kitchen, anything active, errands with family, eating out with family - he loves to sing and learns words to songs really fast. He likes George Strait and Tim McGraw- Texas, Heartland, Last Dollar (Fly Away) and I Like It, I Love It are his favorite songs. - he is very close with Lucy, and they still play great together. He will go sleep in her bed sometimes when he gets scared. They talk about getting married together- but they know that God has picked out someone else for them, that is not in their family. They pretend anyway. - deviled eggs (called doubled eggs), Diet Coke, mac n cheese, McDonald's, water, frui...

Walker got sick this week with croup... again. 3 days before his birthday, he started that unmistakable cough that sounded like a seal. However, this time, Thursday night the coughing was really bad and it started to hinder his breathing. He had croup back in the fall, but we didn't have any breathing issues with it last time- just that crazy sounding cough. He could barely breathe and of course it was scaring him a little. I tried for about 45 minutes to calm him down and get him back to sleep. I put his head in the freezer and had him breathe in the cold air, sang to him, had him suck on ice- he wasn't calming down enough to sleep and breathe normally. So, I talked to Jason and did something I had yet to do as a parent- I drove my child to the Emergency Room. I was really nervous. I knew they would give him steroids, and he would be ok- but it is just so scary to watch your child not be able to breathe. I now know how my Dad felt watching me with those awful asthma attacks I...

Grace in Small Things - a successful dentist procedure for Walker yesterday - dental insurance - a week with not much planned, before things get hectic - having HBO free for a few months, I love movies!! - excitement for a new job - a few really good friends to talk to and confide in - an awesome family vacation - my kids loving to swim and being comfortable in the water This has been an excellent summer. I have really noticed how grown up my kids are lately- I don't have toddlers anymore. They are kids!!! We go and go and go. They are both very energetic and enjoy getting out of the house. Unless someone is sick, we get out and do something everyday. If not, they are both bouncing off the walls by 5 or 6pm- not fun while I am trying to cook dinner. They don't slow down until 8 or 8:30 when they go to bed. This is our last week of summer. Our school doesn't start until the end of August, but I am teaching and the kids are attending a summer camp at the preschool, so we can...

Our first official Ballard vacation is in the books!! This is the first time we have gone somewhere just the 4 of us. We got an email a few months ago from Great Wolf Lodge (or GWL ) about a great sale they were having, so we booked a 3-night stay for July. Jason, Mr. Surprise, didn't want to tell the kids- so we kept it a secret!! It got a little hard this last week, with packing and everything- but we managed to keep it a surprise and it was so fun driving up to the resort and the kids realizing where we were!!! :) We stayed 3 nights, but we had other plans besides the water park, so we didn't get tired of anything. My favorite thing was their Pup and Paw Passes- let me explain. If you know you are going to get your kids some souvenirs , then this is the way to go. You can choose a Pup pass for younger kids, or a Paw pass for older kids. You pay one rate, and get several of their "extras". If you bought each thing one their own, it would be $20-30 more than the one ...