Where there is a kid, there is a Jennie...these words are all too true! Would you not believe that when Jimmie (my brother) came to visit last weekend, I did not snap one picture of him and the AJB's, or of Alisha, him and myself? The only pictures that I took were all to cute to pass up; pictures of Meredith eating ice cream. It was fun to get 'the gang' back together again. Mark and Naomi (with Grace and Mer), Keith and Rachel (with Cadance and Ian), Jimmie, Alisha, Mark (mine) and the AJB's got together for dinner and to catch up. It has been at least since Jimmie's wedding since we were all together! It was a lot of fun!Mer eating her ice cream

Last Sunday before church, Abi and Austin joined me on the back porch with their cereal. It was just a really beautiful morning. Occasionally I sit out alone. On that morning, Austin asked if he could sit with me. Abi was not far behind him! Austin and Abi eating breakfast

This Saturday, Naomi, Lizzie, Taunya, and I went to see The Spa Girls for a live event...we had a blast! And many, many laughs! Then we headed to Chuy's for lunch, YUMMY! Then I picked up Abi and we had our nails done with Sarah. It was Abi's first trip to the nail salon, and she LOVED it! She was disappointed that she didn't get her pedicure (because of a little communication error) but it subsided with ice cream and her own bottle of nail polish from Walmart! What a great mommy- daughter date!

Abi chose red polish...even after I suggested a much lighter pink!
treatment of a princess!

This is my last week of school until (at least) Spring 2011. We will begin our homeschooling journey in September. I have been researching home school curriculum, but haven't come to any definitive answers yet. There are so many things to choose from! Taunya suggested that Austin take an anatomy/physiology class with Cameron. The class includes dissecting a cow's eye, which Austin would probably think was great! Whatever we do end up doing, I am very excited!

Easter Sunday 2010

I suppose Easter weekend began like any other weekend-o-fun. Friday night we had Aunt Marie, Deve, Sluz, and Aimee over for burgers and game night to celebrate Mark's 31st birthday. Then Austin and Mark went to a guys movie night while Abi and I stayed home to paint our nails. Saturday morning began with cooking. I made a dessert and potato salad for our small group Easter get together. Unfortunately, I am a dork and forgot to take the camera. Hopefully, someone can forward me their pics! We had a great time; I spent time truly bonding with Pacey- she not only puked on me this time, but peed on me as well! She's so cute, I don't care! The kids and I came home while Mark worked the 5pm service.

Sunday morning was, as every Easter is, a special and exciting morning. Each year I struggle with deciding what that one special thing is that I am going to put in their basket. I love that Easter is a holiday to celebrate, but I hate that it is so commercialized with yellow chickens and chocolate bunnies! I struggle each year with not wanting my kids to feel left out from the candy-o-rama traditions; I want to be sure that they grow up knowing why our family celebrates Easter. It's not just because Walmart says we should. I want them to get some candy, but not for their candy to overshadow the true focus of the season. Last year, the AJB's each got a Bible for their big gift in their baskets. This year I made them each a bracelet with their names and a charm-a cross. Both were excited that they had a cross. We then got dressed in our Easter's best-




the AJB'S finding their baskets


2010 Easter at Copperfield Church

*****2009**********2008***********2007****


Abi at the Easter egg hunt


Austin at the Easter egg hunt

After church, we went home for a little rest. We went to Mark's dad's house for Easter dinner- it was super yummy! Mark and the boys threw the football around while Abi played with Tom's latest addition to the family, Alex.

Abi and Alex- a very lazy puppy!

We ended the day with family movie night- Alvin and the Chipmunks, the squeakquel!
The Brewer Family 2010

Celebrations

Abi's 6th Birthday Celebration: This year when offered a party, Abi came up with what she really wanted this year. She was very specific in her request: She wanted her and Luke (her very best friend and her betrothed) to get their faces painted like tigers, go to the Rainforest cafe, and then see a movie. We had to wait for so long because she wanted to see 'How to Train Your Dragon', which didn't come to theaters until March 26. Austin joined us also and wanted his face painted like a monkey.

Walking into the restaurant- Abi and Luke were holding hands!! It was cute at first but then we had to break them up!

Abi and Luke with their rightful pack!

Who needs birthday cake when you can have a VOLCANO!


Luke got Abi an Alive mini Tiger cub- She LOVES it!

We also celebrated Mark's 31st birthday on Saturday. Unfortunately, he spent the majority of it working!

Next stop, Easter!!!!

Perfect Ending

The rodeo has been a perfect ending to a great week. We went to church this morning, then came home, took a quick nap, and headed down to Reliant Stadium. Tonight was the finals for bull riding. They also had muttin' bustin' and the calf scramble. Travis and Becca went with us on our adventure, and everyone had a great time! Selena Gomez rocked the house, but we left before Justin Beiber came on stage.


Selena on stage- also a fellow Texan, she sang a tribute to the 'Selena' and her family

Abi. Becca and Austin

On the way out

Spring Break is well on it's way out the door. It has been a good one, but now it's time to get my game face back on. Before that, here are the highlights from the past couple of days. Again, I forgot my camera: the kids and I discovered a new park today. Not really new, but new to us. We went and the kids had a blast. They ran and got a lot of energy out. Then when we came home, the kids donned their swim suits (they have been asking to play in the sprinklers all week!) and I drug out the mopping bucket. Who says mopping can't be fun? I really needed to get the floors mopped, and the kids really wanted to have some fun! So, we put the two together. We had tons of rags, some warm water, and dawn dish liquid. Austin kept yelling, "Man, I didn't know we were going to have so much fun today!" as he was sliding around. It was a lot of work, but now my floors are clean, and the kids are happy! By the end, they were sliding on the stomachs!

Thursday wasn't a big ta-do either. We hung out around the house and played outside a little. Abi drove around in her car until she decided it was too sunny out and went back inside. Austin refined his skateboarding skills. He's teaching himself how to jump up, make the skateboard bounce off the ground and then land back on it. Alex, his best buddy, was watching and trying too.

Unfortunately, tomorrow there is a 90% chance of rain (BOOOO) and the temperature is supposed to drop back down to the 50's for a couple of days. I can't say that I am pleased with this forecast, our rodeo outing is still coming up! I don't think that I have ever gone to the rodeo on a day that it wasn't cold or rainy...or both! We will have to wait and see what the weather has in store for us.

Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That

We have been up to all kinds of things! I haven't written about them because it's just a small blip here and there. On March 6 I had to take a test for school, but Mark was able to participate in our church's community service day. He chose to work on the 'Feed the Children' project where they boxed food for families. He said that it was a cool experience, and the group that attended boxed quite a bit of food. Although he couldn't take Austin and Abi this time, he hopes that maybe we can plan a day with our small group and take the kids to help then.

the group that attended 'Feed the Children' project

Next, I posted a happy birthday wish to Abi on her birthday, but haven't said what we did. That morning, Abi woke up to my awful, raspy version of the 'Happy Birthday' song, and came down for her choice of breakfast. She wore a dress to school (with jewelry!!) in honor of her special day. I would have liked to eat lunch with her, but I had to turn in a paper for my class. I read to her class on Friday to make-up for missing lunch. She got off the bus wearing a pink paper crown and a big smile! When she came in the house she found her cupcakes, flowers, and present! She and Austin ate a cupcake on our way out the door to have dinner with Aunt Marie, Deve, and Lala (Mark's Aunt, cousin, and sister) at Chuy's. When we came back home, Grandpa, Wendy, and Kenzie came over for cupcakes. This year Abi opted for a bigger (more expensive) gift instead of a party, she wanted the purple Hannah Montana PSP (it can play games, music, and movies- great for car trips!). This year she wants her and Luke, her very best friend, to get their faces painted like tigers, go to the Rainforest Cafe (because it's like a jungle where tigers live) for lunch, and then see a movie together. Because there aren't really any kid movies out right now, we have to wait until "How to Train Your Dragon" comes out on the weekend of the 26th. Coincidentally, that is Mark's birthday weekend as well.

Abi and Austin March 11, 2010

This past Friday, we watched Grace and Meredith overnight so Mark and Naomi could have a date night (those are super important when you have kids!!!) We played outside for a little while; Grace drove Mer around in Abi's car until the battery finally ran out! Mer was laughing hysterically the whole time!! They both had a lot of fun!

Because I am a huge slacker...I forgot my camera for Jimbo's (my brother) baby shower! I woke up around 3:30am this past Saturday and drove to Dallas for it. I got there around 9, just as my brother and the rest of the family was waking up. Jimmie and I went grocery shopping for all the food for the shower, then came home and set up. This shower was mainly for family, so it wasn't that big. Other than Jimmie, Rita, and myself, there were only ten other people. On our side: Mom and Alisha (my sister), Aunt Lulu (my mom's sister), Ronda and Cheyene (my cousins). It was so good to sit and visit; I had been a while since I have had a chance to see my aunt and cousins. I also was a slacker in the gift department. I am sewing a very special quilt for my new niece (due date moved to May 5 from the 17th). I didn't finish sewing it before the shower, so I had to give Jimmie and Rita an IOU- I have since finished it, and will post pictures after I ship it.

Also on the sewing front, I found some fabric that I fell in love with! After spending much time toiling over what I was going to make with it (had to be special!) I settled on making a boutique style outfit for Pacey. I want to list similar outfits like it in my shop on etsy.com

Unfortunately, it is already Thursday of my spring break; so, I'm not sure how much more sewing I am going to get to do. I should be doing homework, which I guess it why I am so motivated to sew! If I could just make this week stretch a little bit more! We have nothing on our agenda which helps the time pass by slower...I like that! We have loved being outside in the beautiful weather!!! The kids adopted the box that the lawnmower came in and have made it into a shop, house, clubhouse, tiger cage, and I'm sure many other things. They have played outside every day this week, except Tuesday when it rained. We had a picnic yesterday with the Benders at their playground. We will end the break with a visit to the rodeo to see Selina Gomez. The kids are excited, they love watching her on Disney. After that, it's back to school. For all of us.

Happy Birthday!!!!

It was on this day 6 years ago that our family was blessed with a beautiful baby girl.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABI, we love you!