Merry Christmas From the Mansfields

Merry Christmas, y'all! (Click on the picture to see it better!)

Cub Scout Rain Gutter Regatta 2014

At the October Pack Meeting, Jared received his Wolf badge. He's worked really hard, and gotten all of the requirements done quickly - he got his Bobcat in June. We are super proud of him and everything he is doing.

After the awards, they had a Rain Gutter Regatta. Jared was so excited to finally get to race the boat he had put so much effort into making.

And after a LOT of races (double elimination, with 9 cub scouts), he won FIRST place!

He and Logan were rivals to the bitter end - they had to race each other 3 times, and each race came down to less than a boat length. They both did awesome.

He was so excited - especially because the award ribbons were made out of sugar cookies!

Spring Break 2014 Post 1

We had a lot of fun over spring break. It was great to spend time relaxing, hanging out with friends, staying up too late, and eating waaaay too much sugar. But the best part was having Grandpa Val and Grandma Judy here for a few days. We loved having them visit. They are welcome to come back any time!

We took them to Ritters pretty much as soon as they arrived. What better way to introduce them to Katy?

Valentine's Day 2014 Post #2

The kids had a great Valentine's Day too.

Megan and Jared both made Valentines for their classmates and friends.

And Kate and William got in the spirit by being especially cute and snuggley.

Valentine's Day 2014

Yesterday my friend Jen threw a couples Valentine's Day party. No kids, just lots of good food, good friends, and tons of laughter. I honestly don't think I've laughed so hard in a long time.

 Seriously. We couldn't stop laughing. Could. Not. Stop.

Of course, the props didn't help matters.

 I think the guys really got into the props. :D
 

There were games. Some of us were a little more competitive than others.

 There were door prizes. 

  There was whipped cream.

 

And more whipped cream.

 

 

And even more whipped cream. Travis squirted Jen with the whipped cream. And she gave him his Just Desserts. (Bwhahaha! See what I did there? Just desserts! Hehehe!)

There was wonderful food and decedent desserts (sorry - I consumed mine long before I thought of taking a picture. Trust me - it was all wonderful).

There were 8 wonderful friends who know how to have a good time together. Lots of fun, maybe a little over-sharing, inside jokes, and all in all, a wonderful evening.

 

 

Best of all, I got to spend the evening with my wonderful, handsome husband.

Ice-Pocalypse 2014

I feel like I understand the trials of all of the brave souls who built this great nation. The ones who survived blizzards without shelter. The ones who were so hungry in the winter they ate shoe leather. And broke up furniture to burn for heat. We have survived Ice-Pocalypse 2014 in Houston. We are still alive. It's been rough, but we are still here. Now that my fingers have warmed up a little and I am sure there is no risk of losing them to frostbite (it was BELOW freezing when I went outside this morning, people!), I feel like I should make a record of our experiences, things we have learned as we survived this great storm.

First of all, there was ICE on the car when we got up this morning. ICE. It was FROZEN. Can you believe it? And some of the plants had little baby icicles on their leaves. And the whole city shut down completely. Travis's office closed. Megan and Jared's school closed. I had to wear long sleeves AND a jacket when I went outside. And closed toe shoes. It was that bad! I don't know how we survived, but human nature is resilient in the face of such trials.

We didn't dare venture out to the stores. They are probably picked clean, anyways so there is really no point. We did manage to go to lunch at Denny's. Bundled up in jackets and hoodies. It was difficult, but we made it.

It is 32 degrees right now, and the weather app on my phone shoes little snow flakes, so obviously life has not yet returned to normal, but it should be in the 60s tomorrow, so I am confident that we will triumph in the end.

The End of an Era

Today is the day that Kate gave up her pacifiers. We've been talking about it for a while, and this morning we just decided to go for it. She carried them outside and put them in the big garbage can, and in a little while the garbage men will come and take them away for ever.

She was rather nonchalant about the whole thing. No tears (At least on her part. I might have gotten a little teary-eyed. She's growing up so fast! This is one of the last links to her babyhood. Or maybe it's allergies. Yeah, it's allergies. Yup), She just tossed them in, and said, "I have a treat now, okay? I eat some meh-nem-in-ehms? (M&Ms) And watch Paw Patrol?"

Megan and Jared were also paci kids, but William hasn't ever been interested. He has been a thumb sucker from the start. Now that Kate is done with them, we are 100% paci free.

(Ask me how I feel about all this at nap time when she freaks and has a complete meltdown...)

Playing Pretend

So, my friend Jen is pretending to sell her house. Why? Because she imagines that she is building a new house somewhere else. I am sure it's all pretend.

She's even got a pretend listing in HAR: http://search.har.com/engine/3015-Providence-Oak-St-Houston-TX-77084_HAR20709414.htm. Doesn't that look awesome? She really goes all out when she pretends.

No, I am NOT in denial.

Why do you ask?

I'm just going to sit here and eat the rest of the Girl Scout cookies that I've hidden in the back of the freezer and maybe this pint of ice cream and cover my ears with my hands and sing la la la la la I can't hear you la la la la la! Because I'm mature like that.

In case you are wondering, it is a really nice house in a really nice neighborhood. And I am happy for her as she plays make-believe.

Although, she keeps putting things in boxes, and it's getting harder and harder to know she's just pretending.

Sigh......