Oh Boy! All Boyz!!

As promised this post is dedicated to the Maloney boyz - all THREE of them.  Yep, I gave birth to two and married one.  I'm the only official adult in the family - Ken is stuck at age 18!

For the record, the only homeschooling field trips Ken has taken with us since we've moved to Texas is 1) Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory and 2) Taste of Texas Steakhouse.  Free food was involved with both!

 The lake behind our house is a great source of entertainment and exploration.
  Logan leads the way.  We've watched these ducklings for a few weeks - so so cute! 

 Logan and TJ enjoyed a great day together exploring the lake and then cooking their own dinner - scout style over the fire.


McKenna got a job pet sitting for a family who has the world's most muscular dog and one of the smallest breeds, too.  Logan had fun with Champ (Dogo Argentina) and Mr. Biggie (Chihuahua), but not as much fun as drooling over the family's monster truck!

"Mom, the tire is up to my waist!  Cool!!!"

Always enjoy this face during our family time treat!

NATHAN is sky-high at 6'4" and used all that height at a local trampoline park.  I personally like the throw under the leg - what flair and style!

 So, say there's a 16-year old that has to write a thesis for a Statesman class.  What topics come to mind?  Well, those are all good ones you've come up with, but here's what *MY* 16-year old is doing:

Life Lessons and Morality in Modern Movies (during my lifetime 1996 to present)

 He's waaaaay too smart!

So, we researched the top 10 grossing movies of each year from 1996 - 2012 and decided upon ones that meet the requirements of his thesis:

1996  Mission Impossible
1997  Men In Black
1998  A Bug's Life or Mulan (because all the others were rated R!)
1999  Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
2000  Mission Impossible II
2001  Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, or Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, or Monsters, Inc or Shrek, or Ocean's 11 (oh my goodness - this was a great year for movies!!!)
2002  Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers or Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets or Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
2003  Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King or Finding Nemo or Pirates of the Carribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
2004  Shrek 2 or Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban or The Incredibles
2005  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (my personal favorite of all the movies) or Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith or The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or Madagascar
2006  Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest
2007  Pirates of the Carribbean: At World's End or Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2008  Kung Fu Panda
2009  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince or Up
2010  Toy Story 3 or Tangled or Despicable Me or How to Train Your Dragon (another personal fav)
2011  Harry Potter adn the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 or Kung Fu Panda 2
2012  The Avengers or The Hobbit or Ice Age: Continental Drift



Poor guy!  Having to watch and document all these movies!  I just don't know how he'll manage?!


GREAT NATHAN NEWS - He is now an employee of Bahama Buck's Original Shaved Ice Company! 

We are thrilled! The owners go to our church and had so much fun interviewing all the teens who wanted to work there.  So glad Nathan was chosen!!

He described the place as the perfect date place - beach decor and music, board games on all the tables, shaved ice or ice cream or smoothies - or apparently you can get a Bahama Rama Mama which is all three - shaved ice layered with ice cream and topped with smoothie cream.  Oh man!  Best news: his uniform is shorts and t-shirts!  :o)  Ok, second best news: the job does not require sunscreen or bug spray, but he may want to wear sunglasses for the surfer-dude look!  Third best news: Bahama Buck's will be the teen hangout in Cypress!  :o)


Just so my dad is pleased with Nathan moving to a big city...Dad, Nathan found deer tracks at a local park.  Sizable print = sizable deer.  He still remembers all your words of wisdom!

 Melancholy over this pic - I see my future:  My missionary son visiting with a family to teach them about the Gospel of Christ and then, just to solidify a lasting friendship, taking the kids for a fun jump on the trampoline.  I guess in my scenario, Ken would be the senior companion not believing what he's seeing!  :o)

 Oh, here's Ken acting like a grown-up.  Working, dressed up....he does this a few times a week. (probably playing words with friends or something!)

St. Patrick's Day March 17, 2013

The Leprechaun sent our cuties on a treasure hunt.  It was so fun to see them work together to figure out they rhyming clues!  We have a very clever leprechaun!

Today's thoughts are heavy in my head.  I hate that.  I thought the fun St. Patrick's would help, but it's still hard to be jolly.

I have optimistic worry.

Why?  Several reasons: my 16-year old will be a missionary soon and is trying to earn money to fund the mission (needs $10k, has $4k).  My 14-year old is constantly being called out for her lovely smile (seriously, even the lady at airport security commented how lovely McKenna is.  She said, "I know, I've raised three boys").  Oh good grief!  My 11-year old is challenging and testy like most teens I hear about (I don't have any testy teens, just a testy 11-year old).  My 8-year old has weekly if not daily playdates.  Not that this is a bad or a worrisome thing, but most of the time, I'm not with her.  We just make arrangements to drop off and pick up.  I'm not used to that.  My husband has two stressful jobs and a time-consuming calling in the church.  My limited budget means we have to say "no" more than we want, and I have to buy non-organic foods to make the grocery budget work each week.  We finally got new tires on the truck, and the Tahoe's anti-lock brake system is out. Our home in Alabama is still for sale, with only one very thin lead in sight.

And, probably the most worrisome item is this photo taken at a local restaurant:

It's a HUGE star, filled with rattlesnake rattles!  EWWWW!!!

= = = = = = =

Ok, now that I've unloaded, let's move on to happier events....

Swimming in Texas on March 16!!  We have great neighbors!!

(note: Nathan was finishing cutting the grass before swimming, so I didn't get a pic of him - but he swam, too!)

Our neighbors, The Postmas, invited the kids over to try out the pool on Saturday.  It was chilly but so nice!

The first night we moved in, Friday November 2, 2012, the Postma's came over to meet us amid the chaos of unloading the truck.  They also extended access to their pool the next day (why not?  it was 84 degrees on November 3!).  Ken and I weren't sure about swimming, much less about unpacking our swimsuits, but after a tiring and hot morning of unloading the truck, let's just say we were more motivated to find those swimming suits!

In later weeks, we find out that our neighbor, Joan Spillane Postma is a Gold Medal Olympian from the Rome 1960 Olympics.  She was part of the 4x100 freestyle relay that set a world record then.  She showed the kids her gold medal.  Here's her photo from those Olympics.



And here's a more recent article about her contribution to the Cypress-Fairbanks area and schools.  They are such a fabulous couple who are very active in their church and community.  We are honored to know them and call them friends.



McKenna has a boyfriend, and Ken is not happy!

Of all the boys I know, I couldn't be happier that 4-year old Sam McDougald is after my sweet McKenna.  It all started with an innocent babysitting job that turned into a relationship.  Sam's little brother Will doesn't seem to compete for McKenna (yet), but we'll see how that goes once Will is out of diapers and more interested in the sitter!  Sam and Will's parents are top-notch which is a big plus in my book.  I pray when my kids marry, they find someone from a great family with cool parents.  So far, this is working in Sam's favor.  He's also an amazingly cute red-head (what grandma doesn't want at least one red-headed grandbaby?!!).  But, I must admit I have my reservations.  His last name is Scottish, and McKenna's first name is Scottish - so she would be McKenna McDougald.  Um, no.  She would have to be Mrs. McKenna (keeping my last name even though I'm married) Maloney.  Hope Sam doesn't mind!



A room full of 14-year old girls + rootbeer floats + games = tons of fun!
Especially if all this occurs on McKenna's 14th birthday!!

McKenna's 14th birthday happened to be on a Thursday of this year.  The weekend after was crazy busy and I wasn't sure we could do anything for her day.  So I (without her knowing) emailed a few of the girls at church and their leaders to stop by the house that night.  I don't think McKenna caught on until the 4th girl arrived!  I love her innocence!  Then I confessed my trickery and the party began in earnest!  To make it seem like we were having a "family party" I asked McKenna the week before what are her favorite things that I could serve for dinner and snacks while the family played games.  She said: layered Mexican bean dip, chips and salsa, strawberries, grapes and root beer floats.  Hmmmm - that worked out so perfectly I seriously wonder if she knew?!




Cute Girl Hairstyles
McKenna and Sariah are getting so good at these cool twists and braids.  Here's one example of a chain hairband:

Next post will be more about the boys......Happy Wearin' O' the Green!

February 17 - Ode to FIRSTS

Ken is the FIRST one under the "talk hatchet"!  

In our church, members of the congregation are asked to prepare talks for Sunday.  Most times we have 1-2 weeks notice and are given a suggested topic or scripture as a theme.  Ken was the first in our family to fall under the "talk hatchet" and today presented a lovely sermon on serving in the church.

He said wrestling gators was more enjoyable than giving a talk!

 

Tami is the FIRST with Texas allergies!

Oh horrible sneezy nose - why must you go off each time the wind blows?
Oh silly snotty nose - why must you fill beyond capacity each time she tries to doze?
Oh tickly coughy cough - why must you be here?  Please just take off!
Oh painful, pounding cranium - when she bends, why must you feel near explosion?
Oh <a - a - achoo>...- why must <cough, sniffle, sniffle, blow, boohoo> ?





Nathan's FIRST -
- driver's license
- community college
- priest's quorum of 18
- MacBook Pro
- seminary meeting 1 mile away



McKenna's FIRST -
- weekly equestrian lessons
- church class of 18
- EFY and church dance
- friends across the street
- sole person responsible for bathing our dirty dog.  Jetta typically runs laps around the yard when the ducks are nearby and today, when she made her laps, she "purposefully" found every mud puddle and standing water area.  Poor McKenna just bathed her yesterday - a typical Saturday chore - and here she's doing it again 24 hours later!

Logan's FIRST -
- 11-year old scout camp out
- scooter and that he hasn't broken any bones while using it!
- friends next door
- lake in the back yard
- pet turtle - found a small hatchling at a creek in a park.  Emory the turtle is now living in our laundry room until her outdoor accommodations are complete.  Look for a pic next post.




Sariah's FIRST -
- weekly playdates with a the most amazing girls I've ever met - shout out to Mallory, Samantha, Rachel, Sophia, Shelly and Catherine
- dog - Jetta is officially her dog since Sariah will be living in our house the longest (another benefit of being the youngest)
- friends across the street



The Maloney's Family FIRST -

 Trampoline!!!!

 
Poor Ken has seen way, way too many trampoline injuries during his medical training that I thought our family would NEVER have one.  However, a person is the neighborhood posted a used trampoline for sale advertising it as the world's safest trampoline.  I looked into it and was impressed.  I showed Ken the website and he was impressed!  Finally, an opportunity to have an extremely safe trampoline and for a fraction of the cost!  They love it! 

The FIRST huge rainbow over the lake behind our house!  COOL!!!

Shout Out - TEXAS!

Things we LOVE about Texas:

• the produce!  Cantaloupe, strawberry, mango, celery....everything is always in season and it tastes sooo good!  
• the people!  So many super nice people - neighbors, waitresses, friends at church...genuinely nice folks.  
• the women!  I'm so inspired by all the ladies I meet.  Several women participate in triathlons, 10k, half marathon or marathons!   There's a running club that meets at 5:15am every Tuesday and Thursday, and they run 5 miles.  I want to be with them one day, but for now I'm only running 3 miles/day/4x/week. So 5 miles is my next goal.  These and other women all have goals and work towards them.  It's refreshing and invigorating to be around so many like-minded ladies!
• the food!  This is BBQ heaven!  I'm not talking about "BBQ" where people cook hamburgers and hot dogs on a grill (that's for you my Western US friends :o).  I'm talking about the real deal.  Slow cooked ribs, brisket, roasts slathered in amazing sweet tangy barbeque sauce.  If you think you have good BBQ, I promise you Spring Creek BBQ or Carl's or Goode's will put it all to shame.
• the neighborhoods!  Our neighborhood, Northlake Forest, is great!  Only 400+ homes, but 4 large lakes to enjoy as we jog/bike around the trails; one of which is in our back yard!  The neighborhood across the street, Coles Crossing, is huge and offers all kinds of entertainment and support.  The best fun we've had is joining their Garage Sale yahoo group and finding so many inexpensive treasures for our home.  Check out the photos of the girls rooms - we got bargains for McKenna - nightstands ($40), bedding ($40) and lamps ($10), and for Sariah - bed and dresser ($200)!  WooHoo!!
• the shopping!  Outlet malls on nearly every quadrant of Houston, high end retail shops and (my favorite) THE CONTAINER STORE!  I managed to live seven dreary years in Alabama without a Container Store - the love story can now continue!  We've met for a few closet and pantry rendezvous and most recently for an elfa encounter.  See photos below.
• the Church!  The Church we attend is fabulous.  I mentioned last time just over 400 members and 179 are under the age of 18.  Plus all those 400 members live within 5-7 miles of each other - the ward boundaries are that compact!  What a network of support and friends!  It is so easy to give/get rides, arrange playdates, meet for callings and visits.  There are a few families that have several generations in the area, but most of us are transplants and quickly feel a bond of Church family since our extended families are so far away. 
• the Temple!  The Houston Texas Temple is 10.3 miles from our home (23 minute drive)  It's a huge gorgeous structure similar to Atlanta Georgia Temple.  We've found several ways to drive there and it's all about 20 minutes.  Our teens' homeschool groups both plan temple trips - one group goes monthly and the other quarterly.  Ken and I love going as a couple and are working to arrange a group trip for the Bishopric members and their spouses.
• the convenience!  Even when McKenna was invited to a birthday party at Cosmic Jump at 5pm on Friday, we made it there without any traffic delays or problems.  I remember in Atlanta that nothing was scheduled before 7pm because of evening 5pm traffic.  The traffic is bad here, too, but there seems to be enough side roads that we can go wherever we want on the northwest side of Houston within reason.  I wouldn't go to the airport at 5pm, but everything else has been really good.  Movie theaters, grocery, shopping, restaurants are all 5 minutes away.
• the parks!  There are several parks (think "everything is bigger in Texas" park :o), and we are just beginning to explore them.  We tried one last week and will pick another one for this week.  One of the homeschool groups has a park day each Friday, too.
• the homeschooling!  It is so easy to homeschool in Texas.  No government hoops to jump through!  We love it.  So many museums and fun places have homeschool classes or homeschool days.  There are too many homeschooling groups to choose from, and we are happy with the few LDS ones we joined.  They offer Shakespeare play in May, Modest Prom, Lego club, Book clubs, Temple trips, Teen Quests, Teen Games nights, art classes, clogging group, Super Singers choir, Mom's nights and so much more.
• the opportunities!  College classes available for 14-year olds, national team gymnastics training, Church leaders and speakers visit or broadcast to us every other month, General Relief Society President's sister, Marsha Decker, lives in our stake as does Daniel Stephens, son of Carole Stephens, First Counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency, a member of the First Presidency of our Church will broadcast during our Stake Conference next month, Elder M. Russell Ballard was in our Stake last month and held a fireside for the Youth and Young Adults, Brad Wilcox was here in November of 2012.  Certainly Ken's new career is the best thing about Texas.  He is doing so many different things with the students and truly creating an environment where they want to be the best of the best! 

McKenna's room!

Notice the elfa shelves and desk system.  We'll get a chair soon!

Sariah's room

elfa Shelves and Desk for her too (yep, still waiting for a chair)

Pantry door organizer ($90 what a deal)

Jetta!!  Love this pooch!  She's amazing! 

Pantry Baskets $9/each!