Putting on a Happy Face

Getting Ready to Get Our Kicks

There has been a flurry of activity around here this week, as we prepare for our 3-week-long Route 66 trip. We have been packing, paying bills, doing laundry, cleaning out the van, getting the van washed and vacuumed, getting haircuts, picking up supplies, checking maps, plotting stops, getting the newly repaired DVD player reinstalled in the van, tying up loose ends, trying to eat up all the food in the fridge, passing the torch for the overseeing of our little building project, picking out light fixtures for the new house, finding fun car activities, and so much more. On Saturday afternoon we will load luggage, a bag of bed linens, some pillows, a bag of towels, a small baby bed, a stroller, two coolers, multiple computer bags, two life jackets and car entertainment into and onto our van. Then, very early on Sunday morning, we will add 4 adults, a nine-year-old, a five-year-old, a three-year-old and a 7-week-old, and we will hit the road. This trip has been in the makings for a year-and-a-half and is sure to be an adventure of epic proportions. I will try to update the blog regularly so you may follow along at home. Let's get our kicks on Route 66!

More Cabinet Members

window seat doors

long bar

window bed in Ruth's room

Ruth's desk and bookcase

double vanity in boys' bathroom

kitchen with doors 

Wedding Weekend

My cousin got married this weekend, and all the big kids played a role. They all did a great job, and we all had a good time! Congrats, Cody and Cassie! Thanks for including us.

Getting pretty

Beautiful flower girls

Pretty girls

Ring bearer

The groom

The bride

Chief candle snuffer

The entire wedding party

Members of the Cabinet

Utility Room

Master Bath

Kid Bath

Linen closet (back) and "Library"

Storage closet

Kitchen

Window seat

Front view of kitchen

To the contractors in the home building business:

I wish I could start this letter off by telling you what a pleasure it has been to work with you, but, with the exception of a small handful of you, that would certainly not be the case. I am really not sure how you all have managed to stay in business, with all your not showing up and not doing what you say you're going to do, when you say you're going to do it. Or, at least calling to offer some explanation. I realize that it makes no difference to you whatsoever when my house is finished or when I get to move into it, and that's fine. But at least try to take some pride in your own work and in your own reputation. And, take some time to thank your lucky stars that you are all dealing with my infinitely patient and wonderfully rational husband. I would doubtlessly be much less kind. By all means, enjoy your weekend, but please SHOW UP TO WORK ON MONDAY AND DON'T LEAVE UNTIL YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SHOW FOR YOURSELVES.

With much frustration,

Mandi Watts

The Party

Last night, we finally brought some closure to Ruth's birthday celebrating with her friend party. We reserved the pool in Marble Falls and had a luau party. It was great fun! We had the whole pool and two lifeguards to ourselves, and the weather was perfect for swimming and for hanging out poolside.

a-DOOR-able

Front Door

Closet door and trim in Ruth's room

Closet doors in Jeff's office

Powder bath door

Linen closet (closed) and bathroom (open)

Hefty metal pantry door and stone bar front

One Month

Birthday/Holiday Weekend

What a fun weekend we had! On Friday afternoon, Jeff and Weston worked on building a bird house together--from a kit that Weston got for his half-birthday. On Saturday morning, they worked on another building project: little vehicles. Later in the day on Saturday some of our favorite people showed up for a visit--my parents and grandparents. After cuddling with Clay for a while, we took everyone out to see the progress on our house. Then, we came back here for a little birthday party for our favorite nine-year-old. On Sunday, we went to church, out to lunch at the place of Ruth's choice (the Thai place), and on a major shopping trip to pick up ingredients for playing Chopped, which is what Ruth wanted to do for her family birthday party. We watched "The Three Stooges" in the afternoon, before donning the chef's coat and getting down to some culinary business. Ruth's Chopped competitor was Jeff, and they both turned out some fantastic food, which we all enjoyed immensely. We ended the meal with the rather untraditional, but-oh-so yummy birthday fondue. Today, we slept in, had more visitors and enjoyed  wonderful, homemade ribs for lunch. We then took our visitors out to the house. When they left, we went out to the Family Fun Day at Camp Peniel, where we zoomed across a little lake on the zip line, rode some horses, tried our hand at archery and sling shots, and ate snow cones--all for free! And from there, we went over to a nearby ranch to see the new little foals. Obviously, the kids are pooped (as are the parents), but we all had such a wonderful weekend!

Nine

Hey there, Cheek. You are nine today. Nine. Wow! I have to admit that this one is a little hard for me (and for Dad, too). I just keep thinking, "I just have this much more time with you before you leave home." In fact, Dad and I were talking about that very thing in a private conversation the other day, and we both got all teary and blubbery and had to change the subject. (I'll admit that the greater part of the tears and blubbering were mine). It's not that we're sad that you are growing up. It's just that it's happening so fast, and this birthday, in particular, has made us realize just how fast.

Additionally, I recently had a conversation with you about how your body and mind are changing now and how they will be changing over the next few years. You are definitely growing up and turning into a lady! It is a blessing to watch and a joy to be a part of. 

You have been unwavering in your love of animals, especially horses. You are still planning to be a veterinarian when you grow up. You also enjoy arts and crafts, sewing, cooking, music, playing with your brothers and, more than anything, reading. Dad and I got you a Kindle for your birthday because we couldn't think of anything you liked more than reading, and we thought that would be a good way to carry lots of books around with you, without having to carry lots of books around with you. 

You are smart, talented, funny, loving, giving, thoughtful, creative, and beautiful. Your brothers adore you, and Daddy and I couldn't be prouder of you! It is such a pleasure just to know you! 

I love you so much, Sweet Girl, and I am praying that the Lord would bless you on your birthday and throughout the upcoming year. I'm so glad He picked me to be your mom! I hope you have a very happy birthday!

Lots of love,

Mom

5.5

Weston had his half-birthday yesterday, and in keeping with our family tradition, he got to make the dinner plan and then open a few small gifts. Weston chose Cooper's BBQ for dinner, a meat-lover's paradise, where you can chose your meat right off the pit. A real man's place! We had such a good time celebrating with our big guy and can't believe he is well on his way to six.

checking out the pit

Happy Half-Birthday

CC Lake Day

Today, we got together at the lake to play with our beloved CC group, which we have been missing terribly. The kids had a blast playing in the water, and the moms enjoyed our "Mom Time" immensely. We are hoping for another opportunity to get together with our friends soon.

The Amazing Ruth

Flying Weston

Splish-Splash

"This is the life!"

Home Improvement List

• Roof. Finished.
• Stone. Finished.
• Drywall. Finished.
• Texturing. Finished.

Coming next week:

• Cabinets
• Trim
• Paint
• Interior doors

It's really starting to look and smell and feel like a real house!

Two Weeks Old

Mother of four

You may think that I became a mother of four two weeks ago when I gave birth to Clay. That is not true. Today was the day that actually happened, because today was the first time in the last two weeks that I had all four kids--five, if you count the twins, Max, which I think we should because he was ALL there today--completely to myself. And I didn't just ease into it, either. I earned my mother-of-four (five!) stripes the hard way. It went something like this:

2:45 am--feed Clay
5:45 am--alarm goes off and I stumble to the shower to start my day
6:30 am--get Ruth up for breakfast and make sure she has everything she needs for her SAT test
7:00 am--wake Clay up to feed him before we hit the road
7:30 am--Ruth and Clay and I hop in the van and head to Round Rock
8:00 am--turn the van upside-down, looking for No. 2 pencils to take to the test
8:45 am--drop Ruth off at testing site and head over to ENT's office for Clay's newborn hearing screen
9:15 am--quick stop at Walgreens for some beauty necessities
9:45 am--feed Clay in the van, in the parking lot of the clinic
10:15 am--put Clay, kicking and screaming (literally), in his carrier and go into clinic
11:30 am--leave ENT's office and head into north Austin to collect the other two boys from Jeff
12:10 pm--drive-thru at Chik--Fil-A
12:30 pm--arrive at testing site, with boys covered in crumbs and desperate to go to the bathroom
1:05 pm--leave testing site and head to Academy, looking for black boots for Weston
1:15 pm--leave Academy, sans boots
1:25 pm--unload everyone at fancy-shmancy (expensive) boot store across the street
1:40 pm--leave boot store, sans boots (Weston's feet are cubes, and shoes don't fit him well)
1:45 pm--drive to neighboring Big Lots!
1:50 pm--enter Big Lots! with the whole crew, looking for a birthday gift for Ruth's friend
2:00 pm--lose Max for a moment and find him testing out the rocking motion of some of the recliners in the furniture section
2:02 pm--give stern lecture to Max and confine him (whiningly) to the basket
2:02 pm-2:25 pm--tell Max multiple times to sit down and stop touching things
2:25 pm--perfect birthday gift found and bought
2:30 pm--feed Clay in the van, in the parking lot of Big Lots
2:55 pm--head to Marble Falls
3:15 pm--potty stop
4:00 pm--arrive at Payless
4:10 pm--purchase "wedding" shoes for the three big kids
4:15 pm--pick up "take-n-bake" pizzas for dinner
4:25 pm--drop Ruth off at piano lesson and send desperate boys to the bathroom
4:30 pm-4:45 pm--try to make the DVD player in the van work, finally giving up and settling for music
4:45 pm--feed Clay in the van, in the parking lot of the music school
4:45 pm-5:05 pm--tell Max multiple times to sit down and stop touching things
5:00 pm--send Weston back into music school to go to the bathroom
5:00 pm-5:05 pm--listen to Max whine about also needing to go to the bathroom
5:05 pm--send Max in with Ruth to go to the bathroom
5:10 pm--finish feeding Clay just in time to step out of the van and stop Max from running out into the parking lot
5:15 pm--head for home
5:50 pm--arrive home and unload van
6:00 pm--put pizzas in oven
6:10 pm-6:25 pm--sit on the deck, engaged in largely interrupted conversation with my in-laws
6:30 pm--take pizzas out of oven and start serving everyone
7:00 pm--send whiny three-year-old to bed
7:10 pm--feed Clay
7:30 pm--talk to Jeff (who stayed in Austin for several meetings) on the phone
7:45 pm--comfort crying baby, while trying to eat the rest of my now-cold dinner
7:50 pm--get puked on
7:55 pm--authorize Ruth and Weston to watch a John Wayne movie with their Grandpa
8:00 pm--feed now-hungry baby (again!)
8:30 pm--sit down at computer and commence eating chocolate chip cookie dough
9:00 pm--send oldest kids to bed

I am officially a mother of four!

After the rain

Some of you may be curious to know what became of our drywall after the storms. (Some of you may not care at all, and that's fine. Though if that's the case, you might want to just skip this post). The good news is there really wasn't too much damage. We had an inspector out there today with a fancy-schmancy, infrared gun he could shoot at the walls and ceiling to see what kind of moisture was lurking back behind the drywall, and we basically only found four relatively small areas that will need to be replaced. Additionally, most of the drywall is up now, and the house is starting to take on the very beginnings of a finished look. Also, much more of the roof is up now and should be completed by Wednesday, which should save us from further rain scares.

looking at kitchen from front door

looking at loft, above kitchen

one side of roof, finished

All About Ruth

This weekend was all about Ruth. Jeff and Clay and I took her to Ft. Worth on Friday, where we had a fancy dinner at The Melting Pot to celebrate her advancement to the PSIA state Spelling competition. The contest was on Saturday, so we spent the day at TCU. Ruth didn't place, but she was proud of her performance, and she had a good time. The scores were very close, and we are very proud of Ruth for all her hard work and just for getting to be there.

Yesterday afternoon, all grandparents and a great-aunt and uncle joined us for Ruth's piano recital. This was her first time to play in front of a real audience. She played three songs, and she did great. And, besides that, she looked beautiful! We are just so very proud of her and all her many accomplishments, and we had such a great time celebrating and supporting her this weekend!

Into every life a little rain must fall

Let me start by saying that I am so very thankful for the rain. This parched land needs the rain so much, and it is truly a blessing. But, selfishly speaking, I wish it wouldn't have showed up three days BEFORE our roof was finished on our new house, with most of the drywall already in place on the first floor. I mean, it hasn't rained for MONTHS; what's three more days?! So far, the damage has been minimal, and the roofers were out there this morning taking care of some obvious problem areas to prepare for the next wave of storms. We are hoping for the best. I did take some pictures of the drywall, insulation and partial roof when we were out there yesterday before the rain hit. I'm going to count it as progress until it proves to be otherwise.