Palm Sunday - Easter Egg Hunt - Take Two!!!

After Palm Sunday Services, our church always has a wonderful family lunch and Easter Egg Hunt for all the children. This year, we were lucky to have Steve's parents still visiting with us from Tennessee, so they got to see yet another Egg Hunt! The kiddos had a great time!

This is the picture I put on my Easter card - they are so sweet!

Jack was having a great time watching Ryan do the little kids hunt!




Daddy and Ryan looking at all the "loot"!

Mommy and Jack enjoying the day together!

Ryan got a real kick out of seeing the "Easter Bunny"

Jack and Nick (one of his friends from Preschool). It was really sweet . . . Nick missed the Egg Hunt for his age group and was really sad . . . so my sweet Jack shared all of his candy with his friend. Nick was so happy!!!! (The next week, Nick brought Jack a little bag of candy from his Easter Basket to "pay him back" for being such a good friend). They are too precious!

. . . just another day in the life . . .

Palm Sunday Etiquette!

Our church - like so many others - has a Palm Processional to celebrate Palm Sunday. It's especially fun for the children who get to participate in the worship service, and our children are no exception. I never really had any concerns when Ashley used to wave her palm branches shouting "Hosannah" - all those years ago! BUT . . . now that I have these two little BOYS - I have MUCH concern!

So . . . we embarked upon our family lesson in "Palm Sunday Etiquette" - - - and after many scenarios (such as "What do you do if another child hits you with his palm branch?" . . . "Do you EVER use a palm branch as a weapon?" . . . "If your brother says unkind words, can you use your palm branch to seek revenge?"), we sent our 2 and 5 year old sons to be a part of the processional!

Well . . . either our etiquette lesson payed off, or they really are little angels who wouldn't dream of such palm branch violence. The 2 year old was so intimidated that he never even waved his branch at all - he just marched down and up the aisles holding his single branch directly over his head - being VERY certain not to cause any fellow-"Hossanah-er" any harm! We were VERY proud!!!

. . . just another day in the life . . .

The Miracles of Spring and Little Children!

After church, our youngest little two year old boy was enamored with this beautiful little Lady Bug. He just couldn't get enough of it! And - with everything else going on in the background, all this little boy could see was this creation of God's! Our daughter, Ashley, took this picture and she captured perfectly the beauty of God's many miracles!!!

The Boys Dye Easter Eggs!

After we finished our first of many Easter Egg Hunts, Aunt Kristi and Daddy helped the boys dye Easter Eggs! It brought back memories of my childhood and how much fun such a simple thing can be for children! They loved the process and were just mezmerized by waiting to see how each egg would turn out! What a fun way to spend an afternoon with family. . .

Just look at Jack's face!

Granddad and Gramma with their kids and half of their grandkids!

Let The Easter Season Begin!!!!

Well - this year was a WONDERFUL Easter Season for our kids - especially since little Ryan is old enough to start "getting" the whole thing . . . from Jesus on the Cross to the Easter Bunny to Egg Hunts (and believe me . . . there were LOTS of those!)

Who could not just fall in love with these little boys?????

We kicked off the season at a neighborhood Egg Hunt at Aunt Kristi, Uncle Chris and Cousin William's house - with Granddad and Gramma Blankenship visiting from Tennessee! The kids (and the grownups ALL had a BLAST!)

Granddad and Gramma with all their Grandsons. (Ashley was working on a school project!)

Mommy really enjoyed the Egg Hunt with Baby Ryan this year!!!

Jack with Aunt Kristi and Cousin William (relaxing in his Easter Basket before the Hunt!)

Jack and Ryan ready to go and find some eggs!!!

. . . just another day in the life . . .

Piano Duet Recital . . . Now THAT was FUN!!!

My sweet 15 1/2 year old daughter is becoming a wonderful pianist, so in her musical journey, her piano instructor requested that she and I participate in a DUET RECITAL!!! Yes . . . you heard me correctly - a DUET - as in a mother and a teenage girl would have to practice together for MANY hours and work out musical issues TOGETHER.

Overall, the preparation wasn't THAT painful - - - the word "catfight" was only used a couple of times! BUT . . . surprise, surprise - it was a really great experience for both me and my daughter. I think it showed us both how our mutual love of music makes us that much more alike (which can be good or bad, depending on who you ask and what the mood of the day is! HA!)

It was a distinct privilege to perform with my daughter!!! Hopefully we will do again some day . . .

Performing "The Wind Beneath My Wings"

Ashley and Robin just after the performance.

I am so proud of this young lady! (And she's as tall as I am!!! Eeeek!)

Getting ready to take the stage for our performance!

. . . just another day in the life . . .

Who Wants To Go On A Pony Ride?

Every time there is a special event in downtown Grapevine, the local Feed Store provides Pony Rides for the children (for a small fee, of course! HA!) Since today was "A Day Out With Thomas" (see earlier post) at the Grapevine Vintage Railroad Station in downtown, the ponies were out - and Jack and Ryan just HAD to have a ride! (They had been planning it as part of their overall "Thomas" experience!) They had so much fun riding and we had so much fun watching them!

Brothers riding the ponies together!

Steve with Jack and "Blaze"

Ryan riding "Dakota" (poor little boy was SO sleepy)!

Jack enjoying his Pony time!

Robin enjoying watching the boys!

The Pony Ride was the perfect compliment to our fun time with Thomas! It was funny that we had worried at Christmas time whether little Ryan was big enough to ride by himself - - - now there was no question - he is a BIG BOY!!!

. . . just another day in the life . . .

A Day Out With Thomas! - Year Number 4!!!

Anyone who has little boys probably knows who Thomas The Tank Engine is! And if you are the parents of Jack and Ryan Blankenship, you know that "A Day Out With Thomas" is one of the most important events of the year - EVERY year since Jack had barely turned 1! They literally COUNT the months until he comes back to the Grapevine Vintage Railroad!

Well . . . TODAY was the first day he was back for 2009 - - - and WE HAD TICKETS!!!! For some reason, the crowds were lighter this afternoon (we rode at 2:50- before the elementary schools got out), and we got to ride in the first row of seats in the Passenger Coach directly behind Thomas! The boys had a BLAST, and so did Steve and I!

Thomas arriving back to the Station! (The boys squeeled with delight!)

On the Train with "Mr. Conductor" (who even danced to the Thomas music!)

Getting ready to pull out of the Station!

Mommy LOVING the time with her boys!

What a precious sight! We just LOVE these little guys!

Overall it was a wonderful time for Steve and I with our sons! You forget all the worries of the world when you see life through the eyes of a 2 year old and 5 year old!

. . . just another day in the life . . .

Community Helper Parade at Preschool!

One of the most fun events for Four-Year-Olds at the boys' Preschool is the annual "Community Helper Parade"! The kids have been studying helpers in the community - firemen, doctors, teachers, vets, engineers, nurses, pastors, etc. Well - our dear Jack was DETERMINED that he HAD to be a POLICEMAN!!!! So - I pulled out the blue GAP dress shirt and navy church pants, used the hat he had made in class earlier this week, went out and procured a BADGE, traffic WHISTLE (very popular!) and the proper firearm, and "Officer Jack" was born!!!

"Officer Jack" ready to leave for school!

I don't think I've ever seen a little boy so excited about a uniform in all his life! He waved at all the cars we drove by on the way to preschool! The only problem we had was that his teacher, Mrs. Ward, had to hold onto his "gun" during class - due to the school "NO FIREARM" policy! OOPS!!!!

"Officer Jack" in the car . . . "Barney Fife" lives!!!!

Jack and his friends and teachers in their Classroom

Once we were at school, the kids met in the classrooms and then went to "march" in the parade in the GYM - with tons of Moms and Dads looking on from above. They were SO excited! As Chairman of the Preschool Board (and because I was told I was "loud" HA!), our Director asked me to be the Parade Announcer! That was fun too! And even little brother, Ryan, was able to watch the parade - as the school brought in all the younger children today to enjoy the spectacle!

Marching with Mrs. Ward's Class in the Parade!

Mrs. Ward's and Mrs. Luther's Community Helpers!!!

Today was an unforgettable day for me, Ryan and especially "Officer Jack"! I'm SO glad that, once again, I got to be there for this time in my little boy's life!

. . . just another day in the life . . .

Spring Fun with our Newest Family Member!

It's been just about one month since we "adopted" our beloved Golden Retreiver, "Wall-E"! And - honestly - it feels like he's been in our livest forever! He is the most amazing dog, is calm and loving to both our kids and our cat (seriously!) He has just folded into our family like it was meant to be! Below are some pictures of Wall-E and the kids recently playing in the back yard!

Ashley LOVES her puppy! (He sleeps in her bed EVERY night!)

The boys got Tennessee Pom-Poms from Dad's trip to Tennessee!

These are three of the most precious children in the whole world!!

The "Four Muskateers" playing on the swingset! - Ash, Jack, Ryan & Wall-E

. . . Just another day in the life . . .

Special Time with Big Sister and Littlest Brother!

This past weekend, Baby Ryan (now almost 3!!!) got into SEVERAL of Ashley's (almost 16!!!)things (ie. a school art project, her room, her American Girl dolls and piano, etc.) and did a BIT of DAMAGE! Needless to say, Ash was frustrated and got very upset with Ryan - leading to him crying and saying that "Ash-wey is mad at me and does not love me!" AWWW! So - we dealt with "punishing" Ryan for getting into his big sister's stuff. Then to "punish" Ash for jumping all over her little brother, we told her she would need to spend 30 minutes each day this week exclusively one-on-one with Ryan doing something personal and interactive with him - "repairing" their relationship.

Well . . . you know what???? It worked! They had a wonderful week doing all kinds of things together - walking, playing in the yard, hanging out in the car, and then baking chocolate chip cookies together! We walked in on the scene below - with Ryan decked out in an apron and chef hat - nicely compimenting his "no pants" look!

So much of parenting is hit or miss and trial and error - - - so it's nice when one of your discipline techniques is actually effective! Ash and Ryan are as thick as thieves by the end of this week! (At least until our little tyrant attacks Ashley's precious items the next time! HA!)

How could anyone not LOVE these two little angels?!?!

. . . just another day in the life . . .

We WON!!!!!

I don't remember EVER having won anything in my entire life - that is until Sunday, March 1st! Our family was all gathered around watching "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" as we do every Sunday night. (Jack and Ryan call it the "Move that bus" show, and we all truly LOVE it!)

This week's episode was about a family in a community very close to us, with all the furniture being donated by a local furniture store (in Grapevine - where we had bought quite a bit of our furniture in the past). So - we were even more interested in watching than usual this week. We all laughed as the show started because I had stopped into Stacy's (that local furniture store) a couple of weeks ago just to see how much a larger kitchen table with 6 chairs would cost, so we could budget and save for it! (Baby Ryan has finally moved out of his highchair and we can't quite fit all 5 of us at our small kitchen table!) I had entered a drawing - along with hundreds and hundreds of other customers -for $2,500 of free furniture - laughing all the way, because what is the likelihood of winning? . . .

The Stacy's Furniture volunteers "unloading" at the family's new home on the show!

Well - you know what??? Towards the end of the show, there was "Robin Blankenship - Grapevine" on the TV with Rick Stacy himself congratulating me and actually saying my name! Needless to say, we lost it! I have never had such a surprise blessing in all my life! We actually WON!!! So today - before we had dinner, Steve, Ashley and I went to Stacy's to "claim our prize"! We were photographed, will be on Stacy's website and in the Ft. Worth Star Telegram! I have been treated like a mini-celebrity around here today - I just couldn't believe how many people saw it on TV!

This is the BEAUTIFUL Kitchen Table and 6 Chairs that Steve, Ashley and I picked out with our FREE Stacy's Furniture Gift Certificate! There is plenty of room for all 5 of us (plus a friend!) It even has these cool expandable ends that let it get up to 126" long if we ever want it to (parties, etc.) It really is WAY nicer than what we would have been able to purchase!!!! What a cool blessing - and TOTALLY unexpected!!!

. . . just another day in the life!

Introducing our New Golden Retriever-"Wall-E"

Here is the newest member of our family: Wall-E Blankenship! He is a two-year-old Golden Retriever that we adopted TODAY from the DFW Metro Golden Retriever Rescue. He came from a wonderful and loving home, but his previous owners were elderly and could no longer care for him. So - we have been amazingly blessed to have this sweet, calm (seriously), loving, and house trained doggie join our family! Our former dog, a Bassett Hound named Cleo died of old age on Christmas Day, 2007, and we have waited more than a year to get another dog. Our kids are ECSTATIC!!!!

Our official Family Photo on Adoption Day at the Golden Retriever Rescue!

Ashley giving some love to her new Dog!

Relaxing with Wall-E at our home!

Ryan had a BLAST chasing and running from Wall-E all around the house!

Jack and Wall-E hanging out by the front door!

We are so thrilled to finally have our Golden! We have been on the waiting list for almost two months, but know that God - once again - had perfect timing in finding just the right dog for our family - with everyone healthy to enjoy him!

. . . just another day in the life . . .