We're Baaack!

Wow!  Is it really May already???  You are probably wondering why I haven't been blogging lately.  Did she get lost searching blogs and websites again?  Did she finally see a doctor about her weird sleeping habits?  

Let me just fill you in on our busy month + schedule.  My husband took the Captain's test for the SAFD and he passed with flying colors (96).  Great job sweetie!  We are all so proud of you.  We knew you could do it!  We are hoping he'll get promoted this year so if it is meant to be then God will answer our prayers and make it happen. If not, His plans will be revealed.  Shortly after that, my husband had surgery and an oversized vein was removed.  It is currently sitting on our bar counter like a centerpiece.  For real!    

We started off traveling to Houston mid-March to visit relatives and to take a field trip in order to view the King Tut exhibit at the museum before it was sent back.  Alyssa had just finished studying Ancient Egypt so it was perfect timing for us.  My brother and sister-in-law announced that they were six months pregnant during that visit.  Let the celebrations begin!

Then, we began spring cleaning and organizing ... this really just makes our house messier due to unfinished projects.  LOL!  Our plan was to put the house back on the market possibly in June but we'll see what happens.  We still have a few projects that we want to complete.

We attended our friend's wedding and enjoyed spending a few days celebrating their union.  They had a neat after party the next day with delicious food and refreshments.  The brisket and to die for and i can't tell you how many stuffed jalapenos I ate that day.  It's confidential information.

Then, we went on a weeklong camping trip to Inks Lake State Park and we detoured to the Long Horn Cavern State Park for yet another wonderful field trip.  Let me just say it was AMAZING!  Upon our arrival home, my friend's beautiful baby shower awaited our attendance.  We started making up Alyssa's extracurricular classes that were missed due to travels and tried to fit in as much school as we could.  We just finished up the last make-up extracurricular class today!  Yah!!!

After celebrating Easter with family and going on several egg hunts in the community we quickly found ourselves traveling yet again on the wide open road.  I recently won a family registration to one of the Great Homeschool Conferences from the Homeschool Giveaways and Freebies blog. We decided to take a road trip to Memphis, TN to attend the Mid-South Homeschool Conference. Thank you sooooo much Homeschool Giveaways and Freebies!!! This trip was definitely a HUGE blessing for our family in MANY ways!  More on that hopefully later.

We finally arrived home only to have three days to unpack and clean house before my sister's arrival ... or shall I say de-clutter ... the house was NOT ready in time.  My older sister and her hubby traveled from New York to Texas to spend a week with us.  I don't think they were bothered by my mess.  During their visit we went on several field trips and celebrated my husband's and sister's birthday at the same time.  We went to the San Antonio Zoo to see the butterfly exhibit, played in the water at the Guadalupe River State Park, and we shopped and picnicked in Wimberley.  Lastly, we visited the Alamo in San Antonio and learned about our family history.  We also squeezed in a visit to a nearby neighbor's house ... mainly to take photos of his back yard.  I am not sure how to explain what it is ... I guess it is a miniature western town.  It was an out of this world experience for my sister's husband ... a fellow photography junkie. He is a great photographer so I relied on his photos during their visit.
  
My family left Saturday morning and we hopped back in the car and traveled to Kerrville on Sunday for a much needed visit to see Great Grandma Mae and Great Aunt Jeanette.  We also had a lovely visit with Jeff's cousin Anna!  The last time we saw them was around Christmas so we wanted to touch base with them before anything else happened.

Well, I think that's about it ... I am sure I missed something.  But, at least now you know why I neglected my blog for so long.  I almost forgot somewhere in that time we realized that our daughter outgrew everything and we were in dire need of new clothes so we spent a day at the outlet mall shopping trying NOT to spend money.  My daughter is a shopping DIVA ... not sure where she gets it from.  No, seriously?  I am not a shopper.    

God blessed our lives with the opportunity to do so much in such a short amount of time!  We took more field trips this month than most schools offer in a year.  Blogging was obviously set aside until we were at a stopping point especially since I don't have a laptop or way to blog while gone.  I hope to blog about several of the field trips as soon as I download, organize, and borrow family photos.  Although, I don't remember taking too many photos.  My daughter was such a ham posing for Uncle Hans during the visit so I know he has some shots.  

Today was a great day!  I had the opportunity to start up my workout routine, do chores, blog, e-mail, network, and eat well.  It has been way too long and my healthy eating habits have been lost for quite some time now.  I hope I can get back on track soon.  Alyssa was well behaved and very helpful with chores.  She begged for school this morning and we had a very successful school day. She went to a make-up dance class and saw one of her favorite peeps (Ms. Jenny). We are trying to catch up on lost sleep and get back on track!!!!  I am ready to take on new projects and to start the summer off with new adventures.

I also realized that while I was busy and not blogging, Blogger had changed formats.  So, I just wasted time trying to figure out how to update my blog.  Does anyone know what happened?  Am I the only one that experienced this problem or issue?
 
Tell me ... What has your month been like?  Any new projects? Good news? Relatives in town?  Interesting field trips?  I love reading comments and networking with bloggers so please comment or just say hello. Be sure to leave your blog address so I can visit you.    

Thank you,
Tracey