Maddison Shea Turns 13!!!

Soooo, I am waaaaay behind on the blog again. I am trying to catch up on the end of 2013 so I can print out the book and maybe, just maybe catch up and stay caught up. The problem is most of my pictures are on my phone and it's a pain to email them to myself and then figure out where they were saved on the computer. I think Brett just figured out how to show me. I really, really want to get caught up. We will see...life is super busy but hopefully I will make the time to keep the blog caught up.

Miss Maddison Shea McDonald turned 13 on October 30, 2013! Brett and I officially have a teenager. It makes me feel old, really old. This pretty little one year old is all grown up and still beautiful on the inside and outside. Maddi is such an amazing person and Brett and I are so proud to call her our daughter. This girl has a heart of gold and is super sweet. Sure, we are seeing glimpses of her acting like a teenager at times, but that's ok, she is still sweet Maddi girl.

Maddi had 6 of her friends over for a sleep over. They made cakes, ate pizza and cookie cake, then decorated the cakes they made. Then they watched a movie and Brett and I thought they might tire our during the movie and fall asleep. Oh no, they caught a second wind after the movie and were playing a capture the flag type game with mini pumpkins. They were actually very quiet while playing but eventually Brett and I had to go to sleep, so we sent them up to the media room after midnight. At some point the eventually all fell asleep.

Brett has more pictures I need to find and add one day, but this will do for now. I am so thankful for Maddi and every way she has blessed our life. Maddi has great friends and it was fun to watch them all interact. Happy 13th Birthday Baby girl!

State Fair Fun

One of the things I've missed over the years living in Chicago was the State Fair of Texas. We finally had time to go on the last day of the fair this year. It was a gorgeous day and we had a great time as a family. Emma started out quite grumpy and didn't want to smile for a picture with Big Tex. I told her I'd have this picture forever because it was her first picture with Big Tex. She didn't care. This year there is a new Big Tex since it burned down last year.

Cade has become obsessed with cars lately. I'm going to blame it on my nephew Paul. When they spent time together this summer, they started "calling" cars while driving. This has led Cade to researching cars and learning more facts than I could ever imagine knowing about cars. He rattles off information to me non stop while we are driving. Needless to say, he was quite excited to test drive a Camaro with Brett and go to the car show at the fair.

Cade is trying to figure out the best career so he can earn enough money to buy all the cars he wants. He was saddened to learn a bull rider doesn't make the kind of money he wants to make. I guess he has thought being a bull rider would be a great career since we went to the Mesquite Rodeo a few months ago. lol

We all enjoyed the dog show at the fair. This dog Maddi is with was missing a leg but it was amazing how far he could jump into the water to catch the Frisbee.

Cade's favorite food at the fair was fried gator.

Maddi's favorite food was her caramel apple.

Maddi and Cade only went on one ride. It was the one that spins around and the floor drops. They loved it! Here they are getting on the ride.

Emma had a very hard time choosing and decided to ride the mermaid ride because it had bubbles.

She also went on the baby swing.

Maddi was excited to help Emma do the "little hands on the farm". Maddi remembers doing this as a child and loved it.

Emma really enjoyed it too! It's crazy to think the last time we were at the fair, Cade was Emma's age.

These two sweet girls enjoyed looking at the animals outside the petting zoo. We didn't go in the petting zoo because the line was so long. It was insanely crowded the day we went. I heard they even cancelled the parade that night because there were so many people, the floats wouldn't be able to get through.

I'm so thankful to be back in the great state of Texas and I'm thankful for spending family time with the four most special people in my life.

October=Birthdays

October is the busiest month with birthdays. We have a ton of family and friends with October birthdays and this year almost everyone in Emma's class has an October birthday. She's actually the youngest in her class with a November birthday. Last Saturday two girls in her class had parties at the same time. She had a very hard time choosing if she should go to the princess party or the party at McDonald's. I think she made the right choice with princess and had a great time. All the girls got an awesome loot bag that even had matching pjs for them.

The beautiful princess with her makeup on.

Looking at the cake. It was such a cute cake and Emma was asking all night when they could eat the cake. She never even took a bite of the cake. I think she just liked that it had edible glitter on it and thought it was pretty.

That same night, Maddi was at a party. This weekend is Maddi's party and Emma has two other parties to go to. All these birthdays are making Emma exhausted apparently. Look how she was sleeping on the couch! Doesn't look very comfortable to me.

Jinxed

In my last post, I wrote about Cade's friend with broken bones and playing football. As I was finishing the post, Cade and Brett were leaving for Cade's football game. At that game, Cade broke his arm. I jinxed him, I am afraid :( I had left the game because it was delayed 45 minutes for lightning so I took Maddi and Emma to the fall festival in our neighborhood for a bit before it started raining and then I took Maddi to her friends to sleepover. Well, during the time I was gone, Cade fell and caused another player to fall on him and he broke his arm. I think it broke because of the way he fell, not because someone fell on him. Not sure. Cade ran off the field after the play and then the trainer called Brett down and said he needed to take Cade for xrays. Sure enough it was buckle fracture of the radius. Here is the big man after his visit to Acute Kids in his splint.

Luckily the kids were out of school Monday for Columbus day so I got Cade in to the orthopedic doctor. Apparently a buckle fracture is a good kind of fracture to have. 3 weeks in a cast and the next Saturday he was able to go back to football. Cade got his cast and his friend Mitchell got his cast off the next day. Here they are in matching casts before Mitchell got his off.

Well, after about a week in his cast, Cade started saying it was getting loose around his hand. The next day it was cracked and the next day it was completely broke. Who breaks their cast? Cade does! Ugh! Here he is getting his old cast off.

1 1/2 weeks in one cast and 1 1/2 weeks to go in his new cast.

Let's hope this new cast lasts and let's hope this is our last broken bone for a while.

Life

Where does the time go? I've been meaning to catch up on the blog, but life keeps us quite busy and I never find the time. A few pictures from life lately: Emma, Sara, Mathew, Janet and I went shopping one day to find outfits for the kids to have pictures taken with Grammy. We enjoyed lunch at Cheesecake Factory after shopping. Yummo! Emma loved her time with Matthew. She was obsessed with Matthew at first but lately has ignored him to spend her time with Grace. Since it was just the youngest cousins this day, Emma was all over him. He's such a sweet and happy baby. The kids were all great for pictures with Janet, I'll have to a add a picture on here one day.

I got tickets from work for a Rangers game one Sunday afternoon. It was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed some family time together. I took Emma in the kids fun zone for a while where she got a tattoo.

I think it might have been her first tattoo?

We've enjoyed watching Cade play football this fall. He has enjoyed playing it too and he's doing a great job. His friend broke his thumb after the first scrimmage. He played with his cast the next week and broke his wrist on the other hand. He's still played with both hands in casts/braces. Crazy. He's a little guy, makes me thankful Cade is a big kid. I know he can still get hurt but at least he's got size on his side.

Here is Miss Maddi as a flyer at the 7th grade football game. Our Monday nights are spent watching the B and A teams play football. Actually, I mostly watch the cheerleaders, not really the game.

Emma loves her big sister and thinks she is so big climbing on the fence watching the cheerleaders. I know it will be soon enough that this little stinker can be a cheerleader.

When Emma is not being drug around to her siblings events, she likes to ride her scooter...

...and have races. Here she is racing Aunt Rebecca. She does skipping races, gallop races, jumping races, running races, she just loves to race.

More pictures from football. Cade is #45 blocking in this picture. I find I either have to just watch Cade or I can watch where the ball is, but I can't do both. Darn ADD. I wish he would run with the ball so I could just watch him and the ball at the same time. lol

National Anthem. A parent from the team takes pictures at each game. It's so nice because he puts them online and we can download them.

Emma and I joined Cade for lunch one day this week. Emma was not cooperating for the pictures but in the one she actually smiled in, Cade looks goofy. Sorry Cade, I chose the sweet one of Emma. I ate lunch with Maddi last week, but didn't get a picture. I love that the schools are so inviting here and welcome parents and siblings. Not so much in Illinois.

Last Sunday, Maddi and I went with several of her friends and their moms to watch the movie Grace Unplugged and then for dinner at Cheesecake Factory. It was a great movie with a good message for the girls. I am so thankful for the girls she has met and the moms are just as sweet.

That's all for now, gotta get ready for Cade's football game!

41=Aggie Weekend

Wow, I sure married an old man. Not really, but it makes me feel better about getting closer to 40 myself. Saturday Brett turned the big 4-1, so we celebrated Aggie style! We started the day at a scrimmage for Cade's football team, which happens to be the Aggies. It was random that Cade was drafted to the Aggies, don't know what he would have done if he was drafted by the Longhorns!

My two favorite boys in the world! Looking good there Aggies :)

Miss Emalyn was ready to cheer on Cade's team and even had some lovin for her daddy on his birthday.

This would have been a great picture if the 3 year old was cooperating and would have opened her eyes. I love how Cade is in the background.

Cade had a great scrimmage with some great blocks and even recovered a fumble. He plays the line on both offense and defense so he never gets a break. It's been very hot lately. I feel sorry for those boys in all that gear. It was so much fun watching Cade play football again. He played in first grade and hasn't played since then. He's doing a great job. Proud of you Cade man!

Cade actually had two scrimmages but we left after the first one so we could get on the road to College Station. Omie was nice enough to meet us in Waco so she could get Emalyn for the day/night. We met at McDonald's for the switch off. Apparently it was very bright and everyone's eyes are closed (Emma wouldn't even look at the camera)but it's an attempt at a family picture in Aggie wear.

Emma was very happy to be spending time with Omie all by herself. The rest of us were happy to have some time without the little "big sister". Emma calls herself a big sister because she is trying to be "big" like Maddi. We remind her all the time how "big sisters" act and it encourages her to be "big" like Maddi. I am so thankful that Emma has such a great big sister to look up to.

After stopping in Waco, we made our way to our hotel in Hearne and then onto Aggieland. It was so great to see a Tracy and Courtney and tail gate with them before the game.

Here we are looking like wet rats at the game. It was raining, not pouring down rain, but more than a sprinkle. I HATE getting wet in the rain. I have always said princesses melt in the rain and avoid getting wet at all costs. It drives Cade nuts. He was quite proud of me that I didn't run for cover but actually endured the rain to watch the game. Thankfully the rain stopped by half time. The girl in front of us said she was more wet from sweat the week before so I guess it was nice to have rain and cooler temps. Perspective, right?

Aggies played a great game and beat Sam Houston 68-21, I think. We had a great time as a family at the game. Maddi had 1,0000,000 questions (as usual) and really got into the game. After the game we went down a street we weren't supposed to be down and were stopped by police and they asked Brett "who are you?" "unless you are the Chancelor, you can't drive down this road". We got a good laugh. When driving by Olsen Field, the baseball stadium, Maddi asked what the name of the team is that plays there. Ummmm...she might make a great Aggie!

Sunday morning we drove back to College Station to show the kids campus, the Tap and eat lunch at Wings N More. Here we are under the Century Tree. The kids were a little overwhelmed on campus with the size and said they aren't ready for college. We said that's fine, they aren't supposed to be ready yet, they're only in 6th and 7th grade. Maddi said when she's in college, she signing up for afternoon classes so she can party all night and sleep in. Cade said he's getting morning classes so he can study all afternoon. Yep, that's Maddi and Cade's personalities shining right through.

Meanwhile, Omie and Emma were having fun at Omie's house! Omie got a craft for Emma. She looks very happy!

Emalyn is very artistic, much like her sister, Omie and Aunt Shirley. Actually Brett's a good artist too.

Ta da! What a cutie pie!

Emma got it in her head that she was going to make a carrot cake for Brett's birthday with Omie. I think Saturday morning when Em said Happy Bday to Brett, he asked her where his carrot cake was. Then she said she was making him one with Omie and kept talking about it. Well, I warned Omie that Emma was expecting them to make a carrot cake with her so good ol' Omie and Emma made Brett a carrot cake!

Emma loves to bake!

Great job Omie and Emma! Notice Emma has food with her in most pictures. Omie said she ate a ton while there. Everything must taste a little better at Omie's house!

After finishing the cake Sunday morning, Omie and Emma played babies with the Little Leap frogs, school and who knows what else. I know Emma was thrilled to have all of Omie's attention. We met Omie and Emma in Temple at Dairy Queen and after having a blizzard snack, we were on our way back to McKinney and Omie to Seguin. That was sooo nice of Omie to do all that driving to get Emma and bring her back to us. It was great weekend for all of us. These are the things that we didn't get to do for all these years living in Chicago. I am still sooooo thankful to be back in the great state of Texas with all of our friends and family!

Happy Birthday Brettley! We love you!!!!