Category Archives: about Mandy

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My Cup Runneth Over

August 13, 2010 – 6:23 am

There isn’t anything better than being an aunt!  I absolutely adore my nephews.   Tucker is 6 and starting 1st grade…yes, you did just see a tear fall down my cheek.  Tanner is 4 and will start public school pre-K this school year. Keegan is 10 months old and is growing way too fast.  …

sorry, I had to take a minute….(don’t laugh at me, Sister)…yes, I am “bawlin”….I can not tell you how much these little guys mean to me.  I haven’t been able to have my own children and having them in my life is such an amazing blessing.

Every year, Sister leaves Tucker and Tanner to spend a week with me.  We play…we swim….we laugh….all in all we have always had a blast together.  Jason mentioned to me before they got here this year, that I need to be prepared because there will be a day when they don’t want to come hang out at our house.  As soon as I got Tucker all alone, I made him promise me that he would ALWAYS want to come spend a week with us.  He said he would, but I know Jason is right.  I know there will be day, but for today, they do want to come and we make the very most of every second they are here!

Over the next few days, I will be posting the pictures of their stay.  However, I want to show you what bliss looks like!

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Well, actually, this is the chaos that usually surrounds hanging out with three boys!  However, every once in a while, you will get this:

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 Yes, my cup runneth over!!!

 

enjoy!

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*Ten Things I love about Summer*

August 12, 2010 – 8:23 am

Top 10 reasons why I love summer:

1.) My week with the boys!  I am so blessed to be an aunt!

2.) Photography - I get to devote way more time to this precious passion!

3.) Fresh produce - I have spent the summer trying to find ways to make our menu full of health vegetables.  I feel like I have been somewhat successful.  It gives me great pride to hear Jason tell me how much he loves what I have made and how much better he feels when I cook something good for us!

4.) THE POOL! I have pool time just about every day from 10 to 12.  I love it!  I usually tread water and swim laps for an hour and then layout for the last hour.  I can’t tell you what a blessing it is to me to get this time during the summer!

5.) Family Time - I usually see my family way more in the summer time.  I adore hanging out with my brother and sister.  They delight my soul!

6.)  Tan Skin…I know, I know, I know…but I LOVE to be tan!  I feel prettier and feel like I am working on myself when my skin is several shades darker! 

7.) Smell of Suntan lotion - speaking of tanning, I love the coconut smell of lotions and oils.  We even have a Sentsy smell that is called beach for the summer time.

8.)  Friends - I get to hang out with people that I never get to see during the school year.  I have been blessed with an amazing collection of friends.  They are so creative and fun…I love getting to plan, hang out, swim, laugh, eat lunches and/or dinner, and enjoy them during the summer.

9.)  Spending Time in My house - I know this sounds weird, but I love the way the light changes throughout the day.  I love hanging out watching movies and catching up on my dvr.  I just love being in my house while it is quiet and still.  So refreshing!

10.) Freedom from an absolute schedule - I have put myself on some cleaning, working out, and playing schedules this summer, but for the most part, it has been a time of freedom from set rules.  I have gotten a chance to rejuvenate and get ready for a great school year!

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I Love You This Much!

April 9, 2010 – 3:44 pm

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I love you this much, too, buddy!

enjoy!

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My Aunts Rock!!!!

April 1, 2010 – 4:33 pm

292-copyI found the greatest onsie at Target.  It clearly states how I want all of my nephews to feel about their Aunt Mandy.  However, Keegan is BLESSED with three aunts who think he is amazing.  So, I HAD to buy the onsie so we could tell the world that Keegan Scott has three aunts who rock!

enjoy!

 

I love the changing expressions in this one!  I also adore watching my brother’s face as he is watching his son!  He is a great Daddy!

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Babysitting Keegan

March 10, 2010 – 4:19 pm

When I get a phone call asking if I can come keep the Keegster…I RUN!  I mean litterally!  I can’t wait to get home from work to get over to their house.  However, I make sure to grab my camera so that I can grab any fun pics that I can!  I got some great ones this time!

 

enjoy!

Talking while we play….we do a lot of talking!

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Talking to Aunt Mandy while he swings….

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The Aunes are just starting to feed Keegan cereal.  So, Kristen asked me if I would give it a try.  I did try….BUT  this is the face that greeted me with when I tried to feed him his cereal. 

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Found his thumb to make it all better…

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All happy and talking again…..thank goodness!!!

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My Day With Keegan

December 29, 2009 – 7:59 pm

When Kristen was figuring out the timeline of Keegan’s birth and her plans to take off from school, we were all notified and asked if we would be willing to take a day to keep the little guy.  She figured out that she would have to be back in the classroom before Christmas break, but she didn’t want him to start at the babysitter’s until after the holidays.  To say that I was delighted is an understatement!  I could not wait for my day. 

We snuggled all day.  We talked all day.  In short, we had a perfect nephew and aunt day!  I LOVED it!

Here are just a few from that day!

Talking to Aunt Mandy…. we had lots of secrets to share…

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Relaxing….

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More talking and secret sharing….

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Oh, the simple joy of it all!!!  His aunts did have to go buy him a new Wub-a-nub for Christmas.  We just couldn’t take the longhorn any longer!

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I had to put my camera down and go pick him up after this shot….what a precious, snuggly day!!!

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My Daddy’s Birthday

August 25, 2009 – 3:59 pm

We had a chance to celebrate my dad’s birthday with my sister, brother and their families.  Amy and the boys were in town because we went to Kristen and Keegan’s shower.  We had so much yummy food, laughs and good times.

enjoy!

 

Dad and Janice….one of Dad’s gift was their marriage license framed.

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Daddy and Tucker….Tucker of course is being silly!  This guy loves to make silly faces!

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Daddy and Tanner…Tanner always has a funny face to add to a picture!089-copy

Dad’s cake was the naval academy seal on the top.  It was very yummy and looked awesome! 

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Tanner loved the cake…

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So did my silly Tucker!!!  They ate it all up!!

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This one is a standing joke between Kristen and I.  I have taken several pictures of her pretending to feed her face during this pregnancy.  She is so precious!  LOL!  Kristen, this one is for you!

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The Dallas World Aquarium ~ part 2

July 29, 2009 – 7:53 am

Part two continues with very few pictures of Tanner because he is constantly on the go!  That boy is fast!  This post has more of the amazing animals that we saw…

These were some weird fish.  They didn’t look real at all!  Tucker and I were amazed by them.  We HAD to take a picture of them!

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Katherine and the boys at one of the tanks.

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The boys watching more penguins.  These are the ones that we got to see eat.  The keeper crawled down in there with them and gave them fish.  It was very cool!

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Tanner didn’t stay in the shark tunnel very long.  Here he is with Tucker and Katherine, and then he left.  He got Katherine to go “wook” at something else.  He didn’t like them coming and going and popping up.  It was a little freaky to be standing under them while they swam by.

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This is my favorite series of Tucker from the day.  It was very hard to get a picture of the sharks because they would just come out of the deep water and go so quickly.  However, these pictures show his wonder and amazement of the shark tunnel.  His eyes get so big when he has something so important to tell you!

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The Dallas World Aquarium ~ part 1

July 28, 2009 – 8:30 am

 

 Uncle Jim and Katherine bravely joined the boys an I at the aquarium on our last day together.  The boys were so excited.  We had been talking for a couple of days about the sharks, fish, turtles, etc.  However, it is always fascinating to me to see new things through these guys eyes.  They loved every minute of it!  This first part has some of the first animals we saw.

 I absolutely love this picture of Tucker.  He was too excited, and his little smirk there is what the whole trip was about.   He watched everything.  Here he was watching the first penguins that we saw.  I am not sure any of the details of the animals…don’t judge.  I have no idea what kind of penguins they were or where they are from.  I was too busy watching out for two little boys in a very crowded aquarium, taking pictures, and enjoying the moments.  ANYWAY, he was hooked!  We will definately have to go again really soon!

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 This little guy greeted us as we first entered.  He came down off of his tree and looked directly at Tucker and Tanner.  It was really too funny.  This is him down by the glass checking the boys out.

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These guys were HUGE!  This picture does not do them justice.   

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I love this one!  Tanner was really listening to Uncle Jim!

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My favorite!!!  One of the main reasons that I love the aqarium is the manatees!  I could sit and watch this tank forever.  It was feeding time when we were there so everything was swimming around and eating.  These guys had a lot of lettuce to snack on.

 

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 Look!  My favorite!  Barbara Manatee!!!!  (Yes, that is a Veggie Tales reference!)

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 The boys in front of the tank!  Tanner was of course laughing and enjoying Katherine and Uncle Jim!

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Sister, I added this just for you:

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part two of the aquarium is coming tomorrow!

enjoy!

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Our Friend, Mr. Monarch~ A memorial…

July 27, 2009 – 8:18 am

One day, on our way to the pool, we met a new friend.  His name is Mr. Monarch.  The boys were so excited to find him.  He was laying in the flower beds next to the pool.  He didn’t have much strength left in him, but while Tucker was letting him perch on his finger, Mr. Monarch did flutter his wings one last time.  Tanner also got a chance to hold dear Mr. Monarch.   The boys were so very gentle with him and were precious looking at his unique features.  It was really cool to watch their fascination with Mr. Monarch. 

 After a close examination of his beautiful colors, we put him back in the flower bed and we went swimming…

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I hate to tell you the end of our story.  However, when we came out of the pool (2 hours later), Mr. Monarch was still lying in the flower bed.  This time, there was no flutter left in his wings.  We decided he was just too beautiful not to snatch him up and show Tucker and Tanner’s friends at school.  So, he was put in a mason jar and driven to Lubbock, where he is on display at the boys’ school!

As you can see, we had many wonderful adventures!  Stay tuned tomorrow for our journey with Uncle Jim and Katherine to look at sharks!

enjoy!

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