Easter Weekend Fun

The Tokarz gang took a road trip over Easter weekend. We drove to Burnet, TX for my cousin's wedding. We had a great time. This was the Lowery side of the family. My Aunt Libby's ( Dad's sister) daughter Elsie, married her longtime boyfriend, Brad. It was a great reunion of Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. The wedding was in a CAVERN!! Yes... a cave...a big dark hole in the ground...but it wasn't too dark due to all the torches, tealights and other accessory lighting!

The wedding was at Longhorn Caverns State Park. It was a really neat setup-- a beautiful wedding and fun reception, despite the cool, windy weather. The kids had cute new clothes-- covered for awhile by jackets, sweaters and blankets. Then after we ate ( yummy bbq!!) the Park staff and DJ graciously moved everything inside to the gift shop/snack bar area, where we danced , laughed and enjoyed cake ( which was all Jerzy and Shelby were waiting for!!).

The next morning, after the Easter bunny magically made deliveries to our hotel room, most of the Lowery clan gathered for the Holiday Inn free breakfast . After visiting and hugging and saying our goodbyes...we hit the road for home. We stopped for the required bluebonnet pictures and some lunch, making it home in time to have Nana and Papa over for a visit and dinner.

Andrew & Amy waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Shelby sitting in Brennan's lap waiting to see the "white dress."

My silly girls!

This was the best shot I got of either of the girls' new dresses.

Uncle Kemp and Bubba Knox share a cold one.

The Lowery/Tokarz gang ( Andrew was at the car- rounding up blankets& jackets) before the reception moved indoors.

New 'Do

Knox is a big boy! A couple wks ago he stayed home with Andrew due to an ear infection. That afternoon Andrew went to get a haircut and Knox got one too. He fought it every second, so it came out a little patchy. But God bless the woman at Great Clips who was ever so patient and persevered to get it done! He was a cute 2 year old before, now he's handsome little devil.

AFTER

BEFORE

First Catch of the Season

Fishing fun has started again. The rods and reels were put away during the cold months, but now that we've had some awesome weather , the kids ( including Andrew) were itching to fish again. So...one night this week we finished supper early and headed out to see if the fish were biting. Well... it was a little slow going. Of course it may have had something to do with Jerzy and Shelby telling us the fish might be sleeping....and then proceeding to yell " Wake up fisssshiess! Wake up!" And then there's Knox...he just scampers around saying "FISS! FISS!"

Andrew did manage to catch one-- the first one of the season-- maybe it was a perch?
The kids were excited. It was sweet to see Knox getting into it, when we had last been out there in the Fall, he was not quite ready to sit still,nor was he talking much. Now he's really interested in it and has lots to say. The girls have developed more confidence as well as patience. It was a great way to end the day.

Happy New Year

I can't believe it has been 2+ months since I last posted. Lots has happened since then...but no time to blog it all now. We are fine. The kids are growing and changing constantly. They love school. We had a joyful Holiday season full of many blessings.

Andrew travelled for several wks before Christmas, but has been home since. He has been busy with work, home improvements, and enjoying the toys that Santa brought. I have been busy supporting him in the home improvements, as well as wrapping up my first semester as a high school teacher ( I LOVE MY JOB!) AND chasing after the 3 little rascals.

Hope everyone is having a great 2009. I will try to post more SOON!

Game of the Year !

Oh my goodness!!! Raiders win! Raiders win!

The girls and I just had a great day together ( Knox is hanging out with Uncle Jim and Aunt Becky), which ended with a most exciting night. We fully enjoyed all 4 quarters of the Tech/UT game.

We "tailgated" in the family room. We had a picnic dinner and setup lawn chairs and blankets. We wore our Tech shirts. We shouted and whooped and hollered and got our guns up. We ate a 2nd half popcorn snack. We called Uncle Kemp a couple times.

Shelby and Jerzy were excited most of the time... but started to poop out towards the end. I went nuts when Crabtree scored the winning TD. Shelby was tired and started to cry " Mama you're scaring me." So I toned it down a bit. Andrew is in the middle of nowhere ( near Tulsa) at a vintage bike rally-- so I gave him regular updates via phone.

Wow - amazing! Sorry to Dad, and all my other Longhorn family and friends! We'll enjoy this win as long as we can....who knows what the next two wknds will bring for the Red Raiders against OSU and OU!?! Hopefully the amazing combo of Harrell and Crabtree can stay strong. And how 'bout Matt Williams....the kicker , who up until recently was just another student in the stands!

Way to go!

Getting fired up for a "Wild Ride" with Kenny Chesney pre-game.

Jerzy took this picture of Shelby and I! Guns' up!

This was late in the 2nd quarter...the girls were getting a little silly.

He Did It!!!!

Andrew completed his first marathon! Wow! We are so proud!

He and Joe ran past some of the scenic sites of the DC area, including Arlington Cemetery, as they completed the 33rd Annual Marine Corps Marathon. The kids and I were able to track them online from home ( a yellow dot and a green dot) on a map as they ran. Around mile 19 he was calling us and other family for some motivation. The kids serenaded him with cheers of "Go Daddy Go!!! " He was slated to finish just under 6 hours, but he held up during the last 1/2 mile and waited for his big bro so they could finish together. Their offical time was 6hours , 32 minutes and 44 seconds.

I spoke with him a short while ago as they were just sitting , still at the course, resting and reveling in their accomplishment. Pictures will be coming soon.

Next up on the circuit, an "easy" and fun 10k run at the Turkey Trot here in Dallas on Thanksgiving Day.

Another Milestone

In the last few weeks we've reached a milestone ---there are more Tokarz kids OUT of diapers than IN diapers! Jerzy is officially , completely , fully potty trained. I can hardly believe it. It sort of snuck up on me. There have been points in the last couple years that I felt I would be changing multiple diapers for years. But time sure flies.Now more of our household budget goes to toilet paper instead of diapers!!!