Junior Achievement

Earlier this year Darin went to a Chevron meeting where they talked about the JA program (Junior Achievement). Chevron is very active in the JA program and actually are sponsors to many schools. Darin quickly became interested in this but wanted to do it in our elementary school. He decided to start from the bottom with kindergarten. Katy Independent School District is actually the only school district in the world which is completely parent ran and in everyone of its school and grades. It's a wonderful program and Darin has had a great time being involved in it. He was able to teach it to the class next door to Amberly's class first and then found out the JA leader for her class had backed out and he did her class too! Since Chevron is a sponsor he gets to leave work and do it. He usually works from home for the rest of the afternoon after he teaches the class. All I know is that ALL the kindergartners have gotten to know Mr. McShane and absolutely LOVE him! I've gone up to the school with him on the last day of it to help him pass out all the goodies they get. Chevron gives each child a pencil bag with some crayons in it and Darin takes them cupcakes to celebrate. It is a wonderful program and I know he looks forward to doing it for years to come!
Darin with Amberly's class on the last day of JA.

I think we have learned over the years how important parent involvement in the schools are. The amount of involvement here is absolutely incredible and we feel very blessed to be in such a wonderful area where so many parents are involved in the lives of their children.

Happy 11th Birthday Trent!!

Eleven years ago today our family was incredibly blessed with a precious gift from Heaven! Trent Sam McShane was born on May 20th, 1998 weighing in at a whopper 9 lbs. 6 oz. It really is hard to believe that my little boy is growing up so quickly! The day Trent joined our family was an extremely happy day for us! He has brought so much joy and love to our family. He has always been my cuddly lovable little guy! Happy Birthday Trent and thanks for being such a wonderful part of our family!

Home from the Hospital with adoring Elizabeth and Eyn. They just loved having a new brother!

This picture was taken in Idaho. Trent didn't know what to think of this horse. It just started following Trent!

For Trent's 1st Birthday my Mom and Dad gave Trent this precious little puppy. "Puppy" continues to be a treasured part of Trent's life today!

My precious boy!

In Galveston having a fun time at the beach!

My cool little buddy!

In the beautiful bluebonnets near Brenham.

My little boy is growing up!

Happy Happy Birthday Trent!

Kindergarten Mommy Makeover

Yesterday I was invited to Amberly's Kindergarten class for a Mommy Makeover! What a wonderful time we had! I arrived to find the lights in the room dimmed and quiet soothing music playing. We were served cookies and apple juice as we arrived in the "spa". Each child then got to give their mommy a makeover! Amberly had so much fun doing my hair! (Notice the bows in the hair! You should have seen the back of my hair!) She gave me a massage and a manicure. My nails are now a beautiful purple and white with cute butterfly stickers! She presented me with a beautiful picture and poem. We were also given beautiful plants that they had grown in their classroom. It was a wonderful treat for all of us! Amberly also gave me a card where they filled in the blanks. It said the following:(bolded words were the added words by Amberly.

My mom is the most wonderful mom in the world! Her name is Patricia. She's pretty as a butterfly. She is 18 years old. She has green eyes and red hair. Her favorite food is "pasketti". I think my mom is funny when she is wearing fuzzy slippers. I wouldn't trade my mom for anything! I love my mom because she loves me.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Love, Amberly

I had a wonderful hour with my little Amberly! She most definitely made me feel special being her mommy!

Star Trek Night at the Movies

Last night Darin, Elizabeth, Trent and I went to the opening night of the new Star Trek movie! Okay, now I have to be completely honest while writing this. My husband grew up watching Star Trek. He has Star Trek toys, Star Trek Christmas Ornaments, a Star Trek Uniform, Star Trek Models, Star Trek DVDs, Star Trek Games, Star Trek Books, and even Star Trek Barbie Dolls. He is not the Star Trek Trekkie Geek you see sometimes. He just enjoys it. This enjoyment has rubbed off onto Trent somewhat and some onto Elizabeth. I grew up not really caring about it and was "forced" into it when we got married. One of the reasons I never liked the original series was because of Captain James T. Kirk. I could not and can not stand the cockiness of that man!!! Not just the character but the man who plays him. (William Shatner) Just typing his name makes me gross out! Well, all that changed for me last night. I LOVED Chris Pine playing the young Captain Kirk! He was awesome! I absolutely LOVED Spock and the entire story line of the movie! The story line was exciting. Every emotion was felt at some point of the movie. Everyone was either crying or wanted to at one point. People were laughing at the right places in the movie. It was exciting with awesome visual affects. It was a great movie! I love the new direction this could take the Star Trek Enterprise. It was worth the money to go see it in the theatre. (We actually had 2 free movie passes and Elizabeth and Trent got student prices! ) Anyone could enjoy this movie. You don't have to know Star Trek to enjoy it. Yes, you get all the wise quack remarks if you know Star Trek. Like when McCoy said He likes Spock. (The whole audience laughed!) So, my review of the movie is two thumbs Way UP!!

Elizabeth met a new friend at the Mall!

Notice the Star Trek Dolls in the game machine! When we were at the theater a few weeks ago they had a big Star Trek sign on display but it was gone last night. I wanted to get a picture in front of it, but this was the best I could do!

Elizabeth Senior Prom 2009

Senior Prom... Wow!! What a wonderfully busy week we had getting Elizabeth ready for Prom. Just a little history... Elizabeth was first asked to prom by a young man she works with and has known since grade school. She told me he had asked her but she wasn't excited at all. She acted confused and hesitant. A few days later she said she had told him no because she just didn't feel good about it and honestly didn't trust him. She said she would rather go without a date in a group than with him. Well, a week or so later Elizabeth came home from school literally floating! She had been asked to prom by Jon D. who she has been good friends with since their freshman year. He had approached her after choir and gave her some flowers and asked her to prom. She was so incredibly happy! So.. the planning began. Luckily Elizabeth and a friend had went in January to find prom dresses. Talk about prepared! (I'm glad that she did! It made it that less stressful!) The week before prom was incredibly busy! We had last minute fittings, we had to find the perfect shoes, we went and had her nails done, had to buy a few personal items, and on and on and on!! On the day of prom we went to pick up Jon's boutonniere to find out they had messed up the order. But, due to their mistake they gave her a more expensive one for the same price and it was beautiful!!

We decided to splurge and went to Wen Chic Salon and Spa to have Elizabeth's hair and make-up done. They did a fantastic job! I had a few teary moments as I sat and watched my beautiful daughter grow up before my eyes! We were of course running late from the salon and came home to find Daddy Darin and Jon having a deep conversation in the living room. :) They had enough time waiting for Elizabeth that they even played some Wii! They may have had to wait for a while, but the results were worth it!
Our Gorgeous Daughter when she first made her entrance. Jon's remark was Gorgeous and Darin could only say Wow. It was awesome!

We went outside to take a few quick pictures. Amberly wanted to take a picture with her Kindergarten Huskies to share with her class on Monday! (They loved them! Her teacher talked to me a few days later and raved about how beautiful they looked and how excited Amberly was to brag about them!)

Elizabeth and Jon then left to go to his house where they ate dinner with their entire group. His mom had made dinner for 20! Darin and I went over to take pictures too! It was fun watching all the excitement! (Jon and his mom made a killer chocolate cake! I've got to get that recipe!)
We went out in the backyard for some more pictures!

Too bad Jon isn't looking at the camera in this one! It's my favorite picture of Elizabeth!

Quick shot with part of the group before leaving for prom.

Elizabeth and Jon posing in front of the limo. Quick limo story - after prom they called the limo driver to tell him they were ready to be picked up. They were suppose to wait only a few minutes and ended up waiting around an hour and fifteen minutes. Not happy! Then they got in the limo to find liquor in it, shot glasses, and it was spilled on some of the seats. Not happy at all! Well, when they got back to Jon's house the dad who had set up the limo met them and really griped out the driver. We found out a few days later that we would be getting a full refund for it! (it cost nearly $2000 for the night)

Elizabeth in front of the limo.

Jon holding the door for Elizabeth at the limo.

Being silly in the limo on the way to the dance.

At the dance - this group are all original members of the Concert Choir from their freshman year. Being that it was the first year of the high school it was the top choir.

More about the dance - Elizabeth had the time of her life! She said Jon had her constantly with him and he was whisking her around "showing her off" to everyone. He kept telling her and everyone else how beautiful she was! She truly felt like a princess!

After the dance the group went back to Jon's to change clothes and then Head to project Prom. Project Prom is a lock-in event they hold at the Dave and Busters in Houston. (it's a separate purchased ticket!) They drove to the high school and boarded buses which safely took them to the event. It's a safe alternative for after prom activities! They are "locked in" until 6 a.m. They had an amazing assortment of activities and food for them to enjoy. They each had to wear the project prom t-shirts while there. They also had incredible prizes! Computers, TVs, dorm refrigerators, airline tickets, gift cards, etc, etc, etc.. Elizabeth actually won a digital photo frame that she really wanted for her dorm room next year! They had the parents make posters of their students which were all displayed there.

One of the agreements Elizabeth made with us before letting her go to project prom was that she had to go to church with us when she got home. The other girls and her all wore their dresses to church and looked beautiful! Elizabeth had so many compliments on her dress! It was funny watching her and some of the others during sacrament meeting. She could not keep her eyes open and her head bopping up and down was hilarious! I finally told her to scoot closer to me and she slept on my shoulder.

When we got home from church Elizabeth instantly sat down in her new chair she got at project prom and fell to sleep. She still had her purse on her arm! She slept in that position for nearly 3 hours and then went to bed and we didn't see her again until Monday morning! She was exhausted!

So, I guess you can say that Prom was a huge success! For days after she said she was in

Prom LaLa Land! Next big thing is graduation... It's going too quickly!

Dallas Trip

On April 16th Elizabeth and I departed for a quick trip to Dallas for a choir contest she was in. She chose not to go on the choir spring trip this year but her director asked her if she could go just for the competition. (She didn't want to pay around $500 for a 3 day trip.)
We decided to make it a fun trip for just the two of us. We left Thursday after she got out of school and headed north. The drive there was fun, but long. (around 5 hours)We got to enjoy an awesome Texas Thunderstorm on the way there. The lightning was incredible! We have so many trees here that we never get to appreciate the lightening. We stayed at my wonderful Aunt Teresa's home. I didn't realize how much I missed her until we spent time with her! (She's one of my Dad's younger sisters!) I have so many memories of her growing up and just love her!

We woke up on Friday and drove to Dallas to meet up with the choir. (My Aunt lives in Arlington which is between Dallas and Ft. Worth - Home of Six Flags) We arrived during another rain shower only to find out that the chorale women had had to perform early and we had missed it. Bummer!! They had wanted the chorale to perform early also but Mr. Carter requested that they wait for Elizabeth who was on her way. So, we arrived before they were to go warm up. It ended up being very emotional for Elizabeth and some of the other Seniors. It was their last competition/performance together. All I can say is that that was one of the most incredible performances I have ever heard! The sound that came from that group was incredible! I had tears in my eyes myself. It was flawless! They won sweepstakes and then won Best overall choir! (They got a HUGE trophy!) It was so worth the trip!

After the performance I was able to snap a few pictures. This is Elizabeth and Chantel. Chantel lives down the street from us and they have become really good friends this year. Mr. Carter makes all the girls pull their hair back into tight buns for the stage effect. (I'm not a fan of the look myself!)

Elizabeth and Jon - He had already changed out of his tux.

After we left the choir we decided to find the Dallas Temple. It was further than I thought it was, but it was nice to go and walk on the grounds with Elizabeth. It's amazing how much the trees have grown since Darin and I were married there! It was beautiful and so peaceful!

We finally headed back to Aunt Teresa's house where she had a yummy dinner waiting for us! We decided later to go shopping for prom shoes at DSW where Elizabeth just kept cracking up. She would try on shoes and Aunt Teresa would let her know if they were sexy enough! It was funny! We then went to Cheesecake Factory and indulged in some yummy cheesecake. Saturday morning we got up and went to my cousin James home and spent time with his family. They are awesome! His wife and I hit it off quickly and I can't wait till we can go visit again! (Hopefully this summer!)

We had to end our visit too soon. We had such a great trip and enjoyed getting reconnected with family.

We had to rush home to make it in time for our Ward talent/skit night. It was a long drive! The next few pictures show how bored Elizabeth got! She got a little camera happy!

We had such a fun trip! I think Elizabeth liked being the "only child" for a few days!

Katy 3rd Ward Talent and Skit Night

On Saturday, April 18th the Katy 3rd Ward held a Talent and Skit Night! What a wonderful evening it was! We have a HUGE ward and an incredibly talented ward! We had everything from piano solos, magic acts, scout skits, musical solos, a youth band, family skits, and on and on. It was great! Here are just a few of my favorites!

This is our Bishopric along with our Stake Patriarch. They did a funny Dr. Seuss skit.
These children are the Johnson children. What an incredibly talented family! The little boy in the front was so cute! He was all over the place just making everyone yell and cheer! They did a mixture of oldies but goodies.

This was by far my favorite of the night! The Katy 3rd Ward Rap! Eyn worked with Bachelor Johnson and some of his family and with Braeton Quierante for a few weeks getting this ready and what an amazing job they did! Eyn had a total blast doing it and he did great! I couldn't believe that my "quiet" child was up on the stage belting it out and doing loving it! It was so much fun to watch him on stage!

They spent several days perfecting the rap and even had their own voices doing their back up vocals! Bachelor has all the equipment and actually has written and produced some of his own music. It was great! Elizabeth and I had spent the few days prior to this in Dallas (post coming soon) and rushed back home just to be at this show. I'm so glad we made it!

I had to post this next picture of these two little boys. They are Peter and James. We have known them since Peter was little. (He's Trent's age) They are both autistic. It was several years before Peter even spoke. Elizabeth watches them a lot during the summer and has become very close to them and their mom. She's like her summer assistant. Well, Peter got up on the stage and sang a song and danced around the stage and did a wonderful job! I was so proud of him! We have watched them grow and the challenges they have and to see them on the stage doing this was incredible! Way to go boys!

Easter

I love Easter! I love everything about Easter!

Each year we try hard to talk about the real meaning of Easter with our children quite a bit. I want them to know their Saviour and understand all He did for each of us. It's hard because the "world" commercializes Easter just like they do Christmas and it seems like all they are excited about is the fact that the Easter Bunny is coming to our house! I do love having the Easter bunny visit each year, I just hope they understand why we have Easter.

This is Amberly organizing the contents of her basket. We found the cutest dress for her! She looked adorable in it! Here's Trent also organizing his basket treasures. I don't know why the Easter Bunny seems to overdue it on the candy each year!

Elizabeth and Eyn seemed to be avoiding the camera!

The night before Easter Darin and I attended a Semi-formal birthday party for someone he works with. We had a great time there. It was hard to be gone that evening because I usually like to spend time as a family discussing what was happening during Christ's time then. I can't imagine the sadness the disciples and his friends must have been feeling due to Christs' death. The joy they must have felt on that wonderful day when that discovered that he no longer remained in the tomb but had risen! What joy must had filled their hearts! What joy fills mine as I think of His Great Love for ME and that I too along with my family will be resurrected and live together again as a family forever. What joy fills my heart as I think of my loved ones who have passed on already. I miss them terribly, but I know that I will again be with them someday and that they continue to live and progress where they are. How grateful I am for a loving Heavenly Father and for his son Jesus Christ! I know they Live! What a glorious blessing it is to know these things!

Katy Carnival

On the Friday night before Easter we took Amberly and Trent with us to go look for shoes at Katy Mills Mall. When we drove up we saw a big carnival in part of the parking lot. (Elizabeth was at work and Eyn was over at a friends house) We surprised Amberly and Trent and stopped at the carnival. Talk about childhood memories! Darin and I both have bad memories of nausea at the last "cheap" carnival we went to. We let Trent and Amberly each pick a few rides to ride considering we didn't have very long to stay. (4 tickets per ride, $1 per ticket. Expensive!) Well, we had a lot of fun and Amberly and Trent really enjoyed themselves.

Trent really wanted to ride the "Scary" rides, and that is exactly what he did! He always looked a little apprehensive before getting on the ride, but he loved them! I loved his facial expressions when the ride first started to go. We really thought he was turning green a few times!

Amberly absolutely loved this Ferris wheel! She said she could see everything so high!
This next picture is what Amberly looked like after she rode the next ride.

Trent really wanted to ride this ride and Amberly didn't think it looked that scary. I guess she was wrong! Every time it came around we could hardly see her because she was as low down in the seat as she could get! It was funny because the ride would come to a near stop and then start up again. I don't think she ever thought it was going to end! When she got off she practically ran into Darin's arms and didn't want to let go for a little while. I don't think she'll be getting back on one of those again!

Spring Time in Texas

On Friday we went on our yearly search of the bluebonnets drive. I love the wildflowers every year and love to take pictures in them. This year we have had a hard time finding a time to go see them. We had a short window of opportunity on Friday (between Trent's Scout Hike and Elizabeth having to be to work) so we hopped in the van and took off. We saw many fields of blue, but not like we have seen in the past. I know we haven't had much rain so far this year, so they aren't out in abundance. But they are sooo beautiful! I know that my children don't particularly enjoy this excursion each year, but I'm happy that put up with it and try and put on a smile for me!

Trent beautiful Bluebonnets
Amberly was walking among the bluebonnets when I caught this shot of her. I loved how the breeze was blowing her hair and dress.
Dad having fun as usual! (It is Easter time!)

Elizabeth

Eyn

Darin

This is where I would have put my picture if I liked it. But as you can tell, it is empty. Being that this is My blog I choose not to add my own picture. :)

I love bluebonnets! It is one of my favorite parts of spring in Texas!