A Dino-Mite Time

haha! That might be the cheesiest title you'll ever get out of me, but hey 3 year olds tend to do that to ya. This week, Justus turns 3 **sigh, deep breath** yep t.h.r.e.e. As in not a baby, not a toddler, a **another deep breath** preschooler. yep. thats what I said, a preschooler. crazy.

Justus doesn't actually turn 3 until this coming weekend but Vernon was going to be out of the country the next few weekends and not home for another weekend until mid June, so we decided to party this weekend! It was planned on a whim because we had previously planned to be in Austin but ended up having to cancel those plans at the last minute. SO I threw together a fun little party and friends were able to make it! Justus loves dinosaurs so it seemed fitting to have a Dinosaur theme. It was so fun. Dino-rific to keep the theme rolling :)

I loaned my camera to a friend that needed it to shoot a wedding, so I borrowed Lauren's and Keri's (moms who were at the party) then dumped them onto my computer before they left! Thanks girls for letting me use yalls!

We had a Dino Dig ::

we hid eggs filled with mini dinosaurs and cardboard cut out bones. The kids dug to find the dinosaur eggs and bones. It was a hit!

We had a Dinosaur Egg relay::

Pin the Tale On The Dinosaur::

And a Texas party is not complete with out::

A pinata ::

And a whole bunch of fun::

Easter Weekend

We had a fantastic Easter weekend this year. We are showered with good friends who are now as dear to us as family. Living so far from our families is hard at times and holidays tend to make us remember this reality. Last year in MO was the first Easter of Titus life (that he is able to remember:: so since he was 2) that we did not spend the weekend in Irving celebrating with friends and serving South Irving. We were so fortunate to jump right back in to our "tradition" of spending Saturday morning with friends at FBCI and Sunday afternoon at The Durham's. Thanks to all our friends who have warmly welcomed us right back into your lives after being gone 1.5 years. We love y'all to the moon!!! (and our families appreciate your kindness towards us as we are so far from them!)

One of our "traditions" on Saturday morning of Easter weekend, is to attempt to get a decent picture of all the kiddos together. As you will see below, we've come a long way in the past few years :)

2009:: priceless::

2011::

I mean, can you handle this picture! I love it!

And since we are far from home I thought I would include some pictures of the boys in their Easter garb so that all the friends and family could enjoy their cuteness too!

Justus:: 2 years old

Titus:: 6 years old

Every Easter Sunday we go to The Durham's house for a fantastic meal. The Durham's have families and singles over for Easter Dinner who do not have family around DFW to celebrate with. Every year it is such a blast! Pastor John hides a bag of goodies for each person around the house and we all have to hunt...yes, even the adults. Here is a picture of Pastor John playing with Spy Gear w/ Titus after we opened all our goodie bags. He is one of the coolest Pastor's we've ever known. Around The Durham's you, no matter how old you are, always feel important and loved.

Well that's a wrap folks. Its a month late but better late than never.

A Little Late

I usually go all out for Reformation Day and make fun costumes for all (see here, here and here)...not this year. We've been traveling so much that I havent had a chance....sooo we pulled into town late on the 30th and ran to target...needless to say they didnt have much to choose from but the boys were thrilled to be super heros! (even if the costumes dont quite fit! J's was WAY too small and T's was too big) IT is funny that neither of them have ever seen Iron Man or Spider Man except in books at Barnes and Noble but they loved them all the same!

We went to an neighborhood outreach party with some friends in North County on the 31st and had a great time!! We got to hang out with the Kuntz's and the Reardon's! I got pics of everyone except Uriah...he was Woody and as cute as could be ;) Here are some photos::

The New Schoon's

Our trip to Baton Rouge was spectacular. We had the best time. Our hearts were filled and refreshed. We met all of Allison's friends that we feel like we have known for years. We have anticipated this day for years and it was all that we ever hoped and more. Allison and Chad's group of friends are fabulous. They are servants. They encourage and edify each other openly and have fun doing it. Seriously y'all, it was such a wonderful experience to be around her community of friends.

Here are some Bridals I got the privilege of taking early Friday morning::





Allison was a beautiful bride. Chad was a humble and precious groom. Every part of the weekend was centered on Christ, full of thankfulness and worship. The Wedding was perfect. I was more than honored to be a bridesmaid.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?
I see a 2 year old looking at me!




photos by allison kitchens