Crazy, busy, wonderful life in the O'Dell house!!

Where has the last year gone?

2010-08-19T13:55:00.020-05:00

Well here I am again.....almost a year later and maybe not a year wiser.... As I apporach my 30th birthday in a little over a month, I am marveling about how much has changed in the last year, 5 years, 10 years.... So, I decided it was time to bring the blog up to date with a short version of the last year:

June 2009....Charlie's company decided to shut it's doors in Austin, and have him report to a new manager in Houston... So for the better part of July - May 2010 he was in Houston 4-5 days a week and I was pulling mommy duty at home on my own! (I don't recommend it...) Charlie & I celebrated 8 wonderful years of wedded bliss!!

July 2009....hot, hot, hot! Big event of the month - on July 28th Colton decides to jump thru some glass & our day is off to a great start! Charlie was out of town, so my amazing brother-in-law BJ got a hysterical phone call & was at my house in minutes! Needless to say, Charlie was called first & I was just as hysterical, but in mommy-emergency mode.... So several hours later, an amblance ride to Dell Children's and emergency bi-lateral knee surgery and he was all stitched up! And Charlie made record time driving from Arlington to Georgetown ER to meet us before we were transported..... Got to stay in the fabulous Dell Childrens for several days followed by 8 weeks of leg imobilizers and physical therapy, and my boy is good as new! (Has some great knee surgery scars that they said a pedi plastic surgen could remove, but we paid good money for those scars and it will be a great story to tell a girl one of these days!)

August 2009....Caitlynn started kindergarten, Colton went to Friends Working Together again (Mrs. Gatlin is the BEST!!), and our school year was off to a great start! Even got to welcome a new adorable neice into the family!

September 2009....GEORGE STRAIT! Need I say more?!?!? Caitlynn turned 7, I turned a scary 29....

October 2009....Caitlynn's Cheer squad took 1st place in their division at the CTYFL Cheer Competition. They did so great & we were so proud!

November, December, January, February 2009 - 2010.... Cold, wet weather....Holidays, School, church, work, just tried to keep our heads above water.... Colton turned 5 in November, Carter turned 4 in February (where have the last 4 years gone!!) Caitlynn got a trip to Disney World for Christmas and had a blast with Randy & Sharon in Florida for a week!!

March, April & May 2010.....Caitlynn started Spring Softball and Colton started T-Ball! They were adorable and precious and did a great job! Caitlynn's team took 2nd place for the season and what a great time they were! Needless to say, Mommy was exhausted since Daddy worked out of town during the week alot and I thought games would be on the weekend! Man was I wrong! Good thing we live close to family since there were a lot of nights that both kiddos had games at different fields and sometimes different towns!

June 2010....Charlie & I celebrated anniversary #10! If the next 10 years go by as quickly as the last 10, we are in for a wild ride! We took the kids to Port A to spend a little R&R at the beach. Did a little fishing, played in the sand and had a great time with the family!

July 2010....Considering it has only been a month ago - I am having trouble coming up with something for the month... I was super busy with work which is a major blessing! Built a deck & pergola at the house, and lost our beloved chihuahua Chance...

August 2010.... The count down to school starting had begun! Charlie & I took the kids to San Antonio for a week! We had a blast exploring Sea World, downtown San Antonio, the Alamo, the Witte museum and the Magic Time Machine! The kids loved it all, and slept well each night thanks to all the daily activities!

And finally that bring us to the week before school starts! Caitlynn is going to a new campus this year for the 2nd grade! Colton is starting Kindergarten, and Carter is enrolled in the Pre-K program.... In less then 1 week I will begin a new chapter of my life: No kids at home! I have had kids with me 3 - 5 days a week since Caitlynn was 1 and I decided to go into Real Estate full time! Carter has been my constant companion for the last 4 years (he only went to daycare part time while Colton was in Pre-K) and I am sad to think that I am going to miss my little buddy!

The school supplies and new clothers & shoes are purchased, the bags are packed and we start meeting the new teachers tonight!

This Summer.....

2009-08-11T14:15:00.001-05:00

Well, I keep seeing my friends Blog's say that this summer has been a roller coaster ride, and I must agree! And since I have not blogged in almost 2 months, I tought I would give a run down of our adventerous summer so far...

Since school let out the beginning of June, the kids have been accompanying me to the office. This has definately added to my stress level around the office. Luckily, I work from home 3 days a week, so being confined to the office has only been a couple of days a week. The kids have been pretty good, they have their own room complete with toys, tv with cable and an assorment of movies and books. But I will say I am really ready for school to start....

In June, we had a great family reunion at the lake. Now, mind you, my kids are water babies and would have slept in the water if we would have let them! And they did sleep on the boat!

2009-07-10T11:09:00.000-05:00

Well, as I was doing my last post on our family trip to the lake, I started thinking about everything we have done and been involved with this year. Cailtynn started school almost 1 year ago, and my has that year flown by! I am posting a photo of her 1st day of School and her last day of school....and now I think I will wipe away my tears as we begin to prepare for 1st Grade!

Colton has 1 more year until he starts Kindergarten, and Carter will follow the next year, so by all accounts, I only have 2 more years until all my babies are in school! Colton & Carter will both be in a full day Pre-K program this year, so for the first time in over 5 years, I will not have a child with me each day! What will I do with myself?

A weekend at the lake....

2009-07-10T10:52:00.000-05:00

O'Dell Family Reunion 2009 was a HUGE success! We stayed on Lake LBJ for the 3rd year and I ahve decided that my family is a water family! The kids love the water, riding the boat, and Colton even drove the JetSki.

Now I must say, I am a little wild on a JetSki - I love those things! And after riding with Charlie this year, I have decided that I have to drive my own from now on - he is a little to tame for my tastes! (We rolled a 3 seater JetSki last year, which the rental guy said was impossible, and ever since then, Charlie has been a little more cautious....it did the exact opposite to me!) And I came to realize that Colton is going to be a little crazy on a JetSki. He decided that he didn't want mommy to drive, he wanted me to hold on and he was going to drive. Well, needless to say, he about threw me off when he took off.

For the 3 days we were at Lake LBJ, I think the kids stayed in the water about 90% of the time. If they were not on the boat, jetski, rope swing or paddle boat, I am pretty sure they were sleeping. They even tried to eat in the water!

We are so lucky to have a family that is able to get together several times a year, but I think the highlight of each year is the lake trip.

WooHooo.....Oh Yeah!!

2009-06-22T10:25:00.000-05:00

WooHooo......Oh Yeah! That is Carter's favorite saying when he is excited about something! And he even does a little dance...

So, in honor of my youngest....I am shouting WOOOHOOOO OH YEAH! Yep - that is right - I am exited! On Saturday morning, I got on line to purchase much-anticipated George Strait Tickets for the Sept 26th concert in Cedar Park... Well, I ended up being bummed for the first 30 minutes or so. The tickets were $161 each plus the fees and taxes.... How in the hell is someone supposed to be able to afford that?!?!?

Well, after some much needed soul searching, and talking to my friends Kenneth & April who were also wanting to go, I searched tickets and had on hold 2 prime seat tickets! So with April on the phone, and the computer on my lap, I discovered that she was holding tickets in the row right in front of the 2 seats that I had held....so we bought them! Caitlynn and I are going to see George Strait for our birthdays!!

Charlie decided that he was not a big enough George Strait fan to warrant $161+ for a concert - he was just as well listening to him on the radio or seeing him on CMT. Not that I can blame him, these tickets were ridiculous! But when am I ever going to be able to see the George in Cedar Park, the week of my birthday again!?!?! Probably never, I told myself! And really, we looked at getting tickets to the Houston show in August, which were about $125 each, but after paying for gas, food, hotel, etc. I am thinking I might come out ahead buying the ones in Cedar Park... atleast that is what I keep telling myself!

So, WOOHOOO OH YEAH...dance a little and now to wait for September! And oh, yeah, Cailtynn doesn't know about them, we are goign to surprise her! Wonder how long that will actually last??

George Strait for my birthday....

2009-06-16T09:16:00.000-05:00

I am so excited I can barely stand it! And I even have an exicted little girl!

I have always wanted to see George Strait in concert, and for one reason or another, each time he has come to Texas, we have not been able to go.... Well, he is coming to CEDAR PARK!! And it is 2 days after my birthday, and the day before Caitlynn's, and since it has been her dream as long as she has been able to talk, and mine a little longer, we are going to see George Strait for our birthdays!! And in Cedar Park! Talk about a dream come true!! No traveling, no hotels, no "bad" part of town for me to have to drive thru to get there!!

Tickets go on sale Saturday morning at 10 and people better stay out of my way! Nothing is getting between me and those tickets! So wish me luck..... bad part is, I have already told Caitlynn, so if I don't get the tickets I really am in trouble!

Splash Day was a splash!

2009-06-04T12:44:00.000-05:00

This past Wednesday, the Elementary School had splash day. I think the teachers were tired of teaching and the kids were tired of learning, so they had some out door water fun! Luckily, being in Real Estate, I have the flexability to be able to go to all the school events which just happened to be one of my biggest goals when I became a mom. Anyway, naturally in Texas, it is already well into the 90's by lunch time, so the water activities were a welcome break for the staff and kids! There was a HUGE water slide....

And a dunking booth - that is Caitlynn's teacher Mrs. Truitt about to get dunked...She was such a fun teacher for Caitlynn's Kindergarten year - we were truely blessed that she was Caitlynn's teacher!

Needless to say, fun was had by all including this mama!!

Last Day of school!

2009-06-04T09:24:00.000-05:00

The last day of school is upon us! I was really excited thinking about school being out until it dawned on me that the kids will be home all summer! What is a mom to do with 3 energetic kids for 2 1/2 months? Can you say....go crazy!!!

I will be updating the blog over the next few days. The kids have done some really adorable things recently that I want to share, but oh, where to find the time! So, until I get it all loaded.....enjoy this beautiful day!

Out of Body Experience!

2009-05-28T16:07:00.000-05:00

Well, I can now honestly say I have had an out of body experience. I picked up Caitlynn today from school - she has been begging to be a car rider, but I just despise sitting in line for 30+ minutes inorder to pick her up from school.... Anyway, she got in the Jeep and we were discussing her day at school on the way back to the office when she pulled out her Kindergarten Graduation photos. Now I saw the photos when we ordered them, but it was a tiny proof, so I didn't get the whole experience in seeing it. In the bink of an eye, I saw the last 6 1/2 years flash thru my mind, and the next 12 years came racing thru as well! I saw the day she was born, her first steps, first day of school, etc. all the way thru learning to drive, dating, and untimately graduating from High School. I must admit that these days I might be a tad emotional with the end of school approaching - I can't believe my little girl is about to finish her first year of school - comlete with a purple graduation gown similar to the one that Charlie & I both wore at our graduations! I think it is cruel and unusual pumishment to make a parent see their child in a graduation gown at 6 years old!! Does the school want me to go into cardiac arrest at that sight?

School is almost done!

2009-05-26T06:36:00.001-05:00

We are counting down the days until school is out for summer. Graduation invitations are flooding our mail box, and we even have a graduate living in our house! Caitlynn graduates from Kindergarten next Monday, June 1st at 8:30 AM. I guess it is time to start stocking up on the tissue!!!

Couples Conference was a success!

2009-05-25T07:17:00.000-05:00

Many of you may know that Charlie and I went to a couple conference this past weekend in Salado. No, we are not having major problems or anything like that, it was more of a marriage maintenance seminar so we don't get to that point. Anyway - it was an eye opening experience and it made us realize that littles things left unfinished can become major thorns before one even realizes it. We watched the movie FIREPROOF, and let me say, if you have not see it yet - YOU NEED TO!! It is well worth it!

I hate to move!

2009-05-21T15:34:00.000-05:00

No, we are not moving our house, we are moving our office! Shin Oak Realty is relocating to a better location on Hwy 29 - more visability and traffic. It is going to be a great opportunity, but I still hate to move. BJ & I have been helping out with the painting, and all the preparations that go along with getting a place ready to become a booming Real Estate office. And tomorrow is the big day! The movers are coming in the morning - luckily I will be at Caitlynn's splash day! Hope the movers are done by the time I get there!!!

Summer is here!

2009-05-13T17:08:00.000-05:00

I drove home today from picking up the kids from school today, and was amazed that the thermostat in my Jeep said it was 95 degrees outside! I could not believe it! So needless to say, the my kids are water bugs and with it being that warm outside, I thought it would be a good idea to get out the Slip-n-slide. And it is just a basic slip-n-slide - not a cool one with all the bells and whistles like the built in sprinkler.... Regardless, my kids love it - especially the boys. I think if they could get away with putting the thing in their bedroom, they probably would. They will sleep good tonight!

I finally give in!

2009-05-12T09:23:00.000-05:00

Okay - so I am not so new to the whole Blog thing. I am been Blogging for Shin Oak Realty for some time now and have really enjoyed getting to share the reality of the Real Estate market with my followers.

So now I am finally giving in and starting a blog about our family. So we shall see where this adventrue takes us!!