Rodeo Art Winner

Cole's artwork was selected from his school and submitted along with 17 other pieces to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.  His artwork was awarded a 2nd place ribbon.  They held a ceremony to award the winners in front of the entire elementary school. 

My sweet Cole was so proud!  He is my little budding artist.  Way to go Colie Bolie!

New Trash Can

My father built this trash can for me years ago.  It has served our family well.

Our neighborhood has a recycling program and I have started to recycle more and more.  I found that the more items I recycled, the less frequently the trash had to be emptied, since the plastic and cardboard items are usually what take up the most space.

However, I had no place to store the recycle items inside the house, so I began to pile them on the counter beside the trash can until I had a chance to put them in the outdoor recycle bin (see the pile in the picture).

This year, I received some birthday money, so I decided to spring for a brand new trash can, one that had dual compartments for recycling and trash.

At the risk of sounding like a complete nerd, I love my new trash can!!!!  It holds everything and makes the kitchen look less cluttered.  I guess the older I get, the more I appreciate gifts that help make everyday life just a little bit easier.

Take a look...



The gun show

That's right folks...they're taking you to the gun show!

Unbelievable 42 Hand

Last Spring, Matt and I challenged my parents to a fiesty game of "42," a domino game that is similar to a Spades card game.  Once the dominoes are shaken, the other players draw out 7 dominoes each and leave the remaining dominoes for the person who shook. 

Dad shook the dominoes, then the rest of us drew our dominoes.  Would you believe that the dominoes that were left were ALL DOUBLES???  Now I'd say that is a rare occurrence, especially since he had no say in which dominoes were left for him!

Afternoon nap on the swing

I love this picture of Cole holding Cade on the swing at my parents' house.  It is almost a year old, but I still love to look at it.  Back then, Cade was on a higher dosage of medication, so he needed to have a nap each afternoon due to the side effects making him sleepy.  My sweet Cole just sat there and held Cade's head in his lap while he slept.  Those two, even though different in almost all respects, share a special bond as brothers and twins.

Football game fun

The boys had a ball running around after Matt's football playoff game which was played at SHSU's Bower Stadium, where Matt played football in college.  They were so excited to be running on the same field that Daddy played on 'back in the day!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from the Bell Cousins and Family!

The beret lesson

Today my son had to learn a hard lesson.  It was a cold day, so I wanted the boys to wear a hat to keep warm.  Riley insisted on wearing this cute little beret-style hat, despite my efforts to talk him into a ski hat.  I think that the hat is adorable, but was worried what the other kids might say about it. 

When we arrived at school, he marched in the door proudly wearing his hat, but his friend promptly pointed and laughed at him and his "funny hat."

He was so hurt and started crying.  I told him that it didn't matter what his friends thought; if he liked it, then he should wear it and not worry about them.  He chose to take it off.  Poor little guy!  I wanted to cry for him.

This picture, by the way, was taken before we got to school.  Doesn't he look cute?

Our Picasso on a beautiful fall day

Halloween with the Transformers

First tooth

Picture of Cole before school with 1 wiggly tooth

Picture of Cole when I picked him up from school.  He was all smiles!!

The tooth fairy better hit the ATM...

Pumpkin Patch 2011

Football and brothers...what could be better?

This is a picture of Matt with two of his three brothers after a big win!

Let's go to the park!

This fall, we had the chance to watch my cousin's baby girl.  She was so cute and just smiled the whole time.  The boys were facinated by her, and were very gentle with her.  We took a little trip to our local park in the wagon, with the boys following behind on their bikes.  A beautiful day with a beautiful girl!

Annual Labor Day Zoo Trip 2011

Bring on the lions, tigers, and bears.  Don't forget the train ride too!