Hey look, an update!

So, it has been a while... been kindof busy. Here are the things we have been up to...

1. I had to decorate the stage again... for the last time!!! (i think)

2. My brother Owen moved out here for the summer!!! It is so fun to have him around. He's good w/kids - PLUS he's single and cute. SO -if you know any available young ladies in dallas who are looking for a good time ;) this was when he and charity were playing w/a mega bubble maker thinggy...

2. I had a birthday... Officially, this is the last of my 20s... Joe complained cause the party seemed to last a couple days - we went to a nice dinner (cause it was cherry's bday too) sat night at Trulucks... YUM! then we had friends over sunday (the 18th) and had cake and icecream (carieanne made a lemon cake, joe provided the chocolate) and we played rock band... then tues my girlfriends treated me to sushi! it was so nice. Anyways, cute story: Joe took Charity out on saturday(the 17th), I supposed it was to shop for my bday.

Emily: "Charity, where did you and daddy go?"

Charity: "I am not supposed to tell you, but we got you a bike".

I didn't even have to ask her twice or even press her - i was just testing her cause joe was standing there (and to be fair, all of my surprises for him get ruined, so this was just payback). Anyways, I love my new bike, and it is so fun. Joe was even sweet enough to get a big cushy seat and make it a full on cruiser. what a sweety...

3. Charity graduated from preschool Tues night. (I almost forgot about it, but luckily a girlfriend called and we went!) To be honest, I kindof got emotional thinking about it - I have no clue why - maybe because she is so stinkin cute and I can't believe how fast she is growing up. For graduating, they all got a bible. ;)

ok, so the first few songs they sang were pretty good... i think by the 10th song, they were tired of putting on a show - what do you think?

at first they sang all together...

but i think they lost it by then... ;)

4. I am working on Steph's wedding video... we'll see how that turns out - got a cool new tool to do it with, but that means I have to learn all over again... I am excited for her, and that is coming up so QUICK!!!

5. I am also building a website - from scratch, and setting it up and everything... one would think with a degree in computer science, I would be able to do it no sweat - not so much. I am ok with the easy stuff (like graphics and all that)- but there are a few things I am just CLUELESS with, and I have been reading books and doing so many online tutorials. Seriously, I am so deep in tutorials about MODX, CSS, mySQL and PHP (and how to set the whole thing up and get it hosted) that I am completely OVERWHELMED! I am at least 6 layers deep in my imaginary tutorial tree... On top of the things I am learning, I am also having to relearn how to not be so retarded.... frustration. I know I can do this, and to be honest, it is kindof fun to be stretching again... BUT I will surely be glad when that project is over, and then maybe i will share the url w/all my blogging friends.

6. We went down to Joe's dad's ranch for memorial day. I didn't take any pictures... It was fun. Friday night we drove down to the ranch... then Sat we went to the lake - I thought I was so tough - I was fighting for a chance to ski first - wanted to hit the slalom ski before I wakeboarded... I got up once, and seriously, threw my back into some SERIOUS spasms. It hurt so bad. I got up once more, but had to give up. WHAT A FRICKEN WUS I AM! I AM GETTING SOOOO OLD AND FEELING IT TOO!!! :( The rest of the weekend we just hung out at the ranch, riding 4wheelers and canoing in their lake, and fishing, and swimming, and just sitting around enjoying how unbelievably beautiful the place is. I didnt get any pictures. It was hot and we came home SOOOO exhausted. 7 of the 9 Robinson kids (plus spouses and children) were there w/his dad and Trish... FUN TIMES.

My mom

So, it's Mother's Day, and I have the world's best mother!

She is the greatest. She taught me music, and to love music. She taught me to be flexible. She taught me that home is where your family is. She taught me to bloom where you are planted. She taught me to be strong and independant. She taught me to be ok with who I am.

She encouraged me to be everything I could. She encouraged and supported me with all my random endeavors. She drove me everywhere I needed to go. She loved me even when I made bad choices. She is seriously the best friend anyone could ever have. She is amazing. She comes through in any pickle. She is always ready and willing to help and serve. She is super supportive and fun! All of her spare minutes are spent helping others. She is the world's best grandma too. (my own daughter would rather live with her than me!)

This picture is classic: I was not the best daughter at this point, but she insists I was still "FUN!" she put up with all my drama...

She helps me so much, with EVERYTHING!

All the things she taught, she did by example. She never pretended to do or be anything other than what she was. She is real, and in my eyes, she is the most perfect mother anyone in the world could ever have. She is beautiful. She is my mom, and I hope to be just like her!!!

Charity

So, yesterday was Charity's real birthday.
We celebrated all day long. She had a cupcake and a candle in the morning. I had to drag her along visiting teaching. We went out to lunch w/Phanelb and Grandma, (and ran into Courtney at McDonalds!). Got some ice cream and came home... then we watched a Hannah Montannah show, then went to ChuckyCheese for her dinner. I think she had a lot of fun, but kindof got sad and didnt understand how it could be her birthday dinner without a cake (aaron got another one when we went to chilis) but she got over it.... just one place i failed but she got over it easily - we just had to get up and sing happy birthday to her.

ANYWAYS... She is the most beautiful and sweetest thing I have EVER encountered.
Today, she is sick. I didn't even know it. I just so happened to take her to the doctor for a skin thing, and they had to tell me she was sick - with a high fever. You wouldn't have known. You would never know with this girl - she HARDLY EVER complains. She is always so sweet and really epitomizes her name. CHARITY. That is what she is. She shares so well. She is so kind. She is so accepting (most of the time) when things don't go her way. She is so patient too! She so sweetly serves around the house. She is so full of love too - always making friends. She often says, "I love you, and I love everyone" - honestly, I believe her. Sometimes she gets lost in the shuffle sandwiched inbetween 2 crazy boys, and with a mother that isnt very girly wonderful. I just want her to know that I think she is amazing, and I am so lucky to have a daughter like her.

The annual birthday bash

So, Friday night, we had our combined party for Aaron and Charity. I must admit, it is really nice to have them be able to share a birthday party. I hope we can continue the tradition because I would so much rather have 1 crazy party than 2...

To be honest, I don't even know how many people came - seriously, I stopped counting at 60. All I know is that the cake was ALL CONSUMED! Some people left with cupcakes! (i was glad i had those for backup). PS - I got VALERIE to do my cake. She is amazing, and totally worth it... not having to make my typical ghetto cake was SOOO NICE! If any of you live by me, you totally have to check her out...

We had 3 bounce houses... the weather was perfect. My house still hasn't recovered, but that is just because I don't even know where to start cleaning... and, yes, this birthday party got them more gifts than Christmas... next time, I need to write "IF YOU FEEL COMPELLED TO BRING A GIFT, PLEASE JUST BRING A BOOK... WE DON'T NEED ANY TOYS OR PRESENTS... WE JUST WANT YOUR COMPANY!" maybe my kids would be sad, cause they really do love everything they got. To solve the TOO MANY TOYS problem, I just put it all in a bucket, and we cant take it upstairs till we go through and pick more toys to give away. Really, I am proud of them because whenever we get new stuff, like birthdays or Christmas, they are pretty good about going through their old stuff and picking out toys to give to children who don't have very many.

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Anyways, today was Aaron's real birthday. I love that kid. I am really hard on him, and KNOW I am screwing up on him, but he is resilliant, and I think he will come through ok. He is so sweet and honestly, he is the BEST oldest kid in the world. He is so concientious of his other siblings. He is so smart and kind. He is sweet and caring. He is laid back. He is FUNNY!!! He is a stud. Happy birthday Aaron, I LOVE YOU!!! (ps, notice I STILL hadn't cleaned up my kitchen by SAT morning... but, it is clean now...)

So, for Aaron's REAL birthday: He chose Eggos for breakfast, so he got to eat on the special plate and got a cupcake and a candle. T-ball practice, driving around, signing him up for next season... Then, he played with his toys until this afternoon, we drove up to Allen to play with his cousins. While there, we watched Paul play football, then we went to CHILI'S (his choice) and we sang happy birthday, then we went to their house and he got to ride their four-wheelers.

I went to Wal-mart last night. I left Aaron and Charity home with Joe and just took Nate.
When I walked in to the kitchen (arms full of groceries), I saw this little present on the floor:
Who would have done this sort of thing? Aaron came down the stairs. I asked him if he used the scissors, and whose hair it was. Proudly, he said "I cut my hair because I want to look good for my party on Friday"
He looks good alright!! ;)

Then there's Charity. She is so sweet. I feel like I am not giving her enough attention, but no matter how hard I try, she seems to still get lost in the shuffle. I guess it is a middle child thing. The other day, she said she didn't want to live with me anymore - she wanted to live with Grandma, Cherry and Sarah. After she saw how it made me sad, she told me she would stay with me. But, secretly, I think she is happier over there. :(

Last, we have Nate. I have really slacked with this child. He falls asleep watching cartoons. He is my most finicky eater...
Whenever he wants attention, he just walks right up and weasles his way into the middle of things. (reminds me a bit of myself that way). He sure is a cutie. when someone else is getting their picture taken, he walks right up to the camera, gets in front and says cheese!!!