McFarlands in Dallas...with the Tanners

We decided to kick off our Spring Break with a bang and head down to Dallas to spend some quality time with Kelsey and Grant. What should have been a quick 6 hour drive, turned into 8 when we spent most of the drive between Oklahoma City and Dallas in one lane stop and go traffic. I cried. I was so frustrated. Not to mention that I ran over a semi truck tire and I was having some serious rib pains. We made it, in one piece, thankfully!

All Taylor really wanted out of our trip was to see a few college campuses and to get some real Texas barbeque. We went to the Feed Store (it's a resturant, not a real feed store) in SouthLake and had some authentic barbeque. I was excited because they had 50 cent ice cream cones! As we were leaving the owner asked us if we wanted to feed the cows. Afte we went out back to meet him, we looked and looked and didn't see one cow. When we thought it was a joke, he came out with a white bucket labeled "Cow Bucket" and gave a short whistle, and 6 cows came stampeding to the fence. Don't worry, they aren't for the restaurant, they are merely a "tax deduction" (we learned in Texas, almost anything is a "tax deduction"). We had to get a picture next to the pregnant cow (that nearly took Taylor's arm off in the fence!)

We also hit up the Dallas World Aquarium. It was fantastic. Well worth the $96 it cost us to get in! After nearly getting my face taken off by a free flying bird, we were definitely impressed by how many animals there were. We deemed it a Zoquarium because it had more land animals than aquatic animals. We even got to be in the shark tunnel during feeding time. That was exciting (and hot and claustrophobic!). After that we went to see where JFK got shot. Taylor and I watched the movie awhile ago, so it was cool to see it in real life.

Kels and Grant at the Dallas World Aquarium

Tay and I at the Aquarium

Tay and I on the "Grassy Knoll" where JFK's car drove past as he got shot. It was cool because in the street they have x's where he was when he got hit each time. Sunday we went to church, had Tanner's friends Logan and Emily over for dinner, and invaded their house to play the new Wii Super Mario Brothers (for the second night in a row). It got way intense!

On Monday we went to Fort Worth so Tay could see TCU campus and then we went shopping at Grapevine Mills. We found some amazing deals on clothes for little Gavin. My sister made these two cute little onesies for "little dino". And we found the cutest mittens for 99 cents!

After much debate we ate at Saltwater Willy's for lunch. It was pretty good. Taylor wanted to eat at Golden Corral, but I quickly vetoed that one! That night we went to Red Robin where Grant ordered the A1 Burger and we were told after he recieved it that they were "out of A1 sauce. Our server said, "Don't look at me, I just found out." Needless to say the manager gave us a pretty good deal. We also had FHE, played some intense boardgames, and had to institute a "flatulance tax" during the game of LIFE.

Tuesday we went to the temple, and headed home! It was such a great weekend, and we are excited to have them come to Wichita in three weeks to see Gma and Gpa Logsdon. Thanks Tanners for letting us invade (and stink up) your home! Hope you do the same in 3 weeks!

Sewing Equals Blood

Everytime I sew I end up bleeding. I know, not that suprising to some of you (a.k.a. Jenni) but somehow, through the blood, I keep trying my hand at this sewing thing. When I lived in Lehi Jenni and I spent hours sewing pillows and sashes for my dresses and Jenni even made some great curtains! I say hours, because it probably should have taken me a few minutes, but I always ended up bleeding which added to the total sewing time.

I hadn't broken out my sewing machine since I got married, probably because I was too afraid to do it without my sewing partner, but last Saturday Taylor had to work so I planned some projects. I made some fancified burp cloths (sorry no pics yet!) and now I am working on a baby sleeper made from my now too small BYU Hockey t-shirt. I am hoping it actually turns out wearable, since I ruined one of my favorite shirts to make it. Inevitably, when I was ripping out the seams on the tshirt, I got my finger instead, and yes, drew lots of blood. I try to tell Taylor how talented I am (haha) but with all this blood I'm sure he just shakes his head. I'll post some pictures when it's finished that way you can either praise me or just shake your head as well.

On to some news, IT'S ALMOST SPRING BREAK! We are leaving for Dallas tomorrow to see Kels and Grant. I can't wait! I promise pictures for that post!

A Turning Point

I just had to document this momentus occasion. I am actually sitting at my desk, and my kids are working at theirs. I have only had 5 kids come up and try to tell me something, but for the most par they are all working on their math projects. I am beginning to feel like we are turning a corner. They are starting to do so much more on thier own, and don't constantly need me walking around answering questions. They can handle 2 or 3 directions at a time, rather than step by step hand holding. I am getting glimpses of them as second graders...oh how I miss second grade. But, all in all, I don't dread coming to work anymore. This year I had started to worry if I was slowly loosing my fire for teaching, but I think it's just this group of kids that has kinda worn me down this year. With the little deliquent gone we have gotten so much more done. It's horrible to say, but I don't come to work dreading what I will have to face that day. Don't get me wrong, I still have the kid that throws crying fits, gets stiff and rigid and says, "Why does this always happen to me, I still have the huge kid who calls everyone else names, and I still have those kids that I litterally have to say thier name 8 bajillion times a day to keep them on track, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I think they will be ready for 2nd grade. It's a small miracle.

(P.S. Sorry abou the lack of pictures with each post, but all the pictures online are blocked by the school district, and we have been internet free at our apartment for over 6 months now, so pictures, are and will be a luxury until we can either a)afford internet b)"borrow" from a neighbor or c) move to a place with free internet! Sorry!)

Happy Birthday

Just a quick shout out to my wonderful mother-in-law Stacy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

We (and the little one especially) hope you have a fabulous birthday.

Thanks for being such a fantastic mother.

We love you!