East Texas Gouges

Makiya's Limo Lunch

2008-11-24T17:00:00.005-06:00

Makiya got to go on the limo lunch today for kids who sold 30 or more tubs of cookie dough! She was SO excited and had such a great time! Here she is outside on the car ramp waiting for the limo (they had to make 3 trips).

And here she is waiting for the limo in the hallway because it started pouring down rain and was blowing under the porch roof.

Getting into the limo - finally!

Having fun at Pizza Hut!

The limo!

Angelina Ballerina

2008-10-31T20:32:00.002-05:00

Makiya had "dress as your favorite storybook character" at school today - so last night we threw together this costume. She went as Angelina Ballerina - the white mouse that does ballet in a pink tutu. I thought it turned out mighty cute for a last-minute idea. The ears are some easter bunny ears curled up and then I put a pink bow in the middle. I think she looked adorable! :)

Making a cross-o-lantern

2008-10-31T20:23:00.003-05:00

This has become an October tradition in the Gouge house! Daddy and the girls clean out the pumpkin (while I take pictures) and then Michael carves a cross in it. The girls love it - but it grosses them out every time! So funny!

Go Tigers!

2008-10-03T22:27:00.002-05:00

The girls have really gotten into the Friday night football games at the high school. I, of course, think they are the cutest little tiger-fans ever!

After Ike came to town...

2008-10-03T22:20:00.002-05:00

We really didn't have much damage. We are very thankful that our house was untouched. When Rita came through 3 years ago - this house had to be completely gutted (I've been told). This time we had one tree down and it was short enough that it didn't touch the house. It did, however, take out the girls new swingset. :(

On the front side of the house, however, things were apparently quite peaceful. When we got home, though branches were strewn about all over, and we'd seen SO many trees down - there sat the girls' 1/2 empty bottle of bubbles on the windowsill!

Everybody dance, dance!

2008-08-28T21:25:00.002-05:00

Tuesday, the girls started their new Ballet and Tumbling classes. They are both so excited. Alysabeth has been dreaming of this for 1/2 her life :) And Makiya is really loving the tumbling. They're both getting great exercise and learning new things and meeting new people. Plus, they look awfully cute in their little outfits! :)

First Day of School!

2008-08-28T21:15:00.003-05:00

Monday was the girls' first day of school! Look how big they're getting! They are, without a doubt, the 2 best kids in the world! :)

Makiya is in 1st grade now and starts getting "real" grades this year. She already got her first "100"!

Alysabeth is in pre-K and LOVING it! She has really come out of her shell this year. Everyone at school is commenting on how much different and more grown up she is this year. She sees me in the hallway and, if she even acknowledges me, just waves and keeps on going.

Here are the girls new backpacks for the year. Alysabeth got a My Little Pony one with "real" hair to style. Makiya wanted a "sling" backpack with the one strap. I found this Croc one online and she has had fun decorating it with all the little Croc jibbitz things. It's the only one like it at her school!

Houston Downtown Aquarium

2008-07-24T18:20:00.000-05:00

The last day my mom was here we got a hotel in Houston (since that's where she would fly out of first thing in the morning) and had some fun downtown. We spent several hours and the downtown aquarium and had a lot of fun. It was a great day trip!

More Fun at the Aquarium

2008-07-24T18:19:00.000-05:00

The Aquarium also had several fun rides including a ride through a tunnel where sharks sway above and beside you. Lots of fun!

Let's Play Pretend!

2008-07-24T18:14:00.002-05:00

After we got my mom off to the airport in the morning, we stopped by the Children's Museum before heading home. It was a really nice museum and the girls loved it. I think the cow-milking exhibit was my favorite. It actually squirted water into a pail as you milked it! Too fun!

More to Explore

2008-07-24T18:10:00.000-05:00

Ants, Hippy Vans, and Haciendas

2008-07-24T18:06:00.000-05:00

When Daddy's Away...

2008-07-24T18:03:00.002-05:00

Michael went on a mission trip to West Virginia for 9 days this month, and my mom came to stay with me and the girls. We did lots of fun things, a few of which I took pictures!

Through their eyes

2008-07-24T17:59:00.004-05:00

These are a couple pictures off the girls' camera. They love taking pictures and i thought these 2 were cute. They mostly take pictures of their toys, or furniture, or the walls... but one day they chased the cat around taking pictures of her. I was afraid she would be blind the rest of the day. I'm assuming Makiya took this one of Liz.

I Can See!

2008-06-04T11:14:00.002-05:00

Makiya got her glasses yesterday and she is SO excited! She wanted me to take a picture of her and send it to everyone so they can see how cute she looks! :) She's doing really well with them so far and I guess she can see better. I really thought she could see pretty well before, but apparently she's quite blind. Her lens over the right eye is quite thick! She says everything looks a little clearer, but she hasn't noticed anything profoundly different - no "there's leaves on the trees!" moments yet.

Graduation!

2008-06-04T11:10:00.002-05:00

Makiya graduated from Kindergarten last week, but her graduation was so big that we couldn't get any good pictures. They had the ceremony on the high school football field and all the parents sat up in the stands, so we were just too far away for close-up pictures. But, our church honored the graduates on Sunday, so here are some pictures of Makiya and her friends at church.

Teeth today, gone tomorrow

2008-05-28T11:57:00.001-05:00

Makiya has lost her first 2 teeth! I pulled the first one 3 weeks ago, and she pulled the second one last night - all by herself! She's very excited to have such a big hole!

Mother's Day Video

2008-05-28T11:25:00.003-05:00

The preschool choir sang at church on Mother's Day. Unfortunately, I was sick in bed that morning, but Michael got a good video of the girls. I thought it was adorable!

Liz's Fun Day!

2008-05-28T11:21:00.002-05:00

Thursday, the 22nd, was Alysabeth's "Summer Fun Day" at school. They let all the kids wear their swimsuits and go out and play in the sprinklers and slip-n-slides. They also brought out all the left-over snacks from the whole year and let the kids eat whatever they wanted. It was a lot of fun, but the sun wasn't shining and Lizzy got cold!

Makiya's Field Day!

2008-05-28T11:13:00.002-05:00

Last Wednesday, the 21st, was Makiya's Field Day at school. It was a perfect day - HOT and sunny. They had relay races, water games and water slides. Makiya had a lot of fun and I was just glad I was able to go watch!

Flippin' Fun!

2008-04-24T21:07:00.002-05:00

I just thought this was cute. She was so proud of herself for doing a flip... but it's tiring be so amazing!

Zoo Day!

2008-04-24T21:01:00.002-05:00

Today was Makiya's field trip to the zoo in Lufkin, Texas. It's a very small zoo, but it was so pretty and had quite a few cool animals. Makiya's favorites, however, were the dozens of peacocks and peahens that were just everywhere you went. She loved when she found the peacocks strutting around with their tails fanned out - so we got a picture with one... I have no idea why this train was in the zoo, but it was really neat looking and so huge - a good photo op!
Posing on a lion statue... because everyone has to!
Checking out some huge Galapagos Tortoises...
Looking too too cute on the playground at lunch time.

On Parade!

2008-04-24T20:56:00.004-05:00

Last Thursday was our "Bike Parade" at school. All the kids decorated their bikes and brought them to school and then rode them around outside together. It was mass chaos, but also really cute and the kids loved it. Alysabeth was very proud of her bike - and looked stinkin' cute riding it, too, I must say!

Blowing Out The Candles

2008-03-30T13:39:00.003-05:00

Here's Lizzy blowing out her birthday candles at the park (it was a bit windy that day!).

Alysabeth is 4 Years Old!!

2008-03-30T13:33:00.003-05:00

We have had a very festive week at our house. Tuesday was Alysabeth's "last day to be 3," Wednesday was her 4th birthday, and Thursday was her party at the park. She woke up Wednesday morning and opened her presents from Mommy and Daddy...
and then had cupcakes with her friends at school.

Thursday she got to celebrate with lots of friends at the park (it was about 80 degrees!) with a purple and turquoise Princess Jasmine party. She has had a great time turning 4!

Classy Dames

2008-03-24T20:50:00.002-05:00

At our friends' house Sunday afternoon, the girls got into the dress-up closet. I just love their dress-up clothes - a true "Grandma's attic" kind of attire. The girls were decked out in high-heels, floppy hats, evening gowns and scarves.

Where is that egg?

2008-03-24T20:47:00.002-05:00

We had an egg hunt on Sunday afternoon at our friends' house. They hid an egg with each person's name on it (even the adults) along with numerous free-for-all eggs. It was a really fun time, although 2 of the eggs are still M.I.A. Here's a picture I took of Makiya's to give her a clue during the hunt, and I just thought it was a neat picture. That was such a fun day!

Easter Sunday

2008-03-24T20:44:00.002-05:00

Here are the girls in their Easter dresses. I know you can't tell, but Alysabeth also has on eye shadow, powder and lip gloss (along with the bracelet and matching purse). That one is such a little diva! :) They both looked so beautiful! I love Easter!

Coloring Easter Eggs

2008-03-24T20:39:00.003-05:00

While we were staying at Aunt PooT's house in Lewisville (Dallas) the 4 of us girls dyed Easter eggs. Makiya and Alysabeth had never done it before, so we had a lot of fun. They were both very proud and quite attached to their eggs. They weren't pleased that they didn't get to keep them forever - so we made sure to get pictures of them!

Summer in March?!?

2008-03-24T20:37:00.003-05:00

The last few weeks we've been having GORGEOUS weather. It's the prettiest it's been in the 9 months we've lived here. (I think Spring is going to be my new favorite season!) And of course, with warmer weather, comes Lizzie playing in water!

T-Ball (kind of)

2008-03-24T20:34:00.001-05:00

Michael set up this "T-ball" game for Makiya. I just love these pictures because she is SO focused... she's even got her tongue sticking out. She loves sports.

Go Tigers!

2008-03-24T20:31:00.002-05:00

A couple weeks ago we went to watch the girls' babysitter play in her softball game at the high school and the girls got to wear their Silsbee Tiger t-shirts. They looked so cute! They are very proud to be tigers!

Alysabeth's Easter Egg Hunt & Party

2008-03-06T17:00:00.002-06:00

Today was Alysabeth's Easter party at school. They had an egg hunt outside and then came in and had ice cream sundaes. She was SO excited. She woke up yelling excitedly this morning, "Today's my easter party! Today's my Easter party!!!" (well, "today my ee-toh powty") She had a lot of fun!

Pretty Pretty Princess Alysabeth

2008-03-06T16:58:00.001-06:00

Makiya got the Pretty Pretty Princess game for her birthday - and Alysabeth LOVES to play it! I just thought this picture was adorable!

Makiya's Cake

2008-02-16T18:36:00.003-06:00

I just discovered that I can uplaoad videos on here, too. This is the video of Makiya blowing out her candles!

Makiya's Turning 6!!

2008-02-16T18:31:00.002-06:00

We celebrated Makiya's 6th birthday last night at Adventure Kingdom in Lumberton. It was a really fun party - and Makiya got to sit on a throne!! After the pizza, cake, and presents the kids all got to play a game of miniature golf - which they really enjoyed. Even the little ones. They were running around hitting balls all over the course. It was a great time. And praise God the rain waited until after the party!!

Upward and Onward

2008-02-16T18:28:00.002-06:00

Makiya is playing Upward basketball this year at our church. Her Daddy is her coach, but she enjoys it anyway :) Just Kidding. Michael is a great coach and the girls are SO cute. I love watching them play. Makiya is better at basketball at age 5 than I was in high school.

Valentine's Day

2008-02-16T18:26:00.001-06:00

Makiya's new valentine outfit she got from Grandma for her birthday (and Alysabeth in her pink....)

Oh Arkansas!

2008-01-05T22:02:00.000-06:00

Just a picture of some mountains in Arkansas! I never realized how insanely mountainous Arkansas is until we had to drive through it! There is not a straight or flat road in Arkansas! And I don't think any of the towns have more than 1000 people in them! We saw SO many little rinky-dink towns of less than 100 people! We're glad to be back in nice flat wide-open Texas!

A Christams Tradition

2008-01-05T21:58:00.000-06:00

I just thought this was cute. These are pictures from last year and this year of Alysabeth and Grandma Debra washing dishes together. Alysabeth LOVES washing dishes at Grandma's!

Christmas in Missouri

2008-01-05T21:52:00.000-06:00

Alysabeth got a new robe and slippers for Christmas. She is so proud! She also really enjoyed playing "chess" with Makiya's new Checkers board.

However, she did not like waiting for Grandma to get off the phone and play with her!

Makiya's getting so good at posing!

Joust!

2008-01-05T21:50:00.000-06:00

This is Michael getting taken out during a jousting match at our church's New Year's Eve party. We had a lot of fun - though the girls and I didn't make it to midnight! We had to be on the road early the next morning for our 12 hour drive to Missouri!

Christmas fun at the Gouge house

2008-01-05T21:45:00.000-06:00

Makiya got a huge make-up kit and promptly fixed herself up!

My family all came to our house this year for Christmas. They all finally arrived on Christmas Eve and the girls were really excited! We all had a lot of fun together, as you can see!

Play-Doh village

2008-01-05T21:42:00.000-06:00

Grandma got to come stay with us for almost 3 weeks last month! The girls had SO much fun with her. Here is a village that Alysabeth and Grandma created together out of Play-Doh.

Horses!

2008-01-05T21:36:00.000-06:00

The girls have been horse-back riding twice now out at our friends' house. They have 4 horses and have been so sweet to let the girls come ride. Alysabeth is in love with all 4 of them!