Adventures with two boys and a dog...

My favorite thing about living on 60 acres of land was the fact that I could walk for a long time without seeing another person. We have two ponds and behind those ponds are labyrinths of creeks and gullies. My brother and I, or even I alone, used to wander the creeks and pull out leaves here and there that caught in the rocks, all to get the water flowing faster. I remember more than once, stumbling upon a snake, but that was always the worst of it. Trying to relive those days, I took Caleb and Connor out on a hike through a creek. I think they enjoyed it, and maybe when they get older I'll let them brave it on their own. Maybe...

Another C & C

New dolls for Christmas

Watching Sleeping Beauty

Eleven months til the next one!

Christmas Morning: It got pretty hectic. We had quite a crowd: 11 extra adults and 2 extra kids.

Fishing at the Lake House. Fun times with worms and minnows.

Chris and Taylor surprised us Christmas morning and that of course was the best present ever!!

Boys are weird, but entertaining

You totally need life jackets, when pretending to play football in slow-mo. Duh.

Things that Make you Go Ewww

We have about a hundred trees in our yard (not really), so we have tons of leaves, pine needles, and limbs. They accumulate in a pile for me to burn every so often. Since we've been in this drought, I haven't been able to burn for several months. Finally, the burn ban in our county has been lifted! So, I started burning... (this pic is at the end of two hours work)

After finding a snake (which I did not get a picture of), I found this guy. He is a frog. I have lived in ETX for 30 years now and have never found a frog this big just out in the yard/woods. Toads, yes. They are like cats in the Patterson Addition--everywhere. But not frogs.

You could tell he was different than a toad. His head was more pointed and he really watched you, turning his head as I moved my hand. Weird.

Look at those legs! I knew he was a frog once I saw those.

This is behind our house. We have a creek that runs through our yard and empties here. I thought it would be a good home for him.

Good luck Big Guy!

Turkey Week

For Thanksgiving this year our family trekked up to Topeka Kansas to visit Mark and his fam. The drive wasn't as bad as expected and I'm really glad we went. Cate loves to get to play with other girls (which doesn't happen often), so she had a blast, as did the rest of us. I know my mom will read this so don't take offense Mom, but Nicole cooked a huge Thanksgiving meal single handedly and Ben and I both think it was the best one we've ever had! There were five pies!! Thanks Nicole!

We Be Yammin'

Fabulous Las Vegas

Just the Girls...

Can you tell that Cate's feet are airborne from excitement?

This past week, Mom, Cate and I hopped a plane to Vegas!!

Not quite for the typical reasons...we visited my brother and his family. More pics to come on that, but for now I just wanted to say to Mom and Cate, thank you. I had such a fun time with both of you.

Mom, we haven't spent time together like that in a looong while, and I miss it. I'm glad we went together. I've always been thankful I got you for my mom and I know I don't show it or say it much. But being with you this week was a blast for me.

Cate, how did I get so lucky? You were a perfect angel child. I couldn't have asked for a better behaved kid. You sure made this trip easy on me and I really enjoyed getting to be with you. When Taylor said we were friends, she hit the nail on the head. I'd never thought of it that way before, but I sure felt it this week.

I love you both dearly!!

First Home Game 2011

Dear Connor...

Connor loves ice cream!

This has been hard.

It is awful for me to watch you leave the house every morning in tears. You don't like school--it is too long. I agree wholeheartedly.

It comforts me to know that when you get there you are happy again, smiling and laughing and even participating in class. PE was hard the first week for you, but yesterday you told me it's your favorite thing.

I know you have friends and that helps me too. You are such a leader. That is one of the many things I absolutely love about you. You stand up and command attention from everyone around you. It makes me eager to see what you will become someday.

You need this. You need the education obviously, but you need to be away from me and around other people. I think I've helped you get this far, but you need others to teach you more. I know this and it helps me. There are a lot of days that I want to pull you out of school and wait until next year. But I realize that's not the best option for you.

I hope you are a good example. I truly believe you are. You have never been a follower and I hope you can lead others to choose the right. Make me proud Connor--I know you will.

Love,
Mom

And then there were two...

Two at school.

And two at home.

I am anxious

I keep getting asked what I will do with just Cate at home. It will be nice and quiet for sure. But, I can't say I'm really excited about it.

I will miss Connor.

And Caleb. Caleb has already done one year of school, though.

Connor is a leader. He takes Cate on adventures to the zoo in our backyard. And they also go to Great Wolf Lodge every day and sleep in a hotel. They play well together and I will miss that. She will too I suppose, when she realizes it's just the two of us everyday.

What are we going to do?

Fun in the Sun and Sand

Jamaica Beach on Galveston Island
This was Connor and Cate's first time at the beach and Caleb's first time that he will/does remember. They loved it! Boogie boarding on the waves and playing in the sand didn't get old even after 5 hours!

Rainforest Pyramid at Moody Gardens
This is a huge rainforest habitat contained in a glass pyramid. There were several animals and fish living here. The butterfly section was really cool. They had 3 white-faced-something monkeys that are all brothers and liked to wrestle. There were some other smaller really scary looking monkeys. None of these were confined in any way. It was pretty cool to see them roaming around but the scary ones totally looked like they might jump on us at any second. They didn't :)

The Strand District. La King's Confectionery.
Galveston has a historic section with tons of shops and cool old buildings. La King's is an eclectic sweet shop that features ice cream, candy, and soda fountain goodies. We just had the ice cream and it was pretty good.

The Aquarium Pyramid at Moody Gardens
Favorites were the sharks, seals, penguins, and seahorses.

We stayed at the hotel at Moody Gardens which is somewhat of a resort I suppose. They also had a third pyramid dedicated to a Discovery museum and IMAX ride-film. There was also a large old timey paddle river boat that took you out for a short ride, Dinos Alive exhibit, and a small water park.

This. Was. In. My. Closet.

Yes, its tiny.

But, still.

I don't know what kind this is, so please enlighten me. I've found this kind at the house before.

Let's hope this is the LAST one.

Documenting, not bragging

These are some of my most recent projects. From top left clockwise: Ruffle bag, baby owl hat, popcorn bag, circle granny square pillow.

Independence Day

Swimming at the dock.



The boats lining up to grab their spot for the show.



We had a good time at the Lake House. Thanks Mom and Dad!!

They've Changed a Little

Lucky Seven

I have avoided blogging about Caleb's birthday because if Caleb is turning another year older, it means I am as well. We share our special day, just like my brother and I shared it growing up. And this birthday for me was somewhat of a 'big' birthday. Not that I have the photos to document it. Which I suppose is for the best, but for some reason Ben does not take pictures of me even when he is behind the camera.

Caleb requested a Dallas Mavericks cake which turns out is very hard to do. The horse and basketball logo doesn't look all that complicated, but with butter cream icing it just doesn't translate, for me at least. So I did some of the logo and included his name and age where the horse should have been. You really can't see the cake in this picture and you're not missing much.

I've seen a lot of interviews for kids on their birthdays lately and decided to try it. Here are Caleb's answers for this year.

1. Who is your best friend? Travis

2. What is are some of your hobbies? Practice soccer

3. What is your favorite animal? panther

4. What is your favorite food? pizza

5. What is your favorite dessert? brownies

6. What do you like to do with your family? play

7. What do you want to be when you grow up? Not sure

8. What makes you happy? Being around my family

9. What makes you sad? When I’m away from my family

10. What is your favorite movie? Cars

11. What is your favorite book? Diary of a Wimpy Kid

12. What was the best part of your b-day? swimming

13. What do you like to wear? Regular clothes

14. If you could go anywhere for vacation where would you go? Dallas

15. What is your favorite game to play? Blurt

16. What is your favorite sport to play? football

17. What is your favorite team to watch? Buckeyes

18. What is your favorite thing about school? science

19. If you had $100 what would you buy? A car-when I’m old enough to buy one

20. What is something that happened to you this year that you hope you never forget? My birthday

Father's Day