Branson, Part II

We took a tour of Branson in those "duck trucks" that go on land and in water. They give you these duck whistles that the kids love, but they unfortunately didn't make it back to Dallas with us......hmmm.......

In Dogwood Canyon, they have these beautiful natural waterfalls. We had to stop and get our picture with them.

My dad loves all my kids, but he really loves babies. So, when he is around, he is constantly carrying Brooke. I love it because it frees up my hands and gives Jason and me a break. This is at Silver Dollar City.

I think they were going for Aunt and Uncle of the Year!!

Drew so proud of his first fish of the day!! A rainbow trout!

Summer Vacation!

We headed to Branson with my family for our summer vacation! It was much cooler up there and we did so many things...we had a great time!
Here is Brooke in her little carrier behind the bicycles that we rode thru Dogwood Canyon.
Jason, Drew, and I heading out for a morning of fishing. Jackson, Amanda, and Ben were in the other boat and they beat us by 2 fish! They caught 46, we caught 42.
"Freeze Out 2009" This water is from natural springs and it is SUPER cold! You would not believe it. So, Auntie A and the boys had a freeze out to see who could stand in the water the longest. Auntie A was out in like 10 seconds, but the boys were tough! We finally had to tell them to get out and that they could share the title of "winner"
The Great Outdoors.......
Papa and Brooke hanging out at a restaurant.

The Wedding....

Don't know why these are so small.....I got them off the photographers webbsite, so I'm sure I was supposed to do something to make them larger...oh well!! Here are some pictures of my sisters wedding earlier this summer!!!

Stair Sleeper

When Jason and I went to bed at 11:00, this is what we saw on the stairs.....let me explain. The boys have been wanting to sleep in the same room the past few nights. They usually get their sleeping bags and sleep in one of their rooms. They take turns sleeping in all the available bedrooms, so last night was Drew's room. They decided not to use their sleeping bags.
So, about 8:30, Drew came downstairs and told us that he wanted Jackson to leave his room and sleep in his own room. We were watching a movie so we told him to go sleep in Jackson's room (I know, great parenting in action..) That's where we thought the situation ended. So, apparently Drew just sat down on the stairs and fell asleep right there. Poor guy, he must have been there sleeping for at least 2 hours!!!
We escorted him to his room because he said he wanted to sleep there after all. He promptly fell asleep.....what a night!

Spa Baby

This baby loves bathtime! Out of my three kids, she's the only one who didn't cry the first time I bathed her. She loves the warm water, the soap, and then the lotion rubdown.......who wouldn't??
When she sees that pink bathtub in the sink, she starts jumping around excitedly. If she's fussy before that, all I have to do is show her the bath tub and she calms down.....I see spa days in her future :)

A Culinary Celebration!!!

Kari and I have the only summer birthdays in the group, so this year we combined them and went to a cooking class/dining experience--it was fabulous!! We went to the home of this lady who is a chef. Her home was like a Santa Fe resort and she was so much fun. She put us to work......here are Kari and I chopping fresh rosemary from her garden for our chicken dish. FYI...we found some little spiders in the rosemary and just added them to the mixture for extra protein. We didn't tell the chef!!
Look at the skill.....watch out Giada!!
Look at the concentration on their faces...they are putting goat cheese in baby bells.....so yummy!
Look closely and check out this trick.....when cutting an onion, light a match, blow it out, and put it in your mouth. The smoke from the flame blocks the onion fumes. Pretty cool, huh?
Finally, we get to eat the fruits of our labor. She had a beautiful tablescape set up for us and we all agreed that we must come back again!!

Pantry Raiders

So, the other night after the boys had gone to bed, I opened the pantry to get some popcorn for me to pop. I noticed this myserious bowl full of odd things. I knew exactly who was responsible for this....Drew, the collector of odd things. There were some goldfish, a piece of a brownie, a pack of bubble gum, and some random toy. All the things a boy would need, right?
So the next morning, i questioned him about it and he fessed up saying that he just wanted a snack bowl in the pantry for him so he could snack all day long. Then, surprise!! Jackson sheepishly walked to the pantry and reached behind a few boxes and pulled out his own snack bowl that he had stashed in there as well!! I guess his brother is rubbing off on him.....

Par for the Course

At the beginning of the summer, I asked Jackon what he was looking forward to the most this summer. He said golf camp. He has asked me every week if this was the week for camp and finally it was!! Jackson and his friend Jack look like they're getting into mischief on this cart. If I turned my head, I wouldn't be surprised if they drove off for a spin!
Jackson's grandparents got him some new golf clubs this year and they worked great!
The little brother.....he wants to take part in golf camp and even noticed that one of the kids was "littler" than him and he couldn't believe it--it just wasn't fair!!! He was just happy to get to sit on the golf cart...that's as close as he got to golfing but he was happy.
We've encouraged our kids try many things thru the years and golf and basketball seem to be coming to the forefront for Jackson. It's been fun to see his skills develop and become his own---not just something his parents have made him do :)

Birthdays and Fireworks!

Jason's parents came to celebrate the 4th of July with us. Both of their birthdays are in July, so we decided to celebrate. The boys were super excited for them to open their presents.
Getting some extra help opening the gift....
For the 4th, we went to our friends, The Valles' house to celebrate. The Goodnough family was there as well, so we had 7 boys and 1 girl!
Here are the boys anxiously awaiting the fireworks that G-pa had gotten on the roadside on his way to Dallas. He went to one of those roadside stands, so basically we had our own fireworks show. We were a little worried we might get kicked out of the Valles' new neighborhood with all the noise we were making.
After the fireworks, it was off to the pool and then smores to end the night. I looked at my watch and it was 10:30 and all the boys were still going strong. So, we wrapped it up and the boys were out by the time we pulled out of their driveway. Poor Brooke, she missed all the fun......she was sleeping upstairs the whole time. Maybe next year she can join the fun!

Fashion Emergency!!

For some reason, I like to pick out what my kids wear. I like going into their closet and getting something out that has been neatly folded and smells fresh. Not that the boys are fashion plates, but just being able to pick out what t-shirt and shorts they wear satifies me...I know, it's weird. Anyways.....this is what I get when I tell them to go up and pick out their clothes. Seriously!!! Apparently, he doesn't have an eye for fashion and doesn't care either :)

VBS 2009

Evey year, the boys look forward to VBS and I am so thankful. They had a great time this year and loved the "space" theme. On Thursday night, after a long week of memorizing bible verses and homework, they got to celebrate at the carnival and spend all the tickets that they earned all week.
Here is Drew on stage....they asked for volunteers to come on stage and sing the songs and he was off as fast as he could. Jackson didn't move an inch and would barely sing the song. True to their personalities.....

They were excited to get their picture taken with the characters from the skits.....and hang with their buddies, Powell and Pierson.

Then we headed to the carnival. Drew wanted to get his face painted. The line was 45 minutes long!! He didn't care, but Jackson did. He just wanted to play games. So, he patiently waited for his brother to get his face painted...he was such a nice brother.

Here is the end result. Was it worth the time spent in line when we had to wash it off an hour later to go to bed? It was worth it to Drew. He loved it!

Jackson got to pick the games he wanted to play since he waited in line so long with Drew. He went right to the golf game. They spent their tickets left and right and had a great time.

Wedding Festivities!!

I am so happy. My sister married a great guy this weekend! They are so perfect for each other and I was so honored to be a part of all the festivities. We started out the weekend with a bridal luncheon at the Culinary Institute in Kansas City. All the little girls brought their American Girl dolls........Amanda did too :)

My mom hosted the event for all the girls!!

Here are all my cousins on my mom's side. It was so fun to see everyone who had traveled so far to celebrate!

Here is my aunt and cousin-in-law from Dallas.....we see them all the time, so we weren't as excited.......totally kidding!!

Finally, at the end of the night at the rehearsal dinner.......the boys had had it!!

Here's the problem......I did not take my camera to the wedding, so I am at the mercy of others to send me some pics. Obviously, there was a wedding photographer, but I can't get those pictures. Keep checking back to see some pictures of the actual big day. What a celebration!! Amanda and Ben are on their honeymoon in Ireland for 2 weeks!! Congratulations!

End of the year!

We officially have 2 kids in elementary school! We have a kindergartner and a 2nd grader!! I cannot believe it--what has happened to these boys? They grew up right before our eyes :)
Drew had a spectacular year with his teacher Mrs. Stephens. They clicked right from the start and we couldn't of asked for a better teacher for him. What other teacher prays for your child? She was super special!


Brooke and I came up to Jackson's end of the year party. All the girls were all over Brooke (like she was a little doll) and Jackson proudly showed her off by holding her at his desk. She loved all the attention!

Jackson had Mrs. Arnet this year and she was such a nurturing and calm teacher. She has 3 boys of her own so she had a special knack with the boys and kept them under control. Jackson loved going to school every day and learned a lot.

Memorial Day (late!!)

Spring really is beautiful in Texas. The weather is mild and there are so many flowers. On Memorial Day, the kids and I went to one of our favorite places....the Grapevine Arboreteum. Many people make the trek down to the Dallas Arboreteum, but I don't have time for that!!! This little park is small and so quaint. It has rugged trails behind all the flowers that the boys love to explore. So we headed out for a couple of hours of fun!
This suspension bridge is the crossover into the woods......
The other thing I love about this garden is that it has a play area which the kids loved. Check out this spider web.....I had never seen something like this!
As you can see, Brooke LOVED the flower gardens :)

And finally.......what we all came for...a picnic!! The weather was great, we found a perfect spot, and it was a fun day to be a mom :)