Sharp-Dressed Man

Jackson had picture day at school today and they had to wear their "Dress Uniform." This is the 3rd time he's worn it and he likes to wear it. Especially the velcro tie....This morning, I told him that he didn't have to wear the coat until he got to school and five minutes later, he walks out with the coat on. He loves it!! All he needed was a briefcase and he would be off to Wall Street!

Weekend Getaway!

Jason and I spent a wonderful weekend in San Antonio with our dear friends, Shawn and Jenni Meadows. Jenni and I were sorority sisters and lived in the Kappa house together (she was the pres. and I was vice-pres.!!!)We were celebrating Jenni's birthday with a weekend trip! We happened to be there on the anniversary of the Alamo siege and watched a re-enactment which was pretty cheesy and we all kinda laughed thru it. Mostly, we ate and ate and ate!!! The best was just hanging out with them and talking about everything under the sun.
Our next adventure with them will be our 2nd annual camping trip with the kids. I will definitely post pictures of that because many people can't believe that we do it.....I will have proof!

Love is in the air.....

Today was a big day for us! The boys were both very excited about their Valentine's parties and I was able to make it to both. Drew's class decorated cookies and then passed out Valentine's. Drew could not believe that his friends kept giving him V-tine's. Everytime someone would put one in his basket, he would say "For me?" with a big smile on his face-he just thought this was the best thing ever! The other moms and teachers were cracking up. It was pretty funny.
Jackson's class got to enjoy the chocolate fountain that my in-laws gave me two Christmases ago. It has proved to be a huge hit for class parties! Of course, all the kids had chocolate everywhere, but it was fun. Jackson couldn't wait to get home to pour over his V-tine's and check out all the candy he got.
For dinner, we went to PeiWei. We had to find someplace that would be as fun as Chik-Fil-A (for the boys) and as good as Bob's Steak House (for us), so that was a good compromise. The boys went to sleep happy tonight as they were showered with cards and gifts from their grandparents. They will surely have sweet dreams :)

Serious Business

This morning, Drew and I worked on his Valentine's for his class. He took this very seriously. I would say the name of the person and he would carefully look over all the choices of valentines and decide on one for whatever reason....but careful not to give the boys any of the pink ones. Then, he would look at the assortment of candy and decide which one that person would like saying, "He/she will love this!" He is such a considerate friend. He even wanted to make one for his swim teacher and soccer coach. He picked Backyardigans valnetines, of course. He has been loving them for a long time now and was even one of the characters for Halloween. I will miss those Backyardigans when he grows out of this phase. Jason and I will have to keep some of the movies for us to watch when these days have passed :)

Our BIG night out!

We took the boys to see The Harlem Globetrotters last week! Jason and I both remember our parents taking us to see them when we were little, so we wanted to experince that with our boys.
Snacks were a high priority of the night. Both boys seriously considered and weighed all their options. Jackson decided on cotton candy and Drew got popcorn that was almost as big as he was. This was all very exciting!
I snapped a picture of them as they watched the Globetrotters first come out and do all their tricks. Drew participted with the crowd with clapping and cheers, but Jackson sat in a quiet awe. Their reactions go right along with each of their personalities...it was kinda funny.
We did leave at halftime because both the boys were tired. Their snacks were gone and the excitement had worn off a little. Jackson followed the game for a while and by that time, Drew was crawling around on the sticky floor making funny faces with the kids behind us. All in all, it was a success and I think the boys will remember the great snacks they had (and maybe the globetrotters too:).

Snow Day

On Friday, we woke up to a beautiful blanket of snow! Not enough to close schools, but just enough to have some serious fun. While Jackson went to school and hoped the snow wouldn't melt before he got home, Drew and I went to my friend Renee's house for coffee and a playdate! As you can see, Drew and Jadyn had a great time in the snow and Drew's shoes were soaking wet when we got in the car. Unfortunately, by the time Jackson got home, the snow was mostly gone. He was happy though because they had a snowball fight at school and he hit the teacher with a snowball! I was a little mortified until he said that she threw one right back at him :)

Holy Moment

Yesterday, when I picked up Drew from school, his teachers told me that they had been reading a book about how Jesus baptized people. They said that after they read the part where Jesus puts the person under the water, Drew raised his hand and said, "Well, my teacher baptized me at Aqua Kids!!"

Swim Kids!

We are getting ready for summer around here! The warm weather comes early here in Texas, so we have to be ready the minute the pool opens in April. We are also going to Florida for spring break, so the boys are continuing their swimming lessons so they will be ready for all the fun.
Drew has worked up to going down this big slide. Unfortunately, my camera took a great picture of him as he shot out of the slide, but the humidity in the room made the lens fog up.
Another thing that we've been working on is getting him to wear goggles. He says he can see just fine under water without them, but whenever the teacher looks, he never opens his eyes! This day he told his teacher that he "loves goggles now!" We'll see how he feels about them next week.
Jackson is working on the breast stroke right now and is working on getting arms and legs coordinated. He has always loved to swim and was a fast learner. Last year, we went to the pool about 3 times a week. This year, I'm sure we'll be there just as much, if not more! They're not quite at the point where I can leisurely sit on the side of the pool and read a magazine, but I look forward to that. Then again, that means they're growing up.....I think I'll wear my suit, just in case :)

Keeping Busy.....

It seems that we have been busy around here lately. Drew has been sick, but is feeling better now. Jason and I had a touch of it (a cold) for a while, but now we're on the mend. It's been a week since I posted, so here's what we've been up to.....
Tonight, Jason went to the Jayhawks game in Waco with some people from work, so we had a pizza party here at the house! We had 6 boys here (3 big brothers, 3 little brothers) and 3 of us moms. You can imagine the house after everyone left....it looked like a tornado came thru here. They had a great time! I am so thankful for my friends :)
We are getting to know our hermit crabs. They definitely have different personalities, it's kinda weird. Jackson is holding "Rainbow" here which is the smallest one and the one that will come out of his shell when he is in your hands. The boys give him a workout everytime we get him out. So far, no one has been pinched........Drew is becoming braver now and holding them, but I'm still a chicken. When I read that they were part of the spider family, that was it for me!
Here's Drew last Sunday morning bringing me a "cup of coffee" that he made for me. He's so sweet like that and is always thinking about his mom and dad. Last week, someone in his class brought cupcakes for their birthday and he asked the teacher for an extra one for his dad because his dad loves cake. He knows his dad well!
That's it for tonight....I'll try to get some pictures of the boys at swimming lessons this week. Drew is going down the "BIG" slide by himself now and is very proud!!

Catching up....

Here are a few things we've been doing lately.........Drew has been catching up on his zzzz's on his new bean bag!
Jackson has been digging for buried treasure! One of his birthday gifts kept him busy one morning. He was sure to wear his protective goggles and found all the gold coins.
A rare day of ice here in Texas! The boys were thrilled with the icicles and they ate almost every one of them!

PARTY TIME!

We had Jackson's party this year at Pump It Up. It is a party place with 10 different "bounce houses." Some are slides, obstacle courses, basketball courts, etc....it was a blast! The parents even got into it and got a workout.
The weather almost cancelled the party, but everyone made it out...I think the parents would do anything to get their kids out of the house to burn some energy because they knew that the rest of the weekend they would be couped up inside.
It;s so amazing that Jackson is 5 years old. In some ways, he seems like such a wise soul because he's a quiet thinker. Unlike his mom who just says whatever runs thru her head, he takes time to think and then very deliberately poses a question or a thought. He amazes us.
On the other hand, he loves to make weird (and lovingly annoying) noises and tries to tell jokes that don't make any sense, but he thinks they are hilarious! We're trying to work on the knock-knock joke right now. He's almost got those down.
Drew wants to be just like him. He followed him around at the party asking everyone if they knew his brother. We feel so blessed to be the parents of these little boys. They have challenged us as people, built us up as parents, and brought us to our knees because of the huge responsibility that God has given us. Every day, we will take the challenge and feel blessed to do so!
Happy Birthday Jackson!

We have crabs!!!

Hermit crabs, that is!! Jackson has been wanting hermit crabs for a while now, so when Nana came for his birthday.....guess what? He has crabs!! We came home with 5 of them after learning about the proper care and feeding of these little creatures. Jackson named them King Crab (the biggest), Jayhawk, Berry (who knows?), Rainbow (many colors), and Lightning McQueen (from the movie Cars). Here he is watching them crawl all over the place!
Drew and I aren't so into holding them and letting them crawl all over you, but Nana, Jackson, and Dad are brave. Maybe in time, Drew and I will take a chance and hold them.
We haven't decided where we will keep them.....probably in the play room, but for now they are fun to watch down here in the family room.
Tomorrow is Jackson's birthday party at Pump It Up. We are sad because my dad and sister are stuck in KC because of the weather. Their flight was cancelled and every other possible flight! We hope the weather clears for the morning so we can go have fun at his party! We'll let you know how it goes!
The boys say goodnight to their new friends.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Today was Jackson's 5th birthday!! He brought Spiderman cupcakes to school and got to wear the "brithday hat" which he was very excited about. He and his classmates were very concerned about what color they would get.....oh, the worries of a 5 year old!!
Being the true gourmet that he is, he chose Wendy's for his birthday dinner. We gave him many choices and were strongly encouraging it......Rainforest Cafe, Celebrity, Chilis, but no.....Wendy's it was. And why you ask? He says that the chicken nuggets are the best! And that's pretty important to a 5 year old :)

A Day in the life.......

We had soccer tots today. Drew LOVES soccer tots!! He asks me about 3 times a week when he has soocer. He loves running and chasing around the house, so to do it on a big field is heaven for him!
Jackson had tennis today and I forgot to take some pics. of that. I have seen him improve so much this fall and he has started to work on his backhand...pretty good for an almost 5 year old!
After all our activities, we came home and ate TACOS!! A favorite here at the Maupin household!

Dinosaur Digs

This is a test to see if I can post a picture! If you haven't seen Drew's "big boy" room and the painting that my friend Julie-Anne did, here it is! Drew is loving sleeping with the dinosaurs. I will post tomorrow pics. of the boys....they are sleeping now.

A New Year!

Well, why not? I've been reading friends blogs all year, so I decided to do one for our family. We'll see how this goes as I am not so computer saavy. I will try to post pictures and happenings with the boys daily, so come visit when you have a chance.