Random thought from Jackson......

The scene: Lunchtime today

Jackson: After lunch, will you measure my toungue?

Me: OKaayyy, suuurree???


Who knows?

Where the Wild Things Are.....

My parents were visiting last weekend for my birthday and we drove to Glen Rose to a drive-thru safari. It was great!
You must stay in your cars, but you can have the windows rolled down and you can see that the animals are well trained and have no problem sticking their heads in your car and drooling all over the place! The boys thought that was the best.
Halfway thru, you can get out of your car on top of this hill and eat, roam around, and visit the petting zoo. Drew loved brushing these goats and they loved him too! Everytime he would stop brushing them and walk away, they would follow him.
WE saw giraffes, zebras, rams, and all other sorts of 4 legged creatures. We had a great day and the boys really got into feeding all of the animals and Drew even named all the deer "his boys." Everytime he would see some, he would say, "There's my boys!"

San Antonio Sizzle........

OK...It is HOT here in Texas!! We went to San Antonio last weekend and took the boys to Sea World. Mistake #1--going to Sea World on a Saturday. Mistake #2--going to Sea World in August. We learned our lesson and will take note the next time we go. Despite those mistakes, we had a great time. On Friday, we got to the riverwalk and ate dinner next to the river. Then, we took the boys on the boat ride tour thru the canal. Jackson hung on every word that the tour guide told us....it was like he was 20 years old or something. Drew waved at the people on the bank and asked when it was going to be over.
Here are the boys faces the first time that Shamu jumped out of the water. Jackson was in silent awe with a big smile on his face. Drew spontaneously started clapping and laughing. It was so fun to see the joy on their faces. They loved all the shows and Jason and I were impressed with the quality of the entertainment. We loved it too! Now, here is one of the Shamus. There are 4 of them, so you never really know which one is the real Shamu. Jackson kept asking me which one was Shamu. We were a little confused on that.

I think Jackson is going to be a roller coaster nut....Drew, not so much. Here they are waiting in line for the Texas Splashdown which is like a log ride. Drew wanted me to cover his eyes the whole time and his little heart was beating so fast. Jackson couldn't get enough! He wanted to go again and again. He even went on some other roller coasters that Drew couldn't go on. He missed the cutoff for this big one, The Steel Eel, just by one inch....so he's hoping next year he'll be tall enough.
School starts in a few weeks so we're just trying to enjoy the last bit of summer that we have left. Jackson is very excited about Kindergarten and both the boys have their backpacks and lunchboxes picked out. Very important stuff for a 3 and 5 year old!!

Tennis, Anyone?

Jackson has had tennis camp all week. He took lessons last summer and fall and he really enjoys it. The coach makes it really fun for the kids and they do a lot of games while working on skills. Jackson was especially proud because two days in a row, he won the game "King of the Castle." This is a game the kids play at the net and practice their volleys.
Today was the last day and it was game day. The boys and the girls had a race to see who could run down the court balancing their ball on the racket. Check out the concentration on Jackson's face--he takes competition seriously! The girls won though....they took their time and it payed off.
Jackson is running like crazy in the game "Adios Amigos"...don't ask me why they call it that. They have to run around the court and the coach tries to hit them with the ball. The kids love it.
Check out what Drew does while Jackson is sweating on the court. He watches ants. He learned the first day that there was a large ant population near the tennis courts and that if you dropped any food, they would come. So today, he brought a snack for his "pets" and he watched how they carried the crumbs on their backs. When he's not tending to his pets, he's begging to go and retrieve balls that the kids have hit. He can hardly wait until he can take lessons when he turns 4.
Finally, the kids have like 1 minute to run around the court and pick up all the balls and Jackson figured out how to get the most balls in one trip. He had a great week at camp and can't wait to do it again in the fall.

You gotta have friends.........

Take a look at these girls.....then, check out what they did to my patio when I was away this morning! I had my own extreme makeover!! This is my wonderful birthday present from them.....these pictures do not do it justice. It's like a little polynesian paradise. There's a rug, table, pillows, iron wall piece, a funky ladder, new plants, outdoor cups, tiki torches, wind charms, I could go on forever!! They told me to come in the side gate and when I walked in, they were all there serving up some refreshing mint tea.
I just feel so blessed to have friendships like I do with this group of girls. I would have never imagined that I would be so blessed in this way and I love each and every one of them. So.....I have to say thank you to Kari, Kim, Julie-Anne, Susan, and Renee'!!!

Flower Children

The boys actually asked me to take their pictures by some flowers in the garden tonight. They were in really silly moods and kept posing and laughing....something must be in the air!

A new addition......

To the house, that is.....We had an arbor being built for the last tree days and it was complete today! We are very excited that we can grill without having a heat stroke and the kids can play while I can read a magazine in the shade (at least for a little while)! We also landscaped the backyard, which was MUCH needed! My parents did most of the work and with all their gardening knowledge, it looks beautiful.
Jackson loves to water the flowers and he is quite the gardner. He loves to get his hands dirty. Drew, on the other hand, loves to run on the flagstone path thru the garden playing "Hansel and Gretel." He's kinda in his own world...it's pretty fun to see them explore in their own ways :)Come on over for a visit and sit awhile.......

All-American Fun!

We had a great 4th of July with family! The weather cooperated and we had a house full of people, so we grilled and made home-made ice cream. We ended up watching the fireworks in our front yard which was the best seat it town!
On Sunday, we took the boys to the Rangers game and we had a blast. They consumed sno-cones, cotton candy, and hot dogs. Then, they ran the bases, hit balls, and played all the games that they had for the kids. Jackson won a program which told who all the players were, so we spent time looking up all the players pictures as they came up to bat. They are already asking to go back......is it because they love baseball or hot dogs?? Time will tell........

Don't leave me!!

I am having computer problems again where I cannot connect to the internet on my laptop, which is where all my pictures are. I'm getting it fixed on Tuesday, so stay tuned.......

Catching up.....

Just a quick catch-up on what we've been doing lately.......I finally got my computer working again, so hopefully, I will be more punctual in updating the exciting happenings in the Maupin household!!
The boys and I took a trip to Kansas City for my dad's 60th birthday!! A lot of fishing, canoeing, and the long standing tradition of hitting golf balls into the lake to see how far they will go......fun, fun, fun!! We had a great visit and celebrated my dad's birthday at my parents house with about 70 of his closest friends :)
Last weekend, my mom took my sister and I on or annual "Girls Mystery Trip." That means that my mom plans a trip for us and we don't know where we are going until the day before. It is very exciting. This year, we went to Las Vegas to see Celine Dion perform---which was spectacular!! Definitely a once in a lifetime experience. We also saw the Cirqu de Soleil "O" show, which is their water show. It was also amazing. I had to include the picture of my sister among the Las Vegas regulars at the slot machines. My mom and I weren't so lucky on the slots, but Amanda won about $400!!
Do you know who the large man is with Amanda and I?? Look closely because we weren't sure, but that is Ruben Studdard, who won American Idol a couple of years ago. He was walking thru the lobby of our hotel and Amanda and I, being the celebrity stalkers that we are, recognized him and requested a picture. That was our big brush with fame....
I'm home now and so grateful to my dad, who when I was away, practically landscaped the whole backyard!! It looks awesome! And, my mom, who always makes me feel so special and loved. I so appreciate everything that they do for us!
Jackson is busy this week with "Weird Science" camp and Drew has "Pirate Camp." I go to the grocery store or clean the house in between camps.......back to reality!!

Technical Difficulties..........

I'm experiencing technical difficulties with my laptop. We just got back from a wonderful week in Kansas City and I have some great pictures to post, but something is wrong with my internet connection on my laptop. I will work on it this weekend and hopefully be up and running again soon.
Stay tuned......

What a day!

The boys had a wonderful day today. This morning, we went to Sandy Lake Park with some friends. It is an old-time amusement park that has little rides that are perfect for kids.
As you can see, we started off pretty tame on the little boat ride, then graduated to the rock 'n' roll ride with all the kids and then finally ended up on the roller-coaster which they loved! I think they will be fans of Six Flags! If you can enlarge the action shot of everyone on the roller coaster, it is hilarious. My friend Renee' and I were laughing so hard when we watched our friend Kari brave the roller coaster with the kids. It just didn't look right for a grown woman to be riding that little thing.

Finally, a dream come true for Jackson and Drew....Jason heard that Scooby Doo and Shaggy were going to be at LifeTime Fitness this afternoon, so we couldn't miss it. The boys were pumped up to see them and then....there they were. And where was Drew? Hiding behind my legs. He was so everwhelmed, he didn't know what to do. Jackson was a little overwhelmed as well and would only go see the characters with our friend, Jadyn. She was braver than he was! It was so funny. I guess this was a little preview of what they will be like at Disneyworld......

The Great Outdoors

We arrived at Hugo Lake State Park well after dark. No one was there to greet us or take us to our cabins. Our cabins were locked and it was pitch dark. We also realized that we were locked in the park and couldn't drive to find a hotel. It became clear to us that we were on our own for the first night. The kids were excited about the fact that we may have to all (8 of us) sleep in one tent or in the cars...Luckily, one of the dads said "Let's check under the mat" Sure enough, there were the keys!! We were in and our camping adventure began!
The next day was beautiful--very hot and no rain, so the kids took off down by the lake (which was right behind the cabins)and caught all sorts of bugs, climbed rocks, and tried to catch fish (no luck).
We turned on the sprinklers in the middle of the day to cool off and went to the swimming beach at at the lake. We slowed things down to play Emily's "Dora Dominoes" and then finally ended that big day with a delicious dinner prepared by the Meadows!
Of course, no camping trip would be complete without smores and glow sticks which the kids ran with in the dark like crazy for an hour playing all sorts of silly games with the glow sticks from ninjas to Star Wars......Sunday morning, we woke up to pouring rain, so we cooked breakfast on the screened in porch and lingered back there (remember we had a coffeemaker) for a couple of hours while the kids ran around in the cabins. Finally, time to pack up for the wet trip back home. Jackson and Drew call the Meadows kids their "camping cousins" and can't wait to go again next year. We all came home with smiles on our faces from a great weekend!

Into the Woods......

Bug Spray.....check.
Tent......check.
Marshmallows.....check.
Coffee Maker.....check.

In case you're confused, we are heading to Oklahoma with some friends for a weekend of camping! Once we heard that we had electricity at our campsite, we HAD to bring the coffeemaker! We'll be roughing it with a little creature comfort from home. Stay tuned for pictures and stories!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

For the past two days, the boys have been asking me if it was Mother's Day. So today, they were so excited to give me their presents that they had made at school (loved the homemade keychain and painted whale!!) and serve me breakfast in bed! They loved being "servers" and could not let an opportunity pass to argue over who was the "best server." I don't know what the rest of the day holds, but I am so thankful to be a mother and cannot remember what I did or what I thought about before I became one. It is such a honor.
I also want to thank my mom and mother-in-law for being loving, encouraging, and inspirational examples of mothers!

Just a quiet lunch.......

Three days a week, it's just Drew and I. We have our routine of running errands (going to Target), going to LifeTime Fitness, and then having lunch at home. Jackson doesn't know it, but on those days, we eat lunch in the family room while we watch a movie!!! It's such a treat for Drew to eat off his little tray and get to pick any movie he wants--today, we watched Sesame Street. I usually try to squeeze my plate on the tray with him and we just enjoy Elmo. Life is good.

Flying High

My sister gave Jackson a Butterfly Pavillion for his birthday in January. Well, we finally got around to sending off for the creepy caterpillars which we got 2 weeks ago.We watched them turn into their chyrsallis and then they emerged into beautiful butterlies! It was quite a sight (there was a lot of blood involved, who knew??)Anyways, today we released our 10 butterflies into our backyard. The boys got to hold them and they flitted around our backyard until the boys finally chased them away.