Take Me Out To The Ball Game.......

We had a baseball filled weekend. Nana and Papa came down to see the boys play. We kept our fingers crossed that the rain would pass and it did! They both had games on Saturday and they turned out to be great! Don't mind the grabbing of the crotch by Drew.....who knows?
Everyone is ready for the game!
Drew got the game ball for the Cubs! He has been waiting all season for this and he could not have been happier. He was running around smiling and has prominently displayed his game ball in the kitchen so "everyone can see it."
Then, Jackson got the big leauge chew for being the "big league player." He made 2 outs while playing 3rd and made a great throw from 3rd to 1st. So, we've been chewing on that gum all weekend. I think maybe Nana and Papa are the good luck charms :)

Drew's Collection

Drew is a collector. Of what, you might ask. Well, check out his collection that he is examining. Lately, he's into collecting the little plastic things that go on top of hangers at clothing stores that are either S,M,or L. He loves to scour the floor for those while I am shopping. We will leave a store and he will have at least a couple of new things in his pocket to add to his collection that he has found on the floor. We have a special box for these things because otherwise, they would be all over the place. He cracks me up.....what a piece of work.

So, What do you think???

Didn't Marina do a great job? I love it! If you're interested in a blog makeover, go to her blog www.marinasimmons.blogspot.com and there's a link to email her on there. She is so creative and this was WAAYY overdue :)

Stay tuned......

Stay tuned for a blog make-over!! A new, exciting, look coming to the Maupin Minute....I'm excited!

It's a Hard Knock Life

This boy has more bumps and bruises than any other kid I know!! The thing is, all the bumps and buises are on his forehead. This must be a prominent feature on him because it seems to be the body part that runs into things before any other part of his body does. The past week, this scene has been familiar almost every other day. I'm just glad that kid has a hard head!

Little Cub

The time has come. After 2 years of watching his older brother play t-ball and then baseball, Drew is officially on a team. The Cubs. He is so proud.
When we got to the first game, Jackson felt like he needed to get Drew on the field and give him some grounders. He was begging to be the catcher and help the kids in the dugout. I guess he feels like he's the pro now.
As a beginner, Drew is more aggressive that Jackson was when he started. He ran for all the balls (even if he was on 3rd and it was hit to 1st) and he even fell while running and then crawled the rest of the way to ensure that he got the ball.
This shall be interesting. Of course, the most important part--snacks!! He was very happy to have his own Gatorade for the first time!
On another note, we had a bad storm last night, so the boys slept on our floor. I just had to snap this picture of them sleeping. They look so peaceful. Minutes later, the craziness had begun!!

More Pirate Adventures.....

So, we boarded a "real" pirate ship on our last day in Florida. We went all over the bay looking for buried treasure. Here are Amanda and Ben holding the smallest pirate.
The ship had pirates all over the place. Here they are sporting their new pirate tatoos that Ben got them. The one on Jackson's arm still isn't off yet!
To be a real pirate, you have to have a moustache and/or beard and you absolutely must have a "scar" on your face with a little blood. At least that's what these pirates said.....so, the boys waited in line to get painted by this pirate.

After all the kids looked like real pirates, we danced, did the pirate limbo, heard a pirate story, and shot a mini cannon........finally, we found the treaure and all the kids got some "loot" It was so fun and a great way to end a wonderful trip!!

Goin' on a Treasure Hunt

While in Florida, Papa ran into an old pirate who gave him a treasure map. He showed it to the boys and they had to hunt for treasure!So early in the morning, we set out on the trail and tried to follow the clues.
Jackson found the pile of shells that the treasure was supposed to be buried under!
Digging, digging, digging.......
Checking out the skull and crossbones on the treasure chest...scary.
Running home down the trail to open the chest and check out the pirate's booty which consisted of eye patches, flags, gold, and pirate stickers! All the loot had held up well being buried there for so many years :)

Easter Happenings......

When we got home from Florida, Jason's parents were here ready to celebrate Easter with us! The boys were very excited! They went from being spoiled by one set of grandparents to the next. Jason and I are spending the week straightening them out!!
On our way to church!
A little brotherly love :)
They love dyeing Easter eggs with Grandma!

Captiva Island Fun

We had a great time on Spring Break with my family. More pictures to come, but here is just an introduction....

When I Grow Up......

When I grow up I want to be....."A sintist becuse I like siyints egspermints and I do a lot at hom." This is what Jackson wrote when asked what he wanted to be when he grows up. We weren't surprised!
The kindergartners had a parade thru the school dressed as their future profession. The day we got the note home about the parade, he knew what he wanted to be. When I dropped him off for school that morning, he told me that he was just going to wear the science goggles in his pocket because he was embarassed. I was a little relieved that he kinda knew that it might be a little dorky. If he was totally unaware of social implications, then I would worry. So, when he showed up in the hallway wearing the goggles, I was surprised. Afterwards, I asked him why he decided to wear those and he said that his teacher said that he should. I agree....I mean, what kind of scientist are you going to be without the goggles, right? It was hilarious!
And, here's Drew with his Webkinz, Biscuit. Drew believes that Biscuit is real and has real feelings, therefore we take him many places with us because he will be scared if we leave him. Sometimes, he even has to go outside to use the bathroom. It looks like Biscuit enjoyed the parade.

A Celebration of Life!

Some people may think this is a weird entry, but let me explain.....last weekend, my grandmother passed away. She was 94 years old and lived a wonderful life. So, all the cousins traveled to small town Kansas to remember her. She had expressed that her time had come and she was not scared, but ready to go. I love that. She had peace within her and she knew that she was going to Heaven.
So, all the grandkids spoke at her service and we all shared some memories that we had of her. It was really a feeling of celebration that she is with God now and is no longer in pain.
Although the boys did not attend the service, Jackson wanted to go to the burial ceremony with us. We felt that he was mature enough and he was. He sat solemnly and clasped his hands together to pray. It was very sweet and it opened up some good conversation and I expect more questions to come.
I love my family and I love my cousins. We have all become friends as adults and we all have young kids (4 of the little kids weren't there)so it makes get togethers crazy and loud, but so much fun. My grandma would be happy :)

Boys Will Be Boys

I'm finally at the point where the boys can go in the backyard and play by themselves for a while. I can be in the kitchen and see them out the window. I can also hear them, which is good. So, when I looked out the window the other day and didn't see them, I walked outside and I found Jackson high in this tree and Drew was desperately holding onto the trunk trying to climb up as well. He was like 2inches off the ground, poor guy.
So, I told Jackson to come down a couple of branches and lifted Drew up into the tree. He held on for dear life, but was proud that he was up there like his brother. (Oh, if you noticed that he's wearing his Scooby pajamas--that's because he got to wear them to school that day for a pj party)
If there is such thing as a natural climber, Jackson seems to have that skill. He can climb that tree so quickly and he looks surprisingly agile doing it. He also loves to scale the brick wall between our house and our neighbors and then look into other people's yards and reports what he sees. I hope this doesn't turn into a bad habit---either that or he'll make a great spy.

Love is in the air!

We have had a fun and busy Valentine week! We went to see Drew make his debut at his Valentine performance. He did awesome! His class sang 2 songs and did sign language to one of them.
We had been hearing bits and pieces of the songs for a few weeks now, so it was finally good to see it all come together. We were very proud of him and he was so excited that after he was done, he ran off the stage and gave me and Jason a big hug. He was a happy kid!
Today, when we got home, we saw some balloons and a big bag on our front porch. The boys wer so excited and fought over who would get to retrieve the bag...mom won. Anyways, they got a cookie and balloon gram from their Grandma and Grandpa! Those cookies are the best and we all had to have a sample before dinner.
Last weekend, we took the boys to one of our favorite "adult" restaurants..The Melting Pot. It's one of those fondue places where you cook your food at your table. We thought the boys were old enough to go try it out.
They not only did great, but the loved the food! We literally did not have one morsel left on our plates after they cleaned up after us. They thought it was the coolest and are already asking when we can go back!

Great Wolf Lodge!

Before you start reading this.....I realize that this post is kind of mixed up. My words don't match some of the pics. I don't have time to correct it, so you'll have to try to figure it out. I'll do better next time!

We had such a fun time celebrating my mom's birthday at the Great Wolf Lodge!! This is the only picture that I took inside the water park. After Drew went down this little slide, the camera went into the locker and we headed off to bigger and better slides!
How great is this.....my parents come into town and get a room, so the boys get to stay with them and Jason and I get to go home and sleep in the next morning!! We were in heaven!
If anyone has seen Jackson eat lately, I think I'm in big trouble when the teenage years roll around. He can almost eat as much as Jason. His appetite is huge. Plus, he will eat almost anything, which is great because he's not really a picky eater. Check out his plate--I think that was trip #3 to the buffet line :)
We had a great time and of course, the kids are asking when we can go back. Definitely a fun way to celebrate a birthday--Happy Birthday Mom!