HAPPY MONDAY!!

Captiva Island 2009

We went with my parents and my sister and her fiancee', Ben to Captiva Island again for spring break this year. As usual, it was so beautiful and we had a wonderful time. On this years deep sea fishing trip, 2 sharks were caught!! One by Jason and the other one by Jackson!! Here is Jackson after they cut the head off (I know, gross....). They fileted it for us and we ate it the next night. Don't ask me how it tasted because I didn't eat it!!
The shark with his head on....apparently, he was snapping all over the place, so the fishing guide had to hold his head. Yikes!
Jason't little shark...I say that because everyone was in awe of his shark and then one minute later, Jackson caught his!
Drew has been working on catching 100 fish for about 2 years now. Well, he came to the island with 97 and here he is with his 100th! That night, we went out for a big celebration dinner and he was awarded a fishing trophy in the restaurant (that my dad had made up and brought with him)....very exciting!!
Here's the whole gang before they left that morning...

Tea Party

This weekend, Brooke and I got to go to High Tea at the Adolphus Hotel to celebrate some friends birthdays. It was so fun!
Here is our first course.....there were four of them and by the end, we were stuffed with little sandwiches, desserts, and lots of tea! I almost asked for coffee because I'm not a tea person but I figured that would not be proper tea etiquette :)
So, these are the birthday girls!! There were supposed to be 6 of us, but 2 girls got sick, so I was the only one there NOT celebrating their birthday. Look how cute these girls are--I love them!
We shut down the tea room! We were the last ones there and we were getting a little silly...too much tea, too much fun!!

Par for the Course

The boys were out back with their golf clubs enjoying the gorgeous weather. I noticed they kept coming thru the house gathering various items, so I went out to investigate. They were digging little holes all over the yard! Why? They reported that they were making their own golf course. I have to admit--they did a pretty good job. The sun was going down so I didn't get good pictures, but I'm thinking they'll be out there in the morning for a round on their new golf course!

This and That.....

It seems I've had a blog drought lately. Not much going on, but here are some random pics!!Jason talking to the Mavericks basketball team at the team party.....notice Drew front and center and he's not even on the team!
Jackson and Jason went to a Mavericks camp and afterwards, they got to tour the locker room. Here is Jackson sitting in Dirk Nowitzki's chair..it's so huge!

Jackson took this shot of us hanging out....
Grandpa and Brooke on their last visit here!

Little Valentine

Here is Miss Brooke.....I tried to rotate the photos, but no success, so you will just have to turn your head to see the cuteness!!
We just got back from Drew's Valentine party and she was sporting all hearts :)

Finally!!!

Finally......the boys finished this lego set that Jackson got for Christmas!
It had almost 1200 pieces and it was very tricky. I am so glad because now my dining room table will be clear again--until the next lego mission.
Finally....Jackson lost his first tooth! He was late to get his teeth, so he was late to lose them. This one hadn't been loose for very long and just fell out when he was playing with some friends. He was very excited and the tooth fairy left him money to buy some baseball cards :)

Here she is......

We rounded out our busy season of life events with Jackson turning 7!! We started back in Nov. with Drew's surgery, Drew's birthday, Brooke's birth, Christmas, New Years, and now Jackson's birthday. I can officially rest (as much as you can with 3 kids) until next year!!
We had Jackson's birthday at Main Event, which is a bowling alley, arcade, pizza place. We had 19 boys and it was crazy! Of course, it was a Clone Wars theme and here he is getting ready to blow out the candles.
Drew does not think he is younger than any of these boys. He knows all their names and sometimes they look at him like "Who are you?" He loves hanging out with the "big boys" and loves cake too!
You can see that Brooke was super excited to be at the Clone Wars birthday party :)
Here is sweet Jackson. He wants Brooke to lay in his bed with him at night while we read and he holds her. He is so sweet and gentle with her--he will be a great father. But, before that, he needs to have many, many more birthdays!! We love you Jackson!

Happy New Year!

We celebrated New Years with Jason parents! Look at this party girl!
Kathy got crazy hats, blowers, noise makers.....the works!
It's hard to get a good picture of the boys...all they want to do is make funny faces :)
Whenever Brooke is awake, the boys are all over her. What is she doing? Did she spit up? She's making a funny face! It goes on and on....Brooke loves them hanging around.
Here are the boys toasting with our neighbor, Timmy. Happy New Years Everyone!

Holiday Happenings!

We spent the holidays getting to know our latest addition. She is such a blessing to our family. Here is my mom hovering over her while she plays. My mom stayed for 2 weeks and took care of us all. I know she missing us, but not the interrupted sleep!
Here are Jamie and I with our little girls. We were so honored to have her bring her kids and spend Christmas Eve and day with us. She is giving me all the scoop on having a girl.
Can you believe that no one has taken a picture of Jason and I with our daughter? This is the first one! I guess it got overlooked at the hospital and I was too out of it to remember.
My neighbor, Katie, offered me this sling. I had not used one with the boys, so I told her I would try it. She told me it was one thing she could not live without. Now, I believe her! It has been a lifesaver and my dad even loved wearing it. Hands free!!
We had to get out and go see the ICE exhibit at the Gaylord. Everyone went in and Brooke and I strolled around the Gaylord and got some hot chocolate. She was a perfect companion and I got some practice with the new stroller. Since it was our first outing with her, we had not used the stroller yet. There we were, in the parking lot for 10 minutes and could not get the stroller open!! We were all pulling, pushing, pressing everything until finally my dad did something to it and it opened. After the ordeal, Jackson said "That was pretty embarassing." I agreed and a good lesson to read the manual before you go out in public :)

The Teeny Queenie....

The teeny queenie has begun her reign!! She has been home for a week now and we are all in love with her :) Here she is hanging out with her big brothers this afternoon (not really, I put her there for the photo op.:))
Leaving the hospital. I couldn't believe my time was already up and I was coming home to reality! Luckily, my mom fills in for those wonderful nurses and has helped me so much. She has Brooke at night and then brings her to me when it is time for her to nurse. It's like my own private night nanny :)
Here is Grandma Maupin snuggling with Brooke on her first day home. They will be coming back after Christmas and I bet they will think she has already grown so much.
After her first bath she looked so happy and content. I'm serious---the girl loved lotion being rubbed on her. She just quieted down and relaxed. I'm thinking...spa days ahead!
The boys have been so gentle and so fun to watch with her. They adore her. They are also quite entertained when she has an explosive sounding diaper...they think that's great. I'm sure she will be happy to know that she is entertaining them that way.....

We're home!

OK, we have TONS of pictures to post, so I'm starting with these. I didn't see Jason in any of these...he must have been taking a lot of these. I assure you that he was there! So, after a 2 hour, un-intentional "natural" labor, Brooke Noelle Maupin was born!!
She weighed 6 lbs., 13 oz. and is so beautiful!
Grandpa Maupin and the boys hanging with Brooke.
Papa and the boys checking her out thru the glass while she's getting all cleaned up. They were amazed and in awe of her.
Here are the boys the first time they saw her. Apparently, they were walking thru the door when the nurse was bringing her to the nursery and they ran into each other. So, the nurse just plopped her down in the arms. I'm glad I wasn't there because just looking at the picture makes me nervous!!
Here is Nana unwrapping her this morning so the boys could check her out.
Here is my dad, Papa. His first grand-daughter. He had 2 daughters and he was the best dad for girls, so he'll know just what to do! He is the best at killing bugs, fixing hair, and learning new dance moves and cheers....I'm sure his granddaughter will have him dancing soon.
And, the two proud brothers...I was a little surprised at the interest they have taken to her. They are so sweet and everytime they come into the room, they ask, "Where's Brooke?" They've just got to check on her wherabouts.
I had so many pictures to choose from.......I have some of Grandma Maupin with her granddaughter and tons of others that we will post soon! So.....who does she look like?

The end is near.........

This picture was taken on Thanksgiving day, so I'm probably even bigger now!!! Yes, this Friday, we will induce at 9 a.m. and wait for this little girl to enter the world! We are getting excited around here and everything seems to be in order for her arrival. We'll let you know when we decide on a name (we still can't decide!!), but she cannot leave the hospital without a name, so we will know soon!! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers as this day approaches :)