American Girl

After almost 8 years of being a mother to boys only, I ventured into the world of American Girls this weekend and I LOVED it!! My cousin and his family came to visit us this weekend and Brooke and I went to eat with Angie(cousin's wife) and Alyssa (her daughter)to celebrate Alyss'as birthday. Alyssa was kind enough to bring her bitty baby for Brooke to take to lunch with her.
Here are Brooke and Alyssa getting ready to head up to the bistro....
Here are Brooke and I enjoying some "girl time" We had chocolate fondue and milkshakes.....it's tough being a girl!
Brooke chats with her bitty baby about girl stuff. I think I'm gonna like this American Girl craze! I wanted all the dolls, furniture, clothes......they've come a long way from when I used to use a kleenex box for my Barbie's bed. I can't wait until Brooke is old enough to get into this stuff...I'll be ready to play!
Happy Birthday Alyssa!!!

Fun Run

Today was the boys fun run at school. They have been getting pledges all week and today was the day. Last year, it was outside but this year, the field was too muddy, so they moved it inside. So, here is Drew in the cafeteria running his laps. The most you can run is 35, but he's pretty sure that he ran more.
Jackson was next and they were set up in the gym. He ran 46 laps and was sweating like crazy! I don't have video of him, but I will post pictures later.

That Stinker!

As Aunt Paula would say..."That stinker!" I turn my head for a moment and Brooke is having a great time pulling all the wipes out of the box! Look at that smile--she is so proud of herself!

Serious Reading....

This is how I found Jackson the other night....in his sleeping bag on his bed with this book in his hands. He had fallen asleep while reading "How to Deal With a Scorpion".....boys are the best :)

Four Generations

This weekend, we had 4 generations of family all together! Jason's grandparents came from Idaho, Jason's parents came from KC, and Jason's brother also was able to come and visit on his way to moving to San Diego. Jason's grandparents had not met Brooke, so this was their first meeting.
The boys love Uncle Josh. He always has something crazy and wild to say or do. This time, he brought a helium tank and balloons for the boys, so they decided to blow up a bunch of ballons and send them to the moon.
They tied notes to the string, bread for the birds, and plastic army men......who knows?? Anyways, we all went outside to see the launch. The boys were delighted!
We are a game family. We love to play games! I taught the boys this game that my grandma taught me called "Marbles" Here are the boys teaching their great grandparents how to play.
Finally, all the men went golfing on their last day here. Grandpa Burns is an avid golfer so it was a treat for the boys to be able to go with him and they had a great time!

CHAMPS!!

All right...I have to brag! The Mavericks went undefeated this season AND won first place in the end of the season tournament!! It was exciting! Jason was a great coach and Jackson had a great experience. The games were close and the boys really worked together and played hard.
Jason saying some congratulatory words to the boys afterwards....
Then, it was time to celebrate. The team went to Freddy's afterwards for ice cream.
OK, why do boys do such weird things? Notice in the pictures....they are putting salt on their ice cream and daring each other to eat it. They were cracking me up!
Of all the sports, I think basketball is my favorite to watch. It is so fast and exciting and the game can change quickly. I forsee many more basketball games in my future and I'm not complaining :)

Big Morning!

A big morning in the Maupin household! We have a kinderegartner and a 2nd grader--woo hoo! The boys were in good moods this morning and ready for school.
Here they are modeling their new backpacks that G-ma and G-pa sent them. Notice their names embroidered on them with a basketball/soccer ball. They thought that was pretty cool.
When we got to Drew's room, Jackson turned into a little mother saying "Drew, go to you locker, do this, do that..." He had his hands on Drew's shoulders guiding him all around the room. He was hanging up his backpack for him, pulling out his chair for him...it was like all of the sudden, Drew was incapable of doing anything for himself. Oh, you're probably wondering about the headband that Drew has on. Unfortunately, he had to have another surgery on his ears about a week ago, so he has to wear that headband for a while. Not an ideal way to start school, but he seemed fine with it.
Then, it was off to the second grade wing. Jackson walked with confidence like he owned the school. Walked right into his classroom, hung up his backpack, and sat down at a table with his buddies. Smooth sailing.....
Look who I will be spending my days with!! What fun!

Merry Christmas?!?!?

On our trip to Branson, we were eating lunch at The College of the Ozarks when Drew spotted Santa eating at a table near us! We couldn't believe it! Drew went over to his table with Auntie A and asked him if he was from the North Pole. He said he was and he proceeded to pull out a special coin from his pocket that said "You've been caught being good!" Apparently, he keeps a pocketful of these when he's on vacation....anyways, he came over to our table and told us he was on vacation before he headed back up to the North Pole to start getting ready for Christmas and was nice enough to take a picture with the kids. Brooke's not so sure about him but the boys were thrilled!

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 :)