Buzz Lightyear and Jessie

I love to have the kids costumes match but realize that, with their ages, it’s not going to happen much longer. I didn’t think it would even happen this year. Tate had high hopes of being a Ttransformer or Power Ranger. When we were out school shopping, the Disney Store had their costumes already out. Tate saw Buzz and had to have it. I quickly went with that idea because there was the cutest Jesse costume for Maren. Yeah! After promising that he wouldn’t change his mind if I bought it, we were ready for Halloween in August. The thought of changing costumes came up on occasion but he had already taken the tags off Buzz…darn. Needless to say, they were too cute! To Infinity and Beyond………………

Happy 3rd Birthday, Maren!

I can't believe my baby turned 3! She was so excited for it to be her birthday although she didn't quite understand that a birthday is the whole day and not just at the party. When she woke up, we sang "Happy Birthday" to her, she thought that it was time to go to her birthday party that we are having next week at Pump It Up. We had a hard time convincing her that it was her day all day. I guess her birthday celebration just got longer and she is going to be so confused at her party next week.

She had a good day! It, unfortunately, rained and was one of the coldest days we have had but her Auntie LaShona flew in from IN to help her celebrate so she was excited to go to the airport to get her. We were having trouble figuring out a fun "kids" place to take her for dinner since she is scared to death of Chuck E. Cheese and Rainforest Cafe. We ended up at PF Chang's because that is where we wanted to go and she had just as much fun with the chopsticks as anyone. With a birthday cake waiting at home, the evening was a success. We were all so exhausted that the celebration had to continue on the next morning when we opened presents. Just like her brother, she can't wait until her next birthday. She already asked today when was she going to be 4--slow down, little one, you are growing up too fast and we haven't even had your 3 yr old party yet!

First Day of Kindergarten

Tate's first day of kindergarten was on Monday! He had informed me the day before that he doesn't go to school on Mondays because he didn't at Preschool. Oops, did I forget to mention that this is a full time thing? After a pretty easy wake-up, getting dressed and eating breakfast, we got some first day pictures, went over getting on the bus in the afternoon and we were off. We are carpooling with our neighbors because the bus pickup is at a crazy 6:35am when school doesn't start until 7:45. So since the school is 5 min away, it makes more sense to take them. We picked up Jordyn and headed to school. The discussion was whether to drop them off or take them in, in which, both of them said to drop off but when we got there and EVERYONE was going in, we parked and walked in together. Good thing, the place was packed with people. We made our way to the cafeteria where the kinder and 1st graders meet, found each class and then the clinging started. Tate had been so good and then, when he realized he was staying, clung onto my leg and wasn't letting go. Finally, I got him to sit with his class and Maren and I stood in the back to make sure he got to his class OK. After his teacher came and got the class and they marched down the hall to the classroom, someone mentioned they were reading a book in the room and it was for the parents, too. The kids were sitting on the floor and we listened to a cute book about being scared the first day of school and the kids were to hand out a heart to their moms and dads. That is when Tate lost it, poor guy. His teacher came over and talked with him as we left. I don't think it lasted long but I was hoping for an easier exit.

After we got in the car, I have to admit I was sad and I realized it wasn't about him going t0 school but the fact that my little guy is getting so big that he doesn't need me to do everything for him anymore. He is now big enough to make decisions on his own. Where did the time go??

I'm so excited for him to learn new things and, I'm sure he will love it! I could hardly wait until he got home.

I was a little worried about him getting off the bus. He is being picked up by his after school daycare 3 times a week and riding the bus home 2 times a week and, as much as I trusted them to get him on the right one, I still hoped he was on the bus. Everyone got off except Tate. I popped on the bus and he is still sitting there. I guess I forgot to tell him that the bus didn't drop him off at his house:) He had lots of stories to tell and was so excited about his day!

So the second day has come. Maren can't stop taking about how she wants to go to kindergarten and that she is a big girl and wants to ride the bus like Tate. Slow down, girl, I can't take my babies getting any bigger! We dropped Tate and Jordyn off at the drop off. Tate got out, gave me a kiss and was off. Didn't even look back. I'm not sure which was harder. He is a big boy now!

The White Visit

Our wonderful friends, the White's, came to San Antonio to visit us. We had a fantastic time! Tate and Maren had been looking forward to their visit and had such a good time playing with them. Maren, bless her heart, has sharing issues. I could blame it on her being "2" or her personality or that, I just don't know. Julia is 3 so she is right in between Tate and Maren. Maren is such a girly girl that Julia had fun with her dresses and dolls until Maren would spontaneously cry about wanting everything Julia had, that Julia would head off and play doggy or whatever with Tate. Then when the crazy girl would settle down they would start over. I'm not quite sure how to handle her lack of sharing, believe me I've tried, but hopefully it will be better the next time we see them:)

Amy and I wondered where they days of getting together and taking naps, going shopping, getting pedicures, going out to eat instead of take-out (due to avoiding the stress of taking 4 children into a restaurant) and doing whatever we wanted went. Especially when we were racing for the exit of SeaWorld in 102 degree heat with tired, overheated children and husbands but knowing we wouldn't give it up for anything. We love getting the families together, having the kids play, drink a few drinks, have some good conversation and food, maybe an M&M or two and wish we lived closer so we could do it all the time! Can't wait to see them again in Hawaii in May 2010 (or maybe sooner)!

Happy 5th Birthweek, Tate!

 

My little guy turned 5 on Thursday!  Where has the time gone? He has been ready to turn 5 since he turned 4 and he told everyone that looked at him that it was his birthday! Some birthdays last one day but, for Tate, the festivities seemed to last for a week. We had big plans in store! He took cupcakes to his class on Wednesday then was primed for the next day. We started the day off with breakfast tacos (per his request-he tried one at our 4th of July parade and decided they were pretty good and wanted another one) and one present (much to his dismay).  His class had a field trip that day to Incredible Pizza so we took Maren to school and I went with him. He had such fun playing games and eating pizza and showing off his new Optimus Prime to all his friends. 

After that it was Mommy and Tate day, we had some errands to day and then finished getting ready for Jason's parents who were flying in later in the day. We had a nice quiet afternoon. We picked up Maren, met up with Jason and picked Mamaw and Papaw at the airport. We headed to the RiverWalk to eat at Rainforest Cafe. Since we aren't huge fans of the Rainforest Cafe and try to avoid it as much as possible, this was a treat for Tate because he loves it. He even batted his eyes and got a big box of fake bugs because "it was his birthday":) We enjoyed dinner and the huge lava brownie dessert complete with the whole place singing Happy Birthday. He was, then, ready to go home knowing more presents were waiting for him. After opening his presents, Maren was almost hysterical, she was so tired, and noone had any problem going to sleep. 

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The next day the boys went fishing while the girls shopped in Fredricksburg. For dinner, we took everyone to Enchanted Springs Ranch aka one of Oprah's Wackiest Family Adventures. After a horse ride, pictures sitting on Woodrow the Longhorn, wagon ride to see some zebra, reindeer and other exotic animals, we ate brisket while watching Pistol Packing Paula perform gun twirling. Only in Texas! We got some pictures around the cute western town and called it a day. 

  

 

 

Tate's party was the next day at the Witte Museum. It, of course, had to be dinosaur theme because, according to Tate, it is a dinosaur museum. We saw a dinosaur exhibit there a few years ago and that is all he remembers. The kids had fun playing around the museum and eating pizza and cake. By the time the party was over, everyone was exhausted. 

 

 

We spent the next few days relaxing, enjoying our company and getting rested up for next year! 

Happy Father's Day!

  Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband and dad! We had a great day relaxing and spending time together. Jason didn't have much to open seeing he couldn't wait to get his new iPhone and was waiting in line as soon as the doors opened on Friday selling the new 3GS. He is quite happy with his new found speed. 

  We totally broke tradition, which is Pappasitos after church, and grabbed lunch at Cosi instead. We were trying to be good since we had a wonderful dinner at LaFogata the night before with some friends. It was worth it since we have lots of visitors coming in July that love to go to Pappasitos:) They rest of the day was spent watching golf, taking the kids swimming at Lifetime (where Tate could show off that he can now go down the big slide to his dad), and grilling out. What a perfect day to celebrate dads! We sure have some good ones!

with baby Tate

with baby Maren

the 2 wild ones today:)

 my dad with his girls

Jason and his dad

Some Things are Just Meant to Be

  On Thurday morning, we were supposed to fly to IN where Jason was going to drive to Madison, WI to meet some college friends for a golf weekend. The kids and I were going to stay with my parents in Lafayette while he was gone. Little did we know when we headed to the airport so early that morning where we would be by bedtime and how we got there.  Jason usually drops Maren and I off at the curbside checkin with the bags and then takes Tate with him to park the car. As I took a seat I noticed that the line wasn't moving very fast so thought I might stand in it while waiting for Jason. The airline guy finally announced that if you were flying into Dallas (which is where our layover was), the flights had been cancelled and we needed to go inside. Fabulous. Then I get a text from Jason saying he was dropped off on the other side of the building. Even more fabulous because now I had to get 2 suitcases, a set of golf clubs while pushing a stroller into the terminal, which is under construction, to meet him. Luckily, we caught up with him halfway in and some nice lady had helped me with the golf clubs. We get inside to a 2 mile long line coming from the American Airline counter. Could it get any better. After waiting on hold for 45 minutes while standing in line, we finally got an agent who said due to the storms in Dallas since the night before, the next available flight out of SA was Sat morning. Seeing this wasn't going anywhere, we headed home with 2 whiny children who didn't understand why we weren't on a plane to see Nana and Papaw. 

   When we got home, Jason and I got busy on each computer trying to getting something figured out. No flights out of SA. No flights out of Houston. Nothing until Saturday. So talking to Mom about how disappointed we all were, she mentioned meeting half way at Big Cedar Lodge in Branson, MO. One of her friends whose son lives in Dallas meet there. At first, we were just kidding, but, with my laptop on my lap, we started looking more into it. With Bella at the kennel and our bags packed and still in the car, why not? Jason called the lodge and booked the only thing available which was a one bedroom cabin that would sleep us all comfortably. The kids were so excited that while Jason was finishing up a project he needed to get done before we left, they insisted on watching a movie in the car in the driveway. That backfired when the car battery died and it needed to be jumped:) Finally, we were ready (sort of) for a 12 hour trip that we knew nothing about. We plugged the address into the GPS, grabbed a Rand McNaly and a cooler and snacks and we were out the door.  We have entertained the thought of a long road trip but have been too scared seeing the age of my children and a 3 hour trip to Port Aransas causes all kinds of complaining. So we were crazy and spontaneous! About 30 min into the ride, Tate, of course, asks "Are we there yet?". On the GPS in the car it counts down the miles and time as you go, so at that point we had 745 miles left to go. About 5 min later, Tate again, "How much longer?" Ummm, 739 miles. Jason and I looked at eachother and laughed but after that it was smooth sailing. The kids were unbelievably good the whole car ride. We made 4 stops, took naps, watched movies, ate lunch and dinner, they fell asleep for the night and we were there! We pulled into the lodge exactly 12 hours after we left. Whew. 

    This place was amazing! As we pulled in to the lodge, we laughed thinking about the day and how this was completely NOT where we thought we'd be at that time that night. We found our cabin where Mom and Dad had already arrived a few hours before us. Our little log cabin had a deck that overlooked Table Rock Lake with the exception of a few trees but it was so beautiful and peaceful. Since we had gotten in so late,  we settled in for the night. 

   We started exploring the grounds of the lodge in the morning. By the time the trip was over we had been fishing, horseback riding, hiking, canoeing, boating, and even snuck in a pedicure. We had so much fun, we can't wait to go back. Some things are just meant to be!