The end of a good week . . .

I asked Parker this afternoon how his first week of school had gone and this is how the conversation went:

Me: So, how was your first week of being a third grader??
Parker: (almost without thinking) A-ma-zing!!
Me: Really?? What else??
Parker: Thrilling!!!
Me: So was there anything that wasn't so great?
After lots of thought, Parker: Nope, just perfect!!!

Hopefully, he will maintain some of that enthusiasm throughout the year! If not, I'll just enjoy it while it lasts!!

ps - When I asked Alex the same questions, his answers were "fine" and "good!!!" He is happy to have a locker, though!!

The Amazing Luke

It has been an amazing summer for Luke!! He has learned so much and is really growing up!! He was so disappointed that he didn't get to go to Kindergarten this year. He has asked me several times if we could just change his birthday so he could go ahead and go to school!! Every time he hears of someone else that DID get to go to Kindergarten, he burst into tears all over again! Perhaps that suggests that he is NOT, in fact, ready for school!!

Luke is, by nature, cautious and often timid when trying something new. He doesn't like to get close to animals, is shy around new people, and is always happier when someone else "goes first," especially if he's not completely comfortable. That's why his progress this summer is even more amazing!! He has really stretched himself and has been SO proud when he's tried something new and can do it!! Here are a few of his new tricks:

We went swimming a lot this summer, but Luke would never really venture much beyond the baby pool. But at the end of July/first of August, he decided to trust that a life jacket really would hold him up and a whole new world opened up!! He was so proud to be swimming without holding onto someone! He could jump in without anyone catching him and would swim across the whole pool!! Very cool!!

Luke has been riding a bike for a while and has a good friend across the street that loves to ride bikes. But Luke has always had his training wheels and Kaleb doesn't need them. We tried to take Luke's off one time, but it didn't work out so well! Then, mid-July, we tried again and he just took off!! The first day he could ride if someone got him started. The next day, he could "push off" and start himself! He was very proud!! Just for the record, they usually don't wear their helmets when they are just riding in the driveway!!

Luke has really started drawing a lot lately. His interests are pretty limited to drawing baseball fields and football fields. Here he is with Dad and his latest baseball picture:

Here he is with a new friend we found in the garage this morning!! Very surprising that he actually picked it up! I think Luke surprised himself - he was squeezing the poor thing so hard, the frog's stomach and eyes were bulging!

And after so many accomplishments, the only thing left to do is sleep!! His favorite place is in our bed, snuggled up next to his dad!!

Back to school

School has begun and all is well. The boys are enjoying getting back into the swing of things and have good things to say about their teachers and school, in general. Parker is in 3rd grade and is in Marcy Deaton's class. Marcy goes to church with us and has wanted to have Parker in her class since he was in Kindergarten!! She team-teaches with Mrs. Roark so he will spend some time in both of their classes.

Here is Parker with Mrs. Deaton (R)

and Mrs. Roark (L)

After dropping Parker off, we headed over to Tannahill to get Alex started in a new school. We were both a little nervous (or maybe a lot). Without going into lots of details, he had a great day and is really doing well there. He is definitely growing up into a good young man!!

Looking nice is not an option this year as the district adopted a new uniform policy. The boys look so great!! They don't really like tucking in and wearing a belt, but they have to and haven't really griped too much about it!! I'm loving it!!

More details to follow . . .

Ready or not, here we come!!

Well, tomorrow is the big day!! Back to school will become a reality for Alex and Parker. It's hard to believe the summer is already gone and the boys are moving on up the school ladder.

Alex starts a new school for 5th and 6th graders so we will be anxiously awaiting his report of the first day! New friends, new teachers, new everything!!

Parker will be in 3rd grade - the year of the TAKS test!! This is a big transition year for him also - no more easy stuff - it's the real deal!! He is excited about his teachers and we are praying for amazing years for both of them. To be continued . . . . .

Water and fire

Well, today has been a very adventure-filled day! What we had planned to do was have one last day of fun with Meagan and Lexie before school starts next week. What we got was that, plus a little bonus excitement!!

It all started about 9:15 or so when I put in the first, of what was sure to be many, loads of laundry. After it was going, I started in on some other really important jobs that I really can't remember. Next thing I hear, Parker is coming in from the garage and yelling, "WHOA - what's all this water doing here?" As I turned the corner to see what had happened, I was greeted with the sight of about an inch of water coming from the direction of the laundry room!! I ran through the water to the washing maching and started banging, twisting, and turning every possible switch and knob until the water stopped running. I could still hear it eerily dripping even though it was turned off.

I ran through the house to get towels, which just for the record, a hundred towels would make very little difference with a laundry room full of water. I called my neighbor, Casey, because she's a great neighbor and always helps us out in crisis situations. (That makes it sound like we have lots of crises around here - perhaps, we do!!) Ryan just happened to be dropping the girls off in the midst of the chaos and he pitched in to help. After lots of mopping, wringing, sopping, and other drama, we called it done. Scott called a guy he knows from a restoration company and they came out and brought like a million fans and a huge de-humidifier. You can hardly walk from the garage door through the laundry room for all the stuff -crazy!! Oh, and for an added bonus, it seeped into our bedroom so there's pulled up carpet and some fans in there too!!

Just as the adrenaline was returning to normal, Alex and Meagan come in to ask me if they can make some tea. I said yes so off they went to make their tea. A couple of minutes later, I start to smell this terrible smell. I look around and see nothing. Then it hits me - the tea!! I fling open the microwave and the smell almost knocks me over. They had put 4 tea bags in a bowl and put it in the micro for 5 minutes. They forgot perhaps the most important ingredient in the equation - WATER!! I sweetly call them to the kitchen and ask them what exactly they were thinking (nice tone of voice, of course!) and they were very surprised at their lack of ability to make a pitcher of tea correctly. They began their second attempt at making tea and I dumped the tea bags into the trash (smart one that I am!).

A couple of minutes later, I walk through the kitchen and Landry is standing at the trash can saying, "hot!" just as calmly as if what he is seeing is completely normal. I look down and there is SMOKE coming from the trash can!! So, of course, I panic again and dig out the tea bags and see that one of them has little orange ember-like things on it!! Those things were getting ready to start a fire in my trash can!! And that part I couldn't have blamed on the kids!! How crazy! At this point, I was thinking that maybe everyone should just get a pillow and find a quiet corner for like, a few days!!

I was afraid there for a little while that another major catastrophe was just around the corner, but thankfully, those events were the most excitement we saw!! Now there was some minor excitement such as Landry getting his fingernails and toenails painted, big yellow/black bumpy spider sightings, cleaning of the slide with WD-40, etc. etc. but this has truly been an exhausting day!! Definitely one for the record books - not sure which record book, but it should make one of them!!

ps - this post has been all day in the making and I should note that Chris (husband of neighbor Casey) came over tonight and fixed my washer!! See? I told you they were good neighbors!!

Fashion Manifesto

My mom and I went shopping a couple of weeks ago at Grapevine Mills and made it a point to visit the Steve & Barry's store there. If you're not familiar with this place, it is a huge, warehouse-like store filled with t-shirts galore, many of them promoting various colleges and universities. They also have average, run-of-the-mill clothes - khakis, solid color t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc. The prices are unusually cheap, which is why we normally stop in, but rarely do we buy. This time, however, we knew that they were carrying a new line of women's clothing designed by none other than Sarah Jessica Parker. My interest was piqued - great clothes at great prices. We went in and found the new brand and began to check it out. She did have some very cute stuff and the prices were indeed, quite nice!! I picked out a few things to try on and without boring you with all the details, I walked out of Steve & Barry's with a new outfit consisting of a white cotton shirt and a new pair of khaki pants. (I didn't know it at the time, but this pairing of white and khaki will probably be my new uniform for school this year!!) Fast forward to tonight when I pulled out my new uniform to iron it for my first day back at school tomorrow. As I cut off the tag from my shirt, I found this quote and it "hit me" almost like a well-timed Bible verse!! I found myself saying - that is so right, very true indeed. I just had to share - maybe you'll feel the same way. ("bitten" is the name of her brand)

Manifesto:

it is every woman's

inalienable right to have

a pulled-together,

stylish, confident wardrobe

with money left over to live.

get bitten

love,

sj

Life with only one

Alex, Parker, and Luke have gone to spend some time with my parents in what they are calling a "Back to School Bash." They took the three boys and Meagan and Lexie home with them after church today and will keep them until we go pick them up tomorrow night. That leaves us with just Landry. Going from four kids to just one is almost like having an out of body experience.

After church, instead of coming home, cooking, eating, doing dishes, putting baby to sleep, cleaning, laundering, and general house stuff, I went shopping!! A nice change of pace!! Emily was kind enough to take me pretty much anywhere and do anything - very fun!!

I came home to a pretty quiet house with Scott and Landry having a bowl of cereal!! We did a little yard work, took a bike ride, and then, thrill of all thrills, we decided to go to Walmart!!

On a Sunday night!!

During tax-free weekend!!

And because we like to live on the wild side, we ate a cheeseburger at the McDonalds in Walmart!! We didn't want to be hungry while we shopped - that's never a good idea!! Obviously, eating there is something we never would have done with all four boys! Now that I think about it, I rarely go into Walmart with all four boys!!

Anyway, it has been an unusual day - lots of fun but very different. I can't wait to see what kind of excitement pops up tomorrow when it's just me and Landry!!

We're teaching the important stuff here!

While we've officially taken the summer off from school, there's always a lot of learning going on around here. Much of it isn't necessarily intentional but tonight I had the opportunity to teach a very valuable lesson to Luke. After he's already in bed, he gets back up out of bed and says, "I just have to ask you a quick question."

Me: OK - what is it?

Luke: You know when you say -
Eeeny, Meeny, Miney, Moe
Catch a tiger by his toe,
If he hollers,
Make him pay
Fifty dollars everyday
My momma told me to pick
The very best one
And you are NOT it,
Does that mean you're it or you're NOT it???

To which I reasonably reply, "You're not it!"
Satisfied, he runs back to bed and is now sound asleep!!

Now maybe you'll sleep better knowing the answer to that question and knowing that we are not afraid to tackle the big issues at this house!!

Hair, Hair Everywhere

On Wednesday, everyone went to the barbershop for back-to-school haircuts!! What a load of hairy fun that is!! Alex, Parker, and Luke are pros and getting their hair cut unless, of course, I'm the one doing the cutting. But at the barbershop, they are happy to sit still and let our favorite barber, Mark, do his thing. Landry, on the other hand, has never had a "real" haircut at the barbershop. Mark always teases me that Landry is the one who needs a haircut the most. So, today everyone took their turn and then Landry got up in the seat. He was a little hesitant at first, but at the promise of a sucker, he managed to sit still and get it done. He was very cute sitting up all straight and tall and I'm happy to report that he still has lots of hair and even a few curls. Honestly, if you didn't know he had gotten his hair cut, you probably wouldn't even notice a difference. And I think that's a much better way to go then seeing someone and saying/thinking "OH MY GOSH - you got a haircut!!"

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

Family Fun Night

Last night we had the privilege of taking the boys to the Rangers game. It was the first time I can remember that all 6 of us went and it was really pretty enjoyable. The time in the car, both coming and going, ended up being the most drama-filled times of the night, but that's a story for another day!! A friend of Scott's managed to get us seats a few rows back from the third base dugout so we could actually see! It was amazing to be able to see the faces of the players!! Where we usually sit, they look like little ants in the middle of a giant field! Anyway, the boys had a great time and the Rangers won - or at least I think they did!! They were winning when we left so we're going to assume that they held on!!


The boys had fun hitting balls at the little field in the kids' area and, as always, there were some interesting sights to behold!! One of my favorites was the cotton candy man who balanced his board full of cotton candy on his head with no hands!! Pretty impressive!! (Sadly, the picture I took of him didn't come out!)


All in all, it was a great night - lots of fun for everyone!! And in case you're wondering why Parker is wearing his Yankees shirt with his Cardinals hat, well, he doesn't like the Rangers!!

Fun Pictures

Things are a little slow here. The summer is winding down. The heat is almost unbearable. It's probably a good thing that school is just around the corner. Since I really don't have much to post about, I thought I would just share a few fun pics - some are old and some are new.

Parker works hard to blow out his 8th birthday candles!!

Luke loves to wear Alex's catcher's gear!

Alex playing catcher a few of seasons ago

One of my all-time favorite pictures of boys and cousins when Landry was just a baby!

Luke holding Landry soon after he was born!!

In the process of doing this post, I found tons of old pictures that I thought I had lost when we had our computer worked on. I'm so pumped that I finally found them!! Now I can post lots and lots of pictures!! Stay tuned!!

Fresh Bread

Every once in a while, you come across something that you just feel compelled to share with the general population. Today is that day!! I got this in an email, so you know it is absolutely, 100% accurate because there is not anything untrue on the internet. Anyway, here's the amazing info you need to know: (direct quote!)


When you go to buy bread in the grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you "squeeze" for freshness or softness? Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie. They are:
Monday = Blue
Tuesday = Green
Thursday = Red
Friday = White
Saturday = Yellow
So if today was Thursday, you would want red twist tie; not white which is Fridays (almost a week old)! The colors go alphabetically by color Blue - Green - Red - White - Yellow, Monday through Saturday. Very easy to remember. I thought this was interesting. I looked in the grocery store and the bread wrappers DO have different twist ties, and even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors. You learn something new everyday! Enjoy fresh bread when you buy bread with the right color on the day you are shopping.

Now, isn't that life changing information? Never eat old bread again!! Now, I will admit, it is a little difficult to remember the colors and the days and which ones go with which when you're standing on the bread aisle and you see some of all the colors! And it might even take a little longer to choose your bread becuase you really can't remember and you don't want to get week-old bread. But, I'm sure after much practice and lots of fresh bread, it will come very naturally! So, enjoy your bread -- you can thank me later!!

Tales of the air conditioner

Well, as I have mentioned more than once, it is really heating up here. It is August, after all. We were spoiled early this summer by having at least 40 days and 40 nights of rain. So much rain that we brought ourselves right out of what seemed like a century-old drought. And with the rain came cooler temperatures. Very nice temperatures for us hearty Texans!! Somehow, while we were complaining about the amount of rain, we forgot that if it stopped raining, the triple digit heat would certainly return.

Well, it has stopped raining and the heat is here!! We have yet to "officially" hit the 100 degree mark, but if we get to 99 degrees repeatedly with a 107 degree heat index, does it really make any difference?? It is stifling out there - hot, humid, sticky, nasty, multiple showers per day kind of weather.

So, what better time for the ol' AC in the car to decide not to work? I can't think of a better time of year to have a faulty air conditioner!! I had noticed that it didn't seem to be cooling quite as quickly as I'd like it to, but I could live with it. Yesterday, though, while we were on our way to the pool, it never ever thought about cooling even a little bit. I cracked my windows a little for some relief but got little. The kids were yelling over the noise of the wind, asking me why I was letting the hot air in and the cold air out. I rarely let them roll down the windows in the heat - it just doesn't make sense!! When we finally got to the pool after what seemed like an eternity but was really only about 15 minutes, I opened the car door and feel the sweet, cool 90 degree air hit me in the face!! Boy, did it feel good! That's when I knew we had a problem. When stepping into 90 degree heat feels better than being in your car, it's time to take it to the shop!!

So, that's what I did at the first opportunity today. I didn't want to tell my mechanic, but I think I would have given up huge sums of money and possibly a child to get the AC fixed. It made such a HUGE difference - night and day, really! So, today I'm thankful for an air conditioner that works in the hot Texas sun!

Lazy Days of Summer

Now that the heat of the Texas sun has set in, we've found that the best way to spend our days is at the pool. It's cool, it's fun, and it's free!! Thankfully, we have a great friend who lets us use her pool pretty much anytime we want to! Thanks, Emily!! So, here are some pics from our time at the pool today.

Here are Alex, Parker, Landry, and Luke enjoying the water.

Luke is looking good with all the gear needed to keep him afloat!

Landry "jumps" to Emily - a huge accomplishment!!
Notice the goggles and watch - he is nothing without his accessories!!

Alex and Parker sharing a little love!!

Fun in the Sun

Landry enjoys a little fun in the sun and is ever ready in case his pretty blue eyes manage to go under the water! The pool has been a fun way to spend lots of summer days!!

Creativity Abounds

Well, now I'm on a roll and I'm determined to get a picture included in a post! Landry gave me the perfect opportunity to show how we encourage creativity around our house. While I don't have an artistic bone in my body, I'm more than happy to encourage my children to develop in any way, shape, form, or fashion. I'm not sure art is any of their strong suits either, but time will tell. This morning, Luke wanted to draw a picture of a football field, which is a regular choice for him, and it always has to be done with markers. Not wanting to miss any action, Landry insists that he too, must have "mar-ters" and he needed to sit at the bar just like Luke. So Luke starts in on his masterpiece and Landry on his. With only encouragement from me, as I do not want to hinder the natural artist that he is, well, you can see for yourself the final result. He was a proud as could be with his picture and his body art. I think he definitely has a future in the art world!!

Blogging = Drama

Wow - I never thought I'd actually do this! Just one short year ago, it was me who was saying, "Who in the world has time to blog?" It was a crazy idea for people who had too much time their hands! And now, after much thinking, here I am blogging! Crazy!! A good friend finally pushed me over the edge after convincing me of how incredible EASY it was to start a blog. Well, after much frustration, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, I am writing my first post. While I wouldn't exactly call it "easy", I think I've got something I can work with. Now I have a place to dump all of my random thoughts, pictures, and ramblings for all two of you who are interested in my life!! :) I'm hoping this will be a place where I can document some of the small things in life that will be forgotten as the boys grow older. So, maybe you'll find something interesting, maybe not. Just keep your expectations low, and you won't be disappointed!!