Happy Birthday Alex and Austin!

Today was a great day! The twins had waffles for breakfast followed by their birthday present from Shawn and I. We got them the hand held Leapster learning video game system.Kyler got one for Christmas and Austin loved to play it .They are really awesome,kind of like an educational game boy!
They were beyond happy with the gifts.After we got dressed I took them to Wal-Mart and they got to pick out a new game for their system with the gift cards they received from their cousins on Saturday.
We picked up happy meals for lunch on the way home.
We had about two hours before going to Aunt Taryns and those two spent almost all that time playing with their new games.
At 2pm we went to Taryn and Kyles and the kids had a blast playing with their cousins and Brianna.Aunt Taryn was so thoughtful and got them Kung Fu Panda cupcakes for their birthday and they were even half chocolate and half vanilla.
After cupcakes Taryn put Uncle Kyles work shirts on everybody and rolled out paper on the driveway and let the kids make a mess with finger paints.Too Cool!!!
The highlight though was running from Uncle Kyle to get clean as he sprayed them with the water hose! Those kids were soaking wet and just belly laughing the whole time!
Aunt Taryn finished off their day with spaghetti which is Austins favorite meal.
After dinner Aunt Taryn watched Gage so Shawn and I could take them to see Wall-E..The movie was fabulous! I think the kids favorite part was soda and popcorn.
It was an awesome day and they, nor i ,could have asked for a better birthday.
Thanks to everyone and a special thanks to Aunt Taryn for making their afternoon fun.

4th Birthday Party!

Saturday we had the twins 4th birthday party at the Zoo.It was a Spiderman and Hello Kitty theme.
It was a fabulous day! Us and our guest all got to visit the zoo before the party started.Our cousins Hunter and Trenton joined us and that made our trip around the zoo a lot better.The 5 of them had a blast seeing all the animals together.
At their party they had a live animal presentation with a snake,opossum,American alligator and a vulture.The lady who gave the presentation was wonderful.All of the kids were very attentive and followed her every word.
I could not have asked for a better time , it was great!

Vacation Bible School...

Tonight was the first night of VBS at our local Methodist Church.This year the theme is Outriggers Island.They had the whole building decorated like a tropical island .
Taryn and I dropped the the kids off and they did not even notice us leaving.
When we came back 2 hours later those three were dancing to songs they had learned that night.
Not one of them was ready to go home.They felt a little better when I told them they were coming back for 4 more nights.
It did my heart good to walk in and see my kids having fun and being a part of something wonderful.
I'm just as excited about them going back!
There was a big fight at home though over games that were played at VBS.Apparently they split the teams boy girl.Well Alex was very sure the girls won 2 games but Austin was just as sure the boys did.I mean it turned into a knock down fight! Of all things!
The kids were just happy to be with Kyler again too.Between their vacation and ours those 3 went almost 2 weeks without each other! That is un-heard of for them.They seriously think they must see each other almost daily! So it looks like the 3 musketeers are back together again enjoying VBS together.

Crystal Beach...

Last week we headed to the coast for a week long family vacation.It was our family,my parents ,my Grandma, our cousins , and Kevin and his son.
It was such a fabulous vacation that there really are not words for it.
The house we stayed in was right on the beach and there was only about 3 other homes in the area so it was really quiet and beautiful.
The kids took to the ocean like fish! Gage got braver and braver each day and we really had to watch him closely.
Crystal Beach itself was wonderful.Its a quiet little coastal town and its so beautiful.
The picture of my feet is me giving you my view from my chair everyday and the water picture is the view from our deck! AWESOME! Can not say enough about our time on the beach.It was a little bittersweet to come home.It went by way to fast.

Fishing...

Of course its no surprise that Shawn spent a lot of his days fishing.He would stand in the ocean and throw that net all day long.Austin joined him a lot and it was really cool watching the two of them fish together in the ocean.All the kids were in awe of the things he caught.Alex and Austin would pick up and carry just about everything that came out of that net!
Shawn even caught shrimp and we ate it for dinner one night!

Moody Gardens...

After a few days we rode the ferry over to Galveston and took the kids to Moody Gardens.We visited the aquarium,the rain forest , and a 4-d film.The place was FABULOUS! I can simply not say enough about the aquarium.The kids had had so much fun at these places.They even got to touch star fishes.They saw and got close to so many cool and interesting creatures.It was all beautiful.The shark in the picture was actually swimming over our heads!

Slide..

Crystal Beach has very little in town to do but we did find this awesome slide.You climb up a hill and go down on mats.Man it was AWESOME! Everyone , even all the adults , had a blast . Gage belly laughed the whole way down , every time!
The kids rode down with us and we would lift them up at the end so they would not go under.
We took them back again on our last night because it was a great place to end our stay.The picture of Gage is my fav! Shawn picked a life jacket that was too loose and it kept riding up.

Beach Bums!

The kids and I quickly became beach bums! The kids enjoyed the ocean tremendously.
They got their very own boogie boards and had a lot of fun riding the waves.
The big entertainment was of course jumping the waves!

For Every Death ..Comes New Life...

It was a very sad day yesterday.The big screen TV Gran and Papa gave us took its last breath!Shawn,Kyle and I were very sad to see her go.We debated getting a repair but decided not to put money into a 12 year old TV...
The down side to a new one though would be our 3 kids! Do we want to spend that kind of money and put it in harms way?? And yes , it does have to be big! Once you go big screen you can never go back!Its true!
So I have done my research and was just going to look today...Then it happened...The salesman showed me the PERFECT TV...He called Austin over and told him to throw the remote at this TV as hard as he could..Austin was not taking that bait,he refused! So the nice man preceded to beat the hell out of it..I'm not talking lightly either.He punched it over and over like it had insulted his Mama!
When he was done I said"Wrap It Up"!!!
So my "just looking" trip turned into buying a new member of our family..
Its SO pretty!
Its a 50 inch plasma , and it will be mounted on the wall.
I paid the extra for installation!
We are leaving tomorrow morning so install will be a week from now but man it gives me something to come home to...
I am not a technology junkie but this thing is AWESOME!

Craft Project....

This morning the kids and I went to Michael's and Sam's for a special project.
Grandma Al is in the hospital with MRSA and we wanted to do something nice for her.
Instead of buying her flowers we bought vases and paint! The kids picked out the flowers they wanted to go in them and all the paint colors as well.
When we got home I spread a sheet over the table and they got dirty!
They had a lot of fun finger painting the vases.It took A LOT of convincing but they let me put the flowers in myself without their help.
The kids were extremely happy with the finished product.They were upset that they could not deliver their gift themselves though.
I took the flowers to Grandma and visited with her this evening.
She was very happy with the vases the kids had made for her.It definitely brightens the room and with any luck her spirits too..

OOPS!!!!

Last night we went and ate at the Panda Express.I have been sick and really can not taste food so I went.If you don't know , I don't like Chinese food.
I will have to say though it was not bad.I really enjoyed the chow mein noodles!
Well during dinner Alex just had to have chop sticks.I was holding Gage while we waited in line.He spotted the cookies and started asking then demanding a cookie...I was trying to keep him quiet and when I said no to the cookie that's when it happened.As loud as he could manage and with a big attitude he declared"Dam It"!
I was mortified! The people behind the counter starred at me while the other customers seated in the tables behind us tried to cover their laughter..
It was so much easier being a good role model when they couldn't talk!
So now we are trying to get him to say awe man instead..Wish us luck!

Pirate Night At Gran and Papas!!!

Saturday night Papa and Gran hosted boys night.
The theme was Pirates! Gran had gotten the boys pirate hats and swords to play with.
I heard from Austin they had a very fun time on Saturday.
Sunday I was told they had a picnic in the park before coming home.
Unfortunately I was not home when Gran and Papa brought them back so I only got to hear what Shawn told me.Austin filled in some spots for me .
I read Papas blog and I was so thrilled to see what a great time they all had! It was probably like deja-vu for them!
Thanks to Gran and Papa for having the boys and girls nights , these are truly special memories you are making with the kids..

Girl Time....

With the boys gone Alex got to spend some special time with Nana doing very girlie things!
I dropped Alex off at the nail salon with Nana for her very first mani and pedi..(no need to worry ,there was no cuticle cutting!)
After the salon they went shopping of course.I was told Alex was really into all the store mannequins at Macy's!
She found a Hello Kitty section and picked herself out an outfit.
They went to a few more stores then Alex decided it was time to go swimming.
After the afternoon of swimming Mom said Alex was laid out on a pool chair and said"It was a wonderful day Nana" just as grown up as she could be! Too funny!
They went to dinner then had movie time.
When I arrived to pick her up she was happily playing with new Barbies in the pool beach area.
From all I heard she had a blast.I was so happy she got to have the same kind of Nana girl time that I grew up with..Its only the beginning!

6 Years!

Saturday night Shawn took me to a wonderful steak house in Dallas called Lawry's The Prime Rib.
All I can say is WOW! The prime rib actually melted in your mouth.I know that is usually just a colorful description but this time it actually did.
When we got to dinner the waitress handed us a card that read" Thanks for everything,enjoy your dinner , its on me,From Kevin"! We were shocked!
What a wonderful surprise.That is truly a thoughtful thing.He knew where we were going so he just called ahead and set it up.
His birthday is coming up so we were for sure return the gesture...
Hard to believe its been 6 years and its also hard to believe its ONLY been 6 years!!

T-Ball Awards...

Friday night we went to the awards presentation for AYA..
Shawn and Kyle introduced our players and gave them a trophy.
It was really cute watching the boys get on stage and take their trophy.Those two thought they were something!
After the awards we took them out to Baskin Robbins to celebrate them getting their first ever trophy.
It was a great evening and another special first.