The 4th of July in WV

This year even though Grandma and Aunt Megan had to work and couldn't join in the festivities we had lots of fun with Aunt Kellie and Uncle Kicky and their family and friends. We had lots of yummy food and the kids got to play with waterballoons and sprinkers. Afterwards we went to Wellsburg to watch the parade. My kids don't see many parades so this was something different for them. They were surprised to have people throwing candy at them! It was sooo hot even though it didn't start until 7pm.
After the parade we met my friends, Rich and Angie and their sweet little girl from Parkersburg. It was nice to catch up but I always wish I had more time with them. At least we'll get to visit with Angie and Allison once more before we leave!

My sweet niece, Zaylee - she is such a cutie. She is already the little model. As soon as I said her name she would look at me with a smile. She is easy -breezy! I love kids that let me take their pictures :)

Hayden :)

Helping Kicky get the smoke bombs lined up. I was sooo excited about these (can you feel the sarcasm??)

"Maybe a few pop-its will liven up the fun of the smoke bombs?"

The kids love those pop-it things that you throw down and they explode. I don't think my kids have ever had them before.

Luke had to step on his pop-its :)

Kicky set off something that made a really loud sound.

Our own fireworks after the Wellsburg fireworks in Grandma's backyard. They were really cool. Thanks Uncle Kicky and Aunt Kellie (with the red hair - my kids have 2 "Aunt Kelli's - one with an "e" and one with an "i" and one with red hair and one with blonde). It was a lot of fun!

Sparklers!!! I am opposed to kids with sparklers but Kicky was very good at making them take turns one at a time and holding it for the little ones. No one was burned :) My kids have never had these either. Lots of "firsts" this visit.

They are so sweet...when they are sleeping...

June 10, 2010: Luke was being exceptionally crabby today. I have no idea what his problem was but he would not listen to reason so I simply walked away after changing his pants. It wasn't long before the screaming stopped and it was too quiet. When I went in to check on him this is what I found:


Wouldn't it have been easier to just tell me you were tired or lay down and go to sleep? Why all of the screaming and crying that gives me gray hairs and a huge headache??

So,after we left to go to WV for our "summer va-ca" Chris had a little mini-vacation of his own. He went out fishing (and got stung by jelly fish), did some golfing, spent some time with Kelli, Mike and the kiddos THEN broke car and his foot!!! He dropped a 50 lb. weight on his foot and gave himself a good ol' crush fracture! The break is in his big toe right below the first joint. If you look real close you can see it in the x-ray. That bought him a week off from the doctor excuse. I think he really just didn't want to clean up the house ;)

Galveston

Way back in February, I was able to attend the annual TXABA (Texas Association for Behavior Analysis) conference in Galveston. It was so fantastic to walk out of a talk to see huge windows with unobstructed views of the Gulf. And the water was b-l-u-e instead of the brown then blue a ways out like it is closer to our home (thanks to the Brazos river). It was gorgeous.

The second day of the conference Chris drove out with the kids to meet me and hang out with the kids on the beach. Here are some pictures he took while he was waiting for me to get done.

This is Luke hanging out "putting out the vibe" near the seawall. The drawings on the wall were very cool. So neat to see the renderings of such talented people.

*Anna*

*Jaden* - with his gun, of course. What? You don't bring your gun with you to the beach?

Maybe Chris knew something we didn't about the re-make of the Karate Kid movie?

Then, I got done and we all walked back down to the beach. As soon as we got down there Luke let us know he needed something....

yep....Chris took care of this one for me since he forgot to bring me comfortable shoes and I couldn't walk all the way back to the car carrying Luke with high heels.

*The water*

Luke - 2 years old!

Even though most people don't believe me - on March 11, 2010 - my little Lukie turned 2 years old! He is a ball of fire and most certainly a "mama's boy".
When he is by himself he can be the sweetest little thing. Very loving and cute. But when he gets together with his older brother, Jaden - watch out! Those two are T-R-O-U-B-L-E! They are absolutely, 100% BOY! They have to run, throw, climb, tackle, shoot - you name it, they do it!
Jaden was always so hard to photograph - especially for his 2nd birthday. But Luke was just perfect. Of course, his big brother was in school so he was very cooperative ;). I think these pictures capture exactly who he is right now. He's definitely got a bit of a coy nature and can be very "serious". He's often caught sticking his tongue out a little when he's being shy. He's a beautiful little guy - even if he's trying to make his mama crazy :).

Did we move to a farm?

So, the other night Anna fell asleep in my bed and I decided to just crash beside her. Surprisingly, we both slept pretty well. This is surprising -I should explain - because anyone who has ever slept with Anna can attest that she is a maniac and bed hog!

There I was sleeping soundly and enjoying the peace when I was awoken by a rooster! The rooster just happened to be in my bed! I took my sleep mask off to find Anna crowing beside me. "What - are - you - doing?", I asked. "Oh", she said, "I didn't know it was you".

Then, we had to have a talk about how she should NOT be crowing in the morning. Just because she is up doesn't mean we ALL have to be up.

Apparently, her instinct might be as ingrained as an actual rooster's because I heard her crowing again the next morning waking up her brother...

My Sweet Jaden

I am taking pictures this weekend for a wedding that will be held mid-day in the hot, hot Texas sun so I needed to get in a little practice before hand. Ideally, this is not the "best" time to take pictures for many reasons but here are a few - it's REALLY bright, people squint, its REALLY hot, people sweat, I sweat, and yucky shadows :( Normally people think about needing to use their flash when it's dark or there isn't enough light but this is another circumstance where flash can help a lot. I'm just not used to using flash because I like to use the "natural" light.

Fortunately, Jaden was more than happy to cooperate with me and let me take his picture. He was such a big helper and I looove the pictures that I got of him. He is so handsome. Just wish I knew who he looked like...

Making a gingerbread house

Actual Date of these pictures - December 24, 2009
Grandma bought this gingerbread house I don't even know when. We've had it for a while! Finally, we got our stuff together and got to decorate it. It was sooo much fun!!
Of course, many of the little candies were eaten before they ever made it to the house (and then some even once they did make it to the house) - thanks mostly to Luke. But the kids had a good time.
It was the prettiest little gingerbread house I've ever seen!