Uncle Nate!!

Last Friday, Nick's brother Nathan came into town for the day. He and his wife Monique have been in Japan with the Air Force for the last two years, so we haven't seen much of them for a while. Their new assignment is in Texas so we are super excited to spend tons of quality time with them in the coming years. Here are a few pics of Uncle Nate and the boys.

goofy gift from Uncle Nate

Sam's new best friend

Touch a Truck!

Today our town hosted a cool event called "Touch a Truck" in downtown. There were tons of cool vehicles the kids could touch and climb around in. There was an ambulance, fire truck, digger, hummers, Army vehicles, moving van, school bus, helicopter, smart car, garbage truck, tow truck, DART bus, among others. We had so much fun walking around, looking, learning, and people watching. Eli and Sam enjoyed the bounce houses and free pizza and hot dogs. They had face painting and crafts for the kids, as well. It was way better than Nick and I expected and we can't wait to take the boys back next year.
And yes, I realize Sam isn't in any of these pictures, but he was there with us (PROMISE!), but was too little to climb around the trucks. Poor kid spends half of his life in the stroller!

Eli in the back of an ambulance


Eli getting into the digger

Dallas Zoo

Yesterday, Eli, Sam, and I ventured out to the Dallas Zoo with our good friends, the Penk family. First, let me say that I've been kind of a zoo snob, thinking that the Dallas Zoo could not possibly compare to the Fort Worth Zoo. You always hear how wonderful the FW Zoo is, and I can say from experience, that it is pretty cool. But I was just as impressed (maybe a little more) with the Dallas Zoo. Granted, we went late in the afternoon and didn't get to see all it had to offer, but what we saw was really great. Eli LOVED it!!! He can't wait to go back. We spent the afternoon looking at snakes, lizards, giraffes, butterflies, all kinds of monkeys, pigs, bunnies, anteaters, and a few I can't remember right now. We even rode a zoo animal carousel. After the zoo closed, we ate dinner at the zoo themed McDonald's next door. That was a huge hit, also. Long story short, we had a fabulous afternoon and can't wait to go back!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Soccer and T-Ball

Last week Eli started playing soccer and t-ball. He isn't in a league that plays games, but in programs meant to introduce the fundamentals of the games to 4-5 year olds. Soccer is a four week program through the city of Garland and t-ball is a five week program with the city of Rowlett (they may play games the last two weeks, but I'm not sure about that). So far, he seems to prefer t-ball over soccer (he loves to hit the ball), but that could change any minute with him. Nick and I are excited to get to this stage with him because sports have been such a big part of our lives and we're anxious to share that with our boys. He may end up not wanting to play any sports at all and that would be cool with us. But we'll enjoy it for as long as we can.=) Enjoy the pictures and have a great weekend!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy 60th Birthday PawPaw!

Last weekend we ventured down to Port Lavaca to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday. We were there from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon and Eli convinced PawPaw to take him fishing three times during the short time we were there. He did catch his first fish which was pretty exciting (and my dad didn't get any pics of it).
I've posted a slideshow of pictures from my dad's birthday lunch. I'm so glad we were able to celebrate with him. We love you PawPaw/Dad!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Sweet Mother's in my Life

Since we were in Port Lavaca this weekend for my dad's 60th birthday (more about that in my next post), we also got to celebrate Mother's Day with three very important mothers in my life. We went out to a nice lunch with my mom (Karen), my MeMaw (Gloria), and my aunt and godmother (Yvonne).

MeMaw, Aunt Yvonne, Mom, and me

I was very lucky to get to spend the day with all of my boys. Nick was especially sweet to me and I didn't have to change one dirty diaper all day. It was great. They also got me a new point and shoot camera since our old one is not so good. I love it! Thank you guys!
Mother's Day always reminds me how lucky I am to have such a wonderful, generous mother. It also reminds me how lucky I am to be the mother of my precious boys. I love being their mommy.

I also could not post without recognizing my wonderful mother-in-law. We didn't get to see her yesterday, but Nick got to talk to her. We hope she had the best day ever!

p.s. I'm pregnant with Eli in this photo; my tummy is not usually this big.=)
Have a great week!

Children's Museum

Today I was awakened my Eli running into our room, jumping up on our bed, shouting, "Mommy! Let's get dressed and go the museum! Dinosaurs!" So, Eli, Sam, Melissa, Isabella, Maddie, and I piled into the van and headed to Fair Park. There are tons of interactive exhibits for preschool age kids so they had a blast. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Sorry the pictures are so blurry. My "point and shoot" camera is - for lack of a better word - sucky. We have a nice Nikon SLR camera, but it's too bulky to take on trips like this. If anyone has a recommendation for a compact, easy to use point and shoot, let me know. Have an awesome weekend!

Make a Smilebox slideshow