4th of July Weekend

We started out the holiday weekend by heading over to a friends house for the Lakewood Parade - it's always so festive and such a great way to celebrate the 4th! I tried really hard to get a good pic of the boys but they just weren't as into it as I was. boys. 

Ready for the parade to start!

Ryan and Emmy

Sweet Ford and his marshmallow pop!

Happy boys!

He loves marshmallows. 

Hanging with daddy

telling stories...

The boys had a blast watching the parade...and of course they loved all the candy too! 

After the parade we headed back home and loaded up the car for the lake house. 

We arrived at the Terry's beautiful new lake house around one o'clock and got settled in. Since G hadn't napped yet I got him all fixed up and he crashed. The rest of us got our suits on and headed outside to hangout with everyone else.

Later that evening we grilled out hotdogs and hamburgers - Grayson ate two hotdogs! Hungry man! Mrs. Paprocki took all the littles outside for some fun games - they played Duck Duck Goose, Red Rover Red Rover...and a couple others - it was adorable! Of course the adults joined in every once in a while too!

The boys decided to tackle Scott

Red Rover Red Rover...the older kids understood this for the most part...but the little's just thought it was HILARIOUS to run from side to side. 

Jack, Reese, Marin and Aiden

Grayson enjoyed playing washers...or picking up the washers while others were in the middle of a game. whateve.

Relaxing and watching the kiddos...

When the sun finally went down the fireworks started (well they started a little earlier). Anyhow, I love being on the lake for the 4th because you don't have to mess with your own fireworks, you can enjoy everyone else's.  We let the boys stay up late to watch them and they were so excited!

The ladies (and Clive)

Ryan was so excited to stay up late and he didn't want to miss anything. When we headed inside he hopped on Bryan's lap and passed out...like within a couple of minutes. 

Saturday morning we started the day off with yummy breakfast tacos made by the Itz family. 

We brought our bounce house for the kiddos to burn some energy on...

All the kiddos! Currently 11...what will be the magic number??? From left to right: Easton, Peter, Grayson, Ryan, Ben, Hunter, Reese, Marin, Aiden, Jack and Clive. 

We also took a big group picture but Mr. Terry has that on his camera and I am waiting for him to send it to me. 

The rest of the time was basically spent swimming, eating, drinking (well, for everyone else).  Of course there were bubbles - lots of bubbles. 

Ryan might have been the only child that insisted on wearing his water wings in the blow up pool. Such a safety nut. 

A little paddle boarding with daddy

Hanging out in the water...

Captain Eli...ready to go

Ryan was a big fan of his birthday suit...what a goof!

Sweet little girls! Can't wait for Hayden to play with them...

In the evening we loaded on a couple boats and went to watch the air show. 

The boys were pretty relaxed for this first 30 minutes...and then they were ready to be done. Nothing like being on a boat with five kiddos under the age of four. Yup - might have cut our trip a little short...

Once we got home we watched some fireworks and hung out some more...cause that's what it's all about. Such a great weekend with such wonderful friends! Love our 4th of July tradition!

Rough Creek Lodge

For Kevin's birthday we planned a little getaway to Rough Creek Lodge. Kevin had been a couple of times but the boys and I had not...so we were excited for what was in store!

We headed down after picking Ryan up from his bug camp at the Perot Museum. Since we hadn't eaten lunch yet we stopped on the way at Babe's. I have heard so much about Babe's fried chicken so I was pretty excited to give it a try!

Upon checking in they gave us a little goodie bag with kites and cookies for the kiddos, hotel information and $100 gift card to use while we were there (the gift card was part of the package we signed up for). 

We were impressed with our suite (again, Summer Fun package included a free upgrade to a suite). Lot's of room and separation from the kiddos when they sleep :)

After checking out the room we got in our swimsuits and headed over to the pool area for a little playtime before dinner. The pool is really cool and it wasn't crowded at all - we basically shared it with two other families. There is a water slide (which our boys weren't so sure of) and a mini lazy river which Ryan loved. 

After our swim we changed and headed to the dining room for our dinner reservations. I thought a 6pm dinner was pretty early and we would avoid a busy dining room (since we had two minis with us) but to my surprise it was actually quite full. I was a little nervous on how the boys would be...luckily they were on their best behavior! Whew! The kids eat off a buffet while mommy and daddy order a three course meal off of the menu. It was probably the nicest meal I have ever eaten with our children - yum! Afterwards we headed outside to the fire pit to make smores!

On Saturday the boys slept in a little bit and we really didn't get going until 9:30ish. We made our way to breakfast and then decided to check out the ranch. 

The boys played on the bounce house and then on these trampolines. There is also a zip line and rock climbing wall but I think they are too young. 

Next up we hit the dock for a little fishing

And then we found ourselves out in a canoe. Grayson insisted on helping Kevin row...so basically Kevin rowed us around with one paddle. 

After successfully canoeing we did a little more exploring...

Grayson was a little drool-ey.

We headed in for lunch and then did naps. I napped with Grayson while Kevin took Ryan to the pool and then to the train rides. They also had some cookies and lemonade!

When Grayson woke up we decided to take a kawasaki mule ride...we just went on a little 5 mile nature trail which was a lot of fun. We say some jackrabbits and a few deer. 

At 6pm a sitter came and took the kiddos to the Kids Ranch so that we could have a date night. 

We had such a great time - the weather was perfect!

The next morning we woke up and it was POURING down rain! The boys didn't mind...they loved splashing in the puddles on the way to breakfast.

The rain finally let up a little bit but since it was still so wet outside we decided we would head to Fossil Rim Wildlife Park (tickets were included with our stay). It's a drive through Zoo which I was highly suspect about...but it was actually really fun!

We got there a little early so we walked around for a little bit...

When the park opened we headed on it...

These crazy guys were quite aggressive...and the boys were not a fan. 

Poor G was terrified....and we were thinking...oh crap maybe this wasn't the best idea. 

Ryan said he wanted some food to feed the deer, so we gave him some. When the deer came up to his window he freaked out and threw the food all over the car. Oops!

BUT we trucked along....and they decided it was actually really fun!

I let Ryan pop out of the sunroof and he thought that was really cool. 

Grayson feeding some deer...

We decided to move to the back of the car and feed the animals out of the back window. It confused a lot of them...they definitely are use to food coming out of the windows on the side.

We weren't able to get close enough to the giraffes to feed them but the cars behind us lucked out. 

Super comfortable with all the animals now...

So comfortable that Ryan really wanted to feed those crazy ostrich/emu things that were at the begnining. We didn't find anymore but I am wondering how he would have handled it. After the park we decided to try and eat somewhere in town. Our lunch was cut quite short due to a little man named Grayson who was sooooo ready for his nap. It was right about that time when another huge downpour occurred. 

As we tried to make it back to the ranch there were a few low spots that we didn't know if we could cross. We made it past the first one but then came to this...we decided to turn around. Luckily one of the ranch hands foudn us and told us there was a back entry. Apparently if we would have made it past this there was another one that was about 4ft deep that we wouldn't have made it though. Good stuff. 

Anyhow, we made it back to the ranch in time for afternoon cookies and lemonade. The clouds cleared up and we explored until dinner time. The boys loved chasing the jackrabbits!

The next morning was Kevin's birthday! We woke up and headed to breakfast before packing up and heading back to Dallas. 

It's hard to get both boys looking at the same time...

Anyhow, we got back home and had a relaxing day. We celebrated Kevin's birthday with family, friends and fajitas!

I made Kevin this Heath Bar ice cream pie and it was DELICIOUS!

Happy birthday Kevin - we love you so much!!

32 Weeks - Hayden

How far along? 32 weeks 0 days

Weight: Officially up 21lbs this pregnancy - gained 4lbs since last appt. 

Baby size: According to Babycenter little Hayden is around almost 4lbs. I forgot to ask the doctor when I went in yesterday - he did measure my belly - 31cm....but I am not really sure what that means. He said it was right on track so I guess we are good. Hayden's head was down and her spine facing the right side...rump at the top of my belly. Legs and arms on the left side...which I feel all the time. I know she still moves around but it's fun to hear where she is. 

Sleep: Feels like I am up more these past few weeks...oye

Best moment this week: Hanging with our friends over the 4th of July. We always have such a fun time and love that all the kiddos are starting to actually play together. 

Miss anything: Being able to fit through small/narrow spaces. When I park our car in the garage there is only a small gap left in the front to get by...so if I need to get to the garage fridge it is rather difficult for me. I end up knocking stuff over - it's just generally annoying. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Still get random waves of nausea and it seems to be when I haven't eaten in a while. Guess it's a good thing I usually have snacks available. 

Labor signs: No

Symptoms: Nothing out of the ordinary...

22 months

What's going on?
- Working on his 2 year molars
- Bit someone at school! oops!
- Loves to color/paint
- Obsessed with stuffed animals - fills his crib at night
- Takes paci when sleeps but happily takes out and leaves in crib
- Current favorite books: Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site and Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes.
- Started to pronounce two sylables. For example, Ha-ppy, ba-by, Air-plane
- Starting sentences. "Hold Me" and "Here you go"
- Can be really shy....and also really outgoing
- Loves to flirt

- Not sure on ability to identify colors. Some times he does it correctly then the next day he won't at all. At one point I really thought he was possibly colorblind...but maybe he just isn't there yet. I should work more with him on these things

- Puzzle skills are slightly lacking...oops

-Love to give hugs and kisses!!!

Happy Birthday America!

We had such a fun weekend celebrating America's birthday with friends! Planning to post more pics and details later this week. Hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday weekend!

And a shout out to my LITTLE brother, Uncle Steve, who turned the big 3-0 this past Saturday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Wish we could have celebrated with you :) Ryan said he would make you a cake next time we see you.

Perot Museum Camp

This year for Ryan's birthday Gigi and Papa wanted to gift a camp or activity instead of a toy. I love that idea especially since these boys have so many toys already! We signed Ryan up for a bug camp at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science and he really enjoyed it. Every day they learned about a different bug and at the end of the week they invited us (parents) to a little 'reception' where they showed off everything they had done that week.

Monday: Caterpillar - Ryan brought home a little caterpillar in a plastic cup with a lid. There was food in it and his teachers said we didn't have to do anything so we set it on the kitchen counter and the little caterpillar did his thing. One day I looked over and bam...he was a butterfly. 
Tuesday: Ladybugs - Today Ryan brought home two little lady bugs. We kept them for a couple days and then he released them in the backyard.
Wednesday: Spiders - We actually missed this day...Ryan wasn't up for it so I didn't want to push him.
Thursday: Bee's - Ryan told me all about bee's and honey on our way home! So cute!
Friday: Worms - And Ryan came home with an earthworm....since we were headed out of town we took the worm with us....and now I am not quite sure what happened to it. Oh well, Ryan hasn't been too concerned. 

1st day of camp! Ryan was excited to learn all about bugs!

Didn't really take any pictures during the week, but on Friday Grayson and I arrived early to check out everything. Grayson wanted everything Ryan had...as soon as we walked in he somehow managed to take the hat right off of Ryan's head. Luckily Ryan didn't mind.

This was a lightening bug - there was a glow stick in the plastic bottle body...so cute!

Looking for his earthworm

A picture of a bee! He was so proud of everything he made!

There was a lot more artwork but I wasn't able to get too many pictures...Grayson was a wild one and he kept trying to take other kids artwork and claim them as his own. Ryan had such a fun time at this camp and I love how organized and non-chaotic it was.