The Owens Family

Blog, What Blog?? :)

2011-03-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

For those of you tired of pumpkin patch pictures in March, here's a little Irish kiss from the kids!

After attempting to create a Saint Patrick's Day sign, Blake decided he prefers to call it "Green Day" because he said there are too many letters to write in Saint Patrick's Day- ha!

A little mischievous leprechaun had to use the restroom at our house that night. ;) We also made rainbow cupcakes (with gold on top) with a couple of friends.

(By the way, Megan's going through that "change your clothes every 2 hours phase" that I always heard about with girls-my boys never did that! I don't love the extra laundry- because anyone who knows Megan knows that she doesn't stay clean for more than 5 minutes so everything she wears gets dirty- BUT I love seeing her enjoy dressing up so much!)

Hope you all had a fun Green Day!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we made our annual trip to a nearby church's pumpkin patch. Being surrounded by pumpkins makes a girl happy...love this time of year! Our little pumpkin collector:

Pumpkins

2010-11-03T14:45:00.001-07:00

This year, we decided not to carve the kids' individual pumpkins and instead bought Mr. Potato Head sets. :) We did "gut" the pumpkins for the pumpkin seeds (yum!), but it was much easier to just stick in plastic body parts instead of carving them (and the kids thought they were neat)!

Halloween Night

2010-11-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

I have other fall pictures to post, but for now, here are the kids dressed up for trick-or-treating.

They were all VERY happy with their choices!

Kyle- Harry Potter (he's reading the series right now and loves it!)

Grant- Vampire

Blake- Buzz Lightyear

Megan- Minnie Mouse (the love of her life!)

First Day of School Pics (Finally!)

2010-09-21T16:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I started this blog post a month ago...and even then, I was a month late in writing it. :)
School is going full speed ahead and everyone is having a great year so far!

Megan's first day of 3-year-old preschool. She has the same teacher that Kyle and Grant had when they were 3. :)

Blake's first day of kindergarten at the preschool. We're using this class as a "transitional kindergarten" since he will do kindergarten again at the public school next year. We were not sure what to expect this year, but he's having an amazing year so far and we're sooo thankful! It's a half-day program and he seems to be thriving in the structured, academic setting. They really have a nice balance of play and learning in this kinder class. And Blake's teacher is one of Kyle and Grant's former teachers, too. We love this preschool!

Grant and Kyle's first day of 4th grade! They team teach in 4th grade (one teacher teaches math and science, the other teacher teaches reading, language arts, and social studies), so both of the boys share the same 2 teachers. Very convenient for all of us and they're wonderful teachers!

Grant:

Kyle:

Backyard Camping

2010-09-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

We went camping in our backyard one night over Labor Day weekend! The kids loved it. At about 11pm, Megan declared that she was ready to sleep in her own bed in her room, so I volunteered to go inside and sleep with her. :) Aaron stayed with the boys for the rest of the night and everyone slept well (once they settled down and fell asleep)!

My parents were also here Labor Day weekend- here is a lovely picture taken bright and early in the morning as they were leaving!

Toy Store

2010-08-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

The boys had gift cards to spend from Toys R Us, so we made it a family outing last weekend. Our kids are used to buying toys from Target, or if we're feeling up for a crazy shopping experience we might venture over to Walmart- but we rarely go to Toys R Us because it's just not convenient to our house. Actually, Blake and Megan had never been before- and they thought they had died and gone to Toy Heaven! They were going up and down every aisle- oohing and aahing, pushing buttons, giggling with excitement. Blake must have told us at least 5 times, "I like THIS store!" It was so funny! I was glad I had my camera phone to take some pictures.

Blake loves Toy Story, so he was thrilled to see this display at the front of the store:

Kyle and Grant knew exactly what they wanted to buy with their gift cards- Mighty Beanz!

Buzz Lightyear chairs:

Megan found the princess aisle:

They had all sorts of trikes, bikes, and Power Wheels out on the floor:

That was enough excitement for one evening!

Dora

2010-08-07T16:47:00.001-07:00

Dora the Explorer has been a part of our family for many years now! As toddlers/preschoolers, none of our kids were able to resist the power of Dora. A couple of months ago, the Myrick girls passed down their huge Dora playset to Megan and she has enjoyed playing with it so much! I don't know how much longer Dora will hold Megan's attention, but I think I'll actually miss that Spanish-speaking girl when she's gone!

Galveston 2010

2010-08-05T13:35:00.000-07:00

At the last minute, we were able to squeeze in a short trip to Galveston. Aaron was not supposed to have any more vacation days this summer, but he managed to get a couple of days off so we could hit the beach!The waves were very light this year and there were fish jumping out of the water everywhere! Of course, Kyle was trying to catch them with his bare hands. :) He even found a washed-up plastic bag and tried to catch the fish using that, too. I love that kid! Blake went out in the ocean a couple of times, but he preferred to stay back and play in the sand (he said the salt water hurt his legs).

The rest of the gang in the water:Since this trip was planned at the last minute, we were only able to get a 1 bedroom condo. Although we felt a little cramped, it actually worked out better than we thought! We loved the condo- great location right on the beach and it had a swimming pool.

We swam every night after going to the beach. The water was SO warm- it felt like we were swimming in a hot tub!

Then we would get the kids bathed and they would veg on the sofa watching TV before going to bed:

Spongebob says, "Yippee! We're at the beach!" or he could be saying, "Yippee! The kids are going to bed!" haha!

The sofa pulled out to a bed, but we ended up not using it because all of the kids slept in the bunks!

Moody Gardens Aquarium:
Penguins:

These were our favorite fish! They are called Stonefish and they seriously look just like underwater rocks! I circled both of the fish- we couldn't even tell that one was a fish until it moved.

Lunch at the Rainforest Cafe with a Volcano dessert:
Waiting to ride the Rainforest Cafe ride:
Walking on The Strand after going to the candy store:

Silly Megan wearing my beach shoes:

Beach Bums:

We are thankful for a wonderful vacation!

Megan

2010-07-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

Blake

2010-07-26T21:43:00.000-07:00

Run, Froggy, Run!

2010-07-25T17:51:00.000-07:00

Catching critters is a daily occurrence around here for Kyle- the frogs (toads?) are slower than the lizards, so they are his prime target. :) He catches and releases them each time, so we suspect this frog (toad?) has probably been caught 10 times! Kyle should come up with a marking system....and the frog (toad?) should come up with a better plan to avoid capture!

Seaworld

2010-07-22T07:25:00.000-07:00

Travis, Kelly, and their kids are in town this week for a conference, so yesterday we met up with them at Seaworld. We were there for a few hours in the late afternoon/evening and saw a couple of shows and rode some rides. We had a great time and I'm glad we got to experience Seaworld with them! I included some videos of our day, too....

Watching the Azul show:

The ride below was the highlight of the day for the kids! Well, the ride was fun, but the real highlight was standing in the splash zone after the ride! Here is a picture of Travis, Kelly, Kendon, Kasen, Kyle, and Grant on the ride. Aaron and I stayed back with Blake, Megan, and Kora.

Waiting in the splash zone:

Another water ride that Megan was not quite tall enough to ride, but everyone else had fun! The Shamu show:

How We Sleep

2010-07-19T22:15:00.000-07:00

Megan is sleeping in her new BIG GIRL bed! She started climbing out of her crib at age 2, so we invested in a crib tent. When that one broke, we invested in another crib tent. When that one broke (these are obviously not the most well-made products!), we just made do without one. Of course, Megan promptly started climbing out of her crib, so we decided it was time to make the change! For now, we just have the mattress and box springs on the floor of her room. We have a headboard/footboard (that was my mom's as a child), but we need to paint it first. I already had the bedding because a few months ago I found an inexpensive set at TJ Maxx Homegoods that matched her room perfectly (meaning I don't have to redecorate/paint)! Megan always sleeps with an entourage of stuffed animals, too. I love those "girly" things about her!This evening, the kids turned the gameroom toy closet into a "fort." When bedtime rolled around, Grant and Blake made beds in the fort. Who knew sleeping in a closet could be so exciting?!

Grant:

Blake:

Kyle made his own sleeping quarters with sofa cushions. He's in there somewhere!

And speaking of sleeping, this is how I found Megan sleeping a couple of weeks ago. (Sorry about the terrible quality-it was taken with my phone.) Can you even see her in the sea of stuffed animals?! With the freedom to climb out of her crib, Megan could bring any, and apparently ALL, of her stuffed companions to bed with her. Right after taking this picture, I had to rearrange her-I was afraid she was going to get a crick in her neck!

What Do You See?

2010-07-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

Mama Bird, Mama Bird

What do you see?

I see a green bush looking at me.

Green Bush, Green Bush

What do you see?

I see a brown nest looking at me.

Brown Nest, Brown Nest

What do you see?

I see 4 baby birds looking at me!

The kids (and myself) have loved watching these little birds grow....and boy are they growing quickly! Poor Mama Bird- she should have scouted the area better before putting her nest in a not-so-big Red Tip by the backyard patio of a house occupied by 2 adults, 4 children, and a dog!

July Fourth Flashback

2010-07-05T17:01:00.000-07:00

Just for fun, here's a picture taken 3 years ago on July 4th. It's official...our babies are growing up!

Happy Birthday America!

2010-07-05T14:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was July 4th and we did a whole lotta nothin'! I went to HEB, breaking two of my three cardinal rules for grocery shopping: 1. Do not go grocery shopping on a weekend 2. Do not go grocery shopping on a holiday! Unfortunately, I could wait no longer- I had not been grocery shopping since returning from California a week ago and it was becoming difficult to make meals when our only choices were Cheerios, ketchup, and canned green beans. :) Aaron worked a lot last week and I absolutely did not want to break my number 1 rule : Do not go grocery shopping with all 4 kids!

We also blew up the waterslide for the kids yesterday, ate pulled pork sandwiches for dinner, baked a flag cake for dessert, and that evening we had a great view of the Dominion fireworks from our back patio. It was a good day!

Our own little firecrackers (who might be posing for this picture due to a candy bribe):

Goofs:

Blake and Megan preferred to swim in the little pool this time, but the big kids (and friends) had a great time climbing and sliding:

The flag cake that Kyle and Ben decorated:Hanging around the patio waiting for it to get dark and for the fireworks to start!

Watching the fireworks:

The big kids posing for a picture:

VBS

2010-07-02T15:22:00.000-07:00

A few pictures from a couple of weeks ago when Kyle and Grant attended Vacation Bible School:

Disneyland

2010-06-26T00:25:00.001-07:00

We've spent the past 3 days at Disneyland and of course it's been a wonderful, fun, exhausting, memory-making experience! The weather was great, the rides were impressive, and we all enjoyed the Disney atmosphere.

Some of our favorite rides were Soarin' (Dan and Harriet), Space Mountain (Aaron), Indiana Jones (Courtney), California Screamin' (Kyle), and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Grant). Blake said his favorite rides were the "fast roller coasters!" and Megan loved everything but she especially loved seeing/hugging all of the characters. We tried not to overdo it, which made for happy kids and adults! I didn't take pictures of many rides, but still got plenty of pictures, so this is my picture overload warning. :) Breakfast with Minnie and Friends:

Megan did NOT like Captain Hook!

It's a Small World:
Megan's Minnie ears:
Blakers:
Aaron and Blake off to ride Peter Pan:
Autotopia, Grampa and Megan waving hello:

Buzz Lightyear ride:

Teacups (or as Megan said, "I rode a teapot!"):

Afternoon snack of Mickey ice cream bars:
Super fun parade!

Bobsled ride- everyone really liked this one, although Megan didn't care for the darkness!

Good 'ole Dumbo ride:

Megan loved her new toys:
Nemo's submarine ride: What a neat ride! Blake was so funny- after we told him that we were going on a submarine ride and going "underwater," he started asking lots of questions- "Can we breathe? Will the top close? We will get wet? How can we breathe?" He was very concerned!

We thought about keeping them in here for a while:

Megan in Minnie's house:

We ate lunch with the princesses at Ariel's Grotto. It was actually a very nice lunch! Good food, service, and the princesses were the icing on the cake. The boys enjoyed it, too, though I did promise them I wouldn't make them pose with the princesses for pictures! Megan was so cute- for the first time ever, she was speechless when the princesses visited our table. She was in awe!
Waiting to be seated:
Princess Megan:

My boys!

The kids riding the train:

Blake actually loved Minnie Mouse and wanted to wear the ears on the train. :)

Watching A Bug's Life movie- fun show!!
Relaxing at the house and waiting to leave for the fireworks show:

Beautiful fireworks show:

The end!

Legoland

2010-06-22T22:10:00.001-07:00

We had a fun day at Legoland- the LEGO theme throughout the park was soooo cute! The space bar is not working on the laptop, so I'll have to skip the writing/captions- takes too long to pound out a space between words!:) Cute lego owls!
Blake hurt his hand, so he sat out a few rides nursing his hand (and eating a snack):
Lego car:

Roar!

These instruments played music when the kids jumped:
Lego MiniTown-all made of Legos!

Backyard S'mores

2010-06-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

After a busy day at Legoland, I'm going to bed early tonight. Legoland pictures will have to wait until tomorrow! Until then, here are a few pictures of the kids in pajamas eating smores around the firepit in the backyard. This house has a beautiful backyard, but I guess with such nice weather, they really do spend a big chunk of their time outside!

Our Day at the San Diego Zoo

2010-06-20T23:08:00.001-07:00

My poor neglected blog. I know it's been a while, but I wanted to add some pictures from our vacation. We are having a great time and the weather here in CA is absolutely amazing. I'm still impressed that our house doesn't have AC and we can leave the doors and windows open without having to worry about heat or bugs! Today we went to the San Diego Zoo and really enjoyed it. I always thought a zoo is a zoo, but the SD Zoo is really beautiful. The panda was just precious, as you will see below! It's late at night, so I'm going to just upload some highlights from our day. (And it won't let me arrange the layout of the pictures, so they are in a random order.)

In front of our rental house getting ready to leave for the zoo:

Panda posing for the picture!

Kyle and Grant jumped on these bungee things. Here's a far-away shot of Kyle so you can see what it looked it, and then a close-up of Grant:

The petting zoo area:

Blake and a snake:
Adorable polar bears wrestling in the water (I think they look like my parents' dog, Sandy! She must be part polar bear...) :)
We rode the skylift across the zoo. Here are Grampa and Mimi (with Megan and Grant who are too short to see in the photo!):

Proof that our God has a sense of humor:

We obviously saw a lot of animals, but those were my favorites. Tomorrow we're heading to Legoland!

Megan and Kirby

2010-04-18T21:56:00.001-07:00

Poor Kirby. We utter those words often around here. Kirby is 14 years old- not exactly the best years to be the apple of a 3 year old's eye! Megan LOVES her "Wirbles" but she shows that love in unusual ways...and Kirby is ~~not smart enough to leave~~ such a good dog that she plays right along. :)

Megan accessorizing Kirby:

This is how we found Kirby walking around the other day:

And no animals were harmed in the making of this video:

More Bluebonnets

2010-04-16T20:19:00.001-07:00

We went to Fredericksburg to pick strawberries last weekend (pictures to come later). While there, we stopped to visit with friends and they mentioned a vacant lot right around the corner from their house that was perfect for bluebonnet pictures. Boy were they right! Too bad we were there mid-afternoon because everyone is squinting in all the pictures, but I loved the location!
The gang:

Kyle:

Grant:

Blake was done with pictures! Fortunately, I got him to look at the camera one final time:
Heading back to the car:

Bluebonnets

2010-04-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

It's an unwritten rule in Texas that you must take pictures in the bluebonnets each spring. (Kind of like that unwritten rule in our neighborhood that you must own a giant inflatable yard decoration for each major holiday.) :)
When Kristen and Cassidy visited a couple of weeks ago, we decided to be upstanding Texas citizens and take bluebonnet pictures with the girls. (The boys were in school, but they didn't object to us going without them!)
Miss Megan:

Cutie patooties: Cousin Cassidy:

I actually do have some bluebonnet pictures of the boys that I'll upload later. We went to Fredericksburg one day to pick strawberries (and ended up stopping by to see some dear friends) and I got some pictures of the boys (squinting in the sun) in the bluebonnets there.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

We had a nice relaxing Easter this year, which consisted of nothing more than church, baskets, and hanging out!
We did something different this year with their Easter baskets. Normally, their filled baskets are sitting by the fireplace in the morning, but this year we hid them. (Sidenote: In our family, each child has a designated color of eggs....makes the egg hunt so much easier and allows us to fill the eggs with some personal treats!)
Anyway, I bought yarn to match the egg colors. Kyle: yellow, Grant: green, Blake: blue, and Megan: purple. We started the yarn in their bedrooms and strung it throughout the house. Each child had to follow his/her color of yarn until it led to the hidden Easter basket. Despite getting tangled up a couple of times, it worked out really well and the kids loved it! I didn't get any pictures of them with the yarn because I was too busy helping!

Kyle's basket in the pantry:

Grant's basket in the bathroom: Blake's basket in the study:

Megan's basket by the kitchen table: Ready to hunt for eggs!

First picture attempt: Megan picking her nose. Try again!

Second attempt: Much better! Hunting around the inside of the house:
Moving outside to find some eggs....it rained a little the night before, but the goodies in the eggs survived!

Opening the eggs:

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T15:25:00.001-08:00

It's been a nice, relaxing day (well, as relaxing as it gets with 4 kids)! Aaron had to work today, but he was home this morning. We ate a Valentine's breakfast, which included pink pancakes, strawberries, pink applesauce, and strawberry milk (which they don't really like- we'll stick with white milk next year!), and of course a heart-shaped box of chocolates. Kyle:
Grant:
Blake:

Megan:
Oh, and here's what happens when a 9-year-old leaves his box of chocolates unattended in the gameroom (what you can't see is all of the chocolate smeared on her arms and legs, too):

This is the conversation that unfolded after I saw Megan like that:

Me: Megan, did you eat chocolate?
Meg: Yes

Me: Where did you find the chocolate?
Meg: Upstairs

Me: Oh, is there chocolate upstairs?

Meg: No, I ate it all (said very matter-of-factly)

Ha!

Aaron bought the kids a "make your own candy" kit, so I made candy with Kyle and Grant during nap time. It was fun! Next time, I'm going to buy a big bag of Dove chocolates to melt and mold- the chocolate in the package was not up to par!

Now Aaron is home from work, the kids are upstairs playing with the neighbors, and we need to think about preparing a somewhat healthy meal for dinner after all of the sugar today!

Megan's Gymboree Class

2010-02-04T20:47:00.000-08:00

Megan still goes to Gymboree class once a week and loves it. It's a nice mix of playtime for her and adult conversations for me! This may be her last semester since she will be attending preschool 3 mornings a week next year and her Gymboree class falls on a school day. We may switch to a different class or try something else like a gymnastics or dance class. We'll see!

Spelling Bee

2010-02-04T15:09:00.000-08:00

Grant participated in the school Spelling Bee last month. Each class had two representatives and he was one of them! I ended up not being able to make the Spelling Bee because I was sick with a fever, but Aaron was able to go. Grant made it to the third round, which was pretty good considering the winner won in the fifth round. (Yes, it only took 5 rounds to declare a winner-I guess spelling is not a forte in our school-ha!) Grant spelled the words "guard" and "exercise" correctly. He missed the word "calories" (which he can spell very quickly and correctly now!). We were all very proud of him!

Grant's in the back row under the "p" in the word "spelling."

Can you see him?

Grant's turn!

Silly Little Monkey

2010-02-02T15:31:00.000-08:00

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

2010-02-02T11:29:00.000-08:00

I see Blake looking at me!

Blake- 7 months old

Blake- 4 1/2 years old

Gig 'Em Megan!

2010-02-01T12:12:00.000-08:00

Funny comment about this outfit- this little number was worn by Kyle, Grant, and Blake. Thinking it was pretty unisex, I wanted to get a picture of Megan wearing it. As I was putting it on her, she looked at it and asked, "Is this Blake's?" I told her no, but that her brothers wore the outfit when they were 2. I continued to put it on her and she said, "You're silly! I'm not a BOY!" Totally made me laugh. I have to admit, her wardrobe is "girly" and does not consist of sweats, jeans, or t-shirts....in her mind, this was definitely a boy outfit! Thankfully, she's still pretty agreeable when it comes to her clothing (I'm sure that will change soon) so still I got a picture. :)

Happy 9th Birthday Kyle and Grant!

2010-01-26T23:00:00.000-08:00

We had a small family celebration for Kyle and Grant's birthday this year- first they opened gifts, then dinner at Cici's Pizza, and finally cake! No party has been planned yet, but we'll do "something sometime"- it's never too late to celebrate, right?

I love these birthday boys!

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Kyle and Grant, Happy Birthday to you!"

Blowing out the candles. They didn't know the candles were "trick" candles- they had never seen them before and had NO idea why the candles kept relighting- it was so funny!

Finally eating the cake:

A visit with Santa and other things

2009-12-11T12:45:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again- time to head to the mall to see Santa! We always go on a weeknight to avoid the crowds- what a difference that makes! When we arrived at the mall Santa had just left to take a break and "feed his reindeer, " so we decided to go ahead and eat dinner (we usually eat after the photos to keep their clothes clean!).
Yummy food court pizza:

With more time to kill, we gathered up our quarters and let the kids ride on the toys that are conveniently located right by Santa's station.
Finally time for Santa! Blake LOVED him.

Megan didn't. (Look at a very sympathetic Daddy holding her!)

The gang!

Next stop: ice cream. Because there is nothing like ice cream to warm you up on cold evening! The kids are wearing elf hats that were given to them by Santa.

To wrap up the evening, we took the kids to Build-A-Bear. Kyle and Grant went once when they were younger, but Blake and Megan had never been. They all enjoyed it!
Kyle picked out a turkey:

Grant picked out a winter bear:

Blake picked out Frosty the Snowman:

And Megan picked out a pink bear (I tried to steer her towards the cute pink unicorn, due to the fact that she already owns several bears, but she was set on the pink bear. Who said she could have an opinion anyway?! She better not start having an opinion on her clothes-ha!)

All finished!

Staring Kyle and Grant in "Seussical"

2009-11-21T16:00:00.000-08:00

Kyle and Grant's school cleverly schedules school plays/performances to take place immediately following the PTA meetings! That means the kids have to be there 6:30, the PTA meeting starts at 7:00, and THEN you can watch your child perform. Of course, that also means that each PTA meeting is generally packed with parents from a specific grade level- the one performing! Anyway, the 3rd graders performed at the November PTA meeting and it was a precious little performance from the musical "Seussical!"
The boys are on the bottom row (Kyle is on the end and Grant is 5th from the end):

The End!

Halloween Costumes

2009-11-02T20:00:00.000-08:00

I have so many pictures from October that I need to sort through, but for now, here are some pictures of the kids in their Halloween costumes this year....more pictures to come later!

Bumblebee Megan:

Fireman Blake:

Mario Kyle and Luigi Grant:

Blake Speaking "Spanish"

2009-10-22T19:40:00.000-07:00

Blake's preschool class is part of a dual language elementary school. One day after school, Blake came up to me, looked me in the eyes, and started jabbering. He repeated himself several times. I told him that he was talking "baby talk" and that I couldn't understand him. Blake told me, "No, I'm not talking like a baby- I'm talking like Mrs. Garcia!" Mrs. Garcia is the teacher's aide who speaks Spanish to them a lot!

He has continued to speak "Spanish" to us almost everyday. He's really convinced that he can speak it. Another day when I picked him up from school, we overheard a mom talking to her child in Spanish. Blake said, "She's talking Spanish. I can talk Spanish, too!"

Here's a cute little video of Blake's "Spanish" :

Cookie Dog

2009-10-20T19:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a long, sad day in our house today. The past couple of days Brandi took a turn for the worse, so we took her to the vet today and had her put to sleep. She was 13 1/2 years old and her body was simply failing from old age.
Brandi was our first "baby." As soon as Aaron and I got back from our honeymoon, we headed to the animal shelter and adopted Brandi. (OK, we also adopted psycho-cat Hailey, but that's another story!) Brandi was always an odd little dog. At the animal shelter, she kept walking sideways. The workers at the shelter told us there was nothing physically wrong with her, she just walked like that! As a puppy, Brandi would sleep behind the toilet. She would often wake up soaking wet, so for a while we thought the toilet was leaking. We finally realized she was just peeing in her sleep! Brandi had knee surgery when she was one year old. As a result, she was never an active dog. We're not convinced she would have been active even with good knees, though! She was just an "old soul." Brandi smiled! She would lift up her lips, show us her teeth, and smile! We would often find her plastered against the wall, tail thumping, with a "smile" on her face! (I'll have to look for a photo to post.) A definite weakness for Brandi was guarding things. Every time we traveled, we had to put our luggage (especialy her dog bag) up high so she wouldn't "guard" it. Brandi's favorite thing in the entire world was being outdoors. She would have stayed outside all day, every day, if we let her. We would have let her, had she not had a thing for barking at people walking by or leaves falling to the ground! She also loved to swim. We couldn't visit Aaron's parents' house without her swimming (she loved to fetch sticks in the water). Summer or winter, it didn't matter, she went swimming!
Brandi was such a unique dog. She helped us welcome home all four of our kids and we're so glad she was part of our family! We miss her.

Who put butter on Kirby?

2009-10-11T20:09:00.001-07:00

I'll give you 3 guesses....and the first 2 don't count.

Chalk It Up

2009-10-11T19:01:00.000-07:00

Kyle and Grant are enrolled in a wonderful art class and this weekend was the class "field trip." The field trips are usually local art events- this time it was an event downtown called "Chalk It Up." Local artists, as well as youth organizations (including Kyle and Grant's art class), are given a space to create a chalk creation. Since we were there in the morning, many of the creations were not finished yet, but it was really neat to see some of the drawings! It also ended up being pretty cold that morning (by Texas standards), so we didn't stay too long.

Aaron and the kiddos:

Watching Megan's dress blow up:

Buying Italian Ice (Aaron surprised me with a picture-lovely!):

This was the space for Kyle and Grant's art class:

Grant:

Kyle:

Some other neat chalk creations:

Blake:

Megan:

Megan's First Haircut

2009-09-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, I took Megan to get a haircut. I guess it was really just a trim-we needed to clean up her stringy ends. I could have trimmed her hair myself, but instead I took her to an overpriced kids salon so she could sit in a cool car, watch a movie, and I could take pictures for her nonexistent scrapbook! :)Before:

After (I know, look at that dramatic change!):And just a funny picture of Megan trying to look through a toy magnifying glass:

Blake

2009-09-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

Kyle and Grant and a Cute Puppy

2009-09-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

Some good friends recently got a black lab-mix puppy (a neighborhood stray had 8 puppies and this is one of them). Cute cute cute!

Where's Jake?This sweet little face kind of makes you want one, huh?Until you're reminded they do this!

The Park with Cousin Cassidy

2009-09-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

While my sister was here last week, we went to the park one evening.

Blake:
Kyle:

Grant:
Kristen and Cassidy:

Kyle swinging: Megan:

Megan and Cassidy:

Cassidy:

Grant:

Blake:

Megan: The boys:
Chipmunk-cheeks Kyle:
My gang:Cousins:

Megan

2009-09-21T11:55:00.000-07:00

At this point, my memory card definitely contains more pictures of Megan than anyone else.... but while all the boys are in school everyday, Megan is home with me and my camera!

Cute girl!

Mowing the lawn (or sidewalk):
Eating snack:
This girl loves her toothbrush! Here she is dipping her toothbrush into a cup of water and sucking the water off the toothbrush. Delish!

A New School Year

2009-09-21T08:12:00.000-07:00

Just back-tracking and posting some first day of school pictures!
The boys:

Kyle on the first day of 3rd grade and with his teacher on "Meet the Teacher" night:

Grant on the first day of 3rd grade and with his teacher on "Meet the Teacher" night:

Kyle and Grant getting off the bus on the first day of school (I take them to school in the morning and they ride the bus home):
Blake's first day of preschool/PPCD and in his classroom on "Meet the Teacher" night: Megan's first day of preschool in the "Puppy" class. Not too happy about being there!

School is going GREAT for Kyle and Grant, but Blake and Megan are still adjusting. Hopefully things (ie drop off time) will start improving soon!

Our Cutie

2009-08-16T12:04:00.001-07:00

Just hanging out....
On the bed:On the stairs: In her room:

Yo, Blake's In Da House

2009-08-16T11:53:00.000-07:00

Blake came up to Aaron dressed like this and said he was ready to go outside and play baseball!
(It's a little known fact that knit hats and upside down sunglasses improve your game.)

Blake's Donuts

2009-08-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

Blake could eat his weight in powdered donuts. I think it's genetic. (right Mom?) :D

Megan Playing the Wii

2009-08-16T11:15:00.000-07:00

"I can play this- I see my brothers do it all the time! You swing up like this, and around like that....."

Camping Trip

2009-08-15T23:09:00.000-07:00

We recently rented an RV and went camping at the Guadalupe River State Park. The best part- it's only 30 minutes from our house and it's beautiful! Aaron's mom and our nephew (Everett) came with us. We were so thankful for Chris' help, as this was our first time going in an RV and I was not able to be there the entire time. The boys had a blast, of course!

Our Casa:

Everett, Kyle, Grant, Blake, and Megan:

The trail by our campsite that led down to the river:

Everyone came back to the RV in the afternoon to rest and cool off in the air conditioning.

Everett and Grant:
Kyle playing the addicting game Bejeweled:
Blake and Megan both loved (and fought over) this chair because of the seat belt. Buckle...Unbuckle...Buckle...Unbuckle. That's about as exciting as it gets when you're in an RV.

Cooking Dinner:
Eating Dinner:
Roasting marshmallows for Smores:

Playing with Glow Sticks:

This is about the time we went to bed. Everyone except Megan, that is. Let's just say that it was not a wise decision to let Megan's first time to sleep out of a crib be in an RV! She kept everyone awake until 12:30am and would not stay in bed. Completely confirmed why she has a crib tent on her crib at home!

Breakfast in the morning:
There was a park halfway between our campsite and the river. Made for a nice distraction from the somewhat-long walk!

Heading down to the river again:

Here are the kids eating Twinkies for a snack. They ate healthy, nutritious foods the entire time. You know, foods like hot dogs, chips, smores, Twinkies, powdered donuts, Cookie Crisp, etc. We did throw in some fruit, if that counts!The picture tree:

At this point, I left and took Blake and Megan back to our house so they could take naps. There was no way we were letting Megan sleep in the RV again, plus Blake needed to be back for preschool the next morning. Worked out well for everyone! Aaron, Chris, and the big boys stayed for another night. They went back to the RV for quiet time and then went fishing. Here are some pictures Chris took.
Kyle and Everett playing Pokemon:

Aaron and Grant playing Bejeweled:

Fishing:

That's it! It was a fun little trip and we'll definitely go camping RV-style again (sans Megan until she's a little older)!

Lollipops

2009-08-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

I bought a ton (like 2 five-pound bags) of YummyEarth lollipops on sale at Amazon. The kids LOVE them. They really are the best-tasting lollipops I've had, so if you're in the market for lollipops, I definitely recommend them!

Apple Picking

2009-07-31T11:54:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to Love Creek Orchards in Medina to pick apples yesterday! We ended up with a box full of apples and even a few figs. We haven't tried the figs yet- the only time I've eaten a fig is in a Fig Newton, so we'll see! I already made an apple pie last night with some of the apples. After picking apples yesterday, we went down the road to a cute store/cafe and ate lunch. Good times!

The baby apple trees are in the buckets in the front. The mature trees, where we picked the apples, are in the back.The loot:

Swinging on the swing. Tired and ready to eat.

Mad Scientists

2009-07-17T16:12:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Kyle and Grant went to a Mad Science camp in the mornings. The theme was "Wings and Things"- they learned about and made rockets, airplanes, gliders, boomerangs, kites, etc. Here are some of their creations:
And I'll throw in a picture of Blake and Megan, dressed as a Star Wars character and Superman:

SeaWorld

2009-07-17T15:40:00.000-07:00

We finally made it over to SeaWorld yesterday. It was packed! The economy and 100+ degree weather are definitely not preventing people from going to see marine life! We went to the Shamu show first and then headed straight to the water park. I didn't take many pictures because I was too busy playing in the water to keep from melting.

Kyle:

Grant:Blake LOVES water slides! He was disappointed that he was too little for most of the water slides, but at least he could go on this one: Also, this was the first time that we have gone somewhere with the intent of skipping Megan's nap (I'm such a stickler for naps- good for them and me!). She did great and it was nice not having to rush home for nap time. Next time we go to Sea World, we're going to the VIVA! show- my absolute favorite one!

Babysitter Needed Part 2

2009-07-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

I found a few more pictures on a different memory card, so if you are still on the fence, maybe these will help you make your decision!

Megan can give you beauty tips while you babysit her! Mayonnaise is a known hair conditioner, but Megan is here to let you know that yogurt works, too.
(This is why I try not to leave her in possession of food!)
Good grief!
Megan is almost potty-trained! (We still have to work on using the proper amount of toilet paper....)

And for those family members not on Facebook, you might like to know that we recently got a call from the nice man who cleaned our windows. The day after he came to our house, he found one of our phones at the bottom of his soap bucket. According to the boys, Megan was seen with her hands in his bucket, so we don't think it's much of a mystery what happened!

Someone needs to come and supervise this child!

Babysitter Needed

2009-07-07T16:09:00.001-07:00

Who would like to watch our 2-year-old?
She's really NO trouble AT ALL. Not one bit!!

She can fix her own food (she likes pasta with LOTS of Parmesan Cheese):

She can decorate sugar cookies (and herself):

She can take her own bath (gotta get the bathroom door fixed!):

She's a great artist!

She loves markers: And stamps:

And stickers:
She can take care of her own boo-boos:
And of couse, she's always a ray of sunshine! Alright, who wants the job?

Happy July 4th!

2009-07-04T21:59:00.000-07:00

The Dominion puts on a fireworks show each year and we have a perfect view from our back patio!

The yummy patriotic cookies we made today:

Beach Bums

2009-07-03T19:11:00.001-07:00

We recently headed to Galveston for our yearly beach visit! We stayed in a beach house this year (we stayed in this same house a couple of years ago) and loved it. The beach is right down the street (about 5 houses) and the neighborhood is close to all of our favorite attractions. The kids on the deck (the huge deck is one of the best parts of this house!):
We ate on the deck most evenings. At the end of our meals, we would throw one tiny morsel of food in the air, resulting in flocks of sea gulls. Those birds know how to get the word out that food is being given out!

We did other things during the day and basically went to the beach every night from about 6 until dark. It was the perfect time to go- the sun was setting and the weather was nice!
They caught this little guy to live in the sand castle:Blake collected lots of shells:

One of the few times that Megan got in the water- she became scared of the waves and would run in the opposite direction!The kids were not too keen on the ocean this year! Between the "stinging" salt water, several jellyfish washed up on the beach (which meant more in the water), and sightings of crabs in the water, they mainly played in the sand or very shallow water. I have to say, I don't really blame them!

Kyle:

Grant:

Blake:

Megan:

Playing baseball:

My mom, sister, and baby niece Cassidy came to visit one day!Sitting on the swing at the beach house:
Eating lunch at the Rainforest Cafe: This big guy sat behind us:

You can't eat at the Rainforest Cafe and not get a "Volcano!"

Blake's sand version of the "Volcano":

Getting ready to go to Moody Gardens:

Moody Gardens Aquarium:

3D IMAX

Moody Gardens Rain Forest:
Eating snack:

Moody Gardens Palm Beach:

Grant and Blake:

Kyle and Megan:
Eating Icees after swimming at Palm Beach:So long until next year!

Such a GIRL

2009-06-05T20:12:00.001-07:00

Aside from all of the PINK things, I am finally becoming convinced that a little girl lives here. Megan definitely does things that my boys never did!

Megan LOVES stuffed animals. How cute is this? She set this up by herself!And her bears are watching TV!

She knows she's cute.... :) Megan often insists on leaving the house with a handful of things, mostly stuffed animals these days.
Our neighbor gave Megan several princess dress-up outfits. Her girls have outgrown them, so she passed them on for Megan to enjoy!

Megan also loves baby dolls. On this day, Megan took her baby outside for a little time on the swing- once again, so cute! Do all girls prefer dolls without clothes?? I put them on, she takes them off. I give up-au naturale it is!

Beads, bracelets, purses, and the most important accessory-reindeer headband!
Love my girlie girl!

Water Slide Pictures Galore

2009-06-05T17:18:00.000-07:00

The kids have been having a blast on the water slide!

Friends and more friends (taken on various days):

Slip Sliding Away:

Grant:

Kyle:

Blake:

Megan:

Beads, Superman, and A Crazy Girl

2009-06-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

Blake's beads:

The first time Blake initiated putting on a costume. It lasted a whoppin' 2 minutes, but it's something!

Megan with 4 piggy tails on the trampoline (and I'm pretty sure she has a fudgesicle smeared all over her legs):

Memorial Day

2009-06-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

On Memorial Day, we went on a picnic and nature walk at the wilderness park by our house. Afterwards, I took the boys swimming while Megan and Daddy took a nap (Aaron had to work that night). We have so much to be thankful for and remember those who have served, and continue to serve, our country.

Baseball Practice

2009-06-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

I know I've posted baseball pictures before, but here are more! We had baseball practice tonight and the photographer was there to take the team pictures, so the kids had to wear their uniforms.

Trying to stay out of the photographer's way while taking a picture of the boys and team:

Blake and Megan hanging out:

Random Funnies

2009-05-31T16:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some random funny things that Blake and Megan have been saying/doing lately!

HER LIPS ARE SEALED

We frequently catch Megan rubbing this on her lips:

I never thought about it before, but it does resemble Chapstick!

LETTERS SCHMETTERS

Megan is learning her letters, the ABC song, and figuring out how it all goes together. One day I told Megan that we needed to go grocery shopping at HEB. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot and parked the car, she exclaimed, "I need go to ABCDEFG!"

BEING 2

In other Megan news, she's basically livin' up the terrible 2's! She's gained quite the reputation for her impressive tantrums. She is also following in Kyle's footsteps by flushing a toy down the toilet, requiring removal of the toilet from the foundation to retrieve said toy. And we recently had to purchase a new remote from DISH because our old remote somehow ended up burried in the sandbox. We have also had to childproof our doorknob on the front door. Unlike the 3 boys, Megan is not content to just stay in the house- we have caught her unlocking the door and attempting to leave on a couple occasions. Deadbolts are no deterrent, but the childproof door thingies are doing the job for now!

DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY
We're constantly working on facial expressions (and responses to those expressions) in Blake's speech therapy....last week I was playing around with him and pretending to cry in silly way. He said his usual "No worry, Mommy" but instead of stopping, I told him that I didn't know how to be happy. I asked if he could help me be happy. He said, "Your mouth need to go up" and ran off. He came back a few seconds later with a marker and proceeded to draw the sides of my mouth upwards to make a happy face! Cracked me up. He also gave me two more eyes and nose, so I looked like a life-size doodle, but at least I was happy!

Fun Blake Vocabulary

He loves to ring the "ding bell" and hunt for "doody bugs" outside.

Also, he still doesn't say the words "I can't"- instead, he says "I no can."

"I no can reach. I no can see that. Etc...." I've admitted to his speech therapist that I have a hard time correcting him on that- it's just SO cute! Thankfully, she has children and knows all too well that he WILL eventually use the correct words, so she said it's OK to let some of those cute (incorrect) usages slide...... :)

Nighttime Gardening

2009-05-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to update the blog for quite some time now, but since I still haven't sat down to go through all of my pictures, I thought I'd share some that I just took tonight.

Our garden has been growing and food is appearing! The lettuce and beans are ready for picking, the tomatoes are still green, the corn is actually still alive, the strawberries have already been eaten by bugs, and the watermelon and cantaulope are flowering. There are a couple of mystery veggies in there, too (we forgot what was planted), so we're curious to see what they become! Anyway, tonight at dusk we were outside with Blake picking green beans, so I snapped a couple of (very dark) pictures and a (very dark) movie clip. :)

(Well, I guess the movie clip file was too large, so this didn't post last night. I added a different, shorter movie clip this morning, so here you go!)

Football Cutie!

2009-05-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

Jumping and Swinging with Grant and Kyle

2009-05-03T11:39:00.001-07:00

Not to be left out, Kyle and Grant wanted videos of themselves on the blog, too. So I had the pleasure of witnessing and recording these amazing stunts. There are no words to describe how proud we are.

Monkeys and Bugs with Megan and Blake

2009-05-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of small movie clips. First is Megan doing her "ooh ooh ahh ahh" monkey sound with arm motions:

Next is a cute little clip of Blake and Megan. Blake found a bug on our porch, and convinced it was hungry, felt the need to feed it Kix cereal. Aaron and I actually thought it was dead (it was completely still with legs sticking up) so that made it even funnier to us. However, I guess bugs "play dead" because when things calmed down a bit, it started crawling away. This movie clip is just a random moment of bug watching (that's Blake doing all the talking, though Megan pipes in a couple of times):

Fiesta Texas

2009-05-03T07:03:00.000-07:00

Here we go! Yesterday we bought our season passes and headed to Fiesta Texas for a couple of hours. Now that Megan is a little older, she can handle staying up past her bedtime- which makes for great evening trips to Fiesta Texas when the temperature and crowds are lower! We only hit one section of the park yesterday, but here are a few pictures. I hope nobody there had the Swine Flu. :)
The gang at the entrance: The cute new "Wiggles World" section. Obviously geared for Blake and Megan, but Kyle and Grant tolerated it!

Kyle and Grant are finally tall enough for some of the "bigger" rides. Kyle rode his first upside-down roller coaster (he and Aaron are in the picture below, but don't strain your eyes to see their dark, blury selves)! While Grant calmly opted out of that ride, he did ride a regular roller coaster, which is a big step for him! Blake and Megan riding the kiddie train while the big kids were on a roller coaster:

Whatcha doing?

2009-04-25T16:20:00.000-07:00

Megan is TWO!

2009-04-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

Megan turned 2 on Easter Sunday! Here are a few pictures taken on her birthday. More to come later!

San Antonio Missions Baseball Game

2009-04-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

Kyle and Grant's baseball league had "Night at the Missions Game" last night. Aaron and the boys had a GREAT time- they got to get on the field for the National Anthem and then run the bases at the end of the game. The bonus was that Aaron even took a couple of pictures! :)

Fiesta Fun

2009-04-25T08:48:00.000-07:00

It's Fiesta time in San Antonio!

Blake's preschool holds a Fiesta parade and each child makes a "shoebox float." Here is Blake with his float, decked out in numbers, shapes, and Curious George. Blake and his class:

Miss Megan:

For the past several years, we've attended the church's Fiesta event- small rides, game booths, and food. Aaron was on call this day, so I was on my own! It was not an easy task keeping up with my 4 kiddos, so I was not able to take many pictures.

The only picture of the whole gang: Blake's favorite part of the festival- snow cones (he had two)!
Blake and Megan riding the train (they're in the blue car):

Blake and Megan jumping:

Kyle, Kaelyn, and Grant:

Grant on the Bungee Run:

Kaelyn and Kyle on the Bungee Run:

Confetti Eggs at home!

Jump In

2009-04-09T19:31:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I am not able to rearrange the photos in my posts anymore. And sometimes it won't even let me upload?? I'll have to research this a bit and see if it's a user error!
Anyway, last weekend one of the churches in Boerne held a community event called "Jump In" that consisted of bounce houses! We were only able to stay about an hour, but the kids had fun! I have more pictures, but these are the only ones that uploaded for now:

Let the Games Begin

2009-04-04T14:31:00.000-07:00

Today was Kyle and Grant's first baseball game of the season. It won't let me upload anymore photos right now, I'll see if I can publish this and then add more later!

A Few Pictures From Today

2009-03-20T20:26:00.000-07:00

Blake and Megan at the park this morning:

These pictures of Blake make me happy! I've mentioned before that he doesn't really pretend play- he's a very black and white thinker, and pretending is pretty gray. Well, tonight he pretended to go to grocery shopping at HEB with Megan's baby. He bought food and all. :)

A cute side note: Blake is very interested in the fact that letters spell words and one day while walking into HEB, he very casusally said, "HEB. H-E-B spells STORE!"

Kyle and Grant and friends after school today enjoying this amazing weather!Grant- after all these years, he still manages to incorporate those Little People into his play!

Kyle desperately needs a haircut, but lately he's been requesting to have longer hair. I personally don't think he's trying to make a fashion statement. I think it's more about not wanting to waste his time getting his hair cut, but either way, long it is (for now)!

These pictures were actually taken yesterday, but here are some pictures of Megan at Gymboree. She LOVES Gymboree!

Bubble Time:
"Tummy Bubbles":

Goodbye Stamps (a stamp on each hand, a stamp on each foot, and a tummy stamp):

And a couple of pics of Blake yesterday before school:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T15:39:00.000-07:00

Completely Random

2009-03-06T19:22:00.000-08:00

First, a funny Nintendo DS story....

Last night when I went upstairs to tuck in Kyle and Grant, they were playing Pokemon on their DS's. I asked them if they liked their DS's and this was Kyle's response: "Yes! I love it. I don't know what I would do without it! If I didn't have my DS to play, I'd just be sitting around being lazy all the time, like watching TV and stuff!" Hmmmmm, I guess playing a DS is productive in an 8-year-old's mind!

Grant playing his DS and making faces:
Kyle and his DS:
Little Miss Megan playing the more age-appropriate Little People:

Blake:

Blake never likes to dress up, so we were actually happy to see that he dressed himself up like a Hawaiian cowboy at speech school!

DREAMBOARDS

These posters were a school-wide project and I thought they were cute! They were supposed to find pictures to represent their dreams for the future regarding career, travel, education, home and car. Apparently my boys are going to be quite busy as adults, as they seem to want several different careers....which is a good thing because they'll need lots of money to buy the extravagant houses (with pools, of course) that they picked! The best news is that I think the Aggie brainwashing is working so far.... :)

(You should be able to click on the pictures to enlarge them and see them more clearly.)

Grant: Grant wants to be a chef, vet, teacher, principal, and scientist. And check out his dream car. That would be a red minivan.

Kyle: Kyle is obviously going to be driving his monster trucks to his jobs, which will consist of making video games, creating lego sets, and doing science experiments.
WATER

The kids were outside playing one day and it had rained the night before. Of course, a powerful magnetic force drew them to the dirty water!

BABY

For those of you who might not know, my sister and brother-in-law had their first baby last week! Cassidy Elizabeth is my newest neice and the kids' first cousin on my side of the family! Isn't she precious?!

Non-Princess Megan

2009-02-24T15:55:00.000-08:00

Opposite from the previous post, here is Megan enjoying rice cakes while wearing her brother's underwear (which she frequently finds and puts on herself)....

Princess Megan

2009-02-24T12:18:00.000-08:00

On her throne....

Love Day

2009-02-20T19:32:00.000-08:00

Just some highlights from Valentine's Day weekend!
The morning started off with heart-shaped boxes of candy for everyone:

And heart-shaped pink pancakes (with pink yogurt and pink applesauce):

My loves:You gotta love this girl:

Rodeo

2009-02-15T11:52:00.000-08:00

Yee-haw! We went the rodeo this weekend. Well, we didn't see the actual "rodeo" part because we had to leave for naps, but we did walk the grounds. I didn't take many pics, but here are a few: Carnival Rides:

Our minivan was parked in this row in the parking lot. I think we stuck out like a sore thumb next to all of these trucks!

Dirty Dirt

2009-02-09T18:04:00.000-08:00

We had a big pile of dirt delivered to the house for the kids to play in. OK, we really needed it to top dress our lawn, but we didn't tell the kids that. ;)

The dirt arrived in the cold morning while the boys were in school:

Piggy-tailed Megan:

By the time they got home, it was much warmer and time to play!

Kyle and Grant and neighbor boy:

Blake:

Everyone got a turn riding in the wheelbarrow (with the obligatory picture).
Kyle:

Grant:

Blake:

Megan:

A couple of days later with Kaelyn and Rylee, and a much smaller dirt pile:

We're finally done- here's to happy, green grass in the spring!

Happy Birthday Kyle and Grant!

2009-01-26T20:36:00.000-08:00

It's late, but I wanted to post an entry on Kyle and Grant's actual birthday! My first-born boys, the babies who fulfilled my dream of becoming a mom, are 8 today!

Day of Birth:

First Birthday:

Second Birthday:

Third Birthday:Fourth Birthday:

Fifth Birthday:

Sixth Birthday:
Seventh Birthday:

Eighth Birthday:Today was a fun, busy day. They brought birthday treats to school, I ate lunch with them at school, they opened family gifts, we ate dinner at their restaurant of choice (Pizza Hut!), and we topped the night off with ice cream sundaes. Happy Birthday!