Camping Spring 2014

We bought the Suburban on a Friday morning.  That afternoon, I loaded the kids up and headed out to go camping.  We had reservations at Dinosaur Valley for Saturday, but there was a strong forecast for severe weather so we moved our trip up a day.  Since it was the week of spring break, all the parks were booked solid.  The only place I could find was Meridian State Park which had 1 site left and was about 25 miles past Glen Rose.

When we got there, we set up camp first.  The site itself was nice, but it was within a few hundred feet of the FM road that ran parallel to the park boundary. Even though the road was not very heavily traveled, we heard more than our fair share of road noise.

We did some exploring.  First we took a hike in a dry creek up to the lake. Then we went on a little bike ride on a paved trail which worked out perfectly.

We ate some hotdogs cooked over charcoal (thank you burn ban)

The kids played tag with some big kids at the next site over.  Pretty soon we were in the tent.

This was Nathan’s first time to actually sleep the entire night in the tent which was a big step for us!

The next morning, we had breakfast, broke camp, and then headed back towards Glen Rose. We have been to Glen Rose several times to visit Dino Valley, but have never driven all the way through town.  On the way to Meridian, we noticed “Big Rocks Park” and decided to stop on the way back.  It was a pretty neat city park along the river with big rocks for climbing.  We had fun scrambling around and since it was early Saturday morning, we had the entire park to ourselves.

After this we picked up some donuts and went to Dino Valley.  By this point the rain had started, so we just ate our donuts under the pavilion and looked over the river.  We said hi to the dino statues then headed back home.

We had a good trip and are looking forward to taking Henry when he is big enough.

Spring Break Sleepover

I’m blessed to have three great friends who I feel like help me be a better mom and wife. And the best thing is all of our kids are around the same age and love hanging out! Between the four of us we have 11 kids! Actually, on this trip there were only 10 (little Henry hadn’t made his debut yet).

So you can understand my hesitation when one of them invited us to have a sleepover at their lake house during Spring Break…that’s a lot of kids in one house for an overnight trip. I was the last one to commit to going but I’m so glad I did. It was crazy, but the kids had a blast and it was actually easier because they were so busy playing and I actually got some great time with my friends.

Here they are lining up for their turn at the piñata.

All the big kids at the big table.

Ok. Here’s a funny story. This is what one of the bathrooms looked like.

So you can imagine Nathan’s reaction when he walked in. He had to go potty really bad (he always waits until the last second). He ran to the bathroom, looked around and said, “Where’s the Aggie bathroom?” He then ran outside and went potty off the back porch. That’s what he did the rest of the weekend. It was great.

Valentine’s Day

Breakfast!

Fun with friends exchanging Valentines and doing crafts.

Flying kites back at home.

I love celebrating how much I love these kids.

Nathan’s 3rd Birthday

For Nathan’s actual birthday I had a few fun things planned. Park with friends, lunch with Daddy, etc. Instead Hannah and I woke up that morning with a stomach virus. Sorry Nathan. We spent the whole day inside. I was about 7 months pregnant, so all I could do (in between bathroom runs) was turn on the tv and set out cereal. So for your third birthday, Nathan, you watched tv and ate cereal all day. I felt bad until I actually thought about it. You probably had a great day. What kid wouldn’t like non-stop tv and cereal!?! We managed to sing Happy Birthday to you and let you blow out your candles before we all headed to the couch.

But to be fair…I made fun plans for you that Thursday when Big Sister was in school and it was just me and you (we took Nathan out of school in January just because).

We went to see the Fort Worth Symphony perform Peter Rabbit. This is one of your favorite stories so I thought you would like it. It was really entertaining. They showed illustrations from the book and a lady read/sang the story while the orchestra played.

Don’t let this picture fool you. You had a great time.

Then we met Daddy for lunch at CFA before picking up Hannah and playing at home. We let you pick out your meals for the day and you chose waffles for breakfast, nuggets for lunch and pancakes for dinner. You love waffles!!

And not just any waffles. You love your daddy’s waffles. He cooks them for you most Saturday mornings per your request and he can never turn you down. You also love helping him work. You helped him spread mulch in our flower beds one Saturday with your little tractor.

By the way, you can drive this thing like nobody’s business. Seriously, your good. You have really great hand-eye coordination. Check this video out:

Like most 2-3 year olds, your mood can change very quickly. You are so happy one minute and then all of a sudden your AWFUL! I mean. really. awful. Thank goodness you’re so cute!

You also have a really. loud. voice. It’s hilarious how loud it is. And you love to talk (especially in the car) so we are always telling you to use your inside voice. When you actually try to talk quiet, it’s this really high pitched whisper. It makes me laugh so hard.

Below is your birthday questionnaire. Some of your answers are totally random. I thought about changing your answers or suggesting what I thought your answers should be but I refrained.

1. What is your favorite color? Blue

2. What is your favorite toy?  Ninja Turtle

3. What is your favorite stuffed animal?  Bee pillow

4. What is your favorite thing to sleep with?  My little blanket

5. What is your favorite fruit? Apples and carrots

6. What is your favorite cereal? Rice Krispy's

7. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Pancakes

8. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? PB&J

9. What is your favorite dessert?  Vanilla ice-cream

10. What is your favorite animal? Horse

11. What is your favorite book? Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Sight and Curious George

12. What is your favorite song? Let it Go (Frozen)

13. What is your favorite game? Chutes and Ladders

14. What is your favorite TV show? Doc McStuffins

15. What is your favorite movie? Frozen

16. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play tag, obstacle course

17. Who is your best friend? Cousin Sam

18. What is your favorite bible story? Jerusalem

19. What do you want to be when you grow up?  I want to sail on a boat

20. What’s your favorite sport? Baseball and Football

We love you so much Nathan!!

Nathan’s Aggie Party

It’s no surprise that for his birthday Nathan wanted an Aggie football party. This is the first party that we haven’t had at home and it was AMAZING!  I enjoy having people at my house, but to just show up somewhere, set up a few decorations, and then leave was great for us this year. Our church actually lets you use one of their rooms adjacent to the playground so they have everything you need right there. It was so nice for this pregnant mama (at that time)!

Here’s the birthday boy focusing on holding up three fingers.

This cake and these cupcakes were one of those things that seemed so easy beforehand and then came out looking very homemade…which is ok. I’m just saying. Working with icing is a lot harder than it looks…for me and Scott, anyway.

After I finished the cake (the night before the party), I let Nathan take a look and asked him if he like it. He said he changed his mind and didn’t want a football cake anymore. He had now decided less that 24 hours before the party, that he wanted a Ninja Turtle cake. Too late, son.

I love this sequence of pictures. He looks so cute and tough all at the same time.

We got the kids in a circle and played hot potato with a football. Scott was playing the Aggie War Hymn for the music. We had some Baylor and Texas fans who weren’t as excited about the game as the kids.

Then, Scott lined them all up to see who could kick it the farthest. He wore a whistle around his neck and the whole time during the party Nathan kept calling him “Coach.” It was hilarious.

Here goes Nathan…

The birthday boy blowing out his candles.

Eating cupcakes…

The kids loved watching him open presents. Every time he opened a new gift, you would hear shouts of ”awesome”,”cool,” and “I have one of those!” They kept crowding him out and he was almost under the table at one point. It was fun to watch!

He was so tired by the end. He wanted to take all the balloons home.

He had such a great time…Happy Birthday, sweet boy!