Nothing says Spring time like...

...the beginning of baseball season and going to a Rangers game. This is our favorite time of the year to go...in April, during the day while the weather is still enjoyable. We have always enjoyed going out to the ballpark. In fact, Jim and I went to a Rangers game on our 3rd date. Rangers vs Yankees. How about that!!

We have taken the boys out there every year and they seem to enjoy it as well. Jacob was so excited about it today. And was talking about it from the moment he woke up.



Luke kept himself busy with, well...playing with the chairs, playing on the stairs, stomping on the peanut shells and I'm not sure what else but I didn't have to take him out once so I was happy about that.




Jacob loves cracking and eating peanuts


And so does Luke


And Jacob was more than happy to crack the shells for him


Here are the boys- August 09


August 08- Jacob-almost 3, Luke 7 months


April 06- Jacob 6 months


This weekend we also took a walk/bike ride around the neighborhood.


We walked to the pond with hopes to feed the ducks and turtles. However, they wanted no part of our bread and Jacob tried every tactic to try to lure them over for a snack. No such luck!






Luke tossing his bread in


So we walked to the pond at the front of the neighborhood to try there and still no luck.


Better luck next time kiddos, which I'm certain there will be a next time! :) But we did enjoy being outside this weekend, so refreshing!

Swim lessons

Jacob started swimming lessons this week, with much resistance I might add. He must have asked me a thousand questions on the drive to the pool. "Am I going to drown? How tight are they going to hold on to me? Will you ask my teacher when the class is going to be over? Are they going to make me go under water? How long is the class? Is 40 minutes long? Is my teacher going to be a boy or girl?" And the list goes on. Poor guy. He was so nervous. Which is part of the reason we wanted to get him started in lessons now. He loves being in the water but has a lot of fears. I really want him to get over some of this fear and eventually learn to swim. Because I know for a fact that we will be at the neighborhood pool ALOT this summer...mamma bear here is gonna be lovin' the pool during the hot, swollen summer months.

Anyway, much to my surprise Jacob was all smiles when he went with his instructor and did great in class.

Help getting in the water


Jacob is the one actually looking and listening to the instructor


Waiting his turn for the kick board




After class he said "That was SO fun". I have hope! :)

On another note, I just couldn't resist this picture of Luke today while we were at Wal-Mart. I recently realized one way to get him to stay seated in the shopping cart is to take the portable DVD player in with us. He sat the entire time, it was wonderful!

Of course he had to have Pups close by while watching Clifford.

...and the greatest of these is Love

Nine years ago today, I married my one and only, my best friend and my life long companion.


The last nine years have been the best years of my life. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with all the blessings in our life. We have been blessed with so much...a wonderful marriage, 2 beautiful healthy boys and a third on the way. We just moved into our dream home, are able to take wonderful vacations because of Jim's hard work, I am able to stay at home with the kids, once again because of Jim's hard work, wonderful family and friends that make our life complete and the peace of knowing that God is in control of our life and we are here to follow his plan. So many good things in our life that we are SO thankful for and don't take for granted.

Saturday, April 24 will be 12 years since our first date. Oh how the years go by. I remember our first date so clearly. We went to dinner at Tia's in Denton and then went to the Denton Arts and Jazz Festival and spent the rest of the evening outside on a beautiful Spring night just talking. It was the beginning of "us" and I have such fond memories of that night and the months and years to follow. I am blessed, indeed with a wonderful, Godly man. I love you babe and I look forward to what the years ahead have in store for us.

Bluebonnets- Round 1

I say Round 1 because there will more than likely be a second round of pictures in the bluebonnets. It was extremely overcast the day we went and every time the boys went to look up at the camera they had to squint. Plus Luke was tired and really (more so than usual) not into me taking his picture. And since this bluebonnet patch is only 10 minutes from our house, why not!! :) Here is what we got so far...

This is the one and only I got of them both looking at the camera and smiling!












Jacob took this one


And believe it or not, Lukie took this one

Dallas Zoo

We have been enjoying the nice spring weather recently. What a better way to enjoy it than to be outside. We recently went to the Dallas Zoo, not once but twice. Once with Jim and once with our friends. The boys loved it and enjoyed it all. And honestly, I did too!

They have a great gorilla exhibit. This gorilla was putting on quite a show, all stretched out in front of the viewing windows.




Crocodiles




When I asked Jacob what his favorite animal was, he said the chimpanzee with the baby on his back. It really was so cute!




First, why kids love making this face is beyond me. Second, after witnessing one of the elephants pee and poop right in front of us and then sling mud all over us, we decided we had seen enough of the elephants. We all had mud in our hair, on our shirts and on the stroller. Seriously??


Feeding the birds. Lukie just loved it!




Best buds






Fun times! Bluebonnet pictures coming soon...

All about Jacob

On April 6th, Jacob was officially 4 1/2. He always gets so excited to add the 1/2 in there when asked how old he is. I really can't believe he is getting so big and the things he says, the things he asks and the things he does just amaze me. Their little minds soak up so much and it's such a fun journey watching them grow up.

As Jacob is approaching age 5, it makes me SO thankful that my baby isn't starting Kindergarten in the fall, like all of his friends. Since he has an October birthday he just misses the cut off, which I'm so thankful for. Not because I don't think he would be ready but for selfish reasons. I get one more year with my sweet boy before he really grows up. I always think kids change so much once they start Kindergarten.

In the fall, he will be going to preschool at a church in Frisco on Mon/Wed/Fri from 9-2:30. That's a big change from his Tue/Thurs 9-1 that he has done for the past 2 years. Since he will be 5 for the majority of the year, I think this schedule will be great for him and help prepare him for when he does start school the following year.

These days, Jacob is really into cars. (his Uncle Laine would be excited.) The Easter Bunny brought him a new race car track and some new Hot Wheels that he just loves! It's funny how he can remember such specific things about those cars, the colors, the details etc. He also loves anything related to flying, airplanes, rocket ships, fighter jets etc. He plays this often too.

The Easter Bunny also brought him a little pot with some seeds to plant to grow a flower. (love the Target dollar section). He has been very diligent about making sure it is in a sunny spot and about watering it daily.

Planting the seeds


Carefully watering


The Marigold has a sprout, he's SO excited


They LOVE riding their cars on all the tile we have. They go SO fast and have such a fun time.


Here's the pony picture from school this year


And the pony picture from last year


Here are a few funny things he has recently said:
So, we are walking out of his school today and I asked him if he wanted to stay and run around with the other kids outside (which we do almost every school day). His response,
J: "No, it's too humid today".
M: "Humid, what do you mean?"
J: "Well, because it's in the 80's."
I must say, he does have a thing for the weather. He checks the weather every day on my phone and loves watching the weather when it comes on the news. He is fascinated with checking the radars for rain and storms.

So, the other day we are driving north on the Tollway. He sits behind me, so on the left side of the car. He was looking out his window to the left and says...
J: "It sure is getting cloudy to the West."
M: "It sure is. How do you know that is the West?"
J: "I just know, plus the W on your compass is on."
He pays attention to such details, it blows me away. The compass is on the rear view mirror so he can clearly see it.

So, we were leaving the Dallas Zoo (pictures to come soon) yesterday and we were there for almost 5 hours. He was pooped by the time we were leaving. As we were walking out I ask,
M: "Honey, are you tired?"
J: "No, I'm NOT tired." (he can never admit this)
M: "Oh, really."
J: "No, I'm just worn out." (he said it with such exhaustion)

It's never a dull moment around here. Kids sure do keep us on our toes, don't they! Such a blessing and such a joy!