The littles and the ducks

While the big boys were in Seattle I took Channing and Gibson down to the feed the ducks.  It was late but with only the 3 of us we weren’t on much of a schedule anyway. After our bread was gone we parked it down on the dock to watch some guys fish and point out turtles in the water.

Christmas in July

Stefan flew out Friday to go to Seattle and pick up the boys.  That means it was down to three.  I fed the kids dinner and then we went downtown to the movie in the park.  It was so much more than a movie in the park.  The theme was Christmas in July and they had Santa there ready for pictures, fake snow and all kinds of free activities for the kids.  We had a great, LATE night!

It’s only fitting

That this is the kid who got the first set of stiches.  The funniest part of the this story is how much Channing LOVES telling anyone how he got the stiches.  If she hears anyone ask how it happened, she appears out of thin air to explain how he was stepping on blocks which slipped on the tile floor, falling chin first into the tupperware box the blocks were in.  He then went to the Dr. and got a shot and “string” in his chin.

Here he is before the stitches waiting for the numbing cream to start taking effect.

And then there were two

Two kids, while it seemed like a lot when there were only two, it seems empty now.  Dinner hardly seems worth cooking for 4 (2 of which are small).  Poor Stefan, someday he may never get homemade dinner anymore when there are just two of us again.  Gibson and Channing have had fun playing with each other. Bonus they got to play with some of Hadley’s stuff without him complaining.

Seattle bound

We took a quick picture in the airport of all the kids and Karen because I’m not sure we had done that on her whirlwind of a trip.  The boys are Seattle bound and in for a fun trip.

A Super Quick Visit

Karen flew in Sunday late afternoon, stayed Monday and left Tuesday.  She basically came to pick up the big boys and take them back to Seattle but we were glad to have her for a day. Gibson cracked her up with his funny face.  He was rolling his eyes back in his head on purpose!

Cooper’s birthday

The Thompson’s combined Cooper’s birthday with the Y flick N float.  It was a great swimming party and they showed Tangled on the big screen, Channing’s favorite.

Doing the work

Saturday morning we were supposed to meet the electrician out at the lot.  Stefan stopped to get a chainsaw and we cleared a bunch.  We wore torn up and worn out but accomplished a lot.  Hadley was a pretty big helper.  He moved a bunch of these branches.

A day at home

After driving to San Antonio every morning and staying out until naptime we were exhausted (I was sick) and we were all glad to have the day at home with nothing to do on Friday.  The kids all played really well together.  The boys played with the army and knight set for hours.

His first tooth

When we were at the dentist the other day Dr. Gerling mentioned that Linden’s permanent tooth was coming in behind his loose baby tooth and if the baby tooth didn’t come out soon, we’d have to have it pulled.  I’m glad Ethan helped get it out at VBS.  Linden looks and talks different these days.  It’s amazing how much a tooth can change a smile.

Not my favorite craft

Wednesday the kids came home from VBS with a party horn.  I’m honestly not sure of the significance but four kids with a party horn did not make for a pleasant ride home.

Starting the well

Turns out the well people finally decided to call me back and were ready to get started right away.  It’s pretty exciting to have something going on at the lot. We got a tour of the truck and learned some interesting information about it.

It’s about time

Not to downgrade the fact that she’s learned to unbuckle herself but it is about time. We’re all pretty proud.

Happy Birthday Gary!

We were thankful we got to be there to help celebrate this special guy.

Birthday weekend

Vicki and Gary decided several birthdays ago that instead of buying the kids a present they would spend some one on one time with him, maybe take them to do something.  It just so happens that the first available weekend for Linden and Hadley to have their Gicki and Pa date was the same weekend in JULY.  Sad, but true.  Linden spend the night Friday night and Hadley got Saturday night.  To top it off we all celebrate Gary’s birthday together on Sunday.  They had a great time and were spoiled rotten!

Dress like a cow for free chicken

Yes please.  The kids decorated shirts and hats and we headed down to Chick-fil-a for our free meals.  I was worried it was going to be ridiculously crowded and it was crowded but not as bad as expected.  I paid $3.50 for all the kids to eat at Chick-fil-a.  Score!  Here they are getting instructions from Hadley on the proper way to decorate.

Game playing

Don’t wake Daddy is still a favorite around here.  I love to play games with the kids it just doesn’t happen often because Gibson doesn’t always cooperate.  See the foot heading towards the game about to attack?

The new ‘do

 

Hadley asked more than one time to get a mohawk after he saw our neighbor with one.  I told him he could get one after the Mayan (where we take Christmas card pictures) if he promised that we could shave it off before school started.  Stefan couldn’t believe I let him do it.  It’s only hair.  It will grow back.

We’re so there

Celebrating 35th birthdays with friends.  Our thirties, it’s a good place to be.  We went out to dinner Tuesday night to celebrate Sarah Fay turning 35.  Great friends, good food, no kids, that’s pretty close to perfect.

The mask

I bought the kids these masks at Michaels to decorate.  The took it upon themselves to decorate them with markers on the inside and out which of course rubbed off on their face.  Channing was the worst.  She posed to show me all her marker glory.

Family picture time

It’s the time at the Mayan that everyone dreads.  What didn’t work this year was the fact that I lost the battery for my remote which meant I had to set the timer and run into the picture.  This is about as good as it gets. It’s not my favorite but there’s only so much one person can do when trying to get 15 people looking and smiling at the camera.

The river

Saturday Justin had already grown tired of the pool so we headed down to the river instead.  There was a small area of moving water where even Gibson and Corbin could run the rapids. 

Linden’s first ride

You can’t go on a trail ride at the Mayan until you are 6 which meant that Linden could ride this year.  He requested Stefan go with him which means that I stayed back with Channing and Gibson.  Sadly, this is the best picture I got of him.  It’s still cute.  He was super excited.

Mayan 2012

It was a little weird to be at the Mayan AFTER the 4th of July but that didn’t dampen our fun!  Oreo was there when we first arrived and those of us that were there took a picture with him.

Our first dinner on Windwood

We keep saying we need to have dinner out at the lot and July 4th gave us the opportunity.  We have our old picnic table out there so there was no need to bring a blanket, just bug spray for the chiggers.  It was an evening cut short thanks to Channing who has to go to the bathroom EVERY TIME we go out to the lot.  It was enough though and we took a picture to celebrate the occasion.

Decorating bikes

I can remember having bike parades as a kid around the 4th of July and how much fun it was to decorate my bike.  I thought it would be fun to do it with the kids bikes.  I think I need to work on the accessories to decorate but it was fun to put streamers and balloons on our bikes just the same.

The most noteworthy

The most exciting thing about July 2nd was that I took all four kids to the dentist and no one cried.  Everyone, including Gibson, got their teeth cleaned.  It was a big day and to top it off, no cavities.  Out of four kids I would say we’ll consider that a win-win.

The end of a great week

The boys had a fun week with my parents going to Sea Camp and even being bank employees for a week. (They went to work with my mom for about an hour everyday). This picture marks the beginning and end.  The first time the boys have stayed with my parents by themselves and the end of a great week.

The beach

After visiting South Padre with the girls I decided we really should take the kids to the beach.  I also realized that it’s only 20 minutes from my parents house.  I feel kind of bad that we haven’t taken them sooner because they really enjoyed it.  It’s hard to choose just one picture to show so I decided on a collage.

Homemade peach cobbler

We were going to Corpus for the weekend and our peaches needed to be eaten, why not take make and take peach cobbler.  It’s a lot more fun the more helpers you have and I did have some great helpers!

Poker night

We made cookies for Daddy’s poker night with the guys.  It’s educational especially when you count the cookies you are baking.  The only problem is that Channing probably is not the best teacher yet.

A visit from cousins

While we used to be a mile away, it’s quite a journey to get to Boerne these days so we were thrilled when the White’s came for the afternoon to play.  We fed the ducks then went for snow cones.  It was a fun day.  Come back soon!

Not feel like cooking

Well, there are only 4 of us, let’s go out and hey, what do you know, kids eat free and with only four of us, they are actually free! They were playing some rockin’ music in the restaurant and Gibson was dancing.

He’s a stinker

Still climbing up on the table but with a smile that is hard to punish.  It’s turning into a problem these days with him being 2.

And then there were two

The big boys left with my parents to spend the week in Corpus at Sea Camp.  It seemed empty in the car not to see two other heads in the seat behind Channing.

How we train our children

We start our day with a little push up training.

We found these glasses that Gibson got on his first birthday and he was a fan.

Picking peaches

Now that we are in Boerne, we are really close to go peach picking and it was a banner year for peaches.  We took Ramsey (our new next door neighbor) and Lincoln with us and had a great time!

Legos

When it’s quiet around our house I can normally find the boys like this. Playing on the floor with legos.

Smoothie

A smoothie mustache on this little guy is pretty cute.

All day babysitter

I had planned for a babysitter to come all day Tuesday so I could get some work and planning done on and for the house.  I had planned several activities for her to keep everyone busy while I was gone and left her with my point and shoot and Paige did not disappoint!  It looks like they had a great day!

Father’s Day

How sad!  I didn’t get a picture of Stefan with all the kids!  After church Sunday we went out to a fancy tepanyaki lunch.  All the kids did great and really enjoyed the show.  Luckily I had gotten a gift before we left because I certainly did not get out and do any shopping Saturday when we got back.

Much less eventful

The ride home was much less eventful.  Gibson slept on our long trip and the kids enjoyed watching movies on the ipads.  Gone are the days of looking for a dvd to put in the dvd player that runs out of batteries even if you charged two before you left.

A sweet gift

Carla made each of the kids a round pillow with a pocket behind to store a bunch of felt pieces to mix and match on the pillow to make faces.  It was a really thoughtful, well-loved gift.

Dismal Canyons

Since I’d seen Dismal Canyons and their “dismalites” or glo worms on a blog I follow I’ve wanted to go.  We went and spent the night in their cabin and hiked around the beautiful canyons the next day.  It was a great trip!

And one with Carla in it. 

Point Mallard

While it’s not Schlitterbahn, it is a waterpark with a huge wave pool.  The kids all enjoyed being outside in the water.  The boys stayed ALL. DAY.  I think they were worn out but had a blast.  How I got a picture without Gibson in it, I don’t know because it was the beginning of his obsessive clingy-ness.