Warning: Only Read In Case of Severe Boredom

My camera is full of really cute pictures. At least on that tiny screen they look cute. I'm still having to ask Brian to upload them to his laptop and then use a thumb drive to transfer them to our computer. Eventually the cable (or whatever we ordered) will arrive and I can upload them myself again! (I'm so tech savvy, I know. I just want to push a button or plug in a cord and have it work.) So it's one of those days with no pictures, but I want you all to know I'm still here! Here are some semi-interesting things going on:

This morning a friend called and said, "Crazy idea... Let's go to Ikea today!" They have a supervised play area where you can leave the kids for free for one hour. So our boys played and we strolled Allie around and shopped. What an awesome outing! Maybe I'll have some pictures of my little finds eventually.

I just screamed when I opened my laundry room door to drop another pile of dirty clothes in there. I better get started or I'll be doing laundry until 2 am! How does it pile up so high in two days?

The best smell is wafting through my house today. I'm making Beef Au Coke in the crock pot. Sounds all elegant and stuff, yeah. But it's really good and so simple:

4 1/2 lb beef roast
1 can of coke
1 cup of ketchup
1 pkg onion soup mix
Cook on low for 6 hours.

Since I always buy a smaller roast, I just half everything. Yummy!

And there was more excitement in our neighborhood last night. I was about to take Allie up and saw flashing lights outside. There were 3 police SUVs, a ladder firetruck, an ambulance, and an EMS truck. They took someone two houses down out on a stretcher. I know an elderly couple lives there, so we said a prayer for them. Several of our neighbors were out to see what was going on, so we chatted with them for awhile. I may need to figure out how to be neighborly and kind without coming across as nosy!

Well, may your Monday be wonderful, and I hope your pile of laundry isn't as high as mine!

We Love Our Daddy!

And our Daddy loves us!

The kids with Daddy on Father's Day
June 20, 2010

Daddy and his little girl

Hanging out on the beanbag

If the boys could really put all their thoughts and feelings into a note for their Daddy, I think it would go something like this:

Dear Daddy,
We love you lots! You must know everything. When we ask Mommy really hard questions, she says, "That's a Daddy question." And every time you know the answer! You're really strong, too. You can pick us up and throw us across the room so we can land on our beanbags. And when one of us hits our head on the floor when we miss the beanbag, you're there with a hug and a kiss. When the looks from Mommy tell you it's time for a new game, you've got creative ideas. We've really enjoyed how you lift up one end of the box our new dining table came in and let us slide down. We'll try not to get hurt so Mommy doesn't freak out again. We love how you let us take turns choosing what we play at night, and then how you lay on the floor after you read us bedtime stories. I bet not all Daddies do that! You can push us as high as the house on our swing. That's lots of fun! We also enjoy when we get to help you with house projects. We're gonna have so many good memories! We want to be Daddies just like you when we grow up!
Love, Coleman and Spence

P.S. - Oh, and Allie told us she really loves you, too!

Playing Catch Up!

I've got several new posts today, so scroll down to see what's been going on with us!

Build-A-Bear

Our family's first birthday tradition is going to Build-A-Bear. When Coleman was one we picked out his monkey Berkman since Coleman's nickname was Monkey. On Spence's first birthday, we chose a bear and named it Fuzzby, and Coleman picked out a dinosaur and called him Puso the Computer Player. Yesterday, we took our final first birthday trip to Build-A-Bear.

I think I'll accessorize my bear!

Choose your favorite, boys!

Spence chose a monkey, Coleman got a camo bear, and Allie picked a pink and yellow bear

We love our new animals!

Before bed, I took this group picture of all the Build-A-Bears
Berkman, Puso, Clone Trooper Army Bear, Coleman, Fuzzby, Climb Tree Monkey, Spence (hidden), Allie, and Ava Bear (Ava stands for Allie Vaughan's Animal)

One

Pictures from Allie's birthday

Eating my birthday cupcake

It sure is yummy!

Look! A present!

It's a pretty pink dress from my babysitter Kelly!

Allie's actual birthday was pretty uneventful. I didn't realize the week before when I scheduled our babysitter to come stay with the kids for a few hours on Thursday that that was Allie's birthday! I felt a little bad, but I figured since Allie's just one she wouldn't know the difference. Then I got caught! A friend came by to drop off a present and Gale called to wish Allie a happy birthday. While I was out I bought the cupcake mix to alleviate my guilt. And I bought Allie those adorable jamjams she has on in the picture. I think she forgave me!

Celebrating With Paul David and Judson

On Monday, June 14th, Candice, Paul David, and Judson came over for a birthday play date. Candice made the cutest, and most delicious, cake! The boys all had a great time, but Allie was a little under the weather. Therefore, no smiles in the pictures.

The birthday buddies' cake!

Sing "Happy Birthday" to Judson...

...and Allie!

The boys love the foam fingers

Group picture! I'm not sure how much longer the older guys will go for this.

And you know I love a good "then" and "now" comparison! Check out these sweethearts!

The first time we laid eyes on each other - June 30, 2009

Celebrating our first birthdays - June 14, 2010
Judson says, "Hey baby, want some corn?" He's still working on his pick-up lines.

Happy Birthday Allie!

Allie, we didn't know what was missing from our family until we held you for the first time. You are such a joy to us! We love you and wish you a very happy first birthday!

The Magician's Code

This is just a silly little story from today. It may not be that interesting to most people, but I know I'll want to remember little things about the kids and what they did at different ages, so I like to write them down. Enjoy!

Today the kids and I were in the playroom and Spence brought me a broken Gobot to fix. Wait, what's a Gobot you ask? I think they were a rival of the Transformer back in the '80s. Brian had some as a boy and when he found them on Ebay, well, you know how that goes when he finds something on Ebay. Anyway, the Gobot was a spaceship with the nose broken off. I looked at it but realized it was not fixable. Spence started playing around with the broken nose piece and stuck it under my shirt. Being goofy, I said, "Abracadabra!", pulled it out of my shirt, and pretended to pull it from his ear. He looked at me and said, "How'd you do that?!?!" I repeated the "trick" a few more times, and he never caught on that I was just removing it from my shirt and placing it behind his ear. They say the hand is quicker than the eye. Well, my hand is slow, but apparently not as slow as a 3 year old's eye! I said, "Hey, maybe I should take my magic act to birthday parties. For 3 year olds and under, of course." To which Coleman replied, "No! We'd miss you!" So no new career for me. Seems I'm needed here.

After I did the trick a few times, I asked, "Do you think I can make it appear behind Allie's ear?" Spence couldn't wait to see! So my magic streak continued and it appeared behind Allie's ear. Still in awe, Spence wanted to try the trick. I think he nearly pulled Allie's ears off trying to see if the Gobot piece was there. He did not, however, master the trick. He kept asking me how I did it, but each time I replied, "A magician never tells!" Maybe tomorrow, if he's a really good boy, I'll let him in on the secret. But for now, I'm just enjoying that my little boy thinks I'm the most amazing magician around!

Do You Know My Spence?

My Spencey is a very unique child. He marches to the beat of his own wacky drummer. And this makes him a joy to be around! You've seen pictures of him in his green boots, or how he likes to wear a batting helmet some days. These outward expressions of his personality are just a tiny part of who he is. If only I could get in his head and see the thoughts he has. It might go something like this:

Why does Mommy keep asking me where I am? Doesn't she know I'm busy and I don't want her to know my whereabouts? I should probably answer her since this is the third time she's asked. But if I say, "I'm in the kitchen!" she's going to come in here to see what I'm doing. Then she'll tell me to get down off the counter and stop unwrapping this package of Mentos. And I just got started! If I get down she'll notice that I peed my pants and I'll get this long, drawn out lecture about how I should know when I need to potty and I should make it to the toilet. Blah blah blah. She'll make me take off my wet pants and put them in the laundry room. I hate touching pee soaked pants! Disgusting! I'll have to go upstairs and get some dry underwear and shorts. That will take forever because I'll get distracted by like 1000 different things between here and there. There's that gate on the stairs that I'll have to stop and swing back and forth for a few minutes. Then I'll remember that I had my sunglasses, but now I can't find them. Man, I really need those. Oh, I can hear her calling me, and she sounds more aggravated than before. I guess this adventure is over. She's threatening time out now if I don't answer. Can't a guy get a minute of privacy around here? "I'm in the kitchen, Mommy!"
That sounds about right! But what do I know? I'm no three year old boy.

This afternoon Spence found a flashlight and was using it to look in my mouth. This is how the exam went:

Spence: Where are the bones?
Mommy: You can't see the bones because they're under the skin.
Spence: Where's the sugar?
Mommy: What?
Spence: When you live in Sugar Land, the sugar gets in your mouth. So where's the sugar?

Spence thinks the biggest number of all is one thousand. If something is really hard to do, he says, "That's really really a thousand hard!" Or if something is exciting, "It's a thousand a thousand!" The other day Brian had an extra computer keyboard out and Spence was looking at the keys. He asked, "Where's the thousand?"

So that's my Spence. Funny, unique, and dripping with pee most of the time. I couldn't love him more!

Road Trip!

Yesterday we piled in the car and drove 200 miles to San Antonio. We did not, however, visit this well-known historical icon:


We did not enjoy a day of fun at this San Antonio hot spot:


Or take a stroll down the scenic River Walk:


Then why did we ride in the car with 3 kids for 7 hours? We went to pick up our new car!

It's new to us!!!
2008 Ford Taurus X

We are so excited! (And Dave Ramsey would be too, Brian wants to add.) Our Mazda Tribute could only seat 5 people, but this can seat 7! Other people can actually ride with us now. Yay! Why did we have to go all the way to San Antonio to buy a car you may wonder? Because Brian is a deal seeker! We were supposed to drive about 1 1/2 hours north of Houston Saturday afternoon to buy one just like it, but the salesman called us Saturday morning and they had sold it Friday night. Brian had found this one in San Antonio through cars.com and it was a really good price (like, the second best deal in the country). We didn't want it to get away, so he called and negotiated a price over the phone, used his credit card to put down a deposit, and we headed out to get it. The boys are loving sitting in the back row. And I'm enjoying figuring out all the buttons and controls. My personal favorite, a mute button for the radio on the steering wheel. Now when the boys yell, "Mommy!!!!!!" I just hit mute and say, "Yes, sweetheart?" Love it! Hopefully we'll make it back to San Antonio soon and enjoy some of those cool places! Who wants to come? We've got two extra seats!

Toothy Little Climber

Today, to the top of the playpen. Tomorrow, the peak of Mt. Everest!

She looks so proud of herself! I've definitely got a climber on my hands. And a fashionista as well! The one shoe look is so in right now.

"Spence, quit writing on your sister!"

I thought this next picture was so cute and loved how it showed off her teeth. It also made me think of a picture we have of Spence when his top teeth were first coming in. I think they look a lot alike! What do you think?

Allie - June 11, 2010

Spence - October 7, 2007

The Dog Days Are Here!

Welcome to summer in south Texas! Thankfully, there are lots of awesome pools and splash parks in our area. Our playgroup yesterday was at a toddler pool that is great for the little ones. It also has some cool slides that keep Coleman and his older friends happy.

What? Is it hot out here?

Spence going down the slide on the left; Coleman waiting his turn on the far right

Do You?

Do you have someone in your life who brings a smile to your face when you think about her?

Do you call her almost every day just to ask one question, but end up talking for 45 minutes?

Do you share all your joys and all your sorrows, and know she's praying for you through it all?

Do you cherish all the memories you have of her throughout the years? And remember little things she did to make your life better?

Can you not even imagine who you would be without her?

I do... Her name is Mom. And she is one of the most important people in my life. I love her more than I can put into words, and I know she loves me the same! She is an example to me of how to be a better godly woman, wife, mother, and friend.

Happy birthday, Mom! Thank you for being you and for always being there!

Coleman's Graduation

On May 20, 2010, Coleman graduated from Pre-K. His school had the cutest program. The kids sang songs and they showed a video of all the graduates telling what they wanted to be when they grew up. Coleman said he wanted to be a construction worker!

Here comes the graduate!

Catching Up With Pictures

This is a really good picture that Gale took the day of our photo shoot

Allie and Grandpa at the pool

Spence is ready to swim!

Doing the Allie walk! Here's something that's great about girl clothes: when the dress gets too little, it becomes a shirt!

Spence and Allie love to hang out together

"Hey Spence! You took my spot!"

"There's room for both of us, Allie!"

Boys Being Boys

Here are a few pictures of Coleman and Spence doing all that great stuff boys love to do!

Can you see Spence? He's way up high (too high for Mommy, actually) swinging on the tree swing Brian put out back. Any time Brian agrees to push him, you'll find Spence swinging on the "yellow swing" as he calls it. The boys each have a pair of gloves that they wear while swinging so the rope doesn't burn their hands. Spence rarely forgets his gloves, but he's been known a time a two to swing without any pants or underwear! We may need to build a higher fence!

The boys love to take Grandma and Grandpa to the airport so they can ride on the train. They always sit on the first car (or last, depending which way it's going) and pretend that they are driving. Looks pretty fun!

Brian's really been wanting to get Coleman a bike, so yesterday he talked Coleman in to going to Academy with him. Coleman said he didn't want a bike, but Brian figured if he could get on one and ride it around the store, he'd probably like it. Boy was he right! He loves it! Now if we could just get him to take off his flip flops and put some real shoes on it might be a little easier to pedal.

Coleman said, "Race me, Spence!"

Here's a little video of Coleman riding his bike!

And to throw a little girliness into this all boy post, here's Allie walking! This video was taken on May 28 and she had been taking a few steps at a time for a while, but she had just started to walk more than crawl.

So Much For a Quiet Evening at Home

I always say there's never a dull moment around here. Last night I was sitting in the living room nursing Allie and Brian was upstairs getting the boys in bed. Through the blinds I saw what looked like a flame across the street by our neighbor's driveway. When Coleman was heading back up the stairs from giving me a goodnight kiss, I asked him to look out and tell me if he saw a fire. He couldn't tell, so I told him to get his daddy to look. Brian came down and saw the flames, so he headed across the street to take a closer look. At first he thought it looked like our neighbors were having a bonfire, but he knew they wouldn't be doing that. He called out and no one answered. As he got closer, he saw that the fence between the house directly across the street and the vacant house next door to it was on fire. The flames were reaching about 3 feet above the fence and throwing embers off. He quickly had to make a decision to either find a hose, go knock on their door, or run back and call 911. Since the flames were dangerously close to both garages, he decided to get the hose and start putting out the fire immediately. It barely reached, but he was able to get most of it out. Then our neighbors came out and brought him a bucket. All this time I was still sitting in the chair with Allie and the boys were looking out the window but couldn't see anything. So we had no idea Brian was over there fighting a fire! I figured it had been nothing and he was just chatting. When he came back in, the boys said, "You smell like smoke!" Brian encouraged our neighbors to call the fire department to come out and make sure it was completely out. He also said to tell them it looked like someone had started the fire. That house has been vacant for quite a while, so who knows what's going on in that backyard! So that was our Friday evening. Anyone else have an adventure to share?

We're still having camera issues, but as soon as I get the latest pictures uploaded I've got some good ones to share. And some videos too! Allie walking and Coleman riding his new bike!

Family Portraits

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Sunday's photo shoot. I love how they turned out! And I love the people that are in the pictures with me. What an amazing family God has blessed me with. Here's a link to our photographer's blog: Photos by Beka. She did a wonderful job!