Funny things my kids say

We left on Saturday for North Carolina to see Kerry's best friend and meet his wife. As the trip drew closer, I started packing pretty early. I guess that is just how I get prepared. I mean, I had items in the suit case at least 5 days before. Kerry on the other hand can throw it all together pretty quickly. Guess that comes from all his past travels.

However, one thing I noticed is that before we actually walk out the door, we both verbalize our list of needed items:underwear, socks, pants, shirts etc. As I was going through my list, Dalton was standing beside me. I started off with the usual list processing it in my mind for both boys and myself: socks, underwear, shoes, pants, shirt, pj's, bra(for myself of course). As I came to bra in the list, Dalton repeated..Bra! Just being silly with him, I asked him if he needed a bra. He said no and said that Mommy's need bras. Ok, I thought, pretty good answer for a 5 year old.

This is not the end of the story however.

All of a sudden, he looks over at Kerry with a serious face and says, "When you get bigger up high, you need a bra!" We about lost it laughing b/c we first that he was talking about growing up when he said getting bigger. We had not idea he would be so..um...detailed. What an interesting concept for him to understand. I sometimes wonder what Kerry is teaching our kids when I'm not looking. :)

Things my kids say

It seems that I am always behind and at times, I do not stop and enjoy my kids as much as I should. I honestly do not know how people, who I know are waaaaaaaaay busier than I am, do it. I was having one of those days. I just wanted to stay focused and get things done. My goal was to get the Christmas decorations done and the empty boxes stacked for Kerry to get out of the house. (On top of about 30 other things) I did not have time for chit chat!

As I was running around the house, the boys were playing and on occasion, checking to see if I was doing my duties. At one point, Dalton began following me around saying over and over again that he wanted a stocking hat aka Santa hat. I told him flat out, that I was not going to mess with the Santa hats right now because I was trying to find the living room floor.

Without missing a beat, my 5 year old look at me, pointed to the floor and said, "Mommy, it's right there..see right there!" I stopped with my mouth wide open as if I actually had something smart to say and then all I could do was laugh. He repeated, getting a bit concerned that I had yet to see the floor. I finally acknowledged that the floor had indeed been there and thanks for finding it for me! Without even realizing it, Dalton had given me a breath of fresh air for my day. I was less stressed, even though I still had lots to do, but at least I was not as focused on that and was more focused on the kids. Thanks son!

Santa's Little Helper

Ok, I give up. I tried to post a link, but can't figure it out, so here http://www.freesantavideo.com/offers/video2.aspx?refer=STAFCOPY&sessionid=3ebd7ddc-98f0-4323-95bc-962c00edf6c8 just copy/paste, click or whatever and you should be able to see it.

Last year, I was sent a site to where you could add your pictures to elves that danced. This year, I found a new site that allowed you to add a picture to a video. This site above is of Dalton. It took him awhile to figure out it was him and then he wanted to watch it all the time. Later that night while watching Santa Claus is Coming to Town, he asked me if he was going to be on it. Guess he took it a bit more serious about being Santa' helper than I thought he would. :)

Merry Christmas!!

Birthday fun

Well, Xander's birthday is coming up, so I decided to give him a small party with firetrucks as the theme. He is getting a blow up fire station playhouse (nearly 50% off!! )for his bday, so I thought, why not make it the bday play area.
Anyway, I looked online for invitations etc and finally decided I was going to make my own. So..I did! I must say, I am bragging a bit here. I am not one for creativity or good ideas in such areas, so I am a little proud of this one. Last year I had bought some fireman costumes on clearance figuring the boys could either dress up in them or wear them for Halloween at some point. I actually never dreamed I'd use them for this idea.
I took Xander to the Forest Bend fire station near our church and asked a fireman there if I could take Xander's picture in front of the truck. He said sure. I changed Xander into the costume and the gentleman met us in the driveway, grinning at Xander and his slightly over sized fireman's suit. He then asked me if I wanted him to move the truck out. I told him that that was not necessary, that one little pic was all I needed and we'd be out of the way. Fireman Juan, as we later learned, insisted on moving the truck out. They boys were thrilled. (Dalton was along for the ride.)
We spent a few minutes taking pictures and crawling through the truck, when Fireman Juan told me he was going to see if he had some stickers. I thought that was very sweet and I took pictures of Dalton in the fire gear as we waited. Fireman Juan was unable to find some stickers, so instead, he brought the boys each a water bottle and quite a large stuffed animal, which was a huge hit. I was just blown away b/c I was so nervous about bothering the department just by asking and here this man goes out of his way to completely thrill my kids. It turned out to be a fun trip, resulting in what I think is a cute invitation. One of my friends has already asked if she can steal the idea...which made me feel even better. So... here it is, one of my pride 'n joys in another little creation I am proud of .


Yep...thinking I may have to use this idea again sometime. Don't be surprised to see Dalton in a costume of some sort come June! :) Oh joy, another picture of one of the Lee kids.

Gone fishing or maybe just gone!

So..we are at the doctor's office for Dalton's nasty infected toe that he won't leave alone. TMI, I'm sure.. I am calling it a boy thing, but since I only have boys, I really don't know. All I know is that is gross and he WON'T leave it alone. Ok, so here we are at the doctor's office. They have this very nice fish tank in the waiting room that Dalton runs to immediately. During our last visit, we watched as these bright orange fish took turns "kissing" each other. Since I have no idea what kind of fish they are, I don't know if they were actually kissing fish, but they seriously looked as if they were kissing. I found myself interested in seeing if the fish were still kissing, so I watched with Dalton. Besides, it keeps him entertained and not running around the waiting room petting each sick kids head. Those of you who know him and have kids understand what I am saying.

We had been there only a short time, when I noticed one of the fish seemed to be following Dalton. I thought this to be odd since it was my understanding this particular tank was like a 2 way mirror and the fish could not see out, thus making them less subject to heart attacks from kids torturing them through the glass. (I seriously think a nurse had mentioned that one time while I was there) We had also never seen the fish pay attention to people before, so this was a new thing. As we watched, we decided to do some experiments. Dalton weaved up and down and the fish did indeed follow. Dalton thought is was great and kept it up for quite awhile. The fish would not follow hands or fingers, only faces. So there Dalton was with his face near the glass, quite entertained and in one spot! Oh joy!

After some time, I stated out loud to Dalton that I was surprised the fish was doing this b/c I had really thought he wasn't able to see thought the glass. Dalton, really could have cared less about my statement, he was much more interested in making the fish weave and bob while trying to keep up with his face.

It was at this time, that a lady, who was as fascinated as we were with this game of chase, joined in with a theory of her own. I had heard her sounds of surprise from across the room when we noticed the fish following Dalton, but had not said anything to her. She politely stated that she did indeed think the fish could see though the glass. I smiled and nodded in agreement, thinking I had thought wrong about the tank. I mean, I am not an expert on tanks and have only dealt with a few, so whatever..right!!! It was just a cool fish. She then continued with her discussion.
"Have you seen Happy Feet?" she said.
I had.
"Well, you know when they capture the little penguin and he is behind that glass, he starts to dance for the people, so I guess they can see through the glass!"

I tried not to stare at her in disbelief that she was relating reality to a cartoon and I said something like..."Oh yeah! Maybe!" My mind was cranking as I tried to figure out why in the world she used a cartoon as proof. It was just strange to me. Why not just say, yeah, I have seen fish follow fingers ect.

Later, as I relayed the story to Kerry, he just looked at me and said.."Isn't that a cartoon?" Yes dear...it is and I have no idea why it was brought up.

So why write this in my blog? Well, don't know really. Maybe I'm the strange one since I was so fascinated with a fish in some tank I know nothing about. Just wanted to share I guess. Think I'll go watch Happy Feet.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

My Son the Movie Reviewer

Kerry and I just don't get out much to see any of the latest movies, so we are slightly behind the times. We have noticed this even more so during our Sunday morning class as we have been discuss "Seeing God in Pop Culture". I am well versed in the children's movies we have discussed, but several others, I sit and have no clue. This may have been what prompted Kerry to bring home a rental from Kroger this evening. The movie is I am Legend with Will Smith. I am not so sure I will join him b/c I do not do well with "scary" movies, so he may be watching it alone even though I like Will Smith. The idea of the some sort of living, diseased thing chasing me in my dreams is not at all appealing.

Now for the point..Dalton was excited to see Daddy with a movie and was talking about how we could all watch it after Xander went to bed. Kerry told him that he would not be watching the movie with us. Dalton sat there a minute and then flatly stated, "Ok, I will go to bed and you and Mommy can watch the bad, bad movie." Kerry about rolled on the floor. So, there you have it, my son's first movie review for a movie he has never seen. I am Legend is a bad, bad movie. I guess he is getting the point when something inappropriate suddenly comes on TV and we tell him to cover his ears, cover his eyes, or we change the channel suddenly. Oh good..he is learning something!

I have FSS.

Yes, it is true. I have FSS. It is a self-diagnosis really. I became knowledgeable about FSS after first moving to League City. Some people we had struck a friendship up with introduced it to us because they also have FSS. A lot of people have this condition I think, but most are great at hiding its symptoms. Do I have you curious yet? Is it deadly you wonder? Only if something falls on me, then maybe. FSS is short for Flat Surface Syndrome. It seems that if there is a flat surface in my home, items seem to find a resting spot there. Some surfaces are several inches to a foot high, especially when it comes to my teaching resources. How does it happen? I can't quite figure it out. No matter what I try, the symptoms seem to reappear in full force. Rolling your eyes yet? It is a humerous situation, but also frustrating. Why do I do it? Kerry does it too, so you can only imagine.

We do not live in complete clutter, don't get me wrong, but you don't want to venture into our offices. My office, which is the former dining room has piles of everything. Projects I want to do, presents for people, resources for planning, scrapbook stuff...the list goes on. Our dear friend Lee had the condition as well. We hardly ever saw his dining room table, which is probably why he felt so at home here. :) Now we have his huge libraries of music, books, and movies. We finally got bookshelves to at least get them off the floor, but now there are bookshelves in EVERYROOM of the house minus the bathrooms, which may come next. lol

I had been working on clearing out when Lee passed away and being his executors left us with a lot of his stuff in which we still are trying to determine what to do with some it. Thus, more irritations to my FSS. I often wonder if there is a tie to ADD b/c I often feel scattered even in a state of organization. I cannot stay focused on cleaning one room...I am all over the house. Same thing with chores. I talk to myself to keep telling me..get the trash, get the trash, get the trash, so that the trash actually gets out the evening before.

I have been to several peoples homes and literally stand in awe as their home looks so neat and tidy. I know they clean before we come and then do the standard.."Oh, excuse the house, it is such a mess." I'm thinking..Liar! :) But seriously, how do they do it. I mean, I don't have anything at my house b/c I don't know where to put my junk and that our house is still unfinished inside. I feel embarrassed by it at times. It would help if I could part with my teaching stuff. That would clear a huge part of the house out, but no way, too much $ invested in it.

I have read tons of suggestions from sites, books, magazines, people and have tried them all: organizers, filing cabinets, bookshelves, labeled boxes, and so on, but we still have a stacks that need dealt with, a new home etc. I guess if we had more time somehow, maybe, but unlikely. I am going to start clearing out and that may help, but it takes 2 and hubby dear likes to hold on to stuff b/c he may need/read/listen to it someday. Wish me luck as I don't think there is a cure for FSS but maybe some relief for its symptoms.

Is layaway just like the style of clothes...it'll come back around!?

I was listening to the TV this morning as I ran around the house attempting to get a few things done before Xander realized I wasn't holding him (he is sick and wants Mommy) when I heard a news story about layaway. I stopped to watch b/c well...I like layaway. The story stated that Sears was bringing back layaway b/c they have noticed that a recent advertisement from Kmart having layaway has really brought people back to Kmart and to this shopping idea. It was fascinating to me b/c it told how layaway was started during the depression and BEFORE credit cards. Wow I thought, a time before credit cards. Now don't get me wrong....I have a few credit cards myself and use them all the time. My JC Penney card allows me to get awesome coupons if I spend 10.00, I get 10.00 off. I have a talent of spending right around 10.00, so that is a great deal for me..Go Clearance!!! However, we do our best to "slide" responsibly in this house.

Anyway, as I reflected on this story and a time before the almight plastic, the anchor woman stated she never remembered layaway b/c it was "before her time". What!!! How old is that chick..better yet..how old am I??? Her partner for the morning show grinned at her and stated that layaway was for individuals of his age to pay off items they wanted to buy. She was fascinated. Poor guy...and I thought she made me feel old. I was stunned when they said it had been 20 years since layaway was around. Not true I thought.

I decided that this thought deserved some facebook time, so presto...I have my status for the day. In doing this, I livened up a few people in conversation. Some of which remember layaway stating they thought several stores still had it and one...who is my younger sister's age (thank you very much) said she knew of several stores that had it. Awesome! I am not as old as I think and sad b/c so many people still don't get layaway. I mean, why should we when we can buy it with plastic and let it chalk up huge interests. Where would the instant gratification be?

Ok, so here is my plan for saving the economy: layaway and couponing. What do you think? It is at least a start!

One friend who wrote on my wall stated that that was how she learned how to save for things she wanted. I am sorry what...save? Do people still do that? Not at much as we should I think or we would not be facing a "financial crises" in America.

How quickly they learn...ok, some things.

Have you noticed how quickly kids pick up on things? Last year, Xander was sick and missed his first Halloween. A few days later, I put on his costume to snap a few pictures for my sake mostly. He could have cared less either way, but I felt better. I had high hopes for a healthy Halloween this time around.

This year, I was excited to see what he would do. So, I dressed him up in a doctor suit Dalton wore a few years ago and headed off to Trunk or Treating at Southeast. We spent a few minutes inside before heading out to hit the trunks. At the first car, I ran ahead to snap a picture of Xander's first actual Halloween treating. It took only a moment for him to realize, "Hey, that lady just drop candy in my bag!" He spent the next 5 cars digging furiously in his bag trying to reach the candy until we finally gave him candy to hold. As long as he had his hands on some candy, he was happy. When we hit up a few houses in our neighborhood later in the week, he decided that those people were real cool as he was able to choose special things from some of their bowls. His choices were quite interesting as he chose the the block, aka box of Milk Duds and the ball, otherwise knows as a fudge ball covered in a wrapper that looked like an eye. Later, I had to make a dive toward him as he squashed his "ball" and had fudge all over his hands.

It was amazing how quickly the boys realized the ins and outs of the hunt. Porch light on is good, porch light off is a no go. Say Trick or Treat and thank you, then the lesson they developed on their own..the sprint ahead to the next light screaming, "Mommy, let's get some more candy!"

I have always been amazed at how quickly my boys pick up on things, yet have to be told 5 times to find their shoes, pick up a toy, or to stop beating up your brother. Is there a trick to getting them to pick it all up that fast?!? I wish!

The Lee Boys

Well, I have not been on in awhile due to being so busy lately. I have added a few more hobbies..well sort of hobbies, which have started taking up some time until I get more organized. I am now couponing and working part time at Dalton's school, so I am behind in getting information on the blog.

Dalton has started Pre-K at Westminster Christian Academy. He is really enjoying and asks everyday, "Do I get to go see my teacher again?" He really likes it when "Mommy gets to teach the kids", b/c he gets to stay a little later and then I pick him up after 1:00. He is only going till 12:00, which means I still get to have my big boy part of the day. Someday, however, I wish for full day Pre K. :) Mainly those are the days when he won't stop "helping out" with Xander to the point Xander screams when he is looked at. While at school, Dalton is getting Spanish and music as well as getting to play on the playground. (that is a big thrill for him)

Dalton has also started baseball, so you can bet there will be some great stories coming up with that adventure. He is on a baseball team through the YMCA, which should get him some good socialization and help with coordination. His first few games were sort of sluggish. He does pretty well the first inning, but then gets distracted for the last 2. Thank goodness there are only 3. His last game this past Saturday, he really hustled to each base, which is what we have been working on. He favors his left, so we bought him lefty items, but we can't seem to find his batting arm. He will miss and then get a nice hit bringing the bat back to try again. Too bad he can't just bat backwards.

Xander has started the Vine on Tuesday and Thursdays. I will be working while he is there. I think it will be very good for him to be away from mommy. He is becoming Mr. Independent, but still wants to make sure he can see mommy. He loves books, cats, and planes. He'll hear one from inside the house and get totally excited just b/c one is flying over. He loves to go bye, bye and starts squealing with joy when he sees pretty much anything...rocks, birds, bikes on the ceiling in Walmart. We took him to an airshow thinking he would go nuts over airplanes...nothing! Then the next day, a plane flies over as we are getting in the van and he goes nuts. I don't get it.

They are both growing so much and I am still enjoying being able to stay home most days. I feel so busy now with just a part time, 8 hr a week job, that I can't imagine getting anything done if I went back to full time teaching. All those moms that do it all the time must be miracle workers b/c I constantly have a mountain of laundry on the couch to fold.

Amen!

One thing I have noticed after having kids is that our meal time prayers have become pretty quick. This happened without much thought due to certain actions that were occurring. For example, if food is on the table during prayer time, there is the reach/grab move that ends up with kids magically having mouths full of food by the end of the prayer. That is better than the scream/point move in which if food is not on the table, kids are pointing at the food and screaming as if they have not eaten in days. We still plugged on however, in hopes they would catch on to the importance of prayer times as our "training" progressed. Dalton does pretty good and even will say a prayer every now and then.
I have noticed, though, in the last few days, that Xander especially has decided that prayer time is not so bad, especially if there is no option for the reach/grab. I decided I wanted to film it b/c I thought it was so cute and to show Kerry. To my surprise, he even gave me a bigger thrill by actually finishing the prayer with me.


Dalton decided to be a stinker. He cracks me up. He will be doing something cute with Xander and I'll peak in. If he catches me watching, he asks me to get the camera. However, if I do...all sweetness stops and he decides to watch the camera instead or beat up his little brother. Go figure!

Xander gets a trim

Xander's first official haircut came from Daddy this past March. Xander was not thrilled and I had to try to hold his face so he would not get cut, but he kept squirming. I waited awhile before getting his hair cut again. One...because I was worried about his reaction the first time and two..he is just so cute with all that hair. However, when I was washing his hair the other day and noticed it hung down past his chin in parts, I felt it was time. So off we went to Great Clips.

The picture above is his latest cut. Notice how he is keeping and eye on the lady as if the make sure she doesn't slice him up. Now notice look he gave me! Wow..didn't think I'd get that till he was a teen. What was shocking was how he behaved! He literally did not move! I had more trouble with the 5 year, (who was getting a cut in the seat next to us) then a 19 month old. Dalton would be still for the camera however. Guess I should put a camera on him next time so he'll be still.


Well, we survived the hair cuts and hopefully since his hair grows so fast, this will be how he behaves every time he needs a cut.

Funny things my kid says.

Dalton's speech has really improved this last year and with that has come some funny statements.


We had been out all morning grocery shopping and were finally heading home right at lunch time. As we were coming home, Dalton asked if he could play the Wii. I told him no, that he'd have to wait till after lunch. He followed me around the house repeating my regulations about waiting to play Wii till after lunch. "Yes" I keep saying, "after lunch."

Dalton's response: "Mommy, can you cook the food in the microwave to save time?"
Hmmm..smart kid. I almost fell over laughing. Guess what...I did cook it in the microwave. :)

....the next day...
Dalton came up to me telling me he had an "ouwee" on his finger and that he needed a kiss. I took his hand and gave him a healing mommy kiss. He looks at his finger, looks at me, then back as his finger and as he turns to walk away he says, "It's not better!"

Wow...how do you respond to that. All I could do as laugh.

Dalton dozing

Here is a video of Dalton after a day of fun at the beach. He had played so hard and it was a little late for supper, but his bedtime was still an hour away.

Uncle Coby's Visit

Coby and his girlfriend Bryanna came down to see Mom and Dad on July 8th. Before they headed to Orange(where Mom and Dad are living), the boys and I went to spend a few days in Galveston with them. We spent 2 days hitting lots of sun and came back exhausted, but is was fun.

On the first day, after getting settled into the hotel, we walked across the street and spent a few hours on the beach. I was surprised at how Dalton has taken to the water. He didn't stray off too far, but actually waded around without having someone right there. He of course spent lots of time playing in the sand and actually ignored the birds, which he usually takes off chasing. I have had to chase him down the beach to catch him b/c he kept running and running after the birds would take off. He'd look down the beach and lo and behold, there were more birds, so he just kept going. This time, we were closer to a walkway, so less space for birds to land I guess. Dalton did however discover that the Galveston water does not taste too good.


Xander loves being outside period, so he was thrilled to be at the beach. He played in the sand quite a bit, but did not like walking in the water without someone holding his hand. He was not quite sure what to think about the sand being swept out from under his feet when as the waves came in and out. He felt more secure if he was being carried, but after awhile, decided that playing in the sand with Dalton had better footing.

The next day, we spent about 5 hours at Schlitterbahn. Fun, but it got a big crowded after awhile, so we decided to head out. It was nice to actually chill out in the hotel with a delivered pizza that night. The boys discovered the balcony and of course the curtains. They ran around and around giggling like crazy. We just sat and watched...too tired to do much else.

One night we went to see the Rain Forest Cafe volcano erupt. It is neat to see, except I think the gas prices are even affecting them b/c it was not near as big of an eruption as in the past. I did get the boys to actually pose for a pic for me. Before we headed out of Galveston, we went to see the Titanic exhibit at Moody Gardens. I was excited b/c I had taught a huge unit on the Titanic for years in Lubbock. The boys could have cared less about it, but it was still a nice trip. We were given boarding passes with names of actual passengers on the Titanic and after the tour, you can see if you survived or not. My boys must have been gentlemen and gave up their seats to ladies, b/c both their passes were first class passengers who died. I was a 3rd class passenger who was one of the last living survivors to participate in Titanic shows etc. Of course, like it matter in the end...all Xander wanted was a drink and Dalton wanted to go eat.

The boys and I left and made it home just in time for naps. We all needed one!

4th of July weekend

My cousin Katey came to spend this past week with us before she heads off to Ozark Christian College. After waiting for Dalton to get well during the first part of the week, we were finally able to get out and do a few things other than doctor appointments and speech work. On Thursday, Kerry took us to JSC and was able to give us a tour of some of the buildings. He wanted to show Katey some of the mock ups and the mission control rooms. It was kind of neat to be sitting in some of the areas looking up at the tour groups who were looking down at us wondering how we were able to get in the actual rooms. Best thing...we didn't have to pay 20 bucks!
On Friday, the kids and I took Katey to Orange to see mom and dad for the 4th of July. Kerry stayed home to get some work done. We arrived in time for a quick lunch then off to the water park. Unfortunately it started raining some, which since they were wet any way, you'd think it would not have mattered, but the boys were not thrilled and we ended up playing in huge wooden playground area next to the water park. It is a huge maze of stairs, so Dalton was thrilled. Xander had missed a nap, so he was pretty much in a daze and since his little legs were too short, he was carried most of the time. The play area had a huge tube slide that Dalton at first wanted to try until he got a good look at it. It was a very long slide. Katey decided to go down it. She said it went dark after the first turn. There about 4 turns to the entire thing. She wasn't sure she'd ever find the end. We didn't blame Dalton for not wanting to try it after her experience.

That night, we drove into Orange a little ways and saw a very good fireworks display. We were actually pretty close to where they were setting them off. I was quite surprised at how close we were. There was a small field and a parking lot between us and the fireworks area. I don't think I had ever been that close when watching fireworks. The video does not do it justice. Dalton was worried things would be loud and kept trying to get into the van to hide. After we convinced him they were just loud pops, he decided to sit and watch. He kept his ears plugged the entire time, but would ooh and aah, with the rest of the audience and holler out about colors and shapes he saw. He really liked it after realizing the sounds would not hurt him, even though they did set off every car alarm in the area. Xander, who usually squeals like crazy when he gets excited was in awe! He hardly moved for 1/2 of the show and did not make a sound. Slowly though, the missed nap and constant running and playing began to wear on him and he crashed in the middle. He was so out, he did not even wake up for the finale, which was very bright and loud.



The next morning, we decided to take Katey to Louisiana and hunt some gators. We had looked a few places the day before, but did not see any. Dalton told his Daddy that we had gone gator hunting but they were all hiding. We were lucky this time, however. We were about to walk away from an area along a dock when we spotted a young gator. He was right next to the dock and I was able to get some good closeups. A man fishing on the dock tossed a fishing line at him and the gator grabbed on. When the man started pulling the gator up, the gator thrashed a little causing us to squeal and start backing up quickly. Mom was heading out quickly with Xander in tow. Right about the time I stopped backing up and thought about snapping a picture, the gator let go and slid back into the water. I don't think I'd want to be on a dock with a bunch of squealing girls either. Dalton just sat there on the dock as if having a gator plopped on the dock next to you is an everyday thing.

Later we walked down the shore to get a closer look at a larger gator we had seen swimming around. He had been watching some fisherman along the other side of the shore line. He turned toward us for a short time I guess hoping we were going to toss a line. He looked rather creepy staring up at us as we took pictures. Hence the reason for the sign the boys are posing with. :)

Katey, the boys and I headed home shortly after that. It was fun, but we are a little pooped out. Fireworks, alligators, and more stairs than I care to recall makes for quite an exciting few days!

Night, Night

When Xander gets tired, he will tell you when he wants to go to bed. Even if he is playing and his bed time comes around, there is no fight about it. He is so easy to put down, unlike Dalton, who is afraid he'll miss something. One night while putting Xander to bed, he actually said night, night back, so of course I had to film it.

Trip to Grandmama's

The boys and I traveled to Orange, Texas on Tuesday. We were taking Dalton to stay part of the week. Xander and I came home the next day. While we were there we went to a real neat water park at Port Neches. It has a bunch of water spraying items and is free! That is the best part. You can just walk in, stay a little while and leave whenever without feeling like you wasted money. The boys loved it. It took Xander awhile to get used to it, which surprised me after his playing in the rain episode a few days before that. He get splattered a little and come running back to bury his face in my legs. Pretty soon, though, he found a coconut tree that he liked. There were coconuts that would fill with water and dump. He really avoided those for the most part, but did get surprised on occasion. At one point, the water stopped on one side of the park. Xander was not happy and began to scream. It started again and he got over it.


He did haunt some of the people at the park though. It seems that if he sees someone with food, he thinks if he hangs around, smacks his lips saying num, num, they will feed him. It actually worked a few times even with me running interference.

Mom called me today saying she and Dalton went back to the water park and to tell me that Dalton got it with a big bucket. It seems that this bucket fills with water. Once it starts getting full, little signs like weep holes and the water guns start shooting. Dalton was playing with a water gun and ended up getting dumped on. Mom was watching of course and wasn't about to give him any warning as to ruin her fun. He came running over to her saying "I got wet!" My statement would have been, well no duh, your running around in water! He avoided that area with the surprise showers from then on.
Here is Xander being surprised by some sudden showers. Sorry for the side view. I keep forgetting to put the camera right.




After Grandad got off work, we stopped by a place to let Dalton pick out his bday gift from them. The place was closed, but Xander didn't min. He noticed the riding lawnmowers and 4 wheelers and went nuts! He squeals with excitement at things and it is hilarious. I even have video of that, but will save that for later. I'm already addicted enough to showing off the kids with this blog thing.

Dalton bowling like Daddy

Here is the video I promised with Dalton bowling like his dad. I think they both are addicted to the Wii.

Happy Birthday Dalton!

Well, 5 years ago today, my oldest rug rat was born. He has been saying he will be "5 in June" for about 6 months now and this evening after cake, he told Kerry he was almost 6! Wow...they do grow up fast don't they. :)



We had a little party for him with just us tonight. The plan is to have some of his friends over for something later, but we wanted to do something on his actual birthday. We noticed that he was born on a Monday the day after Father's Day exactly 5 years ago, so that was neat. This is his first "repeat" according to Kerry.

Kerry bought him an ice cream cake (Dalton's choice) and we munched down on that tonight. He then opened a few presents and spent the rest of the evening playing trains, begging for his new Lightening McQueen clock, and playing Wii with Daddy. He is hilarious playing Wii. He tries to imitate Kerry and actually does a pretty good job b/c Kerry does get pretty animated playing the game. I'll have to add some video later of that. It is quite amusing. As you can see, Dalton enjoyed his ice cream cake very much. Xander was not too disappointed either.



One of his gifts was some bday money from Miss BJ. She always remembers the boys and he was so excited to get birthday mail. He wanted to put the money in his pocket, but I made him put in a little wallet so he wouldn't lose it. He carried the card and the money around all day.



His Aunt Rolie sent him a Lightening McQueen clock. He loves clocks and CARS, so he was in heaven. We had to put it up almost immediately and now he wants to hold it. He is not quite getting the concept of it hanging on the wall even though he begged us to do it so quickly. Now that it is there, he can't play with it. We were in the den playing trains and I could not see our clock, so I asked Dalton what time it was. Instead of just stepping over a few inches to view the den clock, he told me, "I have to go look on my Lightening McQueen clock. Off he went to his room. I just had Kerry tell me because I knew he'd have to watch it for awhile. It ticks! That evidently is very cool.

We got him some new track for his wooden train set. Some unique pieces were added so he could do different tracks. He will get a few more things later, but he was already going nuts to play so I'll hold off on the other until his friends are here.

I must say that even though the night was fun and Dalton enjoyed it, I was most proud that quite awhile after it was over, Dalton leaned over to Kerry and thanked him for the cake and presents. Not many 5 year olds would do that..unprompted! I could not help but smile and feel warm all over. That's my "big"boy!

The Lord has blessed me so much with my kids. Even on the days when Xander is screaming his head off...at least he is here to scream. On the days when Dalton is following me around repeating the same thing over, and over....and over, at least he is talking now! Thank you God for my children. Help me to teach them to be caring, giving, strong young "men" and to guide them to you. AMEN!

Father's Day with two future astronauts!

We had a relaxing Father's Day. We went to early service b/c Kerry had to sit console for a few hours today. He came home and the boys gave him their cards and gifts. Dalton wrote his name by himself for the first time on Kerry's card. It took up most of the card, but it was neat. He forgot the O, so he had to "write it down there". It was on the lower part of the card below the N and about twice the size. I was tickled b/c he did not want me to hold his hand and help at all.

After the boys had a nap, Xander and I stayed home in the cool AC while Kerry and Dalton went to Ellington field. Dalton was thrilled that they got to park on the grass for some reason.

The Astronauts from STS 124 flew the shuttle home safely from the space station on Saturday and arrived back in Houston today.


People were able to go to watch the presentation at the airfield. Dalton was excited to see the astronauts he had watched on TV all the previous week. We watched the launch, some of the footage of an astronaut named Garrett eat, brush his teeth, and exercise. All while floating of course. We then watched the landing on Saturday. Dalton was excited about the outing and told me this morning that he wants to be an astronaut and float in space. I had not had a chance to tell Kerry about it, but on he way to the field, Dalton told Kerry that he wanted to fly in the shuttle, to go to space and float. That of course made Kerry very proud. Not only does he get the concept of how you get there and how it is, but he wants to be one...just like his Daddy! Maybe they will be the first father/son astronaut team. As you can see below, Dalton is already training for pilot!

Playing in the rain

Thursday night, we all went to a friend's house for a get together. The hostess, Tamra, previously worked with Kerry and had invited the entire family to come celebrate the recent flights that took place. Tamra was advicer and mentor to several groups of college students that developed experiments to be conducted in zero gravity. The experiments took place on the C9. That is the plane that takes sudden dives and lets everyone float around in a temporary zero gravity type state. (I knew it as the vomit comet, but know I feel much more in the know.) Kerry, while he did not get to go on the flight, is hoping to help develop some experiments for students that will be accepted to fly in the future.
Anyway, while we were there, it started to rain. All the adults stayed under the patio while the boys decided to find alternative entertainment. They had a blast, especially Xander. He spent the entire time walking along the edge of the patio where the water was really dripping on him. Dalton kept sneaking off to help wash Tamra's truck since it was in the "car wash". She was much nicer than I would have been about kid smears on my vehicle.
We had a nice time even though I am sure all those people were waaaaaaaaay smarter than I could ever dreamed to be. You know..those smart, science types that make my little 5th science experiments look like pouring a glass of milk. One of the younger brilliant ones called me ma'am! I don't think my 5th graders even called me that. I almost laughed out loud until I thought...Oh great...I am a ma'am now! lol



Wednesday night, right before we were putting Dalton to bed, Kerry saw that we had a visitor out the window. I thought it was a rat! Upon closer look, it was possum. I was able to snap a quick video of it after he had munched on a bug. Dalton was thrilled. He came back to visit a few more times that night and entertained the cats for awhile, but this was the best I could get. He didn't seem to like me moving toward the window too much and would take off to fast. The video is dark and short, but you can hear Dalton say something about eating bugs as the thing runs away.

Lost friends

I have found myself involved with several networking sites. One is Facebook and the other is myspace. I enjoy certain things about both and have issues as well, but I like being able to check out how friends and family are doing. It seems that technology is the only way many people stay in contact. I also like that my family and friends can hop on and check out how the boys are doing. I will always enjoy showing off my kiddos.
What is sad though is that I cannot find some past friends. I have actually been searching for one in particular for years with no luck. I hate that I have lost touch with these people, but also wondering why it is so hard to find them. I am not giving up, but it is disappointing.
Today we pretty much cleaned and played. I spent over an hour sorting greeting cards we inherited while the boys chased each other around the house. Other than that, we are avoiding too many outings with the price of fuel and hunkering down in the house due to the heat that we are already facing. It might be a loooong summer!

Too hot!

Well, we spent this weekend just hanging out in the house, playing wii, and taking naps. Rough life I know, but it is just so hot already.
Dalton and Kerry are really enjoying the Wii. We just got a 2nd remote which is nice with Dalton. It's sensory was messed up for awhile. One game has cows that race and run over scarecrows.( I did not create it so, whatever) anyway, the cow can jump if up when you move the remote up fast, except for the new remote just kept making the cow jump over and over. Believe it or not, the fix was to smack the thing. Whola...no more cow on speed (as the support person said) She was quite funny actually when I called. I was smacking the remote and she said, "Harder Honey, like the baby is getting into something he isn't suppose to." This was after she double checked what I said after hearing..."The cow just keeps jumping."
We are hoping to get some bids on the kitchen, and if heart attacks don't follow, finally get started sometime this summer on the thing. I feel like I live in a construction zone/storage unit right now.
Hope all is well. Have a great week!

Dalton graduates..sort of

Today was Dalton's preschool graduation from Ross. He spent the last 5 weeks attending a special class to work on some social skills and speech. He only went on M,W,F b/c of I did not want him to be taken out of The Vine class he was in.
His first day at the school was a field trip in which he got to ride the bus. When I picked him up, he kept telling me to go home b/c he was supposed to ride the bus. Anyway, even though he was there a short time, he was given the privilege to graduate. Kerry, Xander, and I all attended. It was very simple with a small reception afterwards, but Dalton loved it. He is not quite understanding the aspect of summer and keeps asking when he gets to go back to preschool. He is still asking about the brown preschool, which is the school he will attend next year.
After I picked him up from school, we spent the day with our neighbor Janice and her grandsons. They had a blast in her backyard and playroom. Xander found a slide he could maneuver well so he went over and over hollering "Weee" each time. I left my camera at the house, so I missed out on the pictures. I forgot about my phone. While we were there, Dalton ended up locked in the dog kennel somehow and could not get out. I think he had some help from his friend Ethan. It was pretty funny. I snapped a few pics with my phone, but haven't figured out how to deal with those yet.

Good Morning

We are up and running as usual. Dalton is our early bird, so he was up before 6. This is a daily thing. We are trying to train him to leave his room without poking Xander, go potty, then go play "quietly" in the den. He is getting better, but still has to be reminded that sneaking up on mommy is not a good thing.
Xander is trying to rearrange our cd's and screaming when he thinks Dalton is going to touch him. One minute they are playing and I hear laughter. The next minute, I am releasing my nails from the ceiling after a blood curdling scream. Xander will be my fit thrower...oh what fun!
Have a great day!