I Survived!!

I did it, I survived my 4 weeks of intense boot camp. Honestly I didn't even mention it on the blog until I had lasted a full week because I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it, I'm probably the most unathletic, unflexible person ever that absolutely hated to work out or run. But by the grace of God, I made it and I haven't felt this good in a long time. I'm sleeping well, I have more energy, my back isn't hurting nearly as often. Despite cutting out some serious calories from my diet, I didn't drop a ton of weight like I hoped but I definitely feel better. The kids & I are going out of town for the next two weeks so I'm going to be missing the first half of the July session but I'm already registered to pick it back up when I return. I hope I don't lose all the endurance and strength that I had gained between now and then. I'm planning to do lots of walking in the mountains so hopefully I can maintain it.

The boys were nervous to pose with Jerrod but they did tell him "Gig'em Aggies" and talked the rest of the day about how he throws the football.

The next Michael Phelps?

A visit to the John Deere tractor store

I LOVE this photo!!!

As a reward for completing Bootcamp I decided to finally give in to my longing for a BOB Revolution Duallie jogging stroller to keep me motivated and to make those mountain walks even more fun.

"The Beast" is what the boys call it

Everyone tells me I won't regret this purchase, so far they are right!

Celebrating Gammaw & Peepaw

This past weekend we kids and some close family friends had a surprise party for Gammaw & Peepaw to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary and Peepaw's 60th birthday. It was exciting to see that we pulled off the surprise and it was so fun to see their faces as they noticed all the special guests that were there for them. What a fun time! Congrats Gammaw & Peepaw!

Earlier this week I decided to be an adventurous Mama and let the boys do some painting. Since it was water based paint, the only rule was that the paint had to stay outside and clothes had to come off. My naked painters were happy to oblige!

I think it's so sweet how even though I gave them each their own side with a fresh piece of paper, they insisted on painting together.

Adam and Andrew both painted on Adam ;-)

Andrew managed to stay much cleaner

Adam & Andrew love to paint and I love to see those precious smiles on their faces. Another benefit is that painting standing up at an easel is very good occupation therapy for Andrew's fine motor skills.

Andrew Swimming Take Two

I took this about 10 days ago at Andrew's ISR refresher course. He's an old pro at floating! I haven't gotten any videos of them swimming to the side yet which they are doing pretty well. We've missed our lessons this week due to Roseola Virus, poor babies!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Have you ever seen a Monster?

Monsters have been spotted this week in a lake at my parent's house. They are called Alligator Gar. They have a mouth full of huge teeth and head just like an alligator but their bodies are fish with slimy scales and fins. The biggest one measured in at 7 feet 2 inches. My friend James in this photo is 6 feet 7 inches so that gives the photo some perspective. I saw this thing with my own eyes so I'm not making this stuff up, these are some nasty critters!

I found them hanging out togther having a little jam session in their pajamas one morning.

In other news, my babies have had a nasty case of Roseola virus that has kept them in and out of a feverish state off and on since last Friday. Poor babies finished off several bottles of Motrin this week and have been fighting over who gets to lay directly on top of me in my bed while watching tv in the mornings until the motrin would kick in. It was sad and frustrating, they were literally kicking and clawing at each other and they couldn't stand for the other one to even be touching me. "My Mama, No MINE" they would scream. Poor babies! Fortunately this seems to be behind us, I'm not used to seeing them so pitiful:


At Boot Camp we asked Jerrod to wear some Aggie Gear so we could get the kids pictures taken with him in their football jerseys but since all the kids have been sick I just got one with a very handsome mohawked Greyson. We are supposed to try again one day this coming week. We've completed 3 full weeks of physical torture, I'm so proud of us!

Lounging before a swimming lesson, they only went one day this week and I was surprised that they were actually sad to miss them. They kept saying "Go Susan House, swimming pool!"

Silly Face into what was Granny's Clean Window

Here's to hoping the upcoming week will be a healthy joyful week while getting back into the swing of our busy schedule.

And a very Happy Father's Day to all the special Daddies out there!! We love you!!

To Vegas and Back!

Sorry I've been so absent from the blog, things have been crazy like always. Kenny & I went to Vegas last Thursday and just got back yesterday. We joined three other couples and had a blast. All four of us wives went to college together in the same program, interned together during school, and then worked together at the same place after graduating. My friends and I all turned 30 this year and have been planning this trip for months to celebrate. We got an awesome deal to stay at the new Encore hotel, it was amazing!! Granny & Pa generously watched the boys for us while we were gone. We had so much fun but as always, it was nice to come back home to Adam & Andrew!

Dinner at the Wynn's SW restaurant

Sarah & I

Sarah, Angela, & I at the Venetian

Waiting for the Hoover Dam Tour Bus

Lake Mead

Hoover Dam Memorial

Lake Mead intake towers looking from Arizona side, the water is 30 feet lower than it should be.

One of the big pipes diverting the water around the dam and through the powerplant, the water shook the whole room.

Hoover Dam Passageway, water seeps in through the walls and we were praying they would continue to hold!

One of two power plants

New suspension bridge

Enough concrete to build a sidewalk all the way around the Equator

The gang dined at Emeril's Table 10 at the Palazzo, yummy!

Kenny is a big Emeril Fan

Enjoying an adult beverage version of the snowcone

Heather, Angela & I

Some random guy that stepped into our shot ;-)

Angela, Heather & I

Inside the Wynn

Dinner in St Mark's Square

Kenny, Clint & Steven

We had a BINGO emergency and had to take a limo to make it to the Gold Coast on time for the 7pm session.

Kenny got his first BINGO for $13, LOL

I got a BINGO for $72, yay!

Then Kenny hit it big winning $450!! Who says BINGO is only for old ladies with blue hair and oxyen tanks!

Angela, Me, Heather & Sarah

Las Vegas, NV 2009!!

Friends & Family

We had so much fun on Friday when our friends Christie & daughter Taylor came to visit. Christie is one of my very best friends all the way back to pre-school. It doesn't matter if it's been 5 months or 5 years since we saw each other last, we always pick back up where we left off. Friendships like that are truly a blessing from God! It was so fun to watch our kids enjoying each other and having baby Ben there too!

On Saturday we drove to Dallas to celebrate my cousin Robbie's graduation from high school. We got to eat a lot of yummy food and hang out with family. Lots of fun!

Ben is such a doll!

Adam, Taylor, & Andrew

Bailey taking her first Ranger ride

Cute Kiddos

So Sweet!

Adam doing the Hokie Pokie at Babe's Chicken in Dallas

What big boys walking through the hotel lobby

I wanna push da button!

First time in a glass elevator or as the boys called it the "elder-gator". Adam said wheee and Andrew looked pretty nervous

Andrew's turn to pull the suitcase

Congratulations Robbie!!

Full Steam Ahead

Don't worry, we are still here! Things have just been crazy. When i said I didn't know what we were going to do with ourselves with the boys out of preschool, I take it back, we've had plenty to do! In fact we are probably over scheduled right now. We are currently getting up and leaving bright and early EVERY morning to drive 45 minutes each way to our ISR swimming lessons.

The boys have done great after just a week. Andrew remembers how to float and Adam is getting very close. They are also swimming about 5-6 feet underwater and holding their breaths really well. I thought they'd start crying as soon as we got to the teacher's house or when the saw her but they didn't seem to remember at all. But after the first day they now try to run away from her or cling to me with a death grip. But once they are in the water they do great, although they usually repeat "I wanna go see MaMa" very sadly between each swim pass. I haven't gotten any pictures yet but I'll try to tomorrow.

In addition to swimming, the boys are also doing Kindermusik and Gymnastics. Even I have an activity ;-), I took the plunge and signed myself up for a Fitness Bootcamp that meets for an hour every evening Mon-Thurs. I'm battered, sore, and literally bruised (see below) but thanks to three friends that are along side me, I survived my first week and look forward to going this week. It's at the kids gymnastics studio and they provide activities for the kids while we are tortured, I mean work out. I've never truly worked out in my entire life so this is a big step for me. Making it even more fun is that our instructor is a "celebrity", Jerrod Johnson, the Aggies starting QB. He has done a great job and is truly a nice guy but I'm sure he laughs with his friends later about all the old fat white women that he's attempting to whip into shape!

Now for some photos:

I noticed Bailey riding the plasma car out the window and snapped a photo before she could see me.

Adam's first day of gymnastics, he LOVED it! (He was previously in school during the class time)

War Wound: I got tackled by Jerrod during boot camp and injured my left arm/elbow. Well not exaclty ;-), we were running as fast as we could through an uneven field and my uncoordinated self got tangled up in my own feet and did a flip and nearly knocked myself out. Jerrod had to come help me up, I wanted to lay there and cry but I shook it off and kept running, they don't call it Boot Camp for nothing!

One day between swimming and Kindermusik we had a measly 15 minutes to kill so we went by Big Rig day at the library and made a quick loop through the vehicles before rushing to our class. The boys loved their Firemens Helmets!

These pictures were taken by Kierstyn at Benjamin's birthday party . The boys had a blast playing in the kiddie pool and eating cupcakes.

Adam is in the air in this one perfecting his seat drop

So right now here is our current summer schedule:

8-10:30 Swimming Daily (1:30 on Wed)

11 am Kindermusik Tuesdays

9:30-11am Biblestudy Wednesdays

11 am Gymnastics Thursdays

5:45-6:45 pm Boot Camp Mon-Thurs

Throw in naps, me working several hrs a week at the office, and home therapy visits and there really isn't a whole lot of time for things like house breaking a new puppy, catching up on my endless laundry, grocery shopping and all the other chores that need to be done. Thank goodness we are currently taking a break from the nearly daily pt & ot rehab sessions we were doing for Andrew or things would really be chaotic! His therapists decided he had been doing it intensely for 18 months straight and needed a break because his normally cooperative self was really fighting the therapy sessions.

Hope your summer is off to a great start!!

While Daddy's Away, We Play Play Play!

Daddy went out of town for a guys fishing trip over the weekend and so Gammaw came to visit us. We had so much fun meeting friends at the Bounce, going out to eat, having their very own ice cream cone for the first time, visiting the children's museum, playing out side, and getting a quick visit from Uncle Stevie. We had a blast while Daddy was away but we were sure glad to see him when he got back on Sunday!

Triplets?

Adam, Blake, & Andrew all wore the same outfit!

Adam & his sweet friend from school

How cute is that??

Adam was very independent for the first time ever at the Bounce and went up and down the slides all on his own!

Gammaw is the best!

My very own Cone!

Waiting patiently for the Balloon Lady

Having a Marilyn Monroe moment from the air conditioning vent in the floor

Do you feel a draft?

My little Picasso's

A Masterpiece!

Reading a book with Stevie

Enjoying some Fun Dip, Yummy!

I think Andrew got more on his clothes than in his mouth!

Check out those Blue Eyes!

I think Andrew must be a genius ;-) LOL. We were eating lunch at Jason's Deli and he took a few bites of a cracker, looked down at it and said "Triangle". And he was right, he had bitten it into the shape of a triangle and he knew it. I didn't even know that he knew that word existed and here he used it appropriately. Too funny!