This has been the best trip so far. Everytime I come to Texas I always try to squeeze in so much and see so many people, since my trips are only once a year, at best. This time I decided I needed a break. I needed to slow down and relax and enjoy things. So, I have just been hanging out and enjoying being away from normal everyday life at home. My phone is not ringing, there are days I don't get on the computer and a lot of days I don't even get in the car. It has been hot, very hot. This is proof that my car's thermometer was well into the triple digits.

Early on, JB ended up with his first black eye. Got knocked over and hit something - probably the wall? We never knew for sure. (I forgot to wipe the spaghetti sauce off of his face...)

The boys got to go riding on a golf cart - the easy simple things about some people's lives that really entertain/intrigue them.

Spent some time at parks. Did not stay long cause just really hot.

The boys have racked up a lot of time in the water this trip.

Fortunately JB is still taking a nap a day. Sometimes crashing whereever he gets still.

Boys enjoyed feeding carrots to a donkey.

Got some go-cart action in.



And some putt putt golf.

Did a little bowling one day.

Played in some forts.

In Austin, during the summer, there lives a huge urban bat colony. The largest in the world. They live under the Congress Street bridge and it is quite the sight to watch them all fly out just before dusk. You can see some of the bats in this photo, but imagine them streaming out like this for about 10-15 minutes every night. The later in the summer it gets the more there are. They appear as long dark streaks across the sky.

After the bats we wandered over to a Hyatt. I have always told my boys about glass elevators and they had one. Again, one of the little things that you are never exposed to living in a non-metropolitan place. (We were with an ol' college roommate and her daughter Hannah.)

Some more swimming...

Probably my favorite picture so far....This little kiddo, as well as the other 2 seem to have some of the olive coloring that they get from their daddy.


We spent 4 days in Austin, where my dad's side of the family had a reunion. Great to catch up with everyone. Later that evening, we all congregated at my cousin's house. The kids had so much fun running around and playing outside, that my boys just about saw the day go from pm to am. (I hate when the kids are up late because it means for grumpy kids the next day, but when it is beautiful outside and they are having so much fun being social and running with their cousins - not to mention mom is enjoying herself - hard to put them to bed. They have been playing so hard that not once this trip have they woken up in the middle of the night and found their way into my bed. Which translates into great sleep for mom.

One night in Austin we got a hotel with my sister and niece. The sole purpose was for the kids to swim, swim and swim...plus getting together with a brother/sister pair that we have known since birth. The kids swam from 2-10pm, only stopping to have pizza poolside for dinner.

I have managed to stay with two old college roommates and has been so fun catching up with their families. How my boys love playing with their kids, all of which are almost 10 years older. Seeing the bats in Austin, riding the glass elevator, riding escalators and fighting traffic.

This weekend will be getting together with my mom's side of the family. Should be a great time. Still have another 6 or 7 days before we will start the trek back.

We have made it to Texas. Thankfully, the trip was uneventful. We spent two nights in Denver, where we stayed with one of my old college roomates. She has 4 kids, the oldest is a 17 year old girl and then 3 boys, around the ages of 16, 15 and 13. My boys absolutely loved playing with her boys. They learned new trampoline games, had a blast with the nerf guns, played with a huge bucket of legos and got a little bit of soccer in. Putting them to bed was very difficult.
Spent one night in the Panhandle, at a hotel. (I have learned the hard way about driving when tired...) Fortunately the roads were all open from a forest fire the day before.
The biggest issue we had on the drive down was a feather pillow that got ripped in the car. A huge mess but amazing how you can clear out a car going 70 with the windows down. We don't leave them down for long though, because our car was getting an outside temp of 113!!! That is just plain hot. I am not sure if the wind blowing makes it better or worse.
We are at my dad's and will be here for 5 days. The boys have gotten an arsenal of water guns and water balloons. They are having fun. Tonight we went out for dinner. Jbird wanted some ranch dressing for his french fries. So, I handed the bottle and did not give it a second thought. Next thing I know, the dressing is going all over the chair and the floor. Poor kid felt so bad and was so shocked, it did not even occur to him to turn the bottle right side up. The bottles we have at home have a small opening when you take the lid off, but not this one. He took the lid off and it came rushing out! I think he poured half the bottle on the floor.
Hopefully I will get some quiet time in the morning, as Grandpa takes the boys out for an hour or so and then heads down to the University for them to ride bikes. Hopefully getting back home before the double digits hit again.

We have had a lot of rain this spring and it was finally warm enough to go play in the rain. Around these parts, warm enough is 60! JB had a blast!


It did not last long though, because it was followed by some hail, so they took cover.

Today we made it a family day and headed to a nearby hot springs. Glad it was only in the 60s because the water was really warm. You had to get out about every 10-15 minutes and no one was really 'playing' in the water. Here is a picture of me and JB. This is what he has to wear in non-treated (non-chlorine) water because of the tubes in his ears. Fortunately he fought it just a few times and then gave up.


A few pictures of the drive! Yes, we still have snow at the higher elevations.



I just love it when the boys find ways to entertain themselves and their laughter rings through the house. This is what they were up to.


The older two boys had a great week at VBS and B attended 2 days of Cub Scout Camp. It has been a busy week and tomorrow morning, we head out for our road trip. So excited. The car is packed! I am forcing us to leave a day early (our first destination is for Tuesday night) so that we enjoy it more and not rush through the drive. There are some cool rest areas with lots of room to run, so plan on long stops, a few detours and camping somewhere the first night. We have the bikes attached to the back of the car and all food handy! I can't believe how many blankets I am taking for camping, but with my wild sleepers, even if it is 100 outside, I still will have covers on me! Not to mention needing lots of padding to sleep on.

Hope to be able to post pictures every weekend!

Here is a picture from the last week of school. Since B has a summer birthday, they celebrated it early. The birthday person gets to sit in a special chair all day long.

Here is a picture of him with his first grade teacher. She was wonderful. The school, due to overcrowding, is considering a combo class next year and she is one of the teachers being considered to teach it. She is just that good!

I am in my 'to-do' mode. We head out next week for our road trip. Estimating about 4000 miles round trip and will be gone just over 3 weeks! Really excited! Might even plan on pitching a tent a few nights on the road instead of pushing for 12 hour days.

This kiddo was salsa-ing the other day with his dad. He has some moves and I am pretty sure he did not get them from me.
(Seems to be hit and miss if it will work...hopefully you can get it to work)



JB has started producing more sounds this weekend. Actually started using certain sounds for his brothers, although I have yet to hear them. He has given me 'mo' on several occassions for 'more'. I am quick to celebrate every new sound.

Both of the boys have been really great with JB lately...trying to help him talk, teaching him things, just really looking out for their little brother. Jbird decided he wanted to get in on the bike action with JB. So, why not. I like this set up.




(I know, no helmet and JB is not strapped in...it was just the trial run) He actually pulled the trailer about 8 blocks today before he decided his legs hurt too much (one had on a helmet and the other was strapped in). Probably not what the manufacturer had in mind, but we were able to rig it up. Maybe that is one reason he was asleep before 7 tonight!

We have a new neighbor, who is really nice but somewhat keeps to herself. The boys struggle with that because they always want to talk to her. Her name is Heidi but guess what Jbird calls her...Hiney! I was so embarassed the first couple of times, but now we all just laugh about it. No matter how often I correct him, he still resorts to Hiney.

JB is learning how to jump. When he walks along you will see him try to sort of skip. So fun to watch.

B has 1 1/2 more days until he is a second grader! Today his class and a few other first grade classes had an all day field trip. He went to the local fish hatchery where there were 15 stations set up for kids to rotate through and learn all kinds of science/environment things. Then they went on a hike! He enjoyed it!

At B's school, they don't have any fine art classes, so the PTC pays to have an artist in residence come in and work 2 times with each grade. This is the picture his class worked on, a red winged black bird. I was quite impressed. I think he has his dad's artistic abilities.


This picture just cracks me up...I love when he sleeps in this pose, which is a favorite of his.....

Our afternoon and evening.....

Picking up rocks to throw in the river

Digging up and collecting rocks


Playing on the bridge


Sliding


Counting while playing hide and go seek


Climbing trees


Hiding


Catching some air

Climbing on top of tunnels



Underdogs


More swinging


Learning soccer moves


Resting


Playing more soccer


Chase


Getting mad


Even more soccer


Blowing dandelions


Blowing more dandelions....spreading those seeds

Then finished off the day with one of these


Had some of these (not the best picture with the sun in the back)


Oh how good they were


So thankful we did not get the overnight or early morning snow showers they were predicting and that it warmed up to be a beautiful afternoon and evening.

Here is my soon to be second grader who has just moved up one level in cub scouts..


Here is my precious middle child coming to give me flowers (dandelions) that are behind his back


Here is my boy that never quits smiling. He has this funky walk now where he sasheys (spelling?) his hips and shoulders....all the while smiling!

Not sure why I am better at some weeks blogging than others. I guess some days hold more information than others.

Jbird and I planted our garden today. Was quite surprised to see what we could grow last year (just lettuce and onions) with out a clue about what we were doing. We planted corn, watermelon, two kinds of peppers and carrots. Have no idea how any of it will grow, but we will see. Anything is better than nothing. Maybe as the kids get older and play in the backyard less, we can use more of it for gardening. We put popsicle sticks in the ground to mark things. Jbird decided he needed to glue the seed packets to the sticks. My fear, JB will come along and pull them all up.

This Friday B's classroom is celebrating his birthday! I am glad to know they celebrate summer birthdays. Having two summer babies and one spring break baby, my kids otherwise would never get to celebrate.

Yesterday JR and I got a babysitter and went for a 2 hour (turned into 3 hour) bike ride. Set out on some gravel roads behind our house. Probably meandered for 10 miles. At one point I told JR I was dragging and then he finally got it. I had a flat. No wonder I was working so hard to peddle. He rode back to the house to get a pump and I decided to sit in a grassy field for 30 minutes and look at the snow capped mountains and watch the clouds. It was a beautiful afternoon.

Already starting some preparations for the 4000 mile road trip coming up in a few weeks. Really looking forward to hitting the road again. With every road trip it gets easier to plan, partly because the boys get older! Will be seeing lots of family this trip and a few friends. Just excited to get away and play with the boys.

One of the original pinochle players is in town, so looking forward to 2 very late nights this week hanging out and shooting the moon!

A quiet week here. JB is now big enough to reach doorknobs. He cannot turn the knobs but he loves going around and closing all the doors behind him. He continues to produce lots of sound immitations during speech, but his consistency is still not good (giving 5 variations for the same word in a 30 minute period). She is starting to push him for closer imitation sounds and he does not seem to mind the correction.

B is counting down the days to school. 10 days after today. I was going back through his school box today. He brings home a lot of paper! But neat to see how far he has come when comparing things from the first of the year until now. I am already starting to gather things (math sheets) for him to periodically do throughout the summer. It is so hard to get him into homework, I certainly don't want him to stop cold for 3 months. I have presented a Fun Run idea to the PTC at the school. Looks like I am chairing it up so lots to work on this summer. Excited though to be a part of a new, never tried before, fundraiser. B has his official cub scout graduation tonight, so he is soon to be officially a wolf, I think.

We recently bought an older Toyota Corolla so JR can get to and from the bus stop in the summer (no more taking him at 7am). I really like the little car but feel like I am in a go cart! The boys love riding in it because they can roll down their windows. When we go through a drive thru, they fight over who gets to sit behind me so they can roll their window down and get the food. Today I mentioned the trunk and they both said 'what is a trunk'. That is about like kids not knowing what a pay phone is.

B had a great time on his overnight trip with his friend. His friend's mother told me he was such a well-behaved, well-mannered child. Music to my ears. You never know how your child acts around others. On Thursday night when B packed his stuff, Jbird was not to be out done and he packed a bag too. They were both rolling their bags around the house. Then Friday morning, first thing after waking up, Jbird starts crying that he will miss B. B and his friends spent the last 24 hours swimming, playing video games and eating at Chuck E. Cheese! Jbird was of course not left out having mom and dad (almost) to himself. We all had dinner last night at Subway (Jbird's bi monthly date time), this morning, during the garage sale, he went with JR to some friends house to help brand the calves. Then this afternoon I took him to run a few errands and we stopped at DQ for a 50 cent ice cream cone!

The garage sale was fine. Sold most of my stuff (only one small box left). A friend joined me and she said our location is a lot better than hers. Thankfully, the wind did not start whipping around until we were packing up!

On Friday I was making cookies for B to take on his trip. Jbird and I were talking in the kitchen and for some reason the subject of bears came up. It reminded me of a time when a bear had broken into our house. We lived in a nearby resort, at 8,000 feet and 3 miles back on 480 acres. B was about 18 months old. He and I had been hanging out at the house all day. I had made some cookies and for some reason they had burned. So I opened up the kitchen window (and forgot about it). Later that afternoon we ran out to the post office for about 30 minutes. At the time we were caretaking for some people and living above the 3 car garage. So you entered on the ground floor but immediately climbed a tall flight of stairs. When we got back from the post office, we unlocked the door and immediately heard some rattling. I remembered the window and assumed that maybe there was a squirrel or something in the sink clanking dishes. I called up in the event that it was the owners, no answer. I then went to the owners house and called JR. He was about 15 minutes away. I got in the car. The garage was built into the side of a hill, so you were able to drive around back. Sure enough, there was a bear sitting on our back deck. I drove back around to the front and for some reason, opened the door. Then I heard it. The clicking of the gas stove. Now I had a problem. Somehow the gas stove had gotten turned on. Lots of propane floating around an apartment is not a good thing. I took my chances that the bear was still on the back deck and went upstairs. The bear was still outside. Turns out while he was in the apartment, he had eaten the 18 cookies I had sitting on the stove and that is when the stove got turned on. He also ate a bowl of bacon grease but managed to leave our half eaten sandwiches at the table. You could see his paw prints going from room to room. JR came home and the bear was off in a distance but he fired a warning shot. Looking back, it was totally God's hand because we were home all day and I don't know that the bear was smart enough to case our house, but he entered during the 30 minutes we were gone. Plus, we kept a thick cutting board on the burner that got turned on and another 5 minutes or so, it probably would have been on fire. (Not too long after that I had walked downstairs on a Sunday morning to put some stuff in the car. About 1 minute later JR went back down there and saw a bear over by the driver's side of the car.)
Jbird of course had a thousand questions about the bear, the cookies I had made, how the bear got in, etc. Thankfully we live in the 'city' now.

The last 3 or 4 days have been overcast and rainy. So when the sun came out today, we set out on this.

My bike is obviously in front, a tandem bike in the middle and then our bike trailer. We were out in it for about 6 hours. (JB was in the trailer, Jbird's friend John was on the tandem and Jbird chose to ride his bike) Much easier to peddle the bike this way than with just the trailer. We rode to the school and played for a long while while we waited for B to get out of school. Then he hopped on his bike and set off with us. We ended up close to some railroad tracks and the boys loved getting (fairly) close to the tracks as a train went by. One of our stops while on the bikes was at the audiologist. She said JB's ears got all the right 'readings'. Yeah. (We have our follow up appt with the ENT tomorrow). All in all, Jbird rode about 4 miles!

After coming home for dinner, the older two boys and I set out again on the bikes for t-ball. After the game we were coming home, B was on the tandem and Jbird in the trailer. We were just crossing a street when I heard a terrible crash. I thought Jbird's bike, which was strapped to the top, had fallen off. I turned around, and we had lost the trailer! The bolt had come loose and finally fallen off. Poor Jbird! I think he was more stunned than scared. When I got back to the trailer, he was still laying on his back (the trailer flipped bakc)trying to figure it all out. Thankful JB was home with JR. I need to get that bolt tightened down good because we will end up taking it out a lot this summer. Great way to get around. (Although I do feel like I am driving a small train).

B has his first real overnight outing with a friend this weekend. His friend Tommy is having a birthday so the parents and grandparents are taking a few kids to a nearby (2 hours) town for hotel/swimming and Chuck E. Cheese. B is so excited! I am sure I will be doing lots of praying while they are gone.

I am trying to gear up for a last minute garage sale Saturday morning. Problem is, I can't decide if I have enough stuff for a garage sale. Can't believe I am even saying that! The weather is suppose to be nice, though, so why not!

Friday Jbird, JB and I spent most of the day in the backyard. I am getting the 'garden' ready to plant. We will be planting in twice the space as last year. Jbird picked out corn, watermelon, carrots and red peppers. Still want to pick up some onions and lettuce. Will be interesting to see what we can grow. Am hoping to make some type of garden blanket/row cover to keep things warm for the next couple of weeks. Jbird was amazed at how many worms we found. Every time I unearthed a worm, he had to look at it. I am glad he is not afraid of them and would happily pick them up.

Today we spent a couple of hours at the t-ball fields. B played catcher again and really seems to enjoy it. It is perfect for him, because he is not around any of his teammates so he does not get distracted. Went for a bike ride this evening. The boys loved crawling in the culverts where the water irrigation ditches go (no water in them yet). I warned them of possible bugs, but it did not deter them.

All around quiet weekend! Projects around the house and just hanging out!

JB is rocking and rolling with speech. The therapist said last week that she quit writing tick marks for all of his imitations. It is coming together for him. He now can almost consistently put "up" together and the word "off". It might take several tries but he watches me and can often imitate the first sound of a word. We celebrate everything he gives us at this point. The therapist finds it interesting that he often, when trying to imitate a word, he will leave off the first sound and get the middle and end. This is just backwards to the norm. At least she is getting sounds, albeit not always right sounds, but he is starting to figure it out and realize it is more productive than his whining. This last session when he walked into her office he immediately started producing sounds and did not even mess with signs.

Jbird is so excited that flowers (dandelions) started growing in our yard. He will just cry one day when he realizes that they are weeds and people don't like them. We were driving in the car today with his friend John. They were both making crazy sounds and I heard Jbird say to John 'I will annoy JB, you annoy my mom'. At t-ball there are two other 3 year old boys who have siblings on B's team. Jbird and the other two have hit it off. I am so excited to find a few more friends for Jbird and I seem to hit it off with their parents.

B is finishing up the school year strong. He started strong then seemed to fault a little 2nd and 3rd quarter, but seems to be coming back around. The boys just love hanging out at the school and playing once the bell rings. Sure is hard with the warm weather to get them into the car. Fortunately, not much of a hurry - we are usually one of the last to leave. B is planning on end of the school party for some of his friends. We might do a sleep over, not sure yet, but I would love to have some kind of a tradition like that for the boys to kick off summer. The more the merrier is my motto around here!

Gorgeous day. The kind of day that makes me realize, again, why I tolerate cold and snow for 6 plus months. I am hoping today is a good indication of how the next 4-5 months will be. Drove B to school this morning and left his bike. After the mid morning nap, Jbird and JB and I loaded up the bike trailer and headed off to the park for 2 plus hours. We played and enjoyed the sun. Then headed over to the tennis courts. The boys loved it - I give them some old raquetball raquets. I got a little bit of hitting in. JB is just content swatting the ball and chasing it all over the place. Jbird is now at the age where he wanted me hitting him balls the whole time! (I am just glad to be back out and playing - I even ran some lines). Then we headed to the school, had snack and loaded up with B leading the way home. With me pulling the trailer, B and I ride a pretty close race, at least for a short distance.

Glad today was nice because Friday night we got a few inches of snow. Had to cancel t-ball opening ceremony! Not sure that has ever happened. They seem pretty die hard baseball people up here, kind of like they are with football in the south.

Pictures from the day!