San Antonio

Since it's almost time to go back to school, we decided one little family weekend road trip was in order.  Matt and I picked San Antonio because it's close and fun and full of Texas history.  We stayed on the riverwalk and loved showing the kids all the sights.  Our first order of business on Thursday evening was to drop our bags and head to Ben's number one request - the Alamo.  It was too late to go inside but we made promises to the kids to return soon.

 

We wandered up and down the Riverwalk a bit and found a nice place for dinner.

Friday morning we headed straight out to Sea World to be there when it opened.

 

We started with the kiddie coaster and a few rides, then caught the pet show before some of the bigger rides opened.  It was great going early because we were able to ride almost everything multiple times before the lines started growing.

 

We were all set for the big Shamu show, but unfortunately a little thunderstorm blew in right as it was about to begin so everything had to close down for half an hour.  It actually turned out to be more of a treat because they turned on some fountains for the orcas and we got to watch them play on their own for a while.  We found out that the love letting the water spray into their mouths!

They finally ended up cancelling that Shamu show due to time constraints, so we headed over to the Azul show instead.  The kids got close-ups with the belugas before the show started.

This was a fantastic show with acrobats, divers, synchronized swimmers, parrots, dolphins, belugas, and one great comedian.

Afterward, we hopped on the splash mountain ride again just before the lines got too long and the kids hung around at the end to get just a bit more wet.

Finally, we went back for the real Shamu show and then let our tired feet tell us it was time to head home!  It was a fun day at Sea World.

Saturday morning, we made our way back out along the Riverwalk and stopped for a picture at one of Alex's favorite waterfalls.

Loved this little duck family!

The kids absolutely loved the river and all the fountains everywhere.  It was nice going in the morning because I had never enjoyed the riverwalk without thousands of other people there as well.

Finally, Ben got to explore inside the Alamo and around the grounds.  All the guys liked the cannons.

Our tiny tour guide is pointing out that this cannon has a cannonball inside.  He also requested a picture at every single cannon but I don't think we need to share all of those.

We were lucky enough to catch up with Uncle Lindy, Aunt Nell, and my cousins Brooke and Elizabeth that afternoon, but I forgot to take a single picture.  We had to get going to make our dinner reservations at the top of the Tower of Americas so the kids could finally eat in a rotating restaurant.  Matt and I also celebrated the fact that we got engaged there 12 years ago!

The views were great and we loved watching the moon come out and the sun go down.

What a fun way to end our summer!  Now a little more fun, then it's back to lunchboxes and school buses...

Aggieland!

After being in Texas for two years, it was high time to for Ben and Alex to make their first trip to College Station, home of Texas A&M University.  Never to soon to get a little maroon in their blood!  First stop - Kyle Field to see the home of Fightin' Texas Aggie Football.

 

 The kids learned about E. King Gill and the 12th man tradition and Ben asked if he'd get a chance to play in a game.

Next stop, the MSC bookstore to stock up on maroon.  I didn't buy this shirt, but I got a good laugh out of it.  Glad to know the town attitude hasn't changed since we left!

The kids found LOTS of things they loved, but we settled on just a few things they needed.

After a quick shirt change, we started wandering around campus and Matt and I reminisced about our days there.  The Academic building is still beautiful.

The kids loved seeing the pennies at Sully's feet and added a few of their own.  Hopefully getting some good grade karma before school starts!

Next we told them all about the century tree and I finally walked under it myself.  I guess after being married for more than a decade it's about time Matt and I walked beneath the huge branches.

We were teasing Ben about walking under the tree with a girlfriend and this was the face we got!

Not to be outdone on the sour faces, Alex gave us his best face at the Dixie Chicken.  A nice grilled cheese sandwich and some Tijuana fries fixed him right up, though.

We hung around to play some bones, too.  Just some easy games...we'll have to wait a few more years to teach them to play 42.

Ben was totally taken with the old saloon doors out front.

We made our way back across campus and stopped at the Former Students Association building to check out the massive Aggie ring replica.  Pretty cool!  Would have been even better if I'd remembered to wear my ring so the kids could see them together.

We all had a wonderful day and the kids had a great time seeing the campus and College Station.  We even pointed out our old apartments and Hurricane Harry's, where Matt and I met exactly 14 years ago today!  Who knew that crossing paths in a dusty dancehall would change our lives forever :)

July Is Over?

I'm struggling to believe that it's already August because it seems like July just started.  Here is the latest picture dump from my phone to remember all the fun we had at the end of the month.

My sweet neighbors and I enjoyed a fun night of painting at Pinot's Palette as a little early birthday get-together for me.  Love these ladies!  And I love how we all started with the same canvases and paint and ended up with very individual paintings.

 

My masterpiece!

I love this picture of Ben as Cici's pizza.  Not often that he asks me to take his picture and even more rare to catch a real smile from this guy!

 

We had a fun time when Aunt Stacey and Reid came to visit for a few days.  Always high on Stacey's list - a trip to Lupe Tortilla's!  These boys were happy to help out and enjoy their porch and playground.  We hit an indoor playground as well, plus a few trips to the pool.  Good ole summertime fun.

On my actual birthday, we all went to church together and then enjoyed a great brunch.

It was great fun celebrating with all the boys in my life!  Not to mention several trips to the dessert table, followed by my own slice of Churrasco's tres leches cake.

 

We finally made it to the splash pad, still lots of fun for these guys.  Not as fun for mom sitting in the 95 degree shade.  I vote for the pool.

I think it's the last time these boys can squeeze into one of these carts!  Ben's legs were hanging out the front for a while but I was afraid I would break one running into something.  We were only grabbing a few things so it wasn't too cramped for them, but Alex had to ride because crazy boy got in the car barefoot and I didn't notice.  I couldn't let him get grocery store feet...this isn't Perth!

Summer Fun!

July has been a great month at this house!  Lots of free time to have fun and explore new things together.  I had to take the kids to Brenham to see where the world's best ice cream (Blue Bell) is made.  They donned their hats and got ready for the tour.

We checked out some Blue Bell memorabilia on the way in.

 (had to include this outtake so we can always remember Ben's eye-rolling phase.  At least, I hope it's a phase)

 

Pictures weren't allowed on the tour but it was lots of fun and the boys and I all loved it.  The best part?  A fresh scoop of ice cream at the end.  

Both kids were very pleased with their Crazy Cookie Dough selection.  My Mocha Almond Fudge was a bit more to my liking.

We've had some fun in the backyard on the new Slip N Slide.  (Not quite as fun as an adult)

Alex had some great slides and loved getting a drink afterward.

We spent a very fun evening at the Woodlands Pavilion with our friend Riley enjoying the Bugs Bunny Symphony.  Live music along + classic cartoons = fun for everyone!

We even accompanied Abby and Maxwell to their annual checkup when we were visiting Grammy and Grumpy.  Alex counted all of Maxwell's meows (174 total) and Ben loved on his favorite kitty in the world.

We enjoyed a free and very entertaining lunch at Rainforest Cafe thanks to some Landry's rewards and a coupon Ben earned for making good grades at school.

I've never seen a frog with glasses!

We got to catch up with our old friends and neighbors who were back in town for a visit.  The funny thing about seeing other kids is that Ben and Alex always gravitate back to one another.  All this playtime together has made them such good friends this summer.

We enjoyed a great morning when the circus was in town.  I'll never be too old to get excited about the circus!

We have several more things on our list to do to enjoy the month before school starts.  I love summer! 

Growing Right Along

The boys had their annual well-visits this week at the pediatrician and I just realized how fortunate we've been healthwise this past year - to my knowledge, we've only seen the doctor twice since last year's checkups!  Once for a rash, once for a "breathing problem" that turned out to be Alex's habit plus a bit of drama.  We did manage to catch a few of the inevitable viruses that went around, but nothing too serious.  We are so blessed that the children have had such a healthy year.

Ben:
49" tall (65th percentile)
45 lbs (12th percentile)
BMI of 13 kg/m2 (less than the 5th percentile)

Alex:
43.5" tall (63rd percentile)
43 lbs (66th percentile)
BMI of 16 kg/m2 (55th percentile)

So no surprises there - Ben is still technically very underweight, but he continues to shoot up like a little weed.  Alex is right in the middle of the growth chart.  I hope we can have another healthy year and manage to stay out of the doctor's office until next summer!

Alex's Birthday

We spent the long 4th of July weekend in Alabama.  Unfortunately, there are no big fireworks shows in Beaver Creek for our little birthday boy, but he did have a fun day in the country!  We kicked off the big day with cards and the rest of his presents.  Only a kid celebrating a birthday could look this happy before 7am!

 

Tearing into some more presents...

Yesss!!  Every boy needs waterguns.  Alex was also the recipient of several important phone calls and loved hearing my phone ring.

Ben enjoyed some of the spoils as well.  The kids love doing playdoh in Alabama and this dentist kit was hours of fun for them.

After lunch, Alex got to blow out more candles and enjoy a cupcake (or two).

He also helped Grandpa blow out his candle to celebrate his birthday a few days prior to Alex's.  We didn't have room to fit all of his candles on a cupcake so we settled on one :)

We had gotten a few little fireworks and smoke bombs for Alex but the weather didn't really cooperate for doing them after dark.  It rained nearly the entire time we were there, which was actually very nice and relaxing, but not good for roman candles.  Houston has had some very dry months again so it was fun to enjoy the rain somewhere!  

We did go into Demopolis for dinner and Alex go the special birthday treatment.  He loved the hat, hated the whipped cream on his nose!  He looked like a little cat trying to get it off.

Happy birthday, sweet Alex!!  I cannot believe you're five already.

One other evening, we got a respite from the showers and took the kids hunting for lightning bugs.  It was so much fun for all of us!  I hadn't seen them in years and they were flying in the trees as far as we could see.

A lucky dozen were chosen to come live with us for a few days.  Nothing like a real nightlight!