Visit to O-H-I-O!

The day after Brant's last project was due, we packed up the van and started the two-day road trip to visit Brant's parents in Ohio. Despite four hours of delays due to freeway closures (two semi-trailer accidents in two separate states on two consecutive days...what are the odds?), the boys did marvelously. Here's a picture of Spencer getting some exercise at a gas station.

Once we got there, we had a fantastic time. Here's a few of the highlights:

Gavin taking down some ice cream at one of our favorite places to eat--North Market. Brant caught up with some PwC buddies while the boys, Grandma and Grandpa and I enjoyed some gyros, pizza, and other tasty treats.

Brant's parents treated us to a Columbus Clippers baseball game in downtown Columbus. It's a fairly new stadium right in the middle of downtown. Brant and Spencer especially loved it.

One morning, Spencer, Brant and Grandpa went down to one of the nearby lakes to do some fishing. On his very first (and only!) cast he did by himself, Spencer caught a fish! It was a 5 inch sunfish and Spencer could not have been happier. It was awesome!

On one of the nights, Brant's parents were good enough to watch the boys so Brant and I could get away--for the first time since Spencer was 1. We got a great deal through Priceline.com's bidding process (a first for us--but saved us tons!) and stayed right downtown in a room with quite the view! We got to go to the Temple and ate lots of great, stress-free food without worrying about getting home to the babysitter. Thanks, Rich and Pam!

After we got back to the kids, we spent the afternoon hiking in Hocking Hills near Brant's parent's cabin. It was about a mile hike in to Old Man's Cave and the lower falls. It was nice and cool in the gorge and was very relaxing...especially because Brant was carrying Gavin :)

Brant teaching the boys how to throw rocks...as if they didn't know already :)

Spencer thought it was pretty cool that he could stand right inside of a hollowed out tree!

Not exactly the most inviting sign as you enter the hiking area...

Gavin having a blast with Grandma!

One afternoon, we went down to the lake with the canoe. Spencer was way more excited than Gavin (he didn't like the life jacket), but once we were on the water, they both loved it.

Here's Spencer 'helping' Brant paddle. We think it probably only increased the work Brant had to do, but it made Spencer happy.

Spencer hanging out in the playroom one day--cookies in hand, watching Curious George. Ah, the simple life of a 4 year old.

We had some time to catch up with great friends, too, including the Buskens (pictured below), the Trejos and the Southwicks. We miss all of them terribly and efforts to convince them all to move to Texas proved unsuccessful :(

We learned that Brant's dad is quite the woodworker! One evening, he had Spencer and Brant 'help' him make a birdhouse out of wood scraps he had. We brought it home and it now lives in our back yard. Spencer thought it was pretty awesome.

The next day, he made Spencer a sword and then Brant helped make him a gladiator-style shield. He proudly carries them around the house.

One of Spencer's favorite toys at Grandma and Grandpa's house is the train set. Although Brant and his dad actually built it (especially the two-story bridge!), the boys all loved it and spent hours and hours playing with it.

Departure day finally came as Brant needed to get back to work and school. We had a great time and it was a great start to our summer!

May Fun!

While May in most parts of the country is Spring, May in Texas means Summer has arrived! And with summer...comes the heat. We've been in the 90's consistently since the beginning of May and to combat it we've been using a little water in the backyard. Both of the boys love it and splashing Daddy is a favorite activity!

After one of our pool parties, Spencer decided to come inside and nail down his alphabet! He's learning crazy fast and can confidently identify and say all letters and write his name.

We found a Little Tykes basketball set on clearance and couldn't pass it up. Although Brant loves playing basketball with the boys, they seem to have had just as much fun with the box itself!

We got some pretty good rain storms this month, too. We think Spencer is a bit more competent with the umbrella at this point than Gavin...

Because of finals at the beginning of the month--and just for fun--Brant went about 3 weeks with a goatee. Here's a picture of our boys being boys...after which Spencer asked Brant to 'make his beard go away.' Hesitantly, Brant complied, but we got one picture of it at least.

A&M Vet School Open House

Back in April, A&M Veterinary school had an open house! They opened up all of their facilities and it was a blast. Spencer loved the horses the best.

Here's Spencer with A&M's mascot, Reveille. He wasn't so sure about taking a picture with a stranger, but we're just fine with that apprehension!

Unlike Spencer, Gavin didn't like the animals so much. He's got a death grip on Brant's arm in this picture and wouldn't get any closer.

Family Pictures

Even though we missed the bluebonnet season, we got some great family pictures this last weekend. Thanks to Sarah Wilde for being a great photographer!

February Love

Our friends threw a little Valentine's Day party with lots of other 3-5 year olds. Spencer's favorite part, besides playing with all of his friends, was to decorate and then eat his own cookies. I think he ate 3 before I even noticed.

Spencer was so excited to grab his box full of valentines that I couldn't get him to smile for the picture. He especially loved all of the candy.

This is our little Christmas Thomas train the boys can set up all by themselves.

Dancing with Daddy!

Here is Spencer cleaning out his fingernails. He's been a little obsessed with making sure his nails are short and clean lately. He always grabs my nail clippers and then takes his nail cleaning very seriously. His nails may be clean in this picture, but he does have nutella all over his face. 'Chocolate toast' is a favorite around here. I love Gav's chubby little cheeks and dimples.

Fun at home

I haven't done much blog posting lately because I feel like we have been home a lot and life's just moving along without too much excitement. Plus, I forget to take my camera with me if we ever do go somewhere fun. We do have a lot of fun at home and I often feel I should take more pictures of just our day to day stuff. Here are a few:

Spencer posed all of his superheroes for this picture. Notice Wolverine hanging upside down and Ammon on the roof ready for action. These guys are hard core.

Gavin and Spencer spend A LOT of time riding these bikes in the backyard. There are three things I love about this picture. 1. We actually have a backyard which makes a world of difference with little boys. 2. That they are riding their bikes outside on a nice sunny day in January (Texas is awesome). 3. That Spencer thinks he needs to stick his tongue out in almost every picture. I'm hoping this is a phase. :)

Unfortunately Gavin loves yogurt. I only give it to him on days when I'm ready to clean up something like this. I don't even know what happened to his bib.

I always find Spencer reading books to Gavin. It is the sweetest thing ever. I also always find Gavin walking around with this hat on.

A couple of weeks ago Gavin fell right on the extremely sharp corner of our fireplace. We didn't realize quite how sharp it was. It was Sunday afternoon so I was so glad Brant was home because I was freaking out a little with all of the blood gushing out of his head. Brant tried to stop the bleeding while I tried to find a couple of butterfly bandages to close up the cut. Luckily the bleeding stopped after a few minutes and we got everyone cleaned up. Gavin cuddled with me for a little bit (probably more traumatized from us holding him down than from his fall) and then he was back to his crazy, happy self.