Summer Schedule

This was Spencer's first week of Summer since preschool ended last week. He and I both love a good routine so I thought I'd put one up on the fridge for us to follow. I'm learning, though (now that I've been a mom for almost 6 years...) that nothing ever goes as planned with kids. :) I like to get out of the house as early as we can in the morning just to force us to all be ready so I thought it would be good to go for a walk. Most of our walks ended in tears this week, though. The first morning we walked too far and it was really hot so the kids wanted to be home, another morning Gavin cried because he thought the walk was too short and he didn't want to go home. Then another morning Spencer got in trouble because he walked way too far ahead of us. Basically, it's already been a long morning by the time we're back from our walk around 9 so I don't know if this is the best way to start the day.   

Another thing I try to do every day is 'Mommy School'. This week our theme was bugs so we did a few bug activities and checked out some bug books at the library. For the picture above I hid plastic bugs around the living room and the boys found them and then matched them to the right color. There are so many bugs outside in Texas, though, that I could probably just send them in the backyard to play this game too. :) We also made little bugs out of play dough. For some reason when it comes to doing crafts I always picture the boys smiling and calmly playing at the table for long periods of time. With the play dough there was lots of complaining about the bug not being perfect (my 5 year old is a bit of a perfectionist, not sure where he gets it :) ) and a huge mess made by my 2 year old. Plus, I think it was a total of 5 minutes we spent actually sitting at the table. I have to keep reminding myself that it's worth it. It's helping them learn and grow, right? 

We spent one morning at the library where they had a fire truck, police cars, and even a helicopter in the parking lot. A little boy's dream, especially Spencer who wants to be a police officer with a helicopter when he grows up. 

One thing I failed to put in our daily plan was a 'get out of the house!' time. A walk doesn't count for me, I like to go somewhere with people and not just fire ants. A Panera opened in College Station last year and I am in love with their chocolate chip bagels and their water cups. Brant makes fun of me for that last one, but really, water tastes better in their cups. The boys like their cinnamon crunch bagels so we're all happy there. 

We went to the College Station Zoo (also known as PetSmart) to look at some local wildlife. 

Here's Spencer passed out on the couch, something he did twice this week so at least I'm wearing them out. This is how Gavin typically looks after he wakes up from his nap. It takes him a while to snap out of his grumpiness. 

 We take turns cuddling with the boys each night. I cuddle with Spencer while Brant cuddles with Gavin and then we switch. The boys usually get more riled up since there's a lot of tickling going on, but they fall asleep eventually.

Here's our little Tyler in Brant's outfit from when he was a baby. We have a picture of Brant and all of the boys in this outfit so far. I'll have to put a little collage together someday. 

The only other picture I had on my computer is of Gavin as a baby. I forgot how much of a chunker he was. It's amazing how fast these little guys are growing up!

This Week in Pictures

Tyler is sitting up like a pro so he usually ends up playing on the floor with a bunch of toys around him. I love this phase; he can sit and play, but is still immobile. Pretty soon he'll be crawling around and getting into everything. This makes me nervous because we have lots of legos that don't always get put away. Plus, I'm going to have to sweep the floor more often...

Spencer got to go to a couple of birthday parties at parks this last week. They were for two of his good friends who are both moving. He'll miss them a lot. 

Spencer is a great car washer and Brant usually gets soaked when Spencer's in charge of the hose. 

Tyler's first time sitting up in a shopping cart- he looks like he's hanging on for dear life. He seemed to like it, though, because up until now he's only seen Target from out of his carseat in the back of the cart. 

Just a minute before Spencer said, "No, I'm not tired!" I carried him to bed and he slept another two hours. 

We surprised Brant at work with a Wendy's picnic. He just finished his very last college class EVER. I think I'm as excited as he is. He has his big exams coming up next month, but after that he gets to spend his days researching the exciting world of accounting! The boys loved the view from the third floor window. 

A rare moment of actually playing on the grass in Texas! Aside from the fire ants and other creatures, usually the grass is too hard to sit in. Thanks to lots of rain this year and lots of hard work by Brant, I think our lawn is as green as it possibly could be. 

I am so grateful for these boys of mine. The days are crazy and loud, but I still want time to slow down because I feel like they're growing up way too fast. 

Everyday Life (the last 5 months)

I'm a little behind on the blog so I thought I'd catch up on the last 5 months at one time. :) 

Grandma Pam and Grandpa Rich came in January and built a new soccer net for the boys. We are working on our soccer skills! 

The boys were thrilled someone else was willing to push them on the swings instead of having to ask me all of the time. 

Our happy Tyler!

We spent family night at a little carnival in the parking lot of the mall. Tickets were really expensive so we weren't going to go on any of the rides, but then a family gave us 5 of their tickets that they weren't going to use. Normally this airplane ride would have been 9 tickets for the three of us, but the guy in charge of this ride let us go on twice for just 5 tickets total. I really appreciate it when people are so nice! 

Spencer reading an astronaut book from Aunt Danille to his little brothers. 

One of Brant's proudest moments- first time golfing with Spencer. 

Our little Ohio State Buckeyes (even in Texas)

The Easter Egg Hunt at the George Bush Library. One of our favorite activities in College Station. 

The boys being silly...love them!

Our Tyler in his car seat, he spends much more time there than he would like. 

Poor Gavin had a stomach bug for a few days and was so sad. We watched a lot of movies and spent a lot of time cuddling. 

Airplanes the boys got in their Easter baskets. 

Texas A&M baseball game! 

Love this man!

Brant decided to get in the tub with the boys- they thought it was hilarious. 

Camping in the backyard. Spencer pumped up the air mattress almost all by himself. He was getting really tired, but kept pumping. 

Gavin 'helped' him for a little while. 

They didn't get much sleep. Brant says suburbia is a lot louder than the forest. Also, sharing an air mattress with a 2 and 5 year old doesn't lead to a good night's rest. Tyler and I were nice and cozy in our beds inside the house. :)

Superman helping me at the grocery store. 

These boys spend half the day dressed up, usually as superheroes. They always make me feel safe. :) 

Snack time on the fort -- love the boys' expressions.

This is our construction zone. We get lots of use out of our water table, even when it's too cold for water. 

Pirate time! 

Every time Spencer makes a new lego creation he wants me to take a picture and send it to Lego Magazine. One of these times I should actually send it in...

Ice cream cone on the swings! 

Conga line around the house

I asked Spencer to write his testimony in his new journal and he wrote, "Whenever I pray it makes me feel happy". I knew that because that's what he told me, not because I can decipher his spelling yet. It's cool to see how he sounds out the words in his head and writes them how he thinks they're spelled. 

We've had lots of rain this Spring and Gavin is always more than willing to jump in the mud puddles. Spencer wanted nothing to do with the mud because he says he does not like to get dirty. 

Muddy boy

My little sister, Karissa, visited us and the boys loved having her here! 

Here they are pretending to be statues at the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory. 

Best part of the tour- ice cream! 

The only picture I got with Karissa while she was here. I need to be better at taking pictures... and updating our blog a little more often. :)