Under Construction.

We started new construction on our home about 7 weeks ago. We'll be growing it by TWO feet! Everything is coming along as expected. Anticipated date of completion is February 18, 2010. A picture from today of the progress... 9 mm so far!

Harvest.

We got our first tomato this weekend... we would have had three or four others but the birds ate them first!

Monday, Monday.

Here they are as promised!

Audrey giving Luke sugars.

Luke with his space hero. Dade

The pergola completed with flagstone and mondo grass.

Our patio furniture -- we also got three matching chairs.

Stolen.

These clippies were not my idea... some crafty chick shared her secret on a Martha Stewart segment. They are made using a zipper! I think they turned out pretty well for my first go at it. I have to sneak them in Audrey's hair; she will leave them in for a while until she realizes they are there. I am using Tommy's work camera (which I was able to get batteries for tonight) for the time being... I PROMISE I will get pictures of the kids up for you tomorrow!

A "mental" picture...

Maybe you won't feel quite so deprived of the real ones.

On Sunday after church, we drove to Bell-bell to buy the boys some spurs and a lasso (did I mention that we never really need an excuse to drive there?!). Tommy had checked before we left and the store was open 12 - 4 on Sundays... just enough time for the kids to nap on the drive there, grab some lunch, check out a piece of land and get to the store. We got there at 2:05 -- the door was locked. Dade and Luke were devastated. This was going to be the highlight of their Father's Day (and Tommy's!). The store had closed early to celebrate with their dads.

Tommy drove to Bell-bell again on Monday to surprise the boys when he got home with their new gear. I didn't get up much that evening since I was sick but noticed Tommy putting their spurs on their boots and glanced over to see Dade roping a cow. We also acquired a bail of hay to put the black, plastic cow head in.

The boys both wore their boots to Vacation Bible School on Tuesday. Luke said everyone wanted to touch them. I know I am biased, but they do look VERY cute with them on!

Luke's butterfly sutures come off last night (did I post about that? I'll have to check.) so they were able to play in the water outside this afternoon. Audrey thinks she is as big as the boys; she climbs up the stairs, gets onto her belly and slides down into the water. She wants to be wherever they are doing whatever they are doing.

Father's Day.

"Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a Dad." I couldn't have asked for a better Daddy for my little ones... we love you, Tommy!

I asked the boys what they liked best about their Daddy:

Luke: "When he helps us fix something that is broken." Then he added, "when he plays Gianty-Gianty-Jack with us." (This is a game where the boys run around the house and try to hide from Tommy a.k.a. Jack the Giant.

Dade: "When he snuggles me and reads to me."

We got Tommy some new clothes for Father's Day. I told the boys it was Super Top Secret and not to let him know what we bought; Luke came up with a perfect solution... he told Tommy, "we did not get you a Cowboy shirt and we did not get you Cowboy pants for Father's Day." Don't you just love reverse psychology?!

Luke, Dade & Tommy

June 2007My Dad, Big Daddy, sharing his candy with the boys before swim lessons.

When we were little, he used to tell us that he could "fix anything from the crack of dawn to a broken heart." When we would ask where we were going in the car he would tell us, " to see a man about a dog." I still remember our camping trip together, just the two of us -- he helped me climb a hill that I was terribly frightened to go up and cooked a delicious dinner on his Dr. Pepper grill. He converted our Suburban to include a t.v., VCR, and a porta potty so that we would only have to stop for him or mom to use the restroom on our long trips to Colorado. He taught me how to water ski when I was five or six, drove me to Houston every summer for several years so I could visit Alicia, let me skip a day of fourth grade to help him pull cars out of the water in his wrecker, gave me a Porsche key and a fish tank for my birthday in fourth grade, and taught me how to drive when I was way too young. My list of memories are too long to list here... I love you, Daddy!

PaPa, Tommy's Dad, playing cards with the kids.

Tommy's Grandfather, Papaw ("Big Dade"), reading to "little Dade."

Remember.

I took the kids (including Maddox) to the $1 movie yesterday to see Space Chimps. I thought it would go smoothly... I had the stroller, snacks, and sippie cup... I was wrong; they lasted all of 20 minutes. So Audrey and I ended up walking the hall outside. I thought popcorn would keep her occupied for a while -- wrong again. Dade eventually came out crying and said the movie was "too scary." Poor guy... he'll take The Rifleman over most animated shows. They played at the indoor mall play area for a bit until it was too chaotic for me to keep an eye on Audrey anymore so we drove to Amy's to get out more boy energy. While we were there, Audrey put the baby doll in and out of the swing for no less than 15 minutes straight. She would cover her with a quilt then get mad when the tray would not close all the way. She is very determined.

Tommy and I took Luke out tonight. He chose to go to the Children's Museum and to Roadhouse (without any bribery from me... honest!). It was extremely crowded at the museum; he didn't know any different and had a great time! He seemed to really enjoy the Veternarian's office, taking the wheel off the golf cart, and the outdoor WaterWorks. He chose steak bites with applesuace (his usual fare), and he got to ride Jo Jo, his money-eating horse. Before we left he had to clean his saddle with his napkin... this boy is never at a loss for ideas. On the way home we thanked him for taking us out, and he replied, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Some other things I want to remember: >Instead of saying "without," the boys both say "about" -- as in "Don't go about me." Dade knows that he is not using the correct word and tells me that he likes to say "about" better. >I often find empty (used) glasses in the refrigerator... I have tried to teach the boys to put their drinks in there if they are done for the time being and it seems our "perfectionist" has taken it to the extreme! >The boys call the front flowerbed the "Goforth Jungle" and they like to hide in the red tips.

Strike that.

I mentioned in my "14" post that AC has four teeth... actually, she has SIX. I noticed something white at the back of her mouth last week but thought it was an animal cracker that she hadn't swallowed. NO, it was in fact her first upper molar! I stuck my finger in yesterday and realized that they are in on both sides.

7 days.

We had an incredibly busy week! I am keeping a friend's son over the summer (usually four days a week for 8 - 9 hours/day). When we're not out and about, the boys are non-stop action! A recap of our week:



Monday, I don't even remember what we did, but I think we stayed at home. Tuesday, went to our neighborhood pool with friends. Wednesday, trekked to Target, made "tie-dyed" t-shirts, learned about and got to see Longhorn cattle at the library with friends. Thursday, I enjoyed the most glorious HOUR by myself at the Y, ate a picnic at the park, and played in the sandbox. Friday, the kids and I picked blackberries, got some hanging baskets for the back porch, pulled garage sale items down from the attic and organized, and had dinner with the Dodds. Saturday, started setting up at 6 a.m. for our garage sale, closed it down around 3, ate at Chuy's, bought a new pool with our garage sale money, and set up the pool so the boys could swim for a while. So after all that, I slept until NINE this morning (THANK YOU, TOMMY!), baked a pizza after church and a Randall's trip, and have been swimming with the kids since around four this afternoon. I'll need another long sleep tonight!

Dade, Ashley, Luke and Maddox

Thanks to Laura, I have a picture from the week -- the kids showing off their works of art.

14.

Audrey is FOURTEEN months old! I officially took away all pacifiers as of last night... she only cried for a few minutes then went to sleep. She has been on sippy cups full-time for about a month now. She has four teeth and two more seem to be coming in on the bottom. She climbed up on the couch for the first time by herself this weekend. She can step into a pair of pants. She hasn't added any new words but now signs "bath." I finally got her to eat a banana this weekend! When the boys and I were painting last night, she opened the drawer, found an extra toothbrush and started "painting" the walls with it. When the boys were destroying the box that Dade's new bike came in, she grabbed a (REAL) tool and hit it with them. She loves her freedom... she is perfectly content to roam the back porch and backyard on her own. She will climb into the camping chair and the umbrella stroller on her own. She enjoys being in the sandbox just as much as D&L. Unlike the boys, she will stay in her stroller for an hour (just keep the food, drink and toys coming!). She loves to look at books and she LOVES music; when it starts her little body goes to bouncing. Shoes are one of her favorite things to play with -- she slips her hands into them and carries them around the house. At 14 months, she has yet to have an ear infection, weighs 23 1/2 pounds, has figured out how to open the oven door, turn on the oven light and turn off the t.v. She is pure joy!

Productive.

The boys helped me paint their bathroom tonight... they were taking turns with the roller while I worked with the brush. We got most of it done without a catastrophe! I told Luke that he was a "jack-of-all-trades" and explained to him what that meant. I asked him what he liked doing best, and he said racing his toy cars. Since he helped me prepare salmon parcels for dinner, I told him that he was also a great chef. He replied, "I also like to eat!"

While we were busy inside, Tommy was hard at work in the WTG. For those of you who don't yet know, I got a "new" couch and loveseat off Freecycle. They are very sturdy and comfortable but need a slipcover which I have yet to get. So for now, the furniture is in the garage -- the White Trash Garage. I have realized over the past week why people put couches in their garage... I have been able to sit comfortably in the shade while the kids have played in the driveway and front yard with friends and neighbors this week. And tonight Tommy and I vegged on the couch and loveseat while the boys played with their cars in the garage.

A Houston Weekend.

The boys had their last t-ball game of the season and their t-ball party yesterday. Dade was too shy to get up in front of everyone to accept his medal and trophy, but not Luke -- he ran to the front with every ounce of energy in his little "rebar" body. Their coach will be putting together a soccer team in the fall that we are thinking about joining.

We were all getting in the car this morning for church when we realized that someone was missing... Bonham had gone on an expedition around the neighborhood. After about 20 minutes of searching, a man on a bike rode up with him on a leash.

We drove to Katy for lunch with some of our fellow country-loving friends, Jason and Amy then all piled in for a drive to Bellville to look at "A Piece of Texas." Tommy has had his eye on this land for a while. We've been out several times to look at it. Luke's memories of Bellville? (To Jason) "Do you know that they have fudge in Bell-Bell?" We walked through the old town square last time we were there looking for ice cream; instead we ended up in a shop where everything was breakable and the nice old lady working there gave the boys a piece of homemade fudge. We have been there so many times that Dade asked us the other day, "What -ville are we in?" when we drove through an unfamiliar town.

If I Could...

I would take a picture of Dade and the pictures he has drawn the past few days -- one of me, him, Bonham and a robot that he added globs of colorful, sparkly glue to. He just drew a picture of our house complete with the hole and tape on the front door.

I would take a picture of Luke asking me, "Am I hilarious?" with the cutest face, complete with hand gestures and of him tracing Dade on the driveway with sidewalk chalk yesterday.

I would take a picture of how long and blonde ACs hair has gotten, of her top two teeth, and of her walking backwards when she wants to sit in our lap. When I ask her where her baby doll is she retrieves her and shows her off and when I ask if she wants to take a bath she walks over to the bathroom door, bangs on it then tries to climb into the tub on her own. She also likes to put necklaces on herself; she finds Mardi Gras beads and adorns herself with them.

Summer Reading.

Barnes & Noble has a summer reading program that allows children to earn a free book when they read eight books of their choice -- grades 1 - 6.

Half Price Books also has a Feed Your Brain reading program for 12 and under; they earn a $3 gift card.

Bear Creek United Methodist's Reading Zone pre-K and up if you are in our area.

Golden.

I have SEVEN children at my house... you can only imagine what I am listening to right now... SILENCE! A-girl is asleep and the other six are playing in the water outside... God is good!