Happy Birthday Sweet Gracie

Aloha! Happy Birthday Gracie! Today we went to Gracies 4th Luau Birthday Party. What a fun time. Swimming, Games, Cake, Icecream and balloon animals. :) We sure love birthday partys and spending time with our friends.

Swimming Fun

Look who's showing his behind.... LOL

Can you tell they love eachother? Sweet sisters.

Goldie and Blackie

Two more of Hailey's fish have passed away. :( I am not sure what happened. We cleaned the fish tank out on Sunday (we thought we did everything correctly), and then Thursday Blackie and Spottie started acting a little odd. Goldie seemed perfectly fine, but he passed away that night. Then today Blackie followed his footsteps. I think by tomorrow Spottie will be gone as well. He isn't really moving much, or eating. Ugh! What did we do wrong? Hailey really wants fish, but I don't think we can handle them dieing every couple of weeks.

I plan on giving it another shot, and hopefully we can figure this out. She is doing such an amazing job at remembering to feed them and she loves to just watch them. It is cute. She is definitely ready for the responsibility. Now, we just have to figure out how to keep them alive. ;) HaHa!

Super Fun Saturday #2

After leaving the Weavers house on Saturday, we headed on over to the Roberts for another barbecue and swimming. :) gotta love summertime.

The kids got to play with more of their friends and they were super excited about that. They even got to get into a hot tub.

Hayden was excited about riding Gracie's Dora Tricycle. Although, he tried riding it into the pool a few times.

Hannah worked up enough courage and started using arm floaties, and did AWESOME! She has always been scared of them for some reason, but she is now a pro :)

Hailey swam around all by herself. She is getting better, but still is not officially "swimming".

We are so thankful for having good friends to make these fun memories for the kids, and ourselves.

We got home about 9:45 and the kids got baths and went straight to bed. They were worn out.

Super Fun Saturday!

Hannah and baby Elijah

Gotta LOVE watermelon

Yummy Icecream

Our SUPER Saturday started with a day at the Weavers house. We went over to meet baby Elijah (9 days old), swim and eat some delicious burgers and hot dogs. The girls made a fort out of blankets and other odds and ends laying around the house while the guys were finishing up making lunch. After lunch, we headed out to the pool to swim. The girls loved jumping off the diving board and swimming around. After swimming we went back in to have ice cream and play. We left the Weavers about 5 pm and then headed over to Super Saturday Location number 2......

Stay Tuned!!!

Thomas' 4th B-day

Hannah and her friends Gracie and Thomas

Friday we were invited to Thomas Vaughns 4th Birthday Party - BATMAN!!!

It was such a fun party. After eating yummy hot dogs, cooked by my wonderful husband, cake and opening presents, the kids went out in the back for water games. They loved getting to play with water guns and throwing water balloons at daddy and their friends. Even Hayden had a blast. The "big" kids turned the slide into a water slide, and it was really FAST! We had to wait at the bottom for Hayden so we could catch him. Otherwise he would slide right off and bang his head. We got home about 9:45 and got ready for bed for another FUN day Saturday!

Weekend Fun...

Hayden and Miley

Hannah and Mayce

Lunch Time! Yummy!

Our weekend started with a day at NRH2O on Thursday. The girls both invited a friend to meet us there. We ended up spending almost 4 hours at the water park. We would have stayed longer, but since everyone else was needing to get home for naps, I decided it was probably a good time to work our way out as well. The kids acted so good. I was super proud of them. Hayden really got into riding the slides. He went up and down. I was happy that he was overcoming his fear, but at the same time VERY tired. He wouldn't let me sit down for even a minute.

*Little side note..... the first time we went to NRH2O this summer Hayden was involved in a little incident with an older boy that caused him to be terrified of the waterslides. As he was climbing up the stairs to the slide, a boy who was about 10 or 11 stood and waited until his face was directly above the water spray holes and made the water spray up right into his face. It knocked him backwards down two steps. After that, hayden wouldnt do ANYTHING. We ended up leaving. *

Car Wash

Silly Girls!

After washing the cars, the kids decided it would be fun to have a soap fight. Lets just say the fun lasted until soap got into their eyes and they realized it was NOT tear free. They had a blast and that is all that matters.

Lemon

Hailey got a fish aquarium for her graduation present from Mimi, Papa and Uncle Tim. We went out and got her 4 fish, in which she named... Lemon, Goldy, blackie, and spottie. This morning when she goes in to feed them, she couldn't find Lemon. She ends up finding him with half his body stuck in the filter and dead :( She was heartbroken. Lemon was her favorite fish. He was really cute. He was yellow with a big fat pot belly. Hopefully sometime we can find a similar fish to replace our beloved Lemon.

Rest in Peace Lemon......

NRH2O 6-13-09

The Girls and Aunt Gloria at NRH2O..... Enough said!

Happy 2nd Birthday Hayden

This crazy little guy ate 2 cupcakes and a piece of his cake. He was sure hyped up for the rest of the day.

Water fun!! The kids had a good time playing in the water fountain with water bottles.

Saturday we celebrated Haydens 2nd Birthday at Johnson Road Park in Keller with a Disney Cars Party.

Mrs. Becky Stamps made Hayden a Chocolate Lightning McQueen Cake. I unfortunately didn't get to taste it, but I am sure it was great. The whole thing was eaten up pretty quickly. We also had red chocolate cupcakes as well. We ordered pizza and just let the kids play. About half way into the party the kids ended up playing in the water fountain and having water fights. So much fun! Papa brought his lawnmower train and gave all the kids rides. Everyone LOVED that. Hayden and his buddy Grant even got to ride together- thanks to Koby Herron. Koby, by the way, is go great with kids. My kids all love him, especially Hayden. I would recommend him as a babysitter sometime.

After all our friends left Hayden and the girls got to spend some time with Grandma Kelly, Grandad and Aunt Gloria. Gloria just learned how to make balloon animals, so she was making all sorts of balloons for the kids. Hayden kept popping them in the grass because he wanted them to fly like the helium balloons. They unfortunately wouldn't. ;)

After the party was over, we went back to the house to finish opening the presents (which mommy had to do), and to get ready to go to NRH2O. Aunt Gloria went with us. We had a lot of fun. The girls really love having an Aunt so close in age. Gloria is really good with them. She helped Hannah with all the slides at the Splashatory, and We even got to bury Gloria in the sand on the beach. I am not sure who enjoyed it more, the kids or me. We stayed until closing (8pm), and then we headed back home for baths and bedtime.

Sunday after church (Hayden's official b-day), Shane took Hayden to a Rangers game. He loves baseball, so we thought it would be a great birthday treat for him - and daddy!!!! I took the girls to NRH2O, but we had a little incident which caused us to have to leave 1 hr into the fun. We spent the rest of the day hanging out until Shane and Hayden got home about 6:15.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy! I can't believe you are already TWO! Time flys by too fast. We love you.

Big Boy Bed Update...

Last night was night #3 of Hayden sleeping in his new bed. About 3 am, he fell off smack on his stomach. We are not sure how he fell. He has a bed rail on his bed and there are only little spots on both ends to fall off of. Anyways, we will see how tonight goes. Hopefully he doesn't fall off anymore. I think he has enough knots for now.

Hayden got a motorcycle from Mimi, Papa, Mommy and Daddy! He has been really interested in our neighbor Justin's motorcycle for about 6 months now. I thought it would be the perfect present for him. And it was. He loves it! He rides it all over the house. He hasn't figured out the pedal very well yet, as he is use to the gas being on the handle bar of his 4-wheeler. He is a little confused. He is getting better though. Eventually I am going to be wishing he still didn't have as good of control :) Hayden also got another GREAT gift from his friends Grant and Lauren. They got him a bubble mower. If you don't already know this, Hayden loves bubbles and anything that he can push/or ride. He pushes this lawn mower all over the place. He goes so fast, I think he has fallen 50 times. He just gets right back up and keeps on going. Today he ran right into the kitchen table, fell backwards and hit the back of his head. Sunday morning (his birthday) he was playing with his new bowling toy (which he also loves), and he stepped on the ball and fell smack on his forehead. The poor boy now has a knot on the front and back of his head.

Big Boy Bed

Tonight is night #3 of Hayden sleeping all by himself in his big boy bed. Yay! It does take a little while to get him to sleep, but he does great. I think here soon he will be a pro :) Shane has been sleeping on his floor - just in case. His bed is pretty high off the ground so we want to make sure he isn't jumping off in the middle of the night. I am so glad we are getting through this stage. I was really worried. The times we have tried in the past he would jump and play and scream the entire time and would not go to sleep. I think he just needed a little more time. His head and feet touched the ends of the pack-n-play he was sleeping in, so we HAD to get him out of it.

Sleep, and Fun!

The girls are enjoying their time with Mimi, Papa and Uncle Tim. Shane and I are really enjoying our time with only ONE kid.

Uncle Tim and Mimi took the girls to Abilene Zoo and then to Mr Gatti Land for lunch. They called telling us all about all the animals they fed and all the tickets they earned. The kids get so excited about getting to pick out the junk "toys" with their tickets. Ugh! And I get to secretly start disposing of them in a month. ;)
I am glad they are having so much fun. It is great to have family. I only wish everyone had more time. The kids always look forward to getting to spend time with our family. Maybe someday everyone can slow down, and focus on the most important part of life. The kids are only little once. When they get older, they are going to turn the table on us. They will be too busy, especially if that is what we are always instilling in their minds.
I still remember all the things I did with family as a kid, and I also still remember when everyone got to busy to focus on what was right in front of them. And I now see the impact that it had on my life, and my relationships (husband, kids and my parents). I dreamed of what life would be like for my kids, and it has been so disappointing that I cant provide some of that for them. I do the best I can, but there are some things that have to come from others. I cant force people to take interest. I'm rambling now.....

Now, Shane and I really miss the kids and can't wait for them to be home tomorrow, but with that said.....
The past two mornings Hayden has let us sleep to 9:30 and 10:00. We haven't slept that late in 7 years. YES, we did go to church. We went to a church here in Keller since Haydens Sunday school class is passing a virus around. We decided to keep him out of the class for another week. Hopefully next Sunday everyone is well.

Mimi and Papa's Summer Trip #1

Papa gave Hayden a hat. He wanted to look just like Papa. :)

The girls went home with Mimi and Papa Tuesday after Hailey's graduation. They stopped on the way to visit with Granny. Then they got back on the road. They ran into a Tornado watch and a huge storm in Comanche. The girls were a little scared, but they did great. I don't think they have been awake during any big storms and definitely have never been IN a car when it was hailing. I think Hailey was more scared of the words "tornado watch".

Wednesday they went to Cheerleading camp at the High School with Mimi. Hayden and I drove up that night so we could watch the presentation on Thursday. I thought the girls were going to be coming home with me on Friday, but I guess plans changed. I ended up going home alone (except for Hayden). The girls are staying in Bangs until Monday. If I would have known I probably would have stayed here. It is a nice little break only having one kiddo.

They are having a great time. Mimi, Papa and Uncle Tim are keeping them busy - and spoilt. I am ready for them to be home though. I really wanted them to come back with me today, but they insisted on staying. Ugh! Hannah was going to come back with me, until she found out her friend - Lauren- little brother birthday party was canceled. She really wanted to see her, and she picked her a bunch of flowers. But once she found out she wasn't going to get to see her, she didn't have any interest in being at home.

I am glad they love their family and friends. It is a very important part of their life.

Papa Floyds - The Harmonica and chair button

Dance Baby Dance!

We went out to Papa Floyds (kids great grandfather) house to visit. The kids enjoyed getting to push the button on Papas remote chair. It made him go up, down and all over the place. Hannah and Hayden really thought that was funny. It got to a point we had to make them stop. We didn't want them to hurt Papa.

Papa also played the Harmonica for Hayden. This made him super excited. He started boogieing down. He was dancing like crazy for Papa Floyd. I think it was double excitement - for Hayden and Papa. He eventually ran out of breath, and Hayden kept saying "more more", so Papa turned on music on the TV.

The kids always have a good time visiting with Papa. Afterwards Papa Skip took us to feed the new cows and Patty. He showed the girls a huge ant bed (papa feeds it), then we threw some food into the other tank. The fish weren't really interested in eating at that exact time, so the girls picked MORE flowers.

Papa Floyds - Feeding the Fish

We went out to Papa Floyds house and the girls kept asking if they could feed the Catfish. My grandfather has a tank stocked with catfish. The kids had fun throwing the food in the water and watching 15-20 catfish swim to the top all at once to get the food. It was neat getting to see them up so close.

On the other hand, I was uneasy... I kept thinking one of the kids was going to fall in. ;) The water is deep and VERY nasty. I sure didn't want to have to jump in after them.