TrAiNs TrAiNs iT's aLL AbOuT tHe TrAiNs

The boys spotted railroad tracks soon after we arrived to Houston and then it became an obsession to spot any and all trains and any railroad tracks. Shortly after we arrived to Houston, we went to a large Barnes and Nobles where the boys and I were overwhelmed with the selection (we don't get out much these days) and the boys made themselves right at home (reading a train book of course!):

Grammy and Grandpa took us to two train hobby shops and they LOVED seeing the electric trains and a big electric train model village all set up. They also brought out their Christmas Polar Express electric train for the boys (I was nervous the entire time that they would break that thing):

J standing on his head to see the train up close:

....and the boys received a few new train books:

While we were in OKC visiting Aunt JJ we went to the zoo - a zoo that had THREE trains:

And then we went to a children's science museum:

...that had a large electric train display..the boys could have stayed there all day:

We got to see a real caboose that is parked in Old Town Spring and is used as a restaurant:

We even ate at a cafe right next to the railroad tracks and we were lucky enough to see a train go by:

When I saw these pictures I had another-there-they-go-growing-on-me again-moment. They look so much taller and older!

Blue Bell

While in Texas, we went to the Blue Bell Factory and had a tour and some ice-cream of course. It was a fun little place and I thought I would pass on some facts I learned (especially for you Geoff since you are probably craving some BB ice cream right now). We learned that Blue Bell is the #3 selling ice-cream behind Breyers and Dreyers. The only two flavors Geoff ever eats is Blue Bell homemade vanilla (he eats it plain or with milk poured on it-I am the opposite and like lots of stuff in my ice cream)...and Cookies and Cream...and those are their #1 and #2 best sellers.

Some pictures of the boys enjoying (and being silly) while eating some ice-cream.

Here is W on the drive home...reading the paper =)

Little Bakers

We arrived home last week after spending several weeks in Texas and a week in Oklahoma City. My camera was working overtime...I ended up with over 700 pictures from the trip so I will have to share some of them...especially for Geoff since he has been anxiously awaiting new pictures of the boys.

The boys helped me bake some apple muffins from Jessica Seinfeld's "Deceptively Delicious" cookbook. I used some mashed banana in place of the egg (they are allergic) and it was a great little recipe for the boys to assist with...the muffins...well, the muffin part didn't have any flavor to me although I was surprised that the texture didn't seem affected by omitting the egg. The crumble topping was awesome...the boys ate a lot of it before it made it on the muffin top!

Here they are sampling the crumb topping:

J stirring the batter:

W stirring the batter:

I had to move the crumble topping away from W he said:

"Mommy, move that back over here...right here."

Then:

"Mommy I need more sprinkles."
And finally:

"Mommy, I NEED more some of that (pointing) in my belly!"

Although the muffins themselves lacked flavor...the topping helped and it was a perfect little baking project. The boys could take turns pouring, stirring, and then sprinkling the crumble part on top of the muffin batter...

The next night the boys "made" their own mini pizza for dinner. They spent a good bit of time eating the cheese while topping the sauce with the cheese.

Mass-Posting

I am mass-posting right now bc I won't have internet (or cable) at our house by tomorrow! I cancelled both for the next few months due to our travels. I will still be posting but probably not attaching pictures for awhile.

I wanted to post some pics from last week before I leave.

We had a visit from Papap, we finished swim lessons, and we had our first outing to the splash pad.

PAPAP.

Getting a lift:

Sharing a smile:

W feeding Papap cheerios:

J feeding Papap cheerios:

Give me a kiss!

J.wore.out.out.for.the.count. J logged some good sleep hours on Papap's chest as an infant...he must have been having flashbacks:

SWIM.

W swimming through a hula hoop:

J showing some serious resistance before swimming through hula hoop:

And he does just fine:

This picture is hysterical!

On the right you see Coach Mary cheering and J screaming (seriously, click this pic to see J's face right next to her) He was upset for station #1 (the station before Coach Mary) and Coach Mary's station...as soon as Station #2 was over, both he and J were as happy as can be....it is just the anticipation of Coach Mary that stresses them out. Coach Mary is tough as nails and they have to "jump in!", "turn around!", and "get the wall!" at her station. She wants them to be able to react if an emergency happens. And she quickly caught on that it was just when they saw her that they got upset. But they willingly give her kisses and talk about "Coach Mary" all the time at home. And at the end of the class she told me "Just you wait mama, I am going to get J and W to smile at me one of these days."

W anticipating his turn and J not even standing up:

Off you go (W underwater here):

Here he comes:

And he did it! I just don't have a picture! Here is some of J....

"J, GET the wall!!"

Saying good-bye to Coach Jackie:

SPLASH PAD.
We had lots of fun at the splash pad...mainly using his truck to block the fountains and then running from it:

J had fun...but not as much as W. He only wanted to go near the sprays if I came with him...and I wasn't dressed for water that day...so he spent most of our first splash pad outing on the bench next to me...poor guy. Here is J running with his truck:

Back Track...Memorial Day

We had a nice Memorial Day...and we remembered those who allowed us to be able to have it! My friend Bryanne and I ran in a Memorial Day run and they set the course so you begin the run with a flower and drop it at a war memorial during the race. They even had someone playing bag pipes next to the memorial. I was going to run with the boys but since my dad was here and they had projected thunderstorms (the night before) I left them at home with Papap.

A big THANK YOU to all that have served and are serving our country right now!

That means you Geoff! We love you and miss you!

When Dogs Fly.........

There goes Katy and Bear into the great big sky.

They were ready, seriously. As soon as we arrived at the door with Mark and Jan and Loran they KNEW. Katy ran out the front door and went immediately to the back of my van. They have only made this trip once...last August....dogs are MUCH smarter than we give them credit for.

Here they are ready to go!

Help us up!

Bear getting in:

Poor Katy, her back legs didn't respond as usual...she had a little acepromazine in her system because she gets motion sickness every time she gets in the car...let alone a plane!

Try to ignore me in this picture--but it is the only one I have with both of them - Katy is so big she looked like a real passenger.

My favorite picture...Katy looking at me...(she looks like she takes up the whole back seat!) Bear is already laying down, probably sleeping.

Actually, they have already arrived to their destination and Mark said that Katy slept the whole time. Bear stayed awake awhile and just enjoyed the flight.

Naps Re-Established.

Wooo Hooo! I hope I am not cursing myself by putting this in print...but the boys have been napping again. So THANK YOU for all the prayers for sleep! They worked. I started putting them down a lot earlier (before noon) and that seems to be helping. Running the bathroom fan that is next to their room and sometimes the shower helps too. What a HuGe difference in makes in my mothering when I get a little break during the day.

The boys have been SO funny and cute lately. Listening to them talk just makes me laugh. Yesterday J asked for milk and I told him he could have water until dinner. So I gave him a sippy cup of water and he returned to the living room. A minute later W arrived to ask for milk. And I told him the same thing and gave him some water too. He returned a few minutes later and said:

W: "J has milk."

Me: "No he doesn't. It is water."

W: "I hear it. It's milk."

My friend's baby is named Austin and after spending an afternoon with our friends....we were driving home and it started to thunderstorm. The boys were very worried that our friends wouldn't make it to their car before the storm arrived and they kept saying "Baby Awesome needs to get out of the rain!"

We were on a walk when we passed a large armadillo that had been hit by a car. The boys had never seen one in person before and they were intrigued and kept asking about the "potato" (armadillo) and the "tornado" (armadillo) the rest of the day and the next. They were so worried about him getting wet in the rain. Then on our way to swim lessons I noticed W kept messing with his ear.

Me: "W, is your ear OK? Does it hurt? Does it have water in it?"

W: "No, there is an armadillo in my ear."

And when I picked them up from their Sunday school class after church they didn't even get up and run to the door like they used to. They totally played it cool and continued to play with their trucks and then took their time cleaning up. One of the nursery workers told me that they were very cute and they played together so well. And she said that before they had their snack W told J: "Come on J, we need to wash our hands." He has become a little mother hen. We have been taking tricycle walks around the block and W will yell "J, move over there is a car coming!" (even when there isn't a car coming) It is sweet to see him watching over his brother.