Brothers

I LOVE these moments. I caught the boys watching Dora together. They are completely oblivious to the fact that I am in the room, with a camera, saying cheese, and a flashing camera has captured them hanging out together.

Rain boots

Typical Sunday morning at our house involves a lot of hurry, hurry, hurry. We sleep as long as we can before jumping up for showers and clothes, and then we head to church for early service. This morning was like any other Sunday morning. We were in a hurry, and we were getting ready as quickly as possible. I am busy putting Reed's clothes on when I see Ryland come in with my polka dot rain boots.
He informed me that I should wear them instead of the heels. When I decline, he slips them on with his pajamas.

Looking might fine! Walking is a bit difficult for Ryland, but you know what they say. No pain, no gain. This is an awesome look for church. Tool pajamas with polka dot rain boots.

Backyard fun

It was another hot one today, so we decided to keep cool by the pool. Ryland and Daddy are too cool in their sunglasses. Of course the hot tub doesn't need to be heated, but it is still fun to play in the bubbles the jets make. Cooper is right there waiting for his opportunity to jump in and cool off, but he isn't a fan of the jets.
Reed got a new bouncy frog, and he is having fun checking it out. He hasn't quite figured out what all it will do, but he loves the purple chew toy. Reed hangs out in the shade and plays with Mommy while the big boys play. It won't be long before he is right in the mix.

My arms are free

Reed loves to be swaddled very tightly. He also prefers his arms to be wrapped inside the blanket, so I was surprised to find him spread out during his nap today. He is getting so big that we will soon have to removed the wedge that keeps him on his back. Not because he is rolling over, but the fact that he barely fits between the sides of the wedge.

Fun at the splash pad

We met at the splash pad for play group this week. This location is always a big hit with the kiddos. What's not to love on a hot summer day? Friends, water, and snacks. One thing I always forget to bring is a bucket. It starts off just fine, but we always know when it is time to go. The kids start fighting over the toys and the crying starts. This situation usually turns into a nap in the truck on the way home.

I love to watch him play and explore. I am so happy he loves being outside. I am grateful that even though we live in the DFW metroplex, the suburbs feel like a small town. It is really nice to have such a wonderful park so close to our house and great friends to play with.

Reed's 3 month pictures

Here we go with the monthly pictures again. Reed was a trooper as usual. He smiled and posed like a true professional model.

Happy Father's Day!

We had a wonderful Sunday celebrating Father's Day with John Chris. We started the day with church, then a wonderful lunch at MiChula's, and spent the rest of the afternoon playing. I love to watch the boys interact with their Daddy. They just adore him, and he loves them to pieces.
Ryland is an aspiring photographer. He loves to snap pictures with our camera. Here are two shots of the family room.

A final shot of Cooper.

Sharing the cool air

The air conditioner saga continues. The upstairs warmed to a toasty 89F. The unit finally had enough and completely went out. The breaker tripped and wouldn't come back on. We now have a new unit ordered, and it is expected to arrive Tuesday.

Until we get it fixed, we put Ryland in our room. He loved the air mattress and tons of pillows. I tell myself to stop being negative and look at the situation through his eyes. It was an extended slumber party! How fun!

Hot, hot, hot!

Enough is enough! The upstairs is burning up! I noticed that it was warm upstairs this morning when Ryland woke up, so I ran up a little before lunch to check again. It is 83F! OK, we have a problem. It is only 84F outside right now.

Do these shoes match my outfit?

I was getting ready to take Ryland to "summer camp", when I told him to grab his shoes. I walked out to the garage to crank the truck and load his stuff. I turned around to see Ryland in my glitter ballet flats waiting patiently to get in. When I asked him if those were the shoes he wanted to wear to school, he said "yes, mommy. I like these shoes." I explained that they were a little big and a little too fancy and didn't match his outfit. He disagreed. I then suggested that they might be hard to play outside in, so we should wear his tennis shoes just in case. He agreed. Silly boy!

It's getting hot in here

It is reaching 100F here already this summer, and unfortunately we are having some issues with our air conditioner. We had someone out last week, and he said the upstairs unit needed to be charged. The next person came out and said the unit downstairs was doing all it could to keep up since it was so hot outside. Well, today we reached 82F downstairs and upstairs. The only relief we could find was in the master bedroom. We have 3 air conditioner units on this house, one upstairs, one downstairs, and one for the master suite.

I made us a pallet in the bedroom floor, and we played in 75F all afternoon. We colored, snacked, watched TV, and acted silly in the floor. I called the service company again, and I was told to call back if it reached 84F. Really! 84F inside with 3 units running nonstop. Ouch!

Bounce house

It was finally time to go to the bounce house. Ryland said he wanted to go last Wednesday, and I told him we were going Monday with our play group. Every day has asked if it was Monday, so we could go to the bounce house. He has a memory!

He had a blast jumping, climbing, and sliding. He was moving so quickly. I couldn't get a good picture of him. His favorite bounce house is Batman. He just can't get enough.

Flowers

The sweet joy of wedding season. I had the pleasure of designing the wedding flowers for the sweetest bride, Abby. I first met her over a year and a half ago right after her engagement. June 11, 2011 seemed so far away, but it finally arrived.

The altar arrangement was a challenge. Since it was so large, I made it on site which is normal. The challenge was making this one from the back. The container sat on a small table right behind the altar. It was way too heavy to make and then move it into position. The bride and her family were pleased by the end product, and I can't wait to see the professional ceremony pictures.

I didn't make the cake, but I made it pretty.

Daddy time

The boys had wonderful fun with Daddy today since I had to do wedding flowers. This is the scene. Too funny! They are all sitting around playing with each other. Even Cooper is sitting in the circle.

Summer camp

Ryland's school started their summer camp today. The theme this summer is Western, and they have adorable shirts to wear. He was most excited about his new backpack. I bought it a few weeks ago and had it monogrammed. He was with me the day I picked it up, and he nearly had a fit over it as soon as he saw it. He loves his backpack.

Boys' first movie

The local movie theater has a summer movie program for kiddos. It is one movie per week for ten weeks for $5. I have been talking to Ryland about going to a movie for a few weeks, so this was a great opportunity. We picked out seats, got comfortable, and started enjoying our snacks. This week's movie was Clifford, the Big Red Dog. Reed sat in my lap, and Ryland stayed in his seat until about 10 minutes before the movie ended.

He decided it would be better to put the booster seat in the floor and stand on it. I tried explaining why he couldn't do that when the booster slipped and he fell. He didn't hurt himself, but he wanted to stand on it again. I told him no and the fit started. While trying to calm him, I felt an explosion in Reed's diaper. OK, time to go!
We will try again, but next week isn't a cartoon. We will come back for Megamind.

Train ride

We celebrated Lizzie's birthday by taking a train ride from Grapevine to the Fort Worth Stockyards.
We weren't on the train long before we were boarded by a few robbers. They caught up with the train on their horses, and held us up at gunpoint. They were looking for cash, credit cards, jewelry, and children. The robber said we looked worse off than him, so he handed out some of his money.

The deputies arrived quickly to capture the robbers.

Ryland received a deputy badge sticker for helping chase off the robbers.

We had tickets for the open air cart, and it was fine when the train was moving. It was projected to be in the upper to mid 90s, so we should have considered the air conditioned seats.

The train stopped about 10 minutes away from the stockyards so another train could pass. Poor Reed warmed up fast. The train manager brought us a glove filled with ice to help cool him off. We were pouring water on a burp cloth and wiping him down. He was such a trooper and never whined or cried. He sat very contently taking it all in and smiling.

After waiting on the other train for a bit, we got moving again. Everyone was happy to have the breeze again. Until....... We stopped again. The train we waited on to go ahead of us broke down. We sat again in the heat. At this point we are ready to just back up all the way to Grapevine and call it a day. A few people got off the train and arranged a ride back to the station. The beautiful view of the landscape.

We finally arrived! About an hour and a half late, but we are here.

We walked a couple blocks to grab something to eat. There was live music at the Love Shack, so we grabbed a burger and relaxed for a while. Ryland was insistent on sitting on the stairs. He climbed up and down. Up and down.

And what goes perfect with a full belly? A carousel horse ride.

Since Reed didn't get a wonderful burger, it was time to eat. I found a bench that was lined with misters. We enjoyed the cool water mist while filling his belly. He looks like such a redneck. He spent the whole afternoon with his outfit pulled down and a wet burp cloth draping his head or body.

Before boarding the train back to Grapevine, the boys took some pictures with Lizzie. Ryland got a cork rifle, so he was a little preoccupied.

The boys with their grandparents.

I never get pictures of myself with the boys, so I was happy to sit with Ryland on the kids bench for a quick cheese.

Looking completely worn out, hot, and covered in sweat. Daddy, mommy, and the boys.

Pool time

Reed is one cool dude, and he likes to wear his shades. He spent some quality time with Lizzie while the rest of us played in the pool.


Ryland loves to jump in the pool. His new favorite spot for jumping is the edge of the hot tub.

Now it is time to hang out with Pops. Reed enjoys relaxing and eating, obviously.

Watch out! There is a big gator in the pool. Good thing Ryland was there to wrangle him.

We pushed Ryland and his gator back and forth across the pool.

Lizzie and Pops take a few moments to relax and enjoy the water.