Gone golfin'

This morning, we planned to meet some friends at Putt Putt for some golfing fun before it got too hot. Due to some unforeseen traffic issues (for those of you who live in Fort Worth, you will understand my pain from driving on 820), we got a slightly late start to the morning. I am not sure we beat the heat, because as we were driving home, I saw two different signs with the temperature...one said 98 and the other said 102! I would believe either of them, because we were definitely sweating out there and this was all before 11:30 in the morning! Luckily for us, the kids played what I am sure was the fastest 2 games of golf EVER!! Apparently, Alex believes golfing is a speed sport, and Daniel and Sydney tried to keep up the best they could. So, most of my pictures are of Sydney because Alex was in such a hurry to get to hole number 18, that I couldnt keep up.

After this morning, all I have to say is COME ON WINTER!!! Highs the entire week are in the 100s with higher heat indexes....YUCK!

Fathers Day Fun

With the memory of Sydney’s door-locking mischief on Mothers Day still fresh in our minds, what could she do for an encore? Thankfully, both she and Alex decided that Daddy didn’t need such drama on Fathers Day.

Sleeping late is kind of a rarity for me because Alex is the first one up and he usually gets Daddy up instead of Momma. Not sure if Leslie has been secretly programming him that way for years or not but it’s actually good with me. I am much more of a morning person than Leslie (a fact that she will freely admit.) But it’s Fathers Day and I got to sleep until 9 and was awakened to the sounds and smells of breakfast-in-bed (almost). In case you didn’t know, it’s difficult to impossible to balance a plate of eggs and biscuits with gravy on a bed with a bounding 5-year-old and a squirming 3-year-old. So, breakfast in the living room was a good alternative. A big thanks to Leslie for breakfast, because she is not a fan of breakfast, especially of eggs, so it really meant a lot.

Off to church to work the nursery with a rowdy pre-K class but it was a fun time.

I love Freebirds, so that as a dinner option was ideal and very well received…by my stomach. Leslie asked what I wanted to do for Fathers Day and being that the day is about being a father, I wanted to have little movie night with the kids. This is particularly up Alex’s alley because that boy would eat popcorn every day for every meal if we’d let him. We hadn’t seen Bolt but I had heard that is was cute and funny, so that was on tap. It was exactly that too. I highly recommend it as a great family movie with genuine humor. Probably as close to a Pixar movie that Disney has gotten without Pixar actually being involved.

While it didn’t seem like the kids were too enthralled, they both immediately asked to watch it again. I think Sydney has a new favorite movie, as she calls it “Boat.” The movie was followed by the standard bike ride/RC car session before retiring for the evening.

All in all, this was exactly what I wanted and they delivered. Thanks to Leslie, Alex and Sydney. My family is “FULLY AWESOME” as Rhino the hamster would say.

Daron

Fun at the Botanical Gardens

Last week, Daron and I took the kids to the Botanical Gardens one evening to look around. We were able to get some great pictures while we were there. Okay, on some of them we had to bribe them with pizza to get the good shots, but whatever works, right?

A Day at the Zoo

We started this week off with a fun trip to the zoo. We all had a great time. We started the trip with the monkeys, but Sydney got a little creeped out in there, so we moved on to other animals. We even got a special treat of watching the zoo keepers train the elephants. I think Carla and I were impressed with that, but the kids were more interested in getting elephant stamps!!! After that we moved on to see the lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!). The animals must have thought it was hot outside too, because they were all lounging in the water to keep cool. Then, we tried to feed the birds, but I guess they weren't hungry! That is probably what happens when you give all the zoo members coupons for free bird sticks! After the birds, we hung out with the penguins awhile. The kids enjoyed watching them swim, and the mommies enjoyed the air conditioning. After a V~E~R~Y long wait, we finished up the zoo with a ride on the carousel. When we finally got on, it was all worth it to see the kids smiles.

So, it was another successful trip to the zoo, and we finished it up with a picnic with Daddy! I think we might wait til September for our next zoo trip....either that, or come prepared with more water and sunscreen.

Sydney's 3rd Birthday Party

We had a great time celebrating Sydney's 3rd birthday this weekend. Thanks to everyone who came for celebrating this special occasion with us.

Summer Time

Well, the Texas summer is officially upon us, and it is H~O~T outside. What better way to welcome summer than a splash in the pool!

Luckily, Daron was able to inflate the pool without passing out!

Little Gym Show Week

It is show week again at the Little Gym....a chance for the kids to show us their routines and everything they have been practicing.

The Wedding

So, the big event of the year has occured and we are finally getting around to pictures. We had a really great time and it was great to see The Skippers (long time friends of the family). Congratulations Lindsay and Justin!

The Pre-Show

(The Rehearsal, The Pampering, and The Girly Shower)

The Big Day

The After Party: Hanging out with the Skippers before they flew home

Preschool Graduation

So, I am a little behind, but I have been W~A~Y busy this past week. Last Thursday was Alex's last day of preschool. Hard to believe that we have a kid old enough to start school. We have absolutely loved the preschool they are in, so luckily we still have 2 more years there with Sydney.

The graduation was so cute, everyone got their preschool diplomas and the 4 year olds did the cutest songs....they looked adorable! Probably because they had such awesome teachers! LOL! :~)

Happy 3rd Birthday Princess Sydney!!!

I can't believe that my little girl is 3 today. Its seems like she was just born. From the moment she was born, I knew she was going to have a mind of her own....thus her nickname "Ms. Independent," although if you ask her what her name is she will tell you "Princess".

Unlike her big brother, Sydney was in no hurry to make her grand entrance into the world. My doctor had me convinced that she would arrive early because Alex was born early, but Sydney had different plans. Each week I would go to the doctor, and he would tell me that I wouldn't make it to my next appointment.....but after so many weeks, you stop believing him and realize he says that to all the pregnant women. But in her own time (a day past her due date), she finally graced us with her presence. Obviously, it was totally worth the wait, and she brings so much joy to our family.

I thought in honor of her birthday, I would list some of the many things that I love about her. So here it goes.....

1) She gives the best hugs. My heart melts a little when she wraps her arms around me and then pats me on the back.

2) I love that her voice is still sweet and innocent. I hope that she never stops saying “straw-babies” for strawberries or “b-nanas” for bananas.

3) I love her dance moves. She totally cracks me up how she dances around the house. I really need to record it and save it for when she is older.

4) I love how she adores her big brother. I love it when she calls him “My Alex.”

5) She is truly just like me.....the girl LOVES to sleep!! Since she was a newborn, she has always been a good sleeper. Today, she would sleep until noon if we would let her.

Here are a few pictures of Sydney as she has grown....

As a sweet newborn baby

Her 1st Birthday Party

Sydney's 2nd Birthday Party

And the sweet princess today...

More pictures to come after her birthday party this Saturday. I can't wait, I am so excited. And I can't wait to see her cake (Thanks Carla!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET GIRL!!! LOVE YOU BUNCHES!!!

Sydney's Mothers Day Gift

This is my inaugural or in-blog-ural entry (see what I did there), so I better make it good, right? Well, that’ll have to wait to be seen.

Another Mother’s Day is behind us and I think that Leslie not only had a great time with us but thanks to Sydney , in particular, it was a memorable one for reasons that are funny now. Not so much yesterday.

In typical fashion for Leslie, she just wanted to do something fun with the kids…oh yeah, and do no housework. The day started out nice with some pineapple biscuits (baked goodness, if you’ve never had them) served in bed with her laptop. The big plans were us to head to Six Flags for a few hours, come home for naps and then some grilled chicken, baked potatoes and baked beans (Leslie’s menu request).

We picked a great day to go to Six Flags – upper 60’s, low humidity, and the park was dead in the morning. As we parked the car, Sydney decides that she wants to lock the door with the remote. No big deal except after she locked the door, she tossed the key onto her car seat. Leslie realized this unfortunately after she shut the door. Panic on Row 24 of the Sylvester lot set in. So, we’re stuck in Arlington and Leslie is not letting me use a rock to break the window. The frustrations just kept mounting. Luckily, we got a hold of my mom and she graciously agreed to stop by our house after church and trek on out to Arlington to save the day. Apparently, my Mother’s Day present to her was adding 60 miles round trip to her odometer. Crisis averted.

As I said earlier, the park’s crowds were pretty thin and virtually walked onto every ride without a wait. Alex was disappointed that he couldn’t ride Batman because he’s about 6 inches too short. But the Judge Roy Scream was a suitable substitute in his eyes and rode it twice in a row, squealing happily both times.

After an eventful but fun morning/early afternoon, the kids took a nice two and a half hour nap.

With dinner cooked and served, I proposed a quick trip to Braum’s for an ice cream dessert, which is always a hit with Leslie. That girl loves ice cream as much as I do cake…which is borderline obsession.

The nice end to a nice Mother’s Day would have to wait until next year. Our little Brinks Home Security rep in training, Sydney, decided to lock the door into the house from the garage when we left. Of course, the house key was sitting on its place on the hook INSIDE the house. Once again, Leslie curtailed my rock-meets-window plan. After two hours, three mangled credit cards, a trip from Papa, some woodwork needs to the doorframe that look worse than they are, some laughs and some tears, we were finally in the house. So much for any aspirations I ever had about being a cat burglar. That’s what I get for basing my lock-picking techniques on TV and movies.

Anyway, Happy Mother’s Day to Leslie and maybe next year, Sydney won’t try to outdo herself by setting the house on fire.

Daron

Happy Mothers Day!

There are so many things I love about being a mommy that I don't even know where to start, so here is a little poem that wraps up motherhood perfectly.

Before I was a Mom

Before I was a Mom I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Spit on. Chewed on. Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts..... I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests. Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

Three Little Monkeys

Today we spent the day with Sydney's friend, Glory! Everyone had a great time playing together today. Two goofy little girls and a crazy big brother sure provided some laughs for me and Daron.

As soon as Glory got here, she could hardly wait to go out and play on the swings. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had a different plan for us and we were only outside for about 10 minutes before it started pouring!

This evening, we had movie night complete with popcorn, candy, and Finding Nemo. We pulled the mattresses in the living room and made a comfy place for the kids to watch. Before we could get started, the girls found a new game......

Look at those sweet kiddos.