Fun Max party

Nick had to leave for Dallas a bit earlier than planned, so I braved the bouncing birthday party and took both the boys! It was a crazy morning, with a few tears (from Matt mostly), but overall the boys had a blast and were very tired afterward!

Here they are taking advantage of a piece of equipment all to themselves.

Jonathan climbed what must have seemed like Everest to him, with socks on and his brother jumping continually, knocking him over.

Kaboom!

They kept insisting that they should be trying to climb up the slide!

He was a champ, but about halfway down, he had a look much like his mommy gets when she's suddenly going too fast! I think he only did this huge slide once (a choice we agreed upon).

Children's Museum

I'm still in September with our pictures, so these pics are from our time in Houston! We took the boys up to the Children's Museum shortly before Nick started his job in Dallas. They had a blast and this was the first time we actually separated them for something like this and we each had one boy to fully engage with during our visit. It was great! That being said, I was with Jonathan and I had the camera, so here's Jonathan's visit to the museum!

He started off slow with a simple puzzle.

He got going and then we moved on.

H.E.B. had a grocery store set up inside and Jonathan enjoyed his shopping trip!

He kept unloading the produce department into his basket and then into the stroller.

We hung out in the toddler area for quite a while. He's getting some gas in his car at this point.

Looks like he's crawling through a mailbox, but it's really just a tunnel, I promise. He's a big boy!

Jonathan had a blast trying to figure this thing out. When you opened the door, there was a mirror right inside. There were also doorbells, porch lights and all kinds of locks.

We stopped off at the gift shop on the way out and met up with Nick and Matt. Jonathan has been fascinated with the word "no" lately, and shaking his head while saying it. He cracks us up!

Reunited for lunch and some black beans! We love 100% Taquito!!!

They were laughing hysterically while I was trying to get some pics of their black bean faces!

He loves his big brother!

I tried to get the boys on video while they were laughing, but it got a bit loud, so I had to cut the video short!

On the way home the noise continued!

I tried to catch them singing, but when they saw the camera, they decided they didn't need to sing any more. Oh well, I still like to move it, move it!

Putt Putt Adventures

During a hot day in September, we took the boys to Putt Putt for a bit of fun! Jonathan chose to run around and Matt was on super speed during his golf game. They had a bit more fun inside playing games, even though we didn't even put tokens in many of the games.

Here's Jonathan trying to putt. He's no Tiger Woods with only one hand on the putter.

Matt was taking his turns quickly, but at times he would run back to see how Nick did.

I think Matt went 2 weeks solid wearing his rain boots. There were a couple of rainy days in there, but it was a complete fashion move. We got a lot of comments while running errands!

Matt's least favorite hole, number 18. Bye, bye ball!

Relief from the heat and time for some fun and games! Jonathan still tries to lift up the guitar to play, but it's still too heavy. Maybe next time, little guy!

Check out those curls. He's had a big boy haircut since these pictures, and I forget just how curly his hair was getting. Practicing driving is fun, even when the game's not on!

Matt likes to practice driving too!

Another fashion statement picture!

This must have been a wicked turn!

They cracked me up, so amused with the buttons and we didn't even have to put in any tokens.

Daddy joined in for some fun!

The little kid area kept Matt's attention briefly, but it was the big boy games he liked the most.

More driving, with a dysfunctional computer, but he didn't seem to mind.

Making Brownies

Someone supplied us with a great, easy, homemade brownie recipe so we just had to try it! The boys decided they both needed to help out. As you can tell from the boys' attire, it was a fall Saturday!

The measuring spoons kept them busy just long enough for me to make sure I had all the ingredients ready and measured out correctly!

Last Pool Day

These are just a couple of pictures of our last days in the pool in Seabrook. Sure wish we could have taken more advantage of that pool, but with the boys limited swimming skills, nap times, and mosquitoes, we just didn't get much time in the pool over the summer with the boys. Can't wait until next summer with them!

Daddy's Shoes

The boys are very into finding our shoes and trying them on. One day last month, Daddy's tennis shoes were out and the boys had to give them a try!

Apparently, Jonathan was worried that he hadn't put on his sock before donning daddy's shoes. I don't think that would have helped them fit better.

I guess he couldn't move his feet, so he tried just moving his body.

Matt attempted to put on daddy's shoes while sitting down. Then, he tried to stand up!

He was defeated by the big shoes!

Big shoes are hard to fill, and Daddy's are big ones. We only hope we teach you well and guide you toward the right pathways so you too may someday have big shoes to fill!

A Hot Trip to the Park

Late in August, the boys and I headed for an early morning trip to the park. Boy was it HOT!

My sweaty headed, red-cheeked little boy!

Matt kept asking Jonathan to race him, but he never waited for Jonathan to get there.

The best giggles come from the boys when they are playing together. Lots of screaming comes too at times, but I just love the giggles!

We ended up doing a tour that morning, of 4 different parks. Each one had something the other was lacking, but they all had mosquitoes and heat! We had a good time though. The tour was more for us to shift gears, cool off and for me to get a bit of rest between parks!

Continuing Education

The boys are constantly educating me on parenthood and the wonderful relationship between a mother and her sons. But, this time, I was actually up in Dallas in August for a professional class. This meant the boys were able to spend some time with Granny & Grandpa while Mommy went to class. I was only in class one day, but it was great to know they were having fun and being cared for by 2 people who love them dearly.

Originally when I planned this class, my dad had a knee surgery scheduled during our visit. There was hope that he would get scheduled into a cancellation and that we wouldn't have to worry about anything. Well, his surgery ended up being the day we arrived. The boys did great with Grandpa. They somehow understood that he needed to stay on the couch. They weren't frightened by the big blue ice machine, the knee brace, or the crutches. It was great. They just got their books one by one and requested that Grandpa read to them!

Jonathan decided to read to himself because Matt sneaked in with a book for Grandpa. That fresh out of bed look didn't slow him down a bit!

Grandpa reads to Matt.

Sound effects are always an attention getter for the boys.

Time for some playing in the garden!

Jonathan was fascinated by the purple flowers, and wouldn't stop picking them.

Matt was assigned his usual job to pick whatever was ripe in the garden. He ate a few tomatoes during the visit.

We had a good time at the pool, with Jonathan taking over the baby pool. He had a blast!

Matt tried out his snorkel and climbed atop the fountains to play.

One day while we were there we stopped by my brother's house to see everyone. Jonathan got to play a bit with Bo!

Matt stole Blake away and got the tour of his room. Matt is just fascinated with everything in Blake's room.

Me & my beautiful niece Grace. I had to steal her away from Jonathan from this picture.

Don't know what Jonathan was sizing up in this picture, but he had a little time with Uncle Steve while he was warming up to this whole visit thing.

One afternoon while we were in town, we got to go hang out with my best friend Lisa, and her family. The boys had a great time playing out back in the pools while we roasted under the umbrella on the porch.

Jonathan was good in this little pool, as long as the water didn't spray him.

My boys decided that sliding over the side on their bellies would be fun. Surprisingly, no one was hurt in this incident.

He emerges, into the mud!

Matt followed Joshua's lead and tried out the jump from one pool to the next. It's a good thing Nick wasn't there for this one!

Joshua took a snack break in his kids sized chair!

During our visit, there was a little kitten that Granny and some neighbors coaxed out of the storm drain and brought up to the house. Matt was good about trying to stay still so he didn't scare the kitten.

He made sure he remained seated like we requested, but he couldn't stop moving!

The kitten must have felt some kind of connection, because this big arm movement should have sent him running.

Certainly the kitten would like a leaf to eat!

Matt wanted to make sure Jonathan got to see the kitten before we left. We were sure that Jonathan shouldn't get very close, so we just pointed. He was more interested in the kitty treats!

Little did we know in August, that we would be moving up to Dallas just 2 short months later. The newest adventure starts in 2 days!