Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Molly's Baptism

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We were so fortunate that Kerry and Jeremy arranged to have Molly baptized at my parent's church while they were here so that all of us could attend:) I have the honor of being her Godmother (I think my sister's both feel sorry for me living in testosterone land and let me the surrogate Momma for each of my girls!!!) Sunday morning, bright and early, we headed to the church. Let me tell you...getting 15 of us out the door on time was no easy task but we were successful and even a little early!!! The Baptism was perfect and Molly was awesome...she barely cried (but did fill her pants quite nicely right as we were heading to the water with no time for a quick change!) She was the only baby getting baptized and the priest really did a wonderful job in making the entire mass all about Molly:) In lieu of a party...we all headed home to change and Kerry and Jeremy treated us all to see Yogi Bear! We took up an entire row, the kids ALL behaved and everyone enjoyed treats and a good movie together:)

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Christmas...part 2!

Click the top picture for a peek of the fun we had:)

After the opening of Santa, we let the kids play for awhile then headed to my parents for an evening event with EVERYONE present:) Kerry and Jeremy came with Molly (she had her first of many to come plane rides!!!), Kelly and Chris were there with Emma (and stayed the night giving everyone a HUGE laugh the next morning with Emma's morning hairdo!!!) and DJ and Christy arrived right as we did:) We were all beyond spoiled and had such a good time opening present after present after present after present! We are very lucky to have received everything we could've dreamed of and then some:) Craig and the boys got to meet Molly and she is such a trooper (she even let Craig run around playing Laser Tag while holding her!!!) Another highlight was seeing Emma as...she's walking:) She was absolutely precious toddling around like Herman Munster and quite enjoyed herself trying to constantly bug Luke and steal his toys. A family game of Hot Potato concluded our evening of fun and all three boys were thrilled beyond words that everyone was there playing with them and giving them so much attention!!! Now the question is...where am I gonna out all these new toys?!?!?!

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Santa came!!!

Click for LOTS more Christmas fun!!!
6:30am sharp we discovered that we did in fact make the good list...Santa came!!! The boys were thrilled to see their loot under the tree with Brian happily shouting "There's like a thousand presents!!!" All of their wishes came true with everything they asked for being checked off of their lists!!! Luke got his "Mickey dance", Matt got his K'Nex roller coaster, Brian got his Madden 11 for the Wii and Laser tag for all of them turned out to be a HUGE hit...with even Craig running around the house shooting the boys in a giant war:) I can only imagine their excitement when they get to my parents tonight and see all of the gifts from their Aunt's, Uncle's and Gaga/Papa:)

Christmas Eve

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Christmas Eve was low key and PERFECT! The day started with the boys acting like Christmas crazed maniacs and Craig threatening to not go to bed so that Santa can't come and the mood quickly turned for the better:) Zippy (our resident elf) surprised the boys with an early gift off the sleigh...a new trampoline net, already put together! This was super exciting as my three goons had destroyed ours when they decided to make their own door back in October and have been banned from the trampoline ever since:) Luckily we got some early morning jumping in as the day turned nasty and poured rain for six hours. The bummer of this was the cancellation of our Christmas tradition dinner...campfire hot dogs and smore's :( but will be rescheduled for as soon as Luke is recovered enough to eat it!!! Thankfully we live extremely close to some awesome Chinese take-out! Opening the gifts the boys bought each other, movie time, checking out Christmas lights, feeding the reindeer, cookies for Santa as well as a thank-you card for the big guy topped off our night:) The boys all went to bed claiming they wouldn't be able to sleep but as you can see if you click the pictures...there was no problems there!!!

Cookies for Santa

On Thursday night, we went to a Cookies for Santa party:) The kids had a ball with their friends rolling, cutting, baking and decorating TONS of "yummy" treats for the big guy! It was a super fun evening and we made it home with a huge tray of BEAUTIFUL cookies:)
Click for a few more!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

We know...I'm a GIANT sucker:)

Click to see how skinny the poor guy is :(
So the boys and I took some Christmas treats to the local pound for the doggies without families for Christmas and BIG surprise I fell in love with the sweetest boy...a clone of my Mia, complete with self-induced vet bills! (He managed to lick away all of his sutures from his neuter, resulting in a second surgery and three different ongoing medications!!!) "Wilbur" (as in the AZ Wildcat) is a roughly 3 year old yellow lab that was found running the streets. He is severely underweight (even though he currently weighs 91 lbs.) and in desperate need of some TLC (all things we can do!!!) When I sat down to meet him, he rested his GIANT head on my shoulder and I was hooked! Craig and I figured he'd be a good playmate for "Tex" who is also pushing 90 lbs. (although he is only 9 months old!) and all of us our completely in love with this gentle giant, even Ally & Tex:) The best part is he came trained...he can sit, stay, lie down, retrieve a ball and seems to be potty trained:)

Saturday, December 18, 2010

We're halfway there!!!

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School is halfway over....thank the Lord! This waking up every morning is killing me...I feel like I barely get to bed and that stupid alarm is going off! All three boys had such fun last days of school:) Lukey ended on Tuesday with a Holiday sing-along, games and crafts, a present exchange with his class and a pizza party! He had an absolute blast and shocked me when he actually stood up in front of everyone and sang his little Christmas song:) Matt and Brian ended on Friday with jammie day and parties! Craig and I had to tag team them since I have discovered that as hard as I may try...I simply cannot be in two places at once:) Both boys had fun decorating cookies and cupcakes, playing games and making presents for Mom & Dad. I am just giddy that not only are they out of school for the next two weeks...I get a two week break from school as well:)

Next up...Christmas, Molly's Baptism and Luke's surgery (sounds like busy days ahead!!!)

Monday, December 13, 2010

A Fun, Chilly Weekend in San Antonio!!!

Click for more??? Of course!!!
We are so lucky to live so close to so many fun things and this weekend decided to meet Aunt Kel, Uncle Chris and Emma in San Antonio for a mini getaway! We had so much fun with all of the kids!!! On Saturday we met at the hotel, got checked in and bundled up (of course we picked the weekend of a nasty cold front!!!) to head to Six Flags Christmas festival. Emma got to ride her first rides and seemed to enjoy everything but the carousel:) The park spends a month closed decorating and we were not let down...there were so many light absolutely everywhere and all of us had a fantastic time!

On Sunday we all got up and headed to one of my absolute favorite places... the Japanese Tea Gardens. If I could ever get "remarried" (to Craig of course) and have the big celebration again... it would be here. It is the most beautiful, peaceful place in the world and as soon as you walk in you completely forget you are standing in the middle of downtown San Antonio. The kids a ball going under and over waterfalls, climbing endless trails and watching the massive koi fish. I had a blast watching Aunt Kel try to maneuver the stroller in all of these places:)

After the Japanese tea Gardens, we headed across the street to the zoo. Craig and I have heard so many times that the San Antonio Zoo is amazing and is actually ranked the third best zoo in the nation but we've never made it there. Boy have we been missing out...this was the best zoo I have been to! You are right up in the face of each animal, they have all authentic lands (like a stroll through Africa) and quite possibly the coolest kiddie land I have ever seen! This place beat all of the children's museums I have ever been to!!! They have a multiple areas of which all are designed to get kids outside and have fun. There was a farm area, complete with live chickens laying eggs, a riverbank with a man made stream and sandy beach for the kids to wade in in warm weather, a camping area, complete with a campfire and tent to play with, an indoor learning center with a "fishing" stream (and of course Luke managed to fall in it!), a baby play area and a crawl out tunnel that takes you right into the heart of the prairie dogs exhibit and my kids favorite area...the park. The sign outside says "Go wild, be a kid" and my boys did just that! They had races against Uncle Chris and Daddy, wrestled up and down the hills, played with Emma in the grass and made a boy pyramid on top of Daddy!!!

We were sad to see our fun weekend come to end and excited to see Aunt Kel, Uncle Chris and Emma in two weeks for Christmas!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Our First SUCCESSFUL House!

For the past four years I have dropped $10-20 on a gingerbread house kit and for the past four years, we have ended up throwing the collapsed house in the garbage within hours (or even minutes) making my $10-20 investment a total waste of money! I was not surprised when my boys asked to make another house, but came up with a plan to make it work:) That's right...I hot glued my house together!!! The boys played hookey and we built our house...seven glue sticks later we had a standing house for the boys to happily decorate! The finished product turned out so pretty I think I might like to live in it:)


Sunday, December 5, 2010

WHEW...What a busy few days!!!!

Click for pics of our crazy busy few days!!!
Christmas season is in full swing in the Rose household! The house is decorated, the lights are up (and look fantastic I might add!!!), the tree is up (and finally decorated!!!) and Zippy...our family elf, has been coming every night and leaving treasure hunts for the boys! The past few days have been beyond busy, with me falling into bed each night hoping I remembered to do everything:)

We kicked off December with a visit to see who else...Santa!!! December 1, with no exceptions, we met Daddy at the mall to make sure we told Santa in plenty of time what we need for Christmas!!! Luke is on a HUGE Santa kick (about as BIG as his Mickey kick!!!) and was downright giddy to meet him:) After buying our ridiculously expensive picture, we headed to the food court for dinner and ice cream before falling into our beds, dreaming of Santa and his elves busy making what we asked for!!!
This weekend is when the true craziness started...Saturday began with Daddy's IBM Family Christmas Party at his office. We got our faces painted, had balloon animals made, went to a petting zoo, played in the jumping castles, watched Mr. Puppet's show and ate more hot dogs, chips, popcorn and ice cream then we needed:) Afterwards we headed out on some of my errands (which took MUCH longer than necessary with the WHOLE family along) and got the boys new sneakers (Daddy got to discover I'm not lying when I tell him how expensive decent kids shoes are!!!) and finally ended our day with pizza and football.

On Sunday we headed to Church where Brian got to be an usher this week. Each RE grade level takes turns performing the different jobs and this week was 1'st grade's turn. Brian took his role very seriously, even using hand gestures to order people around during communion:) Once we got home we made a mad dash into "get wet" clothes so we could head to the annual snow day in our neighborhood! This is a super fun event that is funded by our HOA dues in which they bring in tons of snow to a hill on the golf course and provide sleds, hot chocolate and cookies to everyone. The kids have an absolute blast sledding and having snowball fights with all of the kids in the neighborhood:) It's even more fun now that they are in school and actually know lots more kids! Once we got home, I made yet another quick change in order to make it on time to a cookie exchange I had to go to...that's right, last night after pizza and football I got to make 12 dozen cookies!!!
I mentioned we had an exhausting last few days...right?!?!?!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Warrior Dash Weekend!!!!

Click for LOTS more muddy pics!!!

Craig and I love to watch the Travel Channel and once saw this episode about an insane 3 mile 12 obstacle course that travels the country that looked like SO much fun ( I thought it looked hilarious and perhaps a good time...Craig was all about trying it out!!!)! I found out that it would be in Austin this weekend so I summoned up the nerve to do it with (and for!!!) my hubby, as well as convinced Uncle DJ and Aunt Christy to do it with us:)

My parents came up on Friday with DJ and Christy so Saturday was spent with the girls hitting up a craft fair and the outlets while the boys had babysitting duty! we managed to fill the car with fabulous finds and the boys had a ball not having to follow rules and getting to be gross all day with no girls around so the day was a HUGE success:)

Sunday was the BIG day...we arrived in time to pick up our warrior helmets, t-shirts and race packets and were ready to begin (after snapping a few pics of ourselves and the guy in full Warrior costume!!!)! Gaga and Papa had kid and photo duty while we were on our three mile adventure. We ended up having such a fun time...completely covered in mud and all!!! We climbed over junky cars, ran (okay maybe walked) a 1/2 mile through the most disgusting mud filled, pothole like stream (this was surprisingly our favorite obstacle), climbed over stacked hay bales, did a tire run, slid down a mud hill like a water slide (okay...Craig, Christy and DJ managed to stay standing and get down the hill; it was me who "rode" down the hill) and then rope climbed back up it, got across a 15 yard net suspended in the air, hurdled a few things, climbed up and over a net wall, jumped over fire and finished with an army crawl under barbed wire thorough mud!!! We all crossed the finish line together after staying together the whole race (team motto..."even if Mommy is the weakest link, we stay together!!) and our three guys were proudly at the finish line holding up signs and cheering us on with Gaga & Papa! It was an incredibly fun first "marathon" for the four of us and was complete with a hose off by giant water tanker trucks! It was such a fun thing to experience together with my husband and I find it amusing that he claims I've "never looked sexier than army crawling through mud"! I guess I'll take whatever compliment I can get:) Who's up for next year?!?!?!?!

PS-A BIG thanks to Gaga for all the awesome pics and a BIG thanks to Papa for watching the boys so Gaga could take all the awesome pics!!!

Monday, November 8, 2010

My sweet and adorable Molly!!!

Click for a few more pics!!!
I was a lucky girl...I got to take four days off and head to Vegas to have endless snuggles with my newest niece...Molly! Papa came to Austin to help out Daddy and turned out to be the BEST Nanny ever!!! He has a permanent job offer, room and board included, if he ever so chooses!!!

Miss Molly had just gotten out of her week long stay in the hospital and I was more than willing to give her Mommy (Aunt Key) some mornings to sleep in and showers without worry! Daddy (Uncle Jeremy) had to return to work for a short shift so I only got to spend one night with him but it gave me all the more reason to give Aunt Key a few minutes break! I had a blast taking endless photos of this precious sweetie and even had the honor of painting her piggies for the first time! (Both of my fabulous sisters have taken pity on my life in testosterone land and gave me the honors on both of my girls...Molly & Emma!) Leaving on Saturday was hard after so much time with a precious newborn but my Moose made it easier by calling me while throwing up asking me to come home...time to get back to reality:)

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Orange Treats, Pumpkins and Trick-or-Treating!!!

There's LOTS more pics if you click!!!
Well another super fun Halloween has come and gone! Our boys truly enjoyed the whole weekend...we made orange rice krispie treats AND orange sugar cookies, carved pumpkins to specification of the examples they drew for us, went to the annual Halloweenie fest around the corner for hotdogs, friends (we found a Luigi for Matt and a Minnie for Luke!!!) and a Halloween parade and topped off our night with Trick-or Treating:)

Luke was NOT a fan of pumpkin goo but the other two had a grand ole time in it!!! My personal favorite pictures show that my boys have some learning left to do as I think they believe there is a buried treasure in the bottom of pumpkins:) They were all sooo proud of their costumes, Luke and Brian even sat still in the "makeup" chair so they could look the part:) Matt was beyond thrilled to find out that he had quite the popular outfit this year as he saw a few other Mario's on his journeys! Little man LOVED running up to all the houses to beg for candy and only dropped his entire bag once!!!
Everyone was in their beds dreaming of the fun they had by 8pm so Mommy is a happy camper too:)

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Luke's 1'st Official School Halloween Party:)

Make sure to click the pic for LOTS more!
Luke had the time of his life today...he got to go to school dressed as his hero, Mickey! My little man joined the big kids club today and had his very first costume parade and Halloween party at preschool. He waved like Miss America the entire parade and proudly sported his costume, leggings and all:) We spent the rest of the morning doing Halloween rotations which included games, crafts, snacks and LOTS of fun! Luke really likes Emi, a little girl in his class and spent the better part of his day posing for pictures with her:) All of the fun wore him out...he came home and took a 3.5 hour nap!!!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Brian's 1'st Grade Performance

Brian was the STAR tonight in our house...he had his 1'st grade performance and sang his little heart out. He turned and smiled at my camera half the time which even made it more precious:) We videotaped it, especially for Gaga & Papa since they were M.I.A. for an excellent reason...Miss Molly is arriving tomorrow-we can hardly wait!!!! Enjoy the video...you can thank Luke for the choppiness (he wouldn't stop yanking my arm!!!)

Monday, October 18, 2010

A lazy Sunday...

Click for more pics...
After a crazy Saturday with four baseball games in three hours, we thought we'd spend Sunday just playing with the kids. What a fun day we had...after some morning goofing around and haircuts, we headed downtown in the perfect 75 degree weather for some outside fun! The Austin Botanical Gardens is one of my favorite places...it is this peaceful, hidden, beautiful place with hundreds of different paths leading to various areas such as the butterfly gardens, the rose gardens, the Japanese Tea Garden and many more (not to mention completely free!!!). The boys love just being able to run around, climb rocks, go under waterfalls and see fish, butterflies, birds, flowers, statues, plants, trees and even dinosaurs! After almost two hours of exploring, we headed across the street for a train ride circling the entire park. The boys love climbing aboard this little train and the fifteen minute ride completed our day of fun...almost:)

We had so much fun just being outside and enjoying our family time that we completed our evening at our favorite restaurant, Freddie's Place... a true Austin style hangout complete with picnic tables, live music, a fun playground and the best part being that it's all fenced in so the kids can just run around while waiting for the food to arrive!!! I truly can't think of a more perfect way to spend my Sunday than just being outside with my four best guys!!!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Halloween Fest at Six Flags

Click for more pics!!!
With Halloween quickly approaching, we decided it was time for Six Flag's Halloween fest and this year we were lucky enough to have Gaga & Papa join us for the fun! Since we have season passes. we get to go frequently and enjoy the fun but this time was EXTRA special and the most fun ever as...Luke FINALLY made the 36inch cutoff!!! (with a hat on, but nonetheless he MADE it!!!) He was beyond thrilled to get to ride on the rides his brothers go on (the only exception being the BIG coasters) and had the best time being a big boy at Six Flags...he even put his hands up on the Wiggle coaster:)

There was lots of fun to be had besides Luke getting on the rides! The highlights of the day were...a dance party with all of the Looney Toons characters, discovering Gaga has a secret "darts" talent which resulted in her winning three basketballs for the boys, getting Trick-or-Treat bags from Scooby & Scrappy and the boys refusing to sit with Craig on the kiddie flying swings which resulted in him getting asked to get off (like a pedophile!!) since he had no children:)

Friday, October 1, 2010

Paging Dr. Moose...

Click for parade pics!

Matt's current dream is to be a vet with Brian, own their own ranch that houses their vet office with a lake in the middle separating them and employ Luke as the kennel help:) Craig, me and my parents have all been assigned jobs as well and will all apparently live on this giant commune together with them!!! This whole week in Kindergarten has been centered on community helpers ending with a parade today around the whole school. Matt dressed up as a vet and proudly marched around the school with his class waving to the big kids like he was Miss America:) It was adorable to see and really fun to hear all of the other grades cheering for them in the halls as they walked by!!!

After the parade, lunch was an all school picnic and burger cookout which Luke and I got to enjoy twice...once with Brian and once with Matt! A fun end to a busy week...oh wait, that's right, we have THREE baseball games tomorrow!!!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Luke's 3!!!!

Click on each pic for LOTS more!!!

Time sure flies and somehow my baby is now three!!! Luke's birthday was this weekend and since Luke is not very social and has a very small circle of people he actually likes and will speak to, we had a very small party with all of his people in the circle (minus Aunt Key & Uncle Jeremy who are in Vegas getting ready to have Miss Molly in just a few weeks!!!).

Luke's fun started on Thursday when Gaga and I got to spend the day with him at Preschool to celebrate his birthday. Papa, Aunt Kel, Uncle Chris, Emma, Uncle DJ and Christy all came up on Friday to spend the night and celebrate Luke's big day! The day began with three, yes three baseball games! Each boy is on a different team this year, with Craig coaching two of those teams:) The nine o'clock hour was divided up since both Brian and Matt had games at the exact same time. Matt drafted Daddy, Papa, Uncle Chris and Christy to his game while Brian drafted Mommy, Gaga, Aunt Kel, Uncle DJ (and Luke & Emma by default!!). Both boys played awesome and we all met up to head to the debut of Luke's baseball career!! This was his first game EVER and since he missed his only practice due to vacationing in Florida last week, he was utterly clueless as to the rule of the game!! He didn't mind at all and had an absolute blast wearing his WAY TOO BIG uniform, having two turns at bat and playing in the field. Papa, Uncle DJ, Uncle Chris, Christy, Brian and Matt all took turns helping him throughout the game and other than a few runs to wrong bases...he did great!!! He is super excited to go again next week:)
After baseball, we all headed home, along with our close family friends for lunch, presents, cake and football on TV! Luke was completely spoiled with the majority of his presents being Mickey and Elmo themed and was quite the happy little man. Once everyone headed home, Luke finished off his birthday with a swim before heading to bed dreaming of all of his fun he had:)

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Make sure to click for more pics!!!

I never thought this day would come...Luke started preschool today!!! My tiny little man who gave me so many troubles during my pregnancy and had me crying everyday for virtually the whole thing, the teeny tiny baby I brought home from the hospital at only 4 pounds and was terrified I was going to break, the little guy who had all odds against him from day 1 and traumatized me so much that I made poor Craig get snipped, my little tiny professor who went into glasses before he was even 15 pounds...is now a real BIG boy! He runs (never walks), he holds full conversations, he wears big boy undies, he has an attitude, he can crack jokes, and now he goes to school!!!

Preparing myself, I truly thought I was going to have to be carried out of the preschool but I got lucky...they ended up needing a sub. for the 4's....so I got to stay and spy on him ALL day!!! He didn't drop a single tear at drop-off (though I had a few) and happily waved bye to us. Some might say "That's great, he was excited and not upset!" I say "Seriously child, after all I've been through with you...why don't you just rip out my heart and stomp on it!!!"

I have to admit...I was so proud when I was peeking in on him throughout the day. He did awesome (minus one meltdown in music when Ms. Candice dropped them off and he was horrified!!!) and by 12:30 was passed out on his new Mickey napmat (custom-made by ME I might add!!!) and snoring louder than the cd player:) When I went to get him at 2:00, he was waiting with a smile and jumped into my arms for the biggest hug I've received to date! He was so proud to show me his art project and is actually excited to go again on Thursday:)

Monday, August 30, 2010

A week of laughs!

My three favorite moments with my guys this past week are...

Matt: "I have a girlfriend Mom"
Mom: "That's great, what's her name?"
Matt: "I haven't asked her yet!"

Luke: "Hey Mom, guess what?"
Mom: "What?"
Luke "Chicken Butt!!!" (and then bursts into a ton of laughter!!!)

Brian gettting ready to head up to bed, comes over to me, smacks me on the butt and says "Love you babe"

It's moments like these that I remember how much I love being a Mom!!!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Well...I embarrassed the WHOLE school:)

Click for more pics:)
Today was my annual least favorite day of the year...the first day of school:( I hear so many people who hate summer and can't wait for their kids to go back to school and let me tell you...I am NOT one of them!!! I love my kids (most of the time) and I truly LOVE spending time with them (again, most of the time!!!). I can honestly say yesterday might be the exception to my not wanting them to go back to school...they pretty much were just all mean to me all day:) While on errands, Brian announces "Mom, are you gonna cry tomorrow? to which I said "Probably, especially since Daddy can't be there. Mommy is sad that you guys are leaving me and that Matt is going to Kindergarten" and Brian replies "Mom, if you cry, that would embarrass, like, the whole school!" This conversation was then followed by Luke smacking my butt in Kohl's while shouting at the top of his lungs "Mommy has a big butt!" You can only imagine the hysteria this sent Brian and Matt into which only encouraged Luke to continue this for the entire shopping trip! I swear...by time we got home I wasn't quite as sad about school starting anymore:)


Of course this morning we woke up (at 5:15 courtesy of Brian...apparently the excitement kicked in) and I was once again sad. I am okay with Brian going since they've already taken my once sweet boy and made him into a wise-cracking, eye-rolling, crude humored little boy but I am NOT ready to give up my sweet Moose! Of all my kids, he's my easy going, still baby voiced innocent snuggler and I in no way am ready for him to follow the likes of his brother and turn into a full-fledged little boy! I am not ready for him to have a life outside of me and I am not ready for him to grow up...at all!!! I hate the fact that my kids are with a different motherly figure for 35 hours each week and that I am slowly becoming less and less needed. I am sick just thinking about the day that they get a serious girlfriend (yes, I know I still have a few years) but once they start school, they beginn their little lives, and I for one don't think they need a life!!!



I can honestly say that I am proud of them...they marched into school like they owned the place and are not too big to kiss me goodbye (I will probably crawl into a hole and die the day this happens!!!). I was the only one of us with tears (therefore embarrassing the whole school!!!) but as I walked out with Luke, I felt like part of my heart got left behind! I am sure I will be a basket case in two weeks when I leave Luke at preschool but in the back of my mind there is one thing to be positive about...in two weeks I will be able to run errands on Tuesday's and Thursday's without the whole store being made aware of "my big butt"!!!

Monday, August 16, 2010

August can do down as my LEAST favorite month...EVER!!!

Well August is off to an absolutely horrible beginning and will end even worse...with me losing ALL of my best little men to the place I hate most...school!!! (I find it hard to believe I was a teacher with the absolute hatred I now have for school)

Let me back up and explain why this month goes down for the record books...if you keep up with my blog you know that we all got sick in Disney World, starting July 29th. Well today is now August 16th and is the FIRST day we have not had a sick person since that day!!! And I'm not talking colds and simple stuff...in true O'Brien fashion, we have of course had to have the extreme everything!!! Let's recap...since July 29th we have had: 5 people puke, 4 people have diarrhea, 2 people with fevers of 105 or higher for multiple days, 2 people have fevers of 102-103 for multiple days, 1 tonsillectomy and adenoid removal (more on that in a minute!), 4 Doctors visits, 1 Urgent Care visit, 1 ER visit, 3 sinus infections (one of which resulted in getting to the eye socket and caused severe facial/eye swelling and temporary vision loss), 1 strained muscle in chest behind lung, four people on antibiotics, 2 people on steroids and 1 chest CT (which managed to result in allergic reaction to the injected dye)!!! AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I AM DOWNPLAYING THE SEVERITY OF ALL OF THIS!!! To say we need a vacation from our vacation is an understatement!!! The good news is...as of this morning, I am happy to report that all five members of this SARS-like household are just about back to normal so we can now just torch the place and start fresh;)...just in time for us to start school and catch all new germs attack us all over again!!! Back to the T&A, poor Brian has suffered from acute strep throat for the past year. He is on probation with the school this year (I'm sure Craig will be selling tickets for the showdown that will happen the day they try and tell me that they need to retain my functioning way above grade level child for absences!!!) for having so many absences. The poor guy regularly gets fevers topping 105-106 that cause migraines so it was time for the tonsils to go;) His surgery ended up being much more detailed than we all initially thought it would be as when they got in there, they found a 1/2 inch film of at least 6 month old puss coating the backside of his tonsils (basically means he has not been without strep since at least last Christmas!) As a result, they ended up having to scrape and cauterize 22 blood vessels, making the surgery much more painful than originally planned:( I love my guy more than I could ever explain, but anyone who knows Brian was prepared for this be a very dramatic recovery:)

Holy cow...did he prove all of us WRONG!!! To quote my son "I think they took my dramatic with my tonsils!" Brian should be the poster child for what a dream recovery looks like!!! We kept him stoned (tylenol with codeine every four hours, without fail for the first four days) which allowed for him to heal pain free and was taking plain old tylenol just seven days post-op. The child who once let us know where every last ache and pain was the minute he woke up did not complain even one time this entire recovery!!! He started eating solid foods on day three and has not had an ounce of medicine in over 48 hours:) I am so elated that my little man can start this school year without fearing that every time someone sneezes he'll come home with a fever:) To say that we are beyond proud of how awesome he did is an understatement!

We are going to celebrate this final week of summer doing LOTS of fun things and trying to keep Mommy from being sad at the prospect of her Little Moose starting Kindergarten next Tuesday. I absolutely HATE the thought of losing both him and Brian for 35 hours each week and just want to stop time with my guys staying just the size they are...the perfect size to still snuggle with Mom & Dad and young enough to not be embarrassed still giving Mom & Dad kisses and hugs:)

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Our final weekend...all of the Rose cousins!

Craig has two older sisters...Chandelle and Gretchen. Between the three of them they have seven kids...our three boys, Gretchen's twin girls Sophia & Olivia, Chandelle's stepdaughter Serena and her son Aaron. Ending our trip with our boys spending some time with all of their Rose cousins was so much fun! Gretchen flew in with the girls, while Chandelle and her family live in Orlando. Poor Aaron was still recovering from being sick during the week so he missed Epcot but all of the kids had a great time at Chuck E. Cheese the next day!!!! It was so nice to get all of the kids together as it's a very rare thing to all be in the same city:) Hopefully we didn't get anyone too sick!!!

Saturday, July 31, 2010

We all got it!!!

So we took a family vote and the consensus was to go back to Epcot for our last day! The kids had already been to the Magic Kingdom twice and had ridden everything there at least once so we arranged with Craig's sister to meet us at Epcot with the kids:) The bad news was that everyone in the family managed to get the bug either throughout the night or even at Epcot (both Brian and Matt puked at two different restaurants throughout the day and Craid had it during the night when I was sleeping off my own!!!) Being confined to a hotel room with various people having various items coming out of various ends of their bodies does not make for a pretty situation!!! We still managed to have fun (it's amazing what Pepto and Motrin will do for you!!!) and the kids all still managed to have a good day!!! Needless to say, we called it quits early and headed to Criaig's sister's house to get some much needed R&R!!! We will be here for the weekend where the kids can spend some time with ALL of their cousins on the Rose side before we make our journey back to Texas:)

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Hollywood Studios...The Beginning of the End!

Hollywood Studios started out great but ended in a nasty way!!! We got there right at opening and the boys really enjoyed the Extreme Motors Stunt Show...watching cars and motorcycles race around and jump through fire had their full attention!! Toy Story Mania was a hit...they had all ridden it before at Disneyland and were super excited to get on it again:) The biggest surprise of the night was Brian and Matt riding twice and LOVING the Tower of Terror!!! Indiana Jones was another fun show in which they can't wait to get home and watch the movies with Daddy now!!!

After a fun day, I was ready to go by about 7...I felt horrible and kept warning my family that I was going to puke. Well, the floodgates opened as we pulled into the hotel parking lot and I lost all control of my stomach, managing to cover myself in what I care not to describe!!! After showering everyone off and a quick swim for the kids, Mommy retired to bed as our last fun filled day is quickly approaching!!! (Let's just hope that I'm the only one who gets this!!!)

A full day at the Magic Kingdom!!!

Click for pics!!!

To my fellow late night followers...I was tired last night! I fell into bed while Craig was changing the kids and was of no help whatsoever:)

Yesterday was a day of losts, yes losts at the magic Kingdom. Let's see...Luke lost his bowels over lunch and ruined his Elmo undies, resulting in a giant meltdown when I threw them away (I was not going to carry around those undies all day in the 100 degree heat!!!) Matt lost himself getting off of a ride after repeated warnings to stay with us and hold on over and over the last four days (Craig and I could see him but he couldn't see us and we are hoping the lesson was finally learned!!!) Brian lost full control of himself in line for the Goofy Coaster, resulting in Craig losing control of himself:) I had the biggest loss of the day though...my camera! While changing Luke in the baby station to a pull-up, I managed to set it down. I didn't realize it until 25 minutes later and was stuck in the sky on the people mover with Matt & Luke! Thankfully for honest people, it was right where I left it in the baby building and we were able to move on past that incident (surprisingly, Craig did not lose control of himself during that incident!!!)

Besides our day of losts, we had a really fun time!!! We were able to skip Fantasy Land since we had done it on Sunday (thank the Lord cause it was a zoo over there!!!) Brian and Matt each rode and LOVED Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad! They had both been on Thunder Mountain before but Space Mountain was a first!! I can proudly say I have the bravest six year old I've ever met...not only did he ride Space Mountain, he rode alone since Craig was sitting with Matt!!! He wanted to go again after his turn with Daddy and since Craig was with Matt, Brian hopped on by himself!!! Luke had a blast on the Goofy coaster again, and even rode hands up like his brothers! The biggest two surprises of the day was Luke LOVING the Pirates of Caribbean and all three boys being absolutely terrified of the Haunted Mansion! I have three roller coaster daredevils who are terrified of fake ghosts!!! All three boys thoroughly enjoyed the Electrical Light Parade, Brian went into full photographer mode!!
Click for Brian's view of the Magic Kingdom!!
Today we are off to Hollywood Studios for another day of fun!!!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Epcot!!!


3 days down, three to go!!! We are HOT, tired, smelly, have sore feet (well Craig and I do from pushing strollers all day!!!), have a pair of broken glasses (Matt's!!!), a few bumps and bruises (Luke!!!), have spent some time in corners for various reasons (Brian!!!) and are having an absolute ball!!! The kids LOVED Epcot today...it was probably their favorite day so far! We were originally on our way to the Magic Kingdom and were literally about to board the monorail when we realized the monorail line for Magic Kingdom had about 400 people in it while the monorail line for Epcot had about 40...we made the executive decision to go to Epcot!!! It was a good decision, the kids were able to ride multiple rides over and over without even having to get off:)


Luke's favorite ride was the boat ride through the pyramids of Mexico...featuring Donald Duck! We rode it three times in a row without getting off and he still wasn't ready to be done:) Matt and Brian LOVED test track, as well as the Nemo ride and Turtle talk with Crush! They all really enjoyed making a mask and going to all of the different countries to get stamps on the stick, as well as having their names written in various languages! The kids were all passed out by the time we reached the monorail to head back and tomorrow will be the Magic Kingdom (for real this time!!!)

Monday, July 26, 2010

Animal Kingdom!!!

Like usual...click for more!!!
Today we headed to Animal Kingdom where we were able to do every single thing on our list:) We met all of the characters, saw the parade, went on a jungle safari, ate Asian food in Asia, rode Expedition Everest twice, went on a super fun and slightly scary (according to Matt) dinosaur adventure twice, rode flying dinosaurs (therefore omitting our need to get on Dumbo!!!), went on a wet and wild tube ride, got our super awesome hats signed by Mickey, Pluto and Goofy and even managed to almost knock over Donald while acting like giant hillbilly children, resulting in a 'cast member' ask us to "please not do that"!!! (seriously, my children may be the first ones to actually get in trouble by the fake smile plastered on their faces cast members!!!


We all truly enjoyed Animal Kingdom and even managed to not really mind the 95 degree weather with 100% humidity!!! We were back to the hotel by 9:30 and had time for a quick dinner and a "bath" in the pool:) Tomorrow we are back to the Magic Kingdom!!!!

Click the picture for a view of Animal Kingdom from the eyes
of Brian, Matt and even Luke!!! (Warning...116 pics!!!)

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Mickey's House!!!!

Click the two different pics to see more!!!
Well Luke might as well head back to Texas as he completed everything on his list tonight...Mickey's house, "Dinne" World and the Goofy coaster!!! We got to Orlando this afternoon and after checking into our hotel, we had two stops...Downtown Disney followed by the Magic Kingdom! We had dinner reservations at the T-Rex cafe (think Rainforest Cafe but all Dinosaur animatronics) in Downtown Disney and thankfully the kids weren't starving!!! As we walked in we were greeted with a life-sized T-Rex that let out a giant roar in our faces and Luke totally lost it!!! He started shrieking and screaming "get me out!!!" from the stroller, he was completely terrified and had tears pouring down his face. We decided it probably wouldn't be a very fun dinner if Luke was hiding so we had McDonald's instead:) After souvenir stops at the Lego factory, the worlds largest Disney store and Goofy's candy kitchen we were off to Mickey's house...the Magic Kingdom!

We arrived at the park around 8:30 and went straight to see Mickey so that Luke would finally see that we weren't just fooling him day after day:) After touring Mickey's house, we made it to his barn where he was doing photo-ops. When it was our turn to go in, Luke saw who was at the end of the hall, screamed "Mickey, Mickey, Mickey, Mickey, Mickey and ran full speed ahead right into Mickey's waiting arms!!! It was absolutely priceless!!! After some pics with Mickey and some kisses with Minnie, we had to go since the next group was coming in. Luke apparently wasn't ready since as we were all exiting he ran back to Mickey for one last hug, completely jumping into another family's photo-op!!! Luke finished off his checklist with being able to ride the goofy coaster, his official first roller coaster!!! There was no line and he got to ride it twice without getting off, laughing, cheering and riding with his arms up the whole time:)

Lucky for us the kids napped on the way down to Orlando and we were actually able to make it until 11:30 before they got crabby!!! By that time, it was extra hours and not very crowded so we busted out Fantasyland and can cross it off our list (which is fantastic since it is always the most crowded area!!!). All the boys were passed out in strollers before we even got to the monorail and hopefully getting re-charged for Day 2...the Animal Kingdom!!!
Disney through the eyes of Brian & Matt!!!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Jacksonville to see The Williby's!!

Click for more pics!
Nine years and six kids between us later, Beth is still one of my best friends! We met teaching at Immaculate Heart together in 2001 before either of us had any kids! Though we don't see each other as often as we would like, you would never know it. We make great use of our phones (a bunch of times each week) and pick up right where we leave off every time we see each other!!! A trip to Florida wouldn't have been complete without a stop at their house. Adam is her oldest, followed by Josh and Leah. The kids all had a fabulous time together and played like they were long lost friends (even though none of them remember the last time they were all together)! Some swimming, lots of games and a boys campout on the floor ensured good times for all! The kids are all already asking when the next time they'll see each other will be?!?!?!?

Friday, July 23, 2010

The car ride...

Click to see more...
FYI, Matt & Brian have their own camera and are making use of it!!! So the trip began with us sending all of the kids to Houston on Wednesday to my parents house so I could actually pack and get everything done:) Friday afternoon, Craig and I left Austin and met the kids with my parents around 6:30pm, and set off on our journey for an overnight drive! The theory behind this was that the kids would sleep through the night and when they woke up we would be in Jacksonville...this almost happened!!! Obviously they were WAY excited to be on our way and went to bed much later than normal. But by 10:30, the car was quiet and Craig and I were enjoying a peaceful drive. Brian decided to grace us with wide eyes at 4am and you can imagine how he was the rest of the day!!!
By 6:45, the sun was up and we had a car full of wide awake kids with hungry tummies. One would naturally assume that breakfast at Denny's would be a quick stop...right?!?!?! Ummmmm...no! Denny's took over 25 minutes to get us seated and in that 25 minutes, Brian managed to get himself removed from the lobby by his armpit, shouting "Mom, that hurts" the whole way out! Matt and Luke decided that wrestling on the lobby bench was a fantastic idea and managed to break Matt's glasses...all of this with the three of them in their jammies, making our hillbilly look complete! Breakfast then proceeded to take one hour to arrive from the time we ordered, only enhancing our hillbilly persona for everyone's viewing pleasure:) At one point my dear husband looks at our table, which Luke was currently under trying to tickle his brothers and announced "Thank God we will never see anyone here ever again!" We got to Jacksonville slightly later than planned, and have yet another restaurant on our growing list of places we are probably not welcome back at!!!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

We're off to Disney World!!!

Let the fun begin...we are off on a 10 day roadtrip from Austin, Texas to Florida!!! Our first stop will be Jacksonville to see friends, from there we will head to Disney World for six days of Mickey fun, followed up with two days in Orlando to see Craig's sister and her family!!! The boys are SOOOOO excited for the trip...anyone who speaks to Luke has heard nothing except for the following phrase for the past 30 days "Mickey's house, Dinne World, wide wides, Goofy coaster"!!!

Monday, July 19, 2010

"I didn't know I was that GOOD of a boy!"

What an awesome night! We took the boys to the swimteam awards banquet knowing we had awesome kids and left the banquet with the whole team of 300 kids and their families knowing!!! Brian and Matt both proudly received the gold medals and their certificates with their best stroke times for the season listed on them along with all of the 6&under boys. They were beaming from ear to ear so proud of themselves!
Click the picture of Brian to see more!!!
After all of the age groups had been recognized, the biggest award of the night was announced...the Coaches Award. One boy and one girl from the whole team of 300 receive this award and Brian was that boy!!! We sat there as such proud parents listening to the head coach tell everyone that Brian was receiving this award for having the best attitude on the team, for always encouraging others, for having the best effort on the team, for having the best manners on the team, for improving in every stroke by at least 10 seconds, for the willingness to try whatever his coach asked him to do and to do it with a smile, for never saying "I can't", for his compassion to others and for just overall being the kid on the team that everyone should try and be like. To hear someone talk about your child that way is unexplainable...as parents we all know we have the most amazing kid on Earth but to have it told to a group of about 500 people with your precious six year old standing on a stage beaming from ear to ear holding an almost two foot tall trophy brings a sense of pride that we never knew was possible. Brian won this award 100% on his own...it wasn't handed out to the kid whose family donated the most money or the kid whose parents volunteered the most...it was handed out to a little guy that lives his life to please others and is the kindest, most caring six year old I've ever met!!! After he returned to his seat, Brian asked me what all of the things the coach said about him meant and when I told him his reply was "I didn't know I was that GOOD of a boy!"

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

An awesome first season!!!

Same as usual...click the pic for LOTS more fun!!!
Swimteam is officially over and I couldn't be prouder!!! We finished our last meet tonight and the boys had an AMAZING night:) We have missed the last three meets due to being in Houston, being at the beach and having strep throat so the boys were bound and determined to do well! That is an understatement as to how well they did...Matt knocked a whopping 22 seconds off of his freestyle time!!!! You read that right...22 seconds!!! It was the first time this season he looked like a true swimmer...perfect dive, perfect breathing and no stopping on the lane line:) Brian did equally as well...he was his heat winner in freestyle, knocking 9 seconds off of his time and placing 5th overall!!!

I had no expectations when I signed them up in April other than to become stronger swimmers and to be confident of their abilities in the pool. Three months later they can both do perfect freestyle and backstroke (Matt just finally got backstroke this week after a LONG struggle!!) and both have mastered the basics of breaststroke and butterfly! Matt's biggest accomplishment is that he can dive better than Brian and Brian's biggest accomplishment is that he got heat winner one time in both freestyle and backstroke! I am such a proud Mommy of these two little guys as well as Luke...the best and biggest fan of the boys!!!

Monday, July 5, 2010

Fourth of July on the Beach!

Like always...click the pic to see tons more!!!
Once again living in Texas has advantages...like the beach three short hours away!!! We decided to spend the long weekend on the beach in Corpus Christi and Hurricane Alex made it even better as it scared everyone away (although it did cause a giant seaweed mess but no one really seemed to mind)!!! Corpus Christi has multiple beaches to visit...Corpus Christi beaches, Port Aransas beaches, Mustang Island beaches and North Padre Island Beaches (all within a 20 mile radius of each other). We got down there on Saturday afternoon and spent the early evening beach hopping to see where we wanted to spend our time at the beach:) The kids loved it as every beach we stopped at they got to hop out and "test it out for fun" before we made our decision.

We decided we liked the beaches on North Padre the best (you get to park your car right on the beach next to you eliminating the whole schlepping everything to the beach) so the morning of the Fourth, that's where we headed. Luke has no recall of our week long trip to South Padre last year and had an absolute blast rolling in the sand, playing in the waves and collecting shells. The bigger boys (Daddy included) enjoyed boogie boarding, playing catch and outrunning the waves:) After a six hour day in the sun and sand, we headed to the hotel for showers, dinner and fireworks!!! We literally sat right on the steps of the beach seawall and watched the fireworks shot right off of the back of the U.S.S. Lexington, a retired aircraft carrier in the harbor.


Our last day we gave the kids a choice...go back to the beach or go on the U.S.S. Lexington and explore it. Being active boys, it was no surprise to us that they chose the giant ship! We spent four hours climbing all levels, seeing where all of the important things on the ship are...Dentist, Doctor, Post Office, beds, potties and mess hall:)

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Emma's Baptism

Craig and I were blessed to become Godparents for the first time to our sweet Emma, the precious little girl of Aunt Kel & Uncle Chris! While we've done the Baptism thing three times, it was extra special to be on the other side of it:) We already LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Miss Emma like our own daughter so this just makes it a little more real!!!! And the best part is...we feel like she's part ours now so there is really no need for us to have our own little girl:)

Sunday, May 30, 2010

He did it!!!


We are the proud parents of a six year old that waterski's!!! We bought Brian a starter ski last year and he decided that the most crowded weekend on the lake was the perfect time to try it out:) He was nervous getting started but Daddy and Uncle DJ had a master plan that worked! Daddy was in the water with Brian holding the ski and pushing him up while Uncle DJ was on the jetski next to him. Brian got up on his second try and was able to ski for five full minutes, even making two turns before letting go from exhaustion!!!

Please excuse my choppy video (it's two and a half min.)...I had tears of pride running down my face, the water was full of waves, I was bouncing up and down and my camera was in video mode that also allowed me to shoot pictures while taping:) On the plus side...you can see all of my pictures during the video:)


Friday, May 21, 2010

Super Swimmers!!!

Click the picture to see more!!!
It's official...my boys are following in Mommy's footsteps and are on the swimteam! Brian and Matt are super proud members of the Round Rock Dolphins. They absolutely LOVE swimteam which after coaching a team for seven years makes my heart proud! Tonight was their first meet, a practice meet against our own team and they rocked it! Brian got 1'st place in his heat in both freestyle and backstroke and went to bed grinning from ear to ear! Matt successfully made it across the pool in freestyle without stopping (a HUGE accomplishment) and even managed to NOT get last place!!

Backstroke was a different story...the poor guy had a meltdown as his heat was getting in the pool and refused to start from inside the pool. He was hysterically sobbing that he didn't know how to do the arms in backstroke and managed to hold up the entire meet for a good two minutes. After finally coaxing him into the water assuring him he would be fine, he pushed off the wall on his back, immediately rolled over and swam the whole lap freestyle (while everyone else was doing backstroke!). He got a standing ovation from the crowd for finishing well after everyone else as swimming while trying to stop crying takes a LONG time!!! Needless to say, Mommy and Matt will be having a backstroke clinic this weekend!!! Craig and I are super proud of our big swimmers and can't wait to see how awesome they will be by the end of the summer:)

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Big Tex!!!

So I didn't wake up this morning and think "Hmm...I should get a puppy today", but somehow that is exactly what I did!! Craig was at work, Brian was at school so Matt and I decided to amuse ourselves looking at puppies online. Craig and I knew the day we had to put Mia down that another dog was in our future...particularly a puppy since the boys have been bugging us before Mia even got sick for a puppy. I don't think either of us expected it to be so soon but when you find the right one you seize the moment;) "Tex" is a 10 week old, 18.7 lb. ginormous puppy!!! He is a mix of Great Pyrenees and we think either Newfoundland or Bernese Mountain Dog (all of which are giant dogs!!) He looks like a black and white Saint Bernard and is freakishly calm which was a HUGE selling point! We are expecting him to be well over 100 lbs. fully grown which should be a good match for our three active guys! His freckles on his nose sold me and we are all (even Craig!) in love with our new guy!!!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Matt Graduated Preschool!!!

Click on Matt to see more pics...FYI....Brian took 1/2 on his own!!!
It's official...Matt is no longer a preschooler!!! While this may make Mommy very, very sad, Matt is super excited to get to go to Brian's school, and have PE, and buy lunch at the "restaurant"! His preschool had a graduation where the kids sang, got certificates and had a little party afterwards. Gaga, Papa, Mommy, Daddy, Luke and Brian (we busted him out of school for the big event) all came to watch our little Moose sing so proudly. Hard to believe that in a few short months I will have two at school full time and Luke at preschool twice/week :(

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Mia...


After an eight year run in the Rose family, Mia went to Heaven today. Who would think that you could be so attached to "the worst dog in the world"? I swear I should be the millionaire, not Marley's family:) Mia was like an ATM machine in reverse, she always had a problem but they were usually self-inflicted which made it that much more frustrating!!! Before we found out how sick she was, we were extremely frustrated one day with her peeing herself in her sleep and jokingly made a want ad for Mia. It went something like this:

Free to good home (or really any home that will be willing to take her), GIANT yellow lab, weighing in close to 100 lbs that was kicked out of obedience school not once, but twice. Has absolutely no common sense and will charge towards you knocking over anything in her path (including small children). Loves any and all candy or treats and will help herself to your pantry, cook top, counter or whatever else she may see. Loves to swim and will find any source of water to hop into (even the lake behind your house on the golf course with golfers playing on it and will not get out no matter how many times you call her, no matter how loud you scream!!). Absolutely LOVES car rides (but cannot go in truck beds as she has jumped out of a moving one resulting in ripping off all four pads of her feet). Loves glow sticks (not to look at, but to eat...this also causes massive vet bills!) Excellent watchdog...great at barking (if you have neighbors you don't like, Mia will bark at them until they decide to just move away!!!) Has excellent hearing, but also has chronic ear infections...again resulting in massive vet bills! Has some peeing issues...tends to flood herself in her sleep but helps you clean your floors daily:) Overall great dog!

It makes our hearts happy to know that we made the right decision and Mia didn't really suffer. She was diagnosed with rapid onset of diabetes on Monday resulting in loss of bladder control and failing kidneys, she went completely blind on Wednesday and peacefully went to sleep for the final time with Craig and I sitting there with her at the vet's office on Thursday morning. We know we will never be able to replace our "horrible dog" that we all loved with all of our hearts but will always have the memories of all of the bad things she did to keep us laughing forever.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day!!!

It was a long weekend in our household. Saturday consisted of the boys football game, the boys football party, Mommy's pedicure and a night at the Round Rock Express Baseball game! Super busy, super fun, super long day!!!


Mother's Day was great:) The boys woke me up with breakfast in bed which consisted of grilled cheese and tomato soup all around! I was showered with homemade presents, as well as a dozen roses and a card with the boys wishing me Happy Mommy Day so I can forever hear their precious little voices! This was followed up by fixing the trampoline net (my geniuses thought putting a hole in it to exit was a much smarter idea than getting out the exit!!!), some yard work and haircuts for the boys...all such glamorous things!!! I got a really cool shirt after I showered to wear on errands and out to dinner and the boys were so proud to have me wearing it:) After a peaceful dinner at Olive Garden (Luke fell asleep in my lap), we headed home with full tummies and smiles all around!


I hope everyone had as nice of a Happy Mommy day as I did!!!!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Moose's BIG news...

Matt had officially crossed the line from preschooler land into BIG BOY land by learning to ride a two wheeler!!! It has been a LONG process with a VERY argumentative, strong-willed child but this past weekend he did it! Craig and I have seen him do it on a few occasions but after one fall off the bike, Matt was convinced he couldn't do it. After three and a half long, hot hours in the cul-de-sac with some yelling, some sassing, some crying, some eye rolling and lots of reassurance, Matt proudly joined the two wheeler club! We are super excited to begin taking family bike rides now that Matt will actually get on his bike. (Luke proudly has a seat on the back of Mommy's bike and calls it "Wookey's bike"...Brian finds it hilarious that Luke has a pink and white bike!!!)
Click the picture for more fun pics!!