FUN Fall!

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In addition to the specific things I have posted, we have done so many other things this Fall that I am condensing them all into one giant post! September held Grandparents Day at school which Gaga & Papa joined the boys for. The kids loved having them come have lunch with them and showing them their new classrooms and art work! Craig and the boys went paintballing, Matt told me he was star of the week and needed a poster at 8pm the night before it was due, our garbage disposal broke and flooded my cabinets, went on a field trip with Matt, LOTS of football,  Brian started middle school sports playing on the JV football team, and then Brian broke a small bone in his foot playing regular season football. October held even more fun when I joined Brian and broke my foot for the zillionth time walking right off the back patio! Luke was still a psycho ninja, we got "flocked" (a school fundraiser!), the boys completed the Ice Bucket Challenge,  our clever children managed to lock us all out of Matt's room with a barricade of a tipped trampoline,  LOTS of football for the boys, a custom ninja warrior obstacle course out back for Luke, and Halloween! November brought us Luke's Thanksgiving program, a solo trip for me to spend a few days with our nephew in the hospital, lots of laughter, football championship for Matt, some seriously freezing weather, full ankle reconstruction for me, breaking two toes on my good foot tripping over my crutches, kids spending Thanksgiving with Gaga & Papa so I could recover from surgery, Thanksgiving for Craig and I with dear friends that took us in since I was unable to cook, Craig tackling Black Friday deals at Walmart with friends NOT me (this was rough for me to miss,,,seriously one of my favorite Holidays!), me riding a motorscooter around Sam's on my first outing with a friend who took pity on me being cooped up, Brian starting JV basketball at school and Craig going to UA game in San Antonio with friends! We are so blessed to have family and friends that pitch in an help whenever we need it, without being asked and have so much to be thankful for this Fall!

Fall Football!

Lots of football pics here :)

Another season of me sitting in a chair by myself on sometimes cold, wet or hot days watching my 3 BEST guys play football! I was meant to be a BOYMOM!  While I am certainly jealous of my sisters with their sweet, adorable princesses, I wouldn't trade my messy, chaotic, every activity must involve a ball life for anything! Watching my guys play anything with a ball has become my way of life! Craig once again helped coach all their teams...kudos to what an amazing Dad he is...I tallied up the different seasons he has coached the boys and that number is an astounding 29 seasons!!! An let's not forget that is multiple teams each of those seasons! I hope these boys look back one day and realize just how lucky they are!!!

This Fall, all 3 played Extreme Flag. Brian and Matt separated for the first time in awhile and it was so fun to watch Matt shine without being in Brian's shadow! Luke left regular flag for his first season of extreme as well and LOVED it! Luke's team had an almost perfect "defeated" season, but took it with stride and were all just thrilled to be playing real football! Brian's team had an awesome season! They started strong but couldn't quite keep it going to make it through playoffs! I gotta say though...his team is all heart! Over half of these kids have been together since they were 5 and it shows! Matt's team was made up of a group of kids that over 1/2 had been playing together (playing up) on Brian's team, and decided to play a season at their own age group. WOW...you could tell these kids had been playing together and with older boys for most of their lives! Matt's team was AWESOME! They had an undefeated season with most games being blowouts and placed first in the league! They moved on to the district championships and after 2 games sadly ended their winning streak! It was so much fun to watch all 3 of my guys this season! Enjoy the pics...there is no rhyme or reason to them. Some weekends I had my camera, some I didn't. My battery dies a few times, the weather was nasty, etc. :) Matt and Brian are both in orange jerseys...Matt's shorts are green, Brian's shorts are orange and Luke's jersey is white! And to make it even easier...my kids are the ones in black helmets!

Cruise!!!

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What an amazing trip we got to take and have Gaga & Papa join us on! 7 days floating the ocean on a beautiful ship that took us to Roatan, Honduras, Belize City, Belize and Cozumel, Mexico! Two of these places were brand new for us and we had incredible adventures planned for all 3 spots! I once again was the family dud and was in a cast for yet another cruise! Don't think for a minute I let this slow me down though...heck no! If I could do it or even try to do it, I was there ;)

Our first few days were spent at sea and we made use of all of the amenities the ship had to offer! We played endless rounds of mini golf, the boys played tons of basketball (Craig even played in a tournament and was on the team with the cast of the ice skating show!), rode the flo-master...a surf machine on the top deck of the ship, climbed to the rafters of the ship on the rockwall, the kids won medals in the beanbag competition (all 3 telling the host into the microphone being broadcast over the whole ship that they were brothers and all from different cities! Brian went with Georgetown, Matt with Round Rock, an Luke stuck with plain old Texas!), played in the arcade (Gaga was addicted!), spent some time at kid camp participating in the activities, swam till we were prunes, ate till we couldn't move, Gaga & I got mobbed in a flash sale at the shops, played cards during a rainy afternoon at sea, ice skated, saw an ice show and hit the ice cream machine more times than I could begin to even count!

Honduras was our first stop and we were all so excited at the day's upcoming adventures! 8 hours on a private island, complete with cliff jumping, snorkeling and an animal sanctuary where you hold the animals! The first 6 hours were as amazing as promised...we all had more fun than we could've imagined possible! Then IT happened...the incident that will forever be a Thanksgiving story in this family, the incident that 6 of us never heard the end of for the rest of the cruise...Gaga got bit by a monkey! Yes...you in fact read that correctly...a real, live monkey full on bit her finger, drawing blood, horror from Papa and laughter from me and Craig! We were all holding these sweet babies, Gaga was truly enjoying it the most, we were all having a good laugh that Craig had just gotten peed on by a monkey and then we handed them off to the family behind us. The lady who got one took two of them at once, they started fighting, the lady panicked and the ever good samaritan who can't seem to mind her own business reached over to help and managed to get bit! Another couple passing by (who were on our ship as well) stopped to see her finger and I kid you not Gaga literally takes the man's towel, wipes her bloody finger on it and then hands it back to the horror stricken man!!! (I can't make this stuff up!) Craig is beyond mortified, Papa had already stormed off leaving us in a trail of "I cannot believe you got bit, why the hell did you all hold a monkey, these are wild animals you people are messing with, etc, etc, etc!) and I just stood there like a speechless fool! I dragged Gaga over to the hand-washing sink to try and clean her finger, Craig ran off to find one of our towels to switch the poor innocent soul who was now sporting Gaga's monkey diseased bloody towel, and the kids were just along for the excitement of the '4 capable adults taking care of them have completely lost it' at this point! The real kicker came when Gaga tried to talk to the owner of the property to make sure she would be okay and he was as high as a kite dancing in the bar! Needless to say..Little French Key may be a truly gorgeous paradise but I can assure you it was our first and sadly last visit!

Stop 2 was Belize and this day went so far above and beyond our expectations! This was the day I was most excited about...I had done so much research about the world renown snorkeling/diving areas in the area. It is listed as #2 in the world, only behind the Great Barrier Reef! Anyone who knows Matt knows he is obsessed with all things ocean, particularly sharks. He dreams of being a marine biologist and can tell you more about these creatures than some books! Combine that passion with Papa having turned 60 this year and I created a day those two will never forget! We charted a private boat, driver and snorkel guide and spent the day making memories! First stop was Shark alley, where 5 of the 7 of us (guess who didn't!?!) actually jumped into shark infested water and swam with them! The nurse sharks were rubbing against them and the stingrays were bigger than my Dad and Craig!!! The smiles coming from that water are memories my mom and I will never forget and the sight of seeing my kids actually in the ocean with real, live sharks next to them caused my heart to skip a few beats!!! Next stop was the tiny island of Caye Caulker where my Mom, Luke and I spent a few hours in a private golf cart exploring the island and shopping while the rest of the crew went on to snorkel in Coral Gardens. We all met back in a fun, island restaurant where the beers were icy cold, the lobster was so fresh it melted in our mouths and shared our adventures! What an amazing day spent together in a place most only ever dream of going to!!!

Stop 3 was our final stop and an old family favorite...Cozumel! Having been here quite a few times, all of us knew what to expect and booked ourselves to spend the day at a family favorite...Playa Mia...a private beach/waterpark  that all of us but Luke had been to before. They had made some additions since our last visit and we sure enjoyed all the new stuff! The kids couldn't get enough of the inflatable obstacle course tethered in the middle of the ocean as well as the waterpark and slides just off the beach, my Dad and Craig enjoyed snorkeling and seeing the sunken "treasures"while my Mom and I made good use of the beautiful chlorinated pool! 7 hours of fun in the sun was the perfect ending to our trip and we headed back to the port to do some final shopping before boarding the ship for our final journey...home! Gaga can now begin her Rabies series at the local Health Department!!!!

Jetski's!!!

We got lucky...really lucky! Papa & Gaga sold their house very unexpectedly and we got to buy the jetskis from them! Their new house won't be done for at least a year, their current house doesn't have room to store them and rather than let them sit in storage and collect dust, we decided to take them! The boys were ecstatic! They love going to Papa's and using them so the thought of owning them had them over the moon excited! Unfortunately as we are ending the warm season our trips to the lake are limited but come Spring my guys plan on a lot of lake time! And to double our good luck...we have one less than 15 min from our house!!!

Luke is 7!

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I am not sure how we have gotten to this point but Luke is 7! He is the joy that makes this family complete! He has a giggle that will make you sides hurt from laughing, he writes us love letters daily,  he kisses us almost to annoyance and loves his family with every ounce of his heart! He is still a self-proclaimed ninja and his tricks are getting scarier by the day! The kid literally has NO fear! I don't think he even comprehends to be afraid of anything! He is the strongest kid I have ever met...he can rock push-ups better than most grown men, lifts weights on his own freewill, puts me to shame in plank holding, and is currently sporting a visible six pack and pecs! He takes great delight in being the "little brother"...he loves to torment his brothers endlessly all well placing the two of them as high as Santa on his cool list!

Luke woke up ready to celebrate his big day! He is in full Birthday mode this year and truly believes the whole day should revolve around him! He came downstairs to so many awesome presents, ate his giant  "7" doughnut and went off to school leaving his lunch request with me! Chinese food plus ice cream cones for his class made for a perfect Birthday lunch, followed up with dinner at Chili's left all of us stuffed and happy! What a perfect day celebrating our perfect little man!!!

The biggest thing Luke wanted to do was go to Six Flags in Dallas for his Birthday since he reached the next magical height!!! This milestone got him on his very first looping coaster!!! He was ecstatic to ride and in keeping with our "if I can't ride, Mom can't ride" tradition, I got to be his partner for this excitement!!! Kelly, Chris and the kids also got to spend the day with us at Six Flags and Emma/Abby had a ball riding all the rides with their cousins! All in all...Luke had a pretty amazing time welcoming turning 7!!!

Luke's Ninja Warrior Party



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Anyone who knows Luke at all knows that he is a self-proclaimed ninja that "is in training" to be on American Ninja Warrior! The kid is a nonstop bundle of energy that is constantly doing ninja tricks everywhere he goes! He truly believes with every ounce of himself that he is a ninja and is 100% confident we will all see him on American Ninja Warrior one day! I gotta hand it to him though....he is actually an amazing little ninja whose tricks both simultaneously amaze me and almost give me heart attacks!

Luke is turning 7 in less than two weeks so this year we planned a ninja party at the ninja training gym! He was in absolute heaven! For weeks he has been unable to sleep with excitement and yesterday the BIG DAY finally arrived! Luke had all the boys in his class, plus 2 of the girls (he specifically requested that we not invite the "girly girls" and the Rinn family all there to help him celebrate! These kids spent 3 straight hours being ninjas and having an absolute ball! We literally had to drag them over to eat and have cake! Luke was so exhausted when we got home he put himself to bed for a nap...I'd say the party was a HUGE success!!!

Back to school we go :(

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Summer is now a distant memory and we are back in school...YUCK! As crazy as my fools can make me, I absolutely love being home with them, taking them fun places and just spending time with them. Each time we start a new school year I am forced to admit that they are getting bigger and bigger and that they will not want to be spending everyday of the Summer with me in the very near future...and this literally kills me!

This year we are starting 5'th, 4'th and 1'st. Luke is in full fledged real school, Matt is getting way too big for me (he has 1 inch and 20 lbs on Brian!) and Brian is in the middle school transition year at their school meaning he switches classes and plays school JV sports! Sending them back to school for 35+ hours each week kills me, I miss them and hate that they just happily disappear from my life! Fear not...I found a solution that enables me to spend 2 of those days with them! You may be assuming since I have my Master's in teaching I am teaching at their school....HA! NOPE! I found something even better, something that puts me at their school for two whole days each week but doesn't come with the parents, the grading, the homework, the drama, the lesson plans or even the classroom! What is this dream job you might ask??? I am...(ready for it)...a lunch lady! Their school is so small that Mom's have always run the cafeteria. This year one of my close friends is taking it over and asked me to help...I immediately jumped on it! Brian is overjoyed that he no longer has to eat cold sandwiches as I can bring him warm leftovers, Matt could care less either way but my little Luke thinks I walk on water! He is so beyond proud that his Mommy is a lunch lady and tells everyone he meets this big news! Craig on the other hand tells him to quit telling people and is wishing I was making better use of the Masters degree he paid for!!! I am thrilled to be at their school every week, spending a lot of time with them both in the cafeteria and their classrooms helping out and getting paid to do one of my all time favorite hobbies...cooking!

Summer 2014

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We had such a FUN Summer...it makes me physically ill that it is over! While we didn't really go anywhere, and we really didn't do anything, WE HAD SO MUCH FUN DOING IT! After the beach, our Summer consisted of a very messy house due to our nonstop playing, everyone switching bedrooms and redecorating them, endless wrestling and fighting, swimteam, lots of daytrips with friends, lots of bowling, tons of swimming, Sea World, Six Flags, Schlitterbahn with Papa, RR Express baseball game and sleepover on the field, a couple visits to Top Golf, endless hours of video games, a few days at the lake, movies, fireworks, dirtbikes and Polaris with friends, football camp, a few trips to the aquarium, lots of ice cream, backyard fun, bikes and go-karts, boating & knee boarding, a few trips to the Doctor (and even a call to poison control), and the very best part was time with our cousins!

Kerry & her girls came out to spend most of July in Texas (sadly Uncle Jerms had to work!). This gave us the perfect opportunity to spend time at Gaga & Papa's with the O'Brein clan... Aunts, Uncles and cousins galore! We celebrated Maggie's 1'st Birthday, made fun use of our waterproof camera, went to Bluebell Ice Cream Factory, went out on the boat, went to Incredible Pizza and even attempted a group photo! We also managed to take KK to Sea World to see her beloved Elmo, had fun taking the girls bowling, watching Michael & Macy get Baptized and just spending time with everyone.

Brian & Matt got another surprise when they were chosen (again!!) by Six Flags to come be a part of "media day" in which they were filming for their commercials, media print and brochures advertising their new waterslide...Bahama Blaster! Its crazy steep, ridiculously fast, sky high and my two fools rode it at least 25 times in a row!!! Matt got to make an appearance on Telemundo (yep, the Spanish TV network!) and Brian was interviewed live for a local radio station!! It was another once in a lifetime experience giving them the privilege to ride a brand new ride before it opens as much as they wanted and something they'll remember forever!

South Padre Island

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Another Summer has arrived and that means another trip to the beach! This year we headed back to South Padre Island for 4 days of fun in the sun and were joined by our close friend's...The Rinn Family! We went immediately after school got out, leaving Memorial Day weekend for the beach. We got there as the crowds were leaving, most of the state was still in school and it was PERFECT! The entire town was virtually empty! What fun all these kids had playing in the waves, the sand, the pool, visiting the sea turtle rescue center, a night of mini golf, late night Dairy Queen and swimming, crab hunting in the dark and doing all of these things with no crowds :) What a great start to summer!

End of School year...LOTS of Random Fun :)

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The end of April & all of May brought about a bunch of random fun! With school winding down there was LOTS of field trips with the boys! Luke & I took an Amtrak ride, went to Ronald McDonald House and went to a play. Matt & I went on a 3 mile hike and went to a peacock farm for ice cream making and scavenger hunts! Brian & I went to an indoor trampoline park and a pizza buffet! (Can you tell Brian's teacher is a 23 year old guy?!?!) With all of that fun, the boys and I obviously needed a ditch day :) We spent one really fun day back at the indoor trampoline park, lunch and the Austin Touch Aquarium playing with starfish and stingrays! Brian & Matt ended their football season taking third place overall in the league after a hard fought battle to the end! We ran Smiles4Sammy 5k as a family again in honor of Sammy :) Matt finished his phase 1 (yes there will sadly be a phase 2 in a few years!) of orthodontic treatment and got his braces OFF after 2 years.  Luke lost his first tooth after praying for over a year for this milestone and was delighted when just a few weeks later he lost a second one! All 3 boys took part in their school musical (Luke has been anxiously awaiting this after being in the audience for so many years while Brian sees it as punishment!), Matt & Luke, along with their 2 best friends (who also happen to be brothers) won 2'nd place in the school talent show for their rendition of "The Worst Ballerinas EVER!"! We got to meet the 2 newest members of the family, Macy & Michael, as well as I got the honor of taking Emma & Abby along with my Mom to see Disney Princesses on Ice!!! The boys had another fantastic water day getting soaked and messy at school! Brian & Matt received the highest academic honor for the year at the awards assembly; high honor roll all 4 quarters, meaning they got nothing short of a " High A" (94% or above) this year! My big news is I finished up a 7 year stretch as a PTA officer and will be a parent on the sidelines for the first time next year rather than a parent behind the scenes :) I'm not quite sure what I am going to do with all of this free time! Craig & I celebrated our 12th Anniversary with a solo trip to Jamaica for 5 days, leaving the kids with Gaga & Papa who kindly stepped in to fill our shoes while we were away and did a GREAT job! Luke kicked off Summer into high gear with what I can only describe as a true "Goose egg"...ugh! The ninja never stops...an hour later, with this giant thing coming off of his forehead, he is trying to jump over stools in the kitchen!

Summer is fully underway and we are loving our days of being lazy, swim team, a couple sports camps, lots of video games and endless fun! Throw in a few trips and life doesn't get much better!

Easter?!?! :)

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Funny enough, I went to finally offload the beach from my camera and imagine my surprise when I found Easter there as well!!! Looking back we clearly had a very uneventful Easter which is probably why I wasn't very motivated to blog about it :) If memory serves me (which is not doing the job very well these days!), we had an extremely low key Easter! The night before we dyed eggs and did haircuts :) I was sad this year as Luke was the only one willing to go see the bunny. He asked to go while the other two flat out refused! While Matt has not yet admitted to us to not believing...I think he is afraid to discuss it for fear of what might happen if his doubts are wrong ;) Luke was delighted to wake up Easter morning to a ninja course left for him by EB! He had to conquer it to leave his room and find his basket :) After baskets were found it was time to head outside for the egg hunt! In our house this is always a favorite as the eggs contain not only candy but money!! Coins in most but cash in a few :) Like I said...not too much went on but all around happy memories made in our house.

Double Digits!!!

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The dreaded double digits has arrived...Brian is officially 10! This Birthday bothered me more than any Birthday so far...I do not like having any of my kids with two digits! Single digits means they are still little...double digits means they are closer to leaving me! I will say that my guy had a FABULOUS Birthday!!! Him & I went on a field trip the Friday before his big day and decided to0 bring his Birthday treat with us. In true luck...it was crazy windy this day and our picnic turned into lunch in the parking garage lobby! So yes...Brian celebrated with his class in the parking garage :) He was a great sport about it though!

We went to my parents for the weekend so Brian could celebrate with them. Gaga surprised him with a UA themed party, complete with decorations and a cake! He had a fun weekend riding his new bike and watching basketball. Sunday was his real Birthday and we had to head home. Uncle Johnny, Aunt Christy and Walker surprised us by stopping by before we had to leave and enjoyed a quick lunch with us (Brian's choice...Phillies!) before we had to head home. We decided to save Brian's Birthday dinner for the next night as we were all plain old done by the time we got home :) Monday night we took Brian, Luke and Matt to Dave & Buster's for three hours of dinner and FUN! Lots of games, lots of tickets and lots of $$!!!

Brian is my crazy, will try anything child and is as strong as an ox! He wanted an extreme party to go along with his extreme attitude :) We rented the Rocks & Ropes Adventure Course at the YMCA for his party and oh what FUN this turned out to be! A 55ft. structure that the kids got harnessed up and climbed their way to the top...once there they got to zipline down!!! Such a cool party and Matt/Luke are chomping at the bit to turn 10 now!!!

Are you ready for some football???

  

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My guys appear to be leaving baseball for football on a more permanent basis...even Luke joined in this season! Brian & Matt are playing with their same team in the Extreme Flag league and loving it more than ever! This group of kids has been together for quite a few seasons now and really work together as a team. They are having Friday night, under the lights games which makes it feel like real football and is so much more fun! Last season we were completely defeated...didn't win a single game until playoffs! This season is a whole new game...our team is unstoppable and crushing the other teams! We have even had to put the Mercy Rule into effect for us rather than against us!!! Watching my boys get better and better, and seeing them having so much fun makes me one proud Momma!

Little man is officially in football as well! He is in regular Flag where his brothers started and played 5 seasons but something tells me he's not gonna make it in this league very long! He is an animal! The kid is like a crazy man on the field! He is a flag pulling machine, gets yellow flags for tackling, called for flag protection and rushing the line! Luke is truly a product of older brothers and it is very apparent to anyone watching him play! Watching him is absolutely hilarious...he is playing with kids that are inexperienced and learning the game while he is out there calling plays and getting flags thrown on him! I see Extreme Flag in his very near future!!!

Dixie!!!

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It's official...we have another member of the family! Dixie is a pure (yes this means the most expensive dog we've ever had!) bloodhound! We have been a one dog family for 1.5 years since losing Ally. In that time Wilbur has gone slowly downhill. His face is aging, he sleeps 20 hours/day and seems to have lost his zest for life. Every time he is with my Mom's dogs he perks up so we figured it was time to get him a permanent companion of his own! I fully admit I was completely against another puppy but the kids constant begging wore me down. I have always had a thing for bloodhounds since watching Fox & the Hound as a kid...I am a giant sucker for those ears, the wrinkles and howl! I took one look at Dixie and knew there was no way she wasn't joining our family!

The kids went to my parents for 5 days over Spring break and that is when Craig & I got Dixie. We did NOT tell the kids we were even considering a puppy much less buying one! On the night before they came home we Skyped with them. They were beyond excited when I turned my chair around and had this tiny puppy in my arms! Needless to say this made them very excited to get home rather than the usual protests of "Do we have to come home?" :)

Dixie is now 10 weeks old and a GIANT handful! She is special ed. when it comes to potty training (still working on  it!) but a genius in learning her name...less than 3 days! She is busy, into everything and LOVES those 3 boys with every ounce of her! She has doubled in size in the 1 month we have had her and is expected to be around 100lbs. like her Momma. We took the boys to meet her parents and they loved getting to see what Dixie will look like in a few months! She is working on her howl and goes into a crazy "witching hour mode" every night around 8pm practicing! It is hilarious to listen to :) The best news is Wilbur loves her too! He adjusted to her right away and now wags her tail whenever she comes up to him! He is so much more active and seems happier as well! If we could just get her potty trained....

Happy Birthday Dad, Mom & Matt!!!

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Another year and another Birthday for Craig, me and Matt! Craig is 36, I am 35 this year...I feel like I am losing my memory so apparently I am officially getting old! And let's not forget...I got called middle-aged by Matt's young, good looking, single orthodontist! Special...just special! Craig had a very low key Birthday playing video games with the kids and enjoying the biggest steak I have cooked for him thus far!  Mr. Matt had the best Birthday this year! It kicked off with a double Birthday party with his best friend Cason! The two of them share a Birthday so a double party is the way to go! We rented campsites at Georgetown Lake and invited their whole class for a camping adventure! We pitched tents, kayaked, shot bows/arrows, cooked our own dinners, made s'mores, did a scavenger hunt, spent 6 hours running through the woods and hiking up/down the hill to lake, warrior painted ourselves and had an absolute ball! The girls all headed home at bedtime while the boys camped out! I consider this the best party ever...left Craig to spend the night with kids and came home to sleep in my own comfy bed solo!!! I met back up with party the next am to do breakfast and clean-up! SO MUCH FUN!!!

On our actual Birthday Gaga & Papa came to celebrate with us! Matt woke up to his cinnamon roll "9", opened his family presents and went off to school. Gaga, Papa and I took him lunch and his cookie cakes and then I went to lunch solo with my parents! What fun! I truly do not remember the last time the 3 of us went out to eat by ourselves! I was given free shots by our waiter and at the encouragement of my parents downed them! After school we opened the rest of our presents and went to my favorite restaurant for dinner (where I had a giant margarita...gotta celebrate being middle-aged correctly!). Such a fun, laid-back Birthday!!!

A few weeks of random fun :)

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We have had a busy couple weeks complete with crazy sports schedules, Birthdays, parties, hanging out with our close friends, random days off school, Matt was in a fishing derby, crazy days at school, our school field day and of course some plain old fun! We also got to go to the BAM Academy, a ninja warrior like training course right here in Austin! As you can imagine, Luke was beyond delighted with this adventure and the other two were equally as excited! We went and spent the afternoon climbing, hanging, flipping, tumbling, balancing, darting, jumping, falling and just having a ton of fun! Thanks Aunt Key & Uncle Jerms for the AWESOME gift!!! We can't wait to go back!!! Here is a glimpse of our last few weeks :)

Another Basketball Season...

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Another basketball season, another year of Craig being the great Dad he is and coaching all 3 boys, another year of Mom in the bleachers week after week with her camera and another year of watching tremendous growth by all 3 of my guys!  Luke has officially "clicked", making him a force to be reckoned with on the court. He is playing his last season of the 5yr-Kinder league, having started 3 seasons ago playing up and is clearly one of the more skilled kids on the court in his age group. He is so fun to watch as he is out there making passes, baskets, free throws and fully grasping the game! Brian and Matt played on their team together again this season. We also had 5 kids from their football team play with us and watching this group of kids that all really know each other and their strengths/weaknesses play together is an intense, super fun game! Brian and Matt clearly practice together at home and it is so neat to watch them play together. They make passes that no one even sees coming, know "secret" moves that they just make eyes at each other to perform and really enjoy playing together. Sadly Brian suffered concussion #4 during this season and had to miss a few weeks of play. Rather than let it discourage him...he became Craig's wingman helping coach his team! I have found that my role in life on the sidelines suits me well and I am usually hoarse every Monday morning after spending each weekend cheering on my guys!!!

Rock Climbing

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What's a Mom to do on a lazy Sunday with 3 crazy boys, 1 of which is a Ninja that have a TON of energy to burn?!?! (thank you weather this week for cooping us up!) Rock Climbing of course! Craig & I took the boys indoor rock climbing today and boy did they have a BLAST! This really neat facility is less than 45 minutes from our house! It was a little boys dream world....every wall ceiling, wall and even floor surface was meant to be climbed on! Craig and I even got our workout harnessing and tethering them all afternoon! This will definitely be a come back place!!!

December...

The month of December held so many fun things that I am condensing it all into one GIANT post! We really tried to do as many Christmas things with the kids as we could. Our elf Zippy showed up sending us on treasure hunts nightly and even had a few tricks up his sleeve! Matt & I went to a Christmas Tree Farm on a fieldtrip! Matt got to see his pride & joy OU (still no clue why he loves them!!!) play football against Baylor! We took my parents to Dallas with us for a weekend of fun at Six Flags and Great Wolf Lodge! (Of course we picked the coldest weekend in 5 years to do this and made Six Flags Christmas Festival seem like we were truly at the North Pole!!) We got back from Dallas and all got the Flu (and yikes...Kerry was on her way with the girls and we were terrified of getting them sick!!!) Kerry, Jeremy and the girls made it to Austin enabling Kerry to tackle all of the boys Christmas parties at school with me while Craig & Jeremy babysat the girls!!! Kerry's clan arrived with Rotovirus in all 5 of them!!! (guess my flu worries weren't such a big deal after all!) We all headed to Houston for the Baptisms of Maggie & Walker together! So stinkin precious!!! They looked like a mini bride and groom! Kelly's clan didn't make it as yes, we also gave Mom & Dad the flu! With Kelly being pregnant it was best for them to keep their distance from this diseased group! Craig & I are Maggie's Godparents and spent the entire time on the altar focusing on not showing everyone what was in our stomachs! Yep...making out with the girls after missing them so much backfired BIG time and we were the next victims of Rotovirus! Luke on the other hand has no self control and threw up all over the entrance to the church! In our defense, Christy's whole guest list also bailed due to flu and other sicknesses too! With all of this going around, three of us literally unable to hold it in, we bagged on the party plans and went back to my parents where the bathrooms and beds are plentiful! We literally were too sick to make the drive home to Austin!  Good thing we stayed...Brian & Matt were up next! The rest of the night was spent cleaning people and toilets ;) Seriously...whatever plague Kerry brought from Vegas was spreading faster than a fire!!! Her poor girls went for round 2 just for extra fun! Sunday morning...Gaga & Papa were the next victims!  Since Craig & I were feeling somewhat human again, we scrapped our plans of taking the kids to Sea World and just went home! The next few days were spent lying low and Christmas Eve was about as low key as you could get!
Christmas morning...Santa came in full force! Go-karts all around!!! The boys were ecstatic!!! We went out to drive before opening any other gifts! After the rest of Santa's loot was open and a few hours of fun, we packed up and headed back to Houston for Christmas part 2! We spent the evening opening an abundance of amazing presents and just playing with all the kids! Sadly we missed Kelly's family again as they came over Christmas Eve and spent Christmas Day with her in-laws. The next few days were spent playing, playing, playing. Friday night it was time to say goodbye to Kerry's people and head back home. But not for long! Sunday we spent the day at Sea World with the kids and then took Brian's teacher & his fiancé with us to see the Spurs vs. the Kings game. Aaron got traded recently to the Kings and happened to be in San Antonio! The next day Craig took my Dad, Brian and Matt to Shreveport to watch UA play in the bowl game! Brian was over the moon to see his team play for the first time live! Luke & I spent New Years solo and had the best day ever! The rest of Christmas break was spent playing with our new toys, trying out the ninja gym Aunt Key sent us to (Luke thought he dies and went to heaven!), checking out the new Austin Aquarium, going to a wedding and catching up on rest after a whirlwind 2 weeks! Enjoy all the pics! I managed to condense the 1250 Kerry & I took down to 360!!!

Star of the Week Movies

3'rd grade at our school has a Star of the Week setup that allows the parents to be involved every day of the week with a different activity. Last year for Brian I made a video surprising him about his life. He loved it and watches it all the time on his touchpad. Matt is up this week so I spent 6 hours today making another movie. (Oh how I miss those fat little cheeks!!!) Going back and watching Brian's, and spending all day making Matt's makes me so anxious for Luke to get to 3'rd grade so I can sit and have a treasure of him as well. I thought I'd upload the two I currently have...if you are lame like me you will sit here and watch with a slight tear in your eye and a weight on your heart...over and over and over... :)  :)