Apron Strings

Sick boys and two teeth...

2009-10-11T08:50:00.000-07:00

Well our week started off fine until both boys decided it was their turn to get sick. Austin complained of a headache and was coughing and Cole said he didn't feel right. Well Wednesday morning they both woke up with fever's so I took them in. Austin had strep and Cole had the flu. I just knew the next few days were going to be so much fun!! Fortunately they both recovered pretty quickly with Austin feeling better by Friday and Cole fever free by Friday night and feeling good Saturday morning.

And to make the weekend even better, Austin lost both of his top teeth on Saturday!! They have been loose for a long time but when he accidentally hit one tooth with the phone, it got everything in motion. He wouldn't stop wiggling, twisting and pushing that tooth until it came out. And of course when one came out the other one became more loose so he began wiggling, twisting and pushing until that one came out. They were up until after 11pm laughing about the gap in his mouth. He really wanted to Tooth Fairy to bring two things last night instead of just one. He was so excited this morning when he found two $1 gold coins under his pillow. Plus his smile is just too priceless!!!

8 Years Ago Today

2009-09-11T06:18:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been 8 years. It seems just like yesterday when the news broke about a plane hitting the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. I was a young mom with a 10 month old starting the day like any other, not realizing my life and my country would be forever changed. Let's remember this day all our fallen hero's, the many Father's, Son's, Mother's, Daughter's, Brother's, Sister's, Grandparents and Friends who lost their lives that day. I know I will never forget, will you?

Catching up

2009-09-06T10:09:00.001-07:00

Wow, it has been a long time (oops). What has gone on for the last 6 months??? Well, School ended and we had a great summer. Cole was able to go and visit his Nana and Poppy for 10 days. He got to go 4 wheeling and attend a golf camp and a tennis camp. He enjoyed spending that time with them all by himself. He also experienced his first solo plane ride home from Arkansas. I was a little nervous but he loved it!!!

Austin really enjoyed having Mommy and Daddy all to himself that week!! He had a sleepover, went stayed with Gamma and PapPap and got to swim a lot!! 2 weeks after Cole got home, they headed out to Gamma and PapPap's for summer camp with the Grandparents. Cole has done this for 4 years and Austin has done it for 2 years. Every year they have a blast - swimming, golfing, tennis, crafts, dances etc... They look forward to it every year.

Brad and I picked up the boys on Thursday evening and headed up to Arkansas for our Annual 4th of July trip. My Sil and her family drive from Midland, TX to be with us every year. All the kids have such a great time together. This year they all tried (exept for Austin) the knee board. We even got Brad on it!!

My FIL had shirts made for the grandkids with their nicknames LOL!! Cody - Tormentor, Kaleigh - Drama, Cole - Chaos, and Austin - Trouble!!

After we got home, our summer got a little boring. No more trips and Brad and I had to go back to work. The boys did enjoy hanging out with their friends, going swimming and having sleepovers. In Aug., they did attend Lego Camp through SMU. They had a blast. Everyday they would make a new project. They really want to go back next year!!

School started on Aug. 24th. Cole was very excited to get back mainly because he got the teacher he wanted. Austin wasn't quite sure but he was happy once he got back and saw his friends.

Now School has gone on for 2 weeks and we are slowly getting back in the swing of things. The boys and Brad will be heading down to Lake Brownwood next weekend for a Family Reunion (I have to work) Hopefully he will bring me back some cool pictures from the trip.

Home Improvement.....

2009-03-09T07:07:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, we discovered a leak in our drain line between the washing machine and kitchen sink. Water began leaking into our walls and wet bar. We knew we had some damage but were not sure how bad. Had the insurance adjuster come out and sure enough once we pulled off some of the wall, many things would need to be replaced. A little back story - I have a horrible pantry, very deep shelves where things get lost. We had talked about removing the wet bar, taking out the pantry and enlarging the laundry room so I could have my pantry be apart of the laundry room. Well since the leak happened we thought we might as well do it now.

We hired some guys who do this as a side job (they are very good) so they only work on weekends. The wet bar has been torn out and a new wall was put up. After the wall was put up, we realized that it wasn't going to be enough room so we had them tear the all back down and they had to build another wall that was out about 10 inches. Now mind you since they are only working on weekends, and they have been out here for 3 weekends, we just now got the second wall up and all of the rotten sheet rock replaced. Then we ran into another issue. Because there was a wet bar, there was plumbing. We had decided to cut the plumbing down to the slab and then cap it off and lay our floor over it. Well, the plumbing was cut and sealed but there is a leak. They tried several times and it still leaks so guess what, we have no water!!! FUN FUN!!! We hope to have the plumber out today to get it fixed. A good thing though, once we had the new wall up, I will have a ton of room now. I can't wait to have it done because my house is a wreck and it is so hard to clean. I am going to have to mop the floor because it is driving me crazy!!

Other news, I am so proud of Cole. He had a Soccer game this weekend and did awesome!! He went after the ball several times and even got a few kicks in. He also played Goalie. Last week when he played, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do but this week, he was all over it. He prevented more goals then what they got. He has improved so much since the beginning of the season.

Our Weekend!

2009-03-02T14:05:00.000-08:00

What a busy weekend!! First on Saturday we had the boy's soccer games. Of course they were both at the same time so Brad and I had to split up. I went to Cole's and he want to Austin's. Cole got to play against an old friend of ours. It was great running into them. I have known the boy's parents since I was in grade school. His dad is my Brother's best friend. Anyways Alex is 3 weeks younger than Cole and his brother is a couple months younger than Austin (They were due within days of each other) Anyways, the other team won but Cole is doing much better. I found out today that Austin did very well on Sat. His coach said he kicked the ball a few times and was alert on what was going on. Brad and I just want the boys to have fun and want to play. After the Soccer game, I showed some houses and then came home. We had some plumbing issues so we are in the process of removing sheet rock and a damaged wet bar. What we decided to to was expand the laundry room to give me a larger pantry. So once I got home Saturday night, I had to clean out the laundry room and my old pantry. The workman came back on Sunday and now I have no pantry and a large opened laundry room with my washer and dryer in my breakfast room. And it will be like this for awhile. (our contractors only work on weekends) So Sunday I spend the day trying to stay out of their way and entertain Cole. Brad took Austin out for his Birthday day with Dad. They went to breakfast and went to see Hotel for Dogs. Austin loved it!! Especially since there is a dog in the movie that is just like Charlie. So that was our weekend and I don't see things settling down anytime soon :)

Happy Birthday to my Austin!!

2009-02-23T16:20:00.000-08:00

Wow - 2 posts in one day!! I can't forget about my baby's 6th birthday! Austin turned 6 on Saturday, the 21st. We had his party on the Friday before due to Soccer games and such. Good thing we had his party on Friday because it was beautiful out. Over 60 degrees, sunny and clear skies. He had a few friends come over and we did "old" party games like the 3 legged race and passing of the orange with your chins. We also did a pinanta. It was a fun party!! On Saturday we woke him up by singing "Happy Birthday". He then got his 6 spanks, a pinch to grow and inch and a sock to grow a block. He didn't like the pinch too much LOL!! Had a quick breakfast and then off to his Soccer game in the cold BRRRRR. It was in the low 40's and very windy. Poor kid was so cold on the soccer field but he did good. After that we headed home and just hung around the house. He opened up all his toys and had fun playing. When I asked what he wanted for his Birthday dinner, he requested McDonalds!! Brought the food home and had a movie night with the boys. I think he had a great day!! Here a few pics from over the years. Enjoy :)

Austin was born 2 months early. He was such a trooper. I keep these pictures to remind me just how far he has come.

His 1st Birthday

His 2nd Birthday

Austin when he was 3 with Cole at Easter

Austin's 4th Birthday

Austin's 5th Birthday

My Big 6 Year Old!! Happy Birthday Baby!!

Catching up

2009-02-23T14:45:00.001-08:00

Realizing I haven't posted anything since November (oops) I thought I would catch up on what is going on. We had a wonderful Holiday season. Traveled to Arkansas to spend Thanksgiving with Brad's parents and brother. The boys love going to Nana and Poppy's house. We always have such a great time there. Brad's mom is fighting cancer so we try to get up there often. After Thanksgiving, we were busy with Cub Scouts and school. We then traveled to Minnesota for Christmas (no, we are not crazy LOL) We drove up on the Sunday before Christmas. I wanted to drive up in one day but it took a little longer than we wanted. Ended up having to drive slower due to ice in Iowa. Got in about 10:30 pm. It was sure cold, -5 degrees!!! The next morning the boys were so exctied to see snow. It was the first time to see Real snow!! But it was too cold to go out and play so we went to The Mall of America instead. They loved the Lego Land area and the amusment park in the mall. We were staying with my brother Todd and his family. My parents also drove up from Dallas and my brother Jeff flew in from Conn. It was so nice having everyone together. By the end of the week, it had warmed up enough to go outside. We even got to go sledding (my favorite part!!) The boys loved it. We headed home on Saturday but took two days this time. We were so glad to be home but I was so glad we were able to have a White Christmas!!

After Christmas, we got back into the swing of things - school, cub scouts and work. At the end of Jan., Cold had his pinewood derby race for Cub Scouts. He was so excited this year. Brad and Cole worked really hard on his car and he came in 2nd place. He was so proud!!

At the begining of Feb. the boys started Soccer. Cole's team is the Texas Tornados and Austin's is Plano United. We have only had a few games but I think they are going to enjoy playing. This is the second time Cole has played but the first for Austin.

Now that you are up to speed, I will try to keep up with this blog more often :)

State Fair of Texas Oct 2008

2008-11-14T15:04:00.000-08:00

I am trying to catch up on my posts.

We headed to the State Fair this year with my parents. The boys and I had not been to the Fair in 4 years and my parent's had never been. We had some passes from school for the boys and luckily met a someone on the train who gave us free passes for the adults! We thought "yay we saved a little money" little did we know what we were in for once we got to the fair. So we decided to take the Dart train to the fair. The boys were so excited.

At the Train Station

Waiting for the train

We finally got there and decided to get on the skyway first. We were on a mission to find the Famous Corn Dogs.

Mom with the boys on the Skyway

Once we got off the skyway, we were in front of Big Tex. You can't go to the fair and not get a picture with Big Tex LOL

We then found the corn dogs and they were awesome!!! After we finished eating we looked at the cars they had on display. They boys loved getting into the Hummer and several of the other cars. While we were on the skyway, they saw all the rides so we made our way to the rides stopping at different areas along the way. We found the petting zoo and could not believe the animals they had in there. Here a few we saw..

An adorable baby Giraffe

Baby Goats

A baby Zebra

The boys had enough of the animals and were begging to go on the rides. The boys have not been on many rides so we weren't sure which ones they would like. They found a few though..

As they were coming around, Austin was holding on for dear life. But he told us that he LOVED IT!!

Cole rode on this one by himself. He said he felt like he was flying.

Austin rode on this one by himself - literally there was no one else on it but him. He still had fun though.

The last ride we all rode on together. We went on the Big Ferris Wheel. We were up so high and were able to see the Dallas Skyline and all of the fair.

Waiting in line for the Ferris Wheel

View of the fair

The Dallas Skyline

We were exhausted, broke and ready to go home. Mom and I decided we would go next year but we would make sure to save up a lot of money first LOL!!

Air Show at Alliance Airport

2008-11-14T14:52:00.001-08:00

This year we decided to head over to the Air Show. This happens every year and we were so excited about going. So we all loaded up in the car to head over. While waiting in line to park, the jets were flying over head and were so loud. The boys could not contain their excitement. We finally got parked and headed to the gates. The planes were still flying the whole time and we had to stop and look every few steps. Once we got in the gates there were several planes for us to look at up close. The boys were in awe.

Our future pilot?

The Jets at the end were so amazing. They put on an hour show. We can't wait to go back next year!!

Walking home from school

2008-11-14T14:37:00.000-08:00

We had some really beautiful days so I decided to walk to school to pick up the boys. It is about a 15 min walk to and from. Of course the boys weren't too excited about walking home LOL Charlie sure liked it though. One day I decided to take the camera and got a few shots of our beautiful neighborhood.

This is the creek that runs behind our house.

Cole so excited about walking home

Cole walking Charlie

AJ running ahead

We had such a nice time walking home and we are looking forward to doing it again once it warms up.

Plano Balloon Festival

2008-09-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

We headed over to the Balloon Festival on Sunday night and met up with my parents. The boys were so excited but first they had to get someting to eat...

Cole eating his favorite - Corn Dog

Austin and Pap Pap trying to stay in the shade

Then Brad and Cole did some walking around to see the sights while Austin, my parents and I went to find a good place to watch the skydivers come in. Here are a few pictures Brad took..

Now onto the balloons. I love watching them all prepare to fly. We were able to get great seats to watch all the action. They boys were enjoyed the balloons but also loved running up and down the hill LOL!! Here are a few of my favorite shots...

The boys being silly

Brothers

The boys and Pap Pap

Brad and my mom

Cole & Gamma

Austin & Gamma

We had a great time. We decided that we would come on Saturday night next year. More balloons and different types of balloons are there at that time. Also have to make sure we get our funnel cake next year too!!!

First day of School!!

2008-09-03T11:47:00.001-07:00

Cole started 2nd grade this year and Austin started Kindergarten. They were very excited to start and see their friends.

My sweet baby sleeping - I know I know, he is not a baby anymore :(

Cole snoozing away

Austin getting dressed

What Cole was doing while Austin was getting dressed

Cole finally getting up

Charlie, you can't have my shoe!!!

All ready!!

Walking in

Austin getting into his locker - what a big boy!!

They had a great day! I was a nervous mess all day. I knew Austin would be fine but I still worried about him. The rest of the week got better. He met some friends on the first day and was excited to go back. Cole has the same teacher he had in Kindergarten and has several of his friends in class with him. Just have to make sure my social butterfly pays attention to class and not his friends. It is kind of nice to have the quiet around the house but by 2pm I am usually ready to pick them up!!

Our trip to west Texas

2008-09-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

I know it has been awhile since my last update. With school starting, I got a little busy :)

Well we headed to Midland on Tuesday (a lot later that I wanted) so we got there around 11pm. Brad got this picture on the road heading there:

On Wednesday, we went to visit MiMi (Brad's grandmother) and hung out with her the whole day. We them met up with Misty (Brad's sister) and had dinner. After than went back to Misty's house and just hung out. The boys love seeing their cousins and always have so much fun with them. Austin slept with Kaleigh and this is how we found them that night:

We said goodby on Thursday morning and headed back over to MiMi's house for breakfast and to visit a bit more. We did get a nice picture of all of us

We then headed to San Angelo, TX which is about 2 hours away. The drive is a little boring, nothing but oil pumps and cactus LOL. A little bit what we saw below:

And of course, I can't forget the car pictures...

We arrived in San Angelo and met up with Brad's parents and brother at the hotel. We were there to visit another one of Brad's Grandmothers (my boy's have 3 Great Grandmothers) Unfortnatly the hotel pool was a little less desirable (they said it was clean!!!)

We headed over to where his Grandmother was and then headed out to eat. This place brought back a lot of memories for Brad. He used to come here every summer and stay with his Grandparents so it was fun reminising with him.

Here is Brad with his Mom, Brother and Grandmother:

Brad got a few pics of the boys at a neat area outside the resturant.

We headed back to the hotel and called it a night. The next morning we went back over to his Grandmother's house and had lunch. Then packed up the cars and caravaned to Temple, Texas for Brad's cousin's wedding. The hotel pool was much better!! The boys were excited because they got to swim and relax finally. We went to the rehearsal dinner which was a lot of fun. Got to see a lot of family and catch up. We left around 11pm and headed back. The next day we were able to hang around for awhile but had to be at the church at 2:30. We tried to get some pics before hand but the boys were so tired. As you see Austin was not wanting to smile!!

We headed to the church which was only about 10 mins away and Cole fell asleep first. We brought them into the church and they both sat down and within mins fell asleep in the chairs. They started seating everyone and we picked up the boys and found 2 small pews at the back of the church and this is what they did most of the ceremony

Brad did a pic of the ceremony to prove we were there LOL

Then it was onto the reception. On our way there, Brad had to get this picture!!

Now that the boys had a nap, they were in much better moods and were ready to have a great time. The reception was fun, over 400 people were there!! Great Texas wedding!!
However Austin was ready to go!!

Our weekend

2008-08-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

Well the weddng went off without a hitch. Austin did such a great job. I am so proud of him. He walked down the asile smiling the whole way. You could tell he was proud of himself as well. Here a a few pics

We had a wonderful time and were so honored that Eric & Allison asked Austin to be apart of their special day.

Also this weekend, Cole's glasses were ready to pick up. Cole could not wait to get them. So finally this morning we picked them up and he put them on right away. Here he is showing off..

We leave on Tuesday for a trip to visit Great Grandparents and attend a wedding so will be busy up until we leave. Will post those pics after we get back.

Summer coming to an end

2008-08-14T05:19:00.000-07:00

Well, school starts in less than 2 weeks. Both boys will be in school full time this year - Cole in 2nd grade and Austin in Kindergarten. Cole can't wait to go back and see all of his friends. He will be going back looking a little different this year - he will be wearin glasses! I had been wondering for awhile now if he was having a problem, mainly when he was reading. So when I went in for my check up, I took him with me. And sure enough, he is farsighted.

He will be getting his glasses on Monday and I will post a picture then.

These last days before school are going to be really busy. This weekend, Austin will be in wedding for a dear friend of ours. He looks so handsome in his tux. We picked it up on Monday night and snapped a few pictures..

He was a little shy at first but then he realized that he looked good!! He is excited now about the wedding.

And then next Tuesday, we will be heading out to West Texas to visit family. On Tuesday, we will head to Midland to visit Brad's grandmother, Aunt and Sister. We will stay there until Thursday and head to San Angelo to visit Brad's other Grandmother and meet up with his parents and brother. Then on Friday we will head over to Temple for another wedding, Brad's cousin. We will finally get home on Sunday and the boys start school on Monday - we will be exhausted!!!

Here I am.....

2008-07-21T08:07:00.000-07:00

I am going to try this whole blogging thing out. I may not always be up to date but I will try. First, a little about my self. I am 33 years old and a mom to two boys - Cole who is 7 and will be in 2nd grade this year and Austin who is 5 and he will be in Kindergarten this year. I have been married to Brad since May of 1998. We are Realtors and work as a team here in the Dallas area. I am trying to find other interstes because other than work and being a mom, I am pretty boring. I need to get out of the house more!!! I do enjoy meeting new people and attending playdates and MNO when I can.

So this week is going to be a little quiet. The boys are at my parents for the week so it will be just Brad and I. We are pretty busy with work but I hope to have a few nights out just the two of us or meeting up with friends. It has been way to long since we have done any of that.