a conversation important enough for me to post :)

My little boy tells me at least five times a week that he's going to marry me.  It is one of the sweetest things he says to me.  Having two baby girls before him, I was familiar with being told I would one day have to share my husband and I never imagined then that the most handsome little boy I have ever laid eyes on would want me for his wife.  Me?  His old, nagging mother who tells him NO about 500 hundred times a day.  He wants me!  Well, me, with a few tweaks.  The proof:

Levi - I'm gonna marry you, Mommy!
me - Oh, good, Levi!  I'm glad you want to marry me.
Levi - But, I'll only marry you if you have blonde hair and curly hair.
me - Levi, I don't have blonde hair or curly hair.
Levi - Well, then I can't marry you.  If you change your hair to blonde hair and curly hair, I'll marry you though!

I knew he wouldn't want to marry me forever.  I just never guessed it would be for that reason.  The up side is it looks like I'll be getting some cutie blonde, curly-haired grandkids from my little boy! :)

The Kitchen Table's Best Use

One of Levi's favorite things to do is move all the chairs away from our kitchen table to play trains.  He happily reenacts daring rescues from Misty Island or Hero of the Rails sans tracks.

Other times, he lines trains up with their tenders grouping them according to their "families".  I bet you didn't realize that James is a Mommy and his her daughter is Emily.  Do little boys without older sisters bring Family into train play?

Maybe the fruit bowl is Time-Out?!

When Levi is home with me, he could spend hours at the kitchen table.  But, when Daddy's home, he prefers to set up the tracks on the living room floor and have Daddy watch him run his little trains around.  Daddy better not get caught sneaking a peek at the tv when he's supposed to be watching Levi play with his trains.  He will get a swift reprimand by our 3 year old!

First Day of School 2011

The girls started school on Monday.  Addison is in 3rd grade and Libby is in 1st grade.  Amazing!  Where did the time go??!  They both love their new teachers and are getting to know new friends. Homework hasn't really started, so we'll see if they change their tunes once that gets going :)

Of course, I couldn't snap pics of the girls without Brother jumping in front of the camera!  Levi will start preschool in a couple weeks, so I'll post his first day pic then.

A note about Levi's clothes:  He picked them out himself, which is unusual.  While My Boy never complains when I pick out his clothes/dress him, he whines if he's expected to do either of those things!  What a change from 3 year old little girls!  I don't want to completely corrupt him, so I am making him pick out his own clothes and dress himself these days.  Yesterday he wore his too-short Wranglers with an old t-shirt and flip-flops and wouldn't heed my advice about shorts, (I mean, why should he?  It's only been getting up to 105*/106* this week!) so he proceeded to whine most of his ride in the jogging stroller on my 4 mile run.  Amen for an Ipod and earbuds :)

Quotes heard around Disneyland

Pappa: Ethan tell me about that plane ride!
Ethan: You were on it!

Pappa: Levi did you shave this morning?
Levi: No I didn't! I just don't have mustaches! [I wasn't there, but I would bet he had both his arms out to the side with his palms facing up as he was saying this!]

Libby: I wanna ride on a miracle round!

Levi: Don't tell anyone that we're having snakes for breakfast!  [Can't remember the explanation for this one...I'm thinking they had milkshakes for breakfast??]

Rachel: (driving down freeway) This doesn't look like Disneyland to me...

Ethan: I'm so hungry I'm gonna die.
Addison: Ok then, die.

E: One time I held a chick at school.
A: One time I held a bunny.
R: Boooooring.

Libby: One time daddy threw a rock at a bird and hit it's tail and hurt it and I tried to make it better but it just flew away.
Addi: And now Levi won't stop calling daddy a murderer.

Libby: One time at school, an earthworm crawled in my pants. But it didn't crawl in my panties. It held up my panties with it's mouth. And then it crawled out of my pants and we threw them away because they had earthworm stuff on them. And then I almost stepped on Ms. wormy. That's what I named her.  [No explanation for this one either!]

R: (the weenie falls out of her corn dog) Awwwww man! But at least I can use it as a telescope!

A: We're going to burn a lot of calories today!!

Libby: Disneyland is not like I thought it would be.
Kelsi: How did you think it would be?
Libby: Like...lots of fun. [Classic Libby!]

A: Kelsi, I think you're going to be a good mommy. [ :) ]

Libby: This is making me seasick! I really really like it!

Libby: There's blood on my ear. And I know it's not ketchup. How would I get ketchup on my ear?

Libby: Ethan, did you know that Rachel is crazy?
E: Yup!

Libby: I wanna ride the rabbits! [rapids]



Bryan's parents took the kids to Disneyland with their two cousins, Ethan and Rachel, and with help from B's cousin, Kelsi.  *Everyday, I hear how they want to go back :)  Kelsi recorded funny things she heard and sent a lot of picture texts.  That combined with the detailed descriptions we got from Addi made it seem like we were there.  Only, we didn't have to wait in any lines.  Sweet!

Boogers

(more icky boy-stuff...or maybe this is kid-stuff, 'cause while this incident did not occur exactly the same way with the girls, similar ones did)


Set-up:  Since I have a ton of things to accomplish today, I decided I'd waste a little time rearranging my dining room. 


Levi walked in and I asked him if he liked the [table] lamp where I'd moved it. (Just like a boy, he looked up at the ceiling and said, "Oh, the kitchen lamp is in the dining room!  How'd you do it, Mom??!")  


I pointed to the lamp to explain and walked out of the room to start lunch.  A few seconds later, he comes running into the kitchen and very excitedly tells me, "I wiped TWO boogers on the wall!"


Sure enough, he showed me exactly where TWO dragon boogers sat smooshed on a wall in our entry-way.


So, I had to add, "Please, don't wipe your boogers on anything" to "Please, don't pee on anyone and only spit when you are outside away from people.  Oh, and, if you insist on pee-ing in the backyard, keep it to the grass and leave the trampoline and patio unmarked."

Is there a difference?

When I am out with my 3, I cannot tell you how often I'm asked if I have already noticed a difference in boys and girls.  Aside from the obvious gender differences noticeable from birth, we didn't notice any thing for a while.  I mean, a baby's a baby.  Especially, newborn babies.  Within the first half-year of Levi's life and the onset of his personality, we noticed behaviors not exhibited by our girls.  As he grew older, his boy-ish-ness increased.  And then, today...today, well,  he urinated on his sister.

He wasn't trying to be gross.  He thought he was being funny.  In fact, he told on himself.  Apparently, he and Libby were running around playing some game doubtlessly imagined and thoroughly explained by Libs.  She may have even said something to the effect of, "If you don't _______, I won't be your friend!" (She's such a girl!)  And, Levi, being the boy he is, decided to take it up a notch by claiming he was gonna pee all over her.  If that wasn't enough, he decided he'd really up the ante by actually doing it!  He pee'd all over Libby's clothes, his swimsuit, the carpet, and, (the whole reason he told on himself-what bothered him about the whole thing) his own leg.  Disgusting.

So, yes, there is a difference.  And, yes, we've already noticed the difference between our son and our daughters.

Pictures?

I'm going to attempt to get back to this blogging-thing again.  No promises.  I've wanted to for a while, but I think my pride's been keeping me away.  What if I make the claim that I'm back and then I fail?!  Then I realized that anyone who ever read this blog has given up all hope that I'll ever return, so I'm only really letting myself down if I don't keep the blogging up :)

I was going to add some pics from the last day of school...maybe even comparisons from the first day to the last day to see how much older my girlies looked, but then I had to google our blog address (wow, if that's not a clue that I've been away to long... really, it's because we got a new computer and I don't have my bookmarks on it) and all these past pictures of my kids came up as saved by other people.  What??!  I didn't investigate too much, mainly 'cause I'm a little freaked out about it.  It's probably no big deal.  I do have a big imagination.  (Just ask Mr. Parker about that!)  But, I don't know.  I'll check it out a little more and talk to Bryan before I post any more pictures.  Whew!  My writing is gonna have to get a lot more interesting if I'm not gonna be posting any more pictures! :)

So, a quick recap of the end of the school year and our summer, so far.

 Addison finished 2nd grade and I truly think that's the end of my denial that she's growing up.  She keeps talking about being a 3rd grader now - Not so fast, Addi!

Reagan (if she was reading this, she'd roll her eyes and remind me, "It's LIBBY!") finished kindergarten and is happy to have some time off.  She's a young one with her August birthday and kindergarten was a little more trying for her than it was for Addi.  She ended up doing well, but, man, was she ever tired at the end of school days.

Addi is such a first-born, over-achieving, perfectionist that school has been truly stimulating for her.  Libby is not a first-born, obviously.  She over-achieves at anything social.  I have seen some perfectionist tendencies lately, when it comes to accessorizing her outfits.  I'm only sort-of joking.  Actually, Libby is Libby.  She's go-with-the-flow, loves to be with people, is always ready for fun, enjoys any activity, if it is her idea (stubborn?), and is passionate.  I did notice over Spring Break, she started asking how many more days until she got to go back to school because she missed her teacher and her friends.  Any break before that was met with resistance the night before it ended.

Addison had such a neat group in her class this year.  I so hope she gets to have several of them in her class again next year.  The girls school is busting at the seams.  This is  the case with every school in this growing city where we live.  I did see today where they've broken ground on a new elementary school in our neighborhood (it's less than a mile from our house/our school), so that will take some of the pressure off our school, but it won't be ready this school year.  In the meantime, our school has added 2 new portable classrooms this summer.  All that to say, there are usually 7 classes of each grade.  Or, at least that's been the case since Addison's kinder year.  So, she only had 1 kid in 1st grade that she'd had in kinder and 2 this year from her 1st grade class.  On one hand, it's nice because she gets to know so many kids, but she's heartbroken when one of her best friends is in a different class.

Libby's best friend changed every other day, so she'll be fine.  I do hope she gets a couple of the "sweeter" girls in her 1st grade class, just because she'll be more comfortable the first week.  But, it won't be a big deal to her after the first 20 minutes of the first day if she doesn't know a soul in her class.

Both girls did gymnastics and soccer this past year.  Addison took gymnastics classes the entire year, but I made Libby give up gymnastics during the Fall soccer season.  I just didn't know if it would all be too much after spending her days at school.  It would've been.  She could've come home every day during the first 2 9-week periods and taken a nap.  Addi wasn't interested in soccer until she saw Libby playing, so she started in the Spring.  Levi also took Mommy-and-Me gymnastics this past year and has just started an independent class this summer.  He loves it!  He just loves expending energy :)  The girls gave up gymnastics for the summer.  Addison says she wants to go back once school starts, but Libby wants to do cheerleading, tap, and ballet :)  They'll both be back in soccer (as much as I'm dreading Saturdays full of soccer games!)  At least I'll just have to worry about 2 games this season, even though B would love for us to also sign Levi up.  He's old enough, but I'm already crazy without adding another soccer practice a week and another game on Saturdays.  I don't think he'll be too behind waiting to start until he's 4!

June has been pretty busy for us.  We spent one week with both girls in soccer camp, Levi in swim lessons, and then vbs at night.  The next week just held swim lessons for Levi and this week the girls have had their swim lessons.  Yes, I know we have an 8 year old in swim lessons.  That we paid for!  She begged and now regrets it because she's bored.  But, it's been kind of good for Libby because I insisted they be in the same class, so it's them with another little boy and Libby is really having to step it up in the class.  The boy is 7 and Addi is a really good swimmer (she better be since she's taken swim lessons for 6 summers!), so she's always the "example".  I fought her about taking swim lessons last year and then it happened again this year.  She only won because she got B on her side :)  I don't forsee having to argue about it next year.  We have next week off and then Levi has one more week of lessons. I'm thinking next year, we might get away with no lessons for any of them!

Alright, only time will tell when I'll be back with another post.  Hopefully a better formatted post with pictures!  If I don't post before, have a great 4th of July!  We've got a baseball game, picnic, and fireworks all planned for the long weekend.  Can't wait!

Nice and Shiny Armor

{a paraphase of a conversation from a couple weeks back about Halloween and between all 5 of us}

Libby  I want to be a princess for Halloween this year.  Or a fairy!
Addi  You always want to be a princess or a fairy!
Levi [jumping in place and yelling - his normal method of communication]  I want to be a nice and shiny armor!
me  What??!
Bryan  [laughing 'cause he got it]
Levi [at the same time as the girls]  A Nice And Shiny Armor!
[while both girls]  He's talking about a knight in shining armor!

I think he picked it up from Tangled?!

Levi, again

*So, I really had intentions of turning this whole blog-pause around.  I have a million excuses as to why posting is not happening (who doesn't?), but why bore you with everyday details?  Instead I'll just write down a somewhat worrisome conversation I had a few minutes ago with my little boy. 

Background first - he'd begged me all morning to set up this race track that Libby got for her birthday a few years ago and never plays with anymore.  I thought it was basically set up in the box, so I told him that I'd get it out for him as soon as we got home from gymnastics.  But, I didn't think about the errands I needed to run before we headed home and how late it would be by the time we finally made it home.  I also didn't realize the track was completely taken apart and the instructions were long gone.  Here's how it went down.

We walk in the door and Levi reminds me of my promise.  I tell him, as we walk up the stairs, that he can play with it while I fix his lunch and then he'll have to eat and take a nap.  He's a-okay with that plan.  (Of course he is before I've actually implemented the parts of the plan he won't like: eat and take a nap.)  Once I realize the track is in pieces and I've no idea how to make it a workable track again, I tell him I'm going to make his lunch and then set it up while he's eating so he can play with it for just a little while before he goes down for a nap.  I'm sure you can imagine the drama I got from that idea.  I did win the argument though and it wasn't long before he was trying to play with the track.  I say trying because there was about as many pieces left over as put together, so it wasn't too stable.  So, finally I made him quit playing and took him upstairs for naptime.  As I'm getting him ready he tells me,"When Daddy gets home from work, he can fix the track and then he can be the yellow car and I'll be the green car and we can RACE!"  I said, "Would you let me play with y'all too?"  He responds, "No, you can fix Daddy lunch.  I think he'll be hungry."

I think my 3-year-old is a male chauvinist and I'm not sure what to do about it!

At 2

Levi is two for about 25 more hours.  Unless God has some other plans, this will be the last 25 hours of a two year old living in my home.  It makes me sad.  He's growing into a little boy more and more each day.

I love that he communicates so well, except when he won't stop talking for even 30 seconds!  I love that he is potty trained, except for when he sleeps and apparently wouldn't wake up (or care?) if he was floating in urine.  I love that he wants to do everything his sisters do, except when it's something too old for a two year old to be doing like asking to play games on my phone and telling me we should go to Sonic and "get a coke". 

Today I asked him a few questions to get a glimpse of the Two-Year-Old Levi.

me  Levi, how old are you?
ldp 2.  I'm 2, Mom.  I'm 2, MOM!

me  What's your favorite color?
ldp Puhple!  I told you...puhple!  *It's been green forever, but he told me last night he wanted to paint his room purple ;)

me  What's your favorite food, Levi?
ldp Orange!  Mmmhmmm.  No!  Crackers!

me  Who's your favorite person?
ldp Zoe because she sees me and says, {in a high-pitched squeak} "Oh there's Levi.  He's my favorite friend to play with.   Come play with me, Levi!"

me But Zoe is a dog.  Who is your favorite person?
ldp {silence, taps on chin}
me {whispering} Mommy?
ldp Yeah!  Mommy!

me  What's your favorite thing to do at gymnastics?
ldp Jump on the trampoline!

me  What are you going to be when you grow up?
ldp A cow!  But, who will be the farmer to feed all the farm animals?

me  When's your birthday, Levi?
ldp March 4th.  It's soon!  I'm excited!

on potty training

Potty training and I are not friends!  I used to say it was the worst thing I'd had to deal with in parenting up until now.  I'm not sure that's true anymore.  (I think sending my babies off to school and missing them so much for so much of the day is way worse than potty training.  But, of course, I used to make that oh-so-wise statement before I had any school-aged children.)

I don't know if it's because I've done it a couple times before or because of the gender difference, but Levi has been a piece of cake compared to his sisters.  Most likely, it's a little of both.  Or maybe it's because my worst-parenting-issue-to-deal-with-up-to-now has changed and potty training now seems like small potatoes.

We're a few weeks in and he's still going strong.  Pee-ing came pretty naturally to him.  Maybe I should clarify, standing up to pee in the potty and then pee-ing again all over the bed while sleeping came naturally to him.  Oh, and, of course stripping down and pee-ing all over the trampoline while his sisters squealed came naturally to him. 

I used diapers/pull-ups while Addison was sleeping when I trained her, but I went straight to panties 24/7 when I trained Libby.  It seemed like Addi's training dragged on and on and on.  So, after we got past Libby's extreme stubborness, the initial training was much easier with her.  Of course, she's Busy, so we went through years (still going through?) of her not wanting to stop whatever she was doing to go potty and then not being able to make it in time.  I opted to go the no diaper/pull-up route with Levi.  The problem was ("See, the problem is..."Makes no sense to anyone, but B :) he never woke when he went in the bed.  And, then when he woke from his nap or in the morning and he was soaked (and sometimes dirty), it didn't bother him!  Not one bit!  In fact, sometimes he would argue and whine while I stripped him down and cleaned him up. 

Finally, this week, I'd had enough.  Enough changing clothes and sheets 3 times a day and enough laundry!  I had two diapers left and I stuck one on him Monday night.  The other one was used during naptime on Tuesday.  We made a quick trip to Target to buy our last (fingers crossed) box of diapers and he's set for a while.  I was so afraid I'd get him "hooked" on diapers again.  It doesn't look that way, but we're only a few days in.  And, you know, it will still be years before he starts sleeping over with friends, so as long as he's out of diapers by then, I think it's fine. 

The moral of this story:  each child is truely unique and what you do for one, you really can't do for all!  Mothering sure would be easier if you could treat them all the same, but it wouldn't be nearly as interesting :)

It's week 3 of the school year

and we're surviving.

Here's the breakdown:
Addi(son) is still her name, but this year she has another Addison in her class, so she goes by Addi at school. In the past, about half her friends and teachers called her Addi anyway. She was created to go to school...always wanting to please, always trying her best, always disappointed if she didn't do as well as she'd hoped, obedient, thoughtful, cooperative, happy, rule-following to the letter, excited to work on homework, thrilled to see friends, fiercely loyal to every teacher that's ever taught her. She is the model Responsible, Respectful, and Ready to Learn student her school expects. She's still going strong in gymnastics and recently moved to a more challenging class. Our living room is still her makeshift gym! Addison's my child who would like to sleep in and has had trouble waking with a pleasant attitude in past years. So far, this year has been different. She's usually up before I even stumble up the stairs to wake her. In fact, this morning, she had Levi dressed and his bed made before I rolled out of bed. Addi relishes her new responsibility that includes picking Libby up from a designated area after school and then walking out with her to meet Levi and me. Second grade may be her best year yet!

Libby is her name of choice in kindergarten. Although she still answers to Reagan or any of her nicknames without complaint! If she could really have her way, she'd be called Elizabeth because she claims she was named after Queen Elizabeth! I wonder if the real Elizabeth she was named after realizes Libby thinks she's a queen?! Honestly, I'm not really sure how she's doing in kindergarten. I know she is beyond tired and is a tad cranky. By tad, I actually mean ton! I think by the time 3 o'clock rolls around she's done. She's had it. She doesn't even want to think about school, much less answer any of my questions about it. Socially, she's great. Libby is not my shy child. She was stressed out that she'd get her folder signed, but I think we've calmed her down. She did tell me a few days after school started she finally had kindergarten figured out. "It goes, 'Blah, blah, blah', go to playground, 'blah blah', go to lunch, 'blah, blah, blah', bathroom, rest time, 'blah, blah', snack, 'blah, blah, blah', go home." As emotional as Libs is, she really hides her feelings. On any walk home from school she can be all over the place with her emotions, but when we make it home, I still have no clue why she was excited and then crying and then laughing and then pouting. I'm chalking up most of this to being overly tired. Hopefully her little body will adjust in a few weeks. I am doubting our decision to start her a mere 5 days after she turned 5. There's nothing to be done about it now, but stick it out and see how she does. I'll be anxious to talk with her teacher at conference day in October. The good news is she's her old self on the weekends! We just have to get through 5 days to see the real Libby for 2 days! Libby stopped gymnastics for a few months because she wanted to try soccer. Bryan is her coach and she's having a great time so far even though every practice but one has been rained out! We have another practice scheduled for tonight and her first game is Saturday. That should be interesting :)

Levi is much better than he was the first week of school. He understands now that we pick "his girls" up after his nap. Usually the first thing he utters after I wake him is "we go pick up my girls now after nap!" He is delighted to see them! One day he even let Addi hold him like a baby for a good 30 minutes. She sat in a comfy chair and sang to him while he stared at her and was perfectly still. He's settling into a routine of taking the girls to school and coming home to watch Clifford. Most days we take a walk and some days we have to run errands, which is torture on both of us. I wouldn't hesistate in taking both girls on errands rather than just him! Both girls and Bryan. We I took Levi out of preschool for this year. I really enjoy having him around and he's got enough social interaction through sisters, church, and playgroups for now. I'm starting to wonder if I'll put him in preschool at all. I really don't think it's necessary. My tune could drastically change in the next year though. And, part of this rebellion may be aimed toward new teaching standards in public school kindergarten. But, that's a whole other can of worms. I think it will be good year for Levi and me. He is already telling me, "You're bootiful!" How could it not be a good year :)

Three Snug Bugs

Staying up late while watching a movie in the playroom has become a favorite activity this summer. The downside (for me) is one of the 3 inevitably wakes up at the crack of dawn and proceeds to wake his/her siblings. Then I deal with 3 cranky kids for the rest of the day. Or, at least until after lunch, when I make all 3 take a nap. :)

petting zoo

A few weeks ago, we met some good friends at a petting zoo. We had a fun time with only one child traumatized by a hungry deer. (Apparently Libby's shirt smelled a little too much like deer food.) It was nothing a little ChickFilA couldn't fix. :) (ChickFilA for the tears, not the deer)

downtown

One day in the last month of school, Addi was home feeling crummy. By mid-afternoon she started feeling better, so we got out some paper and made a list of all the activities we wanted to do this summer. While Bryan was in Houston last week, we checked two more off the list.

First we stopped at the Dallas Farmers Market. I packed our lunches, but I think we could've filled up on all the samples people were willing to pass out. We ended up with a watermelon, a cantaloupe, green tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini and honey. Then we ate our lunch in the car with the a/c on full blast and a dvd playing. (It was the most peaceful lunch I've had in a long time!) The fun didn't stop there though. :) Next, we ventured out in the heat and humidity in search of tall buildings. Riding elevators was on the agenda. It was fun and after about an hour we were all pooped. All 3 slept the entire drive home.


Yes, I know these appear to be the exact same picture. Libby took the first one and Addi took the second. I think they could point out all the differences in their very different takes on the same building.

old friends

Okay, so I've totally dropped the ball this summer. And, I uploaded these pictures in reverse order from when they actually occurred, but! I'm posting today!!

We had some wonderful friends visit a couple weeks ago. We knew them in Raleigh and we used to have a little babysitting swap back when both families were complete with 2 girls. I wonder if they would still swap with us now that we've added a rowdy little boy?! We've missed them terribly and had such a good time together.

We miss you again, D, R, and S! Next reunion, we'll have to come to you. :)

a summer cut

2 Gymnasts and a Monkey

He's all boy

No time for pictures or many words today.

I just opened our front door and a little boy, probably about 4, was standing near his bike parked on the sidewalk across the street. His mom told him to get back on and start pedaling, but he yelled, "First I have to scare the rabbit! "

It made me laugh. I might have ignored it or even felt sorry for the poor rabbit before I had Levi. But, now, I'm that mom. I have seen my boy chase a rabbit down the street roaring loudly the whole way. It's just in him to act that way and it's just in me to love him all the more when he does.

We are alive!

We've just been really busy lately and I neglected posting about our fun weekend trip to College Station. It's been almost 2 weekends ago now - oops!

Anyway, Bryan was in Houston most of the week, so the kids and I drove to College Station on Saturday morning. But, first we stopped (and met Grandpa and Uncle Brett) in Levi, TX. I wanted to get a picture of the "Levi, Population 50" sign. However, there isn't one, so I had to settle for this road sign. It was the only thing, besides an address on a mailbox, that said Levi. Oh, if you're wondering, Levi was totally impressed with the town he was named after. :)

Our next stop was in Reagan, TX. My sister in law gave me a black and white photo of the old Reagan post office building one year for my birthday. It made me cry, so I wanted to go back and get a picture of our Reagan standing in front of the building. Sadly, it is now an eating establishment, but Grandpa thought we should still get the picture. I'm glad we did. The next time we drive through it could be gone. (And, yes the wind was fierce. You just have to take my word for it that the little girl sitting atop my father's shoulders is, in fact, Reagan.)

Next stop - Olsen Field for peanuts and popcorn...

and snow cones...

and cotton candy!

We said goodbye to Grandpa and Uncle Brett as they headed home and we hit the road for Houston. We met Bryan at his hotel and everyone fell asleep early. The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel, loaded the car, dropped off Bryan's rental and set out for College Station again. That afternoon we attended a ring ceremony for one of Bryan's closest friends from college who gave his life in service to our country. It was a moving ceremony with plenty of memories and old friends.

There were a lot of people there, including Governor Perry. This thrilled Addi beyond words since her class recently finished their Texas unit.

We're not so sure Levi's a republican!

Levi finally warmed up to the govenor while he tried to teach Levi how to stick his thumb up without sticking any other fingers up. The girls have it and Levi sort of got it. (Incidentally, we're not so sure Levi's an Aggie either :)

Major Glenn and his family were there.

A bunch of kids were there.

Christian was there. His mom and dad were there too, but I didn't get a picture with them.

I did, however, snap this picture of my child licking the glass inside a revolving door right before I told him to stop licking the glass because that is disgusting!

It was a good weekend. Ideally we would've had time to walk around campus and bore our children to tears, but Addi had school the next day and it's a 3+ hour drive back home. The girls did have fun in this huge Aggie ring outside the Former Students building. Levi was asleep in Bryan's arms or he would've been right in the middle of this picture.

After a meal at Wings N More (yummy!) with the Starrs, we made the trip back home.

And, I've been recovering ever since. :) Not really, but that would be a good excuse for my lack of blogging!