Exciting news for the boys!

Our fall has been very busy with soccer and baseball schedules in full swing. It's so much fun to watch them play! Recently, Jake auditioned for the Coppell Community Theatre's "Christmas Homecoming" and got the role of Ben!! We are so excited for him! Rehearsals begin at the end of October and he will perform the play 11 times in the month of December. We will let you all know the dates so that you can come and watch if you'd like!
Caden entered a skills competition through our local professional soccer team - FC Dallas. He was judged on dribbling, passing, and shooting. The top 3 scores in each age group get to advance to the finals which are held before an FC Dallas game - and Caden qualified!! He will go today to see how he stands up to kids that were top 3 in their town. It's sure to be exciting, and we'll take pics and keep you posted.
Little Crew is just growing like a weed. He loves to play ball and still doesn't say many words. He's too busy developing his baseball, basketball, and soccer skills. He also loves to run. It's so funny to see a kid so little run across the yard. He's pretty fast!
Love to all and thanks for reading!
annick

Where did the summer go?

Well, the end of summer came and went in the blink of an eye! The boys are back to school this week and doing well so far. It's always an adjustment...for them, and for me. I find it hard to give them over to "strangers" and I miss them during the day. Both teachers seem to be great...and we're hoping for a fantastic year in 2nd and 4th grade!

I forgot to tell you all about the soccer tournamen in Austin a few weeks ago. It was a very fun trip to take with the team, even though it was so hot. The team placed 2nd overall, which won them a spot in the DisneyWorld tournament in January. We are in full swing making plans to go there and see how we do. Once we finish the tourney, we'll stay and enjoy Disney for a couple of days before returning home.

My landscaping is coming along VERY slowly. I finally have some edging in place and I've researched various plants that I'd like to have. Now I'm just waiting for the weather to cool a bit before planting. I'm sure our neighbors are not impressed with our little project so far...it's not very pretty right now.

I start back to school with staff meetings next week and I get my students on the 9th. It's a very busy time of year...I'll do my best to keep up with the posts. I'll also add Austin and first day of school pictures soon!

Love to all...

Summer is so fun with the boys!

We've had lots of good time at home with the boys for the past couple of weeks. The boys have probably been allowed to play too much DS and Wii, which they are thrilled about. We've just been doing the usual summer activities...playing with the neighborhood friends (baseball is very popular in our front yards), swimming at Gramma Honey's house, staying up late eating popcorn and watching movies...we're very laid back right now, and it feels great as I know school days are going to sneak up on us in what feels like no time at all!


Yesterday, the 3 boys and I went with my mom to the Dallas World Aquarium. I was especially excited because they have recently added a living rainforest to the exhibit. When we arrived, we were directed to an elevator that took us to the top, or canopy, layer of the rainforest. (I know, the emergent layer is actually the top layer, but since the place has a roof, they couldn't exactly include that in the display :) We were immediately greeted by howler monkeys swinging through the vines of the trees and colorful birds flying right above our heads. The path took us winding downward through all the layers of the forest, and we got to see various plant and animal life all along the trail. We even got to see the only sloth on exhibit in all of North America. It was sleeping, of course. Caden had several favorites...the sharks (we stood inside a tunnel that was completely underwater with the sharks swimming on all sides!), the sloth, and the monkeys. Jake was fascinated by the "saw tooth shark" as we named it. It had a 3 food rectangular "nose" sticking off the front of its face and all along the edge were pointy triangles. Amazing. Crew just wanted to run around as fast as he could, and, since he thinks all animals are dogs, he spent a lot of time barking! I think my favorite was the jaguar. I felt nervous as I trusteda 1/2 inch piece of glass to protect my boys from this beautiful animal!


This weekend we'll go visit J&W at Nana's house. It's always a nice and relaxing visit there. I just wish I could figure out why I always get sleepy there! ha!


Hope everyone is staying cool! I know I'll be thankful when we drop below 100 again!

Our Trip to San Antonio

We had a great visit with Janice and Wendell in San Antonio. We enjoyed dinner with Rosemary, Tom, and Sydney followed by a showing of Sydneys choir show (she's quite a star!). Saturday morning, we headed out early for a trip to Sea World. We weren't sure how long Crew would last, but thankfully he napped in his stroller and was able to make it all day. The boys loved the shows: Dogs and Cats, Vive, and Shamu's "Believe". Jake really wanted to sit in the splash zone for the Shamu show, so Janice and Wendell put their brave faces on and went for it! We were in the 4th row, and we got drenched. Three whales came up to the edge of the water and splashed our section 4 times with their enormous tails - is that what it's called?? The water was freezing and very salty. Crew didn't like it a bit and cried at the shock of getting wet. Poor thing! We also rode roller coasters, saw animal exhibits (dolphins, penguins, Clidesdales, and sharks!) It was a fantastic day with the family and we loved every minute of it!
Sunday morning, we went to church and got to show the boys off to several friends. It's always such a warm welcome at Laurel Heights. The boys are sad to miss VBS there this year, but are happy for gramma and grandad to get to go to Hawaii!!
Thanks for such a fun weekend!
(Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to flip my images...will work on that!)

Just hanging out...

We are so proud of Cade...he was named "camper of the week" last week at soccer camp! I'm not sure what the coach based his choice on, but Cade was in a group of 18 competive players, so he must have played hard and well!

Jake has been playing with several neighborhood friends this week. We are so blessed to be in an area where the boys have so many friends their age to play with. His best buddy lives right across the street from us. His name is Philip and he has a lot in common with Jake. He is in Jake's challenge class at school, and he was Jake's partner for the talent show where they recited/acted out "Who's on First?" It was hysterical! This summer they love to play harry potter (a game they made up since reading the series) and they sync their DS games up and play each other.

Crew has started to say a few new words this week. "Bop" is usually bottle, but can also mean passy or lovey. He says, "out", "up", "ball", "hi", "mom", "da", "ja" (jake) "yeah", and "yes". It's so fun to watch him play and figure things out. He loves to put small items into larger containers. He loves to dance to any and all music; and he definitely had a favorite TV show...the Backyardigans!

Our rock garden is coming along...today my brother picked up the rocks that I picked out and brought them to the house and "installed" them for me. Next we hope to find a few cool things to plant around the area.

Gabe is gearing up for our big indoor soccer game tomorrow night - we play the Lil' Giants. Hopefully we'll "crush" them! Afterwards, we are having a team dinner and then watching fire works together. Friday morning, we'll go the 4th of July parade here in Coppell, then stroll down 35 to visit Janice and Wendell in San Antonio.

Happy 4th of July everyone!!

Week of Soccer Camp!

The boys are in full soccer camp swing. Gabe is coaching his own group - U5 boys - scouting out the talent for his friend to create his own Crushers team. Caden is in a competitive group with the rest of his team, and, needless to say, loving every minute of it. Jake is putting his servants heart and business skills to use as the assistant manager of the camp concession stand. He has proudly reported the favorite candy and drink of the day each day. (nerds on a rope and gatorade, in case you were wondering!) This has given me fun time with Crew each morning. Today we went to "toddler time" at the library. He got to sing and dance to traditional nursery rhymes. I use the terms "sing" and "dance" loosely. Mostly, he just walks up to each child there, smiles, let's out a squeal, and runs back to me. I'm not worried, yet, but most of the other children sit nicely in their moms lap throughout this time. I don't know that Crew has ever sat still. Oh well.
I have several project going on in my front and side yard. We have torn out all of the ground cover in our side "garden" (again, I use the term loosely) and we plan to replace it with a rock garden. The lower the maintenece, the better. I'm about to remove several shrubs from my front yard and replace them with a variety of more tropical looking plants and bushes. I'm very excited about it, but I'm constantly amazed at how much time it all takes. Thankfully, my mom and dad come over and lend me a hand when I get myself in too deep. Gabe's been a trooper, taking the boys various places so that I can have uninterrupted time in the yard. Tonight, I had to call him out to remove two garden snakes from the area I was working in. I scream every time I see one!
This weekend Cade will play in a baseball tournament in Cedar Hill, about 45 minutes away from us. I'm sure it will be fun, but very hot. Interestingly, I am also having a garage sale with my mom this weekend...but Gabe kinda forgot about that. Hopefully he and Crew will enjoy some baseball together!
We are also planning to head to San Antonio for the 4th of July and a nice visit with Janice and Wendell, Jason and Sydney. Looking forward to that!
I'm off to watch "So You Think You Can Dance" - one of my very favorite shows. Gabe even watches it with me and admits it's pretty cool.
Love to all!

Catching Up

Some recent highlights:
Jake just finished 3rd grade, and, on June 17th, he turned 9! It's hard to believe he's almost to double digits...the years have flown by! Jake would tell you that his favorite things to do are read (he just completed the Harry Potter series), climb trees, play baseball, and swim. He has always loved school and this year he had an amazing Christian teacher that challenged him and loved him for the unique little guy that he is. This summer, Jake has already attended VBS at the church where I teach, and he is going to take an acting class/camp later this summer. Jake was recently chosen as an Uproar iAgent where he is sent missions to complete, and, when he does, the advertising firm he "works" for sends him his own paychecks! Cool!

Caden is 7 and just completed 1st grade. He, too, had a wonderful Christian teacher who was very good with him. She loved that he has such a good sense of humor! Cade, too, does very well in school, but he will tell you that recess is his favorite part. Cade's favorite activity is, hands down, playing soccer. If he's not playing on a field, he's in the yard or house somewhere practicing moves. He plays on a team called Coppell Crushers, coached by Gabe, and, so far, there are not many teams that can come close to beating them. He also played in a 3v3 tournament and won a spot in an Austin tourney in mid August. If they place there, they will earn a spot playing in the Disneyworld tournament in January. We'll keep you posted!

Crew turned 1 on April 25th and is just the sweetest little guy we could have hoped for. He is constantly smiling, laughing, trying to make us laugh, and watching everything his brothers do. Gabe is very proud of his interest in balls of all sizes, and the fact that he will hit a baseball off of a T, drop his bat, and start running to a base. Needless to say, he keeps us amused. He also loves his bathtime, swimming, and just being in the same room with Jake and Cade. We've decided that he has a pretty good life.

The two older boys were in my brothers wedding in April. Caden as the ring bearer, and Jake as the Bible bearer. They were very proud! I'm out of room for this post...