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!!