Cruzin' Cooler needs some fixin'

Daddy and the kids took to fixing the wheel of our beloved Cruzin' Cooler. I busted the tire trying to ride it when it was low...oops! John ordered a part and they fixed it this evening. We rode it around...each kid taking turns. Hilarious & so fun!!

& yes, Mary, Holt is in his underwear...again!!

Nitro update...

Well, Holt's been doing great w/ his swim lessons at Nitro. He's working on kicking w/ straight legs right now. He says it's hard b/c "I ride my bike w/ bent legs!". He has a favorite teacher...whom he calls "banana head"...the guy wears a plastic banana in the strap of his goggles the whole time. The kids think it's hilarious. Holt got him all to himself today...he had a great lesson.

Becoming better friends...we hope!

Here's the game to becoming better friends...

(I need to add a picture of the prize they chose.)

The first move of nice play...
We go through good and bad days w/ this sibling thing. Some days are so good and they play like best friends, but some days (which are much more often than we'd like) are full of "you're not my friend", "I'm telling my mommy.", etc.
So, to try to put a stop to so many not so great days, I made a little game out of it. The kids have to work together to get "Holt & Adly" through the path and to the prize. They earn it together...by using nice words, hugs, playing sweet, helping, etc...together! Any adult can note their nice play and that moves the "Holt & Adly" figures up another box closer to the prize. If there is any ugly talk/play then the figures sadly go backward a space. They seemed to love this idea.
Together they decided that once they reach the path's end they get to go get ice cream together (& play on the blocks at 1890 Ranch). The more nice play the quicker we get to the prize.
Wish us luck on it's success!!

"Break A Leg"...

Elmo & Cookie Monster show...

Tension rod, cheap fabric & hot glue make for an easy puppet show curtain...
I made a puppet show curtain for our playroom. We use the closet door frame as our show stage. The puppet masters sit inside the closet and "perform". The kids both loved it!! We used the puppets we had and our stuffed animals. They liked me to do the performances the best, but they put on some pretty cute ones too!

There's no place like the Oasis...

We had the best time at the Oasis...us, Missy & Davey & Mimi & Biggin'! What a beautiful piece of Austin that place is. Great family, great food (seriously), great atmosphere, a great time!!

Mimi bought Holt an Oasis t-shirt & Adly a "Keep Austin Weird"!

A morning w/ our Biggin'...

Adly and I shared a great morning w/ Biggin' while daddy and Holt were in Cameron. We went on a walk/bike ride, rode the train, went to the play ground & ate lunch. We sure love our sweet Biggin'!! Thanks for a great time.

It took off years!

Look at this young pup! Sweet Freddie is so happy and much cooler now that his hair is cut. What a proud little Shih Tzu he is! Adly told him how cute he was when he got in the car and Holt noticed that you could see his wiener better now (yes, I said it...sorry, had to post that!!). We love our Freddie!!

Lake trip...

The kids and I took a trip to visit MaMa (John's mom) at their lakehouse today. We played outside and in and had a nice lunch. We always enjoy our trips to the lake...& MaMa's grilled cheese w/ pickles! Look at this beautiful view...oh, and the lake is to their right!

Spider Web park...

We went to this "spider web" park...I think it's called Brushy Creek Sports Park. Anyway, the kids both love it. There's a big spider web made of rope and a seat in the middle as part of the playscape. Holt loved the "zip line" the most. Adly just loves to climb on anything. There are all sorts of climbing and manipulating tasks here. It's also a great park to take your dog & to ride bikes....we'll do that next time.

Hoppin' Hippo

We had a great time running around and playing at Hoppin' Hippo. All the kids loved it! The best part was seeing my mom fly out of a slide on her a*#!!

We went to Mangia pizza for lunch...it was such a fun day!

p.s. Thomas was their too, but all the pictures I took of him were in action so they were blurry!...go figure!

Holt's birthday art...

Here's the family picture Holt drew for me. Notice there are only 3 people, but there are 4 in our family. I figured he left Adly out, but that wasn't the case (yay!). His reasoning was "This picture is for you...Daddy (w/ the big head), Adly and I are wishing you a happy birthday!" Then I was happy!

Once their drawings become art you can "read", I never want to throw even a scratch paper away. It's just so telling and genuine and sweet. I need a binder to save kids artwork, I think!

What a great birthday it was! Thanks to all my family & friends.

Generous b-day gift from Holt...

Holt "wrapped" up a gift for me....he got in his piggy bank and gave me a bag full of coins. He said it was for me to buy something I liked. I told him we'd use it to all get ice cream or snow cones....I'll probably be getting more money from now on!

How sweet is this?

Freddie needs a haircut...

Look at our sweetie pie, Freddie. It's hot outside and he doesn't get his haircut until Friday! He can hardly see...he'll be looking like a Shih Tzu should once Friday comes.

The kids have both told me that he needs one...that's bad! Here's the before...he's just so cute this way too.

& yes, I "post" on my dog too!!!

Adly's new helmet!!

Adly's been insisting on getting a helmet, "just like Holt's" for her tricycle. Her daddy bought her the one she wanted this afternoon. A big, pink, helmet w/ monkeys all over it. It's precious! We went on a family bike ride (only the little ones rode). They cheered each other on the whole way...about 1/4 mile these little tikes rode! Adly kept saying "This helmet is cool", most of the ride. She feels like a big girl w/ her new helmet.

Sweet Denali Joyce

My good friend, Melissa, had a baby girl about 1 week ago. I went to visit them today. What a little angel Denali is. By the way, Denali was named after a beautiful national park in Alaska, where Stan (her daddy), was raised. You pronounce her name, DA-NALLEY.

It was so nice to visit w/ she and her mommy! I hope to see them both again real soon.

A bit early...b-day gift..

My Mom & Biggin' gave me this beautiful, "mommy necklace" for my 33rd b-day...which, by the way, isn't until Tuesday, July 21st (in case you were wondering). I LOVE it!!! Isn't it sweet? The back reads "We love you so"

http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/

Pebble Mosaics turn to real art...

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do w/ our little pebble mosaics...string them together, put them in our garden, etc. We decided to paint them and then hot glue them onto a painted canvas. I think it made for pretty art in our hall bathroom.

Holt is 4 1/2!!

Yesterday was Holt's 1/2 b-day. We try to celebrate it by doing something little, like getting ice cream or making a treat, etc. Today we went to Kawaii's Shaved Ice in downtown Round Rock. Their snow cones are sooo good!! Especially on a day over 100 degrees. Holt chose root beer & Adly, pink lemonade!

p.s. They even have a drive through...we won't be attempting that until they are much older!

Cabela's trip

We took a trip down to Cabela's...in Buda! It was so fun, but if you're not okay w/ the stuffed animal thing, then don't venture down. It is actually very educational. There is a real aquarium w/ lots of native fish...that was the best part. The other animals are all stuffed.

They are all made to look like they are in their natural surroundings and habitats. It's really amazing to see the work that was put into this place. After touring the animal grounds, we went upstairs to eat at the cafeteria. They had a salad bar, grilled cheese and pb & j...we couldn't want for anything else. It was a nice outing w/ our Mimi too.

The best part...when we got back home it was nap time!!

This is how she eats a popsicle...

It's pretty funny to watch this tiny lady turn into this. It's almost a daily occurrence in the summer. Holt and I just laugh and laugh!

Sweet Great Grandmom...

The kids and I met MaMa (John's mom) at Great Grandmom's retirement home this afternoon. We visited w/ her and toured the place. We got to see pictures of MaMa when she was a little girl and saw one of the biggest set of checkers ever! It was a nice visit and we were glad to see sweet Grandmom.

Sticky Drumsticks...

I made another new, easy recipe tonight. It was really good, I have to admit. Try it out...both kids and John loved it....

6 chicken drumsticks
2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp low salt soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil (I used grapeseed b/c that's what I had)

heat oven 375, mix ingredients together in bowl, paint onto chicken or dip (I painted)

lay chicken on baking sheet

cook for 30-40 minutes (I did 35)

pull out and re baste w/ remaining liquid

*while I cooked it Holt kept asking for a waffle b/c of the smell! So funny!...then John got home and asked if we were having waffles for dinner!

Soccer Tots is over.

Adly & Jessica took Soccer Tots this summer and they loved it! We were sad for it to end, but are thinking of rejoining. It was a fairly cheap way to let them run off some energy, indoors!

These are some pics from the last day...