Fridays

Yep, this has been how today has gone! Fun Friday!! :)

Homework Phase 2

Well, we got the wall painted and the new entertainment center arrived (I still have a door to put on but had an issue with the handle, so have to get that fixed. Now we just wait for the new tv!! Note: the stuff all over the floor is actually about 10 times worse in the rest of the house. We had to bulldoze our way to this clean spot so we could get the entertainment center put together. The rest will come together eventually...maybe in about 16 years!! ;)

Homework phase 1

Step 1 was removing the big old built in entertainment center!

Step 2: paint the wall!

Weekend Fun!

We had a weekend in Dallas this last weekend. John visited the orthodontist, but we had lots of fun playing golf and hanging out at the park. Papa even "took off" his beard and mustache! Lots of fun!

Character of the Month

At John's school, they have a "Character of the Month" from each class who exhibits the character trait of the month. John was selected this month and the character trait for February is "Respect." We got to all go have lunch with John and he got a certificate and a bracelet. We are proud of him!!

I included this picture of Jake because he did NOT want me to take his picture, but I didn't listen and took one anyway. Well, he was VERY upset about that and screamed "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" so loudly that everyone stopped talking and started looking at us. Funny guy!!

Determined to post!!

So I am determined to post more updates on our blog again after an almost 4 month break! To start things off, here is the picture for the day. Jacob is always my little helper and quite the independent little guy. He is usually seen without shirt, socks or sometimes pants on because he is also the Hulk and is known to rip his pants quite often, so better to just not wear them. He decided today that we all (Ryan, Jake and I) needed a mid-morning snack. So he climbed up onto the counter, got out the Nilla wafers and 3 little bowls and made us a snack.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

This is a little late since we were out of town celebrating, but Happy Birthday Mom!!! We are grateful to have you in our family and for the 31 years I've had you as my mom!! Things about my mom you might not know: she is a super quilter, she is always up for an adventure, she has been married to my dad for a long time!, her grandsons (and family) hang the moon, stars and sun, she loves her family more than anything and we can tell, she is an excellent teacher and is willing to work with kids most would run from, she's an amazing cook (if you are interested in a low-fat, no salt diet, she's the woman to talk to...she makes healthy things that would normally taste like cardboard taste gourmet!), and she is still one tough lady when it comes to family wrestle mania!! Here's to another great year!!

January

**John earned his yellow belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu...we are proud of his hard work and he is looking forward to earning his first stripe!
**We had a great birthday celebration for Grandma's birthday. The ribs were great and the company even better!! We are grateful for Mom/Ann/Grandma and all that she does for our family. She is an amazing lady and we are grateful we get to celebrate her every New Year!!!
** The boys are working on learning how to cook. The first project: Mint Chocolate Chip and Oreo ice cream cake. Result: Big success!!
**The weather was not so great, but we did get in a few trips to the park. Family bike rides have become a big hit!
**When the weather was bad, we had a good time playing video games together.
**AND, our baby, Mr. Ryan, turned the big 2 at the end of the month! I can't believe he is already 2. He is such a sweet and funny little guy. We are grateful to have him in our family!! Here are some things you might not know about Ryan:
1. He LOVES his family. He always wants to go pick up his brothers from school within 5 mins of dropping them off. He loves everyone in his family, but has a special bond with his Papa. They are quite the duo!
2. He LOVES books...he is often seen backing up into you to have you read a book to him. His favorite: Reading "Lucky Duck" with Papa.
3. He LOVES to wrestle. You have to really watch out because he just goes all out with wrestle mania. His head measures around the 120th percentile for size, so when that melon comes crashing down on you, it hurts.
4. He LOVES all things Super Hero Squad. Hulk is his favorite.
5. He LOVES to be outside. Anything and everything outside is great...he's not picky.
6. He has a "pot" (translation: spot) on his buddy that is his comfort thing. He love to snuggle and find the 'pot.'

December

Okay, better buckle your seatbelt for December:
**We started off the month with a trip to California (just Jake, Ry and I with my Dad). We had a great time with "The Greats" and my aunts. We got to visit a real castle, the beach and played in the "hot pool."
**There was some great weather in Austin, so we took advantage by hiking the green belt in S. Austin and making a trip to Enchanted Rock. We also had to spend some time outside cleaning up all the leaves in our front yard.
**There were several holiday parties
**We had a great Christmas...lots of time with family. The boys got to play with their Aunts and Uncles. And this was really the first (and hopefully not last) year that all the boys were SOOOO excited about Santa coming. They all were great boys this year, so Santa brought them exactly what they wanted (John-a spinning lightsaber; Jake-buzz lightyear wing pack; Ry-Thomas and Percy toys).
**We finished out the year smoking some ribs for Grandma's New Year's Birthday Bash! We even had some time for s'mores!

November

November:
**Mark and I did the Warrior Dash in Austin...lots of fun and mud!
**John honored his Great-Grandpa Caldwell (who he is named after) for veteran's day. We had a great time putting together his 'brick' for the veteran's wall.
**Darth Vader was a regular at our house during November (a result of clearance Halloween costumes...who knew boys loved to dress up so much!)
**We celebrated Thanksgiving in Grapevine with my family & the Seymours (our Texas family). We had a good time bowling, wrestling, walking, playing at the park and fishing. John was the "whopper" catcher!

October

We had a great October. We got to hit the State Fair, Sweet Berry Farm, the Hustle Your Bustle Kids Fun Run, carve pumpkins and had a great Halloween with friends. Busy month!