Fun in the Sun!

On Friday we had a family fun day and it was great! Shawn took a vacation day and he, Jase and Joseph went fishing in Galveston. This was Jase's first time to wade and he had a blast. Uncle JoJo really liked it too! 

While the boys were fishing, we were sleeping! I think they left before 4 am! Currazy! Me, the two little ones, my mom and Alisha headed out to Palm Beach at Moody Gardens a little later that morning and the guys joined us after fishing. Some great friends of ours also came out and it made for a wonderful afternoon! 

Both Jase and Allyson were asleep when we got home around 5:30, and they were out for the night! That never happens, but I'm sure they needed their sleep (especially Jase) after a long day. And below is our little Finn at the dinner table. I remember Jase and Allyson falling asleep often at the dinner table at times, but Finn never does this. But that night he was beat and couldn't hang any longer!

Summer Happenings

Summer time...time to slow down, right? Not around here lately! Last week Jase had VBS in the morning and then we all had VBS in the evening.  This weekend we worked on some projects for the house and hope to continue this weekend as well.  This week Jase is participating in a baseball camp at the high school. He is really enjoying it and picking up on some fundamentals that will help down the road.  Here he is yesterday morning before walking out the door. :)

As for Miss Allyson, she has VBS during the morning this week.  Yesterday was RED day, so we pulled out our only red shirt: Jessie from Toy Story.  I told her to go get her sandals and she came back with her red boots and told me she wanted to wear them for red day. "Ally, are you sure? I think those boots are still a little too big. Will you be able to do the moves to the songs you're learning in them?" I tried everything, but she wanted to wear them.  Boots it is.  I have to admit, she does look cute in them.  And I promise I was taking her to vacation bible school and not line dancing!

After the morning's activities we grabbed some lunch at Chick-Fil-A.  Aunt Alisha and Uncle JoJo joined us and we had a nice time visiting with them.  It was their 2nd year anniversary, which is hard to believe...time is flying by! Later at dinner we were talking about it and I told the kids that exactly 2 years ago today we were at their wedding. Ally had feel asleep on stage during the wedding ceremony and Daddy was holding her.  Jase was standing next to Daddy and for some reason he started licking her feet during the wedding ceremony...in front of everyone...I nearly died! Memories, right? And life definitely went on.

And this week we also started swimming classes in the evening.  The first night was a nightmare for Ally.  Poor baby girl was so scared.  She cried nearly the whole time and only got into the water 4-5 times.  I tried my best yesterday during the day to boost her up and tell her she was going to do great and not be scared and not cry.  She told me she was not going to cry, but then when we started to pray and ask the Lord to calm her nerves, she started to cry. :(  Last night she was such a big girl and and did not shed a tear. So proud of her.  That is a miracle from the first night. Here she is below putting her face in the water with the instructor.  And the other swim picture is Jase jumping in the deep end.

I went upstairs to check on the kiddos (and Shawn) and I found my big boy asleep in bed with his light on.  This picture says so much about him.  He is sporting his Lego Star Wars pajamas {which he loves}, he is sleeping with 3 baseballs {he is a little obsessed with the sport right now}, and he has his devotional book out {he loves to read this every night before bed}. This busy summer day has worn him out.

The Boys and Girls Harbor

{I am posting this way later than I had originally anticipated.}  For the kids' birthdays (and Christmas) they always get so much, so for this year's party I spoke to Jase about instead of receiving gifts only for him, that we could ask for donations for a local need. {My sister-in-law's children have done this before in the past and I thought it was a very giving idea.} Jase was on board.  I found the Boys and Girls Harbor and their mission is to provide a healthy home for children whose families are going through a crisis.

I called The Harbor and asked what their current needs were and they told me toiletries, insect repellent and such.  I sent out a special note with the invitation.

The guests to his party went above and beyond on the donations.  It was awesome to see what all was brought for The Harbor.

About a week after his party, we drove down to La Porte and delivered the goods.  I'm glad that Jase got to take part in this and hopefully it made a lasting impression on him.  While we were there we saw boys playing and I was able to point out that those boys are just like him.

New Headboard!

Once we decided we weren't moving to Africa back in February, one of the first things we went out and bought was a new mattress...KING baby!  My back has been giving me issues off and on since I delivered Finn.  At first I thought it was my sciatic nerve, but after going to the chiropractor a couple of times, he suggested it might be my mattress and/or the way I am sleeping.  Now Finn doesn't start off in our bed, but he usually ends up there and I am still nursing, so I usually end up sleeping on my side with my arm up and right on the edge of the bed.  I'd like to say that things have changed with my sleeping position since getting a king, but they haven't.  Now I will say that my back has hurt significantly less since getting the new mattress! YAY!

Almost forgot that this post was about a headboard! ;)  Since we upgraded from a queen to a king, we no longer had a headboard.  And we really didn't want to spend a bunch of money on a new bedroom suite. So, we decided to make a headboard! We were driving home from a friend's house one night about 2 months ago and I saw someone had put sections of an old fence on the curb. {I've had my eye on some Pinterest headboards for a while!} Shawn called a buddy around midnight to help him load up the fence and bring it back to our house.  What a friend!! 

Long story short {if possible}: Shawn took all the fence posts off the sections, we sanded them down, assembled them and attached them to some boards on the back {all reclaimed wood}. He then lightly rolled on some white paint {watered back 2 parts paint and 1 part water} we had on hand. He sampled putting polyurethane on it, but it gave it an off-white color and I wanted to keep the bright white since my bedding is white. 

We screwed it right into the wall and wa-lah!!

I absolutely love how it turned out.  So simple and rustic, it is us for sure. I have not found that perfect color I want to accent our bedroom with yet, but will know when I find the right throw pillows.  :)  So, for the picture I stole some pillows and a throw from the living room!

And since we are doing a rustic theme, let's just throw a deer mount in the mix as well! ;-)  Shawn shot this this past deer season and did the European mount himself and I think it turned out great.  At first, this thing was NOT coming inside...garage only.  Then after he put it on some fence boards it made it's way closer to the house on the back porch.  And after we put up the headboard, we thought it would tie in great with the room.  And if I'm being honest, I like it.  Call me Country!

Can't wait to share the finished product of what he is working on now!  Here's a clue!

Finn Takes a Step!

Friday evening we were hanging out at the house. I was in the kitchen and Finn was in the playroom. I peaked in on him and he was standing up on his own, which has been doing for a few weeks. Next thing I know he was taking a step!!! I couldn't believe it. 

Right after that the rest of the gang rushed in there to see if he would do it again. He took a couple more steps and I was able to capture just a touch on video (it is at the very beginning)! My baby boy is getting so big, 10 1/2 months already!

VBS 2013

We are in the midst of Vacation Bible School right now and we are having a great time this week.  Our church does a Penny Parade and it is huge competition between the boys and the girls and who can bring the most money.  Brother Darren, who leads the songs, does a great job of building up the excitement.  He comes up with catchy poems/letters that are written from a boy's or girl's point of view, depending upon the night.  Here is an example of something he would say: "Hey girls, you might have won last night, but your fun is over, because tonight you are going down like a roller coaster."  In the bottom left picture below Jase is writing his own letter from the boys to the girls. It was so cute, it didn't rhyme or anything, but he was so serious while drafting it. I loved spending this time with him in the kitchen today working on it with him.

Shawn and I have been back with our Pre-k group.  I just love this age. While they keep us on our toes most of the time, I just feel the most comfortable with them and like that I can be silly and dramatic when giving lessons and they enjoy it (well at least most of them).  I so could not do this with 4th or 5th graders!

Here are a couple of video clips of the kids this week.

Ally dancing at VBS

Jase finding out that the boys won the Penny Parade the first night

My Junior Angler

A couple of weeks ago I saw a Junior Angler class that our city was offering for free and thought Jase would enjoy it.  But at 8:20 am and 0 out of 3 kids were awake and this class started at 9:00 am, the thought crossed my mind "maybe we'll just sit this one out."  Jase ended up sleeping through his alarm we had set...he was out!  I finally got all 3 kids up, dressed, hair combed and teeth brushed and out the door.  Now we were a few minutes late, but not too bad.

Here is my little man checking in with the instructor and getting his checklist of the stations he would be attending and the tasks he would be learning.

On the way there, I double checked to make sure he knew my cell phone number just in case something were to happen.  Glad to report he has it down pat.  I stuck around for a few minutes to make sure all was ok and then me and the little kids headed back home. {I never just drop him off anywhere, so this was a new experience for both of us.}

I arrived a few minutes early to see the class in action.  I was able to see him receive his certificate, pin and a bag of goodies. Boy was he excited!

Now his goodie bag really had some neat books in it, especially considering it was a free class.  It contained two pocket fish guides, one for freshwater and one for salt water, a notepad, two more informational pamphlets and a laminated common fish guide.  He was stoked about it all and couldn't wait to show Daddy everything when he got home. And just showing Daddy did not stop there! Jase broke out the rod and reel and showed us how to put on a bobber and both he and Daddy practiced casting in the backyard!  We even watched World Fishing Network before bed! 

Here is a small clip of one of the stations they had set-up at the camp to practice casting.  The kids were "catching" magnetic fish and practicing reeling in slow and "working" the lure to catch the fish. Before I had arrived, Jase told me that he had caught a sheepshead.  Glad he got one beforehand because he was having some trouble while I was there! ;-)

He could not stop talking about this camp and I'm so glad he was able to go!  Now we just need to go fishing!

{Sorry if some of the pictures are blurry, I had Finn in hand!}

Busy Day

Some days we do not do much and then there are days like yesterday where I have my plate full. Correction: I have my plate full everyday with three kiddos at home!  And the stage that Finn is at right now keeps me on my toes nonstop.

As you know I have been going to boot camp and really enjoying it.  I have not dropped a lot of weight over this past month, but I feel like certain problem areas are getting a tad smaller so that is a plus. But one of the reasons why I have not lost weight is that I have not been eating all that great consistently. I think I gained 3-4 pounds when we went to Galveston over the Memorial Day weekend...boo to that. Anyway, Shawn and I came to an agreement that we have to turn this bus around and while we are exercising and that is great, it is mainly what we put into our bodies that will determine our weight loss.

That being said, I have had a big food awakening this week.  I came across this website where a family did a 100 day challenge and did not eat any processed food at all!  Not one bite for 3 months.  And now that is how that family lives day to day.  How awesome is that?!  And this is not a weight loss website at all, it is more of being conscience of what you are putting into your body and how society depends on processed food.  Check out her website if you get a change...it is very interesting.  Makes me want to get some cows out back and milk them myself! Ok not really, but you catch my drift!

When it was time for breakfast yesterday morning I asked Jase what he wanted to eat and he said "whatever you want me to eat".  Which he NEVER says, so I quickly said waffles and he agreed.  Now, we have Eggo blueberry waffles in the freezer, but I wasn't about to get them out.  I searched her website and found this recipe for Whole Wheat Waffles.

I ended up halving this recipe since it was just me and the kiddos and it was perfect.  A couple of years ago Shawn's parents gave us their old waffle iron and if I'm being honest I don't think I've used it until yesterday.  I usually make pancakes instead of waffles, but I will definitely be making more waffles now! And all 3 kiddos ate them up.  Jase had his with syrup, Allyson had hers with peanut butter and syrup and Finn had his plain with a little bit of butter. Oh and I had mine with all-natural peanut butter. :)

Later that afternoon I took Finn to the doctor for a check-up.  He has been battling ear infections for the past couple of months, so the doctor wanted to check him again after this round of antibiotics.  So thankful that he got a clean bill of health and his ears looked great!!  And below is little man on a trip to the restroom. I love these chairs!!  I've only used them a couple of times, but when I have they have really came in handy.  And for the record I was not on the toilet!!  I was helping the other two little people in the bathroom!

The tomatoes in our garden have been very fruitful lately! :-) While Finn was napping I decided to make a batch of fresh salsa!! It turned out pretty tasty, if I do say so myself.  In some of the recipes I found it called for removing the skin off of the tomatoes, so I decided to give their technique a try.  You had to bring water to a boil, add the tomatoes for 45 seconds - 1 minute, then remove them and put them in a bowl of ice cold water.  I am happy to report that the skin came right off, no knife needed.  I was impressed!

And to finish up the night, we headed to Chuck E Cheese for a birthday party.  The party started at 7 pm and we didn't leave there until after 9:00!  All the kids had a great time!

Finn's First Astros Game

This week we took the kids to Astros game and it was Finn's first time!  At first we were back and forth about taking Finn, and then we decided we would take him with us.  He did GREAT at his first game.  So calm and rarely fidgeted at all.  Now we did have snacks and his water cup readily available! :-)  Oh and now that you can bring your own food and water bottles into the game, it saved us a ton of money!

If you do not know, Allyson does NOT like fireworks or loud noises at all.  I mean she completely freaks out...I'm hoping she will grow out of this soon.  Well in the truck, I made the mistake of telling her about the loud boom if we hit a home run and the train travelling on the tracks.  Not good folks, not good.  On the walk up to the ball park she was not handling it very well to say the least and was crying and screaming that she wanted to go home.  Way to go Mom!  I was hoping that by telling her, would give her a head's up and she wouldn't be as scared...bad call.

We finally got through the gate and she was still not having it.  We went to the Minute Maid play area on the 1st base side and Jase got in line to run bases.  A few moments later Allyson warmed up and she got in line too.  She was finally able to relax and was laughing and having a good time.  Thank you Jesus!

Mickey Mouse and his new attire since the uniform change!

While the Astros did not win, all 5 of us had a good time and I'm thankful that we got to go!!  And as for the boom...one guy did hit a home run, but Allyson remained calm and was a brave girl! :-)

Dance Recital 2013

Allyson's first dance season has come to close.  She had her dance recital on Saturday afternoon and she did wonderful!  I signed up to be a Backstage Mom, so I stayed with her the whole time.  I'm not really sure how much actual help I was backstage, but I was a presence and I'll know for next year.  ;-)

It was so nice to have familiar faces to pass the time with!!

And here's me and my girl!  I couldn't decide which photo was better, so I'll show you both!  The half smile, but looking away picture or the deer in the head lights one.  It is like PULLING teeth to get her to take a picture these days.  She rarely looks at the camera and has forgotten how to smile and show her teeth. {This sounds like a summer goal!} Oh and I promise I did not have a death grip on her arm!

Show time for our first dance!  The girls did wonderful!  I was actually a little nervous on how Allyson was going to respond to the big stage and crowd considering how skid-dish she can be with new places/experiences.  But I am so happy to report that it did not phase her one bit.  After she came off stage I gave her a ton of praise and for the rest of the day she told me "Mommy, I did SO good today!" Haha! She is not lacking in confidence at least!

After the ballet performance, we came back to the dressing room and had a little snack. 

Then they changed into their ladybug costume.  Since I'm on costumes, I'll go ahead and share my costume drama now.  We did not plan on her being in the recital since we were supposed to be in Africa right now {currazy!!}, so we did not order her costume back in December like everyone else. Once we decided we were staying, we ordered them and paid a late fee and were promised they would here in time for the recital.  Well, we received them before the recital all right...at 6:00 pm on Friday night.  FedEx dropped them off at 5:00 pm  at the dance studio. Talk about a panic attack!  We even had to borrow costumes to take pictures in earlier that week. Wait, it gets better.  I took the costumes out of the bag and hung them up when I got home so they wouldn't have the "I just came out of the bag look" for her recital.  She had been playing outside and was all sweaty, so I didn't have her try them on and at this point and I wasn't up for finding out if they fit or not...umm too late for that.

Anyway, I had noticed some extra pink thread on her ballet costume where the strap meets the front and hoped that wasn't unraveled thread.  I was wrong...my gut was right.  Saturday morning at 11:30, hair and make-up were done, we are on time and just need to get dressed.  She gently steps into her pink ballet costume and the strap is no longer attached to the front of her costume.  Did this just happen!?!?  I did not have time to panic (or call my mom).  I found some button thread, which is probably the thickest thread I've ever seen, and a needle and stitched it right back up.  Now I am NO seamstress at all, but I was very pleased on getting it attached and not going through the front of the costume.  Thank you Jesus.

And here is my little ladybug!!  So proud of her.  She tapped great and really had an awesome time out there! And to think I almost pulled her out of the tap class back in January because I did not even think she was paying attention or getting anything out of the class...I was wrong! Now she did not perform every move, but on the whole I think this is the best I've seen her do it!

All the girls came out for one last bow!

Allyson loved getting flowers...they are her fave!!

Nanny, PawPaw, Grandpa Leonard, Grandma Cony, Aunt Alisha, Uncle JoJo, Uncle David and Daddy and the boys were out in the audience cheering her on!!