A Day with James

I had a bout of "Mom Guilt" with the last post---James is only in two pictures.  Today he was the only one out of school for Easter, so I made a point to take pictures and capture our day.  We had such a fun time!  It started with our usual: Shipley's Donuts.  This has become a tradition when he is out of school and Natalie and Luke are not.

We played outside in the morning, and he reminded me that you are never too old to chase bubbles!  Or to pretend that an object is a light saber (notice the bubble wand-aka light saber-in his belt loop)

 
We met Brad for lunch at an outdoor restaurant downtown.  Aren't these guys handsome!

We then grabbed James' best friend William and went to an indoor trampoline place where the two boys dominated trampoline dodgeball.  Sidenote: James told me today that he is going to live with William at Alabama when they go to college.

We picked up this cutie at the end of the day.  In case you were wondering: yes, she did dress herself this morning.  I'm learning to pick my battles.

 

Springtime in Houston

The weather has been absolutely perfect these past fews weeks, and we are not wasting a minute of it!

James has had his first few baseball games, only one of which I have made.  On his first up to bat during his first game, he walked up to the plate, looked at me and Brad and said "Mom, I have gum!"  Three pitches later he looked at Natalie, who happened to have just stolen the team snacks, and said "I want a ring pop!"  Priorities, priorities.  He has gotten a hit or two, which is a win!

We have loved being able to play outside each day after school.  On this particular day James was riding his bike, and Natalie took Luke for a spin.  Luke LOVED it, but look at his face in the second picture when Natalie hit the pedal.  Natalie is a bit like her father in that she has one speed: fast.

Natalie and Luke's school hosted a family movie night "Toy Story".  We all ate pizza, but Luke thoroughly enjoyed his dairy free spaghetti.  I wish I had a picture to prove it, but Buzz Lightyear has made his triumphant return as James's favorite toy.

James had a baseball game during our neighborhood Easter Party, so I didn't get a picture of him.  Natalie absolutely LOVED this Easter bunny (stay tuned for the next blog post) and kept trying to hijack everyone's picture.  And oh man, did she enjoy the Easter egg hunt!  Luke, as expected, HATED the bunny, which was actually a woman.

Goodness, time sure has flown by in two years.  Again, I wish I had photoshopped James into this picture somehow. 

Spring Break

James had Spring Break this week, and he and Brad started it off by camping at Huntsville State Park, which is about an hour or so north of Houston.  "Man Time" at its best.

 

So while the boys were peeing on things and getting dirty, us girls went shopping and got ice cream.  

Natalie absolutely LOVED Nordstrom.  She loved riding the elevator, she loved the "mate-tup", she loved "all the beautiful dresses".  She loved it.  I'll say it again: I am so happy that God, in all His wisdom, gave me a girl.  Especially this girl.  

Luke got his first haircut, which he HATED.  Notice that he is clutching his Hot Wheels for dear life; his safety blanket.  I have mixed feelings about it: on the one hand he doesn't look like a ragamuffin anymore, but on the other hand he looks so old!  Kinda like a 40 year old banker.

On Thursday I took the kids and James's friend Caleb to visit the HPD Mounted Patrol Stables.  A friend gave me the idea, and it was such a neat place.  The stables were so clean and the people so nice.  We fed the horses lots and lots of carrots. 

Natalie started off a bit skeptical

but quickly warmed up

The rest of the week was spent playing with friends and enjoying the peaks of sunshine.  The bounce house was a permanent fixture in our backyard this week.  James also enjoyed Shipley's do-nuts on the days that Natalie and Luke had school.  

Back to reality tomorrow.....