It's Like Vacation!

This weekend the boys and I took a trip to The Woodlands to see the Kelley family. The boys were so excited to see everyone. We had a great time and like Beckett said - "It's like we are on vacation! We are going out to eat, fishing, and sleeping in a new bed!"

HOCKEY

Our first outing was to a roller hockey game featuring Randy. He plays on an inner mural team. The game was great. Unfortunately the rink was unbelievably hot. None of the fans were working, the AC not enough and the temperature outside was over 100. As you will see, Beckett ends up taking off his shirt. Oh to be a 4 year old boy! -)

Beckett cheesin it up

Grant and Drew

Beckett, me, Randy in all his gear, Grant and Drew

SPLASH PAD

After the heat of the rink, we decided to hit a splash pad before dinner. This splash pad was down in the Waterway. Really was a nice spot with the river and lots of fountains. Unfortunately the sun came back out and the heat just got to be too much. Houston is HOT in the summer.
 

Beckett was tired and hot. I think the concrete must have been cool.

Amy said, just start moving around and I will take your picture. This is one of Grant's many poses. Funny boy!

We headed to the tunnels to check out the beautiful tile artwork. 

JERRY BUILT BURGERS

After the splash pad we headed over to Jerry Built Burgers...Megan's place of employment. When we got there she was taking the chicken out of the marinade. The kids loved seeing her working.

There is a chalkboard wall in the restaurant. Unbeknownst to all of us, Grant asked Drew how to spell Megan. He went over to the wall and wrote I LOVE U MEGAN. I saw several tears in Megan and Amy's eyes. :-)

FISHING

Whew - the days not done yet. Randy and Drew really wanted to take the boys fishing. So when we got home, Randy got all the gear ready and we headed to a pond close to their house. It was Beckett's first time fishing and Grant has been once before with Cap. Luckily the fish were plentiful and hungry! I don't think the kids had to wait more than a couple of minutes to catch one. :-)

Here are Amy and Randy talking with the boys about the hooks and safety. They were a bit grabby with the fishing poles and all the adults were having visions of hooks in fingers.

Heading to the pond

Beckett's first fish!

Drew helping Grant

Drew had a HUGE flashlight. Of course the boys were fascinated.

One of Grant's many catches

Beckett didn't want to touch the fish - too slimy! So he came up with a solution! Use a towel. :-)

Love this picture

And love this one

Video of a few of the catches

ASTROS VS. RANGERS

 We had tickets to go to the day game on Monday. When you wake up at 6am, a 1145 departure time seems like a LONG wait. So, we had time to kill before we left for the game. Amy whipped out some beads and pipe cleaners and the crafting began. After making a necklace for himself, Grant made several bracelets for Megan. :-) Beckett wasn't really interested so he lasted only a minute or two. But, of course, he also wanted a necklace and bracelet. :-)

Everyone piled into our van for the trip to Minute Maid Arena!

 Quick photo on the baseballs outside the stadium.

Gotta love Grant's hat in this one.

 Drew and Beckett leaning over the rail - so cute.

 There's Amy! Sorry I didn't get more pictures of her with the kids. She was the official photographer this weekend.

 Beckett was pretty much done at this point. He lasted till the 6th inning. I though that was pretty good. I am pretty sure he and I took off at this point to check out the kids area.

 GO ASTROS!

HEADING HOME

So it was a really quick trip. We headed home the next day. Before hitting the road, Amy and I took the kids to an indoor play area so they could burn off some energy. 

 Grant loves to pose!

Quick video of the kids jumping on the Kangaroopillow. Man, I wish we had one of these in our backyard! SO FUN!

We had a GREAT time - HUGE thank you to the Kelley family. Amy and Randy - thank you for the fishing, yummy meals and great baseball game. Drew - thank you for letting us crash in your room and for hanging out with us. Megan - thank you for playing with us, taking the day off work to go to the game and doing crafts with us. We had so much fun and the boys are already asking when we can go back to Megan and Drew's house. :-)

School starts for Grant in less than 2 weeks! I can't believe it. Roger is taking him to an orientation tomorrow. They will get separate tours of the building and other "new student" things. Then next Thursday I am taking Grant up there for the Open House. We will meet his teacher, check out the room and Mom will cry a few (hopefully only a few) tears. :-)

It's What We Do

Summer is almost over. I know that eventually I will wish for the slower pace of summer. But I tell ya, right now, we can't wait.

Grant's first day is August 26th. We have an orientation next week and then an open house the next. I think Grant has been counting down the days since the end of school in May. He is SO EXCITED to be in Kindergarten. We were fortunate to find a playgroup set up of kids that will be attending Kinder in the fall. Since their school is a neighborhood school, most of the kids live within walking distance of our house. We have already made some good friends from this group and look forward to meeting even more.

Beckett will be attending preschool 3 days a week this year (MWF). I have taken a part time aide position with his school. I will be working between a 3 and 5 classrooms on MW. I think that it's going to be a big adjustment since my last job was with moody teens. But I guess a temper tantrum is a temper tantrum at any age. Right? Fridays will be my errand/relax day.

So we have been rounding out our summer trying to beat the unbelievable heat. We are in the 100s pretty much every day. I really think that it's even too hot to go to the pool. But the kids need to burn off their energy, so a trip to the pool seems to be on the agenda most days.

Anyway, the kids continue to entertain and frustrate. Beckett is truly his own person...as you will see in some of the following pictures. As my mom says, "he's his own verb." A friend just recently commented on his "walking with purpose" wherever he goes. I have read several 2nd/last child personality descriptions and they are pretty accurate for Beck-a-boo.

Grant is also his own person, but in a totally different way than Beck. He has confidence oozing out of his pores and an unending love of learning. A recent quote from Grant. We were watching America's Got Talent and he turns to me and says,
"Mom, I wouldn't care if America didn't vote for me. I would just keep doing my talent. Magic and dancing...it's what I do."
During our weekly trips to the library, Grant always hits the non-fiction section looking for books on magic and knights. He is very proud of discovering new things he can do - i.e. he can reach things in the top cabinet now and his list of chores is a bit longer than Beckett's.

Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks.

We love the Lowes Build and Grow workshops. Every other Saturday the boys get to put on their aprons, grab a hammer and go to town. This one we built the remote control car from Toy Story.

One of our ways to cool off is to jump in the bath. They were amazed that they still fit in the tub together. :-)

We love the Dollar Store. As Grant says...MOM, everything is just a dollar! These sunglasses were our latest find.

 Guys - try and look tough. I think Beckett has it down.

Grant's new kicks. We hit Kohls with coupons and free $10 gift cards. So I was able to purchase these and 6 pairs of socks for $7! WOO-HOO! I love a good deal!

Beckett has decided that he prefers to wear 2 different shoes. His favorite is one green Croc and one blue Croc. Today he mixed it up. Aahh...that kid. :-)

Today Grant's Kinder playgroup made tie dye shirts to wear to their open house in a couple of weeks. Makes it easier to see who you have already met. Anyway, we took his shirt off because I knew it would get stained and thankfully I did because the reg bottle squirted sideways. His belly was splattered with red and his belly button got a straight shot. :-)