Granbury or Bust, Day One

We ventured a couple hours west for our family vacation/10 year anniversary celebration. Some people plan elaborate 10 year anniversary trips to white sandy beaches, where they enjoy quiet couples massages, fruity beverages and snorkeling among the dolphins and sparkly fish. Sans kids, of course. And, also, tar balls and oil slicks, BP willing. We wait til the 100 degree weather arrives, load up our Tribute with our offspring and all the noise and mess they come with and head toward water that smells of fish when the wind catches it just right. But, that is what you do when you're planning to pay for a c-section, about to become swaggerin' mini van owners and you've got an A/C unit on its last leg, which is living on the edge in Texas in the summer. So, it was gritty sand in our crevices and fishy wind at our backs for us.

We went to Granbury nearly four years ago to the day for our sixth anniversary. Tyler's due date was July 30th and Anniston's is July 29th, so I was about as far along in pregnancy with Tyler as I am with Anniston.

But, things were different back then. Back then, this was our family...

I loved my Noah so much, I was a little sentimental about no longer being a family of three and wanted to make special memories before our family forever changed.

How could I have guessed how very incredible that change would be? ;)

Back then, Noah preferred the sandy beach to the fishy lake water.

One thing's for sure, he was ornery then as he is now.And, here's another thing that hasn't changed. This family loves dinosaurs!We even stayed in a cabin that had a dinosaur theme. There was a hiking path with life-sized dino figures and a playground, too.

We loved that vacation and decided we'd make it back there again someday. Granbury really is a cute town with lots of adventures for a weekend trip and it's not too far from our home base.

So, four years later...

Granbury 2010 started out with a fun ride on the luggage cart at America's Best Value Inn.

I'm sure we made a memorable impression with the hotel staff.And they made a memorable impression with us when we got to our room and discovered leftovers in the fridge.Noah about made a memorable impression on his spinal cord when he jumped off the bed and landed on the back of his neck. This is him resting after learning life lesson #402...don't jump off the bed because you might land on the back of your neck. Life lesson #401 is don't jump on the bed even when something seizes your body and you feel you just must. Tyler has yet to learn either lesson.After we unloaded at the hotel, we headed over to the Square where, bless my soul, they were having an outdoor market in celebration of Memorial Day weekend.

And, God bless our soldiers for giving us the freedom to worship as we please, vote as we please and enjoy a refreshing sno-cone in 100 degree weather. After browsing around the tents in 1000 degree weather, we headed over to the boys' first drive-in movie experience to watch Shrek 4. Noah thought it was a #1 idea.

We picnicked in the back of the car and dined on the fine cuisine they offered. I think some of our bowels later regretted that decision, but that is part of the drive-in experience, after all.

There was a little clearing in front of our car, so the boys kicked a ball around to kill time until the movie began...or until the ball ended up going over the barbed wire fence. Then, all there was to do to kill time was eat more popcorn. Which could've explained the stomach problems later on. But, good to know someone beyond that barbed wire fence is now the proud owner of a Little Einsteins kick ball.

Have I mentioned it was 100,000 degrees? And, yet, T still loves to cuddle.

But, that's okay, we love a good cuddle.

Have I mentioned this guy is as ornery as he ever was?Shrek was a hoot and the boys did a great job making it through the whole movie. It was late when we got to the hotel, but Tyler decided he wanted to create his very own Home Alone moment and dry his hair. All that was missing was the after shave and the scream, but that was okay because, again, it was late. And, we'd already made enough memorable impressions at the hotel for one day.

Four years ago, this is the little boy that was being knit together in my tummy on our last Granbury trip. A hand towel fits around his waist, which is well and good because I like the size of squeezable him. And, delightfully, he has been more blessing than I could've ever imagined back then, when we were a family of three.So, four years later, this is us.

And, even though I'm again feeling a bit sentimental that this part of our life is coming to an end and things are about to change, this time I know how very incredible that change will be. I am loving the memories we're making these final weeks before we become a family a five, but also fully embracing and excitedly anticipating the idea of having another little one to share life with.

Life lesson #2...families are a #1 idea.

Concealed Weapons Cache

Anyone else ever open a kitchen drawer and discover you're packin' heat?


Good to know that if anyone ever tries to get a jump on me while I'm slaving over a pot of spaghetti, I'll have the last word.

Rain on my Parade

Dear Diary,

Today, Noah was in the tub and I had just told Tyler to get in as well. I, with my squished pregnancy bladder, decided to make a quick pee stop on their toilet. As I turned to get the toilet paper, I suddenly felt a warm trickle on my backside. It was not a good warm trickle, I discovered, as I turned to see Tyler also making a quick pee stop before he jumped in the tub.

If I had not already been initiated into the Club of Boy Moms by all the poop jokes and all the clearing of dead bugs from jean pockets and the bottom of my washing machine, I feel certain today's experience sealed the deal.

Grossed out,

Jen

Somebody Always in my Soul

Somebody Ultra Special graduated from preschool today.

Somebody God Created has been blessed to attend a school where it's been reinforced that he is fearfully and wonderfully made.

Somebody Who Makes Me Laugh started out goofy on the stage as the songs were about to begin.

But, Somebody Who Makes Me Want to Pull my Hair Sometimes changed his mind and decided to be the only kid out of about 60 who wasn't going to sing or do hand motions. Instead, he wore this delightful expression the entire time on stage.

Somebody Shy does not appear to have American Idol in his future.

Somebody Lucky still received his diploma and a handshake from Ms. Audra and Ms. Susan.

Somebody Relieved was ready to wrap up graduation and head toward some hugs.

Somebody Loved had some faithful fans waiting to give him some. And, also, some punch.

Somebody Who Will Always Be My Baby needs to stop growing up too fast.

Noah Jack, we love you so much! You will always be in our soul and we are so very proud of the boy you are. We are so honored to have front row seats as we watch God's plans for you unfold. Daddy and I will always be here to root you on. We can't wait to see what is in store for you in KINDERGARTEN!!

P.S. Somebody's Momma managed to keep it together until the video when "Let Them Be Little" played. Oh my. How could anyone keep it together then? Thankfully, Noah provided me some comic relief when his answer to the question of what he wants to be was, "A bowler." What a relief to know some things don't change in a year's time!

$12 Parking + $30 in Snacks = $42. Family Time = Priceless

Brian's been wanting to take our family out to The Ballpark for a Rangers game.

I will allow him to write all over my pregnant stomach in permanent marker and then televise that bare stomach to the entire D/FW metroplex in the name of love. And, admittedly, because I do enjoy basketball. The constant running back and forth and scoring is entertaining.

But sitting in a little plastic chair during a game that lasts five innings too long and has very little to offer in the way of visual stimulation is not what some would call my love language.

Unless the tickets are free. Free usually speaks to my soul. Even so, I'm unsure I'm a truly willing participant when it comes to baseball.

But, in the name of love, and due to the free tickets Brian's brother generously passed on to us, we found ourselves heading to a Rangers vs. Angels game. (I sat in that hard plastic chair for seven innings and yet I cannot promise that's who we played).

Knowing that the length of the game and sitting so far from the action would lead to boredom for the boys, we settled on the idea that we'd constantly have to feed them snacks from the 4th inning until whenever Brian decided to call it a night. This is after we'd already fed them a nutritious meal from McDonald's on the way to The Ballpark.
I believe we made it through exactly two innings before we broke down and bought a bag of cotton candy. $3.50 for a bag of pure sugar.

And, thus began the feeding of the boys that made me think of the Incans and how they used to toss their children into volcanoes to appease the gods. It was as if the only way we could appease our children at a game where the players looked one inch tall was to throw sacrifical junk food their way for six straight innings and pray they would stay contained in their seats.

However, there is no logic to the notion that if we fill up our children with sugar for six straight innings, they will sit still. Which is why we left in the seventh inning. Lord o' mercy.

Blessed unappeased mini volcanoes. Saved me from two innings.

But, I have to admit, this little moment and just being together as a family made me happy.

Because, someday too soon, I'm aware that family times could turn into outings where every member spends the entire time on their cell phone like this family in front of us.

Their entire Ballpark experience, though I'm sorry to judge, was spent on facebook and texting. I found it both a source of amusement and sadness.

As for the boys, while their Ballpark experience had very little to do with the actual game of baseball and more to do with a feeding frenzy, it included getting to ride a shuttle bus...

Daddy's shoulders...

and some escalators...

all in one priceless day.

And that simple joy is a language that speaks to my heart.

Dandy Day (Prepare for a Plethora of Posted Pics)

"We made a big, big, big, HUUUUGE mess!"

Tyler's first words to us this morning, right after he piled onto us and created a spontaneous group hug.

But, I promise, it did get better from there, big, big, big, HUUUUGE mess or not.

This is the first Saturday in forever that I've been able to sleep in. I had a sub at work and the boys did an awesome job of entertaining themselves while B and I slept.

Of course, it helps that making a triple big, h-quadruple u-ge mess kept them busy. But, it turns out, there are some things I'm willing to trade for the luxury of sleeping in.

Also, Noah presented us with cards, complete with pencils taped to each.

Who wouldn't have a great start to the day with that?

And, as it has been so long since we had a fun Saturday together, we decided to live a little and do some things we don't ordinarily do. We decided our day was going to be totally awesome.

We started with a trip to Allen for some Freebirds.

You cannot know the beauty of a burrito until you have tasted Freebirds. Brian and I began our love affair with The Bird even before we began our love affair with each other. Til death do us part. If you think you love Chipotle, it is as if you could have held the wind in your hands and you settled for a fart in your face. It is not even fair to compare the two.

(Dear Beloved Freebirds, I am sorry I used the phrase, "fart in your face" in the same paragraph where I spoke your name. I had a strong point to make and I also absolutely adore alliteration. Feel free to forgive. See? Alliteration just adds pizazz. So does rhyming.)

Afterward, we stayed in the Village at Allen and played in the train depot area, where there was also a Texas-shaped maze we had fun playing hide and seek in. Well, I had fun until a kid spit on Tyler - twice - and I thought Brian was about to get into a fight with a preschooler. Papa Bear came out. I found it kinda sexy, but also thought him being thrown in jail for assaulting a kid, spit or no spit, could quite possibly ruin the flow of our easy-going day.

Shortly after Brian nearly drop-kicked a kid (which had not been in our plans for our totally awesome day), we made our way over to Collin Creek mall to check out the Butterfly Festival. Hundreds of butterflies filled a large tent in the middle of the mall. As we entered, we were handed cotton swabs with gatorade at the end to attract butterflies. The boys were fascinated. With the butterflies. Not the cotton swabs.

Even the big boy. Let's see how many body parts we can cover in monarchs.

Anniston even got a special butterfly.

Later, we took the boys for a spin on the train inside the mall. Tyler went first since Noah wanted to ride by himself. Because, you know, "there just isn't enough room" for two boys in a four-seater engine. And, when it was Noah's turn, he made a complete goon of himself. I wondered if he'd snuck a few licks of the sugary gatorade. I guess he was just so giddy over the fact that he got to ride the train all by himself. Before we ended our trip, we got coupons for free Chick-Fil-A ice cream. CFA, could you be anymore endearing? YUM!

On the way out, Tyler hitched a ride on Daddy's shoulders. MUCH better than any ol' train ride!

Then he crawled onto Daddy's chest for a good nap as soon as we got home.

Meanwhile, this guy enjoyed welcoming our newest family member to the house, the pupae named Luke Chipsy.

Luke. Chipsy.

I have no idea.

I supposed sugar was still streaking through his system when he selected a name.

Silly son.