317

A few weeks ago we went out to 317 to let the boys run around and be boys. Daddy had some deer feeders to set up as well as some game cameras. Look at these boys, ready to go. (nevermind the gun behind their heads!! NICE!!)

Strap it down tight boys!! The 4 wheeler made it just fine, the feeder did not. It didn't even make it 2 miles. It was so light that it flew off the trailer. Tony and I managed to pick up all the pieces and it was reassembled later on in the afternoon. Blake was pleased that Daddy was able to get it put together so the deer didn't have to get hungry. He told me that he knows why Dad has to keep going and checking on the feeders every week...."those deers are Papa's pets and Papa is old so Dad has to go give them corn so they are healthy!" Of course I had to tell him that he was right, what was I supposed to tell him, "No baby Daddy is tricking those poor deer so he can shoot them when they least ecpect it."

OK, can you say REDNECK!!?? We had been trying to figure out a way to take all 3 of the boys riding with us on the 4 wheelers. Our neighbor offered this suggestion and it was a lifesaver. Tony had that carseat strapped down with 2 ratchet straps and the top teather.

Wha-la!! Chase LOVED it. He does not like riding without being in the seat. I think he feels more secure in it. I am too short and the belly is too big for anyone to ride in front of me, so this was perfect. There is only one little problem with this. Chase kicks me in the back if we stop for any reason!! "Go Mommy! Go!" And, as you can see, there is a ton of red dirt and mommy wore a white shirt (um, yeah that was smart.)

Tony got this "contraption" for his 4 wheeler so that Blake can ride behind him and then Ethan rides in fromt of him. As you can imagine, it is a sight to behold.

Here is the August Post!!

I still haven't gotton the weekly posting down yet, so this is basically 3 posts in one!! First we have the Olive Garden Adventure. Daddy LOVES Olive Garden and the boys always eat well there. So, a few weeks ago we found ourselves out and about way past dinner time and decided that we would go ahead and give it a try. It was about 8:30, but we figured there was no way there were going to make it home without falling asleep and we had to eat. So off we went. Chase fell asleep shortly after our food arrived. Blake and Ethan thought that this was HILARIOUS and could not stop laughing at him. At first he was putting his head down and rolling it back and forth making humming noises. We just thought he was being funny because he would look up every once in a while to see just how much attention he was getting. Once the food arrived, big brothers stopped paying him any attention. So without an audience, he was off to dreamland!!

Next we have our big bowling adventure. I took the boys bowling with some friends (Tony was home sick.) Normally, I would not attempt this on my own, but it was a Monday night and it was in the middle of our record 30 days at or well above 100 degrees, so the boys had been inside for days. They put the bumpers up and brought us a ramp so the little kids could just roll the ball. Ethan LOVED the bowling shoes and the pink bowling ball. Blake had a blast bowling without the ramp. Chase was perfectly content playing with everyone's shoes!! The kid has a major shoe fetish!! They only lasted through one game, but it was SO much fun. The boys can't wait to go back.

Ethan with some help from the other Angela.

Blakey bowling like the big kids.

MINE shoes!!

And finally, we have Chase hitting the jackpot. I made blueberry muffins. Chase and Ethan finished theirs. Blake ate one, got down for something, got sidetracked, and ultimately lost his breadfast.

Oh, one more. The picture isn't too good here. That is because it was taken at midnight. That's right, Tony is working on his truck and that is Ethan on the tricycle...at midnight. The story behind the photo....Tony's truck wouldn't start one Friday morning. He HAD to get to work, so he left the truck and took the Suburban. We had plans that evening, so once we got home the plan was for me to get the boys in bed while he ran up to Walmart and got 2 new batteries for the truck (it was around 11:00) It had been 105 that day and was expected to be 107 the next so Tony decided that working in the dark was better than working in the heat. Ethan had been especially Daddy clingy and was the only one who was still awake when we got home at 11:00. He had been listening to our conversation and had pretty well decided that Daddy was going to need some help. So he offered his services. The Walmart trip took about 45 minutes, but Ethan never faded. He stayed outside with his Daddy until almost 1:00AM when they finally got the truck running again. And just in case you were wondering, he came in and got showered and in bed but was still up at 7:30...ready for some breakfast!! And the best part is, he is wearing one of Blake's old shirts that reads, "What's not to Love?"

Catching Up

Thought I would go ahead and downloand the pictures off my camera from 4th of July!! I know, I have been a bad blogger, bad bad blogger. Hopefully I will do a better job at keeping it updated now that I am past the yucky first trimester. I am not sick all the time, just really really tired. I can deal with tired as long as I am not sick. I can not believe that there are only 2 weeks left of our summer. Well, let me clarify....there are only 2 weeks left of our summer break. Texas summers stretch all the way into October, sometimes November. We finally got the trampoline put back together from last springs storms and it is so hot that we cant send the boys out to jump until 8:00 or later. The first night Tony put it up, they were jumping at 11:00 at night!! Nice1! I attempted to start getting them into a better bed time routine last night, Tony was gone and I thought it would be the perfect time since Daddy and early bed times don't mix. The boys were all bathed and ready for bed before 9:00, I told them they had only 10 minutes until "lights out." Ethan had skipped nap time yesterday and since he is the one who will get out of bed repeatedly I just knew this was going to work to my advantage since he was worn out. And then.......Daddy pulls in the driveway at 8:58. There goes that idea. The boys all heard him pull in (the diesel is sort of hard to ignore) and instantly I had 3 little boys racing downstairs hootin' and hollerin.' Let's just say that an hour later, "mean mommy" made Daddy come downstairs so some little boys could go to sleep. Anyway, the pictures are ready, so here you go.....

Papa and Nana delivered the dirt bike so Blakey could ride it more. Blake was very excited that Papa rode the Goldwing and brought his bike on the little trailer. He did note however that HIS bike dosen't have a hitch...yet.

Chase's first time on the Wing. Poor mistreated 3rd child. Blake has ridden on the Wing more times than I can remember, starting at 6months of age. Ethan tood his first ride when he was 3 months old. Chase man is almost 2 and he is just now getting to sit on the thing!! Sorry buddy, we promise to take you on a real ride soon.

Ethan trying out the dirt bike. He was afraid to go near it earlier, but as soon as no one was looking at him, he hopped up and was all smiles. (Don't start shopping for another one just yet Papa, I still have to get those training wheels off my bike first....but it won't be long.

Here is video of Blake's fist ride on the dirt bike on the 4th of July. He has come so far since then. He was a little shy about getting on the throttle at first (ignore my yelling in the video clip) but he has gotton over that now. We have some friends with several acres that are sodded, so he as a nice level debris free place to learn how to ride.