Happy Father's Day!

Today, we celebrate Jordan and what an incredible father he is to our boys. Austin and Chase look up to him and always want to make Daddy proud. I don't know what I would do without him. Recently, he has had to take on more of the caretaker role than before, with all of my travel and work stuff. He's done great, and I had no doubt that he would. He loves those boys to pieces! We're lucky to have him.

The day he became a father for the first time

Becoming Daddy, round 2!

Growing up too fast!

Family Road Trip!

A few weeks ago, we took a 5-day little vacation to San Antonio. We packed up the Tahoe and settled in for a 5 hr roadtrip! The boys did pretty good as usual, entertained by movies, books, snacks, 'Are we there yet's?', and games of 'I Spy'.

Strapped in for the long ride

We stayed at the same place as last year, the Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch. If you're staying for a few days and it's summer time, definitely recommend it. There's a heated pool, lazy river, waterslide, sandy beach, etc. Plenty of stuff to keep the kiddos busy. And they always love roasting marshmallows to make smore's at the fire pits. Not only was it just the four of us, but Meow Meow, LoLo, and Connor (a.k.a. CoCo Bear) met us down there. I love watching the cousins play together!

Relaxin' in the Rattlesnake River

 

Playing around in the sand!

 

Master S'more Maker!

All cuddled up together

 

For the most part we relaxed at the resort, splashed in the lazy river, built sand castles, grilled out burgers & dogs, and chilled in the peaceful Hill Country. But we did venture to Sea World as well. After all, we had bought annual passes last year that are good all the way through December, so it was really a no-brainer. The boys quickly remembered the dolphins, Shamu, penguins, sea lion, sharks, etc. They were very well-behaved (rare occasion!) and we had a blast.  Great memories!

Intently watching the Sea Lion show

 

Family pic

World Traveler?!

That is definitely not a phrase I would ever use to describe myself. But it will soon be true. We've been undergoing alot of changes at my firm, where we're basically changing the way we have historically done things. Which has led to lots of trainings, meetings and workshops over the past few months. I've made several trips to NYC, New Jersey, and Chicago. Up next is Orlando, and then India. Yeah, you heard me correctly. INDIA!! Along with many other companies, we outsource alot to a part of our company in India. The involvement of this group in our audits and daily worklife continues to increase, and requires some training. My group will be leading the efforts on getting a group of these folks trained up before they come to the U.S. for a bit. And I'm going!

 

First of all, presenting in front of a group or instructing a workshop, is not ever my first choice. You won't see me raising my hand, yelling 'Pick me, pick me!'. But I know it's something I need to continue to improve upon, and I need to be a team player since others on my team are going this summer as well. I've already got my Indian Visa, then getting a whole slew of shots this week, and then will be heading to India for 15 days in less than a month. I know, CRAZY! The idea at first scared the crap out of me. Now, I've embraced the idea of it and am ready to do this. The only downfall to this trip.....I'm going alone. No co-worker/friend to travel with or keep me company after a long day. (Yes, there will be other Americans there that work for my firm, but nobody I personally know already.)

 

And let's be honest. My idea of international travel is going to Mexico or a Caribbean island. Not flying to London, and then India. Although, I do get to live it up in business class and get tipsy and sleep comfortably. Can't beat that. Scary still!!! But hey, I'm looking at the brightside. 15 days in India, for the world's pickiest eater, could bring me back to the states a few dress sizes smaller! :)

 

I'm already dreading saying goodbye to my boys. I know I'm going to miss them terribly and will have to work out some schedule to plan for daily Skype/FaceTime calls with a 10hr time difference. This will be the longest I will have ever been away from home!

 

Needless to say, I'm sure I'll have an interesting blog to post upon my return. Wish me luck!

We Have a Graduate!!

This week, Austin graduated from Pre-K!! Am I really old enough to have a kiddo who is about to start Kindergarten?!?! That's crazy talk to me.

 

This past year, he really has learned so much. The things he comes home talking about or asking question about really amaze me. And to watch him walk down the aisle in his little cap & gown to graduate was so heart-warming. But for those of you wondering, No, he was not valedictorian. :) We've still got some time to work on that though!

 

He has absolutely loved his two teachers,but is ready to move on up to big boy school. Last month, Jordan took him to the 'Kinder Round Up' at his new school. (Talk about poor planning; I had a weeklong workshop in Chicago I couldn't get out of.) He got pre-registered for school, got to meet some teachers, and took a tour of the school. He seems pretty excited about it. Jordan and I are excited because they just built a brand new elementary school two blocks behind our house within our neighborhood. Convenient! So every morning one of us will walk him or drive him to school. Ahhhh, I can't believe he's growing up so dang fast!

Accepting his diploma!

Austin and his teacher, Ms. Connie

Austin and some of his classmates! (I'm envisioning him in 13 years in this same pose!)

Chase could care less about his Bubba's big day

Mommy & Daddy with the graduate

Soooo cute!

Soccer Time!

For the last two years, we signed Austin up for t-ball. He enjoyed it, but it was really just too slow-paced for him. He got bored standing in the outfield or sitting in the dugout waiting for his turn to bat. So this year, we decided to try soccer. I mean, how hard can it be? Just running around a field kicking the ball! (Keep in mind that I have no knowledge of the sport of soccer, other than David Beckham looks hot!)

 

Austin was on a team of 9 little boys, named the Strikers. Our Monday evenings were now designated for practice, and Saturday mornings for games. (Wow, it's going to be exhausting as they get older!)  He really did have a good time. Although, there were a few times when the coach tried to put him in and he said he didn't want to play. WTH?! Get your butt out there, kid! Their team seemed like a group of misfits. And I mean that in the nicest way possible! There were two boys who clearly had played before and could really move the ball around. One kid that looked like he was about 10 yrs old, but was a complete klutz. A little boy with long hair sporting the sweatband wanting himself to look like an athlete. And a few kids who were tiny and always seemed to get run over or knocked down. We ended the season with a record of 1-7.

 

 

It was definitely entertaining to watch these boys and overall it was a great experience for Austin. And Chase loved to sit on the bench next to his bubba and cheer him on. For the next sport, Austin told us he wants to try football. Wish us luck!

M.I.A.

Wow. I seriously haven't blogged since January!!!! Obviously, life has been crazy and hectic. I know I need to catch up on the blog and get with it.

 

Tonight...........we have Austin's Pre-K graduation. I know some tears will be shed!

Oh Toodles!!! It's Chase's Birthday!

I know, I'm about 2 weeks late on getting around to posting about Chase's 3rd birthday party. After my two-week Christmas break, I returned back to the chaos of work and haven't seemed to slow down at all. Anyways, onto the party details!

We opted for a Mickey-themed celebration this year. I procrastinated and got busy with the work and holidays, so I didn't even start planning/crafting until 2 weeks before the big celebration. And with my OCD, that was clearly not enough time (in my mind)!  Pinterest provided alot of ideas, of course, and after a few late nights up in the craft room, we had ourselves a party!

As usual, we had our themed-wreath on the front door to welcome the guests....

And I also made this cute custom sign to put outside. My head was nearly exploding with ideas for this party. I just didn't have time to execute all of them!

Mickey-themed food was everywhere - Toodles Noodles, Minnie's Munchies, Pete's PB&J, Goofy's Grapes, etc. You get the idea!

But the best was our 'Hot Diggity Dog Bar'! Who knew you could throw 30 hot dogs in a crockpot and cook them perfectly?! Then provide some chili, cheese, onions, jalapenos, and the usual condiments, and you've got a hot dog bar!

Chase got a new Mickey desk that he absolutely loves from his MeowMeow and LoLo. Not only does he insist on sitting in it to watch tv, color, read a book, but to eat a few meals in as well. ;)

Mommy & Daddy scoured 4 Wal-Marts, 3 Targets, and 3 Toys R' Us stores to find a Power Wheels after Christmas. I guess in all my procrastination, I didn't plan on most stores being completely sold out after the Christmas chaos. But don't worry, we found one after hunting for what seemed like forever. But then at the big reveal, he completely bypassed his new ride and went straight to bubba's old Jeep. Looks like Austin got the upgrade! Whatever; as long as they're not fighting and everyone has something to ride, I could care less.

When it came time to sing Happy Birthday to the birthday boy, he got all shy!

Can't believe this kid is 3 years old!!! I don't know where the time went!

 One of my favorite things I made for the party was this cuuuuute sign. I saw something similar on Etsy, but after hunting down a few Disney fonts on the internet, woolah! It's now hanging up in his room.

 

It was a great party and we're thankful for the friends and family that came to hang out with us. Chase was spoiled rotten with a lot of gifts, one of which was a case of applesauce......he loved it!