LaQuinta is Spanish for "Cool Mini Fridge!"

Winter is here! I love this cold weather! I dressed us in jeans and soft sweatshirts this morning. It's great. Since the last post we have had some very exciting days. A couple weeks ago Greg had a three day business trip to San Antonio. Since SA is only an hour away, the boys and I decided to join him on the second night. We arrived at his hotel around 7. This was the first time for the boys to ever stay in a hotel room. From the moment we walked in the lobby they were in total jaw-drop awe. They were thrilled with the elevator, amazed by the electric key card, excited by the room with two big beds, overjoyed with the view of the pool and highway from four stories up, and downright giddy over the in-room mini fridge and microwave. Did I mention we were in a LaQuinta? Anyhow, the hotel was right across the street from the River Center so we walked over to have dinner at the famous Casa Rio on the river. Dinner was only mediocre but we enjoyed the mariachi band and the margaritas were awesome. Noah asked for a to-go box for his chips and queso just so he could have something to put in the room's mini fridge. When we got back to the room we decided to take a late night dip in the heated pool with the boys, but they headed straight for the hot tub. I wasn't too sure about toddlers in a hot tub, but it was the most fun I've ever had in a hot tub (sorry Greg). Our ridiculous neighborhood pool for which we pay yearly HOA dues, closed at the end of August, so we have not been in a pool in a couple months. I didn't have floaties for the boys, so they just decided to learn how to swim that night. After a few tries Noah was doggy paddling across the hot tub by himself (it was a deep hot tub). Wyatt can't keep himself afloat yet but that doesn't stop him from throwing himself into the water, confident someone will pull him to the surface again. He always comes up with his eyes wide open and a smile. Noah is a little more sputtery. It was a crazy time. Greg and I really enjoyed watching them have so much fun in the water. It was a late night and the boys fell asleep after only a couple giggles and a few threats from us. The next morning Greg had to work bright and early so the boys and I were alone for the day. We began with the continental breakfast in the hotel. It was a huge spread and the boys each had a giant danish, a bowl of cereal, yogurt, a banana, orange juice, and a glass of milk. This is important for the next part of our adventure. We returned to the pool that morning. This time the hot tub was too hot so we swam in the big pool. Trying to monitor the two of them by myself was nuts. They both wanted to jump off the side and would wait just long enough for the tip of their brother's head to surface before throwing themselves in and relying on me to get to them in time to help them back to the steps. Noah slipped off the steps while I was getting Wyatt to the edge. He sunk a little and choked on some water. This triggered him to start vomitting. I got him out of the pool, but he was heaving so profusely that there was no way to get him all the way to the trash can. So he preceded to let go of his massive continental breakfast all over the pool deck. I'm a mom, I can handle it, but the two business woman who had just come out for a peaceful morning of sun bathing were not as hardened. They went to the opposite corner and opted to turn their chairs towards the highway overpass with their backs to us and the pool. Oh well. Noah was fine and we swam for another half an hour. Then we cleaned up, checked out of the hotel and walked over to the River center to cruise the mall. A mall is a mall so we got some big cookies and sat by the river to watch the tour boats go by. The boys were fascinated by the boats. After checking into the cost, I decided the tour boat rides were a pretty good deal and the boys really wanted to go so we got our tickets and boarded. I haven't taken one of those tours since Jr. High when I had no interest in history, much less the history of the San Antonio River. But I'm old now and find that stuff really interesting and the San Antonio River happens to have a lot of history. The weather was great, I enjoyed the tour and the boys loved the boat- perfect way to spend the morning. After that we headed home so we could get back in time to greet the little boy across the street who I watch after school. Our little 20 hour vacation one hour from our house was a huge success and the boys were exhausted. That is a picture of them in the car on the way home (It's creepy how Noah sleeps with his eyes open in the car). Who needs Disney World? Try the LaQuinta in San Antonio for the under 5 vacationer.
Last week Wyatt received in the mail the fireboat Mimi bought him for his birthday (there were some shipping problems). He loves the fireboat, but he also, like any two year old, loved the box it came in. He put it in his bed and wanted to sleep in it. Greg and I decided this was one of those weird two year old requests that would be okay to grant. You can't always spoil the fun, right? Believe it or not, he actually slept all night curled up in that box. Silly boy.
Once again, I have too much to write and not enough energy to write it. To be continued...

A Hive of Excitement

Logging into Blogger this evening for the first time in too long, I was introduced to the new Blogger Play. Click that link- it is mesmerizing. It plays all the photos being downloaded onto public Blogger sites (like this one) at that very second. I still haven't seen any photos with kids as cute as mine. Speaking of cute kids, here is one looking not so cute. A mysterious, funky, itchy rash appeared on the backs of both the boys the beginning of last week. I wasn't too worried, thinking they just had a reaction to some sun lotion or something. The next day Wyatt broke out into red, swollen hives all over. A little freaked out by his puffed up innie-now-an-outie belly button and how itchy they were, I took him to his doc ASAP. Apparently hives, unless there is an obvious allergy, are hard to connect to a source. So it was a treat the itch and wait kind of thing. A little benedryl and hydrocortisone and they went away within two days. So for a couple days he had one rash on his back and another one over the rest of his body. The advantage to having more than three or four kids is that you become an unofficial pediatrician. I want to have more just so I can look at a kid covered in uniform red bumps with lightened centers and no other symptoms and know exactly what it is and how to treat it. Just this week I have been able to use some of my Dr. Mom knowledge. All four of us came down with a bad viral thing this week. It began with me feeling bad over the weekend. By Monday evening both Greg and Noah were burning fevers. Noah woke up okay and I put him in school to be called a couple hours later to pick him up because he was feverish again. Greg stayed home Tuesday and slept all day with a 103 fever. Wyatt was doing great (a house where everyone is horrible ill but the two year old is not a fun place to be) until today and he his temp got as high as 104. My Dr. Mom experience told me there was nothing to worry about because Greg and Wyatt are prone to really high fevers, sweating, no appetites etc and they get over it quick. Noah and I don't usually get fevers, we still eat just fine and we are sick for longer. So where the sickness began-with me- it is also ending. Moms don't get sick days- especially when everyone else is sick! The goose egg was another test two weeks ago. I'm still not clear on exactly what happened- it involved an encounter between Wyatt and a large, metal bucket before the sun came up one morning. He didn't cry long, seemed alert, enjoyed the ice I gave him, so I went back to bed for the last 15 minutes of dawn. I felt a little guilty when I got up and saw how big the bump had gotten- so I took a picture.
Enough of all that sick talk. I didn't do much blogging for Wyatt's b-day. I was planning on doing one whole blog just about him. Now I can't even think of what to say. I haven't even taken him for his two year check-up yet. He seems pretty normal. A little on the energetic and talkative side. If you haven't yet, read Christie's latest blog- it is hilarious and more entertaining than mine. But I can relate to the incessant talking while in the car, at the table, in the grocery store, playing cars, etc. I have an even more vocal 4 year old to throw into the mix. When Noah is talking Wyatt is either repeating him the best he can or just doing some noise to be louder. I can tell when Greg is spending too much time at the office because he comes home and wanders around trying to lower the volume of chatter and clutter in the house. The rest of the time he just adds to it. We celebrated Wyatt's b-day at Mama G's with little fan fair. I posted the best pics on Flickr. One of my recent favorites is the series I put together of his 'jump and spin' into the grass. One day he just decided it would be fun to do, it made Noah crack up laughing and that was enough for him to do it over and over. I think I will end with a great picture of Noah. I will try to be better at keeping up with the blog. I will agree with Christie that little boys seem to get all their energy by sucking it directly out of their parents. But someday we will be able to harness it to get the lawn mowed and dogs washed.

I'm Two!

Where to start....

I have been so bad about taking pictures the past couple weeks. Everytime I remember my camera we are usually on another lake, river or pool trip. And, really, how many more pictures of the boys in swimsuits and life jackets this summer do I need? I'm looking forward to the season change and new photo ops. Maybe you will even get to see my kids (and Greg for that matter) with shirts on! The boys and I have made several trips to the pool and went on some outings with friends. The boys have turned into total water bugs. A couple weeks ago we were at the pool. The three of us were in the big pool- Noah had his life jacket on and Wyatt had arm floaties. I was tryin got teach Wyatt how to float on his back. Noah, a little jealous I think, asked me to teach him how to swim. I told him I couldn't until he was able to totally go under water, which he has always been scared to do. I don't know what got in to him, but that very second he climbed out of the pool, shed his life jacket and jumped in. He hit the bottom (it was only 3.5') and bounced up, treading. So now he is a fish. He jumps in and out the shallow area with no flotation and jumps in the deep area with his jacket on. It is great. He has so much more fun in the pool now and I don't have to be there to catch him! Well, not wanting to be outdone by his brother, Wyatt jumped in. He has floaties but he jumps in, goes under and bobs to the surface. Now he is really fearless. So the two of them are all over the pool now, playing and I get to rela! (That is not a typo- that letter is not working on my keyboard. My computer is not doing too well but I'm determined to keep it going.) They are just as crazy in the rivers and lakes too. Greg and I are having more and more fun with them each day. They are going to be such cool kids. Sorry for the bragging. I took them to our local gymnastics gym yesterday for the second time this year. Every Monday morning they open it up to just parents and preschoolers. The boys wore themselves out. There is a huge pit in the floor filled with foam blocks over which they practice the uneven bars and the vault, etc. Noah climbed up on a platform about 6 feet over the blocks (I don't know eactly how deep the blocks go) and did a superman jump off. Again, not to be shown up, Wyatt followed. He is so small though, that he would fall between the blocks and just be totally buried. Other moms were looking at me in disbelief, and maybe a little disapproving, but the boys were having so much fun. The owner of the gym thought it was great. We'll have to go more often. All three of us were dripping in sweat by the time we left. I'm waiting to put Noah back into gymnastics when he turns five and will actually be able to be a part of a real instructional and competitive class. This past weekend we celebrated Mema's 76th birthday in Wahlburg. It was really fun to see all the family. With si little ones under 5, there was plenty of entertainment. They all play really well together. Of course I forgot my camera at a big family gathering with great picture opportunities. It was a busy day. Sunday evening we went on an impromptu canoe trip up the Blanco River from 5 mile dam. We only went a couple miles but it was really mellow, pretty trip up and down the shady side of the slow moving river. We stopped to swim, skip rocks and throw the biggest rocks we could find as high as we could and watch them KUR-Plunk in to the water. It was great. Noah begins preschool net week. He is very ecited to be a Monkey this year. So am I. Oh yeah, the pictures. The first one they are washing the motorcyle, getting it ready to sell. yep, Greg said a final goodbye to it on Friday. He also parted with the sailboat. It was sad, but he is such a good husband. He sold them so we have some money to invest and save for some land in the future. The net two pics are Wyatt enjoying the popsicle he earned by eating a big pile of green beans and the net is him unhappy about his mouth hurting from the frozen lips caused by the popsicle.

Wonderfully Made Announcements

Dori and I have gone into business together. We create photo announcements for occasions like births, engagements, adoptions and moving. So pass on our website address and contact to friends and family. We need referrals to keep building our portfolio. Visit wmannouncements.com. The site is still under construction and will continue to grow.

Sum, Sum Summertime

The blazing hot weather is finally here! That means sprinklers, watermelon and popsicles. As much as is possible, the boys and I are enjoying the fiery TX sun. A couple weeks ago we visited Landa Park in New Braunfels with our friends. We stopped by the famous Naeglin's Bakery and got some amazing cookies and breakfast pastries. Landa Park has several playgrounds, springs, pools, falls, really big ducks, a train and the Comal River runs through it. The friends we went with each had boys a little younger than Wyatt. We played, had a pic-nic and swam. It is a beautiful park and I recommend it to anyone looking for a free, refreshing time in New Braunfels. We spent a weekend at the Lakehouse . The guys hauled muck out of the lake while us girls cooked and decorated flip flops (a crazy mom idea in celebration of Dori's b-day). Last week we visited our close friends Becky, Molly and Evie in Schlulenburg. They have a couple acres in the middle of nowhere with chickens. It was a blast and really fun to see Molly and Evie. Molly is a terror- her and Wyatt get along great. Evie is sweet and enjoyed the attention poured on her by Noah. Wyatt enjoyed trying on all Molly's bracelets, necklaces and sunglasses. I think he wonders why he and Noah don't have all that cool stuff. Becky suggested getting him some 'man jewelry'. Hmmm... I think sunglasses are enough for now.
Some of you may know that Greg and Noah were in a wreck just before our FL trip. Everyone was okay but the company truck he was driving was totaled. Big mess, but the happy ending is that Greg's company bought him a new vehicle (new to us, anyway). He is now driving a black 2000 4runner. He loves it. The boys love it too. Every black SUV is now a 'cool 4runner' to Wyatt. He cries when I put him in the Rav because he wants to ride in the 'brand new truck'. It's the McDanel coming out in him. Noah is fascinated by the idea that the white truck went to the junk yard. Out of the blue I get questions like 'will the truck in the junkyard get smashed?' and 'does the truck still have it's wheels?' Noah is starting the ever-so-fun tough questions for mom and dad stage. 'Will Fluffy [the fish we had to flush last week] live again when he gets to the ocean?' 'When will you [mom] be old and have a messed up face?' 'Can I get married when I'm 15?' 'Who's bigger- God or Jesus?' I can't think off all the funny ones he has asked me lately- I need to start writing them down. The other day he asked me if we were going to Birdbath and Beyond. Of course everything he says Wyatt repeats so things are twice as funny hearing Wyatt's version.

Had to share this one...

Destin or Bust

Picking up where I left of- Brandon's last night was the fourth. We all went to bed early. We were so tired that none of us noticed the sounds of World War III two blocks away. I even slept through Yeti cuddled up on my head shaking in fright. So the next weekend we visited my cousins in Waco. We had a great time talking, eating and watching the kids have fun. Amanda's kids were great entertainment (and sitters) for Noah and Wyatt. Here they are playing with their monster trucks in the mud. The only way I could get a tearful Noah in the car to go home was to remind him of our upcoming motor home vacation. The next Tuesday Mimi, Papa, Grandma Jean and Grandpa Bob all descended on our house in preparation for the much anticipated family reunion about to take place in Destin, FL. We loaded up our rented motor home with all the necessary, and several unnecessary, things eight adults and four kids need for five days at the beach. We left around 8:30 Tuesday night with the plan to take shifts driving through the night and reach Destin by morning. Everything went relatively smoothly. The kids were so awed by the wonders of our 28' Coachman that it took them until 10:30 to finally fall asleep. They slept in the RV's 'attic'. I have such great memories of trips like that when I was little, but it is even better to see my own kids experiencing it. Us adults played some Yahtzee and tried to keep dad company as he drove, since he did most of the driving- so much for taking shifts. It wasn't long before dad was the only one awake. A peaceful night's sleep in a bouncy, clanky motor home on I-10 through Houston and Louisiana was pretty much impossible- unless you're mom. She soundly slept while bouncing back and forth along the bed in back. Like an old Donald the Duck cartoon. We made it to FL Wednesday morning where we met up with Dori and Jay, who did the same drive in the mini van with two dogs. After getting settled at the military recreation area in our RV slot and cabins and making about 20 pb&j sandwiches while the twelve of us and three dogs soaked up the air con in the RV, we congregated at the pool with the Georgia clan. We reacquainted, cooled off and planned dinner. I don't think I can relay the entire trip, but I will give a few highlights. Thursday morning we awoke early and loaded up for the beach. 10 folding chairs, two ginormous umbrellas, one ATV wagon, at least a dozen sand toys, a surfboard and so on. The Georgia clan, proving their blood relation, kept right in step with a full on county fair style collapsible tent and two giant ice chests on wheels. The white sand beach with emerald green water were beautiful. We had a great time. This was Jon, Dacy, Noah and Wyatt's first experience (that they can remember anyway) with the beach and ocean. They were totally intimated by the waves. After letting us carry them out into the waves, they opted to just play on the shore, only letting the water get as deep as their ankles. But they had so much fun and I think the group under the tent had just as much fun watching them. Mom, Dori, Tracy and I tried boogie boarding. That's about all I need to say about that. Greg also tried surfing for the first time. Just like Greg, he was able to stand up and ride a wave into shore on the first try. Granted it wasn't a very big wave, but it was still impressive. I tried it later on and only managed to ride it in on my belly. Even so, it was a whole lot of fun. Greg and I took another morning and went scuba diving. We did two dives- each around 80 ft. We saw lots of fish I can't name, a sunken boat, barracudas and many, many jelly fish. We ate lots of great seafood while we were there. We all went on a dolphin cruise. We saw dophins. Noah got to drive the ship. Wyatt was overwhelmed by boats and jet skis the whole trip. We rented a pontoon boat. Or as Wyatt called it- a ON-ooon boat. Dori decided you can get Wyatt to say any word by putting it in front of the word 'boat'. Wyatt found a new best friend in Presley. He would follow her to the ends of the earth. Every time we separated from their family he cried 'pesleeeeee'. For a few days after we returned home, he would say 'Pesley?' every time he saw a tan little girl with dark brown hair. Greg, the boys and I stayed in the RV the whole time and the boys cried when Papa drove off with it after we got home. So after stuffing ourselves with mounds of shrimp and Gleta's margaritas and desserts, and getting sand in all our nooks and crannies we headed back to Texas. We had so much fun. I waited way too long to write about the trip and now I don't have the time or energy to properly retell it. It was so good to see the extended family and be reminded of how deep our roots are and how strong they make us as individuals. How about Austin next time??

Wet Fun in the Summer Sun!

Get ready to snuggle in for a long blog. I guess I need to start way back- some time around mid June. Around that time was our church's VBS. This was Noah's first time. I was the recreation leader for the week. I had a good time but Noah loved it. The songs they learned and getting to perform on stage Sunday morning were his favorites. He also memorized three new Bible verses along the way, but I can't seem to get him to recite them to anyone but me. Wyatt really enjoyed VBS too. Of course he is too young to be part of the program but there was childcare for those of us helping run it. VBS for Wyatt was riding around in the six seater stroller, eating watermelon outside and playing with bubbles on the church lawn. The following weekend was the church's Jr. High lake trip for which Greg and I have somehow become the waterfront coordinators. We trailered a church member's boat out to Highland Lakes Camp, launched, drove the boat across the lake to Greg's boss' dock in Point Venure, tied off, paddled a canoe to shore (the lake was so high the dock's walkway didn't reach shore) and jumped in the back of Papa G's pickup for a ride to his house. By a chain of crazy coincidences, Greg's parents, his boss' weekend house and our church lake trip are all in Point Venture. That was an amazing weekend for the boys. All the different modes of transport, grandparents, the 'big kids', lots of boat riding, snow cones, homemade ice cream, trailers, jet skis- they had a blast. Greg and I spent Saturday driving boats. I drove the tubing boat (I got every kid airborn on the tube! Grandpa Bob would be proud!) and Greg drove the wake/knee board boat. The first two hours of the morning it poured down rain off and on yet I still managed to get a really painful sunburn before putting on sunscreen at lunch. Mama G took care of the boys for us. For the first time ever, I think the boys actually wore her out. Granted, she did have a long week at work, but still, she usually seems to have more energy than the kids. As you can see we somehow ended up jumping rope in the driveway. We all tried it and it is hard workout. How did we do that for so long when we were only eight? The following week Mom, Dori and the kids visited for a couple days. Those visits are always such a whirlwind I don't really remember all we do. I'm sure there was some hectic shopping with toddlers and mexican food involved. I do remember the worst tantrum Noah has ever had. He had a total and complete melt down that lasted hours and ended with an unheard of- and heavily protested- afternoon nap. The prior busy weeks finally caught up to him and it was not pretty. He came out of it okay but it shook me up. After mom and Dori left we did nothing for a few days- that is until we had more company. Brandon, Greg's closest friend from high school, visited us all the way from Alabama. Greg took off the Mon. and Tues. before the fourth and spent five solids days just playing with Brandon. That was during all the crazy rain and flooding in Central Texas. So they spent most of their time paddling every flooded river within two hours of us. The boys and I went along on most of the trips to take pictures and play in the water. It was five days of boating bliss for Wyatt. Boats are his most favorite thing in the world and watching his dad in one is even better. While they surfed and played in a wave Wyatt watched intently. He utters manly grunts when they do something impressive and exclaims "Uh-Oh!" when they flip over. Noah watches some but he really likes to splash around in the water, swim and explore the shoreline. The picture is of Greg running Graduation Falls on the San Marcos. There are lots more pictures of all this stuff on my Flickr. I think Brandon had fun. Hopefully he left still wanting kids some day. I know the boys loved having him around and Wyatt even named his kayak action figure after him. It was also a much needed break for Greg. He is the only person I know who relaxes by paddling and riding until he can hardly move. I thought I could make it all the way through this tonight, but I'm getting weak. This is going to have to be continued...

I haven't forgotten about you...

It is really late (at least by my internal clock) and I have too much to write. So I'm chickening out. But I was able to update my photos on Flickr. So go have a look and make up your own stories for the pictures to hold you over until I have the chance to write again. The super cute Wyatt pic is so you don't feel like you got totally jiped.

Canoe Trip

Here is Greg's latest craigslist purchase. We sold 'my' (I haven't been in it in almost 5 years) kayak and bought a canoe. Since selling the kayak, Greg has been totally canoe crazy and finally found one to his liking on Friday. He was beyond excited to be able to take the boys to one of his favorite places in the whole world- the river. On Saturday we packed a lunch, loaded the canoe and set out to paddle from the outdoor center in San Marcos to just past the Martindale dam- about 12 miles. I have paddled this stretch a few times in a kayak and Greg has been down it many, many times. He always underestimates how long it is going to take by several hours, but I still believe him and go along with his plans. As usual, his three hour trip ("We're in a canoe! It will take no time at all!") turned into six hours. But we survived. The boys did amazingly well and begged to go again Sunday. In fact, I guess I was really the only grumpy one by the end of the trip. In my defense, I did paddle the whole six hours through some pretty good rapids and grooling flat water, hauled the boat from the car and over dams, hit my head on a low bridge with rapids underneath and acquired a baseball-size bruise on my hip. We may go again this weekend! We really did have a lot of fun. The San Marcos is beautiful in an eerie, unpredictable sort of way. I have always loved the huge bald cypress' with their narly roots covering the banks. It was early enough in the morning that we got to see a ton of lounging turtles, one snake, dragonflies the size of birds and all kinds of other TX wildlife. We even came upon a herd of mangey sheep (visit my flickr for more pics). Greg and I love to do exciting stuff like this with the boys. I hope they really appreciate these memories and experiences when they get older. I can't wait to see what Greg will have the four of us doing when the boys are a little older! Hope I can keep up- or at least get a good seat to watch the action. I wish I had gotten more pictures of the canoe trip but there was a lot going on and I could only take my camera out on the calm sections and when we stopped for lunch.
This last picture is of our latest pet. 'Twitch' is a little bunny that has taken up residence in our backyard. He is a cute little guy (or girl) and seems fine living in a yard with two small children and two dogs. He is friendly with Greg and I, letting us come within a few feet of him. I know he does not seem like he would be welcome in our big veggie garden, but, so far, he has caused very little damage. I let a few carrots overgrow and he nibbles on the foliage of those, but I can't really see any other damage. In fact, tonight when I took this picture he was happily munching on grass. So maybe he is a rabbit that prefers lush St. Augustine over stinky ol' vegetables. I will keep you posted on Twitch's life.

21 Months!

June Already!

It has been such a long time since I last posted that it took me a good 15 minutes to remember the correct username/password combo to log into Blogger. So now I'm beat before I even got started. So, what has happened in the Godsey family in the past month? Well, if I gave you the details I'd be here all night and I'm sure blogger would kick me off for surpassing my storage limits. So here are the highlights. I think Mother's Day was somewhere in this past month. I'm pretty sure we were at the lakehouse, but we didn't officially celebrate until Monday when Greg made me breakfast and took the four of us out to dinner. Shortly after that was a weekend in Dallas and another trip to Vegas for Greg and I. This time we stayed in the newly remodeled Flamingo. The convention we attended had a 'spouse program' of which I got to be a part. It included a makeover, pilates class and a really fun cooking (and eating!) demo at a shwanky Spanish restaurant on the strip. It was really fun. I didn't take any pictures- there are only so many pics of Vegas I desire to have and I've reached my limit. The boys stayed with Mimi in Dallas. Dad was out of town the whole week- poor Mimi. My boys are not always the little angels you see in these pictures. They tested their limits with Mimi but everyone survived and had fun. Immediately following that trip Mimi and Papa were in Austin for a couple days and the night they left we headed for Lago Vista for the Memorial Day weekend. We spent the three day weekend with Greg's parents. Much of the weekend we were livin' it up at Greg's boss' house on Lake Travis. That was another really fun weekend. So that was almost two solid weeks of being out of town. We kicked off this past weekend early with a visit to the lakehouse on Thursday. Friday, my birthday, I spent the day with the Jr. High and High School girls from our chruch youth group. Me and some other ladies in the church hosted a 'spa day' for the girls that have attended our Bible study the past 5 months. We laid by the pool, had our nails and makeup done, snacked, relaxed in a massage chair, made a fancy dinner and took pictures. Not a bad way to spend my birthday. We were back at the lake on Saturday to play, play, play. And Sunday was back to church for the day. Whew! So in the past month we have traveled thousands of miles across several cities and states, seen a lot of our families, celebrated two national holidays, graduated Noah from the Butterflies to the Monkeys class at preschool, healed probably a dozen skinned knees, bailed Yeti out of doggie jail and I turned a whole year older.
Wyatt gets more and more... fun?... each day. If you know how to interpret, he is talking like crazy. I don't know if he really is talking early than Noah or if it's that we are more in tune with toddler speak these days. Maybe a little of both. His most favorite things in the whole wide world are boats, chocolate and dad. He is happiest in his swim trunks, at either the lake or the river watching Greg paddle or wake board. He walks around the lakehouse chanting 'boat ride' until his demands are met. He carries a little plastic boat with him almost everywhere he goes. As for chocolate, he really can't get enough of it. I thought it was the cookies at first but now when I give him a big, chewy, amazing oatmeal cookie he has learned he can pick it apart- eating only the chocolate chips. He sucks the chocolate yogurt off of pretzels and I have to hide the chocolate syrup in the fridge so he doesn't see it when I pour him a cup of milk. I guess there is something of me in his personality!
I spend most of my time these days refereeing arguments between Noah and Wyatt and trying to teach the two of them how to play together. When Wyatt came along I had wonderful images of the two of them being great buddies, but, so far, the only time they seem to enjoy each other's company is when they are wrestling like wild dogs in the middle of the living room which inevitably ends up in somebody (usually Noah) getting hurt. I've had to outlaw all wrestling unless supervised by Greg. They get along pretty good when I can get Noah to teach Wyatt things, but I have to be right there observing because it can go from good to nasty real quick. I suppose it will get better the older they get... right?
Okay, I just started uploading the pictures and realized there are all kinds of things we did this past month that I left out. So, the first picture is Wyatt asleep in the driver's seat of Papa's boat. We had taken the 9th and 10th graders from our church to the lake for a day. Wyatt had a horrible fever that day and just couldn't stay awake. While we were cleaning the boat I sat him in the seat and he just curled up and slept. Poor guy, but it made for a really cute pic. I also left out a trip to Waco last month for Asahel's wedding. We stayed with Dan and Amanda. The boys had a blast with their five. It was their first time to wrangle chickens and ride a supersized wagon with bench seats and a handbrake. I had some good pics but I think I lost them. The fifth picture pretty much sums up Wyatt. In the water, a little crazy and a whole lot of fun. And the last pic sums up Noah- in a car, handsome sweety with a little sneakiness mixed in.

Family Night

Monday night was Noah's first school performance at his preschool's family fun night. Before the program he was got a stomach from begin a little nervous about getting on stage. But after a pep talk from dad, he recovered and had an awesome performance. His class sang five or six songs with motions. He was front and center. I think his teachers carefully planned it so that the kids most likely to sing loud, do the hand motions and behave had prime positions. It worked until the boys on either side of Noah began arguing and threw a couple punches. I could see Noah in the middle waving his hands, eyebrows crinkled, trying to calm the two. They got over it and continued on. This picture is cropped way down so you can see Noah, but there were about thirty kids on stage. His 'best friend' is Ashley, the little girl in pink in the top right corner. The gap next to the kid in green is from a little girl who literally jumped around like a maniac the whole program. She is probably in mid air off camera. I'm sure her parents were mortified during most of the program- especially when she lifted her skirt in front of several hundred people. Watching four and five year olds perform is hilarious. We had a great time and Noah did an excellent job. The rest of the night we ate pizza, played carnival games and visited his 'class'. Greg finally got a glimpse into the mysterious world of Noah's preschool. Noah was thrilled to have Mama G there and show her his school. The last picture is Skylar and Wyatt banding together to get through the crowd. Both are very independent and, says their Sunday school teacher, rule the church toddler pack.

Babies, Babies, Babies!

Three of my closest friends had babies within a month of each other. I love it! All three are extremely cute. Congratulations Becky, Robin and Kelli!
Evie June
3/19/2007
5lbs 10oz
18.5"





Reece Elizabeth
3/28/07
6lbs 12oz
19.75"







Zachary William
4/20/07
6lbs 14oz
20"
(He looks just like his dad!)

Happy Birthdya, Laddy!

Last Saturday we attended Grandpa McDanel's 80th birthday party. Of course it was a Scottish themed event. Bagpiper and all. We had a great time and it was great to see almost all the family. You'd have to ask grandma for the exact numbers, but I do know that all her children, most of their spouses, most of her grandchildren and all but 1 (I think) of her great grandchildren were there. That is well over 60 people without family friends. Every family brought two to three dishes so we ate really well too. Saturday night we relaxed and prepared ourselves for our usual hectic Sunday. Visit my Flickr to see more pics from the birthday party.