A couple weeks ago we bought Lucas a clock - a Darth Vader clock. He is instructed to stay in his room until Vader says it's 7:00.
Ben and I went out tonight so we purposely kept the kids awake all day so they would go to bed early and Clay could have a relaxing night...
Well, Lucas had a meltdown early and was in bed by 6:15. Evan in bed by 6:55. We left at 7:05. Clay called us at 7:30 and told us Lucas was awake reading a book. I told him he could do whatever he wanted with him, so he let him stay up for a while.
Apparently Lucas just came downstairs about 7:15 and plopped on the Lovesac and started reading. He didn't even acknowledge Clay for about 20 minutes.
Then they had some cereal (which might have caused some confusion) and drew pictures and played War. Every time Clay mentioned maybe going back to sleep Lucas would get really confused and explain that he slept until 7:12, and that he could wake up!
Clay tried over and over to explain that Lucas really just had a little nap. He showed him the moon and told him that tomorrow was Sunday and Easter and there would be candy... Still, as Clay was walking Lucas back upstairs at 10:15, Lucas said, "But, if I go to bed now, It will be bed time when I wake up!"
So funny. Oh, and Evan also woke up for Clay to deal with, so the huge stack of work he brought over remained a huge stack. Poor awesome Clay.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
BS
Ben had a poster up in the Art Crank poster show. Each poster had to be bike related. Ben designed a cool poster and had it letterpressed, which makes it extra-cool. The posters were sold at the exhibit and then at Mellow Johnny's for a couple weeks. And perhaps from his desk at work, too...
Remember the bike rack? Yeah, from like 2008? Well, that's still going on. Ben has discovered that it is a complete pain in the butt to work with the city and that it's a miracle that anything is ever accomplished. Hopefully things will get started soon...
We were excited for him to make some money off this project in the beginning, but in all honesty, he will probably have to pay a little out of pocket to have it built. You're welcome City of Austin. Enjoy your sculpture. We just want it to be done. Poor Ben has been working so hard.
As for me, even though my blogging frequency has been totally lame, I'm still alive. I've started running a lot more, and actually like it now. I hurt my back several weeks ago and decided to go to a chiropractor. He decided I was totally crooked (almost to the point of scoliosis) due to my psoas muscles needing to be stretched out. So, he did some painful stretches with me, then stuck his hand what seemed like halfway through my abdomen to massage each side. He warned me that other women compared the pain to having contractions. It wasn't that bad, but it was pretty horrible.
Last week we went through the same thing, but he also performed the Graston Technique on my lower back, which basically means he scrapes at your skin hoping to get rid of the underlying scar tissue, etc. It hurt like crazy. And my back is bruised - I look like I've been beaten, but hey, I got my mobility back (hopefully). The good news is that I don't have to go back until I hurt myself again.
I booked a couple jobs recently. A couple weeks ago I did a print job for a cute sub division in San Marcos, called Blanco Vista. I had a fake family and we spent the day capturing about 7 shots. I got to go running with my fake husband, have a picnic by the river, have a birthday party, a BBQ, go to the pool, and have another b-day party at the pool. Everyone was really nice. And the "grandparents" were especially hilarious and inappropriate :).
I also went back to Golfsmith for another fit modeling session, which is when you try clothes on for the company before they have them produced so they can make changes. I've learned some interesting things going there and learning about the process.
Other than that, I'm pretty boring. I change poopy diapers, cook stuff, and drive to and from school a lot. Ben and I went on a date to see Hunger Games tonight with Scott and Jeana. I thought it was good, Ben thought it was forgettable. Not as bad as those vampire movies some people watch, though.
Remember the bike rack? Yeah, from like 2008? Well, that's still going on. Ben has discovered that it is a complete pain in the butt to work with the city and that it's a miracle that anything is ever accomplished. Hopefully things will get started soon...
We were excited for him to make some money off this project in the beginning, but in all honesty, he will probably have to pay a little out of pocket to have it built. You're welcome City of Austin. Enjoy your sculpture. We just want it to be done. Poor Ben has been working so hard.
As for me, even though my blogging frequency has been totally lame, I'm still alive. I've started running a lot more, and actually like it now. I hurt my back several weeks ago and decided to go to a chiropractor. He decided I was totally crooked (almost to the point of scoliosis) due to my psoas muscles needing to be stretched out. So, he did some painful stretches with me, then stuck his hand what seemed like halfway through my abdomen to massage each side. He warned me that other women compared the pain to having contractions. It wasn't that bad, but it was pretty horrible.
Last week we went through the same thing, but he also performed the Graston Technique on my lower back, which basically means he scrapes at your skin hoping to get rid of the underlying scar tissue, etc. It hurt like crazy. And my back is bruised - I look like I've been beaten, but hey, I got my mobility back (hopefully). The good news is that I don't have to go back until I hurt myself again.
I booked a couple jobs recently. A couple weeks ago I did a print job for a cute sub division in San Marcos, called Blanco Vista. I had a fake family and we spent the day capturing about 7 shots. I got to go running with my fake husband, have a picnic by the river, have a birthday party, a BBQ, go to the pool, and have another b-day party at the pool. Everyone was really nice. And the "grandparents" were especially hilarious and inappropriate :).
Other than that, I'm pretty boring. I change poopy diapers, cook stuff, and drive to and from school a lot. Ben and I went on a date to see Hunger Games tonight with Scott and Jeana. I thought it was good, Ben thought it was forgettable. Not as bad as those vampire movies some people watch, though.
Monday, April 2, 2012
The Duke
Lucas is getting so big. He's doing great in school and loves his friends and his teacher. We're so proud of him for his hard work reading and writing. Ben has been working with Lucas a lot on counting money and telling time. He's quite the stud.
If you have a conversation with Lucas it will most definitely involve Star Wars. He LOVES Star Wars and would spend all day watching, playing or drawing Star Wars if he could. Personally, I miss the animal stage... When he would recite random animal facts he learned at the zoo. It was great. We went to the zoo once in ABQ and he ran up to an exhibit and said, "Mom! Look it's the klipspringer!!" and the people walking by read the sign and realized that the little kid knew what he was talking about. It was pretty funny. He still loves animals, so I'm hoping to get back into that and possibly have a Star Wars detox this summer...somehow.
(We did go to the "snake farm" over spring break and he thought it was so awesome. At one point he said it was better than Busch Gardens... and that is blasphemy, so we need to go back to Busch Gardens to refresh his memory).
Lucas can manage to sleep in until 7:00 on weekdays, but the second 6:00 hits on Saturday that kid is up and out of bed. It's so annoying! We manage to have him read books in his room for a while until Ben's ready to start playing. But he's still just so noisy. He calls us in to ask if he can wake up, then to ask if he can stop reading, and sometimes during the night when he has a song request. He's a silly kid.
When Lucas reads, he thinks its very important to use proper voice inflection. He also likes to use different voices for different characters. So, sometimes when he's "quietly" reading, it's as if a dramatic reading is going on with 4 different people.
Love this kid.
If you have a conversation with Lucas it will most definitely involve Star Wars. He LOVES Star Wars and would spend all day watching, playing or drawing Star Wars if he could. Personally, I miss the animal stage... When he would recite random animal facts he learned at the zoo. It was great. We went to the zoo once in ABQ and he ran up to an exhibit and said, "Mom! Look it's the klipspringer!!" and the people walking by read the sign and realized that the little kid knew what he was talking about. It was pretty funny. He still loves animals, so I'm hoping to get back into that and possibly have a Star Wars detox this summer...somehow.
(We did go to the "snake farm" over spring break and he thought it was so awesome. At one point he said it was better than Busch Gardens... and that is blasphemy, so we need to go back to Busch Gardens to refresh his memory).
Lucas can manage to sleep in until 7:00 on weekdays, but the second 6:00 hits on Saturday that kid is up and out of bed. It's so annoying! We manage to have him read books in his room for a while until Ben's ready to start playing. But he's still just so noisy. He calls us in to ask if he can wake up, then to ask if he can stop reading, and sometimes during the night when he has a song request. He's a silly kid.
When Lucas reads, he thinks its very important to use proper voice inflection. He also likes to use different voices for different characters. So, sometimes when he's "quietly" reading, it's as if a dramatic reading is going on with 4 different people.
Love this kid.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Evan Piece-o-Heaven
I haven't written in forEVER. Sorry. I'm gonna update you on everyone in little chunks. Right now its all about Evan!
A lot has happened. The weirdest thing that happened is that Evan's hair changed. It was normal at Christmastime. And then we got back to Austin.... and it started sticking straight up. Like he has a little blond aura all the time now. Remember how cute his hair used to be? Perfect. And now... it's different. But its very soft and fun to touch. And he's still cute, so it's ok.
In other Evan news, he is loud. He loves the sound of his own screeches. Ben took the boys to the Natural History Muesum at UT last weekend and Evan was screaming in the entryway to the museum. The security guard came and told him to have Evan "stop his hollering." He just shrugged and asked her if she had any ideas and got on with his museum tour. Trust me, if we knew how to quiet the kid up we would! If you call me during bath time your ears will surely regret it!
Have I told you how Evan loves to throw his food? He thinks it's great. If he isn't pleased with a particular item on his tray he just tosses it. So annoying. And sometimes if he doesn't want something on his fork or spoon he just shakes it and then BAM - yogurt all over the floors and walls. It's great.
Evan isn't all weird hair and naughtiness, though. He's such a sweet little boy. He's so funny and has us laughing all the time. He's very musical. He loves to sing and hum a long with music - his favorite song to sing is the Imperial March from Star Wars. And if he sees a star wars book or video game or character he says, "Star Wars!" I can't believe I have a two year old who loves Star Wars... ugh.
Evan is still huge and heavy. He still loves his pink satin pillow (but who wouldn't?) and he thinks Pirate Booty is the bomb. I think on some days Evan could eat more than me... when he doesn't throw all his food on the floor.
After Evan throws most of his food on the floor he loves a popsicle. He runs over to the fridge and pulls on the freezer door saying, "po-sicle!!!" And the only way to shut him up is to give him a popsicle.
When Evan hears me making a smoothie, he comes running and climbs into his highchair waiting impatiently. I make a good smoothie, by the way, I could totally put Jamba out of business.
Evan makes a really funny face when he's concerned. He walks around saying, "Oh, no!" and scrunches up his face and his eyebrows, sticks that big lower lip out and looks oh-so-cute. Usually the problem is a lost toy, or a "broken" tv.
He's yelling at me now from bed. So, until next time...
A lot has happened. The weirdest thing that happened is that Evan's hair changed. It was normal at Christmastime. And then we got back to Austin.... and it started sticking straight up. Like he has a little blond aura all the time now. Remember how cute his hair used to be? Perfect. And now... it's different. But its very soft and fun to touch. And he's still cute, so it's ok.
In other Evan news, he is loud. He loves the sound of his own screeches. Ben took the boys to the Natural History Muesum at UT last weekend and Evan was screaming in the entryway to the museum. The security guard came and told him to have Evan "stop his hollering." He just shrugged and asked her if she had any ideas and got on with his museum tour. Trust me, if we knew how to quiet the kid up we would! If you call me during bath time your ears will surely regret it!
Have I told you how Evan loves to throw his food? He thinks it's great. If he isn't pleased with a particular item on his tray he just tosses it. So annoying. And sometimes if he doesn't want something on his fork or spoon he just shakes it and then BAM - yogurt all over the floors and walls. It's great.
Evan isn't all weird hair and naughtiness, though. He's such a sweet little boy. He's so funny and has us laughing all the time. He's very musical. He loves to sing and hum a long with music - his favorite song to sing is the Imperial March from Star Wars. And if he sees a star wars book or video game or character he says, "Star Wars!" I can't believe I have a two year old who loves Star Wars... ugh.
Evan is still huge and heavy. He still loves his pink satin pillow (but who wouldn't?) and he thinks Pirate Booty is the bomb. I think on some days Evan could eat more than me... when he doesn't throw all his food on the floor.
After Evan throws most of his food on the floor he loves a popsicle. He runs over to the fridge and pulls on the freezer door saying, "po-sicle!!!" And the only way to shut him up is to give him a popsicle.
When Evan hears me making a smoothie, he comes running and climbs into his highchair waiting impatiently. I make a good smoothie, by the way, I could totally put Jamba out of business.
Evan makes a really funny face when he's concerned. He walks around saying, "Oh, no!" and scrunches up his face and his eyebrows, sticks that big lower lip out and looks oh-so-cute. Usually the problem is a lost toy, or a "broken" tv.
He's yelling at me now from bed. So, until next time...
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Here's the video of Lucas's Valentine's Day Dance at school. He had the best time ever!
If the quality is bad, try going here to see if it's better...
If the quality is bad, try going here to see if it's better...
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Evan's Birthday Party
My mom and sister, Carrie, were able to come to town for Evan's birthday weekend. We had lots of fun while they were here. We didn't get out and do too much, but they did get to go to IKEA for a couple hours and made it out alive. I stayed holed up in the house mixing a bazillion colors of frosting for his cake.
Evan is doing great. I know I have been a bad blogger lately, but I'll try to do better.
Some funny Evanisms:
*Thinks the kitchen table is an acceptable place to play. Today he took his first dive off.... oops.
*Generally has a train or car in hand at all times. Even when he sleeps.
*Throws food on the floor with joy. If he doesn't approve of something he simply tosses it on the floor. Sometimes when you're picking up the recently tossed food, you're lucky enough to be pelted in the head by a banana or piece of cheese.
*Loves his pink satin pillow. Still.
*Squeals so loud dogs for miles around come running.
*Probably eats more calories than I do.
*Comes as fast as he can when he hears me blending up a smoothie, waits patiently in his chair.
*Loves slides and tries to slide down anything... like the driveway.
*Is very popular among the girls in Lucas's class at school.
Evan is a big boy. 95% on height, 85% weight. He still has sweet soft blond hair, bright blue eyes, and satiny smooth skin. We love our little stinker and we're so grateful that he's our baby... er, toddler.
Happy Birthday, Evan!
Some funny Evanisms:
*Thinks the kitchen table is an acceptable place to play. Today he took his first dive off.... oops.
*Generally has a train or car in hand at all times. Even when he sleeps.
*Throws food on the floor with joy. If he doesn't approve of something he simply tosses it on the floor. Sometimes when you're picking up the recently tossed food, you're lucky enough to be pelted in the head by a banana or piece of cheese.
*Loves his pink satin pillow. Still.
*Squeals so loud dogs for miles around come running.
*Probably eats more calories than I do.
*Comes as fast as he can when he hears me blending up a smoothie, waits patiently in his chair.
*Loves slides and tries to slide down anything... like the driveway.
*Is very popular among the girls in Lucas's class at school.
Evan is a big boy. 95% on height, 85% weight. He still has sweet soft blond hair, bright blue eyes, and satiny smooth skin. We love our little stinker and we're so grateful that he's our baby... er, toddler.
Happy Birthday, Evan!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Christmas Vacation
We had a super-fun Christmas break. We took a road trip to Florida for a week of animal adventure!
We left the Thursday before Christmas. Ben got the car all packed, I got food ready, we loaded up the kids, and both kids were crying by the time we reached the mail boxes. I think one wanted a movie and one wanted fruit snacks or something. That day was a long day, but we survived and stayed in a lovely little hotel in Daphne, Alabama. We got in at 11:00, thinking the kids would drift of to sleep peacefully. Instead they both got hyper, jumped on the beds, had a raucous bath time and then Lucas went to sleep. Evan on the other hand, wanted to stay awake until 1:00.
We headed out the next morning by 9:30 for Tampa. We drove and drove, got an oil change and lunch in Tallahassee, had a few fits, and made it to Tampa at 7:00. We met up with my parents, Carrie and Maddie at the Embassy Suites, where we would be spending the next three nights. It was lovely. We had connecting rooms, which was fun.
On Saturday we headed to my favorite amusement park ever, Busch Gardens! Why is Busch Gardens so awesome, you ask? Because not only does it have awesome roller coasters, but awesome animals, too! After getting in, getting the kids tagged (after I wrote Evan's contact info on his back), and finding our bearings, the boys watched the cheetahs and the girls went and rode roller coasters. We finally hooked up around 2:00 for lunch... then I took the kids so Ben could ride coasters with Carrie and Maddie. It was a lot of fun. Also, somewhere in there Lucas asked what the date was and I told him it was Dec 21st...
That night we headed back to the hotel and ate junk at the hotel happy hour. Evan sported a plate on his head the whole time and we nibbled on food before putting our exhausted kids to bed and some of us in the hot tub.
The next day we were up and at it again at Busch Gardens. It was great, once again. Carrie, Maddie, and I got stuck on the sky ride at one point for a few minutes, but had a good plan to jump to a passing safari truck if we didn't start moving. Luckily we didn't have use our backup plan..
The boys spent a long portion of the day in the Sesame Street Forest of Fun. It was AMAZING there. You should go.
My dad left early to go rest his sore hip, and by the end of the day we were exhausted. Ben and I rode the River Rapids and got soaked. Thank goodness Lucas refused to ride or he would have froze. We took our last sky ride across the park and found our shuttle to the airport, where Evan dined with a plate on his head while we enjoyed happy hour goodies and ordered a pizza. It was a good day.
Monday morning we checked out of the hotel and Mom and Dad headed to the farm, while the rest of us took a detour to Clearwater Beach. Lucas and Evan had a great time running and playing on the beach. The water was chilly, but they didn't mind. Then they played at a cool playscape, too.
We ate a yummy lunch and then headed to the farm, a two-hour drive.
When I was little we spent a lot of time at my grandparents' farm each summer. To this day its still one of our favorites places to be. We have such happy memories there. My grandma passed away in November, but we decided to go anyways. It was still nice to be there and make more memories.
At the farm we got to pet lots of cute cows (we were lucky enough to have three new calves born), we ate yummy food, and had a great Christmas, celebrated Carrie's birthday, had a silly string fight, played games, and went on lots of walks. My aunt, Carolyn, even came! It was lots of fun.
One morning Ben and Lucas went on a walk in the pastures and found a brand new calf all alone in the grass. The closest cows were 200 yards away, so they actually went up and got to pet him for about 10 minutes. Then Ben wanted to make sure he was ok, so he helped him stand up. Then the little guy called his mom and she came over. The boys moved out of the way and they got back together. I guess the cows leave their babies alone sometimes thinking they will draw less attention if they're not with the herd. I'm just glad they didn't get trampled by an angry mom. But, seriously, little calves are so stinking cute.
Lucas and Evan were seriously spoiled for Christmas. The Harmans and my mom both went home with new Kindle Fires, which we've enjoyed, and there was lots of other fun stuff too.
We started our drive back to Austin on New Year's Eve. We stopped in Pensacola, FL, to play at another beach. We did this two years ago and Lucas had a blast. He still had a blast this time, but it was colder, foggy, and we were at a different beach in a residential area. Some really nice people let us use their outdoor shower to rinse Lucas off, which was really nice. We had dinner at a fun restaurant on the beach, complete with a playground in the sand.
That night we stopped in Gulfport, Mississippi and stayed at Quality Inn. QUALITY OUT, more like it. It was so disgusting. Our room smelled like smoke, The shower was too short for Ben and he hit his head so many times on the ceiling over the sink, that he was bloody. (Needless to say this wasn't our first hotel choice, but a lot of places were sold out). We survived the night, leaving with sore throats, a smokers cough and maybe a disease or two. We drove pasts the beach on our way out.
We made it into Austin by about 7:30. The kids were great on the way home. I think they had finally accepted the fact that they weren't getting out of the car. The DVD player was the best thing ever, as were yummy car snacks. Ben bought some of that disgusting cheese in a can and we played cheese Pictionary. It was fun.
We had such a great trip and had so much fun with the fam. Thanks Mom, Dad, Carrie and Maddie for the fun time!
We left the Thursday before Christmas. Ben got the car all packed, I got food ready, we loaded up the kids, and both kids were crying by the time we reached the mail boxes. I think one wanted a movie and one wanted fruit snacks or something. That day was a long day, but we survived and stayed in a lovely little hotel in Daphne, Alabama. We got in at 11:00, thinking the kids would drift of to sleep peacefully. Instead they both got hyper, jumped on the beds, had a raucous bath time and then Lucas went to sleep. Evan on the other hand, wanted to stay awake until 1:00.
We headed out the next morning by 9:30 for Tampa. We drove and drove, got an oil change and lunch in Tallahassee, had a few fits, and made it to Tampa at 7:00. We met up with my parents, Carrie and Maddie at the Embassy Suites, where we would be spending the next three nights. It was lovely. We had connecting rooms, which was fun.
On Saturday we headed to my favorite amusement park ever, Busch Gardens! Why is Busch Gardens so awesome, you ask? Because not only does it have awesome roller coasters, but awesome animals, too! After getting in, getting the kids tagged (after I wrote Evan's contact info on his back), and finding our bearings, the boys watched the cheetahs and the girls went and rode roller coasters. We finally hooked up around 2:00 for lunch... then I took the kids so Ben could ride coasters with Carrie and Maddie. It was a lot of fun. Also, somewhere in there Lucas asked what the date was and I told him it was Dec 21st...
The boys spent a long portion of the day in the Sesame Street Forest of Fun. It was AMAZING there. You should go.
My dad left early to go rest his sore hip, and by the end of the day we were exhausted. Ben and I rode the River Rapids and got soaked. Thank goodness Lucas refused to ride or he would have froze. We took our last sky ride across the park and found our shuttle to the airport, where Evan dined with a plate on his head while we enjoyed happy hour goodies and ordered a pizza. It was a good day.
Monday morning we checked out of the hotel and Mom and Dad headed to the farm, while the rest of us took a detour to Clearwater Beach. Lucas and Evan had a great time running and playing on the beach. The water was chilly, but they didn't mind. Then they played at a cool playscape, too.
We ate a yummy lunch and then headed to the farm, a two-hour drive.
When I was little we spent a lot of time at my grandparents' farm each summer. To this day its still one of our favorites places to be. We have such happy memories there. My grandma passed away in November, but we decided to go anyways. It was still nice to be there and make more memories.
At the farm we got to pet lots of cute cows (we were lucky enough to have three new calves born), we ate yummy food, and had a great Christmas, celebrated Carrie's birthday, had a silly string fight, played games, and went on lots of walks. My aunt, Carolyn, even came! It was lots of fun.
One morning Ben and Lucas went on a walk in the pastures and found a brand new calf all alone in the grass. The closest cows were 200 yards away, so they actually went up and got to pet him for about 10 minutes. Then Ben wanted to make sure he was ok, so he helped him stand up. Then the little guy called his mom and she came over. The boys moved out of the way and they got back together. I guess the cows leave their babies alone sometimes thinking they will draw less attention if they're not with the herd. I'm just glad they didn't get trampled by an angry mom. But, seriously, little calves are so stinking cute.
Lucas and Evan were seriously spoiled for Christmas. The Harmans and my mom both went home with new Kindle Fires, which we've enjoyed, and there was lots of other fun stuff too.
We made it into Austin by about 7:30. The kids were great on the way home. I think they had finally accepted the fact that they weren't getting out of the car. The DVD player was the best thing ever, as were yummy car snacks. Ben bought some of that disgusting cheese in a can and we played cheese Pictionary. It was fun.
We had such a great trip and had so much fun with the fam. Thanks Mom, Dad, Carrie and Maddie for the fun time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)