Now and Then

This is now... Yep that's a new slide for the summer! This is then... Almost 4 years ago to the day!

Time has flown by! I love you all so much my little sweet peas.

speechless...

Well, I wasn't exactly speechless when I came home the other day and saw Maya. However, the words that came to mind, I couldn't exactly say to my own daughter! Let me explain the pic you're about to see. First of all, Maya chose the entire outfit all by herself! In this pic, she has the sweetest, most innocent smile on her face (makes me wonder what she's really up to). But then as you scroll down the pic, you will notice the lovely teal and floral top. This "top" is, however, a dress and a size 2T! Maya is a size 5T! Maya has made this dress a "top/shirt" and no longer a dress! Then, there's the skirt that you can hardly see. This skirt is really cute, but it must have shrunk in the wash, because it's now a mini-skirt on her and it's not a 2T. Oh, and let's not forget the oh so lovely dress up heels... that don't match! .....head shaking..... She needs help, but I love her all the same!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

I went to a co-workers wedding this weekend and all of us girls had a great time cuttin' a rug on the dance floor! The wedding was absolutely beautiful and the bride and groom looked so happy! Below is a pic of us girls and the groom (who is our co-worker as well) who decided to sneak in the pic at the last second. Thanks for the pic Carrie!! :-)

Braeden is 4!

My sweet Braeden turned 4 this week and he wanted a party at Chuck E Cheese. Since his birthday fell during the week it was perfect because Chuck E Cheese wasn't nearly as crowded! I officially have two 4 year old kids (not twins) and a 6 year old. I can't believe how fast time is flying and how big the kiddos are getting.

I started the day off singing Happy Birthday when I woke him up that morning. He even got to eat a brownie for breakfast!

Then he got his first gift of the day - a "Cars" chair. He LOVES it!

That evening we were off to Chuck E Cheese...

The other two had to "help" open all of the gifts!

Happy 4th Birthday Braeden! We love you!

We miss you Grandma!

Last week, Camden and Maya went to Vacation Bible School at our church and they had a blast! Unfortunately, Braeden didn’t meet the age requirements so he couldn’t go with them. Little did he know he would have a pretty awesome week all by himself. My grandma came in to town to visit for the week and she stayed at our house, so Braeden had every morning with her and he didn’t even have to share. They would play card games (Memory and Go Fish), read books and watch cartoons. Braeden was in heaven, he had all of the attention and he enjoyed every single minute. When Camden and Maya would get home from VBS the fun and games would continue into the evening. My grandma played almost non-stop with the kids for the week she was here. The kids miss her a ton and can’t wait for her to come back! We all miss you and love you grandma! Come back soon!

Fun in the Sun!

The kids and I spent most of Saturday outside having fun! That morning, Camden took a 4 hour road trip with my mom and sister to get my Grandma. Maya, Braeden and I headed to Galveston for some fun on the beach. We jumped the waves, gathered seashells and just relaxed on the beach for a few hours. We all had a great time!

We even buried Maya...

Who knew the Ice Cream Man made appearances in G-Town??

We had a really great time!

After Galveston, we were off to my Aunt Annie's house to meet up with Camden and more fun in the sun...

Chess and Queen of the house

Camden has recently decided that he wants to learn to play chess. Why? I don't know. I have no clue how to play chess and have never had a desire to learn. I think this may be the reason he wants to learn - it's a game he will be able to win and manipulate because I will have no clue whether he's right or not. About a week ago he talked my dad into buying him a chess game and my dad has been trying to teach him some of the basics of the game. The names of pieces and the moves those pieces can make. One morning, I hear the following conversation take place between my dad and Camden.

JoJo - "Camden, you can't move that piece that way." (I'm sure he said the name of the game piece, but since I'm sure I'll get it incorrect I won't try to remember which one it was) "You have to move it in the shape of an 'L'."

Camden - (he moves the piece again in the same manner) "JoJo! I did! Look (motions the movement again) that is an 'L'."

JoJo - "Camden, you have to move it in the shape of an 'L' meaning one move over and one move up." (OK I could be a little off here - it might be two over and one up or one over and two up, but you get the idea)

Camden - (in his typical 6 year old sarcastic voice) "JoJo!! I DID move it in the shape of an 'L'... a LOWER CASE 'l'!!

He's so funny! I told him I would let him teach me to play, but I think I better do a little reading on the game first otherwise he'll make up his own rules!

The other night we were riding in the car and again, with chess on the brain, Camden starts telling us about all of the pieces and the moves they can make. He got to the queen and tells us that queen is the most powerful piece in the game and then this conversation takes place.

Camden - The queen is the most powerful piece of the game. Kind of like you mommy. You're the queen of our family, right?

Me - Uh. Sure. I like that analogy.

Braeden - (very confused) Mommy is not the queen. She's mommy!

Camden - Nuh uh Braeden. She's the queen of us. She's more powerful and is in charge of us all! Right mommy?

Again, very smart kid! :-)

End of the season

Camden had a great T-ball season. I was honestly very shocked at how focused and determined he was to play so well. He worked hard all season and it really paid off, he made great strides. He practiced sliding all season – well as much as 5 and 6 year old kids can slide. Many times, it was a full speed run with the kid landing awkwardly on their bottom. Camden and a couple of the other boys slid into a base every chance they had. In the last game of the season, Camden had a really good feet first slide. He even popped up quickly ready to run to the next base!! All of his fans cheering him on in the bleachers were very impressed.

T-ball is over, Kindergarten is over, Mother’s Day Out is over… bring on the summer!

The Lugnuts had their team party and this is the trophy Camden received for his first year of T-ball… Yep it's a bobble head!