Summer has Arrived!!

We made our first trip to the local pool today, only one is open so far (the others all open in a week I think), so it was packed. You would think everyone with preschool kids has nothing better to do, oh wait, we don't have anything better to do. The boys had so much fun, Ryan actually would go down the little whale slide this year and let the water splash in his face, a huge step over last year. Last year, he would just go to the top, look down, get upset, make all the other kids go in front of him, and eventually just walk down the steps. He really wanted to do it, he just couldn't bring himself to letting go and going down the slide. We also went in the big pool and Brandon just swam everywhere in his floaties, this is going to be a great summer. I am looking forward to many more lazy days at the pool! As you can see in the pictures, the boys did not want to be bothered by the camera, they just wanted to swim.

Trap Monster

So when my sister and I were growing up, we played a game called trap monster with my dad, it was essentially a mild form of wrestling where he would get us trapped and between the two of us, we had to wiggle our way out. We would beg him to play, and we were content that he was the trap monster and we were the ones being trapped. Well, this weekend, my parents were visiting and he decided the boys were old enough to play trap monster. I think it was the first and last time my dad will be playing with them. As he said, boys play differently than girls, they were not happy just being trapped, they wanted to be the monster themselves. At one point, while wrestling Brandon off of him, Ryan jumped off the couch onto his head. This is a 3 and 4 year old, we played this game with my dad until we were like 12 and somehow no one ever jumped on my Dad's head. Maybe we will try again when they get a little older and can follow some rules, but until then, the trap monster is back in hiding.

New Orleans

So about 15 hours after we got back from College Station, I loaded up the car and took the boys to New Orleans to visit Laurie. Chris had meetings all week and wasn't going to be home even in the evenings, so it seemed like a good idea. We had a great time, I don't think we could have crammed much more into a 4 day period. We went swimming, to the park, to the gelato store, to Cafe du Monde, to the zoo, to the children's museum and somewhere in there, we managed to eat meals, and sleep. Really, the kids are so into swimming lately, all you need is a pool, and they are entertained all day long. Ryan is still a little afraid of the water, but as crazy as he is, I am good with a little healthy fear in him, and water is a good thing to be afraid of. The drive home was really long, I was tired from all the fesitivities and so were the boys, plus it was raining, so not great driving weather, but it was definitely worth the trouble. It is also really cool to see New Orleans coming back after the storm. I went there with Laurie about 15 months ago for the first time, and it was still so devastated. We're talking boats still in roads, trees flipped over on tops of houses, FEMA trailers everywhere, now there are new houses, a significant amount of the trash is gone, and the city is coming back to life. So, I will brave the drive again, and go back sometime soon!

Here are just a few things said while on the trip (all at different times)......

Brandon: "In Heaven, we don't need batteries right mom."

Me: "Ryan, cheese does not go on your head."

Laurie: "OK, so I know this sounds totally inappropriate, but there is a German beer garden attached to the casino, do you want to take the kids there for lunch?"

The Weekend

So this is a little late, but read the next post and you will see why I am just now getting to it. Last weekend, we loaded up the car and went to College Station for a few events. Sophie was having a birthday at a horse farm, so the kids got to ride horses for about an hour, then there was a pinata (more like safety hazard), and cupcakes. It was really fun, and the boys love riding horses. After that we went to a crawfish boil with Kelly and her family. It was great!! Brandon actually ate crawfish, I almost fell over I was so surprised. Ryan just threw it on the ground, but Brandon ate a couple tails, and spent time peeling them with Chris, it was so cute. After Chris had his fill of crawfish, we left and went to my sister's house to play the Wii for a while. When we got back home, we went to a friends house for dinner, and Ryan assaulted their cat. So all in all, it was a fun and busy day.

Last Day of School

So today is Brandon's last day of school. I am sad. It wasn't much, but it added some structure to our weeks, something to do, and he really likes it and it helps him get some of his 4 year old boy energy out. We do have so much planned this summer, so it will be ok, but I also am not sure where this year went to, time is going too fast.

DTV for 2 Months!

OK, so our dossier has been in country for 2 months now. Still way to early to hear anything, but many families in front of us got referrals last week, so maybe, just maybe this will work out?? Still praying for our miracle!

Weekend Fun!

Brandon had his "growing up ceremony" at school, which is just a little end of the year chapel at his preschool. It was so funny because they had learned a few songs with hand motions and everything, which he did for about 2 seconds until he looked at us and saw our big smiles on our faces, got embarrassed, and stopped doing the songs. At one point he actually turned around and faced the wall. I think he has my personality of not wanting to be the center of attention. But his ceremony was cute, and he was happy. I am sad that his school is ending, I have loved his teachers this year, and I think it was the perfect amount of time for him to be in school. We are going to have to come up with some activities for the summer so we don't all drive each other crazy.

After that, we went to pick up my friend Belinda from the airport for a very short weekend visit. We went to Kemah just for fun after getting her, and we had a blast. Chris was a sucker and bought them the unlimited ride bracelets, so they went from ride to ride like crazy people. They never cease to amaze me, Brandon was scared last year at Disneyworld to ride Dumbo, this year at Kemah, he was asking to go on the rollercoaster and do this little drop ride they had. He rode the dropping ride, by himself, and then got right back in line to ride it again. They even let Ryan ride it, and he laughed the whole time. I have two little daredevils on my hands and didn't even know it. Yesterday, we went to the new water feature they just built in town, and the kids got soaked, and we ate, and ate, and ate (Belinda has missed the restaurants in Texas, so we had to hit a few of them Saltgrass, PF Changs, and Chuys, yes I gained 5 pounds in 2 days). It was so fun having Belinda here, she is one of the funniest people I know, and probably the person I have been friends with the longest in life, so we can just talk, and talk, and talk about nothing, but it is so entertaining. She left to go back to San Francisco this morning and we have just had a relaxing Mother's Day.

Unexpected Blessing

Today we were outside talking to our neighbor, she was playing with the boys, we were talking about going out to eat, when she says to Brandon (jokingly) "Why don't you come eat meatloaf with us and let your mom and dad go eat by themselves." She then looks at me and says "He doesn't like meatloaf, does he?" Well guess what, Brandon does love meatloaf, but what he likes even more are the neighbors teenage kids, so he was jumping at the chance to eat dinner with them. I think she offered, sure he would say no, and then, surprise, surprise, he wanted to take her up on it. She asked Ryan if he liked meatloaf and he said, "My like meatloaf, and trees, little tiny trees." The neighbor looks at me "Trees? You mean broccoli?" Ryan, "Yes, my loooove broccoli." All this while rubbing his stomach. So she said, since Brandon was going to eat with them, she would take Ryan too, and we could go eat dinner by ourselves. What, a meal to ourselves, what will we do with ourselves, so we took off before she could reconsider and went for Pho by ourselves. It was such a little treat to just get to talk and eat and be to together. I think we came home too soon, because the boys were still having fun with the neighbor and didn't want us messing it up. Thank you for the unexpected blessing!!

In adoption news, our agency gave out a bunch of referrals today, soooo many cute babies, I can hardly stand it!! It was such a great day and gave me a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, our day would come too. Still praying for a miracle.

Movie with the Boys

So, I have been getting very brave lately, taking the boys places by myself that I never would have tried before. We have this big salad bar buffet place that they really like because they can eat soup, mac and cheese, jello, etc. (yes, my kids eat soup, actually they love soup, I know it is wierd, but it is true.) Brandon asked to go there, so against my better judgement, I took them. I put them at the closest table to the buffet and would get up and get them things when they asked for it, no shopping in the salad bar like they like to do when dad is with us, but they survived and we actually had a great time.

Today, we went to see a movie, Brandon has been asking to see a movie, I have been craving popcorn, so we went for it. We saw Nim's Island which has been out for a while so it was us and 2 other families in the theater, so the running commentary from the boys was ok because the theater was so empty. They did really good. I guess I need to just accept that they are growing up and we can do more stuff than we could before, which is good and sad at the same time. I really want another baby to make things complicated again :) On that front, no adoption news, our agency is basically saying they don't know what will happen, they have no idea if they will get enough referrals for everyone, and adoption is unpredictable. So with that earth shattering news, I will just ask you guys to continue to pray. Chris said the other day that if we do get a referral, that it could only be because of God's hand on the situation, a miracle, because there is really no other realistic way that it could work out otherwise. So, I would really like to pray that a little miracle comes into our lives and makes future ventures to the movie theater alone impossible, nothing would make me happier.