Mommy/Travis Days '09

One of the great benefits to Cole attending daycamp is that it gives Travis and I the opportunity to have some time just the two of us to do things we wouldn't ordinarily get to do with Cole in tow. We call these days, Mommy & Travis "adventure days" and plan them out each summer. Here's a link to what we did last year: Mommy/Travis Days '08

This year we had a great time: visiting the Texas State History Museum and the State Capitol; bowling and playing arcade games; seeing Jungle Jim and his bug collection; swimming in Barton Springs and exploring InnerSpace Caverns.

Here are some pictures from our favorite adventures:

Barton Springs Pool is a natural spring in Zilker Park near downtown Austin. It's 68 degrees year round and even though the temperature on the day we visited would top 103 outside the water, it was still COLD! But since it's a natural spring, there is all sorts of stuff to see in the water...thus, the mask for spotting fish and creatures.

Travis decided the best way to get in was the diving board. And yes, it's COLD!!!

InnerSpace Caverns is a cave underneath I-35 in Georgetown that was discovered while they were drilling to build the interstate in the 1960s. We took the 1 1/2 hour tour that let us explore the caves on foot.

Most of the cave is "hands off" but this is the one spot you could touch.

It's so dark it's tough to get a good picture, but it's really beautiful.

Hitting a jackpot on the arcade game at the bowling alley.

Travis studied Texas History last year in First Grade, so we went back to the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum this year, then walked over to the State Capitol.

Astounded in the rotunda...

And since these were "adventure" days, I outlawed lunch at McDonald's or Chick-Fil-A because we eat there all the time. The result was that we ate A LOT of pizza...

Cole's Camps

Cole's preschool does a few sessions of daycamp each summer. I love that they do this because it gives the kids something fun to do in a safe environment. And, it gives the moms a little bit of a break in the middle of the summer. The camps always have fun themes that all the art projects are based around. Here is Cole posing with some of his favorite artwork from each week...

BUG CAMP

OCEAN CAMP

Pet Lizard

What happens when Daddy takes Travis to a sporting goods store? We get a pet lizard! I got a text message from Shayne telling me that Travis had lured him into Petco after they finished shopping at Dick's Sporting Goods. And how would I feel about a them buying a lizard? By the time I saw the text and responded, "I'm open to discussing it." they were in the checkout aisle purchasing our new pet! He is an anole and clever enough, his name is "Noley."

It's really difficult to get a lizard to pose for a picture...

Travis is delighted and so far a wonderful caregiver. He has to be misted twice a day to maintain a "tropical environment" and eats 4-6 live baby crickets a day. Yes, that means we're also cricket farmers :O)

Night, night my 4 year old

Today, Cole turned 4! We had a big party on Saturday to celebrate, but today, on his actual birthday, we went to church and spent the rest of the day just the four of us. We had our traditional lunch and playtime at Chuck E Cheese and later Shayne took the boys to the driving range. So, needless to say, after two days of partying, Cole was exhausted. He fell asleep early on the couch and as I put him in his bed at bedtime I took the opportunity to hold him and think back to this very night four years ago. He was the first baby we'd had in our hospital room, as Travis was premature and had to be kept in the NICU. So I remember distinctly holding Cole as he slept on his original "birthday." So tonight as I held him in his big boy bed, thinking he was asleep, I whispered a prayer... "Dear God, please help me help him grow up to be a good man who loves you." And my four-year-old rolled over and said, "And don't forget also a football player!"

Birthday lunch at Chuck's

It's family tradition to go to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch on your actual birthday. This doesn't just apply to the boys...we go on mine and Shayne's too! Because all three boys really love playing the games and I'm a really good sport :) This has also spared me (so far) from having a big party there with other kids to worry about running around...it's always so crowded and crazy! So Sunday after church, we headed to Chuckie's for pizza and fun. Here are some pictures of the birthday boy...

Cole is 4!

Cole chose to have his birthday party at the Hoppin' Hippo again. I love this place because the ladies there are so nice and the kids always have a lot of fun.

Travis did a great job of making Cole feel special on his birthday and allowing him to be the center of attention! I love this picture of them as we arrived at the Hoppin' Hippo...

and as they were playing so great together...
The whole family with the birthday boy...

Make a wish, sweet boy...

A new bike from Mommy and Daddy!

Spidey Cake

I love to make the boys' birthday cakes. This year Cole requested "Spiderman on a building" for his Spiderman party. So after searching images on the internet, I decided on a design. Well, the finished product you see below is not AT ALL what I had planned. But gravity, humidity and lack of skill conspired to make the original plan impossible. I seriously considered at one point just trying to carve some cupcakes out of my cake layers! But all's well that ends well...and in the end the birthday boy was happy!

Licking the beaters...the best part of "helping!"

Spiderman on a building...looking at the villian, Venom causing mayhem below.

Happy Birthday Cole!

My baby boy, Cole is turning 4 on Sunday. That's almost impossible for me to believe. Here are some of his milestone portraits from the years.

6 months

1 year

18 months

2 years

3 years

Beach Trip 2009

We're back from our annual beach trip to Amelia Island, FL. We get to spend every 4th of July week there with Shayne's parents and his sister and her family. It's a great time for the boys to spend playing with their cousins and we all have a lot of fun! This year the five kids ranged in age from 18 months to 7 1/2. There were SO many pictures that I had to group them by subject matter and put them in slideshows. Below are the highlights of our vacation...

4th of July

Alligator Farm

Nights Out at the Beach

Fernandina Beach

Red, White and Blue

Every year we spend the 4th of July on Amelia Island with Shayne's family. GG buys all the grandkids (5 now!) coordinating patriotic outfits for the occasion. I thought it would be fun to go back through the years and find a picture from each year to see how the family and the kids have grown.

2002

First, there was Travis...

2003

Travis (1) and baby McKenzie

2004

Travis (2), McKenzie (1) and baby Morgan

2005

McKenzie (2), Morgan (1), and Travis (3)

2006

McKenzie (3), Morgan (2), Travis (4) and baby Cole

2007

McKenzie (4), Morgan (3), Cole (1), and Travis (5)
2008

Cole (2), Morgan (4), baby Gray, McKenzie (5) and Travis (6)

Coming soon...4th of July 2009!

Swim Lessons

We just wrapped up our month long swim lessons with Aqua Tots. I would highly recommend them! The kids learned a lot--especially Cole who I'm now confident can swim enough to save himself if need be. They both really enjoyed the lessons...especially because they had some good friends in their class. My friend Jessica told us about the program and we signed up with her kids. Here are some pictures of our little swimmers on their last day.

Andrew and Cole

Madeline and Travis

Happy Father's Day

A sweet picture of Travis and Cole with their Daddy on Father's Day.

Happy Father's Day, Shayne!

You're our hero!

VBS Crocodile Dock

The boys and I participated in our Vacation Bible School this past week. Our theme this year is "Crocodile Dock--Where Fearless Kids Shine God's Light!" The boys had a blast playing and learning all week. Here's a picture of them in front of the "bayou" that was created in the front of our sanctuary!

While Travis was having fun in his "big kid" section, Cole and I were in Rocky's Preschool Playhouse. Here's a shot of Cole in front of Rocky, the mascot for the preschool section.

Since I was volunteering in the preschool section, I didn't get many pictures of Travis. But here's one of him taking a break from grooving to the music during Sing and Play Swamp Stomp!

This is a "Prayer Gator" that Travis created during crafts. It's a clip that's supposed to hold prayers that the kids write down. No big surprise what came to Travis' mind...

Cole and his crew discussing some "God Sightings"

Cole and his friend, Grace during Sing and Play.