The State Fair of Texas

Daniel and I had been talking about taking the kids to the State Fair for weeks. He grew up going to the Fair as a child and had great memories. I've only been twice. When I was around 9, my dad was in the hospital in Dallas getting his chemo treatments and some family friends took me while I was there visiting my parents (my mom stayed with my dad in Dallas and I would fly up on weekends). It was a very special memory. Then, Daniel and I went with some friends of ours... long before kids. Also, great memories.

I managed to get sick last week... and I mean sick. I wasn't sure I would be able to handle going afterall. The kids were out of school on Monday and it was really the only day that we could go. So, at the last minute I decided to take one for the team and sucked it up for a day. And, I am so glad I did. We had so much fun! (I apologize to any family in DFW that we didn't go visit. It was really a quick last minute trip... plus I was still sick.)

***

We grabbed dinner on our way out of town. Poor David was so tired that he fell asleep mid-chew... yes, that is a chicken nugget hanging out of his mouth.

Okay, we're pigs... we had dinner twice. By the time we got to our hotel, the kids (and adults) were hungry again. Nothing like Taco Bell at the Holiday Inn. By the way...anyone notice Cal eating a beef taco??? We've come a long way!

My kids LOVE staying at hotels. LOVE it.

I was a little worried about how David was going to handle sitting in his stroller for hours. This boy is active... he wants to run and climb on everything.

The Midway was by far the kid's favorite place to be... and mommy and daddy's least favorite place to be. Do you know how much it costs to play games and ride rides??? Good grief!

Our first ride... I was terrified!! My heart was racing the whole time I was climbing those stairs (and because I was winded... that's a long climb!). That's Cal going by himself and then me and Patti at the top of the picture. That 10 seconds cost us $15. No joke.

The kids loved this game. You shoot water into a hole and the first one to pop their balloon wins. See Cal's balloon... it's the biggest one. He played twice and won twice.

Here's his big prize~ he even beat adults sitting next to him!

This isn't the best picture of Patti and her cotton candy... but can you see the little hand sticking out of the stroller trying to snag her yummy treat??

Okay, so don't judge. I don't typically give my kids this many sugary treats. It's the State Fair! Honestly though, I didn't realize how bad we ate until I looked at these pictures. I feel like I need to go pull my kids out of school right now and brush their teeth. Ugh.



David was a CHAMP! He did soooo good. At one point (as we're plowing our way through the Midway-it was so crowded) this man leaned over to us and told us (pointing at David)... "Hey, you might want to lay him down, he's passed out." Daniel and I peaked over the stroller and David was face-planted into his tray. Daniel reached for the camera, but I felt so bad for him and quickly layed him down. Poor buddy. We both cracked up laughing and turned around to thank the guy and he was cracking up too. It really was a funny sight... and sad.

David finally got out of his stroller in the barn area (less crowded). We figured it was about time... he had been in there for almost 5 hours.
I love this picture... See Patti grabbing David's arm? She's such a mommy. He's thoroughly annoyed with her... Can you tell?

I don't know if we'll go again next year, but it will definitely be a trip we'll take again!

Catching up...

David loves the Wii... even when it's not on. It's cute to watch him play side by side with Cal... he thinks he's really playing and gets really excited. He'll even yell "yay!" and turn to give Cal a high-five.

What's the most annoying sound in the world? Two five year olds playing the harmonica Sunday morning before church.

Yes, that's Daniel holding David up to the fan so that he can stick his finger in it. The picture doesn't show that the fan is actually on.

Cal and Patti got a hold of the camera....

Sometimes this is how we watch TV...

For those of you who only look at my blog for the pictures, you can go ahead and log out now :)

For those of you interested in what's going on behind the scenes... read on...

Cal and Patti are still loving Kindergarten. I'm just amazed at how much they are already learning. And they LOVE to learn. They are constantly making up rhyming words, counting as high as they can without messing up, sounding out letters they see around the house or when we're driving, and telling me all sorts of neat facts about their 5 senses (that's what they're learning about now in science). They are making lots of new friends and can name just about every kid in Kindergarten.

David is still a pistol. He is so stubborn and has the shortest temper of any 16 month old I know... but he is just the cutest little stinker ever. He gets away with a lot only because he's so adorable. "No" is his favorite word... in fact, I think it's his only word. He will say "Ma" and "Da" for me and Daniel, but the rest is gibberish. Everyday he will find some toy (or two) that become permanently attached to his arms the entire day. He'll even take them to nap with him. I remember Cal doing this too... except his toys were always really small (David's are always huge).

I guess that's all for now. I promise I will try to do better about blogging in the future!

While the cats are away... this mouse will play!

Even though David really misses Cal and Patti while they are at school, I think he secretly loves to have the whole house to himself!! But, it is a precious sight when we pick the kids up from school and he sees them after a long day away. He just lights up and squeals with excitement.

So, while the kids are at school....

We play with their toys.

(this was the first day of school and those are Cal and Patti's priceless Sonic toys)

We watch whatever we want on TV... preferably Yo Gabba Gabba.

We try on Patti's shoes.


We try on Cal's shoes.

And we might even try on both their shoes at the same time!

Then, we try on Mommy's shoes just for kicks.

We read their Bibles... the ones they never let us touch.

We get Daddy all to ourselves.

We get Grams all to ourselves.

And even Paw Paw.

And, we get to eat like a big boy at the table.

There's even more time to do our most favorite thing of all (other than trying on all the shoes in the house)....... Reading.

Patti and Cal's First Day of School

I can't believe I haven't blogged about our first day of school! I'm so behind. Well, my babies started Kindergarten. They are at South Knoll Elementary in Mrs. Felderhoff's room... and we love it! I've known the principal there for years and their teacher is so amazing! I asked that they be in the same classroom... easier for them and for me. Cal and Patti aren't dependant on each other. They look to each other for support and comfort, but once they get acclimated, they go their separate ways. Though "Momma Patti" tends to make sure Cal's in line most of the time. But, they have their own strengths and weaknesses as well as interests and friends.

We talked about Kinder for months trying to get them use to the idea. At first, they cried at the mention of the word. But then slowly, they started to get use to the idea of change.

I think I was more nervous on the first day (well, more like the first week leading up to the first day) than they were. I was a wreck. Luckily, I cried almost all day Sunday so there weren't many tears left for Monday.

My mom was sweet enough to come over early that morning so that we could take the twins to school and not have to worry about David (that boy can be a handful... more of that to come).

We live really close (almost across the street) to South Knoll, so we walk to school every morning (except in the rain). We have a friend in our class, Jenny, and she comes over and walks with us too. Her mom and I have known each other for a few months, so it was a pleasant surprise to see them on Parent's Night.

It is also a huge blessing to have our cousins at South Knoll with us! Phoebe is in 1st grade and Chloe is in 3rd. They are both in the Dual Language Program (which we will hopefully be a part of soon) and drive halfway across town to attend this wonderful school!

Cal's face cracks me up (as well as the above picture with my mom). He is so uncertain about what's going on. He ended up loving it of course. They've already learned so much... each day they come home with something new in their vocabulary (some not so good... we make sure we correct that right away).


Here they are in their classroom with their teacher... she's showing them where to hang their lunch boxes.

The end of Summer...

It has been one wild and crazy summer. I really don't remember any summer being as busy as this one has been. We've been having so much fun. I'm so sad that it's over. Calloway and Patti start Kindergarten on Monday. It's killing me. I'm so use to having them around, and it's going to take some time for me to adjust. I know David is really going to miss them too. We met our teacher last night, and she's wonderful. We already know two of the kids in our class.... well, I know their mommies pretty well. I think the twins are really excited too. I just hope I can keep it together. This is going to be hard. I don't want to let them go. I want them home with me. I'm already crying typing this. I know it's good for them, but I will miss them so much.

Moving on...

We spent some time down in South Padre. The kids had a blast. I wasn't very good about keeping the camera nearby... so I only took a few pictures.

Jennifer (Daniel's oldest sister... she's the oldest, but looks much younger) came down from Arlington for a few days. She has 4 kiddos (1, 4, 6, and 8). The second sister, Denise (she's also younger than she looks and wise beyond her years), also has 4 kiddos (2, 4, 6 and 8) and she lives in town. Anyway, we had a Cousin's Camp for a few days... full of swimming, playing, eating, and playing some more. I was terrible about taking pictures, so if you want to see more great pictures of all the kiddos visit Jennifer's blog: http://mihillscrew.blogspot.com/2010/08/cousins-camp-2010.html


We've been blessed to have some wonderful neighbors... the Tillery Family. Our kids get along great and have such fun together.

We've also been practicing our meditation. Just having some fun...

A Little Boy and some Guacamole

Once upon a time, there was a little boy who loved guacamole. One day, he found an unclaimed bowl of yummy guacamole on the kitchen table. To his surprise, there was a spoon already in it. So, he decided to just help himself to this delicious green treat.

It was so delicious and so yummy. It was just so incredibly wonderful that he decided to forgo the spoon and use his hand. He just couldn't help himself.

And then his mean mommy took it all away and ruined it all.

The End