Boats

Guess I need to add boats to my blog title since that seems to be the boys' favorite thing these days! We rented a boat on Sunday and just cruised the lake. We found a sandy beach to anchor at for a while and really had a good time. It was expensive to rent a boat but since that was kinda the biggest thing we did it was worth the money. Nolan of course had to help Daddy and Uncle C drive. We attempted to pull a small raft behind the boat just so that Nolan could say that he did it. Um, the thing busted within about 30 seconds but Nolan still thought it was SO much fun. I was worried that Hud might not like the boating experience but he did awesome. He really liked looking over the edge and watching the water while we were moving. After a day in the sun, he came over and curled up on me and slept the last 20 minutes of the ride back to the marina. It was so sweet to just wrap him up in a beach towel, hold him close and snuggle - he is usually too big for that these days. (or at least he thinks so!)

I like it, I love it, I want some more of it!

I LOVE vacation. Can I please have a week off each month? Oh yeah, I will also need a raise to support my spending habits while off of work. Thanks!

We left on Friday morning for the lake. My grandparents and my great-aunt and uncle when in half on a lake lot and trailer back in the late 60's out on Lake Granbury. We have gone out there every summer my whole life. About 10 years ago my great aunt passed away and my great uncle Dwayne sold his house and moved out there full time. He is now remarried to a wonderful woman Dee(who was also a widow) and they are both doing great and are so happy which is great for both of them. She also has a house on the lake in Granbury so the trailer is just used for a lake house again. We don't really get the chance to go out there often these days but we decided to head out there for a few days to just relax and get a break. I am SO glad that we did. I went down with Nana and Aunt B and then Conner and Scott came down on Friday night after work and stayed through the weekend. The girls and little boys stayed until Wednesday. It was a laid back week and I enjoyed every minute of it! (um, except maybe when the boys were fighting or out of control but of course that wasn't too often with my sweet little angels - right? :)

We mostly hung out at the trailer, cooked out, swam in the lake off the dock and played games after the kids were in bed till late. These are a few pics of just the boys playing outside. Wish we always had a lake in our backyard.

My mom handed the camera down to me while I was on a raft with Hud watching Nolan feed the ducks. We started out with two ducks and then I guess word traveled fast and we had about 15 ducks swimming around us. Hudson thought it was so funny!


Nolan loves the water and wanted to swim the whole time we were there! He didn't want to wear his lifejacket but I explained that he had too in the lake because I can't see the bottom like in a pool. No way!


Nana packed the JD powerwheels so the boys could ride around on the land.


Hud making a mess with a water bottle on the porch. Love those tan little baby legs! Notice the skinned knees and giant bump on his head. All in a good days work. Ugh!


Nolan playing Frisbee.

Vacation starts off with a bang...

I took off work from Thursday to this coming Wednesday for a long needed vacation. All of my time this year has been used on sick kids and household chores. It was time to just stop worrying about work and enjoy a little time off with the boys. Becca had surgery on Thursday so my mom of course couldn't watch the boys so I took off and decided to make a fun day of it a day earlier than I planned. We got up and went to the log cabin village in FW. I wasn't expecting much but it was actually pretty fun. It was super cheap - $6.50 for all three of us. I expected it to be a self guided little tour but they had people dressed up in period clothing at each cabin to teach the kids. We were only there about an hour but that was enough time for Nolan to soak it up and leave with a million questions to discuss all week. Ha-Ha! We had lunch at La Madeline; we had our favorite tomato basil soup. We ended our first official day of vacation playing in the backyard with cap guns until Scott got home from work. Granny bought them for the boys for their 4th of July treat; I didn't even know they still made them! It was a good way to start off our "stay-cation". On Friday we left for the lake. I'll post more later.

July 4th 2009

The 4th was a great day. We just hung out at home in the morning, Nolan and I ran to Walmart and I baked up some yummy mac n cheese and baked beans. We were supposed to go over the the Jones' and then go to the lake but Hudson didn't go down until late and I really needed him to get a good nap so that he could make it until the fireworks. We just let him sleep and headed out to the lake about 4 when he woke up. We swam in the lake for a few hours. Hud does not like the lake and clung to me the whole time! Nolan LOVES it and was jumping from off of the dock into the water and riding the Jet Ski with Daddy all evening. Once it started to get dark we changed and pulled out the lawn chairs to watch the fireworks. Hudson ran around with a flag and Nolan did a few sparklers - it was an American day for sure. The 4th was always my favorite holiday growing up and still is today. It's nice to gather with family and friends over the weekend and celebrate our wonderful country. I was a little teary eyed driving home that night as we watched all the fireworks still going off all around us on the highway home. (no trees out past fort worth so you can see for miles!) It makes me think of my dad and our long drives home from the lake - tired, lakey and happy. My dad loved the 4th too and loved the fireworks. I loved doing those things with my family as a little girl and I hope that the boys always have fun memories of it too.

Fireworks in Downtown Arlington

On Friday night we went with Mike, Nicole and Addyson to see fireworks "downtown". The city is working to revitalize this area and have added an outdoor concert area. They had bands, bounce houses and carnival food. We didn't go until the sun was almost down because of the heat. We had a good spot where we laid our blankets and just let the kids play and watched the fireworks. Nolan and I made oatmeal cookies to take with us. The fireworks didn't seem all that great but the kids loved them. Just another fun memory for the boys!

Fun at the Splash Pool

On Friday, me and the girls went out to the little Howard Moore Play Pool with the kids. We saw a couple of guys that went to Arlington High that we always thought were cute and it was really funny to think back to the Wet n Wild days compared to now. Um, all moms and dads with our kids at the splash pool instead of at the beach area at Wet n Wild watching the nightly contests and flirting. Ugh! That was SO long ago. We thought we were so cool back then. (well I guess we were, right?) I loved those days but I love these days too. The cool thing is that we are still friends and still sharing summer fun together.

Sprinkles the Guinea Pig

So the Self's went out of town this weekend and asked if we would pet sit for them. Of course Nolan and Hudson are thrilled at the new temporary member of our household. They have fought over her for the past three days. Nolan has changed out her bedding, filled up her water and food bowl and been very concerned about her well being all weekend. We even had to move her from the guitar room to our bathroom because he was worried that she was lonely.