Swimming Lessons

Brock and Ryan started swimming lessons last week. They had a really good time and learned a lot. They both spent most of their time underwater...on purpose!! If they weren't doing the activity with the instructor they were bobbing underwater...have I told you my kids love the water?!?!

Ryan practicing his front float.

Brock practicing his back float. He really doesn't like doing back floats (ever since he was a baby), but was doing pretty good by the last class.

Brock

Ryan
I tried to get a picture of the boys together and these are what I got. This is how it is every time I try to get a picture of them together...goofiness!!

A video of Brock.

A video of Ryan doing a back float.

Ryan's Bedtime

Every night when Ryan goes to bed, he lays there and talks and sings for quite a while...by himself. It is so cute to hear him singing songs he learned at CBS (Community Bible Study) about God and Jesus or just talking to himself as he lays there. For a while I tried to make him stop and just go to sleep, but I found that I really missed hearing his sweet little voice. I then realized that soon enough he won't do that anymore, he won't want me to hear him sing, he won't want me to lay with him and talk to him/pray with him/sing to him at night. I need to enjoy him while he'll still let me! I love my kids so much! Thank you, God, for my sweet babies!!!

May 2009

Ryan took soccer lessons this year. He seemed to enjoy it most of the time. I couldn't get Brock in a class, so he went to the playground while Ryan was in class. Ryan really wanted to be on that playground with him sometimes!

Ryan and his soccer trophy.

We had our first day of playing in the sprinklers earlier this month. The boys LOVE to play in the water!

Brock soaking wet...and LOVIN' it!

Brock graduated from his Mother's Day Out class. It was a cute little ceremony and their graduation caps (made out of black paper) were pretty darn cute, too!

Our little graduate!

We went to a birthday party for a friend and they had a clown there that painted their faces. When Ryan said he wanted her to paint him like Spiderman, I wasn't sure what to expect. It came out really good!! He loved it and was devastated when we had to wash it off.

Brock and Ryan were chosen to help the clown juggle.

Both of the boys are in a gymnastics class. Brock has been in it for about 3 years and Ryan about 1 1/2 years. They both love it and it has really helped their balance and eye/hand coordination. We were able to go down to the floor on the last day of class and get some pictures of them.

Ryan on the balance beam...

..and hanging on the parallel bars.

Brock showing off on the balance beam...

..and doing a stradle jump off.

Brock showing us the rings.

Ryan showing us the uneven bars.

We went to Mt. Aggie for another birthday party and the boys sure had a good time. You'll also get to see Brock's goofiness!!

Brock's 1st T-Ball Season

Brock was old enough this year to play T-Ball for the first time. He really had a great time and made some new friends. Brock is #11.

Lookin' great in the catcher's gear...

...ready at 3rd base!!

...still waiting for a hit to come his way...

...lost focus for a second (throwing dirt)!
Ryan even tried to play some T-Ball...and he's not bad!

Ryan trying on a batter's helmet.
Brock won the game ball and was so excited and proud of himself!! He had been practicing very hard for over a week with Daddy in the backyard because he wanted to win one so bad.
Brock and Coach Daddy with his game ball.

A video of Brock fielding a ball and throwing to 1st.

A video of Brock batting.

Brock with his trophy.

Dinosaurs & Safaris

Camping

We went camping at Dinosaur Valley and had a really good time. There were no major issues this time!! We had S'mores...which you can see all over Ryan's face!

And we even fed racoons.

But, according to the boys, the best part of the entire trip was eating Pop Tarts!! We rarely eat them at home, so it was a big treat getting to have them every morning! Dinosaur Valley

Dinosaur Valley is on the Paluxy River near Glen Rose, TX. They have found real dinosaur footprints dating back over 100 million years in the area...most in the Paluxy riverbed. This is a footprint of a dinosaur related to the T-Rex.

These are related to the brontasaurus.

Brock and Ryan thought the dinosaur tracks were cool, but they LOVED playing in the river. Have I told you before that they are little water bugs?!?!

Dinosaur World

This is pretty new to the area. It is a path through the woods that has life-size dinosaurs (most of them are families). It was pretty cool.

Ryan & Brock in the mouth of a T-Rex.

This was a brachiosaurus family with a T-Rex on his way! Notice the little baby brachiosaurus drinking from the pond.

I think this was the Allosaurus family.

T-Rex, of course!

Can't remember the name of this one, but it's pretty scary, eh?
It also had a dig pit where the kids could dig for fossils...mainly shark teeth and shells. They get to keep three fossils that they find. They loved it and came home with some cool shark teeth!

Fossil Rim

We went to Fossil Rim Wildlife Refuge in Glen Rose, TX this past week. We had been there a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. The boys remembered the ostriches from the last time and couldn't wait to see them again. They didn't disappoint...they came right up to the window and started banging on it until we threw them some food!

We got to feed a lot of deer. They were so gentle...it was amazing.

But the most amazing thing was feeding the giraffes. It is incredible how such a big animal can be so gentle. This huge giraffe had his whole head in our car...really cool!!!

Steve got to feed a baby giraffe.
A video feeding the giraffe

They also had a petting zoo where we saw goats, parrots and turtles. The boys got to touch this one.

April 2009

We went to see "Monsters vs. Aliens" in 3D. This was the boys first time to see a 3D movie and they really liked it! I really liked how they looked in their 3D glasses!!!

Notice the fingerprints...how can he even see out of those things?!?!

Brock loved his glasses and still plays with them!

Ryan was in a little soccer class this spring. He did pretty good and I could definately see improvement from last fall.
A little video of Ryan in his soccer class. I was really proud of him...he didn't use his hands at all!

Every morning the boys wake up and go into our bathroom and hang out with Steve while he's getting ready for work. A lot of times, they go in his closet and lay down or play. This is what Steve sees almost every morning!

A video showcasing my boy's imagination!

I Love My Kids

Tonight, as I was laying with Ryan, we had a great discussion! It reminded me how much I love my kids. This is what being a mom is all about...it makes all the hard times worth it! Here's our conversation:

Me: I love you, Ryan!
Ryan: I love you, too!
Me: I love you more!
Ryan: I love you more & more & more & more & more.
Me: I love you more & more & more & more & more & more & more & more.
Ryan: I love you the more-est!

What a great way to end my Mother's Day!! I love you, Brock & Ryan!!!!