Destin ~ Sept. 2009

We were blessed to be able to go to Destin, FL again this year. It is so beautiful and we had such a wonderful time! Thank you, Rick!

Brock and Ryan in the ocean. They were pretty funny...when a wave would start to come to them, they would Kung Fu Fight the wave with karate chops and all!!!Daddy relaxing in the shade. (That is our condo in the background.) Brock walking on the beach looking for seashells. Ryan and MommyWe bought a small boogeyboard while we were there. The boys had a great time "riding the waves." Brock on the boogeyboard.

Ryan on the boogeyboard.


We spent a lot of our time on the beach building sand castles. Here are a few:

It got a little chilly at night. Sunsets on the beach. It's pictures like this that remind me of God's powerful hand in creating this beautiful world that we live in. We had plenty of time in Destin to go to the pool, too. It's funny because Brock always wanted to go to the beach and Ryan always wanted to go to the pool!

We went to Pensacola one day and went to the Naval Air Museum and Ft. Pickens, built in 1834. It was very impressive and has a lot of great history. Here are my boys inside the fort. The big cannon at Ft. Pickens. I think we've made it a tradition when we go to Destin to go play Putt-Putt golf and ride go carts at least once. Here are the boys playing. I don't think they are little Tiger Woods, but we all had fun!

We went to Baytowne Wharf one day to let the kids play on a fabulous playground there. Also on the Wharf is this incredible tree house. You may be able to see Ryan hanging over the top, if you look closely. Some goofy pictures on the boardwalk.

Ryan on "The Big Chair."

Sept. 2009

We got some rain this month and the boys found a path in our backyard and used it as a muddy slip -n- slide into a puddle. They had a blast!! I think playing in the mud after a good rain is becoming a habit! I am realizing more and more that everything is washable!

Ryan's muddy front.Ryan's backside.Ryan's feet.Brock was actually as muddy as Ryan, but started washing off before I could get a picture! Brock showing his mud.Brock's backside.Brock's feet.

Brock's First Day of School ~ Aug. 24, 2009

Brock was so excited to start Kindergarten. Everytime I asked him why he was excited, he said, "Because I want to learn how to read!" And after 4 weeks of school, he is reading!!! He's learned a lot of his sight words and is doing great at sounding out other words. The only thing he doesn't like is getting up early...like mommy, like son!! So, 6 weeks after school started, here are some pictures!

My big boy, Kindergartener!!!

Walking to school.

Outside Mrs. Brinkerhoff's classroom.Outside his classroom with Ryan.

Children's Museum ~ Aug. 1, 2009

We went to the Children's Museum in Bryan this summer. Brock and Ryan always have a good time here and it's something different to do...and somewhere cool to go in the hot summer!

Everytime we go to the Children's Museum, Brock and Ryan want their picture taken on this train.
One of their favorite things to do is to paint. They really like getting as messy as possible. Notice the intese concentration on their faces.

They have a great little grocery store donated by HEB. They actually got a new scanner that really works. The boys were excited about that!

Taking time out to read a little bit.Daddy pretends that he's far far away on an island somewhere.

Aug. 2009

All of my boys together.

Brock rarely wants his picture taken, but he asked me to take his picture by his good buddy, Max.
Ryan having fun in the bathtub.

Blue Bell Creamery

We went to the Blue Bell Creamery this summer and the kids had a really good time. They were very excited to go...especially since they knew the got a free ice cream scoop at the end of the tour. It was a great way to end the summer! Here are the boys standing out by the Blue Bell girl and her cow.

I tried to take a "nice" picture of them 3 times...this is the best one.
Checking out the old-fashioned car.Free ice cream!!!!

Sucking down the last tiny bit of ice cream.

Batman

Ryan loves Batman...playing with Batman toys and most especially dressing up as Batman. I think he dresses up as Batman at least once a day.

Learning to Ride Bikes

Since we only live a mile from Brock's school, he decided he wanted to learn how to ride his bike so he wouldn't have to walk every day. He rode a couple days with training wheels, but then one day on the way home, his training wheels kept popping up and I had to push his and my bike all the way home. After that, I told him he was going to learn how to ride without training wheels before we'd ride bikes to school again. So, that weekend he learned how to ride his bike...in about 4 trys!! He did awesome and is now riding like a pro!!!

Ryan also learned how to ride a bike with training wheels. He is doing great and getting better every day!