Holy, Moly, Walter did it!

After filling up his glass with water from our fridge's water spout, this is what Walter said today. He is just so cute! Apparently he has heard Owen & me celebrate his small steps in the past.

It was a beautiful day today. Per Owen's request, the boys and I biked to the park and met up with our playgroup for a morning of fun and a picnic. Its so fun to bike with him, he really goes. We've been gone so much lately we haven't had time to do much of the fun local summer activities.

Sweet Walter had a bit of a rough day. He fell at the park onto his cheek and arm resulting in a very rosy cheek. Then, this evening we were outside and Owen accidentally hit his other cheek with a bat as he was swinging. I have a feeling he'll wake up with a couple bruises tomorrow. Poor little guy.

I am robot.

The Hipps family periodically morphs into robots. Tonight at dinner Walter told us he was one. He then told us a story about a frog and a robot golfing.

So we are home from our vacation and had a great time. I am still floored at how well the boys traveled. We put on a grand total of 2,808 miles and our van's floor shows it! The boys and I will be hitting up the car wash this week in an attempt to vacuum up all the crumbs. We passed the time looking for cows, playing I spy, reading books, watching movies, sleeping, snacking, telling stories and turning into robots.

Along the way we found fun places to eat and let out a little steam at - including mini golf and the Action Toy & Figure Museum (one of Oklahoma's top 10 visitor attractions!). And at the end of the day, we were always sure to find a hotel with a pool. It was a great way to vacation and spend some quality time together.

Did I mention Jer drove the entire 2,808 miles? I think he's training to become a trucker.

Shamu splashed me.

After Houston, we headed over to San Antonio and took the boys to Sea World. The day was definitely a highlight on our trip. It was wonderful to see the boys get so excited about the animals and shows. We were sure to sit in the "splash zone" at each show, as it was 102 that day, and Walter loved telling us this over and over. We even got to feed and pet some dolphins, they are such happy animals.

After a full day at Sea World, we headed downtown San Antonio the following day and explored the very charming River Walk. We took a boat tour through the canals per Owen's request. 

When are we going to get there?

This quote should be an obvious one on a (so far) 2100 mile road trip, right? Well, it actually hasn't been said much up until today. You see, this morning Jer promised Owen a trip to a mini-golf course. Owen was so pumped, he asked this from Oklahoma City to Kansas City. He didn't nap in the car at all today, even though he was up until 10:30 last night, he was just too excited to mini-golf! (photos from that event to come later...)

So we made it to Houston last Saturday around 7pm. We had such a wonderful time with both sides of Jer's family. Aunt Jeannie was so gracious and let our family, Jon's family, Joanne and Moogs all crash at her house. Their family was so kind to us, feeding us all sorts of delicious food, entertaining our children and letting us cannonball into their amazing new pool. I really can't explain how much fun we had. We also got to spend some time with Joanne's other sister, Jan and two of her kids, Chris and Emily, as they all drove down from Dallas to be with us for a couple nights. A mini family reunion!

Owen has become increasingly confident in the water on our trip, especially once he saw his 13 year old second cousin, Dillon, swimming and jumping in the pool. Owen was jumping off a 6 foot high rock into the pool, then swimming to the pool's edge by the end of our time at Jeannie's. He is also working on diving down and swimming through people's legs, taking breathes while swimming and his different swim strokes. He is one determined kid.

Walter also has been enjoying all the swimming. He likes to 'jump' into the pool, too, and kick all around. I think its safe to say his favorite thing is throwing toys into the water, though.

Tim and Evy's wedding was beautiful. It was great to see all the Hipps family together, especially cousins that seem to be spread across the U.S. and even the U.K. The boys loved blowing the bubbles after the ceremony and dancing up a storm. 

We were lucky enough to end our time in Houston with a visit to Brad and Laura's new home. They were gracious enough to have us over for a lovely dinner, playtime with the boys and even some adult conversation. I'm not sure if it was all the good company, but the July Houston heat really didn't bother me. Could I be a Texan at heart?

I'm not even tired, really.

This has been Owen's nightly anthem on our wonderful family Texan road trip. We've been going non-stop and staying up well past bedtime daily. When we tell him that's o.k. and that he can just lay down to rest, he is out within minutes.

We have been enjoying our trip tremendously. I'll write more later, until then here are a few photos from the trip down...Owen in Iowa, Walter in Oklahoma, and Jer & me in Texas.

Now my hair is turning grey!

I gave the boys an overdue haircut yesterday in preparation for Jer's cousin's wedding next week. This morning Owen looked in the mirror and told me this. I know many of you expected me to be saying that...but that just may never happen thanks to the magic of my stylist.

Owen had swimming this morning and I was completely blown away. He's officially swimming! He swam a good seven feet. I'm so, so impressed! We are driving to Texas on Thursday and will have plenty of opportunities to practice in many different hotel pools and Jer's aunt's pool in Houston. I'm really looking forward to lots of family time together.

Walter was sure to practice his new stunt again this morning. I heard him at 5 a.m. and ran down to get him. When he saw me come in he said "NOOOOOO" and put his hand out toward me. So I spotted him as he climbed out of his crib and then he joined me in bed for a few more zzz's. We'll take care of this after Texas.

I'm completely overwhelmed trying to get ready for our Texas road trip and prep for a Sunny Hollow meeting tomorrow. It will be good when that is over. Let's face it, I've always been best under pressure, so I know it will all come together, even if it is in the wee hours of the night. Here's what happened as I attempted to get a few clothes together for the boys tonight.

Tricia, we have a problem.

This is what I woke up to this morning. Immediately I thought something was wrong with Jer's Jeep as I didn't hear the kids and knew Jer was getting ready for work. Instead, I found out that Walter can climb out of his crib! Jer said he was getting ready and heard a big bonk from the boys room. He went in to find a very proud Walter out of his crib. The boys soon both climbed into bed with me to tell me of Walter's triumph. I guess we will be tackling a new big boy bed for him sooner than later. Argh!

Today we went out to Stillwater to visit our friends, Annie, Ruby and Rex. We had fun playing with all their toys, feeding their animals (ducks, sheep and chickens) and caravaning to a nearby park for some play and a lovely picnic. Annie always sends me home with some fresh eggs, so we'll be having omelets for breakfast one of these mornings!

We had a nice weekend, which after I write about it you may think I'm crazy. Jer and I went to Milwaukee on Saturday morning for a wedding and returned Sunday evening. So, yes, we drove quite a bit of the weekend, but there is nothing like solid drive time, listening to your choice in music, talking to one another, and only needing to stop when you want to. The wedding was also quite fun. The boys spent the day with my dad and Kindi, then my mom, as she returned from her Alaskan cruise. Then,  on Sunday Al and Joanne relieved my parents so they could go back to Michigan. I think the boys had just as much fun as Jer and I being spoiled by both sets of grandparents!

Mama's baby.

I am a sucker for both my boys, but lately sweet Walter tells me he is 'Mama's baby' and then hugs and kisses me. He'll also tells me he's 'not Dada's baby' 'not Ono's baby' and 'not (g)Riffin's baby'. Talk about having me wrapped around his finger.

Jer had his fishing trip this weekend and came home Tuesday evening, just in time for Owen's soccer. Owen was proud to show off his skills and score some goals. He's such an athlete. We now have the rest of the week together as a family and are loving every minute of it.

Yesterday Jer and Owen had their 'fishing trip' at a lake in Carver Park Reserve. 

While they did that Walter and I went to playgroup and then to our old neighbors temporary house.

 After, we reunited and went for a family bike ride and picnic. 

I just love it so much.

This is what Owen said about gymnastics tonight. We get to go twice this week to make up for being at my parents house last week. Life is good for O!

We spent the morning with our old neighbors today. It was great to see them! The kids play well together, which means Summer and I get to do some catching up, too. Such a treat.

Yesterday we had a nice dinner at Joanne's with the Hipps family. Its always delicious!

Frog, robot.

Part of our bedtime ritual is a story told generally by Jer while we all cuddle up in Owen's bed. We used to ask what they'd like a story about, however that is no longer necessary as they just now tell us before the question can get posed. Walter's request night after night for a solid month now has been "frog, robot". Owen generally adds one or more of the following characters/settings: superman, spiderman, batman, wolf, a horse race, fish, coyote, butterfly, the "two superheros you dressed up as for Halloween" (wonder woman and incredible hulk), deer and fox.

We had a great few weeks with my parents. I'm not sure where to begin. If one could store sleep, I could probably use all my extra zzz's I got while there to stay up for a good week. They sure make being a mom easy on me while we are there. (Thanks Mom & Dad!) Besides sleep, we were also quite active biking, boating, tubing, swimming, swinging, golfing and exploring the woods. When we arrived my mom had the house decorated for Walter's birthday. 

We also took some time to climb the Pine Mountain ski jump, play at City Park and pet and feed a baby fawn at a friend's house. Fun, fun, fun!

Owen decorated his bike and rode it in the 4th of July parade. My dad walked along side him during the route and Jer, Walter, my mom and I cheered him on from the sidelines. Both boys hit the jackpot with candy there. Luckily there were some older boys we shared with sitting next to us. The rest of the day we enjoyed the boat, sauna, tubing, grilling and a mini-fireworks show put on by Jer.

Last night the boys slept at Joanne's so I could go watch the Jayhawks show. It was a great welcome home to the beautiful city. Thank you, Joanne!