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!

Carnival, here we come!

We had a busy day, starting with a birthday party of one of Owen's best buds from Sunny Hollow, Roman. They certainly set the bar high with a magician and a bouncy house. Needless to say, Owen had a blast. 

After the party we piled into the van and Owen said this...as, we were headed out to Rockin' Rogers Days to watch Jer play softball and hit up the carnival. We got there and headed straight to the carnival to enjoy some games, rides and mini-donuts. Walter had a blast finally getting do the fun things that Owen was able to do. His smile says it all.

Two.

This is the answer to Walter's question of the day: How old are you today? He says it quite proudly.

I think its safe to say Walter had a good 2nd birthday. We met up with some friends at a local splash park for swimming, a picnic and cupcakes. He loved playing in the water and at the park. After a nice nap and some playtime at home, we went and got him one more little present and took him out for dinner. After dinner we came home and played with his new airplane and finished our movie from last night, again with popcorn and juice in our bed.

So two years ago today, I had two miracles happen in my life. First, our sweet little Walter was born and second, I lost 25 pounds in one day! A pretty good day, June 22, 2007 was.

Do you want to be a lady bug?

We've been celebrating all weekend. On Friday, Owen had his last day of zoo camp. Jer, Walter and I went to the zoo to give Walter a little special birthday time. We took him to the Imax and watched a 3-D movie about the ocean. He jumped a few times, particularly when fish would quickly eat other fish!

On Saturday we spent the afternoon at Canterbury with Jer's dad, celebrating Father's Day. The boys loved watching the horses (although Owen had stayed up way to late the night before...as you may be able to tell in the photos) and enjoyed the huge playground they have there, too. They were chasing each other down the slides and giggling like never before. Their friendship is getting stronger and stronger everyday. 

After the horse track, we met up with Jer's family to celebrate Walter's 2nd birthday. My camera's battery died, so I didn't catch any of it! He waited patiently for us to sing to him before he blew out his candles.

Today we woke up and had a nice relaxing morning with Jer's favorite breakfast treat, the paper and coffee. The boys played with some of Walter's new toys for a while and then the celebrating got put on hold and we did some major yard work. We power washed our fence and then Jer and the boys removed some rock along our back sidewalk. We are getting our yard ready for some major tlc from Gardeneer, Jer's dad's company. The project will give us lots of wonderful curb appeal, a new front and updated back patio, and the best part...a solution to our yard! We are getting synthetic grass that is supposed to be dog-proof! Awe, no more muddy paws and finally a place for us to play soccer, baseball, croquet and all sorts of other games as a family! I cannot wait.

We resumed the celebration with a special Father's Day dinner followed by movie night in honor of Walter. We watched Bug's Life, which Owen wanted everyone to dress up as a bug for. He was a striped bug and asked if I wanted to be a lady bug. (Part of being a bug is wearing socks on your hands, that didn't stop the popcorn from getting eaten.)

When you become a kid again you have to do gymnastics.

Owen has said multiple things lately that have me thinking he is a Hindu, at a minimum, he believes in reincarnation. This is what he told me yesterday before gymnastics. He absolutely loves it. He told me I had to make sure I asked my mom once I become a kid again, over and over!

Zoo Camp started yesterday and Owen has been enjoying it. Yesterday he told me about the different parts of a cow and how they eat their food four times before they actually keep it down. Today he grabbed a paint brush at home and said, "yup, I think these are pig hairs on this brush." 

Sweet Walter is tearing at my heart strings with all of Owen's activities happening this week. When we drop Owen off at camp he says "With Ono?" over and over again. Yesterday when we spent the time at the zoo he kept asking to "Find Ono." At gymnastics last night he was pleading to go into the gym, too. Poor little guy. On top of that, I'm not really having a birthday party for him as its going to be sandwiched in with the Father's Day celebrations...so how's that for a second sibling. I guess we'll just have a few small ones for him. I told Jer to be warned that I plan on spoiling Walter like crazy this birthday...the only thing I can do to subside the guilt!

We were able to celebrate Lindsay's and Angie's birthday this weekend. It was a relaxing warm evening in Lindsay's beautiful back yard. (No dog in that house!)

Walter has taken a liking to a cowboy hat as of late. He's worn it around for three straight days. When we were at the zoo, he loved when anyone would say "Hi Cowboy!" to him.

It was the loudest one of my life.

Owen is trying hard to learn how to snap. (There are a few kids at Sunny Hollow that know how.) Yesterday he told me when he was at a friend's house he snapped the loudest snap of his life.

Today gymnastics finally started and it was well worth the wait. I was really impressed with the class and Owen talked about it all day. He even set up a gym in our living room for him and Walter to tumble in.

Lindsay came over and watched Walter while I took Owen to gymnastics, we had lunch together and then she, Lydia and Owen took a walk/bike ride around the lake. I managed to stall them and keep them here until about 4 p.m.! What a treat.