Leap onto the Lily Pad

Lincoln's basketball

2012-02-13T20:24:00.004-05:00

Link's team had two kiddos out on Saturday. This meant everyone played all but seven minutes of the game. I was a little worried about Link, but he took a seven minute lay down break and was ready to go!Link was paired against a feisty little girl this week! She was fierce! There is a quick clip of her looking at Link. I missed her pointing at him saying, "I'VE GOT YOU!!!!!!" He looked at me and said, "She is MEAN!!!!" It was so funny!

A few weeks ago I noticed that Link only passed the ball to the two girls on the team. This week only one was here. After watching all the videos I took this week, I noticed that he made sure he passed it to Peyton. Notice the THREE times he got the ball he passed it to her!
Lincoln received the defensive star this week! He earned it!
Both of the boys have been blessed with the best coaches! I love both of them. Lincoln's coach is so playful and really tried to make sure each of the kids have a great time!

Ethan's basketball

2012-02-13T20:10:00.001-05:00

Ethan has turned into a firecracker on the court. He is becoming super aggressive and really trying to get the ball more and more.
This week he played his best buddy, Grant's team. You can see Ethan defending Grant in the video's below.

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-13T20:01:00.002-05:00

Nuts

2012-02-09T21:52:00.000-05:00

Lincoln: Hey guys! Nuts and you're driving me nuts are the same word!

Superbowl

2012-02-07T08:51:00.001-05:00

Ethan was so excited for the Super Bowl. Nate and I do not know when he decided to root for the Patriots or why, but he had his little heart set on them winning. We all talked about how the rest of the family and our guests, Aaron and Danielle, were all pulling for the Giants. He didn't seem to care.

As the game started, Nate and I were still getting the food ready. I think I had to ask Ethan to sit down and get away from the TV about fifteen times!

Lincoln was just happy that I had left food out on the table and he could eat as much fruit salad and chips/dips as he wanted! He did get a little excited when Victor Cruz did his salsa dance. Link did a little dance for us!
Link was in bed at his usual time of seven. We let Ethan stay up until eight. I think that he was ready to go to bed!
We were all a little worried how he might take the loss the next morning, but he handled it well. He has just been trying to recreate a win for his team on Madden Wii!

Copycat

2012-02-06T11:00:00.000-05:00

I walked up on this Saturday at basketball. They were waiting for the previous game to finish. Nate dropped to one knee and his copycat did the same!

Austin's B/day

2012-02-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

One of Ethan's best buds had his seventh b/day party Saturday. You will never guess where Austin's parents are from! haha!

They had the party at Pump-it-up. Ethan had a basketball game following the party. Let's just say someone was extremely tired Saturday night!

Play date at the zoo

2012-02-04T20:57:00.003-05:00

With the weather being fantastic lately, we decided to have our weekly play date at the zoo. The buddies were super excited to see each other.

They were so excited to see each other that they ran and ran and ran. The moms had to keep reminding them to stay with us!!! Our girl, Anna, wanted to be right in with them!

Hands up

2012-01-29T21:16:00.003-05:00

I am loving Saturdays. We have had so much fun watching the fellas play basketball. We usually have a few hours between games and Frazer has a game room so we can kill sometime between games! Ethan may have beaten me at air hockey.
The Miami Heat were on TV this afternoon. When I came back from my run, the fellas were watching it. There was two minutes left of the game and I decided to stretch and watch it with them. Link looks at the TV and yells, "Come on guys!!!! Get your hands up!" We have created two basketball monsters.

Stormy Weather

2012-01-26T16:43:00.001-05:00

I knew it was supposed to rain today, but that is all I had heard. I get a call around 11:00 telling me that school is going to close at 12:30 due to the THREAT of bad weather. Why does this never happen when I am working at school!
I went and got Ethan and the boys have been playing hard ever since! It is nice to have both fellas home!

Just like Daddy

2012-01-24T23:04:00.002-05:00

Link: Mommy do I look like you?
Me: I think so. Who do you think Ethan looks like?
Link: He looks JUST LIKE DADDY!
I backed up my photos today and found this adorable picture of Nate and Ethan. It was taken right before Lincoln was born.

Basketball

2012-01-21T22:18:00.003-05:00

The guys are doing so awesome at basketball. Nate and I are having a blast watching them play better and better each week. This morning before the first game, Link's friend had a b/day party at Pump-it-Up. The guys played hard and were worn out.

This picture was taken within the first five minutes of the game. Link hadn't even been in, yet! Luckily he played super hard once they got started!

Lincoln saw me with my camera and decided to pose while in the midst of the game!!!Ethan's game was so fun to watch today. We felt like the teams were matched up pretty well. The players were very respectful and courteous on both teams. Ethan was amazing today. He was so aggressive and tried to shoot many times! At one point in the game he was paired up with the biggest fella on the opposing team, who happened to be a very sweet guy. It was fun to watch the match-up.

I got this video of Ethan stealing the ball and then getting knocked down. Poor guy really got hurt. The coach took him out, but he was ready to jump back in a few minutes later!

We had so much fun today! Both boys made us super proud today. Lincoln was awarded the offensive player star and Ethan was awarded best effort and most Christlike!!

Lunch Bunch

2012-01-20T14:50:00.001-05:00

Lincoln misses Ethan terribly when he is at school. He asked earlier this week if we could go have lunch with Ethan one day. So, I gave in and we had lunch with Ethan today. Ethan enjoys having us come to lunch (not because we are there) because he gets to sit at the special table with his friends. It is entertaining to watch them eat their lunch. They have no front teeth!

We are considering going to Disney during Spring Break. It all depends on our next assignment. In order to get Link ready for all the walking we will do, I have been taking him out for a walk every afternoon before Ethan's bus arrives. Two days ago, we were walking and Link says, "We better get to the bus stop before someone kills my poor Ethan." I have no clue where this kid gets his dramatic attitude!

He has really been enjoying his walks. It's very rainy today. He asked if we would get our walk in and I told him that it was doubtful. So, he told me to just bring a towel.

Warmer weather

2012-01-16T19:12:00.001-05:00

On Friday, the weather dropped into 20s at night and got up to the 40s during the day. Link was so excited when I told him he could wear a sweatshirt all day. I put this (hand-me-down) sweatshirt on him and he was so excited! He asked if I could take a picture of him. I told him OF COURSE!!!!

A friend from Lufkin, made the boys "disgruntled fowl" hats. His excitement doubled when I told him he could wear his hat. I had to make him take it off hours later!
I think Mommy, Daddy, and Ethan are LOVING the warmer weather, but Link loves his sweatshirts!

Ariana's baptism

2012-01-15T21:27:00.002-05:00

Nate's God daughter, Ariana, was baptized today.

Ariana and the boys were terrific during Mass today.

Ariana became so fussy after the actual baptism. She is usually so happy. When the ceremony was over, Nate told me that the water was SUPER cold! Poor thing! :)

It was such a nice day! We are thankful to have them in our lives!

Fun Facts

2012-01-11T16:06:00.000-05:00

Ethan was able to move his reading level up over the Christmas break. He is he reading more fluently and reading longer books. But the reason he is so excited is that the new reading level opened up a lot more books that he can check out in the library. Unfortunately, this guy will only check out NON-FICTION! I am so tired of listening to books about sharks, snakes, cougars, eagles, etc!

The boy is turning into a little encyclopedia. The other night, while looking at a shark book, he said, "Do you think this is a remora?" "Ughhhh (silent pause and look to Nate...who gave me the same look) what do you think, Buddy?" "I think it is" he said. Apparently, a remora is a suckerfish that lives on sharks.

I begged him to bring a fiction book home tonight and he sighed and said ok! Such sacrifice!

Basketball

2012-01-08T19:28:00.001-05:00

The boys had their first basketball games yesterday. Ethan was so excited. His game was at 1:15 and he wanted to put his uniform on at 8:00! Lincoln was not excited about the game at all! To our surprise, Lincoln loved it!

As you can see, he was the smallest by a LOT. His skills were seriously lacking....but he loved it! When the game was over, Nate went up to the coach and in a very serious face said, "I need to know why my son didn't start!" It was hilarious. The coach was taken aback at first and then saw us laughing!

Ethan's team was a little more aggressive than we were expecting. It was the opposite of soccer. The parents were super laid back here, but the kids were out for blood!

The floors are carpet and Ethan fell and started crying. The way he was crying you would have thought he had blown a knee. Come to find out it was just a rug burn. In his defense, I saw more kids crying than ever before. If it wasn't rug burns, it was someone took the ball from me. I just hope that they chill out by next game!

I love that they pray before the game. Maybe next week they will pray to just have a good time! I didn't get video of Ethan playing this week. I did get some awesome video of Lincoln bringing the ball down, Lincoln passing the ball in, and Lincoln trying to be the assistant coach. Click on the underlined words to see the video.

Giggles

2012-01-03T20:30:00.000-05:00

Just some funny sayings from this crazy house:

Ethan:
Ok, if you are so clever just do it yourself.
I know that that Sprite burns my eyes, but I like.
I can't believe I misspelled Ankylosaurus.

Lincoln:
Is is bad to freak people out?
How many full family days do we have left?
Could you watch Dead Man's Chest and tell me everything?
(after time out) I am so mad at my mind for doing bad stuff.
Who came out of the belly first, you or Uncle Josh?

The clean up begins

2012-01-02T18:59:00.002-05:00

We began the clean up today. The clothes have been unpacked and laundered. The snacks and miscellaneous items we brought on the trip were put up a few days ago, but I had not tackled the toys until today!

For some odd reason, the fellas really got into the clean up and helped SO much!!! They each went through the new books and toys and put everything away. We had two odd junk buckets (one in each kid's room). They went through and tossed odd pieces that we had no clue where they went and they even tossed those ridiculous McDonald's toys. I think this is the first time either one of them have participated in throwing anything out!!

Mommy time

2012-01-01T21:30:00.000-05:00

It has been almost two weeks of "full family" time here. After lunch today, Nate and I were cleaning up lunch and doing some laundry. Link comes over and says, "Mommy let's lay on the little couch together." I told him I would after I folded some laundry. He says, "Just let Daddy do and we can snuggle." I think he is missing his alone time with Mommy!

Christmas in Dallas

2011-12-31T22:59:00.000-05:00

We were so busy while we were in Dallas. I barely had my camera out. On the first night we were there, the boys anxiously awaited for Papa John to come home so they could open presents.

On day two, we ALL got haircuts. All six of us piled into Misty's salon and she cut away!

John had to go into work after haircuts. So, we took Granny to have Japanese food! I think she liked it! Then we went shopping. You can't go to Dallas and not go shopping!!!

We had all been so excited to go to Legoland while we were there! It was a really cool place, but the lines were CRAZY!

The boys enjoyed making lego cars and racing them, riding the two rides, and playing on the lego playground.

We told them several times when we arrived that they were NOT getting anything. As you can see....we caved!

Granny let us go out every night. I think she just wanted snuggle time to herself!!!! Overall, our trip was fantastic! It is so nice being driving distance to Texas again!

Christmas in Lufkin

2011-12-31T22:51:00.000-05:00

The Leaps drove to Texas for Christmas this year! We stayed at Marlene's house and every morning the fellas would immediately ask when Marilyn was coming over! When she arrived, Ethan had a list of games she needed to play with him!

While they were waiting for Marilyn, Marlene cooked everyone breakfast. She had white toast with butter every morning. Link told Marlene that he didn't know what this white toast with yellow was but she should make it everyday for him. We laughed and laughed and then I realized this boy has never had white bread before!

Papa and Gale came in Christmas day. The boys were so excited to see them.

On Monday, we got out of Marlene's hair for a bit and went into town. We played on the inflatables at the mall and then we went to Red Lobster. Marilyn got Ethan crab legs to try. He decided he likes them better than lobster!

We were able to see Granny everyday! She was so excited that the boys talked to her.

Santa came to Alabama

2011-12-22T21:33:00.001-05:00

Santa came to Alabama! He brought a new bike, helmet, Batcave, and a Pirates of the Caribbean DS game!

Ethan was so excited about his gifts! He was thrilled over his Ninjago books!

I think Lincoln was in shock and a little overwhelmed all day!

He and I got some snuggles in while Ethan passed out his gifts to us. Ethan got Link a slap bracelet, a bouncy basketball, and a tattoo with his own money. He got Nate and I ornaments and Nate also got a tattoo!

Ethan got an Angry Bird game and Battleship! He and Daddy loved playing the games today!

This little man was happy with his DS game! I had to talk him into putting it away to play with his other toys! Click here to watch video of Christmas morning! There are some other videos on my Youtube page from the day. From Youtube just click on 75Mandee to see the rest of them.

Lobster Dinner

2011-12-21T21:45:00.002-05:00

Every year for our birthdays, Nate and I buy lobsters and enjoy a lobster dinner. We are going to Texas and having dinner at a nice restaurant for our b/day this year....so we made lobsters tonight for our Christmas Eve dinner. We decided to let the boys have their own lobster to share! Ethan was so excited. Link....not so much!

Ethan ate a few pieces. Link took a BITE. I think that Ethan loved the idea of the lobster more than the actual lobster! Good news....Nate and I get their leftovers tomorrow!!! :)

Science Museum

2011-12-21T21:38:00.000-05:00

We headed to McWane Science Center in Birmingham today! We had the best time!! The boys loved petting hammerhead sharks and sting rays!

Link enjoyed ice fishing.

They felt winds at hurricane strength!

Ethan rode this crazy bike two stories above the ground!

We all loved making faces and hands with the pushy pin thing-a-ma-jig.

Ethan almost was eaten by an Alabama dinosaur.

They loved watching Daddy lay on a bed nails!

BUT...the best thing was watching the boys do the zip line! Watch the video here.

Ahh-ummm

2011-12-20T23:52:00.000-05:00

Just one more day....just one more day...just one more day!

(Santa is coming a few days early so we can drive to Texas on Friday)

Christmas lights

2011-12-18T23:48:00.000-05:00

On Friday, Nate and Ethan finished school up for the Christmas break! Link and I get to have them home with us for two full weeks!!!! Since no one has to go to work or school tomorrow, we hit the streets tonight to look at some Christmas lights!

The crazy fellas were excited!!!!!

There was a neighborhood right across from ours that had to two houses that were programmed to music! They were super cool!

They were also HUGE and gorgeous!!!

Alabama weather

2011-12-14T23:00:00.001-05:00

The fellas wanted to ride bikes Saturday morning. It was chilly (in the 40s). I put on gloves and a jacket. As I dug out my gloves, Link found his scarf and hat. Like I said it was chilly....but not this chilly!

Today the weather got up to 75 degrees!!! I am LOVING this December weather.
Link has been riding his bike up to Ethan's bus stop. As we were riding bikes yesterday, I noticed a car in the middle of the sidewalk. A CAR!!!! Link, apparently, did not see the car. He ran smack into the side of the car! Only LINK!!!

Dork

2011-12-13T18:03:00.001-05:00

Ethan had a math test today on double digit subtraction with borrowing. Sometime last week, it just clicked for him. He gets it! Once he "got it," Nate and I showed him how to check his work by adding it back up. When he got home today, I asked how the test went. He said, "GREAT!!! I know that I got them all right because I checked my work for fun!" He's is such a goober (like his Daddy)!

I had to put the above picture on. When I loaded my pictures up and looked at them, I asked Nate what the heck is Ethan doing. Nate told me he was trying to do a freaky picture. I think he got it!!!

Santa Mugs

2011-12-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

I saw these mugs at Walmart for two dollars yesterday. I bought four. We had very similar mugs growing up and I remember drinking hot chocolate from them. I was excited to show Nate. So while I was cooking dinner, I saw Nate making hot chocolate. He poured a mug for the fellas to enjoy with dinner!

North Pole Express

2011-12-12T19:18:00.000-05:00

Our friend, Kelly, emailed me early this summer to tell us about the North Pole Express. The tickets sell out fast, so she got a group of twenty and we were lucky enough to get in on her deal!

The boys were so excited. Our tickets were for 5:00 pm. They got into their jammies right after church.

The were proud of their "Genuine ticket to ride!" The conductor punched the ticket for them.

Santa, Mrs. Claus, and a few elves were waiting at the North Pole for us. Ethan is beginning to ask questions. He asked all day if we were going to the real North Pole. I kept saying, "I don't know. I haven't been there before." When we pulled up to the North Pole, Ethan said, "HUH-Nice trick everyone!" Luckily, it was loud and Link didn't hear him. Santa and Mrs. Claus came aboard the train and took pictures with all the kids. Ethan said he thinks this is the real Santa.The elves brought an ornament and a key for everyone. A chef came aboard and passed out cookies and chocolate milk.

It was super cold on the train, so Nate and I got a lot of cuddling in! We had a great time. It was a great memory to make this Christmas season!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-11T13:55:00.001-05:00

When Marilyn was here for Halloween, we headed out to a beautiful park nearby to get our Christmas card photo! We had several to choose from because they turned out so great!

We also took her Christmas card photo. I don't think she would mind if I shared it! Argghhh Merry Christmas, Mateys!

Alabama Santa

2011-12-06T21:37:00.001-05:00

Bass pro shop has been advertising that they have a Santa's Workshop. They were giving out free photos with Santa, so Saturday we headed up to Prattville, AL to see Santa.

Lincoln wanted to go first. He made his way up to Santa and told him what he wanted.

Lincoln asked for the Batcave and The Pirates of the Caribbean DS game.Ethan went up next. He knew to pose for a good picture before asking for what he wanted!

With some coaching from me, he asked for a new bicycle and a helmet. He keeps adding things to his list and changing what he wants daily.

This is ALABAMA....so after seeing Santa we took pictures with a bear,

some furry hats,

and a flat bottom boat!

Bowling Buddies

2011-12-03T21:15:00.001-05:00

Our neighbor friends, the Bixbys, moved right before Thanksgiving and we got together with them and the Rolirads tonight for some bowling!

The boys had so much fun bowling.

We need to do this more often. Maybe I can get my score above 100, too!

Rosa Parks Museum

2011-12-01T22:29:00.001-05:00

Today was the 56th anniversary of the day that Rosa Parks sat at the front of the bus in Montgomery, AL. The local museum was having a "get in free" day in honor of the anniversary. We got there about 4:05. The museum closed at 5:00. We quickly went into the children's section and got into huge group of kids on a field trip. They moved us onto a FAKE bus and had us sit for 20 minutes listening to the history of slavery. The video stopped right as Rosa Parks got onto the bus. The video suggested we go next door to the museum to hear about Rosa and the bus.

We were not allowed to take pictures of the fake bus. But, we were at the back of the pack and I sneaked this one as the guide turned the corner.
At 4:40 we rushed over to the museum. We entered the museum and a museum guide called Nate over and said, "You can't go in there without a guide, and the last tour was at 4:30." So....we left the Rosa Parks museum after sitting on a fake bus and not hearing anything about Rosa Parks. At least it was free!!

Decking the halls

2011-11-29T19:29:00.001-05:00

Our search for the perfect Christmas tree took us literally right outside the neighborhood this year. Southern Homes and Gardens had really nice trees and we found a perfect one!

Lincoln had the honor of putting the star on this year. It was his first time to do it by himself!

The boys divided their ornaments into piles. The put almost every decoration on the tree this year!

This was the first year that each boy participated the entire time. They even "helped" put the lights outside.

After we were finished, Link stood on the chair and looked at every ornament. He is obsessed with the tree.

Mommy and Daddy were exhausted after this adventure. I put the Grinch on the computer and we took a nap!

I really love this house. It is definitely my favorite house that we have lived in so far. Having it all decorated for Christmas makes it even more homey!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-26T00:20:00.001-05:00

We had a terrific Thanksgiving dinner! Aaron, Danielle, Ariana, and Danielle's sister Mary all came over for dinner. I didn't even have to beg to get a Thanksgiving blog photo in before we ate!

I had to add to test the camera angle out before the real photo. These crazy kids decided to pose for me!

Ariana Marie Cooper

2011-11-23T20:42:00.001-05:00

Nate became a Godfather on Monday! Of course, he had to brag and brag that he was able to see her before me!

I was able to hold her today, but not for long before these guys wanted her too!

He kept peeking at her toes and fingers.

When Link took her, he smelled her! As we left, Link said, "She is the cutest baby in the world!" We are super lucky to have them over for Thanksgiving tomorrow. Nate said he would set up the pack-n-play. I laughed and said....I don't think we will need it. We have plenty of arms to go around!

The brother!

2011-11-23T20:39:00.001-05:00

On our last day in Texas, we stopped by Josh's new house. They moved in only a few weeks ago.

They have three kids and my fellas immediately fell in love with them. They played and played!

We were super bummed to only stay one night. After talking with Josh about how we made it home in one day, I am hoping that they make a trip to Alabama soon!!!

McDade, TX

2011-11-20T19:15:00.001-05:00

We ventured out into the big town of McDade today.

We all got ready for church. Yes, church is in the barroom.

I had to take a photo of the kids by the old gas station. They had never seen a real cactus.

I asked them for another photo, but they ran to the car. So, Dad and I took one together.

Papa and Gale's house!

2011-11-20T18:38:00.001-05:00

Helloo PAPA!! The boys waited about ten seconds before they spotted the Mule. They were dying to get a ride with Papa!

He opened the gate to the pasture and took off. They were gone for quite a while when I heard the squealing and the screaming.

Once they got closer, I saw this fella driving. Apparently, he let crazy driver, Lincoln, have a go at it, too! He told Link not to go down a steep hill and he did! Ethan started screaming and Lincoln started squealing with laughter!

When they got back, Ethan spotted the swings. He took a rest.

Lincoln brought the toys out and played! It was nice to spend most of the afternoon outside!

The girlfriend

2011-11-20T18:27:00.001-05:00

Our second stop was at my friend Abby's house. Abby and I have remained friends for fourteen years. We were both shocked to realize it has been fourteen years ago when my mother (without my knowledge) told Abby to come ask me out while I was at work. I moved to Houston knowing one other person. Abby knocked on my door that first Thursday and asked me to go out with her and we became fast friends!!!
We have not seen each other since we had our kiddos and we were so excited for them to meet. The boys fell in love.....literally. They chased Kailen around trying to kiss her. Link would yell, "Girlfriend, I am going to marry you." Thankfully, Jason was at the deer lease and didn't see any of this. I think we may have had to look for a hotel! Abby and I are just excited that one day we may be related!

Heading to Texas

2011-11-20T17:56:00.001-05:00

Nate has school until Wednesday and Ethan doesn't, so I decided to take the fellas on a road trip to Texas.

Our first stop was at a Casino in Biloxi, MS. Seriously, the hotel was DIRT cheap! I payed $48! We quickly found out WHY the hotel was dirst cheap when we arrived. SMOKE, SMOKE, and more SMOKE! Our NON-SMOKING room reaked of smoke. When I called the front desk, the lady told me she would send up an ozone machine, but we had to be out of the room for an hour. Our hotel had a restaurant, so we went to dinner. On the way to dinner, we were smoked on in the elevator, the hall, and the restaurant! BUT...it was cheap! The hotel had an arcade, so we killed some more time after dinner.

Ethan still had some remnants of his cold from earlier in the week. He begged to go to bed. Link and I let him have his own bed.
The next morning we jumped up and hit the road for Texas.

We stopped at the first Texas rest stop for a bathroom break and some pictures!

The Artist

2011-11-17T09:59:00.001-05:00

Wednesday was career day at school. After much deliberation, Ethan decided he wants to be an artist when he grows up. I have so say....he's pretty good! He loves to draw and his pictures are way better than I could do! When I told him he could be an art teacher, he said "NO WAY!" I guess his art teacher at school., Mr. Darby, is also the music teacher. He thinks if he was an art teacher he would also have to teach music.

Smooches to Memaw

2011-11-15T19:13:00.001-05:00

Memaw left today. The quote of the night from Link was, "I wish Memaw was still here. She always helps me find my Pirates of the Caravan crew."

This fella has been under the weather. He missed school yesterday and had to do double homework tonight to make up for it. He was not a happy guy. He wanted his Memaw, too!

Popcorn Party

2011-11-13T19:36:00.001-05:00

When Lincoln found out that Pappy was not coming this visit, he told us that Pappy was going to miss the popcorn party! So far, I think that they have had a popcorn party every night....snuggled right up to Memaw!

Dinner Conversation

2011-11-12T19:09:00.001-05:00

Lincoln popped into Memaw's lap at dinner tonight. We were all eating and chatting and I hear Nate say, "Lincoln please do not put your carrots between your toes!" He is so crazy! He wore clothes for a few hours today and spent the rest of the day running around in his undies!

Family night

2011-11-06T19:50:00.005-05:00

Tonight we turned off the TV and spent some quality time together. We started off making a thankful chain. Each of us had seven links. It turns out seven links was not enough to cover the fireplace. Ethan proudly volunteered to write more!

I think the end result turned out nice!

We ended the night playing Star Wars Operation. It's so cute. R2D2 is being operated on and he makes the cutest noises. It's not at all annoying like real operation!

We let Link operate as many times and he could. This was his expression after his first successful operation!

Ethan came away the big winner....it could be because he held all the money!

A little Daddy time

2011-11-05T20:30:00.003-04:00

Nate had an idea last week. He decided he wanted to take each boy individually to do something special. He also let each kiddo decide what their special treat would be. Lincoln chose to go see Puss in Boots with Nate after school yesterday. Ethan chose to play mini-golf today. I think they all enjoyed their special time together!

Ethan soccer pictures

2011-11-02T22:30:00.001-04:00

One of the dads on Ethan's soccer team presented us with the nicest gift last week. He has a great camera and took pictures every game. He put each child's pictures on a disc and gave it to us. The following pictures are a few of my favorite.

I am pretty sure that this is him right before his goal.

And, I think this is him after his goal!

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T22:09:00.001-04:00

This is the 6th year that Marilyn has been in town for Halloween. Since we are in a BIG neighborhood, she stayed at home and passed out candy, so that we could go with the kiddos!

Jengo Fett and Captain Jack Sparrow were so excited!

The boys wanted us to dress up again this year and we couldn't say no!!! :)

I am LOVING this neighborhood. We met up with some of Ethan's good friends and headed out to raid the hood for their treats! We managed to make it to most of the houses in our pod! They had a blast and brought home a ton of candy!
We happen to be at the very back of the pod. There is a lot of new construction. Mar was bummed. We ended up only having 17 trick or treaters. So....we are stuck with a TON of candy!

Marilyn's visit

2011-10-30T15:09:00.001-04:00

When I talked to Marilyn last week, I told her to get some rest because we were having a BUSY weekend. I was not KIDDING! We have been on the go since she got here. Unfortunately, I can't show you pictures of the fun stuff we have been doing. Yesterday, we spent some time dressing Marilyn and the boys up for her Christmas card pictures. Today, we went and took our family Christmas card pictures. I think thay they both turned out GREAT!!!
We snapped this picture after church today!
Tonight, we have soccer awards and our church's fall festival. Tomorrow is HALLOWEEN! The boys are super excited! Maybe Tuesday we will take it easy.....I doubt it! haha!

After School Play Date

2011-10-26T21:29:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, we decided to have Grant and Greyson come play after school today. While waiting for the bus yesterday, we invited Austin and Jack to come play, as well!

The boys started off riding bikes and scooters.

Ethan is still trying to get the hang of his scooter.

They QUICKLY moved on to playing soccer....which in all fairness, was a little less stressful for the parents. When these boys got together they heard NOTHING but each other. I think we yelled their names about ten times before they finally payed attention when we saw a car coming.

This picture cracks me up. Notice how all the boys are going for the ball....except for Lincoln. He is going for Grant. Not sure what that crazy kid is thinking!

By the end of the night, Jack's little brother and sister had come down. Truman, another boy from his class and also a neighbor, came down. Then we met a new neighbor and his little boy. It was a full on block party!!!

Styling

2011-10-24T23:12:00.000-04:00

Ethan wears a belt to school everyday because he has to tuck his uniform shirt in. This Sunday, Link asked Nate if he could wear a belt to church. When I asked them to pose for their Sunday photos, they both grabbed their super hero pumpkins and said, "CHEEEEEESSSEEEE!!"

Legos

2011-10-24T21:07:00.000-04:00

I no longer have a dining room table. It has turned into the boys Lego work station. As you can see, Ethan got a LOT of Legos for his birthday and he is taking his time completing each one.

GOAAAALLLLLL

2011-10-23T09:13:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, the soccer field was full of surprises. We arrived to find out that the boys were playing on fields next to each other. I quickly ran home to get lawn chairs so that Nate and I could sit next to each other and watch both boys together. Within a few minutes, we looked up and saw Aaron and Danielle. They woke up on one of their last weekends to sleep in (new baby on the way) to come surprise the boys!

To top it off, Ethan scored his first goal! I had to have Nate stop me from running over to hug him. I was so proud of him!!! It was so great!

We learned last weekend that bribes of treats really work for Lincoln participation. So far, the past two weeks the bribes have worked. Yesterday, he ran up and down the field....almost the whole game. I think he got two little breaks!
Next week is our last week. Marilyn will be here to see it! I can't wait to show her how much they have improved!!!

Evil Witch

2011-10-19T19:30:00.000-04:00

This picture needs audio so you can hear his evil little cackle.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-18T21:00:00.000-04:00

One of the BIG perks of getting to stay home this year is that Lincoln and I get to do some fun things with Ethan. We've been to eat lunch with him and yesterday we got to join his class on his field trip to the pumpkin patch.

Lincoln and I went with our friends, Jessica and Greyson. Luckily for us, Ethan and Grant are great friends!

The boys enjoyed some hugs while waiting in line.

They had some really cool things at the pumpkin patch. The class was able to do some duck races, hay rides, digging in corn, and inflatables.

It was super hot!!! Lunch in the shade was a great refresher!

This is my new friend Jessica and her son Greyson! As soon as I saw that she had two boys my boys age and Grant was in Ethan's class, I made SURE we befriended them! It was such a good match!!! The boys love each other and she is GREAT!!

The buddies with their pumpkins!

It was so hot yesterday. I started to get really worried about Lincoln. He kept falling down and just looked like he was in a daze! He took a rest in the shade until he saw the big boys and girls running to the big races! He was not about to miss them!

All the kids loved watching those little pigs run!

This is another one of Ethan's good friends, Austin.

We have been so blessed to make such good friends here in such a short time!

Spooky Balloons

2011-10-16T21:27:00.002-04:00

I saw some spooky balloons on a blog this week. I showed it to Nate and he was excited about making them. We stopped at Walmart this afternoon to get glow sticks to make them!

Lincoln enjoyed making them, but decided he did not want them in his room. Ethan took one to his room, but brought it out because it was too bright when he was trying to sleep! I think we try these again on Halloween night!

The Fair

2011-10-15T22:36:00.000-04:00

The fair came to town last week and we had planned on going last Monday, but it rained! The weather was great today, so we headed out after soccer.

After eating some fair food for lunch, we bought some tickets and let the boys do some fair rides.

Ethan wanted to go on the big slide, but Link was not interested.

They both enjoyed the fun house.

Lincoln was excited about the car race, but Ethan decided to save his ticket to do the fun house again.

Lincoln kept turning around because he thought the girl behind him could pass him.

He did the same thing on the motorcycle ride! He is too funny!

We ended the time at the fair with the pig races! It was getting hot and Nate and I were ready to get cool. I thought the boys would be ready to go after the first race, but they wanted to stay to see all four!!! They really enjoyed them!

Right before we left, we stopped to let them try cotton candy. I don't think they have ever had it before. I was sure that they both would love it. Ethan thought it was ok. Lincoln was not a fan. He said it tasted like fur! haha!
This evening, Ethan said, "Today was a BLAST!!!'

The bus

2011-10-14T14:29:00.003-04:00

Ethan LOVES the bus! He has made such good friends at this school and at soccer. Luckily, he has a lot of these friends on his bus!

He screams "BYE" to his friends the whole way to the car (we have to drive to the bus stop).

Then he remembers that he has a mom and brother who have been missing him all day, and he RUNS to the car!

I love seeing this big smile when he gets to us!

Marriage

2011-10-11T20:37:00.001-04:00

Link: Someday I might get married.
Me: Are you going to marry someone beautiful or smart?
Link: I'm gonna marry someone who is beautiful AND smart.
Me: GOOD ANSWER!
Ethan: Like you, Mommy. You are beautiful and smart. Do you know why you are smart?
Me: Hmmm...why?
Ethan: Because you cook so good!
Me: Well, thanks Ethan!!! :)

Picking on me

2011-10-10T21:06:00.000-04:00

These boys picked on their Granny ALL weekend. Lincoln called her random names (including Mar). Ethan told her she had to work for her dessert (take all the groceries in). Link told her she had to climb a tree and he would throw her treat up to her.
BUT...she gave it RIGHT back! There was lots of tickling and teasing followed by lots of squeals and laughing!
Today when she had to leave, there were some sad fellas, but luckily we'll see her in only two months!

Showing off

2011-10-09T22:20:00.002-04:00

Granny has a new camera, so I got her to bring it along to church. We stopped and took some pictures!

After church, the boys went out to play. Lincoln yelled, "Granny wanna see my scooter skills?" That boy cracks me up!

Ethan showed off his skills on his bike! He made sure he smiled for her each time he passed by her!!!

You're kidding me

2011-10-08T21:55:00.000-04:00

Don't let this picture of Lincoln (#21) fool you. This is about the most action he engaged in the whole game. When he woke up, he said, "I am mad." When I asked why, he said "SOCCER....ughhhh." He was not in the mood for soccer today.

Ms. Allison, his coach was out today. We had a sub coach today and Link was not having it!

Ethan loves soccer. He is doing better each game!

After soccer, Ethan had his third birthday party in two weeks. We're hoping for a low key day tomorrow!!!

Happy B/day, Ethan

2011-10-07T21:56:00.000-04:00

My Ethan turned SEVEN today!!

Granny flew in today to celebrate his birthday weekend.

Ethan took a few of his friends bowling tonight!

Lincoln was happy because his best buddy, Greyson, came too! The music was loud and these two were dancing fools!

He grinned from ear to ear all day long!!!

It was definitely a LEGO party. He received so many LEGOs. I think he will be building for weeks!

After presents, we had just a few minutes left to bowl. We started bowling and I told them all it was time to go. Suddenly, the lights went out and disco lights were turned on. They all started squealing. We had to go one more round!!! They loved it so much!

I have to say, I even had a great time!!! It's so fun to see them enjoy themselves so much!!

Upswing

2011-10-06T20:36:00.002-04:00

It looks like Lincoln is on the upswing!! He's had two days of antibiotics and they have helped!!!
Because he has been so sick, we have done very little besides watch movies for the past week. We did manage to do a little Halloween craft! The boys had a lot of fun making the banner!!! I may break down and get their costumes next week. I ask Lincoln everyday what he wants to be. He's about 80% sure he wants to be a pirate! SHOCKER!!!!

Super Proud

2011-10-05T22:10:00.001-04:00

Nate and I could not be more proud of this guy! His teacher wrote me a few weeks ago. She shared his math scores with us. He was exceeding expectations, and she wanted to see if he could be accelerated! Of course, Nate and I jumped on the opportunity!

Yesterday, we had a meeting at his school, and his math skills are even above what Nate and I were thinking. So, tomorrow he is going to a second grade class for math!

His teacher, Mrs. Thomas, sent out a questionnaire at the beginning of the year asking for some information about our child and what kind of goals we had for him. My main goal was to boost his confidence. I knew that once he became a little more confident in his abilities, he would start soaring! My goal was not just an academic goal, but an overall confidence goal! Again, he has begun exceeding my expectations! He's riding his bike independently, he's doing great on the soccer field, he's (silently) reading all the time, and now he's moving to second grade math!

When you get a chance, say a little prayer for him tomorrow! I know that he is a little nervous about his new adventure!

Just buddies

2011-10-04T21:37:00.000-04:00

The boys took a bike ride this evening. Sorry for my blurry pictures, they were flying by!

Link is still sick. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. Hopefully, we get some relief from the doc. tomorrow!

Nate told me that on the ride Ethan started asking him how his day was and what he did. Then, he told Nate all about his day.

Lincoln asked Nate to go fast and Ethan said, "It's not a race Link. It's just buddies talking about their days!"

Where did the weekend go????

2011-10-02T21:34:00.000-04:00

This weekend FLEW by!!! It was full of playing!

The boys went to play with their friends, Greyson and Grant, Friday night. Saturday was SOCCER!

Soccer was followed by a birthday party for Logan at Pump it Up.

These two guys are Ethan's new best buddies, Grant (on left) and Austin (in the middle).

Happy B/day, Logan!
Since Ethan was invited to the party, Nate took Link to the movies. Link was so excited to have "Daddy Day!"

Sunday was gorgeous!! After church and naps, we took the kiddos to the playground. By coincidence, Aaron and Anna, our Thursday play friends, were at the playground!

Ethan was so excited to see his friend! We have a crazy busy week this week! Ethan's b/day is Friday night and Granny is coming to visit!!!! Maybe next weekend will go a little slower than this one!

Sick

2011-09-30T13:44:00.001-04:00

Thursdays are our play date days. When Link woke up yesterday morning, I noticed he had a fever. I was so worried that he would be disappointed when I told him the friends weren't coming over. I knew he was REALLY sick when he said, "Fine! We are not going anywhere today! I got a cold!"

After taking some motrin, watching lots of movies, and "resting" he's back to good. He still has a runny nose and he says, "I NEED A TISSUE!" forty-two times a day, but he's feeling much better!

Mushrooms

2011-09-28T15:52:00.000-04:00

Mommy, I am going to go outside and look at those things.

Hmmmm....let me get a closer look.

Ahhhhh! Mommy, those are mushrooms!!!

Changing

2011-09-25T21:48:00.001-04:00

These past few months have brought on so many changes for our big guy! Thursday, he lost his second front tooth! He actually forgot about the tooth fairy all together. We reminded him this morning and he rushed to check under his pillow.
He is sooooo close to riding his bike independently. He just needs a little bit of help getting it started.
He's reading like a maniac!!! Yesterday morning, we went to the library and he went straight for the non-fiction books to get books on snakes. I limited him to three. We went out for lunch and the entire time he was eating he was reading one of his books! Crazy!!!
He is IN LOVE with soccer. Yesterday was his second game, and he was crazy about it! We need to work on his confidence with the sport and he will just take off!
In two weeks my fella will be seven years old! I can't believe it!

Look, Mom! No hands!

2011-09-21T20:15:00.000-04:00

Click here to see Ethan ride his bike with no hands! He doesn't know that Nate is not holding on!!!!!
Click here to see Link riding his bike!!!

Date night

2011-09-18T20:33:00.002-04:00

Friday night, these two awesome friends kept

these two crazy monkeys

so that we could spend a much needed night enjoying dinner without hearing, "MOMMMMYYYY."

We hope that Aaron and Danielle will let us watch their baby Cooper when they need a night out!

First Game

2011-09-18T00:02:00.002-04:00

The boys had their FIRST soccer game today!

I am not sure if I had more fun or the fellas?

This is Link's teammate, Daniel. These two had an instant connection within the first minute of practice last week. Today, they were stuck like glue. During the first break, they came up and told me that they were the bad guys and the blue team were the good guys!

Since their games are at the exact same time every week, Nate and I decided to switch at half time. WOW!!!! I went to watch Ethan's team and boy was it a different level of play!!!

I think once Ethan becomes a little more confident with the rules of the game, he will do great!

He did such a great job of hustling out there!

He seemed to really enjoy it!

I took some video. Check it out on Youtube.

Ethan's game
Link and Daniel
Link's game
Link's game

Link starts soccer

2011-09-15T15:13:00.002-04:00

Link started soccer this week!

He needed some major encouragement to get started.

I think he got tired. It was hot. He also got bored.

His coach gave them a break to talk about good sportsmanship about halfway through the practice. He was chatting with the boy next to and she asked him to be quiet. Then, he gave her "the look." Fortunately, he got a second wind and finished STRONG!

Relax

2011-09-14T10:10:00.000-04:00

Now that I am home, the mornings have been so much more relaxed. Everyone is getting a lot more rest! They little guys get to sleep until 7:00 am. I can make them breakfast if they want it. Nate can take his time getting out of the house. The best part....we don't have to hear "Take a bite Link." That boy is a SLOW eater!!!!

Think they should mow????

2011-09-13T14:40:00.001-04:00

The way our neighborhood is set up, only one side of the street has sidewalks. Unfortunately, it's the other side of the street.

I went to the office today to ask if they could mow the undeveloped lots. She said she would check.

In the meantime, I guess I will just make sure I don't dress the kids in green. I wouldn't want to lose them!

Crazy!

2011-09-12T17:22:00.000-04:00

My crazy boys!

Too fast

2011-09-11T20:29:00.003-04:00

We've heard time and time again that our time here in Montgomery will go by so fast. This weekend seemed to prove it! I can't believe it's already Sunday evening.
The weather was just perfect this weekend and we tried to take advantage of it. We had dinner with friends, went to the zoo, and enjoyed a moving 9/11 service at church this morning.
Time slow down!!!!

Soccer practice

2011-09-08T22:04:00.002-04:00

Ethan had his first soccer practice tonight. His team is called the Bulldogs. He was so excited about the name. Mainly because "those are the dogs with the spike collars."

He did pretty good tonight. I think that the learning curve for soccer may be much better than for basketball.

Link's 1st practice is Tuesday. I can NOT wait to see how that goes. Nate tried to keep him busy tonight. They kicked the soccer ball all over. I notice this and take a picture. Come to find out, he bit his tongue. My first thought was "How in the world did he do that."
Tonight, I was looking through my pictures and saw this one......with his tongue wagging out!

Best of both worlds

2011-09-07T20:28:00.002-04:00

Once we got home, the fellas couldn't WAIT to get the light sabers out. Link rushed to put his trusty eye patch on!A little Jedi Pirate fighting????

Labor day weekend

2011-09-06T21:54:00.003-04:00

The Leaps took over the Brogan's house this weekend! My children fell in love with Morgan and Conner. We barely saw them all weekend because they played in Morgan's room the whole time.Of course, it wouldn't be a weekend to the beach without a little tropical depression.
There was a small break in the storm bands Saturday morning. Nate and I quickly grabbed the kids and headed to the beach. We "thought" that the kids could dig in the sand and splash in the water for a little bit. What we didn't think about were the 20-30 mile an hour winds. The sand started stinging their little legs. The three little ones started crying and screaming. I saw Link's shoe flying down the beach. He had kicked them off because they were sandy. Nate, Conner, and I got the giggles so bad. We stayed about five minutes and made a mad dash back to the car.
Thank goodness we were with great company this weekend and didn't need NO STINKING BEACH!!

Easy Peasy!

2011-09-01T17:02:00.004-04:00

Our mornings start here at 7:00. For 45 minutes, we eat, make lunch, brush teeth, get dressed, put shoes on, and rush out the door. Link and I are home at 8:00 and from 8-3:30 our day is NICE! Link is the easiest going kid! I don't have to ask him to do anything more than once. He is snuggly and lovely.....pretty much awesome.
We get E baby in the car at 3:35 and.......let's just say it's not so easy peasy anymore! I started a Bible Study this week and I am hoping to learn some major tips to make my not so easy peasy boy a little more content with this pretty good life he has!

Wound UP!

2011-08-31T19:56:00.001-04:00

Nate: Why am I so tired tonight?
Ethan: It's probably because we are so wound up!
Nate: That is probably it!

Soccer

2011-08-30T21:12:00.003-04:00

The boys started soccer today. Today, was the evaluation portion of this soccer season. They are doing Upwards soccer at our church. Luckily, the evaluations were inside the gym today. It was a hot day today!Is this not the cutest four year old soccer player you have ever seen! He was so excited to put his soccer gear on and show his friends tonight!He may not be the fastest, most coordinated, or most graceful player, but he is super cute!!!
Ethan enjoyed the evaluation. In fact, he was bummed that it isn't longer.

The boys are ready to get soccer started!!!

Week TWO!

2011-08-28T21:21:00.003-04:00

Week one of First Grade and week one of me trying out this stay at home job went GREAT! Ethan started the week out a little unsure about his new school, but ended the week happier than I have seen him in a while. He earned "Artist of the Week" from his Art teacher! He made some new friends and enjoyed his first week of being a bus rider. Notice I said HE enjoyed being a bus rider. This whole bus mess has not made his Momma happy! For now, I will drive him to school and he will ride the bus home.
Lincoln and I had a fantastic week together. We got some work in, got some cleaning in, got some cooking in, and had our very first play date! We found a family that has two boys the same ages as mine. They even have a son in Ethan's class!
We had a great weekend. We had dinner with friends, did lots of playing, and just enjoyed each other! Here's to a great week two!!!!

Darth Maul battle

2011-08-23T21:04:00.004-04:00

I caught Lincoln pretending to fight Darth Maul on video the other night. Watch his triumphant battle here: Lincoln battle

First Grade

2011-08-23T20:24:00.003-04:00

Ethan started First Grade, yesterday! I think he has been enjoying it. He hasn't told us a lot about his class. It's all lunch, recess, and the bus. But, I expected this. It's what he did last year!

We've had some bus issues. The bus stop they told us is no longer a stop and so we/he has to walk a half a mile to the stop. This afternoon it was 99 degrees, so I drove to the bus stop to pick him up. The bus was 30 minutes late. I was SOOO glad we drove. Then, tomorrow they are bumping up his pick up time by 15 minutes. I am tempted just to take him and pick him up, but he is loving the bus. I am giving it until Friday to make a decision.
Lincoln and I have begun a new journey, as well. We are both learning how to stay at home. We've done a little bit of Speech therapy each day (YES...my kid has speech issues) and we've done some preschool activities. He's enjoyed the past two days, so far. We'll see if it keeps up!
Tomorrow, is spouses day at Nate's school. He will take E to the bus and then stay home with Link. I have to say it will be nice to have a morning with adults only....even if it is listening to Air Force briefings.

Good Deed Cards

2011-08-20T21:05:00.002-04:00

I started "good deed" cards this week. I got the idea from here.
The boys picked a "treat" that they would like to earn and worked pretty hard at doing good deeds to earn their special treat. It took them six days to do 13 good deeds. This morning, Nate took the boys to see a movie (Ethan's treat). This evening, we got Krispy Kreme donuts for Link's treat! We are going to continue these "good deed" cards. I think we all could use a little more practice!

School's around the corner

2011-08-18T19:22:00.004-04:00

Ethan starts school on Monday. Tonight was meet the teacher night. His school is going to be very different than Virginia. The school he came from in Virginia was VERY diverse. I think that this new school is primarily Brats (military kids that is!). The main difference Ethan noted was that he had a desk and not a table!

I am not ready for him to start back to school. I feel like our summer just started. He, on the other hand, is ready! Yesterday, in the car, he asked if three minutes was 180 seconds. Shocked, I said yes. Then he says, "Well then four minutes is 240 seconds and five minutes is 300 seconds. But the easiest one is 6 minutes is 360 minutes." I asked him how in the world he knows this and he says I am just adding 60. When we were at the library this week he checked out a book on multiplication. This boys needs to get back to school!

Montgomery Zoo

2011-08-17T22:56:00.003-04:00

The boys and I went to the Montgomery Zoo today. We were able to get a family membership for $50 so that we can come as many times this year as we want. I let the boys take the map and go wherever they wanted to go. They started in South America. We took a snack break in Asia. We sat at a bench and watched two tigers swim in a little creek and then walk right up to the window to peek at us eating our snack.
We moved on to Africa. The African exhibits were amazing. They had elephants, giraffes, zebras, chimps, and more.
We were about an hour and a half into the zoo and the fellas started getting hot and tired. Since I knew that we had the membership, we headed home! I think we need to take Daddy and see the rest of the zoo soon!

Lunches

2011-08-17T16:00:00.000-04:00

One of my goals this year (I have LOTS), is to make fun, yummy, and healthy lunches. This past week, I have been trying out different lunches for the boys. This one is an apple sandwich with peanut butter and chocolate chips. This is one that Ethan did not like, but Link loved it!

Today, I made this funny fishing scene. They both LOVED this one. Ethan said, "You can make this for my school lunch, but I don't know how you are going to make it stay just like this."

A little dinoscience

2011-08-16T20:48:00.002-04:00

We were lucky enough to get TWO packages this week. Granny sent a package with books and stickers. Marilyn sent a box with dragon eggs.

We started the dragon eggs yesterday morning. This morning the eggs had cracked open!

Ethan could barely wait to get them open!

He was super excited to pull them out! Link thought they were too wet and sticky. Ethan is so ready to start back up to school. He is going to be so excited to do lots of projects!!

Scuppernong

2011-08-14T19:21:00.002-04:00

On Thursday, we went to a local Farmer's Market. We found lots of great produce. The boys were reaching and grabbing everything they could. At the last little stand, the boys found "green grapes." Only AFTER purchasing them did we find out that they were muscadines. I wikipedia'd them and found they were actually a type of muscadines called scuppernongs. The boys spit them out and tried to throw them in the trash. I told them NO....let's trick Daddy with them. So, Ethan was super excited to offer them to Daddy.His face says it all! I tried to look up a recipe to do something with them. About the only thing you can is make wine or jam. You need way more than we have to make jam with them and by the pure taste of them I am not sure I would want that jam!

Bowling

2011-08-13T21:49:00.003-04:00

What do you do in Montgomery, AL on a Saturday when it's 100 degrees? You go BOWLING, of course!
We took the fellas on their first ever bowling adventure. Ethan was not so excited about having the bumpers before we got there. He realized how heavy the ball was and how little control he had over it, and he was just FINE with having the bumpers!
Little bit had an ok time. He played one game with us and then said, "I am not gonna bowl that ball again." So, we each took turns bowling for him the second game.

Daddy O did great!

I was SHOCKED that all my Wii bowling did not transfer over to the real game! I have a feeling my tennis, golf, or baseball would not either!
I was also shocked how cheap we made out today. We got shoes, a large pizza, four drinks, and two games of bowling for $20. It doesn't seem to be cooling down here, so we may be back before you know it!

In character

2011-08-12T17:30:00.004-04:00

Not only can he do some great voices, he can look just like the bad guys!!!
He can fight pretty good, too!

Voices

2011-08-11T14:24:00.002-04:00

In case you forgot what the Joker, the Riddler, and the Penguin sounded like.

That Shirt

2011-08-09T17:02:00.004-04:00

Danielle is pregnant. At dinner last night, Lincoln started asking where Danielle's baby was. We told him that the baby is in Danielle's bellyy. A few minutes later Lincoln walked over to Danielle and said, "I am going to look under that shirt!" Danielle KINDLY pulled her shirt up and showed him that the baby is IN her belly. Lincoln says, "I told you there was no baby under that shirt!"