Jacob and Joshua

2011 Update

2011-04-07T15:43:00.003-04:00

Just a quick update on what is going on in the boys world. Both Jake & Josh are playing baseball this season. Jake is on the Astros and Josh plays for the Angels (or according to the league website the Angles). Jake tried out for the lead role in his 2nd grade play of "Its a Jungle Out There" and he landed the role of King Leo the Lion. I never would have imagined he would thrive in performing in front of others, but he seems to be extremely confident in his rehearsals and he memorizes lines like an elephant. We couldn't be more proud. Josh is beginning the 3 week tryout for the community swim team and has started off with a bang. He has terrific form and we are excited to see him on his way to many swim competitions this summer. He also has made several outs on the t-ball field (outs are hard to come by at this age). In Jake's coach pitch league, he is batting leadoff and has hit the ball in every at bat so far through 5 games. Their record may be 0-5 but they are having fun.

The Mexican Fisherman

2010-12-25T10:26:00.000-05:00

An American businessman was standing at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish.

“How long it took you to catch them?” The American asked.

“Only a little while.” The Mexican replied.

“Why don’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” The American then asked.

“I have enough to support my family’s immediate needs.” The Mexican said.

“But,” The American then asked, “What do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life, senor.”

The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds you buy a bigger boat, and with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats.”

“Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the consumers, eventually opening your own can factory. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But senor, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied, “15-20 years.”

“But what then, senor?”

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO (Initial Public Offering) and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”

“Millions, senor? Then what?”

The American said slowly, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos…”

School Party

2010-12-19T04:02:00.003-05:00

Josh and his buddy Kowen and Jake and his class book exchange.

Sunflower

2010-07-08T18:34:00.002-04:00

1st Place Athletics

2010-05-28T03:55:00.004-04:00

Jake's team finished in 1st place as his team played their best game of the year in the championship game. Jake had 2 hits, 2 runs batted in, & scored his first run of the year! He was on third when the ball was hit to the pitcher. The pitcher tried to tag him out but Jake beat him to the plate.

A's

2010-02-25T21:49:00.002-05:00

Jake is on the A's and he is playing coaches pitch. We should have a pretty busy spring with both boys playing ball.

Rangers

2010-02-25T19:13:00.003-05:00

We ordered Josh the smallest uniform available and it still swallows him. He does love his uniform and doesn't want to take it off.

Winter Wonderland

2010-01-25T17:42:00.001-05:00

Winter Wonderland at Jake's school this past Saturday.

Grand Prix

2009-10-21T22:57:00.003-04:00

Jake finished his racecar for the Awanna Grand Prix on Sunday. He is very proud of his design.

Pizza Day

2009-10-07T18:54:00.004-04:00

Some of these posts are out of order as I am really behind on posts. Josh had a fieldtrip to a pizza restaurant. They toured the facility and showed the pizza making process. After the tour they got to make there own pizzas and then eat them. Afterwards they went next door to Baskin Robins and chose there own ice cream. The kids had so much fun. Daddy was even able to come to the pizza fiedltrip. Josh was so proud to show off Dad.

Homework, Homework, Homework

2009-10-07T18:44:00.004-04:00

Jake received his first real homework assignment last week. Eventhough he just received his first one we have been working with them each night on other stuff to get them in a good healthy school routine. Jake has his first spelling test and math benchmark test tomorrow. Josh loves homework time, as you can see below. It started out fun and then you can see we now have a divider so there are not as many distractions. Good luck kindergarten teacher! She will definitely have her hands full. :) But he sure is a sweet little guy and all the teachers just think he is the best kid ever. One teacher even said that he brings "Peace and Harmony" to the class. I pretty much said "what and what, my Josh"? That is truly the first time I have ever heard those descriptives for Josh, but it was very nice to hear.

Special Care Package

2009-10-07T18:40:00.003-04:00

This was a special care package from Grandma and Grandpa. They didn't last very long, but the boys sure had fun with them.

Back to School

2009-09-08T16:08:00.004-04:00

The boys are back in school. Jake started 1st grade and Josh is Officially in Pre-K. Jake loves his new school and teacher and is quickly making new friends. Josh LOVES his new pre-school and comes home with a smile on his face each day. Let the check writing begin. Fundraisers, T-shirts, PTO, book clubs, etc, etc, etc. I thought it would cheaper and easier once they got into school. Boy was I wrong! Schools Nickel and Dime you to death. I must say, it is really nice to be back on routine eventhough I miss the boys while they are at school.

Summer Vacations cont.

2009-08-26T14:26:00.007-04:00

We set out to drive to North Carolina to see cousin Will and Angela get married in Wilmington. From there we went to visit Tim and Andi in Cape Coral, Florida. To break up the driving we stopped on our way there in Augusta, GA and on the way back in Biloxi, MS and Baton Rouge, LA.

Biloxi, MS

Everglades, FL

Wilmington, NC

Wilmington, NC

Baton Rouge, LA

Hollie, Jake, & Josh outside Mike the Tiger's exhibit.

Overall, we drove 3400 miles over 7 days through 8 states! We had a blast seeing family and all of the sights.

Summer Vacations

2009-08-26T14:08:00.003-04:00

We haven't had a lot of time to post pictures from our summer vacations so please excuse the excessive pictures. This summer we went to Mexico, North Carolina, and Florida with stops in Georgia and Mississippi along the way. First up, Mexico. We stayed near Playa Del Carmen with most of Jill's family (24 in all).

Notice Jake has a band-aid on his forehead. He cut open his forehead by swimming into the side of the pool wall.

Swenke

2009-08-05T00:28:00.004-04:00

We headed up to Swenke Elementary today for a sneak peak at Jake's new school. Last year there were over 1100 students that attended Ault, so they built a new school. Our subdivision was zoned to the new school. Kind of funny given that Ault (Last years school) is 1.8 miles from our house and Swenke (new school) is 2.2 miles, but who's counting? There is also a 3rd elementary, Keith, in which is 1.7 miles from our house. I was very sad to be rezoned since he and I had made a really great group of friends. Swenke students were invited to sneak peak the new school and also have ice cream after the tour. The school is so beautiful! Everything smells new and the classrooms are much more spacious. The entire school is full of new computers and the Library is so beautiful. After visiting the school and talking with the Mrs. Guthrey the principal who I love and was also the principal from Ault I am so excited for the change. He can't wait to meet Ms. Basinger, his first grade teacher. Last year I had many tearful moments as Jake was preparing for kindergarten and this year I am counting down the days...... :)

Don Johnson and The Comedian

2009-07-29T20:28:00.005-04:00

Joshua came to me the other morning and said, "I am wearing this shirt like this forever because I look awesome." We let him go out with us all day unbuttoned. It was pretty funny. He is very in to himself, constantly looking at himself in the mirror posing different faces and loves for me to spike his hair.

Jake opened a fruit snack the other day and said "Dad, I know why they call this fruit by the foot, because when it is unrolled it is "fruit by the foot" as he showed us the fruit down by his foot. He is pretty funny.

Josh the Rock Star!

2009-07-22T22:41:00.004-04:00

Josh is so funny. Lately when I try to tak a picture he gives me a peace sign, thumbs up, number one or whatever he can think of at the time to put by his face. He is so cute, carefree, and so full of life. I am so glad that he is better and back to his mischivious self. I have to admit I kind of missed it, just a little.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-07-03T11:47:00.002-04:00

"Happy Birthday Mom. You're the best mom in the whole entire world. We love you so much and can't believe its your birthday today." Love, Jake & Josh & Dad

Jake lost his first tooth

2009-07-01T22:20:00.006-04:00

Jake lost his first tooth tonight. He was so excited! His tooth has been loose for a few months. In kindergarten they had a big "I lost a tooth" poster that just happened to be hanging on the wall right behind his chair . Whenever someone lost a tooth they got to write their name on the poster. He was so bummed that he had not lost a tooth all school year. Tonight he called me into the bedroom and said "I think I'm gonna lose my tooth tonight". I wiggled and said "come with me lets see what we can do". I took him to dad and we wiggled back and forth until it was almost out. I told Michael to get the pliers and he said "No, that is dangerous!" Huh? Are you kidding? I remember the good ole "plier" days and tying one side of string around the tooth and the other to the door knob and closing the door. I ended up fetching the pliers myself and finishing off the job. After the tooth came out he said "Now the tooth fairy is coming tonight and I'm getting $5!" Wow! That seems a little steep to me. He told me that all the kids at school got that from their tooth fairy. Now what? I can't just give him 50 cents and tell him his tooth fairy is cheap. I did check around in disbelief and he was right, people are seriously giving $5 a tooth. Crazy!!!! Anyway, he loves his new smile and could not wait to go to bed with his tooth fairy bear. What do you think?

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

2009-06-23T02:00:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday to Grandpa Patton from Mexico!

Swim team end of season

2009-06-14T10:25:00.005-04:00

Jake had his last meet yesterday. He concluded with two personal best times on his races. We are so proud of what he has accomplished this season! Hopefully, little brother will be joining him on the team next season.

Jake is on the bottom row second to last on the right

Swimming Continued.....

2009-06-12T13:21:00.005-04:00

It seems as though our life revolves around swimming right now. They can't seem to get enough. when I wake up in the morning they both have their swim suits on and are ready to go and then beg all day long to go to the pool. I finally have reached a point where they get in the water themselves and I can sit by the pool and watch. I am not to the point where I can read a book and relax but it is sure nice that I don't have to get in everyday! We have been going to the pool early where Josh has his swim lessons. This pool has a diving board and now they are hooked on the diving board. Jake is starting to do cool tricks as he jumps. Hopefully I will have more substance to my blogs other than swimming this summer. Josh inherited one of Jake's team suits. Before swim team started we had to purchase suits and the lady selling them told me the tighter the better. When I tried the larger size on she said that it wasn't tight enough so I went with the size smaller. Well, after we got home he wined and complained that it was too tight and he couldn't wear it. After a few days of torture, I felt bad and bought him the larger size. The suits are not cheap, so I decided to let Josh have it. He wears it to every lesson and even to Jake's practices. I guess it makes him feel special and part of the team. He is too cute!

Swim, Swim, and more Swim

2009-06-09T17:44:00.004-04:00

Joshua started his swim lessons today. He was so excited he could hardly stand it. Jake has swim practice at 8:15 in the morning and then Josh has lessons at 4:00 in the afternoon and then they beg to go to the pool everywhere in between. Josh has been on the side lines watching Jake on swim team since April so now it was his turn. In fact, he has been sitting on the side lines since he was born and has wanted to participate in every sport Jake has been in. Now he is finally old enough to join sports and have the spot light on him for a change. I couldn't wipe the smile off his face if I tried. He did really great. Josh kept looking back at me and waving with a huge smile on his face. Whenever the teacher would tell them what they were going to do and then asked who wanted to go, his hand was always the first one up exclaiming "MEEEEE". His only set back is that he can't stop talking long enough to listen to the teacher. He talks non stop and is stirring up trouble while she is working with others. He is constantly asking the other kids if they want to watch what he can do and is bobbing in and out of the water and kicking up splashes when it is not his turn. He only got in trouble a half a dozen times but who's counting. At the end of the lesson they were able to jump off the side of the pool and before he would jump in he would shout "Caaandy ball!!, oh wait I can't do that. Caaandy Ball!!" and then jump. He watches Jake at the neighborhood pool say "Canon Ball" before he jumps off the side so I think he was trying to show off a little. He is such a special little boy really great and can't wait until tomorrow. Although he did tell me when we got home that "he was going to listen to his teacher tomorrow because he did not want to today." Huh? I guess I need to work on that also.

Construction

2009-06-01T20:16:00.003-04:00

They are building a house directly behind ours and the boys are enjoying the sights and sounds.

Happy Birthday Grandma Patton!

2009-05-25T22:06:00.006-04:00

Sorry I am a few days late on this post. We were fortunate to have celebrated Grandma's birthday with her this weekend. They came to Houston to see Jake's swim meet. The Rangers were in town playing the Astros so we took her to the game for her birthday. We had a terrific weekend visiting, swimming, eating ice cream, and playing farkel. Hope you had a fabulous 64th birthday Grandma Patton!!

Ault Field Day

2009-05-06T16:08:00.005-04:00

Today was Jake's field day at school. It was very hot, but we all had a good time. It is not like the old days where teams compete against each other and you get ribbons and stuff. This day and age nobody is a loser, every one is a winner. They had different stations set up where they spent 4 minutes at each station doing relays. I am finding out quickly that end of the school year is a very busy time. Lots of activities going on.

Jake's 5th grade buddy

Josh's Cubbies Year End Celebration

2009-05-06T16:07:00.003-04:00

Josh had his first year end graduation for Awana "Cubbies". He looked so cute in his vest and singing his song to everyone. He looked like he had a little stage fright but chimed in towards the end. Too cute!

Jake makes the swim team!

2009-05-04T23:49:00.006-04:00

I signed Jake up for a swim clinc as a trial to see if they can make the swim team. They practiced twice a week for three weeks and at the end of the clinic supposedly if they could swim across the pool they make the swim team. I thought there was no way that he would be ready for the team this year. At the end of the clinic he recieved his paper that said he made it! I guess they changed their criteria and he only had to be able to swim 15 feet. After much consideration, I decided to let him go for it! He has been practicing 4 days a week for a couple of weeks and they had their first swim meet this past Sunday. I was so nervous for him since he still was not swimming unassited and had only swam the legnth of the pool with a kickboard. When I asked the head coach what we should do for the meet if he still wasn't quite swimming, she said "you show up". I guess they need to get times to put on future heat sheets. They are required to do two events (25 freestyle and 25 backstroke). How the heck was he going to do backstroke when they had never even showed him? Friday before the meet they were quickly going over backstroke, diving off the starting blocks and the air horn to start them off the block. Talk about sink or swim. After all weekend of nail biting and lots of comfort food, it was time for his meet. He did so awesome! I am so proud of him. I couldn't believe the fabulous stroke that he had when doing the freestyle, eventhough he had to stop and hang on the rope for every breath(apparantly its legal with the little ones). He succesfully completed both events. I am so excited for the rest of the season and to see how well he improves. Swim team rocks.

The Birthday Boy!!!

2009-04-27T13:07:00.005-04:00

Josh made it to 4! He had an awesome birthday weekend. His Hot Wheel party day began at 6:00am saturday morning where he awoke to a room of balloons and quickly let Jacob know that this is his birthday and he could do whatever he wanted. At one point poor Jacob even asked Grandma if he had to be his slave. We celebrated at Chuck E Cheese and Josh had such a blast running from game to game. Jake hung out at the skeet ball the entire time. Grandma and Grandpa Denton made there first camping trip so the boys stayed with them on Saturday night. I think they stayed up until almost 11pm playing Monopoly, Jr! On Sunday, Uncle Timmy and Aunt Andi had a 4 hour layover in Houston coming back from a wedding. We were able to pick them up from the airport and take them to lunch and celebrate Uncle Timmy's birthday which is the 28th. Uncle Timmy and Josh quickly became best friends after Josh received batman wii as a present. It was really great to see Tim and Andi. Josh wore his party hat all weekend and I can't seem to get him to take it off. He even wore it to the Gym this morning.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH-Y, WE LOVE YOU!

No More Training Wheels

2009-04-13T00:01:00.002-04:00

Jake mastered riding a bike with no training wheels. For the last 1.5 years he would rarely even attempt to ride his bike with out the training wheels for fear of falling over. After seeing a fellow schoolmate learn in 2 days he gave it a try. After a couple of days of trying, he has succeeded on one of his old bikes. Next step will be to upgrade to his current bike which is quite a bit larger. Outstanding job Jake!

Weatherman Jake

2009-04-08T00:25:00.001-04:00

The Museum of Natural Science had a News camera and screen that was not working, but that didn't stop Jake from acting out his own weather report. This is the weatherman of the next generation. You really should look out for that Rain! Funny thing is that it was 75 degrees that day and sunny with few clouds in the sky.

Sunday Afternoon

2009-04-07T23:47:00.007-04:00

On Sunday we went to the Houston Museum of Natural Science and also visited Hermann Park near downtown Houston. The boys rode a train around the park and thoroughly enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit at the museum.

First Official Spring Break

2009-03-21T17:19:00.005-04:00

Last week was Jake and Josh's first spring break. The boys and I drove up to Dallas to visit the Grandma's and Grandpa's. They had so much fun, after Josh got over wii withdraws. My parents have a new toy so the boys gladly helped break it in and camped out in the driveway at Gma and Gpa Denton's. They also enjoyed a night out to Chuck E Cheese for pizza and fun.

Half way through the week we headed to over to Gma and Gpa Pattons for swimming and wii. They were able to play in the water for the first time since last summer. Another highlight was going to Krispy Kreme for donuts. Josh calls himself the Donut King. The only downer of the trip was getting a call from my dad telling me that mom was in the emergency room and was prepping for surgery to remove her gall bladder. She is at home recovering and will be just fine. Overall we had a great week for visiting family and friends.

Bluebonnets are in bloom and I couldn't resist pulling over and taking a couple of pictures. The boys didn't cooperate but I tried.

Rodeo Time

2009-03-12T23:54:00.008-04:00

We decided to venture out to the Rodeo again this year. We were not able to make it to the actual rodeo but we walked around the fair grounds and also visited the childrens section. The boys had a blast! We promised them before we left we would let them ride one ride each. Josh had his eye on the ferris wheel and Jake (for some odd reason) was feeling a little on the wild side and decided that he wanted to ride the roller coaster.

Here is Josh just before riding on the Ferris Wheel.

Here is Josh on the Ferris Wheel. He was larger than life and had a smile ear to ear.

Here is Jake before the roller coaster.

Here is Jake terrified.

Here is Jake after the roller coaster. I am fairly certain that he will not be riding a roller coaster for a long time.
Here is Josh leaving the rodeo with a major meltdown because he wanted to ride two rides. He went first and forgot that the Ferris wheel wasn't the ride he wanted and really meant that he wanted the roller coaster. And Jake Still feeling the effects of the aftermath from his ride. Needless to say the walk to the car and the ride home was not one of the Patton family's finer momemts.

Cowboy Josh

2009-02-19T14:34:00.015-05:00

I hope all of you Jacob and Joshua blogger fans haven't given up on me yet. I have been such a bad blogger and honestly have not taken very many pictures lately. Hopefully I can get back on the bandwagon soon.

The Houston Rodeo is headed to town so Josh had western day at preschool. I was worried since he does not have boots or a cowboy hat and plus the fact that I have zero creativity. At the last minute this morning, I scrounged around the house and this is what I came up with. One of Jake's old shirts, dad's cowboy hat and a bandana. I think he looked so cute. At first I had him in overalls and thought no that looks to farmer Joe. He did think that his his overalls were pretty funny and thought he might like to where them. I think he looked so cute.

Indiana Jones

2009-02-10T20:54:00.001-05:00

Jake asked us today if we have another kid can we name him "Indiana Jones"?

Crazy Kids

2009-01-25T08:26:00.003-05:00

We've been extremely busy lately and have not posted in a while. There is a lot to catch up on but for now I wanted to post this picture.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T15:30:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2008-12-11T19:46:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Daddy! Big 3-5! We Love you.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2008-12-10T16:14:00.006-05:00

It's snowing in Houston! When we were in the process of moving, our realtor told us that we will NEVER see snow in Houston. Well today it started to snow. Josh was so excited. He exclaimed that Santa is going to come now. It doesn't look like there will be enough to stick to the ground. But it is really cool to see it snow.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-06T21:10:00.003-05:00

Vote Now! It took us all year, but our practice has really paid off. Click on the links below and tell us what you think.

Merry Christmas

and

Happy New Year!!

My Thanksgiving Indian

2008-11-21T17:41:00.004-05:00

Joshua had a Thanksgiving party/feast at his pre-school. There are 9 boys and 2 girls in his class. I am sure it is wild and crazy days in his class. They had a really good time and looked so cute in their outfits that they had made. Their meal consisted of: McDonalds chicken nuggets, corn, macaroni & cheese & cheesestick and for dessert a cookie and a pumkin muffin. He wore his outfit all day and evening and tried to go to bed with it. I finally convinced him to set it next to him in bed.

How do you trap an Armadillo?

2008-11-19T17:21:00.006-05:00

Yesterday the boys were running around the house playing and yelled for me to come and look at something. I went to check out their findings and saw a very large hole and below the hole more holesburrowed towards my house and my neighbors. After inspecting closer pretty much in every direction. My first instinct was that it was a gopher or mole or something. After researching, I decided that it was probably not a mole or gopher since they usually leave mounds. I called around today and one of the guys seems to think that what I am describing is an armadillo or a skunk. YUCK and YUCK! Neither sounds fun, but I am going to say it is an armadillo because I do not want to even entertain the idea that a skunk is living under my house. Pest Control wants to charge anywhere from $450-$550 to trap and remove the animal. So what to do? Apparantly these animals can do some really significant damage under your home and to the foundtion. Of course Michael is out of town for three weeks training for his new job.
Plan A: A little investigating of my own. I loosely stuffed the 8X6X8 hole with newspaper to see if this critter decides to come out to play tonight. This will tell me if he is still living under the house.
Plan B: Still undecided. I am considering calling Animal control to deliver a trap to see if I can catch it myself. Then it will only cost $100 for someone to come out and remove it.
Plan C: Flood it out of the hole. I am just not sure I can take on what decides to run out of the hole while I am flooding.
Plan D: Wait until Uncle John comes Saturday and see what he thinks. :)
Hmmmm........

Since Michael has been gone:

Huge lightning storm came and took out my internet and tv for 3 days
Furnice tripped
Mysterious animal digging tunnels under the house
issues with a boy on Jacobs bus
what next........

This is not the Actual Armadillo at my house

Uncle Timmy's Wedding

2008-11-16T15:25:00.004-05:00

Uncle Timmy got married a few weeks ago. Forgive me for taking so long to post. It was a very pretty wedding. The boys were Jr. Groomsmen and ring bearer. Jacob said that he was excited that Uncle Timmy was getting married, but was not excited about wearing the tuxedo. We had a great time visiting with family over the weekend.

Trick-Or-Treat Ya'll

2008-11-02T16:51:00.006-05:00

Michael and I are very proud of our carving jobs. We had not carved pumkins in years and had so much fun. Jake the "clean freak" on the other hand did not have fun. I forced him to put his hand in the pumpkin. I don't think he will ever do that again. Josh loved it of course.

Halloween is one of the boys favorite Holidays. They were excited all day and could hardly wait. The new Outlet mall was having a thing for kids where they could trick-or-treat at all of the stores. So we headed up there first. Jacob had a minor meltdown at the first store when Josh received a scooby doo sticker and Jake got a cars sticker. Apparantly cars is not cool anymore. He quickly recovered when he discovered the next store gave him a handful of candy. We did have one other upset. Everyone kept calling Jake "bobafet" or "storm trooper". One even called him a "Power Ranger". So he was very annoyed and was sure to correct everyone.

We came home and ate dinner and then Dad headed out with Clone Trooper Rex and Raphael Ninja Turtle while mom stayed home to man the candy and greet all the cute little trick-or-treaters. I later joined them and had so much fun watching them run door to door.

Fun-filled weekend

2008-10-20T10:11:00.008-04:00

We had such an amazing weekend with the boys. We had signed up Jake for a 1/4 mile fun run through his school at the beginning of the year. The run was this weekend and he was so excited since he is going to be an Olympic runner someday. They had the runners split up by grade so he was only running with the kindergarten boys. We were a little nervous for him but he did an awesome job. Not quite up to par for the Olympics yet but he has few years to work on it. I think our proudest moment was as he was finishing he seeked us out in the stands and stopped before the finish line and was jumping up and down and waving his arms in excitement and shouting for us. It was sweet and filled our hearts with joy! He is very proud of his ribbon.

Sunday we headed to the pumpkin patch. Mom accidentally looked up the wrong time so we arrived at 10 am and they didn't open until 12pm. Oh well, I was not the only mom who got the time wrong. I think there website is messed up. The boys had so much fun and the pumpkin patch was amazing. The only regret is that we saved the hay ride to pick out there pumpkin at the end and the boys were so exhausted I didn't get any great pictures.

Can you tell that Josh is in his non cooperative stage in photography?

Super Stars

2008-10-17T17:00:00.004-04:00

Jake came home last Friday with a star half his size. On it read that he was chosen as Ault All star of the week and that we had to trace the star and decorate it with family pictures and stuff. He was so excited and we had fun decorating it over the weekend. Josh also made a star to decorate. He told me that only one other person had been chosen and that you get chosen for making good choices. We had our first parent teacher conference and she just loves Jacob.

On a side note, Josh's pre-school teacher said that he was the best kid in her class. Huh? I said "no way" and she said "yes!" The boys started Awana a couple weeks ago. This is Jacob's third year and Josh's first (which he was so excited about). The real kicker is, when picking Josh up from his class, the teacher said that he was"refreshing" compared to the other high energy children in the class. Michael and I both looked at each other in disbelief. That has never been a descriptive word used for him. We can't believe all the kind words all the teachers have said and are very proud of him. Keep it up Josh! Now we just need to work on your behavior at home. :)

Costumes are In

2008-09-26T23:33:00.005-04:00

Can you guess who this is? He picked out his costume today -- Raphael, Ninja Turtle.

You don't see this everyday

2008-09-25T18:48:00.007-04:00

It's not everyday you walk outside your home in a suburban neighborhood and see cows wondering the streets. Apparently there is a farm somewhere nearby and at least 50 cows escaped and were grazing in the soccer fields and some areas zoned for new homes. One of our neighbors said that during soccer practice that evening, the coach thought he stepped in dog poop. One of the kids said "coach, I hate to tell you this but it ain't dog poop". When they looked around they saw cow patty's everywhere. Someone needs to get their pooper scooper out. :)

Guess who has stitches?

2008-09-20T19:18:00.004-04:00

You guessed it! Josh. We arrived back in town after evacuting to Dallas for the week following Hurricane Ike. Michael decided to take the boys to the park to give mom a break from the boys. Next thing you know I got a call from Michael to have bandaids and washclothes ready becasue Josh had hurt his chin bad. When they arrived home I was waiting outside the house for him to arrive. When we got him in the house and I washed away the blood, his chin had been split open. I knew this was not something that batman bandaids could cure. So we rushed him to the emergency room and 3 hours and 4 stitches later, voila! He is very proud of his stitches and did not cry once at the hospital. In fact, at one point he was yelling for the doctor, "Where's the doctor? I want my stitches!" When the doctors and Nurses told him he was brave, he replied "yep". They were all in disbelief with his pain tolerance. They said they were doing things to him that adults can't even take. Of course, this makes Josh's chest puff out more. He was very proud to show the receptionist his stitches on his way out. What's next for this child?

Hurricane Ike

2008-09-14T20:29:00.008-04:00

We survived our first hurricane since moving to the Houston area. Hurricane Ike made land fall Saturday morning and we felt the hurricane force winds beginning at 4am. We lost power at 6am. Here is what we learned:

1. You are supposed to make a sign or something about the name of the hurricane: 2. The sky will turn an eerie purple & orange color prior to it hitting:

3. Small trees are very resiliant in high winds: (all of our trees survived but needed a little straightening)
4. The bigger they are, the harder they fall:

5. Traffic lights don't hold up real well:

6. If you are missing your street sign, wait a while and someone will place it back close to where it belongs:
All in all, our neighborhood was not hit relatively hard. We were without power for 36 hours and it appears that 80% of the Houston area is still without power. Galveston & S. Houston were hit considerably worse and the destruction is already in the billions. I have a feeling they haven't even found the worst of it until they are able to see all of Galveston after the water recedes. I pray for those hundreds of thousands of families devasted by the hurricane. May God bless you.

IKE

2008-09-12T21:47:00.003-04:00

So far, all is well here in Cypress. The winds have picked up to about 30-40 miles per hour but we have not had any rain. It looks as though all of Galveston has lost power and we anticipate losing power in a couple of hours. Flooding began in Galveston around midday before any of the winds had picked up. The worst we have seen so far is this fire that has been reported to move from house to house and the firefighters are unable to get to it in Galveston due to rising water.

Ike Update

2008-09-12T07:29:00.003-04:00

Hurricane Ike (Category 2 for now) is about 19 hours away at this point and the mass hysteria has calmed down from yesterday. Most of those who are evacuating are now gone and all others are "hunkered down" (heard this term about 500 times yesterday). We are staying put along with the rest of our neighbors hoping we don't see any damage or loss of power too long. Here are some pictures of the craziness from yesterday.

Hurricane Ike

2008-09-11T06:16:00.002-04:00

With each passing hour, it appears this hurricane will be making landfall very close to Houston. As we have seen with each storm this season, the city goes bananas with groceries, gas, and fear. Up until now I couldn't believe the frenzy everyone gets worked up into, but I think this storm may be the real deal for this area. Several mandatory evacuations have been ordered along the coastal areas and schools are beginning to announce closures. I don't know if our district will close down but I don't think we will be evacuating since we are 80 miles inland. Should be an interesting couple of days.

Super Dad

2008-09-06T23:40:00.006-04:00

After we put the boys to bed tonight, Joshua came out of his room as he always does. Michael went to put him back in bed. The following conversation took place

Setting: Josh standing in the hallway with his blanket and pillow in his hand. Michael walks up.

Josh: "I want to weep (sleep) with you"
Michael: "Why? You need to sleep in your bed"
Josh: "The monsters are going to get me"
Michael: "There are no monsters"
Josh: "Well, the storm troopers and Darh Vader are going to jump out of the pictures and get me"
Michael: "They won't jump out of the picture"
Josh: "If they do, I want you to fight them"
Michael: "Ok, I will fight them"

Too cute!! Dad to the rescue.

Joshy's first day of Preschool

2008-09-02T13:25:00.006-04:00

Josh attended his first day of preschool. He was so excited and thought he was riding a bus just like Jake. When I told him that I was the bus driver and the bus was the minivan he was none to thrilled. He quickly got over it. He kept rehearsing his day "I go to preschool, play, eat lunch, come home, and then do 4 "B's". He even asked me to spike his hair. When we were walking in he told me that the teachers would love his spikey hair. He is so sweet and I just know that he will love Preschool. I think that my smile was as big as his when I dropped him off. I'm not sure, but I may have got caught skipping out of his class and all the way to the van.

Whew, I made it through my first day

2008-08-25T20:53:00.008-04:00

This was the color page Jake said he colored today.....
Well it is finally here. I've lost Jacob to school days. He started out the day with me waking him up at 7:00am so that he could eat breakfast and get dressed for school. He usually sleeps in until about 8:00 or 8:30, so this was a rude awakening. When I woke him up he said "Mom, I didn't get to sleep very long. I just closed my eyes. It seems like I just fell asleep." I laughed to myself thinking that it is going to be a fun 13 years!
He then got dressed in which I had to talk him out of wearing his star wars shirt for the first day of school. We then walked him to the bus stop and waited for the bus. I definitely had to fight back tears as I saw him proudly walking down the sidewalk with his backpack. The bus finally arrived and after he got on I sneaked on the bus and yelled his name. When he popped his head over the seat, I took one last picture. Michael and I then drove to the school to meet the bus. I took pictures until it got to a point where he looked at me like "if you take one more picture of me I am going to take your camera and throw it across the room." He even wiped off the kiss on the cheak that I gave him before I left. I guess that will be the last time I will be able to do that in public! I slowly got the hint and decided that it was my cue to leave.
Josh on the other hand seemed very happy to have me all to him self again. I was really proud of him today as he never once posed a problem during Jake's school process. I think the highlight of his day is when we got home from the grocery store and he found out that he had been promoted to "door holder" when I bring in the groceries. It was a job Jacob took seriously and a fine job he did. Now it is time for Josh to take over this very important duty.
I feel like 5 years was just not enough time with him at home. I am so thankful that I was able to stay home with him during that time. Now my prayer for Jacob is that God help him find wisdom, knowledge, compassion and determination through his school years. I hope that he never loses his innocence, his beautiful spirit, gentle personality and values that we have instilled. I love him so much and want the very best for him.
When asked him about his school day, I got the guy answers: Yes, No and I don't know.

Minor Misjudgment

2008-08-24T19:28:00.016-04:00

Or big one....We decided that it was time to move Josh from his toddler bed to a "big" boy bed. Six years ago Gma and Gpa made an investment in a convertible crib which, converted from crib to toddler bed and then into a full bed. We assembled the full bed on Saturday. We did omit one of the pieces as it said that "children" could trap there head between the bars. They might as well of had Josh's name in place of "children". We immediately visioned Josh's head between the bars so thought we would wait a few years before assembling the bar. We then made our way to mattress stores to find the best deal possible for a full mattress set. Joshua was so proud as we had him lay on different mattresses to see which one he liked best. We did make a mental note ......next time we mattress shop, leave the kids at home! I think Josh jumped on every mattress in the store and and figured out how to operate every adjustable mattress. I bet if you asked he could even tell you what his sleep number is. After all of our research we decided to purchase a mattress from a store in which the warehouse closed at 2 pm. It was 1:20, so we booked it to the mattress store to make the purchase. There were 2 key questions that I guess we should have put a little more thought into, 1. Would you like a protection plan? and 2. Would you like the 4" lower box spring? We were in a hurry so "No and No" was our answer and I quickly initialed acknowledging the decline. We made it to the warehouse with 3 minutes to spare. When we got home, unwrapped the mattress and placed it on the bed it is way too high!! When I called the store to ask if we could exchange she said "no" since we had initials declining the protection plan and the 4" lower box spring. She is going to check with her District Manager, but it looks like we are stuck with it. We are trying to see the positive side. In 13 years it will be just right for him and 2024 Summer Olympics here we come! We're thinking gold in the High Jump.
Lesson learned: Don't rush when making major purchases.

Exciting school days

2008-08-20T23:54:00.003-04:00

I received a call from Jacob's school today stating that they have had too many students register, which would make 26 kids per class. They decided to hire a new teacher and create an additional class. Well, Jake was randomly selected to move to the new classroom. However, they have not hired the new teacher so he will have a substitute teacher for the first week or two of class. I was really bummed for him especially since we had received a letter in the mail last week stating that his teacher would be Mrs. Snowden.

I told Jacob about moving to this new class and that we would not know his teacher right away, but that it would be really cool since the teacher would be new to the school like him. He of course was fine with it and even more excited. When Michael came home from work he picked up the mail and showed me a post card from his ex-teacher Mrs. Snowden. How ironic to receive that on the same day. I excitedly gave him the post card and just told him it was from the school and read him the card. I could tell that Josh was feeling really left out as he was crying because he wanted to hold the postcard. While Josh was playing upstairs I quickly wrote a card for him and put it in an envelope. I ran upstairs and told him that he had mail. He was so excited he couldn't even open the letter. Dad read it to him and it just so happened it was from his preschoool. You should have seen the look of excitement on his face. He even went to sleep with the card.
After the boys went to bed, Jacob later came out of his room and whispered to me that tomorrow he wanted me to help him write a letter back to his teacher. When I asked him what he wanted to say, He said this:

"Hello Teacher,

I’m gonna like my school. I’m gonna like you. I can’t wait to hear what your name is in the mail. I will love you.

From Jacob"

Isn't that just the sweetest?

May the force be with you

2008-08-20T21:59:00.017-04:00

Time is running out on things that I can do with Jake on weekdays so we are trying to fit it all in before Monday. We went to the star wars clone war movie today. I wasn't sure if it was going to be too scary for Josh or not, but he assured me that he wouldn't be scared and begged to go with us. Turns out it didn't matter much, as he was more interested in jumping from seat to seat and eating popcorn. At one point I heard him yelling "mommy help me, I need help!" When I looked over to the seat next to me, the seat had closed on him with his head down in the movie seat with his legs straight up in the air kicking. Not sure exactly how that happened, but that's Josh for ya. After I rescued him from the movie seat, Josh and I were both laughing historically out loud at his predicament (He seems to think that it was hilariuos). 31/2 and still not quite ready to sit in a movie theatre. I'm sure people were wondering what the heck we were laughing at since there were no funny moments in this action packed movie. Jacob on the other hand was at the edge of his seat cheering for Anakin. I guess he takes after his uncle Timmy with his love for star wars. After the movie Jacob exclaimed "that was so awesome" and they were both jumping up and down and couldn't stop talking about the movie.

Can you picture this sweet little guy stuck head first into a movie seat with his feet in the air? It makes me laugh just thinking about it. What will he do next?

To space and back

2008-08-18T09:16:00.011-04:00

We ventured to the Houston space center this weekend. They were featuring a star wars display. We thought this would be as good of a time as any, since the boys are obsessed with star wars.. I wished we lived closer so we could visit more often. It is a really cool place and there is such much to see and learn. They also have the best play area for kids. The only bad thing is that the lighting inside was not that great for picture taking. Most of the pictures did not turn out that great. We have a ton more pictures and wish I could post them all!

We watched a short space adventure movie. It was so cool it showed space adventures going back to the very first one. The best part was that they have the podeum that JFK did a speech from when he announced the first launch.

The star wars display was really neat too. They had items that were used on the movie set including the ship and a clone trooper. They also had actual light sabers used on the movie set.

They also have a wall of pictures of every single crew that has been to space.

Afterwards we treated the boys to McDonald's where they have stars wars toys in the Happy meals.

Kindergarten Woes

2008-08-11T23:36:00.008-04:00

Time is running out with my sweet little Jacob at home. August 25th is his first day of kindergarten. My heart breaks and I well up with tears pretty much everyday thinking about him starting kindergarten in just two short weeks. When I expressed my sadness to him and had tears in my eyes, he came over to me, held my hand and told me that he would come home everyday and tell me all about the new friends he will make. Doesn't that just melt your heart? I truly believe that he is the sweetest, kindest and gentlest boy ever. He has such a beautiful spirit and positive outlook on life and people. The one thing I always remember, is one of his preschool teachers telling me that he always clapped and cheered for his fellow classmates to do well and praised them when they achieved something. How many 5 year olds do you know that does that? I am so very proud of him. We talk about all of the wonderful things that kindergarten will bring. He is even more excited as we have purchased his school supplies, clone wars backpack and school clothes and his sketchers. He still does not let me forget that he still has no lunch box. He said "I guess I will be the guy with no lunch box". I guess I need to make that purchase, as I would hate for that to happen.

Now comes Josh... He is also very excited about starting preschool. He makes his preschool debut September 2nd and will be going two days a week. He is prepared with his nap mat (Not a chance he will be using it), and his sketchers. I think what he is looking forward to the most, is making is very own friends and no longer walking in Jacobs shadow. He talks about preschool everyday. He is such the social butterfly. When we leave the gym everyday he makes dramatic exits saying goodbye to everyone and lets each and every person know that he is leaving on his way out. He is such a sweetie.

Yep that's right, I will have two days a week to myself in just a few short weeks. This is an exciting time yet just a reminder with a blink of the eye, my babies are not babies anymore!

About the sketchers: They finally received there sketchers after a long wait since May. Grandpa promised he would buy them sketchers and meany mom said not until closer to school starting. I didn't want them to be a waste since I knew they would grow out of them before school started. I think they both left the store crying that day and grandpa feeling really bad that he could not purchase them. They have reminded gpa all summer that he owes them sketchers. When gma and gpa came to town we finally made our sketcher run. The boys were skipping all through the outlet mall. Jacob got police light up sketchers and Josh got light up sketcher also. Of course the boys wore there sketchers out of the store. It was so cute, on the way out Josh asked Jacob if he was going to pull him over for going the speed limit since he had police sketchers on. They have worn them everyday since. Josh is sure to tell everyone that he has sketchers as if anyone cares.
Do you like Josh's choice of socks? We are still working on colors and matching.

Christmas in July

2008-08-10T22:14:00.005-04:00

Gramwa and Grandpa Denton came to visit a couple of weekends ago. The boys were very excited to see them! It was a surprise visit and we waited outside for an hour for them to turn onto the street at 9:30 at night. We completed a lot of home projects and even got some Wii playtime in. Grandma and Grandpa planned on buying a Wii for the boys for Christmas. We decided to try to buy one early since they are so hard to find. Mike and I were able to score one at Target a couple of weeks ago. Our theory was that we had better get it out and play it to make sure it works since there is only a 90 day return policy. We quickly became addicted and have secretly been playing every night after the boys went to bed. After a few days of feeling guilty for having so much fun and playing behind there backs, grandma and grandpa told us to just give the boys their Christmas present early so they can enjoy it. So we thought it would be perfect for them to present it to the boys when they came down this weekend.

Josh's solution

2008-08-08T15:00:00.002-04:00

Here is Josh's solution to situations that do not go in his favor.

Neighborhood Pool

2008-07-26T22:51:00.005-04:00

One of the many cool features about our neghborhood in Houston is that we have access to 6 neighborhood pools within our community. One is within walking distance of our house and the others are probably within a 2 mile radius. We headed up to the boys' favorite, which is the one with a slide. We managed to get a couple of pictures of them going down the slide.

Aunt Missy visits Houston

2008-07-26T22:31:00.007-04:00

Aunt Missy came to visit and the boys could not have been more excited. We started the trip by picking her up from Hobby airport and driving directly to Galveston. The boys had so much fun on the beach. During the week, we shopped and went swimming. We also had fat Wednesday where I skipped the gym, baked muffins for breakfast, went to the outlet mall and had mocha frappachino's from starbucks, free Antie Annes pretzels and then rounded out the day with chocolate molten cakes and ice cream. Missy and I decided that we should have fat Wednesday every time she visits. The boys had so much fun and were sad to see her leave. Come back soon Aunt Missy, we miss you already!

Sister Marie Ellen Moir

2008-07-20T10:01:00.009-04:00

I wanted share some of my favorite photos of visiting Great Aunt Marie over the last few years.

April 5, 2006

October 15, 2007 October 13, 2004

April 5, 2006

I'll never forget the many years Marie would come down to visit us in Texas during the summers, the many card games we would play in the kitchen, the discussions of baseball and her '84 Tigers, and the stories of me as a child visiting her in Michigan. My family especially enjoyed the times we were able to spend in Monroe over the last several years visiting her and will definitly miss her.

Marie Ellen Moir 8.9.20 - 7.19.08

Zoo trip that............

2008-07-20T09:57:00.005-04:00

lasted about 1 1/2 hours. Michael had a genius idea to make a trip to the zoo on Saturday. We have a zoo pass so the boys and I have been several times, but Michael has never had an oppurtunity to go. We thought we had better get there right when it opens before it gets too hot. That was an understatement. Being from Dallas, we forgot to add in the humidity factor when looking at the weather the night before. We did not spend much time at the exhibits and were both drenched by the end of the visit. The boys had a great time as always and despite the humidity we were able to get some good pictures of the boys. I think that we will wait until late fall before attempting another trip.

Chuck E. Cheese - Where a kid can be kid

2008-07-15T23:07:00.005-04:00

For those of you who know Jacob, he is an as seen on tv product fanatic. He can recite all of the infomercials on tv and is always wanting us to buy the products. The most advertised is the aquaglobes and purse organizer. He always tells me that they have four different colors and wants to know which I would like and then even tried to get Grandma Denton to purchase one. Jacob has tried to talk Dad into buying the purse organizer for me and tells me that I really need one. Today the boys were watching cartoons and he ran down the stairs and told me that "If you can just drive us to Chuck E Cheese's today kids can play and moms can relax. Thats what the abertisement says." Too funny! Companies sure do now how to use product placement on kids.

Relaxing Vacation

2008-07-13T22:47:00.026-04:00

Michael decided to take a vacation last week so we headed up to Dallas for a few days and then worked around the house the rest of the week.
We began the vacation with my birthday. We ate homeade ice cream, roasted marshmallows and made s'mores

rode the tractor and bikes,

and played croquet. Then we headed up to the city of Melissa for an evening of fun and fireworks.

The city of Melissa had a big bash before the fireworks. Josh was so excited when we drove up and he saw all of the bounce houses. Grandpa had no choice but to pay the $2 for the bracelet so he could participate in all of the festivities.

The boys saw a helicopter up close,

bounced 'til they couldn't bounce anymore,

had their faces painted,

and had a go at the dunking booth. Josh truly thought that he was going to walk up and throw the ball, hit the bullseye and watch the girl dunk in the water. Well, it didn't go quite the way he had planned. He tried three times and then walked up and pushed the bullseye, maybe next year Josh ;)

We had a fabulous time and Josh made it through about two fireworks and slept through the rest.

Take notice to the halo that suddenly appeared after he fell asleep, Yeah right!! Nice try Grandma Denton.

Mike and I are city kids so we have never gotten to experience doing our own fireworks. We drove up to the local fireworks store and purchased some low key items such as tanks, worms, sparklers and these little cone things. We had so much fun setting them off and the boys wanted more and more.

We attended a roughrider game with G&G Patton and Aunt Missy on Saturday. They had fireworks after the game also, which was really cool.

Jacob loved singing "take me out to the ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch. (which he had practiced the entire drive to the game, lucky mom and dad).

Josh's favorite part, I would have to say, misting himself with water, taking pictures and drinking and eating again. :)

We headed to Mike's parents for a few days where the boys spent much of their time in the pool playing. They had a lot of fun in Dallas and did not want to leave. They were happy once we arrived home and reunited with their playroom. What a great trip and now I guess it is back to the grind.

Happy 4th!!

2008-07-05T09:29:00.002-04:00

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Birthday Jill

2008-07-03T07:53:00.004-04:00

Happy Birthday to you!

Shopping

2008-06-29T15:52:00.003-04:00

If you have been around Josh any amount of time you know that if he has to go shopping, he wants it to be at "Wollmart". During our latest trip there, Josh found a new place to hang out while we shop. Probably not the safest but it is funny.

GO Rangers!!

2008-06-26T14:07:00.014-04:00

Now that we are in Houston, we had an opportunity to go to a Houston Astros game. Mike, of course, picked a day that the Astros were playing the Texas Rangers. The boys were so excited the night before and as usual Joshua kept saying "can we do that now?" They had so much fun.

The highlight of the game for the boys is when the astros hit a homerun there is a train that runs back and forth. Luckily, the train only ran once.

We were able to get Josh in the game free, but the downside to that was that he had to sit on our laps. Unfortunately, he officially still has no attention span.

Josh's favorite part of the game was:

changing hats about fifty times during the game,

eating,

drinking,
eating some more,
and drinking.

Jacob enjoyed clapping with all of the fun music and learning all about baseball. The reason there is not as many pictures of him, is because he was actually watching the game.

I think dad had a really good time sharing his love for baseball with his boys, eventhough they did not cheer for them same team. Oh, and the best part of the game was that the Rangers won. GO RANGERS!!

POTTY TRAINED!!

2008-06-23T11:25:00.005-04:00

We are proud to say that Josh is potty trained! It is such a relief after months of mom and dad trying and Josh's determination that he was not going to no matter what. He is such an independent and complex child. We finally came to the conclusion, the potty department was the one thing that he could control and he did. It was going to be on his timeline and only when he decided. He is even waking up from naps and nightime with dry diapers. Yeah Josh!! We celebrated yesterday with an award ceremony for him. For those of you who know the pain that we have been going through, this is a really big deal!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA

2008-06-23T11:24:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Grandpa Patton!!

I'm Tiger Woods

2008-06-15T21:19:00.005-04:00

Jacob & I just finished watching the final round of the US Open where Tiger Woods birdied the last hole to force a playoff. About 3 minutes later, Jacob began practicing his imitation of Tiger's celebration after his final putt.

My Little Fish

2008-06-03T17:37:00.009-04:00

The boys started swim lessons today. Joshua has the 9:00 slot and Jacob the 9:30. Joshua stole the show, as usual, with his outgoing personality the size of Texas and winning smile. Now if we can only work on his attention span. He spent much of the classs asking the teacher if he could go down the water slide now or he wanted to do what the other class was doing across the pool (which was totally out of his league). Whenever the teacher would ask who wants to go first Josh would excitedly exclaim "me first" and raise his hand before she could even finish her sentence. His swim teacher calls him "her brave little one."

Jacob did really good too. This was his first time for swim lessons, we just never got around to it last year. He was very excited also and always volunteered to go first. He is usually so shy so it was very comforting to see him speak up and be excited. At one point he even yelled across the pool "Hey mom, look at me I can hop on one foot in the pool! Is that great?" Now that is impressive stuff. He is very talented. :)

Meanwhile, mom stood by the edge of the pool and baked. Why didn't anyone tell me that swim lessons are fun for the kids but brutal for the parents? It was really hard to stand by the pool and watch all the kids spashing around in the pool staying cool while all the parents baked and sweat in the hot Houston sun with no shade in sight! What a beat down, but I am glad they are having fun. Oh, the day in the life of a mom.

I don't think that either one will be swimming across the pool anytime soon, but it was definitely a succesful first day.

Josh Sleep Deprived

2008-06-01T22:19:00.005-04:00

Joshua is borderline on still needing to take naps daily. He denifinitely still needs one, but if we are out and about he can go without one. Usually when he misses though, by the end of the day him and I both regret it. I put him down for a nap today but he decided to play instead. Spaghetti night for Joshua didn't last long as you can see.

Since he fell asleep early, we had a rare opportunity to play an age appropriate board game with Jake. We played Monopoly, Jr.. Dad won one and Jake won the second game.

Great-Grandpa the Fashion Icon

2008-05-28T23:52:00.008-04:00

Jacob informed me today that he wanted to move to Ohio so that he could live next to Great Grandpa and walk to his house everyday. When I asked what he loved most about Great Grandpa he responded that he wears really cool clothes. He cracks me up. The boys have such a special bond with Great Grandpa. Although we live far apart the boys talk about him all of the time. The boys talk about him all of the time and always get really excited when they know that he is coming to visit. They have been to fortunate enough to see him at least twice a year through the years and have such a blast. They really make me smile when they are together! Keep up with your great fashion statement Great Grandpa, Jacob thinks you are rock star! They are so fortunate to have you in their life. How lucky am I to know that they aspire to be just like you in so many ways. We all love you!!

In trouble again

2008-05-25T21:37:00.011-04:00

When Mike went into the study this morning this is what he found. A goldfish bag that someone had cut slits in all around the top. I don't even think that I need to take a vote to see who you think is the guilty one.

I quickly brought the boys in for questioning. I lined them up on the couch, showed them the evidence along with the scissors and asked "who did this?" With no remorse or fear and a smile on his face he quickly pointed to himself and responded "me". Apparantly I need to find a better place for my scissors. (For the record we were impressed with the precise spacing between each cut.)

Congratulations to the Graduate!!

2008-05-20T15:35:00.005-04:00

Jacob had his preschool graduation today. It was very informal, but very cute. They introduced each child and gave them a certificate. They had interviewed each child prior to the graduation and asked them what they wanted to be when they grow up and what they are looking forward to in kindergarten. Jacob wants to be a football player when he grows up (I think someone forgot to tell him that football players get beat up and knocked around) and he can't wait to play on the playground in kindergarten.

Happy Mothers Day

2008-05-11T21:59:00.003-04:00

We had a great Mothers Day that included bike riding and dinner at Outback steakhouse (Mom's favorite). Both Mom & Dad got bikes yesterday so the whole fam can ride together. The boys formed teams to race against each other. Mom & Jake are Team Rangers and Dad & Josh are Team Speed Racers. Happy Mothers Day!!

Mothers Day Tea

2008-05-02T21:44:00.006-04:00

Jacob's preschool hosted a Mothers Day Tea on Thursday. Jacob was so excited when Josh and I arrived. He was anxious to bring me to the table of muffins and lemonade. He also could not wait to show me the placemat and present he had made for me (see below). They went all out and all of the mothers had a good time. He made the placemat with the color purple. When I acknowledged the color of the placemat he said "Mom, its your favorite color and I wanted to see you smile." He is always so thoughtful and quite the gentleman!! He is so compasionate and has such a big heart. He is having a preschool graduation on May 20th and onward to kindergarten. I think he is going to be a big hit with the teachers next year!

More Birthday Pictures

2008-04-29T18:26:00.001-04:00

Joshua's 3rd Birthday

2008-04-29T18:17:00.005-04:00

Josh turned 3 on Sunday. We had a Sponge Bob birthday party on Saturday at Grandma & Grandpa Patton's.

Grandpa & Grandma

2008-04-19T12:35:00.003-04:00

Grandpa & Grandma came down to Cypress this week to help watch the boys while Jill was out of town. Their adventures included storytime, McDonalds, and for Josh a trip to Walmart. When Josh was asked what he would like to do while Jacob was at preschool he replied, "Walmart." With the weather in the mid 70's every day the boys also got to ride their bikes every day and evening. Thanks for the help Grandma & Grandpa! I hope you get to rest over the next week.

Secret Admirer

2008-04-02T21:33:00.004-04:00

Jacob has a secret admirer from preschool! Yesterday when he got home from preschool, I went through his backpack and came across a hallmark envelope with stickers on it. When I opened it there was a folded up construction paper. Naturally, I thought that they he had made a card at school for a family member. When I asked him about it, he said that he has never seen it before. When I opened it..... well, see for yourself what it says. He says he has no idea who it is from or how it got in his backpack. He said that he was going to ask his teacher about it. I will keep you posted if it was a mistake or if he truly has a secret admirer.

April Fools

2008-04-01T18:08:00.003-04:00

I think this is a record 3 posts in one day!

I forgt it was April fools until Jacob played a real trick on me.

Jacobs April Fools:

"Mom, lets have a piece of pie"................."April Fools Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha"

"Mom, lets put this toy in the oven and cook it"..............."April Fools Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha"

Joshua April Fools:

"There are grapes in the refrigerator"................April fools "I gotcha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha"

They are pretty tricky.

All grown up

2008-04-01T17:57:00.013-04:00

Today was kindergarten round-up for the Cy-Fair school District in which Jacob will be attending Ault Elementary next year. He was so excited to see his new school and was even more excited when he saw the kids getting out of school to get on the school bus. Jacob will be riding a school bus and can't stop talking about how exciting that will be. I just don't know what mom thinks about it yet. It makes me cry to think about my baby going off to school. What will I do next year without him?

I used to be little, but not anymore.

Tomorrow I'll get up and walk out the door.

I'm going to school--it's the first time for me.

It's great to be big, but I'm scared as can be.

My tummy's in knots. Do you want to know why?

I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, I'll cry.

When Dad leaves the school and I'm there all alone, I'm thinking that maybe I'll want to go home.

But wait--Mommy said I'll play lots of new games, and meet lots of friends

--I can learn all their names.

The first day of school, oh there's so much to do!

There's painting and books and a big playground, too.

I used to be little, but not anymore.

Tomorrow I'll get up and walk out the door.

I'm going to school--it's my first day, you see.

It's great to be big!

I'm so glad that I'm me!

- Unkown Author

Jacob the Gentleman and Fabio Joshua

2008-04-01T17:41:00.009-04:00

Daddy went to Vegas this past weekend with some buddies and Jacob decided he wanted to play a game that they usually play together. The game is called 'The knock down hug'. Jacob told me "Mom, if you play with me I won't do it hard because I know that girls don't like getting all busted up". Thank you Jacob for being so kind! :) And yes, we played and had fun, but I am glad that dad made it home to resume play!

The picture of Josh on his bike. So here is classic Josh riding his bike half dressed.

Hunting Eggs

2008-03-25T00:21:00.006-04:00

Potty Talk Follow Up - Joshua and the Tree

2008-03-19T23:18:00.007-04:00

Ok. A few posts back we were attempting potty training. Well, Josh has had more important ideas like playing and stuff. I have had no luck potty training and have tried every trick in the book. I think that I just have a really strong-willed child and it is going to have to be his idea. Anyway, while we were at the Houston Livestock & Rodeo Festival and decided to take a break, Josh came up to us and told us that he needed to go potty. Next thing you know we look over and Josh had pulled his shorts and diaper completely down and tried to go potty on a tree in public by the picnic tables. Of course Michael ran over to him and told him that it wasn't appropriate, so he foolded his arms pouted and stomped over to the bushes and was very upset for not letting him go potty. I tried to keep a straight face but it was really funny. What am I going to do with him? Does anyone have any good books on potty training the strong-willed child?

Houston Rodeo

2008-03-19T22:57:00.005-04:00

Michael was on vacation last week so we decided to go to the Houston Livestock & Rodeo Show and hang out for the day. Apparently the Rodeo comes to town once a year for 3 weeks and it is a really big deal. Anyway we had a lot of fun and maybe next year we can attend the actual rodeo.

They had an area with games that Ford had sponsored. Josh loved the one where you jumped on the pad and steam came out of the headlights. I think that he would have played there all day if we let him.

The boys favorite was feeding the animals.

The most interesting was the cow milking demonstration and learning how milk is processed from start to finish.

Great Grandpa Denton

2008-03-13T23:27:00.007-05:00

My 82 year old grandpa and his friend Margie are driving from Ohio to California to visit his sister, and made a pit stop in Houston to check out our new house and unpack a few boxes. They decided to escape the snow and we were so glad they came to visit us last weekend and had so much fun with them. We had some really great laughs. Grandpa and Marge were our first overnight guest since we have been married! The boys had been excited all week anticipating their visit. Grandpa even gave them their first card lessons. Thank you Grandpa for coming to visit! You are truly an inspiration and I hope that I can do all the things you are able to at your young age!

Easter Eggstravaganza!

2008-03-06T19:28:00.004-05:00

Notice the only child that is not behind the line and the mother pointing to the line. You should be able to click on the picture to enlarge the photo.
Yes, that is the one and only Joshua Patton. Jill & the boys went to Dallas for an appointment and to see the grandparents for a night. Ironically, today's Dallas Morning News had an article on the Frisco Easter Egg Hunt and this photo of the 2007 egg hunt. In typical Joshua fashion, he wasn't going to line up behind the line.

Our New Home Cypress, TX

2008-02-14T00:21:00.005-05:00

We put a contract on a house in Houston this week. Here is a sneak peak of the house. We are very excited about the house and are anxious to get the move over with. Our new residence will be in Cypress, TX. Details on the home to follow.....

SOLD! and Houston Bound

2008-01-24T19:25:00.000-05:00

SOLD! 4 months, 70 showings and some tough negotiations our house is sold. We have been sitting on pins and needles for the last week and a half wondering if this terrible offer would go through. We are definitely not getting what our house is worth, but in this tough market we did the best we could. The house has been on the market for about 4 months and Michael has been commuting back and forth from Houston for about the same. It has been a rough 4 months and we are ready for it to be over and have some sense of normalcy. It seems as though a huge load has been lifted off my shoulders. The moment that I found out I just sat in my chair and I think that the boys have pretty much emptied the toy box and taken over the house again. We have still not purchased a home in Houston as we were waiting on our equity, the boys and I are going to move in with Grandpa and Grandma Denton.

Jacob's 5th Birthday Party

2008-01-19T09:18:00.000-05:00

Jacob's Birthday party theme was transformers and Grandma KayKay made Jacob his favorite transformer for the birthday cake, BumbleBee. Happy 5th Birthday Jake!

Jacob, Jenna, Jolie, Kenny, Josh, Olivia, Carter, Gabriel, & Hannah