Spring Break

Sunday through Thursday last week we were in Gilmer for Spring Break. The kids had so much fun outside. B thought he was just as big as G and cousin B.

Most of G's time outside was spent chasing this chicken. The poor little guy would just run and run in circles and the kids would just chase after him laughing and screaming. At one point, the chicken rounded the corner, saw G and took off running the other way. I love how G still has her baby while she is in pursuit!

Feeding the other rooster. This guy is much bigger than the one they were chasing and not allowed out of the coop. They did enjoy throwing food at him though.

B was following the bigger kids everywhere he could.

Eating cookie dough spoons on the back porch.

Getting a little brave on the slide.

We ate MacDonald's (or Old McDonald's as G says) at the park. Check out those shades :)

This picture doesn't really show it but B really does like to swing.

B was loving the slide. He did it over and over. It didn't take him long to figure out how to make himself go down.

Climbing on the little tractor.

He was pretty good at sitting the trike. He couldn't make it go but he did enjoy getting in front of it and pushing it with the handle bars.

Riding the big tractor with Dad.

Cousin B seemed to notice that B was a little boy this trip and not just a baby. He wanted to play with him and hold his hand. He would say, "Come on B. Come on."

FREE!

Yep FREE! And it wasn't even on sale. I guess these buddy bars from Johnson and Johnson are always 0.97 at Wal-Mart or Target and periodically there are coupons from Johnson and Johnson for $1 off 1, $2 off 2 or $3 off 3 Buddy products. That means that every time you get your free bar you also get an overage of 0.03. We had not tried these bars of soap before. They seem to be great for Grace though. The actual soap in is a little mesh sack so she can't actually break up the soap when she washes her hands. It is also supposed to last longer than a regular bar of soap and not slip out of little hands as easy because of the mesh. But even if it doesn't last longer I got 10 bars for free so it really doesn't matter :)

Diaper Deal!

I spent $25.76 and I got 6 packages of diapers - that is 160 diapers and 4 packages of wipe refills - that is 736 wipes. If you buy diapers and wipes you know that is a STEAL! Yay for coupons and sales!!

Camping and Sam Houston

On Friday we went camping at Huntsville State Park. We only stayed one night. It was kind of a trial run to see if we would be able to do longer camping trips in the future. We definitely learned a lot!

Warning: Lots of pictures!!

G helping T blow on the fire to get it going.

Roasting hot dogs. G lasted all of about 2 minutes roasting her hot dog before she was done. We also had marshmallows but G didn't want to roast them. She just liked them raw. :)

She did enjoy eating it though :)

B even enjoyed a hot dog. We have yet to find a food B does not enjoy :)

B was a little unsure of the ground and did not appreciate falling and getting leaves all over him so he spent most of the evening in his pack and play. We had to keep reminding G that even though we were outside she didn't need to be screaming.

One lesson learned: Remember to get your stove or bring a dutch oven. We had planned pancakes and eggs for breakfast but our makeshift pan did not work for the pancakes. The eggs turned out pretty good though. They would have been even better if we had remembered to bring salt.

B did lots better walking in the daytime. When he did fall down he didn't want to touch the ground to stand back up. He would just reach his arms up for someone to help him. Which is kinda weird because when he was sitting on the ground he would eat whatever he could find: leaves, sticks, dirt, sweet gum balls etc.

Just relaxing while we packed everything up.

G checking out Lake Raven which I might add is very appropriately named. At about 7 am a very loud raven perched itself right next to our tent and woke everyone up. G and B both did very well. B woke up at 5 to eat and then went back to sleep. G didn't wake up until the bird came to visit. When she did wake up she said, "It's not dark. Time to get up. I need my clothes." The kids definitely got better sleep than we did. We were in a 4-person tent with a full size air mattress and B's pack and play. We also forgot G's pillow but she didn't seem to mind. Our air mattress apparently has a hole in it because by the time we got up there was no air left. Hopefully next time we go we will have a bigger tent and a working air mattress.

We went on a little nature hike. B fell asleep in the car ride over and slept through the entire (.2 mile) hike. We opted for the smallest hike just to see how G would do. Next time I think we will do a longer one.

Sam Houston. This statue is right next to the state park so we stopped by on the way home to have lunch and check him out. He is HUGE!

It was a little windy but G and B had lots of fun running around in front of the statue.

Walking with Dad to see Sam's face.

After we ate, we went to see Sam's face. Also HUGE! G liked his nose.

B wasn't really interested in holding still so this is the best I could do. Also, you can see G's baby went camping with us. She needs a bath!!

B trying to escape.

T was bringing the car around and G found this swing. She really liked it. We had a fun camping trip. We definitely have a list of things not to forget for next time though :)

Just Cute Kids..

Watching the bus out the window and waiting for Dad. Almost everyday these 2 wave at Dad out the window. B can barely see out but you can definitely tell when he sees his Dad! He gets very excited :)

I finally got a good picture of B's "crinkle nose" smile.

(Stay tuned for pictures of our camping trip.)

Such a Girl!

So this morning G was brushing her hair with a doll hairbrush and looking in a doll mirror all while singing. She said she was singing a Cinderella song but I couldn't really understand her. She makes me smile!

Reading with Dad

These kids LOVE books! G loves to read them and have them read to her. B mostly loves to eat them but every once in a while he will slow down long enough to listen to a short one.

Houston Arboretum & Nature Center

On Tuesday we went with some friends to the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center. It was a beautiful day! It was a little more of a forest than we expected. We were expecting some beautiful flowers and gardens. We actually ended up going to the wrong arboretum. Who knew there was more than 1 arboretum in Houston. Hopefully we will be able to go to the Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens soon. It was still a lot of fun and good exercise. We saw a lot of huge trees down which we assume are a result of Hurricane Ike. On the way to the arboretum, G spotted her juice cup in the diaper and wanted to drink it. I told her she could have it when we got to the "trees". She looked out the window and said, "Mom, I see the trees. I need my juice!" What a little smarty! She still had to wait until we got there :)

The kids checking out a caterpillar. I think he decided to play dead because he kinda fell over on his side while they were all looking at him and then when they left he started moving again.

Playing in the sand box. Who knew sticks and sand could be so entertaining.

G Balancing on the ropes. She did pretty good. I had to help her with her balance a little and she would only go about half way but then she would want to start all over again. These ropes were very popular with the kids. There seemed to always be a line.

T counting how old this trees was. I think the final count was 60 something.

Checking out one of the fallen trees. See how big the roots are? G wasn't all that impressed. I think it made her a little nervous.

Looking at the pond. There were lots of lily pads but we didn't see any turtles, frogs or fish.

Our beautiful G. She is growing up so fast! This picture shows how long her hair is getting.

This was pretty much how B stayed the whole time, in his stroller with cheerios. He does love to be outside. We kept moving enough that he was happy to stay in the stroller.

A little Daddy

B was playing so good by himself yesterday afternoon. I couldn't help but take a picture of him cooking and playing with G's baby. At one point he was stirring something. He is going to be such a good Daddy. Shortly after the picture he walked over to me with the baby and said "ba-ba" and then gave her kisses. What a cute little guy we have :)