and our trip continued...

So, after our baby boy had his horrible accident...we considered packing up and heading home, but since we had just arrived that day and the doctor said he'd be fine...we decided to stay and we're sure glad that we did! This slide was SO cool...Jacob wasn't too crazy about it since you can see him here, MID AIR! And yes I think I did the slide at least 15 times! SO FUN! We were all like a bunch of kiddos!

our poor baby and his bandaged hands :-(

Jacob caught his first fish...and many more after that! This fully stocked pond was perfect for the boys to build their confidence and get some good practice, fishing!

and although we saw plenty of alligators, I never snapped good pictures of them because I was SO paranoid about the boys getting too close, that I wouldn't take my eyes off of them to grab the camera! Ha! Whoops!

And I'd like to say that the rest of the trip was easy going and perfect but we had ANOTHER incident! Tarah and I decided to drive around to look at the privately owned houses at Artesian Lakes while the big boys and Daddy's were fishing! So, we loaded up the little ones and drove around. We were about 20 minutes into our drive and she decided to turn around, because we had gone too far. All of a sudden, she tried to reverse and her Yukon wouldn't move...AT ALL. She was flooring the gas and...NOTHING! Her and I flipped out because we were out in the alligator-infested woods, with pine trees all around and the sun was setting. I started having flashing of the worst horror films and almost cried! I didn't have my cell phone, but thankfully she did! Not knowing what to do, I started digging the sand from under her tires...and it worked! She was able to go forward and we thought we were good! THEN, she got stuck again...now even further in the woods :-(. We got a hold of our husband's and they drove to where we were(thank goodness, they found us!!!), my husband has a Z71 4x4 truck, so he thought with one easy pull, we'd get the car out. NOPE. It snapped the tow strap in half and the car didn't move. Long story, shortened...my husband's truck got stuck too, both the Yukon and our truck had to be pulled out by a freaking, tractor! Thankfully, we were all ok and the trip ended happily...but I'm not sure our families should visit Artesian Lakes ANY TIME soon!!!

a scary start to our vacation...

Our vacation was suppose to be relaxing and fun, but that's not quite how it started...We arrived at Artesian Lakes, unpacked and since it was around dinner time we started to prepare dinner. All of a sudden, we heard screaming and saw that my baby, Justin had fallen into the bbq pit. OH YES, we were freaking out. He was hysterical and would not stop crying. I was running his little hand under cold water but he just kept screaming. As time went on and I was trying to figure out what to do next, we started to see other marks...then I flipped out. There were burn marks on his ear, finger, BOTH hands and little marks on his face. We decided we'd take him to the closest ER because he wouldn't stop crying and now we were all VERY nervous. So, they admitted us and look at that ankle bracelet.... and the diagnosis....second degree burns on one hand, first degree on the other. The other burns were very minor and are already looking MUCH better. :-(

In these pictures you can tell the pain meds had already kicked in and my little, brave boy did SO good. He was so brave and I was the one who was a wreck. My poor baby boy. The doctor says NONE of the burns should leave scars if we keep the medicine on there and take real good care of them but this was a TOO scary start to our vacation.

And believe it or not, there was MORE drama so there's more to come....

some time in Galveston

Last week on Daddy's day off, we all headed to Galveston to eat on the seawall and enjoy being on the water! The boys were perfect and it was actually very relaxing! Especially with the water right across from us :) The next day, we drove back to Galveston's West End to visit with my cousins that had rented a beach house for the weekend! SO MUCH FUN. As you can see, we had a great day swimming and enjoying time with family!!

Mommy and her boys :) They LOVE the water..such happy, little guys when they're swimming!

SO different!

It's so much fun to watch these boys as they grow and find their personalities. People ALWAYS tell us that Justin looks like Brandon and Jacob looks like me. If that's true, their personalities are COMPLETE opposite!

Justin is a Momma's boy, for sure! He loves to cuddle and tell me how much he loves me throughout the day when we're at home! He's starting to defend his toys when it comes to his big brother snatching them away and he's rather bossy! Ha! We hit a landmark last week of NO MORE BINKY. I think I've taken it harder than he has. We told him that the binky had to go bye-bye to another baby and he was fine with that! Mommy was a little sad because that binky made him still feel like my "baby"...but I must face the fact that he's growing up!

When you see Daddy's baby pictures, they look EXACTLY like Justin. Precious.

And my little crazy man, Jake! He's ALL boy. Loves to be rough and tough but is super SHY until he gets to know you. Loves playing outside and loves to tease his baby brother! He's grown up SO much this past year. He gets himself dressed, packs his bag for the night away at the grandparents. This past month, he stayed his first night away with his best buddy, Luke! I didn't think I'd take it so hard, but I kept thinking he'd miss his Momma and wanna come home, but NOPE! He was perfectly happy with them! Ha! He takes care of me when Daddy is at work and has become my little helper. He helps me with chores and likes to bring in the trash cans with Daddy. Can't believe he'll be in kindergarten in one, short year :(

Although my boys are SO different...we love them both SO much. Couldn't imagine life without them and they totally make life fun! They make us smile and laugh all of the time...except when they're fighting! A house full of boys can have its challenges, but I wouldn't want it any other way. Life can get in the way and I find myself worried about laundry, cooking, cleaning and then I snap out of it and realize that life is precious and if I'm not careful, those little moments can and will pass me by. I am so fortunate to be at home with these boys, spending time with them each and every day and sometimes I need a reminder of how blessed I truly am.

Boys RULE!

Yesterday, Luke and Hudson were able to come over and our backyard was taken over by these four boys!!! Acting SO sweet and innocent...

My little, crazy man!

Look at those MUSCLES!!!!

...and look at that sweet face! That's the face he makes when he's just done something terrible?!

loading up the water gun and off to tortue baby brother :(

SO MUCH FUN!!

In this 100+ heat, we have to find ways to stay cool and this was definitely one of them!

The boys had a great time being silly and hopefully we have a few more backyard, slide days before school starts!!

Memories!!!

I don't know about any of you, but I was OBSESSED with New Kids On The Block as a kid! OBSESSED! Posters, t-shirts, BUTTONS(tell me I'm not the only one who collected these?!), concerts, member of their fan club(I think I had to pay for this, sad but true!), VHS taped concerts, and sadly...much, much more! The other day we were looking through old pictures with the boys, showing them Mommy and Daddy growing up and we stumbled across this one and it's TOOOO hilarious not to share with all of you... If we're not their biggest fans, I'm not sure who is! Seriously, I have buttons down my leg!! LOL! This would be my cousin, Angie and I at the hotel where NKOTB was staying! Yep, you can pretty much say we THOUGHT we were the coolest people on the planet that day :)

TBall...looking back!

Here's Season 4, TBall picture! I think it turned out pretty darn cute :) They handed them out tonight after their last game!!! I was happy because we have professional pictures from Season 1 and 4, the first and last! Yes, I already framed it! I'm a proud Momma!

Hard to believe that tonight was Jacob's last night of TBall.

After FOUR seasons, he's improved SO much! Let's break it down, shall we?

Season 1: lots of digging in the dirt, sitting in the dugout and dragging his bat all over the field. Clearly, could care less about baseball but we were there every game, cheering him on!
He was SO proud of that first trophy! He said "we get trophies all the time for playing games in the dirt?"

Season 2: more digging in the dirt, but this time...he would look up occasionally and attempt fielding! He's starting to LOVE batting and running the bases! WOOHOO!! Here's trophy #2!

Season 3: Loves to bat and run bases! Getting a little more aggressive when it comes to playing ball and starting to really like his teammates! He loves practicing at home and hits the ball over the fence every time! He caught his first fly ball this season AND hit the ball into the outfield! Go Jacob!

Season 4: Now he's got the hang of the game! Loves hitting, sliding, running, and thinks practice is more fun than the games! He asks to practice at home. He thinks he's so cool when the ball goes flying over our fence! He's hitting the ball WITHOUT the tee and loving every minute of it. He's still not a fan of fielding...says its boring! I can't say I don't agree...I always loved hitting! Plus, at their age fielding isn't the most exciting when each batter has to take a few swings but that's ok because we're taking fall off and then it's Little League time!!!!

I can really see how much he's grown up in this past year as I'm creating this post! This summer season makes a full year of TBall, playing for the Tigers with most of his original teammates! Pretty cool! I was at almost every game, wearing my "Baseball Mom" shirts and cheering him on! Our parents tried to come as much as possible throughout the seasons to see him play. He displays his trophies in his room and looks at them every day!

Sadly, I had to miss his final game tonight because baby brother is sick and wanting his Momma!

Jacob,

We are SO proud of you and all that you've accomplished in one, short year! Here's to many more baseball seasons and hopefully you'll enjoy this sport as much as Daddy and I do!

We love you so much and for one, last time...

GOOOOO TIGERS!!!