Beck turns 3!

In order to celebrate Beck's 3rd Birthday we took a morning and visited LegoDiscovery Land in Grapevine. I had heard mixed reviews but after going I will share that all the kids and I LOVED it! We showed up at 10am when they opened (we had bought tickets online at a discount, under 3 was free, so for J, Ky and I it was less than $50). It didn't start getting crowded till 12:00 and we left by 12:45. Beck was tall enough to do everything except one ride, which was driving one of the little cars. This of course CRUSHED him, but he enjoyed everything else! Here are a couple pics!

Waiting for the lego tour, playing with the walls toys and pit...

Checking out the cement mixer made entirely of legos!

Playing in the lego pit!

Riding the lego giraffe

Newie building with the blocks

Ky ready to ride one of the rides.

I think the fave. part for all the kids was the karaoke machine. You could hear beck yelling into it from the other part of the building. It was great!

Ky's turn

Beck even let Newie in on some of the singsong action!

Checking out the miniature town. Beck got a little frustrated here that he couldn't actually play with all the scenes...

Very cool....

All made of legos

Driving around the city track.

Building on the "shaking blocks" He thought it was pretty cool when the tower would fall.

Motorcycle time!

He was super excited to get a new John Deer from Memaw and Papap!

Very happy about his new spiderman house.

Nothing says BIG boy like a REAL BIKE!

Happy 3rd birthday to my wild child. Thanks for allowing me to be a part of your wonderful journey through life! I LOVE YOU 26!

 These are the treats I made for Beck to take to preschool. The cape read, "sometimes being 3 is even better than being a superhero!" =)

The Dawson's Visit

Having our extended family, a.k.a. The Dawson Clan, in town is a guaranteed good time! And this trip was no exception! Luckily since we moved we had the space to let the kids play without feeling too cramped. All 5 kids did a great job throughout the week sharing toys and playing somewhat nice with each other. We did have a couple melt downs here and there, but even Beck behaved himself for the most part =) I think he found his future girlfriend too. He was pretty obsessed with Julia and would often times lead her places, putting his palm on her back. One time I even overheard him saying, "Over here pretty girl." Clearly he was picking up on my convos with Julia =) But it was HILARIOUS! The temp would go from beautiful one day to rainy and chilly the next, but luckily we were able to get out enough so as not to feel stir crazy. Here are a couple pics from our time together...

Exploring the wooded area between Ky's school and the park. They were digging with sticks looking for dino bones (rocks)

Joey went running with all the big kids and Newie decided to meet them half way on their way back. I think Julia was chilling in the wagon =)

Snack time

Newie was super excited to decorate a pumpkin. He got a hold of the stamp pad and wouldn't let go to save his life! Needless to say, this day ended with a bath!

Jordan was very focused painting his entire pumpkin green!

Our workstation....

 All 5 of the kiddos enjoying an easy minute on the couch...

The final pumpkins...

Joey playing with Beck and Jordan. These two were so funny with their competitive natures combined...lots of testosterone flowing already =)

Sand box fun...

Terrible cheese face by Newie here...

The best group shot we could get. I laugh out loud every time I see this...

Noodle doing his thang, whatever that may be...

Beck was pretty protective of his firetruck anytime we played outside. Here he is being "firefighter Beck"

Jordan and Ky playing some tackle soccer. This boy loves to run and chase...no, a destination or goal doesn't need to exist...just let me RUN!

And although my kids taught theirs more negative habbits than the other way around...not sure I'll ever forget Newie picking up on Julia's random spitting noises, a "gift" newie still blesses us with on a daily basis. Thanks for that one Jess! Love you!

Fall is Here...

I can't believe it is already October! We've been so busy with soccer, girl scouts, house projects (ok, really its the same project that will never end..and no, the bathroom still isn't done yet) that I feel like I'm going to blink and it will be Christmas time! This past week we met our extended family, Steph, Kenz, and Ash at a nearby park and let all the kiddos play after school. The weather was great and the company was even better! I'm DETERMINED to get this amazing family to move into the house next door which went up for sale this week! It is Ky and Kenz's DREAM to be able to pass a basket with notes and pictures between bedroom windows. Steph, are you really going to deny these two cuties their most favorite WISH????? How can you say no to them?

Silly face

Climbing trees, our little monkeys!

cool guy playing with brother's glasses..if only I could get him to keep a pair on!

Sweet girl walking to school last week. She looked so stinkin' cute in her new outfit nana got her, i had to snap a pic.

Kylie and her two new bff's Katie and Angela after their girl scout meeting this week. These twins live just down the street from us and Katie is in Ky's first grade class. They are both such sweet little girls and I feel so fortunate to have met them!

Uncle Gary and Christina came into town last weekend and Kylie was Super excited to take a couple pictures with them before they left for the airport. We always love when these two come to stay with us!

And just in case we needed a reminder of when Uncle Gary first met Kylie, here it is...its been almost 7 years =)

School Stuff...

In classic Kylie fashion, she came home as Knight of the Week on the second week of school. Her friend Katie was chosen the first week, which Kylie said "made her being chosen second ok" =). I'm always amazed at this girls GOODNESS! I am so proud of her ability to respect, listen, and act in a way that's appreciated. I wish I could take some credit, but really, she was born that good. It's my job to not screw that up....tough order if you know me =)

 Beck started preschool 2 days a week this fall and so far he's loving it. Couldn't have cared less when I dropped him off the first day. he said, "alright bye" and turned around to go play. Clearly, he was ready for a new adventure.

Just a quick random shot of Newie. I love this picture because it seems like such a private moment you're witnessing.

My big man has been all about dad the last couple months. It doesn't matter if dad is using the wet saw outside of cooking dinner inside, beck is always right next to him. his teacher always comments that he's a great helper in class.

We're about halfway through our insect/bug lessons...i'm less than thrilled with my planning on this one. Some of the activities have been fun, many were just so ambitious in nature i never actually tried tackling them. The idea of wrapping a kid in toilet paper to teach the concept of a cocoon sounds fun....it also sound messy, and wasteful and when push came to shove, I chickened out....

But in all seriousness, I oftentimes get frustrated with trying to teach Beck. He seems so uninterested and unreceptive. He's certainly not my little kylie. Ky was super smart, super quick, and LOVED learning. Plus, she's a girl, putting her one step ahead of males everywhere when it comes to readiness to do anything.

However, just the other day I sat and watched beck put together an Alphabet puzzle. I was amazed when he knew a good half of the letters. Now, if I asked him myself, he wouldn't answer...or answer with some random letter without even glancing at what i was pointing at. so maybe my teaching isn't a lost cause after all....

Ky in her new Firecrackers uniform. She's fitting in so well with her new team and actually scored her first goal as a firecracker in their second game of the season!