Pulling Weeds...

Since we have a little garden, we have weeds now. It was a beautiful afternoon and evening so as soon as we finished dinner, Chandler & I headed outside. Chandler LOVES to be outside! I was trying to show her how to pull weeds.

She quickly lost interest & headed off to play with the dogs. Cheney said that his tummy hurt & he couldn't come outside....I think he really wanted to stay inside & watch cartoons!! Silly boy...he missed some fun!!

CRAZY DOGS!!!!

Lucy thinks she is as big as Shelby...

Cutie

Most of you know that I LOVE fresh pineapple!! I think my favorite part about Summer is all the fruit that is so good & I have passed this idea on to Chandler. On any given day, you can find her eating strawberries right out of MeMe's flower beds. Tonight after dinner, Daddy was slicing a pineapple that I bought this weekend. Chandler already had her shirt off because she was eating cherry tomatoes--her Daddy passed this love on to her!! She saw that fruit & couldn't wait to get her hands on it. She ate tons & enjoyed having pineapple juice dripping down her arms & belly!! I just couldn't resist the picture!!

Enjoy!!

Saturday Afternoon

The kids & I had no plans Saturday afternoon so we headed over to MeMe & Pop's pool. We were hot after the game. Of course, we had to bring Lucy a long. The water was too cold for me, but I thought they looked cute hanging out on the steps.

We are ready for SUMMER!!!!! 5 more weeks of school! YEA!!

More T-Ball

You might be getting tired of seeing T-Ball & I am sorry, but we are still having fun playing. This week, Cheney got to play pitcher. He has been waiting for this all season. He did a great job!!

Here is another video of Cheney batting, but you get a whole new perspective because he is facing me. He concentrates really hard!! It is so cute!! The boys are hitting so much better now & the ball goes to the outfield more & more. Cheney was very excited because this week he got a double, but I wasn't filming then!!

The best part of the game was that Cheney's teacher, Mrs. Helms, came to watch him play. I thought it was so special that she took time out of her busy weekend to come see him--she has two granddaughters of her own & she spends time with them like MeMe spends time with Cheney & Chandler!! Cheney tells Mrs. Helms that he is READY for 1st grade, but Mrs. Helms cries when she thinks about it--so does Mommy! I can't believe my little boy is growing so fast!!



Funny story (Uncle Jeff, you will apprciate this!)

Cheney and I were laying in bed Saturday morning before we had to get up to get to his game. He was telling me how he was ready to be 7 and ready for 1st grade. I was telling him that I didn't want him to grow up and he was assuring me that it would be okay. He was getting up to go brush his teeth and leaned over to kiss me.

This was our conversation:

Mommy: Cheney, will it ever embarrass you to kiss your Mommy?

Cheney: No, you can always kiss me.

Mommy: Even at school?

Cheney: Even at school.

Mommy: Even when you are on the football field or basketball court in your uniform?

Cheney: Mom, if you kiss me when I am trying to play sports, I will be so embarrassed. You are NOT allowed on the field or court....EVER!!!

For some reason, I think these were the same rules that Uncle Jeff gave MeMe!!

Haircuts

Rocket & Toby really needed a haircut!! Can you tell??

So, MeMe hired two of her students who also have raised animals like sheep to come over and shear the Alpacas. Neither Brad or Jared had ever been around an Alpaca and I think they were pretty nervous!! They brought their friend, Dylan, with them.

Daddy & Cheney were there for extra help, but they ended up watching most of the action!

Dylan is holding Rocket & Brad is cutting....look at all of Toby's hair on the ground!!

It took all 3 to get Rocket cut!! You can barely see Rocket--he is mixed in with the pile of hair!!!

Rocket must have not been very agreeable to getting his hair cut!

Thanks Brad, Jared, & Dylan!! We appreciate your help!!

We have corn!

About 2 weeks ago, we planted some corn seed. This week, the plants made their appearance. Cheney was pumped!! He can't wait to eat corn that he grew!! I sure hope it turns out that way...we will see.

One extremely proud farmer and one little girl who LOVES her brother and wants to copy everything he does!!

Responsibilities

I know there will come a time when Cheney will not want to help do things around the house. Right now, however, he is eager to learn new things & be a helper. On Tuesday, his counselor, Mrs. Colvin (her husband delivered Cheney & I taught two of her children!!) came to visit his classroom. Apparently, she goes to each class regularly. On this day, her lesson was about "reponsibility." Cheney came home & told me that "Mrs. Colvin taught us about responsiblity. Can we eat dinner at home, have lots of dirty dishes, and then let me wash them? That would be showing responsibility." I couldn't help but just hug him!! He WANTS to wash the dishes...YIPEE!! And he WANTS to eat at home!! Since when do 6 year olds WANT to eat at home???? I hope this eagerness continues...I will let you know in a few years or maybe even months... I am sure it won't last!

Hard at work...

Washing dishes is so much fun!

I emailed Mrs. Colvin & attached the pictures. I know as teachers we don't always see the fruits of our labor. She quickly responded that I made her day & brought tears to her eyes. She also said that Cheney is such a sweet, well-mannered boy!! Does she know the same Cheney I know?? Just kidding...he is sweet & well-mannered...except when he is fighting with his little sister!!

A Girl & Her Shoes...

Every one says that Chandler looks like her Mommy like Cheney looks like his Daddy. Chandler has her own determined personality, but she is like her Mommy in one distinct way: SHE LOVES SHOES!! I bought her some new $5 shoes @ Wal-Mart this weekend & there hasn't been much time that they haven't been on her feet since. She is even sleeping in them!! Last night, she woke up around 1:30 am. She was crying because her PJs were wet & she needed to change. I took her shoes off, changed her diaper, & put on dry PJs. However, I didn't put her shoes back on. I took her upstairs & she went right back to her crib--BUT she was not going to sleep!!!!! She didn't have her beloved pink shoes....she refused to lay down until I went & got them. I did & she immediately fell asleep....after they were on. Tonight, she is asleep with her shoes on...

I am glad that they are cute pink shoes...they could be red cowboy boots!!!!

Game Day

This morning, we had the early game again. I like 9 o'clock games because they don't take up your whole day, but it sure is early for a Saturday! It was a little chilly but the sun was shining bright. They always start the day with the National Anthem and the Little League pledge.

You can tell how bright the sun was...no one could look at the flag!

Cheney requested that I film his turn "at bat" today. Make sure you watch in order...he does a great job. Even the coaches from the other team were impressed with how well our boys played. One of them complimented Billy on how well "that boy did at catcher." Guess who was catcher?? You are right....Cheney. Daddy was really proud

MiniMats Parade!

This week, Chandler's school is celebrating Week Of The Young Child. They have had special events every day this week. One day, they played in the water and another day they released balloons. Today was the Parade and Picnic. Each family had to make a float for the child to pull or ride in. Since there were no guarantees that Mommy or Daddy could make it there, Chandler's float had to be easy for her to pull.

I came up with the idea, Daddy made the surf board, and some of the assistants in Daddy's office made it SPECTACULAR!!

Thanks Jamie, Jamie, and Sam!! You guys are awesome!!

Luckily, Daddy was able to make it to the Parade and got some pictures.

Daddy, you are the best!!

Here are the floats all lined up and ready for the Parade through SISD Central Office.

Surfer Girl! She is wearing the dress that Grandma brought her from Hawaii. Chandler has started wanting to lay around and not get dressed in the morning, but when I showed her this dress, she took her own PJ's off!

Pulling her float!

Thanks Daddy for coming to my Parade!

MiniMats Carnival!!

This evening, Chandler's school had a carnival to raise money for some new playground equipment. It was supposed to be outside, but it was REALLY windy so they moved it indoors. Both kids had a great time!!

Digging for worms-REAL ONES!! At one time, Cheney was entertaining about 3 little girls with his worms that he found!! GROSS!!

Having fun!

Hoop Shoot!!

Ring Toss!!

Chandler is playing a game with her friend, Ella. Billy went to High School with both of Ella's parents. It sure is fun to live in a small town where you can see your friends everywhere you go!

Chandler loves art!

Can you guess whose eye?

Ok, so there are two pics with the H-E-Buddy. Let me explain--both kids would NOT look at the camera at the SAME time!!

Chandler is doing bubble painting with her teacher, Mrs. Ann. It is really cool--they put food coloring in bubbles and then blow bubbles on the paper. When the bubbles pop, they leave a mark. It is very abstract but very cool!

They had a FANTASTIC artist there to do face-painting. Both kids wanted their arms painted though--Cheney said "WOW! She is really talented!"

We were all LUAUed out-but you can tell we had a wonderful time!!

However, Chandler wasn't ready to go home. She had to get on the moon bounce one more time with her friend, Keegan. I am so glad that she gets along with her classmates so well!! She LOVES going to school each day!!

Cheney's Garden

We have always wanted to have a small garden. Homegrown tomatoes taste so good!! Because we have so many trees, it really hasn't been possible. Last Spring, a bad storm twisted up one of our trees and we had to cut it down. I have been trying to figure out what to do with that area. I finally convinced Billy that we needed a garden, so he constructed a raised area, had dirt delivered, and today the plants were planted. Last night at Home Depot, Cheney was insisting on buying potato plants! I finally convinced him to grow tomatoes, strawberries, watermelon and peppers. He threw in a package of sweet corn seeds for good measure. Today was planting day!! Stay tuned to see our garden grow...hopefully we can keep the squirrels away from the tomatoes!!!

The Blog Gets Hijacked!

This blog was created by Cheney and Billy - not Mommy!!!

The Boys went to the Drag Races Saturday Night!!!

Cheney and Daddy have been wanting to go to the San Antonio Raceway for a long time and since Mommy was stuck in the closet we made our getaway! With ear protection, jackets, and cameras in hand we made the short trek down Interstate 10 to the 1/4 mile raceway.

When we arrived, the parking lot was filling up fast so we made our way to the Grandstands, right after stopping at the pizza tent for pizza, lemonade, and sweet tea? Not the normal Drag race food of turkey legs and adult beverages, but ours was much better.

Two of the cars doing their burnouts. These cars were loud but not loud enough for the ear muffs.

Two other cars taking off. The car in the far lane ended up being Cheney's favorite of the night, besides the "flame thrower cars".

Cheney enjoying his $5 lemonade. Yummy!

After watching some races and one of the cars "blowing up" as Cheney says (driver was ok, just the engine blew up), we decided to go over to Pit Row to check out some of the cars up close and personal.

This was one of the coolest cars there. It had an amazing paint job of an alligator. As we were checking it out, one of the crew leaders came over and talked to us and told Cheney to crawl inside it so I could take his picture. Everyone we talked to and met was so friendly. We could have just hung out with them all night.

The Raceway also had a small midway set up along side pit road and we of course HAD to slide down the slide a few times.

THEN CAME THE LOUD "TOP FUEL DRAGSTERS". THESE CARS LITERALLY SHOOK THE GROUND AND STANDS AND YOU COULD FEEL YOUR WHOLE BODY SHAKING WHEN THEY WENT DOWN THE TRACK!

When it got dark, the light show the cars put on when the flames would shoot out of the exhaust was amazing. Sorry about the blurry picture but when the cars are going 250 mph, it's hard to capture them properly. I think you get the idea though.

This is the "Wheelie Bus". It did a wheelie ALL the way down the 1/4 mile track. This thing got the loudest cheer of the night.

Just a cool car we saw by the pits when we were leaving. It's a cool "rat rod".

Let me explain: As we were leaving, the "triple jet engine semi truck" came up to make a pass down the track. By the time it got to the starting line Cheney and I were almost directly behind it. This thing started its afterburners and warming up and the next thing I know is that we were COVERED in smoke and exhaust that we couldn't even see 3 feet in front of us. I gave Cheney his jacket to cover his face and eyes from the smoke. This lasted for about 3 minutes. IT WAS AWESOME. hahaha

Thanks for letting us Hijack your blog Mommy (and for letting us have a boys night out). We love you!!!