Zilker Botanical Garden with Just the Guys

Kyle had to prepare for a presentation on Sunday so to get the bash brothers out of his hair I took them to the Botanical Garden at Zilker Park. We didn't even know this place existed until Audrey, Holly's mom, told us she thought the boys would love it and they sooo did! It just goes on and on, I don't even think we saw half of it. But what we did see was so cool! Of course, it's been so rainy and doesn't show signs of stopping anytime soon so the while the boys were glad just to be out of the house, I think the cloudy weather was still affecting their moods. Jack kept telling me, "Yook Mom, I'm not gonna be in any of your pictures and that's the end of the story." So I was so upset that we were there with all these awesome picture opportunities and I wasn't going to get any of Jack. But then Jack got bit by an ant and needed some consoling and miraculously after that, he had a change of heart about being photographed. Of course by that time Scott was no longer in the picture mood, you can't win 'em all. But we had a lot of fun regardless of the camera issues and the cloudy weather. There are a few pics of close ups of the backs of the boys' heads because they found a caterpillar which is hard to see in the pics but its there. I had to take pictures of it because they messed with it for soooo long that I got bored just sitting there listening to them squeal over it, haha! We had a great time though and Kyle was fully prepared for his big presentation by the time we got back so it was a very successful afternoon!
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The Weekenders

We started off this past weekend with oil changes and car washes and the boys had so much fun! The car wash was obviously the best part for them, they were soaking wet in mere seconds. Scott is a little obsessed these days with cleaning, he will search the house for rags with which to wipe down any and all surfaces he can reach around the house all day long. So washing the cars was a real treat for Scott! And Jack got to man the hose the whole time which of course our little control freak had a blast with! Its days like these when you really appreciate having the little guys around, a Saturday full of auto maintenance which would have otherwise been pretty humdrum, was made into an exciting and hilarious event thanks to our two little helpers.

After car washing, the boys needed a little washing themselves. After his bath, Scott wanted to brush his teeth. Scott may be a bit of a clean freak, he's really into hygiene and cleanliness in general. Below, Scott and Jack are both faking time outs. Real funny, guys.

Ready to go grocery shopping! What a Saturday, huh? But you know, it just doesn't take much to keep these guys entertained, they're pretty happy tagging along on errands and chores.

Happy 26th Birthday, Kyle!

Kyle's 26th Birthday was on Thursday and it was quite a day! Of course Kyle was at work all day and I had 5 kids here on Thursday so the kids helped me with the birthday preparations. Holly and Jack made some Reeses Peanut Butter Cups Brownies and the little guys helped me wrap pressents and it was so much fun! I got some shots of Holly and Jack making brownies but not any of the gift wrap experience but both were equally hilarious. And by the time Kyle got home, we were all ready for him and as far as we could tell, he had a great birthday! It really doesn't require a whole lot to create a decent birthday for Kyle, some new shirts and pants, some beer and pretzels and two wild and crazy boys to celebrate with and he's a happy camper. Oh but I should probably explain the fact that the birthday card Nonna and Grandpa Mike sent was the biggest hit of all the gifts and cards, as the pictures will show. I never heard the verdict but Kyle seems to recall getting a similar card when he was a kid and was curious if this was the same one he had gotten years ago, it's definitely a classic. We could hardly get Jack to let go of it all night!

OH! And Mom, you'll be happy to know that the bouncey chair you hung, which these pictures show Kyle and Scott so cautiously attempting, works great and is very secure! Thanks for hanging it!

In Our Own Backyard...

...well not exactly our backyard, but the greatest thing about Texas Wild Flowers is that they grow wild all over this great state and we find more on every walk we take in our very own neighborhood! And now that the boys have been familiarized with all of the amazing wild flowers, they are excellent wild flower spotters! "Mom! Mom! Mom! Yook! Do you see dem Mom?? Yook, just yike at the center, Mom, yook!" What can we say, flowers are very exciting in the spring time!

Wild Flowers With The Girls!

We had so so so much fun at the Wild Flower Center with the boys and Skyler that we decided to go back with Kaila and Holly on Tuesday. We had a blast! There were way more people there on Tuesday with a forecast of 91 degree weather so we were sure to go early enough to avoid too many people and the hot hot weather. It was a beautiful morning and although there were a few field trip groups, the majority of the crowd was older women and let me tell you, these kids are HUGE hits with that demographic. I can't tell you how many people we entertained with all our hilarious antics, the kids and the ladies got a real kick out of each other! Holly was pretty much the only one of the kids willing to pose for any pics on this trip so the best shots are of her. But I was able to catch a few of the movers and shakers, moving and shaking, haha! Hope y'all enjoy the pics and if you want to see them in album view with captions, use this link:
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Lil' Genius

After much trial and error, Scott has figured out exactly how to get the dogs to approach him. He has found that food is the best way to lure the dogs but when you don't have food, all you have to do is pretend you do. Scott will bend down and pretend to pick up something very small off the ground and with his index finger and thumb pinched tightly together he will then extend his hand to the dogs and they come running. This is what he's doing in all these pics, there is no food involved, just tightly clinched fingers and the belief of food. It gets the dogs everytime and I think it's absolutely genius.

What Is It, Scientist?

Kyle brought some dry ice home from the lab on Monday for the boys to play with and it was a huge hit! Scott was soaking wet in mere minutes, he was definitely the biggest fan of the three. Kyle even did a little experiment with the boys where they put a few pieces of dry ice in a water bottle and made a pretty decent explosion out of it. The boys thought that was by far the coolest thing ever.

I've Created A Monster

So this week has been rough on both Scott and me. I have probably let Scott get away with way too much over the past 13 mos of his life and now we're both paying for it. Ever since Kaila started coming to play with us, it's hard to ignore the fact that she is very capable of following rules and playing nice and sharing and she is not that much older than Scott, only about 3 mos. So I have been forcing myself to stop babying Scott so much and start expecting the same out of him as I do out of the other kids and oh Lordy, it's not going over so well with Scott. He's never been a stranger to the timeout corner, but he's certainly never been as familiar with it as he has been this past week. For instance, we have now added an outside corner to our timeout spot collection and in both pictures here where you don't see Scott, that's exactly where he is. Poor Kaila got a taste of the bad Scotty after a power struggle over a bike and above, Jack is consoling her. So what is it that they say- it takes a week to make a bad habit and two weeks to break it, right? So with that logic, Scott should be cured of his bully-itis by the time he's 3? Oh geez, what have I done?!

Puzzle Master

Jack got this puzzle for his 3rd birthday and it was a bit advanced for him then. But we pulled it out this past weekend and by Monday morning, he was putting it together all by himself! Here he is, proudly showing off the finished product. And if any of you can tell us what animals are on the letters N and U, you get a gold star for the day. We're stumped!

Central Market

We spent last Sunday afternoon at Central Market with the boys. Scott was in serious need of a nap so he sort of just wandered around the playground deliriously but Jack had fun!

Baby Hulks

Lady Bird Johnson Wild Flower Center

So last weekend on our drive to Houston I couldn't help but notice the amazing Blue Bonnets and really all the flowers that grow wild here in Texas. So while I never thought I'd be one of those moms forcing her kids into a patch of Blue Bonnets and towering over them with a camera, I totally was her yesterday. But I mean c'mon, minus the Blue Bonnets this is what I do all day, right? haha! Well the weather man was forecasting rain all day Thursday but we tempted fate and headed out to the Lady Bird Johnson Wild Flower Center in south Austin with Jack, Scott and Skyler on Thursday. It didn't so much as sprinkle on us and oh my gosh we had a blast! We found lots of Blue Bonnets and so so so much more! If you've never been to this place, you have to go! It was almost empty thanks to the rain forecast so we had full run of the place and there is so much to see. Of course tons of flowers, but also tons of great Austinart pieces, a stream that runs through the whole center, a caterpillar house, an art museum and a super tall tower thing you can climb up and see tons of hill country and all of the flower center from. Skyler was not in the mood for pictures, the only one I got of him in the Blue Bonnets he was on the verge of tears in but at least we got one! Jack was rockin' his fake/forced smile in a lot of these, but I'll take it! Scotty was Scotty, hilarious and loving every minute! Scott especially loved the Art Museum because it had an echo that was out of control and it was empty so I let them get as loud as they wanted and Scott LOVED that. Scott also really liked all the bees, he was full on tackling flower bushes to get the bees to come out, the kid loves bugs just like his dad! Jack got a big kick out of the stream, it was small enough for him to jump from one side to the other so all I head all afternoon from Jack was, "Yook Yook Mom, yissen I'm not gonna fall in. I pinkie promised I'm not gonna get wet so I'm not! See yook, Mom, I'm not wet!" It was so much fun.

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Ed and Angela's Crawfish Boil

We had such a great Easter Weekend in Houston! Kyle's good friend from high school and his college roommate, Ed Miller, is getting married to a lovely girl, Angela Gates, from Shreveport, LA this summer so this weekend his family threw the future newly weds a celebratory Crawfish Boil and it was a blast!

We brought the little guys with us to the boil but Jack was saying he missed Nonna about a half an hour into it so Nonna and Grandpa dropped by and picked them up shortly after. We were glad to at least introduce Scotty to the guys though since I don't think a single one of them had seen Scott at all, other than in pictures.

After UT, we all got pretty spread out so it's not often that all the guys are together in the same city at the same time so it's quite a show when it all comes together like it did this weekend.

So much of a show, in fact, that this was the only shot I managed to capture of Angela. Caught her in the background as Kyle and Joe attacked the groom-to-be.

We had a lot of fun and we can't wait for the wedding in August, it should be a great weekend as well!

Goode Company

Almost every time we go to Houston, we eat at Goode Company Taqueria. It's Grandpa Mike's FAVORITE place to eat and it has this huge wishing fountain on the patio which provides Jack (and now even Scotty is a fan) with plenty of entertainment to last through dinner... as long as we have enough coins! And on this trip, we brought along a sack of pennies. Jack is so hopelessly social, every time I gave him a handful, he would divvy them up amongst all the kids around him. Sometimes he shares with no coaxing at all, other times it's like pulling teeth to get him to share. Go figure!