Baby Clark

We went to Houston this weekend to visit Brian, Amy and their new baby, Clark. The boys are so excited about having a new cousin. They couldn't get enough of him. It was fun holding (and smelling) a baby again.

Me and a yawning Clark. "I remember how to do this!"

Clark, me and Evan.

Chad doing a great job holding Clark.

Evan posing with his new cousin.

Cutie Clark (probably going blind from all the camera flashing)!

No School!

Chad and Evan have been having a great time this week. The weather has been nice and mild, so they have gotten to play outside every day. Evan's friends have come over from next door and the trampoline has gotten a lot of use.


Evan started basketball practice on Tuesday. I warned Todd that he might fall asleep on the ride home because he had jumped on the trampoline for six hours straight during the day. He was fine and full of energy. Oh, to be a kid again!


The boys got some new chairs for their playroom and have had fun playing video games this week as well. They both love school, but time off is great, too!

Chad in his new chair.

Evan likes to sit all the way back.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love this quote and am grateful for all of the "flame-starters" who enrich my life:


At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.


ALBERT SCHWEITZER

Crafty Boys

Since the boys are out of school for Thanksgiving vacation, we made a trip to the local craft store to get some supplies and projects. Evan picked out clay and some wooden craft kits that make 3-d puzzles. Chad got a super ball making kit and the supplies to decorate a lifebuoy that he wants to hang in his room.


Evan got right to work on the easiest wooden puzzle...a scorpion. I think Todd gave him a little help and it turned out great. He took the next puzzle apart, but I haven't seen too much progress on that one, so it may be a little more difficult than the first one.


The clay has not been a great success. The first day Evan took it and made patterns in it by pressing it into the carpet. Needless to say, Todd was not happy when he walked in the room and found yellow, pink, blue and green clay marks all over the carpet.


Evan and I spent part of the morning yesterday trying different concoctions to get the clay out. The problem was that Evan got a new type of clay that won't dry out or get hard. Thus, it took us quite a bit of scrubbing to lighten all of the marks.


Chad has made some of the super balls, which he enjoyed. Next to the painting project!

Evan can't wait to work on his wood projects!

Chad with the craft supplies and Evan working hard in the background.

Chad acting silly with Evan's scorpion.

My, How They Have Grown

It has been about three months since Riku and Leon joined our family and my how they have grown. Riku is the larger of the two and he now has the nickname "Fat Albert" because he loves to eat and has the hips to show it. Both guinea pigs have matured and calmed down quite a bit. Evan used to be a little afraid to hold them because they were all over the place. Now they will sit on his lap, calm as can be.

Riku and Leon on Evan's Lap

Chad holding Leon.

Evan holding Riku.

Evan with both pigs.

Evan helping clean the pigs cage.

Evan the Artist

Evan loves drawing and all kinds of crafts. I have a drawing app on my phone that he likes to play with. Here is one of his masterpieces:



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Harder Than It Looks

This weekend Todd took his turn on the Bobcat in an effort to get all of the sidewalks out of our backyard. The sidewalks lift up in sections about 8 feet long and once they are up, the question is how to break them up and get them to our driveway which is where the pieces are being temporarily stored. 


Below is a short video of  Todd doing his thing. At one point I thought he was going to flip over, so I had to go inside. He is figuring it out...it is just going to take a while. Thank God I have a husband who is willing to try pretty much anything!

Evan's Activities

Evan is very active and always on the move. This weekend he did a little crafting. He had a wooden alligator that needed painting. He love to paint so he was very excited about that project.


His friend from next door is moving, so they played together as much as possible this weekend. Lots of football, trampoline jumping, lizard finding and treasure digging were all on the agenda.

"Painting takes a lot of concentration."

"This is so fun!"

"Throw the ball to me!"

Ice Cream Treat

Chad and I had some time to kill before picking Evan up from school yesterday. I decided to treat he and Evan (we got his to go) to some ice cream. It was a nice mid-week pick me up!


Chad posed for me with his glasses and then without his glasses. I think they both look great.

With Glasses

Without Glasses

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

More Flag Football Fun

Last Saturday Evan played his last two flag football games of the season. He was a little moody because he attended a sleepover birthday party the night before and said that he went to sleep at 2 a.m. and woke up at 5 a.m.


Todd was a trooper and helped coach the team. He loves football and is great with kids, so it was a good fit and I think he enjoyed doing it.

Todd and Evan (who is pouting a bit).

Offensive Coordinator at work!

Todd giving out the next play to the offense.

Sidewalk Removal Progress

When we moved in our current house about three years ago, we realized that we had a lot of projects to do. One involves removing the sidewalks in our backyard. 


The story is that the previous owner had a love of roses and planted the whole backyard with rose bushes. She had concrete paths laid throughout the back yard and the roses planted in between. I can imagine it was beautiful.


Now, the concrete paths have affected our drainage and that is not a good situation when we get a lot of rain or experience a hurricane. Thus, we really need to remove them. 


A few months ago, Todd rented a jackhammer and spent two long days cracking the sidewalk up. Now, we have finally gotten use of a bobcat to lift up and remove the sidewalk. Our friend who is letting us use the bobcat did a trial run a few days ago to see if he and Todd's plan would work. He tried to lift the sidewalk up in several different places, to no avail. I started to get concerned that the bobcat would not be able to A) get underneath the sidewalk and B) actually be powerful enough to lift the pieces.


Finally, we found a place where Todd had broken up the sidewalk a bit already and the bobcat was able to lift and remove a large piece. Yes, now the work begins!

Chad's New Table

Chad has been wanting a table for his bedside forever. Todd finally broke down and bought him one. Chad put it together himself and was very proud of his project. Way to go Chad!

Chad and his table.

Chad putting his stuff on his table..."This thing is pretty sturdy!"

Cutie Clark

My brother and sister-in-law sent me some new photos of my nephew, Clark. What a cutie! He looks just like my brother...it's scary!!!

New Sofa

After all of our searching, we finally decided on which sofa to get for our living room. We ordered it a few weeks ago and have been anxiously awaiting its arrival ever since. This past week I got a phone call that it would be delivered. We were so excited when the truck pulled up. We love the sofa and hope to enjoy it for many years to come!

Finally, it is here!

Everything was wrapped up very good.

Yea! A nice and cozy sofa to watch t.v. on.