Thanks Aunt Jennie!

Jennie Lynn has given me Jack Johnson. I would've never known about Jack Johnson if it hadn't been for Jennie Lynn. One of his songs is her wedding song and I listen to the CD she gave from her Playa del Carmen wedding all the time. Whenever I listen to JJ I think of Jennie! Miss you JLy.

Just looking back at my boys...

Here is Max way back when he was just a little baby! Mason is barely a year older. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. Who could resist these faces??? Tell me, who?

Just a day at the river...

Well, we decided to drive up to O'Brien Park the other night and played around in the river and threw rocks too. The boys climbed all over these huge fallen logs and had a really good time exploring the whole area. It's gorgeous with huge pine trees and it is really sheltered on the river bank. You have to walk down the little hill to get to the river but then you are welcomed by all these beautiful rocks. It's weird to think how pretty the rocks are here. We typically have to pay for rocks this pretty. The boys, basically Max, got totally soaked, but didn't care one bit and had the best time splashing and throwing rocks. Growing up in a house full of women, throwing rocks or hanging out with nature would've appealed to me, but when you have boys, this is what you do.

No matter where we go, Max always has to have a stick. Usually it is used for a weapon but sometimes he just likes to throw them at things. (Usually a weapon). Mason was content throwing rocks, but then he starting getting too close to Max and we were convinced we were going to have an "incident" on our hands that requires another emergency room visit. Luckily, we were ok.

Our boy is 5!

We can hardly believe it! Mason turned 5! I can still remember going to the doctor for a check up and then discovering I had to go to the hospital because my blood pressure was up. I was so pissed because I had planned a FULL day of shopping. That put a wrench in my plans. LOL. At 8:46 pm our gorgeous baby boy was born. He weighed 8 lbs 3 1/2 ozs and was 21 inches long. He was perfect since he was a C-section and was ready for action! All of our wonderful friends and family were there to help us welcome our baby boy into this world.

Mason had a pretty good birthday, I think. Nothing too fancy. I think once he is in kindergarten we will invite his friends from school and have a little party or something, we typically just keep it low key with the family. He got some great stuff a Superman lunchbox for next year, a cool race track. We are so proud of our boy!

The Never Ending Soccer Tourney Part 2

So it's Saturday and we are in day two of soccer tourneys. Mason had 3 games back to back too, but Mason truly loved soccer. He really took a shine to soccer, must be the Mexican in him! Here is the team picture of Mason's team. We had some great kids on the team and met a really great family that fits our family. It also happened that both of their boys were on both of our boys' teams...so it worked out really well.

Whatare they supposed to do while they are waiting? Putting the cones on their heads just made sense! There is nothing better than team medals and popsicles. That's our friend Ryan from Gymniks and soccer. Mason scored 2 goals during the tournament and too many to count during the regular season! LOL. The kids really got into it towards the end of the season instead of just running up and down the field aimlessly. I am so proud of my boys!

The Never Ending Soccer Tourney

It was simple enough. We enroll our boys in soccer for fun and merriment...then comes the tournament. It lasted forever. However, Max's coach, Coach Mark, is the bomb and we will be stalking him next year to ensure that he is coaching the kids again. The boys had 3 games back to back on Friday night and please be advised....it is hard enough to get 3 and 4 years olds to engage in ONE game a night, but 3 in a row? With 10 minute breaks? Holy. But he perserveered! Max even scored a goal, so what if it was on his own net? It's still a goal. Max was super proud because he received two medals, one from coach and one from the organization. We had some hot dogs and veggies between games and all the parents brought something for the kids to snack on. It was true teamwork!

We met some really great people, like Cade standing behind Max being airplanes on the sidelines waiting for Coach Mark to call them in.

There is a picture of Max and his whole team. Soccer was truly a love/hate relationship for Max. He wanted to do it because his big brother played soccer, but when we got there, it was a struggle to get him to pay attention or even stay on the field. Mostly he would shoot out Spider Man webs at us and go the opposite way the rest of the team was heading. You gotta love him.

That's Coach Mark helping my Max along! Thank you Coach Mark for an amazing season! See you next year....are you ready????

I'm so obvious....

I know that technically it's been quite a while since I've been on my blog, but....ya know. Life happens. Soccer lasted a lifetime. When you have to take kids EVERY single day from Monday to Thursday, it can wear on you. You almost want your kid to be unreliable...almost. This Father's day we spent it on the quads in Sand Lake near Fairview. Aunt Kathy had a good friend from Australia, Mel, visiting so we took them out on the quads. I will not tell a lie and inform everyone now that I crashed the quad. Typical, I know. Predictable, yes. I crashed into a tree while trying to ride with my kid. Nice. Max refused to "get back on that thing with her", I believe were his exact words. I told him to save it for his therapist, I was off the clock. So then Michael had to have both boys on the quad. He asked Kathy to NOT take a picture since it was illegal but we had legal representation with us, so I think we were ok.

We had a lovely fire and roasted hotdogs and marshmellows, that is Max's fave part. They also really like it out there because it's like a great big ole sandbox. It's a blast for everyone.

Totally awesome dude!

Today the boys and I went out with my pal, Sandra and her little guy, Zackary up to a big city park that we have here. It's actually the same place where I ran my 10K, BTW. Anyway. The boys had fun playing in the sand and running around the equipment, but the REAL fun came later. We went for a little adventure walk up these big hills and over the reservoir. The boys loved watching the water crash down the waterfall and had a hoot throwing things into the water and seeing who's twig or pinecone would win. Sandra brought her camera and took tons of pics, so when she loads them up, I will put them on here.
The best part was when we were walking back to the main park pavillion because they have a skate/bike park. The teens hang out there and do a bunch of tricks. Mind you, this was during the school day, so there weren't very many kids there. The area was all concrete with dips and ramps and graffiti everywhere. Mason said, "Mom, this is AWESOME!" They had so much fun running in all the dips and ramps. They used teamwork to help each other up some steep hills when they couldn't do it for themselves. I asked these 2 boys to do some tricks for our boys and they obliged me with some wheelies, turns, flips, and cool tricks. Mason and Max thought it was just about the coolest thing they had ever seen. All for free!@ I love cheap entertainment and it's a total bonus when the kids think I'm the bomb for thinking of it. We applauded our performers when their tricks were done and then headed home for our evening filled with soccer.
Mason went yesterday with his daddy to get a haircut....and let's just say....he is ready to join the marines. I didn't even recognize my baby. He looks sooooo grown up. Michael told Max to say good bye to his curls because he was taking him to chop them off sometime this weekend. I love those curls. Mason scored a goal last night at soccer and thought he was hot stuff.
Tonight we are going to a "new" friend's house. Denis and Jen have two boys the almost exact same age as our boys who all happen to be on the exact same soccer teams. Therefore, we have been "forced" to be friends! We've already had one of the most successful playdates in the history of the world and now the parents and children have a our very own playdate tonight at their house! It will be great having new couple friends with kids the same age. I'll try and take pics tonight to put them up later! Oh, my pal, Jen is a HUGE scrapbooker....so I believe I will still get to "make my memories"! Yippee!

So....remember when I said I was losing my son?

Remember when I was complaining about potentionally losing my oldest son, Mason, to the neighbors because they had a Wii and we didn't. Well, when I took Max to the doctors the other day, there was this old Colombian woman there who heard me speaking Spanish to Max and started talking to me....she was telling me about her boy who was like 16 now, and he still would rather have been home with his family rather than go out because when he was a boy, he had wanted video games too. So, she got them to keep her boy at home. She got me thinking that I needed to do the exact same thing. PLUS, I was tired of Mason asking to go over to the neighbor's EVERY WAKING MOMENT OF THE DAY. I called around earlier in the week looking for the Wii and was told by 8 shops that they didn't have any in stock and "we don't know when we will be getting more in". so, I was kinda bummed thinking that I was going to have to wait a long time. Well...well...well....

I went into the same Blockbuster that I had called earlier in the week TODAY, and they had 3 in stock. I asked if I could hold it till my hubby could get home and approve the purchase, cuz it's kinda expensive...but they couldn't... so I left around noon and hoped for the best. Well, I called Michael about 100 times and then made the executive decision around 5 pm to make the BIG TICKET purchase and hope for the best! I was worried for nothing cuz Michael could've cared less when he got home. Not only that, Uncle Julius and Aunt Kathy came over to help us break it in. I guess I know where we will be for the next couple of weekends!

Max isn't too interested. He's only 3 mind you, but I have an idea of how to get him interested. I saw a TMNT Wii game and I think that will totally get him going. By the way, TMNT is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles....his ABSOLUTE favorite thing in the whole world. FYI.

Zoinks!

The boys have been watching an awfully lot of Scooby Doo lately and Max has taken to saying "ZOINKS!" Just like Shaggy. I thought that was pretty funny. Mason has a funny saying lately too. When he doesn't wear shoes, he tells me, "Mom, I'm just gonna go bear walk." Instead of bare foot. It cracks me up every time. The kids had a great day at school today. We then joined some kids and went to McDonald's and let them burn off more steam. We came home and I helped them build their Hot Wheels tracks and then sneakily removed a whole bunch of toys to give away.

I ran into a dilemna though because I kinda want to keep a bunch of their toys to have when Maosn and Max have kids. Little Tikes and Fisher Price stuff lasts a lifetime, it's just where oh where do I put everything? Michael thinks we have too much "stuff" as it is. Michael and I have been toying with the idea of moving out of this house. We are torn. We will eventually outgrow this house, but it's just perfect right now. We have just enough room and we love our neighbors, but we don't have a garage and I would really love a bigger yard. Who knows what will happen, so I'm just gonna plug away and try and tidy up the house so that if we need to slap on a For Sale sign, we're ready...kinda.

Check this off my "list"

Well, it's done! I did it! My family was a huge source of support and encouragement and I achieved my goal of completing my first 10K run. I am so proud to say that I am a runner! (Well kinda, anyway!) My hubby and my boys were there to greet me at the finish line when I shamelessly hammed it up going across. My sister-in-law, Kathy ran it with me, but she totally smoked me for time, but that is NOT what the race was about. We did it together to accomplish it together. It was great. I'd like to thank all my fans....seriously...I'm totally kidding.

While I was getting ready for the race, Michael took the boys to a free pancake breakfast that one of the local places was having for Stompede weekend. Stompede is similar to our rodeo in Houston and they pull out all the stops with events and parades and things like that. After the race my family and I went for ANOTHER free food event around the corner from us. This time we had burgers, hotdogs, snow cones, ice cream and cake. I did "donate" $3 for my entire family to eat, so we technically aren't THAT bad. Once we knew we weren't winning anything in the draw, we were out of there. When we got home Michael and our neighbors, Reid and Terry, helped each other to put up some of the fence. We are almost done! We are basically trying to keep these 2 kids from coming across the alley everyday. We feel like prisoners in our backyard at times because they just show up unannounced when we are back there and we still haven't even met their parents. Too weird. After the fence building conference, the ladies put together an impromptu supper of burgers, steak, salads, chips and dip and we all just had the best time eating and drinking and having a fire in the firepit. Good times with the neighbors. I DID have to celebrate, remember. The kids always have such a blast with the neighbor kids, they are like their own little gang or posse. Too cute! There they are...the Mission Heights Posse: Mackenzie, Mason, Adiyan, Parker and Max!

It's kinda funny....

It's kinda funny to think that just a couple of months ago, snow was on the ground. Now the kids can't get enought of the outside. We had a playdate with Nolan and our mommy friend, Sue. The hero of the birthday parties, Ryan was there too. They had a great lunch and then ran thru the sprinkler. The kids even let me have a photo moment! Next to Mason is Ryan and next to Max is Nolan. In the background is there really nice play gym set. The kids had a great time and the mommies soaked up the sun. The next picture is of Mason, Max and Nolan playing in the sprinkler toy. Let me tell you something about the water up here. Maybe it is because it's 24 degrees Celsius which is 75F the water feels brutally cold. I don't remember a garden hose producing water this cold in Texas! I think it's because it is so much hotter, relatively speaking there. It's pretty interesting what are bodies get used to. The sun makes it super hot, but with ZERO humidity compared to Houston. It's really something.

I was driving home from one of our soccer games the other night and we were driving home like we always do, and I felt compelled to take a picture of the sign in the middle of our downtown. There is a street sign pointing you in the right direction to Alaska. Yep, Alaska. It's amazing! Speaking of Alaska...I also just watched the BEST movie I've seen in a long time, Into the Wild. Yes, I know that I'm totally late in seeing this fabulous movie, but it was a joy to watch. I felt so many different emotions because you are able to put yourself in so many of the character's shoes. The lead, the parents, the sibling, the random strangers. I gave it 2 thumbs up! If anybody cares...

It's been a while

It's been a while since I've been on our family blog, so I'll try and catch up. It's not like too much exciting has happened, but this is our little family's life. Both boys were invited to a birthday party on Friday, May 23rd and it was a real treat because BOTH boys were asked to the party. Ryan is in our Kindergym class and is on Mason's soccer team, and he didn't technically have to invite Max, he did and I call tell you that Max was so excited! We aren't into the solo birthday party age too much yet at 3, so he was really excited to go too! It was a huge success!

Mommy has still been running. My race is this Saturday. I'm a bit nervous, but more anxious to just check this off my list! I've told Michael and the kids that they have to be at the finish line and take pictures of me. Yes, the narcissist is here. I am going to need CONCRETE evidence that I did this! It's not like it's a huge distance, but longer than this 33 year old woman has ever gone. So be ready for the pics!

The weather has been so amazing here that we are gravitationally pulled to be outside in the sun....in fact...Bobbi just called....we are headed out there right now! I will put some pics on tonight and write more.

thanks for making me a mommy

our little family had a really nice week and weekend. all week we shuttled the kids back and forth to their soccer games or gymnastics or the library. i try to keep the kids pretty busy with activities so that mommy doesn't go too crazy. also, when the weather is decent here, i try and keep the kids outside as much as possible. i am now realizing that michael and i are in jeopardy of losing our oldest son, Mason, to the neighbors because they have a Wii and we don't. Their oldest, Parker, is the coolest to my boys, especially Mason and he wants to do whatever Parker does. (He's 8.) Michael and I said we will get Mason and Max a Wii system, but after the summer because we want them outside all summer.

I bought some gorgeous flowers to plant in flowerbeds and my pots. I've become quite the gardener, who knew. There is nothing like having a glass of wine in the evening and watering/talking to all of my plants at night after I put the kids to bed. The sun is still out here until 11pm in the summer, so you can do just about anything late at night.

Mother's day was a complete shocker to me. Michael surprised me with another gift! He bought me a docking station thingie for my ipod so that I can play MY music upstairs. It is so nice. He really blew me away with this gift because I thought the firepit was my present. The years are changing him and I LOVE it! We went to the inlaws, had a nice BBQ and fire and then came home and had a cocktail with my hubby on the patio while the boys played in their sandbox. What a nice day. When I was putting Max to bed, I told him thank you for such a wonderful Mommy's day and he said, "Now we have to have a Boy's day". Interesting. I thought everyday was Boy's day in this household! Funny kids. I love my boys!

early mother's day gift

I officially am the proud owner of a firepit! I never knew I wanted or needed a firepit until I moved up here to Canada. We had such a great weekend with our neighbors and family over Saturday night drinking sangria by the fire. Michael and Uncle Julius managed to polish off not 1 but 2 Heinekegs. It was quite the feat. The kids played for hours with their best friends, Kenzie and Parker and not once had any fights. I was a good mommy and went to bed relatively early so that I could wake up for my run in the morning. It was awesome! I ran/walked my 5K and then went on to walk another 2K. In American terms, that's a bit over 4 miles. Did I mention I'm training for a 10K at the end of the month? Well, I am. Me, the woman who used to only run when being chased, is officially a runner. I feel stronger just saying it! Michael and the boys have promised to be there on the day of the race at the finish line taking pictures of me and Aunt Kathy. Go us!

today's been a good day

we got a chilly rain storm today which was nice because we ended up staying home most of the day. we had a nice playdate where the kids entertained themselves and the mommies lounged around in comfortable silence, reading magazines and sipping some coffee. it was nice. i've got a chicken cooking in the oven, the boys are in the other room and we haven't had a drop of blood today, some tears, but no blood. it's been a good day. michael is upstairs watching old Charlie Gibson and the ABC news and probably plotting some new conspiracy theory as i sit and type this....i can't wait to go upstairs and hear what it is! it's been a good day.

6 full weeks of soccer!!!!

Yesterday was the official kick-off (pun totally intended) of soccer season! Max had his first game last night and his coach is pretty awesome, which means, he wants the parents to STAY OFF THE FIELD. With 3 year olds, that's a lot easier said than done. Mason played quietly on the sidelines with a new friend who happens to be on HIS team that plays tonight. We basically will be at the soccer fields every evening Monday thru Thursday for the next 6 weeks. I know that I did this to myself, essentially, by putting them in these programs, but they enjoy it and I kinda do too. If I ever figure out how to make little movies and put them on my blog, my life's work will be complete.

our family saturday

we have had the nicest day today....so far. well, it started off a little different because i had to run up to the emergency room of the hospital to get some antibiotics for this ear infection and throat thing that had been killing me for about a week now...and here in GP, they don't really have drop-in places for little ailments like this....you have to visit the full blown emergency room at the hospital...different. luckily it only took 30 minutes today at 5 am. anyway
so, michael decides we are going to make breakfast with the kids. we make pancakes from scratch, bacon & sausage (not from scratch), and eggs. we feast. max eats his weight in bacon every time. that kid can put away some bacon, you just have to watch out for him because he tends to eat with such gusto that he forgets to chew and chokes...alot. mason loves putting all the bacon on his plate and get max all in a tissy, that's what big brothers do, i guess. after we make our delicious breakfast and dirtied every last pot and pan in the kitchen, i clean it up while my husband yells, "who wants to go outside?" puts on his jacket and shoes and walks out the front door while the boys are left confused. of course they want to go outside, but in daddy's world, he puts his stuff on and leaves and forgets all about the 3 and 4 year old who are running into each other trying to get their stuff on to get out there too.
after MOMMY assists with the preparations, DADDY gets to play outside with the boys. the weather today in GP is amazing upon first glance out the window. Crystal, clear day. Sun nice and high and the temperature is warming up nicely, but if you look closer, there is still snow on the ground. It's April 25th and there is still snow. The boys are in shorts and rainboots with their shovels throwing snow around the back and front yards. I decided to break out the food coloring and pour it on the snow in big chunks. the boys love this. we make colored snowballs and snowcones. Max decided to eat his snowcone, but gross, because you don't know where that snow has been. I take pictures to "make my memories" that I keep telling Michael that we have to do, and he just smiles and tells me i'm crazy. he proceeds to mock me the entire day about my "making memories" comment. thank god for husbands.

max & mason's dad

max & mason's Dad

this is michael. the completion to our 4M equation. He's kind and sensitive, in his own way. A total conspiracy theorist, but I love him, probably because of it. our family.