little thoughts..

Today Riley said there was a little boy in his class that nobody played with, (I'll call him "M" in case we ever become friends with his parents).. I asked Riley why no one played with him, he said it was because he was mean.. I asked why he was mean, and Riley replied, "I think it's because he has mean eyebrows".. oh, okay..
Riley's been saying so many precious little things lately, I feel like I haven't given Taggert equal time.. so... I remember one Christmas when I was 9 months pregnant with Riley & Taggert was almost 3.. We woke up and there was snow all over the ground.. Taggert looked out the back window at his Little Tykes log cabin & playscape, and shouted, "Momma! The snow is eating my toys!"..
Happy Weekend!

I just love this picture..

My littlest angel, Riley.. always thinking, always making plans.. A while back I was driving the boys home from school & Riley asked me to pull over so he could talk to one of the homebuilders.. I asked him why, and he said "I want to talk to them about building me my own house.. I'm going to take all my toys & my cat Ferris".... I asked him how he would get there, "big wheel" he answered..
Taggert, my practical child piped up & said, "Riley, there is no way you can carry all your toys & Ferris on your big wheel".. after mulling that over for a while, Riley has decided to stay put, for now..

Taggert & his tender heart..

I kissed my boys good night tonight & talked briefly about the rest of our week.. Taggert started to cry softly when he realized I was going on a business trip Saturday for a week... being the little diplomat that he is, he lets me know it's not that he doesn't like playing with Daddy, but that he likes playing with both of us together.. it's funny, because every once in a while Riley will say he loves one of us more than the other. but not Taggert.. ever since he was tiny, he has told us he loves both of us the same.. if he tells one of us he loves them to the moon & back, he quickly tells the other..
When I explained to him that I wasn't gone an entire week (a technicality since it's 5 days not 7) he said that made it better & went to sleep.. these are the types of things I have to have temporary amnesia for while I'm gone..

Getting back..

So, if you are following along, you'd know that Steve has pulled a couple of pranks on Troy.. therefore it was time to turn the tables.. the other night, Troy, Gregg, Brandon & Mike S, went to town on Steve's yard after he had gone to bed.. aluminum cans, chairs, "a fifty-two card pick up" & a few other items the boys found in our's & Brandon's garage.. there was talk (thankfully only talk) that they would drive Gregg's jeep in between Steve's trees.. below is a picture of what Steve found first thing in the morning..
So, how is it that Steve was able to take this picture first thing in the morning you ask?.... well, Carol, up and out the door by 6:00 am on Saturdays spied the mess, walked back in the house & told Steve "it looks like your friends stayed up later than you last night"...

This is the part of the story where having three little boys comes in handy.. Steve rounded up Justin, Nathan & Colin & devised a plan where they would transfer everything from their yard, into our yard.. one would take the cans, one would take the bike, one would take the chair, one would take the "for sale" sign and so on & so forth until everything was moved over.. all without speaking a word... and, all in under 2 minutes..

so... this is a picture of what we woke up to when Nikki rang our doorbell around 8:00am.. I came out in my robe to see Joel, Jamie & Mike taking pictures of our yard.. I went back in to get Troy, but he already knew what to expect..

Moral of the story- if you are going to get Steve, you have to wait until Carol leaves for the day!!

The Lawnmower Man strikes again..

The other evening Troy mowed the lawn while Steve, Carol & I sipped cool beverages on their driveway.. I suppose Steve wanted Troy to be able to cool off as well in the 100 degree heat.. so.... when Troy was on the side of the house, Steve slipped into our garage and turned on the sprinkler system.. no pictures.. we were too busy laughing..

Our own little path..

"We journeyed; all we knew of care-

our path that straggled here & there"

-William Wordsworth

This picture doesn't do it justice, but we all had a good laugh when we recently discovered a slightly worn path between our house & the Sippel's.. do you think they'll mind next week when the guy comes to install a gate in the fence between our back yards?...

The ups & downs of Monday..

I started today ready to take my CLU exam... 3 more before the end of August & we are Hawaii bound.. it's getting down to the wire, but I remain optimistic.. this optimism carried me down to the testing center, sheet of formulas in hand, so that I could review them up until I walked into the computer lab (let me know if you need me to compute the effective annual interest rate on a consumer loan.. ha, right! Sarah & math do not mix..)
The proctor leads me to my computer, enters her password, and then....nothing.... she tries again.. and again... nothing.. technical difficulties, no sweat- I grab my formula list & work on calculating the present value of an annuity due in the lobby while they deal with my computer.. [still floating on my optimism]..
Every few minutes the very nice proctor comes out to give me updates, "we'll get it working shortly"... "just an update to the system"... "only a couple of minutes more".. it turned into only a "couple of minutes more" for two.....solid.....hours.... [optimism sinking].. finally, she comes out & says "it's time to reschedule your exam for another day"... that's all fine and good, but that makes my plan of squeezing three more of these puppies between business trips, vacations & 2 months a little tough.. [where did I leave that optimism?]..
I drive on home, financial planning formulas slowly seeping out of my ears... make some work calls, reset my exam for Friday & work some email.. and then, at the very end of the day, the delivery truck arrives (have I mentioned our washer has been leaking all over the floor every 3rd wash or so, and our heat sensor is out on the dryer allowing it to run & run..?)
Optimism is hiding out at this point [probably somewhere in the lobby of the testing center].. Troy has me convinced that the beautiful, front loading, highly rated (and heavily researched) washer & dryer I purchased this weekend (he was playing golf) have no chance of fitting in our teeny-tiny laundry room.. I tell the delivery guy this & he says "oh yeah, it's going to be tight".. he pauses, turns with a smile and adds "but they will fit perfectly".. [optimism is back in the house!]
they look pretty good, don't they?... when Troy got home he & Steve quickly jumped in the laundry room with a measuring tape trying to see how we did it (don't know, don't care).. let's just hope this luck & optimism stay with me through my exam on Friday.. :)

Someone's copying Riley..

Earlier tonight Troy & I were sitting in Steve's driveway enjoying a nice breeze. The boys had been riding bikes for awhile when we noticed that Riley was standing in our driveway, looking down the street the opposite direction from us.. We could hear him shouting things like "what!?.. who is this!?.. where are you!?..hellooo?!"..
Finally, he walked over to where we were sitting and said with a furrowed brow & a serious tone, "Daddy, someone is copying me from far, far away".. Troy grabbed him in a hug & said, "baby, that's your echo you are hearing.."
"Who's Echo?" Riley asked.. just how exactly do you explain bouncing sound waves to a 4 year old?.. (come to think of it, can someone explain it to me??...)
Well, we tried, and he seemed to understand.. then he spent the next 15 minutes shouting down the street (but only from one, little spot at the bottom of our driveway, as if that was the only place it would work)..
The sweetest part of it all was when Carol got home a little while later.. Riley greeted her at her car & excitedly asked her if she wanted to come hear Echo.. he took her hand & walked her to his little spot & started shouting out.. he held his hand to his little ear & pretty much folded it over.. then he had her "shout at Echo".. she had to do it a few times because she wasn't shouting loud enough for Riley tastes..

kinda neat...

places I've lived, places I've been to, places I will never go.... neat video...

Happy Birthday Justin..

Happy 11th Birthday Justin! Wishing you a great day!!

Happy Wednesday..

Troy picked Riley up from school today, and Riley told him one of his teachers didn't come in this afternoon. Troy asked if she was okay and Riley answered, "I don't know. She either went to the hospital, went on vacation, or is having a baby"... hmm... as they say on Sesame Street, one of those things just doesn't belong..

Today..

Today we celebrate the day, 8 short years ago, we started this family...

3 towns, 3 homes and 2 babies ago..

we've come a long way together..

Here's to the road ahead..

love you

Sunday evening..

The boys had a great time fishing with Daddy... Riley caught another turtle (total caught to date= 3) plus a whole lot of allergy (aka algae).. They were excited to find a fishing hole so close to the house (2 miles, who knew?)..
We were joined at dinner by Calee & Addison while Mandy took Austin for a quick trip to the ER (standard boy stuff- jumping on the bed, cut over the eye).. I could tell that both boys enjoyed having girls around the dinner table, as they competed for attention with their stories.. surprisingly Riley won, but only because I think Taggert got tired of trying to talk over his little brother.. ;)

Father's Day 2008...

Troy enjoyed a day of breakfast in bed & discovering a new fishing spot with the boys.. Happy Father's Day to Troy, Papa & Grandpa Jerry (although he doesn't own a computer).. : )

Tina's gift..

Tina offered to take some pictures of us, as a surprise for Troy for Father's Day.. here are just a few of the pictures.. she got my boys to smile (at the same time) and listen to her.. when we left, Taggert said "I can't wait to see Ms. Tina again".. I'm sure it had something to do with the fact that she has three little boys to play with, and the fact that she is fluent in "boy".. Thanks again Tina, you did a wonderful job!!

turning a corner..

For part of the summer, Taggert is attending a daytime summer camp... It's a great place that reminds me of the summer camp Tommy & I went to as kids.. It has everything- swimming, kayaking, archery, hiking, sports, competitions, and so on.. This is Day 4 of Taggert coming home completely worn out- tonight he even layed his head down at the dinner table.. a clear sign he is having a boatload of fun..
This morning Troy took Taggert out to the campground (as opposed to the bus) and walked him to the archery site to join his group.. they were barely in sight of the group when Taggert stopped, turned to Troy and said "Dad, let's stop here and do this so I won't be embarrassed". He gave Troy a big hug & then ran to join his group.. Troy promptly called me at work & we had a little moment together.. my little 2nd grader is growing up too fast..

What would that taste like?..

Tonight we were driving home from errands & dinner, when I heard Riley ask Taggert "when you put food in your mouth, how do the taste bugs know what you are eating?".. love it..

Tuesday with the Bunko Babes..

For years friends here & there have asked me to join their Bunko groups from time to time.. I don't know what Bunko is or how to play, and it was hard to commit to a scheduled day a month without the fear of having to back out & let people down.. so I never said yes..
Now that we are settling in to Austin, I've finally accepted an invitation to join a Bunko group.. After a few weeks, the day arrived and it was time to join the ladies.. they picked me up and we promptly headed to Georgetown for dinner, drinks, lots of stories & lots of laughs.. Apparently on the occasional Bunko night, the girls forgo the game for something else.. I still don't know how to play or really what it is, but I think I could get used to this Bunko thing.. Thanks for the invite Mandy & Jamie!!

Weekend in a nutshell..

Kids-in Fort Worth with Nanny & Papa.. Troy-camping with college buddies... Me- nice, relaxing dinner with friends Friday and Saturday night.. staying up late reading, sleeping a little late in the morning.. by Sunday, ready for everyone to come home..
Sunday- all the boys are home & the neighbors came over to try out Rachael Ray Steak Sandwiches (as requested by the guys).. good food & good friends..

Friday..

note the bump on Taggert's head from running into Mandy's fence..

Taggert's not quite sure about this ride..
Last night the boys went to Fort Worth to spend the weekend with Nanny & Papa.. Today they are spending the day at Six Flags, and it appears Papa forgot his camera- because every 2 minutes my phone buzzes with pictures of the boys.. through the miracle of technology, I can send those pictures to my blog (I may be the last person to know about this new-fangled technology, but I'm jumping on the bandwagon)..

Jamie & Joel....

....are growing a little baby boy... it's so amazing that before the end of the year, there will be another little boy on this street.. they found out today & shared the news with us, which we all celebrated (of course, we would have celebrated just as much had they learned they were having a girl).. watching someone else grow a baby takes Troy & I back to the days before Taggert & Riley.. Taggert is 7 now, but it seems like yesterday when Troy was surprising me with body pillows & ice cream.. or, the first time we heard each boy's heartbeat on the monitor at the doctor's office.. and getting a little choked up.. or that very first ride to the hospital, on the way to deliver Taggert.. Troy driving with white knuckles in the ice & snow, me trying not to distract him by making too much noise with each contraction... and then asking him to stop on the way for magazines.. patiently, he looked at me and said "do you think you really need them right now?"... in the middle of a contraction I whispered, "yes"..
almost makes you want to have another..

Taggert the Truth-teller..

This morning, I got a little lost my first time going to Taggert's summer program.. I had to double back towards the right direction and was a little distracted when, the next thing I know, a motorcycle sheriff was flagging me down to pull over... 41 in a 30 apparently.. and that was that..

Tonight, on the way home from dinner with the neighbors (kids-eat-free Tuesdays at Pluckers) Taggert said "By the way Daddy, Mama got a ticket this morning... she was speeding.. going 41 in a 30.. I wanted to make sure you knew in case Mama didn't tell you.." Um, hello?.. I was totally going to tell him.. when it was a good time...

I told Taggert this, to which he countered, "well, until you told him, how were you going to get his money to pay the ticket?.." Hey! Mama has a job, too!!

Lawnmower Man....

Saturday night, Troy was teasing Steve that he was going to pull up a chair & a beverage to watch Steve mow his lawn on Sunday morning, since Troy had finished all his yard work on Saturday.. Steve said he was pretty sure Troy wouldn't be up that early.. true to form, Steve woke us up this morning by turning on his weed-eater in our backyard & beating it on our bedroom window.. at 7:30 in the morning.....
He didn't know, however, that with the upstairs a/c out, the boys were in bed with me, and Troy was asleep on the couch.. we jumped up & made sure Daddy was awake for the "good morning" from next door..
So, we were all still laughing about it & plotting our next move when, 30 minutes later, the doorbell rang... Steve had delivered Rudy's breakfast to our door.. very sweet, but we are still plotting our revenge... ; )