It's Time to Celebrate!

The threat was there (even a few sprinkles were sent to rattle us) but the party went rain-free thank goodness! We had a wonderful afternoon of celebration with our fantastic family and friends as our guys got another year older. We are truly, truly blessed!

Happy Birthday Gavin!

Gavin is now four! I need to pinch myself .... can't believe my sweet boy is FOUR YEARS OLD! Per the birthday boy's request, back to Chuck E. Cheese we go ...

This picture makes me smile for two reasons. First of all, Gavin got this hat at school and would not take it off. He wore it until he went to bed. Secondly, Joey. He was feeling a little camera shy and thought he was safe but, alas, there he is ...

Happy Halloween

At the pumpkin patch ...

Good times!

I do have to admit how LUCKY I was this Halloween. Last year, Gavin was Mater and Joey was Lightning McQueen. And this year, Gavin wanted to be Lightning McQueen and Joey wanted to be Mater. SWITCH! How easy was that! = ) I'm sure I'll pay for that gloating down the road ...

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

Joey is three! Yea! We had a family night at Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate his birthday. It's funny how you can tell a three year old he can eat anywhere he wants on his birthday and it's Chuck E. Cheese. LOL!

Opening presents at home ... Joey got a Clickstart!

Flying high!

S'up? I'm three!

What Joey thinks of Chuck E. ....

Back to School

Where oh where did the summer go? Here are my 'little' guys on their first day back at school. Gavin is three (soon to be four) and Joey is two (soon to be three). They had a great first day ... they both enjoy school!

More Summer Fun

I can't believe it's 1.2.2010 and I'm playing catch up from the summer! We had a FUN summer! A little lowkey but we were busy bees just kickin' back and enjoying the break from school.

The boys attended two VBS's. Parkway Fellowship offered a wonderful evening option that we took advantage of (I already blogged about that) and we also attended Second Baptist's VBS. I saw 'we' because 'we' all attended. I volunteered to teach so all three of us had a wonderful week. The boys LOVED the experience, both really. Joey still watches the DVD from Parkway's VBS. Both he and Gavin are in it so I suppose that's why he can watch it over and over and over and over ... The boys also went to summer camp for a week at St. Peter's Church (this is the camp I got in line at 5 AM for!). It was from 9 to 1 so we all enjoyed that week! ; )

George and I were honored when Jennifer and Cameron invited Gavin to be the miniature groom at their wedding. The ceremony was absolutely gorgeous! Jennifer was a gorgeous bride!

Joey was in awe of the belly dancer!

Gavin escorted Ava, Cameron's niece, down the aisle

My handsome guys!

We went to the beach. A LOT! Day trips with our besties and overnight stays when Daddy could join us. We even met up with the Flemings ... the boys adore spending time with Kaylie and Emily!

We had a ridiculous amount of fun when the Partlow's visited for a few days. We showed them the sights, well, the Aquarium anyway and did some swimming and alot of hanging out. The boys had a blast! As did I!

We wrapped up the summer with a family weekend at the Freeman's lakehouse in Sommerville. No pressure or anything Courtney and Kelly but we're really hoping this becomes an annual thing! = P

The kids were EXHAUSTED after a day on the lake

Last Day of School - Catching Up From May!

Gavin and his buddy Matthew

It's funny how one little ol' day can create such a litany of emotions ... excitement, anticipation, dread (LOL!). Honestly though, I was genuinely excited about the last day of school. I was anticipating all the fun things we had to look forward to this summer. But I'll get to summer later ...

The boys both had classroom parties. Although Joey's was a little low-key ... Chick-fil-a brought in for everyone. I guess that is pretty exciting for a two year old! Gavin's class had a bug-themed party complete with a bug hunt outside and pizza. The kids loved it. Gavin was such a sweetheart when he offered his bug box to one of his classmate's that didn't have one. He has such a kind heart!

We were very sad to say goodbye to the majority of Gavin's classmates. Most will move on to the three-day option next year, while Gavin stays with the T/Th schedule. New friends to look forward to! We are also so very thankful for the boys' wonderful teachers ... Gavin's teachers Ms. Cynthia and Ms. Lisa (who thankfully will be Joey's teachers next year) and Joey's teachers Ms. Pam and Ms. Stacy. The boys' music teacher, Ms. Donna, is amazing as well. We feel so blessed we found Grace!

Lago Vista - Catch Up from May!

We took our first road trip in the minivan and headed to Lago Vista for a few days. We had a fantastic trip and got to spend a few days with the Siders-Gerardi family. We had such a relaxing, low key get-away ... imagine us lounging in the hammock!


It was great to see BJ and Stacy while we were there. Uncle BJ took some time to teach Gavin a necessary gesture ...


We squeezed in a few rounds of golf ...

Had some QT with our four-legged friends ...

If I'm not mistaken, this trip was the first time Gavin and Joey physically shared a bed. Ah, melt my heart ... nothing like seeing your babies sleeping side-by-side.

The only downside was Joey's decision to drink bubble juice on our last day there. Bless his heart. There was more vomiting than I care to remember, intermittently, throughout the day. A Mr. Gatti's pit stop on the way out of town hit the spot and restored the day to a good one ... love me some Mr. Gatti's!