Summer Loving...Having a Blast

We are BUSY this summer. Mom is booking playdates in August, for real (though we have July dates too, just call for info). Our neighbor who works for the Astros hooked us up with some greats seats to a game against the Cardinals (Luke's tball team). Astros lost but we got to cheer for Berkman so it was all good.
We went to hang out with Aunt Donna one day. We played in her sprinkler and ate Chick Fil A and then proceeded to destroy her house. Not sure we will be asked back until we are much older.
Brother got a buzz cut. Daddy says I still have super sweet baby boy hair so I can't get one yet. I'm jealous but I like having baby hair still.
We are so tired from all our activities that even after we wake up we sleep more in Mommy and Daddy's bed. This NEVER happens during the school year. Sleep is good....
Just slumming around Minute Maid park with the legend, Craig Biggio and Carlos Lee, who really needs to swing the bat a lot harder this season, just saying.

Alpine Adventure- Summer Trip #2

As a follow up to our Memorial Day beach trip we decided to trek across Texas to see Aunt Marsha and Uncle Matt. Contrary to what the picture depict, we actually did see Marsha and her little prego belly. Must get Mommy to focus on better pictures next time.

We split the trip out to West Texas into two parts. Night one we drove from Houston to Kerrville. Day 2 we drove from Kerrville to Alpine. 30 miles outside of Kerrville on night 1 we had the unfortunate experience of colliding with a deer. For real. We were so lucky though because it really did not do much beyond cosmetic damage to Mommy's car. It was midnight when we hit the poor critter and we were in Mommy's car so we had no tools and only a book light for additional inspections. Luckily, a nice rancher/newpaper reporter from a small town stopped and he had plenty of supplies and light to get us to Kerrville. The next day, Daddy checked it out. Zipped tied the bumper and headlights tight and we were on our way.

Daddy reenacting the deer collision or reacting to the bad tire rotation Mommy got before we left. Honestly though, the trip is all highway, you can go 85 past Kerrville and you can see some pretty cool stuff along the way.

Like 3,000 windmills on the West Texas hills.

Once we got to Alpine we HAD to check out Uncle Matt's truck. It has sirens, lights, and handcuffs! For the record, Davis is brandishing a toy gun. No rules were broken in the taking of this picture!

On Day 3 we headed out to explore the Davis Mountains, Ft. Davis and Balmorhea State Park and springs. Here is a pic of a rare bit of green scrub. Most of this area was really affected by the wildfires recently and is pretty barren and brown from all the distress.

Two junior rangers at the Ft. Davis historical site. Can you believe all the references to my puny little brother? I have got to find some Luke glaciers or something. While we were there, we saw a dorm room, officer's house, and many of the guns used by the soldiers stationed there throughout time. We even watched a video, narrated by the one and only Kareem Abdul Jabar about the Buffalo Soldiers and other units stationed at Ft. Davis. Bottom line, there was not much military action at Ft. Davis, not even with the Indians.

I tried out one of the cots. Not the comfiest thing but not miserable.

The whole "Davis" thing really got to his head!

Guns up around the parade grounds. See some of the Davis mountains behind us? We want to go back and hike around there some time. Maybe after little cousin Kiel arrives.

Next, we hit up Balmorhea State Park. It has natural springs in the form of a huge pool that is 72-76 degrees at all times. There are tons of tiny fish that swim with you and lots of scuba divers to swim around.

One of two diving boards. Davis and I were a little scared to go off the highdive. But at least give us some cred for continuing to endure the chilly temperatures. We picked a great time to visit. First, it was really warm outside so you could heat up fast and then jump back in. Second, the state had recently cleaned the pool bottom so it wasn't too green with algea.

Insert teeth chatter here. But yes, even Mommy got in the pool and had a great time.

The concrete was so warm we would sit on it when we were too cold from swimming. By the way, has anyone seen Davis? Where is he?

Just kidding, he's right there.

Before we got to Alpine, Aunt Marsha and Uncle Matt went to Teralingua to pick up some geodes for us to crack. That is good, honest fun. We had a blast and even wore safety protection most of the time we were cracking.

D demonstrating one of our finds. And don't worry, his hands are fine. He was using Uncle Matt's work out tape to look tough.

Every kid should be handcuffed by his uncle at least once. See, we had a great time in West Texas. Can't wait to go back and maybe next time we will see some exotic wildlife (other than the super cool road runner we saw on our last day).

On our way home we stopped in Kerrville again for a quick picnic and dip in the Guadalupe River. That was Daddy's idea and it was genius. It sure made the 10 hour drive a lot more bearable. Sidenote, Mommy would like to sincerely thank Pokemon for entertaining Davis and I for hours of the car ride there and back. She is also beyond thankful that we picked this trip to wear the Ford headphones so that she and Daddy could completely ignore Pokemon, have adult conversation and listen to the Guns N Roses and Ray Charles Pandora stations on the Ipod.

59 Months

Hi all,

Can you believe it? I am almost 5. Seriously. I still have so many ideas for my birthday party but Mommy and Daddy have made me narrow it down and make a selection. It was tough but I'm happy with my choice. I think! It is hard for me to make decisions, I get that from my Mom. But I'm working on making them and sticking to them. It seems I have also inherited my Mom's childhood anxiety. I'm pretty stressed to try new things and I get pretty worked up about it so that I get a stomach ache but once I get started on the new thing I'm totally fine. Mommy tells me this goes away as you get older (she failed to mention it was almost 5th grade til she chilled out). You would not believe how strong I am. Gymnastics has really agreed with me. I can finally do my backwards roll so next stop is a back handspring with my coach's spot. I do the trampoline and bars really well too. So much so that I now have back muscles. I am still very caring and compassionate and enjoy cuddle time with Mom and Dad every night reading books. But, I'm not too interested in reading. I have read two of the Magic Clubhouse books with Mom and Dad. Those are chapter books. They having reading comprehension questions at the end and I actually know all the answers, even after nights of reading the same book. I'm starting to serve my own breakfast and make my own peanut butter and honey sandwiches. I can clear the dinner table and help out with the dishes. I even like helping Mommy organize and declutter. I just don't care to pick up my toys. Stay tuned for news and pics from my birthday party!

LFB

37 Months

Hi! I'm officially 3.08 years old. I am pretty much the same as last month: feisty, talkative, and occasionally cuddly. In the pic above I am fishing with the custom rod Daddy made for me. It is orange. Orange is my favorite color. It even has an orange reel. Really, it is awesome. I like to think of myself as quite the jokester and frequently ask Mommy, "Is this funny?" and follow it with some nonsense, funny face or noise. I still like to pick fights with my brother and come down stairs in the wee hours of the morning. I'm not much for breakfast anymore either but I love lunch, dinner, snacks and dessert. There is little I will not eat including tuna fish and brussell sprouts. I especially like apples right now. I am excited I get to go to some of the summer camps with Luke this year. Can't wait for those or the many short road trips we are planning to take. I've had very few potty training accidents this month and think I'm just about done with pull ups at night. I still like all of my Star Wars stuff but I am also mildly interested in Pokemon thanks to our neighbor and friend Travis who really digs it. My life would be complete if we could just combine the two worlds together. Pikachu vs. Chewbacca, it would be epic!

Peace and chicken grease,

Davis

Memorial Day 2011

We headed to Crystal Beach for Memorial Day this year. We rented a house next door to my friend Keegan's grandparents' house. It was a super cool house and a great vacay. Michael and Veronica were with us. Mommy and Daddy's friends, Barry and Greg came down too. We fished (duh!), ate, frog hunted, played on the beach, rode in the golf carts, met new friends, listened to bag pipes (did you know you can play the Star Wars theme on the bagpipes?), and our all time favorite activity: catching hermit crabs and tiny shrimp in the surf! We can't wait to go back.
It was sunny the whole time we were down there. Can you tell?
Beach bums. We went to the beach almost every day and dug around, caught crabs and learned to body surf.
Michael fished every morning with Daddy and Mr. Angus. He had some keepers. To relax he dug a big pit at the beach and would lay in it protected from the surf but not from all of us boys!
Veronica, on the other hand, took one for the team and let us cover her with sand. She's a good sport!