First night under the Friday Night Lights

Tonight we decided to pack up our crew and attend our first Brenham Cub football game. We were going to go a few weeks ago, but it got rained out, so tonight was the night.... ready or not. We put on our "Go Cub" green and met up with Toppe and Grandpa at the gate to help us out. Tonight was Homecoming so we made it through half time to see the queen crowned and then headed home. Avery & Austin were pretty much in awe of everything going on. It is pretty obvious that Avery is not a fan of big crowds and loud noises so she clung pretty tight to either Wes or I. Austin enjoyed watching the boys on the football field and the Cub mascot. Caleb enjoyed the popcorn. I have a feeling we'll enjoy plenty more football games in the future - Super Cubs, Pump It Up.

Future Cubs

Note home from school...

Last week on Caleb's daily report he had more than the usual "Caleb had a great day." Instead, it said "Caleb has been grabbing the other kids clothes and pulling them to the floor." Uh oh.... wonder where he has seen this? Can't be from daddy & A&A "wrestling" on the floor in their room. The next day I went in to pick Caleb up early and talked with the teacher to find out what was going on. Apparently he prefers to pick on the girls, especially the ones that scream. Oh dear!!!! Our challenge has been how to address it when it is something that happens at school, guess he knows he can't do this with Austin & Avery at home. Even today, it says he is still pulling them down, but at least now he is stopping when the teacher tells him to stop.

Another thing to note is that I think A&A's pull up days are coming to an end. Up until about a week ago, we had them in Pull Ups at night time only. They have been sleeping in panties/underwear for a little over a week. Avery is good about getting up when she has to go potty in the middle of the night and Austin has had a few accidents.... the boy sleeps so hard so I don't think he can feel it, even if he wets the bed. I'm sure more accidents will come, but if I can scratch Pull Ups off of the grocery list, I will be a happy mama - until it's Caleb's turn.

Fair time

We took the kids down to the fair to check out the animals and ride rides. They did ok around the animals and didn't mind touching them since they were in pens. We were very happy to find out that Caleb was tall enough to ride most of the rides that A&A could ride so we put them all on a ride and watched as they went round and round. The smiles on their faces made it all worth it.
As we ended our late night we stopped for a fair must-have, funnel cake. YUM!
More fair posts and pics below. Check them out.

rides... rides... rides...

Carne rides for everyone!

Take you for a ride on my big green (red) tractor

Austin's 1st Pony Ride

Of our 3 kids, Austin is the last one we expected to get on a pony, but when we asked, he was the only one who said he wanted to ride.

Petting Zoo

Our Cowboys

Yee Haw! It's fair time.... we pulled out cowboy hats we got from a birthday party a while back before heading out to the good ol' Washington County fair.

Anyone else thinking Caleb's hat looks more like a sombrero????

Life is unpredictable

It's been a sad day. My grandmother passed away today and it is not something we were expecting. She went into the hospital last Thursday and today we had to say our last goodbyes. Mimi Maurer helped out and picked up our crew from school so Wes & I could be with our family at the hospital and when we got home we talked to A&A and let them know that gma Keen was in heaven. She wasn't sick anymore. I took the kids to see gma Keen in Rockdale 2 weeks ago. Never did I think this would be the last time they would get to see her. I wish they could always have memories of her.... she was one of a kind!
When we got home from picking up the kids, I glanced across the dark lawn and saw a frog jumping towards the breezeway and it sent chills up my spine. Though it was late and the kids needed to get to bed, I pointed the frog out to them. Why? Do you know what gma Keen collected?!?! Frogs - lots of frogs!!!! I thought it was a sign.... she's still with us, just watching over us in a better place.
So today/tonight, hug your loved ones... life is unpredictable.

Happy Grandparents Day!!!

I am not quite sure when this "holiday" started because I am pretty sure we didn't have it when I was growing up. I guess Hallmark needed a reason to sell a few more overpriced cards. Actaully, I do think grandparents deserve a lots special recognition, even their very own day. I know we couldn't survive without Toppe & Grandpa Otto and Mimi & Popo. They help us out in SO many ways. In fact a few weekends ago both of them had the nerve to leave town at the same time - all weekend long! That meant no stop in babysitters or place to seek refuge when things got crazy at our house. We managed to survive, but we always miss them when they are gone. Thanks Toppe, Grandpa Otto, Mimi & Popo for all you do for us. We love you very much!

A quick side note, my grandma Keen (mom's mom) has been in ICU all weekend with blood clots
in her lungs. Please keep her in your prayers.

"Are they all yours?!?"

Saturday night we attended a wedding reception for a good friend of ours in Rockne - a very small town/community just outside of Bastrop. Both the bride and groom are from there so it was pretty much the town that was invited plus a few "outsiders" like us. Don't get me wrong, the people are very friendly and the families are so welcoming, but when we walked through the door I felt eyes on us and people were thinking "who are they?" We kind of stand out when we have 3 toddlers clinging to us. As the night went on and we were able to get around and talk more as our kids ran around the dance floor, I got a better taste of what people were thinking about us. These are a few of the comments/questions we heard from complete strangers:
"It makes me tired just watching ya'll"
"Did ya'll plan to have each one a year apart?" - I then explained that A&A were twins.
"Did you plan that?" - pretty bold question if you ask me
"I think I'd have to drink a lot to do what you guys do"
"Are they all yours?" - my favorite, no, we picked them up on the side of the road
It was interesting to me that most people did not automatically assume that A&A were twins, but then again if they weren't my own children, I might not either because they don't look a lot alike.... dark hair, brown eyes & blond hair, blue eyes. We did get our fair share of compliments, "you have a beautiful family & your kids are all so adorable". I'm not going to disagree.

Fall nights...

Finally, a break from the scorching summer time heat! It has been nice to come home from work in the afternoons and have the kids want to stay outside and play. That means outdoor toys and playscape are being put to use and my house does not get destroyed until after supper time. Here's a few pics from them on their playscape that I took the other night. I am very bummed that I had to send in my zoom lens on our new camera. Fortunetly it is under warranty, but that also means that my range is limited and I am a zoomer!

Many faces of Caleb

just pics

Hook 'Em

These are all pics of our Longhorn past. I was not a very good Longhorn mom yesterday and didn't get the kids dressed in their gear (in fact they were in jammies until at least noon) for opening weekend. Next week... promise and pics will surely follow. College football has been and surely will continue to be a big part of our lives. If we were still in Austin we would for sure be taking the kids to tailgate and watch the games. Since A&A were born we have made it up to at least one game a season and will hopefully be able to make a few more once the kids get a bit more manageable and one day bite the bullet and get season tickets. We did attempt to take A&A into the stadium for a game just after they had turned 1. You should have seen the looks on some of the peoples faces as we were walking up - "Are they crazy?!?" Yes, we were, but we made it a full quarter before walking back and watching the rest of the game in the shade on a big screen at the tailgate.

Wes & I have many happy memories from Texas Longhorn football. Wes is UT alum and we watched many a football game on the 50 yard line, thanks to his college roomies! I call myself an adopted Longhorn since HBU didn't have a football team. We hope we are able to share some great UT football memories with Avery, Austin, & Caleb in the future. Hook 'Em!