Sometimes things just happen....

As you can imagine, a house with 3 little ones can be pretty chaotic at times. Wes & I do a pretty good job of staying on top of things and keeping an eye on the kids without having to be right by their sides 24/7. But, we don't have super powers so sometimes things just happen. Walls have been colored on, clothes have been ruined by dry erase marker, rolls of toilet paper have been found in the toilet, and finger nail polish has wound up in the wrong persons hands. Caleb found Avery's purple polish and this was the result!

Frisky Frog & Ocean Treasures (Pre-K)

Big day for us today - first day of the new school year for our crew. Caleb is a Frisky Frog at St. Paul's. He'll be going to "school" Mon - Wed mornings and then go to extended care. His teachers are Ms. Becky & Ms. Carima. I have no doubt that he will do well in his new class with his new frogmates.
Austin & Avery are in Pre-K, aka Ocean Treasures at St. Paul's. Their teacher is Ms. Winkelmann and the aide is Ms. Moehlmann. I'm excited to see how they do in school this year. They will go Mon - Fri mornings. Truth is I had no problem taking them in today. Their school is awesome and I know they are in great hands.

New beds!

Close your eyes and imagine you are driving down the interstate and pass a truck with mattresses out the wazoo loaded down. You wonder to yourself why in the heck do they need that many mattresses and think they are crazy for strapping down the mountain of comfort. Well, that was us on Saturday - 3 full mattresses and 3 box springs on Wes's truck as we picked up A&A&C's new resting mats and headed to cousin Kennedy's party in Montgomery.
Today Wes & I got right to it after church - disassemble toddler beds, put together new bed frames, realize some furniture must to go, remind ourselves that we need more storage, move furniture, clean cloests, move in new mattresses, rearrange again, reorganize, put on new bedding, show excited kids their new sleeping grounds... take a deep breath. Pics to come, but still have a few things on back order for the boys room. We'll see how the first night in big girl/boy beds goes tonight! At least when I put Avery to bed I can lay on a nice pillow top instead of a hard floor!
Tomorrow is a big day for us. A&A start Pre-K and Caleb is a Frisky Frog at St. Pauls. Can't wait to see how the day goes!

Our first horse encounter

A few weeks ago we all went out to Mr. Bob's house to help Wes deliver some hay. Wes usually does this solo, but he thought we could take the whole family and give the kids a chance to see their horses. We may live in the country, but we don't do large animal livestock (and have no intentions of doing so). I was not so sure how the kids would do around horses considering none of them like dogs, especially Avery. As with most things, they were slow to warm up but they eventually started feeding them some hay and "talking" to them. Mr. Bob even let Austin & Caleb sit on one of the gentle ones- Chief. Avery declined the offer. We weren't exactly dressed for horse riding, but Austin was sure to remember his cowboy hat.

Happy Birthday Daddy/Wes!

Four years ago, Wes came to the realization that his birthday would be over shadowed, at least for a while, by Austin & Avery. He may not get all the "stuff" they do, but we love him no less. Happy Birthday (a day late) to the man I am proud to call my husband and to the most amazing father!

Party like a 4-year old

I wasn't so sure that having a party for Austin & Avery at the house was the best idea, but we went with it anyway. I was anxious about who to invite, unfamiliar parents, being unprepared and the heat that would drive 20 4-yr olds inside our home to pull out every single toy we own. Turns out I had nothing to worry about. 15 other Bouncing Bears from St. Pauls and cousin Kennedy showed up for the party. Don't get me wrong, it was HOT, but the kids still spent time in the jumping house, rode on a hayride, had a kid friendly lunch - hot dogs, grapes, cheetos & watermelon, indulged in cake, and watched Avery and Austin tear through their gifts- literally. Time flew fast and before I knew it we were handing out party favor cd's and saying goodbyes. Once everyone was out the door, we made a quick clean sweep and started getting ready for round number 2 with family that evening.

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What is a birthday without....

CAKE!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

When asked what kind of birthday party they wanted to have, Austin's response was "cowboy party" and Avery's was "princess party". I knew I'd have a tough time with that invitation so I went with the generic invite but went with their ideas for the cakes. That probably makes it sound like I did the cakes. Ha! Olde Town Bakery created these masterpieces with the help of a few pictures I brought in of cakes that Avery & Austin had picked out on the internet. Everything was edible. That is a fondant tiarra on Avery's cake and a solid white chocolate cowboy hat on Austin's. Not only did they look amazing (these pictures don't do them justice), they were delicious!!!

Happy Birthday Avery & Austin!

Austin James & Avery Grace are 4 years old today!!! Can't even begin to describe the joy the bring to our lives. We love you Austin & Avery!

Ready or not....

Avery & Austin are turning 4 and it is party time at the Maurer's house! The minute we got back from Port Aransas we kicked it into bday party prep mode and have been living in that mode all week long. Glad the day is finally here and I am hoping we have prepped enough so that we can truly enjoy the day with Austin & Avery. Their actual birthday is Sunday, the 15th and we are celebrating twice - once this morining with the kids classmates and then again tonight with family. It will be a long day for this momma, but worth it to see the excitement in their eyes throughout the day.

Dear Kelcie,

Thank you so much for taking a few days out of your peaceful summer to watch us. Mommy and Daddy have to work all summer so were full timers at St. Pauls, but you gave as a break from that routine for a few days and took us all over the big city! The first day was the best - park, McDonald's, ice cream at Must Be Heaven, Toy Story 3, AND skating. Mom thought you were a bit crazy to do this all on your own, but we sure had a good time! We had fun swimming on our most recent outing and of course we will never turn down the slip n' slide or popscicles. We have so much fun with you and thank you for wanting to play with us. You are the coolest, and don't tell Rocky, but we think he is pretty cool too. Mom said if college doesn't work out, you can come live with us!

Love,
Austin, Avery & Caleb

Port Aransas 2010

We enjoyed a few days at Port Aransas with Toppe & Grandpa. Everyday was a little bit of the same: sleep in, beach, down time, dinner, and card games. Every year I enjoy more and more the simpleness of the beach - spending the day in swimsuits and lounging by the waves. We did get to lounge a bit this year as A&A&C were safe in the shallow water. They played for hours and the adults pulled out the frisbee and volleyball and played a bit of our own. It was just what we needed!

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