From the mouths of babes...

As we are driving...

Britton: "Mom, where are we going?"

Me: "To the gym."

Britton: "Oh wow! We haven't been there in a long time!" 

Touché, child. Touché.

And then to add insult to injury, the desk clerk said, "We haven't see you in a while!".

For the record, I was just going to run a couple miles.  Instead, I took a vicious Body Attack class.

Daddy is home!

Lewis went to Washington DC this past Monday through Wednesday.  It made for long days around here.

We were so excited for him to come home that we painted a sign for him and met him at the airport as a surprise!  The fact that we ran into friends and got to see the airplanes was an added bonus!

Britton wanted to paint a rainbow and then he signed our names.
Britton is written on the left hand side.  Bishop's name is at the top.  And "mom" is on the right.  It's harder than it seems to "write" with a paintbrush!

Best Weekend

I had the best weekend I've had in a long time.
Even though Lewis worked 8 hours on Saturday and about 6 hours on Sunday.

Friday night, we had dinner as usual at one of our favorites, El Bracero.  We met a co-worker of Lewis' and her husband.  They boys behaved great and the staff is always so great to us.  Not to mention the food never disappoints.

Saturday, Lewis worked from about 8-4.  I ran errands with the kids and that afternoon we went to a friend's house to fellowship with a total of 5 couples.  That's 10 adults, with each couple having two kids, for a total of 20 people.

Of the 10 kids, 8 are boys, 2 are girls.  Ages range from 6 years down to 7 months.  Our hosts had two baby pool, a slip and slide, various riding toys, and assorted other toys in the backyard.  It was a kids paradise. There was also a babysitter who helped us keep an eye on the kids.

It was such a great time, with good food, good (adult) drinks, and fabulous friends.  The boys passed out right after baths and slept in a bit.

Sunday, Lewis went in to the office about 530 am (YES!) while the boys and I slept in and then went to bible class and church.  The boys and I had a quick lunch out and Lewis met us at home about 1230. Bishop took a brief nap and then we headed to Wonderland Park.

Lewis got some free tickets because his work was a corporate sponsor of a Duck Dynasty event being held there.  I'm not a duck dynasty fan, but I certainly am a fan of taking my kids to an amusement park.  Especially for free.

We waited in line for about an hour to get our picture taken with the Duck Dynasty "celebrities", Jeb and Jessica Robertson.  They were very strict on how long they would pose for pictures, and by pure luck we made it.  We were the third from the last people to get to take a picture.  They left about 50 people in line with no picture. :(

Afterwards, we had some ice cream as part of the "deal" and then it was time for the rides.

We really haven't exposed the boys to rides and the one time we took them to the local fair, Bishop was too small for anything and Britton was terrified.  However, today, Bishop was all about the rides. He loved them.  Britton wanted nothing to do with them...until he saw his brother having a good time.  Once he finally got over his fear, he wanted to ride all of them over and over again.

Their favorites were the Tilt A Whirl (Britton's face and laugh were priceless) and the pirate ship that just swings back and forth (Britton only.  Bishop was too short).

It was SO good to spend time together as a family and seeing the boys so giddy.

Afterwards, we grabbed some Jason's Deli and went to a local park to picnic for dinner with some church families.  It was a nice to talk in a casual setting and so great for the kids to all play together.

We came home exhausted, but with full and happy hearts.

I am bursting with love and gratitude for the blessing of my family and the quality time we spent together. Adding friends to the mix makes it even sweeter.  Thank you, Lord!

Bishop

I love this boy!!

Random fact:  

When Bishop wakes up in the morning or from nap, he doesn't talk or sing or cry.  He meows.  

Yes. Like a cat.  It's a recent thing.

It's hilarious. Especially considering we do not have a cat.

My Loves

I had to kiss a lot of frogs to finally find a King. And then I got my two princes. 

The boys found the frog along the fence line.  We've had more rain this summer than I can remember this summer!  The boys kept following it as it hopped and then Lewis picked it up.  It "peed" and Britton asked Lewis to flip it over to see where the frog peed from.  Britton said it peed from it's booty. :)

Bishop didn't want to touch it, but finally did a quick "finger poke".

For the record, we safely released the frog back into the yard so he (she?) could return to it's family.

Britton

Looking so grown.  And so handsome.

Independent Play

Both boys play very well independently.  

Here is Bishop "fishing" from a 5 gallon bucket while big brother is at day camp.

Best Friends of Two Kinds

I drove to Anson to pick up the boys and stayed the weekend.

My mom performed a miracle and weaned Bishop of his "tetee" (pacifier).  She told him the dog took it.  He whines a little bit for it, but almost a week since having it, he's realizing it's not coming back.

I'm going to miss (but not miss!) his pacifier smile. It's been his "best friend" since he was an infant.

And speaking of best friends, the boys had an exchange that just about melted my heart.

They had just had their bath and were dressed in pajamas. Bishop ran up to Britton to kiss and hig him goodnight.

Britton took him into a big hug and said. "I love you, Bishop.  We're best friends, right?".
And Bishop responded, "Right!".

Fishing

Lewis, my FIL, and Britton went to the ranch and also went fishing today.  From the looks of the lake, I am surprised they caught anything.  But they did and had a great day.

They came home exhausted and dirty.  I know fishing will be a great father/son time for Lewis and the boys for years to come.

"Skateboard"

Britton has been asking for a "skateboard" for a while now.  He would make a motion with his leg like he was kicking back dirt.  There was no way I was going to get him one because I knew it'd end up with a bump on the head.  Lucky for him, he finally mentioned "handles" on it, so I figured out he meant he wanted a scooter.  Lucky for him, his Uncle Ricky and Aunt Michelle has gotten the boys a giftcard to Toys R Us for their birthday, so I decided to look there.  

I did some research online to see what type scooter was available at TRU.  Then I did research to see how well those brands were reviewed.  Luckily, there was one brand that got rave reviews on Amazon.  Even luckier, that brand was on sale at TRU and in stock.  And to add more proof that this scooter was Britton's fate, I had a small store credit to TRU.  It cost me about $5 to walk out the door with it.  Pretty good considering it was a $60 scooter. This is the scooter we went with.

I do realize that the giftcard was for both boys.  I also realize that Bishop can't use it...YET.  Trust me, he wants to. :)  But I know when Britton transitions to a bike, Bishop will be there waiting to inherit the scooter.

Britton was quite unsteady on it when he first tried it out.  In 30 minutes, he had improved immensely.  By the next day, he was even better.  I have a feeling we will get lots of use out of it this summer.