Yee-Haw, It's Rodeo Time!

Every year we make at least one trip to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. Sometimes we attend the nightly concert and other times we just take the kids to the carnival and livestock show. It's always so much fun for all of us. This year, we met up with some of Connor and Kaitlynn's buddies to ride the carnival rides, indulge in some carnival food (YUM!), and enjoy the gorgeous spring weather. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day.

One of the kids' favorite parts of the Rodeo experience is riding the Metro Rail (light rail train) to the Rodeo entrance. Connor was SO excited to ride with fellow cowboys Benjamin and Timothy, and Kaitlynn really liked the "choo-choo" too.




When we arrived at the carnival entrance we met 2 more of Connor's buddies, Brady and Tanner. These boys all attended the same daycare for the first several years of their lives and they continue to enjoy spending time together (as do their Mommies). We made all 6 kiddos sit for a quick picture since they were too cute in their Western wear.



And when I saw the following picture, I cracked up. Poor Kaitlynn in the middle of all these boys, it looks like she has her head in her hands thinking, "Woe is me!" Ha!



The first thing we always do at the Rodeo is let the kids ride the ponies. Kaitlynn was one of the first to ride and she was NOT loving it. She whined and cried a little bit but then seemed to tolerate it, but not without her trademark scowl.





Connor, on the other hand, LOVED it! He and the other boys had a blast on their pony rides.




After the ponies, the boys enjoyed their first ride: the big slides. I was able to capture this quick video of Connor and Benjamin going down the slide, which seemed a little scary to me!



Next was a little obstacle course. Here's the three 4-year-olds climbing the net on the course.



Then we walked past this cool "human bubble" game and the boys all were mesmerized.



By far, the favorite ride of the day was this race car ride. The boys all rode it several times and all had huge smiles on their faces. Here's a picture and quick video of one of Connor's turns.





Kaitlynn spent most of the morning strapped into the stroller because it was too crowded to let her run loose. She definitely had had enough by early afternoon.




Of course, the favorite part of the day for me was lunch! I had been planning all week to cheat on my diet with some yummy carnival food. And oh my, it was delicious and worth it! After lunch, I made sure to get a quick photo with my Rodeo cuties.



It was another great year at the Rodeo for all of us. So now it's time to put away our boots and hats until this time next year! :-)

Connor's First Sleepover

A couple of weeks ago, Connor had his first sleepover at a friend's house (without Mommy or Daddy). It was a momentous occasion, with MUCH anticipation on his part beforehand. Connor's best buddy Benjamin invited him to spend the night and Connor couldn't have been more excited. Benjamin's mom Julie and I decided to have a playdate with our kids at one of our local parks, and then Connor would just go home with them. I borrowed (stole?) all of Julie's pics and stories to be able to recap the boys' adventures so that we'll have it in our annual blog/scrapbook at the end of the year, and I'm so thankful that Julie captured all of the fun they had!

First up, we met at our local Hermann Park in the downtown area. It is a really neat park with several different play areas and it even offers a neat train ride around the perimeter of the park. That's always the kids' favorite part. Here are Kaitlynn, Connor, and Benjamin waiting for the first train of the morning.



Finally, it's here! The excitement is building!




Playing at the park. It was lots of fun for all the kids and wore them all out!




The park had lots of nice picnic areas and so we had a fun picnic at lunchtime. After a little more playtime, it was time to head home. Connor was so worked up about being able to go home with Benjamin. As tired as they both were, Connor was talking Benjamin's head off all the way home (is anyone surprised about that??) and poor Benjamin just wanted to rest. No one ever really gets how much Connor talks until they spend long periods of time with him. I think Julie finally understood why I'm always asking Connor for "quiet time for Mommy!" Ha!

Once the boys got to Benjamin's house, they were able to enjoy the beautiful weather and play outside.





And right about that time, the ice cream truck showed up! Woohoo! I have the fondest memories of getting ice cream treats from the ice cream man when I was younger, so I know this was such a special treat for the boys.



Connor ate his to the last drop. It was running all the way down his arms. Definitely the sign of a successful snack.




Later that night, Julie treated the boys to pizza. Yum! Connor was so hungry that he ate 5 pieces, and for some reason he wanted to arrange his crusts (we call them "pizza bones") around his plate. Maybe as a dinner trophy? I personally think he looks a bit drunk off the pizza, ha!





After dinner, the boys had a much-needed bath. They loved bathtime, especially with all the bubbles!



Then they had movie night with popcorn, Connor's favorite. Can you tell these boys were worn out?




Julie said around 8:30, Connor said he was tired and actually asked to go to bed. WOW! Now that is a tired kid. Benjamin didn't put up any argument either! They had a quick story and were tucked into bed.




Now comes my favorite part of their sleepover adventure. Julie and her husband Harry were listening to the boys over the monitor as they had some bedtime conversations. Benjamin asked Connor if he was ever scared when he went to bed at night. Connor said, "Sometimes my brother Kevin sleeps in my room with me, and I'm not nearly as scared when he's there." Awwww!

Then as they continued to talk about feeling scared, Benjamin said, "God is always with us. Do you know that, Connor? We are never alone because God is everywhere we go." Oh my, what a sweet and precious boy! Sounds like a 4-year-old that could teach me a thing or two.

The next morning, the boys woke up and had McDonald's pancakes for breakfast. Can you say spoiled?? :-) Then they went to the neighborhood park and played until they were worn out again.



When they got back home, they spent some time drawing and coloring.



Around that time, Kaitlynn and I headed over to pick up Connor and take him home. I should say, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the afternoon/evening/morning while Connor was gone. It was SO much quieter at our house! When we arrived at Benjamin's house, his precious sister Lily greeted us with a huge smile.



And then Kaitlynn and I took turns holding her.




Finally, a shot of my sweet friend Julie with her oldest, Benjamin. I have grown to love this family SO much and continue to be so blessed by our friendships.



Julie, thank you so much for loving my boy like your own and making such fun and special memories that he'll cherish for years to come! Connor is already anticipating his next sleepover!

Diet

Here are just a few ways to tell that you might need to go on a diet.

• When your dream beach vacation with your hubby is less than 2 months away and you find yourself praying that it gets cancelled, simply because you can't bear the thought of getting into a swimsuit.


• When your fat clothes are too tight.


• When you realize your favorite pair of lounge pants are actually maternity pants--and you aren't pregnant nor have you been pregnant for nearly 2 years.


• When the amount of calories you consume in a single day by drinking Cokes equals roughly that of 3 entire Snickers candy bars.


• When you are filled with anxiety about yet another summer looming because you hate the way you look in shorts and tank tops.


• When you drive through McDonalds and your 4-year-old says, "Mom, I bet they are saying, here comes the crazy Coke lady again!"


• When your wedding rings are too tight and you keep blaming it on swollen fingers from the heat. Even in the dead of winter.


• When your 4 basic food groups have become: fast food, pizza, Mexican food, and Coke.

For these and many more reasons, I finally broke down and realized the need for my own diet intervention. It has been a miserable few weeks -- I am NOT accustomed to denying myself food that I love (and don't even get me started on Cokes!) -- but I'm pleased to say I'm down about 20 pounds or so, just in time for that dream vacation with my hubby next week. Yay! I still have about 10-15 more pounds I want to lose, but I'm certainly not going to worry about it while I'm on vacation.

A funny thing about this diet stuff is how it has really impacted the kids. I had developed SUCH bad habits with eating fast food, drinking Cokes, donuts before church, etc. Now that Jeff and I are abstaining from these things, Connor has been quite confused. I try not to tell him I'm "on a diet" but that we're trying to eat and be healthier. Occasionally the D word (diet) slips out and the other day Connor was asking Jeff about it. Connor mentioned to him that "Mommy is on a really bad diet." And the day before that, he was watching a program where the kids on TV were laughing really hard and he turned to me and asked, "Mom, do YOU ever laugh?" Ouch. Shows how miserable I am on a diet.

But probably the funniest thing that happened recently was after we went to church and made our usual stop at the donut shop. All the kids made their usual donut orders while Jeff and I looked on and salivated. The next day, Connor was going on and on about how yummy his sprinkled donut tasted. I said, "Yum, I wish I could have a donut." That made Connor ask a couple of questions about why we didn't eat donuts, and again I explained we were trying to eat healthier. To which he responded, exasperated, "WHAT is going ON with you guys????" I cracked up so hard, because I've been wondering the same thing myself!

Rodeo Cuties

It's that time of year again - Rodeo time! Each year Connor's preschool class puts on a little program to celebrate that the Rodeo is in town. All the kids get to wear their finest western wear and the older kids perform some songs and dances for their parents. Kaitlynn's class doesn't participate in the Rodeo activities but we still made sure she was dressed for the occasion.

Here are my Rodeo cuties before school:




I asked Kaitlynn if I could take a picture of her in her Rodeo skirt but she wasn't havin' it that day. So I gave her my iPhone to hold and that helped for a couple shots.



She is getting to the age where her snaggletooth is really starting to show!



Here's Connor at school in his Rodeo gear ready to perform the in Rodeo program.



In case you're interested, I posted a YouTube video of Connor performing one of the Rodeo songs. Kids this age crack me up!

After the program, here's Mommy and her little Rodeo cowboy:



We have lots more Rodeo activities to come, so these outfits will be getting a lot of use in the coming days!

Trip to the Zoo

We have had the most gorgeous weather here in Houston this week. Highs in the 70s, lows in the 40s. Perfect!! When we are blessed with this kind of weather, it usually means one thing: our annual trip to the Houston zoo. Connor LOVES going but I'm usually the party pooper (I'm not a fan of crowds, or heat, or stinky animals, ha!) but there's no way I would turn down a day outside these days, even if it means braving the zoo!

Like most theme parks, our zoo has photographers that camp out at the zoo entrance and snap your picture when you enter. They ask you to come back and view your photos later in the day, and of course they charge an arm and a leg to buy even the smallest size photo. But let me tell you, when I saw this one of my cuties, I just had to buy it!



Connor immediately wanted to see his two favorite animal exhibits: the cheetahs (he loves them because they're so fast) and Zaboomafoo (he's a lemur from a show on PBS Sprout). So we stopped and took his picture with them both.




We then saw the giraffes, my personal favorite.



The last time we visited the zoo, Kaitlynn was about 10 months old. I was curious whether she would enjoy it but I assumed she would be fascinated by the large animals. I was wrong. She seemed a bit intimidated every time we saw the bigger animals and she didn't want to get out of her stroller. I'm not sure if she was afraid or just confused. This was the look I got when I asked if she liked the animals:



She DID enjoy saying "bye bye" to the animals every time we moved on. But I knew we had struck gold when we came upon the petting zoo. She was out of that stroller in no time and immediately began petting the little animals. (I have no idea what these animals are??)



They offered the kids these brushes so they could brush the animals' coats. Connor and Kaitlynn loved it.



It dawned on me that maybe she loved the petting zoo so much and not the other exhibits because the little animals here maybe remind her of dogs? And we all know how much she loves dogs.



After the petting zoo, we found a nice shady spot to have our zoo picnic. I love that they'll let you bring in your own food and drinks. And I can't say enough about how gorgeous the weather was. Definitely a perfect day for a picnic.



We made one last stop at the kids' playground.



And then I knew it was time to call it a day when I saw this. Kaitlynn had found an "emergency paci" that was strapped to my bag, and she was determined to use it (always a sign of exhaustion!):



It was a great day! It definitely helps remind me how blessed I am that my "job" allows me to spend a beautiful day with my kids at the zoo.

Mr. Falcon

Last weekend was a big one for Collin. On Friday he turned 18! Yes, 18. That is so crazy to me. It's hard to believe that he's considered an adult now. And just around the corner is his high school graduation. Where does the time go??

For several weeks now, Collin has been so busy that we rarely see him. He did something completely out of his comfort zone and signed up to participate in his high school's annual talent show. It's called Mr. Falcon (the falcon is their high school mascot) and each year 30+ seniors at Jersey Village High School compete in various categories to be crowned the Mr. Falcon for their senior class. The show serves as a big fundraiser for the senior prom, and I was honored to be able to attend and try to capture some pics/videos of the event. It was so much fun! Those kids were so creative with their skits and we found ourselves laughing throughout much of the night.

Another part of the Mr. Falcon activities was to vote for the Mr. Falcon contestant with the best eyes, best smile, and best pockets (a.k.a. butt). They had these big poster boards set up with all the contestants' features and you could purchase votes for the one you wanted to win.



We made sure to cast our votes for the best eyes, #1 of course. Collin has been complimented his entire life on his gorgeous green eyes, so he had a bit of a campaign going to make sure that title was his. And guess what? He won!



Here he is after being presented the best eyes award, looking quite dashing in his white tuxedo from the formal wear competition.



The most entertaining part of the night was watching all 34 contestants compete in various "talent" skits. Some competed alone and others in groups. Collin joined a larger group and their skit was entitled, "NSync versus Backstreet Boys." It was a bit of a song/dance-off between the 2 boy bands. And it was great! I think the most shocking thing for Jeff and I is that Collin sang during a part of their skit. Again, completely out of his comfort zone!





The guys did a FANTASTIC job and we couldn't have been more proud of Collin for participating in such a neat event that he'll remember for years to come. And now for your viewing pleasure, here are Collin's main appearances in the Mr. Falcon 2011 show.

The swimsuit competition (hilarious!):


The formal wear competition:


The talent competition: