Nothing like a Little Camo!

The best part about hand-me downs is you get to make them your own. This is especially true when you are a boy and you already own one pink bike, but then you are also given a bright pink, red, and purple "Dora the Explorer" jeep. One girly mode of transportation is kinda cool, but two? That's taking it a bit far. Luckily, Jack and Hayes have a sweetheart of a father who gets a kick out of little and big labors of love. Jason has spent the last few weeks in the garage, painstakingly spray painting and camo-stickering. All of his hardwork has finally paid off and the old "Dora" jeep is now just a faint memory. It has now become a very manly and rather macho piece of machinery. Jack is thrilled about his new wheels and loves to show everyone who comes over his studly ride. Way to go, Dada! You pulled it off once again!

A Little Q & A

Our little talker was even more talkative than normal this afternoon so I decided to take advantage of this extra "blabbery" mood and fire off a few questions in his direction. Not surprisingly, he had an answer for everything! However, I was a bit surprised to see how much he seemed to enjoy unloading this crucial information all at once. I thought you might get a kick out of hearing some of his answers...

1. What is your favorite thing to eat? Ice Cream And your favorite kind? Banilla
2. What is you favorite thing to do? Play Cars
3. What is your favorite color? Green
4. Who is your best friend at school? Alejandro
5. What is your favorite song? "Just Singing in the Water Fountain"
6. What is your favorite thing to do with daddy? Play 1-2-3 Blast Off in the Pool
7. What do you want to be when you grow up? A Tree
8. Where is your school? Next to Gigi's House
9. What is your favorite thing to do with Tess? Share Ice Cream Sandwiches with her
10. How old are you going to be on your next birthday? 6 months
11. What is your favorite kind of truck? The Ice Cream Truck
12. What is your favorite thing to do with Grandad? Hold Hands and Jump in the Pool
13. What is your favorite movie? Alex the Lion (aka Madagascar)
14. What do you dream about? Car Pillow and Blanket
15. What is your favorite book? The Ice Cream Truck book
16. What time do you go to bed? 3:30
17. What time do you wake up? 3:30
18. How many toes do you have? 1-2-3-4
19. How many ears do you have? 1-2-3
20. What do you like best about being a big brother? Jumping

21. What is your favorite animal? Hippopotamus

"Real Men Ride Pink"

Jason's first bike was quite a piece of work. First of all, it was purple. I would actually say it is more pink, but Jason remains adamant that it is purple. Not sure why he seems to think purple is so much more acceptable than pink, but whatever. This gem of a bike also has no brakes to speak of and this excellent safety feature goes along with some very nice asphalt tires. All I know is that Jason's dad must have had some very impressive negotiating skills in order to have been able to land this bad boy for absolutely free. : ) Jason and I decided that it just wouldn't be right to let such an exquisite bike just sit in our attic gathering dust...so this past weekend we decked it out with some hot new training wheels and introduced Jack to his "brand new" bike. Not surprisingly he was super excited to inherit some new wheels, but despite his excitement he wasn't about to just hop on without giving it a thorough once over. We weren't exactly sure what the little guy was thinking as he looked it over from front to back and then again from back to front. Would he reject this family heirloom until it had a more manly paint job, some necessary brakes, or at the very least rubber tires? Nope. His only request, said in the most perfect, almost three year old, Texas twang was stated simply..."I need a bell!"

Taking a first spin around the driveway

Gaining confidence and looking good!

Hayes also checks out the new ride for a minute

To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. They know each other as they always were. They know each others hearts. They live outside the touch of time. -Clara Ortega

Wows at the Waterpark!

We made our first trip to the neighborhood water park yesterday! And if that wasn't fantastic enough. we rode our bikes and the boys rode in their bike trailer for the first time! And if that wasn't awesome enough, the Welty's also joined us for the afternoon! We all had a great time relaxing and cooling off in the hot afternoon sun. Jack was quite a different and way more confident little boy than the one from last summer. He and his new buddy, Mr. lifejacket, spent all afternoon jumping in by themselves, going under by themselves, and conquering any and all slides the place had to offer. Yep, that's right he even went down the humungous, giant, larger than life slide TWICE by himself! Unfortunately we don't have any pictures of this monsterish feat because the photographer (his father) was frozen in a slight panic as he watched me attempt to catch our slippery little salamander at the bottom. I, on the other hand, never had any doubts and was the picture of cool confidence. Yeah, right. : )

I Scream for Ice Cream!

Jason and I didn't realize till the last minute that Memorial Day weekend was going to be a bit early this year. He had already made plans to go out to Robert Lee and since we didn't have barbecue offers out the wazoo, he decided to stick to his plans so the boys and I took off for the grandparents. As most of you know, Gigi and Grandad aren't your typical grandparents. They are traveling fools, stay up later than Jason and I did pre-babies, and as I've already mentioned are crazy about festivals. Needless to say, time spent at their house is not exactly R & R so it was really different to have absolutely nothing planned for the holiday weekend. Gigi and Grandad aren't sure if they believe me, but it was actually really nice having a great time doing not much of anything. However just when I think our relaxation was at its peak, things go and get a bit crazy on us. What could cause this dramatic turn of events?? Why the faint sound of the ice cream truck, of course!! I was unaware of this at the time, but Grandad had been waiting for this moment for over a year. Unfortunately, he happened to be in the shower at go time so things didn't start out exactly as he might have envisioned. But as any good grandad would do, he jumped out of the shower and took off running for his wallet. Unfortunately, a stray toy on the floor among all the other millions of stray toys on the floor happened to be in his path. Although this encounter caused quite a bit of yelping, Grandad did not waver on his money mission. With cash in hand and Jack in his arms, they headed out the door. Luckily I was following close behind because Grandads ice cream truck finding skills were a tad rusty and they were off in the totally wrong direction. Once we were able to zero in on our target, we took off in a dead sprint with Hayesebear and Gigi right behind us. We caused such a commotion that a couple of neighbors came out to see what all the hubub was about. Nothing like a little ice cream action to get your adrenalin pumping and add some excitement to the day!

School's Out!

Jack had his last day of school on Wednesday so we decided that a pool party was definitely in order! Even though the water was still a tad chilly (more like freezing), it was a beautiful morning and the kids had a blast doing all the great things that make summer so much fun. The biggest hit by far was the race track slip-n-slide. Jack and his buds ran up and down and up and down...laughing all the way! Thanks to everyone for helping us welcome this summer with style!