Another birthday celebration!

Today we celebrated the birthday boy one more time. He chose to have an outing with a friend instead of a party this year. I let him make the choice and his decision sure made it easy on us. Because of his new lego obsession, he chose to go to Legoland with his buddy Ross. Because we were constantly counting the heads of four busy little boys, I didn't snap too many pictures. But we had a fun few hours at Legoland. Today was also the grand opening of the new spray ground there, Pirate Beach. So we ended our time there in the water. Which was perfect for them because it was HOT. Lovely Texas heat. The boys had so much fun. We had a late lunch of cheeseburgers, Pax's request, before driving Ross back home to his family. So thankful that this little friend was able to join in our celebration!

 

 Abe even got in on some lego action.

 

 This kid has all sorts of personality. :) Hands down he is the most joyful child I have ever known. I couldn't have chosen a better buddy for my sweet Pax.

Big bro and little bro crashed in the car after lunch. But the friends chatted the whole way home.

Celebrating the big 5!

Pax turned five on Tuesday, August 26th! I love making my boys birthdays all about them and allowing them to own their day and make extra choices. Obviously they enjoy this too. We had already decided that we would take the day off of school, because that is an easy option when you are homeschooling. Early that morning while I was getting myself ready, the big boys ran downstairs and into our room. They know our tradition of beginning the day of opening a gift from the brothers. So Pax began his day by opening two gifts from Holden and Abe that Holden had picked out all by himself. Holden had chosen an EtchaSketch and a Kaleidoscope. I loved these classic gifts. I was shocked he had chosen these things with all of their Ninja Turtle obsessions. And of course, Pax loved his gifts. But what he shared with Jeremy and I that meant the most to him was that first thing that morning, Holden had given him a birthday hug. As soon as the words were coming out of Pax's mouth, Holden was covering his face with his hands as if he was so embarrassed by his own thoughtfulness. Pax is VERY affectionate. Holden is pretty affectionate with Jeremy and I. He sort of has to be, because we are affectionate people. But he is not nearly as touchy feely as Pax. Pax will hug and hold on for minutes at a time if you allow it. Holden can't handle those long bear hugs. So the fact that Holden initiated a hug with Pax, knowing it would make his birthday extra special, it just about brought tears to my eyes...but who am I kidding. It often doesn't take much to get the tears going on me.

 

Pax had told me weeks before his birthday that he was going to want donuts on his big day. So he had a few different donuts. And just like his mommy, plain glaze is always his favorite.

After breakfast and getting the boys ready for the day, we headed to story time at the library and to pick out some new books. He wanted to do this same exact activity last year as well. :) Some things never change, I guess. He had also told a few days before that on his birthday he wanted to stay home and paint. So after the library and lunch, I put Abe down for a nap and the three of us painted together. 

 

 

I even got a little carried away having a little fun myself.

For dinner Pax had requested Chili's. He made this request over a month ago. I keep telling people that Pax has been waiting for this birthday since May 1st (Holden's birthday)! He has literally been asking about his day, making specific requests and counting down ever since the day we celebrated Holden turning 6. So for dinner, we met up with Jeremy, my parents, my sister and nephew for dinner. I brought in cupcakes and the servers sang to him. I could see that the loud commotion and attention on him made him so proud, yet a little shy all at the same time.

 I made lego cupcakes since he is loving legos these days. They were so sloppy and quickly done the night before. But when my sweet Pax saw them he said they were "boooootiful". And he said it just like that.

After dinner with the family, the five of us headed home for present opening.

 Pax opened a few books, some legos, a hot wheels track, a family board game, a Ninja Turtle tee and a pattern game where he gets to use a drill. He loved it all.

 

 

It was a wonderful day of celebrating our big five year old! Five sounds so big to me!

Pax turns 5!

Today we spent our day celebrating this boy. He steals my heart over and over again. He is a tender-hearted, kind little boy. And I am one lucky girl to be his mommy. A 5 year post and our birthday celebration will make it up here on this blog...one of these days.

Pax in Kindergarten

We kicked off our school year at home yesterday. See Pax's favorites from last year.

Holden in 1st grade

School over here began yesterday! So we are two days in. See Holden's favorites from last year.

Kindergarten School Boy!

Tuesday we will begin our second year of homeschooling. I will be teaching a 1st grader this year and a kindergartener. Crazy! Pax will turn 5 just one week after we start school. But much to my surprise he caught onto reading just by participating with us in the kindergarten curriculum last year. So even though he is young, I see no reason to delay starting him. So tonight, Pax opened up his Kindergarten goods!

 

 This new big boy backpack will get very little use since we will be at home most of the time. But every kid needs a backpack!

 

And all the fun goodies that were inside! He is so excited to start his school year.

Just like daddy

Last week Jeremy had another work related trip. He left Sunday afternoon and flew back in to us on Friday evening. It was a long week here at home. But we survived once again. I mean, you can't help but survive it. There are no other options. Crawling under a rock sometimes sounds appealing to me, but it's not really an option. I mean, what were my little boys going to do while I was hiding out under a rock? That just didn't make sense.

One night as I tucked the boys in bed, I did a little interview with each of them that I'll post on the blog later this week.  I posted their favorites last year as we began our first school year. Pax's Pre-K favorites. And Holden's Kindergarten favorites. So I was doing those little interviews again for this year. The last question was "When I grow up I want to....." Pax was being interviewed first. They were in separate rooms so they weren't even hearing each another's responses. He didn't quite understand the answer I was looking for. So I briefly mentioned jobs and explained that one day he would go to work each day. What did he want to do for work? After my explanation he immediately said "I want to build jets, airplanes and helicopters." He has taken a bigger interest in Legos lately. So that may have had something to do with his future job description. But this is also probably what he imagines his daddy does each day. It's definitely not an accurate description. But in his (almost 5 year old) head, he was describing his daddy's job. I just thought it was sweet. He wants to be like his daddy. Then I headed into Holden's room to tuck him in and do his quick interview. As I got to that same question..."When I grow up I want to..." Without skipping a beat or needing any explanation his response was "be just like daddy." And there went my eyes spilling over with water. I told him what a great idea that was and that his daddy was a wonderful man. Clearly, he doesn't need me to tell him this. It has been evident for nearly Holden's entire life, that the boy thinks his daddy hung the moon. We talked a little longer and I explained I was looking for a career and job. You'll see later when I post them that Holden has high hopes of playing soccer for his job. :)

But these boys and their daddy....it's a very special bond. All boys need a daddy! All children need a daddy! It's the way God intended the family to be. And I know it can't always be that way for every family. Divorce, abandonment, death and other terrible things happen to families that may make them feel incomplete. But with Jeremy away last week, and my boys reminding me of the pedestal they have him on, I had to stop and thank God again for bringing us together the way He did. For giving these three boys a daddy that is crazy for them. And they are equally crazy for their daddy.

Reuniting at the airport on Friday. Pax had fallen asleep in the car. But this big boy could wait to jump in his arms.

First sleepover.

My boys hosted their first sleepover this week with their two boy cousins. After the boys had a fun dinner at The Rainforrest Café, I knew they would love some good solid time together to play. So me and my sister made it happen. She brought Carson and Cameron over on Thursday at noon and I headed to the waterpark with 5 boys! Ages 11, 7, 6, {almost} 5 and 20 months. You may not see them all, but they are all back there in the mini.

We spent 4 hours at the water park and rode nearly every ride there was. It was a little chaotic at times. I was constantly counting 5 heads. But it was such a fun way to spend our afternoon.

Jeremy came home with pizza for dinner. Before and after dinner the boys spent lots of time on the trampoline. It was at least 100 degrees outside but they wanted to jump. Notice they are nearly all shirtless. 

The biggest cousin of the bunch spent some time reading to these guys. Pax LOVES Carson. Adores him. And for about 24 hours Pax was stuck to Carson like glue.

After Abe went to bed, the party continued. The boys played some games and ate some icecream before they crashed for the night.

This morning after breakfast they spent a good portion of their morning playing with legos and jumping on the trampoline again.

Today after lunch I met up with my sister and the boys parted ways. With tears in Pax's eyes he said goodbye to his buddy Carson. He had so much fun invading Carson's personal space while they stayed with us. :) And Carson handled it like a champ. It was such a fun time with my nephews. Having that time with Carson actually made me really look forward to the ages and stages that I have in front of me with my own boys. I know we will be doing this sleepover thing more often in the future.

more summer fun!

I'll begin this catch up post with my trip to Colorado. It was only for a weekend but I traveled solo, leaving my family at home, to have a weekend away with my sister. We had registered to run a 5k together near her home. At the last minute, we decided to book a hotel and make it a girl's weekend. It was a lot of fun. I was feeling a little under-the-weather (9 days later my status is the same), so we kept it low key. With the exception of the race, we spent most of the time in our hotel room talking. We had lunches and dinners out and did a little shopping. But my talk time with her was the highlight, for sure. I'm sure with children around, it would have taken a full month to cover all of the conversations we had in just a couple of days. It was a great great time for me. When we do get time together, I'm reminded of how much I miss her!

I brought along some facial masks.

 

 The aftermath of our color run. FYI: Elevation makes a huge difference when running. On Tuesday morning I had run 7 miles. On Thursday morning I had run 5 miles. I won't pretend that either of those runs felt easy. But I will say that on Saturday, those 3.2 miles were the hardest. Honestly I went into thinking it would be a piece of cake. Not so much!

 I do miss my family when I am away from them. I really, really do. But I was greeted in the airport by 4 smiling, handsome guys. And I came home to this on my front door.

 We had some morning swim time and afternoon playtime with some special friends.

 With some more unusually "cool" summer days, we had an afternoon at the park and went on a turtle hunt. I saw about 40 small turtles one morning while running, so we attempted to hunt them down, but only found one large momma turtle. And my littlest guy thinks he is so big and climbed all the way up!

 Yesterday we met some friends at Lake Granbury. We took a day trip to this wonderful place last year as well. Check it out. Maybe it will be a fun summer tradition. It's the perfect little place to pretend you're at the beach when you don't have the ocean nearby.

 Last night we met my family at the Rainforest Cafe to celebrate cousin Cameron's 7th birthday. The boys had a lot of fun and I think Abe's favorite part were the pretend thunderstorms.

We have about 3 weeks left of this summer fun and freedom, though we may be starting school a littler earlier at this house. I haven't quite decided. I've enjoyed the relaxed schedule. But I know the school routine is so good for my boys. Either way, we will be soaking up these last few weeks of not having much responsibility and productivity. Hope you are enjoying your summer break!