Evans birthday party!

It is amazing to me that you are 1 year old already. I am also amazed at all the things you are doing. You weigh 24 lbs. Your primary mode of movement is walking. You love all things water (slip & slide, pool, and bath). You say a lot of things already. Your current word list: momma, dada, bub, bottle, nummy, I love you, ball, byebye, your name, and so many more. Today we had your birthday party (a little late). There were so many people who came to share in this exciting day with you.

I had your cake and smash cake made at "The Cake Shop."  It is worth the drive.  This place not only makes very cute cakes but they taste amazing too.  This is Evan about to dig in.  I honestly thought he would be more excited but I think he was very tired.

After completely destroying his cake and only taking two bites, he was ready to get this mess off of him.  What can I say, the boy takes after me and cant stand to be dirty. HA!

Before the party, I tried to get him to rest and he did a pretty good job.  He is so precious!

This is a snap shot of my BFF, Lindsay. 

Okay, I know I cant seem to figure out how to organize my pictures.  Another shot of Evan as he begins to dig in.

Evan loves cars so I found some adorable invites online.  His cake match his invitations perfectly. 

I am not sure how Lance ended up in charge of cooking but he did a great job.  Thanks Lance!!

Another picture of the cake!

This boy is so cute.  It took him a few minutes but really managed to do some damage to this cake.

The boys decided to have a baseball game.  Grady sure can hit the ball a long way.

Poor kiddo looks miserable in this picture.  Let me tell you, that it is not because of how the cake taste.  It was so amazing that I am considering getting up from my computer and going to get another slice. HA!

My BFF and Luke's BFF, Lindsay and Landon.

This is what was left of Evan's smash cake. 

Luke and Brilee taking a drink break after playing in the pool.

One last picture of Evan with his cake.  In this picture, he was just hitting his cake.  It was so hilarious.

Landon had so much fun outside today and he did a great job posing for the camera.

The girls playing on the slip&slide.

Honestly, how cute is this smash cake? 

Another view of the cake.

Nana and Evan, and Collette in the background (LOL)!!!

Today was a wonderful day with friends and family.  Evan, your mom and dad love you so much and we are so blessed that one year ago you entered our lives and made us a family of four.  Thank you Lord for the last year of joy spent with my two boys. 

First plane ride!

OH MY!!! Wow, I am 30 years old and I finally can say that I have flown. It was certainly an experience I will not forget anytime soon. I was so nervous to go through security because I have heard and read about horror stories of this process. So, by the time I got through security at Fayettville Iwas pretty nervous. Then we ate lunch and I kept looking at the clock thinking, we are going to miss our plane. Everyone kept telling me to just relax and it was only minutes later that someone came into the restaurant and said our plane was about to leave. So, by the time I boarded the airplane, I was a mess. I am not afraid of heights and I wasn't afraid to ride the airplane but I was certainly anxious about a shaky ride. I know very well that I cant ride roller coasters because they make me vomit so if the plan ride was going to be anything similar, I was going to be in trouble. When we got on the plane, it was so hot. I had to fan myself the entire time, that is until I started feeling like I was going to get sick. Once I began to feel sick, Mrs. Debbie (thanks Debbie) took over fanning as I got the bag out. I was so embarrassed but fortunately, I did not throw-up.

I mean honestly, if someone was going to get sick....how much good would this bag do??

Look how wrinkled my tickets are.  This is a result of a nervous girl.  HAHA!

On the way home, it was raining so I was really nervous.  I decided to go ahead and take some motion sickness medicine.  It helped alot but as a back up plan, I spent the first 20 minutes on the plane saying many prayers.  It was a good quiet time between me and the good Lord.  He also sees me through. 

When we caught our second flight home, I ended up setting next to two very nice gentleman.  I think that they enjoyed picking at me but to be honest, they kept my mind off of getting sick.  I even managed to look out a few times and snapped this picture. 

One of the nice guys took this picture of me so that I could share it with you.  His wife also has a blog.  Her blog is http://www.fridayfix.blogspot.com/.

Even though my first plane ride experience was a little rough, I do believe I will fly again. 

Boys just want to have fun!

I sure have missed my boys this week. As I looked through my pictures each day just trying to hold on to them while I have been gone, I decided that I would blog. I have been sent some wonderful pictures over the past few weeks. I hope everyone enjoys.

Jeff and the boys enjoyed some time out on the slip-&-Slide.  I am pretty sure Evan loved it!

This kids acts like we never feed him.  Case and point, he feels it is necessary to eat the remote.

I love how Luke is holding on to his brother and driving the wheeler.  These two boys are going to have many great times riding their 4 wheelers.

It looks like Luke has finally got this Slip&Slide thing down.  Last year, he could not figure out how to slide down it so he would just sit in the water at the bottom.

This is my little cowboy.  I love him!  Looks like I will be buying a cowboy hat very soon.

After a long day of play, Luke crashed out.  I love how peaceful children look while they are sleeping.

Cracks me up.  I was trying to get Luke to get dressed one day and this is what he decided to do instead. 

After we get out of the tub, I wrap both boys up like "Baby Burritos."  It is so cute.  Luke always gets excited about being a "Baby Burrito" and will repeat those words over and over again.  This night, Evan made a very good attempt and saying the words also. 

I am certain that Evan is saying, "I can do anything Luke can do!"  Yes, you can son. 

I love these boys with all my heart and I am looking forward to arriving home today to see them!!!

San Antonio #2

Greetings again from San Antonio. We are currently setting in the airport ready to head home.  I have had a good time but this country girl has had enough of the city.

We visited the Alamo and this tree just amazed me.  I thought about Luke and knew he would just be climbing all over this thing. 

I thought this was a neat piece dedicated to the lives lost in defending the Alamo.

Wow, what an amazing place of worship.  The buildings beauty caught my eye very quickly and I just had to share.

In Texas, all flags can be flown at the same height as the US flag.  I think it is a bit crazy but I am sure if I was from Texas, it would be something pretty cool.

Another view of this piece with the beautiful church in the background.

And here is the Alamo!!  I remember as a child that my family visited the Alamo.  We drove around for quite a long time looking for this place and we were amazed that it was right in the middle of the city.  It is a neat building and the grounds surrounding it were absolutely beautiful.

I loved this water trough.  I just love the country look of it so I found it necessary to share.

San Antonio was a nice experience and I learned a great deal from all of the presenters.  I look forward to next year and learning more in depth info about special education law.  Next year will be in Long Beach California!!

San Antonio

I wasn't home long before I had to leave my babies once again. This time, it was for work rather than pleasure. I am lucky I am with a good group to travel with. As most of you know, this was my first plane ride. Let me just briefly say that I will have to blog about that later. It was an experience that will require an entire post of it's own!

I am not much of a city girl but this was the view from Tower of America.  I love being able to go up in towers or the arch and see for miles and miles.  It always makes me feel like I can see just a glimpse of what God views daily. 

My pictures are all out of order but this picture was of a building along the riverwalk.  We decided it would be nice to take the boat ride through the city.  It was nice and brought back childhood memories.

These girls may kill me but I thought it was funny to watch everyone trying to make decisions on what we were going to do.  I am the type that really doesn't care.  I would be satisfied laying at the pool when I have a free moment but I was determined to be a good sport.  I am not picky so on this trip, I have left the decisions up to my fellow travelers. 

I honestly can't believe I am coming home with this shirt in my luggage but my dear friend Lori loves the Longhorn and wanted a shirt for her daughter.  Because I just love them so much, I bought it.  WPS!

One night, the girls determined we would eat at the Rainforest Cafe.  After 1 1/2s of waiting, we were finally seated.  The inside of this place was amazing and if ever given the opportunity, I will be bringing my children to see this.

My roomie for this week is one of my amazing teachers named Martha.  I love her attitude because she lives for God and to make herself happy.  As long as she is happy and doing what is right, she cares very little about what others think.  I wish I could be more like that. She has been quite entertaining on this trip.  As we walked by many stores, it was easy to notice that clothes are being designed in a manner in which you cant tell if they are for children or adults.  So, Martha decided to test it out so we would know.  HA! 

This building is along the riverwalk.  It is a super thin building and much more like a wall.  I honestly dont understand it's purpose and can't even imagine how anything could be going on in that building.  Anyhow, it was interesting looking so I thought I would share. 

I took this picture along the riverwalk for Jeff.  He is a huge Lonesome Dove fan so I just snapped a pic. 

My poor attempt to catch a waterfall along the riverwalk.

While we were in Tower of America, I was taking pictures and then noticed the shadow.  It was an awesome picture.

Another view from Tower of America.

Pipes and bells along the Riverwalk.

Martha and I enjoyed the Hard Rock Cafe for supper and it was pretty good.  I never buy shirts there but was amazed that it cost $30 for a t-shirt. 

If you ignore the peoples head in this picture, the church in the background is beautiful.

Last night we had some major storms roll through.  I attempted to catch the lightening over the city but no luck.  I honestly cant imagine living in a city this large.  I need hills, fields, and cows!!!  Nice to visit but looking forward to being home.