Amthor, Party of 4

Chris and I, and the twins took in a Baseball game the other day.  We needed to spend quality time this summer, with just the 4 of us and this was the perfect way.  The boys loved every minute of it.

They got high-fives from Juice the Moose.  They were a little afraid to get to close, but they would give him five.  After we got back to our seats, Daddy asked why they didn't shoot the moose.

After the game, we took the boys to Osaka, a Japanese restaurant that has a hibachi grill.  They were fascinated by the chef.  Heath even started throwing his silverware around just like the cook.  It was hard to get on to him when that guy got to do it.  They like the fire, but got a little scared when they started hitting the gong.



I Quit

I can't do it.  I am incapable of potty training my kids.

Today I broke down and bought regular diapers again.  Not Pull-Ups, they are a waste of my time and money.  I've tried going straight to underwear with all the fun characters on them, that just resulted in my spending more on Clorox Clean-Up because I was cleaning up all the messes.

I have tried all summer long and at first the boys played along and pretended that they wanted to use the potty.  However, now it seems like I want this more than they do, and until that changes...I quit!

I, for now, am just going to start praying that my children do not go to college in diapers.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to start paying the baby sitter more.

Sincerely,
Discouraged

Devil's River 2011

I love this place.  It's Heaven to me.  The cool water, shade trees, naps, good food, and lazy day.  Perfection.

In the paddle boat with Daddy and Pops

Goofy Faces

The boys learned quickly that they couldn't go down the hill without Mom or Dad.  They sat at the top and watched longingly.

We were so glad that Lolly and Pops got to come for a weekend.

The Springs.  The most beautiful place in the world.

Water Dogs!

Playing with worms.

Sleeping in Momma and Daddy's bed.  They nap better that way.

Soft shell turtle.

Daddy's monster catch. 3 years in a row that he has caught one bigger that the twins.

Well, bigger than Heath, anyway.  Hunter is a wee bit heavier.

All these fish were caught in one night.

Redneck Pool Club

Schlitterbahn

This past week, Chris and I and the twins and Mom took the boys to Schlitterbahn.  Our boys are such water dogs (just like their father) so we were sure that they would love it.  We were right.  They never once got scared of anything that we sent them down.  The reason we choose Schlitterbahn was because they don't have a height limit on the majority of their rides.  There are only 4 rides that our boys are not allowed to go down.  Sometimes, the lifeguards will not let you hold on to their tube, but they rejoin you after the steep drops. Everything else is fair game...if you are brave enough.  We took the boys life jackets and used the tubes that don't have bottoms and the boys went down every tube ride in the park.  The only problem was that we could have used another person to help us carry tubes from ride to ride.

Chris talked us into going down a tube shoot.  You know the ones that are enclosed pipe the entire way.  We knew when we got in line that we would have to send the boys down with out us, but what we didn't know until we reached the top was that it was completely blacked out.  Chris and Mom went down first so they could catch the boys, then one at a time, I loaded them and sent them down.  After they had both reached the bottom, I went down my self.  Good Grief Charlie Brown!  Had I have gone first, I would not have sent my babies down that.  However, Mom and Chris both said the boys came out laughing and when we asked if they wanted to do it again they both said, "Yes!"

When we got ready to leave, we noticed that my backpack had been stolen off of our table.  Thankfully, I'm smart enough not to have had anything important in it.  I hope whoever made away with our Teddy Grahams, Sippy Cup, and Diapers is real proud of themselves.  It takes a big person to steal from toddlers.

The next day we drove through Luckenbach, TX on our way to Fredricksburg.

Those were the only pictures I got of the whole trip, but at least my camera wasn't in my backpack :).  The boys (including Daddy) were so good while we shopped.

That evening, we made our way back home.  It was a short get away, but. So. Much. Fun.

Desperate times call for Desperate Measures

The boys have been on their anti-go-to-sleep kick, again.  We were at our wits end the other night and it was well past my bed time, which means it was WELL, WELL past the boys bed time and they still would not stay in bed.

Finally, Daddy was on assignment.  He laid in the floor so he could administer punishment promptly as needed.

He even moved the boys laundry basket in front of himself to hide better. I laughed so hard watching him, that I forgot how aggravated I was with Seek and Destroy.

Happy 4th of July

One thing about being married to a Game Warden is that I never get to go ANYWHERE for the 4th of July. He has to keep everyone else safe on the water and hopefully prevent drownings or BWIs.   He is always working some nearby lake and I am stuck at home.

Therefore, to keep myself busy, I decided to bake.  I like to bake, and give me a theme, and I tend to go overboard.  Thus, the 2 1/2 birthday party.  I love themes.

Exhibit #1 :  Firework cookies.  I saw this on the cover of the Martha Stewart magazine.  No, I didn't buy the magazine (I'm too cheap for that), I took a picture of the cover and recreated the cookies.  I'm cool like that.

I used the Royal Icing recipe from the Bake@350 blog.  Ollie taught me how. 

Exhibit #2 : White cake with a cream cheese and strawberry filling, covered in fondant with cut out fondant stars.  Keva taught me how to make fondant.  Don't judge my cake covering, this was my first attempt and my  fondant got a little dry.

I have a weakness for marshmallow fondant.  You should be surprised that any fondant made it to the cake, because I could just eat it by the handful.

Exhibit #3: Strawberry cupcakes with "Flag type" butter cream frosting.  This is Chris' favorite.  Kinda plain if you ask me, but that's what he likes.

Exhibit #4: Patriotic Strawberries.  I saw this in the Family Fun magazine. I actually subscribe to that one, in case you were wondering.  It was super easy, and is my favorite of them all.  Who doesn't love a good chocolate covered strawberry?

Tomorrow officially ends the 4th of July weekend and I will get my husband back.  Maybe we can finally go on vacation.  :)

Seek and Destroy are at it Again!

Chris has lovingly renamed the boys, Seek and Destroy.  It seems fitting.

I can't turn my back for a minute!

I guess this is a good reason not to buy paper towels in bulk.  Notice there are only 2 of the 6 left in the package.