Time To Go Back Home!

Okay, so I think is time to go back to Beaumont now.  We had two wonderful weeks here in San Antonio. The first week, we got to spend a lot of time as a family.  Dave and I also had several opportunities to spend some alone time, which was nice.  The second week, I took advantage of and started preparing for Luke's 3rd birthday party, which is quickly approaching.  

We were able to do quite a bit.  In addition to the things I already blogged about, we also enjoyed the following: 

We went downtown to an amphitheater to see a Mexican Folkloric Ballet.  

We went to the zoo with Dave.

The kids and Dave played a lot of basketball.  Games like CAT and Around the World.  Carson challenges every time, where as Natalia will never challenge.  Man, did Carson enjoy every minute of that.  Natalia always has such a hard time loosing, but she hung in there.  

When I came outside, I noticed that Luke was getting hit with the basketball way too often.  The basketball hoop was right next to the sandbox, where he was playing.  Nobody thought about moving the basketball hoop.  LOL.  They would just laugh every time they hit Luke with the basketball.  Poor kid.  Then again, you would think that if it bothered him that much, he would have moved or at least say something.  Luke is just a though little guy, I guess!

Oh, let's see, what else did we do?  Oh yea, we went on a "Nature Walk", as Natalia calls them.  It was the perfect day for a little hike.  The kids were so into catching bugs and looking out for snakes.  We saw several deer and a whole bunch of bugs.  

  

  

I also attempted to potty train Luke.  Ha, what a joke!  Not even close to being potty trained. I'm so mad at myself because I believe that he was ready to be potty trained last November.  He was already letting me know when he wanted to go, but with moving out of the house and all that construction project, I just pretty much ignored the whole thing and now, I wish I would have worked with him.

I've tried this week.  He gets to play with my iphone while he sits on the toilet.  We even have Wall-E calling my cell phone!  You should see the kids' little faces light up when they see Wall-E on my phone screen.  They get so excited.    Wall-E sounds so much like Dave, it's amazing.  But then again, Dora and Barney also sounded like Dave. Geez, I wonder why?

Anyway, we had great times here in San Antonio, but enough is enough.  It's really time to go home.

This time, we only broke an old chair and messed up the bed's comforter in our room with a marker.  Yea, I think my parents would also agree that it's time for us to go back to Beaumont.

Thanks Dad and Mom for everything.  We appreciate all you've done for us!  

Star Wars

We are so ready for Halloween.  Honestly, I don't even like Halloween, but what do you do?  I can't have my children be the only ones without a costume.  Last year, my plan was to skip the whole costume thing.  A few days before Halloween, after the kids begged me for a costume, I changed my mind.  I was going crazy trying to find something for them to wear.  By then, it was a little too late, so Natalia and Carson ended up wearing their costume from the previous year and Luke had NO costume.  I felt this small.

Oh, but not this year!  Even Dave is going to dress up (maybe).  He will be wearing a Darth Vader mask with a black t-shirt (hmmm...I wonder if he has one of those.)  

"Luke Has Blood!!!!"

We were getting ready to leave the house to go shopping, when Carson comes running towards me screaming.

Carson: "Mom, Luke's nose is bleeding!" 

Me:  "Oh no Luke, how did this happen?"

Luke - just staring at me with a blank look in his face.

Carson - "Well, Luke told me to punch him in the nose, so I did!"

Me:  "What, why did you do that?"

Carson:  "Well, he told me to, and I didn't know this was going to happen."

Luke - just shaking his head "yes".

Me:  "Luke, did you ask Carson to punch you in the nose?"

Luke:  "Yeah!"

Me:  "Okay Luke, here is a tissue paper.  Just hold it against your nose, okay?"

Luke:  "Okay"

He didn't even cry.  I guess because, after all, it was his idea!

A Little Sleepy

When Luke is sleepy, he WILL sleep!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls!

Today Mami, the kids and I got the opportunity to go to

                               

                                  

Natalia wouldn't open the cotton candy until the show started!

Natalia's favorite part of the show.

Seven Motorcyclist in that ball - crazy, crazy, crazy!

The Human Rocket - crazy man, if you ask me!

Thank you Papi and Mami for the tickets. We had a great time!

Quality Time with Daddy

During evacuation, with a lot of time in our hands and no money in our pockets, we have been looking for things to do.  I'm glad Dave has been here with us though, because he can always have fun no matter the situation.  One day, he took them to Target (of all places) per Carson's request, I mean plea.  Carson has been asking for a costume for Halloween.  And no, this is not what they will be wearing for Halloween.  After all that nonsense, they went to EZ's to get a Cookies and Cream Milkshake!

For the last two days, he has been spending one on one time with each kid.  First up was Carson. Carson, being the big helper that he is, got to go with Daddy to Lowe's to look for some materials so that Dave could run a telephone line in my Dad's new store at the Market.  But, before work, they needed something to give them some energy.  They made a quick stop at Naddler's to enjoy a cookie.  Later, they went to the Market to work.  Carson really enjoyed his time with Daddy.

Carson had so much fun eating this cookie!  He thought it was funny how he was eating one body part at a time!  Leave it to a guy to find humor in that!  I guess that's what daddies are for.

Natalia had a hard time believing that she was not allowed to go with them.  "Ah, why can't I go? Why does Carson ALWAYS gets to go?"  Finally, somehow, we convinced her that it was going to be OKAY.  Later yesterday, she had the opportunity to spend a few hours with just Daddy.  They went to eat cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory.  I think this was probably her favorite part!  Later, they went to the Apple Store.  She was able to play with their computers  for as long as her heart desired.  Didn't even have to share! 

 

I don't know, but I'm having a hard time figuring out if she is enjoying this White Chocolate Caramel Macadamia Cheesecake!

Little Luke didn't get to spend time with Daddy yesterday, but he got his turn today.  First off, they went to Petco.  Believe it or not, my kids love this place.  Today in particular, Petco was the place to be.  Luke had the opportunity to pet a baby squirrel!  Then, they stopped by Coldstone to enjoy some ice-cream.  And to end their time together, they went to the airport to watch the airplanes take off and land.  When they came back home, I was even excited just by  listening to Luke tell me all about his time with Daddy.  I wish I would've taken a picture of him.  He had the biggest grin on his face and he was talking as fast as he could.  He was so excited! 

I am so proud of Dave for all these pictures he took and I'm also worried that he will gain 50 pounds after his one-on-one time with the kids.  

Post Ike

As soon as we woke up this morning, Dave was ready to go.  I'm telling you, this boy does not sit well.  He went to get breakfast tacos at his favorite place, Taco Cabana, at 6:00 a.m. and then he started getting ready for his trip back to Beaumont!  He went shopping for gas tanks, coolers, food, car phone charger and other survival items.  My cousin Adin and Adin's friend Brent, were kind enough to take Dave back to Beaumont.  It took them approximately 7 hours to get there, but thank God, they got there safely.  

We are so thankful to God that our house made it!  It also looks like the practice didn't receive a lot of damage either.  Of course, we will know more as the days go by.  

No pictures yet, but don't worry, as soon as I get my hands on some, I'll make sure and post them.

On another note...

While Dave was getting ready to go to Beaumont, Kim, Adin's wife, called me and invited us over to swim. We all had such a wonderful time!  We ate, swam, ate, jumped, ate, played and ate some more.  What a great day we had.   

Baking Cookies

Playing Wii

Ashlyn and Natalia working on a 500 piece puzzle

Running away from Ike!

Enough is enough. I was going a little crazy not knowing what we were going to do. Didn't know if we were going to stay or if we were going to evacuate to Dallas or San Antonio. We definitely didn't want to get stuck in traffic like we did three years ago, so we were a little reluctant to just pack up and go to San Antonio. Finally, on Thursday after having an "emergency planning meeting" (just an excuse to meet and have good food for lunch at Pho's Vietnamese Restaurant), sitting in Dave's office while he did a root canal, and then having a "follow up emergency meeting" (another excuse for some more good food and good company), we decided that we would evacuate to San Antonio at 4:30 a.m. the next morning. We tried to convince Matt to go to San Antonio with us, but he would have nothing to do with the idea. He decided to stay!

We left Beaumont on Friday at about 6:30 a.m. It was a great trip. No traffic at all. As soon as we got to SA, we dropped off the kids at my parents house. Dave and I escaped and had a quiet lunch at Freebirds! Oh, it was so nice. Although, Matt (kind of) ruined our day because we could not stop thinking, praying and talking about him. We constantly checked on him. Poor guy, he was probably sick and tired (that was for you, Elizabeth) of us calling and texting him, but we couldn't help it. We were too worried about him. Dave and Matt probably stopped texting at 11:30 p.m. or so and then Matt called at 5:00 a.m. the next day. Boy, were we glad to hear from him again. ~We are so thankful to God for keeping Matt safe! I'm telling you, next time, we are NOT leaving him there. No way!

Tracking Hurricane Ike

Dave and Natalia have been tracking hurricane Ike on a daily basis.  Natalia has been listening to us mention that we might be evacuating to Dallas.  After seeing where the hurricane is going, she asked (with a heavy East Texas accent), "Daddy, why are we going to Dallas?!"

Fashion Statement

Are you serious?  At only 4 years old, Carson has a very strong opinion on what he is NOT going to wear.  And he is definitely NOT wearing these shorts. 

I was wondering what the big deal was.  So, finally I got it out of him.  He said, "I just don't like the stripes!"  He reminds me of someone I know...could that be his daddy????

So, back to Children's Place I go.  I guess I can get him yet another pair of khaki shorts.

Little Freckle!

I don't know if you can really see the little freckle on Luke's arm, 

but this little freckle drives him crazy.  He tries to wipe it off constantly.  

I Hate The Dentist, but I Love Dave

Oh, how we dread this time of the year, when we have to get our teeth cleaned.  I know Dave hates it as much as we do.  We keep being reminded by him and his staff that we are the worst patients ever.  Hey, maybe it's because we can!!!  :0) I mean, what is he going to do???  Send us to another dentist???  

After Carson and Luke's first day of school, we walked across the street to get our teeth cleaned. It just seemed like the perfect opportunity and we were due for a cleaning, so why not.

Carson was the lucky one to go first.  Dave tried every trick in the book.  He even threatened Carson by telling him that he was going to call Dr. XXXX  and ask him to see Carson, if he didn't cooperate.  Yea, that didn't work.  As a matter of fact, the only thing that worked was me sitting down, making him sit on my lap and holding his arms down so that Daddy could "tickle and count his teeth", as Dave calls it.  Thank God he doesn't have any cavities.  I don't know what we would do.....

Okay then, one down, two more to go.  Next, was Luke's turn.  He thought the little mirror was fun, but that was about it.  As soon as Dave tried to sit Luke down in that ugly blue chair, he got right up.  So, there I was again, sitting in that chair with Luke on my lap.  ~No cavities either!  Yay!!!

I did a little better than they did.  Sorry, no pictures of me in the chair though :(

Normally, Natalia always has a hard time when her brothers get to do something while she is at school.  Hmm, I wonder why she didn't mention anything this time?

Off to School They Go

Carson and Luke were so excited to go to school today.  Luke kept talking about how he was going to go to school and that I was not going to stay there.  He was perfectly fine with that. They were so excited about their backpack and their lunch box too.  

After we dropped Natalia off, we went to David's office to say hello.  Good thing Daddy was able to walk them to school.  He had taken time off to do this on Tuesday, but since school was canceled due to the hurricane, he wasn't able to clear his schedule today too.  But it all worked out and he was able to take the boys to school on their first day.

I can't believe my baby, Luke, he was humming a little song while he walked in front of us towards his classroom.   Once at the door, he turned around to say bye.  He walked right into his classroom and immediately started to play. No crying, no clinginess....nothing.  Just a kiss, a hug and a bye-bye.

As expected, Carson also just walked into his classroom after giving us a kiss and a hug.  He is just such a big boy.   

Oh wait, where are the pictures of my kids and I?????  How does this always happen?