TEXAS STATE FAIR 2011

Our annual trip to the State Fair was a blast! Since we are members of the Dallas Science Museum we actually got free tickets! As things are slowing down here at work, I woke up one Wednesday morning and said "I think we should go to the Fair today". So after texting my boss and co-workers, we were able to get ready and head out the door. We actually took the DART downtown and eventually over to Fair Park (that is the picture taken of our family with Zayne's head cut off, just couldn't get him in that silly picture!). Anyways, both our children love to stare, which can be sort-of uncomfortable ... but they tend to make friends.

So when finally arrived at the fair we ate lunch and Charlie and Zach tried a fried snickers. We went to the petting zoo, where Zayne wanted to feed and touch the animals but would get really "freaked" out when they would get really close. Then Zachery remembered doing Little Hands on the Farm, so we had to do that again. We actually listened to Mother Goose Story Time this year and attempted to participate in the Backyard Circus. I saw attempted to participate because Zachery volunteered to be a lion and when he was up on stage he really didn't know if he wanted to be up there. When they were passing out uniforms and then placed the lion head over Zachery, that was it. He took everything off, started crying, and ran back to my lap. Zayne on the other hand wanted to go up there, but the Circus Director said that he was a little young. Little does he know that Zayne is a very determined little boy. It was all I could do to keep him on my lap during the little performance. Let's see oh we had ice cream, learned about cotton, did a tree rub, and drank a free root-beer float.

After living here for 14 plus years I have never riden the Texas Star (the big ferris wheel) ... so we did it this year! It was so much fun!! So we have one child that wanted to sit in the middle of the cage and another that wanted to stand and lean against the cage bars. I am sure you can guess who was who ...

We had just enough tickets to let Zachery ride one ride, which he picked a airplane ride. He went all by himself and waved to us as he went around and around! The DART ride back was extremely long because Zayne refoosed to fall asleep, but we made it back home. What a fun family day!

Stay tuned, we are going camping next weekend! So I should have some fun pictures and hopefully stories!

AROUND THE HOUSE IN SEPTEMBER 2011

There are several random photographs below documenting our activities in the month of September.

Picnic Table
Our neighbor put an old picnic table out on the curb, which typically means it is free for the taking. I have been wanting a table of some sort for the backyard and thought, what a fun project for the boys and I. So I asked my other neighbor to help me carry it across the street and Zachery and I got busy spraying and washing it down. We had to replace a few boards, but all-n-all it was in pretty good shape. After much thought I decided on painting it white. So while we were at the Home Depot picking up paint, Zachery asked if we could spray paint stars on it ... sure I said! The stars of course had to be red, Zachery's favorite color! The finished picnic table looks pretty good! It has been fun having dinners outside and playing play-doh ... it adds something special to our backyard, I think.

Hammock and Fire Pit
Two other additions to our backyard this year is a hammock and a fire pit. As you can see, Zachery helped me put the fire pit together, we haven't used it yet. With the weather finally cooling off, I am sure we will have our first fire soon!! And Zayne will experience his first smore, I can't wait!!

Helicopter
On our way home from one of our soccer games we heard a helicopter. When we passed a street we saw how close it was to the ground. So we pulled over and watched the helicopter take an old air conditioning unit off the roof of a commercial building and replace it with a new one. The boys just stood there watching for about 10 or 15 minutes. They didn't want to leave, but there is just so much one can take watching a helicopter go back and forth from the parking area to the roof. Anyways, it was a fun side adventure.

Other
In September Zachery and I went to a Ranger's game with our friend Carla. It was a little long for Zach, but he made it through. What I think is funny or ironic is during the World Series, Zachery's Uncle Jim asked Zach if he is going to cheer for the Cardinals and he said "yes" because their colors are red and I think because his Uncle Jim was cheering for the Cardinals. Zachery asked me after the Ranger's lost, "Are you sad the Rangers lost?", he was excited that his team won. It was very cute.

As you know Zachery is part of AWANA's again this year and they had crazy hair night. The boys let me put gel and hairspray in their hair, don't they look adorable? Zayne kept toughing his spiking hair not sure what to do with it.

We have enjoyed bubble blowing, puddle playing, and sidewalk drawing. We purchased some Star War cookie cutters and have made and decorated fun cookies!! Didn't Charlie and the boys do a great job? I think the funniest thing is Zayne wanting to slide down the slide with his brother! Zachery will sit in front and Zayne will climb in behind him and try and slide down, but what happens is Zayne's little feet get caught every time and by the end his feet are behind him as he is holding on tightly to Zachery. If you can imagine complete giggling is happening through it all!!

Zayne's 18 Month Visit
Zayne had his 18 month wellness visit in September. He was 35" long and weighed 26 pounds and 2 ounces. If you can imagine he is off the charts in length and in the 50th percentile for weight. He is taller than Zachery at this age, so we might have an even taller little boy. Zayne, it talking more and more. He has a hard time with the first letter or sound of a word (most of the time). He is able to say apple very well. For Zach he says "ach". Some other words he can say (if you know he is saying them) are: "Hi", "Bye", "cracker or racker", "Truck", "ball", "elp for help". Zayne tries to say every word you ask him to say and sometimes you can make it out. He loves to sit in your lap and be next to you at all times. If he is not by your side, it is almost guaranteed that he is doing something he is not suppose to. He is so much lighter than Zachery at this age that I am able to carry him in our backpack still, which came in handy when we went to the State Fair of Texas this year. He truly is a blessing to us and tons of fun. He has a personality all his own and that is what I love about him!

Alycia and CharlieAs many of you know we are nearing our transition into Charlie going back to work full-time and I will be able to stay home for three days and work for two. We interviewed and hired a Nanny, she seems very sweet! I am getting more excited as the time draws near, don't get me wrong I am nervous too. I don't deal with change that well, but this is a good change and one that I have been wanting so it is a little easier. The picture of me below is one from work. I was about to climb into a Kiln to collect samples from the brick and I didn't want to get the dust all over me ... I really should have had a breathing apparatus on too. Charlie's company has stayed very busy, which is good. He is getting very excited to be able to contribute more.

September 2011 - Soccer

Soccer season started for Zachery at the end of September. We are apart of the same organization that we were apart of when we played T-Ball last summer and we are really enjoying it. Now soccer at this age is basically a bunch of kids just running/chasing/fighting after the ball. Those of you that do not have a Facebook Page these stories will be new. The first weekend we had a game, it was a double header with an hour in between games. The first game Zachery scored a goal (it was very exciting). After the game he told me that he won, when in fact that particular game we lost like 10-1. So we learned the definition of a "goal". Before the start of the second game I asked him if he like me cheering him on from the sidelines and he said "no, I do not like it when you cheer for me". During the second game, I tried so hard not to "cheer", but it really is hard not to get excited about your child running a scoring a goal! Anyways, during the second game Zachery scored two goals, one for the other team then one for our team. It was so much fun!! Another fun story happened just this past weekend. As Zachery kicks the ball in a break-a-away, he ends up tripping over himself and landed on the ball. Well if you could imagine he had about 9 other little boys either landing on him or trying to get the ball away from him. His little wrist and forearm was stepped on. As he came off the field crying we were able to get an ice pack. I tried to convince him that his wrist and forearm would feel better if we put the ice pack on, but he was convinced that it wouldn't help. So finally, I asked him "then what will make it feel better?", he said "candy!". It was all I could do not to laugh. He was so serious.

September 2011 - Balloon Festival

Our annual trip to the Balloon Festival was almost cancelled, basically because I almost forgot. The boys and I packed up a sack dinner and headed out, forgetting a blanket and the camera (two of the most important objects that I needed to bring). Needless to say I had to use my cell phone's camera (No, I have not upgraded to an iPhone or anything that fancy ... it is a basic phone that doesn't take the best pictures, but I managed to get a couple). As we were walking down the one mile entry path, all I could think about was "if my head wasn't attached to be neck, I am sure I would have forgotten that at home". Man that day was just "one of those days". Anyways, we finally made it to the Festival! There was an exhibit that was teaching children and adults the basics behind CPR, so Zachery tried it (wishing I had the camera!). We all got Slurpee's at the 7-Eleven booth ... now most of Zayne's Slurpee landed in his lap, which in turn absorbed into his pants and eventually the stroller (ugg!). Then we started walking down the main strip of vendor's and saw cow boy hats! Fun! Don't the boys look cute? So eventually we made it to a central location so we could eat our sack dinner and nibble on kettle corn as we wait for the hot air balloons to take off. Well the Star Spangled Banner was played on time with people parachuting to the ground (one with an American Flag), then we waited. 7pm came and went and 7:30pm was approaching and I have two very tired and cranky kids ... so we actually left before we were able to watch any of the hot air balloons take off. I think next year we will try to catch the morning "show" instead, that seemed to work so much better!

September 2011 - Virginia Beach

No excuses, I have fallen behind in updating our website! We have had an action filled month and a half!! I think the best way to tell everyone of our fun adventures is sequentially and in separate posts (so I can post them as I go along and keep track of pictures). By the way I hope you like the new design ... let me know! I enjoy playing with the different backgrounds and layouts, especially when Blogger comes out with new ones!

As many of you know I have a brother who lives in Virginia Beach and currently works for the Navy as a Navy Diver. They just had a little boy, Gary Gray Ladd III. So we went up there to meet little Gary and visit! We started our trip on a Friday afternoon (right around Zayne's nap time), the plane ride was interesting! Side story: When I booked out flight I wanted to use our frequent flyer miles for American Airlines, well I was a little confused on why the 12,500 mile tickets were booked and the 25,000 mile tickets were not on the flight going to Virginia, but for the trip home the 12,500 mile tickets were available(we had a total of 40,000 miles to use). Well I booked the ticket with 25,000 miles for the trip out and the 12,500 mile ticket for the way home. As Charlie is reviewing my reservation (since it was a separate reservation), he notices that I book a First Class Ticket, LOL! I swear I didn't know that I booked a First Class ticket (using my airline miles). Needless to say, I was stuck with Zayne in First Class at his nap time. Zayne isn't like Zachery where he could just suck his thumb and go to sleep. No Zayne like to cry it out! So here I am trying to comfort/rock/preoccupy this kid so he can either go to sleep or be quite! He eventually went to sleep, thank goodness. Then when we got to the gate to pick up our stroller we realized that the handles had been severed off. Seriously! How does a clean cut happen other than complete carelessness on the part of the ground crew. But once we got there everything was GREAT! On Saturday, we walked to the Expo so Fatima, Gray's wife, and I could pick up our running packets for the half marathon that we ran on Sunday. We also went to the beach. Can I just say that Zayne has NO FEAR!! He ran straight for the water and when he was pushed down by the waves, he thought it was funny and signed "more". Then we have Zach that is staying his distance from the ocean and playing safely in a sand "castle". That evening or maybe it was Sunday/Monday evening we went down to the water front again to listen to music and eat ice cream. The musical festival was happening this weekend so we were able to enjoy music and watch our children dance! What a joy it is to see them not have a care in the world and dance however they want!! We went to this amazing Park called Mount Trashmore, which is built on a former landfill. It was a blast! Then we went to the Base to see fighter jets. Zachery of course thought that was so cool! As we learned the difference between a bomb, missile, and torpedo. We were sad to go, but it was so good to hang out with Gray and his family. Little Gary is adorable!! I absolutely loved his smile!!