Andrew gets the Bear Badge!

Andrew is now officially a Bear Scout! I thought he would die when the older scouts had to draw on his face, but he held it together and I think he was actually quite proud. All the different colored marks on his face stand for a different part of the boy scout trail. Pretty neat! He was also so proud to make a batch of brownies all by himself from box to cut up on the plate! All I did was take them out of the oven because he was doing the dishes (which I had to redo later)! After we arrived at the Blue and Gold Banquet, he discovered an egg shell in one of his brownies... oops! :)

Two great accomplishments, Andrew! Way to go! :)

Breaking Boards!

What a treat to be invited to "break boards" with our friends, Caleb and Nathan! We went to Premier Martial Arts and had a great afternoon breaking boards, learning about self defense, saw a cool martial arts demonstration, and had pizza. All three boys broke at least 2 boards... even Colton! It was so awesome to see them decked out in their Gi breaking boards with the palm of their hands! Thanks Hannemanns! :)

Colton's 1st Swim Lesson!

Finally... Colton got to do an activity all by himself instead of going to watch his big brother's do their things! Andrew and Braden were even off school and were able to watch and encourage their little brother. Colton was so excited to take swimming lessons at the YMCA with his good friend, Grace. He marched right up to the teachers as soon as he got there. It was a chilly morning and the wind was whipping through the pool area. He got in right away and then started to cry out for me to get him out because he was so cold. Thankfully the teacher started the class and he was good to go. He was very focused when it was his turn and then he and Grace were splashing and having all sorts of fun while they were waiting for another turn. They looked SO cute and so grown up!

Baptismal Birthdays

I did a major Mommy oops and neglected to write birthdays and other special days in my calendar this year. I intended to put them in the computer instead, but that didn't happen. Needless-to-say I've been missing important dates! We celebrated Braden and Colton's baptismal birthdays about a month late... (so sorry boys)! But whatever the date the celebration is special because they are a children of God and are welcomed into his kingdom!

For Braden's celebration Tom read Ephesians 6:1-4 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother—which is the first commandment with a promise—that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth. Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

And for Colton's celebration Tom read Matthew 28: 18-20 "Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

The affairs are not elaborate, but a wonderful reminder of that special day when they were so tiny! :) Colton couldn't understand why there wasn't cake at his party! :)

Orange Belts in the House

You'd better watch out... we've got two Karate Orange Belts in the house now! Andrew and Braden both persevered this year to earn their yellow and orange belts! They want to go for more, but we need a break! Congratulations Andrew and Braden... we are so proud of you! :)

Chick-fil-A Family Night!

We're addicted! Not only do we frequent Chick-fil-A (especially me and Colton), but now we are into Family Night there! We've played BINGO and Andrew won a t-shirt, we seen a puppet show and done a craft, and last week there was a Science Guy! My boys LOVED it! I couldn't get them to leave until 8 p.m.! We met some friends there and had a yummy dinner and lots of science fun! They even did the Mentos/Diet Coke eruption! Andrew could hardly contain himself because he wanted to shout out all the science knowledge and trivia he knew!

Mommy gets her Chick-fil-A fix and the kids are entertained... what could be better?! :)

Puzzles, Pennies, and Pracitcal Jokes

We had such a great visit with Gramby and Pa Pa this time! We kept them so busy... In addition to the Rodeo we enjoyed some down time at home doing LOTS of puzzles, playing baseball in the backyard, Wii, and Pa Pa even watched and enjoyed the movie, "Everyone's Hero"! Thanks to Gramby and Pa Pa, Tom and I had a wonderful date night where we used gift cards to eat at Saltgrass (thanks Steve and Karma!) complete with a HUGE piece of cheesecake! Then we got to see "Duplicity"! On Friday we went to Kemah where the crowds were so fierce that our plans to ride the train turned in to getting ice cream, listening to the music, and watching the boats! That evening after Tom got home we headed to Galveston and walked on the jetty. The boys were having so much fun watching the waves crash and not getting wet as instructed... but then Pa Pa played a little practical joke on Andrew and Braden and took my bottle of water and poured it on them from behind! Too funny! We even got Pa Pa to eat Mexican again this visit and we all enjoyed Salsa's and the queso (cheese dip)! :) Saturday we went to the San Jacinto monument. What an awesome view! We were up 540 feet and all the boys could do was crawl around on the floor looking for pennies. They really wanted a pressed penny so bad! They ended up with at least 15 pennies, made 4 pressed pennies, and even left some to bless other families. We took the ferry home and ended up with a long drive! Church, out to eat at Boondoggles and more time outside rounded out a great visit! Can't wait for them to come again!