[Nearly] Wordless Wednesday - Potty Training

This potty training business is hard work.  Just ask our friend Dean.

Sometimes when you gotta go, you just gotta go.  :)

Coke Machine from the Future

This is another one of those moments when I share just what a nerd I am.

We went to the Silverado Movie Theater this weekend.  And I was so wow'd by the coke machine that I sent two other people to check them out.  Like, seriously, we can't leave until you go look.  :)

So when we walked into Fuddruckers for dinner tonight and we got to the would you like a combo with fries with that and I was just winding up to start in on my "have you come to your senses yet" speech about how completely wrong it was that they replaced their Coke machines with Pepsi last year, because I DO love their fries (because everything is better with cheese right??) and so a combo makes PERFECT sense - Kevin stopped me in my tracks and said "They have coke."  I might have said "Hallelujah."  And then the cashier says - "Have you been to the movie theater?  They are just like those."

And because I am such a nerd, I made Kevin go to the car and get my camera so I could take a picture of them.  The coke machines from the future. 

And just so you know, I wasn't alone in my gawking.  Or picture taking.  Each new group "ooh'd and aww'd" appropriately. 

Everyone under the age of 30 snapped a picture.  All the parents made their kids come look.  And everyone over 50 cussed the machine.   "How do I get ice out of this thing?" and my favorite as a woman was reading off the choices to her husband "Caffine free coke, Coke Zero, Cherry Coke, Coke with... " he replied "I JUST WANT A COKE!!" 

I on the other hand was dazzled by the array of choices.  I picked lemonade for the boys.  And like a kid in a candy store my eyes lit up at the choices.  I settled on Raspberry Lemonade.  Which of course I had to try before giving it to the kids - just to make sure it tasted okay, and all... No really!!  And then liked it so much I had to go get another cup or three so I could have my own.

And for the record - Coke has never tasted better.  The absolute perfect mix of syrup and carbonation.

So have these shown up in your neck of the woods yet?

I am in love.

Seriously.  In LOVE.  Triple Caramel Chunk.

At Ben & Jerry's.  Forget "walking feet!"  RUN!  NOW.

I am a big boy now!

We celebrated tonight.  With ice cream.  Chocolate ice cream. 

Connor is going to be moving to the big boy class at school.  And we are all so excited and proud of him.

He thoroughly enjoyed his ice cream.  Down to the very.last.drop.  :)

Kevin's To Do List

We finally managed to get a glider for our swingset.  We had to order it.  Twice.  And wait, and wait, and wait some more.  And then drive half way across town to pick it up.  I finally managed to pick it up the week before Memorial Day.  We unloaded it from my car and Kevin carried it into the back yard and set it under the play set.  And that's where it has sat, and sat, and sat.  So next time you see or talk to Kevin remind him that he really needs to get that glider installed.  Maybe if we all remind him 10 times a day he will eventually get around to doing it... :)

Summer Cut

A few weeks ago I took Kassidy (my Australian Shepherd) to Petco for a summer cut.  It always amazes me just how different she looks when I pick her up.  She must have lost 10lbs in fur alone.  And I swear it took 10 years off of her as well.  Can you believe she will be 12 this year??  I had to count it twice at the vet to make sure because I didn't believe she was really that old.  She sure doesn't act like it.

Especially not since she took off the fur coat.  She's been jumping around like a puppy, ready to play.

Most Expensive Clothes Line Ever

I have debated more times than I can remember trying to rig up some sort of outdoor clothes line so I can hang clothes outside to dry.  Because why not take advantage of that blistering heat for something other than a sunburn and subsequent free skin peel?  Especially when I have 27 loads to do, and no where left to hang them inside.

Luckily Kevin solved the problem for me nicely when he added the monkey bars onto our play set. :)  It turns out they make really awesome hanging space.  Perfect for the pool towels, swim suits, and cover ups!

Between the monkey bars and my hammock I have opened up all kinds of outdoor drying space.

Though it may be the single most expensive clothes line, ever.  :)

Crazy Hat Day

School has gone into overdrive for the summer.  Between movie days, splash days, cooking days, magic shows, puppet shows, and everything else it's been crazy.  Especially given that the kids are in different classes and have things on different days.  I have taken to keeping their calendars in the car with me and checking them twice a day to make sure they are dressed appropriately in the morning and to remind me what I am supposed to ask about in the car on the way home. 

Friday was crazy hat day for everyone.  A fact I remembered 3/4 of the way through morning rush time.  So we grabbed Lightening McQueen hats which coincidentally matched their day's theme and headed out the door.  I tried to get the boys to wear them sideways to help with the crazy aspect before deciding that the BOYS were CRAZY, and that they were wearing HATs so that must qualify right??

That's my story and I am sticking to it!  Surprisingly when we came to pick them up Ryan still had his hat on.  Connor's hat wasn't on his head, in his bag, or anywhere in sight.  So we apparently lost a Lightening hat at school... [sigh]  Hopefully it will turn up.

Father's Day Nuggets

While sorting through Kevin's pictures I found these pictures of school's "Donuts with Dad" on the Friday before Father's Day. 

Since the boys were still in separate classes Kevin stopped first in Connor's class with both the boys and had donuts and juice. 

And then apparently stopped by Ryan's class where he and Ryan polished off another donut.  :) 

Afterwards Kevin and Randy went fishing on Lake Conroe.

They caught the catfish that we all enjoyed on Father's Day.  Though they got in so late Friday night/Saturday morning that they decided to wait until Saturday to finish cleaning them.


 

And then Saturday evening Kevin went to the final days of the boat show at Reliant stadium and looked at boats.  Though clearly his taste in boats and mine are miles apart... :)

Forgotten Foto Friday

On a road trip back in April, the boys and I passed through College Station and stopped by the Association of Former Students to pick up a Former Student decal for the window of my car.  While there we discovered the Haynes Ring Plaza for the first time which includes a replica of a giant Aggie ring.   

Showboat Drive-In Movie Theater

Earlier this week as my coworkers and I were talking about the new Cars 2 movie coming out tomorrow I mentioned that some day I wanted to go to the Drive-In theater.  Some day when it wasn't so blisteringly hot and humid.  Like in November, maybe. 

There is actually a drive-in not too terribly far from us that we have passed a time or two leaving and coming back into town.  I briefly looked at their website and noticed there were several good movies that I wanted to see including Green Lantern and X-Men and that they had double headers each night for a whopping $5 per person.  I book marked the site and promptly forgot all about it given the current 100 degree weather streak.  However when the rain came around thanks to my threats of washing my car and my car read a cool 82 degrees at 6pm the idea immediately popped into mind that it would be a great time to go to the Drive-In. 

Checking their website I noticed that they had a Kung-Fu Panda 2 and X-Men First Class combination.  Talk about pefect.  We could take the boys and all watch Kung-Fu Panda.  And when it was over, we could put the boys to bed in the car and then Kevin and I could watch X-Men.  Just one of the benefits of always on the go adaptable kids who can sleep anywhere

So on the spur of the moment, we tossed our pillows into the back of the car and all piled in.  When we got to the theater we picked out a spot on the front row and got out to explore the soaked playground, and hilly parking lot on the way to the restrooms and concession stand.

We picked up our tub of popcorn and headed back towards our car.  When we got there the boys ran around on the play area with a dozen other kids waiting for the sun to set and the movie to start while we got everything situated in the back.  Ryan glanced up at one point and pointed out to us how pretty the colors of the sunset were.  He helped me take a picture of it on my cell phone.

I am actually surprised at just how well most of the pictures came out on my phone.  I took my camera only to pull it out and realize that I had left the memory card in my computer.  At home.  So I took several pictures with my phone instead.

When the movie finally started we turned the radio on the right station and piled into the back of the car in a mountain of pillows to watch. 

Before long Kevin, whom we made the mistake of letting lay down, had gotten comfortable and dozed off.  We had to wake him up a few times as his snoring got too loud.  The boys really enjoyed sitting with us and watching the movie.  They made it all the way to the end despite the fact that it was well past their bedtime.

When the second movie started the boys layed down on us and their pillows and were out cold in no time.  So not only did I get to watch a movie, I got some good snuggle time, too.  Talk about a perfect evening...

Threats

Remember yesterday? When I threatened to wash my car? To end the drought of 2011?

Apparently even the threat of me washing my car brings on the rain.

"What can brown do for you?"

"What can brown do for you today?"

Tell me they don't look like little UPS men.  Without the packages of course.

At least from behind. 

From the front?  I am going to go with escapees from the loony bin. 

Oh wait!  There's my sweet boys...

Tick?  What tick?

Drought of 2011

I think it's time to wash my car... It might be the last hope for getting any rain around here.

To say that we are having a drought is a huge understatement. According to the national weather service here in our area we are 20 INCHES below average rain fall totals for this time of year. We have had as many as 145 days with less than 1/2 inch of precipitation. And record heat - with June 2nd, being the earliest we have topped the century mark in history. And it certainly hasn't cooled down much since.

We apparently haven't been watering enough to make up for the lack of rainfall as one of our big oak trees bit the dust a few weeks ago.  We had hoped to resuscitate it, but it's not looking good...

Celebrating Father's Day

We spent the afternoon of Father's Day hanging out at Uncle Randy's house.

While we were waiting for the fish and fries to cook the boys ran around the backyard.  They played on the airplane, and on the see-saw. 

It was the first time they have done the see-saw by themselves and they really had a blast.

Though there were a few hairy moments when one or the other would push too hard and practically bounce himself right off as the end of the seat on the other end bounced on the ground.

They particularly thought that was hysterically funny.

After lunch we put the boys down for late nap.  They protested having to take a nap, but the second they stopped talking and moving they were out cold. 

We let them sleep for about an hour and then woke them up and wrangled them into their swimsuits.  Ryan in particular does not like to be woken up and it took him a while to decide to be sociable again.  But eventually the lure of splashing in the water won out and we headed to the pool.

Uncle Randy had some sort of handle that he used as a mega blaster.

It shot a stream of water the entire length of the pool.

Or when shot into the air pelted everyone within a 8 foot radius with giant water drops.

Ryan used his kick board as a shield to protect him from the blasts.

Kevin pulled the boys around and round in the floats.  I am not sure they were worn out before it all over, but I suspect that Kevin was.  :)

Once the boys were finally dragged off the floats they showed off their swimming skills.

Ryan must be practicing in his sleep because he even surprised us with a backstroke.  While Connor?  Well, the kid still can't float.  :)

Ryan on the other hand swam from side to side showing off his new talent.

His motorboat feet propelling his as fast as Lightening McQueen!

Meanwhile Connor never gave up hope.

He'd shout "Watch me Mommy" as he leaned back, and pulled his feet up to the surface. 

But before long he'd start sinking in the middle again...

The boys had passed pruned by the time they were finally lured out of the pool by pizza.

By the time we finally said goodbye it was well past the boys' bedtime, but they had certainly had a good time.