Julie and Doug's Wedding

This weekend my cousin Julie got married! Her new husband, Doug, and Mark work together.

New family - Julie, Doug, Ashley, Avery and Havannah

Julie encouraged us to bring the boys, but Cole didn't last for the reception (there was a staircase...need I say more)? Mark ended up taking him home early...

Carson and Avery

My cousin Debbie (Mother of the Bride), aunt Joyce, and my mom Jane

Ashley and Carson

Avery and Havannah

Ladies' Man

Laura and Steven

The bride

Lemme see that Tootsie Roll!

Night-night, Laura!

Mark helped Carson say his prayers that night, but when I went in to tuck him in he asked me to say them again. When I finished he said, "And Mommy, don't forget that girl I danced with."

That "girl" was Crazy Ray's wife of 53 years, Mattie. She tore up the dance floor!

R&R

We're back from our relaxing weekend and today was Mark's first official day back to work after his two weeks off. We had a wonderful time, the boys did great without us, the food was delicious, and we met some really nice and fun people. The Gaylord was like another world to itself - I'd highly recommend it.

We had a huge suite on the top floor with a balcony that opened up to the atrium. Here is the view from our balcony:
Here are a slew of pics from our trip. If we look really red it's because we are; we both got too much sun at the pool on Saturday! They had a lot of things that the boys would enjoy, so we want to take them back when Cole gets a little older... like indoor fireworks

This guy (who was real)
A performing monkey And this creature (who was really a lady)

Like Daddy

The other day Carson wanted to dress up like Mark because, "I want to pretend I'm a daddy. I want to be just like my daddy."

I grabbed the camera and told him to stand still so I could take his picture and he said, "Wait until I button this button, Mommy, so I can look distinguished."

Where does he come up with this stuff?

As much as this kid can talk, he has never really said anything too embarassing when we've been out in public together... until yesterday. We were in a shoe store and I was glad to see a play table for kids at the back of the store. I sat the boys down at the table and a few minutes later a little boy almost as tall as Carson sat down with a pacifier in his mouth. I did a double-take and then I heard Carson say to him, "Don't you think you should take that paci out of your mouth?" The boy shrugged his shoulders and said, "Yes" and took it out and sat it on the table. I was horrified and quickly looked around to make sure the mother wasn't within hearing range (thankfully she wasn't). I caught Carson's eye and shook my head and mouthed, "NO!" Carson nodded and kept playing.

I shopped around a few more minutes and then decided I'd better not press my luck any further so I gathered everyone up to leave. We almost made it to the door and were walking right past the mother when Carson says, "Mommy don't you know big boys aren't supposed to have pacifiers?"

After My Own Heart

This kid right here... He looooooooves himself some corn on the cob! Here he is covered head to toe in corn. (More head than anywhere else)!

Gaylord Texan... Here We Come!!

Mark surprised me by arranging (big points there) a weekend getaway before he has to go back to work next week, and I could not be more excited! The best part is that our moms are going to take turns babysitting, which means we may be able to enjoy some adult conversation over meals without Cole letting the entire restaurant know he does not want to sit in his high chair.

On Friday night we're going to take a tour of this vinyard and the rest of the weekend we plan to spend a lot of time eating and working out at the fitness center. Not really. We'll probably relax here instead:

Did I mention eating? Can't wait!

Campout (Kind Of) And Dress-Up

Ashley and Avery stayed with us today and the kids got all geared up to go camping... in the kitchen!

Avery and Carson laid down to watch a cartoon and "rest" in my bed and when I went in to check on them I found they were up to no good. She had dressed Carson up in all my clothes! If you could only smell the perfume! Blackmail, Baby...Spiderman Avery and Pirate Carson. Arrrrrrgh, Matey!
Look at those Spiderman curls!

18 Months and change

Look at this sweet face! Right before he BIT me!!!!!So sad.

Fourth of July 2008

Popsicles... Yum! Fun in the lake. Trying to get everyone to pose...
We weren't very successful...

Fireworks!
Cole wasn't afraid of the fireworks, but he stayed right in my lap and I could feel his heart just pounding away.

Watching a video on the ride home...
Have you ever seen such a tired face?

Fort Worth Zoo

Check out this getup. Carson was THRILLED to go to the zoo and wanted to wear his "zoo hat!" Feeding the birds

Busy, busy!

Boy, have we had a busy past 4 days! Mark is off for two weeks (yea!) and we have been all over the place. On Thursday, we headed off to Fort Worth to visit the zoo. On Friday, Grandma Martha came to keep the boys so we could go to our friend Michele's wedding in Frisco. We got home late that night and the next morning we had our cousin Avery's 5th birthday swimming party. We came home to let the boys take naps and then we packed up and hit the road to join our friends Brenna and Craig at the lake for some 4th of July festivities.

We swam at the beach all afternoon and evening, ate hot dogs and watched fireworks. The kids had a blast! After the fireworks show, we drove to my mom's house to spend the night. Everyone was exhausted from swimming all day Saturday, so I thought we were good for a restful night. Not so much. Cole slept for a couple of hours and then woke up in his pack 'n play screaming! I put him in bed with me and he thought it was playtime until the sun came up the next morning... no fun! We swam and played at my mom's for much of the next day, grilled hamburgers and then headed home. Needless to say, we had a ton of fun but we're worn out!!

Good Intentions...

Mark and I joined a gym this past weekend. The following day, we took the boys swimming there and had a great time. The next two days, I actually attempted to work out. On both days, 20 minutes would go by smoothly, only to be interrupted by a voice on the loudspeaker: "JENNIFER FREEMAN, WE NEED YOU TO RETURN TO THE CHILDREN'S AREA." One guess what (or who) the problem was...
Yep... he cried and carried on from the moment I left him.

Babysitting Antics

The other night, my friend Lindsey offered to keep the boys so Mark and I could go to a wedding reception.

We laughed about a funny conversation she overheard at the dinner table between Carson and her son, Grayson:

Carson: When I grow up, I want to be a lizard catcher and a fireman.

Grayson: I want to be a lizard!

Carson: You gotta have a dream!

Speaking of dinner table, this is where she found Cole at one point in the evening:

A few other pics she took:

Bathtime

Blanket Buddies (notice how Cole is touching Caroline's blanket and she is NOT happy about it). HA!

Pajama Party!

Slip 'N Slide Gone Wrong

It all started out very innocently... Cole takes a turn.Carson takes a turn.
Only Cole decides he doesn't want to get out of the pool of water at the end of the slip 'n slide. Not only that, but he gets mad when Carson wants to sit there with him.

First he tries to push Carson out... Then he pulls his hair.And before I knew it, Cole HEAD-BUTTED him! Twice! Seriously.
Notice Carson laughing. Not helping the situation...

Sprinkler Fun!

Some Kung Fu Panda moves...

Little toes