Go Rangers!

We went to a Ranger game last week with Colton on rainy dollar hotdog night. We left little Caleb at home with Momo. Maybe he can try a game next season. I felt guilty for leaving him until he wouldn't even tell me bye because he was too busy getting all of Momo's attention! Ethan had a great time even though the rain was spitting on us the whole time and it was a bit chilly. I'm not a big baseball fan but it is a lot of fun to go hang out in the stadium! I wish the season extended into the cooler months. It's too hot in the summer to sit for hours and watch people hit balls with sticks!

Is he a crazy little fan or what?!

Colton and Ethan chowing down on hotdogs.

Ethan begged and begged for blue cotton candy. When he finally got some he ate a few bites and he was done. It was up to Mommy and Colton to eat the rest. Not the best thing to eat when it's raining. It kept getting hard spots where the sugar was melting together.

He sat like this for 7 innings. He is the best little guy to take anywhere! Every time a batter went to bat he would say, "Is that Josh Hamilton or Ian Kinsler?" He doesn't know what they look like but those are the two names he knows. So cute.

Ethan and Colton just chilling...literally, it was cold!

We took them over to the kid area and let him bat. He hit almost all of them! I thought I was taking some great video then was SO MAD to find out that it was on standby the whole time. Oh well...you can just imagine how awesome he was.

They played all over Nolan Ryan. We kept having to drag them off so other people could take pictures.

This was right before we left and the cotton candy was in full effect! They were a little wild and climbing the fence...but it made a good picture. :-) Ethan was so tired that he was asleep before we got home. What a great night!

Ethan's First Day of School!

I'm a bit behind in posting Ethan's first day of school. He started on Friday 9/4, the first day after we got back from Vegas! This year he goes T/Th/Fri 9-2:30. I'm trying to prepare him for kindergarten next year. He was super excited and didn't shed a tear. We barely got a hug! He's growing up too fast! His new teacher is named Ms. Ross and she just loves Ethan! Almost every time we pick him up she tells us how cute he is and how he is so good. I guess he leaves his little attitude at home! We were a little worried that he might get in trouble with his mouthiness that he has developed lately but I guess he is an angel at school. Whew!

Here he is right before we left for school.

Showing off his new Wolverine/Spiderman/Ironman backpack (it's almost as big as he is!)

Look at that million dollar smile! Melts my heart!

Caleb had to get in on the action. Wow, Caleb is getting tall!

Outside the door of his new classroom.

Getting ready to sit down and color with Will and Caroline.

While the Cat's Away....

This is part two of the Vegas post. My parents kept the kiddos while we were gone. I was so worried about leaving them since we hadn't left them overnight since last year. Yes, I said last YEAR! At first Ethan said he didn't want to stay overnight but Mondo and I talked to him for long time and it clicked in his head that it was going to be fun. So for the few days before we left he was constantly asking "when do I get to go to Nana's and stay the night?"

Dropping them off was uneventful. We took them over at 0730 in their PJ's and barely got a hug from them...no tears. I did get a lump in my throat as we drove away. I was leaving my babies and getting on a scary plane!

Dad sent me these pictures that they took throughout their 3 day, 2 night stay with Nana and Papa (and Belle). :-)

Ethan was already taking care of Belle. Those two stuffed animals are the dog's not Ethan's. Caleb looks like he wasn't into taking pictures quite yet. I get that face a lot.

I LOVE this pic! This is his "I get whatever I want at Nana's" face.

nu=3237>3:7>3;4>WSNRCG=327;387476324nu0mrj.jpg"> Caleb helped take Belle outside...poor dog.

Ethan scaled that tree by himself. (All of the grandkids picked all the bark off of it.)

Ethan and Belle going for a morning jog.

Caleb "swinging". I love that they are both still in their pj's playing outside.

Check out Ethan's face. He's probably saying "I'm not gonna fall Nana!"

They had to come inside and strip down to cool off. They are drinking some type of grape soda. I think it's called Grapette. Ethan loves it.

Here's another picture I love. Nana got him some dress up stuff.

Playing his harmonica like the cartoon in the background. (Everytime Caleb sees this on Noggin at home he says "again!" and I have to play it over and over.)

Caleb brushing his teeth like a big boy.

They helped make some fried okra. Looks like Caleb was working hard!

Laying in Nana and Papa's bed. They actually slept together in the playroom. On their first night back at home, Caleb threw a fit because he didn't get to sleep with Ethan. We might have to try that and see if he'll actually sleep through the night!

Thank you Mom and Dad for watching our kiddos so we could get away for a few days. Now you know why I'm so tired all the time!! Those boys never stop! Ethan is already asking when we are leaving again so he can go stay the night with Nana and Papa. So, are you all healed up and ready for some grandkids, Nana? :-)

Viva Las Vegas!

We dropped off the kiddos with Nana & Papa early last Tuesday morning and flew off to Vegas for three days. The kids did much better than I thought they would...but that will be another post. This one already has too many pictures!

I hadn't flown in over 7 years and quickly remembered why. On the flight there, we sat on the plane at the terminal for 45 minutes due to "electrical difficulty". The power kept turning off and they couldn't get the plane started. So we went on another plane, right? Wrong! They just jumped ours...yes, I said jumped it, and we flew off. I think I almost broke Mondo's hand during take off. On the way home, we sat on the runway for 30 minutes because of some problem with the air traffic control tower. Nice. Then the whole 2.5 hour flight felt like we were in an earthquake because of surrounding storms they were flying around. I just kept looking at pictures of the kids on the camera and trying not to cry thinking that I would never see them again. A little dramatic, I know. I was never so glad to get my feet back on the ground and hug my children!!

We stayed at the Mirage. This is the outside where they have the volcano show every night.

The room.

This is part of a giant pool. There was also one smaller one. We didn't do a very good job of escaping the Texas heat. I think it was 80's in Texas...104 in Vegas!

I was so excited to get to eat at N9ne Steakhouse since they closed the one in Dallas. It was so good but we all got so full! The highlight of the evening: The bartender chick asked Mondo if anyone has told him he looked like Mario Lopez. Ya, we could've just gone home then because Mondo's trip was complete.

The hubbies: Mondo & Mike.

This was a lounge in our hotel called Revolution. Those are giant letters that we are sitting on.

Part of our hotel scenery. Everything was so tropical. I felt like I was in Maui again!

This was outside of Caesars. That hotel was ginormous and amazing! So much to see, so little time!

My favorite slot machine game called Quarter Millions. Really, it's the only one I could figure out! I won some money the first day, lost my winnings the second day. So...I broke even which is still winning to me!

There was an FAO Schwartz in Caesars so we had to stop in for a little shopping for the kiddos.

I am probably the only person who would blog about this but I thought it was so cute! There was a little nursery inside the toy store. It's hard to see but there is a glass window in front of the babies and a rocking chair inside. You can hold a baby and rock it and if you fall in love you can adopt it!

I was so amazed by this that I asked the guy how much it was. You can adopt a baby for the bargain price of $79.99 and he was quick to tell me that they are "asexual" so you can decide if the baby is a boy or a girl. Lets hope he doesn't use that word around small children!

A giant aquarium in Caesars.

There was a mall in Caesars...what wasn't in Caesars?? All of the ceilings were painted to look like you were outside. Pretty cool...and a little confusing at night.

New York New York...no, we didn't ride the roller coaster! Yikes!

MGM.

There was a lion enclosure inside of MGM. I was a little sad that Ethan wasn't there because he would've loved it! There were trainers inside with them trying to get them to play but they were being lazy.

I'm not sure what hotel this was at but we wanted a picture on the strip.

Yummo! I indulged in a tiny chocolate shake...ok, it was huge...and I drank it all. But the top was just chocolate whipped cream. It wasn't all ice cream! :-)

This is the volcano show outside of our hotel. It was very cool. You could feel the heat from it in the street.

Outside of the Venetian where we had dinner at TAO the second night.

My BFF Traci at TAO. It was kind of like a PF Changs on steriods. It is where all of the celebrities eat. No, we didn't see any.

Mondo and me at TAO. Check out those yummy duck rolls he ordered...yuck! He claims they were good. I took his word for it.

The Vegas gang at TAO.

Ahh, going home...this was on our way out of our hotel. What a great trip, but it was a great relief to come home to our babies! Don't worry Nana & Papa, we won't be going anywhere without them for a long time! We're a little too attached to the little critters.