Way Down Deep In the Deep Blue Sea

We love our public library, especially in the summertime. They have great activities and shows for the children and Nathan really loves it. Throughout the year we go once a week to get books. In the last month we have managed to get Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea twice. Nathan enjoys this book because it is all about the ocean and the animals that you can find down there. The little boy in the story appears to be snorkeling in the ocean for a treasure for "his mama and me" and on each page finds a new sea creature. Although each page is slightly different it does have a repeatable pattern. For lunch last week, I made the "not famous by me," but very new and exciting to Nathan: "Octopus Hotdogs"...and macaroni and cheese. He has eaten an entire "Octopus Hotdog" twice now, which is saying a lot for my little guy who is usually way to busy to be interested in eating much of anything. Last night we also did an extension to the book. At the end of story you find that the boy is not snorkeling in the sea, but using his imagination with toys and goggles in the bathtub. So I put on Nathan's Spiderman goggles and letting him search for sea creatures (aka watertoys) in his bath last night. What fun!

Continuing with the theme of water, here are some pictures of Nathan and Kate at a couple of the children's parks at Schlitterbahn.

Couch Potato (er, Tator Tot)

The other night, Nathan and I rented a Redbox children's movie at the McDonald's just down the road. His pick! The next night, I loaded him up to return it. He was asking if we were going to get another one that night.

Now, I am not a movie junkie. I do like a good movie or a fun show, but I would rather see him play inside, outside or read books with me than watch TV.

He knows that, because he must hear me tell him (I don't know how many times), "You might turn into a couch potato if you sit and watch TV all day. I wouldn't want that to happen!"

So, naturally, my response was, "No, not tonight."

He simply looked at me in agreement and said, "Yeah, because I wouldn't want to turn into a tater tot, huh?!"

I had to stop and think about what he was talking about. Then, I realized he had confused couch potato with tater tot.

I smiled and said, "Ewww, no, that would not be good! I would not want that to happen!"

Serious Style!

The other morning, Kate climbed onto her Dora riding car and reached with her tippy toes every hairclip on her hairclip holder that she could possibly reach. I would add each one to her hair as she handed them to me. She kept them in for a bit and continued playing in her room. Later, I called Nathan in to take a look at his little sister and we had a good laugh. Here is a short video about it all. Take a look:

What do I want to be when I grow up?

Tonight, after a fun Missions Class about Mexico (the kids packed bags of supplies for the mission trip this month), Nathan asked if we could go and see the band concert. Burgandy Road was helping kick off the Student Ministry's summer. There was pizza (and Dr. Pepper-love it!), really good group games (the students were really competitive tonight-and funny) and, of course, the B-A-N-D. :) They are going to be camp band at youth camp this summer.
Nathan LOVES music and I couldn't let him pass up an opportunity like this. So, we headed upstairs to sit with Daddy and watch the end of the show. Nathan sat perfectly still in Corey's lap and moved his head slightly every once in a while to the beat of the music. Kate, on the other hand, was moving her entire body! This girl is a "dancing queen!" :)
Afterwards, Corey asked Nathan, "Nathan, do you want to be in a band when you grow up?"
"No," was Nathan's reply. Corey and I just looked at each and smiled.
On the way home, I remembered it was "Free Rootbeer Night" at Sonic. I surprised Nathan by driving past our house to pick up a couple of them. As we drove home with our rootbeer floats in hand, I asked Nathan again (but in a slightly different way), "Nathan, if you were in a band what instrument would you play?"
He responded simply, "I don't want to be in a band."
"Oh," I said.
Then he said, "Mom, don't you remember what I said I wanted to do when I grow up?"
I did, but I wasn't sure if it had changed, so I asked him to remind me.
He said, "I want to be a doctor, a football player, a baseball player and what is that thing that dad does when he throws the ball...?"
"Basketball?"
"No, the thing where he wears the black and white striped pants..." (That is another story in itself that I WISH I had a picture for.)
"Oh, softball?"
"Yes! Softball, and soccerball and golf ball."
I said, "No wonder you don't want to be in a band...you are going to be much too busy taking care of sick people and running around catching and hitting balls all day. You probably would rather just go and watch a band play, huh?"
"Yes."
So, there you go...Nathan seems like he already has his life planned out. The pictures included in this post are of his "earlier" days (he is probably about a 1 1/2) at our apartment in San Marcos...looking as if maybe did want to be a band someday. I look forward to seeing Nathan get older and really figuring out what interests he does want to pursue. Whatever it is, I am sure it will be great!

The Great Wolf Lodge

Earlier today I was checking facebook and saw a giveaway for a free night's stay at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX. This place is incredible! Family friends have stayed here and had a great time with their kiddos! What fun would a free night at the Great Wolf Lodge hold? Well, all sorts of things--two days (included in giveaway) at their indoor waterpark that has lots to do for all ages, storytime at night, great places to eat, spa treatments, arcades, the list goes on!
A good friend from college passed this news along from a blog that she subscribes to called: http://www.survivingthestores.com/. Check this blog out. After browsing it, it looks like she has ideas for ways to cut costs while you shop. Always good as far as I am concerned.

photo courtesy of Great Wolf Lodge website

The beginnings to a fun summer...

This weekend was a busy one beginning with a lot of play time outdoors in our yard, around the neighborhood, our church's playground and Landa Park in New Braunfels. We also had a birthday party for one of Nathan's school friends (complete with pony rides I might add), a barbeque for a graduating senior, a "Mexican Fiesta" dinner at a good friend and MDO teacher's home and church. Thrown into the mix to make life a little more exciting was a Schwinn bicycle trailer that attaches to Corey's bike (what F-U-N!) and as an added bonus it detaches and makes a great stroller for two kiddos (max. weight of 50 lbs each) with a fairly large area to store things like picnic lunches, diaper bags and swimming supplies! We are also now officially Schlitterbahn season pass holders and look forward to MANY days ahead this summer spending time in their incredible waterparks (3 to be exact). Nathan asked why Kate wasn't going to get to go to the waterpark this summer when we got home after getting the passes. He was referring to the fact that we all had ID cards except for her. Of course she gets to come along, she just doesn't cost anything to get into the parks. At least one of us was free. :)

Yesterday, my first year of being Mother's Day Out director at our church came to an end. I really cannot believe how fast this year has flown by. When I think of the beginnings of it all I remember praying to God for great teachers and classes that would be filled with sweet children. God supplied both and sent amazing parents, no major accidents (thank you Lord!), encouraging AND helpful church staff to go to whenever I needed them, and time to minister to both staff and families. We were blessed so much this year by new friendships and I am grateful to God for giving me the opportunity to take on a position like this while I stay at home with my two sweet littles.

I can honestly say I am going to miss seeing everyone this summer on our Tuesday and Thursday get togethers, but am hopeful that we will see each other through playdates in June, July and August.

Here is a picture of some beautiful roses that were accompanied by a sweet card from the awesome staff at FBC. I am also including pictures of Nathan and Kate's last days at MDO this year. Enjoy!

Three year old Balloon Launch off of the church's balcony!Fun in the Sun Day (pools, slip 'n slides, popsicles, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and the Jiggle Bug Express Train!)