Lawn mowers, Army Jeeps and Bears

Summer has been a wonderful time in my life so far!  It has given me a chance to reconnect with friends that I hadn’t seen during the busy school year.  It has given me a chance to spend some wonderful quality time with my kiddo and other family and it has given me a chance to dream a little (that is always good)!

Here are a few pictures of the fun that we are having.  My son is ALL boy ~ which I love!  We had to go to a local hardware store to approve a shingle for my parents’ new house and on the way in Nathan saw the army of riding lawn mowers.  I told him we would look at them on the way out!  In awe of the lawn mower's wonderfulness!

Nathan looks like he is in awe of the lawn mowers, wondering if this was really real or if he was actually dreaming! 

Papa's boy!

He climbed up on this one and LOVED it!

Later that week we went to the library. They have special programs on Fridays and I thought the one with the Army Jeep would be interesting to Nathan.  Truth be told the presentation was WAY over his head and we lasted about 3 minutes in the presentation.  We went inside the library to look at books and other things and met the group outside to look at the jeep!  Nathan was interested until they started the jeep to put it back on the trailor.

Army Jeep

It was really hot outside so we didn’t stay long.  I love summer time and all the fun stuff that people have planned.

Yesterday we met my brother and his girls in Waco to spend some time together and look at some houses!  It was a quick trip but it was really fun and great to see my brother and his girls.  We haven’t seen them in a while. 

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Memaw loving on Rachel and Hannah!

Memaw with #5, #6, and #7 GRANDKIDS

Memaw at the Baylor Bookstore with Rachel, Nathan and Hannah!

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Me and my bear!

My nieces, Nathan and Me

Aunt Christie with her favorite nieces (minus Megan) and Nathan!   From Lt to Rt: Bethany, Nathan, Hannah, Christie, Rachel and Michelle!

All the Joneses!

The Joneses!

The Steven Joneses

Here are the Steven Joneses . . . or should I say the DR. Steven Joneses?  :)

Steven is holding Bethany and Tamber is holding Rachel (on her Rt) and Hannah (on her left)!  Great looking family family, huh?

Looking for the Bear!

We were looking for the bear and finally found him in the underground cave!  He is in the cave right above Michelle’s shoulder!  I am not sure Nathan ever saw him! 

Peeking into Cave ~ the bear was staying out of heat!

Michelle and Bethany found the bear in the cave.  It was super hot yesterday and the bear was staying out of the heat!  Smart, if you ask me!

Steven and mom with girls

Steven (holding Rachel) and mom (holding Hannah)! 

Steven

Steven and Rachel just hanging out!

I am so glad that Steven and his family are moving closer!  Driving to Waco is a great quick trip!  I have the best family in the world!  We missed Lori and Papa, but they will be with us very soon!  :)

Day at the Museum

Last week, Nathan and I headed to our old stompin’ grounds . . . I guess they were just my old stompin’ grounds!  Nathan is gradually getting to know my college world.  I headed to Waco to . . . ehem . . .get a haircut (I know that sounds silly to some, but to those who know Marla, you TOTALLY understand) and decided to stop and visit a dear friend of mine.  She has a son who is 2 weeks older than Nathan.  Brit, our boys and I went to dinner on Tuesday night (I love Ninfa’s) and, after putting our boys to bed, she and I stayed up almost all night talking, laughing, crying, sharing what God is doing in our lives and how far He has brought us!  I love special friends like this!

On Wednesday morning we joined another mom and her kiddos at Mayborn Museum on the Baylor Campus.  It was incredible.  Here are a few of the pictures that I took!  We will HAVE to go back! My nieces will love this place!

Crouching Nathan

Ready or not, here I come! He was in a goofy mood this morning and these pictures prove it!

Cheese

Cheeeeeeeeeeese!

The Gang

Here is the group of kids that we had a blast with.  I got to know Brittney’s friend, Dana, and her kids a little better.  What a beautiful person, mom and friend.  God is so good to bring people like this into our lives.  I have a friend like this in Tyler and I am so glad that Dana and Brittney are friends.  Our kiddos together are the most precious thing I have ever seen!  From L to R: Kaitlyn, Lily, Jonathan, Hannah, Nathan and Ethan

Nathanlisa

Funny, the last time I looked at the Mona Lisa, it wasn’t nearly this cute!  :)

Bus Boy

Nathan has a new love with school buses!  Every time he sees one he starts singing “The Wheels on the Bus!”  (No one else may realize that is what he is singing, but mommas know what their babies are saying! :)

The Wheels on the bus

Here he is singing the song and doing the “round and round” motions!  I am, of course, singing “The Wheels on the Bus”.  I would post the video but it is short and my voice is a bit annoying!  Take my word for it, this kid is adorable and when you add this song, he just down right melts your heart!

More wheels

Here is another picture of the bus a little later!  Notice, Nathan is STILL singing “round and round”!  :)

Cutie Cop Jonathan

Isn’t Police Officer Jonathan the cutest thing you have ever seen?  Look Ethan, it’s a cop car!

Peepie

Again, my heart is mush and I am laughing hysterically at the silliness of my kiddo!  I love this kid!

Jonathan, Nathan and Ethan

I also love taking pictures of kiddos from behind (notice the Dallas zoo pictures for more evidence).  Here Jonathan, Nathan and Ethan are playing in the water table!  We all left wet!

Guitar

The music room was next and Nathan was initially interested in this ‘larger than life’ guitar!  Maybe he will have longer fingers than me!  I tried to play the guitar and couldn’t make my fingers reach the strings.  Oh well!

Toddlers and a Tune

This set up reminded me of the scene in Big where Tom Hanks and his boss enter a toy store and play Heart and Soul on the floor piano!  This piano didn’t play quite as well (of course, I tried to play it) but it sure was fun and the kids loved it!  Isn’t it cute to look at those toddlers crawling all over the piano?

Mixing Music

Working on his mixing skills with Kaitlyn and Hannah (and some random boy)!

On the Wagon Train

Pioneer Room ~ on the wagon trail with my favorite little boy!

What?  This Cookie is FAKE?

Now this room is just plain cruel!  Nathan and Ethan sat down for what looked like a wonderful snack after a long, hard day of playing and exploring and (look at Nathan chowing down) THE COOKIES WERE FAKES!!!!!  They didn’t seem to mind all that much, but I could see a touch of disappointment! 

Tea

I pretended to pour some tea, the boys drank and then we left and got some real lunch!  Chickfila!  Brit and I always have a date with Chickfila when we get together!  It was wonderful having 6 kids (4 under 2 years) and three adults in the middle of lunch hour on a weekday!  It was utter mayhem and I loved it!  I hope we can do it again real soon!

Wiped Out

Tired Boys

Hah, at the end of the day our kiddos were pooped!  They played hard and slept hard!  What specials blessings these guys are!  Thanks, Brit, for letting us hang out with you!  We love you and can hardly wait to hang out again!

Summer Lovin’

This is a picture post to show you how much we are loving being together this summer!  I honestly believe that the stressful year was worth it simply for the first week of summer! 

New Pool

My Sunshine

Waterbabies

I bought a pool for the backyard and Rusty loves it just as much as (if not more than) Nathan! 

Memaw with her grandkids

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Look at this face!  Pure joy!  We visited the Tyler Sprinkler Park on Monday.  I wasn’t sure how Nathan would do with getting sprinkled, but gave it a shot anyway!  Of course, as with everything but the mechanical dinosaur, he LOVED it!  Look at these faces of pure joy!  You better believe we will be going back!

Pure Joy in Sprinklers

Spider Monkey

There is also a great playground next to the sprinkler park.  Although I thought it was rather hot to be playing OUT of the water, Nathan just had to explore.  There was a super cool spider web and, as Nathan watched the bigger boys climb it, he tried to do the same!  He did rather well, too! 

I hope you are enjoying your summer!

Christie-ology

 Rules:  Copy and paste this into your blog, replace my name with yours and my answers with yours!  
                             
**********  FOODOLOGY ***************
What do you like to put on your toast?
 butter and sometimes strawberry preserves
 
What is your salad dressing of choice?  
 Ranch (of course, I AM a Texan)
What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
Posado’s, Newks  and The Melting Pot    

What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of it?
Chickfila

What are your pizza toppings of choice?
Sausage, black olives, and any veggie except green peppers and onions

***********TECHNOLOGY*************** 
What color cell phone do you have?
lime green of course

 

***************BIOLOGY******************
Are you right-handed or left-handed?
Both, I can also write backwards in cursive

Have you ever had anything removed from your body? 
Tonsils, some stitches and a baby
 
What is the last heavy item you lifted?
a baby pool trying to empty it
Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
nope

********BULLCRAPOLOGY**************
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to
die?
No way
 
If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I like mine, I think I’ll keep it!

Would you drink a whole bottle of Hot sauce for  $1000.00?
Doubt it!

How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
I have lost count!

*************FAVORITOLOGY****************
Last person you hugged? 
My favorite little boy and some dear friends!

Favorite Holiday :
Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas (can’t choose just one~ sorry)

Day of the week? 
Thursday during the school year, during the summer, every day!!!

*********CURRENTOLOGY*****************
Birth month…….
April

Missing  someone? 
You bet

Mood?
Content, blessed and very thankful
 
What are you listening to?
silence (and Rusty snoring)

Worrying about?
Asking the right questions soon and is it really going to happen

***************RANDOMOLOGY*****************
First place you went this morning?
Sonic :)

Last movie you saw?
The Lakehouse

Do you smile often?
I think so!

************** QUESTIONS**************
                         
1) Do you always answer your phone? 
Most of the time

2) It’s five in the morning and you get a text message, who is it?
My mom or Jennifer

 3) If you could change your eye color what would it be?   
Blue , however, I rather like my eye color
   
4) Do you own a digital camera?
Yes,and I know how to use it, too!  :)
 
5) Have you ever had a pet FISH?
yes, Scooby!  He was the mascot for my Pre-K class until his tragic ending!

6) Favorite Christmas song? 
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire and Oh Holy Night (sung by my father and Point of Grace)

7 ) Can you do push ups? 
Yes, like a girl!

8) Can you do a chin up?    
Not sure

9)Does the future make you more  nervous? 
Not today

10)Do you have any saved texts?
absolutely

11)Ever been in a car wreck?
 nothing more than a fender bender

12) Do you have an accent?  
Pretty sure I do!

13) What is the last song to make you cry? 
A Mother’s Prayer

14) Plans tonight?  
Pedicure with a friend

15)Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? 
Oh my gosh yes, but thank God for faith, family and friends!  :)

16) Name 3 things you bought yesterday. 
Custard at Andy’s, a pair of shoes and a Diet Dr. Pepper

17)Have you ever been given roses? 
Yes, yellow ones (my favorite)
 
18) Current hate right now? 
ummmm . . . resilient mosquitos in my backyard!  I can’t get rid of them!

19) Met someone who changed your life?
without a doubt

20) How did you bring in the New Year?  
 At my parents house with my brother watching the ball drop!

21) What song represents you?  
Your Grace is Enough; How Can I Keep From Singing; Thank You, Lord; Broken Hallelujah; Free to Be Me: Amazing Grace
  
22) What were you doing at midnight last night? 
Sleeping and dreaming
 
24) What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?  
Not telling

I Tag: KarenD, mab, Jennifer, Brit 

Book List

Well, I have been inspired by several of my friends to start a list of the books that I have read!  As I have grown older I have become more of an avid reader!  So, like mab, I have started (or will start) a running list in the margin of my blog of the books that I have read.  I am going to break it down by school year ~ September through August (I know, teachers are just a little wierd).  I will set a goal for myself starting next school year and try hard to meet and/or exceed it.  Thanks to all my inspirers (is that a word?)! 

PS.  One of my sweet friends just discovered how really odd I am.  I usually have several books going at one time.  Currently I am reading 4 different books!

That’s What you Get

This is what you get when you combine peanut butter and a toddler!!!!

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