Golf 101...with LOTS of pictures!

Today Patrick decided that the boys were ready for an outing to the driving range. They had a great time, although I don't think we have any golf prodigies on our hands!

Walking to the range...Drew got so many comments from people who passed us! They thought his bag was awesome!

Learning to swing the club...

A few more pointers...

Waiting patiently for his turn...

I think it's time for me to get some of these...

Allen's turn!

Change of venues...

Drew is pretty good at putting!



Allen likes to drop the ball into the hole...

...then pull the stick to get it back out!

"Got it!"

We interrupt this program for a sighting of a BUS!

Now back to our regularly scheduled program...



A successful outing for sure!

Just for fun...

Here are a few miscellaneous pictures from the past couple of weeks. Nana and Grandaddy came to visit and the boys loved sitting with them and watching movies. They were so cute cuddled up on the couch! (Grandaddy has all the good pictures on his camera...maybe he'll share them and I can post more!)


A daily occurrence at our house...the running of the dump trucks...


When you live in Arizona, cabin fever sets in during the summer. So Drew and I made a hopscotch board on the floor with masking tape. He thought it was hilarious!

Cheese!

The boys LOVE In-N-Out Burger. It was the first cheeseburger Drew would actually eat (and he compares all other burgers to it!). Allen has enjoyed them ever since our first visit. The kid seriously savors every bite! Yummy!

On our last visit, Drew said "Daddy, I hope I can work at In-N-Out Burger when I get bigger..." Ahh...high aspirations!

Overheard...

The boys have been playing together non-stop recently. While this is good for those times when I need to get things done, it rarely runs smoothly for any extended period of time. At least a dozen times a day I have to separate the boys, put one (or both) in time-out for some infraction, and then require the offender to apologize to his brother.

One day last week, Drew had taken a train from Allen and Allen cried...it was a minor issue and Drew immediately gave it back and apologized. I was standing outside the door making sure things were smoothing out on their own when I heard Drew say, "Allen, I said I was sorry. Do you 'cept my 'pology? Well? Do you accept my apology?" (spoken more slowly the second time) I had to walk away I was laughing so hard!

This past weekend, Allen was having a hard time playing nicely. He had completed his second or third time-out session for that day and I told him to go back to play nicely and to apologize to Drew. This is what we heard:
Allen: "Sorry, Dew" (spoken in Allen-ese...you would probably need a translator)
Drew: "I accept your apology...again..."

Brothers...

First Day of School!

Today was Drew's first day back at preschool and everything was wonderful! He was so excited to get there and get into his class he was running! Drew has his same teachers this year, Mrs. Fenton and Mrs. Parker, and about half of his class are friends from last year. He also has his new friend, Kenley, in his class. (Kenley's daddy works with Patrick and they just moved here in April from Louisiana and live in the neighborhood behind us. It's nice to have friends from the south!) When we got to his room he had to find his name on the door and then attach it to the bulletin board across the room. (It was their sneaky way of getting the kids through the door via distraction!) Drew grabbed his name and then darted over to the board to attach his name. He came back, dropped off his backpack at his cubby and then ran over to sit down and read (the morning activity every day). He didn't say goodbye, never glanced back and basically just forgot I had even been there! Sad for Mommy, but it was great to see him so happy to be back! He definitely did not miss a beat!


Running to class...


Meeting up with his buddy Kenley...


Finding his name on the door...


Matching up his name on the board...


Finding his cubby...

Allen got to see his buddy Nate at drop off...one of few words he says clearly is "Nate!" They are 9 months apart in age but already becoming partners in crime! Allen was sad to drop Drew off and not get to stay himself, but Monday is Little Gym day so he got to have some fun while Drew was at school. We arrived for pick up a little early and Allen got to run and play around the church grounds. There is a beautiful fountain in the middle that he loves to play in...and he got a bit wet today! But considering it was 105 degrees, it was a good way to cool off!


The little brothers...waiting patiently!


A slightly wet little brother waiting for Drew!


So happy after a great first day! A happy boy makes a happy mommy!

Reading to Maddie

Yesterday, Allen was looking for Maddie (who he loves SO much!!) and I told him she was taking a nap. Then, when I went looking for Allen, this is what I found...



Allen had taken a book, his teddy bear and lovie to Maddie's kennel and was "reading" to Maddie. I guess he figure if she was going to take a nap then she needed a story first, just like he gets before nap! Too cute...he definitely cracks me up every day with something!

Cute little man...

Allen is, how shall we say, a man of few words. And the words he does have are often quite difficult to interpret. However, he has a new phrase. He holds up his little index finger, looks at you intently and says "ba-ba". It took me a few times to figure it out...he's saying "be right back". So cute! If you respond "oh, you'll be right back?" he'll nod his head and run off. I guess he hears that a lot from mommy!!

We Love Public Transportation!

On Thursday, we spent the day riding public transportation in downtown Denver. It was great! The boys thought it was awesome and loved every minute of it. We rode the light rail for a while so they could see downtown from a distance then got off and rode right back into town. We got off at Union Station so Drew could see a "real" train station and "passenger trains". Then we hopped on the 16th Street Mall free bus and rode up and down the line. Allen LOVES buses...it's so funny!

Waiting for the light rail


Here it comes!


Finally on the train


A real live train station!


Kicking back on the bus

Colorado Photos

Daddy's "score" - finding a caboose at an information center in Raton, NM...the first of many train encounters on our trip!


Rock climbing at Garden of the Gods


After our trip on the Cripple Creek Railroad (it started raining just as we got off the train)

Family Vacation to Colorado!

We are on our first "real" family road trip...10 days to Colorado! We left on Friday morning and stopped the first night in Santa Fe, NM. We stayed in a wonderful hotel just off the plaza with a fabulous upgrade to a 2-bedroom suite. The boys thought it was great! Things were going well until Drew got sick at 5:00am Saturday morning. Bad news! Allen woke up and never went back to sleep so I got up with him, went to breakfast, walked around the Plaza where there was a great art festival going on, and generally enjoyed Santa Fe...well, as much as you can with an almost 2-year old! Patrick dealt with Drew and was able to get him to rest some more and get started a little more slowly. We got back on the road and the drive to Colorado was pleasant. We arrived at a campground outside Colorado Springs and met up with Grandma and Grandpa. The boys were very happy to see them and I'm sure the feeling was mutual! We have spent the past 3 days alternating between sightseeing, hanging out at the camper, and dealing with Drew being sick. We have seen the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Cripple Creek Railroad, Garden of the Gods and The North Pole. We also got to visit an urgent care clinic with Drew's fever getting to close to 103! We still don't know what is going on but we are doing things as he feels up to it!
We have seen a train every day of our trip and ridden one the past 3 days. It's definitely all about the boys!
Tomorrow morning we head up to Denver to show the boys where Daddy grew up and see some of the sights up that way. We start our return journey on Saturday morning...another 2-day drive!
I'll add some photos tonight if I can get a faster internet connection. I'm having trouble uploading them...