Sunday, August 31, 2008

A Day Spent With Friends

This summer went by surprisingly fast! I honestly never felt like it got as HOT and miserable as it tends to get... and I have also been shocked even with our newer/larger pool for the kids - they didn't ask to spend every waking moment in there! Instead, the pool this year seemed to be more of a family-time treat... and that was especially nice.





As August came to a close, we enjoyed another special day with some of our favorite friends.. The Combs Family! Since it was a Sunday, after church, we all went to Mi Mexico -Sara's favorite "house" to eat... and apparently RJ's favorite, too! It was yummy!






Afterwards, we went home and had a swimming party... and a horseback riding party... and finished the day off with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream and Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies. (Yes, it spoiled our dinners... and yes we all ate way too much!)







The kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Donna, Kelvin and RJ... and rightly so! They are, what I like to call "GOOD PEOPLE"! We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends in our lives. God has been so good to us!






At the end of the day - we were all exhausted! Probably a good thing that Monday was a holiday so we could all sleep in a little and catch up on some much needed rest! :)





Saturday, August 16, 2008

My Little Guy

I cannot believe another year has come and gone... but McCaleb is now officially a 4-year-old! How is this possible??? Where did the time go??





Despite my best efforts to keep him little - he is growing into a little boy right before my eyes. It is a good thing, I know. Still, it breaks my heart.






For his birthday, Mamoo and Papoo offered to have his birthday party at their house. McCaleb was so excited! All day long he kept trying to guess what kind of cake he was going to have... either Lightning McQueen or a Tractor cake, he was sure! (Since I was NOT sure... I hoped for one of the two...)





Since the Olympics had just kicked off... the kids competed in several "events"! First there was the skilled painting contest...it was very cute! Afterwards, they had the LONG JUMP...the "discus" throw (aka mini frisbees)... timed relay races... the sack race...and finally the water balloon toss. It was an exciting and eventful competition - but everyone had a wonderful time.












McCaleb was about to bust waiting for presents... but we did talk him into cake and ice cream first. He was so excited that he got a tractor cake... and although I didn't get a really good picture of it... it was adorable with the tractor and all the little animals on top. He very carefully took each animal off and licked all the icing off so that he could pack them away and take them home with him. :)








We let Dad open his birthday gift first... since his birthday was on August 1st. They were in Arizona... or somewhere along the way home... so we waited until McCaleb's birthday to open his gift. He got a WONDERFUL BOOK written by my step-brother, Joey. See the post from August 1st entitled A SHAMELESS PLUG FOR A WONDERFUL CAUSE!!













Finally... McCaleb got to open his presents. He was so excited. He got a Super Soaker, a Batman towel, more tractors and bulldozers... he got a FOOTBALL, a video, some new clothes... and a REMOTE CONTROLLED HELICOPTER. He was so excited!






However, the highlight of his entire day - had to be the dirt pile. He had been giving it the eye since we arrived at Mom's house. Apparently the water company had to move/raise or alter a manhole cover... and boy did they make a huge mess out of Mom's yard. It was a 4-year-old boys dream come true. He finally made it over to the dirt pile. In one photo you will see him with a stick in his hand. He decided he was going to DIG in the dirt. Well... after a little while, he says, "Look Mommy... a root!" When I saw him tugging on "it" I said... "Pull on it!" So he did. It wasn't a root. It was a dead snake... yeah... without a head.



Here is the snake... only Mamoo made him use a shovel the second time. :)

And of course, I had to say something. When I told him it was a snake... he was SO PROUD!!! Of course, everyone else screamed... and then began to scream at McCaleb, "Throw it down!!!" He did... he thought he had done something bad...but I told him it was OK... no big deal. He perked up a little and said, "Then can I pick it up again???" What a BOY!






For McCaleb - every day is an adventure. He loves to meet each challenge with a smile and an easy going attitude. I have said it before, and I will say it again... he is the sweetest child! We will be driving down the road and out of the blue he will say, "Mommy... I love you. Daddy...I love you..." and then he will tell each of his sisters. Such a sweet boy! McCaleb makes all of us better people. He wakes up happy, goes to bed happy... sees the best in everyone... never complains (unless someone else is getting on his tractor)...loves everyone... and remembers to pray for people that are sick or hurting even when I forget. He is a precious child with a very big heart, and I am so proud of him. Happy Birthday my sweet boy!