Matthew

Clearly, I am way behind.  Instead of trying to catch you all up on what has been going on, I think I'll do an update on each child and that way you'll still get a feel for what's been happening in our lives over the past several months.

Matthew Thomas is in the 3rd grade and is growing faster than I can stand it.  He catches me looking at him all the time and gasps, "what??", and I have to explain that I am just trying to soak it in--trying to remember what his face looks like right now.  This boy is growing and changing faster than I can handle it.  His pants are as long as mine now, and the other day I wore his hoodie around the house because it was just hanging on the chair where I was sitting and it fit perfectly.  He measured 4'4" tall and weighed 69 lbs. at his yearly checkup in Feb.  He will surpass me in height this year.

Back in November, Matthew turned NINE.  We invited some of his friends to meet at his school one evening to play flag football, soccer, eat pizza and cookie cake, and just goof around like boys do.  While it was probably the easiest birthday party we've done to date, it was also the most fun.  I loved seeing Matthew having fun with his friends just running around a field chasing a ball.  The next day we had family over to prolong the Matthew celebrations.  I just love this photo of all the kids.  It speaks volumes to how much they love each other and enjoy playing together.

Matt played flag football again last fall because it's all he wants to do.  He's not interested in trying out anything new.  In fact, he's started his spring season up already this year.  He just loves it.  Can't argue with that.

This is a great action shot of Matt at the beach race last September with all our Longhorn friends.  He always takes that race so seriously, and it gave him great pleasure to be a top finisher.  The kids loves a competition.

Matthew continues to be a fantastic big brother.  While he can often get very frustrated with Will, Will is still the one he wants to play with the most.  They usually play quite harmoniously together, especially if they have imagined some crazy race course with their cars.  One of Matthew's favorite things to do with Will is scour Lego catalogs and Ebay to draw up their wish list of coveted toys.  The greed kills me, but it's still nice to see them working together on something.  Matt does love to agitate poor Will though.  Will can't stand it when Matt is listening in on Will's imaginary play with his superheroes or any other toy because he always gets the giggles or he'll casually kick his legs on the couch to disturb Will.  And then he also loves to groan and complain when I tell him he and Will need to take a shower together, but then all I hear coming from that bathroom are giggles.

With his littlest brother, Johnny, Matt is usually very patient and tender.  He loves his baby-ness too, and often comments on Johnny's soft baby skin and the cute way he talks.  He is typically very helpful with him too.  About a month ago we were meeting one of Will's friends at the park for a playdate, and while I had walked over to greet the mom I noticed that Johnny was already wandering off.  I asked Matthew to stay with him and watch him while I talked to my friend for a minute.  Next thing I knew, I didn't see either of them.  I walked all over that place looking for them.  15 minutes later my friends spotted them, and Matthew was still patiently walking by Johnny's side.  Johnny had taken Matt to every corner of that park and explored all kinds of new areas, and Matt never once panicked or thought about leaving him.  He said, "Mom, I kept trying to get him to come back but he wouldn't; finally I told him Mommy would give him some pie and he agreed to walk back."  God bless that child.

Ava is still at the top of Matthew's heart, and she is his favorite companion.  He keeps certain female Lego mini figures separate from the large bin for her when she comes over.  I think their favorite thing to do together is create Lego cities and creations.  They also love creating treasure/scavenger hunts for Will and Henry.

Over Spring Break we had Ava over to spend the night while Will spent the night over at Henry's house.  It was great fun.  Steven and I took the big kids to go bowling.  I think their favorite part was scouring the arcade rooms for lost coins.  Matt found 50 cents.  There was a claw game that had some watches up for grabs that Ava was really pining for but didn't have the money to play.  After we were done bowling Steven gave each kid 50 cents, and they decided to play a car racing game together.  When they were done Matt walked over to Ava, gave her the 50 cents he had found earlier and said, "here you go, now go get that watch you wanted!"  She got really close.  A gesture of sweetness from my oldest boy.

His man-crush still resides with Trent.  His friend and main competition.  At the Gullett Color Fun Run a few weeks ago, Matt was all set to run alongside me until he spotted Trent.  Then I didn't see him until it was over.  It only broke my heart a little.

Lego still reigns supreme on this boy's list of favorite things to do.  He got this crazy huge Parisian restaurant for Christmas and assembled the entire thing by himself over the course of a few days.  It has three stories and is insanely detailed.  He's very proud of this addition to his Lego city.  Next in popularity would be NASCAR--on tv and reenacting the races with his vast collection of replica cars.

He still doesn't know how sit in a chair or on a couch.  Don't know what to say about that.  Matthew also spends a lot of time reading and writing his own original stories (he used to call them comics, but has now decided to call them stories).  He got a writing desk for Christmas, and most mornings we will find him on the couch hard at work on the latest installment.  He's challenged himself to write a story a month.  The desk in his room is covered in different, organized stacks of stories he's written.  Steven promises to have them bound one day.

As unconventional as Matthew is with the ways he chooses to spend his time and things he's into, i.e. story writing, trolling EBay, and checking the weather online; he still enjoys exploring the outdoors and all it's delights.  In this picture he is holding a teeny, tiny baby frog.  Those things were jumping all over the place, and somehow he got his hands on one.  Over Spring Break he went on an RA campout with a group from our church, and he got to do all kinds of fun boy things like archery, shooting, cooking and sleeping outside, tying different kinds of knots, and navigating with a compass.  He had a big time even though it was pouring down rain half the time.  And Steven found his very first arrowhead!

These cousins.  They are the cutest.  I am so happy that they have each other and get to be actively involved in each other's lives.  I never knew my cousins, so the fact that they get to see each other and love each other so much is incredible to me.  What a gift.

In the end, Matthew is still a goofy, nine year old boy.  He makes weird, fantastically annoying noises, he puts his shirts on backwards unintentionally, he comes home with lunch still smeared across his face, he still likes Curious George, he will still cuddle up next to me, he appreciates all my holiday decor, he can't sit still in his chair or resist the urge to read a book at the lunch/dinner table, and I am still his favorite girl.  As a mother I sometimes find myself overwhelmed by the love I have for my children.  It is intense, and last night was one of those nights.  He must have thought I was crazy, but I gave him huge hug and then just stared at his sweet little face and gushed about my love for him.  I love being Matthew's mom.  It's the best job in the world.

Sea World

One very sweltering day in August we captured Ava, Henry and Joy and spent the day at Sea World.  Our kids had been looking forward to this day for weeks and weeks.  

The Journey to Atlantis ride is really the only real roller coaster we can get Matt to ride at this point.  It has one really nice, long drop at the end that sends the cart splashing through the water.  All that water douses the onlookers that hang on the fence.  While Matt and I were on the ride, Will & Henry were getting soaked at the fence line and loving it.  Matt got his turn once we got back from the ride.  Hilarious!

This year Will was tall enough to go on a few rides.  He rode the Shamu Express a few times and enjoyed every second.  I think Henry thought it was a little scary at first as evidenced by the screams you hear, but by the second go around he thought it was okay.  :)

Henry and Will loved this huge net thing that they could climb way up high in.  We had a really tough time getting them to come out and move on to something else.  And all day long they kept asking to come back to the net.

We saw Shamu show off her stuff which is always amazing.  The kids were disappointed we didn't get wet in the splash zone though.  I was ok with that because then our snacks we were snacking on didn't get soggy!

After that, we ate lunch, let the adults take turns riding roller coasters, and then headed to the water park portion of the park.  That place is so much fun!  The big kids rode all of the tube slides, we spent time in the wave pool, the lazy river, and spent quite a bit of time on the little kiddie slides.  Johnathan absolutely loved getting to ride the little water slides.  I wish we could have videoed it, but it took 2 adults to assist him.  Steven and I took turns: one of us would walk him up to the top of the slide, make sure he waited his turn and then sat on his bottom, and then one of us would catch him at the bottom.  His face was the best.  He was grinning and giggling the whole time.  "Johnny slide!  Johnny slide!!!"  He probably did it 20 times in a row and would have kept going, but Steven & I had to cut him off at some point.  After thoroughly exhausting ourselves in the water park for a few hours we headed back to the amusement park.

The kids rode some more rides.

Johnny (and all the rest of us) got to ride the carousel!

Little John was a trooper all day.  He didn't whine or cry or make a stink at all.  He had a total blast and never missed a beat even though he didn't get his nap in.  I thought surely at some point he would just crash, but he didn't want to miss a minute of the fun.  We were letting Henry and Will climb on the net again, and all the while there was a Sesame Street "block party" going on.  All the characters were dancing and parading around with loud music, and Johnny was entranced.  I thought he was going to fall asleep staring at them from the stroller.

I love this picture of the Reners we took as we walked out the front entrance to leave.  Henry was totally pooped and in no mood to be photographed!

We ate some delicious bbq at Rudy's and then started the trek home.  Henry was the first to fuss at everyone to hush so he could go to sleep, and sleep he did.  Eventually they all fell asleep, and it was a quiet ride home.  It was a super fun day made even more great by having our dear friends there with us.

For your viewing pleasure

William learned how to ride his bike early in the summer.  Riding on the pedal-free Strider bike for 2 years really helped him take to a real bike quickly.  He did have some fear to get over initially.  He was scared he was going to fall and hurt himself even though he had a parent close by his side.  In this video Matt is just off camera, having crashed to the ground.  And Will proves his point.  I am happy to say though that now Will is a bike riding champ!  He's doing great.

Fountain play while we were in Dallas over the summer.

Fun at McKinney Falls!

And then there's these two clowns.  Cuteness!

Summer highlights

Yep, summer already came and went just like that.  I don't know how it went by so fast.  People always love to ask--how was your summer?--and I always reply that it flew by.  We didn't even go on any major trips this year.  We found ample things to do at home and about town.  Those 3 keep me plenty busy.  Steven took Matt and Will to the XGames in early June along with the Rener clan and Uncle Tim.  Little J and I stayed at home.

From what I heard, it was miserably hot that day.  The children were baking.

Tim brought some bandanas that they soaked in water and draped on themselves to keep cool, and thankfully a vendor was giving away sunglasses.  I think it helped some.  But, they got to see cool cars and motorcycles doing awesome tricks.

That next week we did VBS everyday out at the Quarries and had a blast.  I was in charge of preschool recreation again this year, and we had a great time with all the little kids.  Now that Johnny is 2 he got to participate in the rotations this year and take part in music, Bible story, craft and recreation time.  He loved the music and did some really cool dance moves every morning.

I got to see Will and Johnny everyday during their rec rotation, but I never saw Matt because he was over in the other building with all the big kids.  I'm hoping next year I can transition over there.  :)  It was a really fun week, we always love VBS!  Always be ready to tell what you know about Jesus!

During VBS week we learned that my grandfather passed away from lung cancer.  We drove down to Lake Jackson for the funeral.  It's always strange for me when we go back to LJ.  It's the same place but different at the same time.  I took the family to a dive of a burger joint called The Dairy Bar that opened in the 50's, and was a place I went to growing up.  Mostly, I recall going there after gymnastics practices in the evenings and getting some french fries and a chocolate shake with my friend Jennifer.  The place hasn't changed one bit.  We also got to see our dear friends the Brawleys while we were in LJ, and it was really wonderful spending time with them.

The funeral was brief but poignant, and the military salute sent us all into tears.  While we were sad to see Pa-paw leave this earth, I am thrilled that he didn't have to suffer and the Lord received him into heaven.  I remember my mother praying everyday growing up for that man's salvation.  He came to know the Lord after she passed away, but I like to imagine the excited embrace they both shared in heaven together.  After the funeral service we spent a few hours at Dad & Ann's place in the Woodlands with family and friends before having to drive back to Austin.  The boys loved getting to play in that pool.

After that crazy week we settled into our summer and did regular stuff like go to Zilker park and ride the train.

Will & John loved playing outside with a large bucket of water and water guns.

I made a really awesome blueberry pie.  I still salivate when I think about it.

We had Ava & Henry over to spend the night, and we took them to a really cool splash pad.  Too bad it rained and was chilly for the majority of the time we were there, but finally the sun did come out.  Such weird weather we had this summer.  Never before in June have I been cold sitting at a splash park!

In July I took the kids up to Dallas for a couple days to visit the Browns.  They are nothing but fun, those Browns!  Alison took us to the Dallas Children's Garden, and it was the most amazing place I'd ever seen.  Beautiful plants and flowers, and really neat science interactive learning for the kids.  We explored that place all morning.

Alison was brave and got to experience hurricane-like winds with all the kids.  All except Emily.  She gave a firm "no".

There was a cave with stalagmites and stalactites!  Tons of millipedes were hanging out in there too.

Then the kids ran around like mad in this little splash fountain area.  Good, good fun.

The next day was July 4th!  We got to be spectators at their neighborhood's parade.

Josh, being very famous and important, got to ride on his elementary school's float and throw candy at us.

After the parade the festivities continued with a petting zoo, food trucks, bouncy things and games.  We gave the kids sno cones, and it made them totally nuts.  As if they weren't bouncing around already!  Our trip to Dallas was the highlight of our summer.  We love those sweet friends.

We spent an afternoon at Inks Lake State Park and really enjoyed swimming and the lovely views.  Johnny demanded to be held because he didn't like stepping on all the rocks at the bottom of the lake.  The other two didn't mind.

Back at Zilker Park one day we let the kids swim in the "no swimming" area where dogs and their owners are always swimming.  Notice my wet clothes--Johnny and I fell on our rear ends after our feet went up from under us when we slipped on the algae covered rocks.  We were fine, and it was pretty funny, but I admit my rear was sore for a few days after that.  :)

On another adventure we went and explored McKinney Falls.  Such an awesome place!  Can't believe it's so close by and we've never been.  The boys loved swimming and sliding from the rocks into the water.

Johnny didn't understand why I wouldn't let him open and eat ALL of the snacks I'd packed, and he really, really didn't appreciate me taking his picture.  He thought that was totally rude.

We got out of the water and hiked around a bit and checked out the sights.  We watched people jumping from rocks up above the water into the pools, and I know that is our future with these boys one day.

But for this particular day they were thrilled to swim and play in this little stream.  They lined up like that and made a "choo-choo" and chugged as far as they could together down that stream before it went spilling into the pool below.  We left there and got an In-n-Out Burger on the way home.  What a great day.

May

Weekends in May brought more flag football!  Matt was lookin' good on that field.  He threw some great passes and made some impressive tackles (flag pulls).

Sweet family joined us on the sidelines to cheer him on.

Will got into the spirit.  I've signed both boys up for flag football in the fall--I am looking forward to it and dreading it all in the same breath!

The kids got their first swim of the season in at the pool of some friends of the Rener's.  That place was amazing.  The pool even had a slide.  It was all day fun.

Johnny wasn't quite sure about the chilly water that day so he stayed close by my side.

The two Hanks goofed around in their usual manner.  Here, they were pirates.  Of course.

After dinner we roasted marshmallows only to discover we were out of graham crackers.  Not to worry, we brought oreos and made our smores with them.  Yum!  Johnny loved those cookies.

Mother's Day family portrait!

My own sweet mother is always on my mind on Mother's Day.  I miss her everyday.  My father recently handed down our collection of family photos, and as I was going through them I came across this one from when I was a Sr. in high school.  I just love it.  That smile on her face---it is exactly how I picture her in my mind.

And check this out: William graduated from preschool!  Our little graduate donned the tiniest cap and gown ever, sang some painfully cute songs, and proclaimed that he wanted to be Red Hulk when he grows up.

Proud parents!

I am in disbelief that this boy is moving on to kindergarten.  I know that it is going to be a completely different experience that what we've been through with Matthew.  This boy is destined to be the class clown and everybody's friend, and not too keen on the academics.  But hey, he could surprise me.  :)

Memorial Day weekend we spent in Jacksonville hanging out with the Joneses and attending the Kolb family reunion.  Eating bbq and chatting all day with relatives is a great way to spend the day!

We did some fishing.  Steven recalled that as a kid at these reunions he would always be down fishing and not much for conversation.  This particular day he did spend more time visiting, but he spent a fair amount of time fishing too.

Matthew took to it pretty well.  He did get frustrated when he didn't catch anything right away and when his line would get caught on say a tree or something in the water.  But overall, he really enjoyed it.

Will enjoyed playing with Lane, a cousin his age.  Boys with sticks can come up with all kinds of fun imaginary worlds and games.

Matt and Grandpa played a long game of pool.

Will and Johnny were caught being cute on an old riding toy.

Joyce made it a point to get us all still long enough to get a Jones family picture.  So glad she did!  I love being part of this family and am so grateful to have all of them in my life.

Grandma got some good snuggle time in reading to her grandsons.  They love it.

Back at home with mere days left before school got out for summer, Matthew constructed one of his crazy race tracks.

Lovely weather in May gave Steven the opportunity to take Matt & Will out to play golf.  Will even has his own set of clubs now.

The last weekend of May while Steven was working I took the boys to a splash park and packed us a lunch.  They had a blast playing in sand and water.  It was a peek at summer life just around the corner.  And what is it about a picnic lunch that makes a pbj so special and where you find yourself dying of hunger by 10:30 a.m.?  Activity and sun I suppose.  I love it.