Jacob's Ladder

Here is my nephew, Austin, playing with Nate. Austin wanted to take the bigger boys fishing so he spent the night at Grammy and Granddad's house. What happens the next morning, it rains!!!

I can't believe that Austin is starting high school. I remember when he was born!!
We were near the ACU campus and I had not been out there in a long time so we stopped for a minute. We were able to see the new Jacob's Ladder outdoor sculpture. It was a really nice area.

Dylan is green around the gills from all of his tire swinging!

Poor Dyl!

Mark's sister, Annette

Feeling the Mommy Guilt

Disclaimer to the following post: Chase has been known to "be sick" on more than one occasion. Maybe he was tired of school or didn't want to do something. We have fallen for his ploys in the past and we are determined not to be fooled again. Maybe too determined.

Every once in a while, Chase stops taking his asthma preventative medicine. It always results in his asthma returning, but somehow we hold onto the fantasy that he will outgrow it. He hasn't yet. Recently we tried the experiment again. The asthma returned and we started the preventative medicine again. We then went to the farm, during wheat harvest. Wheat harvest and Chase do not get along well. His asthma was triggered after only a short time in the midst of the wheat. The next day, he had to go shopping with the girls instead of farming with the boys. He told my sister-in-law that if he had fairy god-parents then he would wish for no asthma and no growth problems - I would wish for that too.

Today, the boys started College for Kids. I met them for lunch and Chase was not feeling well because of his asthma. I did not know whether to believe him or not. Was he just nervous about his classes, was he just tired, did he just want to be lazy? I decided to take him home. He took an Ibuprofen and had a breathing treatment. When I checked on him later, he was feeling better. We were expecting some friends from out of town for dinner so I wanted Chase to do a small chore. He was moaning and groaning and I thought he was just be lazy (something he has been prone to lately). I started grumping at him and he drug himself downstairs. I am grumping and then I feel his burning hot forehead! He was running 103 degree fever!!! Mommy guilt DELUXE! I am immediately concerned about pneumonia because that is what happens with Chase. Plans with our friends are cancelled and a visit to the after-hours clinic was substituted. Chase has pneumonia and an ear infection. His ear wasn't even bothering him. After a high-powered breathing treatment, steroids, and I.V. antibiotics, we headed home. I apologized several times to Chase. I guess this time he was not faking! I felt really bad!

Eating at the Park in Abilene

After we went to the zoo, we decided to eat lunch at the park. It sounded like a good plan but the flies were disgusting and numerous!!!! Not the best picnic ever.

Can you see by the look on Nate's face that he has been having issues with sharing!
So much fun for Ashley and Dylan, but Dylan would regret this later when he felt sick, sick, sick!

An Afternoon at Starbucks

I am at a Starbucks in Houston. I am lucky enough to snag the comfy chair in the corner. With my coffee and my computer, it is the perfect place to work - with blogging breaks of course. The coffee is delicious and addictive. The music is as loud and diverse as the people around me are. The other comfy chair opens up and the crowd eyes it. The girl with the GRE study guide is the first to nab it. An older gentleman tries to use his keys to unlock a car. He has a perplexed look on his face because they are not working. The mystery is solved when the owner of the car gently tells him that the car he is trying to get into is not his car. The confused look is replaced with an apologetic one and he soon finds the correct vehicle. There is the cute, young married couple sitting at separate tables studying for their classes. They should have just shared a table because they frequently lean over to talk and share. There is the cute girl with that intense, weary expression that comes when you have a stack of 5 textbooks next to you!!!! I do not miss college. There are other people working (just as hard as I am, I am sure), others are reading the newspaper, and others are sitting on the patio because they enjoy cigarettes and coffee. A family of 4 comes in. The children have that sleepy, rumpled look and no shoes on their sweet chubby feet. They collapse in chairs while their parents talk to them in a language I cannot understand. I miss my boys. My favorite person in the the cafe is the woman reading a book about urinary and fecal something something. Her red hair is pulled back in a ponytail. Her camouflage top is complimented by her camouflage rain boots. She completes the ensemble with a lovely, black fanny pack positioned with the pack in front. When I first arrived, she was visiting with someone at the next table. I assumed they were friends. Then a couple sat down at that table and she began talking to them also. That couple quickly left. Then a man sits down and she strikes up a conversation with him. Soon the very attractive woman that he was waiting on arrives. They try to balance talking together with talking with her. Hope it is not a first date. Back to work for me. I really am working hard!

Vacations, Vacations, Vacations!

The boys and I have been making back to back to back trips. We came home from Phoenix on a Saturday and I had to fly to Corpus Christi the next day for work. On Monday, we drove to Abilene to spend time with Mark's family. I also had an appointment so that worked out well for me. On Thursday, we left Abilene and I drove to the airport in Dallas where Chase, Dylan, and Nate met Mimi and went to the farm. Cade and I went home where Cade got some special Mommy and Daddy time. He really, really, really missed his bubbas! On Friday, I left to spend the weekend with some of my friends from college. On Sunday, Cade and I drove to the farm. Mark joined us on Tuesday evening and most of us came home last night. Nate is staying for a few days. He will fly home when Niecey flies in on Tuesday night. I didn't really plan back to back to back trips, it just worked out that way. It has actually been wonderful because I didn't have to unpack and repack. I would just keep the clothes washed and the boys were ready for the next adventure. Also, since it has been raining almost constantly in the metroplex, I haven't had to deal with stir crazy boys. We would have just been stuck at home for the most part.

Of course, I have a ton of pictures to post. We will see how long it takes me to get all of this done. Here are some pictures from our visit to the Abilene zoo.

This peacock was so pretty and he was just strutting around.

He did not seem to mind when the kids got close to him.

A pretty girl peacock walks by and look what happens

He tried so hard to impress the girl, but she was NOT impressed and just walked away. He shook his feathers and strutted around. All of this led to a discussion with Chase and Dylan about animal mating and then about human mating - good times!

My niece, Ashley, really wanted Nate to get close to the peacock but he was not so sure about it.

The best part of the Abilene zoo - feeding the giraffes!!











Chase trying to get the elephant to raise her trunk - she would mimic them.


What fun, ducks to chase!!!


I am having so much fun chasing these ducks!!!

Falling down is not as much fun :-(

I really don't like messes on my hands!


Grammy fixed me up good!

Here Nate is eating the crackers that are meant for the animals. He didn't really like them, but he kept eating them anyway.

Cade wanted to take this picture because of the leopard on his shirt.
Here we are feeding Nate to the lions!!!!!
Annette feeding the buffaloes
Nate and Grammy looking at the buffaloes.

The ducks and the fish fighting for food - yuck!

I love it when he runs like this!!




Nate and Grammy counting steps - Nate often skips the number 6