Zoo

Houston Zoo
Thursday, August 11, 2011







With Brady starting Kindergarten, I have been trying so hard to have fun outings everyday before school starts, even if that means braving the 103 degree weather outside. Daddy thought I was crazy for going to the zoo in the heat but I just HAD TO go one more time before our summer was over. We prepared with lots of water, juice, sunscreen, and even took the stroller so they could ride around in style with shade (if only there was one big enough for me). The zoo luckily had several "Chill Zones" for us to cool off in for a bit. We took advantage of all of them and saw so many exhibits, such as the rainforest with tropical birds and the amphibian center, that we had never seen before because we usually just stroll around outside. We even saw a fun Diego 3-D adventure movie with cool effects such as vibrating seats, wind machines, bubbles, and the best part, water spraying on us which also helped with the heat. With all of the effects, Brady thought the movie was "real" and just cracked up out loud the entire time. Afterwards, we had lunch in the African Forest so we could watch the giraffes from our seats in the air conditioner. Honestly, the trip was very bearable and I have no regrets. Next, we played at the children's zoo and crawled around in the prairie dog tunnels. Check them out in their separate habitats. I think this may be the only way to keep them off of each other, they are constantly wrestling at home. I want some little capsules for our house! We finished our day by taking a ride on the carousel. Brady chose the tiger, his favorite animal, and Cash wanted to ride by Brady on the nearest animal, the bear. Little Cash is such a big boy now and wouldn't even let me hold him during the ride. My babies are all grown up! Sniff, sniff...

Pearly Whites

Tuesday, August 9, 2011






One of the many things on our back to school checklist was a much needed trip to the dentist. With our dentist's approval, we did not have dental insurance on the boys last year so this was Cash's very first trip to the dentist. Lucky for us, our dentist, Ms. Paula, lives down the street and performed regular checks to make sure their teeth were not rotting out.

First things first, both boys had x-rays and both of them thought the x-ray machine was pretty cool. I was amazed at how still and somber they could stand for the whole minute while the cameras revolved around them. Brady had his teeth cleaned first to show Cash the ropes. The most hilarious moment of they day happened when he was so zoned out by the Sponge Bob show playing above him, that when Ms. Paula reached in front of him with the floss that Brady, in a trance, grapped it with both hands and inserted it into his mouth. Ms. Paula just laughed and said, "Oh Brady, are you going to floss your teeth yourself!" As you can tell, Brady Bear really likes his TV.

Next up was Casharoo. He bravely crawled right into the recliner and put on his sunglasses. Much to my surprise, Cash did everything Ms. Paula wanted him to and was a champ. The only thing he did not like was the fruity flavored polish. He immediately put his little hand over his mouth as a blocker. Ms. Paula's solution was to use the old polish from the back (it's so bad that they even stopped using it) that's unflavored and basically just feels gritty like sand. Cash was unphased by this stuff so the teeth cleaning business was back on. And yes, Cash still does not like candy, ice cream, or juice so he is a dentist's dream patient.

Afterwards, Ms. Paula treated both boys to a trip to her treasure chest for prizes for being such good little patients. Brady chose a model airplane and Cash picked out a monkey ring. These were fun gifts but they were actually more ecstatic about their goodie bags full of toothbrushes, toothpaste, and Crayola flossers. In return, they gave Ms. Paula a giant hug for all of her good deeds. When we left, Cash, no joke, said, "Mommy, you know tomorrow when we do something, we can come here again!" I guess this means they liked it and that I will never have to drag them to the dentist! (That is until Brady's thirteen and he's getting his braces...Ms. Paula said that we need to start saving up now because his teeth are so crowded. Cash, on the other hand, might be safe with his nicely spaced teeth, hopefully.)

Hollywood

July 2011

 

Mommy and Daddy went to Los Angeles to celebrate our ten-year anniversary. The trip basically revolved around "cheesey" star searching and doing all the fun "touristy" things that there are to do in LA. It was right up my alley! We went to Hollywood Boulevard, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Rodeo Drive, The Grove, Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, and Universal Studios. We dined at Chateau Marmont, The Ivy, and I had my first In-and-Burger, more specifically my first burger in twenty years. It was a monumental moment for me since I gave up burgers when I was fourteen and had no idea that the famous restaurant chain did not serve chicken until we were already line. We also went to a live taping of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. If you look really closely, and I mean really really closely, you can see Greg and I four times in the audience when it aired later that evening. Another super fun thing we took part in was the TMZ Bus Tour since Greg is such a big fan and loyal follower of TMZ. (Sorry to throw you under the bus Daddy, pun very much intended). All in all, we had a fabulous time but we sure did miss our Brady and Cash!

Mountasia

Mountasia
Friday, July 15, 2011








We had the best family fun day at Mountasia. To start things off, we played a rousing round of miniature golf. At the first hole, we all took turns hitting our ball. Cash was the last one to go and what do you know, the kid hits A HOLE IN ONE on his very first shot! It was unbelievable! As the round continued, Brady was excited to follow the hole numbers and show everyone the way. At about hole nine, Brady even hit a hole in one! You can see his triumphant dance in the pictures. I just happen to be taking a picture of his swing on that hole so I was able to catch the whole thing on camera. Eventually, even Daddy hit a hole in one, which meant everyone in our group had made one except for one person, not naming names.

After all of the miniature golf excitement, we rode go carts. By we, I mean Daddy and Brady. Cash wasn't a big fan of the fast cars and wanted to watch the race from the sidelines. I love the picture with Brady's mouth wide open because he was screaming so loudly. He had a ball!

Lastly, the boys wanted to ride bumper boats. Cash was not missing out on this one, he was very excited to ride the boats. Brady thought he was Mister Big Shot because he was allowed to drive a boat all by himself. Me, on the other hand, I was very happy to stay back and take pictures. I usually do this with Brady and end up soaking wet with that lovely green water. For some reason, I look like a good target for that smelly stuff. Anyways, Cash was in charge of the water shooter on his boat and he thought it was so funny to spray water on Brady. In one of the pictures, you can see Brady's bumper boat behind Daddy and Cash on pursuit to get them. You better watch out guys!

Potty Prize!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011




One quiet day last month, I ran out of diapers, I had no where to go, and our friends were out of town. A lightbulb went off in my head and I decided we were going to start potty training. Right then! Brady thought it was cool to run to his room and pick out all of his old underwear that didn't fit him and put it in Cash's drawer. Even though Cash had new Diego and Super Why underwear, he wanted to wear big brother's old race car underwear. Our first step was to put it on and keep practicing getting on the potty. He just kept saying, "It won't come out." By lunch time, we still had no success. While eating our lunch, Cash started screaming hysterically because he was soaking wet and had an accident in his chair. He did not like that one bit and that was all it took. From there on out, Cash would run to the potty, do his little business, and happily say, "The pee pee came out!" It was honestly so easy! He basically trained himself! I was expecting it to be so much harder which is why I only had five squares on his potty chart. I remembered it had taken weeks for Brady to fill up his chart so I wanted to make this one smaller. Well, little Cash's potty chart was full by the time Daddy came home from work that day! YAY, CASH! After putting the last sticker on the final square, the first thing he said was, "I need my fireman clothes," since his potty prize was his big new firetruck.

Daddy and I can't get over Cash's cute bubble tooshie and seeing his bare legs. The kid literally was never seen without clothes on in the past. If we weren't going somewhere, he was wearing his long sleeve pajama shirt and pant sets. He absolutely refused to just wear a diaper or shirt only. Now that he has been wearing his big boy underwear, it is so refreshing to finally see Cash relax a little and show off his legs!

To this day, Cash still runs to the potty and cutely says, "I went to the potty and the pee pee came out!" He is so proud of himself! His potty chart is now full of about hundred stickers because he thinks he is supposed to put one on every time and I don't have the heart to tell him no.

TMI Note: Cash has yet to poo poo on the potty. It has been over a month and he still poo poos in his underwear. Afterwards, he just says, "I didn't know." Come on, how can you not know, really?

Gymnastic Camp

Summer 2011


Almost every Thursday this summer the kids went to Gymnastic Camp at K-2 Academy. The Great Summer Adventure Camp was structured around arts and crafts, storytime, curriculum based activities, and of course, gymnastics. Each week there was a fun theme such as Superheroes, Pirates, Mad Science, Disney, Wild West, and Brady's personal favorite, Space Camp. Cash was pretty pumped about WIld West week after his great mutton-bustin ride at the rodeo. Basically, the kids looked forward to going to camp each week to see what fun was in store for them considering that they liked all of the themes. What's there not love about this place?!?!

Fourth of July

We celebrated Independence Day the good ol' fashion way by fishing by the river in the morning. I think all four boys were more fascinated and excited by the worms that they bought at the store the day before then by actually catching some fish. Later that night, the kids put on a patriotic parade for the adults complete with music and all. In lieu of fireworks due to the severe drought, the boys were decked out in every glow-in-the-dark item you could imagine, thanks to Grandma!

Mutton-Bustin!!!

Saturday, July 2, 2011









We've been to the rodeo at Crider's several times but this was a special trip for a couple of reasons. For the first time, Brady and Cash had some friends with them, Matthew and Logan, to share in the fun. The little cowboys loved hanging out with their "partners" watching all of the show.

They were even part of the show and participated in the calf scramble. In the pictures, you can find Brady chasing after the calves and in the next picture, you can see Cash watching all of the kids chase the calves. Ha ha ha!

The main reason this trip was so different is that Cash wanted to mutton-bust too! We were all unsure if he would actually go through with it when the time came, but oh boy, he did it and he did it well!!! First up was Brady. We were so proud of him because he improved from his prior ride and held on a few seconds longer. The last ridre of the night was Cash. Well, that little cowboy held on longer than anyone in our group and stayed on for so long that the sheep actually stopped and the rodeo clown had to take him off!!! If you look closely in the picture, you can even see the handful of sheep's wool that Cash pulled off because he was holding on for dear life!

I love the photo of all of the boys running back into the stands with their ribbons. They were all so proud of themselves and had a great time! Little Casharoo even fell asleep holding onto his sheep's wool that night, he still didn't want to let go of his prize!

Hill Country Hyatt Adventure

Wednesday, July 23, 2011




This is the third year that Boompa and Grandma have taken the boys on a little trip to San Antonio sans Mommy and Daddy. This time around they stayed at the spectacular Hill Country Hyatt. They enjoyed swimming in the lazy river, taking nature walks, learning about animals at wildlife shows, watching an outdoor movie while roasting s'mores, and even taking a horse drawn carriage ride through the hills. Thank you Grandma and Boompa for the wonderful memories, and yes, I am jealous as I'm typing this!