The "downfall" of trees

Having lots of big trees definitely has its advantages. They shade the house, the yard, and the chickens. They are fun to climb and nice to look at. But when it's 100 + degrees 3 months in a row, they start dying and dropping branches. Unfortunately, a huge branch landed right on Andy's 6 month old truck. Not cool. Now to get the dents and scratches taken care of!

The coop/loft

The chicken coop received an addition last weekend. The fair potential chickens got to move into the loft! Spreading them out has really helped. We lost 3 chickens last weekend. It was just too hot! Now they have more room and more air. I am ready for the fair to be here! It's too hot to have chicken duty every 3 hours! But they sure have some nice digs, huh?!

Football

Mason had his first football game Saturday. They played Waller at the Bryan field. Unfortunately, Mason's team didn't win, but they sure played hard. The Waller team looked like a middle school team. But our team played their hearts out. I think everyone had a good time too. I saw Mason jumping up and down on the sidelines several time cheering on his teammates. He also had several chances to play. He looks so grown up in his football gear! Mason had a great practice last night, even completing a solo tackle! He has come so far since the beginning of the season. He has had to learn the rules of the game. He has had to learn to be more aggressive, as well. I think it's finally all coming together for him. I just wish it wasn't 109 degrees when they are dressed in full pads for practice!

Mason's #25!

10 year anniversary

August 18th was our 10 year wedding anniversary. It was also the 12th anniversary of our first date! Last year we started talking about taking a trip this year since it would be our 10th anniversary. We went to Chicago for our 5th anniversary. But, instead of a trip this year, we are going to have another son. Andy and I were still able to take a trip together though. I went with him in July to a conference he attended in NC. It was a nice getaway. Really, it doesn't matter to me how we celebrate our actual anniversary day. It's how we live our lives from anniversary to anniversary. We have achieved so many milestones in these last 12 years. There have been many trials and triumphs. I am so glad I have had Andy there by my side for all of them. I look forward to the new adventures we will take together as our family grows. As nervous as I am about having 3 kids, I know I will be able to handle it with Andy by my side. He is the best husband and father (besides my own!) a girl could ask for. I love you honey! 

August Austin trip

The boys and I went to visit my mom at the beginning of August. I wanted to go register at Babies R Us so I could see the latest and greatest things that are out for babies. Before we tackled registering my mom and I took the boys to lunch at Dave and Busters. It brought back memories of the time Andy and I went to Babies R Us to register for Mason. We walked around every aisle completely overwhelmed. We had no idea what a baby needed vs what was a luxury item. When we got to the huge wall with a million types of bottles and pacifiers we decided that was enough. We left and went next store to eat at Dave and Busters! Andy and I used to go to D&B's pretty often when it first opened. We also had several Dell events there. We were pretty good at racking up tickets and purchased a good portion of our glassware there! Ok, maybe just a couple of glasses. I was shocked to see how many tickets are needed today to get the smallest prize. The boys each got a $10 powercard. They were done with the card in about 15 minutes. After using all of their tickets in the prize store they each left with a piece of laffy taffy, a small plastic yo-yo and a kazoo. But, they had fun playing the games! I taught Mason how to win at the horse racing game. If you put the ball in walk every time you are almost guaranteed to win. When Andy and I used to play I HAD to be horse #7. His name was Billy's Dream. There is a little history to that. When Andy and I started dating (well, pretty much until we got engaged) only a few people at work knew about it. We worked on the same team and Andy was a higher level than me, so we just didn't want people to think I was trying to get special treatment! So we didn't tell many people. Our team knew I was dating someone because I referred to my boyfriend as Billy. Andy referred to his girlfriend (me) as Sara. So we were Billy and Sara for a year! When I saw that horse at D&B's named Billy's Dream I knew it would be lucky! It worked out for Mason too! He won 50 tickets right off the bat!

The boys picking out their prizes!

Off to registering! I was disappointed to find out that Babies R Us is now half the size it used to be. They are converting half of the store into a Toys R Us. There wasn't a huge selection anymore. The boys and I were able to register for a few things. I am just going to complete the registration process online. That's one of the things on my huge to-do list!

Trying out the furniture!

Catching up

I have really neglected my blog lately. Since this blog is how I keep track of things my family has done, I am going to add posts of events that have happened weeks ago! Sorry in advance if you're bored!
This summer FLEW by. We had so much fun though. We had the boys make a list of things they wanted to do at the beginning of the summer. Some of the items on their list were swimming, Galveston, Splashway, movies, Horseshoe Junction, visiting friends & children's museums. We accomplished all of those things. Both boys took swim lessons. We did a week of VBS. Mason started playing football. The boys attended an art class. They participated in the reading program at the library. We attended every kids movie that came out this summer! We had lots of playdates and spent lots of family time together. I wanted to make this summer special and fun for the boys since it would be the last summer with just the two of them. I am thankful I had enough energy to do everything we did this summer. The only negative of a fun summer is that it makes going back to school pretty hard. Alex was ready but Mason needed a couple more months of summer! I am glad to be back into a routine, but not glad to have homework and less time with my boys. Although, I am really enjoying all the free time I have when they are in school. Now if only I can start tackling my own list of projects! That list is LONG! We still need to get the baby's room ready. Andy is going to build a closet in that room. It's a study that we are converting into the baby's room. After we build the closet, we need to paint, buy furniture, and decorate. Not to mention all the other projects I have that include cleaning and organizing. I really need to take advantage of the 3 months I have at home without kids. It's going to be the last time for another 5 years! We also need to think of a name for our baby! We welcome any suggestions! Stay tuned for some overdue posts!

First day of 3rd grade

I can't believe Mason is starting 3rd grade today. Look how grown up he looks in this picture! He looks so handsome! He hand picked his school clothes this year. The theme is anything black or gray! I guess he got that from me! Everything in my closet is black or brown! He was pretty nervous about starting school. He keeps reminding Alex that once you get out of Kindergarten it's not all fun and games anymore. You have to actually WORK! Mason really enjoyed the summer so it's a tough transition to go from 100% fun to 90% work and 10% fun. But I know he will get there. I hope he has a fantastic year. I know it will be alot of work but I hope he learns, grows and comes out of his shell some. He has so much to offer! I am going to miss having him at home. Now I have to take care of the chickens all by myself! I hope he is having a great first day!

First day of Kindergarten

Alex was SO excited to start Kindergarten this year. He has been counting the days. He woke right up this morning and was in a great mood. When it was time to drop him off in class he got a little nervous and didn't smile as much. But he held it together and never cried. His teacher had playdough on each child's desk so Alex began playing with the playdough. I left as he was making a bird's nest with different size eggs inside. What a big boy. I am so proud of him. I sure am going to miss him during the day. I have taught at the same school he has attended since he was 20 months old (with the exception of his St. Paul's Bouncing Bears class). This is his first time to go to school ALL day. I know it's going to take a little while to adjust to the long school day but I know he will get there. I know he is going to love school! I hope he is having a great first day!

Freddy's

Enjoying some Freddy's ice cream... Mason and Alex style!

The park

The boys have a Sunday morning ritual when we visit my mom...the pville park. Mason loves bringing a net and catching minnows. Alex loves trying to skip rocks in the creek. The water is really low but it doesn't stop the boys from having fun!

Baby registry

After our appointment yesterday, Natalie convinced me that the boys and I should go to Target and start a registry. The boys were pretty excited about using the scanner and picking some things out for their baby brother. As I started going down the aisles though it was very overwhelming. It's been 8 years since I have researched items like car seats, pack and plays, strollers, etc. I called Natalie and asked what I should register for. Finally, I decided I would just research when I got home and update my registry online. It's a good thing I didn't register for much at the store, because when I went to view my registry tonight, it didn't exist! So I got to start over. Which is fine, since I only had bottles, a bottle brush and some hooded towels on the list! Here are some pictures I took with my phone.






















I definitely feel old registering for stuff. For example, who knew that most of the monitors these days are video?! Everything has so many more bells and whistles. I am lucky that I get to borrow some baby things from friends and family. I won't have to register for EVERYTHING a baby needs.
Now if only we could come up with a name we really like! Any suggestions?!

Chickens!!

We picked up Mason's chickens today. He was so excited! We had Kayci over to play today so she got to go with us. All three of them were about to jump out of their seats on the way to the fair grounds. When we got home I still needed to fill up their water and put feed in their bowl. So, in the meantime, they hung out on our kitchen table! Weird huh?! Once I got the food and water set up we took them to the coop and moved them from their cardboard box to an enclosed space inside the coop. I think they will stay in the smaller space until the weekend. Mason spent most of the day outside with them. He is really proud of them and loves taking care of them.

Mason, Alex, and Kayci unloading the chickens.

I didn't get anyone to take a picture of me today so I included this one so you can sort of see how much I am showing. I am carrying an active little guy for sure!

They are all in!

He is so proud!

Alex loves to help and play with the chickens too. We keep reminding them that we will only have them for 6 weeks. When that time comes, it's probably going to be tough on the boys.

The boys taught Kayci how to pick them up and hold them and she was quickly an expert!

They like to get IN the water and food bowls.

Cutie!

Boy, oh Boy, oh Boy!!

We had our doctor's appt. today to find out the gender of our new addition. The boys just KNEW it was going to be a girl. Even Andy met us at the doctor thinking it would be a girl (even though he wanted a boy). I had a feeling it was a girl because my pregnancy has been so different this time around. It took the technician about 30 seconds to tell us it was a BOY! He was showing his stuff! I immediately looked at the boys faces and they looked so sad. I heard one of them say "oh no!" I think they were in shock. Mason even asked if we could adopt a girl later on! By the end of the day Alex was starting to come around. He wanted to clean out his closet and pick out toys that the baby might enjoy. Mason was still not convinced having a brother was a great thing. I think he thinks that another boy will add even more competition. But hopefully with the age difference that won't be the case. It will be a long time before they are sharing the same toys and interests. I know once the baby gets here both Mason and Alex will love him and help take care of him. They will probably forget about wanting a sister before their brother even arrives. I have to admit I was a little sad at first. Over the last 20 weeks I have thought alot about what it would be like to have a daughter. But at the same time, I love my boys more than anything. They are pretty easy, not alot of drama, and don't require alot of maintenance! Mainly, I just want to have a healthy baby. So now, I can pray for a healthy baby boy, instead of just a healthy baby!
Now the fun begins. I get to register for baby stuff, start thinking about names, start putting together a nursery, etc. We haven't done ANYTHING up to this point. We just kept saying we would wait until we found out what we were having. Now it's time to put it in gear. I have 19 weeks to get everything done! Probably less than that since I will be as big as a house in the last month!
I'll try to get Andy to take my picture tomorrow and I can post a 21 week picture! I haven't done very well about taking pictures or documenting this pregnancy. I need to work on that! Thank you to everyone for the sweet comments and thoughts today. I have the greatest family and friends!

Chicken Coop- In Progress

Mason will be showing chickens at the fair this year. We pick up his pen of FIFTY chickens on Wednesday. Andy designed the chicken coop several months ago. I was really impressed that he came up with the design and dimensions, etc. on his own. He and his dad worked all weekend to get it built. Andy just has to put a door on it tonight and it will be complete. I hope the chickens can survive our 105 degree heat! We feed and take care of them for 6 weeks, then we pick the best 3 to show in the fair. The rest become chicken nuggets. sniff sniff. Here are some pictures of the coop in progress. I will post the finished product tomorrow.