May Moments

We had a lot of fun in May and we definitely talked a lot about how after May it would be June and then we would be able to go to Utah!
Please enjoy some random May Moments.

Since we have moved here, Thad has seen Dad’s dissembled bike and asked when he was going to fix it so they could go on a bike ride.
Well, the time finally came, and Thad and Dad headed out to go on a ride. Wes surely wasn’t going to be left behind and was right out there with them.

When Thad and Dad got serious about going on a real bike ride and headed off down the street, Wes was NOT happy about it!

He looked after them longingly and moved in their direction while crying and saying, “Bye mommy, bye!”
It was one of the sadder, sweetest moments I’ve had with him, but I wasn’t much for consolation because he did not want to be with me, he wanted to be with the boys!
Luckily, he has the sweetest dad ever and it kinda broke Brian’s heart because he could hear him from quite a distance and he just felt too bad to drag it out for too long.
He also has an awesome big brother that didn’t want him to be sad either, so he didn’t mind to keep riding around in the circle so that Wes could be included.
I know we are going to have more of these moments where Wes just wants to be with the big boys, so I need to prep myself now and try to help them when they come along.

Brian spotted this sweet ride driving down the highway-

He asked for some of those wheels for Father’s Day. I think he will be disappointed come June 15th.

We finally got to see some of our fellow family Texans, Collin and Whitney!
Collin is Brian’s cousin and they moved to the Ft. Worth area about a year before we moved down here. They were passing by on a Sunday and we were lucky enough to have them and their boys for lunch!

What a cute bunch of boys! When Cash was holding his little brother, Thad and Wes obviously had to follow suit.
Cash and Thad kept calling each other cousin and it was just the cutest thing.
I love how kids can know each other for a total of 30 seconds and be best friends. Sometimes I wish I was a kid.

Brian finished the FIRST YEAR of his PhD program! WHAT!?

This is major! We are here for five years, and one is already done! Hitting this milestone reaffirms what a good decision we made for Brian to come back to school.
It was crazy to think about five more years of school, but that time is passing no matter what, so why not put those hours into something you love.
This has been such a great decision for our family and I am so proud of this guy and his accomplishments so far. I can’t wait to see what year two brings!

We celebrated 8 years of marriage on May 19th!
We were able to have a fun evening out to dinner and do some shopping the weekend before, but Brian never disappoints and this was waiting for me on the table when I woke up on our anniversary-

It was so wonderful to wake up to one of my favorite breakfasts and read a love note from my favorite guy.

I am more in love with him today than I was the day this picture was taken. I thought a lot about how marriage just gets better with time.
I am so glad I get to spend eternity with him!

And here are some shots to top off our May Moments:
I can’t remember the last time Thad took a nap.

I had to document this moment because it’s a rare thing for this boy. Funny thing is after this, he did it two more times within the next week!
I guess it becomes your only option when your mom ignores you enough (while taking her own nap) and you are sick of watching shows because you have watched too many and you can’t have a snack because mom is ignoring you and you don’t want anything that you can get yourself.
Sleep it is.

I took this next picture for my mom and never sent it to her.

It was just to show that I actually let my kids play with the Play Doh she gave them on a regular basis and I don’t even get mad that it’s messy. I embrace it.

And then there is Thad and his friends. He is on a stuffed animal kick and this is a common site in our house lately:

He has also made Wes obsessed and they are frequently seen laying together with their buddies and blankets.

Yay for May!

Thad’s Preschool Graduation

It’s crazy how quickly a school year passes.

Thad had such a fun year attending Westside Christian Preschool, and it was so fun to attend his preschool graduation.
It was like the final step between being a little kid and a big kid! I mean, he’ll be in kindergarten next year, people! He knows life is different once he takes that next step in to elementary school, but he has zero hesitations!

He was so excited that he found us so quickly and gave us some pretty cute glances.

These preschool graduations sure know how to give you a glimpse into your future!

Wes was so excited to be there and searched for brother until he finally found him-

And didn’t want to stop waving!

There were a couple of darling musical numbers, and then they received their diplomas.

Mrs. Tammy was a great teacher. She took over halfway through the year when Thad’s other teacher quit and she adored Thad just like most people do.
When I met with her in a parent-teacher conference she had nothing but good things to say about him academically and socially.
I know I have no reason to doubt what she said and I know this preschool experience has been a great warm up to how he will do in Kindergarten.

Thad, you just make us smile with your darlingness and we couldn’t be more excited about our first preschool graduate.
You are setting the standards high and being such a good example to your younger brother and sister.
Thank you for being awesome.

Refreshments followed the ceremony. Thad was pumped about his cookie and Wes was a disaster after eating a piece of chocolate cake.

On his last day of school, I finally got these cute pictures from his teacher:

Happy graduation, smart boy! We love you so much!

Aunt Kelli Comes to Austin!

We were beyond excited when Aunt Kelli called and told us she wanted to fly down for a few days while she had a break between jobs. Her visit would only be a couple weeks before our trek to Utah for the summer, but we can never see family too much and one on one time is hard to find when we are in the 801. It was quality time spent with one of my favorite (and I’m sure my boys would say the same) people ever. We love this Aunt Kelli so much!

Now that her visit has come and gone, it is kind of hard to remember exactly what we did, because there was lots of relaxing and LOTS of girl talk for 4 days straight!

The day after she got here, she just kinda spent the day with us doing our usual. We went to the library, grocery store and Torchy’s Tacos, of course!

My boys loved her phone, and you can see why…

Um, it’s GIANT! I think any phone experience is way better on that computer—I mean, phone.
(This was a common site to see the boys attached to her side. Melted my heart!)

We were lucky enough to have here for Thad’s preschool graduation! (More to come on that)

Having family around to celebrate is always more fun!

We were sad to celebrate more without dad, but it was the only night we could squeeze in the best BBQ we have discovered in Texas.

Rudy’s did not disappoint, and my boys even ate more than just the bread!

Thursday was spent downtown in the thick of the city. The weather was perfect and the company was even better.

We started things off at Mt. Bonnell – The perfect way to view the true “hill country.”

Afterwards we headed to campus.
I mean, it is the main attraction and all…it’s the WHOLE reason we are here!

Don’t worry, we’re working on Wes’ “Hook ‘em!” We’ve got time…

After our mini tour we parked over near South Congress and got some DELICIOUS lunch at Home Slice Pizza. 

And this is the main reason we decided to eat there:

Kelli thought it was the cutest thing (and really, so did I) that they got their very own pizza dough to play with!

The boys loved it too and as you can see of Wes’ bottom lip he loved it a little too much and wanted to taste test it.

Oh, and here are all of my amazing boys while waiting to get seated for our pizza-

I could just eat them up!
I love seeing these boys trying to be just like their dad, because it would be the best ever if they grew up to be just like him!
 

Big Top Candy Shop and a Nutella-Pretzel shake from Hopdoddy were the last stops on our city adventure.

The boys were PUMPED about visiting this darling shop again and I think between the candy and ice cream, Kelli and I made ourselves sick!
So worth it.

And as you can see, our little Wes was POOPED after our fun day!

He was almost asleep and then we would say something funny or tickle his legs and he would briefly open his eyes for a giggle and close them again.
I love this sweet two year old of mine! 

We spent our last night just hanging out, making ourselves more sick with some Blue Bell ice cream and then it was off pretty early for this lady Friday morning.

We weren’t as happy as these boys looked to be sending her off, but we were all just so happy to know we would be seeing her three short weeks later.
Yay for aunts and family and fun trips. Life doesn’t get much better!
Thanks Aunt Kelli, see you soon!!

Mother’s Day

I could go on and on about my boys and this baby girl in my tummy and how blessed I feel to be their mother. Heavenly Father has given me an amazing blessing to experience motherhood to it’s fullest, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

Thad and dad made a Mother’s Day Schedule, and the first thing on the list was

 –6am, Make Mom Breakfast

I am one lucky momma!

And don’t you worry, we stuck to this plan all day! Thad kept updating me on what was going on and he didn’t even mind when I wanted to take a nap during the 2:00 “Whatever Mom Wants” slot.
This was probably my favorite thing of the whole day. I love that Thad and dad had talked it over and decided what would go on.
They sure know how to make a gal feel special!

There is nothing I would rather be doing with my life right here, right now, than being with boys and baking this little gal inside of me.

It’s hard, and it’s not always as precious as these pictures, but I have no doubt it is what I am meant to be doing here and now.

How grateful I am for a testimony of this sacred duty.

Thad and Wes, I love you to the moon and back a million times.

Happy Mother’s Day to me indeed!