Nathan is 8

I have no clue how the years keep going by so fast . Nathan is now 8 years old ! What!? He is turning into a big kid right before our eyes. He is such a sweet boy. Nathan is so smart and such a hard worker. He never complains and always gives his all. I am so proud of the boy he is and hope he continues to be exactly who he is as he gets older.
Lucky Nathan got to play his first football game of the season on his birthday . They won and started off the weekend celebrations! 

Nathans Ninja Warrior Party

Nate and Nolan love watching the American Ninja Warrior show. Lucky for us there is an awesome gym not to far from here where one of the winners of the show trains others who go on to win . They have cool things for kids and you can even have your party there. Nathan of course wanted to celebrate his 8th birthday here!! It was such a fun time! The kids were led through all kinds of obstacles like they do on the show. The coolest part was that the party host was a contestant from the show the kids recognized. After playing for what seemed like hours the boys were exaushted and ready for cake and pizza! As we were eating Sam Saan the owner of hte gym came in and took pictures with the kids. They thought it was so cool to meet him and he was so sweet to the kids. When the party was over all the kids left with goodie bags full of Ninja Warrior supplies including water bottles and T Shirts that said Ninja Warrior in Training. We are so lucky to have such sweet friends who are always there to celebrate in special occasions with us. Nathan had a perfect day celebrating 8.

Nolan's first year of flag football

Nolan finally got to play Flag Football this year! He has been watching Nate for the last two years and now it was finally his turn. He did such a wonderful job. It was crazy with both boys being two places but what a fun thing to watch. It was so cute they were both on the Vikings . He had a great time and made lots of new friends .

Football Season

This was Nathans first year of Tackle football. I was pretty nervous but he did great. I don't know how those little bodies run around with all those pads and heavy helmet on but he did it! He is getting so big and looks so grown up in his uniform . We were so proud of his hard work this year .

Mexico Trip

We took our annual family trip to Mexico this summer! Everyone went along this year including Kathy, Richard and Chad. We had a great time relaxing as usual. The beach by the hotel wasn't one the boys could swim in so we spent a whole day at a real beach club playing in the beautiful blue water. The boys were able to build sand castles, boogie board( with a little help from Chad ) and snorkel. The next day we went zip lining! It was awesome!!! We went to a place called Xplor that was full of zip lines and even a water slide planted in between that you had to go down. There were waterfalls we zipped through. The boys were so brave and had a great time. Nolan even ended up going by himself on some and riding with Nathan on others. It was such a cool experience and I know their were many special memories made this trip .

Karate

We had some time in between basketball and baseball and the boys wanted to try out Karate. Nolan started first since he was done and had some time. He had a great time and loved getting his belt! Nathan joined a few weeks later and had a great time also. It was so cute to watch the boys especially Nolan who has always insisted he was a ninja. I don't think they realized how much work goes into being a ninja

OTIS ( and the day we got him )

We got a new dog!!! We have been thinking about it and finally gave in. Since Dudley had to be put to sleep over a year ago it just seemed so lonely and quiet around here. Nolan is a huge animal lover and wanted a pet so bad. Daddy did a lot of research and found out what kind of dog we would get. He decided on a Labradoodle . The are supposed to be great with kids, hypoallergenic , and smart. I started to look for some online to get an idea of colors , size etc. We had planned on waiting till Christmas but came across the cutest little puppy . The next morning we called to get some information on him . I found out he was not in San Antonio like I had thought but Chicago. I was sad since I was for sure he was the one. Later that night when Kyle got home he said that he talked to the owner and would fly him in that weekend if we wanted him. I of course said yes!
The boys still had no clue so we were going to surprise them . The morning of we found out his flight was delayed. Nathan had a baseball tournament that morning so our sweet friends said he could ride with them so we didn't ruin the surprise. We were going to surprise him and show up to the game with him later . Well as usual nothing goes as planned around here. About 20 minutes after Nate left our friend Brooke called and said " I think you should come get Nathan" UH OH!!!!! Nathan got sick and threw up all in her car all over everything.  I hopped in the car with Nolan to meet them at the gas station where they were waiting for us. When I pulled up all of the mats were out of the car being watered down and Nate looked just pitiful. I felt so bad! It is pretty bad when its your kid throwing up in your car but when it is someone elses well that is just disgusting. On our way home daddy called to check on Nate and to say he had Otis. We swung by to get a gift card for Brooke and her poor car to be cleaned. When we got home daddy was hiding Otis by the coffee table . The boys walked in and it to a second for them to notice but they were both so excited!!! Nolan kept giggling and saying " is it ours?" . He has been a great puppy and I know all of this was worth it. He fits right in and thinks he is one of the boys already.

Easter at Nolan's school

For Easter Nolan's school has a fun day set up for the kids. This year daddy and I both were able to join in on the fun. They went around to different stations making crafts, eating a special lunches , face painting and cookies :) It is always so fun to see them with their friends and now they act when you aren't around. Nolan has his two best buds Josh and Samantha by him all the time. It is so sweet how close these three are.

Easter

Easter is Nolans favorite holiday so he has been counting down the days till it was here. We had a great day with our family. We got to Mimi's house where Kathy , Richard and Chad were waiting. We ate a delicious lunch and then it was time for the hunt. The boys are so spoiled since Mimi stuffs all kinds of eggs full of goodies for them to find. Chad and I headed out to hide while everyone kept the boys occupied upstairs. We had tons of eggs ranging from the real ones, money eggs , goodie eggs, and confetti eggs. When it was time the boys were off and running like mad men all around Mimi's yard. It was such a beautiful day and a great time hanging out with our family. The boys and Chad even got into the annual confetti egg smash which is always the highlight of the day :)

Eater Eggs

This year we decided to try something new to dye our eggs. I kept hearing how you could use shaving cream and food coloring. The boys thought it sounded fun so we gave it a shot. We put a thin layer of shaving cream in a pan then swirled the different colors of food coloring we wanted in the cream. The boys were picking different combos like the Hulk, Superman, and of course the "purple Ninja ".Next we rolled the egg through and sat it aside to dry. After all of them were rolled we wiped off the extra shaving cream and sure enough it worked! They were all swirled different colors and came out so pretty. We were so glad it actually worked. This was more hands on and way less of a mess and smell than the vinegar way from the store. I say this is our new way to dye easter eggs in our house.

Rice Baseball

Now that it is baseball season we have been going to catch some games at Rice. Nathan has decided Rice is  where he will go to school . I hope he does ! I will say I highly support this decision. It is a wonderful school complete with a beautiful campus and amazing people.  Not to mention close to home :)

The baseball games are so fun , it is such a different atmosphere than a major league game.  We have been to several this season so far . I am pretty sure we are good luck since they have won everyone we have been to. Our friends have also gone to a couple games with us which makes it even more fun!. Nate even has his favorite players #7 John Clay and #44 Skyler. After the game the boys can even go and talk to the players. At the first game Daddy bought Nate a Rice baseball and all of the players even signed it for him . Including #7 twice. These players are so nice and genuine with the kids after the games. I hope they realize how much that means to little ones like Nate and Nolan.