Jake turns 4!

Ever since Jake went to his friend Garrison's birthday party back in October, he has been begging to have one of his own, so despite the unpredictable Texas weather and my fears of having all those kids running through my house and destroying everything in their path, we decided to have a birthday party at our neighborhood pavilion. Jake picked out his very own "How to Train Your Dragon" cake which turned out adorable and the party was set.

We had so much fun with the bounce house, basketball, sidewalk drawing, and of course we had to have the movie "How to train your dragon" playing on the side. Jake got his very own big boy bike which he took to like he had been riding for years. After a few hours the sugar high was starting to wear off from all the icing, so we decided to call it a day and say bye to all our friends and family! The day was perfect...minus the monsoon winds, but we managed to have a great time anyway!

Even though we were super sad to see the bounce house deflate, Daddy and Papaw decided to teach Jake and Ethan how to bull ride...who knew clean-up could be so much fun! :)

Pumpkin Patch 2010

He thinks he's so strong!

Sweet smiles!

I want this BIG one!

What a cutie?!

HALLOWEEN 2010

I must admit Halloween is not my holiday and I would completely skip it if I had my way. Lee and Aunt Ninee always make me be a good sport and dress the kids up even if we don't go any where. This year, Jake wanted to be "scary bones" which is just a skeleton, and Chloe was a bumble bee! Jake was needing some one-on-one time with Mommy andDaddy so we took him to the carnival in town while Chloe stayed with Aunt Ninee. When we finished, he had a blast passing out candy at Ninee's House.

Jake and Daddy...Gone Hunting!

Jake has been on pins and needles all week waiting for the weekend to finally come. Lee made the mistake of telling Jake early in the week that he was going to take him hunting this weekend. Boy was that a BIG mistake considering Jake has no reference of time, so every morning we had to convince him that today was NOT Saturday and it was time to go to school. Finally, Saturday came but Lee had to work in the morning so I was left to field all of Jake's questions! If he asked me once, he asked me a thousand times "is Daddy here yet?". Little did Jake know, Lee was planning to bring home a gator from work to take hunting. So sometime around 12:30, Jake came running in the back door screaming, "Mommy! Mommy! Hurry come here! I knew Lee must be home so I ran outside with my camera and this is the face I caught on camera as Lee was driving up the driveway. It was priceless...I don't think his grin could have possibly gotten any bigger!

Once the truck was in park, Jake climbed up! He was so excited...off to shoot birds! Wayne arrived and they loaded the truck and headed to Rockdale. Bob and Suki Merritt are once again hosting the dove fest opening season hunt! It is always so much fun...Chloe and I are sad we are having to miss it. Hopefully, when they return I will have more pictures to share! Stay tuned!!

Rubba-Dub-Dub Sissy's in the Tub!

It is so hard to believe that Chloe will soon be 7 months old. She is growing so fast and becoming her own little person. She is incredibly happy and full of grins boasting her two bottom teeth all the time. She is independent just like her brother, but still likes to cuddle which Mommy loves! She is sitting up and frequently gets on her knees to rock, but no crawling yet! Watch out Jake...it is coming soon!

We are currently battling a pretty bad ear infection that just won't go away, so we will be going back to the doctor for the 3rd time on Monday! Other than some yucky side effects from the antibiotic and a runny nose, you wouldn't even know she was sick! She is still all play, naps, and food!

Here are some current bath pictures that I thought were too cute to not share!

Sister has a Crazy Brother!

This is what I call free entertainment...

Rinn Family Get-Together in San Marcos

We went to San Marcos for a Rinn Family Get-Together this week since Aunt Jenny was in town visiting from California. It was a great day of fun for all the kids and catching up with each other.

Jake and Ty were busy running in and out trying to

split their time between the legos, playscape, tire swing, and trampoline. Courtney and Honey even tried to teach him some new moves on the trampoline!

Miss Chloe had

a busy day being passed from Aubrey to Honey, to Aubrey, to Aunt Jenny, to Aubrey, to Aunt Julie, to Aubrey, to Mommy, to Aubrey and I think you get the picture. Her and Aubrey are two peas in a pod!!

First Day at Peas in a Pod

Jake and Chloe's first day at Peas in a Pod turned out good despite the major sleepy eyes we started the day with. I definitely had a hard time dropping them off, but they loved it! Jake loves all the friends to play with and Chloe is adored by all the teachers! Her and another baby girl, Reese like to squeal back and forth at one another!

Vacation 2010

With our crazy schedules, we decided to stay close to home for our summer vacation this year and go to San Antonio for a few days. After much debate on Sea World versus Fiesta Texas, we decided to go to Sea World in hopes it would be slightly more enjoyable for Chloe. I will admit I was very nervous about the trip, so we packed EVERYTHING but the kitchen sink just in case.

Sea World was lots of fun! Jake loved all the dolphins, sea lion, and of course Shamu...he even rode his first roller coaster! It has to be said that the Believe show is totally worth going for...it was awesome!

Jake and Lee took many turns in the wave pool while Chloe and I chilled in the shallow end every time we got hot, which was a LOT!! We got yelled at and literally kicked out of the lazy river because we took Chloe...what difference does it make if she can walk or not! I would think swimming would be the more important factor, but anyway!! Despite the heat, Chloe did great and to be honest the kids outlasted us! We (Lee & I) were so tired, we had to call it a day, but we were proud to have lasted 8 hours in the park!!

The next day, we went to the SA Zoo! It has been under construction so we were excited to see all the new exhibits. Jake was in his element!!

As much as I tried to be organized

and follow the map in a systematic order so as not to miss anything...he would not have it! He was running from one cage to the next screaming "Look Mommy..." and "Look Daddy..."! I have to admit with heat many animals were hiding, so it felt like we were living a "Where's Waldo" book with Jake and try to find the animals first! We had a great time, but oh my gosh was it HOT!! Chloe took turns in the stroller and in the baby bjorn carrier, and I kept stealing ice from the drink vendors and putting it on her neck to keep her cool. She was definitely quite the little trooper! No crying...only her high pitched squeals at all the people passing by.

Best part of the day was in the aquarium where we were looking at all the fish and the new surroundings when all of a sudden what we thought was a rock in the background started moving! No kidding!! As we watched (Jake squealed), we realized it was a hippo! It was so cool!

The rest of the trip we hung out around the Riverwalk! We took a River boat ride and caught a Dino-Quest exhibit in town.

Lessons learned:

1. Never feel bad about over packing kid stuff...we used it all!

2. Texas is just too hot in July!

3. Strollers are not good at the Riverwalk...thank goodness for the Baby Bjorn! (Chloe loved it)

4. Don't feel bad about being in bed each night before 9 o'clock...it was hard keeping up with Jake and literally carrying Chloe everywhere we went.

5. Babies are easier to travel with when they are at least sitting up on their own! (ugh...Chloe was not!!)

Overall, great vacation!!

Swimming in Rockdale

The Campbell family has finally returned from Greece, so Honey decided to get all the cousins together

for a fun day in the sun.

We had a great day swimming, playing in the yard,

and having a picnic on

the porch. Jake went on countless piggy-back rides in the pool from Honey & Courtney while Aubrey completely captivated Chloe.

Jake loved playing with Ty's remote control truck and water guns, and ate two big slices of watermelon! It was truly a perfect day of play! Needless to say, there were some great naps going on in the backseat on my drive home!