See Mitchell Read. Read, Mitchell, Read!

 

These kids love to read. Uncle Mitchell always embellishes upon the original story when he reads, so he never gives them the same story twice. I think they like it. :)

These Boys Love the Rain

We love rainstorms in this family. The boys beg to go play in the rain any time there's the smallest drop of rain. They aren't deterred by big drops either, but they know to come inside at the first flash of lightning or rumble of thunder. The boys know where all the best puddles are to be found in the yard and I get a kick out of watching them take turns splashing every which way they can think of. Love these boys!

 Slippin' and slidin'!

 Launch...

 ...and land!

 "Mom, did you see that BIIIIIIG splash?!"

 Bryce gets some impressive height when he splashes in puddles. 

 Derek always has a blast! He loves puddle-jumping!

Everybody needs a bath after jumping in mud puddles.

Andrew's Birthday Party

Happy birthday, Andrew! We are so glad Andrew is in our (extended) family! He and Derek have some conflicting personalities sometimes, but they really are best friends. Andrew certainly keeps us on our toes with his energetic superhero reenactments and intense facial expressions. :) We had fun eating his Ninja Turtle cake and the kids loved watching him open his presents. 

 Checking out the card Katelyn drew before moving on to open the present itself.

Carving the turtle

 

This kid loooooves Spiderman!

 Isaac and Derek served as official present commentators, haha!

 Derek and Katelyn happily indulged in cake

Playing with Oakley

This little girl is getting so big! She's a total sweetie and has the cutest smiles. We all think Oakley looks nearly identical to Isaac and I love that because I didn't get to see him as a baby for very long. Nobody can get her to smile like her Mommy can!

 Just getting her smiler warmed up...

 There are those sweet Oakley smiles!

Just look at this sweet little face!

Halloween!

Cousin Pictures

11 grandkids with one more on the way! Oldest just turned five and the youngest is almost four months old.

Each of these sweet kids are so unique and we are so glad they are here!

Grapevine Aquarium

Can you tell we like this place? It's great for group activities. Lots of room, lots of cool stuff, lots of cool fish - it has it all! Plus, the kids always get excited to go to the aquarium. Today, it was part one of our double feature. The kids don't know it yet, but Grandma is treating us all to dinner at the Rainforest Cafe (just down the hall from the aquarium in the mall) after we're done with the fish. Woohoo!

Keepin' it real in their scuba masks

Man, the kids fought over these interactive exhibits. Logan was fascinated with this hammerhead

Isaac and Andrew are learning about the Great White

Derek and Emeri checked out the Manta Ray

Emo Nemo

Derek was in a hurry to see everything, but he took some time to make sure Bryce saw the cool stuff

Pregnant Daddies!

Derek was excited to hold this shell

The nice employee helped the kids touch the starfish and hermit crabs. Preston, Savanna and Bryce were impressed

Clara isn't old enough to be more than slightly interested, but she liked to watch the waves Bryce made

Logan helped himself

Preston was very enthusiastic about the starfish and the shells

Aren't these two so sweet! Sierra and Clara are both so happy. :)

The Rainforest Cafe

Voila! Part two of Grandma's surprise - the Rainforest Cafe! I had never been to one, but I always thought the decorations were really cool. The food was a little overpriced of course, but it was the experience that will stay with us for a lifetime. The kids were thrilled with the elephants, dancing gorillas, tigers and HUGE butterflies on the trees. It was so cool! Thank you for a great memory, Grandma! :D

 Everybody thought the life-size crocodile was pretty cool...

...but the kids were especially enthralled

Look at all the tree frogs!

Bryce was pretty chill the whole time. I think he was worn out from running around the aquarium

Grandma and Oakley

 The three October birthdays had to do a silly dance while the waiters sang a birthday song

Grandma and Emeri

Doughnuts with Dads

Derek's PreK teachers hosted a Doughnuts with Dads breakfast at school today. Mitchell wasn't able to go, but I took Derek and he had a great time! We spent about a half hour meeting the other dads (and a good amount of moms and grandparents) and talking about class and Derek's friends and then it was time for the parents to go so school could begin. I love how excited Derek is about school and friends and I am so grateful to be able to stay home to raise my kids and to be able to be at the crossroads of life for them.

 Derek likes to climb up to the front seat to wait when we get to school a little early. I love this special one-on-one time with him.

 Derek loves doughnuts. He was thrilled to share in a special treat!

We sure do love this funny boy

Flower Girls

Clara was such a good sport to let me cover her head in flower clips. She makes such a cute little flower girl. We didn't leave Oakley out of all the fun, though. She had no idea what a cute little flower "gift" she makes! 

I couldn't decide which flower i liked best, lol.

I love her sweet, gummy, Clara smiles!

Aunt Lizzy chose a cute, color-coordinating blue flower for Oakley

I think she likes it