Sunday, July 31, 2011

Brooks & His Buddies



Brooks and a few of his buddies getting ready to go swimming.

Dinner with Aunt Heather


Cute picture of Brooks and Aunt Heather at dinner downtown.

4th of July Parade



The boys with their cousin Madison at the Coppell 4th of July parade.

Visit From the Presnell Family


We had a wonderful visit from one of my oldest and dearest friends, Laura, and her family. She has a boy, Tucker, who is a few months younger than Brooks and a new little baby girl, Rennie, who was only about 8 weeks when she came to visit us. Brooks and Tucker have known each other since they were babies but they live in San Francisco so we don't see them often. We had such a ball having them around even if it was only for a quick day visit. Can't wait to see them again!

Boys First Race


Brooks keeps asking if he can run with me so I finally entered them into their first official race. The boys raced a 50 yard dash on Mother's Day weekend before my mom and I did a 5k race with the boys in tow. The race wasn't timed but they ran in packs of about 10 kids and each one got a medal when they finished. The boys had a great time and they were so proud when they crossed the finish line! What fun to watch them run!

Nash Farm


I took the boys to a great little farm in Grapevine called Nash Farm. Nash Farm is a historic farm bought by the Nash Family, a part of a migration of farmers who settled in Grapevine in 1859, a couple of years before the Civil War. The farm is 5.2 acres and the original house where the Nash Family settled retains much of its original structure but needs to be completely restored.

The kids had a ball at the farm. They were able to hoe and rake their own dirt next to the actual crops that are being grown there now. The kids pet a cow, horse and even held a chicken. We picked up our own watering cans and watered the vegetables that were being grown in the garden outside of the farm house and the kids were able to learn how crops are grown (and not bought in stores!). We took a tractor ride and then headed to the barn to sit on some old tractors and play with toy tractors and trucks.

Rasta Coltie

I just thought this was a funny picture of Colt. He really likes his Bob Marley shirt and I guess Grandma had a wig to go with it!

Spanish Schoolhouse Bike Parade


Every year the boy's school puts on a bike parade where all the kids can participate with their bikes or scooters. They set it up in the parking lot and the kids ride in circles and through a "car wash" where the teachers blow bubbles and spray them with water. They also have popcorn and lemonade for the kids as well as sidewalk chalk for siblings who attend. It is always a hoot to watch the kids and this year we had both of the boys participate.


Walking with Nana & Poppy

Nana and Poppy take their dogs for a long walk every Saturday morning and the boys go too when they spend the night. It is around 3.5 miles so they walk and ride in the stroller. On their walk, they get to feed the turtles and catfish and the end of their walk always ends at Corner Bakery (which they call the bagel store) for a delicious breakfast outside. After breakfast, they go play in the fountains by the shopping center where Corner Bakery is located and they throw coins and get wet.

Medieval Times


We finally took the boys to Medieval Times and they had an absolute ball! They each got a crown and a flag for the team they were to cheer for and they got completely into the horses and jousting. They even played "knights" and "jousting" for a week afterwards. Every time we drive by now they ask if they can go back into the castle and watch the knights fight.