Proud of Joshy

Joshua got Student of the Month. Can you read the reason at the bottom of the picture? It's because he does his work and always tells the truth.

We couldn't be prouder!!

Testing it out

For some reason, I cannot get a video to post. Is it just not working at all?

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I did it all by myself

Since the first time we walked through the house, I'm been scheming to put some ceiling fans in. Dare I say, obsessed about it. Every dollar we save I add to my "ceiling fan fund".

We've only lived here a week, but last night was the final straw for sleeping without one. I picked a fan up at home depot this morning and installed it during nap time. Ya, I pretty much rock. I'll sing my own accolades, don't worry :)


Sorry about the blurry photo. Andy was my photographer :)

Long day

In addition to the three hours of crafting, we went on two walks in the hot hot Texas sun. And after the carpet was installed and I was vacuuming up, the kids were running around like crazy, getting to k is the new house. They were totally worn out. This photo was taken at 5pm.

Keeping busy

I had to be at the house while the carpet guys were laying down the new stuff, but with exposed tack strips and glue, I couldn't let the boys run around. We entertained ourselves by playing with and making designs with the scraps of pad and carpet. It was literally three hours worth of crafting with the scraps while we sat on the kitchen floor. What good boys!

The old stuff

Here's a partial view of our old carpet. It was just plain old contractor grade light color carpet. Pretty junky. I'm so glad it's gone and we are starting fresh!

(this is a photo of our first Pizza and Movie night in our new house, the evening we closed)

New carpet

I think one of the reasons we bought a house was so that I could choose carpet and get it installed. What a riot!

Here is one word of advice: Home Depot was a joke. We shopped around and found the same carpet for $2200 less. I am so so pleased with how it turned out.

I'll post some before pictures. Our carpet is a frizé (shag) called Persian Gold. I love it! I can't wait to see how it looks with my pomagranate red leather sofa!

The proud couple

Here we are at the final walk through before signing our lives away.

I bought a new dress (and a new shirt for Kraig) to wear to the closing. Apparently that's not normal practice because a few people chuckled when I told them. But we did look cute in our photos, which was my purpose.

Three cheers for our new house!

Yoked

Well, we did it! We signed our names a thousand times and we are now homeowners!

Isn't it cute?

7/11 day

What do you think? Is Tommy miffed that he didn't get a hot dog to go with his free slurpee?

Joshy turns five

Man, I'm behind. Josh turned five almost a month ago.

Joshua got to have a friend party this year (because it's an odd year birthday) and so we had an Angry Birds theme. Kraig made us a sling shot and the kids had a great time trying to get rid of this pesky green pigs.

Happy birthday to my boy! We love you!

Kraig's new specs

Kraig broke his glasses during church on Sunday. I quickly found some tape so they would survive the remainder of the day, but they were beyond repair when I took the pair to the optometrist this afternoon. So, new frames!

So handsome!

A little morning sunshine--day 29

Day 21--lest we forget

Longest day of the year highlights (sorry no photos):

-sharing my bed at 2:30am with two kids--one with bad dreams, the other cold and moaning

-packing the car AGAIN for another marathon trip

-saying goodbye to the West once again. Hello South, I've missed you.

-six good travelers in the back seats

- no barfing

-laughing my head off in the front seat with Robin driving

-singing along to the muppets with my kids. Something's are truly timeless

-lady at the park yelling at me for telling her kid to stop yelling. Hmmm. Wonder here he gets it?

-the McDonald's poop incident--I wouldn't call it a highlight, I suppose.

- making it back to El Paso in time to run to my favorite jewelry store at the mall

-losing my car in the Dillard's parking lot and freaking out because it had been stolen. Again, not so much a highlight. But why are there two shoe departments at the store and how is a person supposed to keep them straight?

-one day closer to seeing my sweetheart.

Today is our last day of vacation. Whoot! Whoot! I will be sleeping in my own temperpedic bed tomorrow night! I can hardly sleep, I'm so excited!

The actual 14er--day 19

So I did make it to the top of a mountain in Colorado with an elevation greater than 14,000 feet above see level (a 14er, for anyone who doesn't speak native coloradoian).

We drove to Mount Evans today, the highest paved road in north America. This picture was in the parking lot; we proceeded to climb a few hundred additional feet to the summit--around 14300, I think.

So ya, I climbed a 14er while I was here.

Day 18

I decided to hike a few 14ers while I was in Colorado this week:) I'm amazing, I know. Actually, this map of Colorado is at a new park near my parents' house. It had an awesome spray park and an even more awesome treehouse play ground.

The favorite feature of the kids was the cement slide right by the entrance. They would run though the water, get completely soaked and then slide down the cement slide like otters. Pretty fun. Until we realized that they had each shredded the seat of his/her pants. Boo.

Day 11

We are having a great time in our vacation! We went boating with the Webbs today and had great water. I have a lot of photos to share, but here is Andy's first ever kneeboarding run. So proud of him!

Day six

Well, so much for preparing to leave on our long adventure at 3am tomorrow morning. I have two little barfy boys. I stopped bothering putting clothes back on Thomas after his second outfit was soiled. I also am on my third outfit after being barfed on multiple times.

Thankfully Josh is old enough to make it to the potty to barf.

It's really the little things that i find to be grateful about: kids that barf in the toilet and not all over me.

Day 5

Summer road trip #1

We drove to robin's house today as the first leg of our el paso, Utah, Colorado trip.

I get points today for the hour we spent at the park in Fort Stockton during lunch. And the fun ice cream treats from the gas station when everyone's heads started spinning.

Thomas made himself right at home in Robin's cupboard.

Summer break, day 1

So after I picked both boys up from their last day of school, I took them out for a celebratory lunch. We talked about the fun things we are going to do this summer, the plans I've made, etc. I informed the kids about the list I've been making, brimming with ideas of fun adventures to make everyday of summer break special. Certainly I can't let them waste the summer just watching tv.

So, here is day one: Cheerios necklaces. And they only watched tv during rest time. Woohoo! I did it!

School's out for summer!

Phew! I made it. I'll admit it. I cried when saying goodbye to both Andrew and Joshua's teachers. What wonderful women! They have enriched my boys' lives and certainly left them better than they got them last fall.

Now what are we going to do all summer to fill our time while Kraig works?

For posterity

I have so many photos on my camera of the silly things that Thomas does, it was hard to decide which to post. But here he is this morning in my closet, trying on every piece of clothing in my dirty clothes basket. So so so funny.

Proof

This photo is just to prove to the world that kraig took a day off this summer to go swimming with our family. Well, with the kids, anyway. Apparently I wasn't there.

You might think I'm crazy or cruel to have tommy in the life vest. He does appear to hate it. But the kid has no fear of water. I do believe he is giving his best attempt at wAlking in water.

Memorial Day

Look! Another photo of the fun things my family does and I'm no where to be seen.

We had a picnic breakfast downtown at Zilker park. Some friends from kraig's work joined us. It was a good time. Then we enjoyed a nice bike ride around Lady Bird Lake. Oh wait. It would have been a nice ride if we wouldn't have run into the Triathalon, knocking us off course by about two miles. Austinites are serious about their races.

Ice skating!!

I took Andy and Josh ice skating last weekend. I'm not much of a skater, myself, but I can make my way around the rink no problem. It was a little hairy at the beginning, but the boys caught in just great.

By the end Josh was zooming around. Seriously. Maybe I should abandon the gymnastics idea and get the kid into speed skating. He could break Apollo Ono's records in the 2036 Olympics.

A few things to catch up on

I suppose if I am going to be posting swimming pool photos of others, I should subject myself to the same scrutiny in my swimming suit, but alas, I am always begins the camera :) shucks!

Mom and Dad Webb came to visit! We had a great time, despite the scheduling conflicts of Kraig's work. They got to spend a little time with both boys at school; we took a trip down to San Antonio to the temple; ate good food; indulged in a few gallons of BlueBell icecream; went to church. Our schedule was jammed packed!

Thanks for coming to visit, Mom and Dad! Come again soon!

And lest you think Thomas is the only one getting into mischief...

...Andrew lost a fight at school yesterday.

A fight with the gymnasium floor, that is.

He was playing on those little scooters and missed the ball (as far as I can tell) and got a massive rug burn on his face. Thankfully it doesn't hurt too much.

Today just keeps getting better and better

So I left Thomas out in the garage again. Hey, I'm trying to get my house clean for my inlaws to come tomorrow, so keeping him busy is a priority. Anyways, he stealthfully slipped from the garage to the bathroom right next to the door to the garage and unrolled all the toilet paper and has been trailing it behind himself like a wedding dress train. Think Kate Middleton. What a nut!

Caught!

I often leave Thomas in the garage to let him have a little extra play time after coming inside (don't call dcps, I leave the door open to the house). Today he thought riding his bike inside would be a great idea, if only he could have figured out how to get it past the door frame. This was attempt number three. Handsome boy.

Since I was at home with pink eye and missed the whole thing...

Remember that one time when...

...my car died in the parking lot where Thomas has his speech therapy and no one stopped to help me, so Thomas and I had to wait an hour for roadside assistance to come and we missed picking Joshua up from the bus?

Oh right, because it happened today.

Make hay while the sun shines

Look how big these boys are! I believe this is a small vision of what is to come when they are teenagers: totally sacked out on the couch, completely unable to make it to their rooms to rest because teenage exhaustion exceeds that of toddler exhaustion. Ten years from now these couches will be too small for their oversized, teenage bodies.

Three cheers for Sunday naps! I think this is the first time that all five of us have needed and gotten a nap at the exact same time. Usually if everyone else is resting, I can't sleep. I feel some deep urge to be super productive. But alas, today I laid down to read and welcomed the nap that overtook me.

Now I'm up shingling the roof. :)

Story time

For all in tense and purpose, summer has started. Kraig's schedule has intensified, but I did get a sweet shot of these handsomes reading stories the other night. That might have been the last time he was home during the week to put the kids to bed.

He must be a Webb...

...because he knows what he wants.

We were visiting a friend this afternoon and Thomas picked up a spare helmet. He slapped it on his head, and then walked over to the bike and tried to get his leg up. I helped him straighten the helmet and placed him on the seat. I am pretty sure he thought he would take right off to be with the big boys.

My little Mozart

Start 'em young, that's what I say.

Joking. Thomas I not starting piano, but hopefully Andrew will be starting this summer.

Some strange Benjamin Button reverse aging thing going on

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White or blond hair? Practically the same

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Josh already had the bald head...

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I'm like the crypt keeper!

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Oldify!

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I should open my own pharmacy

This is the condition of my counter right this minute. I might shove it all aside to make chicken noodle soup for dinner because, you know, everyone is sick and chicken soup makes me feel better.

Quiet times around the ol' Webb house

Oh, man, These kids.

He didn't know I was filming, but this boy has a lot of Texas pride

Toot! Toot!

I played in my first stake women's basketball game tonight. It has been five years since the last one in Heber, UT, and frankly, I am not 17 anymore.

Lots of reasons to be anxious about it--what if I can't run and dribble anymore? What if I miss all my baskets? What if I can't chug my lazy bones up and down the court for 30 minutes?

Well, the last one was only partly a problem, but oh what fun! So great to be part of a team for a few minutes and cheer for each other's successes and attempts. I scored six points, which is not too shabby in my book. We even won the game, which makes my personal victory a little bit sweeter.

So here is me, tooting my own horn. Toot! Toot!

90 minutes ago...

This charcoal grey skirt was a long sleeved shirt in my goodwill pile.

And the only reason it took 90 instead of 30 was because I had to disassemble the guest room, set up the sewing room and re thread my serger with black (instead of the cream thread that was in it).

I might add a little flower on the hem if I feel so inclined during quiet time.

I think I will take a quick second look at the goodwill pile. I might be able to throw together a whole new wardrobe for the summer...

S.K.I.R.T.

Not so much as monkey business...

Can you see how high he climbed? He literally climbs up the walls at home. Maybe I should get the kid into gymnastics?

Expecting company

Thomas is refining his hosting skills and no longer throws the dishes on the floor. He delicately sets the table as he unloads his favorite cupboard so he can climb in.

The table's set! Come on over!

Humpty dumpty part two

Humpty dumpty take two

Humpty dumpty

Dear Mom

Dear Mom,

I just wanted you to know that I cleaned and organized my closet, just like you taught me. And just so you an sleep tonight, i want you to know that i made sure that all of the shirts are facing the same way.

Thanks for teaching me how to do laundry!

Love,

Jacqui

Try number two

Spring break 2012

Did you know there are awesome things to do in Austin?

Like spending an afternoon at Ikea because they are offering free lunch for kids during spring break. And to sweeten the deal, there were balloon animals involved. Tommy's sword popped right after this photo was taken, and I am sure we didn't leave the store with the other five intact either.

Besides Ikea, we have enjoyed a different park everyday and a few trips to the pool. All of the children braved the chill in the big pool.

So the week is half over and it has so far been a success! Three cheers for spring break!

Park day

Just a fun photo from the park last week.
Josh is my extreme climber: climbing everything the wrong way.

Andy didn't want to go to the park because he felt his splint would take all the fun out of it. I think he realized it can still be fun without dangling from the monkey bars.

Thomas is exploring his world without mommy hovering too much. He just laughs and laughs as his brothers chase him all over the structure.

A superstar, but he didn't get far

All hail, Ms. Gladys Knight.

Saw her preform live tonight at Austin City Limits. Last time I was in her presence, she was singing gospel songs with the Saints Unified Voices. Tonight we rode The Midnight Train to Georgia, and it brought me to tears. She was enchanting and mesmorizing, charming and classy. What a show!

Flippers for feet

Shoe shopping is hard. My feet have always been big ( size 10 since middle school!), but after Thomas was born, I had to start buying size 11.

So, ya, it is hard to find new shoes that fit and are not ugly AND don't cost an arm and leg.

I have been wearing a two-year-old pair of running shoes to run and work out. I could blame my knee pain on getting old, but I prefer to blame it on my old shoes. Yes, i should have gotten a new pair miles ago. They say the life of a shoe is around 100miles. It was just time to bite the bullet and buy new shoes.

Anyway, I stopped by kohl's this morning to spend my $10 kohl's cash. I walked through the shoe department on my way to Men's ( to buy a shirt for Kraig) to see if there were any killer sales on Asics.

Oh, did I mention I only run in Asics?

No terrific sales, but I did happen to notice that they only had a handful of size 11s. I pulled a pair off the shelf and opened the box. It was a pair of orange running shoes. Of course i loved them, but there wasn't a display shoe out to tell me the sale price. The price check kiosk didn't work either, so I took the shoes and box to the register.

Hello? The shoes were $14.99. So with my $10 kohl's cash, I paid FIVE BUCKS for a brand new pair of $75 running shoes. And they are orange! Ha!