Where did August go?

We have had a very fun and fast month. Stephen has been on call a lot this month helping out another surgery group, therefore he was unable to take the trips with us. So just me and the kids took our long, but worthwhile trip.

Sun., Aug 2 we drove to "Nonie and Papaw's," my mom and dad, they live outside of Victoria which is about a 5 1/2 hr drive south. The kids did great. One of our best drives.

Mon., Aug 3 we drove to "Grammy and Grandpa's," Stephen's parents. They live even further south in Harlingen. From my parents house to their's it was about 4 1/2 hrs. And the kids did great again. Great-Grandma Krakos and Steve were there when we pulled up, and the kids played and had fun seeing everyone.

Tues we went to the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville. Great zoo, but too hot. We got there at opening at 9am and by 11 we had had enough. It's probably the time of year we always go, but zoo's are always hot! We went to chuck e cheese, then home for a much needed nap. After nap we drove to an aunt's house in McAllen and visited with some of our favorite relatives. It has been over a year since we had seen them. The kids got to swim and play with their cousins.

Wed we went to South Padre Island and stayed at two of the aunt's gourgeous beach house. Padre was so nice, beautiful clean beaches with pretty sand. We went to the beach, came home ate, took a nap, then back to the beach.

Thur we played at the beach some more, and also went to a miniature golf and car racing arena. Isabel had no interest in the golf game. Her and Lucas only cared about driving the cars. They couldn't drive, but they got to take a ride.

Friday was a little bit slower. We went to lunch with grammy and grandpa, and did a little shopping for the kids.

Saturday drove back 4 1/2 hrs to Nonie and Papaw's.

Sun, Mon, and Tues we stayed around Nonie's and played with our cousins, rode the 4-wheeler, jumped on hay bails, played on the slip 'n slide. Lucas wouldn't let Papaw out of his site; he would say, "Papaw go ride tractor, Papaw go ride lawn mower, Papaw go ride 4-wheeler, Papaw go ride truck." There were a few times I couldn't get him away from Papaw. It was cute.

Thursday we went to Splashway, a small water park, with the cousins. The kids had a great time, except for the huge water pail that would dump a large amount of water every 3-4 minutes. Just about the time you would forget and walk by it, SPLASH!! You were soaking wet.

Friday we headed back to our home in Argyle. We were very excited to see daddy after 12 days of being away.

Saturday we went to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey circus in Fort Worth. The kids loved it. It was a very entertaining show. From clowns and stilt walkers to elephants and tigers, from acrobats to motorcycles riding on high line wires....they had it all. Isabel really had a great time; she was laughing so hard at the clowns. Lucas did really well too. The shows were changing so frequently that something always had his attention.

Thursday, Aug 20th was an eventful day. We had a quick wake up from Max barking continuously in the back yard just before 7. I went out to see what it was, and of course has to be a snake. Stephen was already gone so I got a shovel and decapitated him after a few encouraging talks to myself and the adrenaline flowing. I think we own the dullest shovel too, because it took a lot of strength to get that slithering thing...and he wasn't that big! We continue on with our day and I go to the gym with the kids; just to be called over the intercom to come to the kids club, and find one of the kids had an accident. Get them cleaned up and off to home. Decide to clean and vacuum the car, but Isabel decides she needs to hit the red SOS button and call for service. The lady was nice, we disconnected, and took the kids in for lunch. Decided on a quick swim after lunch and our neighbors came along. After being in the pool maybe 5 min I was stung by a hurtful, red wasp. Our day did get better, we attended a benefit at Denton Regional, where Stephen works, and people dressed up in 80's gear. Stephen decided to be Pee Wee Herman, very funny. He even actually got up on a stage and did the little pee wee dance. I was so surprised. Of course what daddy does Isabel and Lucas have to do. So Isabel got on stage and did her thing, then Lucas got up and stood there, guess he got too shy.

Friday, August 28 we went back to Gainesville to the Frank Buck Zoo. This one is small and nice for kids. We went on a fabulous day, cloudy with some wind. We got there at a perfect time when they were feeding the giraffes. Isabel and Lucas also got to feed them. Then we went on a train ride. Choo- choo!

Weekend Fun

We had a great weekend just staying around the house. This is the park behind our house, and yes that is Isabel and Lucas going down the slide head first....because going down the normal way is for babies.

Isabel "helped" me paint shelves that we are putting up in her room.

Isabel swimming with her floaty. She swims all around the pool, and does not want anyone touching her!


Are you ready Dad?

Lucas getting a little too brave. He likes to jump from the edge of the pool.

Denton Water Park

We visited the Denton water works park today with some of our neighbors. The kids had a great time. The water was very cold at first, but after being in the hot sun we were ready to jump in. It took a few times, but they both went down the blue slide and landed in the water. SPLASH!! There were steering wheels that you can turn and it adjusts how much water is coming out of different pipes. There were also spotting scopes (telescopes) that shot water...Lucas really loved these. He was chasing different kids with the water.

This is one of the steering wheels.

This is another steering wheel. Isabel really loved playing with them.

Splish Splash

We joined our neighbors at the pool today and had a lot of fun. Isabel is content floating around by herself with her donut floaty. She does a great job getting around. Lucas is getting a little too brave. He likes to jump off the side of the pool. He stands there saying "hold you, hold you" with arms straight out, then he shrills with excitement and jumps to you. It is very cute. Everything in the water, even a leaf, is still a bug, but he is not as scared as he used to be.

Fun at the Playground

These were taken about two weeks ago and i had some issues downloading them, but here they are now. This is one of the kids favorite places to go. It is a huge playground with lots of climbing, slides, swings, and anything you could ask for.

Bye Bye Diapers!!!

Little Lucas has done it! He is officially potty trained. It has been an extremely long week with many, many accidents, but he has done it! We still have the occasional mishap, especially when we are playing hard, but what two year old doesn't. We are so proud, especially Isabel, who has been his little cheerleader and little mommy.

We went to a birthday party for our neighbor at chuck e cheese. The kids love playing there, and they even stop to eat!

Isabel singing and dancing in front of the camera; it then shows your picture up on the TV's.

Lucas falling on the ground after getting scared of the big gorilla the other boy is playing.

July 4th

Not too sure why Luke has such a sad face here, but it probably has to do with taking a picture with his sister. We stayed around the house this fourth of July and let the kids play with sparklers. They really enjoyed it. Lucas was really amazed until one landed on his toe...OUCH!!