Chad is the greatest guy in the world. As with every family birthday, it turned into CJ's day to celebrate. At the party store CJ picked out a basketball scoreboard candle and Halloween spider accents for the cake. We made a big Texas sheet cake Sunday morning we decided to stand around with forks and eat it right then and there - straight out of the pan (the best way). The I gave Chad a new wedding band to replace the original that flew off his hand and into the lake on Bill's Island. He also got the new touch iPod and a guided fly fishing trip with his dad.

We love our happy, fun, freeze-tag-playing dad.
He is the most selfless - and I mean SELFLESS - person I know. I love him more than words can say a

This week was just a bad week. One of those that just seems like the same old stuff, different day. After day. After day. It seems like by 10:00 a.m. we (meaning me and the boys) had already decided we were just bugging each other and then it went downhill from there. And it's pretty much all my fault for being so crabby and then feeling sorry for myself that I don't have any family around to help out sometimes. I have a lot of redeeming to do after being such a lame mom this week. Sometimes it's just hard! But then today, when CJ's school headmaster got him out of the car on "Western Day," he turned around and said to me, "See ya later pardner!" And my heart melted.

As I watched him walk in with his cowboy gear (including the chaps he insisted he needed so we hastily cut up a pair of old jeans and 'wrangled' them on with a belt), AND his new sneakers (he still wanted to run fast at recess) - I just sort of choked up and took a moment to capture that sweet little image in my mind. He's getting so big, so fast - but at the same time, moments like this remind me how little he still is. And I need to be way more patient with this oldest little man of mine.

I love my boys more than anything in the world and it's moments like today that I realize it won't be long before they won't want to hold my hand, sit on my lap, snuggle in the big chair and beg me to play with them. So here's to a new week and a better mommy. I am determined to do a better job and avoid damaging their little spirits by not fully investing myself in them.

"Mommy! Come here - I need you! I had a bad accident and I'm serious!" Yelled CJ from the family room.

 CJ helped me can salsa and loved the fake "blood and guts"

I love this time of year. When it finally cools down and isn't so hot. I especially like our family walks every evening.
They kind of mellow us all out. Like last night - after feeding the missionaries all heck broke loose. So after showing his Incredible Hulk costume for our guests, CJ left it on the stairs. It was then that Mac ripped all the stuffing out of the pectoral muscles. DRAMA!
I got Hulk fixed up good as new. Mac got out of time-out and we all headed out for a walk and came home happy and relaxed. Especially CJ - it's wondrous what a field full of trash will do to his mood.

Friends

These two are buddies for sure. It must be because Trey feeds Mac all his meals. And that he lets him in the house (along with all the flies) 50 times a day. But then he tells on Mac when he continually takes Trey's beloved Nerf football out of the toy box, then Mac goes back outside and then it starts all over again five minutes later.

This is a nightly scene: Toad in his jammies, having escaped from family prayer, babbling to Mac in the hallway. I love how he's playing with Mac's paw as he just keeps nonchalantly jabbering.

I pitched the camping tent in the middle of his office and the boys love playing in it!

Trey is showing me how he squeeeeeeezed the tube of toothpaste all over my bathroom floor.

CJ's best friend and next-door neighbor moved away. We are all sad. Even worse, CJ got in trouble on garbage day and lost his garbage privileges. Meaning, he didn't get to take the garbage/recycling out (I saved him two bags of weeds). After the big freak out was over he said, "This was the first time EVER I've never taken out the garbage so I want you to know that when I'm a garbage man, I'll NEVER drop my kids off at your house to play and I'll NEVER pick up your trash."