Madras Day!

1,2,3 Bearcats!

Truth be told, Jeff was not a fan of Preston playing pee-wee tball.  I wanted, of course, to dress him up in the cute outfit and let him go have fun.  I think after tonights game--a game for which the take home message of the post-game chat was "no more tackling"--even he would admit it was pretty darn cute :)

Hunter Energy is a VERY young team.  We probably have 6 three year-olds and they technically aren't even supposed to play until age 4.  What we lack in age and experience, we make up for in cuteness and general good cheer......

It was a fun night.  Late for a newborn to be out, but John Cole rolled with the punches as usual.  He LOVES hanging out with Mommy in the Baby Bjorn.

In closing.... 1, 2, 3 GO BEARCATS!

**Because we are red and white our "mascot" is the mighty Bearcat :)

Good Times in Grapevine

I really didn't feel like traveling when I was big pregnant, nor is leaving the house very feasible with a newborn, so Preston has been hearing about his friends go snow-skiing, to Disney, etc. and we really haven't been much of anywhere.  So, Jeff and I decided to take him on a toddlerpalooza weekend to Grapevine, TX.  Gran-Gran was gracious enough to keep John Cole so we could focus just on P.....and we certainly did!

We left around noon on Friday, and pulled right into LegoLand Grapevine around 5:30.   I think this may have been P's favorite attraction.  He loved the 4D movie, the LARGE playplace (there's a funny story about that I don't want to put on the internet--ask me :) but he LOVED building Lego cars and racing them down the various ramps.  The pic is priceless of him trying to get his car "just right."  After LegoLand we went to a random-but good-Mexican place then headed to check-in at the Great Wolf Lodge.

We took P to the Great Wolf when he was 23 months old, and he was too young.  NOT ANYMORE!  We bought the Paw Pass for him--a GREAT DEAL--and he did everything there was to do.  He was not officially tall enough to ride the big slides, he had a red band if you are familiar, so we just took it off and took him to the top and they let him go down as much as he wanted...with Jeff or me OF COURSE.  He had no fear, wanted to do it over and over...until he got tired and just needed a break.  After we had lunch at the waterpark, we noticed they had opened up the outside and Mommy wanted sun on her legs so I was quite pleased :)  It was quite pleasant and I talked P in to a rest right by the pool...

After his nap it was really warm and he played for three hours straight in the outside pool.  We went down the big outside slides a couple of times, but mostly he just played and worked the crowd.  (If you know P you can imagine this scenario....)

We all cleaned up for dinner and went to a very nice Italian place near where we were staying--white tablecloths and all.  We really preached to P about it being nice and he needed to be well behaved and he was a PRINCE.  Granted, we didn't order him food--he ate the foccacia they brought as appetizer--but he did great and Mommy and Daddy got to enjoy a delicious meal :)

When we got back to Great Wolf we started the MagicQuest.  I was so impressed how P had been watching the big kids do the MagicQuest and although he needed LOTS of help (it is HARD y'all!) he knew what he was doing for the most part.  It was all fun and games until somebody upchucked in the "hidden stairwell" and I was DONE!  Luckily, it was storytime so we did that and got our picture with Wally the Wolf...and went to BED.  (As you can see the bunk beds were a HIT!  I was the cutest little thing they even had a tv just for the kiddos...can't wait for John Cole to be fighting P for top bunk :)

This morning, after a chocolate donut breakfast for P, he and Daddy went to the waterpark for an hour or so and I worked out and got dressed.  Then, the boys got cleaned up and we headed to the SeaLife Aquarium.  It was just ok.  Preston ran through it in 30 minutes...not worth the admission price that's for sure...but maybe he got something out of it.  He did get to touch some live snails and starfish which was pretty cool.  After that we took him to lunch at RainForest and headed home.  He was asleep BEFORE we got to Terrell.

We just had THE BEST TIME.  We really enjoyed our big boy--at one point we were all in stiches as we were listening to KidsPlaceLive to a song called "Don't Fill Up On Chips" and we were trying to come up with kids song ideas on our own. Mine was "Don't Touch the Bottom of Your Shoes" and Dad's was "You Can't Sleep With Mommy and Daddy" and Preston's was "Don't Eat the Grass!"  Too much fun.  This may not sound very funny but it really was:)

Hope you all had a great weekend.  On a very somber note, please say a prayer for Cullen Clark as he lost his mother in a car wreck Saturday morning and his Dad is in the hospital (expected to make a full recovery.)  And for those who don't know Cullen's wife, Katie, in addition to being about 36 weeks pregnant has also previously lost both her Mom and only Brother.  WAY too much for one family to bear.  Please say a prayer--THANKS!

**add on**
We were excited our friends Ally and Charlie were at the Great Wolf Friday night!  We had breakfast with them and played a little Saturday before they had to check out because there wasn't a room big enough for their crew Saturday night.  So much fun for them to get to play!

Spring Game!

It was a short outing, as taste of our new life with two kiddos, but it was a fun time today at the Tech Spring Game! LTAC provided lunch at the pavillion before the "kickoff" so we met up with all of our family for a bite then headed over to see how the Dawgs are looking this year. John Cole had to sit under an umbrella because even in the clouds I was afraid he would get a sunburn. Preston, of course, checked out the jumpy, spent a little time in the stands with Miss Paige and also enjoyed hanging out with his Nana and K-K. The team looks good, the Senior quarterback looks great and we are excited about what could be an epic season. How 'Bout Them DAWGS?

Easter Sunday

Happy Easter everyone! Please excuse my pictures being in backwards chronological order. I am having a rare moment of slight laziness and indifference and I don't feel like redoing them :)

We had a wonderful HOLY day! Of course, the Easter Bunny came to the Parkers this morning. P's big gift was a balance bike, which he is not wanting to ride, and JC got diapers and sippy cups....but P was so pumped he had come and I LOVE to see how excited he gets over his goodies.

Next, we all got dressed and headed to Winnfield to worship. It was a nice service, and both boys sat through like champs. Preston was just a waving to his Nana in the choir loft and I think that pretty much made her day :)

Then, after a yummy lunch, we visited for a good long while then headed outside to play. We were having a great time--P got to hunt EVEN MORE eggs--until one minor mishap occured. Trying to keep P from having a trike wreck, Pop got tripped up on the trike and fell and hurt his knee. He says he is fine but I'm definitely going to be praying for him--it made a knot SUPER fast....

We are all home and calling it a night. Thanks Nana for the wonderful lunch--and K-K for the delish carrot cake--and I hope you all had a great Easter!

Egg Hunting

We have done some Easter egg hunting this year, that I can say! Yesterday, I took the boys out to the Neal's for the Temple egg hunt and it was a blast. I didn't get any pics because I did not have an extra hand, but it was fun and I was thankful for the generous invite :)

Today, Jeff joined us out at Squire Creek for their big event and it was a great time! Preston and John Cole both enjoyed themselves and were excited to see their friends. I was super proud of Preston when he shared some of his eggs with a little man who was just toddling. He may be a little wound up but my sweet P has a really big heart :)

Hope you are having a good Easter weekend! I am happy to report that after a nights sleep, Levaquin and Prednisone, I seem to finally be getting over my sinus infection. I got said sinus infection all the while taking an antihistamine, Singulair AND using a steroid nasal spray?!!? What gives? If you do not suffer from chronic sinus symptoms, consider yourself lucky. Now since Daddy is at the golf course I'm going to join the little boys in a nap....more Easter to come....

Not quite ready....

Yesterday afternoon, while Preston was eating his supper John Cole was on his blanket watching him and seemed VERY interested in his eating. So, I got John Cole's brand new booster seat (thanks K-K and Kevin!) out of the box, set it up and made up some single grain barley cereal. Well, let's just say John Cole is not quite ready to eat with a spoon......we shall try again next week.....

John Cole's Baptism

I had my tears early this morning while I was dressing John Cole, so I will try to hold them back as I type this blog post. Today was such a very special day as we, along with our family members, dedicated John Cole's life to the Lord. We promised to raise him in the knowledge and admonition of God, until he can come to his own decision to be a fully confirmed follower of Christ one day. He did just great--wasn't to sure about the handbells OR the water on his head--but luckily there wasn't a single other baby in the nursery so I didn't feel one bit worried about putting him in there after we were done :)

After the service, we came back to our house for lunch. Monjuni's and Nana did a great job on that (THANKS NANA!) and we enjoyed spending time together.

Thank you for coming, everyone, because I won't ever forget this most special day!

**late edition to post**

Preston informed me a few minutes ago he "bemembers" getting "appetized" because he "is smart and knows everything." Silly boy!