Catching a big one...

Fishing has been a bone of contention with my boys for many, many years. The problem? They've never caught one. The bigger problem? Natalie catches one every time she sticks her pole in the water...literally. Labor Day 2011 started out to be a repeat of years past...except the boys were VERY determined to break the cycle.

In keeping with tradition, Natalie posing with the first catch of the day.

Yes! About 10 minutes later, Carter emerged victorious!

SUCCESS! About 20 minutes later (and we were starting to sweat it!),

Alex caught the final and fattest fish of the day.

Natalie still holds the record, but the boys are on the board!

WPS!

It's time for Razorback football! Seems like we've been

counting down to this day FOREVER...

Birthday X 2

We went to the lake this weekend to celebrate Labor Day. We had a dual birthday party to celebrate Papa and Carter's birthdays (September 3rd and 12th). I'd like to give a shout out to the Highland Town and Country for creating what can only be described as the ugliest birthday cake ever...we also have to give them full credit for the laughs that accompanied it. Camo and yellow icing? Really? Mimi requested "no flowers" because "it's for two guys." Apparently, "no flowers" translates to "add some camo to make it extra manly!" Nonetheless, it tasted pretty darn good!

Mimi and Natalie did some sidewalk chalk to welcome Carter back from a boat ride.

Feel free to zoom in on that cake!

I wonder if Papa is wishing for a real light saber, too?

Gassy Gus from Uncle Chris and Aunt Wendy. This game will require a

video attachment to do it justice. Gross!

That is the face of pure joy! I honestly thought we had every Star Wars

ship known to man, but Mimi and Papa managed to pull out another one!

Let's Dance...

Alex had his first middle school dance on August 19th. There was a big debate among his friends on whether or not "they" would go. It was only the first week of school and no one was too comfortable mixing with the 7th and 8th graders. After waffling for days and saying, "I'm waiting to see what Jackson or Wyatt is doing," we told him that they were probably waiting on him and someone had to be the first to make a decision. I was very proud of him when he stepped up and said, "I guess I'll go." That's about as definitive as it gets for an 11 year old boy.

I'm happy to report that he had a wonderful time. He even danced...in a group. That totally counts!

Striking the cool pose before picking up his friends.

He was pumped about wearing his custom Converse shoes...compliments of Mimi and Papa.

This further proves my theory about boys and their shoes...

2nd Day of the 2nd Week

Before school even started, Russ and I were placing bets on which of our little darlings would be the first to get sick. I suppose I "won" by putting my money on Carter, although I certainly didn't suspect it would be so early in the year...2nd day of the 2nd week. Ugh!

Russ is coaching Alex's football team so we are doing a ton of dividing and conquering with the boys. On this particular day, I worked until 4:30. Russ was trying to wait on me to get home so he could leave for practice with Alex. I got stuck in traffic so he was literally waiting on me in the driveway. As I'm heading in the house, he shouts, "Carter doesn't seem to be 100%. He's been kind of low key since he got home from school." This is what I found when I walked into the house...



Not 100%? He had 102 temp and fell asleep 5 minutes after I walked in the door. Bless his heart! I told Russ the next time Carter claims to be "freezing" in 100 heat to stick a thermometer in his mouth. In his defense, he tried...he got him the pillow and blanket!

Side note: It was totally viral. He stayed home the next day and was rearing to go by Thursday!

The Wheels on the Bus...

My boys have been "car riders" since the dawn of time...or at least since the dawn of elementary school. I used to wake Carter up from his afternoon naps, so we could pick Alex up from school. Inconvenient? Most definitely, but well worth it...or so I believed. I have what some might describe as a bus phobia. Seriously. Every street smart morsel of information that I learned "before my time" was learned on the bus (or from my friend, Miki, but that's another story...).

However, this year I had to confront my phobia (please note that this is all about me...they are fine!) head on. The boys are at two different schools at opposite ends of the boulevard. I simply could not make pick-up without being late. Not to mention that it would take me about an hour and 15 minutes for the round trip. Crazy! I thought about letting Alex ride and continuing to pick Carter up for the remainder of elementary school, but he WANTED to ride the bus. Several of his buddies are on there. And let's be honest, he will probably be the one doing most of the corrupting...

This is a shot of Alex getting off the bus on his first day. Don't worry, we shot it from our garage with the telephoto lense. I highly recommend purchasing one for stalking your tweenager!

Please note the absence of Carter's "first ride" picture. It's missing because the bus driver rolled right through his bus stop (while I was waiting in the yard ready to snap a picture!) without letting my baby off. If only there was video of the panic that ensued. I was a true caricature of a hysterical mom. I got in the car to hunt down the bus while Russ started making phone calls to try to locate him (probably the more logical approach). Twenty minutes later the bus rolls back around and Carter hops off with a huge grin on his face. He was oblivious to the chaos! Turns out he was talking to one of his friends and didn't want to get off yet...claims he didn't hear his stop being called. He went on a little joyride around the lovely, scenic Maumelle. Give me strength! It took everything I had not to scream, "You scared me to death! I knew something like this would happen!" Instead, I just hugged him extra tight and told him he needed to pay more attention the next day. He did. The next day went off without a hitch...except I forgot my camera!

All We Care About...

Shoes. My boys only care about shoes. Tennis shoes. Ask them to shop for anything else and they will say "can you just bring it home and let me try it on?" But shoes are an entirely different story. They are important. I tell myself that it's because they have to wear uniforms which makes the "free choice" of shoes all the more important. I suspect I'm wrong. They don't really care to pick out their weekend clothes and last time I checked those weren't restricted. These are the winners for the 2011-2012 school year. Carter is on the left and Alex on the right. You probably couldn't tell the difference because they are EXACTLY the same size. My 6th grader and my 2nd grader are both wearing a size 6. Geez!