{San Antonio in May}

We took a quick trip to San Antonio with some dear friends this past weekend. This was the same place that we stayed last year and we loved it all the same!  We were able to get a two bedroom and so we could share the den and kitchen so we had lots of togetherness.  It was so fun!

This picture was taken right after I fell down stairs on my knees and bloodied them up in front of probably 75 people. Ben's legs are hiding my wounds luckily. I am impressed that we got everyone looking at the camera -- however the boys don't look too happy. Ha! I think they were mad that we made them stop moving for two minutes to take a picture. They actually had a ball and played so hard!

The three amigos!

Ben and his s'mores.  Enough said.

Yep, that is chocolate in between his eyebrows.

They loved holding hands everywhere we went.

Luke wanted me to cover his legs with sand. He loved every minute of this!

Awkward brother picture :).  The best!

And this sums up Ben in one picture. Well, this picture plus tantrums.

What a fun trip! I feel so lucky to have such great friends who enjoy the same things we do! Unlike last year, this is really one of the only trips we are taking other than going down to my family's bay house. So this was a real treat!  But it is always nice to be back in our own beds :).

{Life Lately...Trying To Play Catch Up}

The last month has flown by! As much as I want to remember the details of the last month, I literally cannot without the pictures I snap on my phone. I am so glad that I try to take a few each week so I have some knowledge of what goes on in our crazy life. So in chronological order, this is what happened (or at least some of the things that have happened) over the past few weeks...

1. Both boy asleep in the car. This never happens anymore!  I enjoyed the five minutes of quiet. Ahhhhh....

2. Our babysitter apparently showed them how to do 'silly' faces because I get this A LOT when I try to take a picture.

3. Back in April, we went to a family BBQ for Chat's MBA program. They had a bounce house, balloon artists and face painting. My boys decided to go for sharks! Luke could not stop looking at himself so I decided to take a picture so he could just stare at the picture. Good thing because he smudged it 3 minutes after this picture and a major meltdown ensued. But luckily we had to picture to remember it by!

4. I took the boys to the zoo one more time before it got sweltering hot. I love when the orangutans come right up to the window. I feel like I love the zoo just as much as the boys do...maybe more!

Of course we had to ride the carousel -- Luke's favorite thing to do at the zoo.  I love to see what animal he picks out every time. This time was the zebra!  Good thing because it was right next to the benches...

...where Ben sits every time. He isn't up to riding on the big animals yet. Meaning he freaks. So we sit on the bench and it is the perfect opportunity for a selfie!

We then had lunch since the boys were starting to get whiny. I didn't really pack anything and all the restaurants were overrun by field trips, so these boys got to pick out a juice and a bag of chips. They were in HEAVEN!  Doritos and capri suns?? What is not to love?! Oh and I always match them in shirts when we got to the zoo so I am always just looking for one color in the crowds of kids. It gets so busy with so many children, I want to instantly find them in a crowd. Matching shirts help so much.

Before we left, we of course had to ride the train. Luke and Ben wanted to ride together and I sat right behind them. I love when they are getting along and being sweet brothers!

5. Wrestling. It happens a lot in our house!  And I think this is just the beginning. Ben is usually the instigator (ahem and that maybe his nickname!). I usually end up feeling sorry for Luke and have to pry Ben off of him.

Ben just loves him to pieces...

And this is typically what pictures are like these days. Ben still likes taking them and will smile and say cheese and Luke just covers his face. He is so over them.

6. On Fridays, Luke is in school and Ben and I have the morning together. We go to his Little Gym class right after Luke's drop off and then usually run errands or go to a park. This particular day, I needed to go to the grocery store and someone was not having it. Nothing a little (or big) donut can't fix!

7. Bath time is full of shenanigans these days! They love for me to help them take their shirts off but stop short. I call them my flying nuns!

8. Sadly tee ball is over, but I got a few more pictures at our last practice. Luke loved baseball and is so sad it is over. One Saturday several weeks ago, he woke up in the morning and ran into our room (we were still sleeping) and yells, "Daddy!! Today is baseball day!!" It made Chat's year! No prompting, just pure love of the game at such a young age. I secretly hope it sticks.

9. Ben became harder and harder to deal with at tee ball practice because all he wanted to do was be on the field with the boys or be using all their gear. I took a bat to the shin the other week and I still have the bruise.

I told Ben to give me his 'baseball face'.  Ha!

10. In early May we went to our friend's Cinco de Mayo/Kentucky Derby party. We get a family picture like once a year, so I am so happy we got this one. We all look pretty decent!  Love all my boys in pink :).

 11. Several nights a week we go on a family walk. It is one of my most favorite times of the day. We bring the dogs and head out after dinner. For some reason Luke hopped up on this fire hydrant and got stuck. And of course I take a picture!

12.  Luke photobombed the picture I tried to take on Ben.

13. Luke is still in swim lessons once a week. I wasn't sure if it was paying off, but we went swimming for the first time this past weekend and I can definitely tell Luke is improving. And then there is Ben who I have to occupy during his swim lessons.  He is such a nut!

14. More wrestling...

15. Not sure why this selfie was taken, but here it is!

16. Soccer season is coming to a close. Due to the heat, we won't be in soccer this summer and will pick it up next fall once the temperatures fall. Ben and Stella decided to get sticker happy one day while waiting on the big boys. I swear Ben is going to have tattoos when he gets older. If he isn't stickering himself, he is drawing all over it with markers.

17. My friend Tori from college came in town from Wyoming and so a few friends and I got to meet her new baby girl Lexi. It is so funny that even a night a way from your own kids still feels like a night out even if you are holding another baby. She was precious!

Okay, officially caught up with iphone pictures!  The boys last day of school was Monday so we are on our own for a few weeks before summer school starts up. Chat leaves for Europe for is EMBA program on Friday for 10 days. We are going to miss him so much!

{Dinosaurs!}

My big Benny boy is obsessed with dinosaurs! It is so fun to have a son who likes something more than trains and experience something so new. I love trains, but after 2.5 years of only that, I needed a change. And Ben is such a different character than Luke, I should have known he would enjoy lots of new things!

A few weeks back I was bringing the boys to ride the train at the zoo, but when we got there, it was a parking nightmare. I couldn't find a spot anywhere -- not even blocks away (I was willing to walk far to keep the boys happy and occupied for a morning with nothing on our agenda). But sadly everyone in Houston apparently had the same idea. So I told two disappointed little boys that we couldn't go for a train ride as I drove by the Museum of Natural Science. Ben had been when he was a baby....waaaaaaaay before his obsession started. So we changed plans and the three of us spent a morning among the fossils. And Ben loved it!  

Luke really enjoyed it too!  Although lots of my time was literally chasing them around and trying to keep them from climbing on all the exhibits. Man do they have a lot of energy! 

And of course, we had a lot of silliness...

All in all a very successful trip! Ben is even more obsessed than ever with dinosaurs and pretty much insists on dinosaur pajamas every night and a dinosaur t-shirt every day. I do TONS of laundry just to keep up with his obsession. People must wonder if I have any other clothes for him...which I do...but I don't have the energy to deal with the tantrums that follow if I tell him he has to wear something else. So I pick my battles and dinosaurs it is! So I pretty much have to wash the same shirts and pajamas every night. He got to pick out a new T-Rex shirt before we headed home and has worn it no less than four times a week since. The boy knows what he likes!