Trick-or-Treating

We took the boys downtown for the trick-or-treating and other fun things they had going on.  The boys had a lot of fun and I thought I'd share some pictures!

Jacob and the boys ready to go trick-or-treating

These are only a few of the people handing out candy--there were some odd costumes and some really cool costumes.  The boys had a lot of fun! 

Part of the massive crowd that was downtown

The clown inflatable in front of the Doll House store.  This store was a little creepy because it has so many dolls inside and they just stare at you from behind the glass as you walk by--and there were so many people there that you couldn't walk by very fast!  LOL

This bear will forever be known in the Astley house as the "fist bump bear."  He was really cool and gave the boys fist bumps as we walked by.  The boys got the biggest kick out of that--Logan had asked me before we reached the bear (who was handing out candy) if he was a good bear or a bad bear.  The fist bump sealed the deal!

Getting candy from Snow White!

Thing 1 and Thing 2--Thing 2 gave the boys some really cool trading cards

We were walking across the street when the boys got excited and started saying, "Look!  A ghost buster!"  This man was walking in front of us dressed as a Ghost Buster--this costume and the man dressed as Mario from Super Mario Bros. were the costumes the boys got most excited about. 

We got to talk to this nice police officer as he gave the boys candy.  He asked the boys if they wanted to join the force and help get the bad guys since they were Wolverine and Optimus Prime.  Alex just laughed and Logan nodded.  Later Logan said he really liked the police officer and thought it was cool that he gave him candy and him to help fight the bad guys.

The boys stayed really close together--Jacob and I were glad because there were A LOT of people all around us!

Jacob and the boys in front of the fire truck.  The boys thought this was pretty cool! 

We had a good time and grabbed dinner on the way home.  It was crowded but it was fun seeing how much fun the boys were having. 


Happy Halloween!  ;op

Our Adventure in Story Book Forest

Every year for one week during Halloween Arcadia Lake is flooded by hoards or parents and little super heroes, princesses, and other characters.  This week was the week of Story Book Forest.  A couple of years ago Logan was sick so Jacob stayed home with him and Alex and I went with another mom and her son to Story Book Forest.  Alex loved it.  It was a little crowded, but not too bad.  It was fun and totally worth it.  We didn't make it to Story Book Forest last year so this year we were determined to take the boys.  We knew they'd love it!  We thought we were being clever by going on a Wednesday evening--we thought it wouldn't be as crowded as it would on a Friday or Saturday. Either we were completely wrong or there will be so many people there on Friday and Saturday evening that you won't be able to walk because of all the people.

Jacob got home from work and I had our beef stir fry waiting.  We ate dinner--possibly a little too fast--helped the boys with their costumes and shoes, grabbed their McDonald's Happy Meal Halloween buckets and we were out the door.  We took Jacob's car because the boys rarely get to ride in it and it is a big deal to them when we take Jacob's car.  We were driving down the road when we come over a hill and saw a LONG line of cars.  We waited in line for quite a while.  The boys talked about how excited they were and pointed out horses, cattle, and spider webs in the trees on the side of the road as we slowly crept towards our destination.

We eventually made it to the gate of the lake and gave the woman in the "box" our money.  With our tickets in hand we drove on to find a place to park.  Car after car after car was all you could see.  Men in orange jackets with flash lights were directing people into make-shift parking spaces in the grass.  We parked, got out, and put the boys masks on--then, we were off.  We walked towards the Forest gates and ended up standing in another long line.  The boys enjoyed looking at all the other costumes.  The line seemed to move fairly quickly at first and then, as we approached the gate to Story Book Forest they shut the doors.  Logan looked up at me through his Optimus Prime mask and said, "Why'd they close the doors, momma?  Are they going to let us in?"  I explained that they are probably letting us in as groups so it doesn't get too crowded on the trail. He passed the time by talking about the blue, red, and yellow lights that were glowing above us.

Eventually the doors were opened and a couple of kids cheered.  We gave our tickets to woman holding a box and then walked through the gates.  We ended up behind a young couple who had a little boy dressed as Iron Man.  They seemed really nice and the dad and Jacob chatted a bit as we waited in line.  The people behind us were a different story--they crowded us and argued with each other.  They had a little girl who was maybe two who kept getting away from them and we constantly heard, "Jordan! Get back here! Jordan!"  It got old fairly quickly.  Logan, who was holding my hand, would look up at me through his mask every so often and say, "Momma, this is so fun.  I'm glad we came."  That made the entire experience, good or bad, totally worth it!

Logan would walk with his head tilted back and we kept asking if he could see. He kept saying, "Yes," but eventually admitted that he couldn't see but he didn't want to take his mask off.  Jacob ended up carrying his mask through the second half of the trail so he could see not only where he was going but also all of the characters, etc. on the trail. 

The boys had a blast walking down the trail, seeing all of the story book characters, and getting candy.  One stop on the trail was Sleeping Beauty. It was a mannequin laying in a bed and Logan asked who she was.  I said, "She is Sleeping Beauty waiting for a Prince to come kiss her and wake her up."  Logan said nothing but looked up at me.  I said, "Would you want to go give her a kiss and see if she wakes up?"  He walked over to her and stopped and said, "Mom!  She's not real!  She's a doll."  We went over to the woman handing out candy and after he got his candy Logan looked up at me again and said, "Mom, if that was Sleeping Beauty why where here eyes open?"  It's funny what they notice!

We eventually walked under the big black cat which was the end of the trail and headed to the car.  The boys talked about all the story book characters they saw and which ones were their favorites.  They had a blast and that is the reason we went.

Here are some pictures of the boys' adventures there!

Alex and Logan waiting patiently in the car as we waited in line and slowly made our way to Arcadia Lake

Finally there and waiting in line again--the boys didn't mind the waiting as much as Jacob and I did-HA!

The gates to Story Book Forest

Rapunzel dropping candy to Alex, Logan, and Jordan--the little girl behind us who kept getting away from her parents.  Let me just say that you CAN hold your child's hand.  It IS that easy! LOL

Getting candy from the little old lady who lives in a shoe

The boys with the giant spider

Humpty Dumpty--Logan was bothered because he didn't have arms.  He said, "Mommy, maybe if he had arms he wouldn't fall!"

Logan trying to pull the sword out of the stone

Alex trying--they didn't want to give up their candy and use both hands so they tried to pull it out with only one hand

Alex and Logan with one of the three little pigs

Looking inside the gingerbread house

Boys' Fall Parties!

Alex and his class during his fall party.  He is sitting with one of his little buddies, Ryan (across from him).  They had cookies, fruit, cheese, pop corn and juice boxes -- it was a lot of fun!  They each got a goody bag in their back packs as well.

Alex sitting with his class waiting for the end of the school day -- don't they all look excited?

Logan and Tristin playing at Alex's party

 Alex playing with his friends after the party while the mothers helped clean up.

Logan at his Pre-K fall party -- they had really cool cupcakes, spiders made out of crackers, pretzels and raisins, cookies, cheese and pop corn.  Logan spent most of his time talking about his food and his party and didn't get to eat much of it.

Logan ready for story time! His teacher picked a special Halloween book for the fall party -- the parents at the party got to sit in on story time, too.  It was fun! 

Logan singing and dancing with his classmates and teacher. They sang a Halloween song about a pumpkin and then sang a song about a teddy bear which required the children to spin, which Logan loved!

It was a fun day!

Fishing and Other Fun Things

October is always busy for us.  There is always something going on. This past weekend was filled with birthday parties (my brother's surprise 30th party and Alex's friend, Tristin's, 6th birthday party), fishing, and of course, we took the boys to the baseball "field" near our home and we played for a little bit.  Alex loves baseball.  He has been watching the Texas Rangers play in hopes of making it to the World Series.  He loves watching the batters and the pitchers.  The other night he sat with Jacob and watched the game while wearing his batting helmet and glove and holding his baseball.  It was adorable! The boys have had a lot of fun and there is more to come with school parties, Halloween, and dressing up as book characters.  I wanted to share some pictures with you all from the past week or two.

Jacob and Alex watching the Texas Rangers game together

Logan wearing the crown his Bleu and Boompa sent him in the mail.  He loves it!

Alex talking into the fridge recorder Blue and Boompa sent.  He plays with this every day.  It asks questions and sings songs and the child answers the question and hits the play button and it plays back what the child said.  They have a lot of fun with this!

Alex and Logan playing baseball at the park

The boys fishing at the Kids Fishing Pond in Hafer Park.  They had a blast!!

The boys caught three fish while we were there -- here are the three fish they caught.  They were so excited!

The boys enjoying chips, salsa, and queso at Buffalo Wild Wings for my brother's birthday party.  We put the salsa at the other end of the table because we thought the boys would enjoy the cheese dip more.  Alex tasted the salsa and loved it.  He kept wanting to dip his chip in so we kept having to hold the salsa up so he could eat some of it. 

We have enjoyed October so far and wanted to share some pictures.  We have Kindergarten Story Book Character Dress Up day tomorrow, along with the boys' class parties.  We have Story Book Forest next week and trick-or-treating for Halloween, as well as a gathering with their cousins where costumes will be worn!  October is always busy but always fun.  I hope you enjoy the pictures! More to come soon . . .

My Awesome Boys!

My mother gave me a framed picture she found when she was cleaning out my grandmother's house a while back.  It is a picture of Jacob and me before we got married.  It is now sitting on the nightstand beside my bed.  Last night Jacob and I were watching the end of a football game before bed and I glanced over and saw the picture.  Our younger and thinner faces smiled up at me from the frame.  Sometimes I look at our engagement pictures or our wedding photos and I can't believe how much we have changed in the last 8-10 years. We are now in our 30s and no longer the young "twenty-somethings" we once were. In the beginning (of us) it was about us.  We went out every Friday and Saturday night, we would go shopping on the weekends and spend money on movies, music, clothes -- pretty much anything we wanted we could buy.  Then, one day in 2004 I started feeling overly tired.  For the first few days I thought maybe I was dehydrated or coming down with something.  I had a horrible taste in my mouth and felt like I was going to be ill if I didn't eat every couple of hours or so.  Ha. We eventually learned that I was pregnant.

And, as they say, our lives were never the same.  Yes, I am about to brag about my boys -- but what mother doesn't feel the need to brag about their children -- especially when they have to overcome obstacles each and every day -- or they want to make the whole world happy (as Logan says).

I lost my young, thin, 20-something figure and the focus was no longer about us. Time flew and eventually Alex joined our family -- and changed us for life.  I remember how tiny he was.  When he would wake up at 2:00 in the morning Jacob would get up with me and turn on the TV.  He'd keep me company while I fed Alex or rocked him -- some nights he would even rock Alex. We would ask each other how we ever lived without this amazing little person in our lives!  When Alex was about 7 months old I found out I was pregnant with Logan.  I remember worrying about Jacob's reaction as I watched Alex laying on a blanket on the floor slobbering on his baby toys.  Jacob came home from work that day and I told him I was pregnant.  I wondered if he was going to feel stressed, overwhelmed, or even shocked that we had an infant and now had another one on the way.  Jacob smiled and said, "That's great!  I love babies!"

Eventually, our little family grew to four. Now when we go shopping it's usually for new shoes or clothes for the boys.  When I buy groceries I have to make sure we have certain snacks for the boys.  I have learned that I love taking care of my family.  I love helping the boys with homework and taking them to school.  I love being able to go with Alex to all of his therapy sessions and talk with his therapists and work with them as a team to give Alex everything he needs.

Alex's schedule tends to keep us busy. He has therapy almost every day after school and we also have to work on some therapy and exercises with him at home -- not to mention the homework he brings home from school.  We bought some polyester athletic shirts for Alex because one of his therapists told us the feel of it will calm him on rough days.  She was right.  He loves the shirts and smiles and rubs them against his body on days that he wears them/needs them.  He takes a deep breath and gets a hug from mom and we're off to start our day.  Alex also has to wear hi-tops for ankle support. He is VERY picky about his shoes and we only found one pair of hi-tops he liked.  Well, when you wear the same pair of shoes all day, every day, they wear out quickly.  So, we decided he could use a second pair of hi-tops -- plus, having more than one pair would allow Alex to pick which pair he wants to wear and would help him with his decision making. We found these cool Spider-Man hi-tops and we knew we had to buy them.  Anyone who knows Alex knows he LOVES Spider-Man.  He was so excited when we bought the shoes for him. 

Alex wearing his "therapy" shirt and his new Spider-Man shoes.  He was a happy boy on this day! 

Yesterday, Logan told me one of the boys in his class was wearing hi-tops and he asked the boy if he had to wear them for his feet.  He said, "Momma, that boy didn't know what I was talking about."  I tried to explain to him that not all children have to wear hi-tops like Alex does and that some children just wear them because they want to wear them.  It is interesting that Logan is starting to notice all of these little things going on with his big brother. Alex has to do sit-ups to help with upper body strength and most days Logan will join him and say, "I'll do them with you, big brother, so you'll have a friend."  It's just sweet to see them interact that way. Even though I would love for them to stay little forever it is fun to watch the boys grow -- to watch their personalities grow and watch them succeed at things.  I love watching their faces light up when they finally do something they have been trying to do for a long time.  I love watching Alex overcome obstacles and even though he has to work twice as hard to do some things he never complains.  He keeps trying and he takes things as they come and I love that about him! 

Logan is always making me laugh.  He wants to know everything about everything and even when you think you've explained it as much as it can be explained, you still hear another little, "But why?"  He has a big heart and cares about everyone around him.  Jacob and I were given two amazing little boys and I am thankful for them each and every day. 

Logan playing flag football with Jacob -- he is my funny, happy boy!


I was given two awesome boys.  There are challenging days but at the end of the day everything seems to fall into place.  Some day, when these two, sweet-faced little boys are in college I will be able to look back on these days and smile because I am having a blast with my boys and I couldn't be prouder of them!