I know

I know, it's been awhile. I wish I could say that I have an excuse other than being too busy. But, it is what it is.

First, my sister-in-law, Becky, threw my brother a surprise birthday party for his 30th. We had a great time. But the best is when the 3 cousins - Tristan, Caleb, and Gideon - discovered the photo booth and how to start it and take pictures. They went in there and produced somewhere around 40 strips of pictures. Seriously! I took pictures of some of the strips with my phone but my favorite is the first one where Tristan hits Caleb in the head, Caleb has to pose for the camera with him touching his head, and then for the last picture they crack up. Totally my kids.

Second, me and Tristan went to Kentucky to visit for 4th of July. We had the best time. Morgan's only child, Hunter, and Tristan became best buds. Then Jake watched the kids while me, Morgan, and our friend, Jessica (nicknamed Hips because of the magic she can produce with those things) went out on the town and had the best time. It really was the best time. Now, the 15 hour drive back was not the best but I had a great time with Tristan. He was just old enough to actually appreciate Mommy and Tristan time but not quite old enough for the road trip. He asked "Are we there yet?" at least 487 times. I threatened spankings after that.

  On a side note, we decided to get a rental car because Vincent didn't want the wear and tear on my Lexus and I would sooooooo recommend it. I was gone from Tuesday night till Monday morning and the rental car cost was $117 from Hotwire. Hotwire has the best deals on rental cars.

 

During our trip there we took this pic for Hunter

 

 

Then, next week I go on another road trip. My brother, David, and I are driving to Georgia to visit my grandfather for an extended weekend trip. We got a rental car from Hotwire too and for 4 days, it's only $65. Told ya! The trip was kinda random but we thought my grandpa would enjoy a visit and we wanted another break. For me, work begins 4th quarter in about 1 1/2 months so I'm about to get real busy. I try to squeeze in as many hours as I can before I have to work 50-60 hours per week. Booooooooo.

Summertime

So a couple weeks ago we had our annual Masdon family reunion at my aunt's house in Dallas. My grandpa flew in and we had a swim party with BBQ. It was so much fun. We got float vests on the way over there from Wal-Mart and bought the last 2. Of course, Caleb got a purple one - poor boy. But the vest helped Tristan because he was not afraid of the water at all. He was so proud of himself. He was paddling and putting his head under water. I was so proud. Last summer he was terrified of the water and if anyone let him go, he would flip. Total 180 this year. He now wants to go to the pool every weekend.

He also turned 4 on June 11. It actually makes me super sad to know that he'll be in Kindergarten next year. I can't believe it. I really do feel like I was just taking him home from the hospital not too long ago. On his birthday I wrote my thoughts about it on Facebook and I'll put it here for those of you not on Facebook (ahem, ahem).

4 years ago today, Vincent and I became parents for the first time. Tristan is the best 1st child. He is an amazing big brother. Brayden will never hurt himself because of Tristan. He makes all of us laugh all the time, even when we thought... we were supposed to be angry. He is so smart. Sometimes, I think my iPad already really belongs to him. His memory amazes me, even though, honestly sometimes I wish it wouldn’t. And I didn’t even know that a child could have such compassion but we have stopped to pick up dogs on the side of the road more times than I can count. It’s amazing that in the four years since he came into the world what a little man he has become. I wish I could stop him from growing but I am so happy for who he will become. Happy 4th Birthday to my sweet Tristan!

He had this birthday party this last weekend at JumpMania. He loved it. It's this place with inflatable everything - slides, bounce houses, Velcro wall. He had a blast. His party was Ninja Turtles theme. I got him a Donatello t-shirt and he was in heaven. Then he opened his presents and he got some great ones. He was exhausted when he came home but insisted on sleeping with his ninja turtles. So I had to get them out of the packages and he took them up to bed with him. He's so silly. Of course, Grandma got him a LeapPad 2 and he's in love with the fact that he has his own type of iPad. He's been asking me if I can download more games, like he doesn't have enough already.

Here's some pics from the pool party:

 

 

 And the shirt picture from Tristan's 4th birthday party:

And this is a real picture, taken at night. Caleb was really sleeping under that sheet. He untucked the fitted sheet and crawled in. Maybe I should have lifted up the sheet and got a picture of his sleeping face? I just don't understand. How does he do this?

 

 

 

Ugh

So we’re back from our trip. Needless to say, it was quite the adventure. First, while driving there we got pulled over twice. No tickets, thank goodness but it did scare us a bit. Second, we were in Oklahoma when the tornadoes hit. All we had was really bad rain. But our electricity did go out in our cabin for like 15 hours. It was kinda annoying just because the kids got restless and wanted to be entertained. My dad and Vincent went to the store and got a ton of candles, battery operated high beam lights and some toys for the kids. So that seemed to work. We were lucky they came on when they did because we had just gone to the store to get ice to save the food. But all food was saved. The last day we were there we rented a boat and went out on it. Kinda sucked for the babies because they wanted to nap and there was no great place for them to nap. But the other kids had a blast! Tristan and Gideon even went tubing - at a very slow speed, of course! Then we packed up and drove our caravan back home. On the way back Caleb threw up all over the backseat. I mean, everywhere. Pretty sure because of all the junk food they had when riding with their grandparents’ halfway back. We just pulled over and wiped everything down right then and there. It was pretty gross. But the trip itself was fun and relaxing.  I don’t have all the pictures from the trip so here are a few.

 

 

 

 

Then on Memorial Day the boys begged for us to let them go swimming. And by swimming I mean, get out the baby pool, blow it up, put in the yard and let them play. It was cloudy but still kinda warm so we decided to let them.

 

 

 



 

And what would life be if we didn't have Caleb sleeping pictures? That boy cracks me up.

 

 



 

Countdown to VACA!

So on Mother's Day my longtime friend of 19 years, Ryan and his wife, Katie, had their first baby, Matheson. He was due on Father's Day but decided to come on Mother's Day. I was so excited for him and we went to visit him on Sunday. Since Sunday they put Matheson in NICU as a precaution but he seems to be doing well now. Congrats to Ryan and Katie!

And the other important thing....vacation next week! I am so excited and I totally need the break from work! Our family with my brother David and his family, my sister Naomi, and my mom and dad are all going to Broken Bow, OK to stay in a cabin together and hang out. I know, I know...Oklahoma, right? Well first of all with how young our kids are we didn't want to drive far. Second, we didn't want to fly. And we found some great cabins. Super nice. My parents are actually staying in a different cabin than us but our cabin is huge as it is. Below are some pics. I can't wait. I'm a little scared about packing because this is the first time I've actually had to pack for the whole family. A little overwhelming. But knowing the cabin comes fully stocked is nice. We just need to bring food and toys. We are doing a lot while there too - fishing, renting boats, going for a train ride, going to a winery (minus kids). Hopefully we all have a great time and we don't kill each other. I might need a vaca from my vaca when I get back.  :)

It's about that time....

So since we had our 3rd and final child, Brayden, and I had my tubes tied so that there will be no more children, I am now ready to crack down on my weight loss. I tried to do a weight loss competition at work. No go. Didn't work. No motivation whatsoever. But then I was thinking after the contest ended "what would really make me lose weight?" And the answer is to see my amazing Morgs and all my other sorority sisters in KY! Really, just to see everyone - guy friends included as well - and of course, Jake ;) I need a break from my normal life and visit my old friends. So I told myself that if I lost the weight that I want to lose then I will reward myself with a trip by myself to KY in either late June, July, or August. I'm watching for cheap tickets but I'm also busting my ass. I have been working out 3 times a week for an hour each time. I really, really, really want to stick to it. So, keep me motivated to go to KY!

Also, here is another picture of Caleb sleeping after 3 hours + of playing with Tristan. I really do want to know how he falls asleep like this. It's awesome.