Welcome Travis!

I'm sorry I haven't updated in a couple days, my mom let me know I was dropping the ball! Well on Sunday we made the switch, Travis for Cameron in Centerville, Tx! It was crazy how crowded the roads were and the little Subway/Texas Burger we met at. I've lived in north Texas for over 10 years now and I have never seen traffic like that on the road before! Anyway, we had a great lunch and visited for awhile and then unloaded trunks and headed to our respective houses.

We made it home just before the big storm hit and I was glad we weren't driving in it! Monday was just a stay at home day, I cleaned and the boys just played all day. Travis started book one of Harry Potter, he is a voracious reader and I think he will really enjoy it! Today the boys suffered through my two hour hair appointment and watched in absolute horror as I had my eye brows waxed! They didn't understand why anyone would pay to have that done. I could have gone into the Luke birth story and what pain really is, but I don't think they are quite ready for that:) So after that it was lunch time and we headed to Chicken Reds(another favorite of Luke's). Now, Travis tried to play cool like he was much to old at the ripe age of 9 to enjoy an outside play park. After ten minutes outside he ran up and said,"E, I have to admit I'm having fun!" and so I was glad that they were able to enjoy themselves.

The boys had a good time running around hiding from each other. At one point I was looking away and I heard this horrific scream and I look up and it was Travis and he was all red faced, apparently his little cousin scared the what for out of him. It was really funny! After that we headed to Luke's swim lesson at Emler and Travis had a good time watching Luke swim.

Luke has been taking lessons since January and Matt and I are really impressed with the school. Luke has come a long way!

That's Luke plopping out of the slide at the end of his lesson. Travis told him how well he did, and that's a big compliment coming from Trav. We headed out to Hallmark to get Travis a Webkinz. He has watched Luke play his on the computer and was torn between the fact that he may be too old for one(his thought) and the fact that everyone he knows that has one is a girl! He went ahead and got one and is in love with Rex his bulldog. He dressed it like a gangster on the computer but I just told him yes it is cool! He is having a great time on Uncle Matt's laptop. He also got some Crocs that Granpa bought for him. Now we all have Crocs and Travis made fun of how ugly they were and he would never get any, but I knew he would come around. Sure enough he told me he wanted a pair and so he picked out chocolate brown, I told him I wouldn't spend Granpa's money on lime green ones! Well I have to get off before Luke kills me, Travis is on the laptop and Luke has given up all the Webkinz world time he can handle so I could update.....................Bye!

Our last Hoorah!

Well I'm a few days behind, but we have had an exciting couple of days! On Friday we woke up early and went "garage saling" the boys had a blast! They scored some bubble wrap(a family favorite), books, videos(like I need more of either of those) and some sodas to go! We ended up at a house of a retired teacher from Pantego, Luke recognized a Kinder teacher at the sale. So after some schmoozing we walked away with a lot of loot for $5!! A fun time was had by all. After that we were hungry, okay I was hungry and we headed off to Krispy Kreme for a little sugar buzz. The boys had fun watching the donuts go through the glaze, it is my dream to lay on that conveyor belt, mouth open and go under the sheet of glaze four or five times, I don't think my thighs would allow it though! Anyway it was a great morning!

Next we headed to McDonald's for lunch with Miss Dana, Camryn(girl) and Staysha. Then the boys got to go to Miss Dana's for an afternoon of fun!

Cameron was so excited to play on the car mat! They all became great buds and it is funny to watch the Cam's try to decipher which one is being called,corrected etc. Now Miss Dana is much braver than me, she actually tells the children she has PLAYDOH! I always use the old," Oh that playdoh was old and I had to throw it out!" So here is a look at Playdoh heaven!

We headed home for a late nap and hung out at home last night. This morning Matt had to work:( so the boys and I got up and headed to the theatre to see Transformers! It was a little more violent than I had anticipated but apparently I was the only one in our party scared! The boys LOVED it and had a great time eating popcorn at 10am. I had heartburn, I'm sure because I'm now 35 and rotting from the inside out! We had an afternoon of fun with Camryn(girl), her mom and sister tried to go see Harry Potter but the IMAX movie was messed up so they came back! The boys and I went to Putt Putt Golf to ride go carts this evening but they don't have go carts at the one by our house(of course they don't),so the boys played putt putt instead.


Here is Luke taking his mini golf so seriously. He really does want to take lessons, maybe next year.

Cameron has the amazing talent of NEVER picking up his club, he just kind of drags it along until the ball goes in. He had no interest in having his E help him with his technique either! I know everyone will be shocked but the boys TIED, so everyone was a winner.
We ended our visit with a trip to the game room where the boys racked up over 400 tickets, yeah for me! We picked out some stuff that I will throwing away tomorrow and left happy campers! It has been a great week and we have really enjoyed having Cam. Keeping up with this blog daily has been fun too! Stay tuned for week two of Camp Sebesta(Sally's label) where Travis will be our star! Here is a parting shot of the boys racing each other on motorcycles, hope that is not a omen of what is to come!

Splashin fun and Baseball fever

We had a full day yesterday packed with fun! We went to the water park by our house in the afternoon and then we finally made it to the Ft. Worth Cats game last night. Cameron thought the water was too cold so the boys played in the sprinkler park for a good part of our visit.

They did finally get in the pool and play too. It's not as fun as Nonna's pool where they can jump in and splash whenever they want, but they suffered through!

After the water park we headed to ballpark to watch our Cats get beat by the Aviators. We had a good time anyway, can't go wrong with nachos and snow cones!


The boys had a ball singing and dancing to all the music at the game and it was a beautiful, cool night we couldn't have asked for better weather. We ended the night with a run around the bases, Luke's favorite thing and now apparently a big favorite with his cousin! Don't worry Sal he didn't get to winded, wild horses could not have held him back from going anyway! They got to high five all the players as they left the field and they told them what a good job they did. All in all it was a great day and we were happy to crawl in bed last night!

Surprise Visitor

We had a surprise visit from NONNA yesterday! She was up in Dallas for business and stopped by for coffee and visit with her boys. Luke seemed a little more excited than Cam, but of course Cameron can see his Nonna anytime he wants. They had a great day yesterday we went to Luke's swim lesson, Cam was hoping they would let him slide at the end but it was not to be:( Then we went to McDonald's for a nutritious lunch and some playtime. We headed home for our special visitor and had some quiet time, my favorite time of the day. Matt was so good he took the boys grocery shopping last night so I could go see one of my good friends Samantha announced at the FWISD board meeting as the new Assistant Principal of Westcreek Elementary Yeah!!!! Congrats to her she so deserves it! So when I got home the boys were watching TV and fell asleep shortly after. We are headed out to the Cats game again tonight for try 2 so wish us luck and check back for the updates!

Luke is now insisting on goofy pics EVERY TIME I take a picture,I think it really brings out their true personalities don't you?

Homer, Homer, Homer!

Well we are back in Arlington! Cameron came back with us for a week of vacation, so stay tuned for daily updates! We were all so excited because we were going to go to a Ft. Worth Cats game tonight, the boys were so excited took naps and everything. The weather at 5pm said we were good to go, no rain in the metroplex, well wouldn't you know.......... We left the house at 6:30 and the lightning was putting on the only show we would see tonight. We turned away from Ft. Worth and told the boys we were moving to Plan B, that brought on quite the discussion:) Cameron wanted to know what Plan B was and Luke told him that is was ice skating(don't know where he got that), that led into a heated debate as to who was the best skater(neither one ice skate). Matt explained that Plan B was going home and going straight to bed, the booing in the car was deafening! We finally decided to go to Buck-n-Loons for dinner,it is just a little family restaurant that has a game room and it's Luke's favorite restaurant because they serve Kraft Mac n Cheese. I love paying $5 for that:) Anyway I digress....... so we had a great dinner and then Matt took the boys to the game room. They played air hockey, cars etc. Matt was the top score on Galactica(he was very proud). So we were headed home and Matt took the boys for a quick bathroom break so I was waiting by the front door for them. There it was....... The Claw machine and it was calling my name and my dollar. Now I have to tell you that I tell Luke and any child who will listen what a money stealer The Claw is. I don't let Luke put his money in it. Just the other day I warned Cameron at the store and he lost his money against my warning. So I had to dig out my dollar and shove it in fast before anyone saw me. It was full of The Simpsons characters who I also despise but my little nephew is obsessed with Homer Simpson. I move the claw over Homer and drop it down and...... I can't believe it I hooked Homer!! I'm holding my breath as it lifts him up and carries him the door and then it happens he slips from the claw's grasp and is teetering on the edge of falling in ARGHHHHHHHHHH! Just then the boys come running up I'm protecting the machine from any little kids with quarters and I'm shouting at Matt, "I need fifty cents, give me fifty cents hurry ,hurry!!!" You see I'd given all my money to those damn kids for air hockey!!! He smiles and pulls out a dollar, YES, YES I shout, and shove it in as fast as I can! I maneuver the claw and we all hold our breath as it falls down(except Matt who is laughing hard all the way to the car) it grasps Homer's body and plops him into the hole. Victory is mine!!!!!!! Cam grabs him out and hugs him tight. "Thank you E I love him, I can't believe you did it." I'm flush with pride, so proud of myself and then I hear Luke,"Mom, hey Mom there's a Sponge Bob in the corner can you get it for me?" Oh well he needs to learn about disappointment sometime.

Cameron comes home!

Cameron Comes Home!

Well Cameron finally came home today! For all of you who don't know, Luke's cousin Cam went into Texas Children's last Thursday July 12th for pneumonia. He was there six days and was a very brave boy. Luke and I came to Houston on Monday to help take care of him.

As you can see Luke was happy to share in the amenities Cameron was enjoying in his "suite". I think they drove the nurses nuts pressing the call button to ask for Popsicles, ice water etc. We spent Monday and Tuesday with him and I have to say Texas Children's is an awesome facility. My sister told me how wonderful the staff was and I was able to find out myself when I had to valet park today on the other side of the hospital. Everyone I asked help from (and there were quite a few) was so accommodating and pleasant.

Here are some of the wonderful staff that Cameron came to know and love. Chris was his head charge nurse and he was great with Cameron. They compared Crocs and he always made Cameron laugh. The lady and I can't remember her name, was his respiratory therapist and she was impressed with how Cameron could tell her all about healthy foods. Of course all Cameron eats are chicken nuggets and rice, but he does know about healthy foods:)



We went on a little "field trip" before he was released today down to the food court to have some Chickfila nuggets! The boys loved being pulled around, and Aunt Sally treated them to a little shopping spree in the hospital gift shop.

When we got back to the room Cam got his IV out and was such a brave boy! We loaded everything up and headed out! The boys stopped by the train center for one more look before we left and we all headed home!




I was talking to my friend Susan today and I told her that the one thing I have taken from all of this is how precious a healthy child is. Walking around that hospital and seeing how many chronically and serious ill children there are, made me realize how lucky I am. I complain about how much school uniforms cost or having to get up early for a Saturday t-ball game, but I am so grateful for my healthy child. I have seen some close friends lose their children to illness and accident and I am remind how precious life is. So hug your children, love your children and say a prayer for those who aren't as lucky as we are.

Our "Journey" to Holly Lake Ranch

Well this is how our "journey" as Luke likes to call it began. We arrived at Holly Lake Ranch which is right outside of Tyler on Sunday around 4pm. As Matt and I sat outside on the deck enjoying a frosty cold beverage, this little guy hopped up the steps and stared hungrily at us. I asked Matt if he thought the squirrel had ever seen humans before:) We got the kids from inside(jumping on their bed) and had them bring that poor little guy some treats.

They were more than happy to help the starving animal, and even named him Chubby. That wasn't the end of our animal adventures though..... we drove through the resort and there were deer EVERYWHERE. Obviously they don't hunt in this part of the country. They were even on the golf course. We caught these guys in someones front yard.We had a great time swimming, fishing, and playing putt putt on the grounds. It was so peaceful and quiet, the kids really had fun in the big outdoors.

Now I can understand Maddie not wanting to touch a gross worm or unhook her fish, but my boy.............. I told Matt Luke must get that from him because I come from a long line of worm baiters and fishermen! No Foster every shied away from a nightcrawler or Perch.

On Tuesday we went to the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler. It is such a great zoo. Not too crowded, very shaded and the animal variety was wonderful.

We had fun feeding the birds, Luke is a pro thanks to Miss Dana. It was Gus the giraffe's first birthday so we got in on that celebration as well. He's a cute little guy isn't he? By the end Daddy was pretty camera happy and we decided to revolt.

We finished up at the zoo and headed to Discovery Place, a hands on science museum for kids. If you are ever in Tyler you have to take your kids, it was well worth the $5 dollar entrance fee. The kids spent a good three hours just playing in here.

Luke was telling Madison,"Hurry up Lady I'm ready to check out your groceries." I think their favorite part was the ambulance. As you an tell below Luke has a broken leg, he was sure to tell his Dad that Nonna would be upset so we better tell her it's a joke. Sissy checks out the very grouchy patient:)

We had a great vacation, oh I mean "journey" and everyone hated to come home. So from our newsroom to yours, Good Night and Sleep Tight....