Ft. Worth!

David and I will celebrate 8 years on January 11. However, we won't have a babysitter during that time - so we asked Jamie to watch the boys for 1 night, 2 days for us so we could have a little time together.

We decided to go to Downtown Ft. Worth and just have a little time to rest and relax. We stayed at the Omni Hotel in Downtown. Which was super nice. We really enjoyed it. We went to a few great restaurants and went golfing as well at Fossil Creek. We had a great time and really cherished the time we were able to get away. Thank you Jamie!

This was outside our hotel. There was a football game going on so there was alot of security, police around. It was SMU vs. Army. Which I thought was odd, but apparently that happens.

The Water Gardens were right across the street from our hotel. If you have never been - it's definitely something to see. I wouldn't take small kids, but it's really magnificent.

We went to the Flying Saucer for a a little Guiness!

Outside the window of The Flying Saucer. They looked cool, so I took a picture : )

The view from our hotel room. It's the Water Gardens.

Golf at Fossil Creek. The weather was kinda cold. The sun came out when we were on hole 14 for like 10 minutes. It was still a nice day and David enjoyed golfing this course.

He's in the bright yellow shirt and jeans. He's putting in this picture : )

We had a great time and are thankful for this time to celebrate before our anniversary. Our alone time is rare - so when we get the opportunity, we definitely take it : )

San Antonio / Boys fun!

David and I have had very little time alone in the almost 8 years we have been married and desperately needed a little getaway. So ... our FANTASTIC babysitter (and friend) kept our boys for 3 nights and 4 days so David and I could go on vacation. We are truly thankful!

While we were away, we wanted the boys to have fun too - and that they did. Jamie took them to McDonald's, to Chuck e' Cheese, to a birthday party (for one of Ben's friends), to Church .... and the coolest - was on their very first boat ride. Jamie, her brother and her parents took the boys on their boat. They were thrilled and had a great time.

Ben, Andy & Will ready to go ...

Andy and Will : )

Andy ..

Will (he's so silly : )

Will on the boat ....

Andy ....

Will. Looks like he's having fun, doesn't it?

I would say "YES"...

Andy ...

Ben :)

Andy ...

Will (all smiles & thumbs up : )

Andy, Ben & Will ...

Ben & Will watching Joel (Jamie's brother) waterski ....

Ben playing in the water while Joel ski's

Andy, of course, had to touch the water too...

Andy and Jamie on the tube ....

Andy & Jamie.

They were going pretty slow w/Andy. As you can see - Jamie could sit up w/o holding on : )

Ben, Will & Jamie getting some wind ....

Ben, Will & Jamie. Jamie said the boys kept saying "faster, faster."

Andy & Joel

(you see Ben, Will & Jamie on the tube in the background)

Andy & Joel

Andy LOVES Joel!

Andy, Ben & Will

Heading home from a fun day on the boat.

We are so very thankful for Jamie and her family. It is so great, to feel complete peace and trust and know I can leave my boys with Jamie at anytime and they will be well taken care of. I never worry and I love that! Jamie has been babysitting for us since she was 13 (she'll be 18 in September) - and she truly has been the greatest blessing to us. We love her dearly and so do the boys!

I am thankful she kept the boys and gave David and I this much needed time together. We love you Jamie!

Glen Rose / Spring Roadcation - Day 5

The boys all woke up early even though their mommies wanted desperately to sleep in : ) We got breakfast, got everyone dressed, took a few photos and packed up so we could make the trip home. We had planned to go back to the nearby park - but it was a bit chilly outside - so we decided to just go home.

Here's what the boys did while Angie and I packed and got everything ready to go ....

(1) They all piled by the front door - which was the only real space for them to do anything. Andy read the paper : ); Will, Jared & Ben played on the computer; and Brayden played his DS. (2) Ok boys say CHEESE!

I bought Planet 51 for the ride home and it was enjoyable. It's amazing what a movie in the car can do! Love Angie's Odyssey (Thank you for driving Angie!). Definitely a great car for road trips : ) Angie dropped us off at the Container Store where David picked us up. It was nice to see my sweet, handsome husband. I missed him!

So - even though it was a bit stressful, it was fun! I would of rather been there than at home trying to figure out how to entertain the boys.

Angie and I talked about what would we do differently for next time:

• stay in separate rooms. it was too many people in one room. of course - they would have to be adjoining rooms so Angie and I could hang out and have a few adult beverages once the boys were in bed. we enjoyed the quite time once they were asleep where we could catch up and unwind.
• hotel w/kitchen and full size refrigerator so we can eat/cook in. too much trouble taking 5 boys out to eat.
• travel to a place where there is more to do.
• ben's request: spend more time w/him. I have to admit, I didn't spend a lot of time with my kids. I was too busy being in protective mode. Making sure we always had 5 kids and constantly counting. It was so hard w/them all going different directions to have any quality time with my boys.

All-in-all, our spring break was AWESOME! We had a great time with friends and got to have a mini-getaway.

Now ...... just ready for Monday to come and the start of school. YEA SCHOOL!

Glen Rose / Spring Roadcation - Day 4

The boys all woke up early - and were ready to go. We went and got breakfast in the hotel, then got ready and headed to Fossil Rim Animal Park.

The boys were able to do a Fossil Dig. It was neat - and they seemed to enjoy it. They even got to take home 3 fossils that they found.

(1) Andy and I - he didn't want any part of the digging at first. He was pretty grumpy; (2) Ben digging for his fossils; (3) Me, Andy and Will - digging for fossils

(1) Will concentrating on digging for his special fossils; (2) Ben digging for that special fossil as well; (3) and finally - Andy decided he wanted to join in on the fun.

There was a playground inside Dinosaur World. The boys enjoyed playing and exerting some of their energy. (1) Will, Andy and Ben swinging on the swings; (2) another shot of my sweet boys; (3) Angie went to the car to get some bottles of water, so I decided I would try and get the boys together for a pose. Took several shots b/c Ben wanted to be difficult and not cooperate with me. In this photo: Andy, Brayden, Jared, Will and Ben

(1) Another group photo of the boys: Andy, Brayden, Jared, Will and Ben; (2) Jared and Ben posing in front of one of he dinosaurs; (3) All of us: me, Andy, Angie, Brayden, Jared, Will and Ben

(1) Ben and Jared; (2) Andy. He wanted his photo in front of almost every dinosaur; (3) Will. Having him in front of this dinosaur was a must - it definitely suits his personality. My crazy Will!

(1) Me and my boys: me, Andy, Will and Ben; (2) I told andy to pretend like he was being surprised by it and he was scared that it was going to eat him. Remember he's grumpy from a 15 minute nap. But still cute : ) (3) Andy again in front of another dinosaur

(1) at the end there was many dinosaurs on the other side of the water. We tried to get a group shot, but boys wouldn't cooperate - so here's Andy; (2) Will & Andy on the outside in front of the bones of a dinosaur

On our way out ... I managed to get them to be still for one more picture. The sun was in their eyes and I think their eyes were closed - but here it is : )

Jared, Will, Ben, Andy and Brayden

Tomorrow: HOME!