Road Trip--Part Two

After spending a week in Illinois, it was time to head back West. But before going home we had one more stop. Russ had the privilege of preaching at his college mentor's church in Amarillo, TX over Memorial Day weekend. So we drove from central IL to west TX. I'd never been in that part of the state before so it was fun to drive on unfamiliar roads. We took the boys to the little city zoo and hiked the Palo Duro Canyon with our friends, the Griffins. Russ preached a great sermon on Sunday and the next day we headed home. It was a whirlwind two weeks on the road but we had an awesome time. :)

The Amarillo Zoo was teeny tiny but perfect for the short distraction and walking around that we needed. Poor Garrett was bummed that we still didn't see any buffalo because theirs were being kept in a shed for awhile. :(

 This is how "we" hiked most of the way back on the trail. Garrett ran strong for awhile but then he wanted to be held and this momma couldn't do that for very long. So his daddy came to the rescue and carried both boys. My hero! PS: If you're going to hike the canyon, do it EARLY like we did. It was already getting warm by 8:30 in the morning and by the time we left, everyone was sweaty. It was beautiful though!! 

PPS: Garrett's favorite part was seeing a lizard and a snake on the trail. Had to add that. :)

Road Trip--Part One

Last month we hit the road and traveled to Illinois to see my family and meet my new nephew, Mr. Blaine Boston. :) We had a blast and I was so busy having fun that I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I would have liked. Maybe I'll post more at a later date, but for now, these will have to do.

Garrett's favorite place to hang out at his Grandma and Grandpa's house...the front windows! He has a step-stool that he no longer needs in order to see outside. And now Nolan can stand up there too. :)

I seeee you!

Grandpa helps Nolan ride the rocking lion for the first time, just like his big brother did two years ago.

Elevate Church sure wore these guys out. Grandpa has his oldest AND his youngest grandsons in this picture.

Campfire time! Garrett loved helping to cook the hot dogs and then eating one for his dinner.

Nolan loved being spoiled by his Grandma.

Yum!!

This is how Nolan hung out while the marshmallows got toasted.

Waiting for his first smore experience.

Hmmm...not sure about this...

It's stuck to my tongue!

Licking off the chocolate.

Watching how Daddy does this...

...and trying it again!

9 Months Old!

Nolan is 9 months old today, and to celebrate I took him to the doctor. :) Okay, it wasn't much of a celebration, especially since they get blood drawn at this visit, but it still marked the day as a milestone. Little man is 18lb 4oz and 29 inches tall. He's still growing a lot height-wise but his weight has slowed down. I can't imagine why (insert sarcastic tone here). Nolan is a speedy crawler and loves to pull himself up to stand using anything he can find. On Saturday, he used his great-aunt and uncle's dog to stand up. That was one patient dog! Nolan is babbling a lot but has no real words yet. I'm still rooting for Mama to be first but it's not looking good. :) Anyway, I don't have too much time to post tonight because I'm getting us ready for our road-trip to ILLINOIS! We're so excited to visit Krista, Nate and their new bundle of joy and sleepless nights, Blaine. He's precious and I'll be sure to post a bunch of pictures of him once we get back. Pray for us, that we arrive safely at my parents' house and that we also arrive *sanely* because we've never done this long of a trip with both boys before and Nolan has had some interesting sleeping patterns lately. I think we can, I think we can, I think we can...

Notice that we did find Airborne Bear! But Nolan had no interest in posing with him. It was a struggle to keep him in the chair at all!

Big brother needed his own photo op.

This picture I had to include because it cracks me up when Garrett asks to get in the pack'n'play with Nolan. There's not a whole lot of wiggle room there but they have a blast.

This last weekend was crazy-busy as we celebrated Hillary earning her Master's Degree from UNT and also Mother's Day. On Mother's Day we took part in the baby dedication service at church, where we promised to raise our son to love the Lord as best we can. Nolan cooperated despite being pooped from all the partying with the fam. :)

Fresh Beat Band!!!

Garrett and Nolan got to experience their first concert yesterday--the Fresh Beat Band! If you don't have a toddler or have never seen this show on Nick Jr, you are missing out. It's one of the few children's shows that has songs I'm not *too* embarrassed to sing along with. Garrett's favorite character is named Twist. He's a tall, skinny super-goofy guy whose voice squeaks and has crazy hair. What's a frugal momma to do but make Garrett his very own Twist shirt? He had a blast at the concert but I think his favorite part was being there with his cousin Kaylie. She knew every single song by heart! You'll see from the pictures how much fun they had together. Of course, Garrett looks like a zombie through most of it because he gets a bit overwhelmed at huge shows (just like the circus!) but he really did enjoy himself and hasn't stopped talking about it since. And Nolan...well, I'm not sure if he enjoyed it but he didn't cry or fuss the entire time! Which makes it a huge success in my book. What can I say? "We had a great day, it was a super way to spend some time together..." Seriously. Google the Fresh Beat Band and watch one of their videos, then just try and tell me they didn't perk you up or make you sing along a little bit. I dare you. Ha!

Before the concert

Are they ready for the show to start, or what??

This is the look he had for much of the show. He really IS having fun!

The stars of the show--Marina, Kiki, Shout and Twist.

On the edge of his seat...

Garrett and Kaylie held hands and danced along to their favorite song--Rock Star!

Nolan sat with Russ for most of the show but I got my snuggles in here and there.

Some action shots of the cousins rockin out to the Beats. :)

 Twist and me...he's about ready for the concert to be done by now. I'm glad he made it to the last song!