Random thoughts on a Saturday morning

I'm really big on having breakfast every morning, but I'm really bad about doing the same thing everyday (breakfast bar for ME, chocolate Slim-Fast shake for me~the blender kind=a chocolate delicious treat first thing in the morning, and fruit and cereal for Ben, and Drew is on his own). But this morning @ 6:30 a.m., I was not feeling any of it! So I decided to load up the kids and take them to McD's for some yummo Hot Cakes. This so took me back to my childhood. If there's one thing that I remember about my Granny (my Dad's mom), she didn't cook. Can you believe that...with 2 boys? But she knew (or at least she thought that's what we wanted) what snacks to have around when we were at her house-Frito's, a can of bean dip, and Dr. Pepper. Sound tasty? And then when Brant and I spent the night at her house, she would always take us to McDonald's for breakfast. As I was cutting up the pancakes for Ben and ME this morning, I was remembering how Granny would always cut up my pancakes for me before the syrup was all soaked up. I'm glad I got to share that moment with them this morning...and that they liked it just as much as I did! On another note...Mr. Benjamin has decided that he's a big boy. What?!?! He took 2 steps this morning. Yikes! Yeah! Oh no! Wow! He's been working on standing up for a few seconds by himself, and then the past few days, he has taken one step a couple of times. But I thought it was more because of gravity. Nope, gravity was not the case this morning! He stood up from a sitting position and then took 2 steps toward me! Not just once...twice! Am I ready for this? My little princess is almost completely potty-trained and now my little rugrat is about to start walking. Bittersweet morning in the Dees household. Read...Sniff! Sniff! Yeah!...mixed emotions!

Storytime Live

My mom and I took the kids to see Storytime Live (Ki-Lan, Backyardigans, Wonder Pets, and Dora) on July 13th. We met a bunch of ME's friends from daycare and our playgroup there. Although it was a bit long and not as action packed as Dora and Diego from last year, we still had a good time. I just couldn't believe, though, that ME started saying "I'm wanna go bye-bye" just before Dora came on! Are you kidding me?!?! She lives/eats/breaths Dora! Luckily, as soon as Dora and Boots came on, she was happy. Ben loved every bit of the show, too. I think he's going to be just as obsessed with Dora as ME is. Uh-oh! Drew, thank you so much for letting me experience this sweet memory that ME still is talking about and maybe Ben is dreaming about!

{Megan, Davis, and ME} I promise they're all friends and have fun together! {Daycare friends: Kemp, Kade, and ME} She loves these boys and still talks about them throughout the summer!{Our sweet neighbor, Sawyer}

Sadly, we didn't all get to sit together, but Mason and Davis still had a good time.

I love how close Kemp and Kade are!Ben loved dancing!He didn't miss a beat!{Mom Tom (VeVe's sister) and Grant} I guess acting shy runs in the family.ME was so happy to see her friends!After intermission, ME was ready to go!But she quickly changed her mind when Dora came on! Thank goodness for puffs!!! We parked in the garage and were stuck there for a while and ME was hungry. So she decided she would eat Ben's puffs and torture him by dangling them in his face. It was pretty hilarious watching his face and listening to him squeal!

ME and Ben in Wonderland

My mom and I took the kids to the Museum of Discovery on June 10th to see the Alice in Wonderland exhibit. The last time I went to that museum was when I had to do research for my Senior interior design project (designing a children's museum). I forgot how much fun that place is!

"Row, row, row your boat..."


Benjamin loved this coon hat!

But then he realized it was supposed to go on his head...yuck!

I couldn't resist taking this pic of Mary Elizabeth standing by this beehive for Drew! Bees are probably his most favorite thing in the world. Ha!

The museum had an art room, too. I hope Ben likes art just as much as ME!

ME made a rabbit mask.

I love this picture of Ben watching Alice run. He looks like such a big boy!

Do you remember how the hallway got smaller in Alice in Wonderland? This really played a trick on my mind!

There were several science tables in the exhibit. I'm not really sure about the movie connection, but I think this had something to do with the golf tournament from the movie. Ben loved watching ME try all of the games. It's just too bad he couldn't reach it!

PRICELESS! She's helping him spin this "moving picture thingy".

ME "made" coffee for her Dandy and VeVe. So sweet!

They even tried to find where Alice was in the world.

Oh no! Ben fell in the rabbit hole!

After the Alice in Wonderland exhibit, we discovered the Kid Zone. They both loved this area!

Benjamin crawling through a caterpillar's mouth.

ME has the right idea! I think I could possibly even do the monkey bars if I had those two parallel bars below my feet. She's so clever!

Hmmm...I'm thinking Drew and I will be investing in a train table soon. Never thought I'd be doing that!

I thought the "construction zone" would be a perfect spot for Ben, but he decided to eat the exhibit instead.

So we took them to lunch. Could ME be the next fastest hot dog eater? The girl loves her a hot dog!

Happy birthday, "Untle Bebo"

We celebrated Bebo's birthday on July 7th at my parent's house this year. Mary Elizabeth knows that he played baseball, so she wanted to make him baseball "tookies". It's just too bad that the tiniest drop of icing got on her finger, because she decided very quickly that she "not wanna help anymore". I just wish I took a picture of the delish cookies she and I made, or that you could at least smell them. Instead I'll share a bit of Owens history with you by showing this picture below.

My brother's favorite cake is my mom's homemade chocolate cake. If you even smelled it, you would know why! ;P Drew still reminds us of how appauled he was when he first saw this piece of heaven hit our family table. Let's just say that there is no need for a cake server or plates...you just need a spoon to dig into this sweet goodness. Mmmm!!! My mouth is watering right now! Allie and Vicki, this picture is for you ladies.

Ben thought that his Uncle Bebo needed some help opening his presents. I think he did a good job of that!

4th of July

We celebrated the 4th at my friend's (Kerri) parent's house in Roland. It's the perfect place for the big boys to shoot their own fireworks and the kids get to run around on the land. Thanks for inviting us, Kerri and Shane!

ME protecting her brother from the loud noises.

Ben wasn't scared of the fireworks. I don't think he was too impressed at all. ;)

How sweet is this? Watching fireworks together.

Obviously, ME was so not interested in the fireworks. Instead, she managed to find a Dora book to read.

ME really didn't care about shooting her own fireworks...she must be my daughter!

I love the difference between boys and girls! The kids had glow sticks. Mason saw it as a sword...ME saw it as jewelry!

They both obviously have better things to do with their time than stop for a Kodak moment with me. I love it!

ME's first time to make S'mores. This was the best tasting S'more I've ever had!

Wild River Country

I finally braved the Wild River Country trip as a parent and met one of my oldest friends, Ashley Pointer, with her family on July 3rd. It's funny how your perspective changes from being a kid to being an adult. Ashley and I both thought the water park was much smaller than we remember, and the wave pool wasn't nearly as crazy as it was when we were kids. I was too nervous to take both kiddos, so I just took ME since Ben can't walk around yet. Hopefully, he'll be able to understand that when he's old enough to read this blog! We had a fun time hanging out and being lazy in the lazy river. With that being said, I will definitely be going back and can't wait to take my little pool boy (Ben) to see him splash around.

ME had no problem getting her feet wet and splashing around. Her favorite thing was the lazy river. I can't wait to take her on the slides in a few years!

Sadly, this is the only picture of any of the Pointer family that I got. This is a very tired Caroline, who is just 2 months younger than ME.

ME loved her lunch (once Blake left the table)!

The Wonder Place

Can you ever get tired of somewhere that you get to use your imagination? We met my friend, Ashley Hoggard, and her son, Caden, at the Wonder Place on June 24. I don't know if ME is ever going to outgrow that place. She loves it and finds something new to play with everytime we go. And now Ben is big enough to move around and play with all of the funness, too!

The Treehouse

She's a tree that's thiiis tall.
Ben loves to drum on anything!

The Kitchen

This was one of the few times that ME and Caden actually played together long enough for a photo op. They were making ice cream for us. And, yes, this is her 2nd wardrobe change for the day (thanks to potty-training)!

And Ben was making soup for us.

The "Little Kid" Area

He loves mirrors just as much as he loves windows.

The Water Table

It was fun to watch Caden play since he's just a little over a year older than Ben. Isn't he a cutie?

Dress up

ME, the cook.

Ben, the cutest fireman ever!

The Veteranarian

Maybe her initials actually are a sign to her future!?!?