Cadillac Ranch

Today we started our annual road trip to Colorado, and this time around we decided to stop in Amarillo. There's a cool public art installation there called Cadillac Ranch. It's basically just a line of ten Cadillacs planted in the ground out in the middle of a field.

But what makes it exceptionally cool is that the cars have all been decorated with layers and layers of paint. They actually encourage people to bring their cans of spray paint to add to the "art." Every once in a while they paint all the cars in one solid color (one year it was white, another black, and to celebrate a lady's birthday at one point, PINK!) to give visitors a fresh canvas.

The boys LOVED the idea of getting to paint the cars. Daddy helped Cody write his name.

Cody helped Luke get high enough up to spin the tires.

 Jackson did some painting, too.

See his name in pink there, running from top to bottom?

Jacks also helped Luke give it a try.

I caught this sweet moment on our way out.

Which fits perfectly with my favorite of the paintings we saw:

Tomorrow, we're bound for Colorado Springs!

The Best Medicine

Gramma had to stay in the hospital over the weekend, so we went over for a visit. All 3 boys are pretty comfortable there, having visited her there before, so they climbed right up on the bed and made themselves at home. And I'm sure the cool games Gramma downloaded onto her iPad for them had NOTHING to do with it. ;)

These boys love their Gramma so much, and the feeling is mutual. It really helped them to see her in the hospital and know that she was doing ok, and judging by her smile....I think it helped her, too. They made her  laugh, and only smooshed her IV cords a couple of times. No pharmacy in the world carries that kind of medicine. :)

Cody vs. Legos

Great Taste in Hats

A shared taste in fabulous headwear is a sign of true love, right?  

Take these two beautiful people...

And look, even royals do it! 

So I don't think it's jumping the gun too much to start introducing Jackson's "friend" Alexa as my daughter-in-law. Do you? 

Luke's Drawing

A few days ago, Luke ran up to me with this drawing. I asked him who had done it, since I couldn't believe that he could produce something that looked like a real person with arm, legs, and facial features! But he told me he'd drawn it. 

That's him on the left there, the purple guy. I'm on the right. He said he was a grown-up in this picture. I asked him if I was sad because he had grown up so fast. "Nope," he replied, laughing, "It's because I just punched you."

Boys rock. 

4th of July

We got up bright and early on the 4th so we could make it to the Plano Independence Day Parade. We'd gone to the rodeo a few days prior and missed getting the boys' faces painted, so we promised we'd give them patriotic decorations for the parade.

Anthony did Luke's awesome Texas flag, and I did Jackson's American flag. Here they are right after their paint jobs...I'm not sure why they look so serious! They really got a kick out of it. 

Cody didn't want his whole face covered, but he did get a little blue star on one cheek. He's my meticulous, everything has to match, hates to get dirty guy. I was just glad we talked him into the star! And the other boys were pretty jealous of his simple approach when they began sweating at the parade and the paint started running. :)

Here are some close-ups of the painted wonders.

Happy 4th! 

Jackson's 9th Birthday (Catching Up 6/26/11)

It's hard to believe that our biggest little guy is 9 years old! He is such a cool dude. He loves puns and knock-knock jokes. He makes Lego creations more complicated that I could imagine, much less attempt to create myself. He digs country music, knows all the words, and dances like nobody's watching. It is so much fun watching him grow into a young man.

I took these pictures of him in San Antonio. We just wandered around the River Walk, finding cool doorways and window frames to use as backgrounds. He was so proud of his new cowboy hat, and even though it was hot, we had a great time.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention we snapped a few pics in front of the Alamo? I love these two.

On the day of his actual birthday, we celebrated with his dinner of choice (Chuy's) and came back to the house for one of Anthony's special "rainbow" cakes.

He got some birthday money from Anthony's parents, and rather than buy Legos (which we'd all expected), he decided to pick out a new pet. He'd been thinking about a guinea pig for a few months, but frankly, I'd expected him to forget all about it when he actually had the cash in his hot little hand...I figured he'd head straight for the Lego store without passing GO or collecting $200. 

But no, his mind was made up, and off we went to PetSmart where he found his new buddy, Flash.

Flash is a runt so the store had him isolated in the back, away from the other pigs to prevent them from beating up on the poor little guy. Jacks was so thrilled to think that he "saved Flash from loneliness." 

Flash got his name because he has silver/gray spots which made Jackson think of lightning. He's very cuddly already, and he loves strawberries. He purrs when you hold him, which is just the cutest thing ever. And he adores Jacks. 

A few days after his birthday, Jackson had a big party for all his friends at BounceU (a place with a bunch of bounce houses). The coolest part was when they turned off all the lights, gave the kids glow necklaces, and let them bounce in the dark! Cosmic Bounce was a big hit with everyone. :)

Gramma and Grandad kept busy during the party with a little air hockey. 

Then we moved into a special party room for pizza and cake. 

Do you SEE how sweaty those boys all are? They bounced HARD!!! 

Jackson got a crown to wear and a special inflatable throne to sit in, which he loved.

In our family, it takes multiple parties to really celebrate a birthday fully, and this year was no different for Jacks. At his third party of the week, our good friend, Jaye, made him this amazing cake complete with gummy bears, giant marshmallows, and lollipops. He absolutely loved it. 

Happy Birthday, Slugger! We love you!