Wordless Wednesday

Texas State Fair 2011

We look forward to the State Fair all year, and today was finally the day! The boys were so excited.

First, we tried out a few rides. After a disastrous attempt at a little rollercoaster we THOUGHT was a relatively gentle one that turned out to be quite spinny, jolty and rough (Cody was NOT happy), we chose to stick with the simple pleasures of monster trucks that go around in a slow, small circle.

And then Jackson used his awesome pitching skills to pop some balloons with a hacky sack (yep), and he won...a banana. 

See the resemblance? Jacks named him Banana Fred (instead of banana BREAD...get it?).

Jackson, Luke and I rode the giant ferris wheel, the Texas Star. It's SOOOOOOOOO big! 

Check out the view from the top! Hello Downtown Dallas!

Lukey said, "Hey look, we can see the Eiffel Tower!" To Luke, all tall skinny towers are the Eiffel Tower. :)

It was a fun ride! Even Banana Fred loved it. 

Though we always enjoy the corn dogs, pretzels, funnel cake and cotton candy, we usually avoid any of the deep-fried options the fair is known for.

Seriously? Fried chicken skin? Who thought that was a good idea? EW.

We said howdy to Big Tex.

We visited the car show and the dog show, and we checked out some beautiful quilts and a life-size lady and her cow carved out of butter. Wow! That's not something you see every day!

We always have fun at the fair!

Arboretum Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend, we headed over to the Arboretum to get a taste of fall with their beautiful displays.

There were horses made out of hay!

And sunflowers...of a different flavor than we're used to seeing!

And of course, many, many, MANY pumpkins!

The boys were real troupers and posed in a million different places for me.

We were so excited to have Kate-Kate with us! She makes everything twice as fun. :)

And some individual shots of my handsome boys!

And look, Anthony and I were there, too!

Now here's a little blast from the past...this next shot is one from 2 1/2 years ago. Look how Lukey's little eyes barely peek over the windowsill! 

And here's this past weekend looking out of the same treehouse window:

How time flies! Happy Fall to All!

Luke's First Day of School

Today was Luke's first day of preschool! Though he is going to the same school, he is in a different class this year with different teachers, so he says he is no longer in preschool. :)

Luke has Mrs. Stillwell and Mrs. Stecklein this year. They taught Cody for 2 years, too, so they know our family pretty well.  Mrs. Stecklein actually lives in our neighborhood which is really fun because we occasionally run into her on bike rides and walks, and we always make sure to Trick or Treat at her house on Halloween. 

Here's Luke with his new teachers last Friday at Meet the Teacher.

Looks pretty comfortable already, doesn't he? 

He was SO ready to go this morning!  Finally, finally it was HIS turn for school!

We marched in, found his name tag, and put away his bag.

He gave me a kiss goodbye, and then he was off!  When I came back to pick him up, he bounced right up into my arms and said, "My school is AWESOME!!!"  He had a great day and can't wait to go back on Wednesday.

Yay for school! (and for Mommy getting a little time to herself!) 

Codybration #5

This weekend, we celebrated our 5th annual Codybration! Five years ago, Cody had surgery to remove a brain tumor, and we celebrate that milestone every year because we are so grateful for his health and for how much our family learned and grew from the whole experience. 

In some ways, it is hard to believe five years have passed...it doesn't feel like it has been that long. On the other hand, Cody is SUCH a big kid now compared to the baby he was at the time of his surgery! Look how little he was!

We decided to do something REALLY exciting for this Codybration. Cody is obsessed with cars, just like his brothers and his daddy, and so we rented a bright yellow convertible Camaro.

Anthony, Luke and I picked up Jackson and Cody at school in the carpool line in the car. It was a complete surprise, and they LOVED it. Take a look at Cody's face. He couldn't even believe it! 

Look, the wink is back! 

We made a quick stop at Sonic for an after-school treat.

While we were waiting, Daddy demonstrated how to put the top up. Cody was in awe.

Once we got home, Cody decided to try out the driver's seat.

Here's Cody, posing with the car.

For dinner, we took the boys over to the Rainforest Cafe.  We had eaten there in San Antonio earlier in the summer, and the boys thought it was the best place ever.  They were so excited to try out another one!

While we were waiting for our food to arrive, a nice guy came over and made us some balloon animals. Jackson got a tree frog, Cody got an alligator, and Luke requested a sword.

After dinner, we made a stop at the Lego store. Score! 

For dessert, we ordered a special cookie cake. Yummo! 

And once we got home, the boys took turns taking the Camaro for a ride with Daddy. (Don't report us to CPS LOL...we were on our street which is a cul-de-sac, it was empty of cars and people, and they did little more than coast up and down.)

Codys' turn....

Jackson's...

And Lukey's...

But I guess he wasn't happy with his view. So he stood up! 

Even I got to take it for a spin. It was really fun to drive a convertible, even in 106 degrees. 

Then on Saturday morning, we met Grandad for breakfast at IHOP. Cody was so happy to get to share Codybration with his Grandad.

And Grandad was happy to share the Camaro with Cody! Ha! Looks good in there, doesn't he?

So here we are together, enjoying the Camaro! 

And here's my beautiful boy. 

I found this wonderful quote that I just love.

"When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold.  They believe that when something's suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful."  ~Barbara Bloom

Cody's history has made him stronger and more beautiful than ever, and we are so proud of him.  

Happy Codybration, Codes! We love you!