Closet Clean Out

I was going through the boys' old Halloween costumes, some hand-me-downs and bins of my old stuff this weekend. I had three little helpers in the process. Here's how that ended up...

One super hero:


One gnaked gnome:


And one beautiful princess:


Actually, he said he was Abby Cadabby.

Sorry, Davis, I didn't encourage you at all...you specifically asked to wear it. So, I obliged (and then ran to get the camera).

Don't ask me why I still have my ballet costumes from when I was 12. I still have all of my Barbies too. *Sigh*. Actually, it is my mom that saved all of this stuff. Then slowly she started dropping these large storage containers at my house!

I have precious little storage space here and I'm starting to think that half of it should not be taken up by "girl toys". Although, I admit I sometimes want to play with my Barbie Dream Store set.

Hey, maybe I can just trade my brother...his girls can have the Barbies, and The Spankys can have his old He-Mans! I'm sure a storage bin was dropped off with him too.

More Funny Words

I find it so cute when they mispronounce certain words. Here they are with their new "cock-uh-lators"...



I am obsessed with school supply sales, btw :)

Evan likes to play "hop- strotch" on the front porch and on our floor tiles...



These were some recent conversations...

Me: Hey Evan, what do you want for lunch?
Evan: Whaaat aboooout........ICE CREAM!!!!!
Me: Sounds good to me :)

Carter: Gigi, I love you.
Me: Oh Carter, that is so sweet.
Gigi: What a sweet boy. I love you too.
Carter: Gigi, you gotta big nose.


I hate to break it to you, Carter, but everyone in our family has a big nose. So, you probably will too one day.

Kyleigh's Party at the Lake

Gigi, Papa, my brother and his kids all stayed out at Lake LBJ for last week. They decided to do a little surprise birthday party for Kyleigh. So, we joined them for a day.

Here is a picture of the birthday girl and all of the cousins. I think she was really happy :)


After they opened their party favors (cool play dough sets from Gigi) and Kyleigh opened her presents, they all had cake and ice cream al fresco.



The boys swam in the pool, fed the ducks, and watched the boats. It was such a cute place and hopefully next year we can join them for more than just a day!

Boys of Summer

Evan, Davis, Carter

What I Learned on my Summer Vacation

Kyle's mom gave me a baking mix last year. She said she was pawning it off on me because it looked like too much work, despite the fact it was marketed as something "fun to do with kids".

Later when I read the directions, I figured out why she didn't want it! The 2nd step said, "add the yeast"... oh, that's not a good sign. 3rd step: "knead the dough"...um, say what?! Okay, maybe it would be fun to do with your kids that are forty!

So, there it sat on the shelf of my pantry taunting me for nine months. It was also on my "to do" list for about that long. You know, for when I had 4 hours to spare!

Anyway, after stating very clearly to Kyle that this would probably be a big disaster and not to expect anything delicious, I faced my nemesis.

And seriously 4 hours of kneading, rising, and rolling, and repeating...we ended up with this:


I can still smell them. And they were indeed absolutely delicious. I should know because I ate 1/2 of the pan myself! I'm not sure why the centers popped out like that, though. Maybe some of you expert bakers will have some tips for me?!

I think I am going to add this new baking skill to my Mom Resume :) But, considering the effort involved, I think I will opt for the Pillsbury variety in the future.

Cheap Labor

Kyle took some vacation a couple of weeks ago, and I had a long list of "house projects" for him ranging from patching holes in the walls to declaring war on a hornet's nest. One of the more enjoyable ones was swapping out all of our brass door knobs and hinges for something a little more up to date.

Carter LOVED helping his daddy, especially using the power tools :) He actually got pretty good at the drill. Kyle would steady it for him but he could remove the screws himself!


I may start hiring him out, so let me know if you need cheap labor and don't mind changing diapers!

From the Mouths of Babes

Just thought I would post some recent funnies from The Spankys.

Davis: Maisie has a tail.
Mommy: Yes, Maisie has a tail.
Davis: Sophie has a tail.
Mommy: Yep, Sophie has a tail too. Do you have a tail?
Davis: Nope, I have a pee pee.


Evan learned how to count backwards at his camp...he does it with a lot of gusto! So, we wanted to teach and Carter & Davis to do it too.

Daddy: Hey Carter, can you count backwards?
Carter: *blank stare*
Daddy: Like this, 10...9...
Carter: *turns around backwards* 10...11...12

(We'll keep working on that one Carter!)