Trip to the Botanical Gardens

This past Monday we (my wonderful wonderful wonderful playgroup) took the kiddos to the Botanical Gardens in Fort Worth. We usually go about two or three times a year, but this time it was full of bright and beautiful colors, HUGE turtles and the weather was perfect. Our friends Rachel has a great camera and she caught our kids looking incredible. I think she captured some of the moments that every mom or dad hopes will be burned in their memory forever...your laughing, happy, sundrenched children playing outside...

The Express First Tee Ball Game

Saturday was Jacob's first tee ball game with his team, The Express. They have a train on their hats and their jerseys which is way cool if you're a 3 year old little boy! Jacob is number four (which he selected since he will be 4 on his next birthday). He has so many friends on his team that he just adores from school and church. The weather was perfect for tee ball on Saturday...a good Texas heat! The parents and grandparents all helped out since it is totally a family affair with three and four year old boys. Their were even grandmas out on the field helping boys round the bases! What a day! I cannot tell you how many times we laughed and cheered and laughed some more! My heart leapt so many times and I kept thinking, "This is the most perfect day ever". So, needless to say, tee ball is my new favorite sport! Everyone should come watch a game sometime soon...it is just the greatest thing we've done yet!

Thursday Nights at Mama and Grandaddy's

Every Thursday nights the kids go to Mama and Grandaddy's at 6:15. They eat dinner there, take their baths, watch a movie, eat popcorn and get spoiled rotten! This Thursday they even threw a birthday party for Mama's dog, Lady, complete with a cake that the boys decorated. There is always so much fun to be had for the kids on Thursday nights, and they look forward to it all week long. Usually, when I pick up the gang between 9:30 and 10:00 they are all either asleep or wrapped up in blankets with some crazy pajamas on! It truly is one of the sweetest sights. Here are some pictures from this past Thursday night when I arrived.

Never Too Many Costumes!

We had our wonderful friends, the Stringers, over today for a little playtime. While Sarah, Rachel and Grace emptied all the cups and plates from the kitchen drawers, the boys played and played with all the costumes. I have officially decided that you can never have too many costumes! I snapped a picture of the final costume change. Jude is Bob the Builder, Jacob is Lightning McQueen's Pit Crew and Camron is Buzz Lightyear...quite an amazing crew to have at your house!

Grace Likes to Help Daddy Work

We are in LOVE with this great picture of Grace the other night. She was roaming around Daddy's office helping him work...again, up past her bedtime! She's so darn cute that you can't bear to put her to bed!

Beautiful Afternoon in Texas

This afternoon was just unbelievable as far as weather goes. We all sat outside in the front yard and the boys played with remote control cars, while Grace experienced a little bit of the lawn. It truly was such a great time. Lots of chaos and lots of laughter and lots of laying on your back in the grass and looking up at the sky (try it sometime if it has been too long). Wanted to share some of the photos of the incredible afternoon...I think this is what keeps you going on bad days. You may notice a red "badge" on Jacob's shirt. He was the Line Leader at school today which was a truly BIG DEAL to the Hooks family!!!

The Box

Several times a year Grandpa and MJ send "The Box". It's usually a big box so, we know when it is on it's way, and the boys definetly know when "The Box" is headed to Texas. Well, the miracle package arrived this Thursday late in the afternoon. I thought Jacob and Jude we're going to lose their mind! Not only did they take everything out of the box and put on their "Sally" and "Mater" costumes, but they then had to put everything back in the box...just so they could take it back out again. Lots of mayhem and happiness insued. We have been having conversations with "Sally" and "Mater" ever since, and they are parked in the boys' room right now to sleep with them.

Another Evening with the Hooks Family

Most kiddos get ready for bed and put on pajamas. Nothing much has changed at our house lately since Jude is still the chicken pretty much 90% of the time! Jacob takes it in stride, but I don't think Grace knows what to make of it yet.

Grandad's New Camera

We took our annual roadtrip to Nashville this August to see Grandad, Grandmoe and Aunt Dycee. Such a great time for all of us. The boys got so excited this year (especially Jacob). There were so many phonecalls to Grandad on the drive from Arlington to Nashville. We had to make sure that there would be ice cream available...and, thank goodness, there was ice cream!!! While we were there the boys played with Grandad on his new Imac (I think that is what the computer was called), and it has this great built in camera. Too much fun! Too cute! So, this is the amazing self portrait of Grandad with "The boys". I think it speaks volumes.

Happy Healthy Juder Pooter

Jude got a SpiderMan shirt the other day and we deicided that it was the most appropriate shirt for our little crazy monkey!

We just wanted to let you see that Jude is super happy lately! He weighs 25 pounds and is eating more and looking better. He doesn't see his specialist again until the end of November and until then we'll just keep on keeping on! As you can see, Jude being happy makes everyone happy!

Grace Face

This is Grace past her bedtime. 8 months old.

Jacob & Jude's First Day of School

Last Thursday marked the first day of school for Jude. Jackie is also teaching at the same school, so I was tasked with taking both of the boys to class, and Jude for the first time! On parent's night before school starts, they warn you about children crying for mommy and daddy, and not doing well away from parents. Not Jude! He walked right into his classroom, dropped his backpack, and got busy learning! For Jacob, since it's his third year with most of the same kids, it was a long awaited reunion.

Introduction to the Hooks Household

Welcome to our new blog about the Hooks Household! We are starting this for all our friends and family across the United States to enjoy pictures and updates of our family. The Hooks Household consists of Corey Hooks (the world's greatest daddy), Jackie Hooks (a pretty darn good mommy), Jacob (the boss), Jude (the instigator) and Grace (the princess). Our life is a bit chaotic and hopefully this blog will help put that all in perspective. Enjoy!