Two More Cute Pictures From This Week

My friend Teresa sent me some pictures last night and two of them were just adorable to Corey and I. We love this picture of Grace because, hey, personality is EVERYTHING at the Hooks House. Also, the picture of Jacob, Jude and Ben is such an adorable memory. We were riding the train to finish our zoo trip and they were super excited. Boys love trains. It has been a great week as far as the kids go. Much action and adventure. They are all resting now after another romp in the plastic crab pool complete with popsicles. Grace calls them "pop pops" which is now officially the cutest word ever!

Grace Front and Center

Grace has somehow ended up in the background of our blog lately. She has been in lots of the pictures, but there have not been any to capture truly the stage of cuteness she is in these days. I decided to change that today. So, here is Grace front and center. I chose two activities that Gracie girl loves...sitting in the bottom drawer in the kitchen throwing plastic cups onto the floor and eating popsicles. Lucky for us you can make her happy with such simple things. How long do you think this will last????

Friends and Popsicles

Today is Wednesday and that equals storytime with Mr. Bob at the Public Library. We met our friends there this morning and listened to three great stories and sang lots of songs. We checked out new Spiderman books and new movies. We played on the computers and then we all loaded up and headed to our house for lunch and time with friends. All the kids played so well together. It really was a nice mix of children...lots of dressing up as usual. The boys and I had picked out some tropical popsicles at Target the other day, and we gave all of our friends a treat after lunch. I snapped some shots of our adorable friends eating popsicles in the backyard. It was a priceless morning.

Back to the Zoo

We went to the zoo today with our friends and had a fabulous time. The boys were so excited to go back to the zoo...I think it has been since last fall that we visited. Today was the first time that I had to pay for Jude, and he loved having his own ticket. We saw elephants, a white tiger, bears, penguins, fish, snakes (for only a second, but that was Jude's favorite part), birds and some sleeping lions. We had a picnic lunch and road the train. We even topped the day off with a blue icee that the four of us shared before we drove home. It was great to be back at the zoo. I hope it lives in my kids memories for a long time that we did this. It will live in mine forever.

That's Texas Weather

Last Thursday we had a horrible storm complete with massive amounts of hail just a few miles down the road. We wore jackets last week, but this is Texas and by Saturday it was in the 80's! On Saturday it was so warm that I put the kids in their bathing suits and filled up the little crab pool (that used to be a sandbox) and let everyone have some fun. We pulled the beach towels out too and had a picnic on the patio. It was really cute. Grace was not the water baby I hoped she would be, and she would cry so hard anytime the boys splashed her. She spent most of her time trying to avoid them, but for a few moments I captured them all together.

My Two Boys

Jacob and Jude have been pretty great friends lately. They play together so well, and make me feel like I'm the luckiest mom ever. This picture was taken right before bed while they were both "helping" me watch the microwave cook daddy's dinner. Such a fun moment with both of them.

The Big Storm

This is Texas and the weather changes every few minutes. We were having Bible Study at our house last night, and all of a sudden there were weather reports that a HUGE storm was headed our way complete with 60 mile per hour winds, hail and possible tornadoes...wow. Corey was at work so, I called my mom and Mac to come over and use our garage (and also make me feel less afraid). The kids had a blast listening to weather reports and holding on to their flashlights. I snapped a picture of the kids with Grandaddy waiting for the big storm.

Taking It Easy!

Jacob, Grace and I have all been sick at some point this week. Grace got the bug first, then Jacob and then me today. It has been a yucky house to live in lately. Since no one was seeming to feel up to doing anything today, and Jacob didn't even feel like playing soccer this morning, we decided to give the boys a fun treat. Corey moved the TV and VCR into the boys room and let them watch a movie while laying in their beds with Daddy. I cannot tell you how excited they were about watching a movie in their room. The whole house was quiet and Corey got to nap while his boys snuggled with him all in Jude's bunk bed. I snapped a couple of shots of my guys hanging out on their lazy Saturday.

We are Loving Grace in Her Pigtails!

I have been waiting (not so patiently) for the day when I could easily put pigtails in Gracie Girl's hair. This was the week it finally could happen. Grace has been sporting two pigtails on top of her head since Wednesday, and I must say we have gotten TONS of compliments. I was trying to snap some good shots of her pigtails, but you may have to look rather closely to see them well, but they are there! She is getting so grown up lately...time is passing so quickly and pigtails are just another reminder of the time slipping by. Oh, by the way, if you haven't heard, Grace also is loving having her toenails painted...she'll be 10 before I know it!

Aren't They Cute???

We went to the park on Monday with friends and had such a great time. We ended the morning by sliding down and playing on a dirt hill that Grace now loves as much as the boys...is she going to end up a tomboy? We have one adorable picture from lunchtime. This is Jude with his sweet friends Claire and Laney. Aren't they cute???

Pictures that Should Have Made the Blog, But Didn't...Yet

Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging on a regular basis. However, there were so many cute pictures from the end of March that should have made the blog, but didn't...Until now! So, you will see some pictures from the Easter Egg Hunt at the Upstairs Gallery with Mama, Grandaddy and John Thomas complete with confetti eggs. You will see the playgroup "Post Easter" Easter Egg Hunt, and a few other random shots that are just too cute to pass up.

Enjoy.

Kids, A Bucket of Water and Three Paintbrushes

Today was one of those beautiful days in Texas that make people want to be outside all day. Corey was doing yardwork and I was needing to get things together for a baby shower tomorrow at our house. We try not to turn on the TV on Saturdays, but we needed the kids to be completely entertained for atleast an hour. That's when I remembered water painting. All it takes is a bucket of water and big paintbrushes. Jacob, Jude and Grace "painted" everything in the backyard...the ground, the house, the shed, their jungle gym, each other....It was great. They were working together so well that it was astonishing. Jacob was the boss and he had his little two man crew (Jude and Grace) working nonstop. There was never any crying or fighting or wanting to play something else. All three of them went in at naptime, took a nap, and woke up ready for more painting! Such a spontaneous and fun afternoon for us all.