Every King needs a sword...

And an adorable little prince. Blake and Mason curled up on Sunday night, with Braden's new sword. After being cooped up since Thursday, Braden was happy to take a trip with dad to Wal-Mart and let go of some of his cash. He bought this sword to accompany the 4 swords & light sabers he already has. It could have been another car! Mason is wearing what Blake calls his "Hef" pj's.

Date night!

The babysitter was worth every dollar while Blake and I went to a wedding on Saturday.

A day of play

This is why I buy my sunglasses at the Dollar Tree!

Mason was so proud of himself for crawling in the Leggo wagon.

Eat the bubbles, Momma!

Mason convincing me how good the dish soap bubbles taste!

Our little spook house

Our glowing pumpkins.

Mason aka Incredible Hulk

A little Jackson Pollock anyone?

Here we have a work by Mason, many of you will be able to see a resemblance to Jackson Pollock's unique style.

This is Braden's own version of the famous flags by Jasper Johns. Amazing reproduction with construction paper!

This is a maze Braden drew at school, eat your heart our Dali.

Mason's footprints

A nice gum ball machine by Braden.

So tell us, what do you see when you look at this? How does that make you feel? Mason's latest artwork is already framed and on the dining room wall. It immediately reminded me of the rorschach ink blots.

Guys & their chairs

Pumpkin Carving at The Ward's

This is Mason's expression 90 percent of the time, now. It is accompanied by a scream that means "LEAVE ME ALONE," "I WANT IT, NOW," "I DON'T WANT THAT RIGHT NOW," and we have the pleasure of figuring it out.

We are Carnivores and proud of it

This was dinner last night. Ok, not just for last night, but this was on our table by 6 p.m. last night. Yes, I have an amazing husband, yes, he is an amazing cook. Yes, that is why I can't drop 3 sizes! Blake did the store run and came home with several options for dinner. All within our budget, too! We had some ribs, chicken, steak and I think maybe some pork chops. Mason had some grilled chicken without sauce or seasoning, I had steak, Braden had steak and some ribs! I think Blake had steak, too! This will last us most of the week, and we'll just add sides. This is especially helpful on Mondays, when I teach at night.



Mr. Mason's fever was back before we left Rogers. On the way home I called the Dr. and she prescribed a new antibiotic, the one we got Friday obviously wasn't doing any good. We picked it up as soon as we rolled into town. We tried to lay him down, thinking he'd rest best in his own bed, but he didn't stay even 15 minutes. He was very miserable the next hour and a half, but I think the new medicine and Tylenol finally kicked in and he was in a much better mood. Not 100% but in a better mood. He did go to bed about an hour early, which also meant he woke up an hour early, but he seemed to be much better. Now we just have the diaper "surprises" from being on an antibiotic. Domestic bliss.

Happy Birthday Nana

After Flag Football and Blake's presentation, we drove to Rogers, to meet up with Nana and Papa. The night before, Blake took Mason to QuickCare to find out he had a very back ear infection in his left ear, complete with bloody discharge. We got him started on an antibiotic and hoped for the best. We knew it was going to be a long weekend, but we headed to Rogers as planned. We were able to see Granny & Chelsea and very quickly, Aunt Dee, as well.

Mason's fever never broke and came right back as soon as the Tylenol wore off. We had planned to walk next door for dinner at Copeland's while Nana & Papa took care of the boys. As the Tylenol once again kicked in, we went to dinner. It was so nice to 1. eat out, 2. eat without children, 3. eat such delicious food!

When we got back to the hotel, Mason was feeling much better, and Papa had taken Braden to Wal-Mart and bought him a race track to play with. I put Mason to bed, while Braden went to swim.

We paid dearly for the nice dinner. Mason was up crying with fever at 3 a.m., so that he wouldn't wake Braden up or get us kicked out of the hotel, Blake walked him down to the lobby to calm him down. He was back shortly with a dirty diaper, and about an hour later once Mason went back to sleep. Then of course Braden was up before 7 a.m., ready for breakfast, so Blake took him to the lobby.

As nice as it was to see everyone, and be there for Nana's birthday on Sunday, hotel trips are not fun right now.

We got Nana a photo album for her birthday. Braden was so proud to give it to her and kept asking what time her "party" was. He automatically associates birthdays with parties.

Saying goodbye!

Our last Flag Football game

Braden's last flag football game was Saturday morning at 10:15 a.m. Blake had to present in a Leadership conference at PSU, Mason stayed home with an ear infection, so it was just myself and Braden in the freezing windy weather!!!! Braden is easy to spot in the black hood. He tried to argue about having to wear a sweatshirt under his team shirt, but by the time we got out there it was a "great idea." Since last year, Braden has a much better understanding of the game. He's a GREAT quarterback and usually gets one of the few (in this game the only) touchdowns. He also is undertstanding about "blocking" and not tackling, but grabbing the flags.

A Throne for our King!

While Blake was out of town for a few days last week, I went shopping! As with most men, it is very hard to get him to come right out and say there's something he wants to have. I zeroed in on several references to how much he would enjoy a recliner, and poof, here it is. Now, this is by no means his "first" recliner, his first recliner was purchased for around $50 when he moved into his apartment in Rogers. We had it right up until we moved to Pittsburg, somehow it didn't make it into the U-haul! The boys were so proud to sit in Daddy's special chair before he even knew we about it!

Bring on the Black Beans

This was during dinner on Sunday. Mason ate everything on his plate so I put a few of my black beans on his tray. Before it was over, he ate Blake's entire portion of black beans. Poor Daddy had to eat black eyed peas with his dinner. Anything for the kids, right!



Notice the high chair cover is missing...it was already in the dryer from the previous night's dinner.


Nothing like bean juice to style your hair! Mr. Tom, who cuts our hair should think about this!