LaRue Miller Art Spectacular

Each year at the boys' school the art teacher has the art work for every student put up on the walls of the school hallways to show off to the parents. We went up there one evening to see exactly what they had done this year. Each class (Kinder, 1st, 2nd, etc) has their own pictures that each student is taught to draw. It is so neat to see that your children can actually draw a lot better than yourself!

Preston with his drawings.

Grant showing off his work...so proud!

Connor with his artwork.


Connor's work up close. I was SHOCKED at how well his drawings were compared to other classmates. I think we have a true artist on our hands! The flowers in the bottom left were unbelievable at how detailed he drew them.

The same night the art fair was going on the library was having one of their book sales. The boys each got to pick one book to buy and then the twins posed with one of the displays:)

Lounging Around

When it is cold outside what is one to do? Make a mess aka a tent! The boys always seem to enjoy pulling every last fitted and loose sheet off their beds and out of the closets along with every blanket they can find. What does that mean for me you ask...I get to fold it all back up so that it meets my standards for being put back up. The boys were cracking me up this particular cold weathered day. The twins made this tent all by themselves and were determined to sleep in it. They actually slept in it this particular night which is actually a first. To finish off the evening I splurged and got the twins their very own snuggies that went on clearance at Walmart. They are always looking for something to keep them warm when watching TV. They are pretty cute lounging in Toy Story and Transformer blankies.

"THE TENT"

What hams:)

Precious Preston and Monkey Sam


Preston pretending to sleep for me:) I could just eat him up!

My little stinker.

Grant pretending to sleep which goes south quickly...

He is pretending to snore. I don't recall who was laughing more...me or him!

Snuggie Boys

The BIG boy was to big for a snuggie:)

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

My Cat In The Hat Boys

White Belt with Yellow Stripe

As the boys put in hours of karate practice they are rewarded with stripes on their belts. After three stripes they are able to test for the next color belt. A month has passed and they received their first yellow stripe...this was a BIG night! They are called down in front of the class and presented with their stripe and then return in line to "Ray" out for the night.

Practice makes perfect.

Mrs. Honeycutt talking to the boys.

Connor goes first.


...then Grant...

and finally Preston!

Walking backwards back into formation.

The boys were so so very proud!

Mr. Herb's Place

Mr. Herb, the developer of our current subdivision, has land all over the place. One of the places is nicknamed, "Big Onion" in Waxahachie, Texas. One day this spring we went to check out two new ponds that he dug with all his machinery. Doug let Connor take his BB-gun with him to shoot whatever the heck he wanted to...except his brothers:) The boys had a blast just running around and doing boy things.

Checking out the cows that graze the adjoining land.

Connor and Preston trying to decide whether they want to climb up this empty drainage pipe while Grantsters plays it safe.

The twins observing Connor as he attempts to shoot a bird with his gun.

The Gang

Connor helping Grant shoot.

and Preston's turn.

Bring It On...It's Time To Spar

Once a month the boys get to spar other classmates during their karate lesson. This is beyond exciting to be able to legally get away with fighting for 3 little boys. The twins have yet to spar each other for fear of what brothers might do to each other. They typically spar other classmates that are there size or one of the black belt instructors that occasionally will get down on their knees so as to be the right size. Connor has sparred other boys and one girl who he made cry. I felt horrible and he did too. He punched her at her waist on a pad, but the know in her uniform's belt made her double over in pain. I made sure that boy chased her down and apologized!

Connor sparring another boy in class. Connor is facing the camera.

Preston sparring Aggie, a black belt teacher.

Grant punching Aggie.


A well padded Grant ready to go.

"Raying" out of class.

Got Money Burning In Our Pockets

The boys received quite a bit of birthday money at their party. I always try to put most of it in their savings account so as not just throw it away, but this year I failed. Grant has wanted a pricey Lego "Green Bounty Hunter Ship" for over a year and I just couldn't find it in myself to spent about $70 on Legos...so we finally did. He was runny down the aisle to grab his much anticipated present with a big smile on his face. Preston settled for a much cheaper present, but since they neither one really understand the value of a dollar yet we put the rest of the money Preston was allocated into their bank accounts...and no one knew the difference:) We spent the evening (many hours) putting together the bounty hunter ship and eating leftover pizza from the party. Shelley and her boys joined us and Jake ate his first piece of pizza...all by himself!

Preston with his spider robot car (another imaginext toy).

Grant and the beloved ship.

The finished project:)

Jake and his big ole slice of pizza.

Look mom...I can do this by myself!