Swimming and a Shot

Working hard during his last class.
He likes to swim on his back.

We stopped at Dairy Queen on the way home and Baylor was happy with is blizzard. Cooper ate his whole cone in the car. Ice cream always makes you feel better.

He was telling Baylor about his boo boo.

He wanted to show off his battle wound.

Today turned out a little different than we originally anticipated. Baylor was able to have his final swimming lesson this morning before it started to rain. He did a great job and has learned so much during his lessons with Miss Sarah. We think she is great and did an awesome job with Baylor, our little fish. Last night Cooper started to cough in the night like a seal. When he woke up he sounded wheezy. Since I am leaving in the morning I wanted to get it checked out. He was fine all day yesterday and this came on very quickly. Thankfully I took him to the doctor because he had croup and they gave him a steroid shot. He was not a happy camper and was very upset by the shot. He had a rough afternoon but is doing better tonight. Daddy is going to stay home with him tomorrow so I feel a little bit better about leaving. This is my first time ever away from Cooper so it makes it even harder to know he doesn't feel his best. I am praying that he feels better quickly and that he has a great time with Daddy and Baylor while I am gone.

Girls Night

The picture turned out dark but it was so fun to sit outside.

Tonight several ladies from our Mops groups got together at McAllister's for dinner. One of our friends who moved to China last winter was home for the summer. It was so nice to talk to her and see her at dinner. She had some great stories about China and what life is like there. They leave again next week and will be gone again until Christmas. We are praying for safe travel for her family and an easy transition for her two little boys.

Surprise Visitors

Sarah and Baylor
Hi dog. Sometimes he was walking Emme and other times she was walking Coop.

This is fun.

Playing ball with Beanie.

This evening after dinner Mimi, Sarah, and Emme came over for a surprise visit. Sarah just returned home from Florida and the boys have missed her so much. We haven't seen her in two months and they could not get enough of her and they were so happy the dog came for a visit too. Sarah had a busy day at basketball and volleyball camp. They all had fun playing in the yard and on the swing set. What a great surprise. We love you Beanie!

Boogety, Boogety, Boogety - Let's go racing.

I am not a big racing fan - specifically NASCAR, but today was a special treat. Due to our relationship with FedEx at work, I was lucky enough to receive one of four FedEx Racing suite passes for today's race. We went early and were greeted to a huge spread for breakfast, followed up by an up-close pit road tour. After the tour, it was back up to the suite to wait for the FedEx driver Denny Hamilin. I got him to autograph a couple of items in the gift bag we received - a die cast car and a hat (donating these to the Harvest for the Hungry Silent Auction). What really got me going was that Joe Gibbs then came up to the suite - he gave a short speech and then signed autographs (another hat for the auction). He also brought one of his Super Bowl Rings. He joked about nobody making any quick moves with it, but put it on down on the counter and let people try it on and take photos. YES - that's me with JOE GIBBS Super Bowl Ring on. For those of you that know me, you know that I am a huge football fan - meeting Coach Gibbs and wearing the ring was the highlight of my day. The race was great - we were given NASCAR Fanviewer hand-helds - which have TV, Radio, Driver to crew radio frequencies and race statistics on them. It was cool to keep track of everything that was going on. All it in all, it was a pretty cool day and I was happy to be able to partake while Jess and the boys hung out at home. I am blessed to have such a great family and an absolutely WONDERFUL wife. As much as I travel and work - she was very cool about me being gone all day today! I did come home to some beautiful driveway artwork!

Monkey Joe's

With Daddy by the big Monkey Joe.
Yeah!

In the obstacle course.

My little monkey.

Getting ready for the slide.

Since it was raining this morning we wanted a fun family indoor activity. Several friends have told me how great Monkey Joe's is so we decided to try it out. What a great place. There are lots of bounce houses, slides, obstacles courses, etc. They are huge and so clean. There was a fun place for Cooper to play and he even went on the big ones with Daddy. Baylor had a blast and was sweating with a super red face. After bouncing we headed to lunch at On The Border, yum. We finished more projects tonight and Mimi and Pop came over to help. We could not get it all done without their help. We love you!

Wonder who's watching the boys?

Oreo time - one look at the boys and it should answer the title question. Jessie is gone tonight helping her cousin Jenny prepare for their little boy who will be coming soon. After dinner and some playing, I decided that we needed a boy's night Oreo eating lesson from an old pro, Daddy - although I didn't partake (I had one of Cooper's, but I am on a much needed "healthier eating" plan). Anyway, we had a great night - shades of next week when Mommy is gone for FOUR DAYS in a row?!?!

Take me to Egypt

My little King Tut.
Baylor and Mimi outside the museum.

Having fun in the tent.

Taking Pop for a ride. Look at his new cheese face.

Going for a ride.

Making a bracelet with Mimi.

Riding on the Nile crocodile.

Buying lots of food in the marketplace.

Sandy goes really fast.

We love the museum.

Do you like my safety goggles.

He loves his Pop!

We went to the Children's Museum today with Mimi and Pop. It was a special treat that Pop was able to go too and the boys were so excited. We were anxious to see the new Egypt exhibit and the King Tut artifacts. The Egypt exhibit had lots for the boys to do and it was so cute. Cooper loved the marketplace and Baylor loved the giant crocodile. Let's just say the King Tut artifacts were not a huge hit with the boys but the rest of us like looking and reading. It is amazing how old the pieces are and how ornate. We did lots of our favorite exhibits too and had a great time. We can't wait to go back again soon.