Lovin' Luke

So maybe I just learned how to upload vidoes on here....Enjoy!! 

Frio Frenzies

We left last Thursday bright and early for the Frio River with both sides of our families!! I think we had about 50 people in Concan, Texas that were related to us. We had about 22 people in one house. Anytime you have that many people in one house it is complete and utter chaos. It reminded me of Vegas in some aspects. People coming in/out of the doors at all hours, more beer to drink than any legal limit, and things that happened there need to stay there. I loved the fact that me, my brother, my sister, my 2 step sisters, and all of our children were there. Jake was in HEAVEN. His favorite people were at his fingertips 24 hours a day for 5 full days!!  I am still trying to convince my parents we do not need a place in Alaska that we can visit once a year, we need a house like this where we can all go a few times each year and be together. ALL TOGETHER!! Stoney LaRue was playing at the house pasture Saturday night so we brought Jake. This part of our vacation made all the lost hours of sleep, hangovers, and sunburns well worth it. He was amazed and overwhelmed to say the least. It was more than he ever imagined. Jake wore the red bandanna ,on the front row, right in the middle of the stage all night. My clothes were wet from sweat and drinks that the classy girls behind me, jumping around somewhat like I used to at age 21, spilled down my back.  In the middle of the show Stoney came over and gave Jake a guitar pick. Jake did not want to move from the front. Every time he played one of Jake's favorite songs Jake look at me like,"mom, omg, I know this song." It was so cute.  I'm sure Jake's picture got uploaded to Facebook many times Saturday night because every person around us went on and on about how cute he was and couldn't believe he was so interested. One lady was even trying to "hook him up" with her 3 year old daughter. It was the high light of my trip no doubt!! Im sure Jake will be talking about it for a LONG time!

I, of course, did not get all of the pictures I hoped for the whole trip but between Luke and Jake, Cody and I stayed busy the whole time. We bought Cody his first set of golf clubs for Father's Day so he played golf one of the days with all of the guys. He said he was terrible but had a blast. I got to lay by the pool and in the river with some of the girls so I felt accomplished!! I hope there is no limit to pics on this blog because I am pretty sure I am about to exceed it!! Here ya go!!

As I unpack and wash clothes I am trying to get all of the last minute stuff wrapped up for Amy's bachelorette party this weekend in Austin! I haven't stopped to breathe. I feel like my head is spinning but I am too excited for words for Amy! Cody will keep Luke this weekend when I am gone! Y'all pray!! I have a feeling Cody will pack their bags and head to his mama's for the weekend!! Jake left this morning for his dads for TEN freakin days and I cried all morning. I am so tired of him leaving me, having fun, and never thinking about his poor mama that counts down the days until he gets home. I will stay as busy as I possibly can until next Thursday! 

One last thing before I finish up this post that has now taken me approximately 12+ hours to complete....I heard at least 5 times while we were at the Frio how awesome my husband was. My brother even made the comment, which is HUGE. Of course, I have always thought he was the most wonderful man in the world but it really hit me when people have asked all week who is going to keep Luke while I am away this weekend? Um, DUH, Cody. They look at me like I am crazy with a response something like, "my husband would never do that." I will end with saying I am the luckiest girl in the world!! "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all!!"

Cooking and Cuties

Its been a pretty quiet week around here so far. We have stayed inside for the most part because its SO hot outside. I was starting to cabin fever today so went to Wal-Mart to get a few things for next weeks river trip!  I have been doing  A LOT of cooking. I know I have been through the whole canister of sugar and flour since Sunday. I can see it on my thighs. I don't blog that much about cooking because I usually don't have a recipe to post. Coming from a HUGE Cajun family I spent many of hours in the kitchen with my mom, aunts, and grandma. I never use a recipe when I am cooking dinner. If I have a question I usually just pick up the phone and call my mom. It's summer time, obviously. In the country where we live everyone has a garden right now except us. Every time we go visit family and friends we come home with some kind of fresh veggie! I have enough green beans to feed a small army!  I have been trying to cook as much as I can with stuff people give to us. One of my new favorites is purple hull peas that come straight from Big Daddy's (Cody's dad) garden. I made a roast yesterday with fresh potatoes that came from him too. I wish Cody and I had a garden but we cant even seem to keep a hanging basket alive much less a whole garden. Jake has been in the kitchen with me and loves to help. He's quite the egg cracker these days. Every time I do need a recipe I go to Pioneer Woman's website to see if she has what I am looking for. She hasn't failed me yet! Jake and I even looked through her cookbook yesterday and made her pineapple upside down cake. I am positive it was not as good as hers and Cody said it was just "edible." I have yet to accomplish just plain ole homemade chocolate chip cookies!

I have so many matching outfits for the boys and Luke is starting to fit in them! Jake thinks it is so cool. I am sure this won't last much longer but he better get used to it!! There is something about two cute little boys with matching clothes.

Luke's face says it all!!

I made a lemon chess and buttermilk pie from PW's Tasty Kitchen. They were both TO.DIE.FOR.

Lemon Chess

** im not editing this. luke is calling my name! 



Family Moments: Mud Pies

Cody saw this today while I was in the bath and saved it for me to see. It reminds me so much of my little knuckle head that is constantly cracking us up!! We love you Jake Conner!!

On the Home front

I have been putting off blogging because there is so much to blog about. And, I'm trying to have fun with the kids because I know summer will be gone before I know it. I have had my nephew here all week and Jake is in heaven. Colin is 13 but is considered the coolest guy on the planet according to Jake. It amazes me how good Colin is with Jake with them being so far apart in age. I can thank Colin for Jake being so tough. He throws Jake around and Jake "taps out" when he cant take it anymore. Which is very seldom. I have Colin to thank for Jake running around singing," Black and Yellow, Bottoms Up, and This is How We Do It." Don't judge me, it could be worse. I will also be calling Colin when Jake gets in his first fight because he has beat the living crap out a kid for probably nothing at all. I can honestly say I have never had to worry about Jake getting picked on at school or anywhere else for that matter. Jake will body slam a kid in a minute and he could care less how big they are. It's a constant struggle in this house to make Jake understand not every boy wants to wrestle and fight when they come to play. He will get there, one spanking at a time!

I took Luke to his 2 month check up this week and the kid is growing like a weed. He is 13.9 pounds and few short of 26 inches long. This means he has grown 6 inches in 2 months. He is wearing all 6 month clothes and some are still too short. I looked at Jake's baby book and at SIX months he was 26 inches long and 20 pounds. And you wanna know why I am scared to have a girl? Boys can get away with being tall but I just know my little girl will be born and be a giant. It wasn't always cool to have to stand on the back row for pictures or to NEVER be able to find pants long enough as a kid. If I can just stick to boys, I will be a-ok!! Luke is starting to coo and talk and smile constantly. Him and Cody have this special little sound they make and it melts my heart. There is no doubt Luke loves his daddy and his daddy is so in love with him. Luke is changing every day and I am still researching a way to make it stop. He is constantly moving. His legs and arms are always going ninety to nothing. His favorite place to be is on the floor on his back. Jake is starting to come around too. I think he has realized Luke is not going anywhere so he might as well start to like him!

Here are some pics that are long overdue

Jake's Pre-School Graduation

I wish somewhere in Jake's pre school curriculum was a lesson on how to smile! He is still the most handsome kid in town!

End of the Year Program

Last Day of School

Memorial Day Weekend BBQ at my in-laws

Luke and Daddy

Luke and Mommy

And THIS is why I wake up every morning with a smile!

I swear I am going to start keeping up with this better. Catching up is for the birds......



Memorial Day- Food and Friends


I got to thinking what I could post about today. I have been thinking about Amber Nicole all day. She is one of my best friends from high school that is by far one of my most favorite people in the whole world. What I love about Amber is she has worked for everything she has and she has the most positive attitudes in the world. So many of us including myself have been given so many things by our parents to help us "get started" in life. It has not always been easy for her. She very seldom calls me to vent or complain. She is thankful for what she has and always makes me see the good in every situation. She enlisted in the Army when we were seniors in high school and has been gone ever since. She started at the bottom and worked her way up. She is now married with two kids and takes care of her mom and stepdad. I depended on Amber in school for so many things. She was my right arm during basketball season, my support system, and always my biggest fan. She has been the most honest and most loyal friend I have ever had. If I gained 5 pounds or my shorts were too short she was the first to let me know. She is the cutest thing I have ever seen and has a perfect family now! She loves the Lord and her chilren like I do. Obsessed may be the right word. Thank you Amber for being the best thing in the world. Thank you for all of the sacrifices you make for our freedom!! You are truly my hero!!!

Here are your recipes I have been promising!!

Meatloaf-

1 pound HB meat
1 medium onion chopped (small)
2 stalks celery chopped
1 tablespoon mustard
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup oatmeal

Mix everything together. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Put it all in a baking dish. (one of those loaf pans, like you would bake bread in) Pour ketchup all over the top(cover all of the meat)

Bake at 350 for an hour. I cover mine with foil and take off the foil about 15 minutes before it done!


Quick Peach Cobbler

Mix 2 cups of self rising flour, 2 cups of milk, 2 cups of powered sugar togther with a mixer. Pour in a 9x11 baking dish. Take 2 cans of sliced peaches and drain the juice. Pour in the pan. Take a stick of butter and cut in small squares spreading them out all over the pan. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for an hour. Take foil off and turn up the temp to 400 and bake until the top is golden brown!!!

I did not proofread this. Luke is eating his hands. Love you!!1

Change

Last night was graduation for our whole school. That means my class and Jake. Those were really the only two I was worried about. The theme was change. Our school changed from a private school last year to a charter school. The best way for me to explain charter school is a public school that is privately ran. We can pick and choose the students we want and the state funds us, which means I get paid like a public school teacher as opposed to private and my kids are usually so well behaved. It's really hard to beat. As my principal talked about all the change that has taken place this last year at school I sat and thought about how much has changed in my life. I never would have thought a year ago I would have another perfect baby boy already. May 14 of last year is when Cody asked me to marry him. Jake and I made the BIG move to Centerville mid June. Cody has a job where he works shift work. I knew it was going to be so tough raising a family with him on a different shift each week. He worked a week of days, a week of evenings, and a week of nights. Then they cycle would repeat. Cody had put in for a different job within the plant but it takes months for them to make a decision. They have to go through psychiatric evaluations, interviews, training, and all of this non sense before they hire. Thank God Cody passed his psych. evaluation( ha) because the day I found out I was pregnant he found out he got the job!! He now works a month of straight days, a week of evenings, a week of nights, and back to a month of days. Let me back up and say finding a job here is not the easiest task. Centerville district is incredibly small and teachers NEVER leave. It was by the grace of God that the charter I worked for in Willis took over this school in Crockett and I was able to transfer. Everything has fallen right in to place. My biggest worry moving here was Jake's education and where I would put him. A daycare wasn't appealing to me and the choices are slim to none here. Just so happened my school in Crockett had a pre-school for 3 year olds. Jake has blossomed this year and has grown up so much right before my eyes. He has adjusted to all of this change so well.

Last night I was a mess. I am such a crier. I cried when they called Jake's name and said he wanted to be a police man. I cried when I looked up and saw Cody rocking Luke in the audience. I cried when my principal announced my 4th graders and how much change they have had to deal with because I sub for 8 weeks. I cried when I rocked Luke to sleep last night because he is too precious for words. When I was pregnant I could blame it on my hormones but the truth is I have always been this way. I don't know why I seem to be so surprised that God keeps blessing me so much. He always provides and lays it all out. I am still waiting for him to change my body so it looks like it did before both of these kids!!

My babies and how much they have "changed" in such short time

   Jake (Then)

Now ( 4 years later)

Luke (Then)

Now ( 2 months later)

I swear my next post won't be so sappy!!!