spring break 2011

spring break 2011 has been a different animal this year, if you will.  i realized just how spoiled we've been the past few years, me being home (like always) and john being home on break.  we've managed to pack in a little work and a lot of fun during the past few spring breaks.

this year was a little different now that i am a part-time working mom.  i worked all day monday and tuesday, so the boys called those days "daddy days" and had lots of fun, male-bonding experiences.  i chose not to ask a lot of questions.  i probably don't want to know what all they did (or didn't do!).

on wednesday though, it was my turn as john went golfing with some friends.  the boys and i headed south to mimi's for some shopping, eating and outdoor playtime with cousin porkchop.

thursday finally brought us together as a family, and we had fun hitting some good "treasure hunting" jaunts.  friday was a work in the yard day.  the boys love to jump in and help some, and then when they get bored, they move on to digging in the dirt or other outdoor boy activities.

so when saturday rolled around, john and i felt like we wanted to do something unusual that would make lasting memories for the boys.  after putting our heads together, we decided to head out to grapevine mills and eat lunch at the rainforest cafe.  we'd never been there before, and the boys have always been fascinated with the alligator out front.  well, they haven't always been fascinated....burrito once was scared to death to get near him!  what a difference a few years make!

now it is a little pricey, but we knew that going into it, and we felt like we could splurge a bit.  in its defense, the food was yummy and the atmosphere just can't be beat.  we sat in a booth near two gorillas who would awaken every few minutes to growl and shake the trees.

 you can barely see the gorilla's hand behind noodle in this picture.

 the below picture is complements of burrito.

 noodle was loving the fried mozzarella cheese sticks!

we even splurged and let the boys eat "lava mud."  it was a concoction of chocolate pudding, ground oreos, and gummy worms!

it was really fun but nothing compared to the fun we had in store for the two of them that evening!

now before i tell you what the surprise was, i must first take a moment and congratulate myself.  you see, i am not the world's best secret keeper, especially when it comes to gifts or surprises for the ones i love.  i just get so excited and i want to tell, tell, tell!

but i managed to keep this secret for over 2 months!  and what was the secret????

tickets to see THIRD DAY in concert!!!!  the boys have never been to a concert before, and john had never seen Third Day in concert so you can imagine my excitement for them!  i had seen Third Day several times before but many, many years ago so it was super fun for all of us!

trevor morgan and tenth avenue north opened for them.  they were both very enjoyable and talented but i can't tell you how many times noodle asked me, "is it time for Third Day yet?"

the boys love listening to their music and know a lot of their songs.  and of course, Third Day opened with our current favorite, Lift Up Your Face.  the boys were crooning it, noodle was playing his air guitar and jumping all around, and burrito said, "i can feel the music in my body!"

music is very powerful to me.  i get the most passionate and most emotional when i am singing to the Lord.  and to get to share that with my family, my 6 and 5 year old boys, wow, it was just priceless!!!

it was just the perfect night and the perfect ending to another great spring break with my family!

soccer

it seems i have found myself in the throes of soccer once again.  this second time around has been much easier.  less of a shock to my naturally-inclined unscheduled self.  do i dare say that i've actually enjoyed it?  well, i didn't enjoy the 30 degree wind chill at yesterday's 9:00 game, but for the most part, it's been fun.  it could be because john and i have taken a "divide and conquer" gameplan this season.  we don't both have to attend every single practice.  every game, yes, but not every practice.  and with both boys playing and practicing every week, just this little break seems to maintain the crazies.

here are some fun shots from last weekend's games.  it was the first game of the spring season and both boys did super!  we can see so much improvement, even after having played just one season.  and i think they like it even more now!

burrito's team is the little monsters.  they have glow-in-the-dark green jerseys.  they don't really glow in the dark, but they should, they are "that" color!  burrito is #4.   here they are warming up.

 an action shot.  burrito scored a goal in this game and scored another goal in his second game, along with an assist.  we try not to make a big deal out of making goals (or not) or winning (or not) but no one can stop me from bragging here! :)

 i love, love, love this shot.  he's so serious, watching his team while he takes a break on the sideline.

 post game smiles from burrito.

 noodle's team is the tigers and they have orange jerseys.  he is #5.  this is noodle with the ball below.

 here's noodle making a break-away run.  he scored several goals in this game and in his game yesterday.   i think he and one other boy on the team are the only ones who "get it." 

here are the tigers, minus one player who didn't make this game.  it's just a 3 on 3 game so with only 4 players, noodle played almost the entire game.  we were so happy that he seemed to have more fun and not freak out when he got tired (like he did last season).  his coaches are two 16 year old girls (they are cousins) supervised by their dad/uncle.

 and just for fun, here are two shots i've taken recently of them playing outside.  i'm still trying to figure out my fancy camera.  i haven't yet but despite that, i thought these two pictures were cute.