The Thompson Crew Ode to Summer '08

Oh how we have enjoyed our days this summer
whether in Aledo or Saginaw.
But we must admit it was a HOT one
and we are looking forward to the fall.

We started off quite busy - swim lessons, SONcamp,
VBS, building a house and the move.
But ended a tad bit lazy - video games,
eating late and hitting the snooze.

We have been sleeping later and later,
8:00, 8:30 and even 9:00.
Mommy may have a hard time adjusting when school starts,
but the kids will do just fine.

The bummers were a new clutch for the truck, Mommy being sick
on her b-day, and vandals on our front porch.
The great times were Riley jumping off the diving board, 2-day getaway,
high speed internet, building the deck and finding a new church.

We are looking froward to cooler days
(the last few have been great).
But Victoria and Mommy will miss Riley dearly
when he starts school, being there at 8:00.

So goodbye summer '08,
we will remember you as a hot one filled with new.
We look forward to more new experiences and friendships this fall
and enjoying our Thompson Crew!

Major Milestone

Riley lost his first tooth! I first noticed it about two weeks ago when I was flossing his teeth. I saw something white on his gums and thought I missed some food or something. I tried to get it off and realized that it was a tooth coming in ... freaky! I so wasn't expecting that yet. Then I felt that his tooth was loose. It has been getting more and more loose, but he didn't like to mess with it and every time I would look in his mouth and wiggle it, both Riley and I would get the "willies."

So last night it was just hanging by practically nothing and I don't do gross things like that very well, so Gigi (my Mom, the nurse) volunteered to pull it. But first, Carey had a try at it. He try twice and I guess didn't pull hard enough and sent him over to Gigi. She tried once ... didn't get it. She tried again with little Riley arching his back ... still didn't get it. Third time was the charm! He was so brave. I think that he wanted to cry when it was over, but we all acted so excited and he got really excited too!

So in the envelope it went and under the pillow. The tooth fairy wasn't quite ready for it and since Riley doesn't take debit card, Carey was planning on going on a late night run to the bank. Instead, he made a trip to Wal-mart and the tooth fairy brought Riley the Indiana Jones Lego kit that is Raiders of the Lost Ark (complete with the big boulder, monkey idol and airplane). The tooth fairy figured that it was his FIRST tooth and he was so very brave when Gigi yanked it out, that he deserved something big. So we told him that the $3 under his pillow was for the tooth and the Lego set was because it was his first one. Hopefully he will buy that and not expect a big-o toy every time.

So grown-up ... lost his first tooth, starting school on Monday ... I feel on the verge of tears when I think of it all.

Meet the Teacher Night

We met Riley's kindergarten teacher tonight ... Mrs. Bush. She seems very energetic and sincere, as kindergarten teachers should be. She has the room all decorated in Texan/Cowboyish stuff ... very cute! For all of my Aggie readers, she is an alumna of A&M. This is her first year to teach ... brand new teacher at a brand new school. I went ahead and signed-up to be Room Mom. Not sure what this will all involve, but I am up for it. I figured that I don't work and will just have Victoria at home with me during the day, so I can probably manage to do it. It can't be any harder than working 55 hours a week with a husband in law school and shuffling a 3 year old from sitter-to-sitter (been there, done that, survived).

I am still not looking forward to school starting. It didn't help that I heard a Mom cussing at her 5 year old during meet the teacher for something that wasn't really that big of a deal. I know we all have different parenting styles, but I think that leaving the potty mouth at home isn't too much to ask. I am not an advocate for cussing at your kids either ... there is a better way to get their attention than that. Anyway, I digress. I know that Riley will do well. He is very excited about school starting. Tonight was a bit much on him with all the parents there and the chaos, plus he has some fever, so he didn't have as good as a time as we hoped. Hopefully he will be ready and well by the time Monday comes. I am excited for him.

He is all set. We have the messenger bag (got that instead of a backpack, that is what Indiana Jones uses), the lunch box (well they aren't really boxes anymore, more like bags) and we dropped off all the school supplies. That was a mission in and of itself ... school supply shopping. I was so excited to go do it, but it turned out to be very stressful. Between me and my mom, we went to 5 different store to find colored construction paper and manilla paper. I finally found it at Office Depot. They were so great there. As soon as I walked in, one of the guys that worked there asked me what I was looking for, he knew where everything was and there wasn't hardly anyone there. It is settled ... I will be doing all of my school supply shopping there from now on.

Three more days left (sigh, sniff, sniff).

Two Day Getaway

Schlitterbahn Baby!!

We packed up the kids and all the necessities and drove down to San Antonio for a day at Schlitterbahn (water park) and a day at Sea World. Riley was so very excited to go and even told a stranger at Albertsons that she could come if she wanted to. We got down there on Wednesday at around dinner time and went to Rudy's BBQ for dinner. SO YUMMY!! The potato salad was to die for!

We got to Schlitterbahn right before they opened on Thursday and stayed until about 6:30 or so that evening. Riley and Carey had a blast! They were able to ride a few rides and played for a while in the pools. Victoria wasn't able to do very much, so her and I just kinda hung around the pool, browsed the gift shops, and took a nap (her, not me) in a lounge chair pool-side. She isn't big on cold water and didn't play much unless Riley was around. She was probably a bit young for it, but it was worth it for Riley. Of course, the lily-white members of the family (me and Riley) got sun-burned (even though we applied sun screen) and the other two just got more tan. Oh well. We ended the day with dinner at Los Cucos and the fajita meat was mouth-watering!! By the time we got back to the hotel, we were all pretty tired ... except for Victoria. She giggled and babbled for about 30 minutes in the pack-n-play before she finally gave it up.

The next day we got to Sea World when the gates opened. I must admit that I walked into the park with the attitude of "You better impress me because we have spent a small fortune on this day." We did get the double stroller so the kids could ride all day ... good move (Riley was still so exhausted from walking around Schlitterbahn the day before). And we were able to make it to the shows, but we had to book it at times and it seemed like we did alot of waiting ... waiting for rides, waiting for the shows to start. It was also a tad warm for us ... Victoria started the day off in a cute outfit and ended it in just a diaper. We did save money by picnicing it outside the park, but since we couldn't bring a cooler in and we weren't going to give them anymore of our money, well .... we were a bit dehydrated on the way home. No pit stops for the Thompsons from San Marcos to Saginaw ... that is some sort of record! We did like the Sea Lion show and the Shamu show was like totally awesome, but the water ski show was lack-luster and the beluga whale show was not performing because of the new born calf. So we tried to feed the dolphins and looked at the sharks and stingrays (one of my favorite parts - air conditioning!!) and then we called it a day.

So ... what did the Thompsons learn from this vaca? (1) Stay at the Schlitterbahn park motel/cabins that are located in the park so that naps and breaks are more comfortable, (2) don't take 18 month olds to theme parks when it is a thousand degrees outside, (3) when taking summer vacations, go some place cooler ... just because we are Texans doesn't mean that we like the heat ... we like our hot summers with air conditioning thank you very much, (4) vacations need to be a week long, not just 2-3 days, and (5) Rudy's has the best potato salad in the world!! We know that Riley had a blast, so it was worth every penny and every moment.

As you can see, Victoria was not having a good time.

Riley on the other hand was having a great time!

Riding in the stroller at Sea World (Victoria fully clothed).


At the end of our day at Sea World (Victoria in diaper and sandals).

Oh and also, there is a Mervyn's in San Antonio. Mom and I have been mourning the loss of Mervyn's for the past two years. She is so excited that she didn't throw away her Mervyn's card. Looks like we will be trying to find an excuse to go to San Antonio when ever we can. We love our Mervyn's!!

ABC Tag

I saw this on a friend's blog and thought it was kinda neat to do.

*A - Attached or single: Attached for 11 years (16 including dating)
*B - Best Friend: Carey
*C - Cake or Pie: Coconut cake and pie (it really is a toss up)
*D - Day: Thursday
*E - Essential Items: Diet DrPepper, Clorox disinfecting wipes, DVR and my digital camera
*F - Favorite Color: Purple
*G - Gummy Bears or Worms: Neither ... not into candy, just cookies, brownies, cake, pie, ice cream
*H - Hometown: Aledo, TX
*I - Indulgences: Fritos and Bean Dip
*J - January or July: January
*K - Kids: Riley and Victoria
*L - Life is incomplete without: Faith in God
*M - Marriage Date: July 11, 1997
*N - Number of Siblings: 2 (Kevin and Corey)
*O - Oranges or Apples: Only Fugi Apples
*P - Phobia or Fears: Someone snatching my kids in public
*Q - Quote: "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit" - Mrs. Bryson, Riley's pre-k teacher
*R - Reason to Smile: My husband's wit, pretty much anything that the kids do (whether good or bad), a good corny joke
*S - Season: Fall
*T - Tag two: my mom and ???
*U - Unknown facts about me: I love to do laundry and sleep and I thought that High School Musical 2 was much better than the first one.
*V - Vegetarian or Not: Not ... too much trouble
*W - Worst habit: Pressing the snooze on my alarm clock too much
*X - Xrays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds are always so much more fun
*Y - Your favorite food: plain glazed DONUTS!!
*Z - Zodiac sign: Hogwash

Our New Home

We have been in our new home for a month now and still love it to pieces! It feels so good to walk through the front door. Here is a slide show of our home sweet home:



We also have officially joined FBC Saginaw. We are so very excited to have found a new church home. We all love it ... except for Victoria. She is having a hard time when I drop her off. The last couple of times, she just stood in the middle of the room and made her big frowny face and looked at me as to say "Please Mommy, don't leave me alone in this big scary place with all these strangers and other crying children." It just about killed me this past Sunday. If the walk to our class was longer, I probably would have been in tears by the time I got there. Anyway, I am sure it is just the one year old separation anxiety kicking in. Riley didn't much have that, so this is new to me. So the plan is to drop her off next Sunday with her plug (pacifier) in her mouth and Star Dolly (see below) in her arms. I am hoping that will ease her anxiety.



The deck is coming along nicely. We had a bit of a delay in the building process (Carey's clutch in his truck went out ... no fun!). Right now it just has most of the decking boards on. Next will be the roof (complete with ceiling fans and lighting) and then the railing. Then I am hoping to plant some shrubbery and what-not.

Before

After

Popsicles with our friend Jack.

I love to go out there in the morning (before the sun comes over our neighbors house and before the kids wake-up) with my Bible and my prayer journal and just pray to God out loud. There is something about praying outside and out loud that makes it so much more real. It is just so peaceful and I stay more focused on what I am saying. Try it.

We Are Back!!

We are back into the land of high-speed internet! It was a difficult time without our beloved high-speed, but we managed to get through it as a family. We are back to enjoying the everyday joys of high-speed.

But most importantly ... we are officially moved into our new house and are just loving it! The kids and I played hide and seek this afternoon and we all had a difficult time seeking each other ... lots and lots of hiding places around here. We have painted the upstairs ... our bedroom is Pecan something (light brown with a bit of red), Victoria's room is a beautiful Thimbleberry Blossom (purple), and Riley's room is New Brick (red). My favorite by far is Victoria's room ... it just looks so girly purple ... LOVE IT!! We are in the process of hanging pictures on the walls (I just can't stand blank walls ... love to be surrounded by pictures and scripture!!) and are still in need of some office furniture and something to put the TV on in the living room, but besides that, it is really starting to feel like home! The stairs are something else though. I was so sore that first week ... it was so hard to get out of bed. The way Victoria was walking one night, I think that she was sore too. We put a baby gate at the bottom of the stair, but haven't put on at the top as of yet. So she gets down the stairs at times without us knowing. She does it pretty well. I will have to get a video of it and post it. It is a belly slide ... too cute!

The day we signed our papers on the house, we went to our empty house
and the ice cream truck came by ... couldn't pass that up!

Ready for move-in day after a hearty breakfast at IHOP on the 4th!

Keeping cool in Uncle Kevin's shades.

Sitting together in Victoria's room ... don't you just love the girly purple walls?!

Everybody enjoying books before bedtime in Riley's room in the new big boy bed!

Victoria is now 16 months old. She is the best sleeper ever! Goes down without a fuss every time. The other day she had her blanket and star dolly and just stood by her crib at nap time waiting for me to pick her up and put her in. She is just now getting used to the idea of eating table food. She loves her meat (beef, pork, chicken). Her favorite is bacon ... just like Daddy! She self-weened the other day. I went to nurse her and she shook her head no ... pretty loud and clear for me! That is definitely her style. She is a nodder. She will nod her head yes and no to whatever you ask .... diaper change, snack, juice, bath, all done. Makes communication alot easier. She tries to say just a few words (car, ball, bye-bye, Gigi, Pops, Riley, Daddy, Christy (our dog), TV, hi, hello when she is playing phone). Notice that Mommy is not on the list. She said it as her first word, but no peep of it since. You ask her where Mommy is and it doesn't even register. Oh well. She is a smart girl ... so she may just be messing with me. Wouldn't put it past her ... she is her father's daughter!

She is just so gorgeous!

Victoria reading her most favorite book ... The Very Hungry Caterpillar. She likes to put her fingers in the holes in the pages.

Our all-around baby girl ... loves to wear pretty dresses and play with trucks!

Eating waffles with Riley for breakfast. Finally something else besides apple cinnamon oatmeal.

Riley is halfway through age 5 and starts kindergarten in just about a month. It just makes my heart hurt. But he is ready! He loved going to Pre-K. The school is about a mile from the house and is brand new. I still don't know what Victoria and I are going to do without him around during the day. He is so much fun and loves to play with Victoria. He still loves animals, Indian Jones, legos (actual and on the computer games), Veggie Tales. His room is gigantic (15 feet by 15 feet) so he has a ton of room to play. He spends alot of time playing in his room with all his toys.

Isn't he just adorable?!

Swimming with Daddy at Pops and Gigis. Riley jumped
off the diving board this day ... very big deal!

I will have some more pictures of the house for the next post, so stayed tuned! Here are some pixs from Father's Day. I have been so blessed with some of God's greatest men in my family. They take care of me, my kids and my mom ... and seem to enjoy it (most of the time)! I love them all so dearly!

Father's Day with the fam.

Carey with the kids on Father's Day.