Brenda & The Boys

Its hard to believe that Alex is already in first grade. Kindergarten just flew by. I hate that. He started school on Monday. He is loving it so far. The things he is not loving are P.E. because it is so hot, the getting up early (summer hours are for us) and the long day. First grade lets out at 3:20 and last year Kinder. released at 1:50. But, tomorrow is already Friday and an early release day so within time I think he will love first grade and get used to the getting up early. I, on the other hand miss him being home like crazy !! And so does Matthew. We stare at the clock all day waiting for it to be time to go and pick him up. And then of course we just want to hear every last detail of his day and that is the last thing Alex wants to do is talk about it. :) I just want both of them home with me all day. I wish school was two days and the weekend was 5 days. That I could do. Oh, and P.S. his teacher's name is Mrs. Townsend. She is super sweet and super organized and well we j...

Alex got a Nintendo DS last Christmas from Santa Claus. Thank you Santa!! A DS is a d ual s creen handheld video game console. It is also non-stop hours on end entertainment for Alex. And non stop hours of peace at restaurants, stores, car rides, etc. for me. It is money well worth spent. Matthew got a Leapster from Santa and that too has been an awesome thing to have. I started collecting pics of Alex and his DS adventures on our trip to NY this spring break. He and Gabi would whip out their DS anywhere. It was crazy! But it kept them entertained for sure while Sandi and I did what we wanted to do. The DSing fun continued this summer. It is funny to see these pics! I should call up Nintendo and see if they need a new poster child for their ads. :) Have fun watching the clip of DSing in the USA. The pics are from NYC, to Crystal Beach, to Denver, and even in South Dakota.

Like father like son, Alex and Kevin were being silly one day when they were posing with these purses. I think Kevin had Gabi's purse and Alex had my sister's. Yeah, they need their own purses. I always have to hold their stuff in mine. Wallets, phones, video games, toys, etc...

This Matthew Moment is brought to you by Brennan Pagel's bday party at Main Even t. I just love how I am patiently waiting/recording Matt roll his ball down the lane which rolled for what seemed like two hours and then he turns around walks right passed me and yells, "Dad!". Ugh.

When I was a kid, I hated taking naps. Now wish I could take a two hour one everyday!! Strollers, I can't remember ever really riding in one. Walked a lot. Now, wish I could be pushed around by someone while reclined, with my snack and drink in hand. Drink in a nice insulated non-spill cup of course. Oh, and when I was a kid me and my sister wanted a house with "stairs"! Loved the thought of having a 2-story house with stairs! Now, that I actually have and live in a house with stairs. Well, let's just say not as fun as I thought it'd be when I was a kid. Going up and down and down and up. Hate it! I have a nice basket by the stairs that piles up with stuff because unless someone is bleeding or on fire or needs to be tucked in, wiped, bathed, or punished this momma stays away from the stairs. I'm just saying.

Happy Birthday Day to my Dad!! Love ya, Pop! You are the best Dad and Grandpa ever!!

I am so behind on some of my posts. I hate that but, somethings I have to share no matter what. In the spring while Matthew was in preschool they had a special day called "What I want to be when I grow up". The kids got to dress up like what they wanted to be when they grow up. So, I asked Matthew and he told me. And so we got his costume together. Thanks, Nana for sewing it. And when the day came he woke up and got dressed up. He could not wait to get to school and show Ms. Tiffany and Ms. Stefanie what he wanted to be. I bet you are wondering what it is he said he wanted to be. Am I right? Well, I am not going to tell you. I am going to show you the picture. Yep. I wish I knew what you are guessing as you read. Doctor, lawyer (like dad), pilot (he loves planes). Nope. Well, you might not guess it. The answer is in the picture below. :) A lion. Yes, a lion. This is a Matthew Moment after all. Are you surprised!? He is my silly boy.

The following pictures I took in the spring. It was spring soccer season at the YMCA Lake Houston. It was Matthew's first time to play soccer. Kevin coached the team. The Horsies. Yup. That is what the kids picked as their team name. Gotta love it! Kevin has played soccer since he was 4 or 5. He still plays on an (old) men's team every Monday. Their name is Rejuvenated Elders (and I thought Horsies was bad). Anyhoo. The following pic is of Kevin and two of his high school soccer teamates. Jesse Alvarado and Eddy Espinosa both played with Kevin in high school. And now like their dad's, their kids played on the same Y soccer team this year. Cash Alvarado, Isabella 'Izzy' Espinosa, and Matthew all played on The Horsies together! The dads and their kids.

Question: Why do we always want what we can't have? Or want what we don't have? Take girls and their hair for example. And me for instance. I have medium length "straight as a board" hair. It is healthy (well a bit dry and frizzy at times) but, for the most part healthy. Shiny too if I put the right products in it. And thick. All good when you are talking about hair. Right? Does this make me happy? Content? Satisfied? NO! Because I want what I can't/don't have. I want long, down to the middle of my back, CURLY like Sharkira hair!!! Well that is not all. Of course not. I wouldn't mind being tanned, toned, and thin like Shakira either. Her hips don't lie y'all remember. See Shakira below. Now, most curly haired girls I talk to always roll their eyes at me (rude) when I say I so love your hair and wish I too could have curly hair. Why? Why do they roll their eyes? 'Cause they say they want straight hair! Ugh. And so we all sigh and think if only....

We spent a week in South Dakota for our summer family vacation in July. My sister flew from NYC to meet us. It was a wonderful week. The weather was perfect! We saw Mount Rushmore ! A childhood dream of mine come true. It was even better than I thought it would be. We did a ton of stuff! South Dakota is gorgeous! The people are SO nice! I would go back in a heartbeat. That all said. Since we were there for an entire week of course there were a ton of Matthew Moments ! So, here are some of them. In this picture Matthew was on the 1880 Train . He rode for an hour like this holding his ears. He did not like the loud sound the train made when it would toot its horn. Which it did at every railroad crossing. I think there were about 15 of them. Here Matt is posing with a dinosaur we saw at Dinosaur Park . The whole trip I tried to get him to pose with us for a family pic and he would always complain.We got to dinosaur park and he was asking me to take his pictures. And this is the pose ...