COOL ZOO playdate

So today we thought we would bring the kids on a big end of summer outting. We haven't been to the Cool Zoo ALL summer so we figured this would be really our last chance. With knowing we were going to do this we thought it would be fun to invite Colby's little friend Nijel to go with us.
The last Zoo date we had we brought one of Lindsay's friends so I thought it would be good for him to have a friend to run around with. We have gone to the Cool Zoo atleast once every summer since Colby was 2 I think. Lindsay went with us last summer.
Anyway we planned it with Nijel's mom that she could drop him off at the Zoo and we would watch him then they would pick him up from there. It worked out really well. The boys had a blast together! Thankfully with Austin being off I was able to sit at the table and man the snacks haha! He's always so great to actually get in and play in the water with the kids. Poor man though I know he will be glad when he can just sit on a bench and watch! As soon as we got Colby independant along came Lindsay =) Maybe in another year! Anyway the boys played hard. I think Nijel was a little timid b/c he had never gone before. Lindsay enjoyed it but either was at the table with me snacking or clinging to Austin.
We packed a bunch of snacks which worked out well. It was healthier and cheaper and kept the kids from having any hunger meltdowns! After the Cool Zoo we let them ride the carousel before leaving! AND LINDSAY actually rode it without screaming! She has always freaked out at carousels. It was so cute too b/c she had this determined "I know I can do this" face the entire time!
We got Nijel safely to his mom then we went to eat at McAlister's. This is just our thing after leaving the zoo. So it was a very fun day! A day we needed before Colby starts back to school! The rest of the day was low key. We worked on things around the house and just relaxed!
The rest of the week will be pretty routine with groceries, school supply shopping, and maybe a park visit! Just trying to soak up and enjoy the last of summer!

Weekend Fun

So we are having another busy weekend in the Westbrook House! Its always a party around here! So Friday we had nothing planned so I took the kids to a locak park. I love park visits with them b/c its free fun! It was hot and humid but I think its good for kids to sweat and get a little sun from time to time. We were the first ones out there but soon a Family Reunion came along to set up with about 4 littles. Well the kids were close to Colby's age so he enjoyed talking and playing with them. We came home and had a pretty restful day. We were going to the baseball game that night so I wanted everyone to feel relaxed and refreshed.
So the game that night...it was with our church's Children's Ministry. We were excited to go and see the game but also be with friends! It was only Colby's 2nd game and Lindsay's 1st. I guess we just don't ever think about going. We all really had fun. Honestly Lindsay did better then Colby. She pays attention more. I think he liked it once he gave it a chance but he gets bored and antsy. Plus he fell asleep on the way over so he was a little moody. Austin met us there thankfully bc I don't think I could have handled both there alone! It was a fun evening and just something different outside of our box I guess! We left at the top of the 6th inning though and with even leaving early it was 10 before we got home and 11 before the littles really got to bed! I cannot imagine had we stayed for the entire game! We were all exhausted! Plus it didn't help that Austin still had to work the next day and I knew the littles and I had to be up early for tennis!
So Saturday Colby had tennis lessons again. We have missed a lot this month due to being out of town and birthday weekend. I was glad to get Colby back on track. I can tell he's learned a lot and I don't care if he becomes a star player although I do hope he will play tennis for fun for the rest of his life. I think its mostly just a good discipline and exercise for him right now. I want my kids to be active...they don't have to be athletes but I want them to atleast be active while they are young and hopefully for the rest of their lives. Afterwards we went swimming. It felt good to get in and cool off and ofcourse the kids always have a blast in a pool. We left after swimming and came home. We were again lazy most of the day. I guess between the business and the heat I find myself so lazy in the afternoons. We did play outside for awhile though.
Sunday was church. Austin wasn't off so it was just the littles and I. Something just told me that I needed to be prepared to work in childcare even though it wasn't my week. And honestly I used to get upset about things like this. I have been in situations like this since Colby was born. Anyway today I felt a peace about it. I mean yes I really wanted to go sit in on adult worship but I prayed to have servant's heart and do what I needed to do. Well sure enough I was the only teacher that showed up. Was I a little disappointed...well yes but I know those kids need someone...my daughter needed someone. I knew Laekan needed someone. Someone needed to fill that role and that person was me. It wasn't a bad morning at all...was it hectic YES! We had 12 two-four year olds! But for some reason I was calm and really never felt overwhelmed. I love the kids in there and I love seeing them grow/mature. Some of the boys in there were 2 when I first started working in there and now they are pushing 5! Its amazing how much they change. Anyway it was a good morning. Busy but good. This afternoon will be pretty quiet and low b/c Colby is spending the night with my parents so they came and got him after their church got out. So its Lindsay and me and then Austin =). I am looking forward to the quiet night then having Austin home for the next 2 days!

Sweet Simple Days

So this week we haven't been up to too much exciting. Honestly its been nice but hard at the same time to get ourselves off that highpaced high of traveling and birthday madness! We've still managed to be busy but the days have been quieter and we are just trying to soak up the last laziness of summer!
Monday Colby had his 6 year checkup. We did that and the Toystore then just hung around the house the rest of the day.
Tuesday I had Bible study that morning and my parents kept them. It was our last one of the summer. I missed a lot of this particular study this summer but I did really enjoy the book and being with the ladies. That afternoon we just hung around the house. My parents took the kids for icecream after dinner which gave me about an hour to relax and clean up the house.
Wednesday was our grocery shopping day. We stayed in the rest of the day until church that night. We are enjoying our summer series. We haven't had many preschoolers though so Lindsay and whichever ones we have have just been going upstairs to hang out with the big kids. Its been fun seeing Colby and his friends although I do think he will do better when I get back to my own class in the fall =)
Thursday was our first big adventure of the week. I took the kids out to Lakeside to get school shoes. This has been a once a year thing for us. I like to get their feet measured atleast once a year just to make sure my shoe buying is still on track b/c I order most of their shoes online. We did Stride Rite first...Colby was a champ and had his feet measure and tried on shoes very easily. Although Lindsay was a totally different story! She cried and refused. Colby's foot measured a 12 but they said it was ok to buy him 13s b/c obviously his feet will grow and the 13 didn't seem overly big on him. He's been wearing 13s for quite awhile lol. Lindsay I have no idea but I did buy her a pair of 8 tennis shoes. She is wearing 7s right now and they are obviously getting small so I know she will go into 8s this fall. I wanted to get her 2 pair but they didn't have the others in her size so I will have to order some online she needs about 4 more pair to get her through winter. After shoes I promised the kids a trip to the Disney store to just LOOK! My parents met us there at this point and my dad did decide to buy them t-shirts. They did good though about not asking for toys. They did though like making a list for Christmas! After the Disney store we went down to PB Kids. The kiddos usually enjoy looking and playing with a lot of the stuff in there and I needed to get some info on beds for Lindsay. Afterwards we had lunch in the food court with my parents. It was a fun time just to chat and visit. I know they eat up this time and we do too. Just making memories! I am so thankful my kids get to live close to their grandparents so we can do stuff like this on a pretty regular basis. That afternoon we just took it easy at home. I tried a new pinterest recipe.
So thankful for these days! The days are sometimes long but the years are short!

The Struggle

So this week has been "one of those weeks" for one reason or another I have been moody and probably..no not probably HAVE let my anger fly with my kids. I hate when I do that but its so hard sometimes. I love love staying at home with my kids and like 90% of the time its awesome and sunshine but then the other 10% happens. Life happens....hormones happen...kids acting rude happens.
I know we are probably all guilty. For me its probably half hormonal and the other half maybe just tired and feeling overwhelmed. We've been in vaction mode and birthday mode for about 3 weeks so maybe its coming down off that high!
Lindsay for some reason has had several accidents this week and I am not sure what the deal with that is. All I know is I keep telling myself it is normal and this too shall pass although after the 4th day in a row today I lost it! I know Colby did something like this as well. First off she still isn't pooping in the potty...tmi I know but I want to be able to go back and read this when she is 12 and laugh! Anyway I know it'll happen b/c Colby took awhile too but its frustraing b/c unlike him she just poops in her underwear! I think that only happened a couple of times with him b/c he knew to wait for a pullup.
She's done so well with peeing in the potty that when she sorta "trained" herself she rarely had accidents. But this week she's completely emptied her bladder in her clothes and underwear!
On top of all this the fighting...oh the fighting that the 2 of them do! I know they have to share a lot and are together a lot and I know its been a long summer in some aspects!
I honestly don't look forward to starting back to school often mainly b/c I know it means they are 1 year older and how fast life will fly and I know I will miss them so much. But the days with all the fighting I must confess I look forward to the quietness!
I know I am guilty this summer of also not staying spiritually fed. With all the trips and birthdays and holidays and such I have not been staying in the Word. I did a summer Bible study but only went half of the time due to vaction and or sick kids. I also haven't been in worship due to teaching on Sundays and vacations! I know the root of this problem is me and I need to get back on my knees and in His Word.
UGH I just had to get these things out of my head and onto paper or a screen haha! I love my littles and I hate when I lose it with them! Praying for a peaceful afternoon and that something can learned from all of this!

Six

So here I am writing Colby's 6 year old post! Very hard to believe! Really to me it feels like he should still be 1! He's growing up so fast and def now a young boy instead of a preschooler. He's grown up a lot over the last year. Ofcourse finishing kindergarten he learned so much! He's reading now and just knows and understands so much!
He's still very much into cars/planes. He likes to build and put things together! He still has a love for animals though. He still isn't much into sports but does enjoy swimming and is still taking tennis lessons. He's improved a lot with tennis and I hope it will be something he will keep up. Every now and then he wants to play baseball outside but he still hasn't actually played on a team. For now that's not really his thing!
His best friends are Nijel and Ella. He's a very good big brother but he can also get pretty annoyed with his little sis too!
He's still a big boy he's somewhere in the 75%-80%. He weighs 52 lbs and is 46 inches tall. He wears a size 6 or boys small. He can also still fit in some 5T stuff though so to me he isn't all that big. He wears a size 13 shoe but they are a little big.
I think he is looking forward to 1st grade! I cannot wait to see what the next year brings! Oh and he still hasn't lost any teeth so I guess maybe sometime this year he will have that to look forward to!
He's still overall very cautious and reminds me so much of my father!

Colby's Birthday Weekend

It always seems like we end up celebrating kid's birthdays all weekend! So here is a rundown of this past weekend!
Friday morning the kids and I woke up and went over to my parent's house to work on making the cake for Colby's birthday. Yes MAKE the cake! First time I've ever made one of his cakes! But this year he asked my mom to do it! She made the cookie cake and I decorated it! And I was very proud of us both! It turned out so cute!
Afterwards we came home and ate lunch and rested and helped prepare the house for company. Austin's family came in Friday afternoon and we invited them over for dinner that evening. Colby and Lindsay love playing with their cousins so we figured it would be best to just eat here that way they could play more and we could visit more. They got here around 4:30. The kids played inside and had a lot of fun. We hated it rained all day so they couldn't get outside but I think they still had fun! We enjoyed visiting and everyone talked about their summer vacations! Its so neat to watch the cousins play together. They are now 10, 7, 6, and 2 so they are all growing up so fast!
Saturday morning we got up early and hit the ground running ready for the big party day! We went over to my parent's house around 9 so we could help get set up for the party. Austin's family got there right at 10 and the other guests were about 10:30. We had a smaller birthday crowd this year then in years past. We decided with the Texas trip and after having 3 years of big parties we thought we would do a low key one. We let Colby choose 2 friends in addition to family. He invited his friend Nijel who is also 6 and in school with him and his little sister Mia who is 2. He also invited his friend Ella. who is 6 and  he's known basically his whole life who goes to church and school with him. He also invited her younger brother Eli who is 4. And ofcourse Shelbi and Maggie! The kids all got in the pool first thing. We were nervous about the weather b/c it had been raining but luckily by the time of the party the weather cleared and they were able to swim for an hour. The kids all had a blast in the pool. They kept Austin and his dad quite busy. I stayed out and mostly visited and just made sure everyone had what they needed. Around 11:15 we corralled them all in to eat lunch. All the kids sat at the table in the kitchen and were so cute! Again I got to enjoy visiting with the other moms. I felt like this party was so much more low key...I don't know if its b/c we had less kids or b/c my kids are getting older and they don't require as much hands on. After eating the kids wanted to make their minions. I had found a cute little project involving yellow balloons. I think the kids all liked it and it took about 15-20 min for them all to finish. It was a nice little activity to keep the pace of the party. Afterwards they danced to a couple Despicable Me songs. The kids really loved that! We did cake afterwards and I was pleased that everyone loved our homemade cookie cake! This may be the new thing! The last activities were opening presents and doing the pinata. I think Colby had a blast! I really enjoyed watching him laugh and smile and play with his little friends! Lindsay even had the time of her life! She's been so sweet and good to not complain a bit about the attention her big brother is getting! Once everyone left and we cleaned up from the party we came home to rest/relax.
That night we went over to the hotel where Austin's parents were staying to order pizza so Colby and Lindsay could play and hang out with the girls a little more! It was fun just getting to spend a little bit more time with them. The kids had a blast the first hour but after pizza they were both getting obviously tired and cranky. We left around 7 to get them home and off to bed!
Sunday was church and Austin was home. I had to teach but we had a great morning! We had 7 littles. I was the only teacher so I was a little nervous how it would go but it actually went really well. That afternoon we came home and did our usual Sunday afternoon thing. We ate lunch and napped.
That evening we took a Family Date Night! I figure this will be one of many now that our kids are getting older and easier to do things with! We went to see PLANES Fire and Rescue! This would be Lindsay's 2nd movie experience. If you remember earlier in the summer I took them to see Wizard of Oz. They loved the movie and it was just a sweet little family night. I love the ages they are at right now and just want to soak up this precious childhood time with them!
I would say Colby had a great birthday weekend! He got to celebrate for 4 days! Lucky boy!

Colby's Birthday

Colby turned 6 on Thursday this week. We once again gave him the choice of what he wanted to do for his birthday. We also let him choose breakfast. He chose donuts for breakfast! Ofcourse the kids were happy about that! Colby picked the aquarium as our destination. He also chose this last year. The kids really enjoyed it although it was a little crowded but we mostly managed to avoid the crowds. They pretty much breezed through it though and we were finished in an hour! We decided on going to the Riverwalk for lunch and to go walk around since it was recently re-opened.
Colby loved this mall! It will definitely be a place for us to go I believe! We ate lunch and the FoodCourt had plenty of options for everyone. Afterwards we walked around. Lindsay got a new pair of Crocs and Colby got some little things to decorate his.
That afternoon was pretty low key we just stayed in and enjoyed being at home together. My parents stopped by to wish him happy birthday! I think he really enjoyed his day!