alpacas, Mommy dates, and el futbol

 We went to the World Fest a few weeks ago. It was good. Fun was had.

Henry and I at the Argentina booth at World Fest

Alpacas

Dad and Andrew at the Argentina booth

 Andrew earned enough stickers to go on a special date with me. It was one of the best dates I have ever had. I even got a kiss at the end. That's saying something.
 

Andrew painting his bowl at U Paint It. This place is Andrew's dreamland.

The finished product (pre-firing). Thanks to the Halloween Costume Battle of 2011, I feel pretty confident in my rendition of an angry bird.

Andrew trying to learn some manners...Not going too well

 Andrew finished his soccer season a couple months ago. I don't know that he gained any more skills this season, but he loved his coach and his friends, so here's to another year.

Things I can do instead of packing...

We are moving in five days. The house is in complete disarray.

So, rather than rectify that situation...

Updating the blog it is!

This is our camping trip we took with some friends:

On a little hike...Henry got to ride most of the time

Isn't this so pretty?

The dads

The moms (just so you know, the two moms not holding babes in arms are expecting, so we have five moms and five babies)

Boys, take note of these pictures. It may be the only time you go camping before Scouts.

It was a super fun trip, only minor hiccups (biggest rainstorm of the year in Texas...4 hours long in the middle of the night...boys slept great, mom and dad were awakened at 20 minute intervals trying, unsuccessfully, to keep water from creeping into our sleeping bags), and the company was unbeatable! We are so sad to leave our wonderful friends we have here.

When I'm four years old...

Andrew has many goals as a 4-year-old. Some things he has told us:

When I'm four years old, I can get dressed all by myself...(still putting both legs in one side of his pants)
When I'm four years old, I won't be scared of anything...(not holding our breath on that one)
When I'm four years old, I will use my inside voice at school...(I was at his class today, and this one is not likely)

But, he did make it to the age of four, which we feel pretty good about.

Some things about this crazy guy:

He is THE loudest kid I've ever known. Justin blames it on my side of the family...I take that as a personal affront, but I don't honestly have a lot of evidence to the contrary.
He laughs ALL the time. Seriously, if anyone needs a boost, just talk to this guy. He will make you feel like a million bucks.
He is very, very, very smart. Which I'm also claiming comes from my side. (wink)
He is quick to be feisty, but also quick to apologize.
He takes great care of his brother.
He likes to cook, paint, and play games. He would prefer to do all those activities every day. Multiple times.
He has about 1,000 friends. He had a very difficult time narrowing down his birthday party list. Even after telling him he could only invite friends from church, he still wanted to invite his babysitter, the bishop, and his Primary teachers. And the siblings of all the kids he did invite. So, having 12 four-year-olds seemed manageable.

We love you, Droopers! You make our family life awesome.

Twosie

Many updates are pending, but to kick things off...

Henry is two! We are glad to see this little man grow up. He is cute and sweet and naughty (our kids seem to be following a trend), and we adore him. He loves cars, trucks, tractors, helicopters, airplanes, pretty much anything with an engine. He's very easy to please. He sleeps with a Lightning McQueen car in each hand. He is still my little buddy and doesn't go many places without me (or Justin), but can occasionally be persuaded to venture if Andrew does something with him. He loves Little Einsteins (probably too much) and can identify some letters and count to 5. And he sleeps through the night, which we feel has likely been his greatest accomplishment of the year. We went camping with some friends on his birthday, and it was very fun to be able to celebrate with them! Henry knew exactly what to do with his candle.

We love you, little man!