Not much has happened this week at Mason's house. We have pretty much been recuperating from last week with the birthday and all! This is pretty much what we have felt like in the aftermath! Haha!

I figure I will show a few more pictures of his birthday party since we have a million of them! This was his Lightning McQueen cake. He wanted the car off that cake so bad...

and he got it. Note to parents...black icing is messy and hard to get off of your child. I repeat, messy and hard to get off your child.

This may be one of my all time favorites. It needs no explaination.

We are headed for Colorado to see Nana and Gramps on Monday morning. This will probably be the last post for two weeks or so. I'm sorry I don't have alot to report this week. I'm sure we will be full of stories and pictures when we return to Texas a week from Tuesday!

A long time ago...

This was definatly not a slow week at Mason's house. Friday was the 4th and Mason made the most of it! Our camera was on the blink that day, so no pictures of him flailing around in the lake. He has figured out how to move his arms and legs and get around in his life jacket. He had a ton of fun this year. He stayed late to watch the fireworks, but was disappointed because he didn't like the music while the fireworks were going off. Quirky kid, huh? He kept saying, "Daddy, when's the music gonna stop. Can you make it stop?" Of course I couldn't, it was just patriotic music playing on the public P.A. system. He did like the "bang" the fireworks made. He would echo them with a "bang....bang" when he wasn't complaining about the music.

Saturday, we spent the day at the lake again. The men all pitched in and cooked a feast of meat and corn for the Womack's and Remy's wedding anniversaries. I believe they are both celebrating 40 years this year. All the women decorated the lake house and both couples were surprised. It was fun, but a fairly long day.

Sunday, we went to church, skipped nap, and went to Gigi and Granddad's house to celebrate birthday a day early!!! Boy was he excited about birthday this year. Since Jaime had to go back to Dallas Sunday afternoon, Mason got to stretch his birthday out over two days...I try that every year and it doesn't work.

Mom and dad got Mason a motorized John Deere Gator for his birthday. Dad and I were totally against it. I never had a motorized car and he needs to run and play...but here you go. Gigi brought one home. He loves it. It was worth getting him one, just to see the smile.

He took right to it. He drives like his mama though, wide open and not watching were he is going! Haha! His favorite thing to do is put it in reverse and back up. He will have lots of years of fun on this thing...if Granddad can keep the battery charged up!

Monday was Mason's actual birthday!!! We loaded everything up and went to the Splashpark in Tyler. It is just a small area in one of Tyler's parks that has fountains coming out of the concrete and some neat water features. Mason loved it. He had eight of his friends there and he had a blast!




We had "Cars" cake, ice cream, and juice boxes until we couldn't walk...then we played more. One of the other kids told his mom and dad, "This is the best birthday party ever." That made Amber feel really good after all her planning and efforts. Mason got many gifts and he loved them all. His favorite upon first opening them all was a chain saw. No tree at the park was safe! Thank you to everyone who came, we hope you had as good a time as we did!!!

It seems like a long time ago we were looking at our son through a glass box with a feeding tube in his nose, praying his premature stomach would digest the milk he was given. Three years ago tomorrow he was rushed to Dallas in an ambulance to get better care than was available in Tyler (from Alison...of course ;-)), for nearly a month. As I watch him learn, as I watch him play, as I watch him sleep...I am thankful. Three glorious years we have been blessed with Mason. Do I remember what it was like before him...no. Does it seem like it has been three years...no. Could I imagine life without him...no. We give God all the praise and honor for the time he has given us with Mason...he is truely a gift from God.

The Clubhouse!!!

Another fun week here at Mason's house. We are still going to gymnastics...tumbling class every week, sleeping very little, and playing a whole lot. The boy just doesn't know how much he will miss these naps when it is July, 100 degrees and he is 32 years old! Ha!

Saturday, we went to the hardware store and loaded up a goody bag full of lumber and stuff to build a clubhouse. This was understood by Mason that it is an early birthday prize, and boy was he excited. He spent the morning outside helping me...beating my level against the trailer, tumping out the box of screws in the dirt, hitting the level with the speed square. He is my favorite helper and I wouldn't trade him for the whole world!!!

When lunch and nap time rolled around, he reluctantly went inside and I struggled to finish before he woke up. All I lacked were some handles when he and him mama came out. I wish I could have paused the smile on his face when he first saw it. We have it on video, so I guess I can!!!

You can see the first place he went...underneath it! He loves to keep his tractors and dump trucks under there. I suppose it is as good a play place as any. He took his first nose dive off the stairs a few hours into the afternoon. While whiping the sand off his forehead he said, "It just hurt a wittle bit mama." He also complemented my work by saying, "Dis is a pwetty good swing daddy." That is good enough for me!!! What a joy he is...and I can't believe he is almost three.

Finally, Sunday we went to worship and celebrate with Paul, Trina, Parker, Greg, Liz, and Lauren at First United Methodist Church. Parker and Lauren were baptised. We had a nice lunch and then everyone came home for a nap!

We want to wish everyone a happy and safe 4th of July. We thank all the ones who serve and have served our great nation so that we are and continue to be free. And we pray that America will honor God and God bless America.

Slip...Sit and Slide!!!

We haven't had alot going on here at Mason's house. Mason has been enjoying the leisurely days of summer...sleeping late...sipping on orange juice and watching cartoons...shopping with mama...eating popsicles...and all the other glorious things summer has to offer!

He has gotten to spend a lot of time with his Gigi and Granddad also. He likes it there since he gets whatever he wants! He loves to go outside and make mud pies. Yuck!

Also, what kind of hillbilly East Texan would my son be if he didn't take his first bath in a bean wash'in pot?!? At least he used soap!

Also this week, mama purchased Mason a Slip-n-Slide. They are much more cush than what I remember. I remember a long yellow piece of plastic held in the ground by some metal "tent" stakes and a small sprinkler on the side. Today's version comes with a fully inflated slide with guard rails on each side and a landing pool at the end. No more metal "tent" stakes either, smooth plastic ones that don't work worth a crud.

Anyway, Mason loved it. He loved the pool at the end the most, but enjoyed the whole slide at times. We could not get him to run and slide. He would run and jump on his knees or bottom...sometimes just run right through it until he wiped out. He was a hoot to watch.

These are the best two pictures I have because he wouldn't stand still long enough for me to get a good one. I'm glad he had fun with the thing! He needs some older kids to come over and show him how to use it! Daddy is a little big to slide down it.

Finally, Gramps' birthday is Monday, so we wanted to say Happy Early Birthday Gramps!!!!

Hope you have a great weekend and birthday Monday!!! We love you.

Father's Day Weekend

Mason started tumbling class Friday. I call it gymnastics, but I was quickly corrected by my wife and her sister that it was tumbling class. Mason loved it to say the least. Mama only took a few pictures that didn't come out so great. She is promising more next week of better quality! This clown picture of our son is the best I can do for this week!

Saturday we got up early and took Mason to Gigi and Granddad's for an extended stay. Amber and I were off to the NASCAR race in Detroit, MI. Mom and dad had gotten us tickets and airfare for my birthday. I don't know if they wanted to send me to the races as a gift...or if they wanted Mason all to their self for an extended weekend?!?!?!

Either way, we all had a blast. The only downside was that I was not with my son on father's day, Amber was not with her dad, and I was not with my dad. We made plenty of phone calls Sunday morning though!

Amber and I had a great time. We made a brief tour of downtown Detroit...not suggested, on Saturday afternoon. Woke up Sunday and went racing where our guy Dale Jr. won the race! Then Sunday we drove to Niagara Falls.

It was a really long drive. Five hours one way, but definitely worth it. It drove me nuts having to constantly convert km. to miles. UGH!!! I would like to have the guy who invented the metric system alone in the ocatagon for a few rounds! Also, I would like to go a few rounds with the genius who didn't put the km. scale on the speedometer of our Chevy rental. What a whooping there.

Amber had never been to the falls, and it had been nearly ten years since I was there. She really enjoyed it. I know I have incuded a few pictures, but they do not do it justice. It is a much bigger spectalcle in size and scale than any picture or television documentary can show. If you are ever close enough to visit, you should.

It is eerie how close they allow you to get to the edge. One would only have to climb over a 30" tall rail and jump in to go over the falls. I'm sure someone has. It is nuts. Made me nervous to be that close...Amber made fun of me...but I didn't like it one bit.

These are the American Falls about a quarter of a mile down stream. Much smaller than the main falls, they are more three dimensional and relaxing to watch. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but there is a deck and spectators at the bottom right...maniac adrenalin junkies!!! I'm just old and boring I guess!

Finally, we made our way back to the good ole U.S.A. and arrived home at 5:30pm today. Boy were we glad to see our little man. You could tell he missed us also, even though Gigi and granddad spoiled him rotten! I told Amber that it sure was a boring drive to the falls and back without someone talking and singing in the back seat all the way. He blessed us with a song or two on the way home from mom and dads! We are glad to be home and a complete family again.

Summer is here!

This is my first post since Amber and Mason have been off for summer time. I can hardly live around these two because they are so giddy about staying home and doing all the fun stuff that being home all day entails. I know...once again it has been over two weeks since the last post. I have no excuse.

On the 28th of May, my sweet aunt Sharla passed away. She was my mom's youngest sister. She lived here in Jacksonville at Travis Towers (limited assisted living) for the past several years. Mason loved seeing her and always had questions about her. He pronounce her name "Char-wa," that always made me smile. Mason had questions because my aunt had many quirks about her due to mental illness and health issues. Mason always notices if something is not quite normal about someone. Aunt Char-wa had many problems, but also had the biggest heart. She lived on a minimal budget, with my mom and dad filling in the gaps most every month. Never once did she miss a birthday though. It was always a card, sometimes a pair of socks from the dollar store, or even some sort of trinket she thought Amber would like. I probably didn't spend near the time I should have with her. I think of her every time I enter Whataburger because she practically lived there (it's right next to her apartment)! I miss her smile and hearing her call me "Joshie bubba." She was a wonderful person and loved our Lord and I thank God for that and the time we got to spend with her.

Look at this guy! He is happier than a tornader in a trailer park! On the first day of summer, Amber took Mason to the playground and heard that in Rusk, TX there was a Tow Mater parked on the side of the road for all to see. Well, that's almost better than the World's Largest Ball-o-twine...they had to go. Mason was so very excited. She said she could not get him to quit smiling so big! I'm glad he had such an exciting experience with one of the characters from the movie he LOVES!!!

Also that week, Mason got to go to the zoo. He always loves that. I think he feels at home with all the other animals! Haha! I know his mama does! I'm going to get in trouble for that one!! Also during that week, we cleaned a bunch of tree limbs from our back yard to make a play area for Mason. He was quite the helper. So the following weekend, last weekend, we built a fence to hide the ugly barn that is behind our house!

Mason wants to help so much. He will do anything: hold the hammer, hold a nail, pull the rake, pick up rocks. He likes to talk while he works also. I try to stop and listen to him always, but it starts getting ridiculous! So mama has to listen while daddy keeps working! He is such a good boy though, and great helper. I will try to get a picture of our finished product on here next week. He loves playing back there and it is shady all day.

We are off to Brooklyn, MI Saturday to see the NASCAR race. Mom and dad got Amber and I tickets and airfare for my birthday. I think they just wanted a long weekend with Mason alone...no Josh and Amber to boss the grandparents around! Well, I guess they got it! Happy Father's Day to all you guys out there with litlens. What a privilege and honor it is. Thank you God for the gift of being a father.

Slide + Lake = Fun!

As I sit here eating Rolo's and drinking sweet tea, I have been thinking back on the happenings of the week and long weekend. One thing glaring stands out. The guys got together Friday night to play some more Spades. As you recall from earlier posts, Kannon was my partner and was no good...he never fails to exceed my expectations. We have played several hands Fri. night and aren't doing so bad. On this particular hand, he has bid "low," regular "low." I think I bid five. We are trucking along with our low-5 bid when on the 8th time around, my fabulous partner decides to spade in. My fabulous partner is going low, mind you. He bid low, on his own accord, with six spades. SIX SPADES! Just wanted everyone to know what I was dealing with around here!

We went to the lake Saturday and Mason had a blast! I took his slide from the garage thinking he might, might slide off of it into the water...boy did I underestimate that. All he wanted to do was slide more. Sorry we didn't get any action pictures, but it took two people, one to catch and one to keep him from falling when running to the stairs on the slide, thus no one to take the action shot! (That was the longest run-on sentence ever) We slid and swam until he was about to turn into a popcicle, then had to get out. The water was warm enough, but the breeze when you kept getting in and out made it quite cool.

Parker had his pool right next to Mason's slide and had a blast also. He is a pretty good little guy, doesn't fuss unless he is hungry or tired. A lot more like his mama than daddy...lets just hope it stays that way! Ha!

Sunday we went to church, then went to mom and dad's to celebrate aunt Jaime's birthday! It is not until tomorrow, Wednesday, but we partied all the same! Mason and I picked a card that said "For your birthday I thought you would like to see a cute guy with his shirt off." Then you opened it up and there was a naked baby. Sooooo, when Mason and I came home from Wal-Mart, he posed for a manly muscle shot....

.....what do you think? Future Mr. America? At any rate, we cut it out and pasted it inside aunt Jaime's card for a big smile and laugh when she opened it. She didn't want any gifts, just sweet moola for her trip to Ireland later in the summer. Al, you will have to give her some tips on where to go. I'm not a big fan of "no gifts," so I bought her a t-shirt with all the Sesame Street gang on it and it read, "I Was Raised In The Street." I got a kick out of it, even if she never wears it! With all that said, muscles and all,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAIME!!!!

Finally, Monday we went to the playground and played for over an hour and a half...the weather was great. Came home and washed the cars. This was Mason's first time to wash the car with daddy. He had washed the car with grandddad and had so much fun that I figured we would try it here at home. He was so funny. He said, "Mama..dis is reawy, reawy durty." So funny coming from him and not me! Ha! We had a great weekend together. Mama has been a little under the weather with allergies for the last couple of days if you wonder why she wasn't mentioned more. We tried to stay out of the house and let her rest lots. We want her to get back to abnormal soon!

Finally, we want to say Happy Birthday to Gabriel Arce!!! He was born to Lori and William Arce on May 24. I am awaiting a picture and will share when I get it, but wanted to say congratulations all the same!!!