Playing Catch Up

Whew...life happens doesn't it? I realize that it has been a while since my last post and I have promised my friends that I would update...so here is a brief synopsis of what we have been up to lately....

First of all, guess what? Miracle of miracles it snowed in Louisiana....in March!!!! My boys were sooo excited! We played in the snow all afternoon. We made three snow men and they rode their four wheeler and dirt bike and had the best time....we even made snow ice cream. Even though Garrett was coming down with the flu, we made the most of our snowy afternoon. I also completed a class project for the first Grade at Garrett's school. I took an old window frame, cleaned it up, painted it, put crackle medium, then painted it again. I also made the two middle panes into chalkboards and put photos of the first grade class in the outer four panes. Then, I added a chalk ledge and hooks and made it into a message board for an entryway or office. It did really well in the auction and made a good bit of money for the school....here are a couple of photos...they aren't very good and do NOT do it justice but I promised pics so here they are....

Also, a large part of our time has been devoted to the new family business. Ryan bought a carwash in March and it has taken up a good bit of our time. Grant LOVES car washes so this made his day and he begs to go all the time. Here is a pic of the "storefront." Easter Sunday was fun. My boys looked so handsome in their Easter clothes....we had a fun day even though Grant was beginning his turn with the flu....motrin was definitely our friend on this day.... Finally, we have started baseball. This year Garrett is in AA pitching machine league and let me tell you....this league is serious about their ball.....I am amazed at not only the expectations that grown men have for these 7 and 8 year old boys but also at how absolutely amazingly well these 7 and 8 year old boys DO play.....the games are so much fun to watch!!! Here is a pic of Garrett taking his turn at bat... So, as you can see, we have been busy busy busy!!!!

I'll try to update more frequently so that I won't have to cram three months into one post. I couldn't resist leaving you with this photo of Garrett with our good friend, Ryleigh Grace.....Garrett LOVES this little girl and I love watching how sweet and tender he is when he is with her....
Hope you enjoyed looking at our photos and hearing about what we have been up to. Come back soon, hopefully there'll be a new post :)

Independence, Homework, Basketball, and A Fun Party

Well, January at the Madden house has been busy and fun so far.


Grant is discovering his independence and it has been slowly but surely driving me CRAZY!!! More times than I can count, I walk into the kitchen and this is what I see.....
He pulls a stool up to the cabinets, climbs up, and decides to help himself to whatever appeals to him in my pantry cabinets. When he realizes that I have caught him once again, he turns around and grins...he knows this will make Momma less mad.....

Little stinker....can't help but take pics of him even when he is getting into trouble.

Since entering first grade, Garrett's evenings now include homework....can't believe my boy is doing homework....he is growing up too fast.

He has also started winter basketball. They have been practicing since early January and had their first game on Thursday night. Well, I really couldn't tell how practices were going but boy was I impressed with him during the game. Imagine my surprise when the coach put him at guard and entrusted him to carry the ball down the court every time..... He did sooooo well!!!! He was also a key rebounder and showed some very aggressive play. You will be able to tell from the following photos that he was NOT afraid to fight for the ball.....


Garrett's team won the game. I can't wait until this week's game.

Finally, Friday night Ryan and I got to go out on a real "grown up" date. Ryan served as president of our Chamber of Commerce for the 2007 year. On Friday the Chamber had its annual gala and Ryan presided over the gala and officially turned over his position to the new incoming president.

We enjoyed a speech from Ryan, a wonderful dinner, a sweet dance, and a night to be together without the boys. A huge thanks to my friend, Karissa, for babysitting the boys for me. I had a great time!

Starting Off the New Year Right

Well, we started off our new year by meeting our insurance deductible right off the bat....and let me tell ya.....our deductible is WAAAAAAYYYYYY high.....

Grant had to have another eye surgery. So on January 10 we went to the Eye Surgery Center and had the procedure done. He was NOT very happy about having to go but to his credit he was a very big boy. He really didn't cry at all until they took him from us. They gave him some medicine to hopefully make him fall asleep before they took him back but it really seemed to have no affect on him. Anyway, the surgery went well and they came and got us as soon as he started waking up....he was NOT happy coming out of that anesthesia. He complained of pain all day Thursday so he took the prescription pain meds that the Dr. gave us. By Friday morning, the only way you could tell he had surgery was from the redness in the corner of his eye. It didn't slow him down at all. Here is a photo I took of him on Thursday afternoon.....

He has recovered completely although his eye is still a bit red.

Garrett had his big Hispanic Heritage Day Parade at school.
They marched around the school circle all dressed in their cultural clothing. It was pretty chilly....mid 40's.....but the kids didn't seem to mind. Here is a photo of Garrett at the parade....
Here is a pic of Garrett and his best friend Gabe....aren't they a cute pair?

We are finally back into our school routine. I think life may slow down for a couple of weeks until I start getting ready for their Birthday parties. Tomorrow night is Garrett's first basketball game of the season. I'll have lots of pics from that....see you soon.

Wow where to begin. The Holiday season came and went in a flash. I hardly had time to realize it was coming before it was gone. Oh well, my boys enjoyed it and here they are with a few of their Santa surprises.....

Garrett got a Razor dirt bike...yes, I know, what crazy mom lets their six year old have a dirt bike for Christmas....well, since it was electric and not "real" I thought it would be ok......WRONG.....he had a wreck within three minutes of climbing on it....pretty bad....that made for a "wonderful" Christmas morning with LOTS of Mommy guilt....someone should have told me this job came with all the guilt. Here are some pics of him enjoying his bike....

Grant got a Razor four wheeler. OMG...He LOVED it!!!! He thinks he is such a big boy on his four wheeler. Thank goodness he has not wrecked his yet.

The only thing Garrett asked Santa to bring this year was an electric guitar....well, he got one....amp and all.....now I have a regular rock star on my hands....

Of all the gifts that Grant received this year, I think his favorite is this Sock Monkey....he fell in love with it from watching Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium....He takes "Monkey" everywhere and talks to him and plays with him and sleeps with him....soooo cute!!!!

As you can see, my boys have definitely grown in the last six months. I have missed posting here and will do my best to stay current.

We have already started our new year off with a bang.....but I'll save that story for later!!!!

WOW!!!! Has it really been that long since I posted here? I'm sorry for the lull....for some reason life was screaming by at a frantic pace and I couldn't keep up with it and so keeping up here was impossible. I have missed you all and promise to post again later with some new photos and all of our news!!!

Excuse me, Mr......Where is my little boy?

Did you ever have one of those moments where you realize time is moving so fast and it just sucks the breath right out of you? I had one of those moments last week. Garrett had a week of golf camp and after I picked him up on the first day, he wanted to go outside and practice his swing.

Ok.....he goes outside and I do a few more things in here.....then spy my camera lying on the table and decide to go take a few shots of my little guy playing golf....

When I walked outside and laid eyes on my son, my breath caught in my throat, and I got all teary eyed.....When did this happen?

First of all he had taken off his shirt....and we have been going to the pool so much that he is TAN.....and his hair has these really blonde highlights in it from being in the son.....then to top it all off, and really this is the part that did me in.....his underwear band is poking out the top of his shorts......Wait a minute.....You are SIX years old!!!!!! SIX.......NOT SIXTEEN!!!!!

I just wanna scream WAIT!!!!! Don't grow up too fast.....being a little boy is sooo much fun (for you but also for me). So I stop and I imprint this picture into my mind.....because before I know it....I'll turn around and he really will be sixteen standing out in my yard tan....shirtless....underwear hanging out the top of his shorts.......and you know what? I'll close my eyes and I'll be able to see him again at six.....my sweetie who thought he was older than he really was....my little man who was in such a hurry to grow up and do "man" thing.....my little guy who would tell me he loved me at least ten times a day.....my sweet first born son who taught me how to be a Mamma.....I love you, Gar......please slow down.....you are growing up too fast and my heart is having trouble keeping up....... Please be my little boy for a while longer.....I won't look at how big you are getting if you won't.......although carrying a 56 pounder to bed every night is getting a little hard......love ya big guy!!!!!

Our 4th Celebration

Our Fourth of July celebration started on the night of July 3rd. I am extremely patriotic and will tear up when singing the National Anthem. I feel that the youth of today do not honor Country, Flag, or Servicemen like they should and want to teach my boys what an honor it is to be an American and how they should revere and respect our flag and the men who fight/fought to make this country free. So I took them to this patriotic program that Temple Baptist Church presented. It was wonderful and had just the effect on my boys that I wanted it to....(well, it touched Garrett anyway, Grant fell asleep about 20 minutes into it.....). Here is a photo I snapped of their re-enactment of this famous statue and the battle it represents.

After the program they presented a beautiful fireworks display and Grant was so still once the fireworks started. He wasn't scared but I think he was in awe of the beautiful fireworks.

On the actual Fourth of July we went to our friends' house Skip and Carolyn Russell. They live up the street and were kind enough to invite a bunch of folks over to their house and pool for a cookout to honor the day. The kids enjoyed themselves immensely. We ate alot but I think the boys liked the blue cupcakes the best.....

I couldn't resist this adorable photo of my little guy relaxing with a cup of iced sweet tea and taking in all that was going on around him.....
For once I actually asked Ryan to take a photo of me and the boys since I am usually the one behind the camera.....look at the boys swim suits.....I thought they were perfect for the 4th!!
We came home and rested for a while and then finished off the day by setting off some fireworks of our own. Here are the boys with their sparklers......always a favorite around here......


We had a wonderfully fun and patriotic day!!!! Hope that you had a wonderful 4th of July too!!!