A Three Minute Tour, A Three Minute Tour

The boys' first boat ride was today.  Lucky for us (and them), they did not experience the same problems as be felled Gilligan and his boat.

Memorial Day: A Day at the Park

This morning, as we remember those who have lost their lives fighting for our freedom, we decided to take the boys to Pullen Park.  In a couple of months, the boys will have their birthday party at Pullen Park.  We wanted to go have a test run (especially on the train ride, as we have friends whose children have cried going on the train). 

Thus, we had to ride on the train to see if the boys would enjoy it.  They loved it.  We all thought that Poppy would have loved to been on that train with us.  We also rode the carousel and the boats.  We all had such a fun time at the park.  They can't wait to get back to the park on their birthday. 

Here are some pictures from the park:

Mark and Daddy on the carousel. 

Mommy and Jack on the carousel. 

I look like a knight without the shining armor.  - Mark

The boys take turns steering the boat.

Jack is sternly watching the seas while Mark rings the bell.

All smiles on deck!

Daddy and Jack get on the train.

Mark and Mommy on the train.

Fun with friends

Saturday afternoon, we had dinner with two other couples from our Sunday School class.  We had a good dinner, grilling out some chicken, along with some green beans and salad.  It was very good.  We all had a a good time.  The boys enjoyed playing with the other kids.  There were 3 other kids.  There was one boy, Beckett, age 4, along with two girls, Maggie and Claire, ages 5 and 3 respectively.   

Before dinner, the boys played in the sandbox.  After dinner, we brought out the baseball equipment and everyone went to town.  The dads tried to stay out of the way of the batted balls while our wives just laughed at us. 

Here are a couple pictures from the evening:

Basically, mass confusion.

Mark and Claire looking at a golf club.

Beckett and Jack take turns playing baseball and hitting the golf ball.

DeVault Stadium

No disrespect to the real DeVault Memorial Stadium in Bristol, Tennessee, which is named for my great-uncle, but there is a DeVault Stadium here in Raleigh.  In fact, it is in our back yard.  Friday night, we played baseball as is our new norm in the evening.  The boys absolutely love baseball.  They play baseball in the morning before daycare, during the day at daycare, and then after dinner as well.  When they play it inside, they have their own helmets (plastic fire helmets from our visit to the Morrisville Fire Department), gloves (a ball with an area to put their hand in), and a ball.  Jack usually pitches, Mark usually catches (in the proper catcher's stance) , and the batter usually varies between us.

Now when we go outside, Jack and Mark take turns hitting.  They love it and are very good hitters.  They love to hit the ball, and they love to hit the ball hard. 
In addition on Friday night, we let the boys blow bubbles.  Finally, we walked down to our neighborhood pool to see what was going on.  The boys enjoyed seeing the pool and the tennis courts. 

Here are some photos from the evening:

Daddy, throw a good pitch and I will knock it out of here.  - Jack

The perfect batter and catcher, don't you think?

Throw it to me!  I will catch it!  - Mark

If you throw it to me, I will hit it!  - Jack

Daddy and boys after moving on to bubbles.

Jack is really good at blowing bubbles!  (Great picture Mommy!)

I really like these tennis courts.  - Mark

Picture time

Last week Jack and Mark were the focal point of a photo shoot.  OK, Heather called a friend of hers who also runs a photography business.   She got several good shots of both boys.  Here are a few of them for your perusal:

Brothers don't shake hands, Brothers gotta hug!!

Double Trouble!?!?!

Best friends!

Mommy with her two sons.

Another first

Saturday, after we got back from Austin's birthday party, it was nap time.  Or more precisely, past nap time.  Typically nap time is between 1:30 and 2.  But we didn't get back from the party till around 2:30.  They are normally pretty flexible so we didn't think much about it.  They both were exhausted because they didn't get to bed till after 9 on Friday night from the SAS Spring Festival, so we figured they would sleep good.  I guess that is what we get for thinking.

Mark was so tired he pitched a little fit most of the way home and didn't even stop crying while he was going to the bathroom once we got home.  That was something I had never seen nor even heard of happening.  A successful potty experience while never stopping crying was a first.  He then went reluctantly into his crib but didn't fall asleep till about 3:10.

Jack meanwhile was very tired but didn't put up a fuss in the car.  However, once we tried to get him to sleep, it was a whole 'nother story.  It didn't matter if we laid down on the floor in the room, gave him some water to drink, let him cry it out, etc.  Nothing worked.

So after 80 minutes of this ebb and flow of loud and not-as much loud coming from Jack's room, we just got him out of his crib, and he sat in the bonus room and relaxed with Mommy and Daddy.

We took the boys out to dinner (I know, playing with fire) to TGI Friday's and it went pretty well.  Surprisingly well. 

Now they both did sleep real good last night.  Jack woke up at 8, Mark at 8:15.

So we survived the first day with a kid having a napless day.  We don't plan on getting ourselves in that situation again in the near future.  I guess this probably means that naps will interrupt tailgating and football games yet again this fall.

Birthday Party

On Saturday, Jack and Mark were invited to a birthday party for one of their friends in Sunday School.  Austin Moye turned 3 and had his party at the Rainbow Play Systems off of Glenwood.  In the party room, there was a huge playground setup with about 6 slides, 3 sets of stairs and they all were interconnected.  There were about 20 kids there.  It was a lot of fun.  There was pizza and cake.  The boys didn't really eat a lot of that, but they did eat some grapes and cheese balls.  Jack and Mark had a good time going down the slides, and Mark really enjoyed going out on the lookout areas where "binoculars" were attached.

Here are some pictures from the party:

Jack and Mark eat some goodies while birthday boy Austin gets ready to drink his juice.

Daddy, I am the best lookout ever! - Mark

Mark, this is how you go down the slide!  - Jack

Daddy, you said to keep my feet up for more speed.  How is this?  - Mark

Spring Festival

Tonight, we took the boys to the annual Spring Festival at SAS.  This is a festival that has about 12-15 big fair tents where you can get different foods, drinks, play games, crafts, etc.  The Breakfast Club band belted out songs from our youth (wow, that made me feel old typing that).  We all had a really good time. 

After work was finished, we met at daycare to pick up the boys.  Then we walked up to the soccer and softball fields to see what the festival had in store for the DeVaults.  We first went to the sandbox area and watched Jack and Mark play in one of the sand boxes.  Although for some of the time, they acted like the rakes were baseball bats or golf clubs.  That's our boys. 

After that we went over and tried out some of the food.  Daddy had a corn dog for the first time in a long time.  It was really good.  Mommy had some pasta.  The boys had some veggie sticks, macaroni and cheese, applesauce, and hushpuppies.

Then we watched some kids get on a bungee jumper machine.  They watched and wanted to get on.  Unfortunately for the boys, they were too young and too small for that.  We then watched the fireworks display before we went home. 

Here are some pictures of the event:

Mark, should I use the yellow rake or the yellow rake?  - Jack

Hey Jack, Mommy really likes these pictures with an arm around our brother, doesn't she?  - Mark

Boys, the rakes are to be used in the sand box.  They are NOT baseball bats nor golf clubs. 

These veggie sticks are SOOO good.  - Mark

So much food to eat, where do we start?  - Mark and Jack

Hey Alex, do you want a hushpuppy?  - Mark

Alex is going to be in my class in a few days.  It will be so much fun!  - Mark

Hey Ben, check out how I can eat a veggie stick and use my Chinese yo-yo at the same time.  - Jack

Hey Mark, stop looking at the cute girls.  We are trying for a family photo here. 

Happy Mother's Day!

A Happy Mother's Day it has been! This morning Jack and Mark wished me a Happy Mother's Day in bed. It is so great to snuggle with my boys every morning in bed! Mark said, "Happy Mother's Day" while Jack said, "Happy Momma's Day"! Either will work for me, I just enjoyed hearing their sweet voices say it however they wanted to! Then, we got up and started our typical Sunday. We all get ready and headed to church. After church, we had a quick, light lunch at McAllister's Deli at North Hills and then came home for some pictures before nap time. During the boys' naps, even Mommy caught a nap. It was fabulous! I used to love Sunday afternoon naps, before we had children! Craig took care of the laundry and I got some rest....it was wonderful! Then, we all enjoyed some family play time together before heading out to dinner for Mother's Day. Granna and Grandpa joined us and all six of us went to dinner at local Japanese restaurant where they cook hibachi style right in front of you. Jack and Mark enjoy this so much. We all had a delicious dinner and then returned home for bedtime. What a fabulous Mother's Day it was!

As I sat in church this morning and watched the baby dedication portion of the service on this Mother's Day, I couldn't help but think of how blessed I am to be the Mommy of my two special sons! I think I may always remember Mother's Day of 2008. We had been doing infertility treatments for awhile. That was the toughest Mother's Day I have ever experienced. Our pastor delivered such a beautiful Mother's Day message that day, but it really hit me hard. On that day, I didn't know if I would ever be a Mom. It broke my heart. Now, I am so thankful for every day that I have with my children. Being a Mommy is such a blessing beyond words. I knew I would love my children, but I never could imagine this love I have for Jack and Mark. It is truly indescribable!

Jack and Mark - I am so thankful to be blessed to be your Mommy. I love you both more than words can say!

Mom - I am so thankful to be blessed to be your Daughter. I love you more than words can say!

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Jack brought home from daycare this sweet card that he made and a lovely rose!

Mark brought home from daycare this sweet flower pot that he made with three flowers, each with a picture of him at the center! 

My sweet Mom and I!

It's a Dinner Party!

So, Saturday night, Mommy and Daddy hosted a dinner party with "the Gang." This is a group of 12 firends that Mommy and Daddy have been very close to since college. Everyone was able to make it except the Jungs, which we all really missed! This was the first time that we have all been together since Christmas of 2004 without any kids - as the first child in the group was born in January 2005! The girls get together occasionally and the guys get together occasionally and of course we all get together with our children quite often. But, this dinner party was adults only! We brought out the fine china for the occasion. The menu was: asparagus and orange mixed green salad, marinated filet mignon, au gratin potatoes, green beans with bacon vinaigrette and walnuts, sour dough bread and chocolate souffle cakes with raspberry sauce. It. Was. YUMMY! Everyone had a clean plate and there were no leftovers...good to the last bite! Everyone came over around 4:00 and we enjoyed each other's company until about 9:30, then it was time to relieve all the babysitters! We were all so thankful for this time together and all agree that we've got to get this on the calendar for at least couple of times a year! Of course, a blog post wouldn't be complete without pictures, so here they are!

Granna and Grandpa and the boys are ready to head out for an evening together. They enjoyed playing together and then dinner at Red Robin. Then, they had baths and got ready for bed at Granna and Grandpa's house. Here they are leaving with their bag! They all had so much fun together!

The table is set with the fine china!

The fresh flowers on the door to welcome our guests!

The guys relaxing and catching up on the screened porch!

Craig, Jason, Jason, Ben and Nathan

The girls enjoying time together!

Paige, Kelli, Diane, Beth and Heather

Such a special night with special friends!