Safety Town

On a warm, sunny November day, my friend Summer and I took our boys to Frisco's Safety Town. What a neat place. The boys got to climb all in and out of a real firetruck and ambulance, learned all about fire safety, tried on a real fireman hat, and even got escape out of window - down the roof of a "burning" building. After all this fun, they got to drive jeeps and ride bikes around Safety Town. It's a minature Frisco...real streets, buildings, signals, toll tag booths, but on a smaller scale. What a fun, great way to teach kids about fire safety.

Who is this silly boy? It is but the youngest Bradley Boy - Paxton. Just had to take a pic of him with these on. Of course, he thought he was the cutest thing because his two older brothers were cracking up.

Wow Mason! One day during rest time, Mason put together this lego set. I was impressed. He did all by himself, working through the step by step book. The is General Grievous ship for Star Wars.

Trick or Treat!!

Oh - the excitement of Trick or Treating! The boys could not wait! Is there anything better than going house to house and getting free candy? We went Trick or Treating with our neighbors, who our boys think, hung the moon. Paxton was a quick learner, but couldn't understand why he couldn't eat everything put in his pumpkin. He even learned to say Thank You - "nay nu". I loved watching Pax mimic everything his older brothers do.

About half way through trick or treating - Colton kept telling us that his legs hurt - we told him if you can't walk, then you can't trick or treat. Well, what he meant to say is that his feet hurt. When we got home, the poor boy had HUGE blisters on his feet. He had worn his shoes without socks, and paid a high price. We then, of course, felt horrible that we made him walk all that way. But a few pieces of candy helped the pain go away.

Pumpkin Carving Time

The boys making their "scary Halloween faces"

I think for everyone, every holiday reminds of when we were children. Halloween always makes me think of my Dad. I can remember picking out pumpkins and carving them with him. We always made one tall, skinny pumpkin and one fat and round pumpkin. And a couple of years, he even carved three pumpkins, one for each of my sisters. Then my mom would always bake the seeds - so yummy. I still haven't figured out how to make them as yummy as she did and now I know how much work it is to get those little seeds clean! Agh!


Well, we didn't carve 3 pumpkins, but we did carve one, and this year it was Colton's turn to decide what type face it would have. So, we of course had an animal pumpkin. Couldn't figure out how to carve a dog, but he was satisfied with a cat.

A Star Wars Family

Our church every year has a Fall Festival. The boys have so much fun. This year they wanted Mommy and Daddy to dress up too. So we did a whole Star War theme - Mason choose to be "a good guy storm trooper" - is there such a thing? I don't know, but we went with it. Colton was his "favorite guy" - Luke Skywalker. And of course Paxton was voted to be Yoda - though R2D2 was considered. Our family won the costume contest for the family division - which the boys were just thrilled about! Here's a few pics....

Pumpkins on the Prairie

Every year we take the boys to a pumpkin patch to pick out our jack-o-latern pumpkin, and of course take some cute pics. This year we went to Pumpkins on the Prairie and had a great time. Mason pulled Pax around in a wagon for at least 30 minutes and Colton couldn't understand why we could pick and carve a pumpkin that would fit in his hand. He loves anything little. We found the perfect pumpkin and enjoyed some great family time. As it got dark, they had family movie time complete with popcorn. We sat out in the grass and watched Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin.



In this pic, Paxton was done with pictures and ready to explore. This is him pushing both of his brothers away.

Paxton loved picking up and discovering the different gourds and squashes.

Sister Sister

My lil sis got to come in from Seattle - with my new little niece. What joy and fun! She had a conference here in Dallas, so while she worked, I got lots of time with Carly. What a sweet, little, petite, thing. There's just a difference in boy babies and girl babies. She was so cuddly and sweet. Tonya even got to be here over my birthday and we celebrated at my favorite restaurant, La Hacienda - The Ranch. It was so wonderful having her here. There's nothing like late night talks with a sister.

Yes, you see right - Colton is holding Carly. Wouldn't hold his own baby brother, but apparently, a cousin is much less threatening.

Colton's 5th Birthday Party

We celebrated Colton's 5th birthday with a Littlest Pet Shop party here at the house. Everyone dressed as a Littlest Pet Shop and we grilled out, played and jumped in the backyard and broke a pinata. Colton's one and only request for his party was a pinata! And all the kids loved it. I had forgotten how much fun they are. And of course there were presents and everyone knew what Colton loved! He received Littlest Pet Shop, Legos and Webkinz. Hmmm, not sure what we will get him for Christmas now.

A Weekend Campout

There is truly nothing I love to do more with the boys than to take them camping! It is so great in so many ways. I love the family time. No tv, no phone, no computer, no distractions... just us, with our boys, surrounded by the beauty that God created! And the stars are amazing. We had so much fun on this camping trip with the Reinwalds and Mathis's at Colorado State Bend Park. Mason swam in the river with Mr. Jason, Colton kayaked with me and dad and went swimming in a true swimming hole with natural "slides", and Paxton could run and play without being told "NO" constantly -he loved his freedom.

You can't tell from the pictures, but our camp site was at the bottom of this steep hill. So all of our camping gear had to be toted down the hill than back up. Whew - but it was worth it!


No one, I mean no one, can get kids more excited about washing dishes than Jason. His enthusiasm made me want to wash the dishes. He'd give every kid a job, and they would go at it.

Paxton enjoying lounging in his camp chair - doesn't he look so happy!

The Reinwald's enjoying the afternoon with kids.

Meghan, Colton, Mason & Lexi in front of our new tent! Yeah - I hope it will get lots of use in years to come.

Meghan and Mason enjoying their smores. Afterall, camping is all about the smores right?

Colton enjoying his birthday "smore", consisting of well, just marshmallow.

All the kids "posing" on the tree for a pic for the parents - aren't they cute.

Paxton and Daddy ready for our first hike. He was not too excited to be put in the backpack, but we of course won the battle and enjoyed his ride.

Just a fun big rock we found at the end of our hike.

Mason in a tree he climbed sporting his new glasses with transitional lenses. He is so excited about these new glasses.

Colton's Golden Year!

Our Colton boy is 5 years old! Hard to believe. This is his "golden year". He was 5 years old on the 5th! Colton has grown into such a sweet, loving, energetic, and silly boy. At 5 years old he loves anything to do with cats and/or dogs. His favorite toys are his Littlest Pet Shops and Legos, and he will never turn down pizza. There is not a day that goes by that Colton doesn't put a smile on my face and in my heart. He will be a real ladies man someday, he always notices if mommy is wearing something new and tells me daily, "Mommy, you look pretty". How could he not have my heart. He's the most sensitive of the three boys and I'm hoping he will never be too old or too big to cuddle with mommy. He has blessed our lives in so many ways and brings joy and laughter to our family daily.

The day of Colton's 5th birthday, we headed out to go camping with the Reinwalds. So on the way out of town, Colton had his pick for lunch. We went to ChuckECheeses and had a great time eating pizza and playing games.

Got Some of my DeeDee in Me!

Paxton has an "expression" that reminds me so much of my mom - his DeeDee. I can remember when my mom was concentrating on something, like grading papers or looking through a magazine, she would kind of put her tongue out. Paxton has inheritated this from her. Whenever he is concentrating on a task - like here, stacking blocks - his tongue always comes out. I love finding hints of my mom in the boys.

Colton's First Day of School

Well, Colton started school this week! He's not my "school boy". If he had his choice in the matter, he'd stay home with mommy and be just fine. When you'd ask him, "are you excited for school" - he'd simply reply - No. Well, hopefully a change a heart is around the corner. He had a great first day and even got to sign "The Happy Book". A special book for those to sign who are noticeably good that day. He came home from school very chatty and excited. I hope he has a wonderful year with Ms. Ashlynn. He can always put a smile on my face with his cute expressions and sayings and I know he will be a blessing to her.

Labor Day Fun

Who knew a store could be so fun! We went to Bass Pro Shop on Labor Day to buy a tent for an upcoming camping trip! Wow! It was amazing - we could of made a day of it! We watch huge fish swim around, saw rattle snakes, "rode" 4 wheelers, climbed in tents, played golf and even got "eaten" by a shark. It's definately a boy store!

First Day of Kindergarten

Mason had a great first day of school! He was excited and ready, but a little nervous that he wouldn't know anyone. His heart was broken last week when I told him that his best friend Brannen wouldn't be in his class or at his school. But he did great and loved it. When we picked him up and I asked him "How was your 1st day?", I thought I'd get a fine or good, but he must of talked about school for two hours! And he has a fabulous teacher - so sweet, kind, organized and loving - a perfect combination for a kindergarten teacher.

Hmm - now how's mom doing? Better than I expected. It's almost comical the timing God has with things. We have a horrible stomach bug going around our house right now, and I was up most of the night with Colton. So it was almost a relief to know that I would only have two today to care for and possibly get a nap in. God knows just what we need when we need it. It was easy to leave him with Ms. Beakley - have I mentioned she's great! However, I'm still sorting through that he will be there 5 days a week, 7 hours a day. I'll miss him so much and so will Colton! Colton didn't quite know what do to with himself today. He stayed right by side and was so chatty. He reminded me of the song from "My Best Friend's Wedding" - I just don't know what to do with myself...

Our Big Kindergartener!



















Mason with his most wonderful teacher Ms. Beakley

Houston Road Trip!

We enjoyed a day out on PawPaw & Mimi's boat! So fun! We rode around the lake, jumped overboard for a swim and went tubing!














Paxton loved Duke! Always wanted to sit by him or ON him. Duke was a good sport!














Mason holding his new cousin Carly.



















Mason & Colton with their cousin Jackson - can you tell they're related?














PawPaw teaching Colton the game of croquet. What a sport PawPaw was - it was hot out there.




















Colton, Paxton, Mason with their friends Lexi & Meghan. The boys had so much fun with Wendy's girls that when we got home, and Travis asked them if they were glad to be home... Mason responded "No, we want to go back to Meghan & Lexi's house".














We went to the Rain Forest Cafe for dinner and I thought Paxton would love it! WRONG! The child was literally trembling with fear! Here is me introducing him to the tree frog. Not a good idea! This confirmed to me that he was not ready for Disney World!














A sword fight battle with my college roommate's son, Asher.














All the kids having a great time "On Stage". The Reinwald's have the absolute best game room ever! My boys loved singing and dancing on the stage - even Paxton! Hours of entertainment.