The Best Rangers Game EVER!

Last night after our nephew Landry's birthday party we surprised the kids and took them to the Rangers game! Even though we were a bit late we were very excited to get to go! (thanks to our good friend Shane Estes--he hooked us up with 2nd row right behind the dugout-- thanks so much Shane we are supremely grateful! Seriously we had the greatest time---the game didn't get over till 11:30 going into 11 innings, but we stayed till the last play and got to celebrate the Rangers 4th consecutive win---I tell ya they are gonna be in the World Series next year---mark my words:)

Anyways I have a super story to tell you all--first it was a bit embarrassing, but it made for a great catch and I was the best mom ever in Reese's eyes--so what else matters right? OK so- as I said before we were sitting right by the dugout so after each inning if you were quick you could get a Ranger to throw you a ball---well around the 9th inning when everyone else had left (except us crazy fans) I managed to get Jarred Saltalamacchia to notice Reese and I---he pointed to us and lofted the ball right to me! Well I did catch it-- but sadly I took a step back and tripped right over the seat (with Reese in my arms) ..... you can imagine what happened next--besides embarrassing the heck out of Greg:) --we both tumbled to the ground and with me taking every effort not to land on Reese I managed to skin both knees and one elbow! I would like to add though before everyone comments ---I DID CATCH THE BALL!! I just caught it with pizazz! :) Anyways Reese is so happy to have the game ball and he has not put it down yet---he is sleeping with it right now! Sadly, we were not able to get one for Abby, but I think she will live:) ...although we hope to catch another one real soon--without the blood!

Reese playing baseball!

During the day all Reese wants to do is play baseball-well actually all he EVER wants to do is play baseball (day or night) but anyways---after he wakes up and goes potty he finds his bat and ball and asks me to throw him a few pitches! Now I am not good at pitching I tend to hit him more than give him a good pitch, but he doesn't seem to care. Although he gets real excited when he gets to play with Daddy--he's a way better pitcher! Here in the video Reese gives us all a taste of his future in the Major Leagues.....I honestly think he is pretty good for a 2 year old and better than some 5 year olds I've seen, but that's just my opinion:)---sometimes he will hit a home run and he knocks it right out of the living room---( yes we play ball in the house)....nothing is valuable enough to keep him from his dreams---hehe only kidding.....I guess you can say we hold loosely to the things of this world....and love a good home run! Way to go Reese! Keep Swinging!!!

--I wish we would have gotten him on video saying, "Sorry mom, bad pitch" or "I got a piece of it!" ...it's hilarious---he has all the lingo down!

Mizzou-RAH!

When we were in KC a few weeks back my parents got Reese a MU jersey (my dad played football for MU) So anyways my parents are big fans and have season tickets and it's just fitting that Reese be a fan too! Well the other day Reese wanted to know who was number 10 so Greg got on-line and checked and wouldn't you know it-number 10 is Chase Daniels, a guy from Southlake, TX! (we live about 2 miles from Southlake) What a small world!

Reese's Big Boy Bed!

My parents came into town last night and came baring gifts...well kinda:) My dad made Abby and Reese's cribs and when they get old enough to get into their big bed my dad converts it into a full size bed. So last night my dad slaved away (in the hot garage) getting the bed ready for him! Reese is so excited and I can't believe we don't have any babies in the house anymore--wow! (I love sleeping through the night!) Anyways thanks dad for all the sweat and tears that went into building these beds---they are the best crib/beds you could ever have---oh and my dad is retiring someday soon hopefully and will be needed things to do so if anyone wants to order a bed let me know:)

New Family Picture!

Last night I had Jerry (Greg's dad) take some pictures of us before we all got wet/dirty....which doesn't take long-it's amazing how quickly Reese can get dirty! Anyways I was so hoping to get one really good one and I think this one won! This is probably as good as it gets:) ...but I must say we are a pretty good looking family! I try to get a new family picture every few months because the kids change so stinking fast-man they are gonna be 18 before we know it...but that will make me 41 and man that is soooooo far away---I will never be that old will I????

***and yes Reese is holding a gun--it's not loaded and it's NOT real....just thought I would clear that up so I don't get reported:)

Cowgirl Abby

Yesterday Abby helped MawMaw with a commercial for her woman's bible study to advertise at church. She wanted Abby to act like a cowgirl and pretend to shoot a can-she also had some lines she had to memorize! So I guess you can say this is her first acting job:) She has had some "shy issues" in the past but she had a great attitude and did everything MawMaw asked-way to go Abby! ---If I get a copy of the commercial I will post it on here asap!

Emma's Birthday Party!

Today Abby went to her friend Emma's 5th Birthday party! She was so excited when she got the invitation and we still had to wait two weeks before she could go. Now Reese gets to go to all her parties too since all her girlfriends have 2 year old siblings also.....but he sure doesn't mind-he thinks he is 5 and wants to do everything Abby does!(she doesn't seem to mind-let's pray it stays that way) Anyways it was a swim party and then they got their two favorite things-pizza and cake-wow that's my favorite too-- I guess we never really grow up:)
Abby is so ready for her 5th birthday to get here-I am not so sure I am ready though...Greg and I can't believe she is already that old! Well we'll see tomorrow what theme she wants at her party-it changes quite often--right now she is wanting a Jasmine party and wants all the girls to dress like princesses.....sounds good to me!....but only if I get to dress-up too:)

Mesquite Rodeo

Last night Maw Maw and Poppa asked us all to go to the Rodeo! Reese has been asking Poppa to go for weeks so he he couldn't wait to see the bull riding again! It was a 2 hour show and all the kids seem to really enjoy it-one of the kids favorite parts was Cowboy Poker it's when 4 cowboys all sit at a table and wait to get trampled by a bull and whoever sits there the longest gets $400. What in the world? I wouldn't do that for just $400 bucks-especially when we saw the cowboys after they got attacked by a bull-ouch! But I guess it's all about the entertainment cause our kids really loved it! And this was a super nice place too-it didn't stink AND it was air-conditioned....that's my kinda Rodeo:)

Ps. 23 -Reese Style!

I have been teaching both Abby and Reese Ps. 23 and they have been doing great! When I got Abby on video the other day Reese wasn't quite ready:) He is such a goof ball that it is a challenge teaching him all these verses! But he really knows it well now and I just had to get it on video to capture his sweet voice. Enjoy!

Worm's Birthday!

Have you ever seen a happier boy in your life?
He was holding his glove, a baseball and his ticket
--that's all you need in life right?

The best tasting cake ever! Way to go Courtney!

Worm's the guy 3 rows up holding his Coke up
in the air!--he's a youth minister can you tell;)

Tonight we went out to the Rangers game (surprise-surprise) because one of our friends from college was turning 30! He has a real name but we never use it and I remember not even knowing it in college and we had been friends 3 years! Anyways the kids were really excited to meet someone named Worm and get to have cake and watch baseball-wow what a big day for the Stamps kids:) Sadly, we didn't get to talk to Worm much because we couldn't get seats close enough and then it started to pour around the 4th inning. Now, I wasn't too sad to see the rain since I seriously was sitting in a puddle of my own sweat and when the rain came you can image the humidity that followed. Well Greg being the die hard baseball fan he is (and Reese for that matter) wasn't gonna leave early unless they called it- so me being the wonderful wife I am stayed --- sort of- I guess I was not so wonderful tonight! We ended up leaving in the 8th inning, but really I tried to make it and so did the kids, but it was like sitting in a sauna out there! Sorry Greg! And on our way out Greg said, "you realize it's tied right?" and he said he hoped for my sake they don't make a huge come back! So when we were driving home (listening to the game of course) and the Royals were up 6-2 I didn't feel so bad-actually I felt like I was saving him from pain and heartache-see I am looking out for the interest of husband-it just didn't seem like it at the time! :) Go Rangers! -oh and Happy Birthday Worm-you old man you!

Psalm 23

The other day I saw this video on youtube.com of this 3 year old girl reciting Psalms
23 and I was inspired to teach our kids to do the same! The kids have been memorizing short verses for awhile now and I always just figured a long chapter would be tough for them, but oh was I wrong! Abby and Reese have both memorized the whole chapter and they actually were really into learning (thanks to prayer and candy!) So a few days ago I told you all I was on a mission to get Abby on video so here it is....hopefully she inspires you too!

Hank's Here!

This afternoon we got a call that Hank was ready! He's just the greatest dog-it's as if he was made just for our family! He's super chill (not that we are "super-chill" but we sure like a dog that is:) We all gave him his first bath and he did really good-I wasn't too sure how he would do but he relaxed pretty quick. We are so happy to finally have a dog and I just know he is gonna be prefect for us!

Reese "Mohawk" Stamps!

This is a bad picture but it shows the
mohawk so much better!

We were getting ready to cut Reese's hair and he told me he did NOT want me to hold him anymore! I was shocked! Normally I hold him and try to console him while the clippers buzz past his ears. Tonight, though he declared his independence. I can't believe he doesn't need me!! OH NO! No really I'm kidding it's ok I was just so proud of what a big boy he was being-way to go Reese! We had a problem though, since I wasn't in there to "babysit" Greg and Reese--Greg cut Reese's hair in a mohawk! Oh he and Reese were proud of themselves-- it was pretty funny! Greg said we should keep it that way because it was really in style:) (Greg just got back from New York City, and says it's all the fashion) I told him no way-so don't worry Reese looks like a perfectly clean-cut boy now--no thanks to Greg:) ---only kidding-Greg wouldn't have left it that way--I mean come on-Greg was the guy that came home one day and said, "Honey, I think it's time I start parting my hair." ....by the way I was totally against it!

Seussical the Musical

Last night my friend Jill and I took our girls to Seussical, a musical put on by Theater Arlington by their youth program. Abby really loves Dr. Seuss and she thought it was really cool to see all the kids on stage! Abby was cracking me up during the show. She was all smiles and sometimes she would look at me as if she was in shock how cool it was! I think Bailey really liked it too but I wasn't too sure-she's 9 and not as easily impressed with a bunch of kids dancing and singing:) Anyways, afterwards we were really wanting to go to Starbucks so we 4 girls just hung out and drank our frapps! It was a good girls night out and it is fun to get to take the girls to do something special just for them! By the way, have I mentioned how fun it is to have a girl? The other day she walks into my room while I was getting ready and says, "Oh, mom I love your necklace!" --and the other day she met one of my friends from college and she said," I love her hair!" How funny to hear her saying girl stuff like that-not sure if I am ready to deal with all the "girl" stuff that comes along with that, but it's still fun!

Hank

This is Molly-the dog we didn't pick:(

The kids walking Hank for the first time-or
is he walking them?

See he loves to get his belly rubbed!--oh did I
mention he's about 85 lbs??...we love big dogs!

Yesterday on Greg's lunch break we took the kids over to the local dog shelter to pick out a dog! We had a tough time deciding between two of them-one of the dogs name was Molly and she was so sweet and really good with the kids and then there was Lucky and he was just your all american dog-he didn't jump on the kids and all he wanted to do is chill out and get his belly rubbed. In deciding between the two we were so torn, but in the end we all felt that Lucky (the kids agreed to rename him "Hank Slugger Blalock") was the right dog for us! We haven't gotten to bring him home yet because he has to get his shots and blood work done but we are hoping he gets here soon! Last night we went and got Hank all that he will need to feel right at home -I think he will especially like the 10lb. box of doggie treats....only the biggest and best for our dog:)

This is the Best!

I seriously think this is the best "laughing" video ever....Reese's raspy voice is so adorable when he is laughing...enjoy! -It will make your day!

Abby...

I really try to catch Abby doing silly stuff too but she being almost 5 and all she doesn't seem as into it! When I asked her to give me her best pose she did this-that's a pretzel and all she was interested in at the time was eating it! -- One of these days I am gonna get a great video of her you just wait:) I'm on a mission....

Disney World!

We went to the Disney Store tonight to let the kids play around and Reese grabbed as many princess dolls as he could and when I asked him what he was holding he said, "Disney World"....priceless! Also a lady walked by us in the store and said she couldn't believe how much fun our kids were having just playing in the store! We are go on a Disney Cruise soon and I think they might have a heart attack when they see the real thing:)

Washing the Car!

Tonight Greg and I decided we needed a little family time so what better thing to do than to wash the car! The kids were naturals, it was as if they were born to clean (well being related to me that could be inherited) I told Greg that we should go around the neighborhood and wash everyone's car--just to be nice:) I do think this would be a great way to serve our neighbors....at least I sure would like it if someone came over and offered to wash my car for free:) We have been trying to think of ways to show the kids how to love your neighbors and not just talk about it..... now I bet each of you wished you lived in our neighborhood!! I think it is so important for them to see us serving not just talk about it at church-I really feel they are getting to an age that they can really understand putting action to your words! Anyways the kids were super funny-Reese kept thinking it was cool to stand in the bucket and Abby wanted more and more bubbles....I think she was really just wanting to put them on Reese's head! It only took us an hour to wash the car and man we were soaking wet-thanks to Greg :)

High School Reunion

Greg and I going to prom:)

This is Aubrey-one of my best friends from high school
I've missed her!

The hottest girls from the class of 1997:)


This weekend while we were in KC Greg and I went to my10 year high school reunion. I must admit it took a lot to talk Greg into going- he finally agreed. It went pretty good and I had a great time talking with some of the girls I used to hangout with. We were quickly reminded though why we really didn't like high school :) --we really just sat around and talked to all the people we talked to in high school while everyone else sat around and got drunk.....man things never change!

Scary!

This is what happens when you play with Granny too much-if you can't tell this is Abby with some crazy mask on...and face paint!....Abby thought she was so hilarious!

Paradise Park

Today we went to this indoor play area that had all kinds of play stations like a kids grocery store, a pizzeria, a play bank, an art center and a huge ball pit-basically everything you can image for a kid to have fun and play for hours! Reese couldn't get enough of the ball pit and Abby kept using the face paint-she kept telling me she needed to add just one more thing--her face was covered-I'm not sure where she was gonna add anything! The also got to see a puppet show where they learned about their organs -not sure they understood any of it, but Abby thought it was neat to see what a heart looks like!

Daddy's Back!!

We picked Greg up from airport late last night and the kids couldn't wait to see him! It has been 9 days-way too long- he had some business in New York and then worked in Texas for the rest of the time. It has been the longest time he has been away from us and the poor guy ended having to do all the grunt work around the house while the kids and I swam everyday-sorry Greg-we really did miss you and are so glad you are back!

Slip n Slide!

We went over to my sister's house and got out the slip n slide for the kids. We thought they would just love it, but we were surprised they only liked it with the water off....the second we turned the water on they ran like crazy! And the picture of Abby with the patch on her eye-she got them from her cousin Trevin from his birthday party. She and Reese are loving their swords -but they have gotten in trouble many times for hitting each other....Reese lately has been using the phrase "I'm just kidding" Abby says it's "his saying"-the only problem is he uses it wrong. He will "play" hit you and then say "I'm just kidding" I keep telling him that doesn't make sense, but he doesn't seem to get it:)

Adelyn Grace

Some of my good friends from OBU live right by my parents here in KC and they had a baby girl 4 months ago. We have been trying to figure out some time to get together all week and tonight we made it happen! I was so excited to get to hold Adelyn and the kids just loved helping her! Here you can see they got to feed her and at dinner they were great- they sat next to her and played with her and kept her happy! I am so glad I got to see Rebecca and Justin and they are so great with Adelyn-I loved seeing them in action-Adelyn is a blessed little girl! I think it is still pretty weird though seeing all my friends becoming parents-aren't parents old and uncool?....I'm not old and I am soooo cool so either times are changing or our parents weren't as uncool as we thought:)