August 18-24

My mom was admitted to the hospital monday, bc her chron's disease had flared up, but luckily, this time was not nearly as bad as the last- and she was home by thursday and ready for my sister's baby 'sprinkle' on saturday (instead of a baby shower, since this is baby #2, they called it a sprinkle). I decided not to fly out for that bc i would much rather fly out to meet my new neice- still unnamed- :) when she's born in october.

Tuesday, i took off work for a day full of dr aptmts ... in the morning, i took the girls to my dr- brooke needed a physical for school (cheer) - after that, we picked up justin (from nana's- david and katey were there for the day so he wanted to play) and headed to the dentist- yes, this was justin's first time at the dentist, but all was good- no cavities no problems- and a very cooperative kid :) the girls had no cavities either- and dont need braces, thankfully for my wallet! after that, we dropped justin back off at kay's and i took the girls to walmart to get school supplies- and a few groceries which cost me a small fortune- britt doesnt ahve a list yet but we bought stuff we assume she'll need and i'll return the rest...tues night was britt's booster club pot luck meeting for drill team- it was okay, but not too much fun- so we left early bc i was going to edens to run..

check out these pictures of justin at the dentist- he got some funky sunglasses for when they had the light on him to clean his teeth- and then for the flouride, they told him he was going to look like a duck- and handed him the mirror- i was cracking up!







mon and wed were boot camp- thurs, fri, and sat brooke had cheer camp- once again at random times of the day so luckily we were carpooling with treshawn, and kay helped out one day too- thurs 3:30-7:30, fri 9-2, sat 8-12... seriously do they forget we work???

friday, eden and i went to see housebunny- it was hilarious- dumb, but funny!

saturday was busy, but fun- started out with fitcamp in the humidity with lots of mosquitos joining us- and after that, the boys and i headed to my friend's son's first birthday party- and after that, jeremy and i headed to my friend's 'chillin and grillin' party- where we had some drinks and swam- brittany was in charge of the boys because she owed us $42 still- so she gave me $20 and i made it even with her babysitting the boys...





sunday, brooke got her FAKE nails (with her own money) for school- they actually look nice- especially since normally she has stumps for nails bc she bites them- brittany went to the movies with izzy, and the boys and i went to red robin with jennifer and to heb. what fun! sun night was early bedtime for all the kids bc SCHOOL started today (monday ) :)

'I want bitt-nee, i want book-ee'

Jacob has been not wanting to go to sleep lately- and cries after we put him down alot of the time- nap or bed time- and sometimes cries for us when he wakes up in the morning- he never used to do that- he'd just call our name or play quietly- he is quite anxious i think- he hears EVERY noise- and most of them scare him ('what's that noisEY') and strangers scare him too- which i guess is good- but only to a point! hopefully it's just a phase...

so monday night after his bath, he tells me he doesnt want to get dressed- and finally i convince him, but after he got dressed, he said 'i want BITNEE' i said what? you want brittany, why? lol only bc usually he wants me or daddy- and he said 'yes, i want bITNEE' and ran into the other room and had her pick him up and he wanted to sit in the recliner/rocker with her- so cute- and then, or course, justin wanted to join in- usually he tells me he only sometimes likes brittany bc she picks on him, but i guess monday he liked her- so they both sat on her lap for a while until i made jake go to bed. made me happy bc of course i want my kids to love each other- and sometimes since the age gap is so big i feel like the girls think of their little brothers more as a 'chore' than a sibling... when we got upstairs, jake wanted BOOKEE, but i told him that she was working (she was playing on her computer) and that it was bedtime, so i let him give her a kiss and hug goodnight.. anyway- of course i had to take a pic, i love it :)

August 5-17- BROOKE's birthday (aug 11)

Brooke is officially a teenager now- so now i have 2 in my house! eeeek! just kidding, they aren't so bad- actually, they are quite good - i got lucky :)

August 4-15, for two weeks, brittany had 'two a day' practices for drill team at the high school from 8am-4pm. Those times are not easy for me or jeremy to drop off or pick her up because jeremy leaves early, and m-w-f i have to take the boys to school- and to get there by 4 for pick up, we have to leave work by 3:20- when i usually leave at 5. so- luckily, we had a carpool with a couple other girls- which took like an hour and a half for me to get home those days by the time i drove to the school, dropped the 4 girls at their houses and got the boys- but it was still nice to not have to drive every day! britt enjoyed the camp but said it was alot of work and still complains she is sore- the doctor said she thinks its just bc she was using new muscles so much that hadnt been worked out- because it's both legs that bother her- but if they bother her still in a month, to come back.

brooke went with regina on the sunday before her bday- brittany stayed with us because she had a drill team function sun evening at the school- on monday, we ate dinner for her bday at the olive garden (her choice- i say GAG!) funny that jeremy and brooke and brit were supposed to pick up treshawn (brooke's bff) on the way, and i met them there from work- and kay and jerry brought the boys- we sit down, order drinks, and i say 'so treshawn couldnt come?' and jeremy says 'oh SH**' we were supposed to pick her up on our way!' and so we ordered for them and called tre for her order while they went to get her- duh!







regina decided to spoil brooke with all kinds of birthday gifts this year- basically everything she asked for- which was more like a christmas list than a 13th birthday list- of course there are 2 items she still is getting from her supposedly- a ring with her birthstone and a touchscreen digital camera- (meanwhile she has already lost the kodak one i got her for christmas last year).. ANYWAY- to each his own... and good that regina is trying to keep her kids happy, right? :O britt said next year she's definitely going to increase her list! she missed out by being realistic on her list this year (in may)..

ANYWAY, on august 16th, brooke had her birthday party- (she is still going to have another with regina!) she had 4 friends come over around noon- and we headed to pearland town center- of course brittany insisted that izzy needed to come- and since i hear her ask if he can do something every 5 minutes sometimes i say yes just so she'll stop asking! (jk).. the plan was to go to pearland town center (our new outdoor mall, VERY cool) and shop and then eat and then slumber- well, it was pouring when they got to our house- so they hung out a little while, and then we headed out- the girls shopped for HOURS- THREE and a half hours to be exact- even though they had all just been there the weekend before for a different party- i was trying not to spend money- trying to save- it is hard to do when you have 3.5 hours to kill... and i didnt want to leave the shopping center since i was responsible for them all... after shopping (brooke made a ton of purchases- she got birthday money from us and nana and pawpaw, and other relatives as well- and she was being quite the good friend, buying her friends and even her sister little nicknacks, too bc she had 'so much money'). after shopping, we headed to red robin- yum! jeremy and the boys, nana and pawpaw met us there- we had a table for 14. the food was GOOD and only $105 for all those people! (brooke and friends and the boys ordered kids meals).. after that, we headed to the store to buy ice cream and syrup and other sundae stuff for the girls to make sundae's that night. they ended up sleeping in a tent in the game room- because it was too wet outside... i thought they were too old for that, but apparently not!

August 4th, JACOB starts preschool

Jacob started preschool August 4th... he is going to be going m-w-f with his big brother- he is in the tadpoles class, and has the same teacher justin had as a tadpole- justin is now a croc- and has been all summer- jacob (and all of his classmates- there are 7 of them) did not cry on the first day! or the first week- of course now, 3 weeks into it, he puckered up on monday and even got tears today when i dropped him off. on monday, nana asked him with me on the phone about his day- here's how a conversation about his day goes:

nana: 'jacob, did you have a good day at school?'

jake: 'no'

nana: did you have a bad day at school?

jake: 'no'

nana: 'do you like school?'

jake: 'no'

nana: 'do you want to go back to school tomorrow?'

jake: 'yes'

lol he makes no sense! but today, she put him on the phone and i asked him about his day, and he said yes, he had a good day, and yes he had fun, and yes he liked it but 'i DUNNO' what he did- and he did cry and 'i DUNNO' why... silly!

anyway- he was all excited his first day, i was a little worried bc he went to bed late the night before because we had a storm and he was scared of the thunder- so he ended up sleeping in justin's room on the bottom bunk-



and then woke up early crying- so i layed in there with him and told him i twasnt time to wake up yet- meanwhile for the next 40 minutes he would get in my face and say 'mom, what's that noisEY?' 'mom, what's that noisEY' and i'd answer and he'd say 'okay' 'mom, justin up yet?' 'no jacob, it's not time to get up' 'mom, what's that noisEY' it was CUTE as can be but still frustrating! He says it to every sound he hear- he even hears dust flying in the air- he has supersonic ears! :() we waited in the lot for them to start getting the kids out and when they came out, eh got all giddy and jumped up and down and squealed he was so excited he got to get out and go to school where justin goes..

here's a pic i snapped of him waving bye to me with his teacher, miss lisa, and a few more before we left (doesnt he look old in the first one?!)



justin was excited to unbuckle jacob when we got there



say cheese!



bye mom!

July 27- August 3- i'm finally to august ;-)

the girls came home from regina's on august 1st- it is nice to have them back, they were especially missed by their brother's who kept asking when they were coming home and where did they go- and justin who was wishing on stars that they'd come home- awwwwwwwwww.

of course the first thing they wanted us to do was be taxi driver again- our weekends consist of driving them around and picking up friends dropping people off- etc etc.. i guess that's my job as a mom! but man, i cannot WAIT until brittany can drive and get a car! it will be such a help

August 2nd, jennifer and i had our garage sale at her house and it was HOT as heck out there- but i did make $150 something (i cant remember)...so it was KINDA worth it- but not really! what a pain in the butt to put all that stuff out and reorganize it every time someone comes and messes up your piles- i ended up selling some cute shoes on ebay (5 pair) that were the boys but i knew i could get more for them on ebay than at a garage sale- and i made $88...much less painful than a hot 4 hour garage sale (plus the 4 hours the night before preparing)! while i was gone, the girls and boys and jeremy played out back- and the girls took some pics (good ones, too!) of the boys on the slide/pool.





these next two pictures freak me out bc at first glance i think justin is jacob and jacob is justin, they really look alike to me!





That evening, justin and i went to a pajama party at his bff, kevin's house- it was only for the 'older kids' so all of the older siblings were excited that their younger brothers were not invited :) justin decided that because we were watching the incredibles, that he needed to dress up as mr. incredible to surprise ms. demi. the kids ended up doing more playing than watching the movie, but it was still fun- everyone was supposed to go in pajamas, even the mommies- we just ate snacks (too many snacks) and hung out and chatted while the kids played.. it was a fun time, thanks ms demi planner woman! funny story- at one point, alex went upstairs to check on the kids, and he said that all of them were in bed together- that's 3 girls and 2 boys all in kevin's bed!!! starting early? ha! of course they were all out by the time i went to snap a picture..





and kevin decided he wanted to be spiderman- (they did swap outfits halfway through the evening) sorry this pic is all messed up...



sunday morning, eden and i worked out, and then we had a playdate at our house with jacob's bff, caleb- the boys had a fun time. of course they were more interested in playing with caleb's baby brother, blake..

after that, we headed to the new pearland town center- which is awesome! so glad i dont have to drive to baybrook any more! we were going to buy stride rite shoes for jacob- for school- and we did, and justin got a pair, too- but ended up returning jacobs bc they hurt his ankles- oh well- i found some at kohls instead that had softer tongue- the nike picos... we were going to eat at red robin, but it was closed.. so we headed home and left the kids there to school shop. this year, we gave them each $$ for pants, shoes, belts whatever they wanted to spend it on, with the understanding that this was all the school clothes they get until christmas- so spend it wisely. i hate shopping with them bc they take FOREVER... so i loved being able to let them loose... brooke made out well with 4 pair of pants, one pair of shoes, back pack and 2 belts- brittany on the other hand only got 3 pair of pants and 1 belt and a bag that wasnt for school- i had already bought them each 4 shirts and 2 jackets the week before.. talk about $$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

random-

so when i pick the boys up at nana's house- they like to play in my saturn- and jacob likes to lay on the dash board or in the back window-  silly boy!

July 24-26 vegas baby!

Jeremy and i went to vegas- for a NECA conference for his work- donald treadwell is a very cool boss, if i might say so myself- he paid for 24 people to attend the conference- which consisted of no classes- just two dinners we attended! he paid for all the employees and wives plane tickets and hotel... nice!

we left EARLY (at 6:40am to be exact) thursday morning- it was about 5am when we were packing the truck and jeremy decided that we would bring the truck- but i said 'are you sure that's a good idea, it's still dark outside so we cant see the sky to see if it's gonna rain' and he said 'sure we'll be fine' so i get in the car and start looking for our boarding passes- while he goes inside to lock up- and next thing i know he is banging on the window of the car- and it is POURING rain (i didnt notice bc i was looking down and had the radio on' so he grabs both bags and runs to the garage- i sit there and wait, thinking he's gonna bring me an umbrella- but realized that wasnt in his plan... lol, so i run, too...

we undo the carseats (bc we had to pick up kyle and paula) and reload the bags to the expedition, and head out- i suggested maybe we park in the garage, since it's covered, in case it starts to rain agian- and he says 'no, we'll be fine' well, halfway through our walk from parking cents to the terminal- what do ya know, it starts to rain on us! luckily only rain, not POURING rain like earlier- but score 2 for me, and 0 for jeremy.. he hates when i'm right! lol

we landed at 7:45 am (time change) and checked our bags at harrahs and headed out to gamble- and to lose of course! for lunch, we had cheesecake factory- paid for by a treadwell supplier- free lunch, YUM! after that, we were able to check into the hotel and SLEEP... for dinner- we had appetizers and drinks at emeril's table in cesar's palace- after walking in circles for about 30 minutes (noone could figure out where it was- not one of the 20 of us wandering aimlessly) we finally found it! after that, donald surprised us with a 40 foot limousine (named goliath) which took us all downtown.. it was a fun ride (but HOT in the back) and fun to go downtown, since i'd never been- jeremy and donald and some others won at the golden nugget playing craps- yippee!









after we got back to the hotel that night, jeremy went to play poker and i headed to bed- but woke up middle of the night with a horrible stomach ache- (ironically, the first time we went to vegas, jeremy had a stomach virus the whole time, too) and that's all i have to say about that- so i stayed in bed for the first half of the day on friday- until i felt up to walking- and headed out to find a walgreens so i could get some medicine (plus i wanted to get out and walk around).. i felt better by that evening- and good thing since we had free tickets (from the same one who bought us the cheesecake lunch) to see cirque de soliel at mgm... it was REALLY good- that was the 3rd one i had seen (one in jersey, one at new york new york in vegas, and then this one) but they are all different...jeremy and i argued over hand sanitizer that night- you're laughing, right? mainly we are both stubborn and neither would admit they were wrong...

saturday, woke up and headed to the stratosphere to meet up with some people- some who rode that SCARY ride- they are nuts - we then got some souvenirs at the 'worlds largest souvenir shop' and headed back to get ready for dinner that night- which was at del friscos.



donald decided to take us all in the limo again- it is a FANCY expensive 10 course meal place (ok not quite 10) with all kinds of foods that i dont like! that's bc i am a simple girl- and at this steakhouse they had no poultry! so, i ate lots of salad and bread- they served what some said was delicious fish, crab cakes, steak, and lamb or some other strange food that doesnt seem at all appetizing to me! the desert was good though- cheesecake! but, by that point, i started feeling sick again- after dinner, we headed to the bellagio to watch the water show (from inside the limo) and then headed to mandalay bay- i was not feeling well at all at this point- and we ended up taking a cab back insetad of waiting for everyone and the limo...



the guys were jammin to 80's hair bands in the limo on the way to mandalay bay.. donald also bought everyone a round of drinks at rum jungle when we got there, but i was not up to drinking!



sunday morning- it was off to the airport- our flight was at 10:30? and we left at 8am- (the airport is only 15 min away) - meanwhile our flight was delayed so we were at the airport for 4 hours- BORING! we finally made it home and picked up our boys, who seemed to have grown alot (jacob) in those 4 days- (the girls were with gran gran at schlitterbahn)... it was a fun trip, but i am done with vegas! i've been there, done that, unless i have alot of money to spend next time, which is highly unlikely!\

when we got home, the boys were proud to show us their new tattoos...every day for the next week, jacob would say 'look at my tattoo mom, mom where's my tattoo, and lift his sleeve- 'look at my tattoo' he was so proud...:)

July 20- Happy 2nd Birthday, Jacob!!

birthday:



one year old:



two years old (i made him put that hat on again :)



I cant believe my baby is two! He is such a sweet boy- and VERY funny- he knows it, too- he is talking up a storm- his most common response to any question you ask him is 'i dunno' - and whenever you tell him to, or not to do something- his typical response is 'okay' he is such a little ham- and he loves his big brother and sister's ALOT! he's always asking justin to play with him- or 'bookie- you want to come on tampoline with me' (yes, i forgot the R in trampoline on purpose)... 'where's bittney- bittney home?' 'Justin ARE YOU?' he has a very funny smile - see all pictures he either squints one or both eyes- his feet are still WIDE and thick- he wears an 8.5 W or XW- hard to fit his little footsies, but they are oh so cute~! another one of his favorite words is 'cool'  and he uses it in the right context- 'cool mom' 'that's cool' it sounds so cute and strange for a 2 year old to tell u that things are cool- 'watch mom, this is cool'

he LOVES his 'pillow' it is a leopard pillow that i got for my baby shower with his name monogrammed on it- ironically, i got two of the same pillow even though they were custom monogrammed- but it worked out perfect, because one stays at nana's house, and one at our house..



most recently, he told me- with one finger pointing at me- 'mom, i'll be right back' lol- in a matter of fact tone of voice- i said 'oh, you will?' 'yes' lol... he understands and says so much- it amazes me- or else he pretends to understand it all- by responding 'okay' to everything you tell him to do..

he loves his daddy- and his nana and pawpaw can do no wrong- he is just full of fun, and wants to be just like his big brother- he copies EVERYTHING justin does and says!

anyway- he is TWO now- and he had a fun birthday party at picasso's place- we were excited grandma and grandpa were there- and aunt marsha came too- as well as brit (brooke was at regina's), nana, and pawpaw and lots of friends! His favorite part was definitely the fly swatter paint- it was EVERYWHERE!

here are a few photos, but to see them all, if you are really bored, click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephturnerfamily/sets/72157606748463526/









playing 'picasso says' (instead of simon says):





















justin took the below pic of me and my mom..

and here are a few photos from grandma and aunt marsha's camera:





His favorite toy was his remote controlled bubble car- but we havent even tried it with the bubbles- he didnt quite grasp the idea that HE was the one in control of the car- that HE was the one pushing the button making it go in circles- so, while his finger (i guess unknowingly to him) was pressing the button, he chased the car in circles around and around- until at one point, when he stopped he almost fell smack on his face, because he was so dizzy- i caught it on my regular video camera, but i have a similar video to post on here from my digital camera- nana shouted 'uh oh, i think he's dizzy' and ran and cought him just in time- it was hilarious (only bc he dindt get hurt).. once he 'sobered up' he was at it again.. watch the video for an example.. he was also not too happy when we told him it was time to go inside- as you can see!