Will the Roberts Kids Survive...

A weekend without their Mother?

Tomorrow morning Logan and I are flying to see Colby and Char in Hilton Head. I just found out last week so this has not been planned for long. It is kind of a sore subject to bring up with the kids because:

A: I am going to be gone

B: I am going to Aunt Chars house without them

Jacksons reaction has been like most of his, OK have a good time. Although he did ask when he was going?

Jordan, looked like a deer caught in headlights. How will she ever be able to function without me. I told her that I had a very tiny small life outside of just being a Mom!

Larson yelled at the dinner table: "I"m going to cry like a baby, wha wha wha"

If I hear one of the kids ask one more time, "Is Dad going to babysit us?"

He is your Father, he is not babysitting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, Tom will get the play by play book given to him on how to survive without the Mom in the house.

(out of all fairness, I couldn't do his job even with a play by play book)

Mr. Clean

Logan is so slow in development. He is taking after his sister. So far he has still just layed down in the tub. I am trying him in the bath chair because I think that will be more fun for him and besides he flips over in the tub and we are doing a wrestling match.

He is not sure of the chair but this bath was pretty successful.

A Man and His Chainsaw

We really only have a small cluster of small live Oaks in our backyard. They are beautiful and we are so glad to have them as our neighbors didn't have any in their back yards. Tom got his hands on a chainsaw and he just had to cut a few branches down to improve the view of the golf course. I think it was just an excuse to get some of that inner man power out!

What a Shock!

Tom and I were enjoying a nice lazy morning in bed. We have not been able to do that in months and months. With Sunday being General Conference he was able to stay home. When I decided to get up I came out and was going to check on the kids. Look who I found on the stair case!!!!. He was right in the middle of it and we have a very tall stair case. I was completely shocked and ran and got him (this pic is a reenactment). I just about died. Then I yelled for Jackson! He is the one that takes him out of the crib and plays with him on his own. Jackson told me the baby was on his big blue blanket upstairs playing with him. Its just that Jackson got a little side tracked playing his playstation and forgot about the baby. Logan has never been on the stairs and does not even know how to crawl yet! It looked like he knew what he was doing. We have far too many staircase stories in our family. Luckily no harm done on this one. Some people tell me that they have invented something called baby gates. I haven't used them yet and I don't think that I will start now.

Flag Football Week 2

I didn't get many pics of Jordan's game. I had the boys to take care of. Tom was coaching again today. She actually had a little bit of fun in the game. She had a goal of catching one ball and she did. Maybe next time she will have to try for 6 points. She is having such a good attitude about the whole football thing.

Getting a little brotherly love at the park after her game.

A team photo from far away as the professionals were there taking pics that day. Jackson is the only blonde. Usually he is with lots of kids with blonde hair. His best friend on the team is kneeling right in front of him, Erik. They are complete opposites with hair and skin color!

We still don't have a win but the other team must have just been really really good. Our boys were doing great on both defense and offensive but just couldn't get the points on the score board. Jackson did better on defense today! Poor Tom, he is trying so hard with his team!

Fire House Fun

Todays playgroup was at a local fire station. I did not tell Larson until bed last night because I knew his excitement would just about do me in. He likes to ask how many more minutes, every few seconds.

This station does not get too many calls so the firemen took so much time with the kids. They walked them through the firehouse and showed them the kitchen, workout room, and a bedroom. One firefighter put on the full gear so that the kids could see what they would look like. It can be scary looking.

I wish so much that I had a snapshot of Larsons face when they told him that he would be able to shoot the water from the hose! He looked so surprised and excited! Larson was so good and listened to what they were teaching him.

I love the Thursday playgroup. I love all the activities that we get to do. I love watching Larson have so much fun. Thank you so much Paige for always organizing.

So Sweet

I don't get to see these poses very often because the child doesn't sleep.

I love the bum in the air and holding tight to his elephant. Logan loves to chew on his trunk.

Flag Football 08

Jordan plays for the San Diego Chargers. She had wanted to play football for the past 2 years but did not want to be on a boys team. We finally got a girls league in Steiner so we signed her up. After about 3 weeks with practice and one game she has come to the decision that it is really not for her. She is just laughing because she thinks that she is not that good and some of the girls on the team are so much smaller than she even is so that equates to playing with "babies" and we all know how grownup Jordan is so she does not like it that much. Her first game was at 8:00am so she did not get to sleep in and then there was not a snack afterwards so that really tipped the scale for her. We have been able to laugh about it talking in bed at night and she will finish the season out with a smile.

Tom has had to step in as coach for some games because the girls coach can not make it to the games??? Don't ask me- he is the commissioner for the league so I guess he is tied up on Saturdays with all the games.

Jackson and Tom are together again for a 4th year but they arent the Texans for the first time. They are the Carolina Panthers. Jackson hasn't found his football feet yet this season and I hope that he finds them this week so that the games will go better. After losing our first game, we hope to be the most improved team!



Logan is in the football spirit (well, actually he has no idea what it is and his Mom just dressed him in this shirt) The funny thing is that Tom was always #3 growing up and so was I. Jordan has been #3 by choice just because of us and Logans shirt just happened to be #3.

Larson was old enough to play this fall and wanted to but we thought it would be best to hold off since he is only 4. We just wanted a little more time to get use to the schedules with 4. He has gone to practices and games and been happy and has not mentioned the big "WAM"word that we use for him:

"What About Me"?

I think that he is totally content with Montessori and his play group.

Larson Goes Exploring

We joined his weekly playgroup at the Austin Botanical Gardens. There is a temporary dino exhibit. The exhibit was not too big but the dinos they had were great. Larson was moving fast so It did not take long to finish. The hat and binoculars were a big hit with him.

This was our first trip to the gardens. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed just being out in nature. Once we got to the Japanese Gardens there were these cool paths that had water running down the side of the path. Larson spent an hour finding little sticks, leaves, anything that would float, and he tried to get it down the entire water path. It was just one of those moments that I did not rush him and just watched as he played.

First Middle School Dance

Isabel, Gemma, Jordan, Taylor, Ali, Mariana

This was the girls first dance of the year and Jordan invited some of her best friends to come over and have pizza.

I had the table set up with some fun pixie sticks, pop rings, nail polish, lip gloss, and glow bracelets for the dance.

I had so much fun watching the girls get ready. They were all well behaved and helped each other with nail polish and hair. I didnt realize that they would take over my bathroom but I think that worked out great so they all had space.

Tom took all the boys to McDonalds so that Jordan could have the house to herself. We had on the music and ate pizza. There was not much time before the dance.

DIVA POSES!


In this picture you can see the principal checking every kid that came in the door. They had to meet the dress code and have their ID's. I actually did the concessions so I was able to stay and check out the whole scene. I had flashbacks of my middle school dances!

I was really impressed with every kid that I served that night. Always please and thank you and I saw so many times kids help kids out with a dollar or quarter if they were short on money. I checked in on the dance a couple of times and they were just playing fun/clean music and looked like they were having a blast!

6th graders had to leave first so the night came to a quick end.

I know that Jordan had a great time but I did too! I loved watching all the girls have a great first dance.

Logan 8 Months

Logan 8 months old
I love a kid who sees a camera and starts to smile!
Logan continues to be spoiled by our family. He cries, I pick him up or feed him. If he is happy just laying there someone is bound to come and start wrestling with him. I can already see his wild side coming out. WHAT ARE WE DOING TO HIM???

He is the biggest non sleeper that we have. Just look at the bags under my eyes to attest to that one.
He is still not sitting on his own by his own choice. Dr. says he is fine just not wanting to do it.
Still working on the crawling. I keep thinking that the arms and legs will work together any day now.
He loves to babble and DA DA comes out the most: I am sure that he means MA MA!
Loves real table food. Spits the baby food everywhere. It was nice to have a really clean new high chair for a couple of months anyway.


Not Crawling: No Problem!

I just roll and get anything at my level!

Do You Have Joy In Your Heart?

Larson has been full of songs since starting Montessori this year. This is one from this weekend. He is singing: "Joy, Joy Joy, Joy down in my heart, WHERE? down in my heart. WHERE? down in my heart. I've got Joy, Joy,Joy Joy, ....

Hope you have Joy in your heart today!

Monster Truck: The Good and the Bad

This past weekend, Tom and I were out playing with just Larson and we decided that it was time to up the speed on the Monster Truck. It did go 2 1/2 MPH and we took out this screw that allows it to go 5MPH. Larson was having a blast. It really does go pretty fast for a kids toy. We were laughing and got out the video camera. OK Larson now you have to be really careful!

That was going to be the post, however, since then there is a 2nd part to it. On Wednesday after school I was up helping Jackson get some after school items taken care of and Larson was out playing. That is normal for him to be out there by himself, the problem is when other kids start coming over and then they are not supervised. We heard major screaming and found Larson on his back. I guess another kid was driving the truck (of course I have the rule no one can drive it without a parent around but you know how that goes) and not sure how but Larson ended up coming out of it straight on the back of his head to the concrete. Of course he was hurting and bleeding a little from where the tiny pebbles from our driveway got his head. He had a golf ball bump but we knew he was OK with all the crying going on. My neighbor Nikki came to help and we just did the normal ice and Tylenol for the pain. He was doing OK and then he started to vomit and his pediatrician sent us right to the ER. I wonder if there is some kind of frequent flyer program that they have for discounts. The Roberts family would like to get signed up! So here was Mom and Larson at the hospital again. He was a champ, did exactly what the Dr's. asked and he laid completely still for the Cat Scan. A concussion for Larson but the scan came back great. They said he was as cute on the inside of his brain as he was on the outside! We spent the night with 2 hour wake up periods and this was a picture of one of them. Have you ever seen Larson so sad in his entire life? The most pitiful picture I have seen. I haven't combed his hair since because it is really sore back there. Before we left for the hospital, I was making a pancake dinner. Larson did not get his, so that is all that he talked about-to the Dr's , me and finally the next afternoon he got his pancakes!

A Little Update

Not much to blog about the last few days. We did have a better weekend with the kids. It is now Tuesday and hard to even remember back that many days. Sometimes I feel like we are in survival mode but this week I am in Survivor Mood as the new cast starts this Thursday. I am seriously one of those people that just does not watch much TV and this show has kept me watching it and still wanting to be on the show myself. Anyway, Friday was just as busy a day as the rest of the week. Jordan was at play practice after school and had to get a neighbor to pick her up as I was off taking Jackson to cub scouts. I can not deny Jackson that because he LOVES going to cub scouts. They made key chains from metallic beads and the other kids loved them so I made a trip to Michaels to buy some more supplies. J, J, & L made some on Saturday. Jordan had a little movie party to attend and I went to Bunco. Saturday started with Flag football practice and a trip to Sams. I took Jackson and Larson to the library to get some books and you would have thought that I was tormenting Jackson. He is not our reader! Jackson and Jordan both had sleepover parties to go to and we took Larson and Logan to get ice cream.

Sunday was a more relaxed day as it should be! (minus Tom who has church meetings most of the day)

Logan and the mean cat are starting to bond. The cat gets by Logan and then Logan pulls at his fur for a while and then I have to rescue Logan before the cat gets him. Logan always smiles when he sees the cat.

Jordan won her student council election!

Learning to Crawl Isnt Easy

Jackson helping Logan to get mobile

A Few Little Updates

A Beautiful picture of the very functional cell phone that I have.

(Not sure how old it is but it still works!)

OK, so we are putting off the cell phone with our 6th grader SO FAR! So I am letting her take mine to school Tuesday because she had auditions after school and there were not set times as to when she would be ready for me to pick her up.

I start giving her the lecture that it is school policy that all cell phones must be in lockers or stay in their purse all day and that under no circumstances is she to have it out........ She looks at me and says, "Don't worry Mom, I wouldn't dare let anyone seeing me carry a cell phone that looks like that!" All I could do was laugh.

If you don't know this about me, I use it until it wears out or doesn't work anymore. I do not see the need to update things that are still of use to me. So on many things I am a little behind. My sister and I like to say that we have the "dinosaur syndrome" and we are happy that way!

We did not have the most perfect weekend with the kids. The boys were off a little bit and some parenting skills needed to be applied but I guess they are human and not all weekends can be perfect.

Good news: Jordan got an understudy role for one of the 4 major characters in the One Act Play that she auditioned for. Not in a bad way, but we were surprised. To my knowledge only 3 6th graders were chosen to participate! We were really proud and excited for Jordan. Now the rehearsals begin before school in the mornings!

How Many Pairs of Shoes Does it Take....

To Get Jordan Through One Day?

The answer today is 4.

She wears her flip flops to school with her outfit. The jazz shoes are for dance class and the tennis shoes for Science Lab. Then she finishes off with football cleats for practice.

A Well Rounded Kid:

From jazz shoes to football cleats.

(Look at the size difference)

As Tom and I ended up in bed late last night, I looked at him and told him that we need to hire a personal assistant for Jordan.

Obviously, that is my job and even though we are keeping a fast pace right now, I am loving all this time spent with Jordan.

3 weeks into school and we are still working on finding the right pace with school and activities. She has done so well and we have been so proud of her.

Thanks to Tom for keeping the boys last night, Jordan and I attended her first school football game. It was interesting to watch her because I think that she was just taking it all in and to my surprise she sat with me the entire game. By half time I started to see her get more comfortable and really enjoy herself. She was watching the dancers, cheerleaders, (believe it or not the game!)

Then we came home and regrouped for another busy day!

School, Achievement, and Flag Football practice

Roberts Weekend on the Campaign Trail

Not The Presidential Campaign

but Jordan's Student Council at CRMS

We are so proud of Jordan going into middle school and jumping into unknown territories. This weekend she worked so hard at making posters, buttons and stickers as she is running for 6th grade representative. She wrote her own speech and will give that on Wednesday.

Good Luck Jordan!

A few of her posters.

Not only did she work on her campaign but she is also auditioning for a theatre one act play on Tuesday after school. She is basically doing it for the experience since 6th graders have to wait their turn. She had allot of homework and finished some projects that are due next week.

Don't feel bad for her! She also got to hang with some friends and we managed to go to the pool a couple of times!

Jordan and I were sitting at the table working on posters and we looked outside to see Larson burying a treasure. I just thought that was so funny. I don't even know what was in the box.

Our new family fun: Night Time Swimming.

This time Tom thought of a good idea. We brought glow necklaces and bracelets. You could really see them glow under the water. Good idea Dad!

7 Months and 2 Teeth

My First 2 Teeth

(Yes, he uses them to bite!)

7 Months

Just a happy guy! He really does smile allot of the time.

He is already so spoiled by everyone. How do you stop loving on this guy though. I dont want to create a monster but I just kiss on him all day.

Labor Day Weekend 08

From Beach Baby to Boat Baby!

Our 7 month Logan was the best kid on the boat for the entire day.

I really have to prepare myself that it may not be the easiest day with him out there but to my surprise he was soooo gooood. He slept some, he ate some, swam a little, and just hung out on my lap. He really liked the wind in his face while the boat was going.

Chris took us on this canal that makes an island with mansions on it. It felt like we were in San Antonio on Riverwalk. It was really cool.

Tom and Jackson ramped up to level 5 on the tube. I am not sure what distinguishes between the levels but I was told they were on level 5.

Its a little monkey on a rope swing, oh, I'm sorry that is Tom.

Tom and I went house searching this weekend--ITS a JOKE! as Larson would say. The houses on the Lake are just incredible. It is fun to look at them as we go by.

The weekend actually consisted of allot of activities but I did not take the camera around. I wish that I had of but I just take so many pictures that I try to leave the camera behind sometimes.

Of worthy note, Jackson and Jordan did a service project where they tied the edges of flannel blankets to give to a safe shelter for battered kids. They said they really enjoyed doing that. We grilled out, did some night swimming, some school shopping. Enjoyed church on Sunday. It was nice to her Toms conversion story.