Keagan is Four

Four years ago today Keagan was born. While awaiting his arrival, Wes and I watched the Olympics on German TV in the hospital, and today we awaited the arrival of guests for his birthday party while watching the Olympics.

This afternoon we celebrated in Texas with my extended family with a Speed Racer party, and on Sunday we will celebrate at home with his friends from school and church. Lots of celebrations...I know, but he will be four only once.

Flying Trip to Arkansas

Because we haven't driven enough in the last five days, we left Marshall on Monday morning to visit Wes's grandmothers. It is a 3.5 hour drive, and once you leave Shreveport, you see nothing but lumber trucks and paper mills. And if we hadn't had a satellite radio in my mom's car, the drive would have been worse.

Once we arrived at Nana's house, the boys were able to tour the old barn and observe deer feeding in one of the fields. 

Keagan drove Papa's old blue Ford tractor, and I am almost ashamed to admit, Evan shot a rifle. Did I really allow my little boy to shoot a gun? Evan was more than excited!

I think Nana was even more excited to have us come for the weekend, though!

Farm Life Top 5

After spending the weekend in Winona, Texas visiting Wes's sister and her husband, Kevin, the boys made a Top 5 List of their most enjoyable experiences on their farm.

5. Riding in Uncle Kevin's 1970 Tahoe with the wind in their hair

4. Playing with the labrador puppies

3. Feeding the cows and taking pictures of the cows

2. Shooting guns in the Hanley pasture

1. Celebrating Keagan's 4th birthday with a Transformers party 

And even if the boys weren't all that thrilled with their new baby cousin, Abbigail, Wes and I thought she was beautiful!

East Texas Road Trip

Let the East Texas Road Trip begin. Today we made the hour long drive to Marshall, Wes's home town. We toured the Marshall Train Station Museum, watched model trains, and blew an old train whistle...Great fun for Keagan who constantly asked, "Where's the train show?" He seemed to think that the Thomas Trains would be on display here. 

Wes took some great pictures of some of the more notable buildings in the downtown area,

and we returned to Nonnie's house for golf cart rides and play time with Deuce, the dog that Evan wishes were his own. 

Tomorrow we meet Abbigail.

The Promised Land

I have arrived in Texas with mixed emotions. On the one hand this trip marks the end to our summer vacation. When we return, I go back to work full time, Evan begins kindergarten, and Keagan attends JK. I have enjoyed my time with the boys, and I hate to see it end. On the flip side, we look forward to relaxing at "home", spending time with our family, and meeting our new niece or nieces. 

We begin our trip in Mt. Pleasant, my home town. The boys wasted no time jumping in the pool. I think we were in the door only five minutes before they went for their first swim. They have already been in the pool two times today, and they have spent countless minutes playing soccer, basketball, and t-ball. 

And the fun has just begun...We have nine more days to soak up the sun and enjoy our last week of vacation with the family!

"You'll Have to Pay a Fine for That!"

Evan is as smart as a tack, but he dislikes school work. I had a hard time persuading him to do any academic work this summer... until I started paying him. You might wonder why I would do such a thing. Quite simply, it is because it works. Evan realizes the value of money and really works to earn his quarter. He earns a quarter for completing a page of math facts, for writing a sentence and illustrating a picture in his journal, for practicing twenty site words, or for reading a book. He has a tin box that he uses to collect his quarters, and he is learning how quarters convert to dollars. But it gets better...

If Evan is disobedient, then he must pay a fine. He is obligated to pay me a quarter for every infraction. This has worked wonders with getting him to sleep at night. His dream of a new Ben10 Alien is persuading him to walk the line.

Now that Keagan is aware of the arrangement, he, too, wants to take part. Last night he earned two quarters; he completed a journal entry and work with site words. This morning he woke up and said, "Mom, let's learn some more words." I love it!

Batting Cages

We followed the lead of some friends and spent a few hours at the batting cages at the local park. Even though it was a scorcher today, it was great fun! We quickly ran through our stack of coins, and when the money ran out, Wes pitched the balls to the boys. They were hitting the balls left and right; it was amazing how quickly Evan learned the rhythm of the machine.

 I hit three rounds in the softball cage and I did better than I did many moons ago when I was in high school. At one point, Keagan said, "Gosh, Mom. You're good!" When the weather cools down, I would love to go back, and I will remember to bring my own helmet because I can still smell the sweaty stench of the one that I had to borrow from the Park Authority. Do they ever wash those things???? I probably don't want to know the answer to that.....