Summertime and the living is easy

One of the things I like about being a teacher is that I get to spend my summers and holidays with my boys.  It's wonderful thing to be able to play all day and not worry about work.  I am so blessed.  People ask what we've been doing this summer and the answer is usually. . . not much!  We sleep in, eat a little breakfast and lunch, and most importantly play, play, play (in the words of Hunter).  Sometimes we run errands.  Sometimes we go to the pool.  We eat lunch with Daddy at least once a week.  Truly wonderful and there's more wonderful planned!  We are loving life!

Here's a few highlights from our summer so far:
We celebrated our precious Tanner's 2nd birthday with friends and family with a Mickey Mouse themed birthday party.  What a fun time!  Burgers and cake at Granna and Pops.  Swimming in the hot tub.  Playing baseball with cousins.  Most of all, celebrating the life of a sweet boy who melts me with his big smile.  Who is stubborn through and through.  Who loves being like his brother and is a true momma's boy.

Jimmy and I celebrated our 10th anniversary in June so we took an adult only trip to Mexico.  We had an amazing time floating the lazy river right outside our door, eating amazing food and enjoying hanging out with each other.  We can't wait to go back!

Hunter said goodbye to his best buddy this summer.  Max moved to West Virginia so we took the boys to Joyland so they could hang out one last time.  I think I was as sad (or more) knowing these two wouldn't get to play together anymore.  They were such sweet friends.

I got to take a girls' trip with my mom and sister this year to NYC.  We had a great time eating great food, shopping, and seeing shows.  As much fun as we had, I was so glad to get home to my boys.  Jimmy is a super hero for being on his own for 4 days.  They went to the park to play baseball, went to work with Daddy and had lots of sno-cones and slurpies! :)

There is still more to come which is so exciting!  It's been super busy but super fun! I can't wait to see the blessings that God has in store for our little family as we finish our summer!

Go Red Raiders!

The time has come. The time that we have been waiting for 2 years to come. Hunter is in heaven. It's T-Ball time. Hunter is a Red Raider. The years of practice hitting, catching, and running the bases around the house have paid off. Saturday was the first game and Hunter did great. He hit the ball well and even got to score. He's playing shortstop. He looks so precious in his uniform and he loves that he is a "real baseball player". He had a great cheering section at the game (mom, Tanner, Granna, Pops, Jody, Brent, Darla & Brad). I am loving being a baseball mom and going to his practices and now games and cheering for my boy. It's even better than I imagined, yelling at my son through the fence. What a huge blessing!!! I'm just savoring these fun times with my family.






Thank you God for a sweet T-ball playing boy!

Let's Try this Again.

To say that I have fallen off the blog train is an understatement. I see the website when I open my internet, but don't dare open it for risk of reminder that I have just quit. When I think about how diligent I was to record H's records and funny stories and realize that I haven't done that with T, it makes me a little (really, a lot) sad. I have two amazing boys that I love spending time with. I adore them to no limits. So, I'm going to try again. I don't know if anyone reads this, but it is record of my boys' lives for me.

Tanner Steven is 20 months and a busy boy. He is a complete hoot. He loves making people laugh. His vocabulary is booming (momma, daddy, bubba, Yia (Wyatt) and Dizie (Dixie), milk, Mickey Mouse (mou mou), ball, bat, pass (pacifier), night night, bye bye, an assortment of animal noises, goldfish, shoes, socks, pants, etc.) Tanner's favorite word is "no." I was listening to him during naptime through the monitor and heard him repeatedly saying, "nooooo, noooo". I have no idea what he was doing. He loves to dance. He does this crazy Chris Farley dance that I adore. He loves his Bubba. If you ask him his name, he will tell you "Ba-bo" (Brother) but will not say Tanner. He goes to school two days a week. He loves to eat and looooves drinking milk (malk). He loves bedtime and it's no fight to put him down. As long as he has his paci and blue blanket, he will laugh, snuggle in, and go right to sleep. It's actually pretty cool! Tan gives the best kisses and hugs. Tanner loves, I mean really loves, wearing shoes. He has a pair of Texas Ranger sock/shoes that he wears all of the time, even on top of his footed pjs to bed. Yes, he likes to sleep in shoes. He is already showing a love of sports. He gets excited to see basketball on tv and wants to play baseball with his brother. Tanner weighs about 25 pounds and is all boy. What a true blessing to his momma. Oh, and he is a momma's boy through and through.


Hunter James, where do I begin? This is a crazy, funny, loving, sweet boy. He never ever turns down hugs or kisses. He talks all of the time, really all of the time. He loves to snuggle and be held. His daddy is his best friend. Whatever daddy does, Hunter wants to do. He has started T-ball recently and is really good, which is not surprising considering the hours of practice we have put in over the past few years. His first game is next weekend and we are all so excited. He is on the Red Raiders and that makes him happy. We start soccer this week with the Bigfoots. He is also in Karate/Gymnastics (but that may have to be dropped with everything else) We have signed him up for Pre-K next year. He loves books and wants us to read to him. He is beginning to show signs of being ready to read himself. He loves counting things. His sense of direction is crazy. His memory blows our minds daily. He says the funniest things. Most recently, he told me that he is smarter than Mickey Mouse. Well, of course he is! He loves the National Anthem but calls it the Afra Anfra. He asked the other day as we were driving, "If we crash and the crane comes and picks us up, will it tickle?" Where does he come up with these things?! He makes up crazy stories too! Hunter loves costumes. He can't play a sport in the living room without the correct jersey and equipment. He likes to dress like a pirate, fireman, policeman, pilot, soldier, Elmo, baseball player, football player, hockey player, and more. Hunter is pure joy. He smiles and laughs all of the time. Love pours from every pore of his little body. H weighs about 35 pounds and is all legs. Can you tell that this momma adores him? Nothing melts me more than when he tells me I'm his best friend (even though I know it's daddy) and I get a random "I love you" with a huge hug. Hunter's love language, without a doubt, is physical touch.

I know that I'm missing all kinds of funny, sweet, information about my boys. I'm just flying by the seat of my pants here, trying to get some memories written down. I wish I were better at this. We have had so many sweet memories lately, I wish I would've written them all down. Hopefully, this is a new start and I will be better at sharing my thoughts on my boys.

I am one blessed momma.

Family Vacation Coming Home

On our way home from our time in Florida with Jimmy's family and our fun-filled trip to see Mickey Mouse, we stopped at the Battleship Alabama in Mobile. It was a hot day. The ship was fascinating. Hunter had a fun time running around and climbing through the doorways and peeking into the rooms. He really liked the bunks. There was also a room full of airplanes that Hunter really enjoyed. Momma carried T in the front carrier. It has been awhile since I used this thing. Boy, he's a lot heavier than he was the last time I used it, but this was much easier than carrying him. Jimmy is a history buff so he really enjoyed this little adventure. The best part was that we were on our way home. Seeing the Welcome to Texas sign was wonderful! Just one more hotel and then home.

I never truly appreciated hotel swimming pools until this trip. What a great way to burn some energy after being in the car for long periods of time. The boys were amazing travelers. Tanner cried for about 30 minutes. That's it. I never imagined they would do so well. We were well stocked with movies and toys which made the trip easier for them. We had lots of "Let's Go Rangers" chants led by our sweet Hunter. Tanner even joined in!




They decided to lock us all up. It's a good thing we escaped! Hehe!


Daddy and Hunter letting everyone know that they were there. Very cool! I think I have over 300 pictures from our trip. I have just picked a few of my favorites for the blog. I would love to share them all because there are so many memories in those pictures. Love

Thank you God for a wonderful trip to see family, sweet memories, and most of all, my boys.

Family Vacation Part 3. . . Hello Mickey

On our way home from Miami, we stopped at Disney World. We had so much fun! The boys could ride every ride (except Space Mountain but Momma and Daddy had fun on that one!) It was crowded, but we didn't have to wait too long for any ride. We were able to ride everything in the park! I'm so thankful to experience this with my boys. What special memories and great pictures. Here are a few of my favorites!
Tan crashed about lunch time, then again later. The boys were a little sunburned from the beach and T had a little run in with a night stand in the hotel so he looks a little beat up. Don't let that make you think he didn't have fun. He's a trooper!
Momma was more excited about the Winnie the Pooh ride than anyone else. H was patient posing for this picture for me. The ride was amazing. We got to go into the park early since we stayed in one of their hotels which has a major plus because we got through the most popular rides very quickly.
Family picture heading in to the park. I love these boys. H and T were very sleepy at this point. I may have been more excited than them! H kept asking, "Where's Mickey Mouse?" and he wanted to know where the Clubhouse was.
I think this cheese face says it all. We had a blast. Tanner loved the light parade at the end of the day. They boys got to go shopping and get stuffed animals. An amazing part of a long, fun vacation. Now, it's time to head home.

Summer Vacation Part 2

We drove from Arlington to Mobile, AL then Mobile to Miami. We had a great time visiting Jimmy's family. Hunter kept them busy with all of his playing. We got to go to the beach while we were there. What a fun time! Hunter got in the water, but didn't like the salt so he spent most of his time on the beach with Mimi and Papa. Tanner loved the warm water and stayed with mom in his float for a long time. We had sand everywhere! Jimmy's cousin, Matt, lost his wedding ring in the ocean so we looked for that for awhile, but the water was so warm that it wasn't too bad looking for it (with no success). The weather was great. We thought there might be rain, but it stayed away so we could play. I'm so thankful that my boys got to enjoy the beach and the ocean since we don't live close to one.




Thank you God for sweet memories made with my boys.

Holloway Summer Vacation (1st Leg)

We recently got home from a very long family vacation- our first as a family of four. We spent the first weekend of our trip in Arlington. Hunter and Jimmy went to Six Flags while Tanner and I went to Heidi and Daniel's wedding shower. That evening, we finally made it to a Ranger game. Thank you, Michael Young, they won! We had a blast. Hunter loved every minute of the game. He got to play in the kid's area for the first time and hit a homerun (of course!) Hunter led the crowd in several rounds of "Let's go Rangers". Tanner clapped and danced and ate a ton (as usual). What a wonderful start to our trip!!!


Watching David Murphy in the field. This boy loves his Rangers.

Hunter and Captain. What a cool experience for H!! Look carefully, Hunter has his red socks pulled up to his knees, like David Murphy.

I love this cheese face boy. He is such a sweaty baby, but loved every minute of the Ranger game. Cute boy!!!

Thank you God for fun, family time and amazing boys.

Tanner's Birthday Party

We are so blessed to have so many people who truly love and celebrate our boys with us. We were surrounded by love at Tanner's birthday party. We had yummy burgers and hot dogs. He got so many cool gifts!! He loved the cake. He took a handful and ate it (with Pops' help) and then he decided to lick the plate. What a mess! He is such a happy boy!



Happy birthday TanMan! You are such a blessing to your Momma. I love you more than words can say.

Tiny Tanner is 1!

My beautiful Tiny boy,
I can't believe that tomorrow you will wake up a one year old. This time last year, I never would have imagined how many blessings you would bring with you into this world. I am so thankful for you. You have made my heart grow bigger than I could have dreamed. You have made our family more complete.

You are a momma's boy through and through. I can't tell you how that thrills my heart. I can't walk through a room without giving you attention. Even if your daddy is holding you, you want momma (Daddy doesn't like this so much). You get very upset with me if I don't stop what I'm doing to hold you. You stand between my legs anytime I stand still. That makes cooking and cleaning difficult, but deep down, I love it. I even have bruises on my hips from holding you so much. I realize that these days won't last, so I'm cherishing it. We love your kisses, open mouth, tongue sticking out. You will turn my face to give me a big, juicy slobber kiss. I just can't get enough!

You are a great eater. I haven't found much that you won't eat. You make a face every time you try something new like it is the worst thing you have ever eaten, then you open your mouth for more. It shows in your chunky thighs and double chin. You are full of yumminess that I just eat up. You are our chunky monkey.

You have finally turned into a good little sleeper. It took about 10 months before you and I consistently slept through the night, but I won't complain. No one else had the honor of hanging out with you in the middle of the night so I feel privileged (easy to say that now that I'm rested!!) Now, you sleep like a champ. This summer, you've let me sleep until at least 9, which I'm fine with. You take great naps. You love the satiny part of your blanket and sleep with a paci. That's the only time you want it. You aren't a snuggler because you are so busy. Hopefully that will change now that our bed time routine is changing.

You love to make people laugh. A true clown. Dancing is one of your favorite things to do, especially if someone is watching. You are such a happy boy. You have your fussy times, but that has improved as you have gotten older. You are so busy, constantly getting into things you don't need to, like cabinets and drawers. If I'm in the kitchen, you're there with me pulling things out of drawers. You are working on standing up on your own, but you aren't ready to walk yet, which is okay with Momma because I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet. I'll keep you little as long as possible. You have 5 teeth- 3 on the top, 2 on the bottom. You think it's funny to bite momma on the shoulder. I don't think it's so funny though. Hunter doesn't like being bitten either. He doesn't understand that you are playing.

Your brother adores you. Several times a day, I have to tell him to get off of you. You don't always love his attention, more you don't love him lying on top of you. There have been several times that we have found the two of you playing together in Hunter's room. You want to play baseball with him, but you aren't big enough yet so you hold the bat or ball and watch him play. No one can make you laugh like Hunter. The first word that I understood out of your mouth was brother (I think). I eat up the times you two spend together, just playing together. Hunter likes to crawl into your crib and play with you, make you laugh, keep you busy. You are so sweet together.

My sweet Tiny, you have blessed us more than words can express. You have brought so much joy to our family. I can't wait to see how you grow and change in the coming years. I thank God daily for choosing me to be your momma. We love you, Twizzle.

*The amazing picture is by our soon-to-be sister-in-law, Heidi (Captivated Cadence). Thanks Heidi for taking such beautiful pics of my boy.

Six Flags Fun!

Nothing says fun like Six Flags in the summer! We had a blast taking the boys. We went at Christmas, but we split up and didn't ride as many rides with the boys. Hunter loves riding the rides. He's fearless! He even rode a few by himself. Made momma a little nervous, but he was such a big boy! Tanner did great as well. He got to ride a few rides with the whole family (like the antique cars and Loony Tunes cave previously known as the Speelunkers cave). It was warm, but we had a great time with Mimi and Nate. We will definitely be going back soon.

Thank you God for fun times with my precious boys.

Winter 2010

I realize it's June 2011 but I've got some backtracking to do since I was away from my blog for awhile. I looked through my pictures and I think this is where I need to start.

We took the boys on the Polar Express when it came to Lubbock. Hunter went last year, but I think it was a little too much for him. This year, he loved it! They both looked beyond precious in their pajamas. Hunter loved seeing Santa and his elves. He sang some songs with us and ate his cookies and drank his hot chocolate. He adores the Polar Express movie (he watched it daily for about a year). Granna wrote Tom Hanks a letter to let him know of Hunter's adoration of the movie and he wrote Hunter a letter back. So sweet!! What special memories.


+While we were in Arlington for Christmas, we visited Six Flags. Hunter loved riding the kid's rides. Momma and Daddy ventured off to ride some big rides. H loved the antique cars because he got to drive. It was pretty cool outside, but we had a great time. By the way, I love T in his monster hat and gloves. Makes my heart smile a little bit. He's just yummy!



We admit our boys may be slightly spoiled. Hunter got a cool kitchen with food from Santa. Tan got a toy box for the toys he was inheriting (plus a few more).
Christmas Eve was Tiny Tanner's 6 month birthday. Growing like a weed! He had a blast playing in the boxes.

I guess better late than never, but I have to start somewhere so I guess I should end this with Belated Merry Christmas!

We are just so blessed by God with two amazing boys and surrounded by so much love.

Easter at the Holloway House

Happy Easter from the Holloways! We had a great weekend. Hunter and Jimmy took a guys day on Friday. They went to lunch, Main Event, and to the park to play baseball. After nap, we all went to a Tech softball game and saw our friend, Spencer. Saturday, we had fun just spending time together around the house. Sunday, we went to church. My boys all looked so handsome! I'm a sucker for matching boys (or at least coordinating). Their hats just about made me giddy! We went to Aunt Jody's house for lunch and an Easter egg hunt. We closed our weekend by dying eggs. What a sweet day and sweet memories. Thank you God!

Tanner's first Easter. He is more precious than words can say. He wouldn't leave his hat on, this is the best I got with the hat.

We have seen this silly face often. He wanted the camera. Check out those 2 big bottom teeth!

Brotherly love. Hunter had good intentions. He loves his brother, but Brother wasn't having it.

My handsome big boy. Wow! When did he get so big?! He's going to be a heart breaker for sure!

T was cracking us up! When he sat in the grass, he would try to hold up one of his legs, like he didn't like the feel of the grass. So funny!

One of Hunter's finds at Aunt Jody's. Everyone was very impressed with his baseball skills.

Again, he's holding up his leg. What a hoot! I love this picture!

Hunter and Daddy had a great time dying Easter eggs. We may have found a new tradition!

Thank you God for these amazing boys. I'm one blessed momma!