Frankenstein, a copy and a scary old man!

I think the days of our family-themed Halloween costumes are over unfortunately. The kids really like doing their own thing which was quite random this year! For the first time, we went on a Halloween hay ride in Glen Lake which was super fun.  Then, on Halloween night, we went to a friends house where a big group of kids gathered and played before trick or treating.  Dex didn't quite understand trick or treating yet, but I know next year he will be ALL about it.  The kids had an awesome time, as usual!  I think their favorite thing about Halloween is counting and sorting their loot when it's all over.  And I love that they know what candy is Mom's favorite (Almond Joy) because they don't love it so every single Almond Joy that they get comes my way!  WIN!

Mark took the kids to a pumpkin patch earlier in October so I had to sprinkle in those pictures too.

Happy Halloween from Frankenstein, a copy and scary old man!

The "B" says "buh"

Dex is a big fan of the Leapfrog DVD called "The Letter Factory".  The minute I put it in he was HOOKED and wanted to watch it any time we were in the car.  The video is super cute with the characters, Leap and Lily, learning the sounds that all the letters make.  A couple of weeks into it, we were playing with these foam letters that Nanny bought Dex.  They stick to the sides of the tub when they are wet.  Sure enough, he started holding each one up and saying the sound that it made!  We were all in shock!  That video was paying for itself in SPADES (ha). 

The first video is Dex right after he started watching the video (he's 19 months old here) and the second one is more recent.  He can identify all of the letters now and say all the sounds they make.  Take THAT Kindergarten!

We are working on shapes, colors and numbers now.  Where are Leap and Lily for those?!

Basket-ballers!

Every Summer, Jake and Maddie go to a basketball camp in Austin called Brandy Perryman.  It's a 4 day camp and they love it.  Last year, Jacob walked away with a few trophies.  This year, Maddie got her fair share!  I just love these videos I took of the awards presentation.  The Broxtermans were well represented!

Mini vacation at Great Wolf Lodge!

The big kids have been begging us to go back to Great Wolf Lodge ever since we went to the one in North Carolina a few years ago.  Since there is one in Dallas, we decided to take a couple of days away as a mini vacation this Summer!  This one was a bit different -- it had an outdoor waterpark portion of the resort which we loved (NC didn't have that) but it didn't have putt putt golf or bowling which was a bummer for the big kids.  I was a nervous wreck with a toddler around all that water even though Dex could have gone ALL DAY LONG!  It was a quick but fun trip and gave us a little taste of vacation before our upcoming CRUISE!

One of the downsides of traveling with the baby and having everyone all in one room is when Dex decides his wake up time for the day is going to be 5:15 am.  Instead of waking everyone up, we have to escape the room and find something to pass the time.  This resort was very close to the airport which  made watching the planes land very fun!

Our little all stars

It was an exciting start to the Summer around here. Jacob made the Northwest Little League All Star 9/10U baseball team and Maddie was invited to swim at the All Star swim meet for the River Place Rapids. I have to admit that there is no lack of pride in this family for the hard working athletes that they both are.  It's so fun to watch them both pour their little hearts into whatever sport they are playing -- and having such amazing fun at the same time!

Jacob's team was also invited to be on a float in the 4th of July parade which was super fun for all the boys!  That night, we watched fireworks from a dear friend's new house, overlooking all of Austin. 

To say we are blessed, is an extreme understatement. 

Father's Day 2017

Mark was excited to do something outdoors on Father's Day with the kids and since it's his special day, we had to make that happen!  Maddie had been asking to go on a family bike ride for a long time but since Mark and I don't have bikes, that's been tough to do!  I researched bike rentals and found a place right by the town lake trail in Austin where we could rent bikes and easily get to the trail.  The kids were so excited!  Even Dex didn't make a peep the entire time in the baby seat on Mark's bike.  After our ride, we had lunch at Shady Grove and shaved ice!  Such a fun day celebrating an awesome Daddy.  Happy Father's Day to my sweet Dad (who constantly reminds me to keep posting on this blog!) and to my sweet Father-in-law.  We are surrounded and loved by so many awesome Dads!   XOXOXO