Hi, Have We Met?

Nothing like almost a year passing for me to start blogging again.  I get behind, then get overwhelmed, and have no idea where to start to catch up.  So big changes at the Garcia household in the last 9 months...  I quit my job (at SolArc) of 11 years, 2 months and 4 days in August.  It was definitely bittersweet.  I had put my heart and soul into that job for 11 years, and I was good at it.  I had some of the best, brightest, most creative co-workers out there.  I felt stupid around these people on a daily basis, and felt so blessed to be in such company (seriously, how did I manage to land a job with such intelligent people?)  I loved the people, and I loved the challenge of my job each day.  However, it had gotten to the point where my kids needed me more.  And I knew they had to come first and it was time to move on.  Very hard to leave.  VERY.  But also very nice to be home more and much lower stress levels for me.  Happy Mama = Happy Family.  :)

So 6 days after quitting, I became a preschool teacher - which has been my dream for, well, ever.  It doesn't pay much (seriously.  peanuts.), but it's so rewarding.  Great kids, great families, great school.  I really enjoy my fellow teachers as well - so funny and such sweet ladies!  And Leyton is there - can't beat that!  I've had a couple friends ask me recently if looking back now I'm glad I left.  And the answer is yes, I am.  I'm happier because my kids are happier.  I miss my old SolArc friends terribly (although I have some great new friends at the preschool!).  I miss the ridiculously dry humor, the daily brain benders, and some of the stupid little things I didn't think I would ever miss, but I LOVE being a two-year-old preschool teacher.  I love getting to pick both boys up from school every day.  I love that I don't have to work in the middle of the night and the second I get home from each day.

So here's a few fun pics from the last nine months.  This so doesn't do it justice, and I'll try to throw out a few every now and then to catch up...

One of my last efforts as a SolArc'er was to organize a team for the Mud Run last August.  We had SO MUCH FUN.  And I might add - came in as the 2nd place team overall!  Can't beat that (I came to realize in 11 years all SolArc'ers are highly competitive), especially when it was 108 degrees at the time we ran!  And I came in 2nd place in my age group - that was pretty exciting as well!  :)

Tina, Wanor, Danny, me, and Jeph

And did I mention sweet little BK did the kids' Mud Run?  SO proud of him!  He kicked hiney in his first race!  One of the younger kids out there, and he beat most of the big kids!  (they had to kick him off the course after he ran it THREE times!)

He's near the top of the slide, in the middle in the blue t-shirt.

Muddy ditch - note how much bigger the kids are than him?!?

Post-race!  He LOVED it and is already begging to do it again, although this year he wants to do the adult course!  Not sure Mommy is ready for that...

Next came fall, and first days of school.  BK started FIRST grade.  Seriously.  I know, I can't believe it either.  Leyton is in the three-year-old class and thinks he's pretty big stuff.  So proud of both kiddos!  And not my favorite picture, but they think they are sooooooooooooo funny. 

Then we had a big moment at church.  Britton's first grade Bible presentation!

All the first graders:

I promise to be better about posting...  More to come!  :)

Branson in 3 Days or Less

We had a fabulous time last week visiting Branson on a whirlwind roadtrip with the Wingerter four!  I think we crammed about as many activities as humanly possible in 3 days (really more like 2.5), and everyone had an amazing time!  The boys are already asking for a return visit.  :)  Thanks Wingerters!

One highlight I don't have a picture of is Britton riding his first BIG roller coaster!  Nina (Kristy) and I took him on the Thunderation - which is actually pretty scary as it turns out (we had thought it was going to be pretty tame).  He got a little scared, but overall, did great and claimed to enjoy it!  We found out later it was rated as a "black diamond" which was the same rating as the looping roller coaster (which only John and PJ rode)...  Whoops!  Nothing like breaking him in on the BIG one!

Here's a few pics from the adventure.  Kate was an absolute champ!  I don't know that we ever heard her cry!  All three of the boys were really great - played well together, ran themselves ragged, and had a blast.  Couldn't ask for anything more out of a 6 year old and two 3 year olds.  :)

LOVED the Dixie Stampede!  The boys were absolutely mesmerized by the show, and what fun it was!  Really good food as well!  Checking out the horses used in the shows...

There's sweet baby Kate (or baby "cake" as Leyton calls her)!  Such a happy girl, and so pretty, just like her mama!  :)

This picture is hysterical, only because their Daddys do the SAME thing with their own video games.  I've seen these faces somewhere before...  ;)

Silver Dollar City!  What a GREAT park!  Beautiful, clean, helpful staff, etc.  I really could go on and on - wonderful place for kiddos (and grown-ups)!  And I'm standing really strangely because I like to stick my booty out for pictures.  :)  NO, I'm kidding!  I had stepped up on the rocks right as she snapped the pic.  Lovely.

Can we leave them here?

A spin on the Carousel...  Leyton informed me he was riding the "Cranky Bear" (one of his favorite books - "The Very Cranky Bear")

Hello Mark Thomas!  Love that smile!

We stopped to glance at the lunch selection, and this lady recruited PJ and Britton to help cook.

This one wins the award for most hysterical pic of the week.  This was the KIDDY roller coaster.  You can't see Leyton (sitting next to PJ) or Mark (sitting next to John), but you can see BK in the very front, who loved this one.  PJ and John are both feigning excitement and it just cracks me up.  (Seriously.  click on the pic and make it bigger - totally worth it)

 I couldn't resist this sweet picture.  These boys were pooped, and slept so well!  Leyton, however refused to stay on his half of the bed.  :)

The ride home - I took this from inside the car - which is why there is a horrible glare.  Leyton was absolutely cracking up at PJ blowing bubbles with his gum.

Other activities not pictured: Visits to the pool, Putt-putt golf, multiple Outlet Mall visits, fishing (John and PJ).  We were busy!  Oh, and Spades.  We have been playing spades together for like the last 10 years.  And let me just go on record saying the record is like 412 (girls) to 4 (boys).  2 of those wins for the boys came this trip, and let me just say one thing.  My husband cheated at spades this weekend.  He denies it, but I will ride that all the way to the bank.  Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater.  ;)  Ha!

Silly Boy

Leyton is a goofball.  Completely, totally silly.  And that's one of my favorite things about him!  He has this wonderful belly laugh that he's had since we heard that first sweet giggle from him 3 years ago.  It's deep in his belly, and it's infectious.  And I can't help but laugh when he laughs.  Here's just some of his antics from the last few weeks...

This is what I found after I asked him to take off his shorts and underwear and put his swimsuit on earlier this week.  Shorts - down around the ankles.  Underwear - still on.  Trashcan on his head - check.

Daddy's shoes have the extra toe room he's looking for.  

And have I mentioned what a BIG BOY he is?!?  We moved him to his big boy bed finally last weekend (yeah, I know he's 3 months past 3.  I procrastinated. :) ), and he's so excited.  Since he's my last baby, it was honestly bittersweet for me.  I'm so thrilled to see him grow, but so sad to realize he's not my itty-bitty guy any longer...  

Summer already?

It seems the years just move faster and faster, the older my kids get.  I swear we just started Kindergarten.  How is it I'm now the proud momma of a first grader and a three year old?!?  Doesn't that officially make me old?  Anywho, both boys had a great year.  We were blessed with a wonderful teacher for Britton, as well as some great kids in class with him.  Britton made some new friends, learned a lot, and really wasn't all that ready for school to end!  I hope he always maintains that enthusiasm for learning.  :)  Leyton had 4 fabulous teachers as well, and as always, wonderful kids in his classes.  He still loves school, loves learning new things, and playing with his friends each day.  He's very excited to move to the "big kid" wing of the preschool (closer to Gigi, always a bonus), and most importantly, play on the BIG playground (it's the little things around here).

Leyton with Miss Ariel and Ms. Susan

Mrs. LeBlanc and Mrs. Hopkins

Britton and Mrs. Jinks...  Poor Mrs. Jinks hurt her ankle terribly just a few days before the end of school, and spent the last 3 days on crutches...  with kindergarteners!  She's a brave woman...



Britton and life-long friend, Bella (and I'm so upset I didn't notice her eyes were closed until I got home!  Still a great picture of her though - such a beautiful smile!).  We were so thrilled to have her in the SAME class this year!  I can't believe how much they've grown, even just since August!  They both are "old hats" at this elementary school thing these days!



Also a few pics from the end of year bash at JWE...  "Where the West Goes Wild" was the theme, and they had several wild animals for the kids to touch (scare me to DEATH).  Britton was absolutely fascinated with them!

I'm just not real trusting of the rubberband around his snout...

Beach Bums

I wanted to get these pictures up before we were months past this little vacation - but I'm not feeling all that wordy today...  Short story - fun, busy, exhausting trip to Rockport/Port Aransas Texas with PJ's immediate family and grandparents; overall, we had a fabulous time. 

Yep, that's me.  In a swimsuit, loving the ocean waves with BK.  Don't look too close please - it's scary. :)

Britton and Great-grandma having some sort of battle with some random toy in the souvenir shop - I love that the boys are getting so close to their great-grandparents!

Aunt Becky and Sweet Ley-Ley.  Both boys love Aunt Becky and miss her very much!  He's covering his mouth because he said the water was "spicy."

Mr. Brave in the ocean - I couldn't take my eyes off this kid - he made me very nervous, even though the water was very shallow...

The only family pic we took - and PJ and I agree it's terrible of the two of us, but great of the boys.  :)

PJ and his sisters - Belinda and Becky

Cousin Alex giving me the salute?!?

They were in LOVE with this huge shark at a souvenir shop...

Leyton and Grandma at the pier -

This is Uncle AJ - Becky's husband.  Both boys think he is the coolest thing ever; Britton was pretty much attached to AJ all weekend.  This was some game they invented called "Banana Boat" - AJ was a great sport.  ;)  And as a side note, not sure what the heck happened to the coloring on this picture - but everyone seems to have a lovely blue skin tone... 

Monkey Boys

This week was Parent-Observation Day at Gymnastics.  Even though I get to watch each week, I'm always amazed by how far they've come over the year, b/c yes, I admit it.  I do sit in the waiting room and play on my phone or read a magazine.  It's some of the only "me" time I get.

Leyton's quite the little monkey and always has been.  I was really impressed with his hand-eye coordination and balance.  He was able to balance in ways the other kids couldn't, and I think has come a long way since August - both physically and emotionally!  He doesn't cry when I drop him off each week anymore, and really seems to enjoy gymnastics. 

Laughing through a backbend.  Love that smile!

This picture is just cool because he's balancing all on his own.  Miss Megan (Leyton's teacher) was amazed he could do it by himself!

Love this video of Britton doing a back-handspring with the "two finger" spot!  I was probably 8 before I was doing these by myself, so he's way ahead of me!  (And as the very proud mama, I have to add he was the ONLY ONE in his class doing this.  And he's one of the younger kids in his class!)

Quite the headstand king these days...

Britton and Mr. T, his coach.  Mr. T was also one of my very favorite coaches growing up and taught me so very much.  I LOVE that Britton now has him! 

Gymnastics Stretch after the medals!

I'm a big boy

I'm somewhat in denial that my sweet BABY, Leyton Eliot, turned three on Saturday.  He's all about "I'm a big boy," but I'm telling myself he's still my baby.  Maybe when he's 18 he can call himself a big boy.  Maybe.  We celebrated with close friends and family on Friday evening, then just hung out on Saturday as a family.  On his special day (we let the kids tell us what they want to do on their big day), Leyton requested Tin Star for his special dinner (we go there almost every Saturday night, and he wasn't interested in deviating from the norm), and a trip to the park.  Unfortunately it was really cold and somewhat misty, so we didn't think the park was a good plan, but promised to make a trip as soon as it warmed up.  The boys had a great time playing with new birthday gifts, riding bikes (yes, we brought them in the house after PJ cleaned the wheels), and just took it easy.  He's so excited to be "free" (as he says it, he means "three") and tells us several times a day "I'm a big boy now!"

A little about Leyton at three: He is a superstar talker now.  We carry on full conversations, and he says things that make us laugh almost constantly.  Grammatically, he's a bit off, but we love that at this age.  For example, instead of "where did you go Momma?" it's "where you went Momma?"  He's a pretty picky eater, even more so maybe than his Daddy (which is hard to believe).  He has several staples, and no matter what it is, he will say he doesn't like it if it isn't one of those (Goldfish, strawberries, apples, PB&J, pizza, and a few others).  Generally, if we can get him to try it, he likes it, but not always.  He's a good sleeper at night, although he's all but given up his nap during the day.  We still enforce rest time each afternoon, but he's quick to tell me he's not interested in sleeping.  :)  His best friends (outside of Britton of course) are Whit (a friend from school) and Mark Thomas.  Every time he talks about friends, Mark and Whit are first on the list.  He loves soccer (mores so even than BK), and enjoys running around like a monkey at gymnastics.  We still fight separation anxiety a bit with Leyton, but he's quick to cheer up and has a great time almost anywhere.  He talks a lot about bridges, and whether we will go "across the bridge" no matter where we go.  Not sure where this obsession comes from, but it's mentioned EVERY time we are in the car.  He's getting really good at recognizing directions, what we are close to, and can even point out "OSU" on the hospital, our bank name (on branches we never go to), and of course, every Starbucks under the sun.  :)

The birthday boy was NOT interested in standing still for pictures!  This was the best I got...  Doesn't he look so grown up?

Ella has some serious bounce...

Some of the party guests - impatiently awaiting cupcakes!

Sweet Alex and Chase!  Corie and I have been friends for more than 20 years - I can't believe we are now the parents...

The big kids - two of BK's very best friends, Bella and Trenton.  And this day happened to be T-Bird's 7th birthday!  He was a good sport and willing to share his day with Leyton.  Their birthdays are just a day apart.  :)

Cupcakes happen to be on the list of foods Leyton LIKES.  A lot.  :)

Sweet Harison and Carisa!  Love this little guy!

Best buds, Mark and Leyton, getting crazy in the teeter-totter with Uncle John.  They LOVED this.

Best Buds -

We love our littlest man more than words.  He's such a special little guy!  Happy Birthday Sweet Leyton Eliot!