Happy New Year!

It's been a while since my last posting. We have been so busy with Christmas and shopping and traveling! Now that things are settling down we have a sick baby boy.
Thatcher has a bacterial infection. It is intestinal so his tummy has not felt very good for a few days now. Fortunately we have been giving him antibiotics so he should start feeling better very soon.
We are still in Arkansas while Daddy is working at home in Texas. He will be coming back to spend New Year's with us. We miss him a lot. The boys especially.
We did have a bit of excitement lately. My dad shot a big 8pt. down in the pasture here in Greenbrier. He was the largest deer ever killed on our farm. He was proud!
Well I hope everyone has a great New Year and I promise it won't be long before our next post.

How 'bout them horns!

Here is the 1st deer Scotty killed in Illinois. This ten point weighed 175 feild dressed. Needless to say he is getting it mounted. I am just thrilled about that!(not really) I know he had fun harvesting this deer and it is well deserved. He killed two more button bucks and he and my dad shot the same doe on the last morning they hunted, he can fill you in on the details. I just wanted to share the pictures. I know he is proud and rightfully so.
















This is a picture of how far apart the two button bucks were when he shot them. They were at different times, but, very close shots.

Johnson's Pumpkin Patch

Today we went to the pumpkin patch with Omie, Aunt Bea, Landan, Amy and Liam. We had a great time. There were lots of animals to see and pet. We went on a hay ride all over the pumpkin patch, Landan could hardly wait to do that. We took lots of pictures.

There was a tunnel made out of hay bales which kept the boys entertained for a while, Sauloman said that was his favorite part of the trip. We looked all over the patch and finally all the boys found their own pumpkins, with a little help from the moms of course. There were so many. We pulled a wagon around to help us haul kids and what else....PUMPKINS!

All the baby animals were so cute! We wanted to take them all home. The weather was perfect for us. I think Liam was glad he came. Thatcher didn't quite know what to think about all the small pumpkins, he kept trying to eat them.

After about two hours we were all pooped out and headed back to Omie's to play for a while before taking a nap. What a day!

The Boys In The Bubbles

Oh how these boys love a bubble bath! All I have to do is turn on the water and they come running. Because it is so much easier to bath them together, we always do so. Sauloman enjoys pouring water on Thatchee's head, and Thatch loves to climb on Sauloman. They both act like they are swimming. Neither are very afraid to put their heads under. I loved these pictures and I thought you would too.

Big Pig!

Scotty has a friend that farms. He is always having wild hogs rooting up the soy beans and etc., so he will hunt them or trap them to sell. This video is of a hog they trapped. Scotty took Sauloman over to see it. They usually are smaller than this paticular one. As you will see, Scotty dressed Sauloman all by himself.

View this clip on Vimeo

HELP! Somebody Save Me!!!

Strack boys by day, Super Heroes by night! We happened upon these pajamas and the boys LOVE them. Batman has a cape and there are spider webs attatched to the pajama top belonging to Spiderman. Sauloman asked if he would be able to fly when he wore his. Anything that gets them excited to put on there P.J.s is a good thing. Not to mention going to bed knowing I have Batman and Spiderman under one roof really makes a girl feel safe! I love these tough guys. Later on the next day I caught them watching a movie on the computer and I thought it was too cute to pass up a picture opportunity.

Rainy Day Play

A few days ago , after a week of sweltering heat, the sky clouded up and thunder started rolling. Before we knew it rain began pouring from the sky. Scotty had not been home long and the boys were starving for is attention. He took them outside on the porch to watch the rain or so I thought. He saw that there was no lightning and encouraged them to play in the rain. Sauloman and Scotty both stripped down to there underwear and Thatch in his T-shirt and diaper. I caught some of the action on film and wanted to share it with you. I anxiously await your comments!
View this clip on Vimeo

Bye Bye Crib!

Last night Scotty and I decided to convert Thatcher's crib into a toddler/daybed. This is a picture of his first night in a big boy bed. Even though it has a rail he still is a big boy! I usually just put him down and he goes straight to sleep, but since he could get down if he wanted, I read him a book and laid with him until he fell asleep. When he gets use to sleeping in his bed this way I will phase that out.
He did terrific! I still have a monitor in his room so I listened for him all night and it was like he didn't care if the bed rails were there or not. We are very proud of him!

Mornings On the Couch

Every morning after breakfast, the boys and I lay on the couch and watch Dora the Explorer. They fight over who can lay more closely to me. Yesterday, I was thinking to myself about how much I hope they will always want to be "the closest one to me" when they grow up. It made me get up and grab my camera and capture the mornings I enjoy so much, because I know it won't be long before the two of them will shutter at the thought of sweetly loving on their Momma the way they do now.

Climbing

Thatcher is very into climbing lately. I got my camera and fallowed him around the dinning room and while I did he was climbing on the table, on the chairs, and on me once he saw I had the camera! Last night after we ate he climed up in a chair and spilled Scotty's drink all over the table and floor. Lucky for me, not really, it was rasberry tea, not so lucky for Scotty either, it douced his new cell phone. Good thing he had insurance on it because he had to get a new one. What am I gonna do with this monkey?
As you can tell I was playing with my camera. The sepia color is a feature I hadn't tried until these pictures.

Party at Playworld

August 13, 2005, was a big day for Sauloman. He woke up and walked outside to find a John Deere Contruction Gator. He was so excited he jumped right on with his eyes barely open and took off. I could hardly get a picture. He did, however, stop long enough to give his brother a ride.

That day at 11:00 we had a party for him and all his friends and family at Playworld in Conway. They played in the maze and ate pizza and cake and had a visit from Sparky the Dog. All the kids were excited to see Sparky, I think one was so excited he had an accident.

There were Shrek party hats in the shape of Shrek's ears, the cake and the plates were Shrek and Donkey, just like the birthday boy asked for.

We wish we could have that much fun every day. Thanks to Jett & Ledger, Emma Lee, Carson, Landan, Lucas & Lily, Liam, Kevin & Robin, Christopher & Stephanie, Trey, Omie & Papo, Busia & JaJa, and Gangy and PopPop. Thanks, Aunt Linda, for making sure Emmee got to come, and we are sorry Aunt Bea had to miss it. We could not have had as much fun without you guys.

Vacation Bible School

This week in Greenbrier, Sauloman attended Vacation Bible School at the Church of Christ. We have family who are members there and who helped out all week. Jessi, our cousin, took him most days and brought him home every night afterward. Her little brother and Sauloman are 16 days apart and became good buddies.
Sauloman loved Bible School. In fact when I took him Wednesday night, he could not get out of the car fast enough. All the kids wore sailor hats and name tags. He was so proud of his he wore them all day. They made things and sang and got to eat ice cream at the end of every night. He was such a big boy that I just had to share a few pictures with you.

A Suprise Vist

Today we were awaiting Busia and JaJa(Linda & David) to come from Shreeveport and visit before they went back to Arkansas. They had told us last night they were having car trouble and were praying they would make it. On their way they called and said that doing some work on the car had made it run better, but to stay by the phone. Then they called about the time that we were expecting them to arrive and said they had broken down near the exit ramp and wanted Scotty to come and get them out of the heat. Just when Scotty had walked out to the truck they drove up in a new Hyundi Tucson!!! They had been playing us like a fiddle! Not only did they have a new car, but they had also talked Kevin and Robin into comming along. We were so glad to see everyone. The boys relly enjoyed having their Busia and JaJa. We had a late lunch and sat around a visited before eveyone had to go. Sauloman wanted Robin to take him home with her. He had fun playing with JaJa. Busia brought the boys some goodies in a care package, and a few things for Scotty and I too. We sure had a good time!

A Day at the Lake

Today we went to a lake in Broken Bow, OK. It was a nice little park with cabins, campsites, boat launch and swimming area. Scotty and I had been there before with a friend skiing, but we did not know it was such a perfect spot to bring the kids to swim and play. The swimming area is kind of secluded and had lots of shade, perfect for a picnic. There was a place to buy refreshments and you could even rent canoes, paddle boats, and kyacks. We brought little inflatable boats and decided after wrestling Thatcher that a paddle boat might be better, so we rented one and we and off we went.

After riding in the paddle boat we had a picnic in the grass on a blanket. The guys were really hungry! Thatcher ate his lunch and strolled over to the next blanket of picnicers and tried to steal a pb&j sandwich. Like father like son!

Taking The Animals To The Zoo

Saturday morning Mom and I took the kids to the zoo. They were so excited. As soon as we got there you could hear the monkeys going wild! They were so loud it sounded like they were projecting their voices with a speaker. We fed the coy fish, donkeys and goats. Sauloman and Landan even got to ride the camel! We had a picnic lunch and pet baby opossums. Mom was throwing ice cubes down to the gorilla and we watched him eat them. The big boys posed for pictures with the flamingos. They decided standing on one leg is not as easy as it looks. It was hot, but it was fun. Maybe next time we come the weather will be cooler. They are doing alot of work to the zoo so hopefully it will get better. They have already improved alot. Sauloman's favorite was the elephants. I think Thatchee liked the goats. Landan just liked everything.

Thatcher thought that the petting zoo was the best thing. He kept calling all of the goats Jack. Jack is our weenie dog! I don't know if it was the animals or the fact he got to get out of the stroller and walk that struck him as fun.

Landan had fun with the opossum, of course, they are related!