Jason & Sammi riding the motorcycles. I pretty much drug Jason to this place, then he wants to play all of the games. Go figure.
Joshua playing a game....it's nice when kids are too young to know that what was on the screen was just the preview of how the game is. He was cheap since we didn't have to put money in these for him!
There was a toddler area with a few small rides. Of course Sammi couldn't just sit back and watch, so she got on the merry-go-round too.
Joshua freaked out when he saw this "race car". He loves race cars, so every type of a car is called a race car by him.
Today I took them to ride the Trinity Rail Express to downtown Dallas. A friend of mine told me how fun it was for her daughter, and Joshua loves trains, so I thought I'd give it a try. It was so fun!
Here they are waiting for the train to come.
Joshua watching the landscape go by....he sat like this for the first half of the ride. I love this picture.
Joshua saying "choo choo!"
Self portrait by mommy...the only way I can get in pictures without bugging strangers to take the picture for me. I am horrible at that.
Another of my favorite pictures.
Awe, isn't he sweet? I should frame this as a reminder that my two year old boy IS a nice boy to his sister at times. :)
I have lived in and around Dallas since I was born. So why did it have to take a trip with my kids and just walking around downtown Dallas for me to finally see the JFK landmarks around Dallas from the day he was shot? I have always wanted to take that tour, so I kind of got one. Just no one walking with us and giving facts and cool information. This picture is of the book depository where Lee Harvey Oswald supposedly shot JFK from the 6th floor. I say supposedly because with all of the conspiracy theories out there, I have no idea what is true and what is not. Ever see Oliver Stone's JFK? Makes you think....
A pic of "the grassy knoll" Is that how you spell "knoll"?
Here is JFK's memorial in Dallas. Really neat architecture.
This was the home of John Neely Bryan, who founded Dallas. I can't imagine living in something so small!
This is a statue of him...with Sammi & Joshua. I think Joshua was on his way to falling asleep here.
.....and here he is fast asleep.
Still sleeping, even after we boarded the train to go back home. Sammi said it well, "he is so cute when he is sleeping". I agree!
Sammi being a pirate in the car on the way home. Argh!
Saturday, several members of Jason's family were in town. I already had plans to scrapbook all day at my friend Leisha's house, but I took a break to see everyone while they went swimming at Marcia's house. Selfishly, it was nice that I already had plans...Jason was in charge of everything to get the kids ready, take them to lunch with the family, take them swimming, etc. It was great! One of my mole's in the family told me that he looked "hurried", was late, and even commented "it's tough being a single dad!" Ha ha, that just makes me smile! Yes, I do love my husband. But all you moms out there know how clueless and helpless they can be and act when they are alone with the kids! They need a reminder from time to time about what us moms go through, right?
Now this is a crowed hot tub! It was a very popular spot that day that was free of kids jumping near or on you or getting lots of splashes. Those lucky members in the tub are: Joshua, Colby, Todd, Addison, Aunt Rhesa, Uncle Larry, and I think that is Aiden's head.
Sammi and her cousin Carter. They are two peas in a pod and she asked me daily when she found out they were coming to TX from VA, about how many more days until she could see Carter. I couldn't wait for them to get here either, but now I don't have to answer that question everyday!
Here is Joshua....love the goggles! 
Colby flying in the air after Uncle Rudy tossed him. He is really good at throwing kids. Ok, that sounded horrible! You know what I mean. Colby was tossed in the air so many times that I was expecting him to throw up. I would have!
Ah, the beautiful Trent Reznor singing below. That man is HOT! 
This week we are looking forward to some fun events with the kids before Sammi starts Kindergarten on Monday. We find out on Thursday who her teacher is and if she will be in AM or PM class. I know, half day kindergarten. Yuck! She was excited to get to eat in a cafeteria. I had to crush her precious heart and tell her that she won't get to until the 1st grade. You would have thought that I broke it to her about Santa not being real! She was that upset. So this week, we are having her back to going to bed early. Since I have been home, bedtime for her has been 9 or 10! She sleeps in now, so it didn't seem so bad to have her go to bed late. Plus, that gave me one on one time with her after Joshua went to bed. She got at least 1 hour of peace without him harrassing her. :)
Part of our amazing family in the waiting room....we took it over! There was a large one for friends and family, and then this one for the parents where they called us every hour with an update. I am the kind of person that needs people around me when I am worried or upset, so I told Jason to bring them all in the room with us! It still humbles me beyond words that all of our family came. Even Jason's uncle in Virginia flew in to be there. Julie and Noel, who was only a few months old was there, grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents, best friends, etc. Meredith came up from Georgetown to help with Samantha. That was a huge help!
The other half of the waiting room. One of my closest friends, Amy, is sitting between my mom and step dad. She knows me so well and knew when to take me out of the room to go take a walk and cry on her shoulder. I learned that day how Jason and I are so different in how we handle the stress and worries of our children. He wanted to be alone, I wanted to be with people. So I would tell him to go walk around to get out and be alone. The windows behind Meredith are where they wheeled Joshua from the operating room to the PICU. We were able to see him for a quick few minutes. Jason and I bawled like a baby just looking at him in awe and me kissing his neck over and over. They had to pull me away so that they could continue taking him to his recovery room. He tried to speak and it was really hoarse from the breathing tube. Thankfully, they took it out before I could see it. That would be hard to see. But I was just so glad to see his bright blue eyes looking at me. Such a relief! Thank you God!
Here is Joshua in the PICU. I covered up with his blanket the draining tube. I was warned about that, but until you see it yourself, you can't prepare for it. It is gross! Several friends and family that came in and out of that room looked pretty woozy after seeing it. I tried to make sure the blanket covered it so no one passed out on us! The first time we went in there, the nurse explained all of the tubes, IV, and wires. I myself got light headed and needed to sit down. It was way too much for me! The only part of his body that I could touch that didn't have anything coming out of it was his head and shoulders. So I stroked those two areas as much as possible. You can see the bruise on his forehead from the fall the day before on the chair.
Here I am, stroking his head. That's all I could do and I wanted nothing more than to touch him. I slept on a small ledge with cushions behind him. The first night the nurse came in to check on him and he had rolled over in his sleep in and was at the very end of his bed, almost falling off where all of the machines are. Ah! He let out a lot of moans and groans throughout the night and day, which is normal. That was the hardest part for Jason. He wanted his precious son to feel no pain. Me neither! But This part I could handle, the hard part for me was over, which was letting go of him. As you can see from the smile on my face, I was so happy! We did not have Sammi come up to the hospital to see him. We were afraid that seeing him like that would frighten her.
