Labor Day Weekend

Ezra, Sydney and Hailey eating ice cream

We had such a GREAT labor day weekend! We were very blessed to have the Garrison's invite us to their lake house in Horseshoe Bay. So, we packed up the car and headed to Marble Falls around lunch time on Saturday. It was such a great trip. We went last year with them, too, but it wasn't that great of a trip because the kids were little (the Garrison's have twin girls and a new baby girl, ella) and Emersyn was a baby. So, we felt like the whole time we had to go do stuff to entertain them. They were too little to really enjoy the boat and swim. And, at the end of the trip, everyone ended up getting the stomach bug and throwing up. So, needless to say, I wasn't sure if I was looking forward to this year's trip or not. Well, we had a blast! The kids got along so well. We stayed at the lake house the whole time, even cooking all of our meals there. It was great. Saturday we just unpacked the car, blew up the swimming pool and prepared for dinner. The kids spent most of Saturday fishing off the dock  with Brent and Rob, and even caught a good amount of perch, a good size bass and catfish! Ezra was able to cast and reel his pole in, and wasn't scared when there was a fish on the end of his pole (last year, he was!). The twins are experts when it comes to "handling" the fish, literally! They would name their perch, hold on to them so tight, and pretend play with them until the poor perch went to perch heaven! It was pretty cute to watch. Saturday night we took the boat out to drive around and watch the sun set. Sunday morning, the boys got up early and went fishing for the morning. When they got back, we all ate lunch and the boys helped the little ones fish off the dock again while Brent took Ezra out on the Jet ski and kayak. When Emersyn and Ella woke up from their naps, we loaded up the boat and headed out on the lake. We stopped at the Marina store to get ice cream then headed for the sandbar. We parked the boat in the water and went for a swim. All the kids loved this! Emersyn even was very excited about this. She didn't want me to hold on to her, but let me compromise with her, but holding her under her armpits. She wanted to splash and swim like the big kids! After we were done swimming, we got the tube ready for some good times. Brent and Ezra were the first ones to go on the tube. Ezra wasn't really sure if he wanted to do it, but he did it a little bit, then wanted back on the boat. The girls and Lisa then loaded up on the tube and did a great job! They even hit some good waves! We headed back in to start getting dinner ready, and I am sure more fishing off the dock was done! That night all the kids were in bed, asleep, by 8! It was great evening of talking and watching TV for the adults. Monday morning, the boys got up early AGAIN and went fishing, but this time with a guide. They were gone until lunch again. They caught a good amount of fish. Brent caught a good size bass. While they were gone, Lisa and I were getting everything ready to pack up and washing towels and sheets. When the guys got back, we were able to eat lunch then load up the boat one more time for an ice cream stop and a swim. While we were out this time, we got rained on. So, we decided to head back home and finish packing up. It was a great, great weekend!
Thank you Garrison's!!

Hailey's fish

Rob's fish

Comparing sizes!

on the kayak

Emersyn's first time on a boat

Ezra LOVED it

Lisa, Ella (on lap) Sydney, Hailey

Sydney fell asleep

Best buds

you can't see, but ezra just caught a fish on his pole

going on the jet ski

emersyn took a lap too, but didn't like it

the catfish ezra and brent caught

Emersyn lovin her ice cream!!

Ezra and Brent tubing!

Dove Hunting

Loading up in all their gear

Brent took Ezra dove hunting this past Wednesday for his FIRST time! It was really cute. The boys went to Academy where Brent got Ezra a camo shirt (we had one for him, but it didn't fit anymore), ear muffs to wear while they shoot the gun and a fake dove to bring in the real ones! Ezra came back super excited! He kept putting the ear muffs on and screaming "mommy, can you hear me?" It was pretty funny. He looked so cute and like such a big boy. They headed to Fredericksburg that afternoon and went hunting at the tank. Brent's grandma Eilers's cabin has a big tank that the dove like to hang out by. So, Uncle Johnny, Adrian, Brent and Ezra went hunting. They had a great time. Ezra loved running to go get the dove after they were shot down. Brent said he wore his ear muffs the whole time and wasn't scared when the guns went off. I stayed home with Emersyn and did some shopping. However, the whole time I was covering those boys in prayer! It is such a great thing that he gets to do these things with Brent, but makes me so nervous! They had a great time and got like 7 dove total. Brent did a great job taking pics for me!

he didn't want to take them off

one happy little boy

but..still my sweet little guy

checking things out. Love the hand on the hip!

picking up the doves (hopefully they washed hands good)

love this picture

Brent's fishing trip

Marcus and his fish

Brent went fishing in Corpus (with a fishing guide) with 7 other guys the last weekend in August. He was able to do this last year too and had a good time. This trip was only "okay", though. They had to take two boats out since there were 8 of them. The guide on Brent's boat was a younger guy with a lot of vulgar stories to share. Brent was not too pleased. He also didn't lead them to the fish, so his boat only caught a few fish. Marcus, one of the guys on the boat, did catch a really great fish. So, I thought I would post it.

pretty big fish!

Busy Bees!

Today we had Ezra's "meet the teacher" at his new pre-school. He is in Ms. Nancy's Busy Bee class! I am so excited for him this year. Ms. Nancy is such a sweet, loving teacher. I am very thankful that God placed him in the exact class he needed to be in for his first "school" experience. Our God is a good God! I was also leery about him being in 3 days a week, but God also new what he was doing in that area too. Go figure! He is definitely ready for this and was so excited today! He kept dancing on the coffee table singing "busy bees! busy bees!"
I am so excited for this year. I am excited to see him grow, learn, explore and become a little boy without me for just a few hours! Then I want him back! Ha!
I feel truly blessed!

Wittie Museum

The kids and I went to the Wittie this week! The dinosaur exhibit is still in full swing, so we decided to wait until school was back in session to go and check it out. We loved it! Emersyn and Ezra had a great time. Funny story, Emersyn was so excited and ran up to the first dinosaur in the exhibit just "roaring" away. I did not know that they had motion sensors and would start moving and "roar" back. Well, as she was being brave and loving it, she set off one of the sensors and the dinosaur started moving and "roaring". She ran to me crying as fast as she could and did not want to be put down the rest of the way. I think it made Ezra a little nervous too. Then, we got to the dinosaurs that you could push the buttons to move their different parts, he warmed up and instantly LOVED it. They were able to dig for dinosaur bones and all!
We have been to the Wittie before, but never ventured out to the HEB tree-house. We stayed in that area for more than an hour. They have such fun science projects up for the kids to test and try. Ezra and Emersyn loved every minute of it! We were probably at the museum for 2+ hours!! I was glad I brought snacks for everyone.
On our way out, the kids wanted to walk through the dinosaur exhibit again. This time, they were not scared! I can't wait for the end of September and January when they have the bug exhibit. I remember going to the Wittie when I was a little girl while they had the bug exhibit. It was like "Honey, I shrunk the kids". The bugs were huge and we were the small ones! Hopefully it's the same one!

This is one where you push the buttons and it moves the body parts

digging bones

Ezra pulling himself up on the pulley seat

they LOVED this one

Emersyn's favorite

in the tree house

my future drummer

Ezra played the drums, too

playing pipe music with a flip-flop

momma and baby duck

Baby #3!

I am sure most of you know, but I guess I never truly posted it on my blog, that we are expecting baby #3 in February. I am 15 weeks along and feeling great! Ha! Not so sure how to define the word "great". I can say that as far as "morning sickness" goes, I am nauseous in the morning if I don't eat something substantial, which means I eat all morning. I mainly eat all day. It is definitely getting better to where I don't have to eat every 3 hours, but can go a little longer. And, OF COURSE, I am tired! Not so sure if the tiredness comes from being pregnant or having two little ones around all the time. I am going to say BOTH. So, I really cannot complain. It has been a good 15 weeks. Everything with this little one is looking great. He/She is very active already and has a good, strong heartbeat.
 Just to set the record straight, we are NOT going to find out what we are having this time. We want it to be a surprise. We figure, we already are so blessed with one of each (and it wouldn't matter either way) that we are prepared for either a little Boy Eilers or a little Girl Eilers. We are just so blessed to be expecting again and are very overjoyed for the joy this little one is going to add to our bunch. Ezra thinks it is a boy though, and would prefer a brother. Emersyn, well, she doesn't know (or even get) that I am pregnan,t so, she doesn't care either way. However, I am sure she will soon change her mind when the little one suddenly appears. She is very much a Momma's girl. So is Ezra. Should be interesting! We are excited and very thankful.

PIGTAILS!

The other day I tried putting Emersyn's hair in pigtails and it worked! She looks cute with the pigtails, but a little too grown up for me. I put her in pigtails again today for church and almost took them out because she looks too old! I still think she is 10 months or littler! She is just growing by leaps and bounds. She is so smart, talking, able to climb on almost anything and so INDEPENDENT! I am just not used to that. Ezra STILL wants me for most things, which I LOVE! She is very MS. INDEPENDENT, and has to keep up with her brother. I guess that will be good for this third little bundle of joy that will be here in February, but she is still my little BABY girl. Makes me get teary just thinking about it. Anyway, here are some pics of the pigtails!