Grandpa's Service

This is something I want to have documented so I can show the kids what an amazing Great Grandpa they had. He lived a life of service to his community and his country. What an honor to call ourselves part of his family.

When we arrived at the church for the funeral the Dallas Fire Department had a truck there with his original Fire Station number 48 on it. James is holding Pa-pa's actual helmet from his time with the department. Greyson thought it was really neat but also a little intimidating to be this close to the truck.
The truck along with another Fire Department vehicle took part in the procession to Hilltop Cemetery where he was laid to rest.We arrived with the windows down to hear the bagpiper from the fire department playing. It was so moving and a very special memory that we will always cherish.
The Navy also had two representatives there to honor Pa for his service to his country.
Six uniformed Firemen and Women served as his pallbearers.

A Chaplain from the Fire Department read the Fireman's Story....it is the story of how they first put together a fire department to help the community. They would ring this bell to alert volunteers in the community that help was needed. In honor of Grandpa, they rang the bell one last time to signal that he can go home.
The bagpiper played "Amazing Grace" as he left the graveside service to signal his final farewell to our sweet Pa.
The Sailors presented James with the Flag.
They played "Taps" in honor of Grandpa.
After the graveside service we went back to the Northside Baptist Church for a lovely lunch provided by some wonderful women headed up by Debra Dallalio, the pastor's wife.
The kids had a great time unwinding and running off some steam in the gymnasium after lunch.
It was such a fitting tribute to such a dedicated man....what a great way to send him off. He will be missed, but we know that he is happy and no longer suffering.

Saying Goodbye

It has been far too long since I have been on here, but we have had quite a bit happening lately in the family. We said goodbye to Great Grandpa Roberts on Good Friday (April, 2nd). He passed away peacefully in his sleep with James and close friends by his side. We were so very thankful that the kids were able to see him one last time on the Tuesday before. Greyson was telling him all about playing Blast Ball, and Grandpa was SO happy to hear that. He LOVED baseball, and I know nothing made him more proud than seeing Greyson enjoy it. Hannah showed him all of her "big girl" tricks like walking and speaking her new words. It was a great visit that ended with Greyson giving him an impromptu BIG hug and kiss along with the words, "I wuv you Pa-pa." While we are beyond sad to say goodbye to Pa, we also take comfort in knowing that he is with his wife, children, and other grandchildren now. There will be another post dedicated to his services. I am trying to break this up into several entries so bear with me while I attempt to catch up on the our busy lives.

Soccer and Easter

We would have just stayed home Saturday after the rough night Friday, but Greyson had his Blast Ball pictures, a Blast Ball game, soccer team pictures, and a soccer game. We had to get to the Blast Ball pictures at 8:00, miss the Blast Ball game, and then rush over to the soccer field for pictures at 9:30 on the other side of town. Remind me again to NEVER sign up for 2 sports at the same time again. I have DEFINITELY learned my lesson, and while we are having a lot of fun, it is incredibly exhausting. This is going to be mainly a picture post as I have too much to post right now. Enjoy!

The Blast Ball pictures went GREAT, and Grandma accompanied me to the game to help out with Hannah. Greyson LOVES his friend Caden on the team, and they walked hand in hand out of the pictures down to the field. It was SUPER cute, and it is great that he has a friend on the team who REALLY loves to play soccer. I think is encourages him to try harder and work at it. This handholding did get Greyson into trouble during the game though.
I did some MAJOR bribing to get Greyson to actually kick the ball for the first time during the game. It was no surprise that food was the winning motivator for him. I promised him an ice cream sundae (which he has never had before) if he would just kick the ball during the game. He loves to kick the ball at practice, but he is always too shy to participate when the game actually starts. Look at him in action!
He took a little break with his biggest fan
Now...handholding is all fine and good EXCEPT during the game. Caden is a very avid player so when he took off while holding Greyson's hand, Greyson fell to the ground and was trampled by another kid's cleats.
This is where he stayed after that....he took over Jackson's (another teammate's) chair and was pretty sad about it.
Hannah was incredibly helpful and decided to reorganize the entire diaper bag....what a helper ;-).
She found a new favorite spot to sit under Daddy's desk...she was so proud of herself.
We spent the night Saturday night over at Grandma and Grandpa's....we inherited a wonderful DSLR camera from Pa-pa that I plan on using to take TONS of pictures of the kids. This is the first picture I took with the camera, and I LOVE it. He looks so big.

The kids in their Easter garb...

Greyson, Cody, and Hannah in their beach chairs
Hannah loves soccer and Blast Ball more than Greyson. She even says Blast Ball now, and she goes and gets Greyson's cleats and tries to put them on.
Enjoying his new bubble maker from Mommy and Daddy
I left Hannah in the care of Tammy and Grandma for a few minutes, and this is what happened during that time. Hannah had hijacked the stool and was looking at Grandpa's fish without their knowledge. She's pretty sneaky ;-).
We had to have a wardrobe change....just because. Hannah LOVES her new found freedom now that she is a good walker. She can play outside more independently, and she enjoys trying to keep up with the big boys.

The kids heading out for the hunt....we didn't think Hannah would really do anything, but she proved us all wrong. She got right out there with the big boys.
The hunt in progress
Greyson had to switch to a bigger basket so he left his soccer ball basket off to the side. Guess who decided she may just need two baskets?
Enjoying the treats :0). Hannah started saying CHEESE every time the camera came out for the rest of the day. It was ADORABLE.
Hannah and Mommy
Posing with some of the beautiful flowers in front of the house
The kids got some HUGE bubble makers from Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bruce. They had a blast playing with them, and Greyson decided that he should try to eat every single bubble. We tried to explain to him that this was not necessarily the best idea, but he didn't care.
Getting ready to fly a kite
Do we really have to do this Mom?
The only way to fly a kite...sitting in lawn chairs :-).

Super Mega Ultra Post

It's official...I have GOT to close the book on this big post. I've been TRYING to get pictures to download for WEEKS, but they never seem to work. Alas...I will just skip some things and move on so I can get back on track. The weather has turned BEAUTIFUL here in Dallas, and we are taking FULL advantage of all it has to offer with lots of visits to the park, picnics, sports, and the like. We even took a little day trip to Ennis to get some great Bluebonnet pictures before they go to seed.

Greyson is a little Spider-man boy these days...he frequently tells me that he IS Spider-man, and casts many webs :-).
I know this is silly, but I am just LOVING this whole hair styling thing. I CANNOT wait to be able to french braid and go nuts with it. For now I am thoroughly enjoying pigtails and ponytails.
We went to a great park up in Highland Village that was all wood with castles, zip lines, slides...it was SO fun for Greyson. We met some of our friends from the Mommy group, and here is Josh (Carrie's hubby) helping Greyson on the zip line.
Cheese!
They even had a pond next door, and a coach from the adjoining middle school helped Greyson catch his FIRST fish! He was SO excited, and we will definitely be doing this again soon.
This is Greyson's new favorite activity...it's become a Friday afternoon tradition. Naked sprinkler time is a BIG hit! He and Cody started it a few weeks ago, and now Greyson just can't get enough of it.

One of our many trips to the park...this is Greyson's new favorite park activity. He loves to twist the swing and spin around. I remember loving that too, and I love watching him do it.
Hannah is officially a big girl, and she likes to climb on the playground and go down the slides ALL by herself.
Sometimes Mommy likes to go down too :-).
While soccer and Greyson have been somewhat difficult...Hannah seems to instinctively know what to do. She goes right after the ball and kicks it across the room. She WILL wear a tutu...even if it has to be on the soccer field :-).
Hannah and Scarlett have SO much fun playing together. We get to see each other every week, and it is great to watch them grow together. They seem to venture out further and further away from Amy and I each time we take them to the park. These girls are going to be TROUBLE with a capital "T"!


Scarlett came over for a visit without Mommy one afternoon, and it was HILARIOUS! Hannah was jealous of Scarlett sitting on my lap, and EVERY SINGLE TOY that Scarlett picked up was immediately snatched up by Hannah. Amy says that Scarlett is now doing this too and that she learned this from our little sweet Hannah ;-). I don't believe it.


Princess out in the back yard
Our little stinker boy...
There was this beautiful field of wildflowers down the street that we had to check out....love it!





Trenton's birthday celebration...Greyson incidentally ended up missing out on this one due to some poor choices. We are in the throws of Love and Logic, and we are making him accountable for his actions. This seems all fine and good, but it does end up punishing we, the parents, as well, because we have to deal with the repercussions. We really feel it will be worth it in the end, but it's hard right now. We can see it working more every day so we feel confident that we should stick to it.
Another trip to Central Park with our friend Kim, her Mom Barb, Hayden, and Pierce. We had missed PJ's (Pierce's) birthday party so we thought we should get together to celebrate a little together :-). The boys decided it would be fun to chase squirrels the whole time...poor squirrels.
Must hold hands while swinging :-)
Hannah and her boyfriend PJ

I hope this weather continues...I'm not ready for summer, but I am SO happy it is Spring.