More lake fun!

The twins recently got a weekend to themselves with Nana and Papa at the lake. Here's a little glimpse of their life in Hawkins. Videos courtesy of Nana...

I think that says it all! Life at the lake is GOOD!

Mason's 1st Camping Trip

A few weeks ago, Mason took a road trip to Arkansas for his 1st camping excursion with his Nana & Papa. Packing his suitcase was a challenge as he wanted to take tons of gear. He "required"me to include- his army vest, army hat, flashlight, pistol, knife, various belts, tools and special snacks (just to name a few). It was too funny but I gladly obliged because he was just so excited.

They cooked on the grill (inside the tent due to the weather), went on several hikes, explored, met the Park Ranger and just had a great time! He cant wait to go again!

A few videos courtesy of Nana below--- my Mom cracks me up....

Fun at The Heard!

We spent another fantastic day at The Heard Natural Science Museum this weekend. The weather was glorious and the kids had a BLAST! Truth be told, Allen and I did too! Right now, the Heard is featuring the "Its a Bug's Life" exhibit and my boys went WILD for millipedes, snakes, spiders and everything creepy crawly. We took a hike (see start of the trail above) and I am happy to report that my sweet babies walked the entire way! Mas has no problem with the 2 mile trek on Sycamore Trail but that is quite the distance for 2 year old legs (this was our first attempt here with no stroller, wagon, ect...). The boys all gathered their walking sticks and we let Mason lead the way. Of course he was fully prepared with his compass, binoculars, and whatever else he had stuffed in his vest. The trail was beyond muddy from all of the rain last week so along the way we decided to name ourselves "Team Muddyfoot." The boys thought this was so funny and even brought it up hours later at dinner. At one point, the trail was totally flooded out and we LITERALLY had to toss the kids back and forth to each other over a tree stump we carefully balanced on. Not so easy with 2- 2 year olds, a 4 year old, backpack, camera and slick-as-oil shoes. Logan was not thrilled about it but once we were all safe and sound on the other side he cheered and said "Do it again, Daddy??" It was a solid 2 hours of exploration and non stop conversation with our kids- not another person in sight. It was heart warming to watch them explore deep into the woods and how animated they were over the things that I don't even notice. I love moments like this with my children and they really make me want to take it all in!!!

The boys being silly while I got our lunch ready....

Logan

Wrangling 2 of the 3- per the norm.....

And now all 3 are in Mommy's custody.....

My sweet big boy Mason who insisted on telling us 4,623 times that according to his compass- "There is no North...."

Brady

Logan posing

Mason and Brady

Did I mention how much they all LOVED the bugs??? Brady stole this from another kid- glad a fist fight didn't ensue....

Fossil finding Logan

We could NOT get Mas out of here. Really, thought we were going to have to leave him....

My crew- Team Cobbs... Did I mention- the loves of my life??? Another wonderful day with my family. So thankful for all of these amazing guys!

Happy Mother's Day

Being a Mom is hard, really, really hard. It takes patience beyond normal human measure as far as I am concerned. Only after having kids of my own did I ever really appreciate the enormity of this job. Am I making the right decisions? Did I handle that correctly? Should I be doing flashcards and listing to classical music in the car??? Well, maybe (but I'm not- for the record).

My Mom (Saint Nana) is beyond wonderful- loves my boys as much as I do and spends as much time with them as she can. She always has some sort of adventure planned for the kids like road trips, museums, camping, hikes, fishing and much more. She is beyond fantastic in the Nana department and we are so blessed to have her in our lives! Growing up, I have so many fond memories with my Mom (yellow Volvo, Disney, sunglasses at night, Ding How, Scrivener's, Enchanted Rock- just to name a few for you Mother) and now its such a joy to see her doing it all over again with her grand babies. Mom- I love you beyond words and I love how you love my babies! And for the record- Brady's new thing is to say "he wants his Nana"almost every time hes in trouble.

My Nana & Poppy- married 70 years. She is the Mother of 2 boys and the Queen of the Sikkel family!

And then these little turkeys- Mason made me a Momma and then came Logan and Brady who made me a proud Momma of 3 gorgeous little boys. I feel so blessed to be covered in their kisses every day. My boys are ornery, hilarious, fearless, sensitive and more than anything THE LOVES OF MY LIFE! I have no idea how we got so lucky- but I did and cant imagine our life any other way!

Pretty typical- everyone going in different directions and I'm just along for the ride (of my life)!!

Happy Mothers Day to all the fabulous Mommies out there!