Happy Easter and Jaksen

This is the Corley version of the easter bunny!!




Yes, once again I have not posted in a while and I am just now getting to the Easter post as well. Easter was great here except for the rainy mess that came in on Easter Sunday. We knew the weather was going to be yucky on Sunday, so we did most of our Easter festivites on Saturday. The weather was beautiful that day, which made things even better. There is a place outside of Bartlesville, called Woolaroc. It is a huge ranch and musuem that was started by Frank Phillips. It has alot of differnt wildlife animals, which Austen loves to look at as we make our long drive in. Austen also loves their petting zoo and cool playground. It is really a family and kid oriented place which is great for a family outing when the weather is nice. Every year they have an easter egg hunt for kids. I found it on the internet and decided it would be fun to take Austen to a real easter egg hunt with other kids. They had the kids broken up into age groups which was really good too. Austen was in the 2-3 age group. They did not really hide the eggs but just threw them out on the gound which was good so they could ensure that each kid would get some eggs. Austen was very excited about the eggs when he saw them . We actually practiced the art of easter egg hunting on Friday so he would be ready. When they were about to start the hunt he got really excited. I thought for sure he was going to get lots of eggs and be an all pro easter egg hunter. Well, I guess I was wrong. They finally said go, and off he went. He did great at first, and collected several eggs, but then he stopped getting eggs and just found more enjoyment at watching all the other kids get the eggs. By the time he came out of his smiling trance, the eggs were gone. I guess he is going to be my people watcher. He is always looking at what else is going on around him, instead of paying attention to what he is doing. Silly boy, but when he realized all the eggs were gone he came over to Adam and I with the biggest grin on his face. Yep, he only ended up with four eggs, but you could not replace how proud he was of those 4 eggs. He felt like the most triumphant and successful easter egg hunter on the planet. He definetly was to us. He did a great job! After the hunt, we went to the petting zoo and played on the playground for a while. By the time we left, both boys were exhausted and passed out in the car on the way home. It was a great day!

Jaksen, Jaksen, and more Jaksen! That pretty much sums up how our lives have changed around here. He is officially crawling all over the place and I mean all over the place. Which leads me to the next comment of he is into EVERYTHING! Some of his favorite things to get into is of course the dog bowls, the little rock things in the fireplace, and whatever big brother Austen has or is playing with. He is constantly on the move and now in the last week pulling up on things by himself. He can pull up and be standing with very little effort. The part he does not understand is that he has to hold on or he will fall. We have already had many a crashes and I know a lot more to come. He thinks he is the biggest boy when he pulls up on the table and is able to hit it over and over again with his hand like he is playing the drums like Uncle Justin. He is going to be the little dare devil who is not afraid of anything. When we tell him NO about getting into things, he stops, sits down and looks at us with the biggest suck you in smile ever, and then turns and continues to do what he was going to do in the first place. WHAT A MESS!!! He is definetly keeping Adam and I busy, because you cannot take your eye of him for a second or he is right where he should not be. Imagine that!! He is such a joy though as well as Austen. It is never dull around our house, and I think as they get older there will be many stories to tell. By the way, I just looked in Jaksen's mouth and we should have some top teeth any day now. I can feel them, they are right there.

I still have some videos to post but maybe one of these days I will have some time to figure it out and actually do it. For now we have just have some pictures for your enjoyment. And thanks to Nana and Grandy for the cute matching easter shirts. I thought they looked really handsome!!!

What a cutie pie!

Let's see, I need to get into something!

Jaksen on the move.


Check this out, need I say more!!!


How about a little brotherly love. They really do play well together and are always up for making each other laugh.

Easter Saturday at Woolaroc!!

Getting ready for the big hunt!




Finally, the big hunt!




Austen did not like the easter bunny, but Jaksen liked the donkey!!!



Austen and his friend Jake. These two have become great friends!

GATOR RIDIN'

This weekend we were working in the yard and planting our first garden (lets hope something grows in it). We got the John Deere Gator out in the backyard for Austen to ride. He had the best time and was very insistent that he wanted Jaksen to ride with him. Luckily the gator has good seat belts so we strapped Jaksen in for his first gator ride with brother. Austen took off and then stopped quickly. He kept doing this over and over because he thought it was funny that when he would do that, Jaksen's little body would jerk back and forth. Finally, the humor wore off of that and they were off on the 1st of many gator rides together. It was so cute to see them in the gator together. I am so excited for the many things they will do together in the future whether it be something they should or should not be doing. I am thinking that with the personality of Mr. Jaksen coming out it will probably be more of what they should not be doing especially if it is up to him. Austen is a little more cautious with things, but since Jaksen started his crawling he is definetly going to be a mess. I will post more on Jaksen and his new adventures later this week. Back to the gator ride. Austen drove Jaksen around the yard for like 20 minutes. Jaksen loved every minute of it, as did Austen. We got a video of the ride to which I will try to put on a later post. Austen thought he was such a big boy getting to drive his little brother around. Jaksen would try to grab the steering wheel and honk the horn and Austen would get mad. It was quite commical. Overall, the ride was great and when it came time to get Jaksen out, Austen got mad and started crying because he wanted him to keep riding. Austen is really a great big brother and they play so well together. They are always up for making each other laugh. It is so cute! I think they are going to be great brothers and great friends.

Austen was hauling around some of the dirt for the garden. He thought he was a big helper!



Whoa! Jaksen don't fall out, hang on!!!


Hey brother, how is the ride?

Tractors and Flowers

We are officially heading back to Oklahoma tomorrow. Let's hope the weather cooperates and we do not get delayed any with flights. But before we could return to Oklahoma, we had to have a tractor ride. So, this morning we went to Grandy's John Deere store for the ultimate tractor ride. Austen was very excited about it. He kept talking about going to see NeNe (Grandy) and ride a tractor all morning. When we got there Grandy pulled out the tractor and Austen was immediately all smiles. He really enjoyed himself. They made several laps around the store with Austen at the wheel. Austen thought he was quite the big boy because he was able to drive the tractor all by himself. Later, they came back to pick up Jaksen. Grandy then had both of them in the tractor for a few laps around the store. I thought he was quite brave for that one. The ride had to finally come to an end and we had to convince Austen to get out of the tractor. He did not want his tractor ride to end. But as soon as he heard the word popcorn, he was ready to go inside.

Nana and Grandy, thank you so much for the great times. We love you and are definetly going to miss you lots. Austen and Jaksen really loved staying with you guys, and I did as well. Thanks for all the spoiling with the good food and shopping. You guys are the best, and we can't wait for the beach trip in May. It is going to be lots of fun and this time it won't be so long in between visits. Take care and get some rest since I know we wore you out!!





I thought these flowers were really pretty so I decided to take some pictures of the boys in front of them. Of course since I wanted to do the pictures, I did not get a whole lot of cooperation, at least from Austen that is. Oh well, they are my cute little pumpkins anyway!I guess they turned out ok considering.



Austen was trying to keep Jaksen from falling over. What a sweet brother!!

After we tried to get Austen to cooperate for pictures in which he would not, he finally decided to after the fact by running all over the yard and and saying cheese for the camera with tons of smiles. What a toot!!

Nana and Grandy's and the Zoo

Sorry for the delay in posts, but we traveled last Tuesday to South Texas to visit Nana and Grandy. And even though we are having fun, we really miss our Dada!! We have constantly been on the go since we got here. So much that by the time the kids go down and I have time to do a post I am out as well. We are having a blast down here. The boys are really enjoying themselves, because of course they are getting spoiled beyond belief. Austen and Rocky(Nana and Grandy's dog) have been two peas in a pod. They have been playing nonstop. They play chase with each other and Austen laughs the entire time. He really loves Rocky! On Friday, we went to the zoo in Brownsville. It was a great zoo. It was not crowded at all which made it nice to be able to look at all the animals with out people all around you. Austen loved the giraffes, monkeys, snakes, and petting zoo with goats. They had every kind of monkey you could imagine. They even had a baby hippo. It was really cute. Overall, it was a great zoo with some cool animals and exhibits. He stayed in the petting zoo for a while petting and talking to all the goats. Yes, he really would sit and talk to them like they were listening to him and could possibly talk back to have a conversation with him. When we finally convinced him to leave the goats, he went around to pet every single goat on the head and tell them bye. It was so cute. He was not afraid of them or the rooster he kept chasing around either! Both boys were great at the zoo. We had a great time and day except for the weather according to Grandy. The temperature actually got to 100 degrees. I did not mind it because being in Oklahoma, we don't get weather like that. Grandy of course was burning up. We made it through the zoo and out to the car. We were in the car for about 10 minutes and both boys were passed out. They both slept most of the way home. I think the zoo got the best of them, and Nana too because she passed out in the back with them as well ! On the way home we stopped at one of the best seafood resturaunts ever! Kings Inn! It has an awesome alvacado salad and shrimp that is fresh and out of this world. Those of you who have eaten there know what I am talking about (right Dada, Justin, & Kelly)!! If you have not eaten there and head down this direction , you definetly need to make a pit stop. You won't be disappointed!

There was a water sprinkler at the zoo that Austen went crazy in. He got pretty soaked in it. I could not hardly get him out of it. When I finally did he got mad at Mama.

We are heading back to Oklahoma on Tuesday. Back to the cold and yucky weather. I am glad we missed the snow we had there yesterday. The boys and I are really enjoying the warm weather and being able to wear shorts. I know its weird but you have no idea!!

Dada, we miss you and love you! We hope you feel better by the time we get home. Get all the rest you can because Jaksen is officially crawling all over the place. When we came down he was kind of crawling. He would go a few steps and then fall, but not now. He goes and goes and goes. He is everywhere in a matter of seconds. Life as we knew it is over. He is going to be in everything. He wants every toy Austen has and of course Austen gets mad and says, "No, Jaksen, No!" When Jaksen gets his eyes on something he wants, he makes a b-line for it and he is going to get it no matter what. It is quite funny to watch. We can't wait for you to see it Dada.

This is kind of a long post, but we also got to visit with Merna (aka Great Grandma) while we were here. She came down from Goliad to see the boys. It was a great visit. Jaksen could not make up his mind about her at first, but then he warmed up and gave her lots of smiles! He loved it when she would do patty cake with him. He thought it was funny. Austen and Merna had great fun playing with a balloon together. They would hit it back and forth to each other like a volleyball. Merna, thanks for coming to visit us. We really enjoyed getting to see you. We wish we could see you more often. Hope you can make it to the beach trip in May!

Sorry for the long post, but it has been a while. There were quite a few pictures with this one. That's all for now, but I will have more in the next few days!

Grandy did a good job with Jaksen! He was passed out!