Rockport, Texas...for a little R & R!!

I really don't think that you can get a lot of R & R with a 4 year old, but we needed a little get away after moving 75 miles away from our old home in Katy, south to Lake Jackson Texas. We are closer to the Gulf of Mexico (give or take 10 miles?!?) So, yes, closer. We get a rainstorm about every day and there are days where you have to wear tons of bug spray because of the MOSQUITOS! Lake Jackson would be comparable to Pocatello, Idaho population wise...it's surrounded by lots of green and trees and is overall a nice community! We are about 45 miles away from Houston, which isn't so bad and out in the country! Texas country that is! We have had fun exploring our new surroundings and getting to know the community! Because of this new area we decided to travel southwest next to the gulf and see what was out there! We drove to Rockport, Texas and then to Corpus Christi for a bit, just to see what it was like! We had fun playing on the beach, eating out at some good/fun restaurants, and just looking at the scenery! We are looking forward to some new adventures here in ol' Texas...TEXAS FOREVER! This pic was from here in Lake Jackson. This is the Sea Center that is about 1/2 mile down from our place. It is a little aquarium/fish hatchery. We looked at a lot of fish that live in the Gulf and went on a tour of the hatchery...this was the only pic i took...BOO! The weather was overcast for perfect little beach day for our fam! They had a little beach here in Rockport that was PERFECT for kiddos! We had fun playing in the sand, but didn't go out in the water too much...there were a lot of jellyfish hanging around and we really didn't want to get stung!!! I know...Chickens!!! Caleb starting our sand castle construction... I don't know, is this a fake excitement?!? He would rather play on the playground that was behind us! I could live in this castle! A little nappy nap after a long day at the beach! Of course the family pic attempt! I am loving Caleb's smile in this one!! Jellyfish y'all...jellyfish!

I Can Blog Now...

WHOA...Blogger certainly has changed from the last time i even sat down to blog...in MARCH!!! YIKES!! I guess it's time to update a bit on what has been happening in our fam!! First off, i only have two and a half more days of school and then i am leaving the "biz" for a few years to try my hand at being a stay at home mom!! We will be moving in July from Katy, TX south to a town called Lake Jackson, TX (closer to the Gulf of Mexico AND hurricanes) so Adam can start his new job with the Dow Chemical Company AND we will be welcoming our new baby girl in August...SO busy couple of months?? YES!! The pictures you will be seeing start with our most recent back to Easter. We celebrated Adam's Doctorate Degree with his graduation where he was "hooded". His parents and brother got to come down to watch which was fun! I have to admit, i did get a little emotional after ALL of the hard work that he has put into these last few years! Adam had truly worked so hard and has accomplished so much for our small family! We love him and can't wait to begin the next chapter!!

Caleb will also be starting his educational career in September...we will be trying our hand at Preschool for two days a week...EEK!!!! He is definitely ready to go!! I also just have to add as far as the potty training goes i would say he is about 85% there!! For being the most stubborn kid EVER, he is finally starting to go on his own...HALLELUJAH!!!! Thank goodness for incentive charts, stickers and the promise of a big, red, angry bird!!!

Fast forward 20 years and here is Caleb graduating!! NOOOOO, it's Adam y'all in his graduation garb! I must say i get a little scared looking at this picture and knowing that Caleb's graduation day will come quicker than i think!!

A little Fam grad pic on campus!

I am SO PROUD of my hubby!!

Caleb is too...proud of his Daddy I mean!!!

Here is a pic of Adam being hooded by his advisor Dr. Whitmire...

Adam walking across the stage at the end of graduation...i tried to get Caleb to go and walk with him, but he wouldn't the scaredy cat!!

Gator Break...this was from my school field trip in April! That is one HUGE gator!!!

Zoo Break...yes, we also went back to the zoo and this is the ONLY picture i took...so sad friends!!

This would be Easter Morning before church! Caleb is still working on the camera smile!

Caleb checking his Easter basket for some sweet treats!

What Caleb scored!! His favorite Bunny presents were his Sandra Boynton Board Books! He absolutely loves those stories...he already has some memorized and will read them to us at night...so CUTE!!

Here we are the night before Easter and I couldn't TELL you what Caleb was crying about...it had to do with eggs!!

We had to invite the Angry Birds to help us out with our egg coloring...

The man in charge of our Easter Festivities!

I LOVE this picture of Caleb!! He gets so excited and i LOVE that!!! Now that school is out there will be a little bit more to blog about...especially when little sister shows up! Caleb has done so well with knowing she is on the way and even takes some time at night to sit and feel her kick him! He is going to make such a sweet big brother and I can't wait for them to meet!

Birthday Madness!!

I'm not going to make an excuses to why I haven't posted in a while...things have seemed to slow down lately...they will be picking back up in the next few months though with TONS of exciting happenings for the Colson Family. First off, Adam got a job with the Dow Chemical Company which means three things...
1. We are staying in Texas
2. Which means we will be moving south to a town called Lake Jackson
3. Which does put us closer to the Gulf of Mexico and 'gulp' hurricanes!!
Around the time that Adam starts his job in July, we will have to move and then in August will welcome a new member to the family...we find out on the 4th of April if it will be a HE or a SHE! I am not going to lie, I would love to have a SHE, but i'm sure my son would love to have a HE! We will SEE!!!!!


On top of everything, our sweet, precious, little, baby boy is actually just a boy now!! Caleb turned 4 on March 7th and is an incredible ball of energy! I absolutely LOVE to hear what he will say next and believe me, the boy doesn't disappoint!! At 4 Caleb:
1. Still Loves trains...it's only limited to Thomas and Dinosaur Train.
2. Can play Angry Birds better than his Mom or Dad
3. Plays a mean air guitar...thanks to the Chipmunks!
4. Loves to read stories: a book called Cupcake is his current favorite and anything Dr. Seuss!
5. Has a small cheeseburger fetish...
6. Can still drink milk like a champ...must have some strong bones!!!
7. Still loves to cuddle with his momma and gives some world class kisses!!
8. Can put on the best bedtime plays...(adam and I just listen and laugh as Caleb lays in his bed and says the funniest things to his toys! Right now he is singing Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam!) NO JOKE!
9. Loves to jump on beds (thank you milk that there hasn't been any broken bones...that kid can JUMP!)
10. Is STUBBORN...case in point potty training...yes friends, Caleb is almost there...if only he will tell me when he has to go! I secretly think he is doing this to torture me!!! again STUBBORN!!!


We love our boy and are continually grateful that he was sent to our home! Caleb is a ray of sunshine on a gloomy day! He has been so much fun and we can't wait to see what year 5 brings us!!!
I decided that i wanted Caleb to have a little birthday party this year, seeing as how we were going to be movin on! I asked his babysitter if I could steal the kiddos on Caleb's day and she agreed to let me if she could come too! I took the day off from work, packed up some cupcakes and birthday treat bags and we headed off to Chuck-E-Cheeses!! It was PERFECT!! We were the only people there for almost the whole time! The kiddos had so much fun...I had a ton of fun too! There were some super fun games, the pizza wasn't horrible and Chuck-E-Cheese threw some entertaining concerts! Of course, Caleb wouldn't go anywhere near him and would scream at me if I even tried to get within 100 feet of the mouse! I guess we won't make it to Disneyland anytime soon!!! We came home, napped it up (I did too), and Ad come home and we had a little family party for Caleb. It was truly a fun day!

You can SEE the mischievous, stubborn look in his eye!!
Am I RIGHT?!?


The Chuck-E-Cheese Crew! Those cupcakes must've been pretty delicious to eat or pretty to look at...I couldn't get Caleb to look at the camera!


This is about as close as we got to the mouse...he is behind Caleb's head...WAAYYYYY back in the back!


The best thing about that day was Caleb's smile! He was SO happy and had such a fun time...I love birthdays!!!


Our set up at home with the Dinosaur Train!


Keep your eyes on the shirt...Caleb still does not wear pants at home about 74.3% of the time!


The Birthday Dinner...Need I say more?!?




I am in LOVE with that smile! I am so glad that Caleb was so excited...he takes after his momma! We are already counting down for next year!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAN!!
If I know myself, your dad, GMA, GPA, Nana, and Poppa, ALL of your birthday wishes will come true this year!!!
LOVE YOU!!


I also celebrated a birthday a week before Caleb's ragin party...Lovin those cupcakes!!


I told Adam that I wanted a relaxing day for my birthday! I got to take a nap, eat some fabulous Italian Food at my fav. Italian Joint, and was spoiled by my hubby and son! Caleb was super excited to give me his present...Zoobles! I have no idea what they are, Caleb picked it out for me, but I thought it was a wonderful gift! I had a GREAT 31st Bday!!!

A Special Announcement from Caleb Keith Colson...

Enough said...

Happy New Year...Christmas update...

No joke...i haven't had ANY desire whatsoever to update the blog! I know...so sad! I have to say though, blogging has lasted longer than any type of scrapbooking i've ever set out to do!! Sorry Caleb, I'm just not there yet!! The Colson's have been extremely busy these past few weeks with Adam reaching Dr. Colson status! It was such a neat experience getting to watch him defend his thesis...contrary to what anyone might think, (because I didn't make it past Chem 101 in college) I did keep up with what was going on with all of that "Chemistry Talk"! No offense to Adam and those in his profession but NERD ALERT!!! Ad and I celebrated with a fancy dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse...it was SO YUMMY! We had a lot of fun trying to act ritzy, but instead felt super poor!!! We are going to save our pennies so that we can go back in a few years!!!
We also decided to celebrate Ad's win by traveling to Utah/Idaho for our Christmas Vacation! We again spent some time up in both the Sawtooth and Wasatch mountain ranges...learned what it was like to be cold again (it seriously does NOT get cold in Texas)...70 degrees today friends...and lived in what we at the Colson household like to call a sweatpant purgatory! (I know my mom is sercretly upset that I wore sweatpants and a big coat for our family pic)! OH YES I DID...WHAT?!? You'll see further down the page! She would never say anything though!!! It was just SO COLD...ALL OF THE TIME!!! Once again it wouldn't be a great holiday without our wonderful families and all that they do for us! Thanks moms and dads for all of the good food, good fun, and fabulous family togetherness times! You will see as you read on, our great adventure up in the north!! Enjoy y'all!!!!


Stanley was first in our holiday travels and I just have one reoccurring word to describe it...COLD!! We had a fun time with Adam's family enjoying both the outdoors and indoors! Caleb loved playing games with Nana and his cousins McKinlee and Logan, we spent most of our time in our pajamas (AWESOME!) and just relaxed like we always do when we head up Stanley's way! Caleb got to spend some time in the snow and had a blast...just what we needed!!




Snow Angels!! A special thanks to McKinlee for getting Caleb out of his comfort zone and into the snow! He followed her EVERYWHERE!!




See what I mean?? Where are those kids' parents?!?


Caleb WAY ahead of Mom and Dad on the trail!


Ice on the creek...


This is a picture of Caleb's and my feet as we went sledding...this was the only time that we got Caleb to even sit on the sled...it don't think he liked it!!
He ended up just standing at the top of the hill and cheering everyone on!


Adam's turn!!


I will give you two guesses what Logan and Caleb are playing here and the first one doesn't count!!!




So Adam and I got a wild hair and decided to snowshoe down to Stanley Lake one day. Let me just set up the scene by letting y'all know that it didn't get to 0 degrees until about 1 in the afternoon, so by the time we left it was about 4 degrees...COLD, right?!? We probably snowshoed about 6 miles round trip and had some fun just being together in the quiet countryside! We were the only ones out on the trail!! Would I do it again...Absolutely! Adam likes it when I go all outdoorsy!!!


We actually stayed pretty warm the whole trip...I think my face did freeze on the way back though...
it took a little while to get the feeling back when we got home!!




Time to head back down the 3 mile trail! This is just proof that yes, we actually did snowshoe!!


The traditional Sawtooth Mountain pic...this one includes snow!


A little Christmas love!


In honor of Caleb's other obsession, Nana and Poppa got him a Build a Bear Alvin...it plays music and everything!


Christmas at the DeRoest's!!! Do you think Caleb got everything on his list??
We should've changed the name to Angry Bird Christmas because that is what the boys played ALL WEEK LONG!! We had a lot of fun in SLC going to see the Chipmunks movie, going to the Dinosaur Museum, going bowling, Ad and my favorite putting the Siz outta Biz, and going to a lot more movies!!! We got to play with Kooper and Maddox for the whole week...i got a little shopping in WINK! and just had fun with the fam!


Angry Bird Piggies...I am the crown pig, Ad is appropriately the mustache pig and Caleb has named himself the helmut pig!


Imagine Caleb yelling "ANGRY BIRDS!" in a high squeaky voice!!!


Maddox getting in on all of the angry bird action!


Getting ready for a trip down to the SLC temple to see all of the Christmas lights...i love how caleb is starting to look like a little marshmallow here!


Tired of Angry Birds yet?? Quite the cute beanie!!


SWEATPANTS!! Don't cringe Mom!! We decided to get a family pic down by the temple...I was being quite the brat and was against any type of dressing up, which normally i'm all for, but can i just say again...IT WAS COLD PEOPLE!!!


Adam with an angry bird? I don't know what's going on with Caleb here!


I still can't believe Adam and I were married here...it's just so beautiful!


Another angle of the SLC temple with the nativity in the reflecting pond...


A beautiful close up of the nativity!


DINOSAUR MUSEUM!! Good luck trying to get the kiddos to sit still for any type of picture!!! We had a great time with my nephews just running around and looking at all of the sights! This museum was awesome!!


Sand + Water = kind of mess...good thing my kid doesn't like to be messy OR have sand on his hands! Thanks OCD!!


We found Tank the Triceratops and told Caleb he had to take a picture with him...Caleb didn't really want to!


Yes, I know, we got a picture with the shark at the dinosaur museum...fun fact friends...shark like fish called cretoxyrhina lived during the dinosaur period!! Yes, that is the sound of you learning on our blog!!! Did I spell cretoxyrhina right? Probably not, but I also have learned a lot from Mr. Conductor on Dinosaur Train!!!

Thanks for stopping by the Colson Fam blog!! We hope y'all have a happy start to your new year!!!!!