The Oldroyd Family

Back in May, my whole family met & Schlitterbaun Water Park in New Braunfels, TX, for our 2011 Family Vaykay.  It was awesome but the weather on the 1st day was less than ideal.  Because of this, the park gave us each a "bounce back" pass.  So on Tuesday, night, we packed up our little family & headed back to New Braunfels. We stayed in the same hotel so Nathan & Alexa were a little confused as to why Grandpa, Grandma & their aunts, uncle & cousins weren't there!  We spent all day Wednesday & Thursday at the park having a great time!  The kids did really well & it was a total blast to just relax & have fun together as a family. There are a couple of experiences I want to record for journaling sake: 1.  The downside of going with just our family is there was no way for Sam & I to ride the big rides.  We were ok with that but decided on the first day to take a tube ride as a family.  ...

Height : 33.25 in (94th %) Weight : 22 lbs. 1 oz (15th %) Head : 19.5 in (95th %) A Little About our Maxwell: His gross motor skills are improving slowly but surely.  He gets around just fine scooting so I don't think he'll ever crawl but hopefully walking will come sometime soon! He jabbers a lot & makes a lot of sounds.  He definitely says mama & dada.  Occasionally he'll say ball, binky, or baba.  He also learned to say Ellie (Aunt Marianne's dog) and calls all puppies "Ellielliellie" by rolling his tongue around. He loves to push cars & trucks around & say "Vroom Vroom" Just like his brother, he has a wicked arm & has been known to throw cars at point blank range. (Ouch!) Gets really ornery when teething but otherwise is the happiest kid around. Takes really long afternoon naps (sometimes 4 hours) Often says, "YAY!" and laughs when I'm taking him into his bed for a nap or bed time. Is now comp...

And I love this cute face! Max keeps himself occupied lately by scooting from room to room.  He's usually playing with one of three things: Books, cars or balls.  This kid loves the simple life.  He really is the best.  How did I get so lucky? P.S.  I know his hair is too long.  And I simply refuse to cut it.

1.  Sam is ALL DONE with his CPA tests!!!  We found out a week ago & since then, I've been planning on doing a big blog post all devoted to his wonderful accomplishment... but I keep forgetting to get a picture & whatnot.  But I definitely want to record this wonderful news.  Sam works hard & studied for a lot of hours to pass these tests.  Good job babe! 2.  To celebrate this good news, we had Sam's entire family over for dinner on Sunday.  We had ribs & a lot of other food.  It was delicious.  The ice cream cake posted about below was the desert! 3.  Nathan is doing pretty well since I potty trained but still really struggles with #2.  I tried buying him something he really wanted but 3 times now, he's gone in the potty so he could get the object & then that was it-- more accidents.  Ugh.  Alexa was 1,000 times easier. 4.  Last night, we left Max with Grandma Joan & headed to ...

We like ice cream cake around here.  Not the kind with actual cake in it... but the kind with mostly ice cream & a couple of cookie layers.  Yum.  I made this recipe back at Christmastime & realized how easy (& CHEAP) it is to make your own!  There was just one problem... it didn't have that gooey, fudgey layer like in the DQ Ice Cream cakes.  So I did some brainstorming & came up with a way to do it.  It may not look pretty & I am definitely one of the worst photographers in the world.  But it sure tasted GOOOOD. Homemade Ice Cream Cake  1 1/2 boxes of chocolate Teddy Grahams 5 Tbsp. melted butter 1 Jar of Hersey's hot fudge 1/2 of a pint of each chocolate & vanilla ice cream* Magic Shell toping** * Any flavor(s) can be used.  I recommend using high quality ice cream.  We (of course) used Blue Bell Milk Chocolate & Homemade Vanilla flavors **You can top it with anything you'd like.   Dir...

We had a fun pool/BBQ farewell party for two families that are moving away this month!  Steve & Carol Beck hosted & provided Doziers BBQ (Yum!).  They have a beautiful backyard & pool.  There were a LOT of kids (16!) and everyone had a good time! The Cobias moved to our ward about 4 years ago.  They are a great family with SIX kids!  I will really miss Jen.  She is a wonderful mother, friend & example.  They fly out to North Carolina this morning!  Good luck Cobias! Kaitlin & Ryan Fehlberg have just lived here a year but are like family to us.  Ryan was born here & his mom is Joan's best friend.  They're such a great couple & we've enjoyed getting to know them.  They are great with all of the kids & have been such helps!  They're just another Aunt & Uncle to love for all of the Oldroyd Cousins!  Ryan & Kaitlin are moving to St. George so Ryan can go to Dixie.  We wish them t...

1.  Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband, my daddy, my grandpa & my father-in-law!  Its been such a great Father's Day.  I am lucky to be married to a great father.  Sam is such a wonderful husband & daddy.  He is a true partner in parenthood, a good provider & I love him!  I have a fantastic dad who is such a great example but best of all, he is the best Grandpa ever. 2.  We had a wonderful family Father's Day dinner at Jennie Jo's house.  You can't beat yummy lasagna (Joan's recipe is THE BEST) and we just had lots of fun.  I made this & this for dessert.  Divine. 3.  Nathan had a couple of nightmares the other night.  He's had them before but this is the first time he's been able to tell us what they were about.  The first one was butterflies in his bed.  He honestly thought they were there.  When I took him potty, he was telling me about it & marched me into his room t...