Second Stop: Dalhart, TX

The second stop on our crazy summer tour was in Dalhart, TX. Mark and I returned from Midland at around 11pm and the next morning we took off for Dalhart with the boys. Mark and I have been together for about six years and in that time have never gone up to Dalhart to visit his grandparents. They always come down to Lubbock instead. But on the weekend of our visit, Grandma’s 80th birthday was being celebrated and we absolutely wanted to be in attendance. It was also the weekend of the big XIT Rodeo, which is quite the affair up in Dalhart. So not only did we get to celebrate Grandma’s birthday, but we also got to have a lot of fun at the city-wide bar-b-que and hanging out at Grandpa and Grandma’s house with lots of family. Though it was barely over 24 hours long, it was such a fun trip and I’m so glad we did it!

So sweet!!!

Kolbe enjoying the giant inflatable slide at the bar-b-que.

Mark's cousins Mika, Melisa, and Meagan

Kolbe has had a pair of boot since his second birthday, but Miss Lora decided that Rudy needed a pair for the rodeo too. Grandpa went out and picked these up for Rudy. Aren't they adorable!?! Cutest little boy boots ever!

And of course the kids had fun playing with all the balloons left over from the party.

And fighting over Miss Lora's car keys too!

There was also a lot of fun to be had with a bag full of action figures and cars that one of the other boy cousins brought up.

Grandpa never misses a good chance to dance!

That's Grandma on the left and her sister, Mary, on the right.

Grandpa has an old, old work truck parked out in front of his house. Kolbe had a blast sitting in it with Mark and steering the giant steering wheel!

And Mark took the opportunity to teach Adan and the other boys how to catch frogs! Such a rite of passage for boys!

Mark is DONE!!!

First of all, I'm really behind on posting all the happenings of the Asmussen Family on here. I've literally had no time to sit down and do it. And considering my parents will be here in a few short hours to visit for my cousin's wedding, I probably should be finishing my cleaning instead of working on the blog. But I need a break, so here I sit....

Mark officially finished Physician Assistant school a few weeks ago on August 6th. We have one of those could-it-really-be? type of feelings. Mark has been a student for our entire relationship...dating included! But he's finally done! And we couldn't be prouder of him. He has accepted a job here in Lubbock working with a well-respected neurosurgeon and another P.A. that is one of the most magnificent people Mark has ever come across in the health care field. If it was me, there'd be no way I'd be cutting in to someone's brain or back...or even watching it! eek!...but he seems to like it and be very excited about starting his career on September 13th. He takes his board exams a week from today on September2nd so all prayers will be greatly appreciated!!!

Here are a few pics from his white coat ceremony which was sort of a final hurrah for his class. Again, I can't say it enough, we are SO proud of him!!!

Sorry, it's blurry. It was the best I could do!

Mark's whole class reciting their oath.

After the ceremony...yes, I got to attend this one alone.

And, of course, I made him pose for some cheesy pictures back at the P.A. School. Doesn't he look handsome!?! If you're ever in Midland, you have to go check out the P.A. School Tech has set up there. It puts every thing in Lubbock to shame. Not kidding.

Growing Up

Right before our very eyes, our little boys are growing up. Not once, not twice, but three times in the past week total strangers have commented or asked about our twins. It's true. They're nearly to the point where they almost look that way.

In fact, I took Rudy to his eighteen month appointment a few days ago to find out that he's in the 75th percentile for height. Really? My kid? With three of four grandparents being on the shorter side, I didn't think it was possible. But I suppose he may have snatched up some of Mama and Pa's genes somewhere in there. He's nearly the same height as Kolbe now. His pediatrician also commented on how muscular he is. All that glorious baby fat. Melted away into little boy muscles. I was hoping he'd be more like eight when that happened. Not eighteen months.

And then there's Kolb. Well, for the most part, he's still the same size. Not much to write on there. Still short. Still skinny. Though he's now up to about twenty-seven pounds, I think! But boy, is he growing up in so many other ways. The things he says are hilarious. His physical coordination is still unbelievable. He's just such a fun kid. Not a baby. Really, it's kind of sad. Bittersweet, I suppose. He loves to help me around the house, gets himself dress from head to toe every day (seriously. undies, shorts, shirt, socks, shoes...his fine motor skills rock!), and gets breakfast out and ready for me every morning. Including the spoons! Just check out the pictures below and you'll see what I mean.

Rudy now feeds himself independently. This pic was a while back...from a bad run in with a carton of yogurt that he just had to eat on his own!

Grubby little monster!

Kolb doing work. He loves to push his stool over to the sink and work on dishes. For real! I didn't even teach him that one! He decided to do it all on his own. Lucky Mama!

I wonder if any of the local restaurants would consider hiring a two-year-old....

His new favorite craft project: anything with a glue stick.

This picture just kills me. I think it's the first one I took that I looked at and thought Whoa. He's a boy. A kid. Baby Kolbe is gone.

Summer Fun 2010: Part 3

One evening while Kolb and I were busy, Mark took Rudy on a little walk and came home with a surprise: a turtle. The little boys were so thrilled and fascinated! Our house is just one street up from a local playa lake so we could have easily assumed that he lost his way from the lake and made it to our street. But a few days prior I had received a notice on our door from one of the neighborhood kids saying that they had lost their pet turtle and to call them if we found it. I scrounged up the notice and gave the number a call. A few minutes later the neighbor and her mother came over to get the turtle. I was in the shower at the time, but came out to discover that we still had the turtle. Apparently this was not her turtle, and while she volunteered to take the turtle and care for it, Mark told her that we'd let her know if we decided not to keep it. I'm not sure where in his right mind he came up with the idea that I'd be interested in investing in and learning how to care for a turtle, but he was sadly mistaken. The little guys and I marched right on over to the neighbor's and presented them with their new replacement pet. Mark claims I gave away Kolb and Rudy's first pet, but let's get real; I'd be the only one taking care of the thing, and if I'm going to take on a pet, it ain't gonna be a dang turtle! Kolb to this day will say, "Mama, neighborshouse have me's tugle?" I'm pretty sure he thinks our neighbor is named "neighborshouse."

Sorry the pics are kinda blurry...fingerprints from a grubby little paw.

Summer Fun 2010: Part 2

I’ve seen or heard about the whole play-with-shaving-cream idea many times from other mom friends or on blogs I stalk, but had never given it a try with the boys. Kolbe usually won’t let Mark go anywhere near him when he’s got his “white beard” on in the mornings, so I worried that it wouldn’t go over well. Still, summer is a time to be outdoors and get messy so I coughed up a dollar for a can of Barbisol and let the boys go to town. At first they were slightly skeptical and didn’t want to try it until I started rubbing my hands in it. But once they gave it a go, it provided over an hour of ultimate fun. Originally I filled up a small tub of water for them to rinse their hands in, but Kolbe emptied out the huge tub that we store all the outside balls in and asked me to fill it up with water too. So it ended up becoming both fun with shaving cream and a mini-swim session. They were adorable and had a blast! And at just a dollar a can, I’m sure this in a summer activity we’ll be enjoying many more times in the years to come.