The rest of July...I am getting close to caught up!!

In July, Cindy and I convinced Alan to let his hair down a little and take the kids to Galveston for the day. (He's not normally a fan of beach-for-a-day type activities.) He graciously played along and ended up changing his mind about Galveston altogether. We got there in time for lunch, then took a "Dolphin Tour" around the harbor. I was really doubting the "dolphin" part of this tour when our captain turned around to head back...but not to worry, he found us dozens of dolphins on our way back in. SO FUN!!! Then, we headed over to Stewart Beach for the afternoon. It was extremely crowded, but man did we have a great time! The girls spent time making castles, searching for sea shells, playing on the boogie board, and even flying kites! They had an amazing time. I knew they would...it was Blake that totally surprised me. He immediately fell in love with the sand. He has NEVER palyed in dirt before, and I handed him a shovel. He took it and instead of puting in directly in his mouth (pretty standard for Blake) he stuck it in the dirt and began digging. Are you kidding me??? How did he know what to do with that dirt and shovel??? I tell you what, boys are 100% prewired to be boys, I will never ever be convinced otherwise. He was amazing to watch. God is pretty cool like that! Anyway, we all really enjoyed our time on the beach and then briefly showered off and headed for The Strand. We took in a fabulous dinner at Willie G's and then walked the strand a bit. Our final stop was our all time favorite candy and ice cream shop, LA King's. We indulged in both candy and ice cream and even got to watch a Master Candy Maker pull taffy. The girls were very in to that. On the way back to the car, Payton got to pet and feed a horse (she adores horses) that was pulling a carriage. We didn't get home until really late, but man was it worth it. Did I mention that the kids were pretty much angels all day...even Blake (especially Blake) without a single nap!

On the Dolphin Tour

These 2 always play so sweet together!My ALL boy little boy LOVED the dirt!!!My handsome husband was quite a trooper!Look at him throwing the dirt over his shoulder!He also loved getting to freely walk around.This little boy surely adores his Papa!!!Gorgeous girl hunting for shells!My adventure-loving child on the boogie board!Hahaha! She's so mad that we asked her to come back toward us...she was getting too far away...LOVED that mad little face!Dinner at Willie G'sAt the candy store watching the Master Candy Maker make taffy. Payton feeding a horse...big sister was too scared to do it, so Payton helped her out too!

We also had the awesome opportunity to meet up with some college friends this month. Marc and Kathy brought their new little bundle to Montgomery and Matt and Tara brought their new little bundle and we all got to eat and talk and laugh and play together! We love these guys and loved getting to spend time with them! We just had to get some pictures of our ever growing families! Boy have we grown! Just look at all those kids!

Tara, Aubrey, Kathy, Corbin, and meAlan playing with the girls on the oh so safe very old playground equipment!The dude just walked all over the playground while we talked and played together! He was a sweaty mess!Dare-devil!!My little beauties!

Impromptu 4th of July Weekend!!!

We decided to surprise the kids with a very random mini vacation to San Antonio for the 4th of July weekend. We started our day out with breakfast at McDonald's of coarse, then off we went. Our next stop was Sea World. We didn't tell them a thing, just drove into the park. Maci, a kindergarten graduate and excellent new reader, saw the signs as we approached and began yelling to Payton that we were going to Sea World!!! They were super excited! Payton wanted to see some real, live dolphins! Maci didn't care what she saw, she was just overcome with gratitude for getting to be there. Payton was a little bit of a pill while we were there, but overall adored her time there. Maci was AMAZING, and boy did she soak it all up! Blake was the world's greatest baby, never let out a single whimper our entire trip! Alan and I adored getting to be there with our wonderful kiddos. Its kinda great getting to be the mom on these kinds of trips. Anyway, We were at the park until closing and then headed to our hotel. The girls slept together and didn't make a peep...weird! :) The next morning we went to The Riverwalk. We had breakfast at a Starbucks there and then spent the day walking, and walking, and walking! It was fabulous. We had lunch right on the riverwalk and then continued on with our walking. We toured the Alamo and Maci loved hearing all about that part of Texas history. We finished up our time in San Antonio with a little ice cream while we came up with a plan to extend our little mini vacation. We headed out to Gruenne, TX to have dinner at The Gristmill. It was a completely wonderful end to a completely wonderful weekend! Once we got back to town, we spent July 4th with Ron and Cindy. We enjoyed an afternoon of swimming and a delicious meal at Papadeaux. Just in case you couldn't tell, I simply adore my sweet family and all the fun we get to have together!

very early morning at McDonald's Maci just announced that we were at Sea World Sea World SweetiesBlake loved the water park...he got to walk all over all by himself, he thought he was so big!watching the sisters come down the water slide...he's so easy goingMaci on the big slidePayton on the big slideDo you see that little hand sticking out of that huge tube? That's Payton...a teeny little thing on an adult-sized water slide!!! The lifeguard had to take the tube off of her head so she could get out...so funny! Man is she fearless!Maci looked a little better coming down that huge, very dark slide...An example of what you probably should look like coming out...the girls were so tiny! They all LOVED it though!Riding some rides...We were waiting for the Shamu Rocks show to start and Blake got a huge kick out of watching these ducks and flamingos up so close. He's clapping for them!The Main AttractionMe and my sweetie on the RiverwalkMaci is taking a much-needed break for a minute...I am pretty sure she walked so much this weekend that she got a little dehydrated. She was an amazing little trooper!S T I N K E R!!!Lunch in a great location!ssshhhhh...don't tell anyone, but she is sneaking the ducks and pigeons some of her french fries!I love him!Remembering The Alamo...someone is less than impressed! (of our entire weekend, this is one of only two fifteen minute naps in two days!!! Now that is a trooper!)Bubba is cheering on the girls as they explore behind our awesome table at The Gristmill.My beautiful children posing for a picture after a wonderful meal at Papadeaux with their Grandparents!

I cannot wait for the chance to take my sweet family on all kinds of adventures.

The Rest of June...Its August, so I am gonna hurry through this one!! :-)

In backwards order: June!

Alan had to go to Minnesota for work and so we did what we could to keep ourselves busy so as not to miss him terribly!!!

Orange Leaf helped a lot!

Baking was a must!
We made our own pizzas.

Blake was so sad that daddy was gone, so I introduced him to Oreos!!!

We told Blake that if he'd start walking, we would get him some really cool kicks...he did, so we did!!! Way to go little dude!

We got the girls all signed up for soccer, they are trying out their new soccer outfits to see if they work ok...they worked Great according to Payton!

For Father's Day, we met my dad in Brenham at the Airport Diner. We had a great time visiting and watching the cool planes land and take off. My mom has some really cute pictures of that! (My camera stayed in the truck...not smart!)

Then we had a cookout with Alan's dad. (And did a little swimming too!)

I really wanted a cute family pic, but Alan snapped this one while we were waiting for him to jump in the pic...I LOVE it!

Me and the father of my beautiful children...I adore him!

Payton was in ballet this year...adorable! Here are some pics of her recital, and more importantly, her recital flowers!!!

Blake learned a new, hilarious move...he gets in this position and scoots across the room on his head...we love laughing at him!!!