The Yurt

Last Thursday night, John had the idea to take our family for a little camping trip to the State Park and stay in a Yurt. I was never a camper growing up so I thought that this would be a good transition into camping since you are in a Yurt and not a tent. These pics are out of order and blogger is being weird about changing the order so here it goes:

The kids enjoying some old fashioned Smores.

Our first time at the Yurt. We are thinking about making this an annual little getaway but maybe stay more than one night and maybe not in July when it is soooo hot. I was sad that this picture was blurry. I realized that my camera was set to a weird setting and we got someone from another camp to take it so once I noticed it I didn't want to ask him again.

On one of the nature trails trying to find the pond to fish in.

Daddy and his fishing buddy. I remember John writing a note to Luke in his baby book the night before Luke was born and he talked about how excited he was to have a fishing buddy so this picture makes me a little emotional. :)

John the master griller.

Outside of Yurt

The inside and picture of the swamp cooler that tried really hard to cool the place but just didn't cut it. Guess it's better than nothin!

The ceiling has a dome and it is really neat at night because the moonlight shines in and you can see some stars.

The beds. I slept on the top bunk so it was a little hard to stretch out but I made it okay. I didn't trust either one of my kids up there. There are also three screens in the Yurt that I didn't get a picture of but we left them open during the night and it actually got cool enough to pull a sheet up over us. We also went to the pool the next day and swam for a couple of hours. It was so much fun and I look forward to next year!

My Friend Leslie

The first time I ever met Leslie was at church. I remember seeing her walk into class and I thought she had the most beautiful red hair. I also thought, hey, there's another tall couple! The next year, Leslie was Luke's teacher at YCW and she was so great with him. She put up with him asking Where's Mama? a thousand times a day. This past year is when we really got to know each other though. We were both working at YCW and so we got to hang out a little more. Now Leslie has become one of my closest friends! When I think of Leslie I think of lots of laughing. She cracks me up every time I am around her. Leslie and James joined our small group at church and it has been such a blessing to get to know them as a couple and to see what a great team they make as parents. I have always admired Leslie for her sweet attitude raising her youngest two girls so close together. I can't imagine having two so close in age but she has handled it with grace and you can tell that Kaitlyn just thinks her mom is the coolest thing ever. Leslie is always finding ways to have fun with Kaitlyn and to make her feel special. I love that!Leslie, our friendship is something that I cherish and I can't wait for it to grow even more! You are such a special woman of God and I am so happy to know you. Happy 30th Birthday! Love ya girl!

Lazy Summer Days

We have been pretty lazy the past couple of weeks. The school year was pretty busy for us so it has been nice to not have a whole lot to do. I have been studying super hard for a test that I am taking tomorrow. It is for a teacher certification that I need for my job in the fall. It has not been too fun having that hanging over my head so I am ready for tomorrow to be over with.
The kids have really been letting me sleep in which is so cool! Kate was sleeping until 10:00 every morning for a week but now she has learned how to crawl out of her bed so she wakes up at 8:00 and then Luke has started sleeping in until 8:30 which is way out of character for him. He is usually a 6:45 every morning kind of guy. So, first Kate crawls in my bed at 8 and we get some cuddle time and then Luke is not far behind and then we just spend about 30 or 45 minutes cuddling and playing while watching cartoons in bed. I love it! This picture isn't first thing in the morning but we were wrestling around playing and I reached over to grab the camera and took some pictures. I love my cuddles!!


We have also spent a lot of time in the sprinklers outside. It is way to hot without the sprinklers!

Kate doing her gallup.

Luke finishing his 360 turn. (While Kate is about to head dive in the background.)

Luke isn't smiling but I thought it was cute of Kate and really shows off her chunky thighs!

We had my mom's birthday party at our house and this was after they blew out the candles. I think they blew out the candles about 3 or 4 times. Granna spoils them rotten! Happy Birthday to the greatest Mom, Granna, and best friend anyone could have. Love you!

Disney World Part II (Super Long Post)

One night we went to Downtown Disney which is a place that has tons of eating and shopping. They had this cool new stage that the kids loved. There was a lady up there teaching all the kids dances and Luke and Kate were in Heaven. Kate was just galloping around.

Luke looking for dancing ideas from the older girls

I couldn't get a great picture of Kate dancing because she was nonstop!

They wanted a picture with Tigger and Pooh. I am probably the worst mom ever but we never got pictures with Mickey and Minnie. The lines were too long and it just never worked out. O-well.

My mom stayed with the kids while me and Sam and Lucy and my dad went to Magic Kingdom for a few hours to ride some of the rides that the kids couldn't ride. My mom is the greatest Granna ever!

This is a picture of my Dad and Sam. Notice that they are in a crowd of red shirts. This just happened to be Gay Pride day at Magic Kingdom. Very Interesting!

About to ride Splash Mountain. We were not about to get soaked. Nobody else was wearing Panchos but we were being smart.

We went home and ate lunch and then grabbed the kiddos to go back for more fun. Magic Kingdom was so much fun with the kids. They really loved all the rides. Notice my bag in all these pictures. A special thanks to my friend Robyn for letting me borrow her Baggalini. It was awesome!!

Riding the Teacups. Luke and Granna were riding Dumbo while we rode these.

I LOVE this picture. Sam and Lucy and my Dad were in a Teacup and my dad was spinning it so fast that Sam and Lucy were about sick. I was cracking up the whole time.

Lucy and Luke riding the Astro Orbiter. Luke looks a little worn out. It was already 9:30 at night.

My mom and I were crying we were laughing so hard. Pretty sure that ride was not made for 2 adult riders. The ride was about to start and we still could not fit in there. The whole ride my knees were totally smashed against the ride. We were delirious I think.

The Safari Ride at Animal Kingdom

The Toy Story ride at Hollywood Studios. Lots of fun!

My dad and his crazy hair after riding the Aerosmith rollercoaster. It was very fast. I was proud of him for riding it.

Didn't take many pictures at all of the waterpark. The last day we went to Blizzard Beach. This was one of my favorite days. The kids loved being in the water and me John Sam and Lucy got to ride a waterslide that clocked us at 60 miles per hour going down. That was thrilling and painful at the same time!

Our last night, mom and dad kept the kids and we went to Universal City Walk which is like Downtown Disney but for Universal. We ate at a Piano Bar and just had a great time. We love hanging out with Sam and Lucy.

Being Dumb

The next morning the guys got up and played golf at a super nice course. Our flight back home was an adventure. Our flight from Orlando to Dallas was supposed to be 2.5 hours and ended up being 6.5 hrs. There were horrible storms in Dallas so after lots of circling over DFW we had to fly to San Antonio to fuel up and then Circle over DFW some more. We finally landed at 11:15 pm. Luckily our connecting flight which was supposed to leave at 8:15 was still delayed. We got on the plane to come home to Abilene at 12:30 and got home by 1:45 in the morning. It was a long ride home but the kids were exceptional on the plane. They only slept for 1 hr of that whole trip. The last time we flew with the kids, it took us 24 hrs to get home so this was a little better. Hopefully next time we will have smooth flying. All in all it was a great trip with some fun memories made. Too bad the kids won't remember it. Guess we will have to take them when they are older!

Disney World Part I

We got back from Disney World about a week ago and I think we are just now fully recovered. We had such a great time. John and I went to Disney World about a year and a half ago and we said we would NEVER take our kids as toddlers. Well, we decided to venture out and try it because my parents have a timeshare that you can trade for other places and it just turned out that this summer Orlando was going to be our best option. We went with my parents and my brother Sam and his wife Lucy who don't have kids yet so it made it so much easier to have extra hands around. Plus, my parents drove because my dad will not get on an airplane so we got to send all of our luggage and gear with them. We flew and had great flights on the way up there. On the way back is a different story...:) We got there on Friday afternoon and decided to spend the rest of the day at Epcot. Lucy is the one that took all the pictures. I wish I would have taken more but I always felt overwhelmed and then never took any pics. I am SO thankful that Lucy took a bunch.

My little Mouseketeers. This picture was taken on the last day when we were about to leave.

Luke making Kate laugh

Lucy and I at a place called Flippers Pizza. We ended up eating there twice because we liked it so much.

Finding Nemo ride

My parents. I like the look on my dad's face because he really isn't the amusement park kind of guy but he was a trooper and rode everything. Even all the scary rides!

The kids in the shark. I don't think they knew they were in a shark head or they would have been scared.

Before the 3D movie that pretty much scared Luke to death. He was not a fan of the 3D movies. Kate was fine. She just stayed in La La land the whole time.

Seeing the fireworks at Epcot. One of my favorite things at Disney World.

The next day we started the day swimming at out resort. We loved the resort! It was right on a lake and had two great pools.

My silly brother.

And so it begins...

Luke had his first T-Ball game last Saturday. That was pretty funny to watch. Luke wasn't all that crazy about standing in the field but he really liked to hit the ball and with the help of the coaches usually found his way around them. :) I think that was the most entertaining part was watching all the kids try to get around the bases. We were a little apprehensive about this season because his team is mostly 4 and 5 year olds and Luke is still 3 but we thought he did a great job and can't wait for the rest of the season.

Lining up before the game. Little boys and baseball uniforms are too cute.

Dropping his bat to run to 1st base.

Very excited that he made it to 1st.

When Luke caught his first ball in the field he got so excited and held up the ball and said, "I did it" and looked over at all of us. We were laughing telling him to throw it to first. Silly guy!

Luke with a Gatorade mustache posing with Coach and Granna. We are proud of you Luke!