On the Road Again...

Last week we spent the a few days on yet ANOTHER road trip (shocking, I know!). 

I've been making plans with my sister to come see her and her kiddos for a while now and I somehow managed to keep it a secret from Emery.  At first I just didn't want to answer a million questions each day from her about when we are leaving, where we are going, what's Camryn Joy doing blah, blah, blah.  But  then it became a challenge to myself, how long could I really leave this child in the dark about our trip?  Camryn Joy is her favorite person ever and she even told me the other night her "happy place" is Camryn Joy's house and I got super excited about surprising her with a trip to Dallas. 

I managed to get everyone packed and the car loaded without her knowing, but finally had to give her a little clue we were going "somewhere special" the morning we were leaving.  Matt was still home when she got up and he was taking Peppa over to Doggie Day Care and it made Emery really sad that Peppa wasn't going to be home with us all day.  She perked up when she realized Peppa had to go so that we could get on the road! 


So, we hit the road and by now she was REAL curious, but also wanted to be surprised by our destination.  She also knew were would be sleeping wherever we were going and she had a couple of pretty solid guesses by now, but didn't know for sure.

We stopped in Huntsville to get out of the car for a minute and to see the giant statue of Sam Houston.  I've driven to and from Houston a LOT and I've never stopped here and I'm glad I finally did.  They have a cute house and some trails and picnic tables.  I won't be stopping again, but now I can say I've done it.

There ya go, we came we saw we moved on. 

We all ate lunch in the car because Emery did not want to stop until we got to our surprise destination (which I was OK with- being by myself I try to get where we are going and spend as little time in the car as possible!).  After a little (VERY little) nap we arrived at our super secret surprise destination- CAMRYN JOY'S HOUSE!!!

This is literally when she realized where we were going:

 And then approximately 3.5 minuter later they were dressed up as princesses and making Amulets of Avalor!  (your welcome, Tyson!)

 Easton was asleep when we got there, but when he woke up I think he was surprised too by all the visitors.  He was SO excited!  Love these sweet cousins!

 We swam a little bit and made some pizza and went to bed- it was a fabulous first day!

The next morning we all woke up to some seriously cloudy, rainy weather.  Look at these sweet babies.  All lined up watching the rain come in.  Gigi was also on her way so that added an extra level of excitement.

After some naps the sun came out and it was perfect swimming weather.  We spent ALL afternoon swimming and it was SO fun!

 Some of us also may have resembled Albert Einstein (and made frowny face- presh!)

 Gigi left later that evening (after some yummy Tin Star) and from then on everything just kind of seems like a blur.  Thursday morning we spent some time playing outside- Sarah has a wonderful porch for morning play.  These sweet babies could have played and played all day.

 We also set up a car wash for them outside and this was a HIT!  All 4 of them LOVED washing the cars and bikes with soapy water- who knew that would be so fun?!?

 We took a little break (mainly because the mama's needed a break from being outside) for some mall time, lunch time, and nap time.  AAAAHHHHH...

It didn't last too long.  As soon as these kiddos were up they were ready to hit the pool.  Again.

 Friday morning we made more tiaras and hung around the house.  Again- tired mamas but NOT tired children.  Good tired though. :)

 The Maddi headed back to Houston on Saturday morning.  It was SO hard to leave (and to not sneak at least one of my sister's kids into my suitcase), but Matt and Peppa were waiting on us to come back.  We said our goodbyes and headed south.  We made it to a rest stop outside of Huntsville and had some lunch there (why can't my children make normal faces for me?). 

We made it back to our house around 2 and it was so nice to be back home and all together again.  Thank you so much, Sarah and crew, for a fabulous fun filled week.  It is always the highlight of my summer!!! :)

Simplify

 

I know I've talked and reflected about phases that my kids are going through.  It's easy to see it in them.  They can be happy, sad, tired, hungry, clingy, independent- it's a constant roller coaster and I've had to learn to appreciate the highs and treasure those times because things will change and that's ok because we always come back around to the highs.

So, now it's my turn to change phases.  I've started trying to simplify- removing the clutter from my house, my brain, my closet, my kitchen (I could go on and on).  I don't know what started it- maybe all the organizational ideas on Pinterest, or the down time at Matt's job, or the laid back summer days we are enjoying, or the feel of permanence I am feeling about our home but here I am simplifying.  

I've been doing some serious cleaning out (nesting, but of the none pregnant variety).  The toys no one plays with are going to friends, the clothes we have outgrown are being passed along, the food we don't really need to keep stockpiled is being used and it's so satisfying.  I just want all the clutter gone!  I don't have to have something on every single shelf in every single space, right? Although I'm also not saying I don't enjoy a little shopping- it's kind of part of my morning.  Some coffee, some breakfast, and some online shopping until everyone gets up (ahhhh).  But I've come into this mindset of- where am I going to put it?  Whether it be a shirt, or a picture frame, or a knick knack it's got to have a home, a purpose, and sentimental value before I buy it.

Matt and I have always gone back and forth about how fun it would be to buy some land, have a small house, and just enjoy being together (doesn't it sounds so fun!).  Raising cattle, gardening, being outside, being crafty, and being together.  The simple life is so calling!

Randomness

I've had a few random pictures on my phone and it's time to show them to the world!  Actually, most of them have already appeared on Facebook so if you've seen my Facebook you've seen this post.  Summer is in full swing and we don't do much besides swim, eat, play, and then all of the above in our jammies.  It's wonderful and we are loving it.  The only problem is that it's not super riveting.  But here's a few random pictures I've been meaning to share.

Wow- they have on jackets.  This one is (obviously) pretty old.  Actually, it was chilly into June this year so it might not be THAT old.  Anyway, Emery had to go to the doctor for an ear infection and she was terrified.  So, I asked our friend Philip if he could come with us.  He's our hero, and Emery was glad to have a buddy with her.  She still freaked out when it came to the exam part, but he was still there! :)

This pretty much sums up Beckett.  The computer, the ba ba, the oven mit.  Perfectly normal, right?

This was back when we visited Tyler.  I needed to take my car in for an oil change (first one!) and they are doing some serious construction on the dealership.  It at least made waiting for B-Zazzle more entertaining.  And more confusing, which led to alot of question.  A lot!!!

"Cheeeeeeeeeeese Beckett!" (this one's for his future wife for sure!)

This girl wants me to take pictures of her ALL. THE. TIME.  She always has a pose ready.  

Focused!

Poor Peppa- she's really got it rough around here.

Emery and her friend Avery.  They were having some SERIOUS princess discussions!

Poor Beckett.  This doesn't happen anymore, he's getting to be such a big, busy boy!

 And, this happened...

Beckett was sick over the weekend, so Emery and I enjoyed a girls' morning.  We went to church, went to lunch (fancy-like!), and did a little shopping.  It was SO much fun to be with my girl!

Fun on the Fourth!

I have a confession (which will be totally surprising), but I LOVE the 4th of July!  The food, the fireworks, the pool, the red white and blue- I love it all (and it probably also doesn't hurt that my birthday is 2 days before)!   I love to dress everyone up, to be outside in the heat, to hang out for the day especially when it's in the middle of the week like this year.

Our neighborhood seems to share the same love for the 4th of July as I do so, of course, we join in on all the patriotic activities.  Our day was pretty much complete, everything I love in a day- a parade, a hot dog, a nap, the pool, a burger, wine, some fireworks, some friends.  Ahhh, here we go!

We started the day off with the Cinco Ranch festivities at the lake across the street.  They have a parade for the parents kiddos to decorate their bikes, or wagons, or scooters, or pets. It's so much fun to see what everyone will come up with.  This was our first year to be in the parade- we've been spectators the past couple of years but this year Emery was ready to decorate her bike and join in!

The parade goes down a couple of streets by the lake and everyone comes out to wave at the kids and Emery absolutely ate it up (Beckett rode in the wagon, but didn't share Emery's enthusiasm for waving)!

(aren't they cute?!?)

After the parade we got hot dogs and waited in line for which was another first for us.  Being the train enthusiast he is, we knew Beckett would love to ride the train and we were finally going to have to bite the bullet and do it.  I know I love the 4th, but man it it was a warmish wait for that train!  We were all pretty much done with the Cinco festivities after the train- it was hot, we were tired, and we still had big plans for the rest of the day!

After we got a little lunch in our tummies, and took some naps and headed to the Water Park (our favorite pool in the area!).  Emery and Beckett just finished swimming lessons and she was so excited to go practice everything she learned.  She made friends with an older girl who was on the swim team and this girl was SO sweet to her!  She was teaching her how to breathe and helped Emery dive for toys.  There are some seriously sweet kiddos out here.  Someone is ALWAYS willing to play with my kids and my kids just eat it up.

Look at my babies, aren't they cute and summery with their crazy pool hair?!? :)

After a couple of hours at the pool we stopped at the fireworks stand to shoot of from our house that evening.  This was the first time in about 4 years that we have seen fireworks and Emery's (and Beckett's for that matter) first experience with them.  She was pretty unsure about them, but Matt set her up with range headphones to block out the loud noises and she seemed pretty ok with that.

After a stop for fireworks it was time to head home for some burgers!  We didn't end up eating dinner until almost 8:30 which is also unheard of for us- that is the time we are usually starting to shut things down and head to bed!  But I figured it was a special holiday so we threw our normal out the window for the day.

The weather was absolutely wonderful so we grilled some burgers and ate outside- again, another one of my favorite things to do that doesn't happen that often!  The kids were too excited about the upcoming fireworks to eat much, but they gave it a shot.  I was excited about my burger and I ate it all- don't worry. :)

Around 9:00 we headed to our neighborhood park to watch the fireworks with our friends.  There is a big display that happens about a mile away from our house, so several of our neighborhood friends went down to the park to watch them (we have an unobstructed view of them).  Emery went with one friend and Beckett went with another and we all got to enjoy the show (and set off a few of our own), Emery even got brave and took her headphones off so she could get the full experience.  Or maybe it was so she could talk to Sergio.  Regardless, my big girl sat through the show and was super brave!

We finally all came in and got settled into bed around 10:30 (yikes!).  It was pretty much my ideal day.  The kids are getting so big and we all have so much fun on these family holidays we get to spend together just enjoying each others company and playing.  Happy 4th!!!

Oh- and just for grins- here's me and my baby boy last year at the same festivities.  He didn't even need shoes on!!!

A Day at the Fire Station

Here we go again!

Please excuse the small hiatus that has occurred the past couple of weeks.  We've been sick around here and then we had to call in the reinforcements because Mama was on the brink!  Thank goodness we have a fabulous Gigi who was out the door and on her way to Houston before I could even get my whole plea out of my mouth!  She stayed with us for 3 days and we wore her out!  Swimming lessons, shopping, swimming, eating, playing.  We had so much fun and I'm so happy she came.

That's it for my excuses.  :)

Recently one of the fire stations in our area had an Open House for everyone to come tour the fire station, play firefighter games, and eat!  I knew Beckett would love seeing the firefighters and the fire trucks (he is everything transportation right now!), and I knew we had to go.

After church we stopped for some lunch and then headed off to the Willow Fork Fire Station and it was SO fun!!!  I think Matt and I had as much fun as Beckett did looking at all the trucks- fun for (almost) all!

The firefighters were amazing and so hospitable.  I was really impressed and appreciative that they took the time to open up their station to the community.  They were all on hand and willing to answer questions, give tours, play with kids.  I'm sure this wasn't their idea of a good time or what they wanted to do with their free time, but you would've never known if it wasn't!

Beckett climbed on the truck for FOREVER and had a blast.  Matt asked a bazillion questions, and they answered every one (I only know this because the same man answered a bazillion and one of mine later on!).

They even gave Beckett a (sticker) badge and a fireman's hat- heaven!!!

Then we headed outside to see the ladder truck!  It was super hot, but still, we played 20 questions with the firefighters (see who really had the most fun at this event?) and watched the firefighter games going on outside.

It was a fabulous way to spend a couple hours on a hot Sunday afternoon!  Both kids were asleep 2 minutes into the ride home!

Oh, and are you wondering about my other child?  She is afraid of the trucks- the loud noises their sirens make- so she spent the whole time pouting and wanting to leave.

Sorry, Emery, welcome to being a brother's sister!