TEXAS!!!

We took a quick trip to TEXAS at the beginning of July & had such a great family time together!!!  We began our vacation by visiting some family, splashing around Hawaiian Falls and meeting Mario at the Magic Time Machine.  It's about time we got to TX for a visit, huh guys?  :)

We camped out in Grapevine close to Bass Pro (wonder who picked that), and we surprised Laynie with a trip to the American Girl store!  The boys were troopers while the girls oohed & ahhed over all the dolls & their many, many accessories.  You could have lunch with your doll or get her hair done at the salon, but in the end we bought matching t-shirts for the girls!  :)

We found a few more things to occupy our time like browsing at Bass Pro, and some of my favorite people got to come out & visit with us...Darrin & Carmela and their kids.  It was so great to see my "youth ministers" again...but guess what Jones wanted to do the most...go swimming at the hotel pool!  That boy!

Now for the highlight of our trip the TEXAS RANGERS game! You may be thinking my husband picked this venue, but you would be wrong...our daughter did.  She is a Rangers FAN!  Every night it's Dad can we pleeeeease watch the Rangers tonight, or are the Rangers playing tonight Mom?  She's a FAN, she knows who the players are when they come up to bat & their positions, but favorite player is Michael Young.

 

 We made a night of it at the ballpark arriving super early at 5:00 before the first pitch at 7:05, but it was great other than it being a record setting game for the hottest temperature at game time.  The kids got to go behind center field & play some baseball games, get icees, have ball park food for dinner, cheer the Rangers on to victory, and watch a fantastic Fireworks Friday show after the game.  We had a GREAT time! :)



RedHawks T-Ball

GO REDHAWKS!  We had such a great T-ball season with our boys.  Jones & 3 of his buddies from church were able to be on the same team & the other little guys that joined us were so fun to get to know.  They made us laugh, cheer, laugh, clap & ocasionally yell at for them!  We had a great season! 



Team picture minus Coach Trey :(



GO #21--Hit that Ball!  He really did get much better at hitting throughout the year.



He even made a homerun!  Jones LOVED running the bases! :)




2nd Base was his usual position--fielding grounders, touching the bag, tagging someone out, throwing the ball to 1st were his usual responsibilities.  He even caught a ball thrown by the SS to get an out--HUGE accomplishment! :)



Can't have BOYS without a SILLY PHOTO OPP!



Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my very best friend...I love you honey.  I asked the kids to name a few reasons why they loved Daddy last night and a few of the answers were because he teaches me how to play softball better, he's my coach, he gives me lots of piggy back rides, and he's fun.  I love that my husband loves our children enough to invest in their lives daily.  Thank you for taking care of our family!  Love you!

Happy Father's Day to Poppa & Grandad too!!!!

May Moments (Part Two)

Laynie has been taking piano since September of last year.  She has done such a good job...I have learned quite a bit about our little girl through these lessons.  She is stubborn, determined, musically inclined, likes the metronome about as much as I did, and doesn't like to be wrong or hit the wrong notes...hmmm wonder which parent she got those traits from...she really is a great combination of both of us!  :)  Overall she had a great year...each Thursday she got a piano lesson with Ms. Barbara & Jones got to "work the farm" with her husband!  Laynie received the award for "Most Prepared at Each Lesson."  She's well on her way to playing better than her Mom!

Pretty girl at the piano...can you see the beautiful charm bracelet Momo & Grandad gave her?

Getting ready to perform...

Playing "Ode to Joy" by Beethoven...

Thursday afternoon piano girls~Grace & Laynie... 

Laynie & her teacher, Ms. Barbara...I should have gotten a picture of Jones & Bro. Les too!

Momo & Grandad were able to visit & be here for Laynie's recital, but I didn't get a picture of them because I was videoing most of the time & Momo was the one snapping pictures.  Thanks for the great photos, Momo! 

May Moments (Part One)

We are halfway to July & I haven't even posted May pictures...oh well, maybe my blog title should be "Better Late Than Never!"  Let's start with a FUN day for Jones...Kindergarten graduation! 

The theme was "Wild About Kindergarten."  The classes sang a few songs together, had their names announced, posed for many pictures, played with their friends on the playground & had a cookout at school all before noon!  He was a busy boy, but did stop long enough for Mom to snap a few pictures. 

One with the stage decor... 

One with Dad & Momma... 

One with Grandma & Poppa... 

One with his teacher, Mrs. Davidson... 

One with Laynie... 

One with his best buddy... 

Well, OK two with his best buddy!

Great job Jones~he was so happy (& kind of shocked) he's going to first grade! Ha/Ha He's a character!