A Little Camp Out!

A couple of weeks ago, we went camping with my family. We met at Lake Murray State Park and stayed in cabins. It is a really nice park and it was great to be in nature!

We did a lot in one night. My parents and nephew went for a hike with us while we waited for my sister to go to the store. After that, the kids went swimming in the pool. While the kids were swimming, my brother-in-law made dinner. After dinner, Wes made a fire and we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores.

The next day, Wes and my brother-in-law made breakfast and we packed. While they were cooking, we looked out the window and saw a flock of geese. They let the girls get really close. It was fun to see. After breakfast, we went on a guided boat ride.

We had a great time. It was nice to get away and be with family.

Back to School, Third Grade!

Well, summer ended and school started. The girls couldn't wait to find out who their teachers were and who was in their class. They were so excited about meet the teacher night and see their new classroom. I couldn't get them to leave the school!

When the first day came, Grace was sick. She missed the first day of school and I missed walking Lizzie to her first day. Wes took her and sent me photos. By the second day, Grace was well and on her way. They both have really great teachers and have friends in their class. I think I get more nervous than they do.

Waiting to get into the school for meet the teacher

When sissy is sick, daddy gets you donuts.

Lizzie sitting at her new desk

Crazy girl

First day that both of them went to school

Walking into school

Grace happy to be in school

They've been in school for three weeks now and are settling. They love school and are working hard!

Winding Summer Down

August was a busy month for us! We had a great summer and we had fun up until school started! 

One Friday night, we went to the Fort Worth Stockyards for the Stockyards Rodeo. We had a great time. It was raining that night but good thing the rodeo is inside! After the rodeo, we went to look at some of the horses. There were a couple in the pen and the owners came out and let us pet their horses. They even gave the girls their competition numbers! The girls loved it. Their favorite sport is the barrel racing. They love to watch the women on the horses.  

Waiting for the rodeo to start

Petting the horses

The girls with the numbers

Right before school started, the girls and I spent a couple of days in Oklahoma. We visited family and had a great time.

Making a cake with their cousin

Me, my niece, my sister and my mom

I think I was more sad that August was ending than the girls. I'm wasn't ready for them to go back to school. I enjoy the time that we have together. They were ready though!

Cousin Fun!

Last week, my niece and nephew stayed with us last week! We had a great time. So good, in fact, Lizzie cried after they left because she missed them so much.

The first day, we went swimming at our swim teacher's house, Marci. The kids loved the dogs. The dogs loved barking and swimming with the kids.

 The next day we went to Bonkers. The kids had a blast and ran around for a while. After Bonkers, my niece made us lunch. It was delicious.

The third day they were here, we went to the Charming Cat Cafe. It is a great place that lets you pet (and adopt) cats. There were tons of cats and kittens that we loved. Everyone loved it. I think it was the highlight of their visit.

Between activities, there was lots of play time at the house. Even though there is a bit of an age gap between the kids, they love and play really well together. It is so fun to watch.

Sometimes it takes a little coaxing for the older kids to play. But if you tell her she can spray the other kids with the hose, she is more than willing. The kids all loved it! It was a great way to cool off on a hot summer day.

Their last full day here, we went to the Fort Worth Stockyards. It is a favorite place of ours. The kids made their way through the maze, we ate lunch and looked around for a bit. It was hot but we had fun anyway.

We loved having Sydney and Sam with us! It was so fun and something that they will hopefully always remember. It was a week of staying up late, doing fun things and watching TV together.

Vacation 2016

This past weekend, we traveled to Arkansas for a vacation. We choose that location because we had planned to go to Alabama to see Wes' family but at the last minute we needed to postpone our trip until September. Of course, the plan changed after Wes reserved a non-refundable hotel room. So, off to Arkansas we went.

We left Friday night after Wes go off work. We stopped for dinner but our destination was Hope, AR for the night. The next morning, we ate breakfast and the girls swam in the pool. After they cleaned up, we headed for Crater of Diamonds State Park to strike it rich! When we arrived, it was already blazing  hot. There were tons of people (probably because of the holiday weekend).  We found our spot and started digging. I should rephrase that, Wes started digging. The girls and I were hot and hung out under the shade tree. After a while, we joined Wes. We found some beautiful rocks but no diamonds. With sweat rolling down our backs, we gave up the search.

Taken from the comfort of the shade tree

He is having so much fun!

From there, we found the river and decided to go for a swim. The girls loved it and had a blast! It was really clear water; not like the muddy water around here. So clear, you could see the fish trying to eat Wes' toes. I was done when they started coming after me.

After our swim, we headed to the second hotel outside of Little Rock. Once we got to the hotel, we went swimming and then out to dinner.

The next morning, our plan was to head to Hot Springs. Apparently, everybody else decided to go to Hot Springs. It was packed! Even though it was packed, we had fun. The girls became junior rangers at the National Park. They had a blast. They couldn't believe how hot the water was coming out of the ground.

Grace being sworn in

Lizzie being sworn in

Standing by a spring

When we were done with Hot Springs, it was time to head home. We decided to take a different route than the Interstate. We've been on the Interstate dozens of times and decided to see something different. As we were driving through Oklahoma, we ended up eating dinner at an Italian restaurant that we had eaten at on another vacation with my family. It was funny when we drove up and Wes said, we've been here before. Sure enough, we had eaten there and it was still good. Outside of Paris, TX, we happened upon a church that was shooting off fireworks because it was July 3. We stopped and watched them. It was really cool. As night fell while we were driving home, we watched several different fireworks. It was fun to see so many different ones.

The goal of our vacation was to take it easy and not have an agenda and we succeeded. Grace made up video games while she was looking out the window. Lizzie liked looking out the window. When they played together, they were really sweet. We saw lots of wildlife and we love to count how many things we see. We had a great time on our vacation!