Happy happy birthday to my big ol' 7 year old. Hard to believe. So thankful God has given me 7 awesome years with this little guy. I look forward to the many more years to come and all the ways He will continue to stretch me and grow me through my oldest son.

The trip is going great. I have loved not having phones ringing or feeling like I need to get on the computer. I am in the process of uploading pictures and hope to have them posted soon.

This has been the best trip so far. Everytime I come to Texas I always try to squeeze in so much and see so many people, since my trips are only once a year, at best. This time I decided I needed a break. I needed to slow down and relax and enjoy things. So, I have just been hanging out and enjoying being away from normal everyday life at home. My phone is not ringing, there are days I don't get on the computer and a lot of days I don't even get in the car. It has been hot, very hot. This is proof that my car's thermometer was well into the triple digits.

Early on, JB ended up with his first black eye. Got knocked over and hit something - probably the wall? We never knew for sure. (I forgot to wipe the spaghetti sauce off of his face...)

The boys got to go riding on a golf cart - the easy simple things about some people's lives that really entertain/intrigue them.

Spent some time at parks. Did not stay long cause just really hot.

The boys have racked up a lot of time in the water this trip.

Fortunately JB is still taking a nap a day. Sometimes crashing whereever he gets still.

Boys enjoyed feeding carrots to a donkey.

Got some go-cart action in.



And some putt putt golf.

Did a little bowling one day.

Played in some forts.

In Austin, during the summer, there lives a huge urban bat colony. The largest in the world. They live under the Congress Street bridge and it is quite the sight to watch them all fly out just before dusk. You can see some of the bats in this photo, but imagine them streaming out like this for about 10-15 minutes every night. The later in the summer it gets the more there are. They appear as long dark streaks across the sky.

After the bats we wandered over to a Hyatt. I have always told my boys about glass elevators and they had one. Again, one of the little things that you are never exposed to living in a non-metropolitan place. (We were with an ol' college roommate and her daughter Hannah.)

Some more swimming...

Probably my favorite picture so far....This little kiddo, as well as the other 2 seem to have some of the olive coloring that they get from their daddy.


We spent 4 days in Austin, where my dad's side of the family had a reunion. Great to catch up with everyone. Later that evening, we all congregated at my cousin's house. The kids had so much fun running around and playing outside, that my boys just about saw the day go from pm to am. (I hate when the kids are up late because it means for grumpy kids the next day, but when it is beautiful outside and they are having so much fun being social and running with their cousins - not to mention mom is enjoying herself - hard to put them to bed. They have been playing so hard that not once this trip have they woken up in the middle of the night and found their way into my bed. Which translates into great sleep for mom.

One night in Austin we got a hotel with my sister and niece. The sole purpose was for the kids to swim, swim and swim...plus getting together with a brother/sister pair that we have known since birth. The kids swam from 2-10pm, only stopping to have pizza poolside for dinner.

I have managed to stay with two old college roommates and has been so fun catching up with their families. How my boys love playing with their kids, all of which are almost 10 years older. Seeing the bats in Austin, riding the glass elevator, riding escalators and fighting traffic.

This weekend will be getting together with my mom's side of the family. Should be a great time. Still have another 6 or 7 days before we will start the trek back.

We have made it to Texas. Thankfully, the trip was uneventful. We spent two nights in Denver, where we stayed with one of my old college roomates. She has 4 kids, the oldest is a 17 year old girl and then 3 boys, around the ages of 16, 15 and 13. My boys absolutely loved playing with her boys. They learned new trampoline games, had a blast with the nerf guns, played with a huge bucket of legos and got a little bit of soccer in. Putting them to bed was very difficult.
Spent one night in the Panhandle, at a hotel. (I have learned the hard way about driving when tired...) Fortunately the roads were all open from a forest fire the day before.
The biggest issue we had on the drive down was a feather pillow that got ripped in the car. A huge mess but amazing how you can clear out a car going 70 with the windows down. We don't leave them down for long though, because our car was getting an outside temp of 113!!! That is just plain hot. I am not sure if the wind blowing makes it better or worse.
We are at my dad's and will be here for 5 days. The boys have gotten an arsenal of water guns and water balloons. They are having fun. Tonight we went out for dinner. Jbird wanted some ranch dressing for his french fries. So, I handed the bottle and did not give it a second thought. Next thing I know, the dressing is going all over the chair and the floor. Poor kid felt so bad and was so shocked, it did not even occur to him to turn the bottle right side up. The bottles we have at home have a small opening when you take the lid off, but not this one. He took the lid off and it came rushing out! I think he poured half the bottle on the floor.
Hopefully I will get some quiet time in the morning, as Grandpa takes the boys out for an hour or so and then heads down to the University for them to ride bikes. Hopefully getting back home before the double digits hit again.

We have had a lot of rain this spring and it was finally warm enough to go play in the rain. Around these parts, warm enough is 60! JB had a blast!


It did not last long though, because it was followed by some hail, so they took cover.

Today we made it a family day and headed to a nearby hot springs. Glad it was only in the 60s because the water was really warm. You had to get out about every 10-15 minutes and no one was really 'playing' in the water. Here is a picture of me and JB. This is what he has to wear in non-treated (non-chlorine) water because of the tubes in his ears. Fortunately he fought it just a few times and then gave up.


A few pictures of the drive! Yes, we still have snow at the higher elevations.



I just love it when the boys find ways to entertain themselves and their laughter rings through the house. This is what they were up to.


The older two boys had a great week at VBS and B attended 2 days of Cub Scout Camp. It has been a busy week and tomorrow morning, we head out for our road trip. So excited. The car is packed! I am forcing us to leave a day early (our first destination is for Tuesday night) so that we enjoy it more and not rush through the drive. There are some cool rest areas with lots of room to run, so plan on long stops, a few detours and camping somewhere the first night. We have the bikes attached to the back of the car and all food handy! I can't believe how many blankets I am taking for camping, but with my wild sleepers, even if it is 100 outside, I still will have covers on me! Not to mention needing lots of padding to sleep on.

Hope to be able to post pictures every weekend!

Here is a picture from the last week of school. Since B has a summer birthday, they celebrated it early. The birthday person gets to sit in a special chair all day long.

Here is a picture of him with his first grade teacher. She was wonderful. The school, due to overcrowding, is considering a combo class next year and she is one of the teachers being considered to teach it. She is just that good!

I am in my 'to-do' mode. We head out next week for our road trip. Estimating about 4000 miles round trip and will be gone just over 3 weeks! Really excited! Might even plan on pitching a tent a few nights on the road instead of pushing for 12 hour days.

This kiddo was salsa-ing the other day with his dad. He has some moves and I am pretty sure he did not get them from me.
(Seems to be hit and miss if it will work...hopefully you can get it to work)



JB has started producing more sounds this weekend. Actually started using certain sounds for his brothers, although I have yet to hear them. He has given me 'mo' on several occassions for 'more'. I am quick to celebrate every new sound.

Both of the boys have been really great with JB lately...trying to help him talk, teaching him things, just really looking out for their little brother. Jbird decided he wanted to get in on the bike action with JB. So, why not. I like this set up.




(I know, no helmet and JB is not strapped in...it was just the trial run) He actually pulled the trailer about 8 blocks today before he decided his legs hurt too much (one had on a helmet and the other was strapped in). Probably not what the manufacturer had in mind, but we were able to rig it up. Maybe that is one reason he was asleep before 7 tonight!

We have a new neighbor, who is really nice but somewhat keeps to herself. The boys struggle with that because they always want to talk to her. Her name is Heidi but guess what Jbird calls her...Hiney! I was so embarassed the first couple of times, but now we all just laugh about it. No matter how often I correct him, he still resorts to Hiney.

JB is learning how to jump. When he walks along you will see him try to sort of skip. So fun to watch.

B has 1 1/2 more days until he is a second grader! Today his class and a few other first grade classes had an all day field trip. He went to the local fish hatchery where there were 15 stations set up for kids to rotate through and learn all kinds of science/environment things. Then they went on a hike! He enjoyed it!