Summer 2013: Day 30

 Today was a special day in our family.  Morganne decided at Boot Camp earlier this month, that she wanted to get baptized.  So in church this morning, her youth pastor, Jacob, baptized her.

She told her story to everyone, saying that she felt happy to accept Christ into her heart when she was younger and felt like she understood things better.  But once we moved to the Round Rock area, as a family, we didn't find a church home, and fell away from regular worship - she was not connected.  As we started attending church at Hill Country Bible, she felt more and more connected and after Boot Camp wanted to make that public declaration.

Words can not express how proud of a moment this was for Matt and me.  Of course you are proud of your children's accomplishments - I LOVE watching her play soccer - but this was different.  She is making a mature decision that will effect her whole life.  I am so incredibly proud of her and admire her for doing this.  She is turning out to be a remarkable young lady.

Summer 2013: Day 29

A nice & quiet day was what we all needed on this Saturday.  Did a little shopping for a new vacuum cleaner (exciting!) and a little dinner at our favorite pizza place.  Just a great day as a family - these kiddos are going to miss their Dad!

Summer 2013: Day 28

 And this is what I woke up to this morning........

 It's coming along!!!!

Hope to be swimming soon.  Goodness it is a LONG process......

Summer 2013: Day 27

 Picture day at The Creek Rock the Rock. Can you find Jack?? Ian is on my hip as I took the picture - wanted nothing to do with the picture.

 But he did want to be a part of the gospel message - can't get across all that chalk without the cross.....

And he loved playing shark & minnows! He was the giant shark that day.

That afternoon, we checked out a new park and discovered an old German cemetery.  Pretty cool!

Summer 2013: Day 26

 More Rock the Rock fun - today was Water Wednesday - And they played a fun game of Drip Drip Drop!

And we had a little bit of brother bonding this afternoon.  Ian just adores it when Jack plays with him - I love how much he idolizes his big brother.  Until the big brother gets annoyed because the little brother wants to play with him so much.  Sigh.  I'll take these sweet moments when I can get them.

Summer 2013: Day 25

Today Rock the Rock began in our city. Our church puts together kids camps around the city for anyone to come to and learn about Jesus.  It's pretty incredible, as it is run mainly by the youth in our church.  This was Morganne's first year and she loved it.

 The boys & I volunteered at a different camp then Sis was at and we all had a good time.

 My favorite part was seeing all these kids worship and tell the message each day.  It was great for Jack to see the boys especially proclaiming their love for Christ.  It was a really defining week for Jack as he didn't complain, he was ready each day to go and told me how much fun he had.

 And we have had such great weather, that we have spent most evenings on the patio.  Ian has such a love of swings but it is SO HARD to teach him how to swing himself.  We are working on it though!

Summer 2013: Day 24

 Monday - week 4 of summer break - heading to the local water park - and this is the only picture I took.  Too busy chasing Ian around the place.  He has gotten braver and braver around water, but that frightens me, as I want to make sure he doesn't wander out too deep.  I try to work with him with swimming skills, but he won't listen to his mommy!!!

My favorite yogurt shop made this yogurt pie for us - called Candybar Madness - so rich and so good!

And I had to pop this cute picture in as well.  Ian slung his lovey over his shoulder and said, "Look mom, I'm just like Sissy."  The image is lost without the backstory - Morganne has had her lovey since she was a baby and walks around with it on her shoulder, so now Ian does the same.  Precious to a momma.

Summer 2013: Day 23

Quiet day today after the busy day yesterday.  Church - lunch - and a movie!  Monsters U!!

Summer 2013: Day 22

 Morganne and a few of her teammates signed up for a 3v3 tournament to play at today.  Though the pictures make it look hot, it wasn't too bad. We were out at the fields all day - they played 4 games total and really had a fun time.

 The girls played with Ian in between games, which he loved.

 3v3 was a completely different ball game - it's not really a "position" game with only 3 girls on the field, so it was hard for them to let go of how they would normally play.  Some of the teams they played against were totally built for 3v3 -our girls, not so much.  But we totally had fun watching them play and it was great to get out and spend the day together.

We lost the first 3 games, but played the first team we played for the final game and ended up beating them - we came together in the end and looked really good! Totally a fun way to spend the day.

And after all that, a cool treat was in order!

Summer 2013: Day 21

June 21st - Summer is officially here.

 3 weeks into our summer break and we have accomplished a lot so far! Three camps, SeaWorld, Aquatica, Schlitterbahn, and multiple trips to the pool.  And we have so much more to do before we go back to school.

Three weeks in and this is how we all feel.......

This boy fell asleep this afternoon on our way to dinner.  So, he slept in my lap while we ate.  As I know the snuggles and lap holding are fleeting, I will take it and LOVE every minute of it.  Who couldn't stare at these long eyelashes all day?

Summer 2013: Day 20

Just a lazy day at home today - Morganne had one last day of basketball camp and I spent the day working on our upcoming 3 week Road Trip.  There is a TON of planning going into it - just trying to figure out where to go, where to stay - it's fun, but time consuming.  I can't wait for it to just get here already.

I did pop over to see Morganne play a few games - she impressed me - for never having played basketball, she was totally into it.  She wants to try out for the team at school this winter.  In Middle School here, they have 3 organized sports for girls that count towards "athletics" - volleyball, basketball, and track.  Unfortunately, soccer doesn't count towards it, but at least they do have a girls soccer team that she wants to try out for.  So next year, she will go out for basketball, track, and soccer - my busy girl.

Summer 2013: Day 19

Today was Jack's last day of football camp and I was thrilled to hear his name called for the Coach's Award.  "For excelling in all areas of camp" - they went on to say it was for the boys who paid attention, were always ready to try their hardest, and put forth the most effort.  I'm so proud of him.  He is really liking football and I hope this is a sport he can really enjoy and stick with.

That afternoon, we took the kids to a pet show at the library.  Ian kept saying the animals were "stinky"- FILTER son!!!

We then visited a new park in Round Rock (new to us) and this boy insisted on swinging - even in the 96 degree heat.

But it didn't last long.  All I had to do was entice him with snowcones at Kawaii Ice. YUM!

Summer 2013: Day 18

Rainy day today - didn't even see it coming.  Camp was cancelled for Jack, so we started a new project.  Let's see how long this one takes.....

Summer 2013: Day 17

Monday of week 3 of summer started with more CAMPS! Jack started the Cowboys football camp this week and Morganne started basketball camp at her school.

Feeling a few kids less, I took my phone to get fixed at the Apple Store in the Domain and happened to pop into Anthropologie to find this book that is now on my WANT list! To one day have the means & time to do quick weekend trips with the hubby all over the US. It can happen!!

And we had a little visit from our favorite snuggle bunny - Razz - oh how I miss that puppy - he's such a sweetie.  (Razz is the brown one and Sammy is the black one). Both are sweet dogs.

Summer 2013: Day 16

Happy Father's Day.  And we are in SeaWorld still......

Matt is at home with Ian - kinda a ho-hum day for them - they went to Ihop.  The older 2 and I got to watch the dolphins playfully jump around and splash everyone - ironically, The Beatles, "Here Comes the Sun" was playing - so touching.

So we rushed home after the conference and took Matt to a movie for Father's Day - Man of Steel.  Meh.  I was sentimental for the original.  But it was a great story, full of great actors, fun lines - it was just BUSY - exhausting watching them throw each other trough all the buildings!

And lucky for us, with my parents living here now, we can easily meet them for dinner.  TORCHY's -YUM!!

Summer 2013: Day 15

Today the kids and I were invited back to SeaWorld San Antonio for a blogging conference - AdventureCon.  Since I am a member of the Wildside Bloggers group for San Antonio, we were invited to participate and we thought it would be fun to spend 2 days at SeaWorld.

The conference was great - but the kids really enjoyed the free reign I gave them in the park (they had a cell phone - I'm not that relaxed....).

We had a HUGE chunk of time after lunch to play, so we chose to ride the Great White roller coaster.....FOUR times in a row.  Don't know what I was thinking.  I used to love roller coasters - and I still do, but they make me incredibly dizzy!!

The last time we went on it, we sat in the front row and it was incredible - probably the least motion sickness I felt - it was totally fun!

For one part of the conference, we walked around the park with the SeaWorld official photographer and he showed us all kinds of cool places to take pictures in the park.  Like the above one - totally my FAV shot I have ever taken at SeaWorld!

That evening, Grandma invited us over to have dinner with the family.  It was funny, as that morning, I made fun of Morganne wearing her elites with her Sperry shoes.  She of course got mad and took them off - pouted about it.  So that night, my cousins BOTH show up wearing this exact combo - it looks ridiculous, right???

On a sentimental note, my uncle cooked a 6 pound tenderloin that my grandfather had purchased just a few days before his death.  It was delicious - such a great cut and cooked perfectly.  There was such a sadness to the night, as it was the first meal we had as family without him.  Grandma said a lovely toast to my uncles about Father's Day and Aunt Mary said that she knew Grandpa was living on in the incredible children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren that were his legacy.  Sigh.

I sure miss him.  I keep thinking it will get easier and eventually my heart won't hurt when I think about it.  Cause it hasn't yet.

Summer 2013: Day 14

Sissy's home!!! Another quiet day - the boys and I went to the pool in the afternoon for a few hours.  And then we picked up our girl from camp.  She was tired and hungry and so talkative from all she had done all week at Boot Camp.  As much as the kids were there to learn skits and put on a "VBS-type" program for children in South Austin, they seemed to have learned a lot themselves.

Morganne said she grew so much closer to Christ this week - and that just makes me so happy to hear.  She even wants to get baptized now.  She will be taking the class this Sunday and will be baptized on Sunday June 30! Yay God!!

Summer 2013: Day 13

After a pretty busy Wednesday, Day 13 of summer was low-key.  The boys and I ran some errands - we went to the local toy store that we love where Jack picked up a Summer Bridge book to complete for the summer (I think he has done one day so far - and that's it).  We also grabbed some new travel games for the upcoming trip.

I have been working non-stop on our trip - reading as much as I can about each location we will be traveling to - I am so excited to do this trip.  I have been wanting to go somewhere different this summer and I want to show the kids all the amazing National Parks we have.  I want to take our time, see the sites, pull off the road when we want to = no agenda.  I hope we can keep it that way!

Summer 2013: Day 12

 Today started off with us having no plans.  But then a friend called and invited us to go canoeing at Zilker Park.  I didn't think we could do it with Ian, so I had avoided it for years.  I could kick myself for waiting!  We had so much fun!

 Ian sat at the front of the boat and loved every minute of it.  The water was calm, there was a breeze, it was quiet and so much fun.

It was so perfectly Austin - I loved every minute of it and can't wait to try it again.

And as an added bonus - got to see my girl.  Out of pure coincidence, her camp was swimming at Barton Springs at the same time we were down there.  I was so so so happy to see her.  She looks happy to see me in the picture, but truth be told, she was tired from camp and a little grumpy.  I need to get my girl home!!

Summer 2013: Day 11

 We had a fun day exploring today.  I took the boys out to see some historic sites in Round Rock.  The Creekside Park is the site of the old bathing beach - in the 1920s and 30s, this was the place to swim - they even have a concrete slide you can still see - though we didn't.

 Just down the creek is the famous Round Rock.  Found along the Chisholm Trail in the 1800s, it's what our city was named for.

 You can walk along the creekbed just down from the round rock and still see the ruts from the wagon wheels in the rock.

 After we were hot from exploring, my sweet friend invited us over to swim in her gorgeous pool.  Jack did quite a few cannonballs that day.

 And of course, Momma did too!

This just sums up our summer so far - it's been fun - we have kept busy trying new things around the Austin area and we have been having a great time of it.  I miss Morganne.  Can't wait for her to be home in 3 days!!!