Too Stinkin' Hot

First of all, let me say I do not usually mind hot weather, most of the time I like actually it. I love living in Texas. Today, for some reason it was too stinkin' hot! I took the kids to a 'shaded' park in the afternoon thinking that the trees might provide enough shade to cool it off a little. Nope. I started sweating as soon as I opened the car door. I made the kids take their required group picture before they went to play and I think Cooper started sweating before I snapped the second picture. You know what the scary thing is? It wasn't even 100 degrees yet! It was only 98 degrees according to my temperature reading in my vehicle. Next week should be fun, it is supposed to get to 135 degrees... or something like that.





Natalie just skipping along!

Christmas Already?

I was in Hobby Lobby today (without children) so I was enjoying walking up and down every aisle of the store. Guess what they have already stocked 5 aisles with??? Christmas stuff!!! Everything from Santa snow to crafts to ornaments to random decorative objects. Not to be leave a season out, they did have some Halloween stuff along with the 'fall' items. Seriously? It is so hard to start thinking about the festive seasons that are 5 months away!!! Especially while I am still sweating from walking into the store. I even asked one of the workers why all the red and green stuff was out so early. She looked at me like I had no clue: "Umm, ma'am, people start getting ready for Christmas right now." OK, good to know. Should I go ahead and put up our Christmas tree?

Qyn and Tar say, "Yes! Put up the tree! Put up the tree!"

My Little All-Americans

I'm so glad my children humor me with all the posing, smiling and camera-readiness. I must admit that some of those smiles are bribe-induced...OK, most are. Hey, bribes are better than threats, right??

NRH2O Fun!

I took Natalie and Luke to school this morning, then took Cooper and his best friend, Cooper to NRH2O. There are certain days in the summer that you can use your press pass to get in for half price. That means a colossal amount of fun for less than $20 for the both of us! Last year we went 3 times and Cooper talked about it all year long.

I probably wouldn't take him so much if I didn't have so much fun. I love going to the water park. I think that is a caveat to having children. All the things that you really enjoyed as a kid, you get to do them again! Also, the things you did not get a chance to enjoy as a kid, you get to experience it through your kids and their excitement. I think it is so fun to act like a kid and enjoy the simplest things. :>)

Two cute Coopers! Too cute Coopers!

Sunday Night Dinners

Mother and Calvin invite us over every so often for a Sunday night Dinner. She will invite us as well as Autumn, so it is a double treat for the kiddos. They love to spend time over at Gram and Grandad's house and then getting to see Aunt Autumn is BONUS! Tonight we had pork tenderloin and Natalie ate all of her 'chicken'. Is it really wrong to name any meat 'chicken', just so she will eat it? I'm sure she will catch on to our little trick eventually, but for now it is pretty cute to hear her carry on about how good the 'chicken' is.

Autumn had to go straight to work from Mother's house, so she got dressed in her police uniform. The kids thought that was too cool. I think this is the first time they have seen her in her uniform. Cooper told me the whole way home how he was going to be a police officer. In the Coast Guard. As long as he gets to shoot big guns, like the M-60 I used to shoot, he would be all aboard! I had to quell his dream a little when I told him that he could not be in the Coast Guard and live in Colorado. Why mommy?

Happy July 4th!!!

I love July 4th and all it represents. I love freedom & celebration. Call it my patriotism, love of red, white and blue or serving this country for 8 years, I LOVE the 4th of July!

Mary invited us to the Fourth of July Parade in 'downtown'. Greg (our home group leader) secured all of us a shaded spot in some prime parade real estate by getting there with 14 chairs at 3am this morning. The parade was great! I was in that parade when I cheered for UT Arlington, but it is different when you are sitting with a 5 year old who has never seen a parade in person.

Of all the 146 entries we saw, here are the most memorable:

lots of John Deere tractors, a hybrid Escalade, only 1 VW bug, motorcycles, a gaggle of unicycles, some horse poop (followed immediately by the street cleaner), a gang of miniature motorcycles with Elvis(s), 5 teams of cheerleaders and marching bands, a few policemen, lots of flag corps with servicemen and women, a bunch of old cars that were very shiny and polished. I only took 55 pictures, so I think I will make Cooper a book, so he can remember how much fun he had. Here are some highlights:

Wheelie-poppin' Elvis!

Gotta love Trader's Village humor!

A flag made out of recycled products (someone drank a lot of Diet Dr. Pepper)

Swim Thursday - July edition

It may be July 3rd and there may have been other things to do in this city (Light up the Lake), but when Swim Thursday is happening, we just have to be there. We were a little late arriving, seeing as how I am not a big fan of waking up a sleeping child from a nap (LUKE). Even if it is stretching past 3 hours. Worry not, he has not troubles going to sleep after spending a few hours with Ms. Mary.
We finally made it there after 5. That was plenty of time for the kids to play around, swim with John and still get some food in their tummy. Speaking of eating, here is a cute one of Mary and Luke enjoying a bite of hot dog:

Here are some fun action shots from the diving board:

Fun at Howard Moore Pool

We went to Howard Moore Pool today and had even more fun than yesterday's water fun! We had so much fun because we had our good friend Morgan with us. The kids love Morgan! She is that perfect size in between a kid and an adult AND knows how to have their kind of fun. They chase her, hug her, tackle her and splash her. She, thank goodness, does not mind this 'special' attention. Here is a cute picture of Morgan and Natalie having fun in the super tube:


Natalie, true to her form, decided after 40 minutes of play, that she was all done. Yep, No-Fun-Natalie is back for her summer debut. Here is Natalie after she boycotted all the swimming and playing:

California Lane Park

I took the kids to California Lane Park today after 'school'. What a treat to get to run, jump and play in the water when it is a stifling 100 degrees outside. Cooper could not believe that I didn't want to get wet. Really? I consider myself a somewhat fun mom, but I'm not getting wet to prove it. :>)

We have played here numerous times, so I have learned one trick to having a good time: bring 3 buckets. The kids LOVE to fill them up and pour them, dump them and throw them at each other. It's all fun and games until someone cries (Natalie) and I have to put a bucket and/or person in time-out. Case in point:

Our Home Group

I have been a part of this home group for a year and a half. We have such a great mix of folks. We have an abundance of children (upwards of 14 children under the age of 10) which means there is lots of laughing and playing every Tuesday. My kids will clean up their room, have good behavior and give up swimming just to get to go to home group.

Today we did a get-to-know-you-more session and it is enlightening to hear each person talk for a few minutes about what is happening in their life, what their struggles are, and how we can pray for each other. There is just something about listening to each person speak and hearing what they have to say. And then also the flip side: being able to speak, knowing that you are being heard and that a group of people and care about what you are saying. This is a wonderful collection of people that truly live out the 'community' aspect of what being a believer in Christ is all about.

FYI: There are other families that are a part of our home group (with more kids).

Lots of fun on the trampoline!