B-R-A-C-E-S.....

 They came a bit earlier than we thought....braces!!! Jake has 6 on the top. Sophia has 4 on the bottom. All smiles at first and then reality set it. The past few days have been a bit rough. I'm happy to report we are keeping the Motrin and Tylenol companies in business!!!

 

So where do you go for soft food??? Luby's of course!!! A whole bunch of soft food options!!! And what eaters we had that day!!! I think we will be going back. Joshua declared the food "delicious!!!" and we all ate for $9. I'm not sure how the math adds up. But in my world...

 

Sore mouths + soft food + $9 for 4 meals = a total success!!!

 

Kinder Goes to the Zoo...

A Kindergarten field trip the Zoo at the end of the year in 90 degree heat. What a day!!! I think taking a group of Kinder kids to the Zoo has to be one of the most exhausting trips!!! They love it and it's so fun to see them having a great time....but it will wear.you.out.!!!!

 

Lots and lots of turtles. It seemed like each habitat had a few turtles in it! And these guys were close enough that the kids could stick their fingers almost close enough to touch. EEEK!!!!

 

My little group of charges...

 

Guess who is as tall as a monkey!?!?!

 



And this is the scene after such an exciting field trip. After a few round of tears, I told him to go get his pillow and lay down. About 5 min I turned around and this is what I found. He slept for atleast an hour!!! Looking at animals is hard work!!

Memorial Day in the rain...

We had big plans to head to the pool this afternoon for some fun in the sun. Mother Nature had other plans. Chilly and rain rain rain!!

 

Camping Out....

I know it's blurry....but Joshua "camped out" in his tent the other night. He was pretty excited...and said he slept great!!! :)

Good Lookin' Kids!!!

Mary and I had wanted some cousin pictures before they left. We managed to squeeze in a quick session with Brenda. It was a bit late and the kids were tired. Still got some awesome pictures!

 

 

Swimming with Cousins....

We were able to see Mary and Brad one last time before they made the official move to Virginia. We spent Saturday morning swimming at the Herridges. So much fun. It was an overcast morning with a few sprinkles, but that did not stop the fun!!!!

 

Cousin Camp 2014!!

 

Cousin Camp 2014...we did it!!! The 6th Annual Cousin Camp. I can not believe it has been that long since we first started this tradition!!! We had to move CC up early this year since Mary and Brad are moving. The kids were SO excited to skip school on Friday (and get out early on Thursday!!!) so that we could have enough time for lots of cousin camp fun.

 

You know it will be a fun time when the first night starts out like this...

 

There were heavy storms on Thursday. By the time we made it to the ranch, there was not much rain, but we did have one little shower...and of course kids had to get wet.

 

Friday morning we kicked off Cousin Camp with the presentation of the camp shirts. :) And learned the camp song "My Mama Gave Me a Penny."

And learning from past years...we did the picture in the morning when everyone was still happy!

What a cute crew!!

We loaded up in the car to head to Dinosaur Valley State Park.

 



 

A little picnic by the river...

 

 

And lots of walking around looking at tracks. The park is not that big. We only stayed there about 2 hrs.

 

We took a lot of cow rides!

 

The annual scavenger hunt is always fun. We have 4 readers this year!!!

 

And a new activity...parents vs. kids water balloon fight!!! Not sure who won though!

 

Brad and Mary are great story tellers!!!! :)

 

 

We swam at the Baylor pool. The kids had to wait for awhile before they had enough life guards to open the slide.

 

 

Silly string fight with prizes from the scavenger hunt...

 

More stories before movie time...

The Olympic games.....we might have to rethink this for next year. It always ends in tears. We thought doing it in the morning might help, but apparently not.

 

 

You know it has been a fun time when you have kids like this in the backseat...

 

 

 

LOVE this picture...we had gone to the Farmer's Market to eat lunch and the kids were climbing on rocks by the river.

 The last morning we were cleaning up and getting ready to head out for one last picnic before we left for home. Jake was sitting on the porch...we have almost the same picture from last year...but this year he has glasses. :)

 

 

A picnic at the creek...

Overall this was one of the best cousin camps. We had meltdowns of course...but the kids did really well. They are old enough to help out a lot. I'm so glad we made the effort to have Cousin Camp early...it was not nearly as hot as it usually is!!!! So much fun spending loud and crazy time together. I know our kids are making memories that will last a lifetime. This CC was extra special since we got to spend good "ranch" time together before Mary and Brad leave for Virginia!