Fiesta Texas Fun....

The kids earned a free ticket to Fiesta Texas through a reading program at school. With about 5 days to go before the tickets expired, we headed out there yesterday to brave the 102 degree heat and the crowds. 7 kids and 3 adults....but they all did really well.

 Giant slurpees in boot cups helped to beat the heat (thanks Gramma for the spending $$)!

Summer Pics....

Brenda took these incredible pictures of the kids last week. Jake and Sophia were so cooperative. Joshua was a different story. I wish she could have gotten all 3 together. But...I think the ones she took are soooooo good!

He REALLY did not want his picture taken!!

 She was sneaky and took a picture while his guard was done! :)

Magic Time Machine....

Jake wanted to go to the Magic Time Machine for his birthday dinner. Indiana Jones was our waiter. The kids got the special "magic bubbly water" drink, the balloon man stopped at our table and had 3 of the waiters sing Happy Birthday to him. What more could a 9 year old want??

Visting Grandpa Dick...

We had a great time staying at the Indian Lodge with Dick. Mary, Brad, Grant and Lucy came for 2 nights and we stayed for 3. Super hot weather didn't keep us from being busy outside!

Lots of time on the playground

 This year we went to the Oklahoma Aquarium. It's a great place and the kids really enjoyed it. They had sticks with clothespins on the end so you could feed shrimp to the turtles. Big hit!!!

 Joshua and Dick together....Dick wanted a wheelchair....Joshua helped roll it.

 Indian Lodge has a lot of places for the kids to play.

Annual "swamp monster" faces!

 Donuts every morning. The kids were in heaven!

 The state park nearby has a Nature Center. While we were looking around the worker brought out some snakes. Notice the boys trying to make a quick get away!

 At the stables....Grant, Sophia and Lucy were the only ones who wanted to ride the horses.

 Love this picture!

Happy Birthday Jake!!!

 Time flies....we went from this little guy....

to this 9 year old in the blink of an eye!!!

Happy Birthday to our 9 yr old who is full of life and brings such happiness to our family!!!

Fishing....

 Mike got Mel's old boat out of storage so the kids could do a little fishing. It wasn't long before the boat was up and running. We took the kids to Calvaras Lake yesterday. The kids loved it!! The fish weren't biting much, but we kept trying!

And the highlight of the day....this B-I-G catfish that Jake caught!! He was so excited! All his patience paid off. We will be eating it tonight...hope it tastes good! :)

The End of a Great Week....

I'm so glad the kids went to TBarM and it was such a great experience for them! The closing ceremony was fun last night! They did a parent presentation and then broke up into thier small groups for awards. Both kids had amazing counselors who really seemed to love their job, love the kids and were excited to share the love of Christ. I was so impressed with TBarM and can't wait for the kids to go back next summer!