Happy Birthday Joshua!

Happy 12th Birthday Joshua!!! From day one you have been happy and smiling! 

This was a low key birthday (it's been a whole low key year!!!!).  We're always happy to celebrate you!! This year you were super excited to get a Nintendo Switch!  We can't wait to see what happy things are waiting for you this year. 

 

First day of school....

First day looks a little different this year. All kids ready for online learning! The district has done a lot of work over the summer so we're excited to see how it goes! And how long before they are allowed to go back in person! 

 

Ranch with the Hannas!

 At the beginning of August, the Hannas came with us to the ranch for a weekend of fun. Sadly...this is the only picture I got! :(

Cousin Camp 2020!

We headed to Neal's Lodge in Concan for the 12th annual Cousin Camp. Mom came along to be the camp cook. She shared a cabin with us. Mary and her family had their own. 

The kids loved the river. It was a lot of fun! 

We celebrated Jake's birthday while we there. Mom made a cake and the 4 cousins helped decorate. They each had their own section.

We went to the Frio Bat Cave. It's truly amazing how many bats come out!!!!

Lots of time at the river swimming, climbing the big rocks, going down the slide and just relaxing on the banks!

The annual scavenger hunt....Mary and I tried to make it super hard this year. And it was hard!! The kids got pretty frustrated. It was super hot and there was lots of walking. But they did eventually make it to the end. 

Cousin Camp in a pandemic requires special masks!

This is how we felt at the end of Cousin Camp!!!

Why is the sign still upside down???

Chilling by the campfire! 

 The official cousin camp picture of 2020!!  

Another one in the books!!! 

Happy Birthday Jake!!

Happy 17th Birthday Jake!!! So hard to believe how fast you've got from this little guy that I could easily fit in my lap....

...to this handsome guy who is much taller than me! We are so proud of you and can't wait to see what this year has in store!!! 

 

Jake and Opa...

Dad wanted to start a new tradition of taking each grandchild on a special trip...one kid per year (starting with the oldest!). Obviously Covid changes the look of the trip. Dad decided to have Jake come to their house for a week. They played a lot golf, swam a lot....and had a great time!!! Jake was all smiles at the end of the week! Dad was too...but also a little tired!! :)

 

Mom's 70th Birthday Trip...

This was Mom's 70th birthday so Mary and I wanted to do something extra special. In the middle of a pandemic, we went ahead with plans and drove to The Gage Hotel in Marathon for 3 nights. It has been a long long time since the 3 of us has been on a trip together. Mom and I had never been to that part of Texas. It's so dry and desolate but so beautiful. 

The Gage Hotel is literally the only thing in Marathon. It's on the main highway and there are a few restaurants, a teeny tiny grocery store...and nothing else. The hotel is beautiful. They have so many colorful flowers. They have a really big garden across the highway with acres of flowers. We had a run in with a big deer or mule (he was trapped in the rose garden). Very thankful he didn't run one of us over while he was trying to escape! 

Mary and I spent time by the pool. 

We drove to Marfa one day and stopped at the Target store. :)

We went on a hike through a desert area (not sure of the name) and stepped right over a copperhead!!!

They had all kinds of funny signs posted on businesses (especially in Marfa). 

Flowers inside Gage Gardens. 

The cutest little bids nest in front of the lobby of the hotel. Not sure how so many birds can fit into one nest!! 

Pics inside the lobby. With and without masks. 

More of the beautiful scenery....

 

We were questioning whether or not we should go ahead and take the trip since so many things were shut down. But we had planned out the time away and I'm so glad we went ahead with it. We had a great time and made a lot of happy memories together.