Port Bolivar, TX

We love the beach!
Cousins... Big Boy!

Papa & Nana ...and their legacy.

Lexi, Nat, & I convinced Mom to scare Dad in the middle of the night by dressing as a shark! I think it worked and was pretty funny!

Lex & Nat found the dress up box and put on a show!

At the fish market...

We took Lexi to town for a birthday lunch!

On the ferry.

Enjoying Lexi's breakfast birthday cake.

Happy Birthday!

Daddy's hanging out!

Mmm...ice cream!

Mom, LuLu, Lex, & Tatum.

Me and my sweet brothers.

Hard at work. This year, my brother invited us to spend a few days on the beach at his boss's beach house. It exceeded our expectations by far! We found a huge house that comfortably accommodated our family of 15 + LuLu and Robert. Between ping-pong, pool, karaoke, and a beautiful deck, we probably could have enjoyed the house by itself, but not our family...I think we all agreed that we could leave out lives and become beach bums pretty easily.

Girlfriends

Here are the beauties I spent last weekend with! Aubrey and I went to elementary school together, but got super close in 6th grade. Jill and I met in gymnastics in elementary school (we weren't very good). Kimberly and I helped each other survive middle school. High School brought all of us together and our friendship has stood the test of time!

Girl's Weekend

Jill made this amazing breakfast with peach mimosas.
Getting ready for pedicures.

Jill & Kimberly were sporting stripes & Kimberly got a little crispy again!

Preparing our food. Yay for Girl's Weekend 2010! I have such a special group of High School friends and we try to get together one weekend a year to catch up. Between babies, jobs, husbands, and distance, it's hard to find a time that meets everyone's schedules. This year half of our group is traveling to North Carolina to visit Bekah, and the other half of us who couldn't leave Texas traveled to a beautiful farm house in Buffalo Gap. We had such fun and enjoyed each other as always. We started with lunch at the Health Food store, layed out at the Country Club, gathered our food and headed to the house. We ate....and ate....and ate....and did pedicures, looked at old pics, laughed, slept, and even got spooked in that big ol' house! Kimberly took all of the group shots, so I'll post them when she sends them. We are already looking forward to next year.

Silly Kids

Who are these kids??

A Thousand Splendid Suns

If you're a reader, you MUST read this book. I've had the luxery of reading a few good books lately. All have been wonderful, and each has touched me in a different way. This book, I fell deeply in love with. Gaining a glimpse of life through the eyes of women during the volatile years of Afghanistan's recent history, completely put life into perspective for me. Not to mention falling in love with the two women in this story. It's amazing how authors can push us to be better people through books like these.

"In a few years, this little girl will be a woman who will make small demands on life, who will never burden others, who will never let on that she too has had sorrows, disapppointments, dreams that have been ridiculed. A woman who will be like a rock in a riverbed, enduring without complaint, her grace not sullied but shaped by the turbulence that washes over her."

That is what I want to become, and for mine to become.

Enjoy your summer reading! I'm ready for the next book.

Weekend at the Lake

Lexi & Tatum enjoying a snack!
Ben always enjoys his snacks!

Happy Birthday Nana & Miss E!

Jerrod, Queenie, & Tate chillin' at the lake.

Emmy's cake....

and decorations. Papa & Tate catching a fish.

We had another memorable weekend with my family. June is a busy month for us, so we decided to spend the weekend at Nat's family's lake house for Nana & Emmy's b/days and Father's Day. It was a wonderfully, relaxing get-a-way. We fished, ate, and swam all day everyday. No pics of Will this weekend...he never took a break for a picture. I hope Nana, Emmy, & the Fathers felt special. They sure are special to us!

Let's Catch Up!

Stand Up Foundation Fun Run honoring Lexi's friend Merritt who was injured in a car accident a few years ago.
Coming across the finish line!

Lexi starred as Fern in Charlotte's Web.

The cast...

Nana and her girls...precious!

We looked up and these two were dancing in the window! Yikes!

Lexi made me breakfast one morning..it was delicious!

Will just received his Wildcat Kid award for good behavior.

And finally.....Summer!

Funny boy!

They really DO love each other!

Helping Papa in the garage. Spending time with Teryn.

An over the top bubble bath.

Nana, Ava, & Tate judging the jumping contest.

Aubrey and I are doing the "double dive"...we had way too much fun!

Lexi and Teryn doing a trick.

But, this took the cake! Justin and Will doing a face to face cannonball.

Enjoying our friends...Ava & Caroline.

Snaggle tooth!

Well...it's finally summertime!! Yippee! We had a very busy end of the school year and are glad to be relaxing. We spent our first week of summer in Abilene at Mom & Dad's and really enjoyed the luxury of having a pool in the backyard. We spent hours in the pool each day and enjoyed our friends dropping by for a dip in the evenings. Our last night ended with a terrible tooth accident when Tate tripped over his towel and landed face down on the pavement! He'll be snaggle toothed until he loses it in a few years.