Baylor Homecoming 2013

Pics from the fun-times. We missed out on 2 special friends this time... but we'll see 'em next time!

Sept-Oct Random Fun

We did too many fun things to mention from Sept-Oct 2013, but here are some pics and videos to highlight a few memories.

Soccer!!

We have another soccer player in the house!! She plays for the Purple Dragonflies!

Rangers Game

We went to a Rangers Game over Labor Day with the Hutchison clan.

First Day of (pre) School

The kids had their first day this week. They are growing up too fast!! Here is their first day pic this year, and some random pics I made last week with the girls.



Created with flickr slideshow.

Created with flickr slideshow.

Toronto Visit - end of July

We visited Tornto, Ontario (Canada) in July. Unfortunately they chose not to stamp the adult passports, and only stamped the kids - so I have no more stamps :(

Now for the good news. We had a blast visiting Marianna and Brandon! We also had a great side-trip to visit the Vazquez family! The kids loved the plane, subway, train, streetcar, and ferry. One day we were able to go and see Casa Loma (a castle in North America). Another day we visited a beautiful farm/park near downtown Toronto. We also visited the island destination of Centreville Island (amusment park). Enjoy the pictures!! Oh, and since it was Canada, the girls wore jackets in July - and it only got as hot as 71 degrees.




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Gibson Visit

We enjoyed a visit from the Gibson's this past week, over the 4th. The kids played well together, enjoying lots of LEGO time. We went swimming, and of course played outside in the backyard. Thankfully the porch fans kept all of us cool enough to let the kids play in the heat. Here is a quick slideshow!!



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2013 Summer Trip #2

Summer vacation #2 was a special one! We saw just about every living member on my side of the family. It was great to stay at GranGran's house again with the whole family! We even brought Roxy and Tito.

The kids enjoyed going to the park and children's museum at Granny's house. They explored a cave, a waterfall and mountain view at GranGran's house. We also got to swim at Karen's house! Tennessee summer weather is different from Texas weather. The day we swam, the high was 84, and she said she had run the pool heater to make sure it wasn't cold - IN THE SUMMER!! I think that same day the high at our house was 101...

I got to see my cousin Blake pitch a complete game, and get the win, in a baseball tournament. Tito taught Roxy how to navigate stairs, and some manners. The only bad news was that Jenna had to go to the emergency room to get her head glued back together. She had a small cut that needed to be closed, after taking a tumble. 

Below are pics and video of the trip!

Created with flickr slideshow.

Summer Trip #1 2013

We truly had a blast this past week in San Antonio. We were able to spend time with Granny and Grandaddy enjoying a special city! You can see from the pictures below that we had TONS of fun!! Among the many things we did were: the Alamo, the Riverwalk (eating), Sea World, San Antonio Children's Museum, and Market Square.

Then on the way back we stopped to see Gigi and cousin Reese in Temple. Of course the rest of his family was there too. Our last stop was at a wedding shower for a wonderful couple, Grant and Ashley (soon to be) Turner. Grant is a good friend from back in the Friendship Baptist Church days, and seems to be truly happy with his special lady.

Enjoy the pictures below, and our video

Roxy's adventure

I took Roxy to some local trails for a walk the other day. She enjoyed the roaming around and exploring. The park was really nice, and even had a doggy water fountain. She played down in the creek for a bit, and walked through a meadow. We also followed the path over some train tracks and a bridge. Good times with a good dog! Yes she was on-leash, that's what that line is. Our county requires a leash at all times (I like that).

Jenna-isms

Here are some of the unique things Jenna says right now:
...alltime- means she really likes something, as in "me write all time"
Pod- her iPod
Gnna- the g is a combination of j and e then the rest of the letters in her name. She also says this when she sees letters.
Upees- up please
Chichen- means chicken or chick-fil-a

Also if she gets a boo boo and you ask her how it happened she will say Roxy did it, no matter what.

Pa-Pul... this what she calls Rapunzel, the disney princess

chinished... finished

me do...

toming... coming (to wherever you called her)

At the Park in May

We had a great time on an impromptu trip to the park Wednesday evening. We took some Chick-Fil-A and at a picnic table, then enjoyed the park as a family. Even Roxy had a good time. The kids played on the playground with others, and introduced them to their dog. Then we walked around the "lake" and went home. The most amazing part is that everyone behaved. That's a tall order for a 4.5yr old, 2yr old and 5mo old puppy. Because everyone behaved Mom and Dad had fun too! We even took some pictures with our new camera!!

Great Last week of April

I wanted to get this one in before Jenna's Birthday. To start the week off, Rachel had a very good interview as part of her Teacher of the Year honors. It was low-pressure, and she feels that she did well. Then Tuesday I passed my NT Comprehensive Exam. This was a milestone for which I have been studying and preparing for nearly a year and a half. The whole family took the opportunity to celebrate with a dinner at Chilis, and a box of Junior mints for dessert. We even bought some Oreo's to enjoy this week!

Week of April 14th 2013

This week we began preparing for Jenna's birthday. She picked out cupcake mix, and toppings for her special day. Her birthday presents started arriving, and will be wrapped soon. I can't believe she will be 2 in 2 short weeks. In fact, if you ask her how old she is, she holds up 2 fingers and says "two!".

Megan continued her emotional growth this week, which contained a few trying moments. The good news is that she is slowly learning to deal with her emotions, which is a tough thing for anyone to learn. She had a blast at school this week, doing work on the letter "p" and talking about circles. The girls also had pictures at school this week, so when we get copies we will share.

Rachel and I are plugging along at our work. She's getting her TOTY application ready, and I'm prepping for an exam on April 23rd.

This week it finally felt like spring, so we started playing outside more!! I love this time of year because its not hot enough to make me sweaty, but warm enough for the kids to have fun. They even tried flying a kite this week:


Fridays at our house are days when the kids don't have school, and we've exhausted all of our "at home" activities, so I like to go somewhere. This week, we played at a park we haven't been to in a while. We even took the dog. Enjoy the video below! And yes she does wear that headband "Rambo" style.

Week Before Easter

I decided to include pictures below from our Easter Weekend. We had a wonderful week this past week. I found out that I will get to take my NT comprehensive exam in a few weeks. The girls did awesome at School, and at play! Rachel won an award for teaching!!!! (highly deserved in my opinion!!) Roxy was a good dog :) We celebrated Passover/The Last Supper as a family this year for the first time. I think we'll do it again. We all learned a lot from the experience - and the kids really enjoyed the special experience. 

Nana and Papa came over for the Easter Weekend celebration. We played plenty on Friday - Megan even talked Papa into getting donuts for breakfast. Saturday we went swimming in the morning, then Chick-fil-a and more play time. For dinner we took Papa into Fort Worth to eat Chipotle since he doesn't get to do it in Amarillo. Church on Easter Morning was wonderful, and the egg hunt was a ton of fun! We went to the OG afterward (Olive Garden). What a great weekend of celebrating our risen Savior! God really has blessed our family!

Incredible March

We have been having a great time lately!! Over Spring Break, Megan took swimming lessons - and learned how to do the basics. We were incredibly proud that she was putting her whole head under the water by the end of the week! She'll be taking more lessons soon.



Roxy has also been learning some new tricks... And playing a bunch with Jenna!





So, we have had quite a bit of fun, and here are some pictures to document it as well!!

Justin also got to teach a class at SWBTS last week. Rachel had a challenging week with her class, but still enjoyed it. Megan went to a birthday party which Rachel described as deliciously girly. I also included some of the girls' artwork. We are ready for a 3day weekend and for Easter!!