Weekend Getaway: Family Reunion

Last weekend we enjoyed a nice little get-away to the Dallas/Fort Worth area for a family reunion. We gathered with my mom's side of the family for a day full of fun and lots of delicious food!

Pool time

Mike and Jamie having a man-to-man

My cousin Micah with his son baby Micah

Zora with cousin Erin

Daddy & Lily

Zora, Paige, Theresa & Fred doing drawings for door prizes

My brother and hubby :-)

Uncle Jack and my step-dad singing together

We're not sure who invited this guy, but he showed up ready to party. I'm not sure what kind of spider this is, but he looked like an octopus up-close and he was about 5 inches long. Too big and scary for me!

Joel & Lily playing Wahoo with cousins Cynthia, Greg and Jill

Beautiful sunset from the balcony of my cousin's home

Although the reunion was at my cousin Theresa's home, we slept at my cousin Cynthia's house. She is such a gracious and FUN hostess! She made us some yummy chocolate chip pancakes and she loved to spoil my girls just a little. On the morning we left she let the girls each take their favorite sea shell out of her collection as a little souvenir.

Thank you Mike and Cynthia having us in your home!!!

And I also want to say a big thank you to Fred & Theresa for hosting the family reunion at their beautiful home and for the wonderful food. We had a memorable and sweet time with family!

Together With Friends

This summer we've had so many great times with friends. We are truly blessed with many great friends. We have so many friends from church, playgroup and our homeschool T.I.E. group that we've really enjoyed playing with. I haven't been able to get pics at every playdate, but here are a few that I managed to get the kids still enough for a few seconds...

We truly miss the Voss family who now lives in Arizona, but we were excited that they got to visit us back in June.

Noah, Zora, Eva & Lily

Lily, Emma & Zora at the bowling alley

Lily, Mark & Zora at Mark's house. Thanks for the swimming playdate!

Zora, Addie & Lily at the bowling alley

On our recent trip to Texas for a family reunion we also took time to visit some other friends who we miss very much, the Cutsinger family. I met Kendra and Joshua at a library storytime and they became regulars at our playgroup. Soon after little Micah was born. We got to be great friends and then they moved to Texas. It was such a blessing to go to their home.

Joshua, Zora, Micah & Lily listening to Kendra read a Miss Nelson book

We've had so many other great playdates and we don't want to leave anyone out... we had another special visit from some far-away friends who live in Georgia, Reed and Pierce (we'll see you again soon in a few weeks!); a splash pad playdate with cousin, Ty; a swimming playdate with Kylan and Kynlee; a fun playdate with Hollyn, Myli and Alexa; playdates with Aub and Levi, and several fun get-togethers with playdate and our T.I.E. group. Thanks to all of our wonderful friends for making our summer so memorable and fun!

Skiatook Lake

A couple of weeks ago we had a great little weekend getaway trip with the Fielden family. We took a trip with them to Skiatook Lake and had a day of fun we'll never forget!

Here are the girls all geared up and ready to go on the boat ride

Jennifer and Me

Daddy swimming in the lake with the girls

Daddy takes the girls for a ride... they LOVED that thing!

Isn't this precious? Three tiny hineys sunbathing on the intertube :-)

Each of the girls got their turn driving the boat when we were out in the middle of the lake with no one else around.

Lily driving - doesn't she look cool?

Addie driving

Zora driving

We also all took our turns tubing behind the boat (except for Jennifer because she is expecting!) We had so much fun - adults and kids alike.

Zora & Trev

Lily & Trev

Addie & Me

Lily with Daddy

Zora with Daddy

In the background you can barely see Trev & Addie taking their turn, but I couldn't resist this picture of my girls. It was nearing the end of the day and they were getting tired.

When we weren't driving around, tubing or riding on sea-dos we had a lot of fun just swimming in the water. The girls loved jumping off the side of the boat.

Lily jumps in!

Zora jumps in!

Jasmine Moran Museum

We recently took another visit to the much loved Jasmine Moran Museum, but this time we went with our friends from playgroup! Here are some pics of our visit...

Zora & Lily teaching
students: Emma, Hollyn & Myli

In the room learning about living with disabilities

Lily's favorite room... Car mechanics

Zora's favorite room... the baby unit at the "hospital"

Drawing in the sand

Here is something new they've added since last time we went. It was a tornado tunnel that allowed the children to experience winds up to 75 mph. I got in there with them once and it really takes your breath away!!!

Of course we had to visit the bubble room.

Driving the fire truck. Don't you love Lily's pig nose pressed against the glass?

Lily checks Zora out at the "grocery store"

Lily in the dentist chair. Open wide!

Junie B. Jones Tour

In case you don't know about Junie B. Jones, she is a character in a series of books written by Barbara Park. She has a hilarious personality and a very funny viewpoint in life. In the beginning of the series she is a kindergartner and as the series progresses it follows her through the elementary school years.

Zora absolutely LOVES reading Junie B. Jones books. The only thing I don't like about Junie B. is that she has a major attitude problem and sometimes says words we don't use - like stupid or dumb, etc. I allow Zora to read the books, anyhow, and we just have to talk about not doing the unkind things that Junie B. sometimes does.

Now to the point of this post... The Junie B. Jones Stupid Smelly Bus Tour only went to a few select cities in the nation and our city was one of them!!! It was at one of our Barnes & Noble Bookstores. They had the actual Stupid Smelly Bus parked outside the store and then a short little show featuring Junie B. and the bus driver inside the store.

Zora and Lily in front of the Stupid Smelly Bus

Making bracelets waiting for the show to start

The girls in a sea of little people waiting for the show to start

Whoever plays the actual character in these little shows is absolutely hilarious. I honestly think she was funnier than some of the books. The girls got a seat close enough that they could see really well. I think all the kids enjoyed it. Just look at their faces. Can you find Zora & Lily???
When the show was over Junie B. was available to sign her books, but the line was VERY long and when I asked them if they wanted to wait they said NO. We settled instead for a picture with the backdrop. :-)

Summer Reading

I love to read.

Always have.

Always will.

The problem is that I don't have much TIME to read anymore since motherhood hit me almost 7 years ago.

Usually the only things I have time to read is my Bible study (which I thoroughly enjoy), or children's books with my girls (that's enjoyable too), or all the blogs I follow (which I highly recommend for some good reading - look on the right side for some great suggestions!).

But this summer I've really taken the initiative to MAKE TIME for reading. Here are some of the great books I would recommend...

Bringing Up Girls by Dr. James Dobson
A must read if you have girls.
If you have boys he also has one called Bringing Up Boys

Pocahontas: True Princess by Mari Hanes

This book is fabulous. Zora and I read one chapter every night together before bedtime. We studied about Pocahontas last year in her first grade history curriculum and she loves the Disney movie, but this book is based on real journal accounts of her life. It not only tells of her amazing life and love for all people, but also her spiritual journey and the life she found in Christ.

The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson

I "borrowed" this book from my dear friend Amy Voss a few years ago. I had no intentions of keeping it this long, but I'm just now getting around to reading it. I'm about half-way through it and I've enjoyed every minute of it. It is, however, very challenging for me to read because I see so much more that I should be doing as a mother. I'm taking serious notes! (So, Amy, if you're reading this please allow me to "borrow" this for a few more weeks and then I'll mail it to you!!!)

Here's what is coming up on our reading list. I found these books in the Bargain Bins at Target. They are some of the old classics and they were only $1 each!!! What a Steal!!! I can't wait to read these with Zora :-)

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting