June 2010

June has come and gone and we are now into July! I can't believe it. I've been spending the summer trying to keep the kids busy with various activities. The boys did a week of Vacation Bible School and we've had a great time going to the pool, the splash park, The Big Bounce and to our local HEB Plus for a tour. Here are some pictures to highlight our summer activities so far!

The Big Bounce just opened up the road from our house in Cedar Park. We visited for the first time with our new playgroup and the kids had a blast! We spent HOURS there until they were just worn out!

Eliana's first "bounce" experience

Every picture I took of Joshua was like this...I couldn't catch him, he was always off running to the next thing!

Jaron having a great time!

On June 19th, we traveled to Katy for my nephew, Jared's, wedding. It was an absolutely beautiful and moving ceremony. We enjoyed the weekend with family and loved ones.

The new couple, LT and Mrs. Jared Stark!

Cutting the "Tank" cake

Last weekend we attended Natalie's birthday party. Natalie is the boys' oldest friend from since they started at Ms. Glynda's daycare at 9 weeks old. I think they will be forever friends! We try to get together to play every once in a while, but we definitely see eachother on their birthdays. This year, we got to meet the newest member of the family, Connor!

Eliana and Connor's first meeting

The "Three Musketeers!"

The boys at our most recent trip to the splash park

Eliana enjoyed watching the big kids play more than she enjoyed getting wet!

Last Tuesday we attended a tour of our local HEB Plus. It may sound uneventful to some, but it was actually pretty cool. The kids learned a lot about healthy eating and we got to see parts of the store we don't normally see AND they even got to pet a live lobster! At the end, we took a group picture with HE-Buddy.

Here we are at the bakery watching the bread slicer. Then we got a slice of fresh baked bread with jelly

Checking out the live lobster

Watching tortillas being made. Then we got to sample fresh tortillas...mmmm... Inside the Dairy refrigerator...soooo cold! Some of the kids with HE-Buddy!

I have to add this picture of our last visit to the pool. We decided to go swimming with our neighbors last Tuesday. We knew it was cloudy but decided to chance it. I mean...how often does it threaten to rain and never does?! So, we loaded up and went swimming. My nieghbor and I kept watching the clouds. After a while we felt a few sprinkles and we thought "Ok, that's ok...as long as it doesn't start thundering and lightening." Well, eventually it just started pouring. The grown-ups got out with the babies and grabbed our stuff and stood under the breezeway. We allowed the kids to play in the rain...again, as long as it didn't start thundering and lightening. As soon as we heard the thunder we piled in the van, soaking wet, to go home. The kids were so shocked we allowed them to swim in the rain! Here's one picture I got of Joshua in the pool in the pouring down rain.

Sadly, on the same day as Jared and Allison's wedding, my Mamaw passed away to be with my Papaw in Heaven. It was a rollercoaster of emotions that day, and week, to say the least. I couldn't believe all that had happened in the span of one week. The biggest comfort was having so much family and so much love around those few days.

My Mamaw was a very special, one-of-a-kind lady who was a blessing to all who knew her. She and my Papaw would've been married 71 years on July 14th, so we know they are together now, no longer in pain or suffering. I have so many memories of the two of them and it's hard to imagine our family without them. The biggest lesson learned from Mamaw and Papaw is how to love. They spent a lifetime together and our biggest tribute to them is to love and care for our family, loved ones, friends, and neighbors as they showed us, which was without reservation or selfishness and to greet everyone with open arms, a warm meal or a hot cup of coffee.

I hope my cousin Rickey won't mind me quoting him here. This is from his facebook post after the passing of my Mamaw and it is so perfect:

They were happy people even towards the end, even with their health problems. She was a very pleasant host and truly made you feel welcome. She was really like having another mother or grandmother. She was so gentle and loving and Godly. Certainly a woman of her generation. I think they have broken the mold. As the bible speaks about, she had the gift of hospitality. The coffee pot was always ready to be put into action. It was either on, had just been on or was about to be turned on. And the food, there was always something to eat and plenty of it. She just meant a lot to me. I am glad I was able to bea small part of her life.