Rockin Rockport

We were pretty far out and still able to sit... a good deal with little ones.

Checking out the pier

Brooks and Hudson

Eating pulled pork sandwhiches

Wendi at my house in Victoria!

We met the Junods in Rockport for a day. It's only an hour from us in Victoria and worth the drive. We had a blast. Drove in, played all day, and drove home. The next day, the Junods drove through Victoria and stopped to say hi. They are one of few people that have seen the new house, so it was fun to show them where we live. I cherished the time. The boys love playing and they all played great. Stephen got to see Nick, hang, relax, get some guy time. We miss you all!

Come back to me. Come back to me is my request.

Welcome back Nick!

Kim, me, Katie

Action shot of my girls

Tracy - listening

Jenise - explaining

Shannon - silently agreeing

drama - always

Thanks for the support sistas!

PS I love you

Nick and Jeff

Total number of children when we met - 0

Total number of children between us - 18

We're happy to have some girl time!

We're not scared to try different angles, obviously, worth it.

Not to be dramatic... but I love you all so much. I'm super sappy about it since moving and now, getting recent girl time, I can't help but gush.

We were celebrating Nick's return to the states and it was so fun. I got to ride on the coat tails of Nick and Wendi, enjoying the Lupes they missed so much and seeing so many mutual friends.

I don't know why Cold Mountain seems appropriate but I will send out the vibe to the Junods. "Come back to me. Come back to me is my request." Ada (Nicole Kidman)

sand, sun and some cute little buns

They all need a good pinch right on their biscuits.

Jumping and playing at the house

Major, taking a break with some goldfish

exploring

golf cart adventures

With all these boys, of course there was some serious excitement over the golf cart.

Tip toeing at first

Posing - I think he's eyeing the next wave and deciding on what move to make.

Feeding the birds

I remember doing this in Galveston when I was little. The birds are still there, hungry and slightly aggressive.

This was my first chance to reunite with Wendi on her tour of America. It was a perfect get together for all of us. I am so thankful for Shannon and Wendi. I've always been thankful for them but since moving, my thankfulness has grown into appreciation and a deeper love for my sistas. I'm truly thankful for the girl time and for my boys to have some "little guy" time. It's a different world when they can exercise those boy type playing skills that aren't appreciate by the precious little girls. If you dish it out, you better be able to take it - was one of the more important lessons learned :) Loved that!

Potty Power

We're trying...

"come here little fella"

Hudson and the "little fella"

Hudson found this caterpillar on the trampoline and he said "come here little fella." We captured him and provided him with some leaves, which we saw him munch on. Hudson played with him for awhile. When he crawled on Hudson, he said it tickled.

Slip and Slide

This kid is up for anything.

The slip and slide was fun for a very short amount of time. I tried it out first, luckily, and discovered we originally laid it on several sharp objects. I had many scratches, but better me than the little guys. They really did like it. They just can't do it by themselves yet. Running and jumping onto the ground is not on the menu for Hudson, yet.

PINE COVE - part 1

Upon arrival, Major was exhausted beyond repair... in swoops "Magic" (her camp name), and she takes my screaming 14 month old for a walk. I become lost in the excitement, and wonder where Major is. This is where I found him. Magic is the perfect name for this angel. She held him so I could eat dinner and loved him the whole time. This is a small glimpse into the hearts of these counselors. They loved my babies in my absence (while water skiing, etc.), and even when I was with the boys they took them at the first sight of sadness. Thank you Jesus for the energy and love of a Pine Cove counselor. What an example to me and to my boys!

First time in White Tail and you can see the excitement all over these faces.

Fabulous Family Fellowship

Rodeo night

Hay-ride - women and children only

Guys had to walk.

Huddy and I spied a mini donkey and of course went to tell the little fella hello!

This is my guy, not walking, but finding a motorized vehicle to get him over to the rodeo.

Hudson checking out the poop with a little cutie.

Watching the "pull the tag off the calf" thing.

(Can't remember the real rodeo name of that)

These are parents that participated.

Stephen is out there in a forrest green shirt.

That's my man! Ye-Haw!

He got a tag and a little something, something on his other hand. Yum! He said he had to get the tag for me... so sweet.

A little after rodeo fishing time with the cuz, Conner.

Water trampoline - Stephen and Hudson in the water under the "rave" sign.

Major hitting the splash pad.

Meanwhile, Stephen and Hudson made it to the top of the trampoline.

Adult excursion to a private ski lake.

Conner learning to ski.

It wouldn't be camp without discovering some oversized amphibian.

Birthday Party night

The cake was unreal, and I know cake.

Pickle Ball

It's a camp thing.

Flowers for mommy.

Hudson's horse ride

Sport Team/Jersey Night

(We forgot all hanging clothes! I did have an OU shirt but it was with the hanging clothes. I'm thinking the clothes were left on purpose to lure me to the BU side. Didn't work! I found a red tank top and did my best boomer sooner!)

Sic em Bears

Club

Hudson spent a ton of time waking up the guitars. He loves the instruments and Stephen and Hudson made routine trips to the club building to check on the drums, guitars, and he even sang on the microphone. Stephen had to remind Hudson that guitars take naps and they had to sleep (thus "waking" them up occasionally).

One of Hudson's favorite counselors, GetUp. She was precious with him.

Ice cream to top off the evening.

Hudson's other counselor, YaYa. She loved Hudson and really made his time at camp so fun.

I could go on and on about how wonderful our vacation was. It meant so much to us and I didn't capture half of it on my camera. The speaker, Tim Hawks, was amazing. I learned so much and was challenged as a believer. What more could we ask for? It was perfect timing with our recent move to Victoria and we will be back to camp next year. I was refreshed by all the sweet families with little kids. We all seem to be in the same boat and I needed a little eye opener to help me see other people going through similar things as our family. God really worked there. This mama came back with a little more pep in her step.