Swim Smart 2011

Hudson and Major began the summer with swim lessons. They went for 40 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for 2 weeks. Here is their last day at swim.

major

hudson

step 1

step 2

step 3

play time

major

play time

hudson

Hudson is swimming which is nice and I'm so proud of him. He starts out a little hesitant when we go to the pool but after I catch him a couple of times he swims alone. Major did good getting comfy in the water. I bet he'll be swimming alone next summer. Who knows? Maybe this summer. We still have a lot of swimming ahead of us!

i love summer

I love summer for all the obvious reasons like eating juicy watermelon outside and...

making smores on a whim

I love all the changing seasons but summer is the big dog if you ask me. It edges out the competition in most areas. We are living it up!

Father's Day 2011

Stephen with his Happy Father's Day crew

We had a fun day with Stephen on Father's Day. It included tons of yummy food and just some laid back time with daddy-o. I love watching him with Hudson and Major. He is so grounded as a person and definitely as a father. The top things that he and the kiddos do together are... golf, wrestle, tackle, infinity and beyond, spins, baseball, visit work, and pick me flowers. I'm sure some things on the list will be there forever but some will be replaced with new things. As infinity and beyond turns into driving around the neighborhood, I close my eyes and try as best as humanly possible to savor ever piece of it. I just want to squeeze them all.

growing up

Major had to part with his beloved paci this week...

As we left all of Major's pacis with our baby friend Lila, I said, "growing up is hard," to Major. It struck me in that moment that growing up really is difficult sometimes, but just past the stepping stone is confidence and new beginnings. I felt horrible for these few minutes where he was heartbroken but I'm excited for him. He has done great. Between the pacis, and potty training heading in the right direction, we really are moving our whole little family toward a new stage. I'm hopeful in all our steps together. It hurts a little to leave behind some baby things, even for me, but I love the big boys that they are becoming!

Member/Guest 2011

Last weekend Stephen played in the member/guest golf tournament with his buddy Zane Green. They had a blast and won their flight smashingly. Caroline and I got to join them for the fun dinners. This is Friday after their big win. The Scott Taylor band played and I really enjoyed them. It was a nice night out with friends. Way to go Zane and Stephen!

VBS 2011

This year, both Hudson and Major could attend VBS at LifePoint. I volunteered to assist with crafts which made it a family affair. I figured Major would do better if I was there so I volunteered to make sure he wasn't giving his teachers too rough of a time.

VBS y'all!

worship

hudson and tia

some dancing with the ladies

hudson getting his worship on

l.o.v.e this

craft time

Hudson's wet hair is actually from the water cooler. All the boys in his group thought it was awesome to dump water on their heads. It was hot so they came up with the perfect 4 year old solution. Love this age and the energy that leads to hilarious situations.

Major is participating in craft time and it is a historic moment for all. I didn't want to get too close since he was happy with his teachers. Truth be told, he spent most time with me instead of his class. I'm still happy he got the experience and he was surrounded be all these believers learning about Jesus.

Craft time and boys just seems to lead to crafty mischief around this crew. Hudson is using the sparkly rhinestones to decorate his face. It's funny. I mean, he doesn't encounter rhinestones often.

I can't say that I was a huge help volunteering at VBS but I'm glad I tried and helped Major through it all. I loved listening to the stories along with them and worship time was so fun! Their teachers Donna and Kristal were so loving. I enjoyed it and so did the boys!

cutie cousins

~ ryan-kate ~ hudson ~ major ~

horrible, horrible, horrible

I'm humbled and a little embarrassed to post this but it must be done. This is Majors left hand with a huge burn on it. I sat him on the kitchen counter which I do often. I turned to drain the noodles in the sink and heard a scream. It was literally about 2 seconds of me turning and he had grabbed the gas stove. Horror!!! He was so distraught and I was a basket case. Stephen walked in from work at the same moment. I was thankful for Stephen coming in at the perfect time to console us all. Yucky, yuck, yuck! Major is a trooper and really went on about his business the next day. He did baby his hand but that was it. He refused all bandages etc. so I just let him be. It's totally fine now. Poor baby. It looks horrible!

Stephen is 34

Just a few pics from Stephen's 34th birthday.

These pics are all about the strawberry cake which is central and foundation to all things Stephen and birthday. It's a tradition to say the least. It's also delicious to the core. I love Stephen's birthday. I love Stephen! I've been around for several of his birthdays now and I can't wait to be around for so many more because I love getting older with him. Aging is exciting because I'm with the one person in the whole world that carries my heart with him. I look forward to what is in our future, trusting the Lord for wisdom. I'm so happy for another day of celebration for Stephen. He rocks!

Mother's Day

Surprise

My parents were on their way to a cruise out of Galveston on Mother's Day. Our fam drove into Spring to visit Grammy and Gramps for Mother's Day. So... our paths crossed at Faithbridge that Sunday morning. RayRay and Champ showed up at church to give hugs and kisses. It was a sweet surprise!

Livesay Lunch

Conner and Emily were there for lunch and we ended it all with delicious strawberry pie for Stephen's birthday. Everyone got a squirt of whipped cream of course.

Grammy and Hudson

Grammy and Major

It was a sweet time to honor Ann as Stephen's mother and as my wonderful mother-in-love. What a blessing she is to all of us! I wish we lived closer to them. As we left for Victoria, we got to take Conner and Emily home. We had a fun road trip with them for about and hour. Fun day!

End of School Stuff

Cinco de Mayo 2011

waiting for pinata

major and payton

hudson's turn

last day of 3 year olds

(sorry major but it must be known)

I can count on one hand the number of times I dropped Major off and he did not cry. ONE HAND!!! He was dedicated that's for sure. He had the best teachers ever for such behavior. They never once complained or gave any indication that it was frustrating. They were such an answer to prayer and a sweet blessing to Major and me.

FIRST day of school 2010-2011

last day 2010-2011

I have grown to love PDS. The teachers have been perfect for my guys. This was Major's first year and he really did great (besides being dropped off). He will have Mrs. Harrison and Mrs. Rains next year. They have been Hudson's teachers for 2 years so needless to say we can't get enough of them! So happy to have one more year with them. Hudson is headed to pre-k... be still my heart! Goodness, that's enough of that... We love summer so it's time to celebrate!

End of April Get-Away

Visiting our Coppell peeps is one of our favorite pass times. We dropped in for a few days at the end of April. Stephen was busy, busy in Victoria. While there, I got to join in the surprise birthday party for Joe's 30th! It was fun to be sneaky and help with all the diversions. That's Uncle Joe holding all of Major's blankets.

Visting RayRay at work

super cool helicopter that uncle joe let the boys play with

So glad that we can just show up and join in the fun up there in Coppell. Love my family!