5.30.2010

Red, White and Blue Fun!

What a fun, treat filled weekend! David and Ashley invited both sets of parents to come for the weekend! We had so much fun! David and Ashley really outdid themselves! Talk about hostesses with the mostesses! They had everything fixed so festive and the food was ALL amazing! We had the "chore" of watching Emma while they cooked! Yahoo for that job! We had so much fun playing with her and then eating food! We ate the entire weekend! It was so delicious! They tried out several new recipes and we will all fix them again! It was so fun to be with David's parents, Joe and Patti. We are SO SO SO blessed. Our daughter not only was blessed with amazing in-laws but we feel like we really gained some very dear friends! It was so fun to hang out, play with Emma, hang out with our kids, eat delicious food, go shopping with the girls, laugh, play "name that tune" when we were all way to tired...which resulted in lots of laughs! Thank you David and Ashley for all the work you did to make this weekend so fun! You were amazing hosts! Here are a few of many pictures I took but I just had to share all the cute decorations! (Ashley, you really did have things looking so fun!!)







5.27.2010

The Bluebonnet Field...


Okay, I know there is a children's book that has been written about the Bluebonnet story, but this is my story. My mother loved bluebonnets. So, when our kids were very young, actually she might have started before they were even born, she began to buy a packet or two of seeds each year and throw them in a field next to the house where we lived. The field is owned by the utility company and has very large power lines/poles running through it. So, nothing could be built there, yet they really didn't keep it up. So, my mom would mow the lot BUT only after all her bluebonnets had gone to seed. Each year she anxiously awaited to see the bluebonnets pop up from the soil and God smiled down on this field. Every year the crop got bigger and bigger. When our kids were small, we would always take Easter pictures of them in Nanny's bluebonnet field. It still brings tears to my eyes to think of how much she loved seeing those flowers in bloom. When Mom died, 10 years ago, Dad sold the house and moved into a smaller place. I had lived in that house since I was in the 6th grade. It was home to me. It is only about 5 minutes from here, but I haven't driven by it but maybe twice in the past 10 years. It's just hard. This year, Ashley was talking to me about wanting to take a picture of Emma in some bluebonnets and had I seen any. Then she asked the question. "Is Nanny's bluebonnet field pretty this year". I couldn't answer. I hadn't driven by it. I came home and asked Larry and he chuckled. He relayed a conversation he had with Zach a few days earlier. Zach wanted to take a picture of the boys in Nanny's bluebonnet field. He and Larry had seen that it looked good this year but not big like it used to, yet the bluebonnets that were there, were beautiful. So, about a month ago, when Ashley and Emma were in town, we drove out and took pictures. It was extremely fun and extremely emotional for me. I like to think that Mom was smiling down from above. She never got to meet these great grands. Oh how she would have loved them. She loved her grandchildren like no one else! She was such an incredible example to me of how I want to live my life. As a Wife. Mother. Christian. Sister. Daughter. Friend. But also as a grandmother. I pray when my life is over, that my example and words still live deep in my children and grand children's heart..just like my Mom's example still does. She taught us a lot. She loved us deeply. She longed to go home. Recently I was thinking on heaven and how beautiful it must be. I wonder if it has a bluebonnet field. If Mom has anything to do with it, it will! And we all look forward to the day when we can be joined together in Heaven and who knows, maybe we will meet in a bluebonnet field.

This will be picture overload but we did snap over 200 pictures between 3 cameras. They are in no particular order, just SOME of my favorites! Mom, these are for you!







5.23.2010

Girl time...






We sure had fun this past week. ANYTIME we are with the kids or grandkids adds up to fun! Ashley and Emma came over on Monday and stayed till Thursday. We had so much fun just bumming around with them. It was so nice that we didn't have a million things going on. Time to just play with Emma and watch ALL the many changes. She is growing up so fast. She just gets more and more personality every time we see her. The time just flew by! Never ready to see them go! But we are so thankful that Ashley is getting to stay home and that we can have sweet times like this! Here are a few pictures from our week...

5.16.2010

Yippee! Look who is coming to see me!!!



We are so excited because Ashley and Emma (sorry that you have to work David!) are coming to spend a few days with us! I am so ready to kiss on those sweet cheeks!

5.13.2010

Knight Camp 2010

Our 4th Annual Knight Camp has ended, but our hearts are FULL of fun memories! For those who don't know, Knight Camp is our Grandparent Camp. We have some simple "rules". You have to be 2 years old AND potty trained. We have a little tradition too, when it is someone's first year to go, we head to Abilene State Park, so we had a new camper this year, Will joined in on the fun so it was off to Abilene State Park. We decided this year instead of taking our pop up camper we would stay in one of the Yurts they have at this park. (That is it behind them in this picture!) It was a fun change for the boys and they loved our "special tent"!
Our fun began as soon as the boys woke up from their naps on Monday afternoon. Larry and I had already made a trip out to the Park, set up camp, got all the beds made, hid a few treats on their beds, etc. Another one of our traditions, is Knight Camp T-Shirts, so we all got our shirts on and we gave the boys a new "treasure sack" and headed out to buy worms! :)
We always try to have a theme and this year was "CAMO"! We learned when we were in our camo shirts, we could hide really good! We played lots of hide and seek to just prove that fact! Here are a couple of adorable shots of Will and Owen. They found this branch off a tree and carried it around hiding behind it! It was so cute!


Larry and I do lots of planning of what we will do each year, but basically it was almost 48 hours of non stop fun and activities! We play games, eat camp food, we fish, we go on scavenger hunts, we do crafts, we have fun snacks, we hike but most of all, we do whatever sounds fun to the boys! If they want to take a hike...we do! It's about being together! Owen made my day on the last day, right before it was over when I asked him what his favorite thing about Knight Camp this year and he looked up at me with those blue eyes and said, "Honey, it was just being with you and Bud!" Heart melted! Made it worth it all! So, instead of me "talking", I think I will just let the pictures do the talking!






OWEN

CLAY

WILL

We are already thinking about next years theme! Two more years and we will have a girl join in on the fun, we can't wait Emma Grace! The boys talked about how they would help her fish, hike and do her crafts! So sweet! They have already informed us we need to find a pink tackle box for Emma! It was great fun. We are so very blessed to have such good to take! They are so well behaved and it was a delightful time for all! We love you little guys!

5.01.2010

34 years and counting...

My sweet husband and me the first year he taught me how to fly fish!

Today, Larry and I are celebrating 34 years of marriage bliss! I know, we are much too young to have been married that long! :) I thank God for the man He blessed me with. I thought he was pretty amazing when we were dating but really I had no idea!! Each day he amazes me with his huge heart, his amazing work ethic (really I have never know ANYONE who works as hard as him), his faithfulness to me and his incredible love and support! He has provided for us, shown me God in so many ways and loves me warts and all! :) He is a wonderful daddy to our two children, a great father-in-law and super duper Bud to four adorable grandchildren!! He always finds time to help us and others and is so very talented with his hands! I wish he had more time to build fun stuff because he is more talented and gifted than he even realizes! One of the GREATEST gifts he has given me is the opportunity to be a stay at home mom when our kids were growing up! He will NEVER know how much that meant to me! Now, we work together but he still finds time to let me have some days off to do fun things! I am blessed beyond words! Here are a few of my favorite pictures of him doing things that bring him joy!!! (In no particular order)
My fly fishing buddy on one of our trips to Colorado
Enjoying some down time with Zach at the RIverhouse in Boerne.
Enjoying time with Meg at the parade
Seeing Ashley before the wedding
Giving David a few last words of advice before the wedding! Ha, those boys love to be silly!
Enjoying some shop time with Owen

Helping Clay get his fishing pole ready

Bud and Will talking
Holding Emma for the first time!