Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Vacation in San Antonio

We went to San Antonio for a long weekend. We started off at Cindy and Dennis' house. So much fun! The hurricane had just hit in South Texas, so there was quite a bit of rain. However, the boys got to swim every day! Poor Matt got in the pool with the boys and it was pretty cool. Dennis put on the hot tub and we all swam in there the second day.

Cindy got the boys Transformers for their early birthday. They couldn't be more thrilled. In fact, they are holding them as I type this! We are all in a learning curve to transform them. Note...if it says 5+ years it really means 45+ years + 4 degrees!

We love going to visit and the boys are already asking when we are going back. It is so cute, Cindy and Dennis are the same way with the boys as they were with Suzanne and I as kids. I watch them with the kids and it takes me back to my own childhood.

We got to talk with Amanda while we were there and she is only a few weeks from delivering! We can't wait to see that baby!

Kristen was in Bali on a friend's boat for two weeks! Looking forward to those pictures, too!!


Dennis is so strong!


After we left Cindy and Dennis' we headed to Artie and Sandy's Lakehouse just outside San Antonio. We really got lucky with the weather. It was sunny and cloudy off and on all weekend, so it felt pretty good.

We got to see Kai and Elena. It has been a long time since we've seen them. Kai is so tall. He turned 6 this past weekend. The boys had so much fun with the "big kids"!
The boys with Kai.


This was so funny...Artie caught a little perch in the lake and brought it up to show the kids. Then he threw it in the pool. Everyone hopped out except Reid. He put his head in the water to get a better look.

The lake house was always fun, but now they put in an above ground pool and now it is super fun for the kids!


This is Christophe, Stephanie, Sonnie (Sandy's niece) and Alexine and Sonnie's daughter. They are coming back from feeding the horses. Last year Steph and Christophe got the girls horses. They are really into riding. In fact, while they were taking lessons a few years back, they would go twice a week and clean the stalls just to get free riding lessons. Now, that is dedication. It hasn't worn off either, they take great care of the horses and are really good riders. This is a big decision because horses live past 30 years. They've sold their house and are going to build on 40 acres of land!

Kai and the boys taking a hike!


Sandbox time! So much to do!
Steph, Sandy, Christophe, and Elena

Matt eating a stuffed jalapeno!

Alexine poured water on Miciaya!

Look at this rainbow!

Reid loved the horses. One of the horses had a little baby, he is so cute!
Stephanie getting the horses to "smile"

Artie pulled out the guitar. Quinn was excited to see that!
Breakfast and music!



They boys got to brush and take care of the horses.

Here the girls are getting the horses ready to ride. They ran them in the field to get out that extra energy. They are such good horses!


Reid is ready to ride!



Look at that grin!







When they were done riding, we asked, "Are you ready to get off?" They wanted to keep going so Steph took them for another walk!
This was the funniest thing. We got Matt on the horse. He wasn't too thrilled...the horse...or Matt. She wouldn't cooperate at all. I guess she knew he had no idea what he was doing. Eventually she started walking!

There were kittens in a barn down the road...
This is Trey and JoAnn's oldest, Alissa, she is quite a gymnist!


Stephanie got lots of fireworks and the kids loved them.

This is Mater!! Trey took the old truck out at Chester's and fixed it up. I can't believe how great it looks!! We use to ride this as kids and it was totally rusted out!! Lots of fun memories with this truck!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Harlem's Promise Academy!!

I'm going to get to do a two day presentation at Harlem's Promise Academy! I don't know if you have seen this area in the news or hear about Geoffery Canada, but I'm so thriled for this opportunity!!



From the website...
ABOUT GEOFFREY CANADA

Leading HCZ In Its Work With Inner-City Children

In his 20-plus years with Harlem Children's Zone, Inc., Geoffrey Canada has become nationally recognized for his pioneering work helping children and families in Harlem and as a passionate advocate for education reform.
Since 1990, Mr. Canada has been the President and Chief Executive Officer for Harlem Children's Zone, which The New York Times Magazine called "one of the most ambitious social experiments of our time." In October 2005, Mr. Canada was named one of "America's Best Leaders" by U.S. News and World Report.

In 1997, the agency launched the Harlem Children's Zone Project, which targets a specific geographic area in Central Harlem with a comprehensive range of services. The Zone Project today covers 100 blocks and aims to serve over 10,000 children by 2011.

The New York Times Magazine said the Zone Project "combines educational, social and medical services. It starts at birth and follows children to college. It meshes those services into an interlocking web, and then it drops that web over an entire neighborhood....The objective is to create a safety net woven so tightly that children in the neighborhood just can't slip through."

The work of Mr. Canada and HCZ has become a national model and has been the subject of many profiles in the media. Their work has been featured on "60 Minutes," "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "The Today Show," "Good Morning America," "Nightline," "CBS This Morning," "The Charlie Rose Show," National Public Radio's "On Point," as well in articles in The New York Times, The New York Daily News, USA Today and Newsday.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Grant's 5th Birthday

Our buddy, Grant, turned 5!
We had so much fun at his birthday party at Bayou Wildlife Park.

Grant just couldn't choose between Spiderman and Batman, so he had both!

It was a hot day in Texas, but boy, those cupcakes were yummy!


Jenny with Andie


Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Dinosaurs at the zoo...

Right now at the zoo they have a dinosaur exhibit.
It was so funny because the boys weren't too sure they wanted to get close.

The T-Rex was huge!


Quinn is backing up to get in the picture...he's not so sure about this!
They were moving and roaring!



Ree Ree and the Girls Come to Visit

My friend, Ree Ree, is in town for a few weeks. She has 3 girls and 2 boys. She and the girls came over to visit for the evening. The kids had a good time together.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Lovin' my Brother....

Hopefully this will give you a giggle....





Monday, June 21, 2010

Soccer!!

The boys started soccer and really like it!
Running and kicking...what else could you want?
Ironically, they got "new" YMCA shirts and they were orange just like the ones for T-ball! Maybe the next sport, we'll get a new color!

Reid about to make a block...(I think...I'm still learning the game!)

Quinn is waiting for his turn...



Saturday, June 12, 2010

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Camping at Lake Tom Big Bee

We went camping this past weekend and it was so fun. It was hot but not bad at all because there was so much shade! It got down to 68 at night and we brought a fan for our tent. Really "roughing it". I just love sleeping in a tent. They had a huge
slide for the kids to go down and Sandra and Stewart brought their boat. Lots of fun!!

Reid found something that looked like an arrow head, and Stewart made him this bow and arrow. He loves it! He woke up the second morning and it was the first thing he asked for.

Every evening I told the kids a story. The boys wanted a king, dragon, or Transformer story and of course, Sarah wanted the princess story. I had to get creative with the plots.
Look at this dirty face... We LOVE camping.

(Reid went first, then Matt, and finally Quinn)