A West Texas Christmas!

This year we stepped out and did things a little different this year...We traveled to Lajitas, Texas to celebrate Christmas!  Ma-mas, Pa-Pa, and Uncle Clint joined us as we relaxed by the fire, took in the beautiful mountain scenery, explored nearby Terlingua, and hiked in Big Bend National Park.  Such a unique and fun way to spend the holiday!  

Three kiddos very glad to have arrived after SEVEN hours in the car. 

First on the itinerary was to meet the mayor of Lajitas...Clay Henry III, the beer drinking goat.

Ghost town tour in Terlingua.

The local landscape.

Rock Climbers!

Mom, Dad, Uncle Clint and Cooper hiked the Window Trail in Big Bend.  

More rock climbing after a dip in the Hot Spring.  

The kids were worried Santa wouldn't find us in West Texas, but he did!

Happy New Year to all!

Ellie's 3rd Birthday!

Ellie is three!  This little baby, er big girl, is just growing up way too fast. Ellie is spunky and a real sweetie pie!  We love listening to her little tales and watching her try to hang in there with the big kids (she mostly does).  She loves playing with her big brother and sister and her "Brynlee Friend" from down the street.  She likes Peppa Pig, Poppy the Troll and Minions.  She can say just about anything and has no problem giving her opinion.  Ellie goes to preschool three days a week and LOVES her teachers.  If something doesn't go her way at home, she says, "I need to tell my teacher!"  It seems unreal that we have such a big girl on our hands but here we are.  We can't wait to see what the next year holds for her!

We celebrated Ellie's birthday with a little party at home.  Our friends the Opielskis, Steve and Mary Bennett, and Ma-Mas and Pa-Pa all came over to help celebrate.  The kids all played, enjoyed cake and opened presents.  Ellie had a blast!  She liked it being her birthday!

Ellie..big three year old!

Pink Princess Poppy Cake a la Mama...as requested by Ellie

Gift wrapping.

Friends help with the gifts.

Halloween 2016

Happy Halloween 2016!!  

The Scarecrow, Pinkalicious, and one uncooperative Peppa Pig.
Cooper and Penny are old pros at this Halloween thing by now!  They had a ton of fun visiting some friends, eating out, then hitting up a nearby neighborhood for some trick-or-treating!  

Peppa Pig needed some prompting to get into the spirit of Halloween.

A little candy was just the ticket!
Ellie really had fun for her third Halloween.  She insisted on carrying her own treat bag and walking the whole way while we trick-or-treated.  After every house she would exclaim, "I got one Mommy!" (Except at one house, where the candy bowl was left unattended on a porch.  We said several times to take just one.  Ellie came running back yelling, "I got TWO Mommy!"

Cooper's 8th Birthday!

We just celebrated Cooper's EIGHTH birthday!  That's right, his eighth.  This sweet guy is just the best!  On October 4th, his actual birthday, Cooper was treated to his name on the marquee at school, cupcakes at cub scouts, and presents at home.  On the following Saturday we celebrated some more with a pool party at home.  The Naisers, Ma-mas and Pa-Pa, and many friends from school came over to join the fun.  Coop is absolutely wild about Angry Birds right now, so that was the theme of the party.  He also received Angry Birds Legos as gifts, amongst other things.  All in all we had a great week celebrating our big guy!

Cooper was surprised and thrilled to see this at school when he was dropped off in the morning.  

The first of the party pics...Cupcakes!

Boys have important things to discuss.

Bad Piggies...

After swimming and cake, Cooper took his friends on a tour which included showing them the chicken coop and playing on the playground.

Angry Birds!

More Angry Birds!

Penny's Sixth Birthday!

 Yesterday we were happy to celebrate Penny's sixth birthday!  We enjoyed a visit from Nonnie and a swim party to help make Penny feel special on her day. Ma-Mas, Pa-Pa, our family of five, and five of Penny's friends came over to swim, make princess crowns, eat cupcakes and open gifts.  It was so much fun and Penny was so happy!

The spread...we are ready for this princess swim party to start!

She's ready!  Here she is making her "princess face."

Our swimming princess.

Penny and friends make their own crowns!

Group shot of all the princesses!

Group shot...plus one photo bomber.

I think she had fun.

Blow out the candles and make a wish!

Girls just keep on having fun!

 Such a fun day!  After the party we all relaxed but we weren't done!  After dinner Penny got to open more presents from Mom and Dad and all the kids played with the new toys until bedtime.

And That's a Wrap!

We tried our best to make the most of  our last month of summer, cramming in every fun thing we could think of.  We spent our time both at and away from home.  Penny took a dance class, giving Mom some extra time with Ellie and Cooper.  We went to the movies and saw "Pete's Dragon." We enjoyed visits from both the Bateys and the Caskeys.  We visited the Frio River, Corpus Christi, Port Aransas and Fredericksburg.  We were treated to an afternoon at the JW Marriott on our very last day before school started.  Overall we  have had a great summer, but we are ready to get back to school!

Penny is ready for her dance class!
Ellie is happy to be wearing a headband like her big sister!

Ellie and Delite enjoy some pool time during the Batey's visit.

River Girls!

Cooper LOVES to jump off the pool waterfall at Ma-mas and Pa-Pa's house!

Cooper enjoys some reflective time at the beach.

Girls' Day in Fredericksburg! Of course we had to visit Dooley's!

July!

Just a few of our activities during the heart of summer.  We hope to fit in some more fun before we (sniff) go back to school in three weeks.

Fireworks on the Fourth!

Canyon Lake with friends.

The Do-Seum!

Canyon Lake with friends (again).

Five Mile Dam Park with friends.

Movies!  We saw "The Secret Life of Pets."

Hanging around at the "duck park."

Summatime!!

Happy Summer!  Since school let out, we haven't really slowed down.  It took over a week before anybody could sleep in past 6:30 a.m. and I admit we had a bit of an adjustment period.  Everybody had to remember how to be around each other all. day. long.  There were lots of squabbles over toys and space while Mom concentrated on not losing her marbles the first week!  We kept finding fun things to do and everybody was so tired all three kids have been taking afternoon naps.  All the swimming, enjoying being at home, visits from Ma-Mas and Pa-Pa, and finding things to do around Boerne has been fun but taxing.   It hasn't been difficult staying un-bored, but remembering my camera has been!  (Thank goodness for the iPhone.)  A recap from the last three weeks:

The day after the last day of school.  Just hangin' at home.  

Just a few days in...bowling birthday party!

Bowling Alley game room.

So far, LOTS of time in the pool.  We swim almost every evening which has helped us find our rhythm to enjoy peaceful (mostly) days at home.

Bumming around Boerne.

Our friends the Eggers visited and we hit up Boerne Market Days.  Here is my shout-out for Ellie...this little one is a trooper!  She manages all the running around, the heat, and the loose schedule with ease.

Cooper and Penny did a round of swim lessons.  Penny got over her fear of the diving board!

THIS girl earned a "girl only" shopping/lunch date with Mom.  We hit Penny's favorite spots... TJ Max, Target, and Chick-Fil-A.  (Love her!!!)

Cooper performs in a skit at the Cibolo Nature Center.  Both Coop and Penny attended day camp for a week and had a blast!