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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Natural High

It's hard to believe that it's been over a week since we took this photo.  The top photo of Mark and me is probably my favorite photo of us on the vacation.  We're at a scenic lookout on the High Road from Taos to Santa Fe. The views were spectacular.

As usual, the boys weren't very happy about posing for a photo so this is what I ended up with.  I know someday I'll look back on all of these awkward photos and laugh.  I admit in the moment it's a headache trying to take pics of them on vacation.  So uncooperative.  Oh, well!  Still love them :)

I'll have more photos from Road Trip 2012 soon. We had a wonderful time and I can't wait to share more photos.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Summer Stuff


We LOVE summer!
Laid-back days
Swimming
Spending time together as a family
Frozen Yogurt
Fresh veggies from the garden
Visits with grandma
Fun at church

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The last couple of weeks, Will and Ben have been taking swim lessons.  Today is their last day.  I'm really proud of how much better they have gotten in just two weeks.  I wish they could take the next session too, but we'll be out of town.


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My cousin dropped by with a bag full or tomatoes from the garden and I made pico de gallo.  It's delicious with fresh tomatoes.


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We visit my grandma in the nursing home as much as possible.  They love her walker.  I usually don't let Ben and Will play with it because I don't want them to break it.  They were walking slowly in circles with it so I took these photos before I made them stop.  It looks like Will has Ben in physical therapy.

I love these precious photos of Will and Ben giving Mama Winnie hugs and kisses. 
Sweet memories!
I have to admit that it's hard to visit my grandma in the nursing home without my grandpa.  It's been almost a year since he got sick and passed away, and I still miss him so much.  Taking him to the nursing home was a part of our routine and it feels strange without him with us.  We are thankful for our time with Mama Winnie and happy we get to visit her as much as we do.

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I saw this for sale for $5 in Target this week. Hope Floats is one of my favorite chick flicks.  In college, Angela and I watched this movie one night and we started crying when the mother (Gena Rowlands) died.  We didn't get teary-eyed, we were having a good ol' "ugly cry" while watching this.  We were crying so hard at one point that we looked up at each other and started laughing hysterically because we were crying so hard.  That's still one of my favorite memories with Angela. 

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Church is a huge part of our lives.  We're very involved and try to attend church every opportunity we get (Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday evening).  Sometimes Sunday mornings are hectic and I have very little time to take a photo of my boys in their "Sunday best" but I managed to get this pic of Will before church on Sunday morning.

Ben wouldn't pose for a photo at home so I took one of him once we got to church.  I was his fill-in teacher in his Sunday School class.

On Wednesday night, Will and his class have been studying the full armor of God in Ephesians 6.  They've been working on each piece.  They wore the armor that they had made and said Ephesians 6 in front of the whole church.  I was so proud of Will!  We have it on video and it's the cutest thing to watch.

Will laid out each piece on the couch when we got home and told me to take a photo of it all for instagram.  Do you think he's noticed how much I'm on instagram!?!  Yep, I'm busted for spending a lot of time on it :)

Ephesians 6: 10-20

The Whole Armor of God

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

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We've promised the boys trips to McDonald's and Chick-Fil-A if they would do their best in swim lessons.  It doesn't hurt that mom and dad love CFA, and we like the free wi-fi at McDonald's, too!

We even stopped by our favorite frozen yogurt place one afternoon.
Will leaves nothing behind.  Love it!

And, our favorite burrito place (other than Chipotle) is Freebirds. It's a College Station institution.  This is Ben's "little monster" burrito.  Love it!

Will was color coordinated with one of the chairs at Freebirds. 


We love summer! Yes, we do!
We LOVE summer, how about you?

I'm @redbirdblue if you want to follow along on instagram :)

life rearranged

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Swim Lessons 2012

We only have two more days of swim lessons left.  Will took private lessons last year (photos here), but private lessons weren't available this year from the same teacher because she said she had to get a "real job".  Too bad!  Will was really disappointed because he liked her so much.  We knew the boys needed to take lessons and we decided the nearest YMCA might work.  They offered a class for ages 3-6 so both boys could take at the same time--convenient for us.

The boys were excited for swim lessons on the first day.  Will's been enthused the entire time, but Ben's excitement wore off after day one.  Ben's the youngest one in the class and it's his first time to take swim lessons so I can understand his hesitation.

This was on Friday (I think), which was a good day, but the day before was awful.  We had to have a long talk with the boys and tell them they really needed to listen to their teachers and try to follow instructions. I think the talk worked and they both had a better attitude. Also we bribed them with a trip to McDonald's if they would do their best.

This was yesterday.  Ben did great with the noodle. 

Will continues to improve. 

In the wise words of Dory, "Just keeping swimming."  Hopefully that won't be stuck in your head all day long :)

Friday, July 6, 2012

Backyard Camp Out

I don't really have a "summer list", but if I did, a backyard camp out would be at the top of it.  We decided at the spur of the moment to put up the tent and camp out in the backyard.  Will and Ben were really excited!  We weren't sure if they'd make it all night in the tent but they did!

Two little boys who were super happy about their camp out.


This is the tent that Santa gave the boys a couple of years ago for Christmas. 


Every camp out needs s'mores.  We didn't have a camp fire so I assembled the s'mores, wrapped them in foil and Mark put them on the grill. 

Delicious, gooey, messy! 

It's morning!  We made it all night in the tent. 

 Slept all night long!

Didn't wake up all night! 

Ben heard the neighbor's dog barking the next morning.  I heard it all night, but it didn't bother the boys.  I was surprised that they weren't disturbed by the noises.   

I think we're ready for a real camp out...
when the weather gets a little cooler.  The one negative about our camp out was that it was very HOT and we didn't have a breeze until morning.  Our next camp out will have to be this fall and hopefully at a state park and not our backyard.

Linking up to Life Rearranged--InstaFriday

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Our Anniversary Weekend

We started our anniversary weekend off in the most romantic way I could think of...
at Vacation Bible School.  Just kidding!  We really did spend the morning of our anniverary at VBS; maybe not romantic but still fun.  It was the last day of VBS, and we had a great time with the kiddos before we headed to Dallas.

We stayed near an area called The Shops at Legacy.  It's only about an hour from where we live, but we decided to spend the night because we wanted to see a movie and spend Saturday hanging out before we headed home.

We had dinner at Mi Cocina

My favorite thing there is Ernie's Chicken.  Mark ate beef fajitas.  Both were really good.

After dinner we went to a movie at the Angelika.  We've always enjoyed indpendent films and don't get to go to the movies as often as we'd like now that we have kids.  It was an extra speical treat to see a movie and a bonus that it was an independent film. 

We saw Bernie.  It's based on a murder that happened in small town in East Texas in the 90s.  Basically we felt like they were interviewing townspeople from where we live for the docudrama.  I think it was even funnier because the theater was packed and everyone got the jokes and humor about life in a small town in Texas.  Jack Black was really funny.

Our date night wasn't over yet.  We stopped by Red Mango for frozen yogurt before we headed back to the hotel. 

This isn't a cell phone pic.  I asked a random stranger to take our photo so we'd have one to remember our 10th anniversary. 

On Saturday we had breakfast at the Main Street Bakery.  I had Banana Nut Crepes with Nutella.  Oh my goodness!  Mark had to help me finish it.  He had french toast that was good, but I think mine was better. 


life rearranged


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