2010 Summer Wrap-Up

We enjoyed a full summer with many activities together like tubing, kayaking, and going to the park and the Zoo! Here's a few of our favorite summer memories in photos:

These are at the San Antonio Zoo. Vanessa is in the Aviary where the bird drank nector from her cup. Gracie loves to sit on this statue of the baby elephant. We were so thrilled to learn that our Zoo now has a new friend elephant for the elephant that has been so lonely for a while. The new elephant was rescued from a circus. It is 58 years old. Having a Zoo pass this year has helped us to go more often and learn so much more about the animals.


These next few photo's are from the Boerne City Lake. Be sure to read a real neat story below about Brigham and Vanessa from one of their trips to the Lake with their dad. He texted me about it and I thought I would include his texts here:





Brigham and Vanessa performed a real life open water rescue moments ago. A homeade boat with two occupants sank. Brig and Nessa were running a bait out in the kayak when they heard cries for help. Both had lifejackets but they had become completely exhausted swimming against a stiff breeze. Using a tow rope, Brig and Nessa dragged the boat and occupants to shore. Everyone is okay. Brig says his shoulders will be sore tomorrow dragging a swamped boat and a large 50-something year old and his companion was no joke. Good memories. When I asked Nessa, if she was scared she said "A little but we could tell that they really needed help."

This is a great view of the Lake. One reason we went to this lake so much is that it was the lake that Jared and Brigham swam in for the GatorBait Triathlon that in August they participated in it together this year. It was a 500m swim which is about the length of 5 football fields. They biked 14 miles and then ran 4 miles. Jared felt like he really came to appreciate and know more about his son. Brigham loved getting to spend time with his dad. It was very enjoyable for both of them and woth the hard work. They trained hard for only about 3 weeks beforehand because they didn't hear about it earlier. It is quite an accomplishment for both of them. It is amazing to note that Brigham used to be quite afraid of swimming and water when he was a toddler but he has really overcome it! They are looking forward to training together for next year and improving their times. This first photo is one of their ranger training times at the lake and the next photo is the one where they slowly but steadily finished the race together. Would anyone like to come and join them next year in the Triathlon? I'm sure Jared would love to talk to you about that. (hint, hint:)

Way to go #245 and 246!

Noah's accomplishment this summer is becoming potty-trained! Vanessa took the time, care and patience to help train him. It worked and it really is super cool. He's been doing great!



Another neat thing that happened for Hope is that she was able to visit my sister, Bonnie in Arlington, VA for 2 1/2 weeks and see a lot of Washington D.C. Most amazingly, Hope earned all of her own money for the trip! She took over 300 pictures but she hasn't uploaded them yet so we'll have to put some up later. Needless to say, she had a blast!

Overall, it has been an amazing summer for us! I apologize that I'm forgetting a lot that I could mention. Although we are back to school now, it still feels like summer and it will until the end of October. So, we're still planning fun activities on weekends when Jared isn't working! :D



*What was your favorite summer memory this year?

Last Half of May

May 13th

Art Show

Our school district had an Art Show and both Hopie and Nessa's Art was chosen to be displayed in it. We left right as they arrived home from school since Wednesday's are such a busy night for us. We had a great time looking for their school's display and their art projects. Hopie had two on display this year and Nessa had one. They did so well on them and I think they are very interesting. For Nessa, it was her first Art show and she has continuously tried each year. She was very excited! Hopie said she was glad to be in the Art show again this year. She only wanted me to post the picture for her favorite entry.
I was happy for them and I know they both worked so hard.

Hopie with her 3-D pencil art drawing and a close-up.

Vanessa with her art project which was an ancient mask using glue, mesh paper and paint.











May 16th
Share Art

We had a very unique and special experience with Hopie as she was invited to a reception for a city-wide Art show. Unfortunately, we had a technical difficulties with our camera so we lost the photo's we took that day. We're planning another trip to take some more pictures of it. I'll post when we get them. In the city-wide art contest, where only 100 students' art was chosen, Hopie's drawing is permanently displayed in the Family Justice Center downtown. So, I felt this was noteworthy and had mention it. She did a Sharpie and tempera paint abstract. It looked amazing! It is a really cool program called S.h.a.r.e - Students help art reach everyone. You can see some amazing art here and you may find Hopie's too. She's in the 2009 gallery. It has been an incredible experience for her.

May 23rd
In Remembrance

Brig went with his scout troop and put flags on all of the graves of the soldiers in the cemetary. He did a good job and felt good about being involved in this service project.

May 25th
Memorial Day

Jared was actually off for Memorial Day this year. So, he planned a very fun day with the children. First, he took our oldest four children tubing in the river. I stayed home with the littlest ones. They woke up at 6 a.m. to arrive early at the river and avoid the crowds. The plan worked and they avoided the crowds. It was super fun for them! This is what happened to the camera, incidentally, it fell in the river. Jared is already planning to buy another one for his birthday coming up.
Later, we had a barbeque and Jared set up a super water slide in our backyard. Good food and getting super wet - what more could you ask for out of Memorial Day? The kids loved it!

May 26th
Healthy Boy!

Noah had his eighteen month well-child check up today. He is growing so much! He weighed 22 1/2 lbs. and is 31 inches tall now. He has really light blonde hair now and he smiles so wide all the time. He did a really great job getting his shots and was very brave.

May 29th
Dance Festival

Isaiah did a very good job, according to his dad who went, in the dance festival at school today dancing to "Twist and Shout!" He was so cute all decked out in '60's attire.
Nessa's class did their dance to the song called "The Eye of the Tiger" and she wore an orange shirt and black capri's. They had made tiger eyes in class that they wore too.
Brig's class danced to "Beat it" by Michael Jackson. His class wore royal blue colors.

May 31st
Our Favorite Meal

Jared made us a really great Sunday dinner today. He made pasta with fresh tomato, basil, and Parmesan cheese mixed in. The flavor was fresh and appealing. Jared's garden is growing very well. It looks good and has sprouted up.
For dessert, Jared made chocolate lava cakes. He decked them out to look really pretty with fresh strawberries, blackberries and cherries.
The other day after we ate lunch, Gracie said the cutest thing to me; "Mommy, I just love food!" Funny thing is I think we all do and it is showing itself through this blog.

Overall

May has been wonderfully busy and the school children are anxious for summer break. They've worked so hard this year and deserve it! I can't wait to start summer activities with them and summer reading too! So much to look forward to!

March '09 - Highlights of Spring Break

We have been busy, as usual! Our children enjoyed Spring Break, March 9-13, which was earlier this year. We had so much fun and Jared was able to have a couple of days off to spend time with all of us.
First, he built our boys a triple bunk bed and it really it quite ingenious as it can store cans of food at the bottom as well. Cowboy & Hopie helped make it. Our boys are loving it!
Second, We enjoyed a family hike at Enchanted Rock!
It was a gorgeous day and not too hot at all. It was rainy the next few days of the week but we still enjoyed a day at the Zoo! The butterfly exhibit here is so amazing - the butterfly's will land on you if you hold real still. You can barely feel them at all! We just love going to the Zoo! Last but not least, we enjoyed a picnic at the park of hot dogs, grapes and chips. We had the best Spring Break ever!

Other March highlights include:
Hopie planned a birthday party for her dog, Candy, who is three years old. I'm amazed that she's lasted so long in our crazy life. Hopie feels Candy is a Princess and is still taking pretty good care of her which was always part of the deal in getting a dog anyway. The party turned out really fun and I think the dog was spoiled with bones and doggie treats. I bet she loved it!
Cowboy just received his Scout award and is doing his best in school.
Nessa is very clever at writing and her teachers have noticed. She has been working very hard on a report about Rome and has taught me things that I didn't know about that civilization which turned out very well. I think she is a hard working student at school and it shows in her grades!
Zayah continues to make me laugh every day and he is learning to write sentences in school. His favorite subject to write about is me, as his mom - Imagine that...it sure helps me remember about what I most likely thought about my mom in Kindergarten as well.
Gracie loves to have books read to her and will listen to anyone who will read to her. She loves Joy school and her friends. She misses her Daddy when he is away and often stays up until he comes home from work each night. It's so cute to see her give him the biggest hug she can when he gets home.
Noah is walking!! I am absolutely thrilled with all that he can do now! It is a "Watch out world - Here I come" time for him right now! I found an old picture of his cousin, Winsor when he was about the same age as Noah is right now and I was amazed at the resemblance which I pointed out to Jared and he thought so too. It was really incredible to see! If I can figure out how to work the scanner, I'll scan the picture in along with one of Noah and you can see for yourself. I'll most likely put in a current post. I'll let you know when I do.

Best Photos of '08

Here are a few of my favorite photos of our family in 2008. I hope you like them.

Holidays

Jared put Christmas lights on our house which was spectacular! It was not an easy task, though, as the day he put them up it was windy. He was on the very top of the roof and the ladder blew down, luckily, it didn't hurt anyone. It landed with a thud and I ran out to investigate. He was trapped up there for about a half hour until Brigham came home from school to help me lift the heavy ladder back up to Jared. I can't believe we managed to save Jared off the roof. I already miss having the lights on the house because Jared's already taken them down. I'm so thankful for that though because I would hate to have them still up late into the year. Already, I'm looking forward to seeing them again next year. Great job, Jared!
Our holidays have truly been wonderful. Most of all, we've enjoyed our health and happiness. For our Christmas Eve program, we talked about the true meaning behind giving gifts. We watched "Mr. Krueger's Christmas" and "The Nativity."
The funniest thing about our Christmas Eve program was when Jared asked Gracie:
"Who told the shepherds that Baby Jesus was born?"
Gracie enthusiastically replied: "THE GIANTS!"
Also, we did something new this year as we attended a Midnight Mass at a nearby Catholic Church. We left the littlest ones at home with Hopie and four of us, Jared, Julie, Brig, & Nessa, went to Mass. We hadn't ever been and it was a unique experience for us. The music was so lovely and it turned out very nice.
We hosted a New Year's Eve party at our house this year. We had so much fun! Jared BBQ'd chicken and ribs. We had rosemary mashed potatoes, "not-your-mothers" green beans, and quesadillas. Our drink was a cranberry creation by Jared and he also served a decadent chocolate dessert.
The highlight of our evening was Jared's industrial strength homemade pinata. We all had fun taking turns hitting the pinata. I'm very grateful that the broken stick that came about from this process didn't hit anyone in the eye. I think that was because we were all being safety conscious as Jared had some strict guidelines for everyone to take turns and stand back. Thanks for that, Jared. We had so much fun even though our candy was smashed into little powdery bits because we just couldn't break that pinata open. We ended up using the tear it apart method in the end.
New Year's Day was fun as we played games like LIFE and LIFE on the FARM (thanks to Aaron and Cami sending it to us!). In LIFE, we learned that earning money would get you ahead in that game while in LIFE on the FARM, owning cattle was the most important in order to have a chance to earn any money. When we play it again, we won't be afraid to use all our money at the beginning of the game to buy cattle so we then will have better chances. We're looking forward to another family game night!

Thanksgiving

Christmas is nearly here and so I better tell you a little of how our Happy Thanksgiving went. It was so great to have Nathan join us this year! We really had a great time.

Our food was wonderful and untraditional. No turkey here, instead we had meat that was made on the BBQ like steak and sausages. We also had homemade cranberry sauce, stuffed celery, green beans and Nathan made his wonderful butternut squash and potatoes.

We also spent a day at the beach in Corpus Christi. One day just isn't long enough. We'll need to spend more than just one day next time, for sure. It was my first time going to the Gulf Coast and I didn't know what to expect but we had a really nice time. Noah and Gracie did just fine also.

I hope you enjoy the photos!