Family Vacay! Texas Style!

This year we kept our vacation much simpler. If you don't remember, last year we went to Disney World! And next year will be a biggie too (more on that later). But for this year it was camping at "the river" (ie The Frio River in the Hill country of Texas-kind of west'ish of San Antonio I guess you'd say). It is a gorgeous place to be. We have been going there for most of our married years. But one of the neatest things is that the first time we went there and Harold looked around he said "This is where we came every year when I was a kid."!!!??? A total fluke! We went with some of my co-workers so I didn't pick the place and he certainly didn't! So, our kids' favorite vacation spot is the same one where their daddy grew up! There is a state park very near where we go but we prefer the smaller family owned campground.

I have to say also, my kids were just as excited I think to spend a week at "the river" as they were to go to Disney World for a week. And let me tell you, I was excited to spend about $350 (including groceries) as opposed to the thousands spent at Disney. Disney was very exciting and I wouldn't trade our time there but I'm so glad that the kids still consider a camping trip to be the best.

Now, for the pictures!

                                  I'd rather have my toes in the river than in the sand any day! 

This kid loves to fish! Here he is getting ready to look for some small ones for bait!










All 3 of my big kids love to swing from these ropes all day long! And it's fine with me...I can sit with my toes in the water and watch them. 












Haley is fearless! She has always been that way
(unless there are shadows in her room at night-
but that's a whole different ball game!) and it
has contributed greatly to my gray hair count.
Apparently while I was downriver talking to a
new friend for a bit, her daddy witnessed her
do some kind of river trapeze act and get herself
just like this only UPSIDE DOWN over a bunch
floaters (people floating the river in tubes)coming
down the river! While it was an amazing trick
he told her not to do that ever again! LOL

  Jared amazes me! See the 2 ropes there? The one he is hanging on and then the striped one? He was able to swing out and then catch the other rope and he actually went back and forth 5 times once! Let me tell you, it takes all of my body strength to hold onto that rope just to get safely out over the water! (now, if only I could turn the picture and make it stay that way!)

Even daddy got in on the action! (I did too but it's my blog and I'm choosing not to share that picture!)

 Nathan is super happy to stay safely in very shallow water. Definitely not the daredevil that his older sister is. Phew!

Hanging out with the big guys.
Wearing a life jacket in case of a rogue
wave I guess ;)

 A good nap is always in order! Thankfully no one got the camera when I fell asleep in my chair!

This is my view while laying on the riverbank while my children play...heavenly!

Haley really needs her own goggles, huh? Once, when we felt she was getting too far away from us we called her back and she said "I can't....it's too rivery!" I guess she was referring to the slight current? We laughed so hard!

Awwww! Acting like they like each other while eating some semblance of a breakfast (yeah, those are fruit loops!). When we camp nutrition is optional ;)

Ok, so it's not huge...he doesn't care. As long as he catches something! That's bait! 

I think he needs a bigger tube! ;)

Painting suncatchers while we were getting dinner started....I need to make sure I bring an activity every time we go camping!

 Best sissies! I {heart} this! At first Lindsay made some new friends and didn't want to include Haley but once I informed/explained that this was FAMILY vacation and that her FAMILY would be included....she was pretty much fine with it. 








Sword fight with a pink fishing pole while wearing
your pj shirt, pull-up, white socks and too-big
black cleats....when you're 2 that's the best ever!

And this {extremely unflattering} picture reminds me why I will be glad to get home! Because at home, my "sink" is at waist height and doing dishes doesn't make my back hurt. Ouch!

 And it's over :(  Nathan waited patiently all week to help with the lowering of the camper since he is not strong enough yet to help with the raising. (we kept the crank hidden all week just in case his patiently turned into not so patiently...)

Love/Hate and Girls' Weekend!

I love summer. Because there are very few organized activities that keep us busy every evening and most weekends. I hate summer because it's...hot. I love summer because I don't have to "crack the whip" with homeschooling. I hate summer because it's...hot. I love summer because I can wear flipflops for just about anything I need to do (ok, for real? I can do that anyways where I live!). I hate summer because it's soooo hot!

This summer has been pretty just right for the most part. Has it been perfect? No. Sometimes I wanna scream because everything is so unstructured (and if you've never noticed...kids go a little nutso if things are too unstructured for too long. True story.)

I got to go visit my bestest friend Wendy and we had such a great time. This is our third time to meet even though we've been super close for about 11 years now. But, we've also collectively given birth to 7 children in those 11 years, so it has limited our ability to travel the long distances to see each other. Especially the years she lived overseas! We had great fun at Niagara Falls and Letchworth State Park. So low key! And this was our first ever girls only trip with no breastfeeding any babies or even having any with us. Just us girls. So relaxing. :)
Niagara:

this might not look like much to write home about but it was really funny and a little frightening honestly! Yeah, yeah... Anyways, we were laying on a blanket talking and eating our crunchy lunch (who knew sugar snap peas are so good?) and this squirrel literally was within a foot of me! I kept thinking "What if it has rabies or something and bites my nose?" Thankfully it didn't but it got so close!

Letchworth State Park: This was actually my favorite over Niagara. Don't get me wrong, Niagara is beautiful but (as Wendy warned me) very touristy and commercial. I much preferred the naturalness of the State Park. Just a little bit of God's glory and it felt like just for us! (And the Asian people that took this picture of us)

Despite my fear of bears (Wendy reassured me repeatedly that there were no bears at the park. I don't know how she knows that, but she promised me! I asked her why, then, were there bear things in the little gift shop!?) we enjoyed some very mild hiking and sitting and talking-2 girls can talk a lot without 8 kids interrupting them! ;)
The only thing we saw that scared us was a creepy guy (I didn't take his picture) that we made up all kinds of fun horror stories about and this:

Well, it might not look that scary but when you almost step on it going down some old stairs...it'll make you scream like a...girl! But on girls' weekend that's okay.

 This just fascinated me. I took a bazillion pictures of this rainbow that God showed us just because we stopped to admire His handiwork (at least that's what I surmised). Gorgeous!

 Oops. this is sideways because I forgot to edit it. I started to take it out but I can't make myself do it. I want to show how something doesn't have to be the biggest or most impressive to show true beauty. What a peaceful scene.

 I *think* you could walk on that thing somehow. I was quick to assure Wendy I was just fine to look at it from below.

Overall it was just an awesome time and beautiful country! My flights were so smooth and quiet. I read books. BoookS! No one had to be fed, I didn't have to think "If I take a drink from the flight attendant s/he will want one and what if it spills everywhere?" or anything! I just quietly did as I pleased. Oh, and I tried my first Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich! Yummo!

I missed my kids and would love to show my family this place in the future but wouldn't trade my girls' weekend...

Next up: Family vacation!

On Aging

I know, I know...some are thinking I don't have any room to talk about it but come on, 36 1/2 is no spring chicken! But so far I just have to say that the number itself does not bother me. I really don't mind saying I'm in my 30s or that I'm 36. (Although as I was thinking about this I thought about saying I didn't mind that I was approaching my 40s...not sure about that one!)
The great thing about my 30s: I know who I am and I'm okay with it. The things people say to me or about me don't really affect me as badly as they did when I was younger (20s and under). I'm not defined by those things. I've made my mistakes and I've learned from them (not that I'm done with mistakes...I assure you, I make them daily still). So, I guess I'm wiser! That's a good thing! I know I don't have to walk around half-naked (what was I thinking anyway?). It's more attractive to cover up strategic body parts. I know that if someone doesn't like who I really am, then that's okay. I don't need to pretend to be someone different. I know that being honest about how you feel gets you a lot further than sulking and pouting and hoping they notice how you feel. I know that you have to be careful about your actions because others are watching. Not in the way that you need to impress people but you need to be an example to those who might be looking. I know that drinking excessively does not make you cool. It makes you dumb. You just think you look/sound/move cool...and that makes you dumber!
So, the 30s sound pretty great...except here are the things I don't like:
::my new highlights. I never requested silver ones. And why are they so sproingy?
::my backaches.
::the fact that my figure is changing and it's much harder to make it what I like.

That's all. I think the good outweighs the bad. Don't you?

Finding a New Friend...

I don't know if I ever wrote about it but in December we lost our beloved dog Daphne. She had been sick for a while and we found out it was most likely cancer but still hoped maybe the x-ray was picking up on some kind of infection!? Maybe? But no. On the 11th (I think) we were trying to put up our Christmas tree and she lost the use of her hind limbs. It was so sad that we knew without a doubt that we would be taking her in first think in the morning to be put to sleep. We had hoped to at least help her make it through Christmas but there was no way....in hindsight I think it was best that the kids had the distraction of Christmas to keep their minds off of the loss.
We are so thankful that we decided to take her on our camping trip Thanksgiving weekend. She actually perked up a little and enjoyed the time out there with us. And we got one last happy memory!

Do you see her tail wagging in the picture? This was at the very end...she was skin and bones (despite my cooking more for her than I do for my own family and trying to coax her to eat at every turn...) It was so sad but to see her have a little burst of energy and enjoy her family one last time...worth every bit of it!

So, fast forward. We attempted a dog at the very end of December. But I discovered that satan can come in the form of a really cute puppy. It was an awful experience. We didn't go looking for a puppy and thought since we just "came across" it it was meant to be!? No way. That dog tried to eat Haley and Nathan...can you imagine when it got bigger? And he was going to be HUGE! We took him back before the kids needed stitches. Also, it was probably just too soon. Every time I looked at the puppy I could only think of how much like Daphne he WASN'T.

 (the above picture was taken during a very rare moment of peacefulness in that cute but evil puppy's time with us). No one was sad when he went back to his original home.

We've had a few other pet catastrophes (baby bunnies bought from a pet store with less than ideal conditions leading to sick babies) this year and while at our wonderful vet (she really is!) I asked if she could keep an eye out for a good family dog. Not a puppy, a dog. And she asked if I had an aversion to any breeds...well, yeah!? What are we talking here?? Her instant thought was of a last chance rescue dog-a boxer- that she had done the treatment for heart worms :(. So, we went immediately to meet this dog. (She said that even during the painful treatments the dog was sweet and docile!) We ended up taking her on a trial basis but I knew if we took her home I was 99.9% sure we'd keep her. So, this is our new friend Katie Belle:

Can you tell who her bestest buddy in the house is? One night during a storm I slept in the living room with the dog and the kid-and I'm not sure which one was more scared!-Haley slept with her hand on Katie Belle's back. It was really sweet. So, we let the dog sleep on couch cushions and we keep the two year old:

in the kennel. You know I'm just kidding, right? (although look at the wall behind the kennel...that was the work of said two year old...hmmmm) No, really the little ones just think the kennel is the coolest thing.

Half-way House

Sometimes I long for the opportunity to do one thing and do it right. Instead of getting pulled away in the middle of it to do 10 other things and then I forget the first thing! Are you lost yet? I know I am. Over the weekend I started painting my newly textured/drywalled living room. I have to prime it before we can do the "fun" stuff of color and trim/crown moulding. But I can't ever get back to it. I'm almost half way there...but I've been half-way there for days!
Another thing, a couple of weeks ago I was working in my bedroom, sorting through some stuff that got stuffed in there when we were having company (I know, it doesn't really matter if I hide it if I'm going to tell everyone about it!) Tonight I noticed that I only got about half-way done in there too!
Sorting through kids clothes. Yup, had to stop to go drop said kids off somewhere, so guess what? I'm half-way done with that.
I try to embrace these days knowing that one day I will have all the time in the world to finish each task I start. My living room will look nice, my bedroom will not have stacks of half-way sorted stuff, there will be no kids' clothes to sort through and weed out. My dishes will be done. Laundry will be folded and put away.
And then I think that that's because there won't be toys all over the living room. There won't be art projects in stacks in my bedroom that I have to sort and figure out where to keep them, kids' clothes? Gone! Dishes? Well, dishes for two probably doesn't take long to clean up. And no little clothes to fold...no socks that are missing their mates...
Nevermind. Half-way is good for now. :)

P.S. Cute thing Nathan said tonight: I asked him "Who's cute?" "Ummmmmmm. Helly." (that would be Haley). LOL what a sweet kid! He did add afterwards that he was cute too. ;) I agree!

Mother's Day

I've figured it out! I know why Mother's Day makes me uncomfortable. It's the sentiment in the quote:

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.  ~Tenneva Jordan


You see, I do still like pie! No matter if it's the last piece. I will give it up but I won't be happy about it. And if it's chocolate cake? Forget about it. I'm not giving it up. I might share it if I'm feeling really nice....


I think sometimes all the sweet cards make me want to put my head under the covers. It makes me feel guilty. Because it makes me closely examine my own thoughts, actions and attitudes and I always feel like I come up wanting. Like I could never be all of that! Most of us, in real life, are not the Hallmark version of a mom. All the things in one card rarely fit one human being! I mean, it's nice to know your kids think those things (at least for one day out of the year) and your husband takes note (I wasn't allowed to mow the lawn on Mother's Day by the way!? I do it most of the other times, but I guess if I did it today....it would make him look and feel bad?)


A mother understands what a child does not say.  ~Author Unknown


Ummm, not always!?


A mother's heart is a patchwork of love.  ~Author Unknown


Ok, on this one I'll bite! A patchwork (quilt) is not perfect, but it's comfortable and loved and personal. It's not usually designer, it's filled with memories and stitches that hold it together. It's partly ratty and all the way soft and warm....That fits how I feel most days. But I do love my kids with all of my patched up patchwork heart. They made me a mommy which is what I've always, as long as I can remember, wanted to be.

Not the best or most recent picture of all the kids (almost a year old) but remember, we're being real here...and it's hard to get 4 kids in close enough proximity to take a picture and not have a fight!

A (short) conversation I had with this little guy

 the other day on the way to the ball park for his brother's baseball game.

Nathan: Where's bubba?
Me: At his game with daddy.
Nathan: Where's bubba?
Me: At his game with daddy.
Nathan: Where's bubba?
Me: At his game with daddy.
Nathan: Where's bubba?
Me: Hey, you only have to say it once, buddy.
Nathan: My name's not buddy or maybe he said "that's not my name"...
Me: *slightly exasperated* Ok, Nathan...
Nathan: Yes, mommy?

This kid keeps us in stitches!