An Afternoon in the Country

A few weeks ago we had a super fun day!  We went to visit our friends Kristin, Linc, and Taylor at Kristin's parent's house here in North Texas.  They raise cattle, chicken, have tractors, and gators...a little boy's dream!  As you can imagine, we had a blast out there!  The kids played on the hay bales (jumped and ran all over them), fed the chickens, collected the eggs, and Isaac drove the tractor.  It was a fun time experiencing many new things and visiting with best friends!!!

 

 

Isaac driving the tractor with Papa Bob...they were teasing Taylor trying to make her think they were going to drop that big feeder on her Jeep.

 

Driving the tractor was the highlight of Isaac's day, maybe even his year!

 

We fed the chickens, Hannah was a little nervous at first, but then she warmed up to them and had a great time!  She's talked a lot about the chickens since this day.

 

Having a blast!!!

 

Collecting the eggs...Hannah just wanted to eat them all right away!  She must have asked Grandma Sue a hundred times, "Can I please have an egg now?"

 

This boy has gotten so big and so brave, he won't let any chance pass him by...even a chance to hold a chicken!

 

Gator ride to check out the property...during this ride they saw a brand new baby bull, who they named Isaac.  That night another baby was born, a girl, so they named her Hannah, and a few days later a boy, who they named Luke.  The kids tell everyone about their cows that are named after them...it's so special.

 

In his element...

 

the BEST of friends!

 

Love these two and their special friendship!

 

Run and Jump!!!

 

Daddy and his girl...

 

Isaac has become quite the monkey, he climbs, run, and jumps on everything!

Taking a drive together.

 

A beautiful sunset to end the night.

 

We had such a fun afternoon/evening out in the country, we are so thankful for their hospitality and fun times.

A few days later Isaac and I had this conversation:
Isaac - I want to move to the country, do you?
Me - Maybe, it would be fun.  But we'd have to move to another part of town and move schools.

Isaac - Why?
Me - They don't have land like that around here.

Isaac - Well that's okay.  Can we live down the street from Papa Bob and Grandma Sue?
Me -  That would be fun, why do you want to live there?
Isaac - So I can walk over and visit them whenever I want to.

 

We are so thankful the Lord has blessed us with amazing friends; friends who are more like family.

Pumpkin Patch 2014

There is an awesome pumpkin patch just a couple of miles from our house, and we've had our eye on it for a while now.  When Carl and I lived here years ago we would drive by that very pumpkin patch and talk about how fun it would be to one day take our kids there.  We moved away before having our kids, but we came back to visit when Isaac was 2 and Luke was a baby, so we brought them to the patch then.  It was fun, and a memory I still treasure.  4 years ago I never would have guessed that we would one day be living just around the corner from there!

 

Isaac's bus goes by it everyday, so all through the last weeks in September he would come home and give us the updates on the patch.  The kids could not wait to go!!!  October 19 we had a quiet morning, with no plans, so we decided to get out there early and try to beat the crowds.  It was perfect!  The weather could not have been better and the crowds were not too bad.  The kids loved it!!!  We took pictures with their favorite character (cut outs), jumped in the jump houses, went through a hay maze, climbed on the haystack, and took a tractor train ride.  It was a special family time!

 

 

Hannah with Caillou and Rosie, two of her favorite characters on TV.

 

I locked them up in jail!

 

Isaac and Hannah

 

We did get a picture of each kid in front of this, but I had to share this one.  Luke has been growing like crazy in the last few months, he is getting so "tall" (that's relative, but for our peanut he is tall).

 

The boys loved climbing to the top of this haystack...

 

and of course Isaac had to jump off!

 

Slides, obstacle course, and jump houses...such fun!

 

Hannah with her favorite princess, Ariel.

 

 

Tractor Train Ride!

 

 

My heart!

 

Luke getting in his work out while searching for the perfect pumpkin!

Gumby's Birthday Weekend!

Our move to north Texas has been an adjustment for everyone, the five of us, but also for our parents, friends, and family.  Thankfully, we have been blessed with many visitors, which has helped everyone adjust to this new life.  Unfortunately, Gumby is still undergoing cancer treatment and his doctor is in Dallas, which is hard on them.  For us that means that our kids get to visit with their grandparents every three weeks when they come up for his treatments.  One of his treatment trips was scheduled for a couple of days before his birthday, so we decided to take advantage of that and celebrate his day with him.  We are so thankful for our Gumby and all that he brings to the family, so we were thrilled to have a chance to do something fun just for him!  Aaron, Ana, and Marija were able to come up and join us in this celebration, so that made it even more fun!!!  Gumby has always enjoyed trains, and obviously we all know that my boys love trains, too, so we thought it was a perfect opportunity for a train ride!  Isaac had a soccer game that morning (a random September cold front blew in the night before, so it was a cold morning), it was fun to have Emmy and Gumby there to cheer him on!  After the game we grabbed a quick lunch then headed to the train station to meet up with the rest of the gang.  We boarded the train in Grapevine, took the 1.5 hour ride to Fort Worth where we got to play in the Stockyards for a couple of hours.  The ride there was great, it was slow at times, but everyone enjoyed the scenery and just being on a real train.  Another great addition to the day was that Emmy's sister, Debra and two of her girls, came to meet us in Fort Worth, so we got to visit with them and get a nice tour of the stockyards from them.  Then we boarded the train and made the trek back to Grapevine, where we then enjoyed a nice Texas dinner at a true cowboy restaurant.  It was a special day celebrating a remarkable man!  We love you, Gumby!!!

 

 

Hannah and Emmy take such good care of Hannah's baby dolls.

 

I'm not sure what they were discussing, but it sure looks like a serious conversation.

 

Go Isaac!!!  First game of the season!

 

The boys could not wait to check out the train!

 

They even got to climb up into a real steam engine and get a lesson from the Engineer.  All three of our train enthusiasts loved this!

 

On the train!

 

Luke really enjoyed the train, he was mesmerized by it all!

 

Trying to keep the kids entertained and under control towards the end of the first leg of the ride.

 

Isaac saw this longhorn, and he had to get on him, with absolutely no fear he climbed right up!  I was more scared than he was, but it was so fun to see him enjoying himself.

 

Aunt Ana and Isaac walking through the Stockyards together.

It's been a GREAT week!

It's been a fun week around our house!!!  Some of the highlights revolve around the kids...

 

 

Yesterday, Isaac came off the bus just beaming, smile from ear to ear, and a blue ribbon on his shirt.  He received the Citizen of the Week award for 1st grade!!!  They announced it on the morning announcements for the entire school to hear!  Wow, what an honor and such an encouragement for him!  He was beyond excited, and we are so proud of him for all of his hard work!

 

Luke had a teddy bear picnic at school yesterday.  He said it didn't have to be a bear, and I could tell he was a bit concerned thinking he didn't have a bear (none of his favorite stuffed animals are bears, but we have plenty of bears to choose from).  He found one in his room and was thrilled to take it to school!  He even named it Ironman!  (Isaac was not happy when he heard this, as he says that's his bear and his name is Brown Bear...ha!)  He had fun taking him to school, they shared a snack picnic in the room...this week's letter is B.

 

Hannah had her first gymnastics class this week...she LOVED it!  There were only three kids in the class, one was only a one year old, so she was pretty distracted and did her own thing, and there was another 2 year old, who was not happy and did not follow direction at all.  So Hannah soaked up the coach's attention, did all she asked, but also snuck off for some of her own fun on the trampoline and the beam.  At the end they played in the pit and went down the big tunnel slide...she loved that!  At the end of class she told me, "I stay here at gymnastics, it's fun!"

 

Last night we went to the playground to celebrate Isaac's award!  Everyone had a blast!

Pre-K

 

Our precious peanut Luke has started Pre-K!  Pre-K, really!?!  How is that possible, that means kindergarten is around the corner!  This mama is not at all ready for that.  Okay, I'll focus on this year, one day at a time, make the most of everyday he is home with me, and the special times he has at his preschool.

 

Moving here Luke's preschool was a big concern for me.  I knew we needed to find him an awesome school, one that could compete with the amazing preschool we had down in Magnolia.  The bar was set high, so I researched and asked lots of friends for recommendations.  Since the house hunt took a little longer than we'd hoped it would we were pushing it to get him into a good school.  I was nervous.  I called two schools, both full...I was scared.  I decided to ask our wonderful realtor for a recommendation, as her grandkids are in the area, and I trust their recommendation.  I called the preschool immediately, and they had an opening for our boy!  Yay!  I said, sign us up..."Don't you want a tour?"  Oh yes, I'll come take a tour...haha!

 

He has now been in school for two and a half weeks, and he has done so well!!!  His teacher is fabulous, the curriculum so far has been so great, and the biblical focus is strong.  I could not have asked for more

 

The smile you see on his face in the first day of school pictures is genuine, he was so excited!!!  I really expected him to hesitate with going to a new school, I expected him to be sad and have a hard time, BUT he proved me wrong!  He was beyond excited that first day, he couldn't wait to get there and he came home just as happy!!!  I am thrilled and so thankful for this blessing.  He has come home many days talking about a new friend, he never knows their names, but he is happy and has a great time!  He seems to love his teacher, and feel really comfortable with her and the school.  I am SO PROUD of this boy!!!  He has handled these changes like the strong, brave boy I always knew he was.  I am excited for the fun times ahead of him this year, for the memories we'll make, and the friends he will meet!