July Little Things

July didn't turn out the way we had hoped.  Because of Cory's thyroid treatment, we not only had to move out of the house for ten days, but we also had to cancel our annual Colorado trip.  We were all so disappointed that we didn't get to attend the HikeMS this year and the kids hated that we had to cancel our Lemonade Stand. Lots of tears were shed but we are already looking forward to next year's hike.  When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right?

We tried to do some fun things to make up for having to cancel our vacation.  Lily begged and begged to have a playdate with Jery all summer, so we finally made it happen.  The only thing Lily requested is that they make cookies so we whipped up some chocolate chip cookies and then delivered a plate of warm cookies to Mrs. Brightwell.  

My mom had her annual individual sleepovers with the grandkids but Lily requested that Aubrey join her for her sleepover.  They swam, took bubble baths, and went shopping for lots of fun things!

The girls had fun testing out Cory's new wheelchair but they also had fun playing in the huge box it was delivered in.  They made a "bed" out of the box and watched hours and hours of movies in it!

While the kids were all at Pine Cove, I drove over to see the triplets and take Holland to lunch at Chick Fil A.  She was so sweet and I enjoyed my one on one time with her so much!

And just when I thought this summer couldn't get any worse... our hot water heater went out and when they came to replace it, one of the plumbers fell through our master bedroom ceiling.  Luckily, they paid the bill for that mistake but it was still a huge inconvenience for us!

I don't usually look forward to the end of summer and starting back to work, but I have to say I was not sad to see this summer come to an end.  Teacher in-service starts in just a few days and I'm going back to work full time for the first time since Parker was born.  There are lots of changes coming for our family next month and I hope they are positive ones!

Cory's Thyroid Treatment

When Cory was diagnosed with Grave's Disease at the beginning of the summer, he was told that there were two treatment options- surgery to remove the thyroid or a radiation treatment to destroy it.  His doctor thought that surgery was the best option but when we met with the surgeon, he disagreed and thought that the radiation treatment would be better.   Cory ultimately chose the radiation treatment.  This treatment meant that he would take a radioactive pill and then have to be in isolation for 10 days.  Unfortunately, this meant that the kids and I would have to move out of the house for 10 days.  Luckily, my parents were going on vacation and offered to let us stay at their house while they were gone.  

We stayed the first two nights at Emily's house and spent some quality time with the cousins.  One day, we took the kids to the local elementary school and got everyone a free school lunch of nachos- yum!

We also visited Jon at the fire station before we went to Braums for ice cream.

One day, we spent the day helping take care of the triplets.  We were all exhausted by the end of that day!

I had a doctor's appointment one day so all three kids went to "camp" at Mrs. Humphrey's house.  Even Parker had a great time playing with the other kids.

We went to Pirates Cove with The Mahaffeys one day and went swimming at Granna's another day.  It was a long ten days being away from Cory but we stayed pretty busy and it was over before we knew it!  Hopefully, the treatment was successful and Cory is going to start feeling much better soon.  It has been a long summer and we are ready to have him back to feeling like himself again.

Pine Cove 2018

The kids just finished up another great week of Pine Cove Camp in the City.  This was Parker's last year to attend and I don't know who is more sad about that- him or me!  Parker looks forward to Pine Cove all year and I'm sad that this was his last year.  As always, he had a wonderful week with an awesome counselor.  

Parker was in the Sycamore cabin this year and his counselor's name was Waxy.

At the end of the week, each camper is recognized for three character qualities that their counselor saw in them all week.  This year, Parker was recognized for being enthusiastic, supportive, and analytical.

Eden also had a great week with her counselor, T-Snap.

She was in the Magnolia cabin with several of her sweet friends from church.

Eden was recognized for being capable. grateful, and brave.  The first year Eden attended Pine Cove, she didn't participate in any of the activities.  This year, she did all of them!  I am so proud of her for being brave enough to try new things, especially when they are out of her comfort zone.

Lily wasn't sure she wanted to go to camp this year, but at the end of the week she admitted that she had a great time and was glad she went. She loved her counselor, Beads, and enjoyed being in a cabin with several of her good friends.

Lily was in the Azalea cabin this year.

Her character qualities were being selfless, devoted, and faithful.

I'm so thankful the kids have this amazing opportunity every summer!  I know they are making memories that will last a lifetime!

BClan Reunion 2018

Today was the annual BClan Reunion at Heath's house.  Only 4 of the guys were able to come this year and we really missed getting to see and catch up with everyone who couldn't be there.  Heath, Lewis, Cory, and Brad all shared an apartment together at Texas A&M their sophomore year.  I can't imagine all the fun they must have had that year!  It was fun to see them reminisce and tell stories from the past. 

It's always great to see and catch up with lifelong friends.  I hope we will continue to get together for many years to come!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!  We started our day with the annual 4th of July parade in Keene.  The kids always look forward to the parade.  They probably look forward to the donuts that Granstan brings more than anything, but I'll just keep thinking they like the parade too!!

Cory still wasn't feeling great but the kids and I were glad he joined us at the parade!

Today was also Granna's birthday.  The kids always think it's fun that they have a parade to celebrate her birthday!

After the parade, we went back to Granna's for a cookout and swimming with the cousins.  The triplets made their first trip to Cleburne and we got our first picture of all 10 kids together.

The kids loved getting some snuggle time with the babies!

It was a fun, family-filled day!  We hope Granna had a great birthday! We are so blessed by her and all she does for our family!